ISN'T THE LOVE OF JESUS, SOMETHING WONDERFUL

We know all hearts turn to love in this month, it is the month that Valentines Day falls in. Mostly we talk about love in association with our mate, our loved one,  my beloved has been with me for 53 years on this valentines day, praise God for this love and devotion. But now we are going to talk about Brotherly love, and the Love of God. Sit back relax , and pray that God will open your heart to this message as we read his words, and all about His love. I started doing this lesson on love, many years ago, I have used it to teach various ages throughout the years, now I am using it for this February devotion. Visuals always help us to understand better, make us more aware of things being said, I pray you all enjoy it and let the word of God speak to your heart, my purpose is to show how mighty love is, the real agape love God talked about in his word. With each one of my little hearts there is a scripture, but I am condensing it for the blog, it was an hour lesson in person, so cutting back here and there, but in all it will explain the love of God for us, our love for him, and for each other.

1. God is love: 1 John 4:8 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." That is some strong words here, and we see so many schisms in the church, that is not love, and that is not of God, we see here if we love, we are of God, where is your heart, search deep, find a place and time you accepted Christ and asked him into your heart. That is the very first step to find true love.

2. God Loved us: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave, his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." We see just how much God loved us, now are we going to love him?

3. Love God: Matthew 22:37 " Thou Shalt Love the Lord they God with All thy heart." This is a commandment, and just one of the two Christ give us in the new testament. Let us keep it, let us cherish its meaning, let us love the lord thy God with all that is with in us, that is the agape love he put in us, other wise we could not love him with all our heart. We would love self, and all things concerning us.

4. Love One Another: John 13:34 " A new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another. As I have loved you, that ye also love one another." I do believe this is what lacks in most of our churches today, loving one another, for some reason everyone wants the attention, they want to be the head of all, they want to in the spot light, this is of the flesh ladies, it is not of God, he wants us to be humbled and to care and love for others as he always did, you never seen Jesus wanting the attention, he was always giving, giving and then he gave everything he had for us, how can we not be giving to each other, when Christ give so much for us.

 

5. Love Our Neighbor: Matthew 22:39 " And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thy self." This is still talking about loving each other, who is your neighbor, everyone around you, not just the family next door, but everyone in your community, love them, reach out to them, and most of all talk to them about your Jesus, let them experience the love of God first hand through you, Lord help us to be all like Jesus, may every one we meet see him in us, reach out and touch some one, tell them you love them, and care for their soul, it will touch them, even if they do not accept it, it will reach the heart.

6. Give Jesus Your Heart: Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." First you have to give Jesus your heart, then he pours love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. So let us LOVE one another. May we go away from this lesson saying, wow the love of God truly is ♥something wonderful, marvelous, and I have it. ♥

Well that is it for our love devotion, hope you enjoyed it, and remember this is condensed, if you want to use it for a SS lesson, and add your own words, and extras to teach your style then you have my permission to do so, I made the graphics, and did the work, but I praise God if it will help one other soul. I can do nothing without him.

FOR ALL YOU PURPLE LOVERS

Purple is royalty. A mysterious color, purple is with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color.
Purple has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious.
Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties. A purple room can boost a child's imagination or an artist's creativity. Too much purple, like blue, could result in moodiness.

Purple always reminds me of Lydia in the Bible. I LOVE LOVE LOVE teaching my Sunday School girls about Lydia. It is so interesting that the color came from a tiny gland in the shellfish from the water beside her. Also interesting that the color was only worn by the wealthy. Here is something I found on line about Lydia the Seller of Purple.


They stayed several days. Then they heard that a group of people met by the river to worship on the Sabbath day, so they went outside the city gate to the meeting place.
They sat down and began to speak to the women who were gathered there to pray. One of them was a woman named Lydia who was from the city of Thyatira (thigh uh TIRE uh), which was in a district east of Macedonia. She was a dealer who sold purple cloth.
Purple cloth was very expensive. The reason it was so costly was that it was difficult to make. The dye for the cloth came from a shellfish. The juice was white while it was in the veins of the fish, but when it was exposed to the sun, the liquid changed into bright purple and red colors. It took a lot of work to catch enough shellfish to dye even one garment.
The beautiful cloth was mainly used by members of the royal families and Roman senators who were required to have a purple band around the edge of their togas, or robes.
As Paul preached, the Lord opened the heart of Lydia to receive the message about Jesus. She believed his words and responded to the teaching. She and the members of her household were baptized.
We don't know if she was married, or single, or a widow. She probably had people working for her in her business since she was a merchant.
She told the men if they considered her a believer in the Lord, she would like for them to come and stay at her house. Evidently she had plenty of room to accommodate the four of them; Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke was with them also. She continued to urge them and they accepted her invitation and stayed at her house.
Lydia's heart was like the good soil in the parable of the sower. When she heard the word of God, she received it with joy and obeyed the words of the apostle.



    
 

♥ Have a wonderfully blessed weekend, and wear purple ♥

QUICK AND EASY MEAL WITH LOTS OF FLAVOR

Hamburger Steak with Onions and Gravy

Ingredients



1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup thinly sliced onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt


Directions


In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Form into 8 balls, and flatten into patties.


Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the patties and onion in the oil until patties are nicely browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the beef patties to a plate, and keep warm.


Sprinkle flour over the onions and drippings in the skillet. Stir in flour with a fork, scraping bits of beef off of the bottom as you stir. Gradually mix in the beef broth. Season with seasoned salt. Simmer and stir over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, until the gravy thickens. Turn heat to low, return patties to the gravy, cover, and simmer for another 15 minutes.  You can replace the Hamburger with Cubed Steak too, very tasty, I served that the last time we entertained.

CELEBRATE THE BIG GAME FOODS

Southern Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
2 pounds boneless pork roast
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups water
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring


Directions
Cut the pork roast into large chunks. Season generously with the Cajun seasoning. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, and brown on all sides. Remove from the skillet, and transfer to a slow cooker.
Add the onion and garlic to the skillet, and cook for a few minutes until tender. Stir in the water scraping the bottom to include all of the browned pork bits from the bottom of the pan, then pour the whole mixture into the slow cooker with the pork. Stir in liquid smoke flavoring.
Cover, and cook on High for 6 hours, or until meat is falling apart when pierced with a fork. Remove pieces of pork from the slow cooker, and shred. Return to the slow cooker to keep warm while serving.

CHUNKY CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND BARS

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CRUST



1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® chocolate fudge cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened


TOPPING


4 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups salted roasted whole almonds, coarsely chopped
6 oz dark or bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place cake mix in medium bowl. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly. Press firmly in ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set.


2. In large bowl, beat eggs, corn syrup and 1/4 cup melted butter with wire whisk until smooth. Stir in almonds and chocolate. Pour over crust.


3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until golden brown and set. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chocolate is firm. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

KITCHEN TIP

Much like the center of a pecan pie, the center of these bars is very moist and may even look raw. Not to worry—that's how they should look.

WONDERFUL BREAKFAST FOR A SATURDAY MORNING

Skillet Breakfast
(Serves 8 to 10)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 stick butter (or more if needed)

10 medium-size potatoes, cooked and diced
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup diced green pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon herb seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 jumbo eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
ham or crumbled cooked bacon (optional)

DIRECTIONS


In 12-inch cast-iron skillet melt butter over medium heat. Brown potatoes. Add onion to skillet. If desired, add green pepper. Add celery seed, herb seasoning salt, and pepper. Whisk eggs with milk.


After potatoes are browned (add more butter if needed), pour egg mixture on top, tipping skillet so egg is distributed to edges. When egg is set, cut in squares and turn over to brown. Add shredded cheese on top. Cover and let cheese melt. You can serve with a slice of cooked ham on the side; or if you wish, add crumbled cooked bacon to egg mixture before pouring on top of potatoes.

Caramelized Baked Chicken

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken wings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 cup honey
1 clove garlic,
minced salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together the oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken.
Bake in preheated oven for one hour, or until sauce is caramelized.

TODAY IS THANKFUL THURSDAY

So what are you thankful for today, aren't these weeks flying by, seems like just yesterday I was making a thankful Thursday graphic, now today a new one.



I am so thankful that I am feeling better, that I am still used of God, and that he give me a talent to use for his glory, you know he could of just saved us and took us on to heaven, or saved us and never used us, have you ever thought how wonderful it is to be used of our Almighty, Omnipotence, Omnipresence , Omniscience holy God, who created us, and could do any thing he wanted with us but chose to let us be used of him, to make others happy, to bring joy to others, and to bring glory and honor to him, wow my brain is just a rambling on this morning as I think how he has used me through the years, in so many various ways, ones I never thought I would be used, it amazes me and I am so thankful that he still uses me in some small way.

WET COLD SATURDAY IN GEORGIA

Coastal Georgia Clam Chowder


The best way to make it is with clams you have dug yourself after dropping anchor in a secluded bay, but it is awfully good with fresh clams purchased at a local marina too. Guaranteed to warm you up.


Yield: 4 to 6 servings


4 dozen hard-shell clams, scrubbed, or 1 quart shucked cooked clams with their broth
1/4 pound cubed salt pork or 6 slices bacon
1 onion, coarsely chopped
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half or evaporated milk
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
salt
freshly ground pepper


Pour clams into a large pot with 1 cup water. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook until shells open, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then shuck clams and set aside. Pour off broth and reserve, taking care not to disturb any sediment in the bottom of the pan.
Cook salt pork in a large saucepan over medium heat until the fat runs. Add onion and cook, stirring, until tender. Pour off half the fat.
Add potatoes to the pan and stir well. Add clam broth and just enough water to cover the potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender.
Add milk and half-and-half; bring to a simmer. Add clams and butter; simmer a few minutes until clams are heated through and butter is melted.
(Do not boil or clams will be tough.) Season with salt and pepper.


Now for Dessert, Barbara's Wonderful Apple Pie, It tastes as good as it looks too.

Best Peanut Butter Cookies Ever, NO flour

Ingredients


2 cups peanut butter
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl, stir peanut butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Press a criss-cross into the top using the back of a fork.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.