Friday Favorites

September 30, 2016September 29, 2016 RefreshHer3 Comments

My week has been full…full of activities and blessings!

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It started on Friday night when women gathered to join the True Woman Conference Simulcast – Cry Out! We spent three hours at church reading Scripture, worshiping, and praying. Those hours went by incredibly fast because we were so caught up in the splendor of our Savior! We are planning a five-week prayer time so that this won’t be a Moment, but a Movement! We will be meeting up until the time of election on November 8th. Will you join us? We need to be praying for our nation!!

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I went to our local library this week – something I hadn’t done in a long time. I LOVE THE LIBRARY! There’s just something about picking up books, leafing through, reading a little, and then tucking a special treasure under your arm and taking it home for a couple of weeks! I brought home a favorite – a Gooseberry Cookbook for a little inspiration for a party I’m hosting this weekend. Their books are full of seasonal recipes and great ideas! Who owns one or more of their books?

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I grew up going to Pioneer Girls. Now it’s a club for boys and girls – Pioneer Club. I get to help teach the first and second graders, and last Wednesday they were mesmerized with Miss Sharon’s story of a puppy who didn’t want to obey. We’ve been leaning about God’s gift of the family and the importance of obeying their parents. I think they all went away with the understanding that fences (rules) keep us safe. Great job, Sharon! Are you serving in your church? What do you do to share the Gospel with others?

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I got to bake French Bread loaves for an Autumn supper I’m hosting for our Apples of Gold gals. These loaves will accompany a harvest salad and three kinds of soups! I’m making Cream of Wild Rice & Chicken Soup and two others are bringing Beef with Barley and Potato. It’s supposed to get really chilly this weekend, so this soup menu will be perfect! I’m also making Texas Sheet Cake and Pumpkin Crunch Cake for dessert. These are both great cakes, but the Pumpkin Crunch…oh wow! I’m hoping we can have a fire in the fire pit and enjoy the patio in the evening! What have you baked this week?

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Yesterday I had the joy of praying with friends. One had a birthday and we gave her the gift of our prayers. There were tears, of course, but we had the sweetest time together! What better thing to do when you gather with friends? We could talk all day long, but talking to the Lord about our friends is the best conversation! Who needs you to stop and pray with them today?

That was my week! I’d love for you to answer one of my questions and tell me about your week!

Stay refreshed,

Husband · Marriage

Keeping Your Marriage From Being a Statistic

September 29, 2016September 28, 2016 RefreshHerLeave a comment

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Connecting with friends from long ago happens frequently, thanks to Facebook. Sometimes the re-connection brings pieces of good news – of family blessings or a life making a difference for Christ.

Recently someone very dear to us reached out to my husband. The messages went back and forth filling in the empty pieces of all the years that have spanned our last visit. It was with great sadness that we learned of their recent divorce after more than 30 years. It was like a low blow – we didn’t see it coming and it hurt! We hurt for all the pain it has brought. We hurt for the child involved in the separation. We hurt for the picture of oneness that has been broken. We hurt for the tears and sleepless nights that this family has endured.

We also hurt for marriages in general. Why? Because marriage is under attack. Satan loves to get a foothold in the hearts and lives of one or both partners. He hates marriage because it is one of God’s plans that pictures the Gospel – oneness, forgiveness and grace. Here are some of his tactics he may throw at a married couple:

A rift that makes the relationship become distant.
Then there seems to the couple they have nothing in common anymore.
They begin to live as roommates, or maybe even two strangers in same house.
It progresses to then seeing the spouse as an enemy, out to hurt and destroy.
The “logical” option is to end the marriage.

I’ve posted here about my recent Instagram pictures on Mondays, entitled, “Marriage Matters.” I’ve challenged myself to post a picture of something each Monday that shows an effort to enhance my marriage because Marriage Matters! I’ve invited you to join me, and several have! Thank you!

I personally need the weekly reminder that unless we are proactive in keeping the fires in our marriages burning significantly, rather than just a little smoldering puff of smoke ready to go out, we are allowing our marriage to become another statistic. Worse than that, the testimony of Christ will have gotten another blot.

What can you do today to keep your marriage from being another statistic?

Pray for your marriage.
1. Ask God to give you a heart for your husband.
2. Ask God to give your husband a love for you.
3. Ask God to protect your home against all evil.
4. Ask the Lord for wisdom about what you could do today to show that your marriage matters. There are some days that I feel like I’m at a total loss about how I could serve my husband or do something loving for him – my mind is just blank! That’s when I pray and ask the Lord what I could do. He made that guy! He knows his needs and He will reveal to me what I can do for him today!
Stop and plan something you and your husband could do together as a date within this next week. Make the plans, then tell him you have something fun scheduled just for the two of you! Here are some lists or ideas I found. Some might be silly, but don’t be a stick in the mud! Keep looking until you find an idea suitable for you both.
Be the most pleasant person your husband has seen or talked to all day.
1. Look at him when he talks.
2. Speak sweetly.
3. Don’t be his mom, be his wife! That means don’t criticize or belittle him.
4. Smile at him.
5. Smile with your voice when you speak on the phone.
6. Dress for him. Look sharp for him and wear what he likes to see you wear.
Provide for his needs – physically, spiritually, and practically.
1. Don’t let him leave home “thirsty.”
2. Make home his haven.
3. Provide good meals that will make him anticipate suppertime!

I realize that not every marriage will be “fixed” by these simple four additives, but if your marriage is just stale and lacking, these simple ideas can revitalize your relationship and add the spark to get it back on track!

Keep your marriage refreshed,

Uncategorized

Passing By Jesus

September 28, 2016September 27, 2016 RefreshHerLeave a comment

In the busy routine of our day, we pass by the local school, the library, the post office. We pay no attention to the business going on there because we are headed somewhere else.

Yesterday I read Matthew 27 and was brought to think on verse 39:

And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

Jesus was being crucified on the cross. He was suffering not only the pain of the crucifixion, but even greater – He was bearing the weight of every person’s sin – past, present and future. Yet, here were some in their daily routine going here or there. They passed by Jesus and wagged their heads without even stopping to consider Him. In so doing, they were also bypassing their means to freedom from sin, death and hell.

What are you doing, today, my friend? Are you so busy with your life that you haven’t stopped to take a long look at Jesus? Will you just pass by Him, and wag your head because you don’t have time to consider His great love that sent Him to take your sin’s penalty by dying on a cruel cross?

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Eternity is just ahead for all of us. He died for you. He lives now for each of us, too. He lives to intercede for us, and He is coming soon!

Don’t just pass by Christ today…stop and consider Him. You can go here to understand why Christ died for guilty sinners like each of us!

Thankful for the cross,

Home making

Do Yourself a Favor

September 27, 2016September 26, 2016 RefreshHer6 Comments

Often times I ask myself a question –

If I knew that someone was going to knock on my door in five minutes, what would I want to straighten up? What needs to be put away? What would I want to have “fluffed up a bit?”

I look around and find the answer, then I get busy taking care of that problem area! Often times it’s right before we sit down for supper. I’ll put the pot holder back into the drawer. Wipe the counter’s mess from salad dressing that dripped from the bottle when I poured it. I’ll slide the syran wrap back into its place and put the dirty knife or spoon into the soapy water in the sink.

Now not only would I not mind if someone walked in to visit, I can also enjoy my meal more, knowing that there isn’t a huge mess awaiting me when I finish! The pots don’t have to be washed or every prep dish in the dishwasher, but if all the extra things are just put away, it doesn’t look like a bomb went off in the kitchen!

Keeping things put away only takes a few minutes for each task, but it can make walking back into that room a pleasure instead of feeling like you have the stomach flu! Do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to put things away.

Consider these simple tasks:

Make the bed within 15 minutes of rising.
Clean the sink, shower and toilet immediately after you’ve gotten ready for the day.
Hang up any discarded clothes before you leave your room in the morning.
Before you leave the house for the day, make sure the room you’ll walk into is straightened up. Throw away the newspaper. Put the pillows on the sofa the way you like them. Hang a clean dish towel over the sink. Empty the trash can.
Have a timer candle or lamp set to turn on before you arrive home so you’ll have light in the house when you arrive.
Clean out all the trash, receipts, gum wrappers in your purse at the end of the day.
Put away the dishes in the dish drainer or dishwasher before going to bed.
Spend 15 minutes before bedtime putting things away and straightening the living space.

Small tasks can make a huge difference in the way you feel about your home. It doesn’t have to be perfect – just uncluttered and welcoming!

Do yourself a favor and take a few minutes today to do what is necessary to make your house – or even one space, make you smile!

What is the one things you have to have done to make your house feel welcoming to you?

Refresh your house!

baking · cakes

Banana Cake

September 26, 2016September 25, 2016 RefreshHer4 Comments

I had an urge to bake recently, so I went to one of my cookbooks that always inspires me – Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy Is that? I love her recipes! I found a Banana Cake recipe that uses up those black bananas that are no longer worthy of breakfast offerings. I regularly pop that over-ripe fruit in the freezer in little sandwich bags and keep them for recipes like these. The sugar spots on the bananas makes them especially good for baking! So don’t throw them away…freeze them for this Cake!

Here’s the recipe for the cake:

Banana Cake

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar – I used 1/2 Cup and it was great!
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Walnut halves, for decorating (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan. Note: I used a five inch cake pan and a 7 inch pan, and the batter filled both to the perfect depth for a nice, deep cake!
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the bananas, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on low speed until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and orange zest. Mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, turn out onto a cooling rack, and cool completely.
Spread the frosting thickly on the top of the cake and decorate with walnut halves, if using.

The day I made this I didn’t have any cream cheese for the icing she suggests, so I found another recipe for Banana frosting and adapted it just a wee bit so I wouldn’t have to leave home for an ingredient. Unlike the cake, the icing is made using a ripe (not over-ripe) banana. The result is a lightly flavored banana icing that goes perfectly with the cake!

Here’s the icing I chose to add to this super-moist cake:

When you make the icing for this cake, if you find that the butter and bananas look like they’re curdled in your mixing bowl, and you wonder if they’ll really mix and be smooth, don’t lose heart – just keep adding the powdered sugar and it will come together just fine.

Banana Icing

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup ripe banana (about 1 medium banana)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
About 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter, mashed banana, vanilla and lemon juice. Add in the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time, until the frosting is light and fluffy but still soft enough to spread.

This is a cake that begs for a glass of milk or cup of coffee and makes for the perfect ending to a meal, or becomes the best part of having a few friends over because you get to serve this simple cake.

You may just sit around waiting for those bananas to turn black so you can whip this recipe together! Yes, it’s that good!

Happy baking!