The Beauty of Friendship ~

"Christian women are called to build lasting friendships

that will endure throughout life and extend into eternity."

~ Excerpt from; The Women's study Bible ~

~ * * ♡ ♡ * * ~

As we allow God's love to fill our own lives 

that love will spill over and touch the lives of others.

This past week I had the joy of  celebrating the birthday of two very special friends;

the desire of my heart was to give of myself,

after all...the Lord loves a cheerful giver, doesn't He?

I decided to create something for them with my own hands, 

something that I wouldn't normally do in the field of baking.

Oh, I love to bake, but when it comes to decorating, not so much.

In the "Women's World" magazine there was the sweetest, prettiest cupcake recipe 

that I just had to try and accomplish!

"There are so many little things we can do for others that are so small

many people forget about them. But these aren't small things.

They show our love for Christ."

~ Mother Teresa ~

* I will share the recipe with you at the end of this post *

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As I spent the afternoon creating these adorable cupcakes for my friends,

I couldn't help but ponder on those friendships found in the Scriptures.

There is the friendship of Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1:16&17)

By the way ~ did you know that the meaning of the name Ruth is "friendship"?

Ruth became Naomi's forever friend.

Their friendship was a deep, lasting friendship that embodied God's love.

There was the friendship of Elizabeth and Mary. (Luke 1:39-56)

Elizabeth was a Spiritual mentor.

We are to build one another up and encourage to be godly.

"A friend loves at all times"

*Proverbs 17:17*

When Mary went to visit with her cousin Elizabeth,

 it must have been a joyful time between the two women

as Elizabeth shared hospitality and wise advice to Mary.

There is comfort in a godly friend who brings encouragement to our lives.

Elizabeth shared herself liberally, didn't she?

And then, there is the friendship between David and Johnathon,

a friendship we are quite familiar with in the Scriptures. (1Samuel 18:1-3)

"Then Johnathon and David made a covenant, 

because he loved him as his own soul."

Johnathon made a covenant of friendship with David,

a friendship filled with loyalty, affection and self-sacrifice.

"The soul of Johnathon was knit to the soul of David,

and Johnathon loved him as his own soul."

What a beautiful commitment in their friendship.
Friendships that last are built on the attributes of  
grace, benevolence, compassion, loving kindness and bound together by LOVE.

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Year's ago I found this and wrote it out keeping it as a reminder on friendships.
* ♡ *
*Model For Friendships*
True Friends ~
Love each other selflessly 
Protect one another
Are honest with each other
Are there in times of trouble
Provide a safe place to honestly express yourself & still be loved
Want God's will for each other
Do not compete with each other
Are loyal to the end
Keep their promises
Build each other Spiritually
* ♡ *
These two dear friends that I shared their birthdays with this past week
are both one in Spirit with me. We were connected from the beginning,
and  became fast friends after we met.
The one dear friend, I met in church as we worked along side of one another
looking after our Senior Fellowship Gatherings.
The other dear friend was the daughter of one of my hospice patients 
and I knew that I wanted to be her friend the instant we introduced ourselves.
They are precious friends sent from God above,
both enriching my life to the glory of God.
May we all, in our friendships, show forth the reflection of Christ's beauty
through a generous loving heart making the most of every opportunity. 

~ * * ♡ ♡ * * ~

From this point on it will be the recipe I promised I would share.
Due to sharing the recipe this will end up being a very long post!!
Sorry!😘
I'm just going to share how to make the cherry blossoms with marshmallows,
you can choose what flavour of cake you want 
as the photo shows clearly how to frost.
  

* Cherry Blossom Cupcakes *

2 cups mini marshmallows 
1 cup white candy melts
1 can each pink & pearl Wilton Color Mist food color spray
2 Tbs. yellow sprinkles (tiny balls)
3 Tbs. bright pink tinted frosting
~~~
For flower petals, you will need wax paper to cut & arrange them on.
With scissors, crosswise snip each mini marshmallow into thirds.
For flowers, place candy melts in a plastic food storage bag; seal bag.
*I used 1 cup of candy *
Microwave candy, massaging bag every 5 seconds until melted & smooth.
Snip small (tiny) hole in one corner of the bag.
Pipe 6 (1/2" wide) dots of candy about 1 1/2"apart on the wax paper.
Arrange small end of each 5 marshmallow slices, overlapping as needed,
into each candy dot creating your flower.
These will set without having to place them in the fridge.
~~~
Coat the flowers lightly with the pink spray to cover completely.
Lightly coat the flowers with the pearl spray to add sparkle.
With your bright pink tinted frosting you will place the 3 Tbs.
in a plastic sandwich bag. Press out excess air from bag & seal.
Snip a very tiny hole in one corner of the bag.
For stamen, pipe short lines of frosting radiating
 from the center of each flower.
Sprinkle with some of the yellow sprinkles.
~~~
Just a few inside tips of things I learned as I went along.
While arranging your marshmallow petals into the flower
you will find them to be sticky,
 so place a damp cloth nearby and gently wet your finger tips.
DO NOT lick your fingers like I did before realizing it!😛
No, I did not keep and use those flowers!
I found it easier turning the wax paper slowly as I created each flower
rather than reaching around in a circle.

While you are putting the round sprinkles in the center of your flower
you will want to do each cupcake right after you add the pink icing
before it dries.
Also, those tiny round balls like to roll off the stamen.
My dear husband made me a tiny funnel out of paper and I gently rolled the sprinkles
down the funnel into the center of the flower.
Enjoy!

Be Gracious!
~ Debbie ~