Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of endless glory
Fills my heart with joy and love,
Teach me ever to adore Thee;
3 "Why have we fasted, but You have not seen? (B)
We have denied ourselves, but You haven't noticed!" [b]
"Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers. (C)
4 You fast [with] contention and strife
to strike viciously with [your] fist.
You cannot fast as [you do] today,
[hoping] to make your voice heard on high.
5 Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? (D)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the LORD?
*I saw this to mean complaining, wanting everyone to know, wanting praise for fasting rather than using it as a time to consecrate yourself before the Lord. SO CONVICTING!
6 Isn't the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness, (E)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke? (F)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, (G)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him, (H)
and to not ignore [c] your own flesh [and blood]? (I)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly. (J)
Your righteousness will go before you, (K)
and the LORD's glory will be your rear guard. (L)
9 At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer; (M)
when you cry out, He will say: Here I am.
If you get rid of the yoke from those around you, [d]
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, (N)
10 and if you offer yourself [e] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness, (O)
and your night will be like noonday
La Madeleine's Creamy Pesto Chicken
MAKES: 4 Servings
1 pkg chicken tenders
2 whole mushrooms
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter (s)
1/2 cup heavy cream (s)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (s)
1/4 tsp salt (s)
1/4 tsp black pepper (s)
2 pkt pesto sauce mix (s)
bow-tie pasta
Pesto Cream Sauce:
[note: all ingredients marked with an (s) are for this sauce]
1. Mix pesto packets according to instructions.
2. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium high heat. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil. When bubbles are at max height, sprinkle in Parmesan cheese to knock down bubbles. Reduce heat to to med-low and cook, stirring constantly.
3. Continue to stir, scraping the bottom and sides as cheese melts and sauce thickens to desired consistency. Add salt, pepper, and then gradually stir in pesto mix until thoroughly blended.
Main Dish:
1. Chop tenders into bite-sized pieces and slightly brown in skillet with olive oil. Slice mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes and add to skillet. Add additional olive oil to keep moist, if necessary.
2. Stir in pesto cream sauce mixture. Thoroughly mix until all ingredients are hot and ready to eat. Serve over bow-tie pasta.
30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God's own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin).
31Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).
32And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.
How much meat there is in that passage! How different our world would be if we let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouth and only spoke when it was good and beneficial and gave blessing and grace to those who heard it. I am REALLY going to work on this. I want to speak LIFE, not curses over others. I want my heart to overflow with genuine affection and interest. I want my words to encourage and inspire rather than tear down.
It seems to be the hardest to those closest to me. I am really going to work on my words spoke to and before Abby Kate and Bobby.
3. I want to speak scripture over Abby Kate. Deut. 6:6 says “These words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
I so desire to follow this command! I am doing a study where the author talks of speaking scripture over her children when she tucks them in at night. With my toddler, she doesn't lay still very often so if you have ideas on how to do this, I would love to hear them!