I had the blessing of going with a group from our church to Amish Country this past week from Wednesday through Saturday (hence the reason for no posts on Thursday and Friday).  We saw many of these on the roads everywhere…

I learned that I do have something in common with the Amish women – they spend Saturday preparing their food for Sunday too!  Of course, they feed a much larger crowd than I ever have, but they get everything ready for the Sunday meal on Saturday.  They also do it without the aid of electricity.  Yikes!  I can’t imagine not having the microwave, electric oven, refrigerator or the dishwasher to help me in my preparations!  Thank you, dear Ben Franklin!

On our last night in PA, our group ate dinner in an Amish woman’s home.  We watched her children washing dishes and helping their mother serve our meal.  We had a feast of wonderful food including fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh asparagus, homemade breads, green beans, buttered noodles, two kinds of fruit pies, homemade pudding and chocolate cake!  They may be simple people, but that was no simple meal!

I added fresh tomatoes to it as well and served this with tortilla chips and salsa and fresh fruit.  Along with being quick, this is also an inexpensive meal.

Another new recipe from last week was Apple-Bacon Coleslaw.  My husband loved this.  I’ve never been super good at making coleslaw, but I think I have finally found a winner!  Try it and tell me what you think!

3 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl mayonnaise
1 Tbl Dijon mustard
1 tbl lemon juice
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz bag of shredded coleslaw mix
1 large Gala apple, finely diced
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Whisk together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add coleslaw mix, apple, and ground pepper, tossing well to coat.  Chill 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with bacon just before serving.

What’s been cooking in your kitchen?

With love,

If you followed my husband and me in the morning you would see us head out in running shoes and clothes and head for the road pictured to the right.  We walk most every weekday morning.  We’ve done it for many years now.  This road is my incentive because it’s so pretty, it’s quiet and we hardly ever encounter cars once we get to this dead end street. 

However, to get there we have to climb a very steep hill.  You can see in the distance is another good size hill.  We get a really good workout on our walk/jog.  Some mornings it seems impossible to climb these inclines; other times it’s a piece of cake (oooo, poor choice of words when talking about exercise!).

When we got home from our walking/jogging yesterday my husband said, “You know, running is a lot like the Christian life.”  We then made some good comparisons. Here are a few:

 You get some new running shoes and a good outfit to run in and you’re all excited about getting started.  A person gets saved, or gets back on the right track with the Lord, and they’re ready to set the world on fire for Christ.  You start up the first steep hill and you wonder why you ever decided to do this!  Not long after you set out to serve the Lord, hardships come. It gets really hot when you run.  Serving the Lord isn’t always comfortable.  You get tired.  The believer gets tired of doing what is right.  But rather than quitting, you keep going.  You don’t stop.  Pretty soon, you’re seeing the benefit.  Clothes fit better.  Cholesterol and blood pressure numbers improve!  The believer that keeps running the race and doesn’t get side-tracked sees the reward from following the Lord.  Perhaps they lead someone to Christ, they’re seeing victory over sin, or they see the fruit from the study they’ve completed.  When you get back from exercising, you’re really glad you didn’t eat junk food that would have weighed you down.  The believer realizes the importance of being pure from sin.  The doctor is going to be so happy next time he sees you and you’re in better health!  The Lord will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!  Enter into the joy of the Lord!”

Exercise is great, but there’s nothing better than walking with the Lord and staying faithful to the end.  Are you in shape spiritually? If not, tie on your shoes.  Then don’t quit!

The following is an overview of our DVD lesson in Loving God with All Your Mind.

Mary’s life was forever changed when an angel appeared to her and announced that should would be the mother of the Son of God. For each of us a phone call, an appointment or incident can be a turning point in our lives. What are we to think about the unexplainable things that touch our world?

We can see in Mary’s response the way we, too, should respond.  She listened and then she asked, “How?” She consented to God’s plan for her life. By one act of God her life was changed. The first clue to how she accepted this was her calling herself the “handmaid of the Lord.” This was evidence that this was her mentality. She considered herself to have no right, will or possessions.

In Mary’s response to the angel’s announcement, we read Mary making 15 references to the Old Testament. She had a working knowledge of the Scriptures that taught her to know her God!

Many women are majoring on the minors. But instead we need to major the major: knowing God.

What are some of the majors we need to understand?

1. His wisdom – Where do we go to find wisdom? We find it through the Proverbs, discipleship or mentoring relationship, through commentaries, Bible studies. But God is wisdom and His ways are past finding out. We must obey in faith, though we might not understand.

2. His knowledge – God is knowledge and is the source of all there is to know. It’s impossible to understand because it lies in the realm of God. What does he know? He knows very situation of every woman. He knows all our thoughts, challenges, our husbands, or if there is no husband, he knows why. He knows the number of children, or if there are there are no children he knows why. He knows our sufferings. He knows how each situation will end and when.

3. His judgments – They are unsearchable. This is how God makes decisions. This is not the way we make decisions. Psalm 46:10 – Cease striving for it is I, God, who is doing this. We must just submit without understanding. This is what Mary did – “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”

4. His ways – They are past finding out! This has to do with God’s methods. It is not the way we would do it because we are not God!   Isaiah 55:8,9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

When you think about your situation:

• Realize that you don’t have to understand.

• Why ask “why?” Instead, ask “Who.”  “Who is behind the scenes?” Let go of your rights. These are God’s decisions and we are not going to understand.  We can trust His ways!

Elizabeth used this illustration – After an earthquake that made absolute chaos of their home, she went into the library and began putting the books back on the shelves between two bookends.  She was trying to make order in the midst of the chaos.  Put everything that is happening to you between the bookends of God’s wisdom and knowledge.  It’s there that we will have order and peace – even if we don’t understand.

Whatever the “unacceptable thing” is in your life, you can learn to accept it by carefully viewing it from the realm of God’s wisdom, knowledge, judgments and ways rather than your own.

With love,

What a special day Easter Sunday is!  Of course we celebrate the resurrection every day, but the special emphasis over this weekend is such a blessing. We witnessed a drama, When Jesus Comes, that portrayed the difference Christ makes in a life.  He has certainly made a difference in mine – how about you?!

 After our morning service I invited my mother-in-law and two other sweet ladies from our church to join us for Easter dinner.  I try to look for people who might not have families here to have dinner with and invite them to join us. 

My husband chose the menu for this meal.  I like it when he’ll ask for certain foods, because I like fixing the things he enjoys.  We didn’t stray too much from our traditional menu, just a little.  We had:

We’ve all heard about baby cubs and the danger of being near one.  Why?  Because their momma is somewhere very nearby and is ready to attack in order to protect her baby. 

But human parents can be just as protective.  After hearing about what seemed an unfair treatment recently with one of my girls, I wanted to go set somebody straight!  Of course I wouldn’t have torn anybody apart like the momma bear, but just wanted to “share a piece of my mind”! I restrained myself, however and simply prayed about the situation!   Any other moms been in this place?  We all probably have.  We love our children and want to protect them from unfair treatment. 

Now, let’s magnify that a thousand times and think about God the Father’s love for His Son.  What kept Him from calling a score of angels to rescue Jesus from the cross?  He could have done it and they would have obeyed.  He loved His Son, yet His love for us is as great. (Amazing, isn’t it?) He knew that without this perfect Sacrifice you and I would never be restored to a relationship with Him.  He turned His back on Christ while He bore our sin so that you and I could have forgiveness and eternal life.  This was far more than restraint…this was perfect, sacrificial love for YOU and ME.

The Love of God by Frederick M. Lehman so beautifully describes the wonderful love of the Father.  Here are the words:

See you in church Easter Sunday.  We have lots to celebrate, don’t we?  Our church is doing the drama we did for our Ladies’ Winter Tea – When Jesus Comes.  If you live in the area I hope you’ll join us!  It’s going to be a great day at Boones Creek!

With love,

P.S. BCBC ladies, make sure you’re ready for Bible study this coming Monday night.  Finish up your lessons in Week 5, if you’re not done yet.  Please join us…this study on Loving God with All Your Mind has been such a blessing!