Mother: A Mother's Secret Weapon

Hannah was lost in the travails of life, until she discovered her true mission.

As a single African-American mother, Sonya Carson knew suffering and sorrow. Uneducated, poor and living in a cracker-box house she couldn't afford, she had two active boys to raise alone and no marketable skills to help her survive.

Her only resources were her own two hands, a fierce determination to do whatever it took to make a better life for her sons and her unbending faith in God.

Sonya took jobs as a household domestic to pay the bills and implemented an ambitious agenda for her sons. She turned off the television, enforced a rigorous reading program that opened up new worlds for her boys, and never let them off the hook when it came to doing their homework.

No one could have guessed least of all Sonya that through all her sufferings, God was preparing her to raise one of the world's finest neurosurgeons and a bright light for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Her son Dr. Ben Carson, now a nationally recognized figure and the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, openly acknowledges his indebtedness to his mother. In his book The Big Picture, he wrote: "I not only saw and felt the difference my mother made in my life, I am still living out that difference as a man."

Cont:The Parable of the Prodigal Son (2)

'He came to his senses...' Luke 15:17
Sometimes you have to reach your lowest point to understand who God is and what He can do for you. When the younger son ended up in a hog pen, 'He came to his senses'. But his next decision was crucial: 'I will...go back to my father and say..."I have sinned"...' (v. 18 NIV). And when he did, his father restored him to his rightful place. But the older brother needed his father's forgiveness too. What was his sin? Jealousy and judgmentalism: '...This son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' (v. 30 NIV).

 He built himself up by tearing his brother down. He tried to earn his father's love by making points. The trouble was, he already had his father's love; he just didn't know it, so he kept trying to 'prove himself'. Are you doing that? As a redeemed child of God you are already accepted, justified and clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Today your heavenly Father is saying, '...You are always with me, and everything I have is yours' (v. 31 NIV). These two boys sinned in very different ways, but their solution was the same - being restored to fellowship with their father. James writes, 'Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father...who does not change...' (James 1:17 NIV). Notice, God not only knows what's 'good' for you, but what's 'perfect'. And He will give it to you when you get into the right place spiritually and begin to relate to Him as you should. By Aniyi.

Happy New Month and Workers Day :)

Happy new month of May,
May this month bring us joy and favour.
May we move forward and not backward.
May we enjoy God's Overflows.
May we encounter blessings all around.

Happy Workers Day to all our Fans, Readers all over From Adenike Salako Blog's World.

Yummy Gluten Free Cheddar Goldfish

Ingredients:

·         1/2 cup (60 grams) gluten free all purpose mix

·         1⁄4 cup (30 grams) corn flour

·         1⁄4 cup (30 grams) oat flour

·         a pinch of turmeric (optional, for color)

·         1⁄2 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup (2 ounces) grated loosely packed mild cheddar cheese

·         2 tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter

·         2 to 3 tablespoons hot water, divided

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

Combine the flours, turmeric and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade and pulse to combine. Add the cheese and coconut oil, and pulse to incorporate. Scape down the sides of the food processor to free any trapped flour. With the food processor running, drizzle in the hot water, a little at a time, just until the mixture begins to pull together. You may not use all of the water.

Form the dough into a ball, and gently flatten. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll very thin, to about 1⁄8 inch thick.

Using a very small fish-shaped cutter, or the cutter of your choice, cut out the crackers and carefully place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, keeping a close eye on them, until golden around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes, and cool before serving.

Recipe from laraferroni.com

FROM CRISIS TO GLORY

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 82:3-4

God raises up leaders to take on causes that are much greater than themselves. However, these causes are often first birthed as a result of a personal crisis or conviction; then this leads to a larger cause.

Martin Luther King had a personal conviction that racial discrimination was wrong. He sought to change this through preaching and non-violent demonstrations.

It wasn't long before this became the conviction of others and a movement larger than any one person.

William Wilberforce was a political statesman in England. He came to Christ when he was twenty-eight years old.

He began to have personal convictions about slavery in England and he committed his life to the goal of destroying slavery.

He finally achieved his goal after fifty years of work. His work also resulted in sixty-four worlds changing initiatives before he died.

William Wallace was burdened about the persecution his country received from the wicked English king named Edward the Longshanks.

Born in 1272, Wallace grew up under the persecution from the wicked king. When he was older, he led a rebellion against England that resulted in the freedom for the nation of Scotland.

The popular movie, Braveheart, was the story of William Wallace. Your own ministry to those in need may first begin as a personal crisis. This may develop later into a call to serve your generation.

Has God allowed a crisis in your life? Praise God! He often raises leaders and begins movements as a result of a personal crisis.

Prayer: Ask the Lord to give you solutions to the challenges of your generation.

Scriptural Reading: Psalm 82:1-8-9

Recipes: Fruit Pizza Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• Refrigerated Cookie  Dough

• 1/8oz. package Cream Cheese

• 1cup (powdered) Confectioner’s Sugar

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1tub of Cool Whip

• Fresh fruit, chopped (strawberries, pineapple, blueberries)

Directions:

1. Cut ½Iinch slices from the refrigerated cookie dough and place on the tops of

an upside down cupcake pan.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (or until golden and firm to the

touch).

3. Carefully remove the cookie shells from them upside down cupcake, pan.

4. Meanwhile, mix an 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese with/½ cup of

confectioner’s sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract.

5. Use a spoon or spatula to spread the mixture into the cookie shells.

6. Place a row of your chopped fruit on top of the cream cheese mixture.

7. Add a dollop of cool whip to each cupcake, spread evenly, and then top with

Another layer of fruit!

8. Refrigerate until served.

By icanteachmychild.com

Obedience Brings Blessing

TEXT: LEVITICUS 14:33-57

KEY VERSE: ”To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy” (Leviticus 14:57).

Long before medical science taught washing of hands after going to the toilet as a precaution against deadly diseases and their spread, the God of Israel had led His people through these rudiments. He had also directed them to dig the earth a good distance from their habitation to dispose of body waste. These were among the host of hygienic laws that preserved the ancient Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness after liberation from Egypt.

In chapters 13 and 14 of the book of Leviticus, and especially in the passage before us today, God told the Israelites how to diagnose leprosy so they could avoid it or treat it. These laws were given for the people’s health and protection. They helped them avoid diseases that were serious threats to their lives. Although they wouldn’t have understood the medical reasons for some of these laws, their obedience to them made them healthier. Many of God’s laws must have seemed strange to the Israelites. His laws, however, helped them avoid not only physical contamination, but moral and spiritual infection as well.

From the above, the moral for us in this day and age is that the word of God still provides a pattern for physical, spiritual and moral lives. Immorality and uncleanness can lead to sexually transmitted diseases; drunkenness or alcoholism causes cirrhosis of the liver; and smoking can lead to lung cancer. Above all, there is heaven to lose if one should indulge in any of these vices.

True believers have the grace to live above temptations and make it to heaven. This grace is available for all at no cost. You also can obtain it today through prayer of faith in God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God’s laws are timeless.