Old-Fashioned BLT

You'd think this wouldn't need instructing, but it's true - the art of old-fashioned, simple food is disappearing in the wake of the foodie revolution. So here, for your enjoyment, is a simple, affordable (comparatively) comfort food.

Old-Fashioned BLT

bread
bacon
tomatoes
lettuce
mayonnaise

Fry bacon. Put in sammich with lettuce and tomato on bread that is spread with mayo. Toasting is optional.

Eat.

:)

How To Vary A Bowl Of Oats

Oats are awesome. I love them. They make me happy. There are ten bajillion things that you can do with them, but the best thing to do with oats is make porridge of them.

Yep, porridge. I made a post ages ago about mixing oatmeal with yogurt, but since I rarely buy yogurt anymore, I had to come up with other ways to vary my bowl of morning oats.

ANYHOW! Porridge. Seriously. What a cool word! According to Wikipedia, porridge is grains, particularly oats, that have been boiled in water or milk. Here's a few more suggestions to jazz up your oats:

-peanut butter-
-butter and fruit preserves-
-peanut butter and jelly-
-butter and pancake syrup of various forms-

I've been in the butter and strawberry preserves mood lately. I also prefer to cook my oats thick and then thin them with additional milk, rather than cooking them like runny soup.

Oats have some seriously major benefits. They're frugal. They're whole grains. They're naturally sweet and they are fantastically full of all sorts of neat things that God uses to clean out your blood, your liver, and even increase a nursing mother's milk supply. Oats are my friends; I'm glad to introduce you to them!

Savory Sweet Potatoes

Normally, my husband eats sweet potatoes a grand total of once a year, and that only because I get a hankering for the occasional baked one with butter. However, I got tired of being disappointed with sweetened vegetables - I've never been a fan of sugar on my savory foods. SO, today, I got brave and made up a recipe for sweet potatoes. I don't think I'll ever go back to the old way.

Savory Sweet Potatoes
(this-n-that style)

Peel and cut a couple of large sweet potatoes into dice. Put into a microwave-safe, covered casserole with a quarter-cup of water and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cajun seasoning (I use Tony Cachere's) to taste. Microwave, covered, on full power for 6 minutes.

In a deep skillet or medium saucepan, sauté a medium, thinly-sliced onion in adequate mild olive oil over medium heat until they start to be translucent and caramel around the edges. Lower heat.

Pour the potatoes into the onions and stir, coating completely. Cover and raise back to medium heat, and simmer for about fifteen minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

All done; these are great with a pork roast. Let me know what you think!

The Word

So, while attempting to take a nap today, I was thinking about how the gospel according to John refers to Christ as "The Word." I started playing around with verses in my head, interchanging "Jesus Christ" for "the Word" or "thy word," etc., and vice versa. Here are some that I came up with just at nap time:

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. ~Psalm 119:105~

[Jesus Christ] is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. ~Psalm 119:11~

[Jesus Christ] have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. ~Psalm 138:2~

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified [Jesus Christ] above all thy name.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ~John 14:6~

Jesus saith unto him, [the word of God] is the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by [the word of God].

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ~John 15:3-5~

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in [the word of God], and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in [the word of God]. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in [the word of God], and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without [the word of God] ye can do nothing. ~John 15:3-5~

I ask you, HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!

Granted, it's not a perfect model, and I'm not going to go translating the whole Bible like that, but isn't it amazing how, especially when it comes to abiding in Christ, how that simple exercise makes it so much easier to understand?

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. ~Psalm 119:18~

Examine Yourselves

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? ~ II Corinthians 13:5, KJV

Faithful Thomas: A Look at the "Doubting" Disciple

I used to say that I could most keenly relate to Simon Peter, the zealot, mostly because I'm so prone to rash decisions and sticking my foot in my mouth. However, the last day or so, I've come more to feel that I relate more closely to that poor disciple, Thomas, whose shame is cast upon him by his doubt even in the face of the most credible witnesses. Most people tend to forget that "Doubting" Thomas didn't end in doubt, however; he went away believing.

First of all, none of the other gospels even bother to mention Thomas besides listing him among the twelve apostles, excepting the gospel according to John. His name only occurs 12 times in all of scripture.

The first time we hear from Thomas is in John 11, after the death of Lazarus. The disciples "warned" Christ that he was being sought to be stoned in Judea, and when the Lord insisted that they would go down into Judea because Lazarus was dead, Thomas says to the other disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (v. 16) Poor Thomas. Doesn't sound very heartening, his view of the future. But he didn't try to convince the Lord not to go; rather, he was of the opinion to convince the others to go with him, even to die with him. So then, Thomas was present when he saw the Lord Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, even after having lain already in the grave 4 days.

The next time we hear from Thomas is in chapter 14, when Jesus is declaring to his disciples the truth of his upcoming death, and the truth that he is in fact going to prepare a place for them in his kingdom, and poor Thomas says to the Lord, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?"(v. 5) Here, even after Jesus himself says, "Whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know." (v. 4) and Thomas, in his despair, cannot bring himself to believe even the very words of Christ. Yet notice, he did not keep silent. He voiced his doubts to the Lord himself, and received his answer:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way..." (v. 6a)

The next time we see Thomas is after the resurrection of the Lord in chapter 20. Jesus had presented himself to the disciples, which were gathered together, but Thomas was not with them when Christ appeared to them. Jesus showed the disciples his wounds, and breathed on them that they might receive the Holy Ghost.

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.(v. 25)

Some people look at Thomas's statement as sheer cheeky rebellion, declaring that HE would not believe, no, not unless he had proof. I can't accept that interpretation, however. I see the statement as the other interpretation: a statement of, however dejected it may be, total honesty. After all, it's not like a cheeky man to admit to not know where he's going and ask for directions as he did in chapter 14. Rather, it seems to me the statement of a man who, although unable to convince himself, desperately desires the truth that he may be convinced. The other reason I believe it to be a statement of honest examination rather than of rebellion is in verse 26:

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be] unto you.

A man who says, "You can't convince me!" doesn't want to be convinced; a man who doesn't want to be convinced doesn't continue to hang out with people who obviously want to convince him. Rather, it seems to me that only a man who desired the truth would continue in fellowship with these men who DID believe, and in doing so, he was present for the next appearing of the Lord. And how great a mercy does the Lord show unto Thomas!

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.(v. 27-28)

Thomas, who has struggled with this wretched doubting heart, who in spite of being present for one of the most profound miracles in all scripture still doubted, is brought face to face with the only solution to his doubt. Thomas knew all along it was what he needed, but how great a mercy did our Lord show in giving it to him! He repeated back to Thomas his declaration, and offered to give Thomas the one sign he longed for -- to see the wounds, and to yet even touch the wounds. And for what reason? So that he might believe!

Now, I don't know whether Thomas took the Lord up on his offer, but this I do: That he was convinced. In that simple declaring of faith, that Jesus was in fact not only his Lord, but also his God, he showed that his meager faith had been revived. It didn't end there, either, because Thomas continued with the disciples. He was present and active in the calling of Matthias to the position from which Judas fell, and he was present on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples with fire.

So then we come to my own wretched state. Here am I, standing in the presence of the most credible witnesses, saying that my faith is so weak and small that I cannot believe. Yet even as Thomas, though I am plagued by the wretchedness of a doubting spirit and a mind which is corrupted with OCD, even so I insist on following after Him, though my heart is all the while mocking me to my shame. Oh, I love the Christ, and I follow Him; I trust Him and seek him -- it is only this doubt that provokes me to shame. May the Lord, even as he did with Thomas, so have mercy on such a one as me, that I too would not be faithless, but believing.

Continuing in John 15 -- The Purpose of Chastisement

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. -- John 15:2

From the text, we see that it is evident that God doesn't bother to chasten those who bear no fruit at all; rather, he purges the fruitful branches, so that they will bear more fruit, indeed, much fruit.

You may ask why I would relate this text to OCD or, indeed, to any affliction of the mind. We must remember that the fruit which is of the Spirit includes peace, which is something that the sufferer of mental anguish yearns for. If you want to enjoy fruit of the Spirit, you are going to have to do that which is required of you in order that you can have that fruit manifest within you. Also, I would definitely consider mental anguish to be an affliction (see definitions below), so seeing the purpose of God in the design of affliction often makes it easier to bear. Now then, moving on.

Let's look at a couple of definitions:

purge - to make free of something unwanted

chasten - 1) to correct by punishment or suffering: discipline: purify/purge; 2a) to prune (as a work or style of art) of excess, pretense, or falsity: refine; b) to cause to be more humble or restrained: subdue

afflict - [middle English, from Latin "afflictus", past participle of "affligere" to cast down] 1a) humble; b)overthrow; 2a) to distress so severely as to cause persistent suffering or anguish; b) trouble, injure

According to the passage, the purpose of chastening, affliction, or purging is that we should bear abundantly the fruit of the Spirit. It removes from us the things that are undesirable, that we would be a strong, healthy branch. Sometimes we are chastised as a direct result of rebellious sin; other times, we are allowed to be in affliction so that the heat of the refinery will bring to the surface hidden faults so that they may be drawn off. In both cases, the end is the same: that which is unwanted is removed, so that the result thereof is healthy and free of disease.

But let's not take this from only one place in scripture. The concept of chastisement as a blessing of the Lord is a common thread woven throughout God's Word.

Revelations 3:19 -- As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Proverbs 3:11-12 -- My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Hebrews 12:5-11 -- And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then ye are bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which correccted us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peacable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Psalm 119:67-68 -- Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.

Psalm 119:71 -- It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

Psalm 119:75 -- I know, O Lord, that thy judgements are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted.

Job 5:17 -- Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise no thou the chastening of the Almighty.

Jeremiah 18:1-6 -- The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behod, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.

Psalm 94:11-13 -- The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.

There are also many instances in scripture where the Lord is compared to a refiner (as one who refines gold and silver in a crucible); here are just a couple of instances:

Psalm 66:10 -- For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

Malachi 3:3 -- And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Let us therefore trust the Refiner to the methods which he chooses to draw off our impurities.

Abiding in the Vine - John 15:1-11

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full. -- John 15:1-11, KJV, emphasis mine

First of all, it's clear here that Jesus is talking about believers in the whole passage. After all, he says "every branch in me" and you can't be in Him and not in Him. So let's get that much over with and move on. We're not talking about salvation, we're talking about sanctification, and the bearing of fruit.

What sort of fruit will we be bearing? The fruit of the Spirit, which is listed over and over again throughout the New Testament, by more than one author. Although evangelism could be considered a fruit, I don't think it's the fruit that Jesus is talking about.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Jesus is the only vine wherein we can be grafted; all others are imitations and will not cause us to bear the fruit of His Spirit. Jesus is the vine through which we receive the life-giving sap of the Holy Spirit, and God the Father tends the vineyard.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Every member of Christ that doesn't bring forth fruit of the Spirit is taken away from the place of fruit-bearing. Whether that be taken out of life, taken out of the ministry, whichever, God will not be mocked of His children especially. Even the branches that bare fruit must be purged (cleansed) in order that they can bear more fruit. No one in the vine gets out of being cleansed in some way, because the purpose of the vine is to bear fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

We are cleansed, or purged, by the Words of Christ. The Spirit is going to bring to remembrance the truth in order to cleanse us.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Jesus reiterates: the only way we are going to bear fruit is by abiding in Him. Period. Abide in Him, and you will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. Don't abide in Him, and you won't.

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.

Again, Jesus warns of the consequences of not abiding in the vine. The branch withers without fellowship in Christ, and men easily gather us up and burn us with false doctrine when we do not abide in Him.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

A powerful promise from Christ -- if we abide in Him and are filled with His Words, our prayers will be answered.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

God is glorified when we bear the fruit of the Spirit.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

How do you abide in the vine? Keep His commandments. Pretty straightforward, huh? You remain in life-giving fellowship with Christ by obedience. Just as you don't remain in a close relationship with your parents or your boss if you routinely disobey their orders, you will not remain in fellowship with Christ if you persist in disobeying Him. If you want to bear the fruit of the Spirit, you are going to have to obey the commands He gives you.

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full.

Jesus told us these things, not to scare us, but to give us instruction that would keep us safe and give us joy.

Memory Problems?

One of the things that irks me the most is that I have given back ground that I had previously won victory in. A passage that has urged me to be diligent this time comes from the second epistle written by Peter:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and the temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail. -- II Peter 1:5-10

Did you catch that? It says right there in the scriptures that if we do not give all diligence to continue to add to our faith, that we will be blind and will forget that we were purged from our old sins. We will begin to doubt our position in grace if we do not diligently seek after God to add to our faith. Notice, it doesn't say that we will no longer be purged; it simply says that we will forget that we were purged. So, let us be diligent, lest we forget we were purged and stumble around in the wretched darkness of fear and doubt.

Where Does Your Faith Rest?

The biggest problem I have seen with OCD is that we can't rationalize it away. Not just that we can't rationalize it away, but that we literally are angry with ourselves for believing the OCD, but we can't make it stop.

I have been told that OCD is a "smart person's" disease, and so when I came across this passage in my studies, it hit me square between the eyes. Today, instead of taking an expository position, I'd like to let the scripture speak for itself.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many might, not many noble, are called:

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are might; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yeah, and things which are not, to bring to nought things which are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling, And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth now man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. - I Corinthians 1:18-3:2, emphasis mine

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. - I Corinthians 3:18-20

Casting Down Imaginations

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. -- 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

Myth: Christians should not suffer from mental illness.
Fact: Christians are human beings that have physical bodies which are imperfect thanks to the fall of man. Therefore, a Christian can suffer a mental disease as easily as he can catch the measles.
Myth: Because we are in physical bodies, there is nothing to be done for mental illness save treating physical symptoms, physical triggers, and maybe therapy.
Fact: Christians are not ONLY physical beings. We are also in possession of a new, spiritual nature. As a result, we war on more than one plane, and we have weapons on more than one plane. In the battlefield of the mind, we have very powerful weapons with which to defeat the enemy when he attacks us.

We are all of us sinners. Every one. We all have fallible, imperfect bodies. We are susceptible to disease and injury. This includes brain injury; your brain is part of your body! However, we are not just physical. We are also spiritual. Unfortunately, because our spiritual natures are housed in physical vessels, we are affected by physical things. We get tired. We get ill. We stub our toes. We are affected by what we eat, how cold it is outside, and whether we're fighting an infection. We have emotions that can distort our rational thinking, and thinking that can distort our emotions. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are complex critters, and you can't very well expect to heal a complex critter by completely ignoring one of its sick parts.

Mental illness is tricky, because it affects our thinking. Organic illnesses, like syphilis, create a sort of dementia resulting from the deterioration of brain tissue. One would be foolish to deny physical relationship to the loss of cognitive reason.

Then there are mental illness that have symptoms involving chemical imbalance in the brain. Now, I'm not a psychiatrist, neither have I any weight with respect to opinion on this subject. I do, however, have a theory. I believe that in some cases, the imbalance is caused by the problem, rather than the problem being caused by the imbalance. That, of course, is my opinion, and is based entirely on conjecture, so you get that one for free.

But let us consider the Christian, who is under a completely different set of natural laws than the non-Christian. Or perhaps I should say, additional set of natural laws. Because as physical critters, every human on the planet is subject to natural laws that the Lord set into motion at the dawn of creation. For instance, a human being is subject to the law of gravity, which is what draws us "downward" toward the surface of the earth, causing things dropped from high distances to go splat (based on Newtonian physics, etc). However, having been born into a new creation, being born of the spirit, we are additionally subject to spiritual laws.

Now, historically speaking, spiritual critters have been known to bend a few natural laws -- , say, walking on water, being bitten by venomous snakes without dying, and being raised from the dead, to name a few. In fact, there are two recorded humans who walked with God closely enough that they got to break the most fundamental law we know: people die. I don't mean being raised from the dead; I mean, they didn't die. They were "translated", as the King James puts it, from a corruptible body to an incorruptible body and spirit and brought into the eternal presence of the Lord without having to see death. However, natural laws are not going to be broken or bent without a whole lot of that spiritual dynamite, faith, and our Lord tells us that the sort of faith that defies natural law, such as commanding a mountain in Israel to move its rear over and leap into the ocean, only comes to us as a gift by prayer and fasting.

Let's look at one particular illness for a moment, objectively, and see how many facets of our being it touches. I'm going to go with OCD, because it's the disease I know most intimately. Physically speaking, obsessive compulsive disorder compels us to act a certain way in order to avoid the pain we experience from our obsessions. For some people, the compulsion is physical (handwashing, checking, cleaning), while in others, the compulsion is mental, verbal, or even "absent." Emotionally, we are disturbed by these thoughts (which consequently, usually fall into the worst fear category: more on this later), and want to escape from them. Mentally, we are locked into a holding pattern we cannot seem to break out of, and as a result, we feel spiritually defeated because of our inability to "snap out of it." In many circumstances, the inability to escape from the thought pattern results in the appearance of panic attacks, the experience of having our adrenal glands kick into high gear and present all the symptoms of inexpressible horror and inescapable fear.

In generalized anxiety disorder, the physical body can have a panic attack without the presence of an obsession. The body overreacts to an uncomfortable situation by producing the fight or flight response, which frightens the sufferer because of its severity, creating a worsening cyclical physical response. When I became able to separate the physical symptoms of my anxiety attacks from my mental OCD symptoms, I could experience a physical panic attack without any mental anguish; I knew that the attack was a result of my overactive adrenaline response, and that the symptoms would pass in time -- faster if I could relax.

However, when a panic attack is triggered by an OCD attack, the situation is devastating. The mind is so consumed by the inability to relieve the anxiety of the obsession that any ability to reason out the physical symptoms becomes unattainable. I have personally experienced panic attacks that lasted for hours. Bear in mind that the typical panic attack lasts less than 10 minutes, and you'll understand the depths of misery that an OCD sufferer has when they are unable to control the effects of the mind on the body.

Now, the devil is a mighty old fellow, and he happens to be an excellent statistician. He keeps up with all of our weaknesses, because the minute we become born of the spirit, we become his enemy. We are officially at war with an old expert in warfare, and he fights dirty. Christian, do you see that it is precisely the devil's delight to take our physical weaknesses and turn them against us? He's dirty old booger! If you study warfare, you know that all great generals study the enemy to find his weakness in order to use it against him; if we recognize the devil as he is pictured in First Peter, we'll know that he's always spoiling for a fight. So let us at once dismiss the idea that he has any sort of sense of decency and therefore will let our physical weaknesses alone and fight us only on a physical level.

However, there is hope for the believer today who suffers from a mental illness. The spirit that the Lord has given us is not one of fear, but of a sound mind! (2 Tim. 1:7) Additionally, the Lord has given us weapons with which to defend ourselves against spiritual attack, particularly when the battlefield is the mind. Here is where the text of 2 Corinthians comes into play.

In verse 5, the procedure has three parts:

1. Knock down
2. Tie Down
3. Repent/Correct

Allow me to take on an expository style for a moment, and you'll see what I mean.

Stop any thoughts, imaginings, ideas, false doctrines, fantasies, or fears that are opposed to the wisdom, truth, and word of God dead in their tracks. Knock'em down out of the sky. Yes, they're still there, but you have recognized that they are lies and utterly refuse to let them proceed any farther.

Tie that thought down. It's not going to keep you captive any more; no, you will bring that thought as your prisoner of war to Jesus for safe keeping. You tie the thought with ropes of scripture, ropes of truth. Find a verse for the problem. Find two verses. Find as many passages of scripture as you can that either directly attack your thought or render it useless, and then meditate on those verses. Bring those thoughts to Jesus as your war prisoners, and ask him to make renew your mind, making it obedient to His truth.

Once you have fulfilled your obedience to Christ to bring Him your disobedient, unruly, and unwelcome thoughts, be ready and willing to rectify any wrongdoing on your part in relationship to the thoughts. Is there something you need to ask forgiveness from a friend for? Someone you need to forgive, living or dead? Do it! Confess your sins to the Lord, and then do your part to correct the damage.

The key here is consistency and patience. Declare to the spiritual realm that you are no longer going to take any shenanigans on this issue, and stick with it. This is not a fight for the half-hearted. Any half-hearted attempts to thwart the enemy only serve to make his next attacks harsher and more painful. Remember that your strength in this fight doesn't come from you; it comes from the Lord Jesus, and only by submitting and surrendering your own kicking and screaming will in obedience to Him will you be able to receive the benefits of being filled by His Spirit.

The shield of faith that we will be able to hold up against the attacks and quench the darts before they touch us is a gift. We cannot work it up within ourselves. No amount of sheer grit, determination, and willpower will heal us. We can only humbly submit in obedience, and then wait on the Lord to fulfill His promise. The Lord Jesus also knows our weaknesses. After all, he was in a physical vessel once, too. Ask him to help you submit, and He will. Put yourself in the position of obedience, and then wait on his deliverance.

The prayer of my heart today comes from Psalm 119, a beautiful poem exalting the Word of God itself:

(71) It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
(75) I know, O Lord, that thy judgements are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
(153) Order my steps according to thy word: and let not iniquity have dominion over me.

If God has commanded it, you can pray with full assurance for His grace in obeying it. My afflicted brothers and sisters, pray!

Sunday Ebb and Flow

Today has been a difficult day. This morning was refreshing, which, as usual, meant that the rest of the day was very difficult.

I have been told that OCD is a smart person's disease; it is said that it takes a lot of brain power to even sustain OCD. In my case, my OCD stems from the irritating inability of human minds to conceive all the wonders of God. So the first scripture in Sunday School this morning hit me fresh:

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. -- Jeremiah 33:3, KJV

Look there it is again, things that I don't know! But the next passage for Sunday School was from Jeremiah 18. Granted, in this passage of scripture, the observation of the potter is meant to be a warning to Israel that if it refuses to go in the direction that God chooses, He can simply tear it down and rebuild it with a different leadership. However, can we not take the context in a positive manner as well? Can not the potter take our own marred pots and rebuild them as well?

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [it]. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter's hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. --Jeremiah 18:1-6

Then as I was playing the keyboard for morning worship, the words of one of our hymns caught my attention and my heart was comforted.

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

-- "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" by Louisa M. R. Stead, 1882 (Public Domain) --

Because OCD is about trust. We don't like to admit it, but it's true. We get so caught up in the cycle of obsessive thought that we forget to trust. In fact, we are so captivated by those thoughts that we can't even fathom HOW to trust. I look forward to resting in Him again, and could make the prayer of my heart for the moment, "Oh! For grace to trust Him more!"

But it didn't end. No, two of the texts from the morning sermon stood out to me, as well.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. -- Romans 12:21, KJV

Don't let the attacks overcome you! We overcome evil with good. The best part is, we don't even have to acknowledge the evil; we just continue on doing that which we know is good. The passage here is talking about forgiveness and revenge, but the precept is the same for all aspects of our life: we overcome evil by filling ourselves with good.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. -- Lamentations 3:21-26, KJV (emphasis mine)

I highlighted verse 25 because that was the actual verse that the pastor mentioned in the service this morning. However, you have to see the full passage before you get the full effect of the message. Jeremiah starts out by reminding himself of the truth about the Lord, about his hope; then we have the promise -- that the Lord is good to those who wait for him and seek him out. Then we have a statement of fact: it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

It is good.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Just one more way to stand against the attacks of the evil one: wait quietly on the salvation of the Lord. Because He IS good to those who seek him out.

OCD takes time; spiritual warfare takes energy. Rest in the comfort that your efforts are not in vain. Let me again remind you of Galatians 6:9:

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Resist the Devil

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. -- James 4:6-10 --

Every time we feel the Spirit drawing us to action and we deny it because we are afraid people will think that we are crazy, we are giving in to pride. I'm talking about when we see something in scripture that we feel applies to us as to action, but we are afraid to do it. The anointing of oil. Forgiving one another. Confessing our sins one to another. Requesting prayer. Covering the head. Removing objects that remind of us sin from our homes. If the ONLY reason that we hesitate to obey this calling is because we are afraid of what others would think, we are become slaves to our own pride, to the approval of men rather than of God.

Those of us with OCD especially know what it is like to be of two minds. We have the OCD mind, which insists that something is one way, and our rational mind, which insists that this cannot possibly be the case. We can find help here in this passage. We humble ourselves in the sight of God by ignoring our pride. We submit ourselves to God and resist the devil. It says that the devil will flee from us if we resist him. Again, we resist him by exerting the power of truth as is seen in Ephesians chapter 6.

I have found scripture meditation to be a very invaluable tool in resisting the devil in this manner. By filling our whole mind with scripture, any scripture at all, we are doing several things. We are crowding out any space in the mind wherein the devil could find a foothold; we are filling our whole mind with truth. We are resisting the devil by refusing to think about what he wants us to obsess over. We're not trying to fight him off, attack him, or even rationalize around him. We are simply resisting him by refusing to listen.

In scripture meditation, we are actively drawing near to God through his Word. We have the promise of scripture that if we draw near to God that He will draw near to us. Rest in the comfort that even if we cannot feel his presence, He will still draw near to us if we draw near to Him. The best method that I have found for my own personal use is to write the scripture down where you can see it, preferably on index cards or something similar, and read it over and over, committing it to memory. After the passage has been memorized, you will be able to not only recite it from memory, but will be able to visualize the card in your mind, scanning it with your mind's eye, highlighting each word in turn. In this way, I am able to fill my mind with both the image and words of the verse, and by saying it aloud, I am filling my ears with the sound of it. By filling all of my senses with the scripture, I am edging out any place where the devil can attack. Eventually, the attack will end. You have resisted the devil, and he has fled from you. As you practice over time refuting the devil's lies, either through direct scriptural confrontation against lies or by simply refusing to listen, he will turn his attack elsewhere.

Harvesting Peace: Putting Yourself Where Grace Can Touch You

[This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. -- Galatians 5:17-23, KJV

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. -- Galatians 6:7-9, KJV

So many times I have heard Galatians 6:9 quoted in reference to not giving in at running about doing various ministry tasks. However, as I was reading Paul's letter to the Galatians, I noticed an underlying theme that has very little to do with persevering in works and a whole lot to do with persevering in sanctification.

Here we see Paul talking about the self-evidence of our dual nature, which is to say the co-existence of both the "flesh" and the "spirit" within one being. When the scriptures talk about the flesh, they are generally referring to the "old man", or rather, that which we were before we were reborn into the spirit. As spiritual creatures in physical bodies, how often have we felt that what we want and what we need are at war with each other, such that we can't do the things we really desire to do with our hearts?

First, we recognize within ourselves the manifestation of the flesh, and all the works thereof. As hard as we try, we cannot seem to gain victory over these behaviors that our bodies are so attached to. For OCD, or any mental illness, the hold our physical bodies have on our mind is so strong that we cannot help deny the power of the flesh on our spiritual situation.

We then see the fruits of the Spirit of God that we so desperately desire to have: love, joy, peace, patience, not being easily angered, righteousness, faith, humility, and self-control. Who wouldn't want these things? Why, even unbelievers desire most of these qualities for themselves. For those with anxiety disorders, peace is high on the list of desirable things. However, we must be quick to realize that as it is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit working within us, nothing we do will be able to muster up anything resembling true peace.

How, then, are we to live? We can't simply just throw our hands up in the air and wait for God to pour out his peace on us; if that were true, surely we would have received it. Recognizing our own helplessness isn't even enough. What then, are we to do?

Just a short paragraph later, Paul compares the situation to a farmer sowing seed. Just as Jesus compared the states of our hearts when we receive the word of God to sown seed, so Paul here compares the manifestation of spirits to fruits, and the preparation thereunto as the sowing of seed. He tells us plainly that we shouldn't be sowing dandelions and expect to harvest tomatoes from it. Whatever we put into our hearts is what we are going to grow there.

We have no power whatsoever to produce fruit -- faith, for example, is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), just as we have no power to make a tomato seed sprout and grow into a healthy plant that also bears a useful fruit. However, we do have control over the environment into which the seed is sown, and for that matter, we have at least some measure of control over what types of seed we plant. Yes, it is true, we often have things growing in us that were planted there by other people; those have to be weeded out, which is a discussion for another time. However, for the most part, we pick and choose for ourselves what to plant and nurture in our lives.

If the word of God is planted in our hearts, but we do not choose to water it, it will not grow. If we feed our souls on muck and filth, the Spirit will not thrive within us. We simply cannot reap anything wholesome whatever from a garden that has been poisoned! The fruit is useless at best, poisonous at worst, and is altogether unfit.

However, by again and again denying the flesh to have any access to our hearts, and particularly by feeding the tender growth with the Word of God, we can indeed expect to harvest the fruits of the Spirit. It is a promise! That means that the love of God, which is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit filling us, can be ours. The joy of the Lord, the peace that passes all understanding, patience with irritating people -- all those things can be ours. The catch is, we must discipline ourselves to feed the Spirit and deny our flesh.

These past few days have been very trying for me. I struggle with consistency in any discipline, having neither example nor practice in it. Resisting the temptation to do evil, that is one thing; however, insisting that I do things which I know are good is much more difficult to maintain. I have been feeling a bit of hopelessness toward my OCD and my panic, in that I have been despairing of ever being free. But I felt as though the Word of God had a fresh draught of hope for me today: Don't give up! When the time is right, when the season is over, you WILL reap the fruit of the Spirit, if you don't give up on the work in the garden.

So, those of you fighting in your own spiritual battles, don't lose hope. Even though the days ahead look long and dreadful, and it seems as though the promises of God will never be fulfilled in you, keep on walking ahead in the faith that He IS faithful to reward those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6), and continue to starve the flesh into submission by feeding the Spirit.

The only way we are going to get the peace that is promised us is by first acknowledging that it is a gift that only the Lord can give, and then positioning ourselves in obedience in a position where we are able to receive that gift. We are never justified by obedience, but obedience places us in a posture underneath the outpouring of God's tender mercies and grace.

... and Having Done All, to Stand

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

--Ephesians 6:10-18, KJV

The Apostle Paul knew a thing or two about spiritual warfare. He himself wrestled with a "thorn in the flesh" that he continually asked the Lord to remove.

A thorn. In his flesh.

People have argued for ages about what his thorn might have been. I present to you that the Lord inspired Paul to refrain from labeling his thorn, that all men might find encouragement in his dealing with a weakness in his flesh. He had a lot of experience fighting against the powers of darkness, and in his letter to the church at Ephesus, he illustrates the armor with which we are to clothe ourselves in order to be adequately protected against the attacks of the Devil.

In a commentary on Ephesians by the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, he brought out something vital about the armor of ancient Rome. The girdle, or the belt, is the one piece of armor that holds the other pieces in place. Without the belt, the armor shifts, and your pants fall down! The girdle is a vital piece of armor, even though it is small and not often thought of.

So, the belt that holds the rest of the armor in place is... truth. Truth. The Word of God. The first piece of armor mentioned, the piece that holds all other pieces together is the truth. We are to use the truth to tie all other pieces of armor on, and hold them in place. It is the anchor.

The breastplate of righteousness protects our heart and other vital organs. Psalm 119:11 tells us, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." The only way to walk according to God's commandments is to know them -- by studying the scriptures and committing them to heart. So we see that, in fact, the breastplate of righteousness is, in fact, upheld by the girdle of Truth.

We should have our feet bound in the hetoimasia which comes from the gospel of peace. This Greek word is found only once in the whole of the Bible, and it is describing a state of readiness or preparedness. Our feet should be ready to run, ready to stand, readied to all purposes by being in the gospel of peace. Again, we see that another vital piece of armor, the one that keeps our feet firm from slipping and prepares us to run if necessary, is upheld by the Truth.

Above all, Paul tells us, make sure you have the shield of faith, so that you are able to not deflect the fiery darts of the wicked, but to actually put out the fire! From where does our faith come? Is it something we can work up within ourselves? No, Ephesians 2:8 tells us that our faith is a gift of God, and verse 9 of the same chapter clearly states that we cannot work it up; otherwise, we might have something to brag about. How then, can we take up the shield of faith, if we cannot manufacture faith within ourselves? By saturating ourselves in truth, in hearing the word of God. "So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

Not just any word, mind you. The very rhēma of God, the words which He literally speaks. In fact, if you look at those verses in Romans just before verse 17, you'll notice that Paul tells those who are in Rome that it's all very well and good to say that people need to be believe, but how can they believe unless they have a preacher? I believe the Word of God is telling us here that the shield of faith is most readily taken up by the hearing of the preaching of the Word of God. Not just reading the Bible for yourself, but surrounding yourself in sound preaching. Saturating our mind by filling our ears with the preaching of the Word of God. So here we see that the piece of armor upon which Paul places the most emphasis, the one whereby we are able to quench the fires of the darts that are thrown at us, is again rooted in the Truth.

The helmet of salvation, which protects our head, is put on only by the faith which comes from the hearing of the Word of God. The sword of the Spirit, our only weapon, is... the Word of God.

Are you seeing a trend here?

When the enemy comes flying at you, with all the powers of darkness, what have you to protect you? The truth. What keeps our feet from slipping into a spiritual pit of captivity? The truth. What protects our heart, which scripture tells us is, above all things, a liar and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9)? The truth. How do we quench those fiery darts? With the truth. Finally, with what weapon can we defend ourselves from attack? The Word of God. The Truth.

Victory in spiritual battles can only be won with the truth of the Word of God. We cannot hope to stand against the devil's attacks if we are, as Dr. J. Vernon McGee so eloquently puts it, as ignorant of the Bible as a goat grazing grass on a hillside.

The Bible is the Christian's only hope in this war. That includes the Christian with a mental illness. Especially OCD. OCD attacks our truth. You can't rationalize the fears of OCD. You can't figure them out. We KNOW our fears are irrational; that's one of the reasons they bother us so much. Yes, sometimes medications are very necessary in controlling the physical symptoms of OCD and other illnesses; sometimes you must drown out the enemy's screams before you can hear the still small rhēma of God speaking to your heart. But I present to you that the medication is only one step in the process of gaining victory; you must attack the underlying issues as well, and this can only be fully accomplished by the faithful application of scripture.

At this stage in my battle against OCD, I have to flood myself with truth. My mind has become so clouded with lies and murky thinking that I am unable to see the up from the down. I have to actively surround myself with God's Word in as many forms as are available to the believer today. Technology may have provided the devil with access to the home, but it gave the Lord access as well.

So, what am I doing right now to gain back the spoils which the enemy has stolen from me? I am seeking wise counsel that is also rooted in Biblical teaching. I choose to read scripture, bible studies, commentaries or plain good teaching from trustworthy authors instead of the fiction which I so regularly enjoy. I am avoiding most movies for the same reason. It's not that I believe they are wrong; no, right now, I am most concerned with filling my mind with truth. A healthy person can enjoy many different types of food, but a person recovering from an illness or severe wound must choose foods that will nourish the body most effectively in order to heal.

I'd like to end on this thought. You'll notice that the passage in Ephesians doesn't tell us that we will be able to use our armor to make attacks on the enemy. It tells us that we will be able to stand. In fact, Paul says to stand, withstand, or simply be strong five times in that short passage. When we are being attacked by the enemy, it is NOT our job to attack him. It is our job to defend ourselves. Which image is more victorious? The image of a man fighting against a foe, or the image of a man who, upon being attacked, stands and remains unmoved. The enemy has not budged him an inch. He is still standing just as firm as he was before the attack. Oh, he has definitely wounded the enemy -- he has a potent weapon in that sword. But the goal is to stand. Which is why the children's song is so aptly fitting for today:

"The B-I-B-L-E
Yes! That's the book for me!
I stand alone on the Word of God
The B-I-B-L-E!"

It's not that the child of God stands lonely; it's that the Bible alone is the only place upon which we can firmly stand.

Prayer Request

I have a prayer request to put before you.

A few years ago the Lord led me to a great bible study by Beth Moore (Breaking Free) which helped me tremendously in dealing with the spiritual aspects of my OCD and panic attacks, allowing me to separate the spiritual attack from the physical symptoms. I did very well for a few years, but I have had about a year or so now of spiritual dryness that seems to have sapped all of my reserves. Then, just a few weeks ago, under the direction of my nurse at my obstetrics office, I began taking a medication called Zoloft for severe chronic depression symptoms. I was apprehensive about taking the medication, but she assured me that Zoloft was safe to take during pregnancy. I was only on the medication for 4 days, because the Zoloft caused a severe serotonin imbalance, triggering the worst episodes of terror and panic I've had in years, on top of so much nausea that I lost more weight than I've gained this pregnancy, and severe headaches and disorientation. I stopped taking the medicine as soon as I realized the correlation, and within a few days, the physical symptoms had been relieved.

Unfortunately, since then, every day has been like an uphill spiritual battle, fighting off the panic and the obsessive thoughts. Additionally, because of this period of dryness, I feel as though my prayers are bouncing off of the ceiling, and "feel" no comfort from the Holy Spirit. My days are spent trying to "do what my hand finds to do" and "set my mind on things which are good, pure, etc" in an effort to stave off this suffocating flood of spiritual attack. While on the medicine, I felt as though I was drowning; now I feel as though my head is just barely above the water, and I struggle to perform even the most simple daily tasks. The Lord has brought many scriptures to my remembrance in the darkest times, but ... I just want to be able to live again, not to struggle to survive from moment to moment.

Please, if you would, intercede together on my behalf, asking for the Lord to fulfill His promise not to leave us comfortless, and that He would provide avenues by which my soul can feed -- I know that the preceding period of spiritual dryness contributed greatly to the severity of this attack.

I will not allow the devil to use my embarrassment over this issue to keep me silent; I am choosing to ask for help, to ask for those who are in Christ to come together with me and cry out before the throne of grace on my behalf -- for my deliverance. Please pray for me.

Cake!

I just finished decorating Melody's birthday cake for tomorrow. I admit -- I cheated and bought an iced layer cake from the grocery store. However, I doctored it with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and I really love the results.



You can do it too! Just take scissors and trim the stems down to 2-3 inches, and push the flowers into the cake from the center out. I added the feathery parts last, pushing them in here and there as I saw fit. I also tried to choose a cake with colors that fit the bouquet I had picked out, but if you're making the cake yourself, the possibilities are endless. I would like this with a lavender or green base and basket-weave on the outside, if I was doing it myself. Pretty pretty! Kinda expensive, though -- definitely not as cheap as baking and decorating from scratch, or even from a mix and canned frosting. Definitely answers in the pretty and the time-saving department, though.

Pregnancy + bedrest != able to do scratch cakes :P

Today's Lunch

Today's lunch has no title, because it was one of those fantastic at-the-stove improvisations.

Swirled light olive oil around a warm skillet and snipped fresh oregano in. Let that get all nice and fragrant while I cut some beef stew meat into quite small pieces (think smaller than dice). Lightly sauteed the beef on a medium-low heat. When it was mostly brown, I added about half a cup of water to make broth. I seasoned this with salt, a bit of Tony Chachere's (creole seasoning), a splash of red wine, a splash of soy sauce, and about an eight teaspoon each of ginger paste and wasabe. I thickened the broth with a bit of cornstarch.

When it was nice and bubbly, I stirred in some fresh steamed white rice and served this to my children for lunch.

MMM!

Amazing Chicken Noodle Soup

The family is yucky with allergies so I decided to make up a batch of chicken noodle soup. However, my broth usually feels "empty" when I don't roast the chicken first, so in my experimenting I found a perfectly acceptable flavor helper. Cooking sherry. How exciting!

For your enjoyment:

Amazing Chicken Noodle Soup

Skin a whole chicken and remove as much visible fat as you can be bothered with. I've been using organic chickens as of late. Put this into a cold soup pot and cover with water. Lid this and put it on the stove to boil. Skim the scummy yuck off the top and lower the heat to medium low. Leave this for a few hours to get fall apart goodness going on.

Remove, with difficulty, the chicken from the pot. Strain the broth so there aren't any of those teeny renegade bones in it and return it to the pot. I cheat and use two pots for this. Put all the chicken mass onto a plate and allow it to cool.

While the chicken is cooling, continue to heat the broth over a low heat. Season this with salt, fresh cracked pepper, and crumbled sage from last year's garden. Okay okay, you can probably use the store stuff. But mine's better :D Use lots. :P When the chicken is cool enough to handle, sit at the stove and put chunks of chicken straight from the bone into the broth. Avoid cartilage, fat, bone, and any non-muscle tissue. Ew. Anyways.

After you've used most of your chicken (I say most because my children hover whenever I piece out chicken. "Mommy? Chicken? Please?"), pour in about a cup of sherry and a cup or two of penne pasta. Bring to a light simmer and then lower the heat to lowish. Don't bother to cover it -- it's alright for this to condense.

I use penne because it's the fattest and holds up well to long cooking times without getting all... gooey. Also, penne was what was in the pantry :D

You could probably do the cooking the chicken part in the crock pot and then make the soup in the evening. The house sure smells good today.

Next to the chicken soup on the stove is my first batch of homemade chocolate syrup. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Cheesy Grits

Mmmmmm!

Heat in a skillet over medium low heat:

a tablespoon or two of bacon grease (or substitute pure butter)

When this is melted, stir in enough uncooked grits to soak up the grease. Toast this for a few minutes, then add water, a little at a time. Start out with half a cup of water and then as the grits simmer and thicken, thin them a bit at a time. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

When the grits are thick and soft and slightly creamy, turn off the heat and stir in a bit of cheddar cheese. The latent heat in the pan will be plenty to melt the cheese adequately.

Serve warm.


MMMMMMM

Chicken Shitake in Lemon Wine Sauce

This isn't -quite- chicken tetrazzini, since it contains neither almonds nor cheese, but it IS a fantastic chicken pasta dish.

Chicken Shitake in Lemon Wine Sauce

leftover roast chicken or other chopped, cooked chicken pieces
fresh shitake or other mushrooms, sliced thinly
one-half of a small lemon, sliced (including rind)
sherry or other light-colored cooking wine
milk or cream
salt
freshly ground pepper
basil, preferably fresh
chicken stock or water
cornstarch

Okay, first things first -- the reason there aren't any measurements for this recipe is because I didn't measure when I made it. It was one of those "this'n'that" sort of things that I decided to write down. So you'll have to be brave and follow your tastes on this.

Into a nice big cast iron skillet, I pieced out the roast chicken from the night before, allowing it to heat slowly. I poured a bit of whole milk in over the chicken to keep it from drying out, and to start absorbing some of the yummy chicken-ness. By a bit, I'm talking less than half a cup here. Just a bit. Anyhow, I poured over that approximately an equal amount of sherry, stirring until everything was just combined.

I then sliced the mushrooms, plopping them indiscriminately into the "broth" that was forming as I sliced. Stirring to make sure everything was well coated, I sliced into this about half of a small lemon and stirred again.

Not having any chicken stock on hand, I added water mixed with cornstarch to the sauce -- I would have preferred stock, as the water left it a little flat. I seasoned this with kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and a liberal sprinkling of dried basil. I must admit, though, not having stock to bulk the sauce out with left it flat enough that I added a couple tablespoons of pure butter to flesh out the taste.

Total elapsed cooking time was between twenty and thirty minutes. Once the sauce was thickened from the cornstarch, I lowered the temperature to low and kept the concoction heated while setting the table, etc. We served this over boiled linguine pasta alongside a fresh green salad. We agreed that this is definitely a repeat dish, but next time I'll make a good strong stock from the carcass first or add a tiny amount of chicken bouillon, and it wanted a bit more of the fresh pepper to accent the lemony-wine goodness.

Excellent way to use up "leftover" chicken, which I don't count as leftover since this hardly counts as using up leftovers -- rather that it was a much yummier way of cooking the chicken pieces rather than sauteeing them in the pan.

Cheater!! Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Lunchtime emergency? This feeds a hungry mommy (with seconds!) and two young'uns with leftovers enough for a supper side dish.

Boil up a few dry cups of your choice pasta - I used rotini, but shells would be good, too. Drain and return to the pan on the burner, heat off. Stir in a can of cream of chicken soup and thin this with a few tablespoons of milk. Stir into this a small, drained can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. Stir in several thin slices of real cheddar cheese until all is smooth and creamy; feel free to be liberal with the cheese.

I served this with canned peaches and mango-pineapple juice.

Seared Sirloin Steaks, Zucchini, and Rotini Pasta

So, here's dinner from tonight:

Seared Sirloin Steaks, Zucchini, and Rotini Pasta

I poured into a plate some pure olive oil, and squeezed into it one half of a ginormous lemon (you could use a whole small one); then I seasoned it with salt and fresh cracked pepper, and whisked it up smooth with a fork. I coated the steaks with this mixture Clara style (see previous post on Depression Era Cooking) and threw them in the hot pan to sear.

From A New Old-Fashioned Mommy

From A New Old-Fashioned Mommy

I cooked these on both sides until they were nice and browned on the outside, and medium rare on the inside. Meanwhile, I'm boiling pasta,

From A New Old-Fashioned Mommy

and broiling zucchini spears that I have seasoned with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning.

From A New Old-Fashioned Mommy

When the meat was done, I transferred it to a plate and deglazed the pan with a little sherry; we used this as a drizzling sauce for the meat:

From A New Old-Fashioned Mommy

I drained the tender pasta and coated it with the remainder of the lemony goodness that I had oiled the meat with. Germophobes beware ;) It is not "recommended" to use any fluid which has come into contact with uncooked meat unless you simmer it first. I didn't.

The zucchini wasn't quite done with the rest of the meal, so I nuked it for a few minutes to quickly steam the insides.

Here is a picture of the finished meal, along with a closeup of my star, the sirloin that I got on sale for $3.31:

From A New Old-Fashioned Mommy

From A New Old-Fashioned Mommy

To drink, we had lightly sweetened lemon-berry water -- the leftover lemon that I squeezed into the oil, a double handful of frozen strawberries, 3/4 c. raw sugar and some leftover strawberry juicey syrup from the fridge mixed into a gallon of water.

Yum!

Depression Cooking with Clara

I have recently discovered a beautiful, dear elderly lady who posts cooking videos on YouTube. Clara shares her own personal recipes and her mama's recipes from the Great Depression, cooking with the old li'l of this'n'that way. She reminds me so much of mama, and of my Mamaw; she is a joy and a treasure to watch. If you are a fan of old country-style cooking, want some frugal recipes, or just want to reminisce about your own fantastic gramma, this is the place to head.

Frugal Fruity Oatmeal

Love oatmeal, but don't like paying for flavors? Want a fast breakfast that's both healthy and yummy? Try my Frugal Fruity Oatmeal:

1 c. old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 c. water
1/2 - 1 c. fruited yogurt, chilled

Stir the oatmeal and water together in an oversized microwave safe dish; your mixture should only come halfway up the sides of the container. Otherwise, you have an overflow risk. Feel free to substitute all or part of the water for milk for added nutritional value. Microwave on high for four minutes or until the grains are soft and have absorbed all of the liquid. Stir the cool yogurt into the oatmeal to your preferred consistency. If it's still too thick for your preferences, add a bit of milk or water to thin it. This should be eating temperature (the yogurt cooled it), so enjoy quickly before it cools off and solidifies ;) Isn't oatmeal great?

Vary your bowl by using vanilla yogurt instead of fruited, and spice it with cinnamon or ginger (or both!); better still, thin it with plain yogurt and top it with pure maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar. Top it with fruit or nuts. Oatmeal is incredibly versatile.

In addition to its versatility, oatmeal is incredibly good for you. It's soothing on the digestive tract; oatmeal is often used in skin preparations to soothe and heal broken, itchy, or painful skin conditions. It's a whole grain, so you get the benefit of the germ, the endosperm, and the bran. Also, oats have been shown to lower cholesterol and help cleans the blood, so add some oats to your diet.