Author: RefreshHer

freezer · Meal planning · organization · refrigerator contents

What’s In My Fridge?

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After returning home from vacation, I went to the grocery store for a few things like fresh veggies and fruits, milk and eggs.  Other than that, my freezer and pantry had what I needed to get through a week of meals.  Bulk shopping when things go on sale keeps me from having to buy a long list of items every single week.  I love that!

I thought I would give you a peek inside my refrigerator and small freezer so you can see the standard things that are in there and how I organize it all.   Continue reading “What’s In My Fridge?” →

Brunch · main dish · memories · Mother's Day · Tablescapes

Friday Favorites – Vacation Pics

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Isn’t it amazing how fast vacation time flies by? I had an app on my phone that told me how many more days ’til vacation.  Then, woosh!  It’s done!   It’s also easy to forget everything that happened.  It’s for that reason that I try to journal each day I’m away.  I try to log what we did and what the highlights of the day were. I write down any fun places we discovered, any new restaurants we enjoyed and also special things that we shared as a couple in our day together. Then when I get home I can read back over my writings and can relive our time away!

Here’s a picture journal for you of a few highlights and favorite photos from our time away. Continue reading “Friday Favorites – Vacation Pics” →

Freedom · Living in Bondage · Truth · worry

Getting Free From the Bondage of Lies

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For Mother’s Day this year my sweet husband bought me a floor lamp that caught my eye when we were visiting a Cracker Barrel on vacation.  It looks like a bird cage, and has the vintage vibe that I love.  What I didn’t know was that it was also going to be a useful tool to remind me of a truth I learned in Bible Study!

After having studied my lesson from Lies Women Believe, I looked at that bird cage in a different light (no pun intended!).  It brought back a reminder of a truth learned in Chapter one of the book.

Believing a lie that Satan puts in my mind is just like being bound up in a cage. Every lie is another rib, keeping me from being free and enjoying the life Christ died to give to me.  Just as Eve acted on the lie in the Garden of Eden and ate the fruit because she believed it would make her wise and like God, if I act on lies I believe, I too, will be held in bondage.

Christ said in John 8:32

Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

So how can we be free from the bondage of lies?

  1. Identify any areas in which we are living in bondage.  Some examples…
    1. Areas of emotional distress – Depression, anxiety, fear, or worry
    2. Bondage to physical sin – over-eating, not eating, over-exercising,
    3. Financial bondage
    4. Sexual sin
  2. Identify any lies you may be believing that are at the root of the bondage – Some examples might be…
    1. I’m too sinful for God to really love me.
    2. I’ll never be good enough for _____________.
    3. I’m too (fat, short, skinny, ugly, uneducated…) to be of any use to anyone.
    4. I could never do that thing that God wants me to do.
    5. My marriage will never get better.
    6. My family member will never be saved.
    7. I have the right to be happy and do what I want to do.
      The list could go on and on.  But you need to ask yourself,

      What keeps plaguing me?
      What do I keep wrestling with that crops up again and again?

  3. Replace the lies with the truth.  Find Scripture that refutes the lie.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

We all have a choice either to be free, due to the Truth of God’s Word, or to be held in bondage by believing and acting on Satan’s lies.

What lies are living in your heart?  What truth needs to counteract it?  

I would encourage you to memorize Philippians 4:8 if you don’t have it committed to memory yet!

Refresh yourself with Truth!

Denise

Frugal living · Traveling · Vacation tips

Seven Ways To Reduce the Cost of Vacation

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Like most families, we’ve pretty much always had to be very frugal and wise with our money.  It’s so ingrained in me now to shop the bargains that I just can’t stand to overspend on anything.  I want quality at a bargain price!  (Thanks, Mom!)

Going on vacation is no different – it has to be done wisely, but we can still have the BEST time when we get away, and we also enjoy some splurges,at a fraction of the cost!  Here’s how we do it:

  1. Go to your destination at times when it isn’t peak season.  One place we stayed this month was going through some renovations, so we got a reduced price.  The renovations were on the outside and never even affected where we were.  I can still swim in the pool while they paint the outside walls of the hotel!
  2. When eating out at the restaurants that everyone has raved about,
    • Go at lunch time.  The portions are plenty and the price is greatly reduced.
    • Share a meal.  90% of the time, we share an entree.  Most restaurants serve way more food than one person can eat.  We like the same things, so we generally always share a plate and go away completely full!
    • Avoid the appetizer.  If they bring bread to the table, let that be the starter for your meal.
    • Drink water.  At $2 or more for a beverage, that can add lots to your bill!
  3. Eat the other two meals in your condo.  We usually stay in a place where we can cook.  I’ll fix simple meals, but delicious food for breakfast and supper meals.
    coffee
  4. Buy snacks and water bottles at the grocery store and keep them in the car with you when you’re out. Having an occasional treat can be planned for by taking advantage of the next tip!
  5. Look for specials that are running at your favorite restaurants.  Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts, Sonic, and lots of other places have specials from time to time.  Search the Internet and see what deals you can find.  Starbucks had half price Frappes when we were at the beach!  That was a great treat on a hot day!
  6. Avoid the tourist-y shops.  They are way more expensive than most stores.  If I need a hat, sunglasses or sunscreen, I run to TJ Maxx, rather than the Beach Shop!
  7. Do things in the area that are free.
    • Bring your own or rent bikes to enjoy the paths in the area.
    • Museums, parks, libraries, outdoor music, gardens, beaches, pools -the list is long of all the things you can find to do that cost nothing extra!

We felt like we truly splurged, but we spent a fraction of the money we could have had we not used our strategies that have become our favorite way to travel!

Were you surprised that not one of the suggestions was to stay with relatives?!  If you do stay with family, only stay a night or two!  “Fish and company stink after three days!” =)

Happy vacationing!

Denise

death · eternal · Fear · Fear of death

The Beauty of Death

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Hi friends!  I’m back! To you perhaps I was only gone yesterday, but I’ve been away for a week and a half.  We had family vacation that was such a precious time, and I might also add, very needed.  We tend to go at break-neck speed, so getting out of town to rest and refresh is truly critical for ministry families (and I’m sure every other family!!).  We got to spend those days at the ocean.  Here’s a totally unedited picture of the sunrise on our last day there…

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That was well worth getting up early to see!

I was amazed that there were a few people walking away from the sunrise that morning instead of towards it!  Why  would you turn your back on something so beautiful?  I couldn’t understand that one!

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We got home from vacation on Sunday and while we were unpacking the car, we learned that a dear man in our church had been taken to the hospital.  We dropped everything and went to spend the evening with him and his daughter.  He’s a precious member of our church and truly like family to us.  We went to the hospital, not watching the clock, but his face, and also his chest rising slowly with each deliberate breath.  This event changed everything his week would have looked like.  Instead of being in the comfort of his home, he was being poked and probed, and was now confined to a small room with beeping machines and IV drips that allowed him to sleep.  It seems that his day to leave this world is imminent. Scripture tells us…

It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this, the judgment. Hebrews 9:27

I visited him in his hospital room again yesterday.  As I drove home later in the day, I thought about all the people passing by me in their cars, scurrying here and there, sure they’re going to have tomorrow, making plans as though they’ll live forever.  Some are ignoring God and His call to trust Christ for salvation.  They assume that this thing of dying is far off.  They are like the people on the beach who were walking away from the sunrise, ignoring the fact and the beauty that was just behind them.

These moments are appointed to each of us.  If Christ doesn’t return first, we will each die. We will each have a change in the plans we were making for that day.  Do you understand that death can be, not just a fact, but a beautiful thing? Oh the process can be ugly and hard, but the end result of death is seen in this verse as being precious…

Psalm 115:16 – Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

Psalm 23 reminds us that death is only a shadow, and a shadow cannot hurt you.  For our dear friend, when he takes his last breath here, he will open His eyes in heaven.

Absent from the body present with the Lord!  II Corinthians 5:6

He has this assurance because He received Christ as His Savior for His sins.  He trusted in what Christ did for him on the cross and those truths make dying beautiful.  Our friend’s death, whenever it happens, has reminded me that death is like that sunrise – it will happen, and I can look forward to it and see the beauty in it.

Are you turning your back on the reality of death?  If you’re afraid, is it because you don’t have an assurance of eternity with the Lord?  Trust Him today to save you and receive the joy of walking with Him here, and having the comfort of a beautiful meeting in heaven One Day!

Denise