Sometimes when I’ve planned my menu, I get excited about the upcoming meal, because it’s something new that I’m sure will be delicious! This happened recently after I had watched Ina Garten prepare a Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken on You Tube. It had all the flavors we love, so I promptly added it to my menu…and then did what I frequently do when I make a new recipe – I invited guests to join us for dinner! Ha!
This recipe rivals and maybe even wins over my favorite Katie Brown Chicken recipe that I’ve been making for years! The lemon slices that line the cast iron skillet add so much flavor, as well as the infused olive oil that is brushed onto the chicken skin. Yum!
People often ask me if I get tired of traveling. The answer is, “Yes, but God is so kind to give energy to serve, and joy at the time of serving.” It’s true. Being away from home a lot isn’t my favorite thing, but God uses it to remind me that this is not my true home. However, in His grace, He gives us time to come back to our home to rest in preparation for what is to come. How kind.
We are currently in that period of time during the month of August. Now that camp is over, we are “home” for the most part. We’re trying to be wise in our use of this month. We are seeking physical rest, time to study/prepare, creative outlets, time together as a couple, and time with family. It’s been a wonderful two weeks! Come take a peek…
When August comes, I always think about the moms who are sending one or more of their children off to college, perhaps for their first year. I remember the emotion that was involved in that change in our own lives. There were some difficult moments, but we had been duly warned that that day would come, so we had tried, by God’s grace to prepare our own hearts, as well as the hearts of our daughters. We certainly didn’t get it all right, and there were tears and aches in our hearts, but we had the goal of “preparation” as our motive for many years before the day of their departure ever came.
What did we prepare? We tried to prepare our own minds for the day the girls would leave home. We tried to remember through their growing up years that they didn’t belong to us – they were the Lord’s and He had loaned them to us for a time. Therefore, knowing that one day we would be “just the two of us” again, we strived to work at our marriage so we would be best friends and in love with each other, rather than strangers.
We also sought to prepare them for what was to come. We had discussions about subject matters that are sometimes sticky, but needful. I wrote this years ago concerning what parents should be teaching their children while they’re home –
There’s so much to teach our children, and I’m not referring to homeschool. I’m talking about the every day things – the stuff of life that need to be discussed with our children before they leave home.
I’m back raving about the delicious summer fruits again, only this time it’s PEACHES! South Carolina peaches, to be exact. Large, slightly firm, soft, fuzzy skin and sweet, juicy flesh. Yum! I love eating them plain, or slicing them up in my morning yogurt and topping it with my homemade Granola. But this weekend I saw Ivy Odom from Southern Living make a Peach Salsa, and I knew I had to try it. Am I ever glad I did! It turned my Sunday evening lunch into the best thing I’d eaten all weekend! No joke!
Have you ever prayed about something, needing to know, “Lord, Should I do this or that?” Then you wondered how you could really know what God’s will was?
Since God doesn’t speak audibly to us, it can feel frustrating to know His answer…until we learn how He answers us.
RefreshHer 