Author: RefreshHer

Christian love · Family life · Women's roles

Hiding the wind

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backyard sky a

The storm that blew through our back patio left evidence of very strong winds. The porch swing was now in our neighbor’s yard. Chairs and outside decor was scattered in the grass and tall weeds across the road. We never saw the wind herself, of course, but its destruction left ugly reminders that she had passed our way.

As we stood at the door and watched the storm blow through, is it possible that we could have stepped outside and stopped the wind?

No way.

Proverbs 27:16 tells us that whoever can hide a contentious wife can also hide the wind. In other words, just as impossible as it would be to stop the wind, so it is impossible to stop a contentious woman from her unbridled actions. The next part of the verse also tells us it’s like oil slipping through fingers – you cannot stop it.

This descriptive picture is such a good warning to my own heart. I can cause much destruction in my home and in the lives of those around me if I don’t stop the contentions – the irritations – in my heart from being turned into actions and words.

May each of us guard our hearts and our tongues today so that when others around us hear our words and watch our lives, they won’t be fearful of the destruction left in their path, but they can rejoice that they were in our presence.

I love beautiful clear skies and sunny days! I pray that my influence in others’ lives will be that kind of refreshment, rather than the stormy winds that are dreaded and destructive!

We each need to ask ourselves if we are leaving devastation like the wind or delight like the sun (or perhaps we should ask those that spend time with us each day)!  We’ll need to listen with a humble heart and a willingness to change, if necessary. It wouldn’t do to blow up like an unpredicted storm!

With whom do you need to be especially careful ?  Ask the Lord to help you respond in love towards them today.

Denise Signature 150 px

 

baking · dessert · Pie

First Runner-Up Peanut Pie

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Peanut Pie 1a

If you love peanuts, I mean,  if you adore them, then you will love the new recipe I tried from Southern Living’s November issue!  I mentioned last week that I was scouring recipes for a pie fellowship we were having at church.  I finally settled on the Georgia Peanut Pie with Peanut Butter filling and Brown Sugar Whipped Cream.  That’s a mouthful, but just wait until you taste the pie!  It’s a rich, peanut pie that will leave you smacking your lips and glad that you ate only a little slice!  It is quite rich, but hey, isn’t that what dessert is for?

This recipe is easy when it’s done in a couple days.  Do the crust.  Go have lunch with friends, wash up the Thanksgiving linens, take a walk, then come back the next day and make the filling.  Later in the day make the whipped cream.  It’s easy when taken step by step.  Here are some pics of the process for the crust:

peanut crust
Click on picture to enlarge.  To make the scalloped edge, I used the tip of a spoon!

 

Georgia Peanut Pie with Peanut Butter Crust

PEANUT BUTTER CRUST

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocktail peanuts or dry-roasted salted peanuts
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon cold shortening, cubed
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

  • 1 1/4 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
  • 1/3 cup sorghum syrup, pure cane syrup, or dark corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups cocktail peanuts or dry-roasted salted peanuts

BROWN SUGAR WHIPPED CREAM

  • 1 cup cold whipping cream or heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make It

Step 1

Prepare the Peanut Butter Crust: Combine flour, peanuts, brown sugar, and salt in bowl of a food processor; process until peanuts are ground and mixture is combined. Add butter, peanut butter, and shortening, and pulse until mixture resembles small peas, 10 to 12 times. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons ice water over top of mixture. Pulse 4 times. Add up to 2 more tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition until dough just begins to clump together. Remove dough from processor; shape and flatten into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap, and chill 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place chilled dough disk on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle dough with flour. Top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle. Remove and discard top sheet of parchment. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around rolling pin, separating dough from bottom sheet of parchment as you roll. Discard bottom sheet of parchment. Place rolling pin wrapped with dough over a 9-inch (1 1/2-inch-deep) glass pie plate. Unroll dough, and gently press it into pie plate. Trim dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang; fold edges under, and crimp.

Step 3

Prepare Peanut Butter Filling: Stir together brown sugar, flour, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Stir in melted butter. Whisk eggs well in a medium bowl; whisk in milk, sorghum, and vanilla. Add peanut butter; whisk until blended. Spoon filling into prepared piecrust. Sprinkle peanuts over top, and place pie on a rimmed baking sheet.

Step 4

Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F, and bake until puffed and golden brown and until center is set, 45 to 55 minutes, shielding edges with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning, if necessary. Transfer pie to a wire rack, and cool completely, about 2 hours.
Step 5
Prepare the Brown Sugar Whipped Cream: Using chilled beaters and a large chilled bowl, beat whipping cream with an electric mixer on high speed until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat until well combined. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Peanut Pie 1
I wish I had taken a picture of the sliced pie. The inside is creamy and smooth!! It’s a perfect balance with the crunchy peanuts on top!

This is a great pie!  As a matter of fact, it landed the First Runner-Up award at our pie contest at church!  A yummy Apple Crumb pie came in first and deserved it!!

peanut pie 8.jpg

Make this for the peanut lover in your life!!

Did you make any new recipes over Thanksgiving that were “Award-winning” with your family?  They’re the ones who count!!

With love from my country kitchen,

Denise Signature 150 px

Praise · Thanksgiving

Lie and Praise

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I have a love/hate relationship with the Auto-correct on my cell phone.  When I want it to correct a misspelled word, it often does, and I love that.  However, it doesn’t read my mind and it often makes assumptions at times that aren’t always right. It can be very frustrating! I know I’m not alone in this.

Recently a friend was texting about whether or not she would be able to attend our church’s Pie and Praise service this week.  However, her auto-correct fixed the word Pie to what it assumed was correct.  So she let her friends know she wouldn’t be attending the “Lie and Praise” on Tuesday night!  I laughed until my sides hurt over that one!

However, the more I’ve thought about it, the more convinced I am that her auto-correct may have been right after all!  Oh, I’m sure no one who attends a praise service would purposefully lie about their praise, but there’s a way that I see myself not giving honest praise to my God.  Here’s what the next part  of Psalm 103 tells us to do:

Image result for psalm 103:2

 

Don’t forget all His benefits!!  I lift my hands and say, “Thank you, Lord!”  This past Sunday after praying and thanking the Lord for His benefits, I marched out the door, went to church, and when someone asked me how I was, the first thing I told them was that I had a migraine!  What?!  Could I have not shared at least three things God had done for me instead?  What about all the parts of me that felt great, thanks to my God who holds this body together?!  But no, I turned my praise into a lie by not sharing God’s blessings and goodness with that person! I’m thankful for the conviction of the Spirit of God, because I was able to get it right with Him when I confessed it!

Isn’t it easy to praise one minute and complain the next?  God has done so much for us, but if we praise Him one minute and gripe and grumble the next, we’re really lying instead of praising.

I’m asking the Lord to help me to attend the Pie and Praise instead of the Lie and Praise – not just at church this week, but every day of my life!

Do you find yourself praising or grumbling today?  Let’s remember all His benefits and praise His name! No lying!

Denise Signature 150 px

Praise · Thanksgiving · Uncategorized

Pie and Praise

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Related image

I’ve been scouring through pie recipes looking for something great to take to our church Pie and Praise Fellowship Tuesday night.  The possibilities are endless, but the success rate on some of them looks doubtful.

So many ingredients!

So many steps!

But there’s one thing I can take with me to that fellowship that is very simple – a heart of praise.  Why?  Because according to Psalm 103:

  1. Bless the Lord – There’s only one Person Who deserves my praise – it’s my God! I may struggle over which pie to make, but I can never wonder Who deserves my gratitude – it’s my wonderful God! To “bless the Lord” is to give Him praise.  This phrase comes with a heart of affection and a sense of gratitude.  There is none else who deserves my thanks and praise but the Lord!
  2. O my soul – My mind and heart are all in when I’m praising God! Some of these instructions in the pie recipes are confusing and so complex!  Failure seems inevitable!  I’ll never go wrong praising the Lord!  To bless the Lord with my soul is to use my mind and  heart, my emotions and my will. All I have to consider is how great He is, and it comes so readily!  My soul was made to have fellowship with God, to enjoy His favor and consider His attributes.  I was made to praise the Lord and I will praise Him with my soul!
  3. And all that is within me, bless His holy name. I can give praise with my whole being.  While I could keep back a piece of the pie I’m baking and savor it myself (which is tempting sometimes!) to bless God’s name with all that is within me is to praise Him with all my faculties, all my heart, all my will, all my emotions and all my affection.  God is worthy of all the praise that I can give Him with my whole being!  I will be “all in!”

My pie probably won’t win a prize, but I pray that my praise will be a beautiful delight to my God.  He alone is worthy.  So I say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 

I trust you’re preparing your praise to God even more than you’re preparing the food you’ll enjoy on Thursday!

Denise Signature 150 px