A simple thought for your day:
Lovingly,
Author: RefreshHer
A Telling Beauty Mark
I confess, I enjoy watching make-up application videos. It’s really enlightening (no pun intended!), and it’s also transforming in incredible ways! The “before” and “after” pictures are pretty amazing! The ladies doing the videos show how to apply, how to smudge, and how to make the most of every beauty mark on your face! Their instructions tell you how to look your best.
But as I was reading the book of John recently, I came to this verse and I thought this is the best description of a “beauty mark.” It says,
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.
This is the Lord’s instructions to us as to how to be the most attractive Christian. It’s wrapped up in one word in verb form – LOVE.
When you’ve been hurt – LOVE.
When you feel neglected – LOVE.
When you’re misunderstood – LOVE.
When you are mistreated – LOVE.
When you don’t know what else to do – LOVE.
Christ’s love, shown in His strength gives glory to Him, because we can’t love like that in our own flesh. Think about all the places we could apply this beauty:
- At home
- At work
- In the grocery store
- In traffic!
- In political situations
- On Social media
It might be easier to get up and head out the door without applying makeup, but it’s not very pretty, is it? On a higher plane, we need to stop and take time to apply Christ’s love to every situation so that we represent our Savior well.
Get in the Word – Learn of His love
Pray – Ask for His love
Go – Look for ways to demonstrate His love!
Will you wear the beauty of His love today? Who needs to see it most?
Lovingly,
(L)Oven Monday – Successful Sunday Dinner Finale
Today is the last post for Successful Sunday dinner. I will continue to share my recipes and what I served at my house, but as far as the 1,2,3’s, we’re going to wrap it up and get you ready to dive into that great Sunday meal for your family!
Remember that if it’s your desire to make Sunday dinner special at your house, it’s going to take some intentional effort and planning. Here were the three crucial steps before getting the meal going:
-
Ponder the needs –
-
Plan the menu
-
Prepare ahead
- Ponder the needs -Consider any allergies or health concerns, like diabetes.
- Plan the menu around those needs, your time and budget. Typically if I’m making a main dish or a bread that requires lots of time, I’ll make another part of the meal easier to prepare.
- Prepare ahead by doing everything you can on Saturday (or before). It will lessen your stress level!
- Set the table
- Chop all veggies
- Marinate meat
- Prepare the salad
- Prepare the dessert
- Get the side dishes started
Let me give you a little rundown on how my week may look when I’m hosting a typical Sunday dinner…
Early in the week –
- Make the menu for the week – For example:
- Sunday dinner –
- Baked Chicken and Gravy
- Mashed Potatoes (cooked in the crock pot)
- Roasted Asparagus
- Homemade crescent rolls
- Greens and Apple Salad
- Ice cream with fresh strawberries
- Sunday dinner –
- Write down grocery items needed
- Go grocery shopping
Wednesday –
- Make Rolls and freeze
- Check to see if tablecloth or napkins need ironing
Saturday –
- Prep chicken dish and go ahead and bake it. All it needs on Sunday is to be warmed up. I wouldn’t leave this dish in the oven during church – it would dry out.
- Peel potatoes and place in water overnight
- Cut up apples for salad and place in lemon juice/water mixture overnight
- Make Vinaigrette for salad
- Wash and slice strawberries
- Make tea
- Set table
- Set out serving dishes
Sunday – Before church
- Mix salad ingredients, except dressing
- Put potatoes in crock pot, turn on high
- Set rolls out to rise
Sunday – After church
- Set out a light snack for guests, if needed
- Warm chicken either in a large pan on the stove or in the microwave on a med setting.
- Prep asparagus for roasting
- Mash potatoes and keep warm
- Bake rolls – Keep warm
- Roast asparagus
- Put into serving dishes
Enjoy the meal!!!
Serve dessert and then pray someone volunteers to help with the dishes!
I hope this series has helped you to see that you CAN make Sunday dinner something special and memorable. Start out small and work your way into more complicated menus. Do what you feel comfortable with and keep trying to improve your game plan.
Remember that the most important ingredient of any meal is THE PEOPLE! Don’t make it about you and your inadequacies. Make them feel welcome and important and they will love their time around your Sunday dinner table!
Is there an unanswered question that you have? I’d be happy to address it! Leave me a comment here and I promise to answer you!
Let’s eat!
Family Friday – The Price of Sparing the Rod
When you bring a sweet little baby into your home, your last thoughts are about the time when you’ll need to correct them. I mean, they’re so adorable and innocent when they’re little! But those discipline days come sooner than you imagined, and you find yourself either taking up the rod and lovingly obeying Scripture, or you talk, reason, bribe and threaten until you’re sure someone will die in the process!
I can vividly remember one day with one of my daughters in which I learned a lesson the long, hard way. She had been a “stinker” all day. I had warned her and tried to use my words to correct her behavior (using words as rods is just cruel!). Late in the day I realized that I failed to obey God’s directives to take up the “rod,” and discipline her in love. I pulled her to my lap and told her that what she was doing was sin, and that because she’d continued to disobey after my warning, I was going to have to give her a spanking because I loved her and didn’t want her to continue in her sin. She bent over my lap and I administered the two or three swats with my little paddle. She cried. I cried. I held her in my arms and we prayed that the Lord would help her obey.
Tears were wiped away and she merrily skipped on her way to continue her play. She was so HAPPY! Her attitude was completely transformed, as was our day! It was as though she had been waiting for me to deal with her biblically to prove the amount of love I had for her.
A parent who loves their child will discipline them as God disciplines us. Over and out. I had selfishly kept back from the training she needed. But now, here she was, singing, playing, and happy after the loving rebuke. She knew I loved her, and I had learned the lesson to give the correction when it was needed so we could both enjoy the child/parent relationship as God intended!
Do you find yourself frustrated as the parent of a young child? Have you obeyed God’s Word and lovingly administered discipline? It’s God’s way, and if used lovingly and consistently, will produce the results of leading a child to recognize their sin, and their need to repent – both to God and their parents. Stop the frustration, and obey so your child can do the same!
Don’t lose heart; train your children with love and your relationship will be refreshed in unbelievable ways!
I read this article this week that was excellent. I pray it will encourage you as a parent!
Lovingly,
That’s What Friends Are For!
The beautiful scene above was the setting for the “Ladies’ Day” I was privileged to speak at last weekend in the UP. The church has a very adequate and comfy mission house where we lodged. The only thing between me and the church was this snowy parking lot.
I had the blessing of having a dear friend travel with me. She graciously volunteered to accompany me on this adventure. When I questioned if she was sure she wanted to make that sacrifice, she said, “What are friends for?!”
What a joy to have someone literally “at my elbow” all weekend! We navigated the airports, meal decisions, hilarious situations in the airports, bumps in the presentation of my lessons, AND this parking lot, side by side. She’s a decade+ younger than me, so she would link her arm in mine as we maneuvered across the parking lot, turned ice rink. As we walked I would hear,
Watch that patch of ice!
Look out for that rock – it’s pure ice!
Careful here!
Don’t slip right there!
Together we made it to the safety of the church building where we continued to serve together. Not many would have known she was serving – she did it from hidden places – the quiet of her room at the mission house when she prayed and also wrote me an encouraging card, in the mission kitchen when she fastidiously watched an egg boiling so it would be the “perfect” soft-boiled egg. Then she served from way up high in their sound room as she flipped my Power Point presentation for me, all the while missing out on the action in the sanctuary.
Again she served as she snapped pictures of me talking to the ladies afterwards so I could remember them as I wrote their names in my prayer journal upon returning home. She was always on the lookout for how she might serve, and she did it in a way that God was glorified and those around her were blessed.
She won’t like it that I’m recognizing her in this post, but I must because she is the essence of what a real friend does. It’s far deeper than getting powerpoint slides on a screen – it involves coming alongside, looking for ways to serve and encourage. Sometimes I think she has a secret camera in my world because her timing is uncanny! That comes from a person walking under the Spirit’s control and allowing Him to prompt her, because “that’s what friends are for.”
I learned so much about friendship this weekend as I considered her.
- Folks all around me need a “hand on their elbow,” if you will. They need to know that someone sees their need and cares enough to reach out to them.
- They need my close communion with God so that I will be directed to when and how I might serve them.
- It’s risky business being a friend- she could have gone down with me, had I fallen, but she didn’t mind. I doubt she ever gave it a thought. She was more concerned with what I needed next, because “that’s what friends are for!”
My take–away’s about friendship:
- Look for needs – what could I give?
- Look for weaknesses – how should I pray?
- Look for gaps – how might I serve?
- Look for disappointment – how could I bless?
I’m not the only one blessed with this dear friend; she has more friends than springtime has daffodils, and it’s no wonder! Today I honor her and the many other friends the Lord has poured so richly into my life. Some are close, some are far away. Some I don’t talk to very often, but we could pick up the phone today and pick up where we left off. Thank you for the blessing of your frirendship!
Let’s don’t isolate ourselves; we need each other. Let’s link arms and navigate life together – That’s what friends are for!
Lovingly,
