Author: RefreshHer

Cooking

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer9 Comments

Our whole family was together this Sunday – a rare event these days! What a blessing to minister in music together in the morning church service. Whitney was at the piano while Alli played her violin to accompany my husband and me singing, “Consider the Lilies.”

After the service ended we came home for dinner. My husband and I sat at the counter so we could pop up and serve. He’s my favorite dinner companion!

 

Katie Brown Chicken w/carrots
Mashed potatoes
Green Beans
Country biscuits
Chocolate Cherry Cake w/ice cream

I served our favorite dish – Katie Brown Chicken. That’s our name for it. Katie Brown is a woman who had a cooking/decorating/crafting show at one time. I loved it. I’ve lost touch with what she’s doing now, but I sure wish she’d bring back her old show, “Next Door with Katie Brown.” It was so good. One great thing about it was getting this recipe from it!

 

Katie Brown Chicken

Wash a whole Roasting Hen, dry with paper towel, then rub with Olive oil. Squeeze a whole lemon; reserve juice. Place lemon halves inside hen. Sprinkle inside with salt. Add fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Tie legs and place hen in dish. Sprinkle skin of chicken with paprika and salt. Pour the lemon juice over hen. Add baby carrots and potato cubes to dish. Add enough chicken broth to cover vegetables. Bake until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. (When I go to church I put the oven on about 280-300 degrees and let it cook until I get home from church. It’s always done, but not overdone.)
After removing chicken from the oven, mix 2 Tbl flour and 1/4 C water together, then add to chicken juices for a delicious lemony gravy for the meat and vegetables.

 

What was cooking in your kitchen?

With love,

Uncategorized

Bake up Some Fellowship!

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I promised I’d share the Blueberry Streusel Muffin Recipe this week, so I guess I’d better do that today. But first, how about these dreamy treats…

I made these over the weekend and froze half of them (don’t tell my family they’re in the freezer!). These are Peanut Butter Blossoms from my Hershey cookbook. They are so good. Even just one…

with a glass of milk, of course! It’s a great combination of flavors – peanut butter and chocolate! Mmm! Try them if you haven’t made them. I’m warning you, though – you’d better freeze half as soon as they cool or they will disappear before morning!

Here was the Blueberry Muffin for last weekend’s breakfast. This is my new favorite muffin recipe! It came from Taste of Home.

So, what will you bake this weekend? I’ve shared lots of my new recipes to give you some ideas. What’s keeping you from baking up some cookies or muffins and inviting some folks over for fellowship? Add a pot of coffee or a glass of milk and you have all you need to offer your guests!

I’ve been reminded this week through a couple of events the Lord’s allowed me to participate in that we need one another! We need friendships to encourage and prod each other along. Don’t try to be the Lone Ranger. As I heard someone say, “Even he had Tonto!” Call up a friend or a family and invite them over this weekend. You’ll be glad you did, and so will they!

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24
See you in church,

Christian Life

Sufficient Grace

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Startled. That was the look in his eyes.

My husband and I hadn’t been married long before I lovingly made him an apple pie, cut a slice of it and put it in front of him. Then I got the look – the startled one. He looked at the pie, then at me in disbelief. Then he said, “Hon, from now on please cut me a slice bigger than an 1/8!” Clearly this was not sufficient for his appetite. I grew up in a family of small eaters and 1/8 was always enough for us. I learned my lesson and have increased his portion size!

Last night at prayer meeting we read II Corinthians 12:9 – And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. It was explained that the word sufficient means enough. God’s grace will always be enough for every trial we’re going through. It will be portioned out for each person, for each need, and it will not fall short of being sufficient. It won’t be 1/8 of his grace when we need “the whole pie!” We will never have to look at the Lord in prayer and be startled that He only gave us a small amount.

It is enough. Always. For every need.

How have you experienced His grace?

Because of His sufficient grace,

P.S. Thank you to those of you who participated yesterday! I’ve learned from you and am taking note of the books mentioned, as well as your comments.

Uncategorized

Noteworthy Wednesday

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I like change; ask my husband. He never knows what he’s going to find when he comes home. For starters I like to change – the placement of the furniture, accessories in my decor, the rings on my phone, my menu, and the background picture on my computer!

I’m also going to change things up on Wednesdays here on my blog. I’d like to try a little experiment. I know someone is reading this at least fairly regularly, and I thank you, and am humbled that you’d spend a few minutes of your busy days to do so! Can I call on you to participate on Wednesdays? I’d love to have you share some of the best things you’ve seen, read, tasted, tried, heard, purchased, etc. I think it’s so helpful to go on a cooking website and read the reviews of the recipes. It really makes me determine whether I’m going to try it or not. In the same sort of way, I thought it would be helpful to one another if we shared noteworthy things on Wednesdays.

For starters today, would you please share the best devotional book you’ve done/read? Even if you see that someone else has already mentioned it, please share it again on your comment. If you are not a blogger and want to comment, then just choose the name/url option & simply write your name in. Let’s encourage and refresh one another by participating together on this!

Thanks ahead of time for taking time to leave a comment! You will, won’t you? 🙂

Under His feathers,

Speech

Don’t Be a Doeg

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When I taught elementary school before my girls were born, I used to tell the parents on our first meeting, “If you don’t believe everything your child says about me, I won’t believe everything they tell me about you!” Children can say some pretty startling things – but it’s seen through their young perspective, and hence, is not always accurate. We can see how a child can misunderstand and then tell things they really shouldn’t, but what happens when an adult misinterprets, then goes running to find someone they can tell? They become like Doeg.

Doeg is found in I Samuel 21-22. In this chapter we read about David running away from Saul. He’s fearful for his life, and rightly so! Saul has just tried to nail him to the wall with his spear! David goes to Nob and seeks help from the priest, Ahimelech. The priest gives David bread and also Goliath’s sword (I’d say David earned it, wouldn’t you?). In verse 7 we read, “Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.” I can only imagine David’s thoughts when he saw that Doeg had seen him…”Oh, no! There’s that busybody Doeg! He’s sure to go running to Saul and tell him of my whereabouts!”

That is precisely what Doeg did. When Saul had his men gathered together to scold them for not helping him find David, Doeg gets his chance to speak up. Here’s what we read in chapter 22 – Saul said, “…is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. ” Doeg is of he personality that I imagine he couldn’t wait to share this juicy little bit of information! This news infuriates Saul and he orders all the priests to be killed. None of the footmen would do it, so Doeg jumps in to carry out Saul’s cruel wishes.

Doeg left a bad taste in many people’s mouths with his actions. One person that records what Doeg was like is David. In Psalm 52 he gives a detailed description of him. It’s also a list of what we need to steer clear of if we’re to have a life that honors the Lord. Here’s what a person is like if they’re like Doeg:

  1. They dwell on mischief rather than God’s goodness. Ps 52:1,2 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. The tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

  2. They love evil news more than good news. V. 3a Thou lovest evil more than good

  3. They tell lies instead of the truth. V 3b (Thou lovest) lying rather than to speak righteousness.

  4. They enjoy devouring words rather than those that build up V. 4 Thou lovest all devouring words…

It can be real easy to feel smug and say that we’d never do what Doeg did! Murder God’s servants? No way! But if we

  • talk more about people in a negative light than in a positive one, we’re being a Doeg!
  • enjoy hearing some juicy information about someone, if our ears lean in to hear some evil report, we’re being a Doeg!
  • pass on things that we shouldn’t be sharing (even if it’s true, is it necessary to tell?), we’re being a Doeg!

These are thoughts that the Lord brought to my mind recently as I studied this passage. Yes, they are convicting thoughts. If we’re honest, we’d all admit to being a Doeg on occasion (and once is too often!). It’s a sin. It displeases the One who created our mouths. My prayer is that instead of being like a child who blurts out whatever I’ve heard or have seen, the Lord will “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 I don’t want to be a Doeg! How about you?

Grateful for forgiveness,