When They Saw the Star

Here is our youth choir this past Sunday singing one of our new favorite songs. Mind you, it may not be the best quality! God bless you all and Merry Christmas! Enjoy the video :)

When they saw a star - Youth Choir of Slavic Pentecostal Church of Rochester, NY from spchurch on Vimeo.

Strange Way to Save the World

Why me? I'm just a simple man of trade.
Why Him? With all the rulers in the world...
Why here inside this stable filled with hay?
Why her? She's just an ordinary girl.

Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the world

 This song speaks for itself, give it a listen. 
Merry Christmas everyone!

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

Yummy Soup/Chili for the cold winter months :) It's like giving your tummy a big warm hug!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
  
  
  1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
  
  
  1 (15 ounce) can black beans
  
  
  1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
  
  
  1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  
  
  1 cup chicken broth
  
  
  2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I actually forgot this ingredient when I made it)
  
  
  1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
   
  3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  
  
  shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
  
  
  sour cream (optional)
  
  
  crushed tortilla chips
  
  
  
  

  Directions

• Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
• Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.  

•  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Taco-Soup/Detail.aspx
   

Some Thoughts

"Religion is what sinful people try to do for a Holy God. The Gospel is the Good News of what a Holy God has already done  for sinful people."

And praise Him for that!! Something else I am thankful for: the closing of this semester! Phew, nursing is tough. Today was my final exam! One more micro exam and I'm done. What's next? Relaxation...? Reading novels? NOPE! A crazy month. Maybe I'll post about it later. Let's just leave it at the fact that I can't finish this year without God leading me. God bless you all in your day of rest tomorrow.

Go.

 "Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near." -Matthew 10:7

To go means to proceed, to be in motion, to rise up. Refusing to continue sitting in my comfort zone. To step out from my own desires and to GO. 

 Going to NYC has been a lesson to me about doing something for God's Kingdom. Sometimes when I'm there I think to myself "Am I doing anything of worth here?" This weekend I was contemplating that inward war wondering if this trip was a God-sent mission or just something I do to just do.  Then God sent us to a broken neighborhood.

    This is a house on that street. It is completely tipped over to the point where someone could climb into the basement from the outside. The house we were working on (2 houses down from this one) was flooded to the ceiling at one point during the storm. The house owner was naming off people who had passed away due to drowning or being swept away by a wave. At that point we could only listen to the nightmarish story. I knew at that moment that God not only sent us to help this family with their house, but to hear their story. We took a burden off them in many ways. I pray that this family comes to know the peace of Christ in their hearts, the light in the midst of utter darkness. Join me in prayer.   

More About Sandy Relief Missions

Honestly, it's hard to believe that I have been able to take a total of 3 trips to NYC this past month. It is unbelievable that I am able to go during the semester while in nursing school and in a high level biology course. God has been making miracles, what can I say! Each trip has been so dear to my heart, I will forever remember the families we helped, the things I saw and the people I had the opportunity to become close friends with. It really has been an adventure.

Here is our team on Coney Island. We came into this Buddhist couples house mid-day. We started by removing everything from the 1st floor and throwing things out. Then we began to remove all the tile from the floor, let me tell you, that is super hard work. 1st timers were shocked that we were doing something so dangerous! I thought that was silly until I thought about it, it really is not safe because when you hit the tile, little pieces fly all over, it could easily hit someone in the eye and cause damage. God protects us when we are doing His work and being His hands and feet! Removing the tiled floor took most of the day. We also removed the bottom half of the wall if you can see it to the left. The flooding reached about 3 feet into the house, and mold could grow 2 feet above that, meaning we removed about 5 feet of dry wall.

Here I am doing my best to remove the tile. Let me tell you that medal pole thing is heavier than it looks!

It's been a blessing to visit these places. And I will keep encouraging everyone to go help out! There is SO much to be done. People are waiting, living in the mold, hoping someone would help. They can't afford moving into a safer home. What an opportunity to share God's love!!