Friday Favorites

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017 RefreshHer1 Comment

Well, let’s have a drum-roll, because today’s the day to announce the winner of The Extraordinary Book give-away!

Extraordinary Woman

Thanks to all who entered and who shared the book on Facebook! With no further remarks, let me say that The name was randomly drawn and

The winner is:

Michelle Beal!

If you could please email me at my contact email and share your mailing address, Michelle, I’ll get your book in the mail. Congratulations!

I hope the rest of you who are interested in the book will either order a copy for yourself and a friend, or let people know you’d like a copy for Christmas! There’s a discounted price of $6.99 on it right now, , so you can snag a deal if you act quickly. I had several people tell me they’re ordering multiple copies to give as Christmas gifts. What a great idea! I love giving a book like this that will encourage and help the recipient!

My next favorite thing this week involves another kind of giving. This weekend we will be sending off our Operation Christmas Child box. I chose to shop for a girl, age 6-8. I spent a total of $21 on the gifts and had so much fun doing it. Here are some photos of what I found. Several items were found on clearance like the dress and the Melissa & Doug stamp set. Most of the other items were found at The Dollar Tree. The little cozy slippers are so soft – I cannot believe they were only $1! I’m praying for the little girl who will receive our box to know that not only does someone in the USA care for her, but that Jesus loves her and wants to be her Savior! Who else is packing a box?

lumberjack cupcakes

Last weekend was the first birthday party for the sweet little guys our daughter and son-in-law are fostering. The birthday theme was Lumberjack and it was the cutest ever! Here was the cupcake cake I made to help celebrate our little guys. I used the chocolate cake recipe I shared recently for the cake part and made buttercream icing. What a special time rejoicing in the year God has given these babies. What miracles they are after being born at 24 weeks. They’ve made such great strides and we love them to pieces!

I had the blessing of hosting dinner for two of our missionary families who came to be in our services last Sunday. Before the weekend ever started, the table was set,

the Butternut Squash Soup was made, a new pumpkin dessert was prepared, French bread baked and all of that was put into the freezer. It made making Sunday dinner so much easier because on Friday afternoon we headed to The Wilds Christian Camp in Brevard, NC where we saw this beautiful scene:

This weekend our church is hosting a Pinterest party! The gal at church who organizes it does a FANTASTIC job. I can’t wait to see what she’s lined up for us to make this year. It will be a day full of fun crafting, fellowship, new friends and some good food! I hope you have fun plans for this weekend, too!

Refresh yourself by spending extra time in God’s Word!

Denise Signature 150 px

Holiday Ideas Begin Now!

November 8, 2017November 7, 2017 RefreshHer9 Comments

Christmas decor.jpg

For years I have fallen into a pattern of digging out my Christmas idea books when I decorate for Christmas – usually the first week of December. The problem with that is that there’s just not enough time then to cull through all the great ideas inside and actually do some of those super-creative projects!

Chrsitmas book.jpg

This year, I got my favorite book out when I pulled out my fall decor. I’ve been going through its pages and gathering ideas. It’s full of wonderful decor tips, centerpieces, gift ideas and recipes! Now maybe you don’t have a book like this – or you’re thinking you’ll just use Pinterest (which is a great resource!), but my encouragement about using books like these is that they also have patterns! There are step-by-step directions and pages to help you actually pull these ideas off!

If you don’t own a book like this, your library is full of them! Go find one and check it out! I just wanted to encourage you to be thinking NOW about what creative schemes you might want to implement this Christmas.

Now is also the time to create calendars or greeting cards from your great pictures. You might also make sure that you upload pictures now to the sites where you’ll make that calendar or greeting card. Order that cool idea for your son-in-law, find the materials needed to make that beautiful wreath or begin making that special gift.

Supplies don’t last forever at Hobby Lobby (I found out the hard way last year!), and your time will run short. So get a great book, or pull out your Pinterest board where you’ve been saving wonderful ideas and start working on the list of things that need to be done before December gets here. We’re not rushing Christmas, we’re preparing ahead of time!

Easy DIY Christmas Card Craft

Refresh your Christmas by getting yourself in gear for accomplishing those creative plans you want to do!

Do you love looking through Christmas idea books like I do?

Denise Signature 150 px

ministry · Pastor's Wife · Uncategorized

Blessings Of A Parson’s Wife

October 25, 2017October 25, 2017 RefreshHer4 Comments

appreciation basket

Being a parson’s (pastor’s) wife is a blessing. My joy comes from being able to stand alongside a man who:

Loves God and has given his life to teach and preach God’s Word.
Shares Truth to bring change to troubled hearts.
Sacrifices his time gladly to run to help those in need.
Obeys God’s principles in his private world, just as in the platform God has given him.
Sees his ministry as 24/7
Makes his wife his first ministry.

Then there are blessings of the ministry itself –

Seeing a lost person come to Christ!
Seeing hard hearts softened by the Word of God.
Watching the Church come together for the cause of Christ.
Laboring with the saints.
Watching God answer prayers that we have prayed corporately.
Seeing the church grow and flourish.
Worshiping and praising God together.
Fellowshiping with the church.
Close relationships built because of our bond in Christ.

I could literally write on and on, but I want to hit on one other area of blessings – it’s the Grace blessings that we get to clip so very often. It’s those blessings that we feel undeserving of, and certainly aren’t looking for.

One of them happened this past Sunday. Our church celebrated its 61st anniversary, and during the dinner that followed (another blessing of the church!), my husband and I were honored, as were our daughter and son-in-law (our youth pastor). It was just because of their appreciation for our service at Boones Creek. The church wheeled in a huge basket for each family that was wrapped almost too beautifully to rip apart!

However, we loaded it into our car, took it out to our back porch and spent the next hour opening cellophane bags containing cards, gift cards and precious gifts. These were not collective from the whole church, but from individuals. How each addition to that basket touched our hearts! Hand written notes of appreciation and thanks, home-baked bread, jam, maple syrup, treats of all sorts, gift cards to favorite restaurants, stores, and coffee shops…all things our church family knew we would love. We literally wept with gratitude for their kindness.

The fact that everyone added their contribution made it so special to us. It was like a personal visit with each one, and our hearts were humbled to be thought of so lovingly and generously.

Being in the ministry also brings many heartaches, and I would be remiss to pretend that every day is full of blessings, but I am also so thankful for God’s timing. When our hearts could be overcome with the burdens and cares of the sheep under the parson’s care, Our Shepherd steps in and shepherds us. He reminds us that we are not alone, and that we will One day stand before Him to receive the full reward of our work and labor for Him here. Oh, it will truly be “worth it all!” Without the hardships, the blessings would not be nearly as precious. So, I’m thankful for the hard times, and I will choose to learn from them, but not focus on them. I will look into the precious face of Christ and thank Him for putting it into the hearts of our church to be a blessing at the perfect time to this parson and his wife!

Let me end with two notes:

I want to say thank you to my dear church family for your love and encouragement to us this past weekend. God used you to spur us on, and to remind us of the family that we are when we are unified around the Person of Christ! Thank you from the bottom of our overflowing hearts.
If you are a parson’s wife, put your eyes onto the blessings of ministry and off of the troubles. When we focus on the hardships, the difficult days and people, we will want to quit. Look to Christ and remember the last time He shepherded you, just like your parson is caring for your flock. Christ is there. He hasn’t forgotten you. Look at the Letter He left to tell you so. Jeremiah 31:3 Hebrews 6:10

So very blessed,

Denise Signature 150 px

Christian Life · Prayer · Uncategorized

Finding the Will of God

October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 RefreshHer1 Comment

country road 1a

High school students taking geometry class have no concerns as to whether or not they’ll come up with the right answers for these math problems. Oh, they’re no good at formulas, theorems, and postulates, because they either skipped class or perusing Facebook during class, but it’s no big deal! Why? They have every confidence that to get the answers all they have to do is ask Google!!

That sad scenario was passed on to me from a long-time geometry teacher recently. He said that his students don’t study or put time into learning the in’s and out’s of geometry when they feel sure that Google can give them the answers for homework or tests. He reminded them that they are sadly mistaken. In order to do well in his class, they need to spend some time alone with their book, their notes, assignment their homework.

Before we get too hard on those failing freshmen, perhaps we need to check and see how we go about getting our answers. Oh, we might not need formulas for geometric shapes, but how do we go about getting directives from God? When we need to know His will, aren’t we often eager to just find the quickest way to hear it?

I think of Elijah when he was on the mountain. Do you remember the story? He had been running from Jezebel – the wicked queen who was hunting his life. God told him to go stand out on the mountain.

And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

¹²And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

¹³And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Elijah thought he would see God in Big ways – a wind, an earthquake, a fire, but no. God didn’t speak to him in BIG ways – he spoke in a still, small voice.

What truth does this show us? We might want to know God’s will so much, and we think (or even say!),

If God would just show me what to do, I’d do it! Can’t He just tell me what I’m supposed to do?

But God doesn’t write it in the sky. He doesn’t thunder His voice to us while we’re sleeping. So, how does God reveal His will to us?

It comes when we do what Elijah did.

Get alone with God. We must take the time regularly to set ourselves apart with the Lord so that we might be still.
Don’t do all the talking. We need to open His Word and read. What to read? Start with the psalms and pray them back to God. Praise Him. Love Him. Sing to Him. Ask Him what/where you should read next. Be still and listen for the Spirit of God to direct your thoughts. Read after asking God to illumine the Word to your heart.
Pray about what you don’t understand. One day when I was studying the life of Elijah, I got to the part of the story that we’re talking about today. I didn’t understand it. So, I prayed and asked “Lord, what does this mean? Why did you tell Elijah to go out on the mountain? What about the wind, earthquake and fire?” Then I sat still and listened. I continued to read the passage silently. It was then that God showed me…
In order to hear my voice, you must seek me in the Quiet Place – not in grand miracles or loud demonstrations of my power. Listen for my voice, still and soft.

Maybe that passage has always been easy for you, but when God showed me that Truth, I wept and rejoiced over its understanding. How simple. How profound. There are no 1,2,3 steps to get an answer from God. God loves us enough that in order to show us His will, He wants to have a relationship. We draw near. We read His Word and come to know Him. We listen. Then we learn. We get up from our Quiet place after who knows how many hours, or days, not just knowing His will, but also being so close to Him that we’re not afraid to go do it!

Elijah got his marching orders from God that day. So will you and I, when we do what that geometry student needs to do – take time to draw near and listen to the Teacher.

If you’re seeking God’s will, don’t go ask people. Don’t look for a quick way to find the answer. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Denise Signature 150 px

Cooking · Crock Pot · Uncategorized

When Gluten-Free Meets Delicious

October 2, 2017October 3, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

No one in my family is Gluten-Free, but I have friends who are, so I’ve been pinning GF recipes on Pinterest. Some recipes are just plain strange, but when I found this White Chicken Chili, I knew it would be good! It was so delicious and had NO SPECIAL INGREDIENTS in it. You simply substitute coconut milk for the regular milk and corn starch for flour. This is so good with the thighs, too, but of course, you could use white meat. I will make this again, not just for my GF friends, but for anyone who wants a delicious bowl of hearty, tasty soup!

Here’s the simple recipe:

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free White Chicken Chili

2.5 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
3 cans Great Northern beans
2 8 oz Cans Diced Green Chilies
1 Very large Yellow Onion diced
1 Tbl Garlic minced
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1 Tbl Coarse Real Salt
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
1/4 Cup Arrowroot Starch or cornstarch (I used cornstarch)

Place the chicken thighs, beans, chilies, onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, pepper, salt, chicken broth, and coconut milk in a crock pot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or until chicken is very tender.
Remove the chicken and place in a bowl. Lightly shred with a fork.
Place the arrowroot starch in a small bowl and slowly whisk in the 1/2 C. water to make a smooth, lump-free mixture. Stir the mixture into the chili in the crock pot.
Add the chicken back into the chili and stir to distribute. Let cook for another 30 minutes. Soup should thicken up.
Add the cilantro to the soup just before serving and check the seasonings, adding more salt or pepper if desired. If you want the soup to be a little thinner, add more chicken broth or coconut milk until desired consistency is achieved.
Top with a squeeze of lime juice.

Now how about a tasty little sweet ending for this meal or a nice snack that’s also Gluten-Free? This tastes like real food ! We loved these, and they whip up in minutes!

Cashew-Coconut Bites

Ingredients

1 Cup Cashew – salted
1 Cup dates
1 Cup unsweetened Coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbl Almond Butter

Instructions

Process dates in a food processor fit with “S” blade until crumbly.
Add coconut, cashews, vanilla and salt and process until well blended and fine.
Add almond butter and process until mixture starts balling up or sticking together.
Roll into balls, 1-2 TBS at a time.
Enjoy! Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Do you make any Gluten-Free recipes you love?

With love from my country kitchen,