Spilled Flour

Dear sisters in Christ,

Greetings! My heart was filled with alot of happiness a couple of weeks ago- the kind of happiness I find when I'm with family and enjoying a good laugh. But, also in my heart I had a sense of peace as I was able to rest in the love of my Lord. He is so good.

I was really blessed a couple of weeks ago by a bread machine and spilt flour. :o) Due to a shortage of bread one day I thought I would make some up. I looked over our cookbooks for just the right type of bread- something easy and fun. I jumped into my project excitedly and put the yeast into some warm water. At that time I realized that I had no butter! I quickly asked Dad if there was a subsitute for butter, of which he answered no. My frustration level jumped up a little bit- supper was on it's way and my yeast was sitting in water. I thought for a minute of my troubles, but was quickly blessed by the assurance that God could watch over my bread and that I simply had to go get butter...there was no way to avoid it. So off I went.

When I returned home things went along quickly, although I must say something did happen that blessed me. Daddy had been having a headache all day; he even said it may have been one of his worst. Because of this, he told me that he would not want to eat dinner right away and that of course they wanted bread (garlic sticks) so he didn't mind waiting. This was such a blessing because I didn't have to rush around. So I merrily continued on in my bread making recipie. In order to get 7 loaves my recipie called for 5 lbs. of flour. That equals one whole bag of flour. (I really had/have never made bread before, but thought it would be easy and was imagining all the use 7 loaves would give me). So as our bread machine labors away I generously add flour. And add, and add, until it spewed up and over the machine, onto the flour, on me, and on the counter. It was quite comical. But at that moment I wanted to cry. Maybe it was me being emotional, but I just felt like nothing was going right. However, Lord was gracious to me by helping me see the funniness of the situation. How often do I get covered in flour and am allowed the great sight of seeing flour fly out of a machine and into a mist of white? Hardly ever. :)

Unfortunatly, none of my bread turned out; we think I didn't let it rise long enough. For my quick and easy bread recipie I got about 4 loaves of very hard practically unusable bread. I write all of this simply to encourage my sisters in Christ to rest in God's unfailing grace. God was so good in giving me the grace to step away from the sin of throwing a fit and ruining my family's night. He let me see the funniness of it all and gave me grace to let go of my disapointments. Let us all rest in His control of the situation!! He is so good!!

P.S. If any one would like to leave a bread recipie for me I'll gladly take it!

With love,

Frannie

Flour bag picture taken from:

http://memorylaneminis.com/shop/index.php?manufacturers_id=21

Authentic Virtue post #3- The Trials of Life and the King Who Helped Me Overcome Them.

Dear sisters in Christ,
Greetings from a sister full of joy! I want to encourage you all who are going through a difficult time, a valley, in their spiritual and physical life. I have been battling many valleys lately, since the beginning of December and I haven't been victorious. But, I praise my Lord and Saviour who has seen me through!! While I'm dissapointed over my failures I see that God has worked them out for my good!

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." Roms. 8:28

Praise His name! I wanted to put three "valleys" which I have struggled with as of late and show you how the Lord has been there the whole time and the wonderful goodness He has to give!

Valley number 1: My Momma has been away. My Momma, who is part-time in the Air Guard, has been on a trip for a couple weeks. With her being gone I have been feeling very lonely...she is my best friend, my closest confidant. And with her being away I have been feeling anxious and depressed. Jesus has shown me that those feelings of anxiousness and emptiness are simply signs of Him needed to fill a hole in my life. But I was using my mom! And humans, no matter how dear to us, can never fill the hole in our lives. Only Jesus can! It's like building my life upon the sand....a foolish choice because when the rain falls I will as well. ~Matt. 7:21-29

The sweetness of valley number 1 is that God helped me realize that He is enough to make me happy, to fill my heart! Besides that, He is the father of the fatherless [motherless] ~Psalms 68:5. I believe He becomes that Father even if my earthly father or mother is only temporarly away! He is that good! He is also the friend of the friendless. God is so good and if we were to only trust Him, He will fill us with joy, peace, and happiness.

So after this trial I simply want to bless and encourage my Mommy. I miss you, but Jesus can fill my heart and I hope you had a wonderful trip. And to my family at home, thank you for being there and being my friends. May I be a faithful and good servant, daughter, and sister to you all! I'm so thankful for my wonderful family!

Valley number 2: With moving away from Alaska it has been somewhat difficult to find and make friends. In the last several weeks, this has made me struggle alot with being blue or sad. Jesus again showed me that only He can fill my heart whether I have friends or not! Once again, He is the Friend of the friendless. The biggest point the Lord graciously showed me is that His ways and timing is perfect ~Ps. 18:30. It is He who has moved us here and woe be to me to grumble or complain ~Ps. 28:5. In His timing He will bring friends. Perhaps during this time He wants me to concentrate on learning to lean on and trust in Him, or maybe He wants me to use this time to allow Him to fill my heart entirely with Him ?! I don't know! But I do know that His ways are perfect and He has only good planned for me

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."Jer. 29:11.

Valley number 3: This valley is similar to valley number 2. It is the valley of needing fellowship. We have found a Bible beliving church (praise the Lord!) and have been visiting there. But I have found it difficult to go through my days without close, truly like-minded fellowship. This has led to my being sad, upset, and anxious. But this is not what Jesus has intended for me! He has promised me peace and joy! So were is all of this joy and peace? I have been throwing it away for the sake of a pity-party and cheap thrills. Jesus wants me to be satisfied in Him and Him alone. When I realize that even large amounts of good, godly fellowship can't bring me true happiness and that only Jesus can satisfy my hearts deepest longings, I begin to find joy and happiness. The lesson Jesus showed me is that, once again, He is enough. Jesus knows my deepest need and in His timing and way He will fill it. He is a good friend and will not leave us alone and anxious; instead He will give us peace and contentment when we finally rest in Him. He is so good!

"O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" Ps. 18:9

Authentic virtue post #2- The Modesty Survey

Dear sisters in Christ,

This modesty survey was recommended to me by a couple of friends and I am so thankful for their recommendation!

The modesty survey was created by Alex and Brett Harris. Their website is called TheRebelution.com which is defined as "a teenage rebellion against low expectations." This survey has really opened my eyes to what guys really think and how precious they view modestly dressed ladies. I was so blessed. With the huge amount of temptation to dress immodestly, we may feel like modest clothing is a "ball-and-chain" and a guarrentee to "old-maidhood" (at least that's how I've felt sometimes) (and by the way, if God desires one of His children to remain unmarried it is a blessing!! Marriage is wonderful if it is in the Lord, but being single is a blessed opportunity to serve others and the Lord! It is a privilege! Imagine the blessings God pours on His single children). But, we must remember that the Lord calls for us to be modest. Let's be willing to give up the world's ideals so we can be obedient to our Father. And I promice God blesses those who obey! He has me!!

A little caution- this survey is a wonderful tool, but if you were raised dressing conservative and modest your whole life and have never dressed as the world (as I had for about 16), this survey could open your eyes to the world's styles in ways that may not be profitable. You are able to choose what sections you want to read, but I caution you to make wise decisions so as not to bring undue burdens upon your heart.

Below I'll paste the website's message about the modesty survey. I hope this blesses and encourages you all as it did me!

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Dear Friends,

TheRebelution.com has launched the results of their massive Modesty Survey! Over 1,600 Christian guys have answered questions on everything from glitter lotion and lip gloss to swimsuits and skirt slits! It's everything girls have ever wanted to ask guys about modesty, but were afraid to ask! For guys, it's really interesting to see what other Christian guys think!

Most importantly, the survey is presented as a resource to help Christian girls (and guys), not a list of legalistic rules, and it is accompanied by the Modesty Survey Petition (which tons of guys have signed) which encourage young women to focus on the heart, not the hemline, to honor their parents, etc.

The results were released on St. Valentine's Day as a gift from 1,600 Christian guys to all Christian girls -- and I can't think of a better one! Now the survey is being endorsed by people like Shaunti Feldhahn ("For Women Only") Nancy Leigh DeMoss (Revive Our Hearts), CJ Mahaney (Sovereign Grace Ministries) and Shannon Ethridge ("Every Woman's Battle")!

Go check it out: www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey

But also make sure you spread the word to all your friends. We want as many Christian girls (and guys) as possible to see this, so forward this email on!

Your (Excited) Friend,
Frannie

P.S. Guys, they are still accepting signatures for the Modesty Survey Petition, so this is an opportunity for you to still share your voice on the topic of modesty!

THE MODESTY SURVEY
www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey