When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Marscarpone-Cranberry-Walnut Sweet Rolls

Rolls

1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup chopped Walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can (12 oz) buttermilk biscuits (10 biscuits)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese or cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, melted

Glaze

1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese or cream cheese, softened
1 powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions: Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 8- or 9-inch round cake pan with no-stick spray.

In small bowl, mix cranberries and walnuts; set aside. In another small bowl, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

Separate dough into 10 biscuits; press each biscuit into 3-inch round. Place heaping 1 teaspoon of the mascarpone cheese on center of each biscuit. Bring all sides of dough up over filling, stretching gently if necessary, and gather in center above filling to form a ball; firmly pinch edges to seal. Roll each biscuit in melted butter, then roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 1 biscuit in center of pan. Arrange remaining biscuits, seam sides down and sides touching, in circle around center biscuit. Pour remaining butter over biscuits; sprinkle with remaining sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Reserve 1/4 cup cranberry-walnut mixture; sprinkle remaining mixture over biscuits.

Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Place heatproof serving plate upside down on pan; carefully turn plate and pan over. Let stand 1 minute, then carefully remove pan.

Sprinkle reserved cranberry-walnut mixture over coffee cake. In medium bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle glaze over top of rolls. Serve warm

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. - Maya Angelou

Unique Spokesperson

by Charles R. Swindoll Read 1 Kings 16:29--17:1

 

God's methods are often surprising. God did not raise up an army to destroy Ahab and Jezebel. Neither did He send some scintillating prince to argue His case or try to impress their royal majesties. Instead, God did the unimaginable---He chose somebody like . . . well, like Elijah.

 

Are you thinking right now that somebody else is better qualified for that short-term mission assignment? For that leadership training group? For that community service? Are you a wife and homemaker who feels that your contribution to God's service is not noteworthy? Do you see other people as special or called or talented?

 

You may be missing an opportunity that is right there in front of you. You may be in the very midst of a ministry and not even realize it. (What greater ministry can there be, for example, than that of a faithful wife and loving mother?) Your ministry may be to just two or three people. Don't discount that. God's methods are often surprising.

 

When we're standing alone in the gap, ultimately, we're standing before God. When the call comes, will God find us ready and willing to stand for Him? Will He find in us hearts that are completely His? Will He be able to say, "Ah, yes, there's a heart that is completely Mine. Yes, there's sufficient commitment there for Me to use that life with an Ahab. That's the kind of disciplined devotion I'm looking for."

 

No matter what role you fill in life, you're not unimportant when it comes to standing alone for truth.

What spot has God given you? Whatever it is, God says, "You're standing before Me, and I want to use you. I want to use you as My unique spokesperson in your day and age, at this moment and time."

 

Elijah, this gaunt, rugged figure striding out of nowhere, suddenly stepping into the pages of history, is a clear witness of the value of one life completely committed to God. An unknown man from a backwater place, he was called to stand against evil in the most turbulent and violent and decadent of times.

 

Look around. The need is still great, and God is still searching.

Good Memory?

“A good memory is one that can remember the day's blessings and forget the day's troubles."

Who Am I?

by Charles R. Swindoll (Read 2 Samuel 7:4--17) 

God does not call everybody to build temples. He calls some people to be soldiers. He calls some people to do the gutsy work in the trenches. He calls some people to compose and conduct music. God has all kinds of creative ways to use us---ways we can't even imagine and certainly can't see up there around the next bend in the road. 

One of the hardest things to hear is that God is going to use someone else to accomplish something you thought was your role to fill. That's what David had to hear. "It won't be you, David . . . it will be your son, Solomon." 

"Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. . . . 

Again what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD!" (2 Samuel 7:18--20) 

Isn't that like a little child? When a child refers to himself, he often calls himself by name. Just like a little boy, David sat down before the Lord and said, in effect, "Dad, what is David, that You've blessed my house and You've blessed my life, and You've brought me from leading a little flock of sheep to giving me this magnificent throne? Who am I?" 

It's important that every once in a while we sit down, take a long look at our short lives, and count our blessings. 

Who are we to have been protected from the rains that fell and the strong winds that destroyed regions, leaving hundreds homeless? 

Who are we that He has blessed our house and kept it safe? Warm in the winter . . . cool in the summer. 

Who am I, Lord, that You should give me health and strength to be able to hold a job or pursue this career or get this degree? Or to have parents who have encouraged me? Or to have these great kids and to see them grow? 

Who am I? "Dream or no dream, I'm a blessed person," says David. Here is more evidence that David was a man after God's own heart.