Something Sweet

  I have a history with bananas and peanut butter, and bananas and oatmeal.  Do any of you remember the fluffernutter? 

That sandwich was my favorite after school snack. Here is the link that picture came from. We almost always had bananas on hand while I was growing up, and I put one on my fluffernutter when we did. I do not have a picture for this so I was tickled to find one online. I was delighted to see I was not the only one adding banana to my fluffernutter.

This picture comes from this blog. She deep fries the sandwich. I never did that, nor did I ever toast it. I loved the soft gooeyness of the sandwich. The reason I have no pictures is because I never buy loaves of white sandwich bread anymore, have not done for years. And, I only have Marshmallow Fluff around during the holidays. Here is a cute link I stumbled on while strolling down Memory Lane. This next link will take you to a blog post that has recipes I use for Peanut Butter Banana Date Bread, and Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. I leave the chocolate chips out of those muffins as you will see. I did love them in these cookies though! Here is the link for those.

   I really do not have a sweet tooth, but last night about 9:00 I was thinking something sweet sounded good. I decided to check my email and facebook instead ~ and then head for bed. Yeah... the best laid plans and all that... there it was. A dear woman I know had just posted something on facebook, and this is what it was.

Sinless Cookies, no less.

   Well, bananas and peanut butter... hmmm. I have been using up bananas for the last few days by mashing one in my oatmeal, so I figured this would get rid of two of the three left. :-)  Oh how we can reason and rationalize? Anyone relate? This all took place within the next twenty~five minutes.

   

That is it for the ingredients.

That is it for any real effort needed to be made ~ there is the last of the really ripe bananas.

I did not have dark chocolate chips, but I imagine those semi~sweet ones will do.

Ready for the oven.

That's it for clean up, this was just too simple.

Cooling.

These are very, very good.

My oatmeal and banana breakfast was a little different this morning. YUM!!!

 I can assure you, those little semi~healthy gems hit the spot that was wanting something sweet.  A few days ago I was studying how Jesus operated while on this earth and come across this verse. 

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey,

even honey dripping from the comb. 

Psalm 19:10

In Psalm 19:1-14, David is talking about two ways that God reveals Himself to man. General revelation comes through His creation; specific revelation comes through His Word. In verse 10 David is talking about how sweet the Word of God is. Jesus was the Word made flesh and so that verse was key in that study. Reading it reminds me of the hymn, There’s Within My Heart a Melody. The refrain of that hymn says:

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, 

sweetest name I know, 

fills my every longing, 

keeps me singing as I go.

Jesus is the sweetest name I know, I love Him and I love the Word of God, it is sweet.

   The name of the woman that put that recipe on facebook is, Jan. Years ago while in my twenties, I found myself with three small girls and divorced. Jan was very kind and accepting of me, and let me just say without being nasty, that was not real common in the church I was in. She was a quiet and hard working woman with a sense of humor and a tremendous drive to serve God through being a wife, mother, and a vital part of the churchs' youth. She has been faithful to that call all of these thirty some years, and I suspect always will be. She also had tremendous compassion for single women with children. She was very kind to me, and caring. She offered her friendship to me. Her words were encouraging, uplifting and sweet. The cookie recipe she offered last night on facebook did hit the sweet tooth spot, and I will make them again. Her words and investment in my life all those years ago made a permanent impact on my life. Her desire to serve Jesus Christ benefitted me in a priceless and powerful way. If I do not make those cookies for a while, I will remember they were good but I won’t get the benefit of enjoying them without making them again. But, what Jan did for me all those years ago, I have never, and will never forget. I could not forget that sweetness, that fruit of the Spirit of God ~ even if I tried.

   This blog is called Honeycomb Cottage, and there is Bible verse attached to it.

Kind words are like honey~

    sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

Proverbs 16:24

That is not just some sappy little verse I pulled out of my hat to use because my blog is named, Honeycomb Cottage. I named the blog because of the verse. What we say to people is powerful. Our words can make or break a person. 

Sticks and stones

can break my bones, 

but words will never harm me. 

was an old English rhyme to teach children to not retaliate when teased, insulted or taunted by others. Later it became a nursery rhyme and "harm me" was changed to "hurt me." Either way it is a lie. Words have the power of life and death in them.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21

   I like the little saying that says, Keep your words soft and sweet you never know when you may have to eat them. Well, God's Word says you will eat them so I choosing sweet ones rather than nasty, sarcastic, demeaning... you get the idea... words is the better way to go. Someone being kind and speaking sweet words to me changed my life. We can choose what we say, and I am so thankful for Jan's choice. Her life has shown the love of God to everyone she has met. I know God's hand was in her being a part of mine. 

   Be that kind person with sweet words that you want someone to be to you. It is amazing how much that is needed, and how far it can take someone. Sweet little treats are nice for the moment, but it is the sweetness of someone living out the Word of God in your life, someone blessing you with the fruit of the spirit out of their life that lasts.

   I would love to hear how someone has made a difference in your life with the power of their words.

May the words of my mouth

    and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing to You,

    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Have a great, good day!

   

   Today is a good day! Why? Because God made it! In Psalm 117 King David uses two little verses to proclaim that all people have every reason to praise the Lord for the great merciful kindness He shows them. God’s mercy is an undeniably great motivator and reason to praise God. His mercy is a result of Who He is, God is love ~ and it is you and I, all mankind, that He loves. In the next chapter, Psalm 118, King David spends twenty~nine verses doing just what he encouraged and exhorted all people to do; he praises God for His everlasting mercy. The word “mercy” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word “chesed”. In the New Testament we see that word as “grace”, in the Greek “charis”. Both words speak of the kindness, tenderness, unfailing love, underserved blessing and unmerited favor that God gives as a gift to us. The Greek word “charis” comes for the same root “chara” which means “joy” and “to rejoice”. When talking to the church at Philippi, Paul encouraged the Philippians to keep their focus on Jesus. The fruit of keeping our focus on Jesus is joy. So when he tells them in Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things., he knows this is how they will be able to do what he tells them a few verses earlier in Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

   Today is a good day! Those of us that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and walk with Him have a rich inheritance that we will enjoy in Heaven and can enjoy here on earth.The world is getting darker and darker and it will continue to do so, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” Proverbs 4:18

   Those things that are noble, just, pure, lovely, good news, virtuous and praiseworthy are of God and in His Word. Take some time today and just ponder the love, mercy and grace of God. Grab your Bible and cup of whatever you would visit with a friend over, and spend some time with the Lord! You will be so glad you did!

This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118: 24

Have a great, good day!   

Kindness and Goodness

  Yesterday we took a look at patience. You can hardly talk about any of the fruit of the Spirit without mentioning one or more of the other eight. These are the characteristics of God’s nature and you just can not separate them. In talking about patience we came across kindness. You really can’t say much about kindness without mentioning goodness. So let’s take a look at kindness and goodness today.

  Certainly there are many reasons and benefits for developing the fruit of the Spirit of God in our lives. To do so we must spend time with God and spend time in His Word. We get to know God that way. We learn what His voice sounds like when He talks to us. We grow in our relationship with Him and feel free to share our hearts with Him. We get answers to those things we are searching for. Getting to know God takes our relationship from His being our “Father”, to walking closely with Him as “Abba”, our Dad. We are meant to be conformed into the image of God's Son, and getting to know God better does just that. Also, the fruit of the Spirit are not just nine little personality traits that if developed will make you a more pleasant person. They are powerful forces that when developed, and used, bring victory to the Christian. Think about it. Love never fails. Joy brings us strength to overcome anything. Patience carries faith to the finish line for what you are believing God for, and kindness gives strength to patience. When we are meek, humble, God exalts us. The list of reasons and benefits for developing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives goes on, and on. What I want to bring out and look at here though is the aspect of glorifying God. 

   When we are disciples that means we are a student of Jesus Christ. Strong's Concordance says, "A disciple is a learner, one who follows both the teaching and the teacher." When we are just that disciple, we bear the fruit of the Spirit we are following. When we do that, we are glorifying, God.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:8

In glorifying God, we are honoring Him, worshipping Him and praising Him. That is what we are created to do. God created us so we could be in an intimate relationship with Him. Having said that let's move on to what we are called to do with that relationship where mankind is concerned. Our primary purpose is to walk with God, not evangelize. God enjoyed His relationship with us before we sinned. God had to go to plan B to reconcile us back, and now we have the opportunity to share that with others.

   In Psalm 34:4, David says, Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. When we are worshipping and praising God we are exalting His name. Since it is not likely that we are ever going to make God any bigger than He already is, we magnify Him like David did ~ by singing so others hear of His goodness and greatness. Magnify means to lift up, to increase, to boast of, to make larger. How do we do that? We show others the kind nature of God by being good to them. Our goodness toward others shows them the kindness of the God we love and serve. 

...for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20

   You know the old saying, "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar." It is true. When goodness is developed in us and kindness is shown out of us it often looks like forgiveness.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 

   Strong's Concordance says that kindness is, "Love for mankind, hospitality, human friendship and taking thought of others. Gentleness in dealing with others, benevolence. The word describes the ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience." It defines goodness as, "Beneficence, kindness in actual manifestation, virtue equipped for action, a bountiful propensity both to will and to do what is good, intrinsic goodness producing a generosity and a Godlike state or being." Kindness must be developed in us before goodness is shown out of us. Kindness always puts the welfare of others at an utmost priority, and goodness is the generosity shown that benefits them.

   In 2 Samuel 7:27-29 we read where Samuel is praising God for His goodness to David in the covenant God made with David. "For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.” David had done things that you would think would negate the covenant God made with Him, but God's Words are true and established. He continued to be kind and did so through what Samuel calls goodness. This is probably one of the reasons David  said, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Psalm 23:6

   In Isaiah 54:8 we read, "With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord, your Redeemer.” Kindness is the characteristic, the virtue, the nature of God that produces His goodness.

  1 Thessalonians is the earliest letter we know of that Paul wrote.  Paul with Timothy and Silas, had ministered to the Thessalonians for only three Sundays, (Sabbaths), but planted a church there and grounded them deeply in faith. There was much political unrest and hostility toward Paul at that time and persecution was imminent. Being concerned for this young church he wanted to return to them. That was not possible so Paul sent, Timothy. Timothy did come back with a good report of the church and their faith. They in fact were concerned for Paul. In this letter we see a wonderful message of the time Paul ministered to them and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For our purposes here I want to look at three little verses tucked up in chapter 2.

7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9

Remember, Paul is speaking to the church there at Thessalonica and is concerned about the state they may be in given the political climate against believers. In those verses he is referring to the time he spent with them and though it was hard to come up against the evil around them, he was trying to encourage them to be strong in the might of the Lord. For our purposes regarding kindness producing goodness, lets take a closer look at those three verses. In verse seven Paul talks about how he, Timothy and Silas ministered to them with hearts that were tender, some versions say gentle. He was telling them of the kindness they felt toward those at Thessalonica, Jew and Gentile. In verse eight he goes on to talk about the kindness (affection) they had for them and that they wanted to "impart" the gospel to them. That word "impart" there is the same word used in Luke 3:11 where it says, "give".  Strong's Concordance says, to give, share, impart, distribute, grant. The word implies liberality or generosity, to give with cheerful outflow. Paul goes on to say they devoted, gave, imparted their lives to those at Thessalonica. And in verse 9 he shares the cost of laboring for the gospel. So again we see where kindness preempts goodness shown.

 In the fruit of the Spirit kindness comes before goodness. God is a God of order and I think there is some deliberate placement of how the fruit of the Spirit are listed. We will get to that next week.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  

Galatians 5:22-23

   Developing the kindness of God in our life makes way for His goodness to show out through us. Jesus is the Light that lives in us, and His nature is kind. Our good works are the goodness the world sees that draws them to Jesus. In this, we glorify God!

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.  Matthew 5:14-16

Thank you, Miss Jean!

Apparently, Miss Jean passed this award to a few dog lovers on September 12. I have been so occupied with full time work, and still running a home and trying to have a life of some sort that I missed this until now. I was just tickled to get this.

Miss Jean, says I always have a kind word in the gracing me with this award. That really touched me. I believe my blog byline to be true, "Kind words are like honey ~ sweet to the soul and healthy to the body." Proverbs 16:24 I would like to think I practice that, and it so blessed me when she said I did. Thank you, Miss Jean.

As far as the dog lover award itself. Yes, I do love dogs, but it might not be fair to judge that by how much I love Sir Baxter, he is the best little dog, so faithful, playful and just a great and fun little guy to have around. Not too hard to love that... not to hard to love a Scottie in general!

Tomorrow, I will finally get the how to steps up for the Scottish Terrier cake.  Until then... and as always....

Up close and personal, beats the media everytime!

I have been so busy lately, and though I won't promise to, it is my hope to sit down tomorrow and get a few things on this little corner of the cyber world that I call mine. However, I did read something on a friends blog just now that I thought warranted being posted here. Pam works here in Oklahoma City, at the Capitol. Please go and read what she has to say in her post, When McCain breezed through here.

I love the good things in life.

And this, is one of them. The other day, Jon went across the street to talk to Mr. .... You could not ask for better neighbors. They are really good and nice people. They are Christians, and it shows! Big time. Anyway, I had baked some Oatmeal Raisin cookies the day before. Was it because I had been looking at cookie recipes online, or because I am reading the last in the Hannah Swensen Cookie Mysteries, or because I was out of anything to have with tea..... who knows?? I baked the decadent things. Of course I was catching myself eating them when it was not time to have tea. I had already given a good portion of the batch away to another neighbor, and now it was time to get rid of the rest. This neighbor Jon, was going to go talk to, have five children. I got those little tasty treats wrapped up, and off they went. Whew!!!! Not too much damage done, and now they are gone. No more baking for a while.

So today, I am getting ready to have dinner and one of the daughter's of the neighbor Jon, was talking to comes over. Always nice to see her. Below is why she came over. She made me a Thank You card, for the cookies, and had her sister's sign it! Her younger brother's were busy outside doing whatever it is little boys do. Etiquette and good manners still exist! And in the next generation! This is such a good thing. I am so touched and encouraged that I just had to stop what I was doing and share this. I have only photographed the upper portion of the inside of the card so as to protect their privacy.

I do believe by the looks of this card, this girl is stamper in the making. :-)





Be blessed (I just was),