Tag: trust God

Faith

Look at the Butterflies

meghanewhite

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Living in a warm climate has its advantages. We still have flowers blooming, and butterflies are still showing up to eat nectar. Monarch butterflies swarmed our garden in early November during their migration to Mexico. There were dozens of monarch’s all over our Mexican sunflowers. It was amazing! 

There is something so peaceful and beautiful about butterflies. I love nature. I love being outside. I see God everywhere I look. The sky, flowers, birds, insects, trees, and all of it. He made everything. There is no denying a Creator when you stand in His creation. 

Here is a short video of the butterflies that were in the garden on Saturday, January 1, 2022. 

What an incredible way to start off the new year. Butterflies happily feeding on my sunflowers in the middle of winter. It makes me smile. Those butterflies have not a single concern. They do exactly what they were designed to do. Eat nectar, and get to Mexico for the winter. Sounds pretty good to me. 

God takes care of the butterflies. He provides flowers with nectar for them. He also gave monarch’s the instinct to migrate south for the winter. Monarch’s use environmental cues to know when it’s time to make the migration to Mexico and California. Amazing! If God cares for butterflies, then He is definitely going to care for us too. 

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26, NIV 

You are much more valuable than a butterfly, or a bird. God loves you. He loves caring for you. Take a deep breath in, and know God is watching over you. Trust Him. Now get outside, if it’s not too cold, and watch how He cares for all of creation. You are worth more than that. He’s got you.

Love you all,

Meghan 

If you need prayer leave your request in the comments, or send it to meghanewhiteauthor@gmail.com

Perseverance

Be Strong and Do Not Give Up

meghanewhite

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The other morning I grabbed my Bible not knowing what to read. I opened it up and found myself in 2 Chronicles. A verse popped right off the page that I had highlighted a long time ago. 

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7, NIV

I don’t normally go to 2 Chronicles. I’ve read it before, but it’s not a book that comes to mind when I am looking to study something in the Bible. I know that was not a coincidence. God spoke to me through this verse. It’s His holy word, and He speaks through it. 

These incredible words were spoken to Asa. He was king of Judah and he loved God. It was a tumultuous, dangerous time. There were wars and battles between nations. The people were disobedient and worshipped idols. The prophet Azariah said, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2, NIV). 

Asa loved the Lord, and for most of his life he did right. “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 14:2, NIV). He removed all the foreign altars, told Judah to seek the Lord and obey His laws and commandments. “Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.” (2 Chronicles 15:17b, NIV)

In verse 8 we are told that Asa took courage after hearing what the prophet said. Praise God for that. Asa did listen to the prophet and he was encouraged. We can be encouraged too. Those words were spoken to Asa but they are for us as well. They apply today. God does not change. 

Be Strong 

Whatever you are going through, be strong. It’s not your strength you are relying on, it’s God’s. He has infinite strength, and infinite power. As His children we get full access to Him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. He will be your strength.

Do Not Give Up 

Your circumstances may look hopeless. There is always hope with Jesus. Sometimes we have to wait for God’s perfect timing. In the meantime keep doing what He asked of you. Be obedient and He will take care of every single thing you need. It may not be easy, but He will make a way. Never give up!

God Will Reward You

After Asa removed all the detestable idols, and repaired the altar of the Lord, he gathered all the people. They sacrificed to God and they sought after Him with all their heart and soul. “So the Lord gave them rest on every side” (2 Chronicles 15:15b, NIV). God is a rewarder of those who seek Him, and those who obey Him. We obey out of love, reverence, and awe of God. He knows the motives of our hearts, and He is a rewarder of the pure in heart. That’s how good God is. 

Be strong and do not give up!

Love you all,

Meghan 

 

Food

A New Cookbook!

meghanewhite

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I am excited to tell you about this brand-new cookbook! Simply Cooking is written by friend, and fellow author, Sharon Connell. These are tried and true recipes from over fifty years of cooking. It’s got everything from desserts to dinners. 

Simply Cooking has easy to follow directions for favorites like Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake and Swedish Meatballs. Yum! The cookbook is large like a workbook. Sharon even added a section on each recipe to make your own notes about changes you’ve made.

Simply Cooking is for the every day home cook like you and me. It’s user friendly, and filled with some fantastic recipes that you will absolutely want to make for your friends and family. 

As a bonus, a few of my recipes are in here as well as another author. Along with Sharon’s wonderful recipes there are cooking and household tips. There is also an index section where you can easily look up a recipe.

I love the layout of this cookbook. I love cookbooks. I cook a lot, and this one has a great format. All the cooks out there will appreciate this wonderful gem, Simply Cooking. 

You can choose the Kindle version or the paperback. I have both, and they are fantastic. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers Simply Cooking is free!

Simply Cooking would make a great gift, or add it to your collection. I love getting new cookbooks because that means new recipes to try. This is my favorite kind of cookbook since the cooking has been done in a real kitchen, with real results, over many years. These are winning recipes.

Happy Cooking!

Love you all,

Meghan 

Faith

Shake It Off

meghanewhite

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Over the summer I was at the right place at the right time to capture this bee and butterfly. I’m always on the lookout for butterflies when I’m working in the garden. This scene got my attention in a different way. The beautiful monarch was eating nectar, and the bees would not leave it alone. Bees kept landing on the butterfly’s wings. The monarch was undeterred as it would shake it’s wings and get right back to business.

This pattern kept repeating. Happy monarch eating nectar, busy bees landing on it’s wings. The monarch would flutter it’s wings every time a bee landed on them. This was one determined butterfly. Nothing was going to stop the butterfly from it’s purpose of gathering nectar, not even some very stubborn bees.

We get distracted from our purpose. The enemy loves to get us off course, and stop us dead in our tracks from our Kingdom purposes. He dive bombs us every day with all sorts of things to take our eyes off of Jesus. That’s the last place he wants us looking. Oh no, we can’t have our focus on Christ. Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Some days the distractions are small, and some days the distractions are big. So big that they take our joy away, and steal our hope. We get weighed down, and get hurt. Then we are so busy focusing on the pain and annoyances in life that we have completely forgotten about our victory in Jesus Christ.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57, NIV 

Those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior have victory over death and sin. Sin has no hold on us. Death has no sting. The same Jesus who took our sin away also gives us victory over every challenge and problem in this life. We don’t always win every battle, and we will take some losses along the way, but we are winners in the end through Jesus. He already took care of it for us.

Those bees will keep coming. They will try their hardest to land on our wings, and stop us. We will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. And when we get stung, He will help us, and heal us, and we will start again.

Shake off the distractions. Eyes on Jesus. We have victory through Him.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2, Berean Study Bible

Love you all,

Meghan

Father God,

Thank you for your perfect love and grace. Thank you for Jesus. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. When we get distracted, help get our focus back on the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. Thank you for the victory we have in Jesus in every circumstance, and every trial. We belong to You, and You always take care of your children.

Amen

Food, mustard seed sentinel

Sweet Potato Souffle

meghanewhite

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Every cook has a signature dish. It’s the recipe that you get asked to make at each holiday gathering, or get together. One of my mom’s iconic dishes at Thanksgiving was sweet potato souffle. Mom started making these wonderful sweet potatoes many years ago after getting the recipe from our pastor’s wife. Sweet potato souffle is synonymous with Mom, and Thanksgiving.

Before I experienced the joy of this souffle, I never touched sweet potatoes. Yams with some marshmallows had no appeal to me as a child. Everything changed after the first delicious bite of these delightful sweet potatoes. This is hands down, the best sweet potato recipe.

Even though this is a classic side dish, it really could be a dessert. The sweet potatoes are light and fluffy from the eggs, with plenty of sweetness from the sugar. Toasted pecans and brown sugar on top make the perfect pairing. Sweet potato souffle is scrumptious and a great addition to any celebration.

Happy Eating!

I will praise God’s name with song and exalt Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

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Sweet Potato Souffle

 

Ingredients

3 lbs. sweet potatoes cooked and mashed (3 cups)

½ cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. salt

 

Topping

½ cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup finely chopped pecans

¼ cup butter, softened

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes or until tender.
  3. Reduce the oven to 350° after removing the sweet potatoes. Cool the potatoes slightly then scoop the sweet potatoes out of the skins, and into a large mixing bowl.
  4. While the sweet potatoes are still hot, mash them with a potato masher, or use an electric mixer. Add the butter and mix well with an electric mixer.
  5. Add the eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well with an electric mixer.
  6. Pour sweet potato mixture into a buttered 2 quart casserole dish.
  7. In a small bowl mix flour, brown sugar, pecans, and butter. Spread the topping evenly across the top of the unbaked sweet potatoes.
  8. Bake for 40 minutes until browned and the filling has firmed up.
  9. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
  10. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

 

Notes 

*The mixture is pretty runny before it’s cooked.

*The souffle is soft and will set up as it cools.

*Canned sweet potatoes work well if you don’t want to cook fresh sweet potatoes.



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For this recipe and more go to Mustard Seed Sentinel, Meghan’s Corner.

https://www.mustardseedsentinel.com/post/meghan-s-corner-sweet-potato-souffle