We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Thinking of birthdays raises an important question. Some of our most significant events – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, funerals – honor particular people. At those times, how do we demonstrate that God is at the heart of every celebration? Can we honor God appropriately while focusing so much attention on people? How do we keep God at the center? We can answer those questions in various ways. Paul said, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Ac. 17:18); “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). Through Him we have birth and life and every thing and every person in our lives. So God is the reason we have anything to celebrate. He is the ultimate source of our celebrations. As we read in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” When we realize that the child, spouse, the life, the friends, the family are all gifts from our Father, it makes every celebration a “thanksgiving” day, a time to express our heart of thanks to God. Saint Augustine said something that might help us when we worry that making much of a person might somehow be competition for our love of God. “For he loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.” In other words, as my husband explains, “If created things are seen and handled as gifts of God and as mirrors of His glory, they need not be occasions of idolatry – if our delight in them is always also a delight in their Maker.” Thinking about a few special days might help us see how much this truth can play out.

Noel Piper

We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Cranberry-lemon Punch

January 27, 2023

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
		Beverages	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2	qt	Water
1	c	Sugar
1	c	Strong tea
1		6oz.can frozen lemonade
		Concentrate, thawed
1	qt	Cranberry juice cocktail
2	c	Apple juice
1	c	Orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat water and sugar to boiling, stirring constantly, until sugar is
dissolved; cool. Prepare tea, using 2 teaspoons loose tea or 2 tea
bags and 1 cup boiling water; cool. Refrigerate all ingredients. Just
before serving, mix in large punch bowl.  To make ice ring,arrange thin
citrus slices and cranberries in 6 cup  ring mold. Pour water into mold
to partially cover fruit. Freeze. When  frozen,add water to fill mold
3/4 full. Freeze. Unmold and float  fruit side up in punch bowl.  Makes
about 30 servings, 1/2 cup each.  Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3 #283
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 11:15:10 -0400  From: "Gary W. Griffin"
<wanderer@ctonline.net>

A Message from our Provider:

“Down in the mouth? It’s time for a faith lift”

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 2909 Calories From Fat: 45 Total Fat: 5.4g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 96.2mg Potassium: 3031.2mg Carbohydrates: 735.6g Fiber: 7.5g Sugar: 695.1g Protein: 9.9g