Thanksgiving Dinner Idea

"Crazy, jumps and screams a LOT, and is a good cook"

This was my twelve year old daughters' answer to the conversation starter card that said "describe your mother in one sentence." I'd say she pretty much has me pegged wouldn't you (for those of you who have spent any time with me)?

With pending "Dinner Conversations" just around the corner (Thanksgiving) I thought it might be fun for you and your kids to sit down and brainstorm some fun conversation starter questions for your Holiday Dinners. You can even let the kids print them up on the computer or write them in crayon on file cards and let them decide how best to present them at Thanksgiving dinner...a basket, a box, a little bag...

It might just be a new tradition in the making and a way to get people talking, laughing and feeling even more thankful for the love that surrounds them.

Happy Thanksgiving from your crazy, jumping and screaming girlfriend,
Tracy Klehn

New Bible Study by one of my Favorite Autors (Jennifer Kennedy Dean)

Hi Ladies,

Here is a new Bible Study from an author I really enjoy. I hope you enjoy the interview and the excerpt from her new study.

Blessings,
Tracy Klehn

New Hope Publishers

ISBN: 10-1596692634

ISBN: 13-978-1596692633

Release Date: 9/1/09

Retail: $14.99

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is Executive director of The Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is the author of numerous books, studies, and magazine articles specializing in prayer and spiritual formation. Her book Heart’s Cry has been named National Day of Prayer’s signature book. You’ll find articles and daily quotes from Jennifer at the National Day of Prayer website. Her book, Live a Praying Life, has been called a flagship work on prayer.

Jennifer was widowed in 2005 after 26 years of marriage to Wayne Dean, her partner both in life and ministry. They are the parents of three grown sons. Jennifer makes her home in Marion, KY.

An Interview with Jennifer Kennedy Dean

You are known for your extensive research and your fresh insights. Do you have a method for gleaning new concepts?

Of course, the truths are not new, but I think I sometimes am able to frame old truths in new ways. I always find that when I put the words of Jesus into their original Hebraic setting and experience the scene through the viewpoint of His real-time audience, some new little fragment of truth finds its way into my thinking. I like to let the Scripture breathe. To let it sit in my heart until its full aroma has time to emerge. There's the hard-core research, and then there's the marinating. Turn your imagination loose and unfurl your curiosity, and listen to the living Word.

You have a series of Bible studies in the format of Set Apart, designed to be interactive. This series of studies has video series and leader's kits available. What is the advantage to this kind of format?

I try to produce a new Bible study with video series every year. I like the interactive format because I like to pull the reader into the Scripture to experience the Word. I like to challenge the reader to interact with the thoughts and ideas and to take the time to absorb them and apply them, rather than just to read. The other thing I like about this format is that it can be done by an individual, or as a group. In the video series, I like to be able to teach the main points of the material and set the learners' up for a productive week of personal study. I love feeling like I get to be part of your Bible study group! The kits have lots of other resources for leading a small group in the study.

Several of your studies have theme songs that go with them, as Set Apart does. How do these songs come about?

I have developed a song-writing relationship with a talented musician named Roxanne Lingle. I write poems, we turn them into lyrics, Roxanne composes and arranges the music, and Roxanne records the songs. For Set Apart, we have the theme song in the form of a music video, which is a new addition. In the leader's kit you have the audio track, accompaniment track, lead sheet, and the music video. The theme song becomes an important and worshipful part of the study experience.

About the Book:

(Marion, Kentucky) - In a world of self-love and materialism it's reassuring to know that God's Word has a better plan for living. Renowned author and speaker, Jennifer Kennedy Dean, provides insight to the life of Christ, specifically the Sermon on the Mount, in her new book, Set Apart: A 6 Week Study of the Beatitudes.

Through careful study of the Hebrew traditions of biblical times, Dean leads participants into a deeper awareness of this early ministry sermon series by Christ.

Jennifer guides readers to a heightened understanding of each beatitude, correlating the Ten Commandments with the Sermon on the Mount to tie these Old and New Testament principles together. Dean shares how living the Set Apart Life is an exciting and life-changing spiritual journey. Participants surrendered to Christ will see a total transformation: outward actions of holiness as well as inward attitudes of joy. Believers following along in this workbook will experience the life God intends. This blessedness comes from seeking and knowing God. Anything outside the realm of Jesus Christ results in emptiness--the ultimate opposite of blessing.

Each chapter includes interactive questions for readers to answer, emphasizing God's desire to reproduce the character and attitudes of Jesus in each Christian's life. Along with the Bible study book, there is a Leader Kit that includes six DVD sessions and a CD with bonus material for small-group leaders. Jennifer's website, www.prayinglife.org, provides opportunities for previewing the Set Apart materials and extra resources for pastors and leaders.

If you'd like to see Jennifer teach an excerpt of the book click on the link below...

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7a2a32c15229df5a5359

Adapted from Set Apart by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

"I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:9-10).

My weakness is my greatest asset in the Kingdom. My weakness is where God meets me. My weakness is where Christ's power is most clearly displayed in me. Only when I am confronted with my own helplessness can I experience the power of Christ in me.

"Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness." (O. Hallesby, Prayer)

I recently had the tiniest glimpse of how powerfully helplessness speaks. A few years ago, I lost my husband to brain cancer. During the final months of his illness, he became utterly helpless. The man I had leaned on for 26 years, whose strength I counted on, was now dependent upon me for his every need. During those weeks, my ear was tuned to his every sigh, his every restless movement, every change in his breathing pattern. If I had to be out of his room for even a few minutes, I had a monitor with me so I could hear him if he needed me. When he was strong, I was not so attentive. His needs did not fill my waking moments, when he could meet them himself. His helplessness spoke louder than any word he might have spoken. Because of his helplessness--because I knew he could do nothing on his own--I was on watch day and night.

My experience is but a pale shadow of the reality of the Kingdom, but still it helps me understand how my weakness is the opening for His strength. The fact of my helplessness is the only prayer I need. It speaks louder than eloquence.

Let your helplessness and your weakness be the offering you bring to Him. He is not waiting for you to be strong. He is waiting for you to recognize that you are weak.

GRAND PRIZE DRAWING

Please leave a comment to be entered in a drawing to win the following items from Jennifer. If you are a leader (small groups, book club, Bible Study, Women's Ministry), please note that you are--you will automatically be entered in the contest. If you are a member of one of these groups at your church or community, mention that you are a group member.

You will be entered to win:

A Set Apart Leader's Kit (video and leader resources and a student book) retail $79.99

A copy of Fueled by Faith (retail $19.99)

Jennifer will have a live web event just for your group

An Amazing "No Guilt" Prayer for Moms

I found this prayer/poem several years ago in the book When I'm on My Knees by Anita Corrine Donihue. The author of the actual poem is listed as "unknown" which I think is classic because there are so many moms out there that feel that their work and worship is going on "unnoticed" and they are "unknown" but the truth in God's Word says that "He is the God who sees." Let this prayer encourage you...

Lord of all pots and pans and things

since I've no time to be

A saint by doing lovely things,

or watching late with Thee,

Or dreaming in the dawnlight,

or storming heaven's gates,

Make me a saint by getting meals,

and washing up the plates.



Although I must have Martha's hand,

I have a Mary mind;

And when I black the boots and shoes,

Thy sandals, Lord, I find,

I think of how they trod the earth,

each time I scrub the floor;

Accept this meditation, Lord,

I haven't time for more.


Warm all the kitchen with Thy love,

and light it with Thy peace,

Forgive me all my worrying,

and make all grumbling cease.

Thou who didst love to give me food,

in room or by sea,

Accept this service that I do-

I do it unto Thee.

Blessings this week as you serve your family and worship your Lord,
Tracy Klehn

Ping Pong Conversations

Labor Day Weekend marks the anniversary of the first time I met my husband. He hosted a barbecue and invited my roommate and she brought me along. That weekend I played my very first game of ping pong and it just so happened to be with a tall, handsome man with a great smile and big brown eyes. About twenty minutes into our "match" I announced with shock and enthusiasm "I didn't know I was so good at this game!!!" For indeed I was making contact with every swing of the paddle. It was probably about a year later that Russ confessed "I knew that if I got the ball right to your paddle that you would keep talking to me and that our conversation wouldn't have to end."

Okay...how sweet is that? He didn't want to stop talking to me!

How awesome is it to know that you have a Savior who never wants your conversation to end? How terrific is it that Jesus doesn't need you to "hit the ball right to his paddle" in order to keep talking to Him? That all day, every day the One who knows you best and loves you most is ready and available to talk and listen to every concern of your heart.

Why don't you take a minute right now to share a moment of sweet conversation with your Savior?

"pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children."
Lamentations 2:19

I Think I'm In Love...Help With Meal Planning

If you are a mom and your kids have gone back to school, you may just be doing what I am doing right now...trying to figure out what to have for dinner this week so that you can make your grocery list.

I was recently told about a website that can help with this process. In fact, the gals that operate the website make it as easy as possible by scouring the stores for the items that are on sale and then formulating a menu plan. They also include recipes (that are EASY) with their menu plan AND they tell you what groceries you'll need for the week to make the recipes. They do all of this work and charge a VERY minimal amount per week to do so ($1.25). This service called, E-mealz may just be an answer to prayer. Check it out and let me know what you think and how it goes...I'm going to start it with you okay???

Here is the link to www.e-mealz.com

Summer Cruising

It's been too long and for this I am so sorry. I hope your summer is getting along "Magnificently."

I expected to be writing you this week about our family's amazing time cruising the Holy Lands but two days before we were to embark on our adventure we received news that our cruise had been canceled due to a fire aboard the ship. Our cruising plans were abruptly changed and we were abruptly disappointed and I could not bring myself to put my hands on the keyboard. It was grace alone that I remembered that what I could do with my hands and heart was to lift them to the Lord in prayer and by grace God reminded me that "His ways are not my ways" (Isaiah 55:8) and that He is "close to the brokenhearted" (Psalm 34:18) and that when it comes to "cruising" the best place to be is "Cruising as close to Him as possible."

Is your heart broken this summer? Have plans in your life changed abruptly? Can I encourage you to pour out your heart to the One who loves you most? Let him comfort you and guide you as you "cruise" through this life.

Here is a photo of a different kind of cruising we did as a family that definitely would not have happened had we been on a ship in the Mediterranean.




Blessings and "Ahoy Matey"!
Tracy Klehn

Interview with Thelma Wells

I was first introduced to Thelma Wells over a decade ago as a speaker at the Women of Faith conference. I loved her! She was spunky, enthusiastic, inspiring, hilarious and wise.

After listening to her speak year after year, I approached Thelma to see if she'd be willing to take a look at my first book as a potential endorser and she generously agreed (to my delight and shock!!!).

For this reason and many more I am thrilled to post the following interview with Thelma. I hope you enjoy her and are inspired by her as much as I have been...

Blessings,
Tracy Klehn


I’m delighted to be here today to visit with you and your readers, and share about a topic that is dear to my heart.

Thelma, you have had a successful banking and corporate career. You’ve spoken all over the country and around the world, done a lot of radio interviews, had your own television show, and written a lot of books. Many of our readers will be familiar with you from the Women of Faith conferences. It seems you’ve “done it all.” So when you left Women of Faith in February 2008, what was it that you were leaving them to do?

Actually, I really did not fully understand what I was going to do. I was simply following the very clear instructions of God that it was time to go. I had a few speaking engagements on my calendar but certainly not enough to make ends meet. My total dependence was on God and waiting to see what He had in store for me.

Your new book, Don’t Give In…God Wants YOU to Win!, is based on a real life experience. Will you tell us a little of that story?

I was in elementary school when one of my friends told people she was going to beat me up. I could not understand why but it was real. After school for two days I faced a crowd hungry to see a fight and a girl who I thought was my friend hit me and frighten me to tears. One the second day of my fighting ordeal my great grandmother who raised me gave me some strong advice, “Thelma, the only way to deal with a bully is to fight them. You better fight her tomorrow and beat her up. If not, you’re going to get a whipping when you get home. That was the determining factor. My Granny who had taught me that ladies don’t fight had just reversed the instruction to “fight the bully.”

I did fight her the third day and hit her hard, so she ran home, not me. I learned that when we are faced with the bully, the adversary, the enemy of our souls, the devil himself, the only way to win is to fight him with all the ammunition we have, the Whole Armor of God.

This book is about spiritual warfare, demons, the Holy Spirit, and some pretty heavy-duty areas. Why write on this topic?

In this day and age when all around us seems to failing like our economic system, the government, relationships, health, self-worth, business and workplace situations, the church, wayward children, divorce and so much more, it is imperative that people have something sturdy and reliable to hold on to. Everyday we are fighting some kind of battle small, great or tremendous. When we don’t know how to fight against the disappoint, heartache, confusion, depression, and all the emotional and spiritual fall out from these issues, we become desperate, violent, vicious and vile. John 10:10 tells us that the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy us. But, Jesus has come to give us life and that life more abundantly than the feelings of no hope. This book teaches about the only hope we have and how to use that hope physically, emotionally and spiritually with a guarantee that we are winners when we do.

Will you share with us the chapter titles?
Introduction: Time for Questions
Chapter One: Know How to Fight, but Never Start One
Chapter Two: Fight or Flight?
Chapter Three: Breakdown for a Blessing
Chapter Four: Weeds in the Garden
Chapter Five: Thelma’s Untold Rituals
Chapter Six: The Dynamic Duo
Chapter Seven: The Battle Is Not Yours
Chapter Eight: Winning Weapons
Chapter Nine: Fix Your Hair!
Chapter Ten: Pad Your Bra!
Chapter Eleven: Tighten Your Girdle!
Chapter Twelve: Put On Your Stomping Shoes!
Something Extra: More Winning Weapons

You’ve been known as the BEE lady, but it seems you’re evolving into more than that? Where do you see your ministry heading in the future?

God has so many surprises for me that my heart is overflowing. I have a teaching and preaching anointing that has made my ministry one of integrity and worth. God is doing great things in my life and reinventing some vital things that will be seen by everybody in a few weeks. He has guaranteed me that the international travel I’ve done over the past thirty years, the seeds I’ve sown over my lifetime, the barriers and tough times I’ve overcome are about to pay off in many different ways. He has put Christian people in my life that have and are changing the course of my life in great and wonderful ways. I will be taking a group to Israel next November, on other Ready to Win tours throughout the world, working with World Vision in their child sponsorship program, presenting mini Ready To Win Conferences throughout the world, and whatever else the Lord assigns me to do.

Congratulations on your first Ready to Win Conference. We heard you had an awesome weekend in Garland, TX with a great group of speakers, musical artists, and attendees. Having done so many conferences in the past, why do another conference?

This is not just another conference. This Ready To Win Conference does not just excite people or create positive thinking, it gives everyone, saved and unsaved, the winning weapons to fight off all the wicked in this world. People are not only encouraged to win the war against the evil one, they are given easy to understand tools that they have reported are so vivid in their minds that they can apply every day in every situation. Coming together in a group and learning these tried and true skills is so much easier to understand than writing it in a book or seeing it on DVD. The reports have been that this works because they were able to see it, hear it, feel it, and use it instantly and forever. In today’s world, another conference is not what we are about. We are about people joining together from different denominations, ethnicities, geographic locations, languages, and thought systems and getting insight and instruction that can bring people of all walks of life together to become a mighty army against the forces of evil.

As a follow up, how can people get the Ready to Win Conference to their area?

People all over the world can contact me at contactus@thelmawells.com and we will get back with them with the details of how the Ready To Win Conference can come to their area.

In your book, Don’t Give In…God Wants YOU to Win!, you talk about doing rituals as it relates to fighting the good fight of faith. Will you explain that word to us and give us an example?

The word ritual is used on to denote the routines we have in our daily lives like fixing our hair, dressing ourselves, and being prepared for the day. It means nothing more than that and nothing mysterious that would attract any evil forces.

Spiritual warfare and putting on the armor of God is a daily activity for you. Is this because you’re a nationally known Christian speaker and author, or is this something that everyone should be aware of?

Spiritual warfare is the state of our lives whatever and whoever you are. We fight against anger, gluttony, smoking, frustration, and everything else that can make us less than our best. The warfare that we are in daily is because we live in a fallen world where Satan thinks he has power. Each and everyday he tries to confuse us into thinking that things are unfixable, out of control, etc. He is the greatest liar of all times and he lays tricks in our minds, if we let him. From the moment we were born until the day we die we will be fighting spiritual warfare. However, the good news is…people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior never have to fight alone. The end of the story is that Jesus and His people win and the devil is a number one loser!

Thelma, this book was released at a perfect time. So many people are struggling just to survive. They’ve lost jobs, money, health, marriages, and more. Many just want to give up! What can we do if we are in those situations to prepare for victory in the battle of life?

When you’re in a battle these are the things that must be done in order to win:

• Put on the helmet of salvation to cover your thought life.
• Put on the breastplate of righteousness to guard your heart against devil and sin.
• Put on the girdle of Truth so that you will be able to understand what real truth is and be able to use the Sword of the Spirit (The Word of God – the Bible) in every situation as Jesus did when He was tempted by the devil in the mountain.
• Put on the shoes that have prepared you with the preparation of peace so you can march and stay fit as you tell other people about the goodness and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Hold up the shield of faith believing that God will keep every Promise He made for our good.
• Pray for each other and for ourselves by asking God for what we need, seeking His perfect will in all we do and knocking continually until we know God has answered our prayers. We must realize that God does not answer all our prayers the way we want Him to but whatever way He answers them, they are for our good and for His glory.
• Praise God with thanksgiving for all He has done and will do for us. The worship of God brings us into an atmosphere of being able to fight the good fight of faith and WIN.

Where/how does “submitting to God and the devil will flee from you” fit into spiritual warfare?

God asks us to do a simple thing, trust Him enough to give Him all of us. That’s hard to do when you try to control your life yourself. It really amounts to us (you and me) worshipping ourselves instead of worshipping God. When we live in humble submission to God, Satan will try to attack but God is our Protector. This is not a one-time submission to God. Everyday and sometimes during the day we must ask Him to lead us not into temptation and to protect us from evil because evil is always near. We are told to pray without ceasing. This means that we must stay in the attitude of prayer 24/7. It’s simple but it presents a challenge for us because we are so distracted by our day, our desires, our dreams, our relationships, etc. that we often forget that none of this would be possible were it not for the Lord who grants it. Submission means to let God be the driving force and the guiding force in our lives and trust Him that He will do exceedingly abundantly over and above what we can ask or think according to His power that works in us. The most peaceful, contented condition of my life is when I actually and earnestly turned my entire life over to the direction of God. I can now recognize when Satan tries to tempt me, confuse me, and drive me into doing or saying things I should not. It has come about with trust in God and practice of His word. Satan will attack but God will counter-act.

Most of us are familiar with the list of spiritual weapons available for us to use as listed in Ephesians 6. You have a way to remember these that might be more relevant to today’s woman – as a mom, wife, business woman, etc. Will you share these five things with us that you do daily when you’re getting “dressed” in the morning? (SEE CARTOON OF THELMA AT BEGINNING OF POST)

Thelma, it seems you are all over the Internet these days. Anyone can find you on your web site, Facebook, Twitter, web casts, a blog tour, the You Go Girl Network, and other cutting edge things with technology. Why is it important for you to use all these various methods to spread your message?

Technology is the way God planned for us to get His message to the world according to Matthew 28:19.

How did you get the name, Mama T?

A young lady in my church named me that because she thought that was a fitting name for me and it has become a loving name for the ladies in my mentoring groups.

So what’s next for the Mama T and Ready to Win?

My website (ThelmaWells.com) is being reinvented to a teaching tool for people to learn more and more about how to win the battles of life. There will be powerful tools available, I will be personally speaking with people and many other changes that will enlighten, encourage, inform, influence and empower people to fight the good fight and win.

Where can our readers buy your new book and register for the webcast?

On my web site, which is ThelmaWells.com. They can click on the July RTW On-line Web cast button to learn more or register for the next series of web casts that start on July 7.

My new book, Don’t Give In – God Wants YOU To Win! is also available online and at local bookstores such as, Family Christian Stores, Lifeway Christian Stores, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble Book Stores, Mardel’s, Anchor Distributors, Christianbook.com, and many other stores and vendors throughout American and the United Kingdom.

Is there anything that we didn’t ask that you’d like to share with us?

In all we’ve said, we need to remember that Jesus loves YOU and has a plan for your life. This plan includes you living a life free from worry and anxiety. God is in control of everything. When we trust in Him, give Him our lives to guide, seek the will of the Father, ask Jesus to be the Lord and Master of our lives, and accept the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are winners and nobody or nothing can take that away from us!


Thank you, darling, for having me today on your blog. I hope you and your readers will visit my web site at ThelmaWells.com. And remember always be READY TO WIN!