InstantPot Lasagna Soup

Last night we tried a new recipe and am so glad that we did! The recipe made a pot full and we have plenty leftover for lunches in the next several days. Its simple enough for a weeknight dinner but I think would be great to serve guests! All of the flavors of traditional lasagna in a simple one pot soup recipe!

I used Italian sausage but next time I will use ground beef because that’s what I normally use in my lasagna.

The cheese mixture on the bottom was my favorite part! So creamy and delicious.

[recipe title=”InstantPot Lasagna soup” servings=”6-8″ time=”30 mins” difficulty=”Easy”]

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1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage

1/2 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

24 ounce jar tomato, garlic, and basil pasta sauce

14 ounce can diced tomatoes with the juice

7 cups tomato bouillon, can sub chicken

12 ounce box of radiatore or bowtie pasta

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1 bay leaf

2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp seasoned salt

8 ounces sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese

2 cups Italian cheese blend, or your favorite cheese such as mozzarella or Parmesan

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Place your sour cream and cream cheese in a small bowl, with a dash of salt, and allow them to come to room temperate so you can combine them to use with your finished soup. Set aside.

Turn your pot on saute, normal function and add a tsp of oil and once it displays HOT, swirl the pot around to coat the bottom with the oil. Add in your meat, onion, and celery. Break the meat up and saute(7-8 minutes) until most of the pink is gone. Drain the fat off of the meat, then add in the sauce, tomatoes, bouillon, uncooked pasta, and the seasoning. Do not add the sour cream mixture now!

Give the soup a good stir, check your seal, put on the lid and lock it, and put the value in the seal position. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes! While it’s cooking, give your sour cream mix a good stir and place a hefty spoonful into your serving bowls. Do a quick release once your 5 minutes is finished. Open the lid carefully and set aside. Ladle the hot soup into your bowls that have the white mix in the bottom and top with a generous portion of the Italian cheese blend. Enjoy!

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Try it out and let me know what you think!

 

New to the world of InstantPot and pressure cooking? Check out my review here!

InstantPot Review: Be brave and get one

This Mama bought herself a new toy recently after reading many posts, recipes, and pins about how incredible the InstantPot was! I have a friend who has one, and she uses it regularly and has nothing but great things to say about it!  I spotted them in the stores and looked at them several times. But I kept changing my mind last minute because it was a good chunk of change to drop on a new kitchen appliance.

I browsed Amazon and other shops looking at reviews and prices. Over and over people loved it once they actually took it out of the box and used it. Many people admitted to having one but they stay untouched because they were afraid to use them! They do cook under a very high amount of pressure and that can be scary but I have used a pressure canner before and didn’t blow up anything.  I felt confident I could do it.

You see, I am one of those moms who rarely buys things for herself, because child one needs this or child 4 would like new those. The holidays are coming up. Debt needs paying off. Savings is a good thing, Amy. Excuse after excuse would flood my mind when I’d get close to making my mind up. I already have several crockpots and those are life changing to a busy family, why change up things now?

You get the picture, so buying it was a bit of an inward struggle to say Yes to the InstantPot. Finally, the kids and I went shopping and I had made my mind up that today was the day! I was gonna buy me an InstantPot. We get to the store. Sold out. OK, not meant to be. Fast forward to the next several times I am at the store. Sold out every single time! A few more weeks go by and my oldest daughter and I go check out the kitchen appliance aisle. They have one on the shelf! I knew it was gonna be mine. We loaded that bad boy into our cart and proceeded to get our groceries and went home for the fun to begin!

My daughter and I opened the box and put the pot, lid, and accessories out on the table. I read the entire user manual to familiarize myself and read many more posts on getting started. You can check out and follow my Pinterest board to find them and lots of recipes! Next we did the initial “water only” test run. I was a teensy bit scared of hot water squirting all over my kitchen and me, but I was brave and hit the button and stood back! After a few minutes I heard a bubbling, boiling sound and a stream of steam came out of the top! Nothing exploded! No ill effects! It came to pressure, and the “steaming”  begun inside my pot on the lovely water I was preparing. 2 minutes. 1 minute. Beep beep beep and my water was done! We did it! I used my pot for the first time and my confidence was boosted! I think I can rock this thing.

The next obstacle I needed to face was releasing the pressure inside so I could open the lid. QR NR. What in the world? QR is a “quick release” for when your kids are super hungry and cannot wait another few minutes before they die of starvation. You know, they haven’t eaten for three whole hours!  All joking aside,  the quick release is for most all foods besides red meat or larger cuts of meat, think Thanksgiving turkey breast! NR is “natural release” and the pot will cool down naturally and the pin on the top back of the lid will fall in about 10-15 minutes depending on how full the pot is. Each recipe should state which method of release to use or use a cheat sheet.

Finally with oven-mitted hand and my face way back from the pot, I barely tapped the pressure release handle to the side and steam came streaming up with a hiss! I did stop many times because it was a little frightening at first but the more I tapped, the more steam released and I got the hang of it. With a smile and happy heart, I grabbed the handle and turned it and it beeped to unlock the lid and my water test was complete! Hallelujah!

For dinner that night, I made perfect rice that we all loved!  Rice sounds simple enough right? It is one of the foods that has a very fine line of raw or burnt to the pan. Maybe that is just me? The pot has a Rice setting but I rebelled. This setting cooks for 10 minutes but I used the manual setting for 3 minutes. I love this site, they have great recipes and tips! Rice that easily scoops and wasn’t burnt onto the bottom!

[recipe title=”Rice the Right Way” servings=”4″ time=”15-20 mins” difficulty=”Easy”]

1 cup Jasmine rice, rinsed in fine mesh strainer

1 cup water

1 tsp chicken bullion flavoring

1 tsp coconut, olive oil, butter of your choice (optional)

Place your rinsed rice, water, and flavoring (oil) into your InstantPot and give a good stir to get it all incorporated. Close the lid and twist to lock. Listen for the tune. Push the Manual button and using the -/+ buttons, change to 3 minutes and you are done! You don’t even have to push a start button.

This recipe easily doubles or triples!

 

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Since perfecting the rice, I have added frozen cubed chicken breasts or canned chicken breasts for a fast hot lunch or dinner. We have enjoyed white chicken chili a few times, turkey breasts, roast beef, pasta, and my youngest daughters favorite, macaroni and cheese using the Slow Cook setting. Easy, delicious, and fast! What more can a mom ask for? I challenge you to be brave, and get an InstantPot. You can pick up the same one I have here at Amazon.  By buying from Amazon using this link I will get a small percentage at no extra cost to you, which will help offset the cost of hosting this website.

 

Ephesians: To Know Him Better

November is upon us once again! This past year has flown by, lots of things have happened but we survived! I am going to be going back through the book of Ephesians and I invite you to join me!

Here is the intro post I did last year:  Note Worthy November

Here is part 1 of the challenge: Chapters 1-2

Here is part 2: Chapters 2-4

Here is part 3: Chapters 4-5

Here is part 4: Chapter 6

Please share with your friends to join us!

FREE PDF printable

 

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Remembering Truth: Part 1

I have been living out of the trenches of life the past few months. Ever been there? When nothing seems like its going the way you had expected? Crazy days merge into a crazy week that becomes a crazy month?? Ups and downs and kids and a husband thrown into the mix. Meal planning and school work, dentist visits, play dates, and games and practices galore. What was it I was supposed to remember? I know I have forgotten something. Seems like you can’t catch a minute to stop and breathe?? Feeling like you’ve been beaten up and left in the ditch crying? Deep inside, you know that the Lord is near and will never leave you, but the feelings can overwhelm and paralyze at times and make you feel so totally alone.

As I’ve been reflecting back over the past year or three, I am constantly reminded that God has kept true to his Word through these ups and downs of my life and my grief. He has been so very faithful to his ancient promises. He has been so close to me my entire life, from the time of conception until now. My life has been a miracle from the very beginning. It’s the remembering and re-membering that I struggle with.

In my daily reading I came across the following passage that really spoke to me. I know I’ve read this before but it was like new eyes had read it this time. The very phrases; call on his name, Remember the wonders he had done! Praise the Lord He is near to me and is ever listening to me when I praise Him, give thanks, or need anything!

Psalm 105:1-5 says:

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

Make known among the nations what he has done. …

Look to the LORD and his strength;

Seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

 

Dig in with me for a minute, verse one talks of giving thanks and calling on his name. LORD. He is our Lord and Master, plain and simple. If, we are born again Christians and have professed faith in Jesus as our Savior, then indeed He is our one and only Lord and Master. No matter what our current needs are, our circumstances, our LORD will hear when we call on his name. Throughout the bible there are literally hundreds and hundreds of names for the LORD depending on the content, have a peek for yourself.

So what’s the big deal about His name anyway? Does God have “good” names and ” bad” names? Aren’t they all really the same, Lord or God? Meaning a higher power over us? Yes, but the more we get to know the character of God and build our relationship with Him through reading the Word and prayer, things get to be so much sweeter and more personal. Doesn’t it make you light up inside when someone calls you by name, the fact they care enough to know and use your name? Imagine how God must feel when we learn to call on him by one of his many specific names?

I read a quote recently that simply read,

Bam! Does that truth hit you as hard as it hit me when I first read that? If not, let it really soak down into your heart for a second.  Names carry so much weight to them. They tell of the wonderful and sometimes frightening characteristics of a person. Some names we tend to believe and respond to easier depending on what we are going through at the time. If we are afraid and overwhelmed, knowing that we can call on Jehovah Shalom, the Lord of Peace.

No sin of ours can separate us from His love. There is nothing we could do to make Him love us more and nothing we could do to make him love us less. Never.

If we go back to Genesis 1:1 (In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.)  We will find the very first mention of God’s name. Elohim which is translated strength, power, and creator. If we are feeling weak and powerless, who better to call on for help than our very own Elohim, the creator of the world? The next book over, in Exodus 3 when God is speaking to Moses through the burning bush about freeing the Israelites from slavery, he says his name is I AM WHO I AM. Meaning he is I AM, Jehovah, or Yahweh. He is The LORD over our forefathers and this will be his name forever. He is an independent God and possesses all authority in heaven and on earth!

Have you ever heard that the LORD is a jealous God? That sounds like a controversial characteristic of him doesn’t it? But in the book of Exodus and Nahum we see that he indeed is referred to a jealous and wrathful God, El Qanna.  But it is an important part of his just character, for His glory and our GOOD!

Exodus 20:5 (NLT) says it best: You must not bow down to them(idols/gods) or worship them,

for I, the Lord your God,

am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

Nahum 1:2(NLT) says: The Lord is a jealous God,
    filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him
    and continues to rage against his enemies!

 

The LORD is due all of our praise, honor, attention, and affection. If we give that to another, He then is holy jealous for us to return to him what is due him because he is righteous and faithful to all of his promises in his Word.

Deuteronomy 4:15b says: Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourself an idol. Deut. 4:24 proclaims, For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. If, and, when we do fall and sin against the Lord, there is glorious news! Remember this, verse 29 reads, if we seek the LORD, we will find him if we look for him with all our hearts and souls. He wants us back! He wants us to call on His Name!  Verse 31 promises:

For the Lord your God is a merciful and compassionate God;

He will not fail you, nor destroy you,

nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

Merciful is defined as forgiving, tender-hearted, sympathetic, generous, and a blessing. Similarly, compassionate is defined as understanding, lenient, and kind. In other words, we can call Him God Almighty, El Shaddai! He has it all, He is self-sustaining, and provides all that we need as well, because of His great love for us! Remember to call on Him regularly!

So this post is mainly a reminder post for me to remember the goodness of Jehovah Shalom, my Elohim! Father, forgive me for my sin and my disbelief, remind me of your goodness, your loving-kindness, and your forgiveness.

I do also hope that you found a piece of wisdom that helps you out as well. In part two of this post, we will look at the names that He lovingly calls us.

 

 

 

 

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First Peter Writing Challenge

I’m back with another writing challenge to get us through the rest of the summer! I’ve been off the map so to speak these last few months, lots going on in my life. I’m trying to navigate this new normal, some days are better than others, some days I am more productive, and some days I’d rather not relive. I have much to learn still in this life and there is no other place to learn, than from the Word of my God, not the lies that the world shouts constantly!

This month we will be in the book of 1 Peter. Peter, also known as Simon Peter, was one of the first disciples Jesus called. Peter and his brother Andrew were fishing as Jesus called to them, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:18-19) They immediately left their nets and followed him. As I started to read more and find out why they were so willing to just go with Jesus, I quickly found out why over in the book of Luke chapter 5 verses 1-11.

One day Jesus was by the Sea of Galilee sharing the Word of God to the crowd around him. There was a boat of Peter’s there and Jesus got in and asked him to put out a little from shore so he could teach from the boat. After Jesus finished speaking, he said to Peter, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” But Peter answered saying that they had worked hard all night and hadn’t caught anything, but because you say so I will let down the nets. After he obeyed the Lord, they caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break! They had to call over another boat to help get all of the fish into the two now sinking boats.

Peter then fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!” He and his friends were astonished at the catch of fish! Jesus then said to Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. What faith they had! That’s the type of faith I want to have.

 

 

Click here for a Free PDF printable:

1 Peter Writing Challenge(3)

 

In the darkest hour of Christ’s life as he struggled in Gethsemane about his coming task, Peter fell asleep. At one point Jesus came upon His dozing disciples and asked, ” Why are you sleeping?…Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” ( Luke 22:46) The consequences of Peter’s prayerlessness were both immediate and tragic. In the ensuing hours, as all the forces of hell were unleashed, the disciple ironically nicknamed “the Rock” discovered that good intentions are not enough to withstand great temptation.-Stormie Omartian

Don’t become a person of prayerlessness. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

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Colossians Writing Challenge

A new month brings a new scripture writing challenge, this month we will be in the book of Colossians. I really enjoy doing whole books so I get the full context and understand it in a bigger way as opposed to skipping around reading a verse here and there. There certainly isn’t anything wrong with reading and studying that way, I just prefer doing it this way. I hope you enjoy it and are blessed as well!

This Writing Challenge is broken down into small three to four verses a day and only takes minutes to complete! I thoroughly enjoy my time in the Word as I read, write, and reflect on what the text is saying to me that day! What is says and teaches me, may be different than what you get from it. Remember that the Word of God is living and active and is speaking to each reader differently depending on your needs as you read that day!  Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

If you have never participated in a Scripture Writing Challenge then now is no better time! Ten to fifteen minutes of your time is going to be spent in the Word of God and you will be rewarded for it! For me, it is almost like an addiction but in a good way! The longer I do them, the more I miss them when I miss a day or two.

If you would like to help me out, please share this blog post, the graphics, and the Writing Challenge with your friends and family! Who doesn’t need more of the Word?? I’d also be honored if you would add your email address to the subscription box at the bottom so you know when new post and challenges are posted!

 

Click here for a FREE full size printable pdf of the challenge: Colossians Scripture Writing Challenge

Therefore, I am going to end with this verse, it has been a comfort to me in so many situations.  Most recently the passing of my best friend Tiffany.

 

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Grief and loss: Comfort from Ruth 1

This morning while doing my daily scripture writing, we were in the book of Ruth, chapter one.

The verses were 16 and 17: But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me ever so severely,  if anything but death separates you and me,”

 

Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Many times Tiffany would say, I’m sure you are tired of me and my crazy life full of trials and “you cant make this up” moments. She would apologize like she could control what would happen to her and her family. She would apologize for her illness and her deafness. She embraced them both but in moments of weakness, she wished she was a “normal” person. She was such a fascinating and unique person, that’s part of the reason I was drawn to her and loved her so much. I would always reassure her that I loved her, her uniqueness, and that I wasn’t going anywhere; over and over I would reassure her. I know it was her illness talking, the bipolar monster that ate away at her day after day after day. Never fully leaving her alone.

Even though there was a great distance in our homes because of our relocation, her in VA and I in NC, we still talked and talked on a regular basis and every time we were together we spent hours and hours sharing and re-sharing what had happened since the last time we were together.

Usually the morning after getting into town we would go have breakfast together, breakfast usually lasted 2-3 hours, oftentimes more. She would always get french toast, or raisin toast if they had it, grits and eggs. Coffee with a cup of milk and a glass of water. One morning in particular at Koffee Kup I remember teasing her because she wouldn’t drink the water without a straw. I questioned her and she said, “well the glass might be dirty or something.” I reminded her we drank the coffee without a straw and we are just fine. We had a good laugh about that!

Where you go, I will go. Tiffany loved being outdoors and didn’t mind getting really dirty. I love the outdoors too but I am a little more OCD than her and sitting in a stall of pigs is not my cup of tea but she would do it every chance she got. I would cautiously stand at the door, admire the cute pigs, and watched my step as we left. We both loved to go fishing but she was the one to bait the hook, I have a crazy fear of fish hooks and getting one stuck in me. One time at the pond, she found a huge bullfrog and even posed with it.

Your people will be my people…Tiffany’s family became my family also, sharing many times together. Her deaf church family also became my family. I was privileged to be welcomed by all of them when I attended different events with her. We surprised her with a baby shower for Karoline, held get togethers at her home with cheap cappuccinos, had a painting party where we painted peacocks, and even after her death we fellowshipped many times.

Your God my God…she always encouraged me by leading me closer and closer to Jesus. All that she did, she did with great love and grace. She made me want to be a better follower of Jesus. She spurred me on and was constantly asking me. “how can I pray for you?” She gave me a lovely peach colored journal just before she left for her last deaf ladies retreat in October 2016. The cover simply stated, “Live a great story.”  She wrote a sweet heart felt note in the front of the journal to get me started. “Who knew my friendship with you would grow so much. I am so thankful for this God ordained, awesome, so strong friend. You point me to Jesus over and over and over again.” That’s exactly how I feel about her. My so strong, Jesus loving, awesome friend. She certainly lived a great story that continues even now, after her passing.

May the Lord deal with me ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me…

Well our story ends in death. Death way too soon for this fragile and desperate heart. Tiffany took her own life and left this earth on the early morning of April 22nd, 2017. To be absent of the body, is to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. That is the promise I am clinging to. She is with Jesus in heaven now. We called each other, best friends this side of heaven. My best friend is now in heaven and I am still here missing her so very greatly. We had a running joke, “don’t beat me to Jesus,” when we were saying our goodbyes until the next time we met. Well, she beat me and I guess the competitive spirit in me is mad because she won so soon! We didn’t have to chance to grow old together. See our children graduate, get married and start families of their own. Never had to chance to take beach vacations together, or enjoy the deck with a another nice cup of coffee.

It has been five weeks since she left us. Seems like a small eternity without my girl. My phone is so quiet these days without her texts, pictures, and Facebook tags.

Life is not easy without my friend. Life hurts right now. She was my person, my go to girl! She was the best friend a girl could ask for and I tried my best to be that for her as well. Grief and loss is a strange and complicated thing. I don’t like it one bit. But I have to constantly and continuously remind myself, Tiffany is healed now. She is with her maker now. She is whole now. She fought the good fight, she finished the race. I will see her again one day! God will restore me, He will sustain me, and He will never leave me. I believe that with my whole heart because His word is true and alive!

1 Timothy 6:11-12: But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

 

 

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Easter is all about Jesus!

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6

There will be a time when we call on the Lord and it will be too late! Our time will have passed and we will be separated from God and his presence for ever and ever, for all eternity future!

Easter is this weekend and it is my favorite time of the year. Easter brings newness. New season, new life outdoors-trees budding, flowers sprouting up, animal life comes out from hibernation. Usually new clothes in bright new shades.

As a girl I didn’t know Jesus and we didn’t attend church but we did celebrate Easter with a huge meal and an egg hunt at a relative’s house. It was so much fun to get together with some of my cousins and spend almost the whole day together playing, eating, egg hunting, discovering what was inside the eggs, and getting unique prizes from my uncle. We would then re-hide the eggs for each other to find. We did this until dark because spring break was usually the week after and the time change had recently happened and we enjoyed every bit of sunlight.

I remember thinking to myself as a child, there has to be more to this “Easter” thing than Easter bunnies who filled my basket with candy and goodies, egg hunts, silly hats and gloves that I’d seen in Hills and K-Mart while we were there to get out picture taken with a guy in a rabbit suit in a large wicker chair. Even then God was pursuing my heart. Praise Him!

The great news to me and every person is, yes there is more to this Easter thing and his name is Jesus!

Biblical truths as we approach Easter

  1. Easter is about redemption, salvation, and new life. New life because of Jesus and what he did to save us. We all are in need of a Savior and now is the time to realize that before it is too late. The Lord has numbered all of our days and if we have not repented of our sins and placed our faith and trust in Him before our last day, my friend, it will be too late to call on Him.                 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”  Isaiah 55:7
  2. Jesus was born on our behalf. He lived a sinless life, and was crucified for us.  Surely he took up OUR wickedness/pains/griefs/sins and carried OUR sorrows/sickness/diseases but he was pierced for OUR rebellion/transgressions and he was crushed for OUR iniquities/sins/immorality; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds/death/burial/resurrection we are healed. Paraphrased from Isaiah 53:4-5 Alleluia! What a promise to hold onto. Easter is a grand celebration of his victory over death and the grave. He was raised to life again to bring us new life and better than just life…Life eternal in heaven with the Heavenly Father and Jesus by his side. Jesus says in John 14:6, ” I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
  3. Easter is better known as Resurrection Sunday. The day we pause and ponder what his life,. death, and resurrection means to us personally. It is a very bittersweet to deeply think about because life and death are heavy subjects but we do not have to face death with any sense of fear whatsoever! If we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus himself. Even with death for this body, comes new life in Paradise for all who believe.
  4. Remember and remind yourself often, ” for he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors,” Isaiah 53:12b. Jesus intervened to save us. Every last one of us. Every unworthy, undeserving sinner like you and like me. There is nothing we could ever do to save our selves. That’s the meaning of Easter! He lived and died, so that we can live and live.          “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

Do you get that? Jesus wants us to not only live, but to live life in large quantities, live plentifully, to the extreme! That really puts a smile on my face and makes my heart happy! He wants us to be thriving, enjoying, loving, sharing, caring and in doing so, we are doing all of these things for those around us. We are shining His light for all to see His good work, and in that, we glorify Him!

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1st John: April’s Scripture Writing Challenge

My favorite way to study and learn scripture is to read and write it down. Underlining is good, highlighting is fun, but reading and writing it down really helps memorize and get it into your head and heart!  “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:3

This is the second scripture writing challenge I have written, the first was the book of Ephesians and was rather long but oh so good! First John is shorter and will only take mere minutes each day to complete. It is set up with 5 daily assignments a week, with two grace days for you to catch up if needed or reread the previous weeks scripture or write ahead! Reading the Word of God, writing the Word of God, praying the Word of God, or just sharing about the Word of God are all life changing habits. It’s never too late to start to make better choices and by choosing the Word, you will be storing up treasures for yourself in heaven friend.

A little background, First John is a letter written by John, same as the Gospel of John and Revelation. It was written 85-95 after Jesus’ death and resurrection. John was now a very old man and was most likely the last living apostle. John was writing to a church or a group of churches who were in crisis, mainly those being attacked by false teachers spewing out false information.

Isn’t that us all now in 2017? People left and right, shouting out the newest breakthrough in this and that. Buy this book, download this app, buy this piece of clothing, this system, that new pill or powder and it will change your life! Therefore you will be so much happier and life will now have satisfaction. All you need is this new product and all your troubles will be taken away and real stress-free, pain-free, drama-free, you-name-it life will begin. The truth is, any thing besides Jesus, does not have true value! He is all that we need. He is the only true Satisfier, Life Giver, Savior!

Back to the subject of 1 John, it is a very simple letter to follow about real life but has awesome content for all Christians. Those more seasoned, or the new believer seeking wisdom and direction. John calls readers back to three basics of Christian life: true doctrine, obedient living, and faithful devotion to Jesus. In fact, we ALL can use more and more of that!

Above all,

God is life. God is light. God is love. We are children of God, so we should also be life, light, and love.

Click to print a FREE PDF plan:

1 John Scripture Writing Challenge Weekly Assignment

 

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Eugene Peterson’s wise words, “The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God. More often than not, the mess people make of their lives can be traced to failure or stupidity, or meanness in one or both of these areas. The basic and biblical Christian conviction is that the two subjects are intricately related. If we want to deal with God the right way, we have to learn how to deal with love the right way. If we want to love the right way, we have to deal with God the right way. God and love cannot be separated.”

 

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4 Guaranteed Ways For Overcoming struggles in Jesus

Do you feel like an overcomer (someone who gets the better of a struggle or gains victory over a conflict) when you think of your life? Or do you feel more like a loser who is failing, missing the bullseye so to speak, going through the motions day in and day out but still feel lost without victory?

I am going to boldly say that most of you who are honest will say you are on the losing side of the struggle called life and do not feel like an overcomer of anything good. You do not feel like you are overcoming your struggles and feel victorious.

Women tend to compare themselves with other women. We listen to the wrong advice and are hyper critical of ourselves. We try to live up to other women’s lives, instead of living to be Christ like. But the good news is that we were created for so much more than feeling like a failure. We were wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God himself and made to live as overcomers even in the face of struggle and suffering!

You are an overcomer because of Jesus!

We who believe that He is the Son of God are overcomers. We who have faith in the 2,000 year old testimony of Him coming to this earth, being born a man, yet fully God, living a perfect sinless life of love are overcomers.

Jesus was beaten and crucified on your behalf, yet raised back to life three days later. He is the one true Son of God who takes away all our sins by what He sacrificed and endured for us. He was separated from his Heavenly Father for our forgiveness and redemption! Jesus bore your sins, my sins, and was able to overcome the world for his Father’s glory and for our eternal well-being.

1 John 5:4-5 says:

“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Jesus said:

4 Guaranteed Ways to Know You Are an Overcomer in Jesus

1. If you admit you are a sinner in need of a Savior, believe and are born again, confessed that Jesus is Lord of your heart and has forgiven you of your sins, you are an overcomer.  “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4b

2. You must fix your eyes on Jesus and his ways, not what is seen. “For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16.     “We live by faith, not by sight.”  2 Corinthians 5:7  Always looking to Him and His Word for strength and peace. Acknowledge the fact that you are in desperate need of Him, you are an overcomer.

3. Keep in mind that the Christian walk is not easy, trials and troubles will come but don’t lose heart friend. You will make mistakes, you will stumble and fall, you will want to wave your white flag of surrender! That’s perfectly normal, and you sitting, waving your flag of surrender is exactly when Jesus lifts your chin and says, “It’s okay Love, I’m here to help.” Press on, stay in prayer and remember: He is always with you, you are an overcomer. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

4. See the common thread above? Most of all Jesus. You cannot do it alone by your own strength or power. Only by Him, His love, His strength, His power, His Spirit, His work on the cross can you know without one doubt that you are an overcomer. Trust and obey and you are an overcomer.

 

 

Therefore friends, if you are like me, you may have struggled with feelings of failure and doubt but by seeking the Lord constantly and relying on Him, you too can know that you are an overcomer in Jesus. Believe in Him, have complete faith in Him, keep your eyes on Him, knowing He is always with you! If you need prayer or a word of encouragement, please feel free to contact me and I will be delighted to pray with you.

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