With Words of Praise

July 26, 2017July 25, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

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This hideously adorable donkey lives on a farm about an hour from us. We have affectionately named him “Lester.” Lester is very jealous of the other animals on the farm. How do I know? If visitors gather to pay homage to the lovely peacock, or ooo and ahhh over the long neck of the ostrich who lives there, he will begin his very loud and obnoxious,

Hee-haw! Hee-Haw!

It’s really comical to hear him. Not only is his noise hilarious, his mouth and ears look quite funny when he’s going off on his rampage!

While listening to Lester, I turned to my husband and said, “I’m sure thankful I can sing! Wouldn’t it be terrible to open your mouth and sound like that?!”

The next day as I sat to have my quiet time, I read Psalm 145. I was moved at how many times it talks of using my mouth to praise the Lord. Words like, extol, bless, praise, speak and utter were all reminders that God wants me to use my voice for His glory. I must praise Him with speech and song. I must tell others of His goodness by the use of my voice. However, I often neglect the chance to speak up! I remain silent, or I don’t give honor belonging only to the Lord.

Even little things like praising Him like when someone passes and says, “It’s a pretty day, isn’t it?” needs to be followed with, “Yes, and I thank the Lord for making it.” Anything else would be like Lester’s “Hee-Haw!“
At testimony time at church, if I fail to stand and praise Him for prayer He’s answered, I’m belting out “Hee-Haw” instead.
When the opportunity to share the Gospel is given and I am too afraid to share it, my lips are uttering ol’ Lester’s ugly “Hee-Haw!” greetings instead of the Truth that will set that person free!
To miss the opportunity to pray my thanks for a meal, for God’s comfort, His presence, for answered prayer, or for provision is to selfishly call attention to myself rather than my great God. Hee-Haw!
“Hee-haw!” is what I’m really saying if I’m not singing with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and making melody in my heart during the song service at church.

We all have a voice, given by the Lord. Are you using yours to praise the Lord, or do the sounds that come from your lips resemble Lester? Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord!

With praise to Him,

home · Husband · joy · Refreshment in marriage · Speech

The Power of a Woman’s Words

July 25, 2017July 23, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

The theme for this week’s posts is a subject I’m studying every day this month – WORDS. They can be wise or foolish, helpful or destructive. Let’s start with speech towards our mate ~

For many years now, it has been my habit to read the chapter in Proverbs that corresponds to the date of the month. The Lord teaches me something every day from that practical book. Recently the Holy Spirit has shown me the power of a woman’s words.

In chapter seven, the Holy Spirit showed me that the Strange woman (the adulterous woman) uses her words to seduce a man. Listen to what this passage says about her speech:

She is loud – Verse 11
With an impudent face (she) said unto him,
I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. Vs 13-15
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lipsshe forced him. Verse 21

In chapter nine, we see again, the power of her words:

A foolish woman is clamorous: (vigorous in demand) she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, To call passengers who go right on their ways: Vs 13-15
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell. Verses 16-18

We see the negative affect a woman’s words can have on a man. Men desire to be admired, sought after, and respected. The woman that uses these kinds of phrases and words to a man that isn’t her husband is treading in dangerous waters. She’s capturing his heart, and she knows what she is doing.

However, a wise woman should read those verses and be reminded that each of us needs to be using our words to build up and admire the man that God gave to us as our husband. He needs to hear fair speech at home!

Honey, I’ve looked for you to return home all day today. I missed you while you were at work! You look tired, and I’ve prepared a favorite meal and have made sure this will be a restful evening for you.

Let’s take our cue from this woman and use right speech at home so our husband will be anxious to return each day.

What kind of speech did you use this morning? Do you need to make things right? Do so, then love him the rest of the day with your wise words!

Use your words to refresh your mate!

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Appetizer · hospitality · summertime

July 24, 2017July 22, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

My dream of being a gardener is happening slowly, but at the steady pace of a novice. I really have not much of an idea what I’m doing. My husband is becoming quite the green thumb, too, as he helps plant, water and harvest our little raised beds. We have three now, and I was so excited to receive my newest edition of Southern Living this weekend and find an article about raised bed gardening! I really want to expand each year. There’s just something so special about growing herbs, flowers and vegetables that you get the pleasure of using in your home and cooking!

One plant that was producing quite well last week was our Banana pepper plant. I like them pickled, but I wondered how I could use them fresh. Wellllll, I found a special appetizer that was A.Maz.Ing!

These sweet peppers got filled with a little cream cheese mixture that had sweet red pepper, red onion, Cheddar Cheese, diced cherry tomatoes and a little salt and pepper. I kept it mild. There are some recipes that call for hot peppers, but we aren’t crazy about those spicy varieties. So for our tastes, we kept it on the sweet and savory side, and it was wonderful! I forgot to mention that the pepper gets wrapped in a little blanket of bacon before it’s popped under the broiler for a few minutes! If you need a killer appetizer for a summer party, this is it! Here’s the recipe and a little tip as to how I put mine together.

Cheese-Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Banana Peppers

6 large banana peppers
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup diced tomatoes – I used cherry tomatoes for sweetness!
¼ cup diced red onion
½ small sweet red bell pepper, diced
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
3 thick cut bacon slices, cut in half – I found that 1/2 slice of bacon was plenty for each pepper,but if you want to go crazy with the bacon, use a slice for each pepper.

Directions:

Cut tops off banana peppers. Remove seeds.
Combine cheddar cheese, cream cheese, tomato, onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Fill a small plastic bag with the cheese mixture. Cut a hole, about 1/2 inch in one corner. Squeeze the cheese mixture into the peppers. (See picture below)
Wrap with bacon slice. Secure with a toothpick. Place on a rack with broiler pan. Broil for 4-5 minutes per side until golden and oozing.

If you have access to banana peppers, you need to try these appetizers. They’re so good you might want to make them the main course!

Who else is gardening this summer? What are you growing?

With love from my country kitchen,

Home decor · refreshment at home

Finishing Touches in My Home Decor

July 21, 2017July 20, 2017 RefreshHer4 Comments

One project usually always leads to another, and then another, but the end result is so great it’s really worth the effort and the hard work! After I finished the painting in my dining and living rooms, I wanted to make the color scheme more blue and white. I set out to change the mantle’s decor, as well as the coffee table and my bookcase.

Then I looked at my kitchen table and my desk chair and knew they needed white slipcovers. I looked at the fabric store, but didn’t find anything I like. However, I was ~~digging through~~ looking at the clearance items at TJ Maxx when I found one beautiful white curtain panel, marked to $8.

There was about three yards of fabric in the curtain, and I knew it would be the perfect fabric for my slipcovers!

Making a kitchen chair slipcover is super easy – you just hem the fabric, then sew up the three sides.

My desk chair was an easy fix, too.

I used a piece of newspaper to lay over the chair and draw out the pattern I would need for the seat and the back. Then I added a seam allowance. I used the curtain hook holes already in the curtain to fasten the seat back together

To make the seat cushion snug, I sewed a piece of elastic around the edge.

Some other changes in the living space will come in time. I need a couple new chairs, but I’ll wait until the time and the price is just right! I have purchased a new floor lamp from Kirkland’s but it’s being shipped to the store. I’ve been looking a long time, and when I found this one on-line, I knew it was what I had been waiting for – and it was on sale with an extra 15% off!

So there you have it, my friends. My downstairs make-over is nearly complete! Well, until I get the urge to rearrange the furniture…again!

Thanks for stopping in to take a look. I hope this has inspired you to refresh your home, even in some small way. I think you’ve seen through my efforts, that it doesn’t have to break the bank to give your home an updated look!

Refresh your home, but also refresh your heart by participating in a Bible believing church this weekend! I’ll see you Monday!

home · Home decor · refreshment at home · seasonal decor

Painting an Open Floor Plan

July 20, 2017July 19, 2017 RefreshHer8 Comments

When we moved into our house four years ago, I was so thankful the walls weren’t painted white. They’re a warm ecru. It stands out nicely and every room looks great against the backdrop of that color. I knew I’d want to wait a while before adding color, but this summer the day had arrived! Yesterday I showed you the first room I painted – the dining room. I painted all four walls, and really love it!

Yesterday I asked what room/wall you thought I painted next well…
In order to connect the dining room space to the living room, which is all open, I wanted to use color. After the dining room paint was on the wall, I got to thinking about a gallon of paint I’d seen at Lowe’s on their mis-tinted rack. It was marked to $9 and I was pretty sure it was a just a shade darker than what I’d put on these freshly painted walls and I felt sure it would look great on the fireplace wall of the living room.

I jumped in the car early the next morning and sure enough, that paint was the perfect shade to complement the color in the adjoining room. And $9?! What a great deal! I always, always check the sale rack of mis-tinted paint before I pay full price for a gallon! What someone else hated might be exactly what I need!

So, here’s what it looked like before it got painted:

Not bad, but…

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I like this even better!! I decided to only paint the fireplace wall. I didn’t want to overpower the room with blue. It was the perfect amount of color.

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Then aside from the paint, I also rearranged the room to open it up for summer. In the winter months I enjoy having the couch facing the fireplace, but as I mentioned in a post here, I like to face the windows in the warmer months. It also made the room look bigger. Here’s the before and after:

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I angled my desk in the corner, again, so I can look outside while I’m working there.

I’m trying to add more whites and weed out the red in these rooms. I’ve had red as an accent for many years, but it’s time for a change, which I’ll do gradually.

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The blue really freshened up the living room and made it feel calm and welcoming. I’m so happy with this color choice and the room arrangement.

And what did it cost? NINE DOLLARS! Woo Hoo!

Do you have a room you’re wanting to paint? Check out the discounted paints first and see if they have something that will work! Does anyone else love to rearrange the furniture?

Refresh your living space!

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