The death of a loved one will surely cause a person to have a heavy heart.  There’s a sense of deep sorrow.  There’s the feeling of loss and the realization of all the changes that will come to your life.  Imagine that a dear friend of yours has an aching heart like I just described – how would you try to cheer them up?  Words often fail at a time when you want so badly to lift a drooping heart.

In Luke 24 we find that Christ has been crucified and it’s now three days later. A group of women made their way to the tomb. They were sad at the loss of their Savior.  Their hearts were trying to grapple with the great sorrow they had experienced.  When they arrived, they found that the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty!  Then, to add to stress in their fearful hearts, they are greeted by two angels!  The angels had seen their grief and their sorrow.  What did they angels say to them?

Remember how he (Jesus) spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

They reminded the women what Jesus had told them was going to happen; they reminded them of His Words!  Then Luke goes on to say, “And they remembered his words.”  I can just see the women’s faces lighting up at the remembrance of what Jesus had told them before He died.  They may have nodded with an understanding of the scene before them.  Then they left rejoicing and went to tell the disciples the good news!

All it took to encourage those sorrowful women was to remind them of Jesus’ words.  What a good example for us to follow!  If we want to encourage someone who is disheartened, for whatever reason – whether it’s sorrow in death,  poor health, a financial setback, or the ruin of their plans, let’s follow the example of the angels and encourage their grieving hearts by reminding them of Jesus’ words!  We need to share a promise that Jesus made; His Word is full of them!

What is one promise of Jesus’ that you’re thankful for today?  Pray for an opportunity to encourage someone with that truth on this Thursday!

With love,

Parsley

Thyme

Handy to use, but also beautiful as a centerpiece!

I hope I can keep them thriving in their new surroundings.  Maybe when it warms up, I’ll put them outdoors, but for now I can enjoy having them right at my fingertips.

If you’re thinking of growing herbs this spring/summer, now is the thyme =) to purchase them.  They can get really scarce when May or June rolls around.  Some of my favorites are Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, and Sage.  Keep them near a sunny window in your kitchen and snip off what you need while you’re cooking.  You’ll be amazed at how it freshens the flavor of your food.

From my parsonage windows,

Like the remote control by my husband’s plate?  Yeah, the  race at Bristol was on.  =) Thankfully for me, he watches it with no volume.

Lemon-Herb Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy

1 lemon
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Tbl. Fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 roasting chicken
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 water

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grate lemon zest and squeeze juice from lemon.
2.  Stir lemon zest, lemon juice, soup, rosemary, thyme and garlic in medium bowl.  Reserve 1 cup soup mixture for gravy.  Place chicken into shallow roasting pan.
3.  Roast chicken 20 min.  Brush chicken with 1/4 cup soup mixture.
4.  Roast 1 hour and 15 min.  or until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken to serving platter and keep warm.

5.  Spoon off fat from pan juices.  Stir in broth in roasting pan and heat over medium high heat to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan.  Stir in reserved soup mixture and water and cook until mixture is hot and bubbling.  Serve gravy with chicken.

That creamy gravy is flavored with the lemon and those fresh herbs.  DE-lish!

To make this for Sunday dinner…
Turn the oven to 260 degrees.  Follow steps 1 and 2, Brush 1/4 cup soup mixture over chicken.  Place in oven and go to church.  =)  When you get home, proceed with step 5.

Tender, juicy and flavorful Sunday Roast Chicken!

This Salad is a great side dish.  It mixes up really fast and adds a little bit of sweetness with your meal. 

Banana Pineapple Salad
1 egg
1/4 – 1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbl. lemon juice

Mix in small saucepan and stir over medium low heat until it just begins to thicken.

In a bowl, place 2 bananas, 1 small can pineapple chunks and 1/3 Cup chopped walnuts or pecans.  Pour sauce over all.  Serve immediately.

The No Sugar Apple Pie is a recipe a friend at church made for us a long time ago.  I’d forgotten how good this is!  If you want to cut back on sugary desserts, this is a great recipe!  It still has sweetness with the help of Apple juice, but it’s flavorful and a perfect ending to a Sunday dinner (or Monday, or Tuesday or…)

1 6 oz. Can Frozen apple juice concentrate
1 tbl. margarine
2 Tbl. cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
6 cups sliced delicious apples (don’t use a tart apple)

Place apple concentrate in saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Combine margarine, spices in small bowl.  Add a small amount of apple juice.  Sir until well blended. Stir cornstarch mixture into apple juice.  Pour over apples.  Stir carefully to coat.  Pour into unbaked pie crust.  Place top crust over.
Bake 425 degrees for 30 min.  Reduce to 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  You may need to shield the outer edges of the crust to keep them from browning too much.

Do you have a dish you make frequently, as I do chicken? What was cooking in your kitchen this weekend?

With love from my parsonage kitchen,  
      

I have used the lint roller to remove the fur and it takes of some of it.  I bought a cat lint brush that has bristles that are supposed to remove the fur from furniture, but it only removes it partially.  Then recently the idea popped into my head to just take a damp paper towel and run it across the fabric.  Boom!  It picks it up wonderfully!  It rolls it into a little lint roll that comes up so much easier than any other method I’ve tried!

Refresh your home using this simple method.  Your guests will thank you!  =)

See you in church Sunday!

Be refreshed,