Thinking

I came across a good thought-provoking poem today.

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If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't
It's almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost,
For out in the world we find
Success being with a fellow's will;
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are:
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
― Walter D. Wintle

Thinking is something that can affect us in a lot of ways, both good and bad. It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we think we can do something, and yet if you have the opposite mindset it’s amazing how little can get done!

A while back I had the privilege of reading two blog posts about thoughts, and I’d like to share those with you today.

What do You do With Your Thoughts? and Keep Serving With Your Thoughts

Rhoda has some really good ‘thoughts on thoughts’ here. I pray you will be blessed by the articles as much as I was! :)

~Esther

My Identity in JESUS

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Click on the image to make it larger :)

Recipes

Well, the time has come for me to begin putting together JOJ issue seven! My, how time does fly!

I’d like to thank each one of you for your support these last few months. I’d especially like to thank those who said they’d be willing to write for us—Bonnie, Cosette, Andrea, Rhoda and Rosie. I’m feeling very blessed by your willingness to write. Thank you SO much!

But most of that is beside the point. Today, I’m wondering if some of you others might not mind helping? I know we’ve done this before, but it never hurts to do a re-run. :) In this issue, we’d like to have a recipes page. Would you mind sharing a recipe with us to put in it? It doesn’t have to be any fancy recipe, just one that you enjoy making and others might as well. If you’d like to share one with us, comment below or you could fill out this form. :)

The more entries the better because that means that we can spread them out over more magazines! :)

Again, thank you so much for each word of encouragement you drop our way. I pray that you are encouraged as well! :)

God bless!
Esther

A Song for your Saturday

Today, I thought I’d share a song I enjoy listening to, sung by the Eshes.

He IS God! :) How has He shown you how great He is today?

~Esther

Trust in Jesus, he never changes!!

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Delight in the Lord

Delight in the Lord…how am I delighting in Him today? How am I praising Him for what He’s done for us? For that matter, what does it mean to delight in Him?

Noah Webster (1828 edition) describes the word “delighting” this way:

• A high degree of pleasure, or satisfaction of mind; joy.
• That which gives great pleasure; that which affords delight.
• Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement.
• To affect with great pleasure; to please highly; to give or afford high satisfaction or joy; as, a beautiful landscape delights the eye; harmony delights the ear; the good conduct of children, and especially their piety, delights their parents.
• To receive great pleasure in.
• To have or take great pleasure; to be greatly pleased or rejoiced; followed by in.

So, if you delight in the Lord, you’re taking pleasure and rejoicing in Him. Giving Him great satisfaction or joy.

Did you notice the third explanation: “Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement.” That is so true. So often we rejoice in something, and then forget about it quickly. Delighting is returning again and again to that joy, and filling yourself with it.

How are you delighting in the Lord today? For myself, I’d say that I’m delighting in His Word. I love reading it, and finding little gems all through it. And there’s so much more I could say about ways I’m delighting in Him today. Now…your turn! How are you rejoicing in His goodness today?

Keep delighting in Him!
Esther

Chocolate Chip Cookies :)

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Recently, I found a new recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies, and since, I enjoy trying new recipes, not to mention I love chocolate, I just had to try it. :) It especially appealed to me, because it said they were soft and moist. Chocolate, and cookies that are soft, and moist?! This sounded great. :D Plus, the recipe for CCC that we have used quite a bit of butter and Crisco, and these didn't have near as much. 

It had 2 ingredients in it that I had never heard of as being in cookies before. You know what they were? Cream cheese, and cornstarch! 

So I tried it, and they were delicious!! :D The first time I made them, I couldn't find the cornstarch, so I used Glucomannan Powder. (A natural thickener, that we occasionally use.)  The second time I made them, I used cornstarch, which Mom had found. =D We (Mom and I) both thought that the first batch (with the Glucomannan) was softer than the one with cornstarch. But both ways were delicious =D 

Now after my ramblings...here is the recipe for you to try! =D Hope you enjoy!

(PS: My changes/notes are in italics/parentheses.)

~Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies~  (Source)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened (I used salted butter, and didn't add any extra salt.)
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (use cream cheese in a block or spreadable, don't use fat-free, light or whipped)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch (Or Glucomannan powder. I know we didn't use 2 teaspoons, we used much less.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 to 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (We just had chips, and they worked fine. Although, I think the chucks would be great! =D )

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy.
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
3. Add chocolate chips and/or chunks, and beat momentarily to incorporate, or fold in by hand.
4. Using a 2 inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter. (If I remember correctly, I did not refrigerate my dough, and the cookies were fine.)
5. Preheat oven to 350 F (about 177 C) spray your baking sheet with cooking spray or butter and place mounds on baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly under cooked, pale and glossy in the center. (I had to bake mine for a little longer, just bake then according to your liking.)  Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a little before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
6. Enjoy your cookies! Let me warn you, they disappeared FAST over here! :D I think I made a double batch. :)

Prayer

(originally posted on Meditations of His Love Daily)

Lately, I’ve been challenged in my prayer life. If I remember in the morning I’ll pray, but most often my daily prayer time is in the evening just before bed. During the day I’ll sometimes pray, but most of the time that’s when I feel like I need to have special blessing for something I’m doing or I feel down about something. Sometimes I’ll just say, “Thanks, Lord!”, but usually nothing more than that.

I know apostle Paul says, “Pray always.” (Ephesians 6:18). I guess I always took it as a “pray always, whenever you think about it.” The problem is, I rarely think about it! (Which probably should be a warning sign right there.) Well, I’ve been reading this book by dc Talk titled Live Like a Jesus Freak (you might know them by another one of their books, Jesus Freaks). It’s a great book and although I’m only half-way through it I’m really appreciating it.

One thing they mentioned was a quote from Francois Fenelon, from his book Talking with God.

“Talk with God with the thoughts of which your heart is full. If you enjoy the presence of God, if you feel drawn to love him, tell him so.

“But what, you ask, are you to do to in times of dryness, inner resistance, and coldness? Do just the same thing. Say equally what is in your heart. Tell God that you no longer feel any love for him, that all is a terrible blank to you, that he wearies you, that his presence does not even move you, that you long to leave him for the most trifling occupation, and that you will not feel happy till you have left him and can turn to thinking about yourself. Tell him all the evil you know about yourself.

Read the rest of the post here.

Blessings,
Esther

~Psalm 46~

August Wallpaper

Here is the August wallpaper!

Please do not use these images for any other purpose other than personal enjoyment on the desktop of your computer!

Enjoy this month's wallpaper! :)

If you have an image that would make a nice wallpaper, please send it to us! 

8 Ways to help your Family

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My family means a lot to me. They do a lot for me, too. When I think about it there’s actually a lot I could do for them, even just simple things like giving Mum a cup of water when she’s thirsty (Matthew 10:42). I sometimes wonder if that isn’t the way Jesus worked—doing the simple things for people, and just acting the part of a servant (John 13:4-6).

He helped people bodily. He also helped people spiritually. Wherever He was, He tried to show how good God is to the people He was ministering to. How loving, how kind, how generous God is. He was trying to show them. And as Christians, we are to imitate Him. Here are some of the ways I’ve found helpful when I am trying to help my family:

1. Do the jobs they don’t want to do. (Like cleaning out the trash containers. Or washing out your brother’s muddy clothes.)
2. Surprise them. Maybe you could wash a window or two, to surprise Mum. Or perhaps she’s busy in the garden—maybe you could get dinner going if you know what’s on the menu.
3. Love them. I think this one’s pretty important. Showing them love in every area is very crucial. To show your family love, maybe you could make a favourite recipe. Or pick a few flowers to put in the windowsill. Or listen, really listen (not with just half an ear!) to what a sibling has to tell you. I have a hard time doing this, especially when I’d really rather get on with my project.



Love them—what precious jewels your siblings are!
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4. I’m sure you’ve read through the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) before, and are fairly familiar with the verses. One idea I’ve had lately was to go through the Beatitudes and pick one “blessed” for each day. For example, on Monday maybe I’d pick mercy. I’d try to find ways I could show mercy to my siblings that day. Then, on Tuesday, maybe I’d try to be a comforter. Or a peacemaker. You get the idea. :)
5. Pray for them. If there’s one thing that will shake the gates of heaven, it’s prayer. Maybe you have a sibling who seems to be struggling with something, but they can’t talk about it. Maybe one of your siblings is trying to figure out what they will do with their life. Whatever is going on, we always can and will profit from praying and being prayed for!
6. Encourage them. If you see something they’ve done lately that really impressed you, or have noticed something in their lives that was uplifting for you, tell them! I’m sure they would be glad to hear what you think. :) You could also slip a note into their Bible with an encouraging verse on it, and let them be mystified as to how it got there. :) You never know what something like that could do! :)
7. Support. Tell them you’re praying for them. Help them when they come to you for help. Be the kind of sibling you’d love them to be.
8. Appreciate them. Accept them for who they are, even if there are blaring faults that are really annoying in their personalities. The more you accept and appreciate them for who they are, the closer your relationship will be.

These are just a few of the many different things we can do for our families. I’m sure you could add your own thoughts to the list. :) It’s a great privilege to have a family, people who understand you and love you. I praise God for my Godly parents and wonderful siblings. May we ever grow as we learn to live the Christian life and follow Him.

In Christ,
Esther