I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30
During this holiday season remember the important things. When the family arrives, peer deeply into their eyes. Listen intently. Hug gently and lovingly. Laugh with all your might. Make a memory. And finally, give the Lord praise for all the blessings!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Gail
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:31)
The house was a dilapidated jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. Innocuous black snakes often found their way inside through the ill-connected joints. Rags filled the broken window panes, a barrier against the frigid air. It was a sorry sight to most, but it was home to me.
There were seven of us. Poor as hanks, survival meant eating whatever was set before you. Squirrel, rabbit, or deer, we didn’t ask. We weren’t worried so much about saving the planet back then as we were about saving ourselves. Dad worked continually, but he never seemed to catch up. It was either feast or famine, there was no in between. So more times than not, we did without.
My twenty-two-year-old mom tried her best to keep five kids happy. One particularly cold day while camping in the kitchen with just the stove to keep us warm, she threw a blanket over the table and we all climbed under, our imagination doing the rest. For a while, we played oblivious to our persistent problem. The need for food.
But Mama was praying. And God was listening!
Around lunch time, my granny, Mattie and my great-granny, Blanche, brought two whole fryers expecting to fry them, until Mama explained she had no grease. Blanche asked for 
butter. Mom gave her all she had–several small pieces from blocks she used to butter her pans when cooking (Before the days of Pam). Undaunted, Blanche melted the butter and pan-fried the chicken. Then she made butter gravy with the drippings. We feasted on the best Chicken ‘N Gravy we had ever tasted before—or since.
I make this recipe when I want comfort food. Back then I didn’t eat much. I didn’t like deer, rabbit, or squirrel. And I refused to eat fried bologna! So when I found something delectable, I kept it near my heart. Each time I eat this dish, I’m reminded I am more valuable than the sparrows.
What You Need:
Whole fryer or 4-6 breast, thighs, or legs seasoned to taste
½ cup butter or margarine
½ tsp of salt and pepper (according to taste)
½ cup flour (see note)
2 2/3 cup water (see note)
Here’s How:
Place butter in pan or Dutch oven and heat until butter sizzle.
Brown a few pieces at a time, turn, and cook until tender.
Remove from pan
Combine flour and salt. Add to drippings to make a roué. Stir until medium brown.
Add water and whisk until smooth and creamy.
Return chicken to the gravy and allow to simmer 5-10 minutes.
Serve with rice, homemade biscuits, or pasta, and a salad.
Note: With different chicken pieces comes more drippings. Reduce drippings and flour as needed to make perfect gravy. The more you make this recipe and become familiar with it, adding more or less of things, the better it will taste.
Do you have a favorite dish that reminds you of God’s goodness?
Have you ever had someone to show up at your door just when you needed a helping hand?
Ain’t God good?
Blessings
Gail
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
In 2009, while in my pantry, I felt the Lord urging me to give a substantial amount of money each month in an offering. I immediately questioned His timing.
Father, Are you sure? You know we are struggling at this time, and I feel I need to save more, rather than give more. Still, I couldn’t shake the need to give.
In the midst of my argument, He asked, “When do you sow? In harvest or planting season?” That’s when I realized He was up to something.
In the past, when He had asked something from me, it usually had more to do with what He was trying to accomplish in me, than the action He was asking of me.
I continued putting away my groceries when suddenly the account of the Shunammite woman leaped to mind. I stored the remaining cans and walked to my desk. Opening my Bible, I turned to the fourth chapter of Second Kings and began devouring the passage with a new interest.
I understood that she had the money to feed, build a room, and decorate it for Elisha. What I did not gather was her “need” for anything, or so I thought.
Although she was fruitful in many areas, one area of her life remained barren. The Bible does not give a reason for her infertility. We’re told only that Elisha, grateful for her hospitality, desired “to give her” something. When Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, noted her childlessness, Elisha prophesied that she would “embrace a son.” The Word tells us that she conceived and brought forth a son.
It wasn’t so much as “the gift” she gave to Elisha as it was the “act of obedience” needed to position her to “receive” something God deemed necessary in her life. Elisha was the last piece to bring that divine purpose to reality. Could God have given her the son without Elisha? Of course! But that wasn’t the plan.
I recalled my prayers for every area of my life to become fruitful. Trust and Anger issues from the past kept me from being prolific in the present. Could it be God was trying to position me for answers? Would my obedience trigger a reaction in my life?
As I pondered these questions, I saw puzzle pieces on an ornate wooden table. A hand guided the diverse sections to the right place at the right time to complete the image. At that moment, everything clicked into place.
The Shunammite’s actions brought a reaction resulting in Elisha becoming a part of her life. She needed Elisha in her life more than he needed her gifts in his life.
The promised child died, Elisha prayed. The child lived again. When warned of a famine by Elisha, she sojourned in the land of the Philistines (2 Kings 8). Seven years later, she returned home to petition the king for the return of her house and her land.
When she approached the king, Gehazi was with him telling the great things Elisha had done. When Gehazi heard her petition, he told the king, “This is the woman and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” The king ordered everything restored unto her “since the day she left the land, even until now.”
Did she realize when she built that little room for Elisha what she would get in return? I think not. What would have happened if she’d withheld her gift? Would she still have had a son? If she’d never met Gehazi, what would’ve happened to her house and lands? Hmm.
Pixabay Public Domain
I repented of my reluctance. I needed to stop focusing on what I was giving up, and just trust Him. To free-fall in faith wasn’t going to be easy, but it was necessary if I was ever going to move forward. I chose to obey and haven’t looked back since. My obedience taught me trust and eventually, I let go of the anger. I came to realize I needed God in my life more than He needed my gifts.
Is there something God is asking of you? Are you struggling? If so, you are not alone. With every mountain, comes another level of faith. Like the Shunammite, it’s not about the “action” so much as it’s about the chain “reaction” that will take place afterward.
God works in mysterious ways. We only see in part. Yet, He asks us to trust and obey until that day when all is revealed. Take the leap and free-fall in faith!
Blessings
Gail
Gail Johnson 