Reformed?

As I handed out candy to about 10 kids today for Halloween, it struck me that I should post not about Halloween, but about October 31st. Now if you say "October 31st" the first thing that comes to mind is pumpkins, candy, scariness, and kids. The sermon that I heard this past Sunday talked of a very different October 31st, which is Reformation Day as well as Halloween. Reformation Day is the celebration of the Reformation. As a re-cap of what the Reformation is...

On this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Also, the theses were written in Latin, the language of the church, and not in the vernacular. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. When Luther and his supporters were excommunicated in 1520, the Lutheran tradition was born.

As there were trick or treaters tricking and treating, I couldn't help but thinking of my roots, the roots of the church and the importance of this day on 1517. I praise God for His hand in the life of Martin Luther and for the listening ears of Luther himself. May I have the strength and courage to listen and hear God's voice and to feel His hand nudging.

WOMEN of FAITH

This weekend, I was able to go to Minnesota for the Women of Faith conference. It has been recommended to me before that I needed to go, but what a blessing to be able to go with my mom, 2 aunts, cousin and other new friends. It was an amazing weekend and we had great "girl" time together.
The conference title was "Amazing Freedom". I encourage you women out there to go to the website and check out some of their stuff
www.womenoffaith.com
OR
if you have the AWESOME opportunity to go to a conference, it will change your life!
Thanks Aunt Donna and Heidi for putting this together for all of us to come.
What an amazing, freeing weekend!

O-H-I-O AND Cleveland ROCKS!!!

NEED I SAY MORE?????
Ohio State moves to #1!!

Blessings...

God is good.
We hear that and sometimes may even say that often, but do we always think about what that means? God is good, whether we are or not, whether our circumstances stink or not, whether we are focused on Him daily or whether we are focused on ourselves. Blessings from God can come in many different shapes and sizes, they can be people, they can be, well anything. Today we got an amazing blessing that really came at "just the right time." A lady came up to us at church today and gave us a gift of money. She told us that Joel had been so great and that we really held a special place in her heart. It is wonderful to hear these things and they really remind you that you are and have done what God has called. But when we looked at the amount of money she gave, we were floored! It was a HUGE blessing for us and it really helped us with unexpected bills we have had!
God is good! He is good yesterday, today and forever. I am so thankful for His blessings to us in the form of money, but in the form of relationships, love and strength.
Hallelujah!

What are YOUR blessings today?

A Fun Fall Recipe

I thought I would share this recipe with you. I made it last fall and people at work enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what I would think of putting together chocolate and pumpkin, but it's actually very good. Let me know what you think...



PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES


INGREDIENTS
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)



DIRECTIONS
Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.