Posted by: jakinnan | November 13, 2013

11/13/2013 Scripture

ZionAutumn

As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will soon give glory to the Son. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

-John 13:31-35 NLT

Photo: Peter Nelson

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 12, 2013

Master of Understatement

Stormy Sunset

How do you understand your life? Why has it turned out so differently from what you imagined? What do you make of its randomness? The phone rings, and you have no idea what is coming. It could be great news! It could be an old friend getting back in touch! Maybe you won a car! Or it could be something much different.

I went to get a mammogram with one of my girlfriends. She suggested we go together so that we actually would go, and then we could celebrate having it over by going out to lunch. We did. A week later when I next saw her, I asked, “Did you get your clean-bill-of-health letter?” She didn’t get that letter. She got a phone call. And another mammogram. And a biopsy. And the battle for her life. I came out as normal, and she came out with stage IV breast cancer. It felt like our two names had been put in a hat, and this time her name was drawn.

In John 16:33 Jesus says, “In this world, you will have trouble.” Is he not the master of understatement?

Christianity is not a promise to enjoy a life without pain nor to be given a shortcut through it. It is a promise that pain, sorrow, sin—ours and others—will not swallow us, destroy us, define us, or have the final word. Jesus has won the victory. And in him so have we.

– Stasi Eldredge, Becoming Myself

Photo: Rich Roper

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 12, 2013

11/12/2013 Scripture

Pine valley

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

– John 14:1-4 & 6-7 NLT

Photo: Jeff Heaton

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 11, 2013

11/11/2013 Scripture

Lonely-Tree-0

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

-John 15:5-8 NLT

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 11, 2013

11/10/2013 Scripture

Utah

“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

-John 16:5-11 NLT

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 9, 2013

A House Divided

reflection1

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Ps. 147:3)

Yes, we have all been wounded in this battle. And we will be wounded again. But something deeper has also happened to us than mere wounds.

I expect that all of us at one time or another have said, “Well, part of me wants to, and another part of me doesn’t.” You know the feeling—part of you pulled one direction, part of you the other. Part of me loves writing and genuinely looks forward to a day at my desk. But not all of me. Sometimes I’m also afraid of it. Part of me fears that I will fail—that I am simply stating what is painfully obvious, or saying something vital but incoherent. I’m drawn to it, and I also feel ambivalent about it. Come to think of it, I feel that way about a lot of things. Part of me wants to go ahead and dive into friendship, take the risk. I’m tired of living alone. Another part says, Stay away—you’ll get hurt. Nobody really cares anyway. Part of me says, Wow! Maybe God really is going to come through for me. Another voice rises up and says, You are on your own.

Don’t you feel sometimes like a house divided?

Take your little phobias. Why are you afraid of heights or intimacy or public speaking? All the discipline in the world wouldn’t get you to go skydiving, share something really personal in a small group, or take the pulpit next Sunday. Why do you hate it when people touch you or criticize you? And what about those little “idiosyncrasies” you can’t give up to save your life? Why do you bite your nails? Why do you work so many hours? Why do you get irritated at these questions? You won’t go out unless your makeup is perfect—why is that? Other women don’t mind being seen in their grubbies. Something in you “freezes” when your dad calls—what’s that all about? You clean and organize; you demand perfection—did you ever wonder why?

– John Eldredge, Waking the Dead

Photo: Steve Howa

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 9, 2013

11/09/2013 Scripture

Bryce

After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

-John 17:1-5 NLT

Photo: Jim Jackson

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 8, 2013

That’s It? That’s the “Good News”?

Middle Canyon

Forever and ever? That’s it? That’s the “good news”? And then we sigh and feel guilty that we are not more “spiritual.” We lose heart, and we turn once more to the present to find what life we can. Eternity ends up having no bearing on our search for life whatsoever. It feels like the end of the search. And since we’re not all that sure about what comes after, we search hard now. Remember, we can only hope for what we desire. How can the church service that never ends be more desirable than the richest experiences of life here? It would be no small difference if you knew in your heart that the life you prize is just around the corner, that your deepest desires have been whispering to you all along about what’s coming. You see, Scripture tells us that God has “set eternity” in our hearts (Eccl.3:11). Where in our hearts? In our desires.

The return of spring brings such relief and joy and anticipation. Life has returned, and with it sunshine, warmth, color, and the long summer days of adventure together. We break out the lawn chairs and the barbecue grill. We tend the garden and drink in all the beauty. We head off for vacations. Isn’t this what we most deeply long for? To leave the winter of the world behind, what Shakespeare called “the winter of our discontent,” and find ourselves suddenly in the open meadows of summer?

– John Eldredge, Desire

Photo: Steve Howa

 

 

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 8, 2013

11/08/2013 Scripture

Utah-Arizona

“I Am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) As Jesus said“I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! 7 Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”

And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

“I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

-John 18:5-11 NLT

Photo: Steve Howa

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Posted by: jakinnan | November 7, 2013

Nora Ann’s Homemade Granola

homemade-granola-jpg

Ingredients
2 c rolled oats
2 c bob’s red mill® 5-grain cereal
2 c chopped pecans
1⁄3 c toasted wheat germ
1 T ground cinnamon
1⁄4 c honey or maple syrup
1⁄4 c vegetable oil
1⁄4 c water or fruit juice
2 t vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 225*.
2. Mix the dry items in a large bowl, the wet items in a small bowl.
3. Add liquid mixture to grains mixture and toss to coat evenly. Spray 2 jelly roll pans with cooking spray,
and spread mixture evenly in a thin layer on the pans. Bake for 75-90 minutes, or until starting to
brown lightly. Cool in pans, then store in heavy plastic bags in cool, dry place. Granola will get crisp
when it cools.
4. You can increase the calorie content by adding more oil (up to 1 cup) and more sweetener — this is
not a very sweet granola.
5. Take about 3/4 cup of granola in a quart bag, add some dried fruit and 1/3 cup of powdered milk. Add
1 cup cold water in camp and eat from the bag.
Recipe by Trail Cooking at http://www.trailcooking.com/breakfast/nora-anns-homemade-granola/

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