Find refreshment for your heart, home and life
A friend of mine shared her tip for chopping chicken in a flash. Ready?
You put the cooked meat in the mixer, turn it on, and in 30 seconds it’s all shredded.
I wouldn’t use this method if you want the meat chopped, like for chicken salad, but I did this for these Chicken Enchiladas and the consistency was perfect. It would work great for pork that was being used for sliders or sandwiches.
This is a real time saver! Thanks, Angie! What will you make with your shredded meat?
Stay refreshed!
When I first wrote the post about taking our last daughter off to college and us becoming Empty Nesters, it had just happened. I was right in the thick of it all at the time, climbing my way up the tree and flinging myself over the edge of the nest. I was weepy, happy, excited, sad, melancholy and apprehensive. Those emotions could come and go at a moment’s notice.
I’ll never forget going to church the first time after Alli was gone. I was alone in the pew. My husband was preaching and my girls were gone. It felt very empty…until the time of greeting one another. A little girl came over to me, one of my “little friends.” She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me so hard. The Lord knew I needed that, and it was at that moment that He spoke to my heart and answered the question that I’d been asking Him since we’d dropped Alli off at school,
“What Now, Lord?”
The answer He spoke to my heart was to minister to younger women and girls. I knew He wanted me to pour my life into others. So I began, I believe even that week. I asked the mom of that little girl if she could come over and bake cookies with me at my home. She did – several times. I also had other children over to bake, read, and just hang out with me. Then I began with women as well, getting together to have coffee and pray, mentoring younger women using good books as our guide. The Lord just opened up so many doors and opportunities. I think I’ve stayed busier during these years than I did when my girls were home!
God answered my prayers, giving me a way to invest my life for eternity, and I love it! So, now on the other side of the Empty Nest, I can look back and remember how I got here. Let me share some practical things for you to do so you can not only survive, but thrive when you are an Empty Nester.
We missed our girls, but we did indeed have so much fun when the Empty Nest happened that I believe Alli got a little offended! That’s not really a bad thing. Our lives need to be focused first on the Lord, next on our mate, THEN on our children.
To you young moms, keep your husband first right now, so when your children fly from the nest, you won’t be strangers with that man sitting across the table from you at dinner. It will happen sooner than you think! And when it does happen, you two will be so in love, there will be a twinkle in your eye just behind those tears! Don’t just survive, thrive!
From my empty, but contented nest,
Here’s a peek back at my week:
The unedited view I saw from my back porch…
I am blessed that all I do is step out my back door to see such beauty! I never tire of it!
My favorite picture of Liza from the week. I hope you can stand the cuteness!
Where I’ve been…
Carter on Main in Elizabethton, TN. Wow! It’s beautiful in there!
We had a lunch date with dear friends we don’t get to see often. This was a good place to visit,
since it was quiet and such a lovely setting.
The food was very good, too! I will definitely be returning!
What I’m loving…
The dear ladies standing with me here have become so very special to me during the weeks of our mentoring ministry. Apples of Gold is a greater blessing to me every single week! It’s the joy of my heart to have my house full of these mentors and the young women every Saturday! We are having a blast, learning much and having the best kind of fellowship! Only two more weeks remain, and I’m pretty sure we’re all sad at the thought!
What I’ve been baking…
In truth, this is only one item of many that I’ve baked in the past week, due to Apples of Gold
new neighbors, and company, but it’s one of the prettiest!
This is Southern Living’s Strawberry Sheet Cake. I made the layered version last year,
but decided to simplify it this time around for the Apples of Gold group.
It was yummy!
The cake above almost met with disaster! When I was making the icing during our cooking class, I opened the heavy cream that was purchased the night before (and had an expiration date of September), only to find MOLD on the top of the cream! Ahhhh! Thank the Lord, my husband was home and was able to run to the store and replace it with a fresh one! I had to finish the icing just before we ate lunch, but it all worked out fine. Whew! Cooking disasters do happen! I think it’s a good lesson when these things take place during our cooking class. My response to it is another lesson – Yikes! That’s a scary thought! But it is true! If all else had failed, I would have just topped the cake with Cool whip and strawberries. We HAD to have that cake for dessert! But it did all work out, and was a good lesson and memory for us all!
There’s my week! What have you been up to? Anyone else have a near cooking disaster story? I’d love to hear!
With love from my country porch,
The month of August brings the resuming of college classes. Anyone sending one of your children off to their first year of college? I remember facing that heart-wrenching time when both of our girls left home to further their education. It was tough, but the Lord ministered to my heart so wonderfully, and I blogged about it when it happened with Alli. I recently found that post, and wondered if it would be helpful to share again. Here it is:
This weekend found us moving our daughter to college. Whew! Thank the Lord for a mini van!
As she sat in the floor of her room packing the last of her belongings the night before leaving, she got a bit emotional about the transition that was in front of her. I understood – my emotions have been in my throat for a week. I’m so happy for her, yet it’s just unbelievable that this time has come so quickly. I’ve gone back and forth – happy, then melancholy; excited, then fearful.
God knows what we need before we do. Yesterday morning in the church service we attended, a song was sung by the choir with the pastor singing the verses as a solo. The song? Consider the Lilies. I love the song; our family has sung it in church with one daughter at the piano, the other on her violin accompanying my husband and me. Remembering us singing it recently made it special. But the words were a sweet reminder that I can trust my God for the care of my younger daughter at college. She’s young, she’s new at college life, but He is aware of where she is and what she needs and I can trust Him – especially when I consider the lilies… Matthew 6:27-29
God also gave me a wise husband who planned for us to get away to the beach after taking our daughter to college. He suggested that we take some vacation time, before going back home. How smart that was! We prayed and the Lord has provided a lovely condo at an extremely reasonable rate. Here’s the view out our patio window…
As I had my devotions recently I read Ecclesiastes 3:1 –
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Immediately the Lord brought to my mind that there is also a purpose for every time. How I long to use this season of my life to honor the Lord. It would be very easy to live for myself now that I have more free time, but I want it to count for eternity. I’m asking the Lord for the purpose of this season, and I pray that this week while we’re away He’ll show me a bit of what that may be.
How wonderful it is to relax after a very busy summer. So for now I’ll rest…and consider the lilies.
Consider The Lilies
Written by: Joel Hemphill
Verse I
Consider the lilies they don’t toil nor spin
And there’s not a king with more splendor than them
Consider the sparrow they don’t plant or sow
But they’re fed by the Master who watches them grow
Chorus
We have a Heavenly Father above
With eyes full of mercy
And a heart full of love
He really cares when
Your head is bowed low
Consider the lilies and then you will know
Verse II
Now may I introduce you to this friend of mine
Who hangs out the stars and tells the sun when to shine
And kisses the flowers each morning with dew
But He’s not too busy to care about you
I pray that if you’re sending a child off to school, or one of your children has left to get married, or whatever the case may be, you’ll be encouraged that God is aware and He cares for them – and for you! If you need proof, just consider the lilies.
with love,
Is it just me or do you get really, really tired of same side dishes for supper?
Beans, corn and potatoes.
Good in their own rights, but boring after a while. I even serve sweet potatoes, but even a plain ol’ baked sweet potato can get tiring.
Soooo, how about a Hassleback Sweet Potato covered with a Molasses/Butter? Yes, please!
I saw Bobby Flay make these on the Food Network a few weeks ago and knew then I had to make them! I made one potato and split it for my husband and me, therefore I also had to tweak the recipe, but it was fabulous!
I served the Sweet potatoes with grilled steak and fresh asparagus. I’ve shared my favorite steak marinade here. It was a perfect pair with the sweet potatoes!
Grilled Hassleback Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
Kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 heaping tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil, for brushing
Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water, add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, bring to a boil and cook until a paring knife inserted into the center of the potatoes meets with some resistance. (Do not cook through.) Drain and let cool slightly.
Mix together the butter, molasses, cilantro, orange zest and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use
Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium high for indirect grilling.
Cut off a thin slice of each potato lengthwise to create an even base for the potato to rest on. Slice off the ends of each potato. Rest each potato between two chopsticks or wooden spoons placed lengthwise along the potato (to act as a stop for the knife) and carefully cut vertical slits about every 1/8 inch.
Here’s my picture of how I did this. The spoons work better than the chopsticks. It keeps you from cutting down too far.
Brush the potatoes with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the potatoes on the cooler side of the grill, cover and cook until lightly golden and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
Place the potatoes on a platter and immediately smear the tops with the butter mixture, making sure it melts into the cuts.
Here’s the finished meal:
I ask you, does that look boring?! I hope you’ll turn up the volume on supper and try this side dish!
With love from my country kitchen,
RefreshHer 