Eternity

Are You Prepared For What’s Coming?

November 4, 2020November 1, 2020 RefreshHer2 Comments

While I worked in my craft room doing alterations on some pieces of clothing, I turned my computer on and watched “A life in the day” of a popular vlogger. She’s beautiful, accomplished and poised…this would be interesting.

But what I felt at the end of her video was not an admiration for her life, rather, I felt a sadness for her. That may sound strange, especially if you had seen her lovely home, complete with huge rooms, expensive furniture, and a backyard that beckons you to the built-in swimming pool. But from the beginning of her day through the hurry and scurry of her job and family activities there was no mention of her relationship with the Lord, whom she professes. There was no time in His Word, no talk of Him when she related to her husband, children or coworkers. There was no prayer, no indication of dependence on a God Who could strengthen a weak heart or guide daily decisions. It seemed that this was her day.

At the end of the video, she snapped off the light, wishing a good night to those that had watched, and I also saw darkness in her tomorrow that will repeat this whole scenario all over again. Everything seemed so futile.

The next morning I read a truth in Proverbs 30 that seemed just the opposite of this dear woman’s life…

There are four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise;
the ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.

In wisdom, the ant the ants prepare their winter food in the summer. They work in a time when work can be done and aren’t lazy or procrastinators.

These little insects teach us a lesson about preparing for the coming winter, about what must be the thoughtfulness of one who is making provision for the coming eternity. We can each (myself included) scurry and hurry about, from one task to the next with little or no thought of the life after this one, of the God Who has a plan for this day and eternity, which is always before us.

Of course we have jobs to attend to. Yes, there are children to be picked up from school and packages to be sent, mail to be opened, and appointments to meet, but does that mean there is no time for God in the midst of all our busyness? Do we only relegate God for the hour on Sunday when we will “attend church?” The answer from a heart of anyone who loves God must be a resounding,

NO!!

I’m in no way saying that each moment must be spent with the Bible open, our hands folded in prayer, with no thought to the responsibilities before us. What I am saying is that it is too easy for each of us to plod through our days with little or no thought of God. Some never want to think of where they will spend eternity.

God told the rich man that temporal kind of thinking is foolish because,

Thou fool; this night thy soul shall be required of thee,
then whose shall these things be,
which thou hast provided? Luke 12:20

Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. Psalm 39:6

Instead we must heed II Corinthians 6:2

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Then after salvation, we have purpose for living that goes beyond work, wealth and weariness. With an eye on my present responsibilities but a heart for heaven and eternity, I go through my day, like that little ant. As I put my feet on the floor, I go to that first “ant hill” and thank God for this new day. I move on through the morning and with coffee cup in my hand I move towards the next “ant hill” and open His Word to get my directions for the day. I lay my burdens at His feet.

As I get dressed, I listen to a podcast that will be bread crumbs I can feast on through the day. I can scurry to the next “ant hill” driving to my appointment with a verse card set up on the dashboard, giving me another crumb to nourish my soul. At the appointment, I seek to encourage someone as I share with my hair dresser how faithful God was in a recent difficult situation and I remind her of God’s care for her.

All through the day we must picture ourselves like the little ant, looking for morsels to feed on or for those to tuck away. We could be “sluggards” as Solomon says in Proverbs 30, or we can be wise like the little ant.

What will I choose today? I want to be wise and prepare now for what is coming, which is eternity. How about you? Are you preparing?

You can listen to a podcast where I spoke about this subject in a series called, Remember Lot’s Wife. Go here and scroll down to April 18, Part 3 to hear the recording. I trust it will further refresh your thoughts about how we live out our days on this earth.

Consider the ant,

Country Chicken Pot Pie (Reduced Fat!)

November 2, 2020November 1, 2020 RefreshHer2 Comments

Chicken Pot Pie is one of those classic comfort foods in my book. I have made them for years with my homemade pie crusts and we love that version, but I’ve come across a recipe that is so savory and yet also reduced in fat, and so much faster! The answer to both less fat and less time comes in the form of a reduced-fat crescent roll! These make preparation so easy!

The filling for this pie can be changed to suit your family’s taste buds. The recipe calls for fresh mushrooms, which we loved in there, but if that’s not your jam, you can leave them out and use whatever veggies you love! Here’s the tasty recipe:

Ingredients

1 tsp Butter
1 small chopped onion
1 cup Sliced Mushrooms
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables
1 Cup chicken broth
3 Cups Cooked, chopped chicken breast (a rotisserie chicken is great for this!)
2 Tbl. flour
1/2 Cup Fat-free Evaporated milk
4 Reduced-fat Crescent rolls – I used all 8 that came in the can.

My big dish was rather shallow, so I put some of the filling in single serving bowls for another day.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 10-inch round shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
Coat a large pot with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, until tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetables, broth and chicken. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
In a small cup, combine flour and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk; stir into chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
Spoon chicken mixture into prepared baking dish. Unroll crescent rolls and arrange dough around inside edge of baking dish to form a border (there will be a hole in the middle). Bake until rolls are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

My husband and I were both happy there were leftovers for another day. I popped the dish back into the oven so the crescent rolls would get crispy again. It was just as good the second time around!

Eating healthy is deliciously disguised in this comfort food makeover! I hope you’ll try this soon!

This Broccoli Salad or this Green Apple Salad would make great accompaniments to this pot pie!

With love from my country kitchen,

Home decor · refreshment at home

Free Floral Arrangements

October 30, 2020October 29, 2020 RefreshHer2 Comments

I love what beautiful flowers can do for the beauty of my home. They’re welcoming on the entry table. They make the dinner table inviting and intimate. They take a guest room to that next level. But fake flowers and greenery are so chintzy and fresh are too expensive to keep on hand.

What to do? I’ve found a way to have free florals and like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz who had the ability to go back home with her the entire time she was in Oz, I have always had this resource and didn’t realize it!

It’s called foraging.

for·age/ˈfôrij,ˈfärij/ – obtain (food or provisions)

I go out in my own yard and cut greenery from the bushes. I snip colored branches from my trees. I use the real green things or colored things to fill vases or to fill in fresh flowers I’ve purchased.

Okay, I’ve always cut my roses or hydrangeas, but to cut bush branches and fill a vase instead of using plastic greenery, was just never a thought. Look what my fresh bushes did to a $4 purchase of sunflowers from my sweet husband!

Everything except the sunflowers came from my yard. Those flowers are pretty, but all that greenery bumped them up to a florist grade arrangement. Thank you, Lord, for a yard full of beautiful plants that I can snip!

Here’s another arrangement I made with the last of my roses. I took my Halloween mug and filled it with the roses, some thyme and Creeping Jenny. It looked adorable on my book shelf.

This next arrangement is on my foyer table. I used branches from two different bushes and some small limbs from a tree in the backyard. I add water to the containers so the branches will stay fresh for a VERY long time!

Lastly, here’s a small pitcher that fits into my tiered stand on the island. I love the pop of color it gives. The green bush addition really fills it out, don’t you think?

I’d encourage you to think outside the box. Don’t just use a standard vase, look for other containers that will hold your flowers and the water…a tea pot, a pitcher, a pretty vintage tin (put a glass down inside to hold the water), a mug, a bottle. The sky’s the limit!

When winter comes, use those evergreen things outside to add the lovely floral touches. I’ll still use some where the sap might ruin a piece of furniture, but in arrangements, I’m hoping for fresh!

Look out your own window and see what you could use to refresh your home and add some floral beauty! That gorgeous red and orange tree branch in the front yard is just begging to step into your living room!

Tell me…do you use fresh things from your yard? What different container are you thinking about using for your next vase?

Priorities

So Much To Do

October 28, 2020October 27, 2020 RefreshHer5 Comments

With tears in her eyes, a sweet friend admitted that her life is “Crazy!” She, like most of us, has so much to do and is overwhelmed with trying to get it all done each day. Her neat lists are made and the appropriate check marks are scratched when the task is completed, but most days, there are plenty of un-done jobs, because there simply aren’t enough hours in each day to do it all!

I totally understand – I’ve been there. But I wonder if for most of us, rather than a need for more time, if one thing that could help would be proper priorities..

We may say that God is first in our life, but does our day back that up? Do we make sure that if nothing else gets done, we’re sure to spend time in God’s Word and in prayer at the beginning of the day? That step alone might save us all kinds of wrong choices in the use of our time. Les Olila said, “My devotions are not a display of my discipline, they are a demonstration of my need for God.” Time with God is essential to the success of my day.
We love our family, but do they really get the next chunk of our time, or is it work, tasks, or friends that are allowed to slide into their time slot? A mopped floor or folded laundry isn’t nearly as important as time spent with your child after school, or a date with your husband so you can really talk uninterrupted. People are more important than things.
We may not think that our techie devices are using up our time, but if your phone was lost for a day, how much more would you accomplish? If Facebook, Instagram, texting or Twitter was removed from your schedule, would you be able to finish a household job that needs to be taken care of? Does your family see the top of your head more often than they see your eyes?

Technology should be a tool, not an inseparable part of my life.

I am only throwing out some suggestions. If this strikes a chord in the misuse of your day, then listen and change, with God’s help. A successful day is more than a page full of check marks. Ask me how I know. =)

Lovingly,

cakes · Lightened Up Recipe

Apple Cake & Caramel Sauce without the Guilt

October 26, 2020November 18, 2020 RefreshHer6 Comments

Just because you’re trying to lose weight (as I talked about here) or maintain your current weight doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a sweet treat every now and then. While my husband and I have been on Weight Watchers, we’ve occasionally enjoyed a small portion of some type of dessert. I feel like it’s been crucial to do so every now and then so that sweet tooth gets satisfied (and we’ve realized that just a little bit does indeed satisfy!).

I personally don’t love the desserts with artificial sweeteners, and after a fail or two, I have decided to simply use recipes that cut back on fat instead. Cooking Light has been my go-to for most of those kind of recipes, but then last week I fell upon this Apple Cake recipe from my Gooseberry Entertaining Cookbook! What? Their recipes are usually quite high in fat, but this recipe uses grated apples to make up for the normal fat ingredient. The result? A super moist and flavorful cake that we loved! I will admit that the caramel sauce was different. It wouldn’t be the kind of sauce you’d make for dunking apple slices, but it’s good on the cake. Considering that my traditional recipe calls for 1 stick of butter and this has only 1 tablespoon, I’ll gladly enjoy the flavor of the caramel without the added fat! Here’s their recipe…

Warm Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 egg, beaten
2 c. apples, cored, peeled, and shredded
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Caramel Sauce:
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 T. all-purpose flour
1/8 t. salt
1 c. water
1 T. butter
1/4 t. vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Mix together egg and apples; add to flour mixture. Stir in walnuts. Spread in a lightly greased 8″x8″ baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Prepare Caramel Sauce: Combine brown sugar, flour and salt in a small saucepan. Gradually add water; stir until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook for one to 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Serve Cake warm, drizzled with Caramel Sauce. Makes 9 servings.

If you want to make this really special, go ahead and make up some fresh whipping cream and add a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin spice.

Think ahead to Thanksgiving and pin this on your Pinterest board so you can have a yummy, warm Apple dessert and not blow your calories for the day! You can have your cake and diet, too!

Another cake suggestion that’s lighter is this this Carrot Cake. It’s one layer and super moist and delicious! An Angel Food Cake is also a lighter alternative. This one is super good. I wish I had the WW points for these or the nutritional values, but I’m not that savvy! So sorry!

Happy baking!