Home making

A Personal Helper For Your Home

Ina Garten wrote this in one of her cookbooks regarding home ~

A good home should gather you up in his arms like a warm cashmere blanket, soothe your hurt feelings, and prepare you to go back out into that big bad world tomorrow all ready to fight the dragons.”

Refreshing your heart, HOME, and life have been my passion and inspiration here on my blog since 2008. I have LOVED being a homemaker for 42 years, and I am passionate about making my home inviting, organized and comfortable. It’s far from perfect, and I often drop the ball when it comes to home management. It takes intentionality, discipline, work and a whole lot of inspiration sprinkled in to keep me motivated! It’s not about perfection, but the spirit of welcome. I find that when my home gets disorganized or dirty, I don’t feel at home here, so how can I feel ready to welcome others inside my doors?! It’s then that I know it’s time to get things in hand!

While I was blessed to have great training ground from my own parents regarding cleaning and organizing while growing up, I realize that not every woman had that advantage, or perhaps it was there, but she was distracted by her education or simply a lack of interest. Now that she has a home of her own, she feels unequipped or frustrated because all the homemaking tasks are hard, or maybe even seem impossible. How can she ever figure out menu planning and grocery shopping so mealtime can be easier? How can her home ever get organized? What are the best ways to keep a home clean and tidy? She doesn’t know, and she feels embarrassed to seek out help.

Maybe that “someone” is you.

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Hope · podcast · Prayer

A Hidden Life of Prayer Makes ALL the Difference

You can listen to this post here on the Refresh Her podcast.

During the Coronavirus time, did you feel helpless?  You may have looked at your own abilities or your influence and wondered what you could do. 

During the time of violence and hatred in our country, did you wonder how you could make a difference?

God gives us a beautiful picture of someone in the Bible who could have felt unqualified to do anything about the hard circumstances in which he found himself. That person was Elijah. 

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breakfast · Easter

German Pancakes

If you love pancakes, but hate standing there taking the time to pour and flip them one at a time, then the recipe I’m sharing today for German Pancakes is going to make your heart happy! These are made in muffin tins and baked in the oven. They puff up and turn into the perfect little “bowl” for a Blueberry sauce to get spooned into! It couldn’t be easier or more delicious!

Mini German Pancakes
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. orange zest (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Blend first six ingredients (milk through orange zest) in a blender. Be careful to see that any flour clumps get well-blended.
  2. Blend in butter a little at a time in order to temper the eggs.
  3. Grease muffin tins well and distribute batter evenly between 24 tins (I did more like 18. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and filled it almost full.) Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top.
  4. Served with your favorite topping.

I made a blueberry sauce that was so simple – 1/3 C sugar and 1 Tbl cornstarch in a sauce pan.  Add 1 cup water and mix with whisk.  Add 1 Cup blueberries and cook until thickened.

These would make a great breakfast for Easter morning! Add some bacon or Canadian bacon and a cup of coffee and juice, and you’d have a delicious menu to prepare you and your family to worship at Easter services!

Refresh your breakfast with this easy/delicious pancake!

Home decor

Whimsical Decor Tells Your Story

Hobby Lobby is a fun place to find all the seasonal decor, and of course all the things for your walls and floors, but I’m learning that the best look for me is the decor that adds a little whimsy. That has driven me to scouring in thrift stores and antique booths. I want our home to reflect who WE are – not a brand.

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guilt · victory over sin

He Carries the Load of Our Sin

You can listen to this post here on Refresh Her Podcast.

We all know the feeling of being covered over by things.  Most of us can say at one time or another, I’m covered over in laundry!! After preparing a big meal, we may be up to our neck in dishes! Some may feel the load of debt. 

But there’s nothing heavier than being deep in our sin.  The weight of guilt and sorrow can nearly bury us. It buries us under guilt and shame and will often be the reason some Christians turn away from following the Lord! What are we to do when we feel we are in a deep place because of our sin?

All sin is alike to God, it doesn’t even matter if it is what we would call a “little sin” or a “big one.”  It all is the same before a holy God. 

I clearly remember one time as an adult that I was having a conversation with an old friend who was visiting.  She asked me a probing question about something and my answer was a lie.  I had my reasons which all seemed logical – but it was a sin!  As soon as I said it, the Spirit of God convicted me. The weight of it was heavy. 

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