I can’t remember a time I’ve ever won anything for free – that is until this past week! Ahhhhh! I really won something! I yelled out when I learned the news! It’ a beautiful “something” too, but I’m not going to tell you about because I’m giving it away to my daughter, and she reads my blog! Suffice it to say that I’d love to keep it (but I won’t)! I entered a contest on a blog I follow and I was chosen out of hundreds of entries – amazing!

Free just has an amazing sound to it! Let Sam’s club give away free samples and you have to dodge the carts, lest you get maimed by someone running for that 1/4″ piece of cheese or swallow of apple cider! People will spend money on stamps on envelopes to send away for a coupon for a one free sample size of the product just because, well, it’s free!

Does it amaze you that our salvation was absolutely free? We paid nothing; we own nothing. There are no strings attached. Christ gave His life for me. All I have to do is accept His free gift of salvation and enjoy the benefits of being a child of God for all eternity. My heart desires to serve Him because I love Him, but it’s not a payment; it’s gratitude.

We, who are thirsty, are also commanded to drink of the water of life freely. Each day my soul is thirsty for God. I come to His Word and He freely pours out His truths to me that my thirst may be quenched. The picture is that of the water of life gushing forth with no restraint. I leave satisfied. If I choose to walk past the sample booth at Sam’s, it’s my loss (not much of one, but a loss, nonetheless). If I ignore the Water that’s freely poured out to me; it’s my loss – and it’s a huge one! We each need to stop and drink and drink each day. It’s better than the free gift that will be coming in the mail soon. That gift can burn, break or get lost. My free salvation and the water of life is mine forever. Now, that’s something to rejoice about!

See you in church!

Okay, it’s only one day before Thanksgiving, and maybe this post is a bit late for you, but if you’re having the family at your house for the big “Ta-da” you need to be sure your house is ready. Here are a few tips to make a swing through and get things in order before the guests arrive:

• De clutter. Walk through the living room/family room and see what can be removed. I have a small living room, so taking out small things unclutters the room visually. Removing unnecessary items like unused books and magazines can also give more room for seating.
• Have enough coasters out so your guests have a place to set a glass or coffee cup.
• Have ingredients on hand that you might not use. If you drink your coffee black, be sure to have cream and sugar/sweeteners for your guests
• Make space in the coat closet for your guests coats. Remove your out-of-season things so your company won’t have to throw their garments across the bed with kitty fur. (Spoken from the owner of a long-haired cat!
  

  If your guests will be staying with you overnight, here are a few other things to consider:

• Make sure the towels are incredibly easy for guests to find.
• With the complimentary items from a hotel, create a basket with small bottles of shampoo, soaps and toothpaste in case someone forgot a necessary item.
• Stock the toilet paper in a place where everyone can find it easily without having to go on a desperate search.
• Provide extra blankets in the room where your guests will be sleeping.
• Give them a place to put their suitcase.
• De clutter surfaces so they a spot for their belongings.
• Provide a small night light so they can find their way in the night, should they need to get up.

Being a guest can be much more pleasant when the hostess has made provisions that assure you she’s glad you are there. Getting your house “guest-ready” is one way to let them know that they are special to you and so is their visit!

With love,

There was an advertisement some years ago with a little song that said, “I’m gonna wash that gray right out of my hair…” If you remember that commercial you might have a gray hair or two. If you’ve never heard that, your day’s comin’!

Many try to hide their gray hair, but you know the Scripture gives honor to the person with a gray head! Proverbs 16:31 says, The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. Note the word, “if” in the middle of the verse. Not everyone with gray hair has a crown of glory – only the person who is a righteous person and is walking in the way of righteousness. A righteous person is someone who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and been made right with God. It’s nothing that person does – it’s all through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross on our behalf. When we receive what He did for us, we are cleansed from our sin and made right. We are at that moment adopted into the family of God!

I wonder if one reason that a person who has gray hair and is walking in a godly way is lifted up in this passage is because this is a person who has perhaps walked with God for many years and has stayed right! This is someone who has said “no” to the world and what it would offer to perhaps do without so they could serve the Lord. They haven’t retired from serving God in their personal life. They are looking for opportunities to share their testimony and lead someone to the Gospel of Christ. They’ve stayed by the stuff and now in their later years when their hair has turned frosty, they are still faithfully serving the God who saved them years ago.

If your hair has grayed, ask yourself, “Am I walking in the way of righteousness? Would others know that I am a child of God if they watched my life, listened to my conversations, and saw what I do with my free time?

If you’re too young for gray hair, ask yourself how you’re preparing for the day of the gray head. You know, you are what you have been becoming. Are you making it a priority to walk in a way that honors God? If you’re saved, but you’re jumping off the way of the righteous to do something questionable, say what you’re feeling, or participate in something that dishonors the Lord, your gray hair will probably never be a crown of glory.

May we ask the Lord for grace to endure. May you and I be found “in the way of the righteous” when our hair turns from its youthful shade to gray. It will then become our crown!

With love,

P.S. Still keeping my upcoming hair appointment! =)

What’s better than a home-cooked Sunday dinner? Dinner that’s home-cooked for you in your daughter’s kitchen! We were at Whitney’s house this weekend so I could attend her bridal shower at her church. The folks at Clearview are so gracious and we had a sweet time around the Bread of God’s Word and worship of our great God. We then enjoyed a wonderful meal around Whitney’s kitchen table with her and her fiance’, then the shower with the sweet ladies from her church. It was a special day indeed!

Shes’ good…the meal was ready within minutes of walking in from the morning service! Our growling stomachs loved her preparedness!

Dinner was Chicken Stew – a recipe she’s adapted for the crock pot so it will be ready when church is over. To make this recipe in the crock pot, put it in for 8 hours on low or high for 4 hours. She also adds chicken breasts that are slightly frozen!

It was “deliciousness” in a bowl! She served it with oatmeal rolls, crackers, cheese and salami. Pudding parfaits with chocolate pudding, pound cake cubes and Cool Whip were for those that had room at the end of meal.

The recipe is from Food network and is as follows:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)
Serving suggestion: crusty bread

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Whitney simplifies the recipe by adding chicken breast fillets, then cubing them after the stew has cooked all the way through.

What’s been cooking in your kitchen recently or have you blessed to be invited out, as I was?

With love,