Praising Him

Yesterday morning during my quiet time, I couldn't focus on God or the words in my devotional.  My heart and mind were spinning with worries and anxieties over every day life.  Over things that I cannot control or fix.  As usual, I spent my morning trying to come up with ways to fix it myself.  I am way too self reliant and thankfully God is infinitely patient with that flaw of mine (and with all the others!).  I know that I need to give up control and hand the reins to God but planning and controlling things are what I do best so it's quite difficult to give them up.  Knowing and doing are two totally different things so my prayer this morning was some guidance on how to start giving up control.  As it so often happens, my devotional gave me some insight.

"So when problems are weighing heavily upon you, break free by worshiping Me-in songs, in shouts, even in whispers.  These sacred acclamations decimate the darkness and invite Me into your awareness, brightening the atmosphere around you.  Problems fade into the background while you are engaged in worshiping Me.  Awareness of My presence strengthens you and fills you with joy."

Not only is that a wonderful answer, but perfect timing for me as we plan to go to church this morning.  Praising and worshiping God with our church family always inspires me and opens my heart and mind to God and what He is trying to tell me.  

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout to the Rock of salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.  
His hands formed the dry land too.
Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our marker, for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!

Psalm 95:1-7

Christmas Baking

Two days after Christmas and I can't believe how open my days have become.  My two kiddos are down in Illinois visiting their grandparents for the rest of the week and Jimmy's girls will be with us here until Saturday.  I have no holiday baking to complete, no gifts to make....I didn't realize how much the holidays filled my last month or so until it was over with.  So with all this free time, I thought I would take the time to post pictures of some of my baking projects over the holidays. 

M&M Sugar cookies....oh my I have to share this recipe because it was absolutely the best one I made this season.

Candy Cane blossoms-I can't take credit for these....Ani and one of her girlfriends did all the work!

Andes Mint chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies

Reese's peanut butter chip cookies-these were a big hit with my husband

Egg nog cookies

 Rolo cake cookies

Whopper cookies-for our oldest kid who is a huge Whopper addict

Amish cinnamon bread

 Egg nog cheesecake bars

Candy covered pretzels

White chocolate peppermint cheesecake

Jesus' birthday cake

And finally, an annual family holiday tradition that started with my great grandmother...the cinnamon roll Christmas tree cake

There was also an egg nog cheesecake and some egg nog bread but I forgot to take pictures of those.  Whew, that was a lot of baking and while I enjoyed it, I'm definitely glad to get back to the regular things in life.  

Minus an endless round of doctor appointments that appear to be never ending, my future is wide open so I spent this morning in my devotional/quiet time asking God to help me be a better listener so that I could hear and respond to His plans for me.  I asked for help to be a better steward of my time and resources and He responded in my devotional with this verse:  "In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success."  Proverbs 3:6  So simple!  I just need to keep praying that I keep God as my first priority and the rest will fall into place.