ThinMint

From Paula, @CallToBattle

-3 Wait and listen Perhaps you’re waiting for an answer to a request you have been petitioning God for, and have yet to see even a hint of an answer. The best advice I can give you is; Praise Him anyway! This is a posture of boldness and trust. What you are saying is; “I trust You Lord for the outcome.” And then you listen and wait expectantly. “So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” 1 Samuel 3:9 “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3 His answer will come, it may be yes, no or not yet. You can trust Him! He already sees, and knows. He loves you!

-2 We bring our requests with faith. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” – Ephesians 3:20 We make our requests to God with faith that He is able to meet our requests. Whether or not God answers our prayers the way that we would like for Him to, His is certainly able to do anything. We bring our requests to him not only in faith that He can meet them but with faith that regardless of however He answers the prayer (even if the answer is “no”) that He is sovereign and knows what is best for us. We desire His will to be done over our own. We ask with thanksgiving. We make our requests known to God by prayer and supplication with a thankful heart. Thankful for previously answered prayers. Thankful that He listens and is capable of answering our prayers. Thankful for all that He has done for us.

-1 Welcome to our final week of the ACTS prayer model. This week we focus on Supplication. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines supplicate as “to make a humble entreaty, especially: to pray to God, to ask for earnestly and humbly” which is also a pretty good description of how the word is used in the Bible. So, how do we make our requests known to God by prayer and supplication? We simply ask We are familiar with Philippians 4:6 and Matthew 7:7-8 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” God wants you to bring your requests to Him. He already knows what our desires are and He knows the motives behind our desires. He answers our prayers according to His sovereign will and when our requests line up with His will. We come to the throne with boldness and humility. “Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16 We can approach God with boldness and confidence as He is our loving Father who wants to bless us. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” – Matthew 7:9-11 We approach Him with an attitude of reverence and give Him the honor that He rightfully deserves. Our humility is a direct reflection of our view of who God is.

Strength in the Quiet Place “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” — Matthew 6:6 There’s a hidden power in the unseen moments. The world teaches us to measure strength by what can be displayed—achievements, applause, and recognition. Yet Jesus tells us that heaven leans close in the quiet, when no one else is watching. It’s in the stillness of secret prayer that the soul is steadied. Walls of fear begin to crumble. Anxieties loosen their grip. The Father sees you—not the performance, not the mask, not the curated version, but you. And in that secret space, His reward is not worldly gain but peace, clarity, and the assurance that you are held. The quiet place is not weakness—it is where heaven and earth meet in your heart. — R.D. Halden

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THINMINT's BOLOGNESE SAUCE 6 slices of bacon 2 tbsp butter 1 sweet white onion, finely chopped ½ cup baby carrots, finely shredded ½ cup celery, finely chopped (about 2 stalks) 1 – 1 ½ pounds ground beef 1 ½ tsp garlic, minced 1 ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper ½ cup dry white wine 1 cup milk 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes, chopped 16 oz tomato sauce Brown ground beef, add some onions, and ½ tsp minced garlic. Drain when done. Sauté bacon in butter. Add onions, carrots, celery. In large pot add beef, bacon, onions, carrots and celery. Add milk, cook/stir until evaporated. Add wine, cook/stir until evaporated. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper. Let simmer low for hours. Cook pasta. Add sauce. Garnish with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese.

😦🫣🥴 (and 🤣)

Our friend BT posted the following video in the chat this afternoon. Hilarious! And painful to watch. I'll post my Bolognese sauce recipe after the video. The sauce is time consuming, but worth it, and it's heartiness really hits the spot during the cooler months. Did I tell y'all I'm seriously thinking about creating a recipe book?! 🤔😃😊

Want to read more classics? Here’s our next round of books in Gaining Ground, and they’re fabulous. We start Something Fresh by PG Wodehouse on November 10th and we’d love to have you join us. Jump in anytime; we’re currently in the last half of Persuasion by Jane Austen but there’s plenty of bookish shenanigans to partake in. https://t.me/+dZHELr2JvL1jMGEx

Several times recently I've encountered disappointments in teachers, leaders, or writers I value. This, of course, is not wildly uncommon — they said something that made me question not only their leadership but also their authority, knowledge, etc. It happens, right? People disappoint us; none of us agree on everything 100% of the time. Really, that's okay. But here's the sneaky thing I caught on to: In both situations, I recognized that the enemy was trying to undermine my willingness to receive from that person so a) I would miss out on what they offered (by refusing, ignoring, or disregarding it), and b) I would turn my attention elsewhere and not intercede for them as well as I normally would. If I fall for it, I miss their wisdom, and they miss the benefit of my intercession. It's a lose-lose. And if it works, the enemy wins. It's such a common temptation. But what I'm learning is that if I stick it out — play it cool, wait and see, keep praying, listening, and discerning rather than immediately throw out the baby with the bathwater — the next encounter with that leader/teacher/whoever is usually incredibly life-giving and strengthening. There's something there that the enemy wanted me to miss, but if I stick it out, I'll gain. And they will, too. We'll both be strengthened. And the Kingdom will advance because of it.