I launched out this weekend and tried cooking my Sunday ribs in the pressure cooker. This piece of equipment is fast becoming my favorite tool!   I added a cup of water after salting the ribs, and in only 30 minutes of simmering, they were tender and ready for the barbecue sauce! 

I cooked them on Saturday, so I popped them in the fridge and then added the barbecue sauce on Sunday after getting home from church.  First, I warmed the ribs in the microwave, then I placed them in a pan, applied the sauce and let  them cook in a 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes.  They were so tender!

My menu:

I wanted to grill the ribs and this zucchini, but it was too hot to think about asking my hubby to stand out there.  So I opted to cook them both inside.  The zucchini was brushed with a little olive oil, then sprinkled with a garlic, rosemary seasoning and pan seared.  Mmmmm.

To kick the rice up a notch I cooked it this way:

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove
• 1 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
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• 1/2 teaspoon salt
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• 1 cup Minute rice

Preparation

Grate a garlic clove. Stir together garlic, broth, butter, and salt in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in rice;  cover until broth mixture is absorbed and rice is tender.

This makes simple rice really good!!!

Applesauce Muffins

Applesauce Muffins
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used 1/4 C, and they were still very moist!)
1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 C)
1 egg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the egg.  Stir in the applesauce and spices.  Sift together the salt, soda, and flour.  Add to the applesauce mixture and beat well.  Stir in the nuts.  Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. I used a mini muffin tin and the 8 to 10 minutes was perfect.  If you use a regular sized pan, you’ll probably need to increase the baking time. 
*Baked muffins freeze well.

My Sunday dinner companions:

As my husband was enjoying his ribs, he said, “See?  Good things can come from pressure!”  It’s true, isn’t it?  But not many of us enjoy the process!  Pressure can tender the heart, just like it did my meat.  Whatever stress you’re experiencing today, I trust that it will soon produce the fruit that the Lord has intended for your life.

What was cooking in your kitchen this week?  Or do you have plans to try something new in the near future?

From my parsonage kitchen,

The Junk Drawer.  Most people have at least one, and they’re usually found in the kitchen.  Here’s one of mine (yes, there are two in my kitchen.  The other one has all the odd utensils in it). 

I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday (love that place!) and saw their baskets were half off.  I bought a little red one that I felt sure would fit into this drawer and help me organize all the “stuff.”  It was only $2.50 and really helped to whip this mess into shape.  I need to go back and get one more basket to put the last little bit of odds and ends in.

I love opening this drawer now! 

So, you probably know what you need to do to freshen up your Friday~ 

• Find the/a Junk Drawer in your kitchen and empty it – yes, all of it. 
• Then go through and pitch all the trash and unwanted “warriors” and trash. 
• Find the proper home for all the gadgets, items, and articles that do not belong in that drawer.
• Sort and stash similar things in small containers – even boxes like the one your checks come in, (or go to Hobby Lobby and buy some while they’re half off).
• Wipe out the drawer (How do crumbs get in there anyway?!)
•  Place your organized containers back into the drawer.
• Smile as you look into the now organized “Junk Drawer!”  

Be refreshed,

Do you ever think of yourself as a shepherdess – one that watches over sheep?  It seems strange, but consider the truth of our responsibility found in Proverbs:

You might be a city girl, but we all have a “flock” if we have a family or a ministry. 

It takes diligence to look well to my “herd” (not sure my 20 year-old wants to be considered part of a herd, but, oh well!).  I have to stop and ask myself some questions in order to know how everyone in my home is doing.

Concerning children:

1. How are they doing spiritually?  Do they seem to be walking with God?
2. Do I need to offer a listening ear about something that is going on in their life right now?
3. Is there a wound in their heart that needs the application of God’s Word?
4. Are they feeding on God’s Word?
5. Are their friends encouraging them towards godly living?
6. Are they bearing the fruit of the Spirit?
7. Is there a need I should provide? Clean laundry?  A replaced button?  Mended hem?
8. Are they getting adequate rest and exercise?
9. Is there some way I could serve them?  This would be apart from the normal duties of a mom – this is a favor done in love.

Concerning husband:

1. Does he seem encouraged in the Lord?
2. Does he have a burden which I could pray with him about?
3. Does he have a stooping heart that needs a glad word? Proverbs 12:25
4. Does he respond to me as a man that feels respected by me?  Ephesians 5:33
5. Is there a way I could serve him today?  Run an errand for him, do a task he normally does, bake something he loves…
6. Are his needs being met?
7. Is there a need I should provide?  Clothes mended, finish a task I started for him, make  lunch for him to take to work…
8. Am I loving him with I Corinthians 13 love?  Forgiving, unselfish, not keeping score or wrongs, hoping all things… etc.
9. How could I demonstrate that kind of love today?

If you don’t have a family, many of these questions could apply to the ministry (people) to whom you are ministering (your job should also be your ministry).  

We all have flocks and herds.  Are they sick and scattered, or are they loved and cared for by us, their “shepherdesses?”  It does take diligence as the verse indicates, but Our Great Shepherd will help us, give us discernment and also strength to roam the fields looking out for their well-being.  It’s a high calling and blessed privilege!

What does it mean to you to “know the state of your flocks?”  How can you do that?

With love,

Do you have a pressure cooker?  What do you like to cook with it?  Has this helped you be less fearful to pull yours out of the cabinet and put it to use?  What will you try?

From my parsonage windows,

Yesterday was a day for remembering.  It was a happy remembrance – of God’s grace, His perfect plan for my life, and for His Word that is always sufficient.  It was a day of remembering 25 years ago when our daughter Ashley was delivered still-born.  Wow.  Twenty-five years.

I told someone recently that I’m still learning things from that trial.  Now that it’s been so many years, I can see a little clearer why the Lord may have allowed that to happen.  That isn’t always necessary, but sometimes, in His grace, God allows us to understand the purpose. 

This trial taught me some really valuable spiritual lessons – things like:

• God’s Word will always be my best comfort. 
• It is always sufficient for every need of my life.
• God loves me and will never forsake me – even when He allows difficult personal situations to happen to me and my family.
• Trials are good for me, for they propel me towards God.
• Though I am moved in trials, God never is; therefore He can be my Strong Tower.
• My heart will heal with God’s help, and I will not always carry the grief I feel during the trial.
• God wants to use my trials to bring glory to Himself.

Personally I learned some important truths:

• My husband really loves me.  He used this trial to draw us together, rather than apart, as it does many couples.
• Many times the best thing to do to comfort a person who is grieving is to say nothing, but only show love and weep with them in their grief.
• Time does heal the wound of sorrow, but the memory sweetens and remains.

My husband and I don’t make a big issue each year of the memory of our loss, but we share it together in a special way that continues to knit our hearts to one another and the Lord.  Yesterday, I was so blessed to be pampered by him in order to remember Ashley and make it a special day.  He took me to lunch at a fun place, then he delivered me to the spa at Carnegie Hotel where he’d made an appointment for me to have a manicure.  How thoughtful is that?!

Austin Springs spa is a really special place.  They took me to the Relaxation Area to wait for my appointment.  It was dim, quiet, and yes, relaxing.

A blessing from this visit was that I shared with the manicurist why my husband had sent me there.  I had the opportunity to talk with her about God’s grace and the joy of heaven.  Again, another opportunity to serve, due to the trial!

Post manicure pose with a long-stemmed white rose (given by the spa when I left), and, of course, still slightly wet nails.

I’m thankful I’ll see Ashley some day!  But until then, my heart will go on singing.  Until then, with joy I’ll carry on…

What trial in your life has taught you the most about your God?

With love,