Chocolate, Coffee, Crisps and Good Habits! Coffee & Conversation

Okay just admit it - who doesn't love at least one of these three things?

                    CHOCOLATE?

                                     COFFEE?

                                                CRISPS?

I started drinking coffee when I was twelve years old, up until then I had always drunk milk and I have never liked tea even though I come from Northern Ireland.

I started eating crisps and chocolate long before that but they were more of a treat and not an everyday snack when I was a young girl.

In the UK we are very proud of Cadbury's Chocolate.

Having lived in America I have to say (and I'm sorry but it is true) that Cadbury's chocolate is way better than Hershey's.

My favourite Cadbury chocolate bar would have to be the Caramel - Lovely milk chocolate with gooey soft toffee inside.

However I do also love Maltesers made by Mars.

But my real favourite of all is actually the Toffee Crisp by Nestle

For a chocolate fix it doesn't have to be a bar of chocolate or chocolate sweets, I'm never going to want to say NO to a slice of chocolate cake. 



I often say I can take coffee any way as long as it's coffee.

However I do prefer a Mocha

and in a large mug so that I can sip at it for ages.

That's the best way to waken me up in the mornings.


My friends and family know I love coffee and for my birthday one year our daughter bought me a new coffee mug, our son and daughter-in-law bought me a taster pack selection of good coffees and our daughter's friend who owns a coffee shop in South Korea sent me some of his coffee beans as gifts and his coffee is great.

Because I am so fond of coffee I am also fond of coffee mugs which I have written about in quite a few blog posts.

This is my favourite coffee mug and I have had it for a long number of years.

Of course we live in Northern Ireland which is the home of the greatest crisps - Tayto.

They are so good they are even made in a castle!

We now live quite near Tandragee where Tayto Castle is located and so we finally arranged a trip to go see the crisps being made.

We had always hoped to do this when the kids had been younger but even though we are all grown ups now we had a great time.

When we went in the first thing we saw were the bags, of all the different types they make, hanging from the ceiling and of course we just had to get a picture of that.

Each time our daughter has been home from South Korea she also gets loads of these crisps to take back there to share with her colleagues and friends.



However there has been just one problem!

Sometimes what we love can be loved too much

and then

 it is not good for us 

BUT

 in moderation it is ok.

When the children were young and at Primary School, Fred was out two nights a week at church meetings while I stayed home with the children and did my marking of Maths homeworks (I was a teacher a long time ago).

It started off that occasionally Fred would stop at the shop on the way home and buy two packets of crisps and two bars of chocolate and we would have this little treat before bed.

Then it became a regular occurrence on each of these evenings and eventually we started getting the packs of chocolate bars and as the years went on we simply nearly always had crisps and chocolate in the house to snack on.

Not so good for the girl who got married in a size 8 dress but now will never see that size again. Too much chocolate, coffee and crisps means too much weight and once the weight is on it is hard to get it off.

It is the same with other things in our lives, we can get too caught up in certain things and it can be bad for us.

It means we neglect other things and get into bad habits.

God has only ever wanted good for us

and that includes good habits.

Good habits and bad habits are always a part of our lives but sometimes it is very important and useful to stop and think about what are the good ones and what are the bad.  

It is okay to love something 

but

it is not ok to get into a habit that in the end is harmful to us and then stops us doing other things that God would like us to do.

We consider this more at the start of a new year but we should be alert and careful throughout the year too.

There is no right or wrong time to start a good habit but there is always a wrong time to start a bad habit.

There are a few things I'm thinking of as I write this and I need to ask God to help me get them back into the right perspective so that my habits and my life are more glorifying to Him.

What about you?

He doesn't give up on us and is ready and willing to help us, so come on we can start to make the change today!

I Love My Family - Coffee & Conversation

There was a big event!

Yes there was a special event for our family and at that event there were many pictures taken but one of the ones I love the best was a selfie which got photobombed.

Yeah in the middle of a very special event 3 of our kids were cramming close together taking a selfie when the fourth one photobombed it and it came out great.

Well that's my family

 Our daughter Linda on the left,

 our son Daniel in the middle

 with his new wife Suzie on the right.

It was actually taken at the reception on their wedding day.

Oh yes the one who photobombed it is our son Jonathan.

It simply could not have turned out better if it had been planned.

When I got my hands on the picture I got it on the iPad and could not resist framing it in an app.

This is the picture of Daniel the boy in our family who at one stage did everything he could to make sure he was not in a photo during some of his teenage years but here he is centre stage.

This is the picture of Linda who when she was very young won a child photo competition and was known for several years as the poser in the family because every time we wanted to take a photo she really posed - she did go on to study Drama at University but then decided to go into Creative Writing.

This is the picture of Jonathan who is like me and so often blinked at just the wrong moment for our photos that we would have to retake them yet now he takes selfies all the time and makes videos of himself teaching church doctrine on You Tube.

And this is the picture of Suzie who had come in to our family in the few years before this event and just fits right in there.


Why did it turn out so well?


I think it was because we were all so happy that day that we all had constant smiles on our faces, natural smiles, so even though they were taking a selfie which means that you are conscious of getting each other in the frame they were just so happy it came over in the picture.

I think it is amazing how Jonathan managed to get in at just the right time and in just the right position when it all happened so quick that they hardly knew what had actually taken place.

I believe that God gives us little special things that can mean more than the big things we think we want.

I look at this picture and I see 4 happy young people who love each other and love God 

and they love Fred & I too - at least that's what they say in the cards they send us 

and on the phone calls and the facetimes.

And of course all of that makes Fred & I very happy too every day 

and not just at that very special event.

I believe that God has given us the ultimate special thing that means more than any of the things we think we want.

I look at this picture above and I see 2 happy older people who love each other and love God 

and what could be more important in life than to know the true love that God has for us that He sent His only Son to make the way for us to come to Him and experience new life eternal and love eternal.

I believe that God has given us family love and is willing to bring us all into the greatest family there could ever be in Heaven if we put our trust and hope in His Son the Lord Jesus. 

Thanks for joining me for one of my "I Love" chats in Coffee & Conversation at Sandra's Ark & please drop by again for other posts.  

5 Things We Can Use To Worship - A Dose of Encouragement

  

Fred and I are involved in "leading the worship" in our church which means we lead the corporate singing of our praise and worship to God.


Some people see this as all that worship consists of but we also need to remember that

Worship is an act of devotion towards God

So when I look at it like that then it is obvious that as a Christian I should automatically love worship.

If we consider our purpose on earth (as mentioned in Why We Worship 1 ) which is nothing to do with all the Purpose books I see around us - but simply what the reason we are alive is then we see that

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever

But because we are human and imperfect, I know that we are not immediately drawn in to worship and it may feel completely alien to some of us.


One of the reasons I love worship is basically because I love singing and we find it easier to worship God in a song, don't we - someone else has done the hard work of writing the words and arranging the music and we just have to read the words listen to the tune and sing along.

But can't we do other things that are very easy? 

That's why I'm going to take the opportunity to give you some help by thinking about

5 Things We Can Use To Worship

1. The Bible
2. Prayer
3. Thoughts
4. Songs
5. Actions

1. We can use the Bible as a great means of Worship.

Reading and memorizing God's Word is a great and easy way to worship God.
Either on our own in our quiet times or in church among others.



Read out verses in worship to God

Here we are reading out His Word which is powerful and in doing so we are agreeing with what God has said.

As we ourselves read from the bible we are focused on the truth in those passages and greatly encouraged by what we read, also if we read aloud in corporate worship services everyone gains from hearing His Word which is Truth and because He never changes then neither will His Word.

Read out Bible Verses that are simply words of Worship

Here we are reading what is recorded in the bible of what others have said in worship and in repeating these words we can be in agreement with them.

Read out Bible Verses about God's Love

Here we are reading and hence concentrating on the Love of God.

You may be further encouraged by 

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement about God's Love



Read out Bible Verses about God's Mercy & Grace

Here we are reading and concentrating on the Mercy of God.

Read out Bible Verses about the nature and attributes of God

Here we are reading and concentrating on the very essence of God

You may be further encouraged by this series of short posts on

Why We Worship which is fully based around the Attributes of God

Read out Bible Verses about Jesus

Here we are reading verses about our Saviour and basking in all that He has done for us.

Read out Bible Verses declaring our intention to Worship God

Here we are reading verses which are telling God that we will Bless Him, Praise Him, Obey Him and His Word.

Read out Bible Verses encouraging ourselves and others to worship God

Here we are reading Bible verses written by the apostles (other followers of God) to encourage us all to worship

2. We can use Prayer as a great means of Worship.

Talking to God in Prayer is a great and easy way to worship Him.
Again either on our own in our quiet times or in church among others.



Praising God in Prayer

We are talking to God in acknowledgement of His Greatness.

Thanking God in Prayer

We are talking to God about the wonderful things He has done for us

and how He has answered our petitions.

3. We can use Our Thoughts as a great means of Worship.

Thinking about God Regularly is a great and easy way to worship Him.

Recognising just how He is is the one we can depend on at all times.

and let's not leave out what we started with

4. We can use Song as a great means of Worship.

Singing to God is a great and easy way to worship Him.
Again either on our own in our quiet times or in church among others.

Singing all those wonderful hymns that have been written throughout the ages and all the more recent songs and choruses mean we are praising and worshiping God.
Also at the same time we are learning and memorizing His Word which is so often contained in the verses of the hymns and learning doctrine.

We can Write our own Songs and Sing our own Songs.


We can Wait in the Presence of God and receive new Words and Songs from Him.

We can follow the example of the Psalmists and others as they encouraged themselves and others to sing unto God.

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, 

all the earth.    

 Psalm 96:1

O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done 

marvellous things:    

Psalm 98:1

Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; 

the isles, 

and the inhabitants thereof.   

 Isaiah 42:10

Then we should Progress to other Forms of Worship we may not find so Easy to start with. 

5. We can use Actions as a great means of Worship.

• We can Obey the Word of God.

• We can Tell others about His Love and Work in our Lives.

• We can Write our own Praises and Speak our own Praises.

• We can Memorize His Word so that we always have it in our thoughts and ready to teach to others.

• We can help others to Memorize His Word

• We can show His Love to others

• We can encourage others to to Sing unto the Lord

• We can teach the children to learn about God and His Word through Songs

We started off by saying that

Worship is an act of devotion towards God

and 

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever

So let's glorify God and enjoy being in His presence as we worship God and teach and encourage others to do the same.

I Love Salvation - It's God's Love #17

This is just a simple, short post each week
consisting of a Bible Verse around the topic of
God's Love and I would be very pleased if you
would join me each Sunday.

I Love

Salvation

because

it is

the outpouring of God's Love,

Mercy and Grace on me

even though I did not deserve it

but I was free to reach out

and receive it

and say

"Forgive me Lord"

Even if we had never 

loved God

He still had sent Jesus

to pay our ransom.

If you want to know more about Salvation you might want to have a look at this video

I Love Marriage - A Dose of Encouragement

Well I definitely have to say that

I agree with Marriage as God defined it.

Not only because that is the marriage that I undertook all those many years ago but also because I know that God only has what's best for us and so Marriage as He defined it is what is best for me and for everyone else He created.

I would tell anyone that I love my marriage and that I love the institution of marriage.

I have experienced marriage and what it has meant in my life.

I am not saying here that being married is better than being single. What I am saying is that my life would be different if I was not married as I see what God has done in my life through my marriage and it was the way He wanted to work in me.

God created marriage so it is a good thing, not always perfect because we are not perfect, but it is a good thing.

There is a great bond between two people in a marriage but also a bond between those two people and God.

I believe that Marriage can be an example of the security, hope and promise God has appointed for our eternal future with Him.

I Love the fact that God cares about all the ways we feel in relationships and He created marriage to be the true proper foundation for our romantic relationship.

I also believe the Bible is God's Word and it is truth so I agree with

Many people will quote the first verse above in Colossians about the wives and forget about the others, simply because they want to pick on how women are to be treated and complain that it is not right for this day and age.

Then others will quote the first two in Colossians and say it is a two-sided thing submitting and ruling over.

Then others will bring in  Ephesians 5 v 25 where we have the advice to consider Christ and the church which is great because we see that unconditional love exemplified for us.

But how many will bring all of these verses into the equation?

All are wise and helpful to us but surely it is only when we take them all together plus the context of the passages surrounding them that we truly get the best marital advice. 

My husband also believes in Marriage as God intended it to be 

and in the three sets of verses quoted above 

and I am thankful for that because if he didn't 

then our marriage would have been very different.

You may enjoy some more Encouragement Posts at Sandra's Ark

I Love the Name of Jesus - It's God's Love #16

This is just a simple, short post each week

consisting of a Bible Verse around the topic of
God's Love and I would be very pleased if you
would join me each Sunday.

I Love

the Name of Jesus

because

His Name

 is the

most powerful name.

His Name 

is the

most beautiful name.

His Name 

is greater 

than any other name.

His Name 

is the only name 

we can call on for Salvation.

God 

loves us

so much that He gave us

Eternal Life through Jesus.

Do you have this Life through Jesus?Have you called on the Name of Jesus to be saved?If not, you can do so today.

You can call on the Name of the Lord Jesus whenever you can call on no other.

He will never turn you away.