One of the sweetest joys of being married to the parson is getting to make visits to the hospital when a new baby is born! I watch at the bedside while the new mommy is cuddling her infant. If I’m real lucky she’ll ask me if I’d like to hold her new little one. I pounce on accept that invitation gladly! I peek inside the soft blankets at the quiet little one tucked snugly inside. Often we hear the proud daddy boasting about how this little one will learn to love his favorite sports team. There’s often sporting wear already purchased – it’s in the team colors, of course, with a bib or hat to match! The parents of a daughter may speak of her learning to play an instrument due to her parent’s love for music. They dream of the day they’ll play in church or in a marching band.

But how do these inclinations become a part of a child’s heart? They are put there by the parents. They talk of their loves. And even greater, if the mommy and daddy love the Lord, their child will hear of Him often, and with an intensity that surpasses any hobby. Why?

Because this is a new little life that is so…
small
         precious 
               teachable 
                        needy

It happens in the instructing; that loving teaching that happens every. single. day. It starts at birth – before they ever hold a football or baseball, or touch their little sticky fingers onto piano keys. It starts in cradled arms and moves on to each day of their lives.

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The craft room as it was BEFORE

I had that very response every time I entered my craft/guest room. It was awkward. It wasn’t easy to craft in. My storage bins weren’t handy, because if they had been out, they would have looked messy. Something needed to change. Sooooo, one day last week I started rearranging furniture.  =)

One thing I knew I needed to do was make my storage bins accessible. They were hidden in the closet – totally inconvenient when I was crafting! So I pulled them out and came up with a way to make them look neat, even though they’re full of supplies…

The crafting side of the room

I added a vinyl wall decor above the bed instead of hanging a picture.

I love going in this room now! I’m so much happier with the new arrangement. It just took a little tweaking to get it just right. This room gets the afternoon sun for more hours than any room in the house, so it’s generally always sunny and bright – making it a perfect spot in which to work on crafts! I love that I love this room now!

What room in your house makes you sigh? Refresh the room by rearranging the furniture. Do something to make the room work better. Even if you can only do a little at a time; keep working with it until it feels right. You’ll know when it get there – you’ll stop sighing and start smiling when you walk in!

See you in church Sunday!

Be refreshed,

I love being home. I love being married. Put those two ingredients together and you have one great date night at home! If I love being with my husband in the warm atmosphere of our home, then one of the obvious places and preferences for our date nights is home. You might raise your eyebrows and say, “Date nights? Why do you need a date night? Your children are gone! You’re alone most of the time!” That is all true, but it’s also true that we have to be intentional about stopping our busy routines and demands to schedule quality time together as a couple. We need to plan time to just kick back and have fun, talk and connect regularly. Otherwise, we could both stay wrapped up in our own little worlds!

I’ve committed myself to creating a date night at home once a week this year. There are a lot of advantages about home dates:

One of our favorite places to go in the wintertime is Cracker Barrel, and we always have the hope of getting a seat in front of the fireplace (us and 100 other people!). Well, now that we have a fireplace, I couldn’t wait to pull our round kitchen table up right in front of it for a romantic and cozy supper meal!

Last week late in the afternoon, my parson-husband had some errands to run in town. Not long after he departed, I got busy “setting the stage” for our fireside dinner date! I pulled the table in front of the fire, lit candles, turned on Pandora, and made our dinner. I wish I would have taken a picture of his face when he returned home and rounded the corner of the living room and saw the table all set for our meal! It was priceless…and it made me really glad I’d gone to the little bit of trouble to make it special.

I didn’t fix a gourmet meal – as a matter of a fact, I used some leftovers and added a salad and rolls to it! It took very little effort to let him know that I was thinking about him while he was away. We spent about an hour and a half at the table, eating, talking, and just enjoying one another’s company!

Having a candlelit dinner might not be your cup of tea, but whatever it is that you and your  husband could enjoy at home, why not pull out all the stops and create an evening (or an hour) of a date night to surprise him?

The list is endless. The memories you’ll create will be worth the little bit of planning it takes to make it happen!

While you’re at it, why not keep a diary of your dates so you won’t forget the fun you’ve had?

Do you plan dates at home?  

From my country home,

As I sit here at my computer I hear the wind whipping around outside the window beside me. The snow is blowing making the backyard look like a vanilla milkshake being swirled in the blender. The leaves on the evergreen bush seem to be shivering as the wind whips through them, too. All is frozen out there, making me ever so glad to be inside beside the fireplace, praying for those that must be out in these bitter elements.

It’s one thing to have the cold on the outside, but have you ever had that kind of cold in your heart? You may not have intended for the temperature to drop, but some bitter thing happened in your life and then another, until the emotions and will both froze up inside of you. You felt as alone as my porch swing, waiting for someone to stop by and notice. No one does, and like my swing, the snow just keeps piling on, making you feel isolated and forgotten.

Last week my heart just needed to hear from the Lord. I needed Him to “melt some icicles,” if you will. While I was studying Daniel chapter 10, I asked the Lord for a practical truth that I could apply to my life. I know that the prophecy there is wonderful, but I wondered what was here that I could apply to my life. Then I saw it! After Daniel had seen the vision God gave, He was troubled. He called out to God, and God answered! I saw that the Lord does for me in my “Frozen Heart Moments” exactly what He did for Daniel.

Recently my engaged daughter told me she’s looking for some inexpensive recipes to file away for married life.  I love watching Pioneer Woman and similar programs on the Food Network, but honestly, who can afford all those pricey ingredients?  If I had beef brisket, three-inch thick steaks and fresh shrimp on hand, I could make a killer meal too!  But most of us live on hamburger and chicken, and have a budget to stick to!  So, I’m on the lookout for some money-saving recipes that don’t skimp on flavor, just cost.  

In an effort to try some new recipes that don’t break the bank, I tried a new dish that was meatless this week.  That was a little hard for me because I expect to have meat for supper!  The new recipe – Black Bean Cakes with Avocado-Corn Salsa that I tried was from the November issue of Southern Living magazine. Their recipes are always delicious and I felt sure that this would be a hit.  All the ingredients gave the indication that this was really tasty – not some nasty dried up old bean dish.  The end of the story about this recipe is that we loved it!  The words from my  husband were, “You can make this again!”  Yay!  The other great thing is that this recipe cost me about $1.65 per serving!  I added Spanish rice, corn chips and canned peaches on the side, making it a total of about $2.50 per serving!  Could you go to a Mexican restaurant and order a meal for that amount?  No way.

This is so tasty, and the presentation is impressive with the colors in the salsa on top of the bean cakes.  

Black Bean Cakes
3/4 cup diced red onion
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
2 (15-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded pepper Jack cheese, divided
6 tostada shells
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese


Avocado-Corn Salsa 
Ingredients
1 tablespoon lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 small avocado, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Salt
Pepper

Whisk together lime zest, lime juice, canola oil, Dijon mustard, and dried crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Stir in corn kernels, halved grape tomatoes, diced avocado, diced red onion, basil, and cilantro. Add salt and pepper.

Bean Cakes Preparation
1. Sauté onion in 1 Tbsp. hot oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic. Remove from heat.
2. Prepare Avocado-Corn Salsa; chill until ready to serve.
3. Mash together taco seasoning and 2 cups black beans in a large bowl with a fork. Stir in panko, next 2 ingredients, onion mixture, 1 cup pepper Jack cheese, and remaining black beans until well blended. Shape mixture into 6 (1/2-inch-thick) patties.
4. Cook patties in remaining 3 Tbsp. hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
5. Preheat oven to 400°. Place tostadas on a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; top with Cheddar and remaining pepper Jack cheese. Bake until cheese melts. Top with black bean cakes and salsa.

I’m continuing my search for inexpensive recipes and will be sharing them with you in upcoming posts.  What do you fix to cut costs on meal preparation?

From my country kitchen,