Tips and Tools · Uncategorized

Two Kitchen Tips to Simplify Cooking

I have learned to really love Butternut Squash in this creamy and hearty Golden Winter Soup. Every fall I can’t wait for the squash to make its appearance in the grocery store so we can enjoy this recipe. Then I get the chunky odd-shaped veggie home and I wrestle peel the orange skin, and then I wrangle cut it into cubes. **Cough** **Cough** It’s not a job for the faint-hearted! I end up with peelings all over the counter and floor, and the most random sized pieces where I tried to get my knife through the stubborn flesh.

However, I recently learned this WONDERFUL trick that makes the whole process an absolute breeze!!

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ministry

It Was Just the Encouragement I Needed

One day my husband walked out to the mailbox and retrieved a card addressed to me. The return address was unfamiliar, as was the sender. It’s always fun getting mail, but receiving a card from a stranger was intriguing! As I opened the envelope and pulled the card from its place, I found a note from a sweet woman who had been listening to both my radio broadcast, and now my podcast. She wrote to tell me how this particular ministry had helped her. You cannot imagine the encouragement that was to my heart. You see, there’s really no feedback from a podcast as there is a blog where someone could leave a comment, and to be honest, I had gotten a bit discouraged.

“Was the time and effort I was pouring into this podcast really beneficial?” I asked myself.

God knew my thoughts, doubts and questions, so he burdened a dear woman to write to me. To get a note from a “real, live person” was the gentle reminder that my heart needed that this ministry was God’s plan. He had ordained it, and He was using it in some way to encourage others.

That was several months ago. My new friend and I had some contact via Facebook messenger, and she suggested we get together and meet over coffee at a nearby coffee house.

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Meal planning · Thanksgiving

Simple Inspiration for Hosting Thanksgiving

You can listen to this post on Refresh Her Podcast.

What memories does Thanksgiving evoke in your mind and heart? Is there a special year that stands out to you? My very favorite memory was the year before my husband and I were married. That was the year I had the joy of hosting Dale and our parents in my humble home.

I was a school teacher living in a 14′ x70′ trailer. The kitchen was so small that if I needed to open the refrigerator while there were people at the table, someone would have to stand and scoot their chair in! Because of the size of that space, I decided to take the table into the living room and make it the “dining room” for the day. This was long before the days of Pinterest, of course, so Good Housekeeping Magazine was the source for my simple decorations, part of which included gingerbread place cards. The guest’s names were written in icing and set at their place at the table.

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baking · Fall

Baked Pumpkin Donuts

When we got home from our trip out West last week, I had missed being in my kitchen! The day after arriving home, we had small group dinner and I had signed up to bring dessert. I knew exactly which recipe I was going to try…yes, I would make a new recipe to take! It’s my normal pattern…sigh. I don’t know why I risk it, but there are just so many good recipes, and these always seem like the perfect opportunities to try them! I would never make a whole batch of donuts just for us, so if I make them for a group, they won’t be staring me in the face like a hungry cat at 6:00 a.m.!

I ran to my Pinterest board and pulled up a recipe I found on Sally’s Baking Addiction site. Every recipe I’ve made from her site has been delicious, so I was anxious to make her Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Brown Sugar Glaze!

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Marriage · ministry · Traveling

Ministry, Majesty and Marriage

This fall is a very busy season of ministry. It began two weekends ago when we had the blessing of attending a couple’s retreat at The Wilds. As always, I was so refreshed and encouraged by our time there.

The Lord knew I would need that weekend before heading to California where I would speak at Ironwood camp. Philippians 2:13

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