2012 ~ New Year, New Beginnings, a New Thing  -- Isaiah 43:19

Posted 1/1/12:

  Over the past several days I've been pondering some of the challenges, blessings, dreams, etc. that I experienced over the course of 2011. During this time I've come to the conclusion that I need to choose to continue to walk in a purposeful manner at the onset of 2012. I've continued to come up with a churning in my spirit man of 'New Beginnings', hence the reference to Isaiah 43:19 ~ See, I am... doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. ~
As I've allowed all these things to resonate in my heart, mind and spirit, I've decided to begin this page (on facebook) today with plans to add to it continually in 2012 as the Lord gives me things to post. In reading many posts of my friends, acquaintances, etc. I'll be sharing some of their nuggets but will be sure to give credit to the writer/s.
I look forward to seeing and hearing the things the Lord will do as a result. I'm sure I will grow in spirit and truth as I continue this endeavor.
My prayers will certainly be with you all.

~~~

The initial post above to a new Page I created on 1/1/12 on Facebook has truly seemed to be a breakthrough place for many friends and their friends.  I'm very excited to see what the Lord will do in and through Hand of Hope Ministries in 2012, in my personal walk with Him, in our family life in our city and surrounding area.  I would love to challenge you to not only look on this pivotal year of 2012 with a wish to others as 'Happy New Year' but with a heartfelt challenge to everyone you see to have a 'Decisive and Purposeful New Year'!    We are looking forward to continuing in the same direction the Lord has been leading us in over the past year and a half with a heart to see New Beginnings as we expect new doors to open.  Some doors we may have knocked on before, some we have not, but we will continue to knock with new expectation of their opening.  Please be in prayer for us in our ministry as we boldly proclaim, declare and decree the timing of the Lord to establish our ministry in a visible presence in our community.  We are currently seeking the right place in our town to house Hand of Hope Ministries Community Church.  We are seeing huge mountains in front of us in the natural, unsurmountable obastacles in front of us, but God!  Our spirit man is full of faith and boldness expecting God to make that way in the desert and see our land flourish in the wasteland.  Praise His name, faith is being built in us in a mighty way.  The Lord is faithful and will perform.  I invite you to pray in agreement with us that the Lord will open the doors for the ministry He has placed in us.  Thank you so much.

The hymn, "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" was inspired by a couple, the Doolittles of Elmira, New York, who had reason to be discouraged. For twenty years Mrs. Doolittle had been confined to bed as an invalid. Her husband, a partial invalid, managed his business from a wheelchair. The songwriter, Civilla Martin, tells of a visit to the Doolittles in 1904. Deeply impressed by the joyful spirit that the Doolittles maintained in spite of severe adversity, Mrs. Martin asked the woman if she ever got discouraged because of her physical condition. Her friend responded quickly: "Mrs. Martin, how can I be discouraged when my heavenly Father watches over each little sparrow and I know He loves and cares for me." Within just a few minutes Mrs. Martin completed the writing of her new text, which has since been a source of much encouragement to many of God's people.

Cleansing Streams

Thank You, Lord, for

This cleansing stream

Pouring over me!

Lord, I give my all

Into Your hands.

Thank You for Your

Cleansing streams.

I love You Lord

And look to You

To pour over me

Your cleansing streams

Over and over and over again!

Thank You, Lord for

Your cleansing stream!

Here in this house

You’ve filled the air

With Your Cleansing Stream!

Word Gifts from the Lord

These writings were given to me by the Lord while I was going through a difficult time in my life and ministry.  I know they're lyrics to songs, as He definitely gave me 'songs in the night' but at this time there is no tune given to go with them.  In His time I'll also receive that from Him as well.  In the meantime I pray you'll enjoy the words and let them minister to you.

Calm Our Hearts, Lord!

(given to Jennie Heberg

By the Lord - 4/12-13/10)

Calm our hearts, Lord!

Spread Your soft, willowy blanket

Of calm over us!

Set us down at Your feet.

Fill us with Your presence.

Set us down in the field of Your presence.

I celebrate the stillness of Your presence

In the fragrance of Your anointing

As in a field of daffodils

Like a great ray of sunshine!

As I sit here in the presence

Of the Lover of my soul

He causes me to be still and know,

To know He knows my every thought

To know He knows my every desire.

He has created me to be a calming voice,

A calming presence, one to show others His calm!

Calm our hearts, Lord!

This song's delivery was very unique in that I received it while bathing.  My goodness, I was so hoping that I'd not forget it before I could write it down. 

As I wrote, I truly felt the presence of the Lord and received this as a true promise from His heart to mine.

Still waiting for the tune for this one, too.  I know you're going to enjoy it!

Come Away With Me To A Secret Place

Jennie Heberg 4/14/10

Come away with Me

To a Secret Place

Where we’ll walk and talk

In My garden of grace.

There I’ll tell you things

You’ve been longing to hear

That you can use as you would a spear

To set captives free from all their fear.

Come away with Me

To a Secret Place

Let’s sit together

And enjoy Paradise.

There are many jewels

I have there for you

Jewels of wisdom,

Of knowledge and grace.

With these jewels I show you

You’ll be able to bring joy to My children’s face.

Come away with Me

To a Secret Place

Where we’ll walk and talk

In My garden of grace.

I’ll show you gems

That will give you the words

To assist others in their race.

Keep your eye on the prize

And see My hand as I demonstrate

The power of the Holy Spirit with ease and grace.

Come away with Me

To a Secret Place

Where I’ll give you the keys

You’ve been searching for.

When you walk the path of everyday life’

There’ll be a flow of the Holy Spirit

Others will desire without strife.

The jewels and gems you’ve found

Will turn even the hardest hearts around.

Come away with Me

To My Secret Place.

Book Review

My prayer is that you'll be inspired by the books I review and share with you.

Hind's Feet on High Places was written by Hannah Hurnard in 1955.  As an allegory it is written in the style of John Bunyan's book Pilgrim's Progress which is a word picture of the stuggles of a Christian life.

Years ago I read this book and am reading again orally to my family. What a great allegory that is so right now relevant to our current life situations. We're in the middle of the book and I was so intrigued with Hannah Hurnard, the author, who must have had an awesome encounter with God in order to tell the story in the beautiful way she did in this book, that I decided to search the web to find what I could about her life. As I read further and further I became quite disheartened to find that later in life she became rather mislead by adopting the idea of 'universal salvation' in that she believed that everyone would be saved whether they called on the Lord by way of salvation or not.  It is reported that she began to agree with Christian Science, pantheism, etc.  Amazingly, the Lord allowed her to write a few books that truly do lead people to a saving knowledge of Himself prior to her death.  She was born in England in 1905 to a Quaker family and became saved at the age of 19 at a week long revival at a Holiness meeting.  As well as an author she was also a Missionary and led many to a saving knowledge of Jesus.  She died at the age of 85 in 1990. 

Our next book to read will be 'Mountains of Spices".  In reading up on her, I find that I need to be cautious as to which books to read, as some were written during the time she became deceived about the truth of the Gospel.  Those words the Lord led her to write during her years of living an active lifestyle for Him are true tools of evangelism. 

I feel it important to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me in what to read as well as what NOT to read.  Therefore, I caution you, also, to research authors and their writings before reading their writing and taking all they say as truth.  The only truth is what lines up with Scripture.

By Priscilla Shirer, this is an excellent read taking an in depth look at our Journey through the wilderness to our promised land. 

The percentage of Israelites who left Egypt that actually made it into the Promised Land or Canaan is staggering.  Approximately 2.5 million people began the trip and only 2 people made it in.  The 40 year trek that it took to arrive has often been referred to as a trip that should only have taken about 11 days.  However, in this book it is pointed out that God led them through the path that they took and this was done for a variety of reasons.  The main one being that their hearts needed to see their Canaan and they needed to see it as God's gift to them.  Their main focus was to be to develop their relationship with the Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  However, their focus usually brought them back around to their own selfish physical needs and a longing for what they had while in bondage rather than the freedom they were walking in while on their Journey.

One thing I always have done in the past is to equate the wilderness and the desert with one another.  I learned that these two places are very different from one another.  The wilderness often will have a variety of Oases and the desert has nothing but dry, barren land with no places for refreshing as is available often in the wilderness.  Amazing.

In all I was encouraged to get out of the box I've placed my place in during my walk with the Lord.  Often I think I'm out of the box only to find out that I've just traded boxes.  Another thing I'm daily learning is that it is of utmost importance to be available for change, flexibility and the keeping of a teaching spirit.  Just because things may be a bit different than I think they should be or maybe never having done something the way that is looming before me, it may just be what the Lord is meaning to do in my life.  If it took around 400 years for the Israelites to leave their comfort zone, my 50+ years of doing things certain ways may be changed at the behest of the God of the universe.

Life passion in the Journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land is where I am walking and daily asking the Lord for His direction and taking the steps I see He lays before me.  

This follow-up Bible study to the book, One In A Million, is an excellent study to assist you in walking out the Journey God has designed especially for you.

Plug in and enjoy!  Hold on tight and take the ride.

Recipes

*Note:  I'll start with a gift when I first set up housekeeping in the early '70s.  I trust you'll enjoy and adopt as your favorites, too.

*Take one large field, half a dozen children, two or three small dogs, a pinch of brook and some pebbles.  Mix the children and dogs well; put them in the field, stirring constantly.  Pour the brook over the pebbles; sprinkle the field with flowers, spread over all a deep blue sky and bake in the sun.  When brown, set aside to cool in the bath tub.

*We may live without poetry, music, and art,

We may live without conscience and live without heart;

We may live without friends, we may live without books;

But civilized man cannot live without cooks.   ~Anonymous

New Soul Mac N' Cheese (modified)

2 T soft butter (or 3)

1 13 oz. pkg. whole wheat elbow mac

Seasonings I used: 

S & P to taste; Tony Chachere's creole seasoning (a few shakes to fit your taste); chili pdr. to taste; 1 tsp. Italian seasoning; Parsley and Paprika

4 oz. each shredded Sharp Cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses

5 c. milk

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. softened sun dried tomatoes

1 chopped onion

1/4 each yellow, red and orange bell pepper, chopped

1 c. cubed ham (or bacon, sausage, or whatever your fave meat would be, even crabmeat, shrimp, or lobster would be good, too)

Preheat oven to 350 melting butter in casserole dish (13x9 is good).  Add dry pasta to melted butter and stir.  Begin adding seasonings, veggies and stirring well with each addition.  Pour all 5 cups of milk, the water, cubed ham and half of each of the cheeses over the mixture and stir well once again.  Once that is evenly fixed, sprinkle remaining cheeses evenly over the top, then top with parsley and paprika.  I covered my dish with foil and baked for 1 1/2 hours, then removed the foil and left in oven for about 10 more minutes.

I must say, this is some very good mac n' cheese!  My son who loves his Pizza casserole so much said 'Luuved It' when asked what he thought!  So ~ there ya go!  Out of the mouths of babes!  My best sign of approval!

Valentine Veggie Pizza

(bake a basic pizza crust, just done, not crispy; remove from oven and let cool)

2-3 T spreadable cream cheese

2-3 T sour cream

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 - 1/2 large red & green bell pepper, sliced thinly

2 large tomatoes, cubed

1/4 c. shredded mozarrela cheese

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, oregano and Italian seasoning, then spread evenly on baked and cooled crust.  Carefully place over the spread the slices of red and green bell peppers, cubed tomatoes and shredded cheese.  I also ground some pepper and sea salt, then added just a bit of Italian seasoning over the top.  All veggies are raw. 

What a big hit this was.  Light and tasty!

Strawberries 'n Cream Pizza

(bake a basic pizza crust just done, not brown, then cool)

3-4 T your favorite whipped topping

1 lb. strawberries; prepared - cut up the night before and topped with Splenda, sugar or your favorite sweetener

1 1/2 squares Lindt 85% Cocoa, grated

After pizza crust has cooled spread whipped topping.  Evenly placed strawberries over topping.  Grate 1 chocolate square evenly over fruit.  Take the second square and cut diagonally to place in center of pizza for elegant effect.

Great decadent taste. 

No leftovers!

Hearty Meat & Veggie Soup

1 1/2 lb.  2" sausage in casing cut about 1" thick

2 lb. ground meat (I used beef for this pot)

1 onion cut up (in half then sliced diagonally)

4 big carrots cut in 1" thick slices

3 celery sticks sliced about 1/2" thick

Brown all above veggies with meat until meat is done, then drain.  Pour back in pot.

Add to pot:

 1 large can (32 oz.) diced tomatoes

2 14 oz. cans green beans

3 baking size potatoes peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks 

Add about 1 quart or more of water.  That would be a matter of preference. 

I then added:

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp chili powder

1 T oregano

1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1-2 cloves chopped garlic

Stir up well and let come to a boil then turn down and leave until potatoes are firm. 

Now, I eat a little soup with my crackers and so does my son, or so we're told.  That's the way my Daddy always ate soup and that's the way we like it, too. 

This soup would be great with cornbread or toasted garlic or french bread, too, if you like that.

It's a cold day in the South so we needed a little comfort food and it worked.  Enjoy and be sure to let me know how you like it and if you tweaked it at all.  I might like to try it, too, your way.

Pizza Casserole

Jonathan has adopted this simple recipe as his absolute favorite for the past several years. One summer while staying with some friends their Mom made it and gave him the recipe because it is so good and easy.   Now he makes it himself. Perhaps it will also become a favorite to you.

1 1/2-2 Ibs. ground meat of your choice

(we often use Turkey or Chicken) 1 6 oz. pkg. sliced Pepperoni (Turkey 70 percent less fat is best)

1 15 oz. can Chunky Veg. marinara sauce

1 jar pizza sauce

2 cups grated cheese (Pizza blend is my fave)
1 pkg. Rotini or Zitti noodles (whole wheat, vegetable or smart is among our choice faves)

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Cook and drain ground meat in skillet on stove.

While meat is cooking bring just enough water to cover the noodles to a boil. Pour noodles in boiled water after turning off heat. Cover and let stand about 8 minutes. Drain.

Combine meat, 1 cup of the cheese, half the Pepperoni which takes a little time because you have to separate all the Pepperoni, Marinara and Pizza sauces and stir together well. Pour into a casserole dish that has been sprayed to keep from sticking.

Place the rest of the Pepperoni evenly over the top, then the cheese evenly over that.

Bake covered with tin foil that has also been sprayed to keep the cheese from sticking to it. Leave in oven for about 30 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.