Blue Monday - Smiling Sally's Gift

Hello! Welcome to Blue Monday! For complete instructions, just click here.




Make someone's day when you wish them a Happy Blue Monday!



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If you're reading this, I've gone to Heaven. I've been under Hospice care since May, but I didn't want to mention it.

Many years ago, I made a decision to accept the gift of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Now my time on earth has ended, and because of that decision, I'm in a much better place.

God has provided the Gift of Heaven. I'm leaving you a few Bible verses that will show you how to receive this gift.

1. "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" ~ Romans 3:23

2. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life" ~ Romans 6:23

3. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." ~ John 3:16

You may be asking yourself what God requires, or exactly what you’ll need to change. The Bible shows us in simple terms what God is asking of us: believe, confess, and receive.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” ~ Romans 10:9


I've enjoyed my time with you and I hope to see you in Heaven!

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Blue Monday will be hosted by Jeanne of Backyard Neighbor. Just click on the link to go there.

Happy Blue Monday!

Pumpkin

A woman was asked by a coworker, "What's it like to be a Christian?"

The coworker replied, "It's like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

Friday Fill-Ins #93

Janet hosts Friday Fill-ins here. If you'd like to play along, check it out.

1. One of the best movies I ever saw that I really didn't think I'd like was Hancock with Will Smith. See for yourself. Rent it!

2. Apple Butter Bars is a recipe I recently made that was delicious! I got the recipe from Blogland.

3. It's time for all my favorite television programs. How I've missed them!

4. Opening windows is quite refreshing. I take deeper breaths and sigh contently.

5. If I never hear the word OMG again, it'll be too soon. Tsk. Tsk. Taking God's name in vain.

6. To one side of the curving road was a huge display of orange pumpkins for sale, and on the other was a beautiful Royal Palm Tree.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a relaxing evening, tomorrow my plans include church and Sunday, I want to watch Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, and read the newspaper!
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Apple Butter Bars from a different Sally at salmagundi.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups apple butter

Stir flour, soda, salt, oats, and sugar together. Add melted butter stirring thoroughly until all dry ingredients are mixed in.
Press half of oat mixture firmly in greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread with apple butter. Pat remaining oat mixture lightly on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
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There's a TON of excitement around here as I'm hosting all these delightful BOOK GIVEAWAYS--see my sidebar. If you live in the US or Canada, please take advantage!

Take Me to Your Leader!

With the elections coming up, everyone is focusing on our would-be new leader. Let's reflect for a moment on just who is our leader. Happy Sunday!

What is Worship?

I use Open Windows for my daily devotions. Each day has a Bible verse, a short real life application, and a sentence prayer. Because it's brief, I find it a convenient tool and have used it for many years. The contributors are various pastors, professors, and individual people from all walks of life.

This past Friday, Marvin Nail discussed worship. "Worship designed to stir our excitement and make us feel good seems to miss the point. Instead, worship should fill us with awe that God permits us to come into His presence," I like that!

My all-time favorite definition for worship follows:

To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God. All this is gathered up in that emotion which most cleanses us from selfishness because it is the most selfless of all emotions--adoration. William Temple

How would you define worship?

Tomorrow as requested, my all-time favorite worship song.

Faith in America Is Alive and Well

Did you hear last night's evening news on NBC with Brian Williams? He reported that a major survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life revealed that more than half American adults find religion very important in their lives, attend religious services regularly, and pray daily. The poll surveyed 35,000 and found that seventy-one percent believed "absolutely certain" in God.

I'm pleasantly surprised not by the results of the poll, but that NBC would deem it newsworthy. It felt good to hear something positive. God Bless America!

How about you? Do you think faith is important?