Author: RefreshHer

children · Encouragement · Motherhood · Parenting

A Rope of Encouragement For Young Moms

RefreshHer4 Comments

Getting older has its advantages.  One plus is that after having passed through the years of motherhood when my children were little, I can reflect with a little more insight.  Sometimes looking at motherhood through the rear view mirror (my mistakes) gives a better perspective. I certainly don’t have all the answers (who does?), but as I reflect on my own mothering years, and watch and listen to young moms I have a different perspective.  When I was experiencing it myself there were days when I felt like I was drowning.  Now I stand on the shoreline to throw you young moms a rope of encouragement.

Each day as a parent can be one of extreme highs and lows, can’t it?  Your child finally gets a truth you’re trying to teach him, and he obeys as a result!  You are rejoicing!  Then an hour later, he has spray painted the cat blue, dumped a liter of red soda on the carpet, and dropped your cell phone in the bath water! Since you really can’t lock yourself in the bathroom for the rest of the day (we’ve all wanted to!), what is a mother to do?
  • Gather your children around you, sit down, and pray.  Ask God to calm your heart.   Ask Him to help the children to obey. Ephesians 6:1 Ask for His help and guidance. James 1:5
  • Administer the discipline necessary for the disobedience.  Proverbs 19:18 Note, this comes after you’ve calmed down and gotten your focus right.  It’s easy to want to dismiss it due to your weariness.  (We all know how much time and energy it takes to discipline properly!)  However, if you let the disobedience or rebellion pass unnoticed, things will not get getter – they will only get worse.
  • Look for an opportunity to have a brief break.  If your children are of napping age, you rest while they’re napping.  Don’t use this time to attack your list of “to-do’s!”  Read a passage of Scripture, listen to some encouraging music.  Drink a cup of tea, read a magazine, or do some little something you enjoy (scrapbook one picture even, make a card, work on a puzzle or crossword).  You need to refresh yourself in a way that will help you to be ready to face motherhood again.
  • Keep things structured for your children.  If they have too much free time, trouble will ensue.  You don’t have to plan out every minute, but keep a close tab on your children.  Don’t allow yourself to be distracted from what’s going on in their world.  Stay connected so you can stay on top of any attitudes or problems, and lovingly correct them.
  • Plan for something fun to do with your children each day. Make a craft, bake something, take a walk while the children ride bikes, go to the library, take lunch to the park.  These activities will give you and the children something to look forward to.
  • Once every couple of weeks, get away from the house and the children.  If you can’t leave the children with your husband, take turns with another mom so you can both have a morning away from parenting responsibilities.  Go do something you love while you’re free!
  • Make sure you’re getting up before the children and spending time with the Lord in His Word and prayer each day.  Even if it’s 15 minutes, it will prepare your heart better than a three year-old waking you by poking their finger in your eye!
  • Keep the children to a regular bedtime schedule.  If they’re in bed by 8:30, then you and your husband will have time together, they’ll get adequate rest, and you can prepare some things the night before that will make mornings unfold much easier.  Get the coffee ready, start breakfast by making muffins, or setting out the cereals and bowls.  Pick up things around the house before heading to bed.  Waking up to a clean, orderly home will help jump-start your day!

These things won’t make your days perfect, of course, but they’ll help things to run smoother.  Take it from a mom who learned from her mistakes – you have to be a step ahead to win at the motherhood woes.  The good news is, with God’s help you will make it – with a few extra wrinkles, maybe, but you will make it!

What are the most difficult times of your day as a mom?

With love,

Published by RefreshHer

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baking · Cookies · No Bake

A New Flavor of “No-Bake Cookies

RefreshHer6 Comments

When do you like trying a new cookie recipe? One time for me is when I hear a friend/neighbor say they love a certain cookie and wish they could have one! My neighbor told me about a Caramel No-Bake cookie that he had that was the best cookie ever and he wished he could find a recipe! That’s when I went on the hunt to find and make them for him and his family.

I ran to Pinterest and found what I’m sure is the best recipe for a new flavor of No-Bake cookies! Little Dairy on the Prairie had a great looking recipe. It turned out perfectly! There’s LOTS of butter and sugar, but this recipe made about 4 dozen cookies, so you have to take that into consideration. Like the traditional no-bakes, these were fast and easy! Oh, and my neighbors declared them the BEST cookies they’d ever had! Mission accomplished!!

Caramel No-Bake Cookies

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

15 mins

Smooth salted caramel, crunchy toffee chips, and chocolate wrapped up in one super easy No Bake Caramel Cookie! I can’t think of a thing not to love about these cookies!

Serves: 36

Ingredients

• 2 c. granulated sugar

• ¾ c. butter

• ⅔ c. evaporated milk

• 1 5.1 oz. pkg instant butterscotch pudding

• 3½ c. quick oats

• sea salt to taste (I used a few grinds)

• 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

• ½ c. toffee chips

Instructions

1 Bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a rolling boil over medium heat. Stir frequently.

2 Remove from heat and add oats, dry pudding, and salt. Let sit for a few minutes until it cools a little bit.

3 Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

4 Add chocolate chips and toffee chips to cookie mixture. Gently stir being careful to not over stir or else the chocolate chips will be totally incorporated.

5 Drop by cookie scoopfuls onto wax paper.

6 Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes, friends! That’s all the time these take to make! Do a friend or two a favor and make a batch! I gave away every cookie but one! They were too tempting to keep on hand, and too good not to share!

If you get the urge to bake, this recipe has you covered!

With love from my country kitchen,

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Family Friday – As Different As Day and Night

RefreshHer5 Comments

winter lights 1

The saying “as different as day and night” could describe lots of things – the temperaments in our children, the physical difference in a sick person after medicine, the change in a house after renovations.  But could it be used to describe the extreme contrast of your Christian family compared to a household full of unbelievers?

After a person accepts Christ as their Savior, old things are passed away and all things become new.  We’re radically different than before our salvation!  Therefore, our homes should be radically different, too.

In the story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt we remember the ten plagues that came over the Egyptians because the Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go worship their God.  One of those plagues was darkness for three days.  They couldn’t see one another, they couldn’t leave their houses, and the Lord said the darkness would be so heavy, it would even be felt.  Here’s what Scripture says –

Exodus 10:23
They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days:
but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

They had physical light.  They could see.  There was a huge difference between their homes and the ungodly Egyptian’s homes.  That extreme contrast should be just as visible in Christian homes compared to those who don’t know Christ.   The light should be see in families by:

  • The way we treat one another.
  • The way we forgive one another.
  • The way we stay together, no matter what.
  • Our patterns of going to church to worship each Sunday.
  • The honoring of the Lord in the way we conduct our lives.
  • What they hear coming out of our mouths.
  • How we spend our time.
  • In how we respond to trials.
  • In how we care for our spouse.
  • In how we treat our neighbors.

Just as the Israelite’s lights shone, virtually everything we do or say should be like a light beaming from the windows of our home shouting out that there’s something different that gives us this light!

Indeed, our homes should be as different as day and night in comparison to the lost world around us.  Is it perfect?  No way.  But when we fail, we know we have an Advocate to Whom we can run for forgiveness.  We confess it and get up and continue to shine on!!

Ask yourself, How does my home look different than the families around me that are without Christ?

Refresh yourself by being in a Bible preaching church this weekend.  Let your light shine!

Refresh your family life,

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bagels · baking · Bread

Two-Ingredient Bagels With a Delicious Twist

RefreshHer2 Comments

flavored bagels 1

Oh, friends!  I’ve been playing around with the Two-Ingredient Bagels and I’ve come up with a couple of delicious ideas!  More about that in a minute!

Not only did I find this bagel recipe on Skinnytaste’s  site, (and on MANY other web sites!), I also found a recipe for the Everything but the Bagel seasoning on Two Peas and their Pod.  It’s pretty pricey to buy this jar in the stores.  I went to a bulk food store, found the ingredients and now I make my own!  It’s delicious!

bagels-4

Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
  • 2 teaspoons flaked sea salt or course salt

DIRECTIONS:

Mix and stir.  Store in an air-tight jar.

Use on these bagels, baked potatoes, avocado toast, eggs…the possibility is endless!

I had hoped to share a video tutorial with you today, but after LOTS of trouble and time, it simply wasn’t happening.  So, I’ll share that next week, Lord willing!

bagel 7

If you want to make the Blueberry or Brown Sugar bagels, here’s what I did:

Blueberry Bagels – To half of the dough, I added about 1/4 cup frozen blueberries.  I folded the berries in, then cut the dough in half.  I made a ball of dough out of each half, then cut a hole in the middle, using a melon baller.  I placed them on the silpat on a baking sheet.  Brush with egg white. Sprinkle lightly with white sugar.

Brown Sugar Bagels –  To half of the dough, I rolled it out on the counter, sprinkled it heavily with cinnamon and about 1/4 cup of raisins.  I folded the dough over a couple of times, then cut it in half, made two balls of dough, cut out the center and placed on a baking sheet covered with a Silpat.  Brush with egg white. I then sprinkled about a tablespoon of brown sugar over the top, as well as a sprinkling of cinnamon.  Next time I may try putting the brown sugar on both sides!

Bring to room temperature (about an hour) and then bake at 375° for about 20 minutes.

flavored bagels 2.jpg

I split them open, brushed them with soft butter and broiled them until toasted.

Photo Feb 21, 8 36 29 AM.jpg

Wow, these are good!  I hope you’ll try them soon!

I’ll hope to get the video posted next week.  In the meantime you can visit my You tube channel for other videos.

Which of these flavors appeal most to you?

Denise Signature 150 px

 

 

 

home accessories · Home decor · Pre-Spring

Kicking Winter Out Of the House

RefreshHer12 Comments

spring 2018 6a

Who cares what Punxsutawney Phil saw on February 2nd?  If the Lord allows winter to keep residence in our current location, we can still bring a little bit of spring inside without using tulips and daffodils.  It will cheer your heart and encourage your spirit!

Here’s what you can do to freshen up your house and get it ready for spring – no matter the temperature outside.

  1. Get rid of Christmas decor. Make sure to scour the house for any and all traces of Christmas decor still left out. It can hide in places where it’s easy to overlook, can’t it?!  Store it away and get it into its rightful place so it will be ready for next year.
  2. Use greens.  A boxwood wreath is a great intermediate wreath for your front door.  Add silk herbs and succulents throughout the house.spring 2018 2
  3. Add colorful fruit – real or faux as a pretty spot of color in your kitchen or dining area.spring 2018 4
  4.  Remove heavy throws and blankets that you used as decor.  If you live in a place that’s still cold, put those within reach, but don’t use them as decor.
  5. Change things up!  This would be a good time to rearrange furniture or decor pieces a little.  I added a mirror on my piano so it would reflect the windows that are opposite it.  It brings in extra light and that’s a huge plus in my book!spring 20187
  6. Refresh your entry way.  Make it bright and airy feeling.  Remove boots, scarves and such from this area.  Add brighter colors and touches.spring 2018

I hope this gives you a few ideas as to how to add some pre-spring touches to your home and lift your winter doldrums!

Is it still cold and snowy where you live? Or are you like us and are having 70 degree weather?  I know it won’t stay, but we’re loving it!!

Denise Signature 150 px