Pulled some chuck steaks from Ken’s farm out of the freezer yesterday, they are thawed out and ready to barbecue when Carla comes home from work.

Home grown beef and vegetables from Carla’s garden, can’t get much better than that.

We have the butcher package our meat for two people – there was a time that we would easily have consumed the meat at one setting; now, we have leftovers for at least one meal and often two.  Good stuff though, even as leftovers!

We have some homemade ketchup canned up.  The Bell recipe book says it will not be as thick as what come from the store, however, it is thick enough and I like it better than any we have purchased in the store.

A good rich tomato taste with a slight bite to it; and, NO we will not be putting it on Ken’s good beef!

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”  Roy Disney

Isaiah 48:17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Read both of these this morning and thought they complemented each other quite well.

We sometimes get lost in what we are trying to accomplish by focusing on the details – forgetting that there is a ‘big’ picture, part of which is making sure we are basing our decisions on our values.

Not always are we remaining true to those values, and when we sway from them we become ineffective in the long run.

The values we have as Christians must always line up with God’s Word.  To do that we must study His Word and take time to find out and understand what a ‘good’ follower of Christ should do.

We are fortunate that we do not have to go it alone.  The Holy Spirit is our constant companion, helping us to understand how what we are doing is honoring God.

No matter our circumstances, no matter what others may think we must remain as true to those values as we possibly can.

We are also fortunate that when we falter or even fail at times, He is forgiving and will bring us back into His fold.  Even during those times of falling away from God, the Holy Spirit speaks to us – we just don’t listen or even worse, we hear, understand but choose to go our own way.

Through the years there are times I have not been malleable, times that, rather than seek God’s guidance in my decisions I just went ahead and made them.

Most decisions were okay, but others were borderline disasters and it was my own fault for not seeking and then following His guidance.

The reason for our remaining in the world after accepting God’s Son as our Savior is so we can lead others to Him.

In order to lead others to Christ, we must first be sure our lives are on the right path.

I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Sounds simple enough, but takes determination, courage and a willingness to bend our stiff neck, bow to Him and acknowledged He is the leader, we are but His follower and trust in Him to know the path He wants us to follow.

Later, Art :-)