What’s Cookin’ in the Country in Strawberry season?

April 20, 2015April 19, 2015 RefreshHer4 Comments

This past weekend my husband was on a country drive in South Carolina and spotted fresh, local strawberries for sale at a roadside stand! They are so sweet and good! I had a some with my yogurt Sunday morning. I had some on a scoop of ice cream Sunday night. I flash froze some for muffins, and I have a dish of some sliced and ready for other treats.

One of those treats is my favorite recipe for shortcakes from Cooking Light. I’ve shared these in the past, but it’s been a while and these are on my mind, so I wanted to share it again.

I love a sweet biscuit-like shortcake, rather than the store-bought sponge cakes. These are so much better than the ones in the store!

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups halved strawberries, divided

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup orange juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

Preparation

Combine 1 cup strawberry halves, 1/3 cup sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberry halves. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares. Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

I just thought you’d want a heads-up for a great shortcake recipe before your first batch of local berries is purchased! These would be great for Mother’s Day lunch!

Are local berries in where you live? What will you make with them?

With love from my country kitchen,

Freshen Up Friday – Love Notes

April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Keeping any relationship fresh requires thought, effort and communication. Writing a note to let your spouse or a child know you love them is a great way to deepen the bond you share. It says more than what’s on that paper, doesn’t it? It says, “I cared enough to stop in my busy day and let you know I am thinking about you!”

When was the last time you left a note for someone you love? I am grateful when I find something that helps me be thoughtful. I found these at Hobby Lobby in the card and stationery department…

These are pads with love notes printed on them. The back of each card is blank so you can add more to what is already there, if you want. It makes it easy to pull an appropriate one off and leave it in a place where your husband, child, grandchild or even a Sunday school student or neighborhood child will find it.You could mail it to someone outside your home or leave it for a family member to find. Some places to leave them would be..

Next to their toothbrush
In a dresser drawer
At their dinner plate
In their lunch box
On the steering wheel or taped to the rear view mirror
At the computer
In a shirt pocket
In a suitcase
In their Bible

Freshen and brighten up someone’s day by leaving a love note like this one, or one you’ve created.

Heaviness in the heart of man makes it stoop, but a good word makes it glad! Proverbs 12:25

The best Word you can hear and share is God’s Word! Be in a Bible-preaching church Sunday!

Stay refreshed,

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With Words of Praise!

April 16, 2015April 15, 2015 RefreshHer2 Comments

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! 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,

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A Peek From My Porch – God’s Gift of the Church

April 15, 2015April 15, 2015 RefreshHer2 Comments

How thankful I am for the Lord’s gift to us of the local church. I’m not referring to a building, but the group of believers that gather there. These Christians come together all day on Sunday and again on Wednesday to worship, praise, study, pray, fellowship, encourage and serve. God knew we would need the church. It’s not merely another bullet on our “to-do” list, or the obligatory task we fulfill. The Church is alive because We are the church!I

I recently heard a young college-age man say,

“I’ve realized recently how much I need other believers.’

If we all don’t come to that conclusion, we are missing out on so much! Let me illustrate:

Last Sunday was Friend Day at my church. It was such a sweet time! People were buzzing in the auditorium before the service like happy shoppers in the candy aisle the day after Easter! Our church is such a warm, Spirit-filled group of people and it was evidenced as I witnessed new friends being greeted and welcomed, coffee being poured and offered, and smiles shared. That’s what the church does!

Then the service time began. I was so blessed to witness a touching scene when my husband asked our men to come and gather in the choir. The man on the left (Fain) in the picture below is seated in a wheelchair.

As the rest of the men went up and gathered in the choir loft, these three joined Fain on the floor and stayed with him and shared his “platform of uniqueness.” Rather than going up where they would be less visible, in love, they seated themselves beside Fain so that they might encourage and share in his burden. How kind is that?! I pulled my phone out and snapped a picture because it touched my heart so much. That’s what the church does!

We had a picnic lunch out on our church lawn after the service. There was enough food there for the multitude Jesus fed (well, kind of). People set up tables, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs in the hot sun, sat with our guests, washed dishes, took down tables and chairs, and picked up trash afterwards. So many served! That’s what the church does!

Then at 5:30, we met back at the church for the evening service where we sang, heard from God’s Word and then shared testimonies of how God has answered prayer. We encouraged one another all day long! That’s what the church does!

There’s no ballgame, family gathering, vacation attraction, boat ride, concert, or television program that can do for me what The Church can do! I am so thankful for my Boones Creek Bible Church family. I love each member and thank the Lord for them. That’s what the church does!

Are you fully entrenched in a Bible-believing church? Christ gave His life for The Church! He has a great purpose for it in your life! Don’t miss out on all the blessings you’ll only find in The Church!

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The Kneeling Christian – The importance of Prayer

April 14, 2015April 13, 2015 RefreshHer8 Comments

Every time I start praying, my kitty, Liza comes and gets as close to me as she can. Yesterday it made me wonder if I’m as eager to get close to God in prayer as she is to be close to me!

I’m reading a wonderful book right now called, The Kneeling Christian. Here are some favorite quotes I’ve come across recently:

To be little with God in prayer is to be little for God in service.

A man’s influence in the world can be gauged not by his eloquence or his zeal, or his orthodox, or his energy, but by his prayer.

If God were to answer the words we repeated on our knees this morning should we know it? Should we recognize the answer? Do we even remember what we asked for? He does answer. He has given us His word for it. He always answers every real prayer of faith.

If no one on earth prayed for the salvation of sinners more fervently or more frequently than I do, how many of them would be converted to God through prayer?

This book has been so convicting to me. I’m asking the Lord to help me to pray more. I’d challenge you to get a copy of the book on Amazon and be challenged in your prayer life, too.

What was the last prayer request you saw answered? I’d love to hear and rejoice with you!

With love,

Author: RefreshHer

What’s Cookin’ in the Country in Strawberry season?

Ingredients

Preparation

Freshen Up Friday – Love Notes

With Words of Praise!

Hee-haw! Hee Haw! Hee Haw!

A Peek From My Porch – God’s Gift of the Church

The Kneeling Christian – The importance of Prayer

To be little with God in prayer is to be little for God in service.

A man’s influence in the world can be gauged not by his eloquence or his zeal, or his orthodox, or his energy, but by his prayer.

If God were to answer the words we repeated on our knees this morning should we know it? Should we recognize the answer? Do we even remember what we asked for? He does answer. He has given us His word for it. He always answers every real prayer of faith.

If no one on earth prayed for the salvation of sinners more fervently or more frequently than I do, how many of them would be converted to God through prayer?