He won't relent until He has it all, my heart is His.
Not only my heart, but my soul, my spirit, and my body. It's all His!
Something that God put on my heart years ago is something that's very much at the front of my mind at all times. And that is taking care of His temple. Our bodies are His temple, so we not only have no right to trash them, but it's just downright disrespectful to our God to not take excellent care of His dwelling place.
You can see the temples of idols lined with intricate designs of gold and precious stones, flowing with fragrant flowers and incense... but the temple of the one true God? How many of us actually treat our bodies like temples? And I don't mean with extravagant decorations and perfumes.
There has up to now only been one solid year in my life during which I respected the house of God with the respect, love, and discipline that He so deserves. That year was not this year, nor the last. Since God has put this so hugely on my heart, I have not stopped thinking about it, but I stopped fully doing it.
It's time to get back into the place of my calling. A worshiper who comes before God proving her love to Him through her service of caring for His house. I don't wish only to be a Proverbs 31 woman, I will strive to be a Proverbs 31 worshiper.
I don't know if this is something that God has particularly put on your heart, but if so, I would like to invite you to join me in becoming a Proverbs 31 worshiper.
10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
It sounds like hard work because it is hard work. The question is, does He DESERVE us to love Him with this agape love? And the answer just for clarification, is YES. Absolutely.
One of the practical ways I'm loving Him during these next couple weeks is joining my church family in our annual Daniel fast. For prayer I will simply and passionately be praising Him, even when I don't feel like it. For the fast, I have already started experimenting with new recipes to add to the list from back when I was vegan.
Here are a couple different granola bar recipes:
Apricot Oatmeal Squares
*Make sure that you read labels when purchasing ingredients and make sure the product has no ingredients other than the one you want, such as sugar, sulfur, flavors, and preservatives*
2 cups water
5 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/3 cup raw+organic honey (the FDA has approved honey industries to add corn syrup to their honey WITHOUT declaring it on the ingredients list unless it is sold as raw AND organic)
Not only my heart, but my soul, my spirit, and my body. It's all His!
Something that God put on my heart years ago is something that's very much at the front of my mind at all times. And that is taking care of His temple. Our bodies are His temple, so we not only have no right to trash them, but it's just downright disrespectful to our God to not take excellent care of His dwelling place.
You can see the temples of idols lined with intricate designs of gold and precious stones, flowing with fragrant flowers and incense... but the temple of the one true God? How many of us actually treat our bodies like temples? And I don't mean with extravagant decorations and perfumes.
There has up to now only been one solid year in my life during which I respected the house of God with the respect, love, and discipline that He so deserves. That year was not this year, nor the last. Since God has put this so hugely on my heart, I have not stopped thinking about it, but I stopped fully doing it.
It's time to get back into the place of my calling. A worshiper who comes before God proving her love to Him through her service of caring for His house. I don't wish only to be a Proverbs 31 woman, I will strive to be a Proverbs 31 worshiper.
I don't know if this is something that God has particularly put on your heart, but if so, I would like to invite you to join me in becoming a Proverbs 31 worshiper.
10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
It sounds like hard work because it is hard work. The question is, does He DESERVE us to love Him with this agape love? And the answer just for clarification, is YES. Absolutely.
One of the practical ways I'm loving Him during these next couple weeks is joining my church family in our annual Daniel fast. For prayer I will simply and passionately be praising Him, even when I don't feel like it. For the fast, I have already started experimenting with new recipes to add to the list from back when I was vegan.
Here are a couple different granola bar recipes:
Apricot Oatmeal Squares
*Make sure that you read labels when purchasing ingredients and make sure the product has no ingredients other than the one you want, such as sugar, sulfur, flavors, and preservatives*
2 cups water
5 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/3 cup raw+organic honey (the FDA has approved honey industries to add corn syrup to their honey WITHOUT declaring it on the ingredients list unless it is sold as raw AND organic)
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots
(or any other nuts/dried fruit you prefer)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, then add only 2 cups of oatmeal and stir. Let boil for 3 minutes, and then allow to simmer for an additional 5 minutes, or until the oatmeal is extremely thick and pasty, stirring often.
3. Scatter 2 cups of oatmeal on a cookie sheet with raised edges (so as not to spill oatmeal in your oven), spreading the oatmeal as evenly as possible. Toast in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to smell like it's toasted. A little golden brown is ok, but be cautious not to burn the oatmeal.
4. Melt almond butter and half of honey (1/6 cup) into the boiled oatmeal and stir well.
5. Stir in raisins, and then stir in the toasted oatmeal.
6. Divide mixture into 8 evenly sized balls, and then shape into thick squares.
7. Roll one side and all of the edges of each square into remaining oatmeal, leaving the top of the square bare.
8. Slice apricots into long, thin slices, and decoratively place on top of squares.
9. Drizzle remaining honey over apricots to keep them from falling off.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes on parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet, and if you see the apricots beginning to brown, get those squares outta there!
11. Cool and store in the refrigerator.
Also eat them. But not all at the same time... that could cause problems.
Tropical Granola Bars
*Make sure that you read labels when purchasing ingredients and make sure the product has no ingredients other than the one you want, such as sugar, sulfur, flavors, and preservatives*
6 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup raw+organic honey (the FDA has approved honey industries to add corn syrup to their honey WITHOUT declaring it on the ingredients list unless it is sold as raw AND organic)
5 bananas
1 cup dried unsweetened pineapple
1 cup dried unsweetened mango
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes
1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Scatter oatmeal on a cookie sheet with raised edges (so as not to spill oatmeal in your oven), spreading the oatmeal as evenly as possible. Toast in the oven for about 7 minutes, or until it begins to smell like it's toasted. A little golden brown is ok, but be cautious not to burn the oatmeal.
3. Puree bananas and put into large pot with honey
4. Heat the pot just enough to melt the honey, and stir honey and bananas together
5. Chop all dried fruit and nuts into small pieces, and stir into banana mixture
6. Stir in toasted oatmeal (if the mixture is too dry for shaping, add more banana)
7. Divide into 12 balls, and roll each into a cylindrical shape
8. Roll bars in coconut, and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet
9. Finish shaping into rectangular granola bars
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until coconut begins to brown
11. Cool and store in fridge
And enjoy!
I hope that these are helpful whether God is speaking to you about caring for His temple or not. They're certainly tasty either way!
Here's to being a Proverbs 31 worshiper in ALL we do.
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