Beloved...think it not strange.....

We had the most glorious , wonderful, Holy Spirit directed Ladies Tea Fellowship this past Saturday.

It was so directed of God that it was undeniable who was in control.

One of my sweet sisters in Christ, Mary, hosted this event in her home.

She had asked me to be her special secret guest speaker. Which I learned at church was only really a secret to me lol.

Mary is one of the dearest sisters in Christ that one could know. She has such a giving and endearing spirit. Mary loves all things beautiful, and she wears her title ~ Daughter of the King in the most magnificent way. Not showy or boastfully, but gently and sweetly.

Mary had delightful teas, petit fors, delicious cucumber sandwich and every kind of everything you could image.. Tea cups, and Tea pots and pretty things ......

Each of us ladies greeted each other , it was a joy to be with my sisters in Christ Jesus. We talked and hugged, exchanged gifts and greetings with each other.

Sister Rose opened our time together in prayer.....asking for God's blessings and anointing on our time together and for God's Word to come forth through the voice of His vessel.....

Mary introduced me as the guest speaker and as I lead the prayer, we prayed again for the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit.

I began with the following Scripture :

1Pe:4:12: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe:4:13: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

I had just barely had the scripture out of my mouth and I could hear the most gentle of weeps ......

So many of us are in fiery trials , are partaking in the sufferings of Christ, enduring persecutions , and yet we think that this is strange. Something must be wrong with us. There must be some secret sin. We must not have enough faith.....Maybe were not even the Lord's ........

More gentle weeps and knowing amens.

Beloved, There is nothing wrong with us .
Saints, there is something very, very right with us. Something that has not been taught to us. Something that needs to be proclaimed from the pulpits , so that we will understand.........

2Tm:3:12: Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

I spoke a while longer to the sisters exhorting them in the Word regarding enduring in seasons of testings. I shared more scriptures and personal experiences:

Ph'p:1:28: And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

Ga:6:9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Eph:6:10: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph:6:11: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

I was finishing up my time sharing with them the testimony of my healing. How that God had healed my body of Primary Biliary Chirosis .

That the Lord had given me the scripture :
Psalms:118:17: I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. and that I was to declare it in the house of the Lord, which I did the next day at church.

Then I heard my cousins young daughter say to the person sitting beside her ......"That is what they just told my Mom she had"....... I told Kasey , God could heal her Mom, just like he healed me.

Then I shared the scripture:
2Co:1:3: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
2Co:1:4: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

I turned the meeting back over to Sister Mary......

Seated at the gathering was a new sister in Christ, her name is Paula, I had the privilege of leading her to the Lord Jesus right around Thanksgiving time.

Paula has been battling advance liver disease, and she heard of my healing through a beautiful sister in Christ, Denise. Denise, has minister the love of Christ for years to Paula in love and in the Word . And Paula was in the meeting with us this past Saturday. The first time I had the chance to meet her since she had given her heart to Jesus.

Sister Mary thanked me and was directed by the Holy Spirit for each of us to read a portion of scripture : She began with me and I read Isaiah 43 . She went around the room asking each lady to read a portion of scripture.

She got to Paula and asked her to read Psalm 18: 1 ......Paula is a new babe in Christ and turned to Psalm 118 and began to read the entire chapter.

We all knew she was reading the "wrong " one.....
But we knew it was the Holy Spirit when she got to Psalms:118:17: I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.

Now Paula's voice is raspy as she is short of breath often, but when she got to that portion of scripture all of us were shouting as she read it loud and clear !!!!!!

It was the " wrong" scripture , but the Holy Spirit directed Paula right where she should go. !!!!!!

We were praising and glorifying God.

My precious Auntie Pat as an Elder and Pastor in ministry with my Uncle , got the anointing oil and we prayed the Prayer of Faith over Paula, believing for her healing !!!!!!!!!!! It was incredible !!!! The presence of God was there to heal her .

Lu:5:17: And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening in joyful fellowship! Glorifying the Lord God for all He has done for us. Oh what a wonderful time of sharing, love, tears, laughter, joy, healing, deliverance and wonderment!!!!!!!!!

God is Faithful dear brothers and sisters. Think it not strange !!!!
He is in control.
God is Faithful
In His Love & Service, Ella

There is another name written down in glory....

Courtney who gave her heart and life to Jesus this Tuesday.

I was blessed to be one of the people there when she became born-again.

My Aunt Pat and dear friend Mary invited me to lunch this Tuesday at one of my favorite Japanese Restaurants that I have not been to in quite some time. What a delight to be able to go with them.

When we arrived it was right around lunch time and there were not too many people in the restaurant.

We were greeted with love and affection from the staff as Mary is a very frequent visitor , this is a harvest field for her . Many have come to know Jesus because of her testimony and faithful sharing of God's word and love.

We began our lunch with prayer and joy as we talked about prayer and increasing the fellowship. God has been doing many marvelous miracles in our midst . Life's changed, people coming to Christ, healing and deliverance's. The Holy Spirit is moving and it is a wonderful time.

Courtney came by several times while we were in fellowship and having lunch , always bringing up Jesus each stop she made to our table. The presence of God was so lovely in the restaurant.

One of her final stops to the table she lingered a bit longer as we shared the word and love of God with her Mary, Aunt Patty and I.

Aunt Patty asked her if she would like to receive Jesus as her Savior and Lord and she said "YES" !

She prayed with all of us right there at our table and gave her heart and life to Jesus.!!!!!!

We were full of excitement and joy !!!! She was thrilled , worshipping God and thanking Him for His goodness!!!! It was a powerful. The Holy Spirit was all over Courtney. She was so aware of His peace and glorious presence as we were.

With all of our praising and thanksgiving going on , two diners left without paying their bill. ( They were not Courtney's customers, but were Amanda's another young lady who works there )

We immediately covered their bill being prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so and it was a testimony of God's love in action to Helen the owner.

Please keep in prayer that God would touch Helen's heart , that we may be able to have a Bible Study weekly at the restaurant !!! Please keep us in prayer that if this is God's will He will open the door.

May God continually put in us the desire to share Jesus wherever we may be .....

In His love & Service, Ella

M't:9:37: Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
M't:9:38: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Grammy Goo's BBQ pulled Pork.

Seems like when we have an event now , I get the request to make this with Cole Slaw and Rolls. I just made it for my brother in laws Christmas party and it was delicious . It is a simple cook all day roast that comes out slightly different buy yummy everytime ! It is perfect for Superbowl Sunday !!!!! You can head off to Chruch , leave it in your Roaster and pull it when you come home.

Enjoy....

Ingredients

Dry Rub:

3 tablespoons paparika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

3 tablespoons coarse salt

1 (7 to 10 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Apple Cider-Vinegar Barbecue Sauce:

1 1/2 cups Bragg’s All Natural Apple Cider Vinegar

1 cup yellow or brown mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pan drippings from the pork

18-24 Western buns or bulkies

1 recipe Cole Slaw, recipe follows

Dill Pickle spears and Sweet Butter Pickles , for serving

Directions

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.

I cook this now in my GE Oven Roaster so I can bring it with me to whatever gathering I have made this for. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the pork in the roasting pan and roast it for about 6-9 hours hours.

An instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part of the pork should register 170 degrees F, but basically, what you want to do is to roast it until it's falling apart.

While the pork is roasting, make the bbq sauce

Combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat and let it sit until you're ready for it.

When the pork is done, take it out of the oven and put it on a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While it's resting, deglaze the pan over medium heat with 3/4 cup water, scraping with a wooden spoon to pick up all of the browned bits. Reduce by about half. Pour that into the saucepan with the sauce and cook 5 minutes.

While the pork is still warm, you want to "pull" the meat: Grab 2 forks. Using 1 to steady the meat, use the other to "pull" shreds of meat off the roast.

Put the shredded pork roast in a bowl and pour half of the sauce over.

Stir it all up well so that the pork is coated with the sauce.

To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom half of each bun and top with some slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side.

Cole Slaw:

3 bags of Cabbage Mix

1 red onion thinly sliced

2 green onions (white and green parts), chopped

1 1/2 cups miracle whip

1/4 cup brown mustard

1 tablespoon Bragg’s all natural apple cider vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Several dashes hot sauce

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the cabbage, carrots, red onion, green onions, in a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the miracle whip mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the cole slaw with the celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and black pepper. Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

In the Beginning...........

Wow another new year ...........How exciting. How glorious.
1-11-11.

I started off this New Year much like many other years. My daily bible reading. Cleaning, Cleaning and more cleaning from the New Year's Eve party we hosted last evening.

Washed every piece of laundry and linens in the house and did my best to walk past very fat-filled left over available in abundance.

What I found as I went through the day was a calm and peace that was beyond my normal experience.

My mind was not cluttered with the usual everyday demands and attempts to cause me to worry or stressed. It was entirely wonderful. And I actually napped today , guilt -free and it was delightful.

The awareness of Christ with me was lovely and restful .

I am looking forward with great anticipation to this New Year. Wonderment at what the Lord will do in and through us !

In His Love & Service , Ella

Psalms:40:5: Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.