Simplifying Cooking

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Here we are at the beginning of Thanksgiving week! Woo Hoo! I love it! If you’re hosting company this year, before you get into a panic, let me encourage you to take a look over your kitchen today and make sure that you’re doing this one simple thing that will ease the work of putting any meal together. Here it is…

Create “stations” in your kitchen.

Let me explain. Take into account what you do regularly in your kitchen. Do you bake? Are there coffee or hot tea drinkers at your house? Does your family toast waffles or bagels for breakfast each day? Each of those activities needs a station for that task. Let me show you a couple examples.

Here’s a peek at my coffee station:

My baking station is in one area where the cookbooks are, as well as the utensils needed for baking.

In this are are all my measuring cups, biscuit cutters, pastry blender, rolling pin, mixers (hand mixer and Kitchen Aid), ruler for measuring dough length, measuring spoons, whisks, and salt. In the cabinet above are all my spices, herbs and baking soda and powder. My canisters are on the counter on the other side of my stove – about two steps away.

For your toaster station you’d have the toaster in the cabinet where an outlet is accessible. Add a small cutting board to slice the bagels or butter the toast. Knives for cutting or buttering should be within reach as well.

Even when you’re doing a special task like making mashed potatoes, do it in an area where you can gather everything together so you won’t have to be going back and forth.

Make sure your trash can is in an area close to your work space, or even keep a garbage bowl on your counter so you don’t have to walk over to the trash can every time you have to dispose of an empty can or egg shells.

Eliminate you steps and create work stations and I bet you’ll enjoy working in your kitchen a whole lot more!

What kind of stations have you created, or what ones will you set up?

With love from my country kitchen,

Home decor · Uncategorized

Adding Fragrance and Light To Your Home

November 20, 2015November 19, 2015 RefreshHer8 Comments

When anyone walks into our homes, their senses give them a quick survey of the atmosphere. If it’s dark, gloomy, and smells of moth balls they may turn and run! However, if there’s a warm glow with light, and it smells fragrant and fresh, they’ll feel welcome.

I told you earlier this week about my sweet friend who keeps me supplied in the latest Yankee Candle products – well, this week she brought me a tart warmer. I love it, because its ceramic base is pretty, but it doesn’t jump out at you. There’s a little toggle plug on it that lights up (see below) to remind you it’s on, and the tart melts inside a plastic container, so you don’t have to mess with the melted wax in order to get it out.

The scent that is burning in mine is a pumpkin something-or-other, and it smells heavenly! No flames, or dangers that way. I have it sitting on my desk and it fills the house with its fragrance. I highly recommend these!

Here’s what it looks like with the melted wax.

The tart melts into a plastic cup; no scraping the wax out!

I have told you all before that I have to have lots of light in my home. Curtains are opened first thing in the morning, as well as the front door so the sunshine can spill inside!

Now that it gets dark so early in the evening, I have lots of little lights burning all over the house. I had one dark spot that was a problem, and that was my foyer. There’s no outlet there, so I can’t plug in a lamp. I have burned candles on my foyer table when I have guests, but I don’t want to burn one all the time. I needed some kind of light. THEN IT HIT ME! LED lights that are on sale for Christmas will be perfect!

These candles are really bright. They are what I have in the front windows of my house. I burn them all year long to light our house up on our country road. Whatever time you put the batteries in is when they’ll turn on each day and will burn for many hours – perfect for daylight savings time! I love how it brightened up the foyer.

If you need a light in a place where there’s no outlet, grab an LED candle now while the Christmas decor is out. It seems they sell out quickly, so grab them while you can! I got mine for $4 at Big Lots.

I’m a fanatic about light and smell in my home. What’s important to you about your home?

With love,

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Encouragement · Prayer · Uncategorized

Divine Help Is On The Way

November 19, 2015November 19, 2015 RefreshHer2 Comments

I just finished reading a captivating book called, Relinquishing my Dreams, by Sue Burrows and Tricia Bradley. The subtitle is “How to Survive a Prodigal.” This is the true story of one family that dealt with their daughter’s rebellion beginning when she was fourteen years of age. The book also includes survival tips in each chapter, biblical characters to study, and then it ends with a Bible study of twenty-six different Bible characters that will help one to have hope and know how to deal with their prodigal. It’s excellent.

It’s not surprising that one of the characters that the authors study is David. David had a prodigal son named Absalom. Though I haven’t done the study in my new book yet, I did just recently read Psalm 55 where David addresses the hurt and pain he’s experiencing because of a betrayal. This came in the form of an old counsellor of David’s –Ahithophel. Now this man is giving Absalom counsel – against his father. Wow! A double whammy!

David reflects on his relationship with Ahithophel in the early years. In Psalm 55:12-14 he says, for it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it; neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God incompany. David is referencing Ahithophel’s betrayal in II Samuel 17 where Ahithophel says to Absalom: Let me choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night: and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid; and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only.

It wouldn’t be half as bad if we would read that Absalom cries out, “No! How could I do such a thing as to betray my own father, the king?” But sadly it reads instead, And the saying pleased Absalom well…

Is there any burden so great as the rebellion of your own child? How did David deal with this pain? We read in Psalm 55:16, 17

As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

David found comfort in prayer. He reminded himself that God would hear him. Note that he doesn’t just whisper a prayer, he’s crying out!! He’s desperate for God’s help and intervention.

None of us like the thought of going through something as hard as what David is experiencing here, but it will be good for us if it does what it did to David – it drove him to his knees. It’s as though that burden is bearing down on us until we are bowed down. It’s that place where we realize that the greatest resource we have is prayer.

Whatever your burden is today, whether you’re dealing with a prodigal, financial struggles, health issues, relationship problems or your own flesh, let it drive you morning, noon and night to cry out in desperate prayer.

David’s God is your God. Divine help is on the way!

Uncategorized

The Fragrance of Friendship

November 18, 2015December 27, 2015 RefreshHer1 Comment

I have the sweetest neighbor who has become so precious to me. Our relationship really started to get strong about a year and half ago when I asked her if she’d like to do a four-lesson Bible study with me. We went through these lessons and brought our conversation to the “theme of themes;” the Gospel. She received Christ as her personal Savior on the day we finished lesson three. Oh, the happy tears we both shed on that day!

Since then, there’s been a special connection between us. We’re not just neighbors, we’re sisters in Christ. We share the understanding of being forgiven by God. We have a relationship with Christ and a purpose for each day on this earth.

She also allows me the privilege of hosting a Bible club with her children once a week, and that has been a wonderful journey! She and I are currently going through another Bible study. We’re talking about what the Bible says about being a godly woman. To watch the Word change her thinking and guide her as a young wife and mom, is precious.

She happens to work for Yankee Candles, so I have been the fortunate recipient of some great candles, as well as other great products they sell. While my home is always filled with the wonderful fragrances of Yankee candles now, there’s no sweeter “smell” than the fragrance of special friends that the Lord brings across our paths. But friendships take time and effort, if they’re going to have a sweet aroma.

But you know what? It’s often so easy for me to be selfish and self-serving, rather than giving of my time, my home and my life. Honestly, some days I sigh and wish the whole day were mine, instead of planning for a craft activity to teach about thankfulness, or reviewing about submission so I can explain it better. Sad, aren’t I? But I realize that it’s my flesh and the enemy of my soul opposing me, and I cry out to my Dearest Friend, and He equips and gives me strength and the desire to serve my friend. Phil 2:13

Sometimes friends need prayer, a meal, a card, a hug – something that requires I think of them and not myself. That’s when the sweet smell comes wafting through. I smell it so often from my friends – they’re so thoughtful, giving and caring! I, on the other hand can keep from striking the match and lighting that candle of friendship, if I’m not watchful.

Friendships take effort, prayer and thought, but they’re so worth it! Out of those relationships comes a fragrance that blesses our friend’s lives and splashes over on us as well! Ah, what a sweet smell!

Are you faithfully pursing friendships with other women? Someone needs you! Who will you reach out to?

Thankful for the friendship of each of you,

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Uncategorized

Public Prayers and Private Responses

November 17, 2015November 17, 2015 RefreshHer5 Comments

I was recently in the back of the church auditorium, coming in a moment after the service had started. Prayer was being offered as I approached the door. I stopped in respect and waited for the proper time to enter the sanctuary. I won’t judge the hearts of those that I was observing as I waited, but it made me wonder how most of us respond to prayer in a church service. May I ask you what I asked myself as I found my way to my seat?

What is public prayer to you?

Is it…

A precious time to petition God for the needs on your heart?
A time to check your lipstick in your purse mirror?
A moment to get your heart in tune with the Lord and pray for the hearts of those on your pew as well?
Another “ritual” in a church service?
A sweet blessing to thank and praise the Lord?
A chance to poke your neighbor and point at the funny situation in the pew in front of you?
A time to ask God to fill the pastor with His Spirit, and to save souls in the service today?

As I sat down in my seat following that prayer, I was asking myself the hard question,

“What do I do while prayer is being offered in a public setting?”

I had to admit that too often, I allow my mind to wander, thinking about things totally unrelated to what the pray-er is saying to God.

As a teacher of young children for many years, I’ve learned to keep my prayers in their presence very short, AND I also pray with my eyes half opened. Kids do all kinds of things while adults are pouring their hearts out to the Lord! We expect that because they’re children! But when those little ones are in our presence in a service, are we setting a godly example before them? How should we be responding while someone is leading in prayer? Let me give a few suggestions, according to Scripture:

Pray in one accord. Acts 1:14, I Peter 3:8– This means to pray with one mind, one heart. We do that by thinking about the words being prayed. “Yes, Lord, we are asking for souls to be saved today.” “Yes, Thank you, Father, for Your Word that is to be preached today; use it in a powerful way!” You get the idea. Pray with them, uniting your heart with theirs. That can’t happen when we’re fiddling with our coats, laughing with our neighbor, or thinking about what we’re having for lunch in an hour. We need to have one heart, one mind.
Pray with rejoicing. I Thess. 5:16, 17 – We get to pray for others. We are privileged to lift up other’s needs. With a grateful heart we should praise in thanksgiving and bow our heads to pray about needs and burdens. Rejoicing doesn’t happen if you don’t know what is being said to the Lord.
Pray to glorify God. I Cor. 10:31 – Prayer is a part of our worship, and just as we sing for His glory, we must also participate in prayer in such a way that will bring Him glory. Perhaps it would be good for us to ask ourselves, “Is what I’m doing right now during prayer bringing God glory?”
Pray, realizing how desperate you are for God. Psalm 63:1 We cannot do anything without Him. Oh, how foolish I am to think that I can be flippant and unattached during prayer. If we realize how much we need Him, we’ll take this time seriously.

We don’t want to pray as the hypocrite, and put on an air that isn’t real, but we must ask the Lord to help us to pray with the heart of one who loves and desires to be heard of Him. Can I challenge you as I’ve asked the Lord to do for me, to stay engaged during prayer times, to pray with one heart, with rejoicing, to glorify God because we’re desperate for Him?

“What a privilege to carry every thing to God in prayer!”

With love,