The Miracle of the Loaves and Fish except with apples and pasta

This morning I was trying to figure out what to make for breakfast. We are out of milk so choices were a little limited. I opted to make Apple Oatmeal Muffins as we have a bag of apples that was given to us after helping out at the crop walk (note: I know it takes milk, fortunately dry milk saves practically forever). As I was cooking away, it dawned on me that in the past two week’s several of our meal had come by the grace of God. I’m sure like many of you out there; we are starting to feel a pinch in this economic time and have been downscaling and being careful. One of the few discretionary expenses is food. The question becomes how far can you stretch a dollar.

Lately, especially after my car died this week, I have been feeling very depressed about the situation. I’ll be honest. I was losing hope. This morning though as I was stirring the muffin mix I realized that I was in the middle of my own loaves and fishes story. In the past week and a half or so, God had truly provided. Whenever we have done something for others or for the church, we have been rewarded. DH helped a friend at a Spaghetti dinner. He came home with extra ziti, sauce, apple cider, bread, and parmesan cheese. DH helped with our church auction, he and the kids were fed and we received a very helpful gift which allowed he and DS to get breakfast and lunch. We all partook in the Church pot luck for which DH made Chili using some of the meat sauce that we got from the spaghetti dinner. Then as I said from the crop walk DD and I received a bag of apples which have now served us apple crisp and now apple oatmeal muffins. Thanks be to God.

Sometimes you just need a reality check. As I worry, in my warm house with tv and internet, there are so many in worse shape. I could be serving my children mud pies like in Haiti to quell their hunger.

God, Thank you for all that you provide for me and my family. I am truly grateful. I am sorry for those times that I seem like an ungrateful, selfish child. Please forgive me. Thank you for reminding me of your presence today when I needed it. Please show my family how we can best use our talents to help in your service.
Amen

Confession Time

I did not go to church today. I have not missed in quite a while and today, there really was no excuse. My stomach was bothering me, but I’m sure I could have made it through. DH and DS were camping, but DD and I could have gone. I feel guilty for the choice not to go. We used to skip all the time. We didn’t really even go to church between the time we got married and the time we had children, but now it has become a very central part of our lives. This week though, I skipped. It was a pretty selfish choice and today hasn’t seemed right since. If I could rewind, I would get my lazy but out of bed this morning and get to church on time.

How important do you think going to church is to your faith?

The Seven Deadly Sins

What is your weakness? 2nd Cup of Coffee turned me onto a quiz that is supposed to identify your fault. Apparently, wrath is my greatest weakness. I think those that know me would find this kind of funny, but I guess the results are not just action but also intent. And there I must admit, smiting those that hurt / harm myself or my family seems to be a reasonable response. Anyway, I have posted my results below. Why don’t you take the quiz and let us know your results. Do you think it is an accurate assessment of your character?

Greed:	Very Low
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Very Low
Pride:	Medium

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com


I did a little extra research about the 7 deadly sins and found that there is no direct scriptural reference. The ideals are repeated throughout the Bible, but there is no specific place that says “And though shall avoid the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust.” These 7 are not the original list, but have been refined and ordered throughout the ages. Coming to the form that we currently know when they adapted by Pope Gregory. It is actually many Medieval stories that engrained the idea into our minds.

A very interesting article on the Seven deadly sins can be found at http://sjmc.cla.umn.edu/stupro/virgil2001/sevendead.pdf

I think that I will need to pick up the Canterbury Tales again.

Great Expectations

Luke 12: 47 -48 "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (NIV)

What does this scripture say to us? It calls us to action. I assume as you are reading faith filled blogs and I am writing them, we both fall more into the first group than the last. We are working to better understand the Master’s will and therefore there are great expectations on our shoulders.

This scripture is like the Biblical equivalent of “ignorance is bliss”. While those that are ignorant are not completely cleared. They will not be treated as harshly as those who know the right path but choose to ignore it. This is why confession has its limits. God appreciates that we are sorry for our actions and that we want forgiveness, but like any parent, there is a point where sorry isn’t good enough. I find myself saying this to my children frequently when they continue to harass each other. God must want to say the same to us as well. And while in the long run we both will forgive our children, we are frustrated by their repeated errors. We certainly know that they will err, but to err in the same way over and over leads to the question about the genuineness of the remorse.

What do you think God is demanding of you? As you have been graced by forgiveness, what have you promised to never do again? Have you been able to hold up this promise? How do you plan to hold it up in the future?