Shana shared with us another devotional today, and we've posted here for those who weren't able to attend and for others who want to return to it and reflect.
"When you hear the term "seven seas," you may think of the oceans or someone with a wealth of experience. So today, I’m going to briefly cover the Seven C's of how God can guide us when making decisions and how to navigate the Sea of Life.
Every person's life consists of big and little decisions. You can be confident that God will help you make the right decisions. Although some bad decisions will be made along the way, we can realize and acknowledge our mistakes, and look to God. He will provide us with navigational aids so that proper course corrections for our lives can be attained.
The first of the seven C’s is Communication. We need to be in touch with God through reading His Word and through prayer. While the answer may not be in black and white Scripture, the biblical guidelines can be found in the Bible stories. The more biblical guidelines for making decisions you know and put into practice, the more obvious will be your course of action.
In 1 Peter 5:7 we are told to "cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you." Does this include concern about making the right decisions? Of course. If God has promised us over and over again in Scripture that He cares about our well-being, certainly He will answer our prayer requests for help in making decisions.
The second C is inner Convictions of the Holy Spirit. The convictions from the Holy Spirit will always be in line with God's perfect will for us and are therefore crucial when it comes to making right decisions.
Common Sense is the third "C," which we generally take for granted, and yet it is definitely a means that God has given us to make decisions. In fact, most decisions are made with common sense. He expects us to use the common sense that He has given us concerning an issue and let Him fit these small decisions into the overall pattern of our lives. God has blessed us with common sense, and it's our responsibility, as much as possible, to use it for wise decision-making about the common, everyday matters of life.
"How God made us" is what the fourth C is all about: Composition. The way in which God sovereignly put us together as to likes and dislikes, looks and brains, abilities and spiritual gifts is actually a means that God uses to guide us. God may be guiding you to say "yes" to an opportunity to be involved in something that you have the natural ability to relate to and communicate with those invovled. We have to decide to the job we were designed to do!
The fifth C is the Counsel of others. Mature, godly Christians can point us in the right direction and help us make right decisions. Getting advice from others about what shirt to buy or what house to buy can help point us in the right direction.
The sixth C is Circumstances. God is sovereign, all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere at the same time, and he knows what’s going on in your life. There is nothing that happens by mere chance, and that includes every last detail of our lives.
Lastly, there is Control. Sometimes we don’t have any control. God sometimes reaches in and takes control of our situation in such a way that we are no longer even involved in the decision!"
Have a blessed week!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Don't play the 6 o'clock scramble
Thanks to Kendra Stover, nutrition educator with the Shawnee County office of K-State Research & Extension, who spoke with our group this morning and shared great information about the new My Plate guidelines and portion sizes for adults and preschoolers.
We've compiled a number of meal planning, recipe, nutrition and family dinner resources. Check out these links to get some great ideas. And please share your favorite resources in the comments!
Meal Planning
Freezer/Once A Month (OAMC) Cooking
Recipes
Food blogs are growing exponentially on the Internet. Here are just a few that have healthy, quick, family-friendly favorites. If you have favorites that you look to for recipes, please share in the comments!
Related articles
We've compiled a number of meal planning, recipe, nutrition and family dinner resources. Check out these links to get some great ideas. And please share your favorite resources in the comments!
Meal Planning
- "Eating Well But Cooking Less," a 196-page PDF cookbook containing four weeks of meal plans, grocery lists and recipes. Go to this link, and scroll down to the "Eating Well But Cooking Less" link (under Speakers' Bureau) to download the PDF file.
- myfamilymealplanner.com, was created by a Manhattan, Kan., mom
- www.mealsmatter.org, allows you to save recipes into "cookbooks" and quickly create your own digital meal plans
- www.savingdinner.com, has a weekly newsletter with great recipes and tips. You can purchase a subscription meal plan service, but author Leanne Ely also has free examples, too. And she's written several cookbooks, that you could check out at the library, including Saving Dinner, Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way, Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way
- http://orgjunkie.com/category/menu-plan-Monday, this is a weekly roundup of bloggers who post their meal plans for the week, a great way to get ideas for your own meal plan.
Freezer/Once A Month (OAMC) Cooking
- onceamonthmom.com, a treasure trove of recipes and plans that include sections for gluten-/dairy-free, whole foods, vegetarian and baby foods menus.
- Life as Mom, the blog of a mother of six formerly from Kansas City, includes a freezer cooking focus.
- Money Saving Mom, a popular couponing blogger from Kansas, also posts weekly meal plans and "freezer cooking in an hour" sessions on her blog. Her site includes free planners to guide your freezer cooking and a set of downloads for menu planning.
- "Once a Month Cooking" and "Once a Month Cooking: Family Favorites" are cookbooks by Mary Beth Lagerborg and Mimi Wilson that offer two-week and one-month freezer cooking plans complete with recipes, grocery lists and calendars
Recipes
Food blogs are growing exponentially on the Internet. Here are just a few that have healthy, quick, family-friendly favorites. If you have favorites that you look to for recipes, please share in the comments!
Related articles
- "How to Have a Family Dinner" from the Living on a Dime blog
- "Raisy Non-Picky Eaters" by blogger FIMBY (Fun in My Back Yard)
- "Everyone to the Table: Family Meals Serve Us Well," from K-State Research & Extension
- "Dining on a Dime," bimonthly newsletter from K-State Research & Extension
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