Checking In

October 22, 2021October 20, 2021 RefreshHer2 Comments

In mid September I began memorizing the third chapter of Colossians. Oh, what a joy this chapter of Scripture has been to my heart! I have mediated on it over and over as I’ve put this chapter in my heart. There are so many wonderful truths about my position in Christ, and then the reminder of the things that should be a part of my life because I am in Him!

When I shared my desire to memorize this chapter last month, I promised to give an update. My goal was to learn one verse per day, but it was a bit too challenging. My struggle isn’t each learning individual verse, but saying them in order! The Lord is giving me understanding as I keep rehearsing the chapter each day. I am really enjoying using the Bible Memory App. It really makes it easy to review my verses anywhere. I am now up to…

Verse 21. It’s exciting to me that I only have four more verses to go in this chapter!

There have been many nights that I awake in the middle of the night, wide awake. It’s been my practice this month to begin repeating Colossians 3 in my mind. Before I know it, I’ve gone back to sleep! I dream peacefully and get good rest.

Psalm 119:52
I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself.

This is no boast…I’m very slow and I don’t have nearly the amount of Scripture memorized that I should have at this age. I only share this to keep myself accountable. I also pray it challenges you to be memorizing God’s Word! What a treasure it is.

Have a lovely weekend, friends.

Meal planning · organization · Thanksgiving

Early Preparations For Thanksgiving

October 20, 2021April 19, 2022 RefreshHer8 Comments

Slow and steady wins the race, right? What are we racing towards?

Thanksgiving!

Yes, it’s true. Five weeks from tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day! (Didn’t we just celebrate Labor Day?!) Well, maybe so, but it’s true – we have five weeks to plan and prepare for this special holiday! That may sound like a lot of time, but considering how much there is to do if you’re hosting, the weeks will fly by! If you want to enjoy, rather than endure the holiday, planning and working ahead of time is your best friend!

I’ll be hosting this year, so I am trying to get my ~~ducks~~ turkeys in a row! No, I don’t have an outside job, but my life stays very busy. It would be easy to push things back and let the holiday slip up on me, but I am praying that the Lord will give me wisdom to prepare in such a way that I will be able to smile and embrace the day and each of my guests when Thanksgiving arrives!

So, what am I doing? Well, first of all, I’m doing what works best for me, and that’s making lists! I am using my phone for some jobs that need attention before my guests arrive. Here’s a peek at the list I’m adding to each day…

I made that on “Reminders.” I like having that on my phone, because if I’m out and I need to remember what I needed to buy for the table, it’s right there at my fingertips. I will make a detailed list of the menu and food prep in my Happy Planner.

It’s amazing what tasks can be accomplished in short spans of time! Yesterday when I had 15 minutes while supper was finishing in the oven, I grabbed my large tablecloth and got my Thanksgiving Tablecloth ironed!

When I was finished, I hung it on a hanger and hung it in the front closet.

That’s one task completed!

Little time spans are useful to accomplish small tasks. Look for those five or ten minute windows when you’re on hold on the phone, when you’re ready to leave for work or church but have a few minutes to spare. Look for ways to use those minutes wisely so you can smile when Thanksgiving arrives, rather than panic!

This week I read in Luke 10 about Mary and Martha and was reminded that I often get my priorities out of whack when I’m having guests over. I am asking the Lord for a worshipful heart like Mary. If some things on my list don’t get accomplished, I don’t want to be in a flurry. I want to be fervent instead – fervent in pointing my family and guests to the Lord, Who so graciously blesses us every single day with an abundance of reasons to celebrate this day…with a smile.

Will you be hosting Thanksgiving this year? What are you doing now to prepare ahead?
If you’re going to be a guest, why not ask your hostess what you can do for her even now?

Refresh Thanksgiving by making early preparations!

Bread · freezer · Make-Ahead

Making Your Own Frozen French Bread Dough

October 18, 2021October 16, 2021 RefreshHer5 Comments

So, I had a little accident last week. I decided to make my French Bread recipe for a meal I was preparing for guests that were coming the next day. We were having a Bible Conference at our church and I thought I had plenty of time to get the bread baked before it was time to leave. Well, I misjudged the time and realized after I’d made the dough and had it rising in the bowl for the first rise that I wouldn’t have time to bake the bread and still be on time for the service. Ahhhh! I was frustrated at myself for not calculating the time correctly!

Then I had a thought…

I wonder if I can freeze the dough after it rises in the bowl?

So often when I wonder if something would freeze well, I simply let my mind wander the aisles of the frozen goods at the grocery store. Then I realized, “Yes! I know they sell frozen frozen loaves that are ready to set out and rise, so surely I could shape these loaves and freeze them before I leave for church!”

I took the bread and shaped it into the French loaves and placed them on a greased baking sheet.

I covered them with Syran Wrap and put them in the freezer and headed out for our Bible conference at church. Then before I went to bed that night, I took the loaves out of the freezer and placed them in the fridge to thaw overnight.

When I was ready to bake them, I set them on the counter where they rose for about 30 minutes. Then I finished as the recipe says, and cut the slits on top and baked them as usual.

They rose beautifully and my husband told me they were better than any other time I’ve made them!

This was a really happy accident! Now I know I can work ahead and get the dough made way ahead of time. It’s nice to know I can just have bread loaves hanging out in the freezer until I need them! Working ahead is my favorite way to prep meals!

So, first of all, let me say that this recipe is super easy! Now you know how to prep the first part and freeze them. Then when you’re ready for a hot loaf of homemade French Break all you’ll need is about 45 minutes total to let them rise and bake them! It doesn’t get fresher than that!

Have you tried freezing bread dough? Here’s a roll recipe that freezes great too, and is our favorite for special meals like Thanksgiving!

I hope you’ll give this freezing method a try!

Charcuterie Boards · Fall · picnic food · The Scenic Route

Charcuterie Board Meets Scenic Route

October 15, 2021October 14, 2021 RefreshHer6 Comments

These fall days will pass quickly and we’ll be experiencing cold weather that will push us indoors faster than garlic burns! Therefore, we are trying to enjoy these gorgeous days by taking some drives on the Scenic Route!

We met some dear friends up on a mountain last weekend and my husband and his buddy Rick decided we’d have a charcuterie snack board! You see, these two hike together and it’s become Rick’s new creation to use his bandanna as his “charcuterie board!” Dale has also become quite a good hand at creating great spreads on a board!

I keep a tablecloth in my picnic basket so when we want to eat a meal out somewhere, I already have a cover for the table.

Dale gathered the items he wanted to take and I helped with the presentation. I brought along one of my cutting boards and some cute napkins. I found those cute autumn favor cups at The Dollar Tree. I was impressed at how sturdy they are! They were perfect for the candy, pretzels and apple slices. The other additions to our board were a couple candy bars and muffins.

I failed to get a picture of Rick’s board, but he brought carrots, almonds, beef jerky, cookies, and cheese and as I said, he spreads his treats on a bandannas. His wise wife has purchased new bandannas strictly to use for his hiking charcuterie boards!

It was so much fun to sit at the picnic table and nibble off of the goods on the boards as we chatted and enjoyed the gorgeous views!

The Scenic Route is full of fun adventures and this kind of picnic was easy to pull together and fun to enjoy! The possibilities are endless. Consider:

Grapes
Cheeses
Chips & Salsa
Lunch meats
Crusty bread and Olive oil for dipping
Veggies
Hummus
Crackers
Olives
Nuts

Why not pack up goodies for a Scenic Route picnic and enjoy a charcuterie lunch or snack on the road? Make a special fall memory before the snow flies.

Refresh your picnics with something fun!

Encouragement · Pastor

Encouraging Your Pastor

October 13, 2021October 12, 2021 RefreshHer2 Comments

When you think of your energy level on Sunday evening after a day of being in God’s house, where would you rank it? A 2 or 3? Yeah, It thought so. There’s a good reason for that, and its has to do with more than wrestling the patent leather shoes onto a three year-old.

Every Sunday when you get yourself (and perhaps your family) ready and head out the door to worship, you are doing battle – a spiritual one. Satan doesn’t want you there where you’ll hear the Word of God. He doesn’t want your marriage strengthened and your children in a place where they’ll be taught Truth from the Bible, and so he fights us. Attitudes get out of whack, you fight to concentrate on the messages, your children are the crankiest on that day. By the end of the Sunday services, we’ve done real battle with the enemy – and it’s exhausting!

If the believer in the pew is fighting a spiritual battle, imagine what your pastor is facing as he endeavors to stand in the pulpit and preach the Word of God! He sees people nodding off, passing notes, flipping through their phones, or looking uninterested, and the devil plants seeds of discouragement in him. He fights with just wanting to sit down and quit. He struggles to remember passages of Scripture or the next illustration. The power point is almost sure to fail during his most important point – even though he spent much time and effort putting it together to aid the preaching of the Word.

It’s for all these reasons and many more that every pastor desperately needs the prayer of the saints. I’ve made a list of some of my favorite passages of Scripture to pray for my husband or whoever will be in the pulpit at our church. Here are the verses I like to pray, with a brief description:

II Thessalonians 1:11,12 – For God to make him worthy of his calling to preach.

I Timothy 1:12 – Thankful for the calling to the ministry.

II Timothy 2:7 – That he might have understanding.

II Timothy 2:9b – That he might remember that the Word of God is not bound.

Titus 1:3 – That he would remember that the Word of God is manifested through preaching.

Ephesians 6:19, 20 – That utterance would be given to him and he would preach with boldness.

II Corinthians 4:1-6 – That he would preach the Word with sincerity and to magnify Christ.

Colossians 1:9-14 – That he would walk worthy of the Lord.

After you spend some time praying through some passages of Scripture for your pastor, why not write him a note or send a text and let him know that you’ve prayed specifically for his preaching? It’s sure to refresh him and encourage him as he heads to the pulpit to deliver God’s Word.

Will you pray for your pastor and then let him know?

Refresh your pastor,