Praise for Today – Set Your Hope
The wind blowing into my face creating resistance isn’t exactly helping as I pedal up a 1/2-mile hill. I tell myself I can do it. Keep riding. Breathe in. Pedal, pedal. Breathe out. Pedal, pedal. My water bottle is almost empty with about 8 oz. of water left. I’ve been riding for over an hour. It’s 90 degrees even though I started early to beat the heat. But I’m not discouraged.
Instead, I’m encouraged. Breathe in. Pedal, pedal. Breathe out. Pedal, pedal. I’m encouraged because I know when I reach the top of this hill, it will be time to turn around. I’m thinking about how great it’s going to feel when I turn around and start cruising down this hill with ease. I’ll finish off my water, and I’ll have only 2 miles left of mostly downhill and flat road taking me home to air conditioning.
In life, following Jesus sometimes involves climbing steep hills, too. Peter reminds us to be holy in 1 Peter 1. Following all of God’s laws and walking in the path that Jesus took is not always easy. But Jesus will help us. The wind blows against us. We struggle. We even fail. But we must keep pedaling and moving forward with Jesus. When the hill gets steep, we can be encouraged. We can forget about current struggles or disappointments or past failures. We can focus on something else.
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)
When life gets difficult, what do you do? Are you prepared? It’s important not to let current difficulties or mistakes from the past discourage us or slow us down. Instead, we can focus completely on the grace we will receive when Jesus comes again. This will give us the strength we need to reach the top of even the toughest hills.
Recipe for Today – Potato Salad
Potato Salad
Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 6 medium red or golden potatoes
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 dill pickles, chopped
- 1 small bag frozen peas
- 1/4 cup Vegenaise®
- 1/3 cup vegan sour cream
- Lemon juice from 1 large lemon
- 1 ½ Tbs granulated onion
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tsp Herbamare®
Steps
- Peel potatoes and slice into pieces (approx ¾” to 1” pieces)
- Bring water to a boil, add potato pieces, and boil for 10 minutes (or until pieces are soft enough for a knife to slide through easily, but not so soft they will fall apart when mixing with other ingredients)
- Drain water off boiled potatoes and let them cool
- Combine all ingredients
Get in the Ark 