The God of All Comfort

I've been working on a few long(er) posts, but this all I wanted to share today.

Some of you may have seen this before...I know I have...but do me a favor and read it out loud this time.  Then, worship.

Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 1

Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A: That I am not my own, but belong - body and soul, in lift and in death - to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.  He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.  He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.  Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Cue the Doxology.

Infinite Wisdom, Mercy, and Love

2015 did not begin the way I hoped it would.  My boyfriend and I broke up after nearly two years of dating.  I can’t even begin to describe the hurt I felt.  To make it even worse, he began dating someone else within a couple weeks.  Weeks.  After two years.  This same man had told me that he loved me and wanted to marry me.  And he forgot about me within weeks.  Less than four weeks.

My heart aches. 

The past month has been one of the most difficult that I can remember, as I’ve sorted through my feelings (so.many.feelings!) and wrestled with the Lord over my deepest fears and hurts.  However, I’d be remiss if I failed to say that this month has been so sweet and precious.  God is proving to be my Refuge, Strength, and Shield.  I’m beginning to see things differently.  This breakup may really be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

As I’ve drawn near to Him, He’s revealed Himself in new ways. 

Exodus 13:17-18 “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.”

God led the Israelites down a MUCH LONGER road – through the desert in a roundabout way (see the map below).  In some ways it probably looked frustrating and unfair and ridiculous.  The truth, however, is that God had really chosen the easier way for them.  It was the road He knew they could handle, even if they didn’t always handle it well…hence the 40 years in the wilderness. 

I must trust that God has chosen the best way for me – the road that I can handle, but only by His strength; the road that will not cause me to flee from His grasp and run back to captivity; the road that will cause me to draw near to Him and seek His face with every breath.

Maybe he caused my ex to find someone else because He understands how weak I truly am, even better than I understood.  He knew my resolve might not have held and I would have run back to a relationship in which I now realize:

• I was not loved
• I was not tenderly cared for
• Did not satisfy me or bring peace and contentment
• Did not bring me joy
• Was based on fear and the need to perform to prove myself worthy of his love and attention
• Did not cause me to seek the Lord
• Did not encourage me to fall more in love with Jesus

Acts 17:26-27 “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”

God is merciful.  In His sovereignty, love, and tenderness, He ordered these circumstances so that I would reach out for Him.  The verse in Acts points to the fact that He plans all our lives to set us up for our best possible chance to know Him.  As Spurgeon writes, “Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there…Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.”  So even though sometimes I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to think about this without crying, He is good.  He ordered these things so that I could be rescued from a relationship that, if it had lasted, would have only led to my eternal destruction. 

All is grace.

I will praise Him.

His cross dispels each doubt;

I bury in His tomb

Each thought of unbelief and fear,

Each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace;

I trust His truth and might;

He calls me His, I call Him mine.

My God, my joy and light.

52 Books in 2015

I've had a lot of time to read lately....more on that in another post.  A lot of time.

I saw that several other bloggers (ones with more than four followers) were trying to read 52 books in 2015, which, for those of you who didn't know, means one per week all year to stay on track.

It's mid-February and I am a little ahead, which is awesome because it seems like my work gets busy in the spring and I don't have as much time.

Below are lists of what I've read so far and what I'm currently reading.  Yes, I have more than one book going at once.

Non-fiction:
Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty
Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker
7 by Jen Hatmaker
Breaking Free by Beth Moore
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson
The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger
Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Fiction:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)
Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)

Currently Reading:
Depression: Looking Up From The Stubborn Darkness (Edward T. Welch)
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain)
Three Wishes (Liane Moriarty)

Christmas Tour of Homes

It's Friday!!!

Today I'm participating in the Christmas Tour of Homes over at Kelly's Korner.  

I love decorating for Christmas!  I don't have a ton of decorations, mainly because I'm slowly buying things each year, but also because I am currently renting a furnished house and I am waiting to invest in some things until I live in my own space.  Still, I am pleased with how it's all turned out.  

This is the view from the kitchen into the living room.  I bought this tree five years ago for $25.  It still looks good when decorated, but I plan to get a new one with the after-Christmas sales.  I love that my dog decided to put all his toys under the tree this year.  

 My landlord has a thing for corner cabinets so I tried to jazz them up a bit.

 I bought this candle nativity from Dayspring a couple years ago.  I plan to get a Willow Tree one in the future, but for now, this is enough.  I did the canvas myself.

This is a printable I downloaded from Pinterest several years ago,  I actually leave it up all year.

This is the view from the front door.  This house is so cozy.

 And a bad iPhone pic of the tree.

 Moving into the kitchen, I just have a few touches here and there.  Christmas mugs and She Reads Truth Advent prints....

 Some Christmasy hand towels I got for a dollar at Kohl's.

 Another canvas I did last winter above the kitchen sink.

 My Christmas cookie tins.  I cut back on my Christmas baking this year for a couple reasons.  First, I just don't have the time.  Work is crazy.  Second, I'm trying to be on a diet.  Not easy during this season, but I'm trying to muddle through.  I only made shortbread and snowballs, so a couple of these are empty.

 The kitchen table, which I rarely actually use for eating.  I should probably have used my Christmas tablecloth.  Oops.  The poinsettia in the background was a gift from my boss.

And there you have it.  How I wish I could decorate like this all year!

Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Caramel Frosting

Last week four of my coworkers in our front office had birthdays in a two-day span. Naturally, this required a party.  We planned a potluck lunch for Friday with a traditional birthday cake, but I wanted to make sure the Thursday birthdays didn't feel completely ignored (Friday's festivities were a surprise).

This is the cake I made for Thursday.  It is amazing.  The cake itself is so moist and the frosting is to die for.  Many people told me they'd love to just eat it with a spoon.  I found the recipe on Chef-in-training, and hers was much prettier.  I think I let the frosting cool a bit too much before pouring it on the cake.  I plan to make this one again soon and I will do better. :)

Cake Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-15 oz. can of pumpkin
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (which I omitted, obviously)
1 teaspoon salt

Frosting Ingredients:
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and sour cream.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices and stir to combine.  Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.
3.  Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Invert cake onto a cooling rack (I suggest waiting about 10 minutes first) and cool completely.

For frosting (or is it icing -- does anybody know the difference between the two or know which one this is?): heat milk and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.  Cool for five minutes and pour over cake.

As you can see, I waited too long to drizzle and had to spread it with a spatula.  Fortunately, what this cake lacked in the visually appealing category, it made up for in taste.  Oh. my. Wow.