I was recently in the back of the church auditorium, coming in a moment after the service had started. Prayer was being offered as I approached the door. I stopped in respect and waited for the proper time to enter the sanctuary. I won’t judge the hearts of those that I was observing as I waited, but it made me wonder how most of us respond to prayer in a church service. May I ask you what I asked myself as I found my way to my seat?

What is public prayer to you?

Is it…

As I sat down in my seat following that prayer, I was asking myself the hard question,

“What do I do while prayer is being offered in a public setting?”

I had to admit that too often, I allow my mind to wander, thinking about things totally unrelated to what the pray-er is saying to God.

As a teacher of young children for many years, I’ve learned to keep my prayers in their presence very short, AND I also pray with my eyes half opened. Kids do all kinds of things while adults are pouring their hearts out to the Lord! We expect that because they’re children!  But when those little ones are in our presence in a service, are we setting a godly example before them? How should we be responding while someone is leading in prayer? Let me give a few suggestions, according to Scripture:

We don’t want to pray as the hypocrite, and put on an air that isn’t real, but we must ask the Lord to help us to pray with the heart of one who loves and desires to be heard of Him. Can I challenge you as I’ve asked the Lord to do for me, to stay engaged during prayer times, to pray with one heart, with rejoicing, to glorify God because we’re desperate for Him?

“What a privilege to carry every thing to God in prayer!”

With love,

When sudden fear is all around us, and we are tempted to join its ranks,
we must remember that the Lord is our confidence and we are secure in His grip.

I’m not really writing a post today; instead I’m showcasing the best of the recent displays of Fall in my area.  This kind of beauty, like winter’s glittering snowfall or springtime’s  blossoms, won’t last for long.  We need to take notice of it while we can.  All too soon the trees will be as bare as the store shelves during the threat of a winter storm.  So, here are some of my recent photos of Autumn’s Dazzle:

So how about if we put our phones down this weekend, step outdoors, and take a walk or a drive to the country and give autumn the attention it deserves?  It won’t last forever!

What’s your favorite way to enjoy fall?

Stay refreshed,

P.S. I’ll be posting my fall pictures on my Instagram account. You can follow them there. Denisec_refreshher

I ventured away from my favorite Cinncinati chili recipe last week and tried one with ground turkey, rather than ground beef.  I was amazed at how delicious this was!  This recipe also replaces the beans with corn – a nice swap out in my book!  I served it with avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips, and they were the perfect accompaniment!  Turkey makes it much more healthy by reducing the fat, but you could really fool people in your family with this perfect blend of tomatoes, spices and meat!  They’ll never suspect they’re eating healthier!

I found the recipe on My Fitness Pal’s recipe site.  This is super easy to throw into the crock pot, so you can have a hearty supper ready when you get home!  Here’s the recipe:

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Ingredients

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the turkey, season with salt and cook, breaking up with a spoon until turkey browns and is no longer pink; place into the slow cooker.

Add the oil to the skillet and sauté the onion, garlic and bell pepper over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes. Spoon over turkey into the slow cooker and stir in corn and tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, paprika and salt, mix until well blended. Pour chicken broth into the crock pot and add the bay leaf.

Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours or LOW 6 hours. Serve with desired toppings.

When leftovers look like this, no one will complain!

Hope you’ll give this recipe (and ground turkey) a try!

With love from my country kitchen,

A few weeks ago I attended my daughter’s birthday surprise Baking Party with Francine Bryson, first runner up of the American Baking Competition.  Francine shared a couple of tips that I’ve implemented into my baking, and one of them is the addition of a flour jar with a sifting/shaker lid on top.  It’s helpful to have a jar like this filled with flour for:

Any time you need just a little flour, this is the perfect container to grab.  I was thrilled to find this jar at a little shop near me for  only $5.  The lid is metal with three openings – one for pouring, one for sifting out smaller amounts and also one for sifting larger amounts.  I love it because when I need flour at those times, my hands are usually a mess, so if I go to the canister to get the flour, I lift the lid with my messy hands and add flour to the lid, the counter and possibly the floor!

For those in my area, I got this in Jonesborough at a great new shop called, Type A.  It’s adorable with all kinds of fun merchandise that you need to check out!  If you’re not from here, any kind of jar with a shaker lid will work.  Those tall jars that many put confectioners sugar in would work well, too.

Another tip Francine gave was to crack your eggs on a flat surface, rather than the edge of your bowl.  That edge causes the egg shell to push into the inside of the egg, then fall into your bowl!  That makes complete sense; why didn’t I think of that before?

What helpful tool or tip could you share?

Stay refreshed,