B-l-tea Sandwiches – We Love God!

What is the surest character of true, divine, supernatural love that distinguishes it from counterfeits that arise from a natural self-love? It is the Christian virtue of humility that shines in it. Divine love above all others renounces and abases what we term “self.” Christian love or true love is a humble love… In that person we see a sense of his own smallness, vileness, weakness, and utter insufficiency. We see a lack of self-confidence. We see self-emptiness, self-denial, and poverty of spirit. These are the manifest tokens of the Spirit of God.

Jonathan Edwards

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Meats			24	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2	lb	Hickory-smoked peppered
		bacon thick-sliced
24		Sun-dried tomatoes -, 4 oz
1	c	Homemade or prepared
		mayonnaise
		Coarse salt
		Freshly-ground black pepper
24		Rye bread, 1/4" thick
		Or 48 slices party rye
2	c	Mache, lamb's lettuce or
		Other baby lettuce leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the center. Arrange the
bacon strips in a single layer without touching on 2 baking sheets  and
bake, one at a time, in the oven for 10 minutes. Drain, and let  cool
on paper towels. Crumble the bacon into small pieces, about  1/2-inch
each. Set aside. Meanwhile, heat 3 cups water in a small  saucepan
until almost boiling. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a  medium bowl,
and cover with the very hot water. Allow the tomatoes to  soak until
they are soft, about 20 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and  finely chop.
Combine the tomatoes and the mayonnaise. Season  generously with salt
and pepper. Spread each bread slice with the  mayonnaise mixture. Place
bacon on half of the bread slices, sprinkle  with pepper, add a layer
of mache, and top with the remaining bread.  Slice each in half, and
serve. For a buffet lunch or an afternoon  tea, serve tea sandwiches in
"boxes" made from hollowed-out loaves of  bread. Makes 2 dozen.
Source: ""Martha Stewart's Hors D'Oeuvres Handbook" by Martha Stewart"
S(Formatted for MC5): "by Lynn Thomas - Lynn_Thomas@prodigy.net "
Copyright: "1999 - Clarkson N. Potter - $35"  Per serving: 0 Calories
(kcal); 0g Total Fat; (0% calories from fat);  0g Protein; 0g
Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 0mg Sodium Food  Exchanges: 0
Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat;  0 Other
Carbohydrates  Recipe by: Martha Stewart  Converted by MM_Buster v2.0n.

A Message from our Provider:

“Gratitude produces deep, abiding joy because we know that God is working in us, even through difficulties. #Charles Stanley”

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 70 Calories From Fat: 46 Total Fat: 5.1g Cholesterol: 6.3mg Sodium: 81.2mg Potassium: 115.2mg Carbohydrates: 4g Fiber: <1g Sugar: 1.8g Protein: 2.2g

Prayer Meeting Effectiveness – Part 1 (

1-5): 1. Show Up! It goes without saying that we need people in order to make a group prayer meeting effective. The more that come out to pray, the more prayer we can offer to the Lord. The more that come out to pray, the more others will be inspired to make the same bold commitment to corporate prayer as well. Yet it also goes without saying that coming out can oftentimes be a challenge. Usually by 5:00 on Wednesday nights, we’ve conceived every excuse under the sun to justify our absence. Any personal application there? Think of it this way. If corporate prayer is one of our most effective weapons for spiritual success, don’t you think Satan and your flesh will do everything within their power to keep you away? Don’t give in! Discipline yourself to attend. If your feelings are not right, attend and pray that the Lord changes your heart. Erroll Hulse once said, “It is customary to mark engagements in our diary. If meeting the King with our fellow believers is important it will surely be reserved in our diary. Invitations to dinner or to recreational events will have to be fitted in elsewhere. Jesus says that we have not because we fail to ask (James 4:2). Is the audience with our Monarch esteemed by you as a priority? Does your diary reflect that fact?” Show up! There is strength in numbers! 2. Come Prepared! Arguably, our prayer meeting is the most important gathering of the church. Yet because we meet at the same time each week it is possible to fall into a mindless routine that just goes through the motions. Because we meet late in the evenings it is possible to come with minds clouded and numbed from the day’s activities. As a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a prayer meeting is only as effective as its weakest member. Be prepared to make your contribution by being sure to have prepared yourself spiritually before you arrive. For example, ask God to remind you of the awesome privilege you have to come into His holy presence with your requests. Ask God to put specific prayer requests on your heart. Ask God for a delight in His name so that He may grant you the desires of your heart (Psm. 37:4). Ask God to give you a love for Him and others. As the great evangelist, D.L. Moody, said over a hundred years ago, “The members should come to the meeting in the spirit of prayer. It ought to be on their hearts from week to week.' 3. Be Genuine! Many do not attend the prayer meeting simply because they are embarrassed to pray in the presence of others. That’s not good! Others go in the opposite direction and attend for the purpose of attempting to impress others with their prayers. That’s even worse! I’m sure we’ve all witnessed those who all of a sudden change their accent (perhaps a little Scottish flair) or pray in “King James Version” or use big theological words that they barely understand themselves or employ many words all for the sake of appearance. God is not impressed! Our Lord condemned this spirit (Mt. 6:5, 7). God looks not at the outward appearance, but the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). The heart that honors Him is the heart that seeks to gain His attention. All Christians can achieve this! Humble, childlike faith is esteemed in the ears of the Lord and should likewise be esteemed in the ears of His children who are present. 4. Pray Specifically! Effective prayer is specific prayer. Oftentimes we do not have because we do not ask (Jas. 4:2). For example, it’s easy to ask the Lord to bless our missionaries, but specifically how do we wish for them to be blessed? Is it God’s will to heal every sick person? Of course we pray for their relief, but what about their witness to the caregivers both in words and behavior, the sufficient grace to be upheld spiritually, the spiritual growth as a result of their trial and their understanding of God’s love and faithfulness despite the misery? Are you praying for people in particular? Use their names (see Romans 16)! Avoid the vague generalities and hone in on the particular circumstances with a creative, thoughtful and deliberate Spirit-led precision. 5. Don’t Pray About Everything! In large prayer meetings it’s customary to be broken down into a number of small groups. Commonly the leader assigned will then review the prayer agenda and/or take specific prayer requests from the people assembled. The needs are noted and internalized by those present, but then too often the first person to speak prays for everything before the next person even has an opportunity to open his or her mouth! Not only is domination like this in the prayer meeting selfish; it is also potentially frustrating for the others that are gathered. Effective groups will witness each person taking a topic or two until all the given topics have been covered. This not only guarantees the participation of everybody, but also enhances the mental and spiritual engagement of each participant to be sure that all the issues are prayed over before the group concludes their time together.