Spontaneous Love

Love suffers long and is kind . . . —1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is not premeditated—it is spontaneous; that is, it bursts forth in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of precise certainty in Paul’s description of love. We cannot predetermine our thoughts and actions by saying, “Now I will never think any evil thoughts, and I will believe everything that Jesus would have me to believe.” No, the characteristic of love is spontaneity. We don’t deliberately set the statements of Jesus before us as our standard, but when His Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard without even realizing it. And when we look back, we are amazed at how unconcerned we have been over our emotions, which is the very evidence that real spontaneous love was there. The nature of everything involved in the life of God in us is only discerned when we have been through it and it is in our past. The fountains from which love flows are in God, not in us. It is absurd to think that the love of God is naturally in our hearts, as a result of our own nature. His love is there only because it “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit . . .” (Romans 5:5). If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we really don’t love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spontaneity of our love, which flows naturally from His nature within us. And when we look back, we will not be able to determine why we did certain things, but we can know that we did them according to the spontaneous nature of His love in us. The life of God exhibits itself in this spontaneous way because the fountains of His love are in the Holy Spirit.

 Added note from me: I want to make it clear that all posts with the picture of My Utmost for His Highest are devotionals from that book and NOT my own writings. Whenever I find a daily devotional from My Utmost that speaks to my spirit, I like to share it with you. Have a blessed weekend!

Blog Library

I've been compiling a blog hop and network library for a few weeks now and thought I'd share.  I've been joining hops now on a daily basis for about a month and have really seen an increase in my followers so it does work!  I have a link to it up there under the header and I also created a button linking to it if you would like to grab one

<center><a href="http://hisperfectpromises.blogspot.com/p/blogs.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_2pwoECqb6k8/TbLXtERWoqI/AAAAAAAAA7s/yCUbi22_snA/DivinityLibrary.jpg"/></a></center>

I'm only keeping hops that are active on a weekly basis.  Nothing is more annoying than clicking on a hop button then having to search and search to find that it is not being posted regularly.  If you want to add a hop that isn't listed just let me know.  Enjoy!

4/30/11 Update: I've found several new hops and added them to the library. . . Might want to take another look. Have a blessed weekend! =)

My Versatile Blogger Award

OK so I was given this award a few days ago by Kortney. When I realized I had to come up with 7 facts about myself I really had no idea what to say. You want me to talk about me? Oh my goodness! So I put it on the back burner, waaaay in the back. . . . Then today Becky sends me this same award. Really?! So God must really think its time for me to break out of my shell, a little. . . .

The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:
Thank the person who gave you the award by linking back to them in your post.
Tell us seven things about yourself.
Award fifteen recently discovered bloggers.


So here goes:
1. I don't like being the center of attention. Shocker right?
2. I LOVE good yoga classes. Must be a dark room, nice background music
(preferably Christian), ceiling fans going, and an instructor that challenges you but doesn't yell at you.
3. I keep a bag of dark chocolate chips in the freezer at all times.
4. Currently I work as an insurance interviewer in my home.
5. I have been trying to lose weight for 12 years.
6. I worked at a coffee roasting company for a couple of years where I learned to roast coffee and was a Barista. I love the smell of coffee (not necessarily the taste) but when its roasting it can smell like a skunk.
7. I used to play Farmville, Cityville,Frontierville, My Farm, Crime City(because Miranda was playing, too)and a few others I can't remember at the moment.
Whew! Glad that's over!

I'd like to give this award to the following awesome bloggers:

The Art of Losing Myself

Deeper Still

Heart Abandoned

The Nature of Prayer

My Freshly Brewed Life

UpLIFTing Words

Seven Stories Online

Dying for Chocolate

A Restful Place

It's A Keeper

All That Splatters

God Bless Kelly's Home

Thibeault's Table

Steps of Faith

Spoonful of Thyme

What Do You Want?

Do you seek great things for yourself? —Jeremiah 45:5
 Are you seeking great things for yourself, instead of seeking to be a great person? God wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts— He wants you to get to know Him. Even some large thing we want is only incidental; it comes and it goes. But God never gives us anything incidental. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give you. If you have only come as far as asking God for things, you have never come to the point of understanding the least bit of what surrender really means. You have become a Christian based on your own terms. You protest, saying, “I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He didn’t give me the rest and the peace I expected.” And instantly God puts His finger on the reason-you are not seeking the Lord at all; you are seeking something for yourself. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you . . .” (Matthew 7:7). Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether. “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him. Are you seeking great things for yourself? Have you said, “Oh, Lord, completely fill me with your Holy Spirit”? If God does not, it is because you are not totally surrendered to Him; there is something you still refuse to do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for you— “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22).

Wordless Weekly-Miranda (w/linky)

My baby girl, December 2000

My baby girl, April 2011

Revelation by Third Day

My Beautiful Little Easter Gift

We were so blessed to have Josh, Loralyn and Adelaide come to church today! It was wonderful to be able to hold my beautiful little grand-daughter during service. As you can see she was a little angel.

Nails in Your Hands by Mercy Me

What He went through for us. . . . Thank you just doesn't seem enough does it?

Your Love Oh Lord by Third Day

Readiness

God called to him . . . . And he said, ’Here I am’ —Exodus 3:4
When God speaks, many of us are like people in a fog, and we give no answer. Moses’ reply to God revealed that he knew where he was and that he was ready. Readiness means having a right relationship to God and having the knowledge of where we are. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. Yet the man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who receives the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea that some great opportunity or something sensational will be coming our way, and when it does come we are quick to cry out, “Here I am.” Whenever we sense that Jesus Christ is rising up to take authority over some great task, we are there, but we are not ready for some obscure duty. Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing— it makes no difference. It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God’s plans may be, we are there and ready. Whenever any duty presents itself, we hear God’s voice as our Lord heard His Father’s voice, and we are ready for it with the total readiness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us just as His Father did with Him. He can put us wherever He wants, in pleasant duties or in menial ones, because our union with Him is the same as His union with the Father. “. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .” (John 17:22). Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready— he is ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the person who is ready, and it is on fire with the presence of God Himself.

Wordless Wednesdays-Adelaide

All or Nothing?

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment . . . and plunged into the sea —John 21:7
Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage. Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally. If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.

Empty Tombs

I found the recipe for these cute little deserts on one of my favorite food blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything.
This is a great way for little ones to start learning about the real meaning of Easter and what Jesus did for us.
The ingredients and steps stand for the preparation of the body of Jesus, laying him in the tomb, sealing the tomb, and then how he had already risen when the stone was rolled away.
marshmallows - body of Jesus
melted butter - oils of embalming
cinnamon - spices to anoint His body
dough - cloths to wrap His body
oven – the tomb
cavity in bun – the empty cloths

Ingredients
1 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
8 large marshmallows
1/4 cup butter, melted

Separate rolls into eight triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip each marshmallow into butter, roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on a triangle. Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. *Make sure to seal well or all the marshmallow will escape.  Dip tops of dough into remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Place with sugar side up in greased muffin cups. It helps to use jumbo muffin tins so that the juice doesn't overflow. Bake at 375 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes. Eat warm.

By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North

God’s Silence— Then What?

When He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was —John 11:6
Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes. The actual evidence of the answer in time is simply a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you may have said, “I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead” (see Matthew 7:9). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the “bread of life” (John 6:35).
A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence.

Strawberry-Orange Shortcake Tart

Another delicious recipe from Southern Living.com .
Of course I would probably drizzle melted dark chocolate over the top....
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plain yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1 (16-oz.) container fresh strawberries, cut in half
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Garnishes: fresh mint sprigs, sweetened whipped cream

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°. Place first 6 ingredients (in order of ingredient list) in a food processor. Process 20 seconds or until mixture resembles coarse sand. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Whisk together egg and buttermilk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened and a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 3 to 4 times. Press dough on bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 9-inch tart pan.
3. Bake at 425° for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden and firm to touch.
4. Microwave 1 Tbsp. marmalade at HIGH 10 seconds; brush over crust. Cool 45 minutes.
5. Stir together strawberries and 1/2 cup marmalade.
6. Beat heavy cream with 2 Tbsp. sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Spoon onto cornmeal crust; top with strawberry mixture. Garnish, if desired

Everlasting God by Chris Tomlin

I know I posted this in June of last year. It just spoke to my heart so much this morning that I had to repeat. I hope it touches your hearts, too

Have You Seen Jesus?

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them . . . —Mark 16:12

Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God’s grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.
You should always recognize the difference between what you see Jesus to be and what He has done for you. If you see only what He has done for you, your God is not big enough. But if you have had a vision, seeing Jesus as He really is, experiences can come and go, yet you will endure “as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). The man who was blind from birth did not know who Jesus was until Christ appeared and revealed Himself to him (see John 9). Jesus appears to those for whom He has done something, but we cannot order or predict when He will come. He may appear suddenly, at any turn. Then you can exclaim, “Now I see Him!” (see John 9:25).
Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes. And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not. You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it. Have you seen Jesus? If so, you will want others to see Him too. “And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either” (Mark 16:13). When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don’t believe.
O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
O could I only say what I have seen!
How should I tell or how can you receive it,
How, till He bringeth you where I have been?

Free Praise & Worship Mp3 Download!!

Ok I ran across this on twitter and had to share. Integrity Music & Lincoln Brewster is giving away a free mp3 download of his song "More than Amazing"!! Just click on their name, register on their site (just name/email) then you can log in and download, FOR FREE! There are currently two songs available for download, "More than Amazing" and "Forever Forgiven". I've got both of them below for you to enjoy. If you like them you can download them for yourself. Enjoy!

More the Amazing by Lincoln Brewster/Mia Fieldes


Forever Forgiven by Glenn Packiam/Carl Cartee/Mark Harris

Why We Lack Understanding

He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead —Mark 9:9

As the disciples were commanded, you should also say nothing until the Son of Man has risen in you— until the life of the risen Christ so dominates you that you truly understand what He taught while here on earth. When you grow and develop the right condition inwardly, the words Jesus spoke become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before. In fact, you were not able to understand them before because you had not yet developed the proper spiritual condition to deal with them.
Our Lord doesn’t hide these things from us, but we are not prepared to receive them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life. Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). We must have a oneness with His risen life before we are prepared to bear any particular truth from Him. Do we really know anything about the indwelling of the risen life of Jesus? The evidence that we do is that His Word is becoming understandable to us. God cannot reveal anything to us if we don’t have His Spirit. And our own unyielding and headstrong opinions will effectively prevent God from revealing anything to us. But our insensible thinking will end immediately once His resurrection life has its way with us.
“. . . tell no one . . . .” But so many people do tell what they saw on the Mount of Transfiguration— their mountaintop experience. They have seen a vision and they testify to it, but there is no connection between what they say and how they live. Their lives don’t add up because the Son of Man has not yet risen in them. How long will it be before His resurrection life is formed and evident in you and in me?

Chocolate-Strawberry Basket Cake

Oh my goodness! I found this recipe on Southern Living's site and couldn't wait until next week to share it. It's so pretty,  and chocolate & strawberries? Yum!

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Florist wire
Assorted fresh flowers and foliage
Florist tape
Florist water picks
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Garnish: Marzipan Bees

Preparation
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Set mixture aside.
Stir together instant coffee granules and 1 cup boiling water until granules dissolve.
Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Gradually add coffee mixture and vanilla, beating at low speed just until blended. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 8-inch square cakepans.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool on wire racks.
Spread a thin layer of Chocolate Buttercream Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake, reserving remaining frosting.
Fit a decorating bag with basket-weave tip, and fill with some of remaining frosting. Pipe basket-weave pattern around sides, refilling bag as needed. Change to star tip, and pipe ruffle around top and bottom of cake.
Form handle from florist wire; attach foliage and flowers with florist tape.
Insert 2 water picks into top of cake near 2 opposite edges, and insert wire ends of handle into water picks. Mound Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries onto top of cake.
Garnish with Marzipan Bees, if desired.
NOTE: For foliage, we used strawberry plants. Roses, pansies, and violas may also be used.

Chicken Asparagus Crepes

I found this yummy looking recipe while poking around Paula Deen's recipe gallery. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 tablespoon butter
1   can cream of mushroom soup
1/2   small onion, chopped
1/8 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
8   asparagus spears, steamed until crisp-tender
Savory Crepes, recipe follows
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
Savory Crepes:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add cream of mushroom soup and onion and cook for 2 minutes, Stir in sherry, fontina cheese and chicken. Cook until cheese is melted.
Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center 1/3 of each crepe. Place 2 asparagus spears over chicken mixture. Fold edges of crepe over filling, and place, seam side up, in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup Swiss cheese over crepes. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crepes are hot.
Savory Crepes:
In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, egg yolk, and butter. Gradually add flour mixture to milk mixture, whisking until smooth.
Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon 2 1/2 tablespoons of batter into skillet; cook for 30 to 45 seconds. Loosen crepe with a spatula, and carefully turn over. Cook for 30 to 45 seconds; transfer to plate. Repeat procedure with remaining batter, stacking crepes on a plate.

The Way to Permanent Faith

Indeed the hour is coming . . . that you will be scattered . . . —John 16:32

Jesus was not rebuking the disciples in this passage. Their faith was real, but it was disordered and unfocused, and was not at work in the important realities of life. The disciples were scattered to their own concerns and they had interests apart from Jesus Christ. After we have the perfect relationship with God, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, our faith must be exercised in the realities of everyday life. We will be scattered, not into service but into the emptiness of our lives where we will see ruin and barrenness, to know what internal death to God’s blessings means. Are we prepared for this? It is certainly not of our own choosing, but God engineers our circumstances to take us there. Until we have been through that experience, our faith is sustained only by feelings and by blessings. But once we get there, no matter where God may place us or what inner emptiness we experience, we can praise God that all is well. That is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of life.
“. . . you . . . will leave Me alone.” Have we been scattered and have we left Jesus alone by not seeing His providential care for us? Do we not see God at work in our circumstances? Dark times are allowed and come to us through the sovereignty of God. Are we prepared to let God do what He wants with us? Are we prepared to be separated from the outward, evident blessings of God? Until Jesus Christ is truly our Lord, we each have goals of our own which we serve. Our faith is real, but it is not yet permanent. And God is never in a hurry. If we are willing to wait, we will see God pointing out that we have been interested only in His blessings, instead of in God Himself. The sense of God’s blessings is fundamental
“. . . be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Unyielding spiritual fortitude is what we need.

Here I Am by Downhere