A Peek Inside the Parsonage

May 29, 2013September 16, 2015 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Tape measures, clip boards, lace, satin, and tulle. This was my day yesterday. Alli and I went wedding dress shopping! What girl doesn’t look forward to the day she can go looking for the perfect dress for her special day? I felt privileged to be the one at her side, assisting her in and out of gowns, tying ribbons, zipping zippers and fluffing trains. It was a special day.

As I helped with the trying on of dresses, my mind was traveling through the years, as a mother-of-the bride is sure to do. When a mother raises a daughter, there are many dress fittings in the years that led up to this day, and each one of those prepares her for when she will choose her wedding dress.

I remember the first dress she wore home from the hospital, her first Easter dress, and the succeeding ones each year after that. There were the dresses for each Sunday as we worshiped and went to church together as a family. There were dresses for recitals, in both piano and violin. There was the dress for her high school graduation, the dress for her sister’s wedding, and the dresses for college classes and for formal functions during those four years she was getting her degree. Then, recently came the college graduation dress. George Banks (from Father of the Bride) would be counting the money spent on all those dresses; I was counting the blessing of having daughters and the fun times we had shopping together, discussing price, modesty, and appropriateness. We often ended those shopping trips with ice cream or a beverage on our way home.

What a blessing to be a part of another of Alli’s special days yesterday – the day she found the dress! Yes, it’s hanging in her “old bedroom” closet, awaiting its alteration day in March. Am I sad? I wept yesterday, but they were happy tears, tears of remembrance of all the shopping trips all through the years. I wiped those tears and we headed out for frozen yogurt! Hey, we had something really special to celebrate and we’d worked up an appetite! Dress shopping is no easy task, but it sure packs away some special memories!

What memory do you have of wedding dress shopping?

From my parsonage windows,

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The Hungry Soul

May 28, 2013October 18, 2015 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Yesterday we had kind of typical Memorial “picnic” foods. We grilled hamburgers and also had these super good Oven Fries that are a favorite of ours, a baked bean dish, and cantelope. Alli is home, and she requested a strawberry pie, so I made that for our dessert. Though I was really hungry when we sat down to eat, I was stuffed after the meal was done! That’s far more than I usually eat at a meal, but hey, it was a holiday!

We also invited a couple from church to eat with us, and after the meal we all took a drive. Our guest kept teasing everyone, because we were so full. As we passed a pancake house she said, “If you all will eat pancakes, I’ll buy!” Then when we drove past Cracker Barrel she asked, “Is anyone hungry yet?” We all would just groan at her suggestions to eat again. Why? Because we were full!

That whole scenario reminded me of a verse I had read earlier in the day in Proverbs 27. It says,

The full soul loatheth an honeycomb;

but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

My interpretation of that verse is, When you’re hungry, anything sounds good, but when you’re full, the very sight of food makes you groan!

Let’s think of that verse in a spiritual light. A Christian who doesn’t come to church hungry for the Word, hungry for fellowship, hungry to be used of God groans at each of those opportunities. The sanctuary is too cold, the sermon is too long, the people are unfriendly, the pastor’s wife is hateful, the Sunday school teacher is picking on you…The list could go on and on. On the other hand, the spiritually hungry person drinks in the preaching while taking notes. They only notice the visitors that needed a friend, rather than those regulars that didn’t speak to them. They look for opportunities to be a blessing, rather than looking to receive one. They realize their pastor’s wife had a migraine and that the Sunday school teacher was teasing with good natured fun. Even those bitter things can be sweet. Why? Because they came with an appetite.

Wow. What a difference it makes to come to church with the right attitude! Think back on last Sunday – was it a day of blessing or irritation? If it was the latter, look into your heart and see if your spiritual appetite came hungry. It can make all the difference in the world when you sit at the Banquet table of God’s Word.

With love,

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What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

May 27, 2013October 18, 2015 RefreshHer11 Comments

Happy Memorial Day!

This past Saturday was our second Pinterest Party at Boones Creek. We had such a great time! Just in case you don’t know what a Pinterest party is, let me explain. A sweet young woman in our church, Christina, chose seven different crafts for us to make from Pinterest – an Internet site. She purchased all the materials, organized the tables for each craft, and made an instruction sheet for each craft. Each participant went from table to table and made the crafts simply by following the directions on the sheet. Of course, Christina was available if anyone had any problems!

Birds eye view of the party!

Each particpant also brought a dish (or two) to share for lunch. For those who use Pinterest, we chose recipes from that site. Some simply brought their favorite lunch food. We had quite a spread!

I brought both a savory and a sweet dish.

For the savory part, I made White Castle Sliders.

Mmmm! If you’re not able to grill out today on this Memorial Day,

you might want to consider this easy recipe made in the oven!

The recipe came from Mommy’s Kitchen, who got it from someone, who got it from someone…

Here’s the recipe:

White Castle Sliders

2# hamburger (80/20)

Dried Onion Flakes

Seasoned Salt

Sister Shubert Rolls

Sprinkle dried onion flakes in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish.

Press beef over onion flakes, make a one huge patty.

Sprinkle with Seasoned salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until done.

Drain and Pat grease off.

Top with cheese slices. Place back in oven for 2 minutes to melt.

Remove and slice into hamburger patties, the size of your buns.

Place on buns and top with hamburger dills slices.

Serve immediately.

These taste so much like the White Castle burgers! What a great recipe!

My sweet treat was was a S’mores Dip. Another super simple dish!

S’mores Dip

In sauce pan place:

1 cup chocolate chips

2 Tbl. Milk

1 Cup Marshmallows

Stir and melt over medium heat.

Remove from heat and pour into oven safe dish.

Sprinkle with 1/4 – 1/2 Cup marshmallows. Place under broiler to brown.

Serve with Graham Crackers.

Have you ever attended a Pinterest Party? Would you consider attending one? I hope you said “Yes!” We will do this again this year! Hope you’ll join us!

With love from my parsonage kitchen,

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Freshen Up Friday

May 24, 2013January 9, 2015 RefreshHer4 Comments

One of the things I love to use my Kindle Fire for is cooking up recipes I’ve found on the Internet. I set the Kindle up on the counter and follow the recipe as I work in the kitchen. However, I’ve been fearful that it would get splashed or splattered while I was cooking.

I had recently seen an advertisement in a magazine for a cookbook stand that has a splash guard on it. It is the Umbra Cook-a-Boo Bamboo Cookbook Stand, found on Amazon. So when I got an Amazon Gift card for Mother’s Day, I immediately knew what I was going to buy!

It’s very sturdy, yet lightweight. Right at $30 (I actually got mine on sale for $25), this gives me confidence that it will keep my Kindle protected from water splashes, full mixer ingredients or other things that could ruin this electronic wonder!

This will also hold my cookbooks, of course, and keep them clean, too. It keeps the book standing upright, making it easy to read. Of course a Tablet or IPad would fit in this as well.

I just had to tell you about this great find! I’m sure it has refreshed the life of my Kindle. Hope it will freshen up your electronic device, too!

Do you use your Kindle or tablet in the kitchen frequently? How do you protect it?

See you in church Sunday!

Be refreshed,

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Keeping the Glow In Marriage

May 23, 2013October 5, 2015 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Yesterday I read this post on Facebook:

A sweet older man told me today that I had the glow of a newlywed. I told him I’d been married over 2 years, but that it gets better every day! He chuckled, but I know it’s true.

What do you do to keep the “newlywed glow” in your marriage?

There are two parts to this post:

The man’s chuckle at the statement of marriage getting better every day makes me wonder (because I don’t know it to be true) if he has the opinion that marriage starts out great but then only heads downhill. Many people hold to that sad idea! I want to ask, “Whose fault is that? Yes, it our own fault if that is true. Why would you just let your marriage slide along? Why wouldn’t you guard it, protect it, and work at it to make it better today than it was yesterday? Why do people marry? To be miserable? Sometimes I think so! Now on to #2…
The question begs to be answered ~ “What do you do to keep the newlywed glow in your marriage?” I didn’t post my answer on Facebook because I didn’t have time, but am happy to share my answer here.
1. Keep your mate your #1 earthly priority. Let him know that he is important to you every single day. Make time for him. Listen to him. Look at him when he’s talking to you. Share your heart with him. Do things for him. He comes before your children, mother, or girlfriends. He is more important than your favorite show on television, or the store that’s running the super sale! Let him know!
2. Keep dating. Make time to be together (and that doesn’t include going grocery shopping and stopping for gas!). Be creative with dates. Plan for them. Keep them fun and keep your husband guessing. Dating Divas have great ideas for fun times that won’t even cost you much money!
3. Keep things tender. Touch is an incredible tool to keep a marriage warm. Hold hands when you walk. Put your arm through his in church. Kiss goodbye EVERY time you part. Kiss hello. Kiss when you’re angry. Kiss when you’re happy. Kiss when you’re sad. I think you get the point. =) Slip your arms around his neck when he’s seated.
4. Do little things. Leave little gifts ~ A candy bar left on the kitchen counter for him. His favorite soft drink with a note on it in the fridge. A book for him to read or for you to read together. Leave notes ~ on the mirror, in the shower, on his pillow, in his Bible, on his cell phone, in a Facebook private message, in his suitcase, in his car.
5. Tell him over and over and over why you respect him. Need some help? Does he…
  - Go to work?
  - Take care of himself?
  - Love God?
  - Lead you and your family in loving God and going to church?
  - Tell others about Christ?
  - Provide for your family?
  - Make the hard, right choices as a man?
  - Come home to you each night?
  - Seek to be a godly man?
  - Serve the Lord at your church?
6. Keep your view of him as you did when you were dating. Don’t put on the glasses that magnify his faults. Expect more of yourself than you do of him. Be harder on your weaknesses than you are on his.
7. Be his sweetheart; not his mother. Enough said.
8. Be fun and flirtatious. It’s okay – you’re married and it’s allowed! 😉
9. Pray for your own heart and your attitude to remain towards your husband; he is God’s gift to you. Pray for your husband to be protected from all evil.
10. Be the best part of your husband’s day! Ask the Lord how you can do that and then do it!

Will these things keep the glow in marriage? Try it and see!

What would you add to my list?

With love,