Author: femmefuel

We're modern women just like you, loving Jesus, and sharing our stories in an honest, personal and meaningful way. FemmeFuel aims to inspire, empower and provide you with the fuel you need to live out your purpose in Christ.

Something in the Air

On By femmefuelIn FemmeBytes by Bindu Adai-Mathew, November 2011 (Thankfulness)Leave a comment

By Bindu Adai-Mathew

Perhaps it’s the cool winds after the three months of blistering, sweltering heat. Or the beauty and richness of gold, maroon, and marigold colored leaves.

Or perhaps it’s the memories of yesteryear…of a new school year…of homecoming dances…football games…band practice…

 Or maybe it’s the beginning of holiday season…a season of festivities…of dressing up for Halloween…of pumpkins…pumpkin spiced lattes…and pumpkin pie.

Or maybe it’s Thanksgiving itself…buttery corn on the cob…sweet, candied potato casserole, succulent juicy turkey, and yes, more pumpkin pie.

Or maybe it’s the prelude to Christmas…the smell of fresh pine needles in the house…candles laced in sweet cinnamon and vanilla scents…colorful trees decorated in memories of Christmas past.

 There is something undoubtedly magical about this time of year, isn’t it?

 Growing up, it was the spring that I always longed for…or summer…but now as an adult, it’s the Fall…the months of October through December that somehow bring a smile to my lips and a warmth to my heart. There is a festivity and an excitement in the air…of things to come and of memories past.

 Tomorrow as you sit around the table with your family, I hope that you, too, feel the beauty and wonder of this season.

 This season is our modern day harvest. A time where we can sit around and enjoy the fruits of our labor and the bountiful blessings of our merciful, generous God. So tomorrow…Eat. Drink. Enjoy. Give thanks.

 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 2 Corinthians 9:10

Thank you, Lord, for your blessings are indeed great!

Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Champagne Problems

On By femmefuelIn FemmeFeatures by JMathis, November 2011 (Thankfulness)Leave a comment

By JMathis

It’s that time of year where I’m blowing the dust off of my holiday cookbooks, putting on my army fatigues and war-paint, and getting ready for the Thanksgiving week cook-a-thon.

Do I want to go funky or traditional this year? Challenge my diners, or, give into their plebian whims? Maple-glazed sweet potatoes with tender chunks of pineapple and apricots?  Or, the classic casserole option that everyone loves to eat, but brings tears to my eyes from a culinary perspective: sweet potato mush meets indiscernible coating of marshmallow fluff and caramelized brown sugar?

What dilemmas.

As my husband tells me all of the time: “You and your champagne problems…”

Me and my champagne problems.

Sadly, those champagne problems threaten to plague me throughout this week, until I collapse into my bed on Thanksgiving night.

Meanwhile, my friend is hours away from filing divorce; another friend just miscarried her baby; and yet another friend lost her job last week.

Ugh. Yes, it has been one of those weeks. One of those weeks where it appears that the enemy has won.

So what I am to do with my champagne problems in light of the realities and hardships that swirl around me? Quit cooking? Keep cooking and act oblivious?

While the Bible doesn’t give me clear directive over whether I should quit preparing my feast, Ephesians 1:16 helps me to put my champagne problems into perspective this week:

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

This is a verse I have glossed over a million times, always thinking of it as one of those Christian platitudes that have very little meaning. For some reason, though, it gives me instruction today on what I should be doing this week–whether on my lunch break, while driving in my car, or even while making sweet potatoes.

Leigh: I want you to know that I thank God for you. I thank God for the way you make me laugh, the way you put me in my place, the way you always know how to center me. I pray that in the midst of your divorce, I will be the friend that you have always been to me. I pray healing for your heart, restoration for your soul, and for God’s warm embrace to shield you from pain.

Melanie: I thank God for bringing you into my life. Seeing your smile makes me joyful and always puts an extra spring into my step. I’m so grateful for the joy you have given me over the years, and I pray that it be returned to you a hundred-fold, even a thousand-fold. I pray that you experience strength in knowing that your baby is lovingly being cared for by her Heavenly Father.  

Danielle: Thank You, God, for my friend who always checks in on me. Rain or shine, you are a faithful friend who is loyal to the end. Lord, I haven’t always returned the favor, and so I ask You that You teach me to be a friend like Danielle. Teach me to reach out to her, while she is going through this difficult time. Build up her confidence and her faith, Lord, and help her to rise up from this setback even stronger, braver and wiser.

Ladies, take the time to really thank God for your friends this week. Encourage them, share with them, express your gratitude to them.  

Lift them up in prayer when you get overwhelmed with your champagne problems. Intercede for them and with them, so that their burdens are removed and cast far into the sea of God’s forgetfulness.

Today, may your champagne problems fall off like scales from your eyes, with true perspective and meaning in this week of Thanksgiving.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

On By femmefuelIn FemmeBytes by Bindu Adai-Mathew, November 2011 (Thankfulness)1 Comment

By Bindu Adai

This morning I wanted to share one of my favorite psalms with you: Psalm 100

1Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!

2Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come before him, singing with joy.

3Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us, and we are his.a

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving;

go into his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and praise his name.

5For the Lord is good.

His unfailing love continues forever,

and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

 Let us enter into Thanksgiving week with praise in our hearts. We have SO much to be thankful for! And let us resolve to start each day in the new year with gratitude.

It Began With Soup

On By femmefuelIn FemmeBytes by JMathisLeave a comment

By JMathis

I began last week with making this recipe for Yellow Split Pea, Kale, and Italian Sausage Soup. I ended last week on my knees, thanking my Creator for good friends, the love of family and new beginnings.

Thank You, Lord, for all that is nourishing, satisfying and warming to the soul.

The fragrance of soup. The richness of life. Lord, You have given me so much more than I could ever deserve.

The simple with the complex. The earthly with the divine.

All of these and more are what You have bestowed upon me.

Your treasures are deep, profound and vast. Your ways are beyond my comprehension.

You are my safety. You are my song. Both refuge and muse. You are my everything.

Sustaining me. Leading me. Drawing me close.

Thank You, Lord, for all that is nourishing, satisfying and warming to the soul.

The embrace of autumn. The call to break bread. My heart bursting with thanksgiving.

Take me to where You can be found.

Take me to where we can talk, where we can dance, where we can be still.

Take me to where Your Spirit roams free.

Healing and rain. Laughter and sunshine.

I am floored by the unbelievable breadth that is You.

Last week started with soup, and ended in an outpouring of Your love.

Thank You, Lord, for all that is nourishing, satisfying and warming to the soul.

Treasures in Heaven

On By femmefuelIn FemmeBytes by Bindu Adai-Mathew, November 2011 (Thankfulness)Leave a comment

By Bindu Adai-Mathew

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20

 As AbbyA reminded us yesterday, God has made each of us rich in many ways. Perhaps not financially…but He has given each of gifts of Life that are priceless. Things that money cannot buy, not even if we were Oprah or Bill Gates.

Peace.

Love.

Health.

Liberty.

Religious Freedom.

Eternal Life.

 He has made us rich indeed, has he not, my sisters?  When we are inclined towards throwing ourselves a pity party, remember that despite our struggles, we are SO blessed indeed.

Thank you, Lord, for your blessings and mercies, for they are new each day. Thank you, Lord, for treasures that no one can steal from us. For your gifts are truly eternal.

Smooth Sands…

On By femmefuelIn FemmeBytes by JMathis, November 2011 (Thankfulness)Leave a comment

By JMathis

I am learning that the problems that come rolling into my shoreline are my opportunities. Opportunities to hone my steely resolve; opportunities to chisel my grit.

Oftentimes, when these “opportunities” are disguised as setbacks, my shoreline becomes cluttered with the debris of itchy seaweed and sharp hypodermic needles.

As I yearn for calming, Zen-like shorelines, I realize that it is the chaos of the storms and the violence of all this constant flooding, which create the smooth sands that bring relief to my aching soul.

Smooth sands comprised not of just one sand particle, but of countless grains representing the friends and family who have allied by my side during the hurricanes of my life.

When I see these grains of sand exponentially multiplying across the shoreline, I realize that I am never alone when confronting life’s calamities. God has given me a vast army from which to draw strength, regroup and charge even harder against the gale force winds of the enemy.

This is the part about problems that strengthen my character and resolve. Knowing that I have legions around me, supporting and encouraging me to finish my exhaustive swim to the shoreline–giving me the courage to hold onto the truths of my Creator when all around me is collapsing.

Problems: you may come charging into my shoreline, but you will not prevail. I stand against you with the might of the Almighty God and the support of all those He has strategically placed around me.

Problems: I reclaim my sandy shoreline. My resolve is strengthened and my character withstands attack. I hold fast knowing that when you leave, only smooth sands remain.

The smooth sands of time, the smooth sands of friendship, the smooth sands of relief.

Thank You, Lord, for smooth sands.

Through Thick and Thin

On By femmefuelIn FemmeBytes by Bindu Adai-Mathew, November 2011 (Thankfulness)Leave a comment

By Bindu Adai-Mathew

As I read AbbyA’s blog yesterday about her mother and her tremendous amount of loss, I was reminded of Job. Like AbbyA’s mom, Job lost his family, his fortune, and his health. I was recently surprised by a pastor saying that many experts believe that time of testing in Job’s life to be a period of nine months! I was surprised by that as I expected it to be a period of several years. But nine months is a short time to lose so much, as I’m sure AbbyA’s mom knows too well.

But when I think of Job’s story, I also think of Job’s “friends.”  Friends who rather than comforting him and supporting him through his loss, only pointed fingers at him, asking him continually what he had done to incur God’s wrath. Sadly, often these things still happen today, even in the church. Rather than ministering to those around us, we judge, gossip. At the end of the book of Job, God judged Job’s friends, admonishing them for their response to Job’s predicament.

Often it is during the most difficult times in our lives that we realize who are true friends are. The fair weather friends quickly disperse when the clouds of a storm loom over our heads. They are nowhere to be found. But true friends stick with you, through thick and thin…for better and for worse.

I think of my life and how often already difficult situations would have truly been unbearable without the support and encouragement of my friends. What a blessing it is to be surrounded by people who truly care and support you!

So for today, I am thankful for the blessings of friends. Friends who’ve held my hand when I was scared and some who’ve even carried me when I could not walk. Friends who’ve stuck with me through the years. I am thankful for the blessings of my fellow blog sisters, AbbyA and JMathis, who have encouraged my writing aspirations and encouraged my walk with their writings. I am thankful for the friendship that has arisen out of our shared blog and shared passion.

Lord, thank you, for You truly do make all things beautiful.