PART 3 - LASTING LOVE

                Cultivate contentment.  "Abraham in the Bible is very wealthy, just like there are lots of wealthy people who are Godly.  Abraham and his wife, Sarah, did not put their wealth first, they were willing to leave the comfort of their house, their friends, etc. to live in a tent to do whatever God wanted them to do. 

If you want to have a happy marriage, you have to learn to live only with God and each other and just the basic necessities of life like food and clothing.  That’s all you need in order to keep you happy.  Learn contentment.  The bible says in Phillip 4:11,  Whatever state we're in, we are to be content.  The wise man once said to whom little is not enough, nothing is enough."

I have read as well as heard stories of marriages falling apart once the wealth dissipates.  It is better to go through life with someone by your side when tragic situations hit, at the very least you have each other.  They say two heads are better than one.  A solid marriage that is regarded as an unbreakable covenant will survive any tragic situation life presents to them.  When two people are each other's rocks, they sit strong through any turmoil.  It is admirable to realize that such unions exist all around us and we all strive to attain it for ourselves.  It takes two like (sometimes unlike) minds and hearts to mesh together to create such a bond, but when it happens, it is magical.  Marriage is 90% work and 10% love, in the beginning.  However, I believe that the longer the marriage lasts, the scales start to tip the other way, and at the end, love prevails victoriously. 

There are some people who get married for the wrong reasons, or for reasons they thought was a good and then later throw the marriage out when reality bites.  No matter how you slice it, the end result is the same.  Better to make certain before you take the plunge if the person you are planning to marry is the one you want to be with forever, because forever is a mighty long time.

Until the next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!

Oh boy!  I was craving for some sweet and tangy treat today, but knowing how much I dread the indecision and the fact that there's nothing about driving to the store just to give into the craving sounded enticing to me.  I thought about the sweet cherries that I had frozen from last April at the Oakley cherry orchards

and decided to make these fabuloso cherry chocolate chip cookies!!!  Look at the delectable treat below!  I'm misting you... you can do this!  Enjoy!

1 c. dried cherries

1/3 c. hot water

6 tbsp. shortening

6 tbsp. butter, softened

1 ½ c packed brown sugar

½ c. sugar

2 eggs

3 tsp. grated orange peel

1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

3 c. quick cooking oats

¾ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

1 c. semisweet chocolate chip cookies

In a small bowl, soak cherries in the 1/3 c. hot water for 10 min.

(I didn't have to soak mine because I packed the pitted cherries in individual bags so they were still juicy.  The container above was the juice I strained from it.  So I incorporated that into the batter instead of the water from the recipe.  I prefer this way because I had the thawed fresh cherries.  I did chop these after I popped them in the oven to dry them out a little bit more.)

In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, orange peel and vanilla. 

Combine the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add cremed mixture and mix well.  Stir in the chocolate chips and cherries with liquid.

Drop by rounded tsp. 2 in apart onto baking sheets. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes until edges are browned.  Cool for 1 min. before removing from pan. 

Makes 3 ½ dozen

1 cookie = 143 cals -- OMGosh so yummy!  Try not to eat more than one, but if you do, exercise!!! Till my next rant/recipe, LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!

PART TWO - LASTING LOVE

"Let's Ride Life Out Together"



      "REMEMBER YOUR ROLES: A Husband has his, a wife has hers.  What is the role of the wife?  Be in subjection to your own husband.  Husbands and wives are spiritually equal but they are not the same.  God made us different that he may make us one.  It is the devil’s guise to attempt to make men and women alike, under the guise of making them equal. They are equal but they are not alike.  God made the husband with a harder exterior and he made his wife gentle and fragile, he calls her the weaker vessel NOT the inferior vessel.  Steel is stronger than porcelain.  You can drive a spike with a sledge hammer but you can't drink tea out of it, you can drink tea out of a porcelain tea cup.  Silk is more fragile and beautiful than denim but doesn’t mean that denim, although a lot stronger, is intrinsically worth more. 

 

    There are roles God has given the husband, as the headship in the home and we need to understand this.  The wife should be in submission to her own husband, that’s not inferiority.  Submission is one equal voluntarily placing himself under another equal that God may thereby be glorified.  God made us different that it may make us one.  What we need to understand is voluntary submission of a husband as the head of the home, not the boss of the home.  Jesus is the head of the world but NEVER once made me or you do one blessed thing.  Jesus leads by servant love.  Most women don’t mind being in subjection to a man who loves her enough to die for her and shows her that he lives for her.  Headship for the husband doesn’t mean privilege, it means responsibility just like the shepherd is responsible for the sheep and the parent is responsible for the child, the husband has a responsibility before God. 

 

    Marriage is not a contract.  Marriage is a covenant where two people mutually enter together.  When you look at marriage as a contract, you might try to look for ways to break the contract.  When you look at marriage as a contract you think about your rights.  When you look at marriage as a COVENANT, you think about your responsibilities.  So remember your roles."

 

 I struggle with the "submission" concept, just like maybe a lot of wives out there would.  As a woman of today, having experienced single parenthood where biting the bullet and being forced to be strong and alone on a daily basis, it is difficult to give up that strength all of a sudden to a husband.   It will surely take some practice to slowly let it go, and become vulnerable again.  A paradigm shift is necessary and a lot of focusing on God's will, not our own.  I believe we will continue to be tested in this area until we are able to see the beauty it brings into a wholesome, happy life and lasting love.  To some women this comes easy but to others like me, it isn't.  I believe that in the same token, an understanding husband, one who stands behind God, gives up his own life to Him and practices the ideals of the Bible would perhaps make the wife voluntarily submit to him as a the head of the unit. 

 

 I have met men who use this verse for their own egotistical purposes, so be aware.  If it doesn't feel right, then maybe it isn't.  A wife's role is to also guide her husband by example as well as living up to God's standard.  Is it difficult? YES!  Is it worth it? Also, YES.

 

 Again, submission does not equate to enslavement, BIG difference.  Submission is trust, respect and Godliness.

 

    Until Part 3... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!

PART ONE - LASTING LOVE

What  is the secret of long lasting love?  For sure it is not just about strong physical attraction or sex, but more, a lot more.

This series is based on the words of wisdom by a very Godly and respectable man whom I will reveal at the end of the Lasting Love series blog.  There are seven secrets of lasting love according to this man who has been married for 54 years, both he and his wife devoted to God.  He passed away in 2005.  He states, “The great miracle of love is not love at first sight, but after you’ve taken a long, long look and can continue to love. Keep the honey in the honeymoon, keep the love life alive, and how to keep the love boat afloat.”  It is going to be a consolidation of his wisdom as well as my own insights.

Lasting Love 1:  Fortify faith.  To the wife.  (1Peter 4-5).  It is not the outward appearance that captivates your husband, or anyone else for that matter, the hair extensions, the breast enhancement, the botox etc., instead, it is the unfading beauty of your inner being, the nurturing and gentle spirit who put their faith in God and act according to what pleases Him.  In return, the husband would treat his wife with such respect and appreciation relinquishing the effects of the temporary outer surface, but seeing her as someone worthy of reverence and love that is everlasting.  There's a saying, outer beauty fades, inner beauty lasts forever.

Husband and wife fortify faith by studying the Bible, applying the wisdom then running together in it, encouraging one another and building each other up.  Gaining from your own experiences not from the experiences of other believers, God has different intentions for each of us.  – Rick Warren

Eventually, with God in between a husband and wife,  the bond strengthens, you see no one but each other, become truly as ONE in marriage.  Do you agree?

Until then... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

BE LIFTED WITH GOD

 

 

God’s love for us is divine and unrelentless.  He is quick to forgive us when we are truly repentant of our sins.  It is our responsibility to learn from them so as not to repeat them and use the “I’m only human” card each time.  God knows your heart, He knows if you are truly sorry.  Nevertheless, we are forgiven because God’s love for us is unconditional and by showing us how unconditional it is, He also teaches us to practice that same type of love for each other.

 

 

When someone wrongs us as humans, we focus too much on how we were treated with injustice, thrown accusations and arguments at which caused us pain and suffering.  The key to forgiving the wrongdoer is to focus on the fact that the dimensions of God’s forgiveness towards us are far greater than our frustrations. 

 

Our relationship toward each other was not motivated by God, so in order to really forgive, God cannot do it for us, and we have to do it ourselves.  In doing this, we will have practiced forgiveness the way God forgives us.  Consequently, the forgiven wrongdoer will realize this and pass that same forgiveness on their wrongdoers, and so on and so forth.  God gave us free will and will never interfere without our own permission.  So if you were done wrong and ask God to forgive them, you have to realize that YOU have to do the forgiving, not by God, but through God.  Not only does God lift you up, but you are able to lift others up as well.

 

 

Until my next rant…..LOVE ONE ANOTHER!



SALAD ALA CARLEY'S

 At our stopover in Toronto, this salad was the bomb!  I listed all of the ingredients included and recreated it at home.  The result was awesome.  I would like to share it with you.  There's really no recipe, just put together the following:

Spinach salad mix (got it at WINCO)
Mandarin orange slices
grilled shrimps (4 in each plate)
bacon (1 each per plate) crumbled
walnuts
chinese fried noodles - for crunch
french fried onions
Poppy seed dressing

That's it!  Hope you enjoy it just as much as I did!

Until the next rant (or recipe).... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

CHERRY BLOSSOMS

This week was a very busy week.  I usually just do work in the studio, unwilling to go anywhere.  However, appointments have to be kept, errands have to be made and the worse part for me is that I don't own my time meaning I function on other people's schedule.  We all know what that's like.  So, I decided to do everything in one fell swoop, but again, mistakes made, follow ups and returns happen.  I am hoping to get a good full week upcoming. 

This painting was commissioned with a request of teal and pink cherry blossoms.  I made a decision to incorporate texture to make it interesting since flower paintings, I find, are a little mundane.  But to each its own.  In doing so, I had to interject my style in mixed media using rich medium bold color but casted a sheen to counteract the boldness.  Here is the result.

ABUSED - POSTED ON POETRY|ART PAGE - READ THE POEM I WROTE BEHIND IT!

In you I gave all my trust
In you I offered all my love
My safety in mind to you was a must
To protect me from the evils of life

But why with you I feel the vile?
Away from you is my only desire,
Forget the bruised and pained outer shell
It's deep inside my heart that is my hell

In this wide world I disappear
distrusting all, engulfed in fear
when i grow up, gain all my strength
with all my might I must hold back revenge

I was just a child who trusted you
Protection and love to me was due
My innocence will never be restored
God said I deserved to be treated like gold.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poetry-Art/202532989877965

THIS WEEK'S FOCUS

Until next time.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

A Little Addition to the Boho Chic Living Room that Gave It an Additional Punch of Color for Practically Nothing

    In my quest to continue to transform my living room into a Boho Chic theme, intermittently phasing out the predominance of the earth tones.  So here's "before".

The inspiration was sparked by a trip to World Market and spotting a bottle of reisling wine shown below.

   Suffice it to say that it sat in my fridge for quite sometime before it was opened simply because I am not a drinker but fyi, it was good reisling wine.  Sweet.  Still, it wasn't enough to make a difference, actually.

   In one of our walks, I knew there would be some treasure in the piles of trash people just toss willy nilly.  So, Scott was gracious enough to carry it for 3 miles (isn't he sweet?) back.

Bottle of Skyy

  This next bottle was saved from one of the juice my sister brought for one of my parties which I saved because I could "use it one day for something, I don't know what but something".  Well, that something did come. It is a very plain but the raised design was interesting, so with a little Martha Stewart glitter paint outside and plain old acrylic paint inside, this is what I came up with.

    So off to Michaels for some accessories.  Matching flowers!

   For the final result (drum roll please...)

   Hope this inspired you!  (The mask is from Scott from our trip in Mexico.)  Until my next crazy whims.... LOVE ONE ANOTHER...



HYPOCRISY

Voltura Griselda Grotesqua

Ahhh, the wiles and woes of being human!  Hypocrisy is perhaps one of the most inherent traits of human beings.  It is one of the vilest traits of human imperfection.  Not to worry, even the best of us was labeled a hypocrite at one time or another.  One example was David, the king.  He was revered by many in his day but his human desire for Bethsheba, who was married, compelled him to kill her husband.   A number of preachers, pastors and priests commit horrific crimes against their wives and/or churches because of their uncontrollable weaknesses.

Being good is much more difficult than being bad, but we sometimes take it to another level and make more of an effort to LOOK good but with bad intent deep inside, instead of just having integrity.  We are all guilty of this as sinners.  We are so worried about looking pristine to the world that covering up the dirt or sweeping it under the rug makes more sense.  Let me tell you for sure that it doesn’t. 

Integrity lives a lonely life.  Integrity is adherence to a code of values: utter sincerity, honesty, and candor; completeness.  My personal definition of integrity is conducting myself in the same way whether alone or around everyone.  WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get).  Integrity is achieved by learning and becoming aware every minute of the day that God is watching your every move.  It is an ongoing practice into a habit of self-awareness.  It is not achieved in one day, but we can start today to just watch our own actions, our own tongues, our own thoughts instead of watching the actions, thoughts and words of the other person.  Jesus said it best.  It is better to be true to the ONE who has the power to throw you into hell after you die than the one who can physically kill you and can do nothing else after that. (Luke 12:4)  Personally, I am afraid… very afraid!  Why? Because one, eternity is a very long time and two, the heat in hell doesn’t even compare to the hottest day you have ever experienced.  Just the realization about the fact that God doesn’t lie, even if I haven’t seen hell, I’m not taking any chances.  So, no thank you.

This artwork depicts not the outside appearance of a hypocrite, but what it looks like inside.  It is a vulture that has evil intentions and its ugliness preys upon and kills our soul.  It is also hideous, but if it evokes fear, shouldn’t we just get rid of it and ask God to help us along the way?  Why not try?

Until my next rant…. Practice integrity daily and LOVE ONE ANOTHER!