Get involved
13 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
Pastor Chris was telling us the benefits of being part of a small group.
-Friends who will provide care for you ( Galatians 5:13)
-Friends that will love you unconditional
-Friends who strengthen you spiritually. (Proverbs 27: 17)
Get Yourself Plugged In! You were never meant to go through this journey alone. Last Sunday at our church, Pastor Chris Smith was talking about the significance of not dancing alone. Pastor Chris was telling us the benefits of being part of a small group. 1. Friends who will provide care for you ( Galatians 5:13) 2. Friends that will love you unconditionally 3. Friends who strengthen you spiritually. (Proverbs 27: 17) When I first moved to Oklahoma, I felt really out of place. Finding people to grow with can be so difficult. I love being married but I had often cried going to sleep because I felt like we were so alone. I know God had us totally depend on Him so that we will never forget that He is our only source of strength. However, after sometime God brought some special people in my life. I am a leader of one small group and part of another small group. I absolutely love my community groups! I really challenge every young girl out there to get yourself involved. The hardest step is saying yes I want to step out of my comfort zone and join a small group! You may never know the benefits until you actually try! Empower is here simply to EMPOWER YOU! Join a small group today!
Author: Amy Varughese
Thai fish curry
10 Feb 2011 2 Comments
in Girl talk
Ingredients
3 cups jasmine rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large sweet potato or yam
2 cans (13 1/2 oz. each) light coconut milk, divided
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (I made mine from scratch)
2 teaspoons freshly grated lime juice
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 pounds firm fish fillets, such as tilapia (salmon should work also)
6 ounces fresh whole spinach leaves
1 cup loosely packed basil (Thai basil is best)
Preparation
1. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice and salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook 15 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.
2. Meanwhile, bring 1 in. of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Peel sweet potato and cut into 1/2-in. cubes. Put in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam until tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
3. While sweet potato is cooking, spoon about 1/4 cup from top of coconut milk in each can (the thick opaque layer) and put in a 4- to 5-qt. pot or deep sauté pan. Add curry paste and whisk until smoothly blended. Stir mixture over medium heat until nearly dry, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and add remaining coconut milk, lime zest, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Simmer 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cut fish into 1 1/2-in. cubes. Increase heat to medium; add fish and spinach. Cover and cook until fish is no longer translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Serve with rice
Christmas..its all about the gifts!
16 Dec 2010 1 Comment
in Baby talk Tags: Christianity, Christmas, family, gift, God, Immanuel, Isaiah, Jesus, presents, Religion and Spirituality
I know as a child, Christmas was all about presents. I was making lists, hoping, dropping hints and excited about all the shiny new toys I would soon call my own. Now that I am working
and married,I am excited that now I get to give the gifts! Not excited about the shopping or the wrapping..thank God for my husband!=D
Although we can s ay it a thousand times, “Christmas is not about the gifts.” It is! Of course, it IS about Jesus. But isn’t that what Jesus is all about!
“For God so loved the world that He gave” John 3:16. And He gave the ultimate gift. “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us” Isaiah 9:6. Jesus is the PERFECT and sacrificial gift that the Father in His mercy and grace gave for each of us. The Bible says, “We love, because he first loved us.”(I John 4:19). We love God, our family, our spouse, our friends..because He first loved us and showed us what love is! Love gives! So we give, because He gave! This Christmas, in every gift you give and receive, remember the ultimate and perfect gift, Jesus Christ!
“How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure”
-Stuart Townend
Sisters
25 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in Girl talk
This past weekend, I was at a retreat with a bunch of young ladies from the city. We had a beautiful time as we unfolded truths from the scripture and learned how to apply them practically. The theme for the retreat was growing, nurturing and serving in the love of Christ, from a woman’s perspective. One of the main themes addressed throughout the sessions was relationship. The relationships we, as girls have with God, our parents, with other girls as well as with the opposite gender. And even outside the sessions, I could sense relationships develop between me and other girls. That was perhaps the best part of the retreat.
Growing up, I didn’t see a lot of healthy relationships between girls, and shared some drama myself with my girl friends. So it was hard for me to trust or even want to engage in a relationship with other girls. But as I got older I realized the importance of surrounding myself with women of God.
In the room next to us were, older Indian women of God who were also part of this retreat. It was refreshing to see these women laugh and joke with each other, because it is so rare. They seemed young and crazy..they seemed so much more like me. In that moment, the generational and cultural gap that usually distanced us, faded away.
God made women relational. We just love people. However, we often forget how much we need each other. We were created to be dependent on each other, to build each other up in every way .So let’s forget the past mistakes, hurts and betrayals and build each other up. Let us grow, nurture and serve each other, so that this gap between us no longer exists.
In the recent past, I have been blessed with some amazing ladies that encourage me, pray for me, and portray Christ to me. So if you don’t have a friend like that, pray for one and God will bring someone your way. And she will simply be an extension of God’s love to you.
The Alphabet: T is for Transform
08 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Baby talk
After surrendering our hearts to God, the next step is transformation. Transformation is a life long process. It is a choice you make daily.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
There are two parts in transformation. First there is the “putting off”, which shows an abandonement or stripping off of something. However many Christians stop here. They think if I stop doing certain things, I am transformed. But we must not neglect the second part of “putting on”. Trading the old for new. These are exact opposites. Christ did not simply die a cruel death on the cross to erase your sin and shame, but to give you a new life with Him. This is why we must “put on” Christ.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ezekiel 36:26
It is impossible for us to produce the fruit of the spirit on our own. Our labor will only leave us frustrated. But when you are covered by His love, mercy, grace and joy, there will be an overflow in your speech and life. We need Christ to be Christian. It is Christ that causes us to walk in His ways, to have His mind and to be a living sacrifice, but you must choose to put on Christ. So don’t remain naked.
The Alphabet: S is for Secrets
06 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in Baby talk
Being a Malayalee and keeping secrets sometimes go hand in hand. We are taught from a young age to pretend, so that no one sees our weaknesses. So we get good at hiding our struggles
and wearing masks. It becomes hard to be honest and open with people because of the constant striving to meet perfection. It is hard to trust people with our secret struggles and issues. Its part of most eastern cultures. In order to protect yourself and your family from shame, you pretend. Mask after mask in the name of honor.
“We disguise ourselves to others so much that in the end, we become disguised to ourselves.”-Anonymous
We tweet about our perfect lives and upload pictures on Facebook, hoping the world will never see the secrets that lie beneath it all. But often we only fool ourselves. Let me be the first to say, I am NOT perfect! If I was perfect I wouldn’t need Christ. He alone is perfect and if there is anything good in me, it is Christ. So in my words and my action, I don’t want to blind you with my masks or lies but rather reveal Christ. So that in my imperfections, His grace, mercy and love will be made perfect and evident.
Truth is we all have weaknesses and we all have struggles. Sometimes our issues are different, but most of the time we face the same stuff. If we would remove the masks and be honest we could learn from eachother and grow as the Body of Christ.
The Alphabet: R is for Remember
03 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Baby talk
This video is a human video that I choreographed in 2006 for the song, “When I think about the Lord.” Remember your redeemer and what He has done for you.
The Alphabet: Q is for Quiet
31 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Baby talk
There are times in my life when I feel like I can hear and feel God in everything. Other times I feel quite the opposite. I scream, yet He remains silent. And I don’t understand it, so I scream even louder and still nothing. It seems like it is always at those times when you need to hear Him the most that He chooses to remain quiet.
“Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”
Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass.”
Mark 4:35-39 (The Message)
Just like the disciples sometimes we too think, “maybe He just doesn’t care”. Realize, His quietness doesn’t translate as His absence. He promised never to leave nor forsake you. Even when you can’t feel him or hear him, know He is there! If you don’t stand firm on this truth, you will easily be shaken by doubt and worry.
So why doesn’t God miraculously intervene? Why is He sleeping during the storms of your life? Well maybe it isn’t about the storm at all, maybe it’s about you. The Bible says, God will never give you more than you can handle. Maybe He is quiet because He has faith in you. Now only if we could have that faith in God to not grow anxious, but remain quiet during the uncertainties of life.
Prayer: Lord, quiet the storms within me that cause me to doubt and worry. And give me grace to be still and know You are God and You are here.
The Alphabet: P is for Prayer
30 Aug 2010 3 Comments
in Baby talk
I find it difficult to pray. I don’t wake up every morning thinking of how I can spend some quiet time with my creator. It doesn’t come natural. Prayer is a discipline. I make time to pray, because otherwise I will forget it in the busyness of my everyday life. But it is not a ritual that I force myself to participate in, before going to bed.
I think there are two reaso
ns prayer is vital:
1. Prayer is a conversation. In every relationship, communication is key. Although He knows every thought that runs through my mind, He longs to hear me speak. Sometimes it is eloquent; sometimes it’s only a few words. Regardless, he listens. Just like a loving father, he wants to scoop you up in His arms and listen to everything you have to say. He wants to be your Provider. He wants to be your Healer. Just ask Him.
2. Prayer reminds me that I am in need of God. Today we are taught to be independent and autonomous. It is easy to fall into the trap of self sufficiency. Therefore I pray, so that I may not lean on my own understanding but trust and rely on God alone. I need Him to teach me how to love my family. I need Him to show me grace to forgive. I need Him, every moment of every day!
So pray. Not out of obligation but because you’ve come to the realization that without Him, you are nothing and apart from Him, you can do nothing.
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