Faith

For those who know me you know that I fully believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ through the blood that was shed on Calvary. I have experienced this healing power on many occasions. I do also believe that God uses people to bring about His healing as well. Every blessing comes from the hand of God; but, I would be willing to bet that none of you have seen the physical hand of the Almighty God hand it to you Himself…He uses people. Not every healing is miraculous nor is everyone of them instantaneous. I know this and accept it and truly believe it with my whole heart. What I have issue with is people who think that because I am having surgery that I lack faith that God can heal me. Now, this is not from anyone within the past 14 years; but, it was something said to me prior to my first ankle surgery when I requested prayer from a church leader that I had looked up to for guidance and teaching for several years. I knew in my heart that I had faith that God could heal me and I even shared afterwards that it was a miracle because the surgery only cost me $8…my insurance covered every single other thing regarding it.

Well, with a second surgery on the horizon and a previous two miraculous healings to the same foot I began thinking about those insensitive words that were spoken to me prior to my last foot surgery. I have been earnestly asking God to provide a way of explanation to anybody who may feel that going through surgery to fix my foot goes against the word of God that they are incorrect—but in the most simple of ways.

He did just that for me this morning. A friend of mine posted a quote from a well respected man of God and within it was the scripture of Isaiah 53:5 touching on the stripes that Jesus received for our healing. Now granted, the quote was pointing more to the fact that God has already paid for our healing and it is promised to us because of those stripes; but, God gave me a little something more. Imagine if you will the afore mentioned scripture. Those bruises and stripes did not just miraculously appear on Jesus’ body…they were put there by man. God brought about our healing because of something man did to His Son. Why is it so farfetched for people to realize that healing can also be brought about by the hands of man?

In my mind it actually takes more faith to put myself in a situation where I have to rely and trust undoubtingly that God will use and guide the hand of an imperfect man to bring about healing in my body. I don’t know about you; but, I do not have a close intimate relationship with any of my doctors beyond seeing them in their office on the rare occasions I have need of their services. My trust is never in a man but God. I am a realist and know that even on my best “Godly” day that I fall short of being all that He has called me to be. This should truly scare me because I do not know the condition of my surgeon’s heart but I have perfect peace in knowing that my God will take care of me. And up until the scheduled day of my surgery, My God is fully able to perform a supernatural healing and restoration of my foot…and I would willingly and gladly accept it. Until then, I will allow Him to bring about His healing in my body through a man who is a master in this field and I will trust that He will not let any evil befall me. So, tell me, how is that not faith?

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The ABC's of Christianity

The other day I heard on a Christian radio station that a lady was so excited because her 8 year old child approached her and asked what she needed to do in order to be saved. This is totally awesome news...where the story gets me kinda in a not so awesome mood is that the mother had to call her friend to find out how to lead her child to Christ. I am glad that her friend knew; but, as a Christian parent she should have known what to do herself (well, at least that's what I think otherwise I have to actually question the salvation of the parent). As a Christian period one should know how to lead someone to the Lord.

I shared this little story with my daughter without imputing my opinion of the mother's lack of knowledge and she totally went down the same road of thought. What she proceeded to tell me was completely cool. She said that the mother needs to learn her ABC's! I asked for further explanation and this is what I got, "A=admit you're a sinner; B=believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the grave; and C=confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and ask Him to be your Savior."

So, for any of you out there who lacks the knowledge to lead someone to the Lord you should probably learn your ABC's too. Kids have a way of making things so much more simple than adults tend to.

What have we learned today??? Admit, Believe and Confess! There you have your ABC's of becoming a Christian.

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Oopsie!

Well, the yogurt is out of the machine. But, I kinda wasn't home when it was done; so, it separated. I have some really strong curds and whey. I probably should have reduced the culturing time since I used so much more kefir. Well, next time we won't be caught up dying someone's hair purple (and trying to remove purple dye from someone else's hands because of faulty gloves). Today is going to be busy with church and the completion of someone's purple transition; so, I do not see any more trials being made today. But, tomorrow is a holliday off from work and that would be a perfect time to try something new!

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New Yogurt Machine!!

Well, I have to say that I am a bit excited about my new yogurt machine. Don't let the name fool you...it does not make it for you. It is more of an incubator for your recipe. I made my first batch Thursday night and tried it for the finished product yesterday afternoon. It was not as thick as I would like; but, it has an awesome flavor! I am sorta experimenting with making traditional yogurt but with live active homebrewed kefir. I have found no recipes online for this other than just culturing the kefir until it is thick enough to be call yogurt. Well, I want a little more flavor than that; so, this was my first attempt...the major part of this recipe was provided by The Spunky Coconut so it is milk free with the exception of my added culture. The recipe goes as follows:

2 Cups Coconut Milk

2 Cups Almond Milk (home made)

1 TBS Vanilla

2 TBS Agave Nectar (orig recipe called for Honey; but, I'm trying to help my husband's blood sugar by using the Agave...one might want to try Brown Rice Syrup as well...but the intent is to avoid refined sugar here)

2 TBS Kefir whey

1 TBS Kefir solids

Okay, boil the coconut and almond milk until it reaches about 120 degrees. Add the vanilla and Agave nectar. Allow to cool to about 92 degrees and add Kefir whey and solids. Whisk until well incorporated. Pour into sterilized canning jars without their lids and place in the yogurt machine for 11 hours.

This is what it all looks like once inside the machine.

Once the time has elapsed then remove the jars from the machine and place lids on them. Chill in the refrigerator for about 7 hours.

After 7 hours this is what I had. It didn't stay solid enough to be called yogurt; but, it sure tasted great! It was more like a yogurt drink.

Well, I'm on my second batch. I decided not to go the milk free route. I only use raw milk; so, I decided to try again using it and a bit more kefir. I still made the almond milk but took out the coconut milk (so that if my sister wants to try it she can since she's allergic to coconut). So in place of the coconut milk I used 1 Cup whole Kefir and 1 1/2 Cups raw milk. I only simmered the almond milk not the raw milk or kefir...I want to keep all the goodness in my milk (I trust it's source and all the bacteria in the kefir will take care of any baddies).

So, it is all made and in the machine. I'll touch base with you tomorrow and let you know how this batch is:).