time

How List-Making Can Be a Game Changer

July 21, 2016July 21, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

Let me start today’s post with three questions:

Do you ever feel frustrated that you’re not accomplishing the tasks you need to do each day/week?
Do you feel like you don’t have enough time to get everything done?
Do you make a list of your tasks and needs?

If the answer to the first two questions is “Yes,” and the answer to the last one is, “No,” I want to give you some encouragement that will be a true Game-Changer! What is a game changer? It’s a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way. Making a list of tasks, things you need to remember – dates, items at the store, special events, etc. will keep you organized and help you to accomplish more than you ever thought possible; it will “change your life in a significant way!”

I’ve always been the type who has made lists. Even as a child, I would write down what I needed to pack in my suitcase, or what was to be completed before a party or upcoming event. However, there have been many days as an adult that I set my lists aside and just figured I had in my head what I needed to do. It was on those days that I floundered. I’d start one task and find another one that needed my attention. I’d waste time doing things that should have been the last item on my list. I’d forget to take a borrowed book back to my friend at church, or I’d forget to purchase a birthday card for a family member. Then I’d realize my problem – I had no real direction for my day. Here’s what works best in my world; maybe it will help you, too.

Start the day out by getting up with the alarm.
Make time in God’s Word my priority. Read Scripture and pray, asking God to direct my steps.
Check my list that I made the night before of what needed to be done today. It’s written in order of priority.
Start with number one and don’t move on to #2 until the first task is completed.
Continue through the list until everything is finished.
Then I can add on Facebook or Instagram time, hobbies, books, etc.
Keep a list of extra tasks to be done by the end of the week. As I have time, I may be able to work ahead on one of those tasks.
Check the list before leaving home – or I might even take the list with me! See if there’s something I need to take as I head out the door.

Another list that is important is a menu for the week. That way I can write on my daily tasks to take the chicken out of the freezer, or marinate the steak first thing in the morning. If supper is started early in the day, it’s another great boost of accomplishment!

Even if you’ve never been a list-maker, I encourage you to give it a try. You could start with any kind of pad of paper – it doesn’t have to be a fancy planner. Make a list and keep working until every job is crossed off. There’s a great feeling of accomplishment to see a check mark by six or eight items and it’s not even supper time yet!

We’re instructed to number our days and apply our hearts to wisdom (Ps. 90:12). I think numbering the tasks that need to be done each day is a wise way to do just that!

Do you keep a list? If not, will you start and let me know how it goes?

Dealing with the Storm

July 20, 2016July 19, 2016 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Yesterday the Jeep had just been pulled inside the garage and the groceries delivered to the kitchen when I looked out the kitchen window and saw a storm brewing. The angry clouds were followed by huge pieces of hail bouncing onto the roof, windows and sidewalk, making me feel like I was inside a popcorn machine with hot kernels. Then as quickly as it came, the storm was gone, leaving soggy grass and misplaced mulch as a reminder that it had indeed come.

As I looked out the window at the now blue skies, I thought of how often my emotions can do the very same thing. In an instant, I can go from “sunny skies” to torrential rains! Sometimes it’s an accumulation of dark clouds that descend and eventually bring the emotions, the tears, the discouragement to my heart.

I obviously have no control over the weather, but there are things I can do to calm the storms that touch down in my heart! During the thunderstorm, I did what I could to be safe – I stayed inside, I closed the door, I kept on the alert. There are things we can do during an emotional storm as well and I’ve made a list to review when I see the dark clouds gathering around my heart. I hope this will encourage you, too!

Dealing with Emotional Storms

Spend longer periods of time in God’s Word (especially the Psalms).
Look up Scripture about my particular issue and journal my findings.
Talk to the Lord about my burden more than I talk with others about it.
Get to church services to hear how God will encourage me through the Word of God being preached.
Don’t isolate myself – Spend time with people who will encourage me.
Reach out to someone who I know will give me biblical counsel.
Ask people to pray for me.
Listen to uplifting music that will turn my thoughts to Christ.
If I’m able, get out of the house and go do something rather than sit and dwell on my storm.
Turn off television – especially shows that are on the negative side – reality shows, crime reports, etc. Not that you can’t be informed about current events, but don’t watch it if it discourages you!
Work on memorizing Scripture concerning my storm.

If you have dark clouds gathering around you, protect yourself from real, destructive damage by taking action. Just behind the clouds, the Lord wants to warm your heart with His sunshine and encouragement.

Refresh your heart in your storm!

What do you do when your heart is discouraged?

Parenting

Momma’s, Beware!

July 19, 2016July 19, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

Last weekend I was with a friend who is a mom to three boys. They were all attending a birthday party together and the boys were having a great time enjoying the carnival-themed games and food of the party. There were corn dogs, popcorn, cake pops, nachos and cheese, and of course, birthday cake and ice cream.

The sons were enjoying all their carb-laden treats while their mom, who was going to be running in a race that evening was eating very lightly because she and knew better than to indulge in heavy foods before a race. She pulled out her banana that would serve as her lunch, when one of the boys saw her peeling the fruit and asked,

“Can I have part of your banana, Mom?”

Knowing it was all she was going to eat, the rest of us watching sympathized with her and wouldn’t have blamed her if she had denied him, but she rose with a sweet spirit , went to the kitchen and got a knife and sliced off part for her son.

What makes a mom sacrifice in big and little ways for her children? It’s her mother’s heart. When you become a mother your heart changes; it becomes mush! You love your child unlike you ever knew possible. God makes our soft heart, enabling us to give and give. Our protective heart fixes problems by finding solutions, and our giving heart suddenly likes the burned toast, the chicken wing, and the most uncomfortable seat in the living room.

We make sacrifices that other people may not understand. A career is set aside to raise the child. Monetary advances are unimportant. Self-time is on the back burner. Personal desires are squelched while the children are home.

But there is a danger with our heart – after years of that kind of motherly love, it’s oftentimes hard not to keep responding in the same ways when they grow up. Though they are adults, when we see them struggling, we have the desire to jump in and provide for them, fix a problem they’re facing, or try to divert a trial in their life.

I have had that desire recently while seeing needs in my girls’ lives. But before following through on my motherly instinct, the Lord stopped me, reminding me that it’s no longer my place to provide, protect or fix their problems. How thankful I was to learn later of how they turned to the Lord in their time of need. This hard time made them desperate for God’s comfort – the Real comfort that could help, provide and fix their problem. Had I stepped in, they would never have seen what God would do for them. It was a reminder that I needed!

When they come to visit, I’ll still give them the last piece of pie or my seat on the porch swing, but I’ll not be too quick to jump in to rescue them from the hard times that our wise God has sent to refine them. God is more than enough – it’s a lesson we both need to learn.

Banana anyone?

When is it the hardest for you to not rescue your adult children?

baking · Bread

Perfecting the Biscuit

July 18, 2016July 16, 2016 RefreshHer6 Comments

biscuit 2

I’m a southerner. I’m a biscuit lover and I’m a baker. Put those three things together and it means that over the years, I have tried to perfect both my recipe and results of homemade biscuits. Where else would I turn but to Southern Living? They are the cream of the crop, or in this case the best of the biscuits!

I recently gave SL’s Best Buttermilk Biscuits a couple of runs and they turned out really good! They have those buttery layers that are typified in a perfect biscuit. They were simple to do and only required three ingredients – Self-rising flour, Buttermilk and Butter. No worries if you don’t have self-rising flour – just add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt for each cup of flour.

The secret to the flaky layers is the folding of the dough. Follow the instructions to fold and turn, fold and turn and you’ll get perfect results! Here’s the recipe:

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), frozen

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup chilled buttermilk

PARCHMENT PAPER

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475°. Grate frozen butter using large holes of a box grater. Toss together grated butter and flour in a medium bowl. Chill 10 minutes.

2. Make a well in center of mixture. Add buttermilk, and stir 15 times. Dough will be sticky.

3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly sprinkle flour over top of dough. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Fold dough in half so short ends meet. Repeat rolling and folding process 4 more times.

4. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch floured round cutter, reshaping scraps and flouring as needed.

5. Place dough rounds on a parchment paper-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 475° for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter.

buttermilk biscuits

Add a biscuit to a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh fruit, topped with yogurt and granola and you have a hearty start to your day!

breakfast

Have you mastered biscuit making? I hope you’ll try this recipe and method if you’re still trying to find the perfect recipe! It lives up to Southern Living’s reputation!

With love from my country kitchen,

Uncategorized

A Look Through My Lens

July 15, 2016July 14, 2016 RefreshHer8 Comments

I’m only including a collage today, because I’ve uploaded a short video with a question I hope you’ll answer!

These pictures were taken on my three-mile walk yesterday morning. This beautiful view is what gets me out the door to exercise each morning. I can see in my mind the beauty of the country roads, the fields, the sun rise, the cows and the sky. I can’t wait to hit the road and talk to the Lord as I walk. Just look through my lens:

Now here’s my question:

Thanks again for your comments!