B Shared Ministries is based out of Dallas, TX. However we offer coaching via phone or by meeting in person.

Our Mission:
To help and encourage hurting women while struggling through the past pain of an abortion. Offering repentance, forgiveness, and being set free by ministering to their hearts and minds through education and prayer sharing Christ’s love.

Post-Abortion syndrome (PAS) is what some women experience following an abortion.

Some typical symptoms include: guilt, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide, re-experiencing the abortion, fear of not being able to get pregnant again, survival guilt, eating disorders, alcohol or drug abuse.

B Shared Ministries
Rebuilding Lives thru Jesus Christ
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32

Contact Us:
Brian Johnson
Sheratan Johnson

Please submit your prayer request to this address: bsharedministries@gmail.com

Let Us Pray For You –

1.877.307.7061
Attend a Group Meeting

Attend a small group meeting. In this setting as a small group you can feel free to finally release your emotions and grieve. With coaching and guidance you will also know that Jesus has forgiven you. We will work through sevaral exercises that will allow you to dive into God’s word and understand the effects of PAS. This is truly an enlightening experience that will show you that you can break free from the bondage of a past abortion.

Jennifer Schmidt served in full time ministry as a Director of Music and Youth in Milwaukee, WI before moving to NC. Now she is a full time family manager that writes about her never ending pursuit of “Balancing it all…the good, bad and ugly” at her personal blog: Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

As a motivational speaker and worship leader from NC, Jen finds joy in encouraging women at MOPS, women’s retreats and home school conferences. But she still sees her most demanding, yet rewarding, audience as her own family.

As a mom of five and frugal living expert, Jen shares with humor and authenticity on a myriad of topics.

You can find her on any given day dreaming about a clean house, chauffeuring, meal planning, home schooling, thrift store hunting, or quite possibly on a stage sharing both her beauty and bedlam as a daughter of the King.

Follow Jen on twitter as @beautyandbedlam

Jennifer’s session is entitled: Balancing Beauty, Bedlam and the Budget

Balance, is that even a true possibility as a woman? Jen has spent this past year in passionate pursuit of trying to balance it all – the good, bad and ugly. She shares refreshing ideas on how to make your home a haven, (even when it mimics Chuck Cheese), turn trash into treasure, embrace the simple things and make them the big things, while pointing us to the true source of beauty. Leave encouraged and refreshed that we can choose join in the journey of balancing beauty and bedlam.

Cynthia Carrier is wife to Marc and the homeschooling mom of seven children. Together, Marc and Cindy have a passion to encourage Christian parents through their Web site, www.ValuesDrivenFamily.com. The focus of their “Values-Driven” ministry is to equip Christian families to make the most of every opportunity: that is, to serve God, participate in fulfilling the Great Commission, and raise children who love and serve the Lord. For more information about their resources, for fresh inspiration on your family journey, or to find practical helps—including dozens of FREE DOWNLOADS—visit www.ValuesDrivenFamily.com.

Cindy is the author of The Growing Homeschool: Integrating Babies and Toddlers into Your Already Busy Schedule and the children’s character training coloring book, Growing to be Like Jesus.  She also has written, with her husband, Marc, The Values-Driven Family: A Proactive Plan for Successful Biblical Parenting and Values-Driven Discipleship: Biblical Instruction and Character Training Manual. She has enjoys speaking at homeschool and women’s events and has several seminars available online.

You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, and her Fan page: Values-Driven.

The Values-Driven Family: This comprehensive resource explores the parenting fundamentals of training, encouragement, discipline, covers family dynamics like relationship-building and decision-making, and even includes practical things like budgets and schedules. A proactive plan for successful, Biblical parenting!

The Values-Driven Family Home Management Bundle and Parenting Essentials Package: These two popular and economical bundles put together book excerpts and practical, usable tools to help you become more effective and productive in family living—whether parenting or home management.

Home Sweet Home: Creating a Joyful Home Atmosphere: It’s been said that “the woman sets the tone for the home,” and yet almost every Mom has moments—or more than moments!—when she is overwhelmed, frustrated, and even angry. This can have far-reaching effects. Join Cindy Carrier for a seminar series that will help you to create the joyful home atmosphere you crave. You can attend the live seminars for FREE for four consecutive Tuesday nights beginning January 19. Recorded seminars will be available for purchase at the conclusion of the free live event.

Cindy’s Session is entitled: Home Management Nuts & Bolts: Budgets and Schedules

In this practical workshop, you’ll learn how to apply basic project management principles in the home to help you be a better steward of your time and money.

For the first time in a few years, I have stepped into December, the Christmas season and celebration of the birth of Jesus, with a renewed joy in my spirit. The past four years have been chock-full of stressors in our family–financial hardship, bankruptcy, job loss, extended family problems and health concerns. I’m sure it’s not much different than what each of you face, too.

Then, to my surprise, God has ushered in a new season this year! I feel joyful, less stressed, confident, and at rest. I know our faith is not all about feelings, but sometimes…just sometimes, it is a wondrous thing to behold and actually feel jubilant inside!

For months I have been choosing joy in the midst of hard circumstances. And now? Now I am experiencing fullness of joy. I could cry for the release of it! An amazing rebirth in my spirit has been transacted.
The funny thing is this–we still face troubles and hard circumstances. They are just not at the sustained crescendo at which they had been. For that, I rejoice!

As we have readied our home to decorate for Christmas this year, I have decided to do a little internal decorating this year. For this child we celebrate, this Savior born, for Jesus my Immanuel, I am making my heart ready. There is room in my inn for you, Jesus.

Though the prince of this world would like to pile up life and stress, I am emptying my self of it all and laying it trustingly on the altar of the Lord. Then in that empty space created, I believe there is just enough room for a stable with manger and mother–with father, angels, shepherds and animals–and most of all, with JESUS!

In the very corner of the room, I kneel in wonder at this child and his flesh, containing all the wonder and glory and power of God. This God-child was born for you and for me. And you know what? He’s willing to make the great exchange with you and me on a moment by moment basis. He has already paid the price for us. He’s willing to carry our loads!

Kneel in wonder with me and wander in the fields of jubilation! FEEL the Joy of Jesus and pour it forth, friends. Make room in your inn this Christmas!

Wishing You a Joyful Celebration of the Savior,
Holly Smith

(Photo by Heather Ferguson)

If I am going to be perfectly honest, I must tell you that I brought something to do. This Saturday I am having a Christmas party and what better time to go over my menu and finalize the grocery list than at my son’s Christmas Pageant. So I brought my clipboard in. I also brought a cookbook so I could peruse it and perhaps by it be inspired to make a last minute but exciting culinary change. Of course, I also brought a pen. I did not bring a video camera.

With children in both the ninth and third grades, I feel like I am a somewhat veteran of Christmas Pageants. I know what to expect. There are a few things that I can absolutely know will happen at this Christmas Pageant and at all Christmas Pageants in all towns across America. For instance, I can absolutely know it will not go as planned. Children will take longer than planned to get on stage. They will take longer to sing or to recite whatever is their part. They will forget when they are supposed to leave the stage and then they will forget where their parents are sitting holding things up by just a few seconds that somehow multiplies into an extra half hour.

I can certainly know that many of the things recited or sung will be boring. Some kids will not be loud enough even with a mike. Some kids will forget their lines. Some kids will have laryngitis and will sound like Kermit the Frog. Most kids will sing off key. At some point I will think that after one group of third graders has recited two poems and a Bible verse about shepherds that they are going to sit down. But then the music will begin and I will realize that they are also going to sing. At this point, even if my child is part of the performing group, I will be wondering if this teacher already has all her shopping done and was actually thinking that her class needed to be up on the stage for 20 whole minutes.

My husband called me about 5 times that day to say that he was starting to feel sick and might be coming down with something, but I had no sympathy for him whatsoever. There was no chance that I would be attending this function by myself. Besides, I knew he was just faking stomach cramps because it has become a well known fact between us that we would both rather attend a week long algebra convention than sit through another Christmas Pageant.

And so we settled into a pew in the back of the church for 3 reasons. Number one: I wanted to work on my list in a less obtrusive way. Number two: We were late as usual and it would have been rude to walk to the front. Number three: The video parents needed to be up front for obvious reasons. The recipe/party planning parents could sit in the back. Unselfish reasons all. Really, I swear our choice of seating had nothing to do with how bored we thought we might soon be.

And every single bad thing earlier described started unfolding before us. But somehow, around the edges of the boredom and pitiful singing, something magical happened.

When one of the baby angels fell off the stage, there was a moment of panic before she climbed back up unharmed. But in a way it made the glitter halos seem more authentic. I don’t know if that was because the thought of an angel not getting it just right made it more real or whether her arms encased in long white sleeves flapping up and down trying to keep her balance really looked like wings, but suddenly, I raised my eyes from the cookbook page filled with hot crab dip appetizers and began to wonder what it must have been like to look up that fateful night to a sky filled with heavenly beings.

And then the first grade got up and sang a song. First graders singing is kind of funny anyway, but the song’s first line was, “Who would send a baby to show us the way?” and each line after that started with the word “Who”, which made the kids sound like a bunch of owls on cue if not on pitch. I laughed. And even though it was not meant to be funny, at least it was not boring.

Then the drama class got up to do the traditional manger/shepherds in the field scenario and while it was true that I could barely hear them and that their props were lacking, I did start to think about what it would be like to be hugely pregnant and have many doors shut in my face.

Maybe the story of Christmas cannot be stopped by a pathetic program of mediocre kids on a stage set with a fake tree. Or maybe chubby cheeked 5 year olds shaking jingle bells are exactly the right messengers of the tale of peace and joy. Maybe the first grade song asked the right question. The One who would send a baby to show us the way, might also send falling baby angels with halos askew to make us stop planning and think beyond stuffed mushrooms to a larger world.

We walked out as a family onto the crunchy snow on our way to the car and I looked up at the night. Then I turned and hugged my son and told him how proud I was of his ability to play the triangle. I left with a sense of reverence. I left with a feeling that there was no place I could have been that would have been more important tonight than that small Christmas Pageant. And because I am not too mushy, I left with a new parmesan crostini recipe that I will be serving on Saturday night.

Mary Maynard is an actual survivor of many Christmas Pageants and wrote this in part during the last one.

The fallen baby angel shall remain unnamed to protect the innocent.

Mary Maynard grew up in the South where she learned that if you cook, people will come to your house and talk to you. Because her favorite sport is discussion, most of her time is spent trying to monopolize conversations everywhere she goes. She forces her husband and 2 children to talk to her until they can’t take it anymore. Then she talks to the dog. Occasionally she stops talking to write a little. Mary is just beginning a blog here at http://happyhourmary.blogspot.com/.

My oldest son has created for this Christmas his own personal “I Want Bag,” labeled accordingly. In it he has placed countless advertisement cutouts of the items he wants. Items he is convinced he needs, and he apparently needs a great deal.

It got me to thinking about my own “I Want Bag” that I secretly carry around with me. Except mine is not items I want for Christmas, but rather things I want from God. Some are worldly. I want more money. I want to update my house. I want to be a size 6, okay, I will settle for an 8. Some are spiritual. I want to be a successful Bible study teacher. I want the fruit of the Spirit strong in my life. I want to be more disciplined. Some are plain childish. I want Him to bail me out of this jam or that jam. I want Him to fix “it” and fix it now, because I know He good and well can. My bag is pretty full, if I am brutally honest. Some things I don’t feel so bad about wanting. Some things are just plain frivolous (kind of like the cookies you sneak in your cart and hope no one sees). Sadly, there are a few petty items in there as well.

I have spent the last few days thinking about my son’s bag. I know as a mom, although I want my son to have all the things he wants, part of me doesn’t. I know what would happen if he got it all. He would not appreciate it. He would not care for it. He would not value it or treasure it. The same is true for me. I desire to be a smaller size in the waistband, but in order for me to value it I am going to have to work for it. I want Christ to fix my problem, but the quick fix may not solve the actual problem. I want the fruits of the Spirit but fruit won’t grow without a little hard work.

My Heavenly Father is a better parent than I will ever be. The scriptures tell us the following in Matthew 7:11,
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

When I come to Him with my bag, I don’t think He is offended at my requests, even the petty or frivolous ones. I think He is glad His child came to Him. A few of those gifts He may give me outright. Many of those gifts He will walk with me as I work hard for them. Even still, some He will deny me. Not because He takes pleasure in denying me, but because He knows that in the denial He is able to give me something better.

You see, God has his own little (as if anything is little with God) “I want bag,” full of the gifts He wants to give to you and me–gifts of friendship, gifts of family, gifts to be used for glorifying His kingdom, and gifts to edify the body of Christ. However, I would like to speculate that if you were to look in the bag, and could see a tangible representation of these gifts, you would only see one item. A small figurine of a baby lying in a manger–a symbol of the Christ child, the Word of God made flesh amongst us. Wrapped up in that little bundle is the love of God. John 3:16 tells us so, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. God so loved Rhonda and her petty little requests that He sent Jesus. God so loved Rhonda and her serious requests that He sent Jesus. God so loved Rhonda….you can fill in the dots with whatever you want. God so loved you too. He so loves you even now for whatever little dot you need Him to fill in.

As we celebrate this Christmas, as I dig through my “I want bag”, I think I will clean it out. Instead, I think I will just place one item in my bag. One figurine of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. For through that one little gift comes all the other gifts I desire, whether I know it or not. Our good parent, Our Heavenly Father, has given us the very best gift He had. Let us receive him this Christmas season with a fresh awe and gratitude. May we truly celebrate the gift of the birth of Christ Jesus.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV)

Rhonda Baker lives in Texas with her husband and their two men children. She has taken a break from public school teaching to be at home with their youngest. A graduate of Texas A&M University, she loves her Aggies, especially in football and basketball. Rhonda enjoys watching basketball, writing, blogging and hanging out with her boys, both big and small. Her testimony is one of a proud vessel shattered by the hand of God and being re-molded into what He desires for her to be. You can read Rhonda’s blog here at http://rhondasichoose.blogspot.com/.

Over the course of the past two years, the Lord has nearly flogged me half to death with Romans 12: 1-2 which calls me to offer my body, my complete being, to Him as a living sacrifice. I, and the ministry to which He has called me, am His. Because I am a controller, it is hard for me to live my life in an open-handed fashion, rather than living with a death grip on it, naively thinking that I have control of it. God gives me the choice to OFFER my being to Him as a sacrifice. If I choose not to, I lose. These verses have also compelled me to examine my holiness and make sure that I am conforming only to His standard and not that of the world.

The other thing that inspires me, and has for several years, is the quote by Charles Spurgeon. “God is too good to be unkind, He is too wise to be mistaken. When you cannot trace His hand, you can always trust His heart.” The truth of that quote is HUGE. I learned that when we walked through my Daddy’s cancer diagnosis in 2002 and then his eventual heavenly home going in 2004. Complete trust in God, no matter the situation, is what He asks of us. Again, I just want to be found obedient with knees to the ground in trust.

As I alluded to above, the Lord has had me in a very quiet season with regard to ministry. Since the summer, there have been only a few speaking opportunities and not much on the horizon. For a speaker, that is really tough. Fortunately, God was not quiet on all fronts. Each time I would become discouraged and ponder giving up, He would faithfully send something to encourage me. Both of the Bible studies that I have done this fall have challenged me to simply wait and trust. That was the message over and over. Wait and trust His heart. God made it very clear that He was at work in the background and I just needed to relax, quiet myself before Him and let Him do what He does best. That is sooooo hard for a Type A controller like me. I like to make things happen and I simply cannot make ministry happen. Once I understood that, I was able to relax and rest in His timing and will.

Another challenge for me is mid-life and the things that happen to the body at that age and stage. I battled anorexia in my late teens and early 20’s and although I no longer struggle with the extremes of that disease, I still am acutely aware of what is going on with my body. The Lord and I are walking this ‘middle age’ thing out together. Some days I do well with the fact that gravity is moving things around to places you would rather they not be (if you know what I mean), while other days I honestly struggle to remember that my focus needs to be on the Lord and not my body. That is pretty raw and honest, but that’s where I am. To the praise of Jesus’ grace, He loves me and walks with me through this struggle.

Although I have been a Christian since I was 15 (and now I’m 45), I strayed away for many years. I returned to an intimate walk with Christ about 10 years ago. I have been in in-depth Bible study for most of that 10 years and I am really beginning to see some wonderful fruit from my relationship with Christ. I am more aware when sin enters my life and I deal with it immediately rather than trying to pretend it isn’t there. I find myself praying more for wisdom these days than anything else and He gives it in incredible measure. I have had some amazing one on one ministry opportunities of late. One of the most exciting was the privilege of leading a precious young mom to Jesus Christ using the message/email feature on Facebook!! What a cool thing!!

My passion is speaking and teaching the Word of God and I would love to be able to do that on a more regular basis, but those opportunities must come from the Lord. I am currently writing a six week Bible study based on what I consider to be my hallmark message, our legacy as Christian women. This Bible study will help the student think through what a godly legacy looks like based on Biblical mentors. It will also identify key areas of a godly legacy such as faith, character and holiness and urge the student to measure their life against God’s standards for those areas. I have no idea if this Bible study will ever be used outside of my own small group but writing it is one of those, “Ok, I’m your girl” things that the Lord is telling me to do.

Leah Adams describes herself as the “prodigal son’s sister.” Although she grew up in church and accepted Jesus at the age of 15, she wandered away from the Lord in her mid twenties. After many years of living only to please herself, Leah felt the Lord wooing her back and over time He birthed in her a deep and burning desire to study and teach His Word. You can find Leah’s blog here at http://thepoint-leah.blogspot.com/.

Social networking websites are all the rage these days. It’s apparent from looking at our family Thanksgiving candid photos that I spent way too much time lurking the halls of Facebook. It’s also apparent from recent hardships in my circle of friends that Satan stands ever ready to use any means possible to destroy relationships, including social networking. Reconnecting with old friends means the potential is there to reconnect with old flames…and consequently, to get burned.

So began a true, high-tech “love” triangle between my friend Leslie, her husband Brent, and a man from the past named Les. (Not their real names.) Leslie got a Facebook account about six months ago. It all started innocently enough — she wanted a place to post pictures of her family. She found many old buddies from the past and started sharing photos and laughs. Brent, her outdoorsy husband, didn’t have a Facebook account and did not plan to open one. He had enough computer time at work.

Then, Satan set a stumbling block in Leslie’s path. She reconnected with Les, an old boyfriend from years ago. Soon they began emailing each other. Phone calls followed, and slowly, faded step by step, she allowed this man to replace her husband in her heart. Now she wants to divorce Brent so she can be free to pursue Les, who has become her “true love” in her heart. Les is also seeking a divorce from his wife so he can be with Leslie.

It’s worth noting that Brent and Leslie are Christians; in fact, they met at a church singles group and have been married for nearly ten years. They have four young children together. Brent is still holding on to hope that the Lord will work in Leslie’s heart…that she will see for herself the deceptive trap that Satan put in front of her. He believes in covenant marriage — he will not divorce her, no matter how many times she begs and pleads and tells him that she no longer loves him or how miserable she sets out to make him so he will voluntarily let her go.

Instead, Brent has laid claim to 1 Corinthians 13. He knows that love is an action verb. The Lord has shown him places where he needed to be a better man to his wife, and he is eager to do whatever it takes to win her back.

Meanwhile, Leslie has found out about a “do-it-yourself” $129 divorce. In her mind, it’s a done deal. She will wear him down until he files for divorce…or she will do it herself. In this no-fault divorce state, she can divorce him without his consent. She has turned her back on the Lord and does not want to hear Scripture. She avoids her church. She does not want to continue in her marriage, so she has deluded herself into thinking that God never intended for her to marry Brent. How did this happen? How did a strong Christian marriage fall victim to emotional adultery? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I can certainly look at their experience and use it as a cautionary tale for my own life. If an old flame “friended” me, I’d definitely think twice before accepting the request, and I’d talk to my husband about it beforehand.

Leslie was unhappy in her marriage to Brent, but she did not communicate that to him. They both took each other for granted. They allowed the children to come between their own romantic relationship — they didn’t go out on dates, for example, because Leslie couldn’t find a babysitter she trusted enough with her kids. Brent often acted like a fourth child and did not romance his wife or show her how much she was appreciated. None of those things by themselves would derail a marriage, but ever-watchful Satan saw an opportunity in Facebook, and took it.

This is exactly the sort of situation Peter might have been thinking of when he wrote these words: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.”-1 Peter 5:8-9, NLT

We would all do well to take his words to heart, lest we, like Leslie, become participants in a slow slide into sin that shatters our families and leaves us broken and making choices we never dreamed we’d ever make as we stood and said our marriage vows before God. Casting Crowns captured this phenomenon well in their song, “Slow Fade.” My husband watched the video at a men’s retreat and shared it with me.

The chorus is:
“It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day”

Stay alert, indeed. Guard your heart with diligence. With all this turmoil happening to my friends Leslie and Brent, I have found myself clinging even tighter to the Lord and to my husband. I hug him and make sure he knows that I love him and appreciate him. I pray the Lord will help us be on alert so that our relationship won’t crumble in the halls of Facebook or anywhere else the devil chooses to prowl.

I’m sure Leslie had no intention of getting burned by an old flame when she opened her Facebook account, but it happened nonetheless. So if my male Facebook friends suddenly notice that they have been “de-friended” by me, they will know I took that drastic step as a preventative. Jesus tells us to cut off the hand that causes us to sin. Facebook is one snare that I refuse to let Satan use to thwart my relationship with my husband and with the Lord.

Christie McBride is a Christian, a wife, a mother, and a homeschool educator. After teaching in public schools and private schools, the Lord showed her the benefits of one-on-one education in the home. She currently serves as Director of Classical Conversations of Plano, a classical, Christian homeschool organization. Christie lives in Murphy, TX with her husband, Jon, her daughter, Cate, and her dog, Lacee. You can read Christie’s blog here at http://everfaith.wordpress.com/.

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them–to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Joshua 1:1-3

When I was raising my children I never wanted to break a promise to them. I tried to under promise and over deliver because I didn’t want to hear their words of disappointment claiming, “You promised.” I wanted them to trust and believe me, and know that their mother was a woman of her word. Therefore, I often had to add qualifiers…. if it doesn’t rain, if your dad gets home in time etc.

Our Father shows even more care in fulfilling His promises. Joshua 21:45 could proclaim, “Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” NASB God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a land and a Deliverer. Even though these men were long gone, God kept His word. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” Hebrews 11:13a NIV

When we examine the lives of the patriarchs it isn’t hard to find their flaws and failures. Yet the One who remains faithful even when we are faithless stands ever true to his word. 2 Timothy 2:13 I am brought to my knees by the faithfulness of God. Not one of His promises to us will fail. Even when we close our eyes in death we can rest assured that His promise to us will be fulfilled even if we don’t get to see it come to pass in our lifetime. He is a covenant making God, a promise keeping God and we who know Him are “prisoners of hope”.

There have been times in my life when I wanted to suppress my expectations because I didn’t want to deal with another round of disappointment. I was sure the fulfillment of a promise was just around the corner and it wasn’t. I found that I couldn’t continue very long in a pit (that is where it takes us) of hopelessness. It was not because I was such a woman of faith, but because He is and always has been a God who keeps His word. As I stayed in His word, and prayed His word the faith, hope, and confidence in His loving heart would rise once again. In Zechariah 9:12 Israel is told to return to their “stronghold” you prisoners of hope. In this Scripture the stronghold is a good thing. It is a high place, a fortress of safety and I would much rather live there than in a pit of doubt and unbelief.

I was given a Fruit of the Spirit Bible by a dear friend. One morning as I was reading my eyes fell on this remark in the notes, “Jesus, if I do not see your promises fulfilled today, I will set my alarm extra early tomorrow morning.” I believe that is a heart attitude that is a delight to our Father and will strengthen those who live with us or around us.

Are you in a pit of hopelessness? Are your eyes on the problem or the promises? Lift your eyes to the One who does not lie and cannot go back on His word. Return to your place of safety. Trust in Him at all times O people. By all means pour out your heart to Him; He will be your refuge. Psalm 62:8 NASB Tell Him you are struggling. He already knows it, so ask Him to restore you to that place of safety. Trust Him.

Lord, I believe you are at work even when I don’t see your hand. You are trustworthy and I am a prisoner of hope. Thank you for your covenant keeping ways and your unfailing love.

Carol Ray Lackland lives in the mountains of North Carolina. She and her husband just celebrated thirty-eight years of marriage to the “absolute glory of a mighty, saving God.” She has a passion for teaching God’s word to women and children. She loves to cook, and gather around a table with family and friends. You can drop by her blog at http://carolslifesong.blogspot.com/

One of my favorite Christmas traditions in our home is making Christmas cookies together. We eat some, save some and make platters with assortments to give away.

This was especially wonderful when my Chris was a design engineer at Libbey Glass. Every year, we bought beautiful glass platters for less than a dollar. I would make a list of cookies to prepare, shopped for the supplies and then had “stations” set up around the kitchen.

My favorite part is always decorating the sugar cookies together. My mom is an artist, and I have memories of some very beautiful cookies growing up. Those are fun to design and give away–although they take a lot of time and you hate to eat such beautiful artwork.

Even better are cookies like these–where the kids decorate them just the way they like. Sometimes Chris is silly and writes things on them like this–it says, “Noah is a dufus.” (Chris has been also known to write this in the snow with footprints and show Noah what he wrote from the second story window of our home–it was hilarious!)

This year, I have been keeping the pace for our family, by dragging my feet a bit to slow down and savor the traditions–setting aside the “to do” lists. We will still make cookies to give away. But we probably will do it a little at a time, instead of all in one day. I challenge you to do the same…

Smell the fragrances, listen to others better, be intentional to play a game together or do a puzzle. Take a verse of scripture like this one:
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37

Chew on it slowly. Think about what it says. Say it over again to yourself. Speak it over a loved one in prayer. This is the time to live what it says.

Here are some cookie recipes that our family loves the most. In the comments, please feel free to share your favorite Christmas cookie recipes.

Biscotti (from our good friends the Hunts)
9 c. sifted flour
2 c. sugar
1/3 c. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 1/2 c. shortening (24 T)
1 stick margarine
8 eggs
1 c. milk
2 T vanilla
Cream margarine and shortening. Add sugar, then eggs and vanilla. Alternate the dry ingredients (flour, powder and salt) with milk until the dough is easy to handle. When a good consistency, flour your hands and surface. Roll a handful of dough about 12″ long, as round as a nickel. Cut at a slant about 2″ for each cookie. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

Icing: 2 T melted margarine. Add 2 c. powdered sugar, 2 T milk, 1 t vanilla. Spread on or dip each cookie in the icing. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Cookies (can use this to make houses, as well)
3 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. grated nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
8 T. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. Grandma’s molasses

Cream together butter and sugar, until fluffy. Add molasses. In a separate bowl sift together flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Slowly blend into butter mixture. Wrap dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for two hours (up to one week).

Roll dough to about 1/4″ inch thick. Using your favorite cookies cutters, like a gingerbread man, cut out cookies. Bake in oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 T. butter, softened
1 1/2 T. milk
1/4 t. vanilla extract

Blend thoroughly. Works best in an icing tube, but a knife will be fine, too.

Christmas Sugar Cookies
3 eggs
2 sticks margarine
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3 1/2 c. flour

With mixer, cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy. Slowly add in eggs, one at a time. When blended completely, add in vanilla. Sift together flour salt and baking powder. Slowly add it to margarine mixture. Cover with saran wrap and chill for one hour.

Roll 1/4 of the dough about 1/4 inch thick on a dusted flour surface. Cut out with floured cookie cutters. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Cool.

Icing:
2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. butter, melted
3 T. milk
1/2 t. vanilla

Blend completely. Separate into divided bowls. Leave one white. Add 2-3 drops food coloring to make the whole palette of color choices. Also you may use gum drops, red hots and other candies to decorate. Be creative! Most of all, have fun!

A Different Kind of Chocolate Chip Cookie
2 sticks butter
2 eggs
2 T. molasses
2 t. vanilla
1/3 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
5 c. flour
18 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, add eggs, molasses, vanilla and water in mixer. Sift together dry ingredients (sugars, powder, soda, salt and flour). Mix moist with dry ingredients well in mixer. Add chips and stir a couple of times through. Rolls into 1″ balls and cook at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until light brown.

Texas Gold Bars
1 Box Duncan Hines Butter Golden Cake Mix
4 eggs, beaten (used separately in two parts)
1 stick butter, softened
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 1 lb. box powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Mix together cake mix (just the mix, not the additional things in the recipe to make the cake) and 2 eggs. Pat into greased and floured 13 X 11″ baking dish.

Mix butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 eggs and pour over batter.
Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Cut into squares and share! Can freeze.

Christmas Wreaths
1/2 c. unsalted butter
30 large marshmallows (3 cups)
1 1/2 t. green food coloring
1 t. vanilla extract
4 c. cornflakes
2 T. cinnamon red hots
non-stick spray

Coat a large stock pot with non-stick spray. Melt butter over low heat. Add in marshmallows and melt them over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and add in food coloring and vanilla.

Add in cornflakes and stir constantly until blended. With lightly greased fingers or a tablespoon, arrange the cornflakes mixture into a small donut shape–a wreath with a hole in the center–on waxed paper. Before they cool, decorate with red hots (4-5 each wreath). May also attach the red hots with a small dab of icing (from the Christmas sugar cookie recipe above).

Holly Smith lives in Colorado at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. She is the wife of Chris and mother of Noah, Kylie, Tabor and Sydney. Holly and Chris have been married for 18 years on August 10th this year and have truly grown up together. They are the best of friends! Holly is a stay at home mom, who very much loves her job as a mom. On the side, she designs web pages and marketing pieces. It is a great way to pour out creativity! God has gifted her with a love of all things creative–from painting and wall-papering to scrapbooking and design-work. Also she write a couple of blogs.. One is a cooking blog called What Would Martha Cook? It’s about Martha in the Bible not the other Martha. The other is a devotional writing blog called Crown Laid Down. She began blogging in February 2007.