Sprinkle's Strawberry Cupcakes

Thanks to Pinterest, I found these on Martha Stewart's website. I made them for my high school small group girls as a treat for our Tangled party, but now I'm keeping this recipe because it incorporates puréed strawberries. They taste so much much better than artificial flavor & food coloring!

Try them:
http://www.marthastewart.com/258957/sprinkles-strawberry-cupcakes

Bruised Feelings: What to do When You are Hurt

Let’s face it, being a woman has its own spectrum of emotions. There are often times when we are hurt or offended, and the other person has no idea that we are holding them responsible. Sometimes others mean to inflict pain and other times we take it upon ourselves, but there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with both. And, believe me, I have chosen the wrong way plenty of times! Emotions can be tricky since we may know the right response, but we choose to act like children because the heat of the moment seemed to call for it.

Here are a few thoughts for taming your emotions when you are feeling hurt.

Try to Understand It from Their Perspective: No, I mean, actually try. Giving fellow believers the benefit of the doubt is not only helpful for your heart to overcome the pain, but it is also a biblical response to hope all things. That is true love (1 Cor. 13:7 & 13:11). Put your childish ways behind you so that the outcome of the situation can benefit both you and the other person. At the very least, they should know you do not wish them harm.

Forgive from the Heart, the Head and the Hands: In love, thought and deed. In situations where you have been wronged, true forgiveness first happens in your heart where you deal with your most immediate response to that person. You must first realize that if you let your emotions drag you to a place where you hate someone, you cannot say you love God – you would be lying! God has made it clear that if you love Him you will love His people (1 John 4:20-21; James 3:16-18). As a result of forgiving that person in your heart, you must choose not to replay what this person has done to you in your head. Us women are especially good at brooding over wrongdoing, as if we enjoy suffering because it displays another person’s sin. We love other people by dismissing thoughts of their personal offenses toward us, and instead, thinking about whatever is good, pure, lovely, holy, etc. Finally, we portray forgiveness in a way they can see (Hebrews 10:23-24; Colossians 3:12-14). The way that you apply this to your life will look much differently than the next person, but what you can be sure of is the inexplicable joy that comes from offering peace and harmony to someone who may not deserve it, may not expect it, or may not even acknowledge it. You are offering your life to the Lord.

Disclaimer: Because feelings and thoughts are so complex, please do not feel like you’ve failed when a thought creeps into your head and you begin to feel the bitterness in your heart sinking in again. This is another opportunity for you to choose to obey the Lord again. Don’t look back! Choose to love Him, choose to forgive, and choose to love this person again.

Forgive and be Forgiven: Do not be the Unforgiving Servant. Read Matthew 18:21-35. Think about what you feel is owed to you. An apology? A peace offering? You may recall a debt too great for you to pay with the Almighty. Who provided the peace offering for you to be right with God? He did! What better picture of forgiveness than that. A sinless life and death was provided by the One who was offended, for the ones who cannot even begin to appreciate it (Ephesians 1:7-8; 1 Peter 4:1-3). This is not meant to be harsh, but it may help put the situation into perspective. No earthly forgiveness comes close to the love and forgiveness God has shown us.

Harboring hurt feelings will only make them rot away into bitterness, and bitterness in time will rot your heart. While there are no healthy ways to protect yourself from being hurt by other people since it is the nature of relationships in a sinful world, you can still choose to respond with a soft heart by loving God with your inner responses, your thoughts, your words, and the manifestation of His forgiveness in your life.

20-minute Challenge for the Technology Twitch

Before I forget what this post is about, I want to share a quote about being sidetracked by technology. Nicole Whitacre, daughter of Pastor and author CJ Mahaney, contributed this perspective on her mother and sister’s blog, girltalk.

On how easy it is to revert to Facebook at any moment, she said, “I once heard a woman—some time management expert I think—suggest that the reason some office workers check their email compulsively is because they don’t know what to do next. Without a clear understanding of the purpose of their job, what it takes to get it done, or, for that matter, much desire to finish it, the noise announcing a new email becomes a welcome interruption.”

In 2013, we no longer day dream between tasks; instead, we look to our email and Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and text messages and – why hasn’t that person responded – check again, check again, you never know!

Our thought patterns are constantly interrupted, and we are pulled from the present into another conversation or idea that wasn’t around a second ago. So if you find that such convenient communication and information begins to cloud your vision for today, consider taking the 20-minute challenge. 

Click on this post's title to be redirected to the challenge!

Journey Through the Psalms #16

• You will not abandon my soul •

“Preserve me, Oh God, for in You I take refuge.” (vs.1a)

  || Read the entire chapter carefully. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help you understand & to apply it to your heart.

Now ask yourself, what are some of the things David believes about His Lord?

·     The Lord is good – David looks nowhere else for good things.

o  “I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; there is no good apart from You.” (vs.1b)

·      The Lord is in control – He holds David’s lot (or purpose/plan).

o  “the Lord is my chosen portion and my cup” (vs.5)

·     The Lord is strong – so David is safe.

o  “because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (vs.8)

·     The Lord is wise – David goes to Him for counsel.

o  “I bless the Lord who gives me counsel” (vs.7)

Do you see any more ways God reveals His character in this chapter?

Amidst the backdrop of an unsafe environment, the Lord’s attributes are displayed and appreciated by His creation. When we desire to be righteous in a world that loves danger and destruction, we look to Him and want to be refreshed by selfless love. When we are unsure whether we should take a job or go to school, get married or move out of the house, we need to know that He controls every environment we choose. When we make a wrong decision and need forgiveness, or we are obedient yet feeling unsafe, we can read over and over in the Psalms that the Lord is a safe refuge, and we are His. When we are unsure of ourselves, confused about our relationships, or needing desperate hope that tomorrow will not be the same – He is the best counselor who will comfort and instruct like no one else.

Please do not forget that you have His attention.

|| Write down key words from verses that stand out to you.

Spend a few minutes living in the moment with just you & Him, remembering that He will not abandon your soul.