I’ve recently started reading a book with friends for a group study.  I have been eager to read this, but hadn’t taken the time to do so.  The book is entitled, Choosing Gratitude, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

My eagerness to read a book on gratitude came from who knows where?  Maybe the perky cover with the daisies drew me in.  Or maybe, just maybe it was the Spirit of God telling me I needed it.  Okay.  I’m going with choice number two.  It’s obvious.  It was in the introduction that the Spirit’s conviction began (who gets convicted in a book’s intro?! One who is guilty!).  Here’s where it began…

“When asked by C.J. Mahaney about areas where he was vulnerable to discouragement in ministry Dr. Cruden responded, “Honestly, I don’t often become discouraged.  I continue to see evidence of God’s work in my life and the lives of those around me, and I am simply overwhelmed with thankfulness to Him.”

I don’t know about you, my friend, but I am too prone to look at what isn’t happening rather than what is!  Isn’t that the devil’s tool?  One looks at the rotten attitude of their children and will focus, hammer, and plant themselves right there, rather than praising them and the Lord for the step of immediate obedience or brave decision to do right.  We may meditate on the one negative comment our husband made, and completely miss the compliment.  The critic in our life at work or in the ministry we’re involved in blows us away, when we know that the only right judge of our motives and heart is the Lord, and that by God’s grace, there are many who are being impacted as a result of His Word going out!

What a sweet lesson I’ve learned – to distract discouragement in my own heart, I must purposefully and intentionally look for how God is at work in my life and others around me!  This will cause gratitude to swell in my heart, leaving no room for the heavy, weighty plague of discouragement!

Have you read Choosing Gratitude?  How are you seeing God at work in your life and others’ lives today?  Rejoice and be grateful!

With a thankful heart,

A Peek into My life this week:

If you could have peek in from the porch yesterday you would’ve seen us enjoying the next to last lesson in our Apples of Gold mentoring group!  Every single week together has been so much fun!  Our hearts seem to get knit closer with each cooking lesson, each time around the Word, and each lunch shared.  I love it when the ladies are able to hang around a bit afterwards and share their hearts, ask questions, and just visit.  I’m going to miss these weekly sessions when they’re over!

This week was all about “Rolling in the dough.”  Who doesn’t like to do that, especially when it involves homemade pizza and an Apple Tart?!

Here’s a peek into our time together:

Click to enlarge

The first picture shows the appetizer one of the mentors brought – Bruschetta.  It was delicious!  The first task at hand was rolling out homemade pizza dough (picture 2), then cooking them on the grill (pictures 3, 4 and 5).  The gas grill gave the dough great flavor.  We each rolled out our own pizza dough, then added the toppings of our choice.

Our lesson was on purity.  These were such good reminders of the warnings and guidance from the Scriptures to stay pure in heart and life!

Be sure to check here on Monday for the recipe and instructions for the Grilled pizzas.  It’s so much faster than most doughs!  I have some of the it in the freezer, testing to see if it will bake up well after being frozen.  I’ll let you know the results on Monday’s post!

In the meantime, what’s been happening near your porch this week?

With love from my country porch,

A quick walk through the house and you sigh…the floor is dirty again?  The hamper is overflowing again?  The sink is full of dishes again?  Yes, yes, and yes!  Housework is a cycle that never ends.  You know why?  Because of life’s cycle.

Our families walk, run, crawl, and skip across the floors.  We play and work.  We eat an ice cream and dirty our clothes.  We bathe and use towels and washcloths.  We cook and pile up prep dishes.  We feed our families and use plates, bowls and glasses.  It is a cycle that never stops.

Life’s cycle brings work cycles, and work is a gift from God.  He ordained it in the garden – before sin.  It is a good thing!  It was His idea and His plan for our lives.

Therefore, we have two choices:

What kind of impact would grumbling have on your family?  What difference would a thankful spirit bring to your home?  Now, it’s up to us to make the choice.

As you’re cooking a meal, feed on God’s Word by listening to the Bible on your computer or phone.  Pray for a creative way you can feed God’s Word to your family today.

The only thing that will lighten our work load 

is a having a grateful spirit!  

Try it today and see what happens!  It will refresh you and those for whom you are doing the work!

With love,

With fresh produce season nearly upon us, maybe, just maybe, you have a green tomato growing in your backyard.  If you want to try something really delicious that’s not your ordinary (but wonderful) Fried Green Tomato side, let me make a suggestion!  This Green Tomato and Vidalia Onion Gratin really, really good!!  It has a few pieces of bacon and some seasoned bread crumbs over top of the green tomatoes and caramelized sweet onions, pushing this little side dish right over the top!

Let’s take a look at the finished product, shall we?

Layer the tomatoes, then the onions.

Top with Parmesan and cheddar Cheese and bacon. Then bread crumbs. Bake @350 for 30 minutes.

Golden and delicious!

Green Tomato and Vidalia Onion Gratin
Ingredients
1/4 pound bacon
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 large Vidalia onions, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
4 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
6 ounces sharp white Cheddar, grated, about 1 1/2 cups – I used regular Cheddar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Render bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add the bread crumbs to a small bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet and stir into the bread crumbs. Add the onion rounds to the skillet in batches and cook, without breaking the round slices apart, until there is some golden color, about 5 to 6 minutes per side.

To assemble the gratin, overlap the green tomato slices in 1 row in a large baking dish, about 9 by 11 inches. Next, make a row slightly overlapping of the partially cooked onion rounds, being careful to keep the slices intact. Repeat steps until all tomatoes and onions are used. Season tomatoes and onions lightly with salt and heavily with pepper. Crumble the bacon over the vegetables; sprinkle the grated Cheddar over the top followed by the bread crumbs. Bake until the cheese is bubbly, about 30 to 45 minutes. If the top is getting too brown, loosely cover with foil.

You really need to get your hands on some green tomatoes before they ripen into a red, slicing tomato and make this dish!

How do you fix green tomatoes?

With love from my country kitchen,

I hate clutter in my house. I like everything to be put away, however, I have a hard time keeping the hidden places in my house straightened up.  Places like drawers and closets are just hard for me!  I stepped into my pantry and my bedroom closet this week and decided I didn’t like they way they looked.  I’ve never had a walk-in pantry or walk-in closet before, and I am determined to make these spaces not only function well, but also be pretty!

I have a set of stackable drawers in my closet for belts, sock, etc.  Because they drawers are clear, it looked messy.  So, I took scrapbook paper and lined the front of each drawer with coordinating patterns and colors to give it a neater look.

I have a small table in my closet to hold my jewelry organizers.  I have two necklace trees to keep chains from getting tangled.  I love my earring picture holder my dad made me.  It keeps the fish hook earrings in perfect view!

Now on to the pantry ~  I had one little area that needed attention.  I have quite a collection of aprons and just had them hooked through one of my pantry shelves.  They hung on the floor and looked messy.  Soooo, I found a cute little hook at TJ Maxx for $8.  It is perfect to keep the aprons within reach and looking lovely!

Do you have some hidden spaces that need some organization?  Attack one or two spaces this weekend.  If you’re like me, you’ll be happy about walking into or opening that space after you’ve done some straightening!

Stay refreshed,