Take It To the Throne

November 14, 2017November 14, 2017 RefreshHer2 Comments

phone notification Recently I got a text message about a difficult issue concerning someone close to me. Their situation was critical, and there was nothing any person could do to fix it. I found myself so anxious and uptight. In tears, I expressed my concerns to my husband. Right then he took me by the hands and stopped to pray.

Immediately, I felt the Lord’s peace come over my heart.

Gone were the anxious thoughts,

the worry

and the twisting of stomach and emotions.

With shame I asked the Lord to forgive me for not stopping myself from worrying and taking time to pray.

Why is it easier for us to go on with our fretting, rather than running to God’s Throne to find mercy and grace to help in our time of need? Hebrews 4:16 I knew I was helpless to change the situation, yet I went about my tasks with my furrowed brow and fearful thoughts.

Even though the situation we prayed about wasn’t helped immediately, I was! God’s peace flooded my heart as my husband took us to the Only place where help could be found!

I also knew I needed to help the sender of the text. I called and said,

“I need to help you by taking your hand, too, and going to God’s Throne right now. Can we pray together?”

If you’re anxious about ANYTHING today, can I remind you of what you probably already know? You need to stop letting it weigh you down and simply go to God’s Throne in prayer and leave that burden with Him. And if you know someone who is worried, or in a difficulty or a hopeless situation (your spouse, a friend, a child), do what my husband did for me and grab their hand and take them with you to the Throne of God. What peace you will both find there!

Is there a burden you need to stop and pray about? Is there someone who needs you to stop and pray with them?

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Sweet & Salty Treat

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 RefreshHer2 Comments

pretzels a

With the holidays around the corner, you will probably need a little treat. If you want to make something that’s super fast and super delicious, I have the perfect suggestion. I’m not sure you could even call this a “recipe” because it requires no baking or even baking skills! Melt some chocolate, caramel and pour over pretzels. That’s pretty much what you do! Here are the ingredients and the instructions:

Ingredients

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used a chocolate bar I had on hand)
8 ounces mini pretzel twists , half of a regular 16-ounce bag
11 ounce bag Kraft Caramel Bits
Sea salt for sprinkling

pretzels

Instructions

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt 8 ounces of the chocolate chips gently in the microwave (on low heat, stirring every 15 seconds) until smooth.
Spread the chocolate evenly over the parchment. Immediately add the pretzel twists over the top (it’s fine if they overlap!) and gently press them into the chocolate.
Add caramel bits to a microwave safe bowl with 2 tablespoons water and melt according to package instructions (on high for 2 minutes). Stir well and drizzle the melted caramel over the top of all of the pretzels.
Melt remaining 4 ounces of chocolate and drizzle over the caramel. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Refrigerate until hardened.
Cut into pieces, I found it best to serve them in cupcake liners for individual servings. It looks better than a pile would!

pretzels 2a

These are delicious and so easy. What event is coming up that you could take these to?! I took them to the Pinterest Party at our church this past weekend and came home with empty platters!

With love from my country kitchen,

Uncategorized

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!

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Fall · outfits

What the Preacher’s Wife Wore

November 9, 2017November 8, 2017 RefreshHer6 Comments

layered dress.jpg

It can be hard to know how to dress when the seasons are in transition. Has anyone else struggled with these fluctuating temps? I’ve had to learn to layer pieces together so I don’t have to completely change outfits in the middle of the day.

I’ve found it helpful to keep some of the lighter pieces I’d wear in the summertime out to wear with warmer sweaters or jackets. Short sleeves or sleeveless tops/dresses under a heavier layer is perfect when it’s not freezing cold yet!

Today I’m sharing a video few of the outfits that I’ve worn recently to keep cool/warm as the temperature changes hour by hour.

I love wearing these light layers right now! What do you enjoy wearing while the season is changing from summer to fall?

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Christmas · Crafting · Uncategorized

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