Just when things couldn’t possibly get worse, they do. Just when we set our expectations in life, the unexpected happens. Whether storms in life come out of nowhere, or we saw them coming all along, we struggle to hold on to our faith. When we have no strength to carry on, when disappointment and discouragement take hold of us, we find that our only way through it all depends upon our faith. We find our faith being tested as we endure suffering that may be physical, mental, social, financial, or all of them combined.

“If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all.” –Charles H. Spurgeon

So what are we to do when our faith is tested? Will your faith pass the test? The testing of your faith is an opportunity, not an obstacle. God’s purpose for allowing the trials in your life is to strengthen you, not destroy you. He has promised that His plans for you are for good; He has promised to complete the work He has begun in you; He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you; He has promised to be a ready help in times of trouble….believe what He has promised, God is not a liar.
…continue reading: When Your Faith is Tested

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This month’s Q’s and A’s:

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I was wondering if you could enlighten me about how you and your family deal with Halloween. I feel that as a Christian, I should not have anything to do with it!

I have 2 girls and each year it is a struggle to stand up for our beliefs as Christians with respect to this issue. I have tried various ways of dealing with it in the past. When the girls were really young and didn’t know that they were
missing anything, my husband and I just stayed home, turned out the lights, pretended to not be home, and hid out in the basement watching TV or reading. Then, when they got older, I allowed them to dress up in “good” costumes, like fairies or princesses, but they had to stay home and we would purchase some candy for them to enjoy.

I decided that when I closed my door and pretended to not be home, I was missing opportunities to reach out to those who don’t know Christ as their personal savior. I got pumpkins and carved neat messages in them trying to reach the lost. One year I got 5 pumpkins and on each pumpkin, I carved out a word spelling out the message “Let Jesus Fill The Hollow,” once they were all lined up. Another year, I got 4 pumpkins and carved out the message “God’s Treat is Jesus.” I also ordered gospel tracts and handed them to the kids who came to our door, along with candy. Last year, reluctantly, I took my girls door to door to get candy because I conformed to pressure from my neighbor that I was making too big a deal out of things…after all, she said, the kids are just out to have fun! I failed terribly!
…continue reading: Candid Candace - October 2008

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The Olympics are over, but it was fun while it lasted. We got to watch the accomplishments of devoted athletes who disciplined themselves far beyond the norm. My daughter-in-law was inspired to begin a new biking routine; hours spent at the spectator sport of couch potato had her raring to go.

Training for better things is a worthy goal, but it is indeed not without cost. As many of us were inspired by the Olympics, to get a bit more exercise in, I thought of the following excerpt from my cookbook, From the Land of Milk and Honey.

“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening–it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” HEBREWS 12:11 (NLT)
…continue reading: Discipline

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There’s a garden trend for tomatoes, and it works. It’s officially called “dry farmed”, and as the name suggests, water is withheld somewhat as the tomato ripens on the vine. The result: Intensely flavored tomatoes. The plant responds to the stress of having less water but putting all of its energy into fruit production.

I inadvertently dry-farmed last summer (just didn’t have the time to water more), and the garden yielded the best-tasting tomatoes ever. Moral of the story: Under stress, the best can be produced. Along those lines, I wrote a devotional for my Milk and Honey cookbook; the following is an excerpt from my book, From the Land of Milk and Honey :
…continue reading: Dry-Farming and More

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