Author: RefreshHer

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Freshen Up Friday

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This wonderful warm weather and sunshine is a sweet reminder that summer is here!  Woo-hoo!  It’s time to add some summer charm to your home.  Here are a few suggestions to freshen up your life early on this summer!

 

  • Gather all the old issues of magazines from the summer months.  Scour through them and get some fresh ideas for your yard, a summer wreath, refreshing and cool treats for the summer, and places to visit.
  • Plan to head to your Farmer’s market this weekend for fresh berries and see what other goodies they may have to offer!
  • Pick up some pieces of china at a yard sale.  Fill a basket with mismatched china, vintage tablecloth and napkins and have it ready for an impromptu picnic.
  • If you have a clothesline, hang your sheets outside.
  • Get your feet ready for your sandals and give yourself a pedicure.
  • Fix up your back deck or patio so it’s inviting for summer breakfast, lunch and/or dinners!  Set out some containers of flowers, add party lights, add pillows to your chairs and porch swing, add a blanket for an evening view of the summer sky!

 

 

  • Add some pretty ribbon or twine to your hand-held garden tools so you can hang them in a convenient place.
  • Put a cotton quilt on the grass in the shade and read to your children.  Enjoy lunch out there too!
Why not take the kitties out too? =)

Hope one or more of these ideas will refresh these beginning of summer days for you!

See you in church!

Be refreshed,

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A Peek Inside the Parsonage

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Tape measures, clip boards, lace, satin, and tulle.  This was my day yesterday.  Alli and I went wedding dress shopping!  What girl doesn’t look forward to the day she can go looking for the perfect dress for her special day?  I felt privileged to be the one at her side, assisting her in and out of gowns, tying ribbons, zipping zippers and fluffing trains.  It was a special day.

As I helped with the trying on of dresses, my mind was traveling through the years, as a mother-of-the bride is sure to do.  When a mother raises a daughter, there are many dress fittings in the years that led up to this day, and each one of those prepares her for when she will choose her wedding dress.

I remember the first dress she wore home from the hospital, her first Easter dress, and the succeeding ones each year after that.  There were the dresses for each Sunday as we worshiped and went to church together as a family.  There were dresses for recitals, in both piano and violin.  There was the dress for her high school graduation, the dress for her sister’s wedding, and the dresses for college classes and for formal functions during those four years she was getting her degree.  Then, recently came the college graduation dress.  George Banks (from Father of the Bride) would be counting the money spent on all those dresses; I was counting the blessing of having daughters and the fun times we had shopping together, discussing price, modesty, and appropriateness.  We often ended those shopping trips with ice cream or a beverage on our way home.

What a blessing to be a part of another of Alli’s special days yesterday – the day she found the dress!  Yes, it’s hanging in her “old bedroom” closet, awaiting its alteration day in March.  Am I sad?  I wept yesterday, but they were happy tears, tears of remembrance of all the shopping trips all through the years.  I wiped those tears and we headed out for frozen yogurt!  Hey, we had something really special to celebrate and we’d worked up an appetite!  Dress shopping is no easy task, but it sure packs away some special memories!

What memory do you have of wedding dress shopping?

From my parsonage windows,

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The Hungry Soul

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Yesterday we had kind of typical Memorial “picnic” foods.  We grilled hamburgers and also had these super good Oven Fries that are a favorite of ours, a baked bean dish, and cantelope.  Alli is home, and she requested a strawberry pie, so I made that for our dessert.  Though I was really hungry when we sat down to eat, I was stuffed after the meal was done! That’s far more than I usually eat at a meal, but hey, it was a holiday!

We also invited a couple from church to eat with us, and after the meal we all took a drive.  Our guest kept teasing everyone, because we were so full.  As we passed a pancake house she said, “If you all will eat pancakes, I’ll buy!”  Then when we drove past Cracker Barrel she asked, “Is anyone hungry yet?”  We all would just groan at her suggestions to eat again.  Why?  Because we were full!

That whole scenario reminded me of a verse I had read earlier in the day in Proverbs 27.  It says,

The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; 
but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
My interpretation of that verse is, When you’re hungry, anything sounds good, but when you’re full, the very sight of food makes you groan!
Let’s think of that verse in a spiritual light.  A Christian who doesn’t come to church hungry for the Word, hungry for fellowship, hungry to be used of God groans at each of those opportunities.  The sanctuary is too cold, the sermon is too long, the people are unfriendly, the pastor’s wife is hateful, the Sunday school teacher is picking on you…The list could go on and on.  On the other hand, the spiritually hungry person drinks in the preaching while taking notes.  They only notice the visitors that needed a friend, rather than those regulars that didn’t speak to them.  They look for opportunities to be a blessing, rather than looking to receive one.  They realize their pastor’s wife had a migraine and that the Sunday school teacher was teasing with good natured fun.  Even those bitter things  can be sweet. Why?  Because they came with an appetite.  
 
Wow.  What a difference it makes to come to church with the right attitude!  Think back on last Sunday – was it a day of blessing or irritation?  If it was the latter, look into your heart and see if your spiritual appetite came hungry.  It can make all the difference in the world when you sit at the Banquet table of God’s Word.
With love, 

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What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

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Happy Memorial Day!
 
This past Saturday was our second Pinterest Party at Boones Creek.  We had such a great time!  Just in case you don’t know what a Pinterest party is, let me explain.  A sweet young woman in our church, Christina, chose seven different crafts for us to make from Pinterest – an Internet site.  She purchased all the materials, organized the tables for each craft, and made an instruction sheet for each craft.  Each participant went from table to table and made the crafts simply by following the directions on the sheet.  Of course, Christina was available if anyone had any problems!
 
Birds eye view of the party!
Each particpant also brought a dish (or two) to share for lunch.  For those who use Pinterest, we chose recipes from that site. Some simply brought their favorite lunch food.  We had quite a spread!
I brought both a savory and a sweet dish.  
For the savory part, I made White Castle Sliders.
Mmmm! If you’re not able to grill out today on this Memorial Day, 
you might want to consider this easy recipe made in the oven!
 
The recipe came from Mommy’s Kitchen, who got it from someone, who got it from someone…
Here’s the recipe:
White Castle Sliders
2# hamburger (80/20)
Dried Onion Flakes
Seasoned Salt
Sister Shubert Rolls
Sprinkle dried onion flakes in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish.
Press beef over onion flakes, make a one huge patty.
Sprinkle with Seasoned salt.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until done.
Drain and Pat grease off.
Top with cheese slices.  Place back in oven for 2 minutes to melt.
Remove and slice into hamburger patties, the size of your buns.
Place on buns and top with hamburger dills slices.
Serve immediately.
These taste so much like the White Castle burgers!  What a great recipe!
 
My sweet treat was was a S’mores Dip.  Another super simple dish!
 
S’mores Dip
In sauce pan place:
1 cup chocolate chips
2 Tbl. Milk
1 Cup Marshmallows
Stir and melt over medium heat.
Remove from heat and pour into oven safe dish.
Sprinkle with 1/4 – 1/2 Cup marshmallows.  Place under broiler to brown.
Serve with Graham Crackers.

Have you ever attended a Pinterest Party?  Would you consider attending one?  I hope you said “Yes!”  We will do this again this year!  Hope you’ll join us!

With love from my parsonage kitchen,

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Freshen Up Friday

RefreshHer4 Comments

One of the things I love to use my Kindle Fire for is cooking up recipes I’ve found on the Internet.  I set the Kindle up on the counter and follow the recipe as I work in the kitchen.  However, I’ve been fearful that it would get splashed or splattered while I was cooking.

I had recently seen an advertisement in a magazine for a cookbook stand that has a splash guard on it.  It is the Umbra Cook-a-Boo Bamboo Cookbook Stand, found on Amazon.  So when I got an Amazon Gift card for Mother’s Day, I immediately knew what I was going to buy!

It’s very sturdy, yet lightweight.  Right at $30 (I actually got mine on sale for $25), this gives me confidence that it will keep my Kindle protected from water splashes, full mixer ingredients or other things that could ruin this electronic wonder!

This will also hold my cookbooks, of course, and keep them clean, too.  It keeps the book standing upright, making it easy to read.  Of course a Tablet or IPad would fit in this as well.

I just had to tell you about this great find!  I’m sure it has refreshed the life of my Kindle.  Hope it will freshen up your electronic device, too!

Do you use your Kindle or tablet in the kitchen frequently?  How do you protect it?

See you in church Sunday!

Be refreshed,