Faith – Page 3 – Meghan E White

Out With the Old in With the New

January 12, 2024 meghanewhite

Another Christmas tree tossed to the curb. It’s just a tree but I like them. They each have their own personalities. This tree had a huge crack in the trunk, so about three feet had to be chopped off. It leaned to the right, but still so pretty. And there were no complaints about the smell. That wondrous fresh pine aroma filled our house.

This lovely tree, with all its memories, is gone. If it were up to me I’d probably have a fresh tree year round loaded with Christmas decorations. Trees eventually die so it wouldn’t be ideal to have one all year in my living room. It would look like a cactus by the time the next holiday season arrived. As much as I love fresh trees, I look forward to cleaning everything up from Christmas and putting it all away. It’s a fresh start.

Throwing out our old tree makes me think about throwing out some bad habits, and bad attitudes that need to go in my life. Like a dried up tired tree, so is my attitude at times. I say I’m going to change yet I still fall back into bad habits that need to go. I know what it takes to bring real lasting change, surrender.

Only Jesus can help me let go of whatever is destructive in my life, and He can make something new and beautiful from it. But I have to let go, and I don’t always want to. I think my old ways are better, when they clearly are not. It doesn’t stop me from going back to them like an old familiar shiny Christmas tree that dulls over time. I think it’s working, but it’s not.

Jesus is calling me to trust Him with the old, and He’ll replace it with new. I’ll take what He’s handing out any day, even if it involves death to my old ways. His ways are the best. I’m looking forward to the new things that Jesus wants to do in me. It will be difficult to throw out the old bad stuff that I cling to, but I’m ready for the new stuff from my Savior.

Complaining can be replaced with gratitude.

Worry can be transformed into faith.

Fear can be destroyed with peace.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17, BSB

Love you all,

Meghan

grief

The Compassion of Jesus

October 13, 2023December 24, 2023 meghanewhite

There is no end to the love and compassion of Jesus for the hurting. He still acts the same today as He did two-thousand years ago. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. No one has the amount of compassion that Jesus does, and as His kids we get the benefit of that compassion. It’s unbelievable to experience the love of Jesus through His compassion. What an amazing Savior!

A beautiful illustration of Jesus’ compassion is when He healed the widow’s son. It’s just another example of His many miracles that appear in the middle of an ordinary event, yet it was all part of God’s perfect plan.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

¹¹Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹²As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7:11-13, NIV

Jesus stopped everything to help this hurting woman. She had already lost her husband, and now her only son was dead. This poor woman had twice the pain and heartache, and Jesus saw her. His heart went out to her, even though He was surrounded by a large crowd, probably wanting His help. Jesus had compassion on the widow.

It does not say she had been praying and asking God for a miracle. Maybe she was asking for a miracle, we don’t know, but God intervened. There was a perfect meeting between Jesus and the widow at the exact perfect time. Jesus felt her pain. His loving words, “Don’t cry,” say it all.

It gets even better.

¹⁴Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:14-15, NIV

Jesus touched the coffin (bier) with His mighty power and brought the young man back to life. In an instant the widow, and all the mourners, went from sorrow to celebration. He brought life from death, joy from sadness. Only Jesus can do that.

It doesn’t end there.

¹⁶They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. Luke 7:16-17, NIV

Because Jesus stopped and helped a hurting widow by bringing her only son back to life, the good news spread. It wasn’t just about helping one person. God can multitask like no one’s business. He can accomplish one million things in a nanosecond.

Jesus’ heart went out to the widow. In the middle of large crowds of people all clamoring for His attention and help, He saw the widow. Jesus helped a grieving soul with His words of comfort and compassion. And then He performed a great miracle by raising her dead son back to life.

Jesus’ compassion for the widow changed everything for her. The moment He came on the scene a great miracle happened with one touch. A young man sat up in a coffin, a mom’s heart was filled with joy, and many people learned about this wonderful Jesus. Lives were forever changed.

Jesus sees you. He knows when you cry. He knows when you are hurting, devastated, and hopeless. He sees, and He knows. His compassion for You is powerful, and life changing, because He loves you and will help you.

Love you all,

Meghan

Photo Credit: Meghan E. White

Food

Mississippi Pot Roast

March 29, 2023 meghanewhite

I love a simple dinner that just happens to be delicious. Mississippi pot roast is tender, flavorful, and no fuss. With just five ingredients, it can’t be any easier. Place everything in the crock pot and walk away for eight hours. It’s that easy. Make some mashed potatoes to go along with the wonderful gravy that results from meat, butter, and au jus cooking all day. Dinner is served.

The pepperoncinis add a nice, yet subtle, flavor. I like to add some of the pepperoncini juice to the slow cooker, but you don’t have to. Ranch dressing and au jus make the roast so tasty. If you want a super easy and super flavorful roast, give Mississippi pot roast a try. My family loves this recipe and I think you will too.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Mississippi Pot Roast

Ingredients

1 chuck roast (2 to 4 lbs.)

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 packet au jus gravy mix

4 tablespoons butter

4 to 6 pepperoncinis

Instructions

Place the chuck roast in the slow cooker. Sprinkle ranch dressing mix and au jus gravy mix over the top of the roast. Put the butter and pepperoncinis on top of the mixes.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Shred with forks and serve over mashed potatoes with the delicious gravy. Enjoy!

Notes

*Add a little of the juice from the pepperoncini jar for some added flavor.

*Use as little or as many pepperoncinis as you like.

*No water or liquid is needed. The juices from the meat and the butter will make plenty of gravy.

Family

The Big Five-Oh!

November 30, 2022 meghanewhite

Here’s where it all began for me. My first professional photo shoot. A photographer was going door to door, and my mom agreed to have my two-month old photos taken. The photographer positioned my chubby little arms in different poses. I was a very calm baby so I cooperated. The pictures are some of the few baby pictures I’ve got. I am the fourth of five children, and we were lucky to have any pictures from childhood at all. When I was young parents did not chronicle every single moment of a child’s life. You got the highlights and that was good enough.

I am fifty years old as of Thursday, November 24th, 2022. My birthday just happened to land on Thanksgiving this year. I celebrated by having a delicious turkey dinner with all the fantastic sides. It was a low key day, and I loved it. I am a pretty low key kind of a person. I don’t enjoy a lot of attention, so a chill day with my family is a dream day.

Back to turning half a century old. I suppose I should feel bad, or sad about aging, but I don’t. I feel good. Actually, I feel great. I still feel like myself, but better. Not better because I am so wonderful. I am comfortable in my skin, even if it’s a bit more wrinkly. I am just grateful for this life God has given me. My pastor used to say, “That breath you just took, you can thank God for that.”

My life is in God’s hands. He has already decided when my life will end. He has not given me the knowledge of an exact date. I am to trust Him, and know that He has a plan for me. So I do my best to trust Him, but I’m not always good at it. I am a planner and not knowing the future has tested my faith time and time again. The Lord knows this about me, and graciously walks me through my challenges, fears, and doubts. He is faithful, even when I am not.

I’m still breathing as of this writing, and God is not done with me yet. It could be tomorrow when He calls me home, maybe another ten years. Or maybe in fifty years! Which seems so strange. On that day, will I hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,”? That’s my prayer, but I fall short often. Thank God for His amazing grace.

For some, turning fifty means it’s all downhill from here. The best years are over. I disagree. I’m just getting started. I’m ready for what’s next. I know who holds my future. I know who will carry me through every trial. I know who will never ever leave me. His name is Jesus. He is my Lord and Savior. Thank you Jesus for saving my life, and giving me hope. Thank you for my birthday. Thank you for today, and each day you have blessed me with. I don’t want to waste what You have given to me. Life is a beautiful gift.

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. James 4:14, NASB

From one vapor to another, have a great day.

Love you all,

Meghan

Marriage

27 Years Ago

September 30, 2022September 30, 2022 meghanewhite

These two were in love and having a great time on their honeymoon in San Francisco. After twenty-seven years, these two are still in love. We may be a bit older, with a few more wrinkles, but hey, we’re still here by the grace of God.

San Francisco was not our first choice for a honeymoon destination. We wanted to go to Paris. We were researching going to France, from books. Remember books? Ha ha ha!! This was the early days of the world wide web. My dad offered to send us to France if we exchanged a big fancy wedding for a much simpler one. That was incredibly generous of my dad. Thank you Dad!

The decision ultimately came down to me. I was a very young, soon-to-be bride, who wanted my dream wedding. So I chose the beautiful, fancy wedding over the fantasy honeymoon. I don’t regret my wedding at all. I do regret not choosing Paris. I would like to tell twenty-two year old me, “Go to Paris, you dummy!”. My choice was made, and we had a fantastic honeymoon. Lots of great food and fun in an amazing city.

We have nothing exciting planned to celebrate our anniversary today. Tom is working 12 hour night shifts right now, and he works tonight and all weekend. But that’s life. And sometimes, that’s married life. You go through challenges and challenging times. You have mountaintop experiences where you are high-fiving each other because you made it with the Lord’s help. And when you are in the valley together, you hug each other, and hold on to one another, and trust God to make a way. And He does make a way, every time.

So today I celebrate my husband, Tom. He’s a good, Godly man, who leads our family, and works tirelessly to provide for us. I also celebrate the wonderful gift of marriage. God made marriage and it is good. Thank you Lord for carrying us all these years. It is by Your amazing grace that we are here today. You get all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise!

A little side note. I keep every card Tom has given me over the years because the words mean so much. He has always chosen the most gorgeous cards and I cherish them. I am a card hoarder. I feel better now that I confessed. Here is one of the anniversary cards he gave me, several years ago. It’s so pretty!

And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

Thanks for coming along with me today!

Love you all,

Meghan