Author: RefreshHer

Cooking

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

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I got into a nesting mode Saturday. Maybe it was because Alli’s stuff had been moved out – I don’t know. I emptied the fridge and cleaned it and the freezer. I changed some of the decor in the kitchen. My herbs have done really well this summer, so I made a little display on the counter…

I love this picture that I found a couple years ago at a cute little shop…
I took some of my fresh herbs and made a bouquet for the kitchen table. It looks and smells so fresh! Thyme, basil, rosemary and parsley and mint will be ready to use for recipes since they’re sitting in water. I love this little wire basket – I use it for lots of different things (thanks, Whitney!)

Sunday dinner was just the two of us because:

  1. Alli’s back in college
  2. My husband had a nasty cold

However, I tried to make it as special as if we had a house-full.

Menu
Stuffed Peppers
Fresh corn
Carrot-Raisin Salad
Parmesan Bread

This recipe is really tasty, and if you don’t normally like stuffed peppers you need to try these. A dear lady at church shared her garden’s peppers with us and I couldn’t wait to make this recipe! The peppers are only boiled a few minutes, so they’re still crispy instead of boiled to death, and the filling is really yummy. Here’s the recipe:

Stuffed Peppers

2 large green peppers

8 ounces ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1/2 cup long grain rice
1/2 cup water
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh basil leaves (opt)

Halve peppers lengthwise and remove stem ends, seeds and membranes. Immerse peppers into boiling water for 3 minutes. Invert onto paper towels to drain well.

In large skillet cook meat and onion till meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in the tomatoes, uncooked rice, water, Worcestershire sauce, basil and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 – 18 minutes or till the rice is tender. Stir in half of the cheese. Spoon meat mixture into peppers. Place peppers in an 8x8x2-inch baking dish. Spoon any remaining meat mixture into baking dish.
Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven about 15 minutes or till heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand for 1 to 2 minutes or till the cheese melts. If desired, garnish plate with fresh basil leaves. Makes 4 servings.

Being mostly empty nesters (Alli is home about a total of two months in a year now), can I just say again, that this is God’s plan? I am amazed at how many of our peers we run into when taking our daughter to school, and see that they’re struggling with having no children at home. I love my girls and I love it when they’re here, but you know what? Alone is the way we started out and it’s the way it will end up, and we are okay with that. Our friends look at us with horrified expressions when we tell them that we’re adjusting to and even enjoying this phase of our lives. Dinners should still be served with careful attention and love, just as they were when all the family was gathered around the table. The house needs fresh touches and decor so that our husband knows we care about him.

Don’t fold up and die when your children are gone! If your family is young right now, start preparing yourself for the day when they will leave. You do that by leaving them with a babysitter and go out on a date regularly. Every couple of years, leave for more than a day and have a vacation alone. Sorry if I sound like a broken record on this subject, but I keep running into this at every turn, so I just have to address it! 🙂 I learned this lesson from my parents. They’ve been great examples to me of keeping their marriage alive, and enjoying each phase of life as it comes along. I am asking the Lord to help me do the same.

Have you and your husband had a special date lately? What did you do?

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen lately?

With love,
Parenting

The Stuff of Life

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This is what it looks like at the end of the hall in my house…

Alli has been packing to prepare to leave today to head back to college. There are:
cleaning supplies for the dorm room, dishes for meals eaten in the dorm, coffee pot for late night studying and early morning classes, umbrella (spite the fact that the torrential rains will blow sideways and the umbrella won’t help much), music for piano lessons, collapsible clothes hamper for the never ending laundry…

notebooks and paper for homework and projects,
a kitty to keep you company while you pack up, and to hinder you from packing your favorite pair of jeans…

a shoe bag to save space in the shared closet, stackable drawers for extra stuff that won’t fit in the dresser…

and of course suitcases for clothes, a picture album of the family, and the long-loved stuffed animal.

All this (and more not pictured) is packed up for the nine months of college life. Alli will be a sophomore this year and feels a little more prepared for college life than she did this time last year! Yep, this is the stuff of college life.

As my husband has been teaching on Sunday nights about discipline in the home, I thought about the discipline it takes the parent to train a child. There’s so much to teach them, and I’m not referring to homeschool. I’m talking about the every day things – the stuff of life that need to be discussed with our children before they leave home.

Proper table manners, etiquette, respect for elders, submission to authority, meal preparation, laundry instructions, how to iron, how to respond when dating, dating standards, biblical convictions and doctrines…the list seems endless when we consider what we should be teaching our children. These are conversations you have with them in the routine things of life – while you’re driving in the car, sitting and having lunch at McDonald’s, or tucking them into bed at night. That’s what Deuteronomy 6:7-9 is teaching…And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

I am amazed at how few parents teach their children the facts of life. If this is not taught by the parents, (mostly incorrect) information will be picked up here and there in lewd chats with friends. When girls approach puberty, take them alone to a special restaurant and talk with them about the upcoming changes. Make them understand God’s wonderful design and plan for their lives. Boys need chats with their father about how to treat a girl, how to be a gentleman, how to respond to girls in general.

When our children pack up to leave home, there should be tons more packed away in their hearts than stuffed in duffel bags in the back of the SUV! Begin today to teach them of the stuff of life!

With a heart of love,

Uncategorized

Many Lies

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Lies of the devil. They’re easy to believe, but not always easy to detect. After all, he is the father of lies! There is no truth in him, so when he tells a lie, he’s doing what he does best.

How many of his lies are you and I believing? I heard this list of his lies at church last night…but it’s amazing how many times I’ve heard these statements in simple conversation, in quotes from Oprah or Dr. Phil, or on people’s Facebook status!

See if any of these sound familiar to you…

  1. Look out for Number One – We’re supposed to make sure we get what we want before anyone else – or even in spite of anyone else, because if we don’t look out for ourselves, who will? You and I deserve nothing, Friend. Our God will supply our needs and go before us to look out for us! Phil 4:19, Deut. 31:8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee…
  2. God helps those who help themselves – Where do you read that in Scripture? In contrast we read in II Cor. 3:5 – Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God. Helping myself puts all the focus on what I can do…which isn’t much!
  3. Surely God doesn’t expect me to stay in an unhappy situation – Is God’s goal for our lives happiness? No, it’s Christlikeness. Do we really believe that Romans 8:28, 29 can be fulfilled in our lives if we’re trying to hop out of every difficulty?
  4. I’ll forgive, but I won’t forget! – The Lord doesn’t bring our sin back up in our face. He throws it into the sea of forgetfulness and to be like our Savior, we must do the same.
  5. I don’t get mad; I just get even – Greed isn’t just associated with money – but also with wanting a pound of flesh! Romans 12:9 Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
  6. I deserve better than this! What we deserved was hell, but God in His mercy He delivered us from that fate! Titus 3:5

We need to line up what we’re believing about each situation with the Word of God. If it cannot be backed up by Scripture or is contrary to it, then it is a lie of the devil and we must discard it.

Thankful for Truth,

Family life

Noteworthy Wednesday – Help for Homeschooling Moms

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Many families are homeschooling their children these days. While it’s not for everyone, those that feel this is God’s will for their family, are going after it with all their heart.

Perhaps there are those of you, like myself, who have been down that road and are now finished. (Did I hear a happy shout?) 🙂 As you look back on your experience, can you recall:

  • What did you do with the little ones in your family that weren’t homeschool age? How did you deal with the distraction they were to their sibling trying to do their school work?
  • How did you organize all the “stuff” for school – records, books, papers, supplies, etc.?
  • What do you know now that you wish someone had told you when you were first starting out?

If you could answer one of those questions even, I know of many young moms who will thank you for it!
With love,

Christian Life

Today is a Gift

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One night last week my husband and I attended a meeting for pastors and their wives. During the preaching, one of the men in attendance began to look sickly. Those seated near him became alarmed and tried to quietly aid his wife while the preaching continued. Then the man that was preaching could see that the problem was getting worse, and he asked my husband to assist. The ailing preacher was laid out in the floor. It appeared very serious.
Everything stopped while he was cared for. He wasn’t responding and had turned a dreadful shade of white. The preaching had stopped as several were caring for the sick man, and we had special prayer for the patient, then small groups gathered on their knees to pray. Some cried openly, fearful that he wouldn’t make it. The EMS was called. Because our location was so remote it took quite a while for them to get to us.
Thank the Lord, after about ten minutes, the sick man began to come around, then he spoke! Relief washed over all of us! He recognized those around him and remembered where he was. By the time the ambulance arrived he was seated in a chair sipping water. They checked him over and all appeared to be fine. He was urged to see his doctor the next day. The preaching service then resumed at his insistence. The irony was that the message was about Elijah’s passing from earth to heaven. Here before us had been an illustration of how quickly life can be snatched away.
We all know that unless the Lord comes first, we will die. Psalm 89:48 says, What man is he that liveth and shall not see death? I had to ask myself, “if that would have been me laid out on the floor, what regrets would I have?” How would we spend today differently if we knew this was our last? What phone call would we make? To whom would we witness? How much more time would we spend in prayer? In Bible study? What changes would we make in how we planned to spend our day?
Watching someone fail physically as I did is not something any of us would want to see, but I’m thankful for the reminder that, “Today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present.”

What will you do with the gift that lies before you?

With love,