A Smattering of Thought

Single circles. Intersecting circles. Combined circles. Circles have been on my mind for a few weeks. {No, my life is not running in circles, although I feel that way at times.}  We recently had a women’s conference at our church that used circles as its focal point as a picture of the beginning of revival…the individual.  If we want to see change in the world around us, we had better be willing to be the first changed.  Hard.  Painful.  Freeing.  Scary. This first step is so important regardless of the pain it may cause.  See, we are not supposed to stay the same as we were a year ago…we are called to grow, change.  To be transformed by God through the renewing of our mind found (Romans 12:2).  This transformation is unlike the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, it requires work, effort, tears, and surrender.  However, unlike the caterpillar, we are not alone in our cocoon waiting for transformation.  Whew!...

I never really thought myself to be a prideful person, until I read the following at a conference this past weekend.   Yikes! Look over this long list and evaluate yourself.   Then, do not sit and wallow in your pride or ignore your pride; surrender and seek the Lord to become broken.  In the end, everything we do should be for His honor and glory, not our own. P roud people focus on the failures of others. Broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need. Proud people have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope. Broken people are compassionate; they forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven. Proud people are self-righteous; they look down on others. Broken people esteem all others better than themselves. Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit. Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for ot...

This past month has been a lot of fun trying new recipes, perfecting technique and enjoying some creative moments!  I am slowing putting together my favorite flavors and recipes.   I have just begun to get the word out about making cupcakes for others and February turned into a very fun-filled month.   My first creative project was some ninja cupcakes.    Since I am not familiar with what they look like, Google Images helped me find a great example which seemed fairly easy to execute. The cake itself seemed a little more dense that I would have liked, but the flavor was delicious, as only  sticks of butter can do.  The frosting was a simple cream cheese frosting and didn't hold its shape as well as I'd like. I used a small writing tip for the blue frosting and a small petal tip for the black frosting to make it look like strips of fabric. The next project was for another family at my church whose son was having a...