Last night was a happy/sad night. It was happy because this group of ladies gathered to finish our study of A Woman After God’s Own Heart. We started this study last August. These dear ladies stuck with it and were there to see the last lesson. It was sad because we hated to see it come to an end! The fellowship has been sweet and the lessons encouraging. We’ve been spurred on to grow in our relationship with the Lord and have been given the tools to be women that will strive after a purpose for the next ten years!
We ended the study with a Chocolate Fountain Fellowship! Talk about delicious! We dipped strawberries, angel food cake, bananas, pretzels, apples and marshmallows in that luscious melted chocolate.

We skewered the treats on a stick and dipped to our heart’s content! A “professional” dipper showed some the best technique for getting lots of chocolate with as little mess possible!

What a blessing my friend Angie was to me. I’d never used a chocolate fountain before and she set it up and got everything running smoothly. I would have made a mess of it without her help! She was a reminder of the blessing of each member in the body working to make the church function as God intended.
There was a method to my madness in having the fountain. I wanted the ladies to remember a truth we’ve learned in this study. As we are growing in our relationship with the Lord and being filled with knowledge from His Word, our lives are like that fountain – we fill up and then begin to flow over. Our lives touch others, then those people touch other’s lives and the spilling over effect just continues and continues.

Oh, that we will each endeavor to be women after God’s heart and allow Him to use us to give to others. Let’s:

• Reach out
• Give liberally
• Determine to withhold nothing – give the smile, the encouraging word, the hug
• Look out for the one who’s hurting
• Go touch some sheep!
• Write notes of encouragement – Remember, all you need are three sentences:

I miss (appreciate, am thankful for) you

You are special, and here’s why…

I’m praying this verse for you…

The banner in the picture above is hanging in our church. When the ladies finish their study, I’ve asked them to sign it. It’s there to encourage them to finish strong. I’m cheering each of you on!

Thank the Lord for Women After His Heart! I love each of you,

Hey Friends! I’m back in the blogging world! What a busy week is behind me. I always thought that when I got to this stage of my life things would slow down, but so far the only thing I can say is I think I’m spinning faster than I ever have! God’s grace is sufficient, however, and I’m glad I can rest in Him to accomplish each day what He desires! Psalm 90:17 is a frequent prayer of mine – Establish the work of my hands… When there’s much to do and only so much strength and 24 hours, we must have His enablement and help. Then, too, I need His direction. Some things I think I need to do, the Lord does not, and I’m grateful when he redirects my steps.

I got the opportunity to go to Kentucky for a few days last week and visit with my family; what a blessing that was. I’m learning that it’s never convenient to run off for a few days, but it’s a sacrifice that’s not only necessary, it’s wonderful. Family will not always be near and we need to seize the opportunities to be with them when we can.

I did do a good bit of cooking last week, spite the fact that I was away. Starting with dessert first is a great plan, so let me share with you a Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownie I tried from Cooking Light. My husband and I are tying to steer clear of desserts when it’s just the two of us here, but I can’t have company for dinner and not have dessert! This brownie square only has 5.4 grams of fat, so I didn’t feel bad about adding a dollop of whipped cream and a little chocolate sauce!

I also baked some cookies to give away. We have a new neighbor, a newly married couple that has come back to Johnson City to live, and a daughter serving at camp, all who could use a plate of cookies! I made these – Lemonade Cookies, only I made them Limeade because that’s what I had on hand. They tasted great!

I also made up Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese for the young couple that just moved here. This recipe makes up plenty, so I had enough for our Sunday dinner as well!

I paired the pasta dish with a Mandarin Orange Salad and bread sticks. Sunday dinner was on the table in a snap since the pasta was made early. It only had to bake 30 minutes and I put it in the oven on self-timer, so it was hot when we got home from church. The salad ingredients were made up on Saturday night, so all I had to do when I got home was warm up the bread sticks! Our dinner guests got cancelled last minute due to sickness, so it ended up just being the two of us.

Lemonade Cookies (Limeade too!)

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 can (6 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed, divided

Additional sugar (I use the coarse sugar for the tops)

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar; add eggs. Combine flour and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with 1/3 cup of lemonade concentrate. Mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 40 degrees 6-8 minutes or ’til lightly golden. Remove to wire racks. Brush with remaining lemonade concentrate; sprinkle with sugar. Cool. Yield: 6 dozen

Mandarin Orange Salad

1/4 cup wine vinegar

1/2 cup oil

1 tbl sugar

salt and pepper to taste

3 3/4 oz. slivered almonds

2 tbl sugar

1 head lettuce, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green onions w/tops

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained

Combine vinegar, oil, 1 tbl. sugar, salt and pepper in bowl; mix well. Combine almonds with 2 tbl sugar in skillet. Cook over low heat until sugar melts and almonds are coated and light brown, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature. Combine lettuce, green onions, celery, mandarin oranges, and caramelized almonds in salad bowl. Add dressing at serving time, tossing gently to mix well.

Don’t sign off without leaving me a comment (if Blogger will let you – grrr!). Tell me what has kept you busy this summer and what you’ve been cooking!

With a happy heart,

My blogging friends,
I’m going to take a few days off of blogging. Things have been so busy already this summer, and I need some time to be refreshed myself. I’ll see you again soon! I hope you’ll miss me! 🙂

Our VBS theme is “Jesus Expedition.” The children have been “traveling” around the world searching for treasures. Tonight a real treasure was found!

This has been a busy week with VBS running at our church, but what a blessing! I absolutely love to tell children about what Jesus did for them. Since I was saved as a child, I know the wonder of walking with God since I was a little girl. I long for these children to experience His grace their whole lives! They listen without questioning intellect. They receive with the faith that Jesus lifted up as an example for adults to follow. It’s been a great week already!

I’ve poured much time into the preparation I needed for telling the life story of Hudson Taylor and something has to give – today it will be my post here. I know you understand…thank you!

How about a few suggestions for Father’s Day? I love Family Fun’s cute cake/cupcake ideas. Check out their web site for more detail and instructions.

For the dad that loves to grill, how about this adorable dessert:

One year my girls and I made this cake for their daddy. It’s just a 9 x 13 pan with the shirt decorations added to it – so easy!Here’s the perfect card to give Dad when making the shirt cake…

For a gift idea going along with the cake theme, I’m doing a suggestion I heard about. I took ten of my husband’s dress shirts to the cleaners to have them cleaned and pressed for him. Since he insists on doing his own ironing, this will be a special treat for him!