A little more than a week ago was my husband’s birthday.  As is our tradition, he got breakfast in bed!  I fixed one his favorite meals – Eggs Benedict, set it on a tray, then snapped the picture above and posted it on Facebook with my birthday greetings to my parson.  It wasn’t long before a friend sent me a message saying,

• What would he like?
• How can I serve him today?  
• What is his favorite (food, leisure activity, movie, dessert, restaurant, gift)?

 

Michigan snows came plentifully in my childhood.  The depths were overwhelming, often measuring more than a yard stick.  Stepping off the porch of our house, I would take a step forward, lifting my booted foot high in the air to take the next stride.  Snow would slide down inside my boot, sending silvery shivers from my heel to my toes.  One winter the snow was so plentiful, that my sweet dad made a tunnel in one of the drifts; creating an igloo out of the depth of the icy precipitation.

These are the kinds of winters that you could call being “snowed under.”  It was plentiful; it was all around us.  We could not escape it.  It hid the green earth for months.  It was our world until the warmth of springtime finally emerged.

Have you ever considered the idea that you might be “snowed under” the focus of a wrong ambition?  Everywhere you turn, This is on your mind.  This is what drives you.  This distracts you from the real goal: –  obedience to the Word of God and eternity.

C. S. Lewis said,

You cannot watch someone die without doing a lot of thinking about your own life, and what awaits you, personally, after this life is over.  I don’t want to get “snowed under” so that I’m not realizing that this life is preparation for the next.  Whatever I put my hands to today should be influenced by the understanding that  just as spring is coming soon to the Michiganders, heaven and eternity are just beyond for us.  It is healthy for us to think about heaven – our future home on a regular basis.

As I watched my mother-in-law living out her last days, I asked the Lord to help me to make my days fruitful for His honor and glory.  I want my life to count for the Lord, not so I can gain an entrance into heaven, but because I have His promise that I’m going there some day, and I want to lay up treasures there for His honor and glory.  I don’t want to get “snowed under” all the other stuff of this life and lose my perspective.

Our Sunday school teacher put it this way last Sunday –

• ·        Young woman, don’t spend more time pouring over your phone, Facebook and Pinterest than you do God’s Word.
• ·  Moms, don’t care more keeping a spotless house than you do teaching your children about the God that loves them and has a purpose for their lives.
• ·  Ladies, don’t sit and worry about the hurts and heartaches you’re facing – go find someone to pour your life into.
• ·  Friend, make today count for eternity.  

Don’t get snowed under!

With love,

English Muffin Individual Pizzas

Ingredients
1 English muffin, cut in half
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon red pesto – (I’ll use paste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small red onion, sliced
2 to 3 button mushrooms, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 slice ham cut into pieces, optional
1/2 cup ready-grated mozzarella or grated cheddar cheese

Directions
Toast the muffin until golden and leave to cool. Preheat the broiler. Mix the tomato paste and red pesto and spread over the muffin halves. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion, mushrooms until softened and golden.
Add the seasoning and then divide the vegetables between the muffin halves and scatter the ham and mozzarella or Cheddar over the top. Place under the broiler and cook for 4 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

In the wintertime, I enjoy having breakfast foods for supper.  Here’s an interesting looking recipe from Bon Appetit that I’m looking forward to making!

Ham and Cheese Waffles
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large egg whites
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup soda water
Non-stick vegetable oil spray
1 cup thinly-cut strips of ham
3/4 cup shredded sharp white cheddar
Maple syrup

Preparation
Preheat oven to 300°. Heat waffle iron until very hot. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until medium-soft peaks form. Whisk egg yolks, melted butter, buttermilk, and soda water in a medium bowl; gradually whisk into dry ingredients. Fold in egg whites.
Coat waffle iron with non-stick vegetable oil spray. Pour batter onto iron, spreading it into corners (amount of batter needed will vary according to machine). Scatter 1 rounded Tbsp. ham and 1 Tbsp. white cheddar over each waffle. Cook until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a baking sheet; keep waffles warm in oven between batches. Serve with butter and warm maple syrup.

What do you do with leftover ham? I’d love your ideas!

From my parsonage kitchen,

Happy Friday! Whitney here…

One of the most obvious ways to freshen up your home is with new decorations. I am freshening up a new (to me) house bit by bit with new things from Hobby Lobby (love) and Target!

You can always find something on sale at Hob Lob, and if you download their iPhone app, you’ll always have a coupon to use on regular price items. But back to Target…

When I go to Target, I always look on the ends of the aisles for their clearance end caps. I recently learned a trick to reading Target’s clearance tags, and I’ll share that in a second. But first, check out some incredible bargains I’ve scored…

• Top Left: 2 matching lamps, “online items” meaning they are only sold online, but were returned to the store. Since they don’t belong in the store, Target marks online items WAY down. I got those lamps for $5 each (see tag on the top right).
• Bottom Left: A set of suede-ish turquoise accent pillows for my navy couch, $8 (Photobomb by my sister’s oh-so-cute kitty).
• Bottom Right: Super cute gray and yellow twin sheet set, 50% off at $7.98.

Here’s the secret I learned from reading a blog post about Target’s clearance process: the little number in the top right hand corner will tell you how much the item has been discounted. For as long as the item stays on the shelf, it will be marked down every two weeks. The discounting goes from 15%, then 30%, then 50%….then 70%….and even to 90%! I’m thrilled if I find something marked down 50%, like the gray and yellow sheets. That’s a significant savings!

This item has been marked 75% off…see the little number up there?

Target marks down several departments in their store each day, so the clearance is always changing. This is a great excuse to run into Target whenever you have a chance! =)

Happy Shopping!

Whitney 

1. Lord, please take her home today.
2. Would you take her while Whitney is here this evening, Lord?
3. Could we please be beside her when she crosses to glory?

To be with a child of God as they pass from this life into glory, is an experience to be treasured.  His grace is sufficient.  His peace is overwhelming.  His love is abundant.  He is all we need.

Thank you, dear readers, for letting me share this journey with you.  I pray it has changed me forever.  

Rejoicing through tears,