Leftovers can be a huge help when mealtime rolls around, but honestly, sometimes serving the leftovers the same way you had them yesterday can be a bit boring, right?  I like to disguise use my leftovers in ways that are a bit creative.

Recently we (meaning my husband) grilled chicken outside on the gas grill.  The flavors are so wonderful on the grill, and we love it so much that I planned a little extra chicken for the first night so I’d have chicken left for the next day.  My plan was to make these ~ Barbecued Chicken Quesadillas…

 I took the leftover chicken breast, and pulled the meat off the bone and then shredded it.  (I added extra barbecue sauce to the chicken.)  I sprayed a tortilla with cooking spray, place it in the pan, sprayed side down.  The meat was placed on the tortilla, then topped with shredded cheese.

This supper meal was ready in under 15 minutes!  This meal is reason enough to make barbecued chicken again!  Hope you’ll try it!

What do you do to disguise leftovers?

With love from my country kitchen,

One of the (many) great things about summertime is the fresh produce!  One of my favorite fruits is Watermelon.  Juicy.  Red. Sweet.  Cold.  Salty (I add just a touch).  You can’t beat it on a hot day.  BUT it’s so discouraging to have high hopes of a delicious watermelon and get it home and find out it’s sorry tasting!

This melon with the white/yellowish ring is what you’re looking for.

I read recently how to ensure that your watermelon will be delicious.  There are only two easy tips.  Ready?

This picture’s color is unedited.  It was so sweet and delicious!

During the hot days of summer, not much will refresh you like a slice (or two) of a perfect melon.  Now you know how to find which one to bring home!

Stay refreshed in the Word this weekend.  Prepare your heart before going to church.  Be ready to hear from the Lord when the teacher teaches and the preacher preaches!

Stay refreshed,

Okay, I admit it.  I am a recovering shoe addict.  Well, maybe not recovering, but how about an admitting one?  But I get it honestly.  It’s in my genes.  And I think I passed it on to a couple more female carriers.  What can I say?  I like for what’s on my feet to match my outfit, and that can only happen if there’s a variety of choices…right?

However, I read in Psalm 36 this week that my feet can turn against me!  Even if they are wearing something “cute” they can become an enemy in my walk with God.  Here’s what I read:

A Peek into My Life This Week

Seven years ago was when I learned about Apples Of Gold Nurturing Ministry.  I was “gung-ho” and ready to begin it from the moment I learned about it!  But the timing wasn’t right.  There were many needs God had to provide to make it happen. Waiting for the Lord to bring to pass a burden on your heart is far better than pushing and making it happen yourself!

Yesterday began our first Apples Of Gold class and we had a FANTASTIC time together.  As I opened our time in prayer, I couldn’t help but weep, remembering how I’d prayed for this.  My heart was overflowing with joy.

All the mentors were at my house early to pray together and get in their places.  One was at the door, one was at the sink for clean-up duty, and one was ready to greet the younger women when they got into the kitchen.

click on the picture to enlarge

1.  I can’t tell you the joy it was to my heart to have those women surround the counter as we chatted and cooked. We shared our tips and secrets for meal-planning, knife sharpening, scone-making, pineapple cutting, and on and on for an hour.

2.  The two ladies standing were two of the mentors who were at my elbow, whisking my dirty prep dishes away, handing me things I needed for the recipe and checking on food that was cooking.  Talk about a blessing!  They were such a huge help!

3.  This lady was on dish-washing duty.  What a worker!

4.  The other mentor taught our lesson on kindness.  The teacher in her jumped out and lovingly lead the ladies through the Scriptures and encouraged them in displaying kindness to a world that needs the Savior.

I have a bunch more pictures from the day, but I just wanted to highlight our time together.  If you’re not involved in mentoring a younger woman, perhaps it’s something the Lord will tug at your heart about as He did mine seven years ago.  What a blessing to serve the Lord as we serve these sweet young women!  Ask the Lord how you could get involved in a younger woman’s life and see what He will do!

Would you mind to answer two questions for me today?  
1.  Have you ever been mentored?
2.  What hinders you from mentoring a younger woman?

With love from my country porch,

The car engine starts, the garage door opens, and your husband’s car is headed out the driveway…again. How you miss being with him, and dread yet another day apart.

 As you know, I have a daughter who is a newlywed.  It’s so sweet to see their new home established and the love they share.  I see myself in her and I recall the wonder of being able to be with my husband all the time.  What a blessing it was for us after being separated by three hours!  I was so thankful to be with him constantly!  But after the honeymoon, life stepped in; we each had ministries, jobs and responsibilities.  We couldn’t be together every minute.  There are some days we only see each other a matter of an hour or so, depending on the demands in our life.

One day the Lord reminded me that rather than feeling an emptiness when we were apart, I could go to the Lord in prayer for my  husband, and it brought us “together!”  There’s no way I could always know what my husband needed (even when we were together), but when I went to the Lord and prayed that God would be His all that day, or when I asked God to provide His need, to guard his heart, to give him wisdom for decisions he needed to make, God did for him what I could not.

Then, I found a verse in Proverbs that helped me to add another request to my prayers.  Verse 20 says,