Kaye's Tortilla Soup

At our life group last night, Kaye Smith made this WONDERFUL tortilla soup. I just know I've eaten this at some restaurant before. Just seeing the recipe has made me hungry for it all over again. You're going to LOVE it!

Tortilla Soup

2 whole chicken breasts (whole equals 2 regular sized chicken breasts) cooked
1 small onion, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic chopped
1 can of fire roasted chilies (United has these)
½ jar roasted red bell pepper (you and find them by the pickles at United)
½ jalapeño (ribs and seeds taken out) chopped
4 cups of chicken broth (or more)
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (they recommended Muir Glen fire roasted, but I couldn’t find them so I used finely chopped tomatoes with chipotle chilies)
½ t. coarse salt (I used sea salt)
These are the things I added:
½ t. cumin
½ t. red chili powder
½ oregano
½ t. dried cilantro
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans (I mashed half of them with a fork so that the soup would have a little thickness)
I brushed the chicken with some olive oil and then put sea salt and cracked pepper on them and roasted them uncovered in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes. I chopped/shredded the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Mix all other ingredients together except the chicken and the toppings. Bring to a full boil. Cook over medium heat until chicken is added. After adding chicken reduce heat to a simmer and let the soup cook for 30 more minutes. I poured the drippings from the chicken in the pot. There was just a little bit of grease and the rest was the great drippings from cooking the chicken.

Toppings: Cheese, Avocado, Sour cream, Fresh cilantro, jalapenos, tortilla chips

Blessing...not a curse

Forgive me while I blog to myself. It helps me remember what God is teaching me when I write things down. I used to do it in my journal, but my poor journal hasn't seen the light of day since I started blogging.
God definitely has me on a path of self-discovery to make me more useful in the kingdom. It seems he always evens things out. As he points out deception I've believed, he then encourages me. This was one of those times.
I've often thought of parts of my personality or spiritual gift as a curse. And maybe it's been because I've heard people teach it that way! You realize we all love the sanguine---they're a party waiting to happen! But when we start talking about the choleric, we tend to point out their weaknesses...which include being bossy, impatient, quick-tempered, etc. (And it doesn't help that I'm red-headed---people love pointing that one out!) The same is true of the spiritual gifts. We love the giver for obvious reasons, we appreciate the gift of mercy because of their compassion..but when it comes to the prophet? Watch out! They'll tell you like it is with no mercy.
So...combine the choleric and the prophet into one person and do you see why I've often thought of my personality/gift as a curse?
Recently, I've been bemoaning the fact that I'm very unemotional. My poor daughter-in-law is very much like me and recently we were discussing this very thing. Andy was there as we were talking and when I told Lindsey that I'd been asking God why I was so unemotional, Andy said, "Because emotions are baggage for you! If you were emotional, you'd have to wade through those emotions to discern and speak truth." Wow!......Really?
And this week I decided to google "choleric." (You can go here and take a personality test) And when I opened this page, the first thing that caught my eye was this: UNEMOTIONAL! Double whammy! I'd venture to say most prophets are unemotional (besides Jeremiah, of course) but a choleric is also unemotional? Wow!
But God began speaking to my heart. HE CREATED ME THIS WAY FOR A PURPOSE!!! He created me to be unemotional so he could use me for his kingdom. He gifted me to speak truth for his kingdom. He created me to be a born leader, to correct wrongs, to see things black and white for great purpose.
As I thought on my personality and gift being a double whammy (because they're both so strong), I thought on 2 of my friends. One has the gift of mercy but is also melancholy---double whammy! (A sensitive, compassionate person!) The other friend is sanguine and has the gift of giving---double whammy! (A cheerful giver!)
I'm re-learning. I've studied the personalities and gifts for years and even taught them. But God is revealing things in a new way to me. I'm learning to appreciate the way God created me. I'm thankful he made me into who I am. It's made me excited to see how he wants to use me for his purpose. I've been created as a blessing, not a curse. And everything he has planned for me is the same---a blessing and not a curse. I want to discover all of the ways God wants to use ME (just the way he created me!) for HIS kingdom. And I've decided this year I want to use all he's given me with passion! (Is that an emotion?) Awesome.

The accuser

God just keeps revealing my heart to ME! Ouch!!
Does this ever happen to you? Is there a difficult person in your life? Does Satan accuse him/her to you in your mind?
Here's a picture God gave me today:
It's as if I'm in a courtroom and that person is on the witness stand. Satan is the Prosecutor and is accusing the witness of every wrong he's ever done to me. Jesus is the Defender. And I'm seated next to Jesus. And then as Satan accuses the witness, I begin to chime in, "YES!! Yes, that's exactly what he's done! I agree--get him!! What a scumbag---what a dirty, rotten, no-good louse!"
And Jesus just turns and looks at me. He's supposed to be DEFENDING me (and the witness, actually!! His desire is to turn our hearts into agreement with one another) and here I am agreeing with the Prosecuting Enemy! I'm helping the enemy's wicked case---not my own---not what Jesus desires for me.

I encourage you to read James 4. Wow.

Living Water Pictures

Living Water pictures.

Giving out groceries on a Friday.

Chapel service on a Friday.

Part of our office.


Grocery shelves


Clothing room.

The Beginnings of Living Water

Julie Simmons asked me to share the beginnings of Living Water Benevolence Ministry, Inc. with you. So here it is:

Andy, my visionary husband, had a dream about 10 years ago to begin a benevolence ministry in Borger in which all of the evangelical churches could participate. At the time, Andy was the youth pastor at First Baptist Church. But he also handled the benevolence in our church and he was very frustrated at the amount of time that ministry consumed. He was also frustrated knowing that people in need were having to go from church to church to get the help they needed to pay one bill. So Andy brought the need before our deacon body and asked them to consider beginning this ministry. But it sat on the table for about 5 years. Andy is a visionary, but he's not a "make-it-happen-kind-0f-guy." But a man in our church, Conny Moore, was the person who made it happen! He knew who to go to to get the papers filed and how to get people involved to make it happen. He was incredible (still is!). He got the men in our church very excited about the ministry and they sent letters to every evangelical church in our community asking them to join us. Soon, a woman in our church donated a building to us to house Living Water. But it needed a lot of work and we had men that worked on this building for months getting it ready. They hired Vonna Humphries as our first Executive Director and formed a board and established the by-laws. By October of 2003, it was off and running! At first, it was just First Baptist Church that supported this ministry. But soon, other churches saw the benefit of having all of the benevolence resources in one place and began contributing and volunteering. Soon, we had 7 churches involved. And then in about 2006, Conny took the initiative to apply for money from United Way. We began receiving about $10,000 a year to use to buy food and help pay utility bills for our clients. Vonna stepped down as Executive Director in February of 2007 and I stepped in.

I became the full-time Executive Director of Living Water in March, 2007. I have loved it! Living Water helps people with a limited amount for utility bills. We also provide food every Friday for those in need. The only prerequisite is to provide us with a Social Security card for everyone in their household. They can come for 10 weeks and if they still have a need after those ten weeks, they have to provide us with a letter from a pastor saying they still have a need. Our objective is to get them involved in a church. We have a wonderful clothing room that is set up like a department store. People can come and "shop" for clothing once a month. And actually, everything at Living Water is free. When K-Mart closed in Borger, they donated our shelving units and clothing racks. J.C. Penney donated our hangers. We also have a chapel service on Friday mornings before we hand out the food. Most of our salvation decisions are made in that service or when I counsel people as I help them with their utility bills.

We purchase our food from High Plains Food Bank in Amarillo at $.16/lb. Quite a bargain!!

Last June, we were hurting financially. In fact, one week, we had to put a sign on our door that we had no money to help with utility bills. But since then, we had a former client donate money to buy turkeys for everyone at Thanksgiving and that seemed to challenge everyone in their giving to Living Water. God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He? It's been so much fun to be at the center of this ministry and see what God does day in and day out.

Before I became the director, I'd been praying that God would put me in a place where I would be around lost people--and where I could share my faith. Has He ever answered!!

Paradigm Shift

Where to start? God's been working in my heart. Maybe I need to start at the beginning.
Even as a small child, I had a very strong sense of right and wrong. I think God's had His hand on me for a very, very long time.
My spiritual gift is prophecy. That gift is a truth proclaimer. I love Truth! And that gift also has a clear knowledge or understanding of right and wrong.
I am also a mostly choleric personality. The choleric personality is highly motivated, loves to lead and is strong-willed.
So...there you have a short-version of me. My mother, siblings, husband and children will attest to all of the above. Of course, I left off the negatives of these....you'll just have to study it on your own to figure those out--I don't have to tell everything! But suffice it to say, I have a strong personality. And I'm pretty hard-headed and outspoken. Ok...very.
I can remember being in my 20's and hearing about people caught up in certain sins and (honestly!) my thought would be: "I would never do that." And I really thought I was above those sins. But then one night, I had a dream from the Lord. Ever had one? Trust me...you'd know. And you'd never forget it. In that dream, I was caught up in a sin. A serious sin. And I was trying to hide it. I'd taken this sin to a male friend of mine (also a prophet!) who wouldn't allow me to hide my sin on his property. When I woke up, I was overwhelmed with the "knowing" in my heart that I was truly capable of ANY sin! That dream changed my life dramatically. I became much less judgmental and a little more cautious.
In my 30's, I began a spiritual walk with a friend and God began speaking to us in so many different ways. And through that walk, I became much more compassionate toward people who were hurting. I began to look past the awful things people would say to the hurts in their hearts. My own heart was softening. And trust me...it needed softening!
In my 30's & 40's, I heard some incredible spiritual giants speak. People like Bill & Anabel Gillham, Peter Lord, Major Ian Thomas, and Al Whittinghill. The truth they taught helped shape me.
I believe in each decade of my life, I've had a paradigm shift. (Or maybe it's just going from glory to glory!) And now I'm in my 50's. What is changing me now? What is shaping me? I'd have to say God has used many things. I think one of the biggest things that has changed me is observing others. You see, it's so easy for a person with my gift and my personality to think they're always "right!" (I can imagine some of you shaking your heads and thinking: "Are you kidding me?!? How can anyone think they're right all the time?" If you don't have this gift or this personality, you're just not going to understand. But for those of you who do, it's striking a chord in your heart.) It's also easy for a person with my gift and personality to just assume what's going on and jump in to take control--even without hearing people out. And even worse--without hearing God.
What I've observed lately are people who are blind to their own deception. It's caused me to take a step back and ask, "Am I walking in Truth? Is what I believe in line with God's Word? Am I deceived in any way?" I've come to believe at a deeper level that I'm not always right and that I am capable of, and have been, deceived. I've seen my own control issues. God has revealed my heart to me. ("The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9) It's causing me to look at everything I think about and everything I do in a new way and with new eyes. It's making me much more cautious. I hope it's filling me with grace. I know it's opening my heart to love those that I haven't really loved. It's so easy for a person with the gift of prophecy to speak truth...but not so easy to speak truth in love.
So...once again my paradigm has shifted. I'm looking at the world with new eyes and from a new perspective. I'm trying to be slower to assume. I want to analyze my motives and my actions. I want to walk in love. I'm testing my heart. And I've made this my prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24.
Another thing that has helped me is to realize we're all on a journey. I want to grace everyone on their own journeys! I know how hard it's been for me to "get" some of these truths. I know how long it's taken for God to be able to get through to me on some issues. So I want to extend you that same grace.
Thank you, God, for the work you're doing in my life. Please feel free to keep changing me, Mold me into the likeness of your son!! Make me a pure bride for him. I love you, Daddy! And I trust you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

In case you're wondering...

I've kept up the new habit of putting flowers by my bed. I absolutely LOVE them!! Every week (or longer--depending on how the flowers last), I put something new and different. It really lifts my spirit when I walk in and see them.

Aren't they beautiful? And Andy swears he's been having a dream almost every night!