The Princess Adelina (book review)

Around the 8th century, Scotch and Irish missionary bands were send from the Isle Iona to different parts of the world. This book follows Adelina, a simple girl who's family goes to Germany to tell the heathen there about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Adelina is commanded by the heathen ruler there to become his bride, or he would do harm to the missionaries. She consents and begins to watch as the Lord deals with the heart of her pagan husband. 

His wedding gift is to allow the missionaries to worship and spread the gospel unhindered amongst his people. She has her faith tested as his mother tried to destroy every Christian when he goes missing in battle. And her loyalty and faith are rewarded when she is blessed with the salvation of her husband.

The Princess Adelina is based on the true story of Bilihild and Hedan in the time before the Roman Catholic Church was ever in the Celtic Isles or Germany. It is a little hard to read because of the old English, but it is well worth the read!

For more on the historical story, click here. 

Funny Happenings- What's For Dinner?

Upon occasion, I babysit my friend's children. She has 2 teenage boys and a 3 year old boy. These boys are almost always hungry, as most boys are. Each time they come over, they end up cleaning out my left overs and eating a hardy lunch, not to mention the snacks their mom sends with them.

On the latest babysitting adventure, the three year old went to his favorite question, "What's for dinner?"

I told him that we were having dirty rice, a Cajun dish which has ground beef and rice with Cajun spices.

The little boy got a funny look on his face and then looked at my husband, who, in true male fashion, was making a sandwich in the kitchen, and yelled, "Hey, Mr. Seth! We're having yucky rice for dinner!"

The Weaver (poem)

My life is but a weaving, between my God and me,
I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily.
Ofttimes he weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.
Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why
The dark threads are as needful in the skillful weaver's hand
As threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares,
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives His very best to those
Who leave the choice with Him.

-Anonymous

Cinna-nutty Cheesecake recipe

Crust:

6 oz graham crackers

2 TBS sugar

1 TBS cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup melted butter

Filling:

16 oz cream cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1 TBS cinnamon

4 eggs, separated

Grease a spring form pan. (I used a greased iron skillet and it worked great! You just can't remove the sides of the pan.)

Crush the graham crackers into crumbs. Mix with sugar, cinnamon, chopped nuts, and butter.

Press all, but 1/2 cup, into the bottom of the greased pan. Reserve 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the heavy whipping cream, beating until smooth and fluffy.

Add salt, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Preheat oven to 300*.

Wash the beater. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks happen. Set aside.

Beat the egg yolks until thick and light in color. Add the yolks to the cream cheese mixture and beat well.

Now, fold in the egg whites. Make sure it's mixed thoroughly.

Pour this mixture into the crumb crust. Sprinkle the top with the reserved graham cracker crumbs.

Bake on 300* for 1 hour. Turn oven off, but leave the pan in the oven for another hour longer.

Remove from oven and cool, then refrigerate.

Change The Way You Look (video sermon)

Bro Greg Pritcher brings a message about the inward man. Too often we focus on the outside without taking care of the inside. Which is more important? How you look or how you act? What you wear or you character? If the inside is right, the outside will be right, also.
It's not religion; it's acting like a Christian! It's not how many prayers you say, or how often you walk through the doors of church; it's how much you love God and how much you live it. If you love God you'll love others. If you love God you'll obey what He says. If you love God others will see it in your actions!

Mephibosheth (song)

The Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:1-3- And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Attitude is crucial to maintain a real, personal relationship with God. Blessed means blissfully happy or contented. Poor means those who are so impoverished that they have to beg to survive. But there is one word in this that you must pay special attention to. Without this word, the verse would mean something entirely different. Can you guess it? Spirit!
Without that word, the verse would mean that all poor people go to heaven. We know that's not true. Salvation isn't based upon one's financial status. 
A person who deems himself spiritually poor is a humble person who tries to enrich themselves in God's Word. Let me explain this better. A "rich" person doesn't spend time in God's word or prayer. Why would they? They have all they need. Or so they think. The devil has blinded their eyes to their need. And their pride has kept God from opening their eyes.
A "poor" person, however, desires to know more. They spend much time in prayer and God's word just to find a piece of truth. They humbly admit that they don't know what they should and so God shows them wonderful things.
You see, one must recognize a need before they will work to satisfy it. When we confess our hopeless spiritual deficiency to God, we can then receive the kingdom. Humility is needed to obtain salvation, But it also extends beyond that. The spiritually poor who faithfully allow God to have control of their lives will someday be rewarded with a reign in Christ's Millennial kingdom.
The poor in spirit know that they are and have nothing. They look to God in total submission to his will and in complete dependence upon his grace and mercy. Being humble before God means letting go of your pride.
A peacock is a beautiful bird. Yet it struts and prances around as if he wanted everyone to notice his beauty. It's as if the peacock things that he alone is responsible for his beauty. And sadly many Christian's act like this out of pride. God is responsible for our talents and achievements. He blesses us with all our abilities.
1 Cor. 4:7- For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
1 Pet. 5:5-6- Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Jesus wants us to have an attitude of humility. It is through his wisdom, strength, and ability that we can accomplish assignments in his service.