Here I stand, I can do no other

Today is Halloween, my Mom's birthday and Reformation Day. Tonight we will be celebrating with my Mom and eating lots of candy but I just wanted to take a moment now to reflect on Martin Luther, the reformation and the other movers and shakers in the christian world that had a profound impact on the way we worship.



It was October 31st, 1517 when Martin Luther posted the 95 theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in protest to the way the Catholic church had been selling indulgences and various other practices & beliefs. Luther's desire was for a pure and biblically based belief, not one that had fluff and extra-biblical (man-made) 'doctrines'. At the top of the 95 theses, Luther wrote that it was "out of love for the truth" that he was bringing those issues up. It should be a concern to us all to preserve and believe in the pure and unadulterated Word of God.

Then there is William Tyndale who just a few shorts years later was fighting to make bibles available to the common people in the their own language. Tyndale took advantage of the newly invented printing press and was able to mass produce the english bible as well as some of his own writing against the Catholic church's practices. Tyndale's translation was banned and Tyndale himself was killed and then burned at the stake in 1536.

There are some stern warnings in the bible about making sure that we are following the Word as it came from the people who were first inspired by God (2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Galatians 1:8. These men, along with other brave christians, fought the good fight for Christ and His Word. They risked their lives and some actually gave their lives in the pursuit of the true and pure Word of God. In these days when it seems there are so many different beliefs in the world, even within the christian church, it would serve us well to cling to the holy and precious Word that God gave us and not what men impose to be 'true'. What a happy reformation day it is to know we have brothers and sisters in the faith who fought the good fight of faith so that Christ's church would prevail!

Sink Full of Dishes, Heart Full of Love

My sink is full of dishes but that is because we spent a wonderful afternoon with friends. What a blessing it was. Life has been quickly moving along these days and lots of things are on the horizon. What's the dealio with the Egerer family?

I am currently:

*Enjoying the view out our kitchen window right now- LOVE to see the leaves change colors!
*Figuring out how to be a manager in the new role I’ve been given at work
*Planning my BFF’s baby shower – I've been waiting for this - tons of ideas are floating through my mind
*Wishing I had a little one to dress them up like these little cuties


Jeremy is currently:

*Reading lots of BIG books that I can’t even wrap my head around
*Figuring out how to use his love of writing and God’s law into a job
*Possibly going back to school so he is looking into scholarships and such
*Finishing up the sermon he’ll be giving at the convalescence home next weekend

And big news for both of us... we have one more payment to go and then we are completely debt free. We've worked hard the last 3 1/2 years to pay off a HUGE chunk of change and by God's grace we did it. Excited to make that final payment and to finally call Dave's show and scream "We're debt freeeeeee!!!" :)

Faith in Action {In appreciation of my Pastor}

October is 'Pastor Appreciation Month' and I find it a fitting time to write a blog of appreciation about my pastor. The way we ended up at our church was definitely divinely orchestrated. But that's the way God works, right?!

Ours is a straight outta the bible church. Our pastor teaches from Genesis to Revelation. He doesn't skip parts that others may shy away from, even the uncomfortable parts. Frankly, life is uncomfortable sometimes and we can either ignore those parts and sacrifice not learning invaluable lessons or deal with them directly with the wisdom of God. For His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts and I will trust Him even if I don't understand 'why' always.

Pastor Paul has been going through an in depth series on the law for the last several months. He has taught on everything from how to deal with difficult neighbors, usury, and taking time to rest on the sabbath. He goes over the hebrew words and explains in detail the context on the scripture so we can truly know what God means to teach us in His word.

It was a month or so ago when something happened in my life that made me think twice about a situation. I was presented with a few different approaches to take but only one of them was the right way to handle it. It was in that circumstance in my every day life that I realized that God's word has been hidden in my heart. Pastor Paul had cultivated these precious words in my heart and at that moment they grew into a flower of faith in action. It's amazing what God's word can do and also to see the men He calls to lead His people. Thank you Pastor Paul for all that you do!

{Baked Apples with Caramel Sauce}

{Baked Apples}

Ingredients:

* 2 large apples, cut in half
* 2 tbsp butter, melted
* 2 tbsp flour
* 4 tbsp quick oats
* pinch of cinnamon
* dash of stevia

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Cut apples in half and remove core and seeds with a small pairing knife or spoon.

In a small bowl combine butter, flour, oats, cinnamon and stevia. Spoon on top of the apple halves. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm with caramel sauce.

{Agave nectar caramel sauce}

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cup agave nectar
* 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
* 2 tablespoons butter
* pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken. Be sure to stir the caramel sauce occasionally. If your sauce is too thin continue cooking several more minutes. If sauce become too thick, add a spot more cream, and bring back to a boil until cream is incorporated. Enjoy!

Quality Time

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.” -Thomas Jefferson

This past weekend I was blessed to take an extra day off to spend a little bit of quality time with Jeremy. During the week and even on the weekends, it seems to get so busy that it doesn't feel like we spend all that much time together. Not this weekend though, because we made an extra effort to make this one different.

Our plan for Friday was to go to a local corn maze. Neither of us had ever been so it seemed like the perfect thing to do. We wrote down the directions and headed out the door. But about 20 minutes into our trip we realized we were lost. After about 40 minutes we headed back home. It was lunch time by then so we had some delicious pho, from one of the friendliest restaurant in town might I add. :) And then it was round two of 'operation: corn maze'. We made it to the farm, ate some honey sticks and took some fun pictures. What gets me is that we finally made it to the corn maze and then paid to get lost in the maze. Sounds silly to you too?!

On Saturday, after a quick trip to the gym and a delicious breakfast at my favorite juice bar we headed for the theater with my Mom in toe to see the movie Courageous. Let me just tell you it was AMAZING! Worth every cent of that very expensive movie ticket receipt! :) There aren't that many good movies out these days so I'd highly recommend going directly to your nearest theater and watching it now!!

And finally on Sunday, we went to church and then we spent the rest of the afternoon cooking together and having quiet time with the Lord. We still had plenty of things on our 'to-do' list but we did them together and it was wonderful. I have the best husband ever! We even have plans for another extended weekend together real soon!