Summertime

Love it!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:31:00 +0000

"If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord's people have always been a waiting people." –Spurgeon

Amen!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

"Indeed, as I perpetually feed on Christ and all of His blessing found in the gospel, I find that my hunger for sin diminishes and the lies of lust simply lose their appeal. Hence to the degree that I am full, I am free. Eyes do not rove, nor do fleshly lusts rule, when the heart is fat with the love of Jesus!"

Pg 46, final paragraph, A Gospel Primer.

Some Good Truth...

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:37:00 +0000

"When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart."

As Long As You Are Glorified

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:23:00 +0000

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of draught
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I'm filled
Are You King only when I'm carefree
And God only when I'm well
You are good when I'm poor and needy
You are true when I'm parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You're still God in the darkest hour

So quiet my restless heart
Quiet my restless heart
Quiet my restless heart in You

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:56:00 +0000

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 boxed spice cake mix
1 small can (15 ounces) pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin-pie filling)
1 bag (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, regular or mini-sized

1. Wash your hands.

2. Preheat the oven to 325˚F.

3. Pour the cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin and mix until the two ingredients are combined.

4. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Use a teaspoon to scoop a spoonful of batter. Use your finger to drop the batter onto a cookie sheet.

6. Bake the cookies for 20 minutes.

Happy Birthday, Ambie!!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:11:00 +0000

I love this girl and had the privilege of spending sweeet time with her on her birthday this year! It was such a sweet, sweet time! I am so forever thankful for my dear friendship with her! I have been blessed beyond measure to know her the last 3 years. I can't believe it has been that long--so awesome!!

She is a woman who loves the Lord and strives to live her life in loving service and submission unto Him. She is tender, teachable and so loving! She challenges me, encourages me and loves me so dearly. I don't deserve her friendship at all but am SO thankful to the Lord for the roles we play in each other's life. I can't imagine my life without her in it.

I love you, Mrs. Ambie Dennis!!
You are a sweetest delight to my soul!!

a little Tim Keller action...

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:41:00 +0000

You don't realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.

fun find of the week!!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:23:00 +0000

Shane & Shane's new album Everything is Different

Absolutely incredible!

I have some favorites--biblical truth straight from the pages of Scripture! How can you not love it?!!

It is rad!

Amen & Amen

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:57:00 +0000

"When you stop trying to control your life and instead allow your problems and anxieties to bring you to God in prayer, you shift from worry to watching."

Paul Miller, A Praying Life.

A Birthday Celebration!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:58:00 +0000

16 years ago today, I was saved! It was at the age 13, in a little classroom at Rolling Hills Covenant Church that the Lord got a hold of my heart and changed my life forever! I am forever grateful for the incredible gift of salvation!

Praise be to God--who is worthy of every honor, glory and praise!! He is so incredible to me!

Another fun recipe for the fall!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:15:00 +0000

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes
Hands-On Time: 15m

Total Time: 40m

Ingredients:

1 18.5-ounce box yellow cake mix (plus the ingredients called for in the package directions)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
24 pieces candy corn

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Prepare the cake mix as directed but with the following change: Add the pumpkin pie spice and substitute the can of pumpkin puree for the water called for in the package directions.

2. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool.

3. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Spread on the cupcakes and top each with a piece of candy corn.

Yum!!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:12:00 +0000

I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! They are some of my favorite treats. Here is a fun recipe with them included! Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Makes 48 cookies
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 40m

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 12-ounce package small peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter cups.

3. Drop Tablespoon-size mounds of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until light brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Comforts from the Cross

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:21:00 +0000

I have been reading Elyse Fitzpatrick's book Comforts from the Cross this last month and today came across the following paragraph that really caused me to stop and think. It still has me a little boggled. I thought I would share the love for all of you to read as well:

"So much of our lives as Christians is spent in futile doubt, weak questionings, and apathetic, self-serving strategies. In part, we fail in our war for purity because we spend too much time meditating on ourselves, our work, our growth. We have little hope for change because our hope is grounded in ourselves, in how we're doing, in whether God is proving His love by granting us every trifling desire or delivering us from heartbreaking trial. We've been deceived into believing that His love is passe, something we've already comprehended. It bores us. John's message, through the Spirit of the living Christ, calls to you today: "See!" See him. See what your adoption cost Him. See His commitment to His family, to you. Steep your soul in the warmth of His desire to have you for His own, and after you have done that, pursue the purity that is a mark of this fierce love."

some wisdom from Spurg...

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:17:00 +0000

“Unerring wisdom ordained your lot, and selected for you the safest and best condition. Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances. Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.”

Charles Spurgeon

a little neglect...

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:17:00 +0000

I have neglected the ol' blog for some time now so I thought a recent pic might revitalize the page for the time being!

Enjoy!

Truth from Elyse!

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:12:00 +0000

God's goal in all things whether good or hard is that we would know how wonderful He is!

Holla!! Such incredible truth!

In the Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:18:00 +0000

I first heard this song at Truth & Life last week. The words made me stop and really consider the truth of what was being sung. I was so encouraged and challenged to keep this perspective in the midst of trials and heartache, great or small. I pray you are just as encouraged and that this too would be your thinking in the midst of loss and disappointment.

Our God is so good! May we never forget this.

In the Valley
Sovereign Grace Ministries

When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed

Elijah & the Widow of Zarephath

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:16:00 +0000

I have been reading through 1 Kings recently and came across the portion of Scripture that speaks of Elijah and the destitute widow of Zarephath.

In a time of great famine and drought, Elijah came to the widow asking her to make him a cake, using the last of the flour and oil she had. She knew that this little amount of flour and oil stood between her son's and her own starvation; however, because this request came from the Lord, she obeyed and offered all she had, not questioning the Lord's goodness to her but trusting in His character, His infinite mercy and His overwhelming desire for her ultimate good--in the midst of suffering and even potential death for her self and her son. (...and, not to mention, without understanding why God would ask her to make Elijah a cake when her and son had nothing more to eat and really nothing to give another?!) Oh, to have a trust like hers, to obey without reservation. I pray that this characterizes me one day!

The widow at Zarephath never imagined the far-reaching effects of her obedience. "There was food for him and for her and her family for a long time. The jar of flour did not give out nor did the flask of oil fail" (1 Kings 17:15-16). God is so good--and does far more than we can ever imagine with our suffering, our loss, our heartache, our weaknesses, our poverty, our misery!

Amy Carmichael wrote a poem that provides an incredible analogy between suffering and the poverty of the widow of Zarephath.

Nothing in the House

Thy servant, Lord, hath nothing in the house,
Not even one small pot of common oil;
For he who never cometh to spoil
Hath raided my poor house again, again,
That ruthless strong man armed, whom men call Pain.

I thought that I had courage in the house,
And patience to be quiet and endure,
And sometimes happy songs; now I am sure
Thy servant truly hath not anything,
And see, my song-bird hath a broken wing.

***

My servant, I have come into the house--
I who know Pain's extremity so well
That there can never be the need to tell
His power to make the flesh and spirit quail:
Have I not felt the scourage, the thorn, the nail?

And I, his Conqueror, am in the house,
Let not your heart be troubled: do not fear:
Why shouldst thou, child of Mine, if I am here?
My touch will heal thy song-bird's broken wing,
And he shall have a braver song to sing.

The Lord redeems our pain, our misery, our hurt. He heals our broken wings and gives us a braver song to sing--if only we will trust, if only we will risk. The Lord can bring such beauty from even the worst pain and hurt. Will we trust Him to do that? Will we offer him that which exposes us and leaves us so vulnerable before Him and even others? I pray that I too can offer what I believe is my last bit of flour and oil with a heart believing that Christ, in the midst of the heartache and the pain, is doing far more than I ever can imagine with my finite, little mind.

How People Change, Tripp--Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:19:00 +0000

Our wrong responses are not forced on us by situations and/or people. They come out of our hearts.

How People Change, Tripp--Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:18:00 +0000

As Christians, we should be the saddest people on earth (because we understand the ravages of sin), and the most joyful people on earth (because we experience the grace of the crucified Christ).

a freebie...

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:54:00 +0000

This life, therefore,
is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness,
not health but healing,
not being, but becoming,
not rest but exercise.
We are not yet what we shall be but we are growing toward it;
the process is not finished but it is going on;
this is not the end but it is the road;
all does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified.

By: Martin Luther

How People Change, Tripp--Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:28:00 +0000

Another quote:

Change is not rooted in a body of knowledge, a set of rules, theological outlines or behavioral techniques. It is the result of your heart's transformation (and humble submission) by the risen Lord. As His grace rules our hearts, we can keep His commands.

Praise be to God!

How People Change, Tripp--Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:43:00 +0000

I picked up the book How People Change this afternoon. There have been great nuggets of truth that have been good for me to reflect on and think through. I am going to share one with you now!

Our reactions to our circumstances have consequences. Our responses, whether godly or ungodly, help create a new set of circumstances to deal with. If I get irritated with my son when he doesn't do what I say, I create a new set of circumstances. When I sin, I make the problem worse, even if my son obeys me. When I respond in godly ways, it doesn't guarantee that my son will respond as I would like, but it does ensure that I am not a hindrance to the work of God in his life.

Such a great reminder!

C.S. Lewis on the fleeting pleasures of sin...

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:30:00 +0000

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Trusting God

noreply@blogger.com (Summer Martin) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:00:00 +0000

I have the privilege of meeting with a dear sister in Christ each week to discuss Jerry Bridges' book Trusting God. The time has been super sweet! Tonight I was reading chapter 3 in preparation for our time together and came across this quote:

Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will. I never feel like trusting God when adversity strikes, but I can choose to do so even when I don't feel like it. That act of the will, though, must be based on belief, and belief must be based on truth.

I love it! I want to trust like this!