Organizing Your Prayer Journal

August 3, 2017July 31, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

The Word of God is my favorite Book. Oh, how I love it. My Bible is a treasure to me. Its worn, marked up pages and loose binding are all precious, and I wouldn’t take a million dollars for it. I mean it.

Now, let me tell you about my second favorite book. It’s my prayer Journal. I began using this almost ten years ago. It has been to the “hospital” many times. I’ve had to make new pages and add paper reinforcers. I’ve had to remove pages to make room for more requests, more answers to prayer, and more notes from my morning Bible reading.

When I look at its pages and see the check marks, which reveal an answer to prayer, my heart leaps with gratitude and joy at my wonderful God. It’s a reminder to me that God answers prayer! It keeps me coming back day after day, moment by moment to cry out to the Lord for the burdens and needs in my life and the lives of others I know.

Corrie Ten Boom referred to prayer as our steering wheel. I’ve likened my prayer journal to a car. Without the car, the steering wheel wouldn’t have direction or a place to go! Of course you can pray without a journal, but in my experience, before I began a serious prayer journal, I prayed, but I really didn’t have a prayer life. A life is the period of existence, activity, or effectiveness of something inanimate, and without the direction of my journal, my prayer life really wasn’t that effective.

Using the imagery of a car, let me explain how a prayer journal can help your prayer life.

It’s great to have a glove box (pocket) at the front in order to hold verses of Scripture that you can pray.

The radio being on, (you singing a song of praise) is a great way to start your time alone with God.

Every car needs a clean windshield (heart), and it’s helpful to have windshield cleaning fluid (a time of confession of sin) ready to do the job necessary to have a clean heart..

It’s time to start the engine (petitioning) when you specifically ask God for the requests before you. Have a seat for everyone (a different page for each family member). List their needs for each day of the week.

What a blessing it is to look in your rear view mirror (at the past) and see how God has answered your prayers! Be sure to make a check mark beside that request and write how God took care of that request. It will increase your faith and cause you to pray more fervently in the future!

If you have a trunk (back pocket) in your binder, put your prayer bulletin there, missionary prayer cards, or other tools that will help you pray more specifically.

Park the car (sit still and alone) while you pray. Don’t let the engine idle (don’t have distractions around you). Be all there so you can pray and then listen to God.

Rosalind Goforth, missionary to China in the late 1800’s wrote a book, How I Know God Answers Prayer. She had to have a method of recording His answers in order to write a book like this. Could you write a whole book of how God has been at work while you’ve prayed? It will only happen as you record it, otherwise you will forget.

I challenge you to get a journal of some model (kind) started. See how it will change your prayer life!

Do you use a journal when you pray? What’s keeping you from starting one?

With love,

Organization and Embellishing Stack-able Drawers

August 2, 2017August 2, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

I hate clutter in my house. I like everything to be put away, however, I have a hard time keeping the hidden places in my house straightened up. Places like drawers and closets are just hard for me! I stepped into my pantry and my bedroom closet this week and decided I didn’t like the way they looked. I’ve never had a walk-in pantry or walk-in closet before, and I am determined to make these spaces not only function well, but also be pretty!

I have a set of stack-able drawers in my closet for belts, socks, etc. Because the drawers are clear, it looked messy. So, I took scrapbook paper and lined the front of each drawer with coordinating patterns and colors to give it a neater look.

I have a small table in my closet to hold my jewelry organizers. I have two necklace trees to keep chains from getting tangled. I love my earring picture holder my dad made me. It keeps the fish hook earrings in perfect view!

I also have a tackle box for earrings and bracelets. This box is great for travel!

Now on to the pantry ~ I had one little area that needed attention. I have quite a collection of aprons and just had them hooked through one of my pantry shelves. They hung on the floor and looked messy. Soooo, I found a cute little hook at TJ Maxx for $8. It is perfect to keep the aprons within reach and looking lovely!

Do you have some hidden spaces that need some organization? Attack one or two spaces this week. If you’re like me, you’ll be happy about walking into or opening that space after you’ve done some straightening!

Refresh by organizing,

Family life · home · Home making · organization · refreshment at home · Work

Breaking the Habit

August 1, 2017August 1, 2017 RefreshHer6 Comments

“Negative Habits Every Family Should Break” is the title of the series my husband is preaching on Sunday nights. This past Sunday night he encouraged families to get rid of disorganization. The very evening he was preaching his message, I was reminded of why it’s so important for my home to be organized.

As the service was being started, one of our very own missionaries who was passing through the area, felt led of the Lord to come to Boones Creek Bible Church’s evening service. He was by himself, due to his family being away for a few days, and so he was on no time schedule. After spotting him in the congregation, my husband had him come up and pray during the service. When our missionary guest announced how the Lord directed him to our church, and that he was on no schedule, the Lord prompted my heart that he needed to come and stay with us for the night. It was no surprise that when I talked to my husband after the service, he felt the same way. And so, our missionary friend returned to our home after the service.

As my husband was preaching, and I had been given the prompt to invite this dear man to stay with us, I thought, “I’m thankful that everything is in order at the house. I’m not going to have to go home and apologize for the messy kitchen, dirty dishes or laundry piled up on the couch. Whew!” Oh, not that my house couldn’t have used a dust rag or mop in places, but overall, it was ready for a guest to drop in.

Being organized and tidy isn’t only about teaching your children good habits and responsibility, it’s also about being prepared to be used of the Lord when He prompts your heart. There have been times that I would have resisted having a guest enter my home, trust me! But on this night I was thankful that I was prepared – not so I wouldn’t be embarrassed, but because my lack of organization would have caused my husband and me to miss the blessing of serving this servant of the Lord! It was a delight to have him in our home, and to be able to quickly obey the Lord’s leading.

So, if you look at your lack of organization and say, “It’s just my family, and they don’t care!” You’re missing the whole point. First, we’re stewards of what the Lord has entrusted to us (that includes our belongings, as well as the training of our children), and secondly it will free us up to serve others.
Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:1 – Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. I realize that he’s referring to legalism, but disorganization can also be a type of bondage that keeps us from being free.

Look around your home right now and ask yourself if you’d be good with guests stopping in. If the answer is “No way!” why not start on a path to orderliness? Perhaps you could free yourself from the bondage of disorganization by:
FlyLady cartoon

Check out Fly Lady’s “Getting Started” Tips
Determine to get rid of 7 things every single day. Put the unused items in a black bag and when it gets full discard it – Goodwill, Salvation Army, Consignment – something!
Read Emilie Barnes Books on organization, such as “Organizing Magic: 40 Days to a Well-ordered Home and Life

If this negative habit has been a part of your life, it’s not impossible to get rid of it! Start today and make a little progress at a time. It will be so freeing, and you’ll be ready to serve at a moment’s notice!

Would you be ready and willing to serve others today? What would it take to get you there?

baking · Cookies · dessert · freezer · Uncategorized

For the Love of the Best Cookie

July 31, 2017July 31, 2017 RefreshHer4 Comments

How could you even have a bad day on an afternoon when you bite into a Snickerdoodle? The name alone makes me smile! In case you’re somehow not sure what a Snickerdoodle is, it’s not a type of dog, rather it is a cookie drenched in a cinnamon/sugar bath and baked to a soft, sweet perfection!

I introduce you to The Snickerdoodle…

It amazes me to find that some of my favorite recipes of all times have escaped being posted here on my blog! I went to search for this family-favorite cookie recipe here in my recipe index and was amazed that it was absent! In order to fix that, I baked up a batch of cookies, snapped away at pictures, and ate a couple cookies in the process, then froze the rest for upcoming company! They’re safer in the freezer!

I love this recipe because it’s very quick to whip up, but the cookie isn’t like some mediocre recipe. This is a Ten! No kidding. It makes 3.5 dozen normal size cookies and good luck at eating only one. You might want to double the batch – which work just fine! They do freeze well, if you don’t trust yourself with a whole pile of cinnamon/sugar heaven sitting under your nose!

Here’s the simple and wonderful recipe:

Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions
Cream together shortening, sugar, and eggs. Sift together and stir in flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough into balls the size of walnuts. Roll each in mixture of the sugar and cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes at 375 degrees or until LIGHTLY browned.

I bake mine for exactly 7 minutes and then let them sit in the pan a few minutes to cool before putting them on the cooking rack. They may seem a little underdone, but I think they’re best when they’re soft in the middle.

Do someone a sweet favor and bake up a batch to share!

Just curious, what’s your favorite cookie?

With love from my country kitchen,

Christian Life · Refreshment · Speech

What If Everyone Could Hear Your Words?

July 28, 2017July 28, 2017 RefreshHer2 Comments

Image result for lg phone messenger voice record settings

What if everyone could hear your words? Would you be okay with that?

Imagine my horror recently when I discovered that my cell phone had been on “Record voice” mode for thirteen minutes to a group text!

It was just a couple weeks ago on a Sunday morning and I had been texting with a group of friends while getting ready for church. I slid my phone into the outside pocket of my purse and headed downstairs to make breakfast and finish my meal prep for lunch, totally oblivious to the fact that my every step and word was being recorded.

I set my purse down in the kitchen and made my way to my husband’s office where he and I had a brief conversation. Making my way back to the kitchen, I busied myself with my kitchen chores. About thirteen minutes later, I heard a notification on my phone. It was when I went to check it that I realized I’d been recording myself! I quickly sent a message to my friends to delete the recording, then I proceeded to listen to what I had accidentally sent. I heard footsteps, my question about what my husband would like for his breakfast, and my banging and moving about in the cupboards. Yeah, that could’ve turned out unpleasantly, but it didn’t, thank the Lord.

However, as I finished my work, I couldn’t help but think about how careful my words would be if I knew they were being recorded and replayed for all to hear! I wondered…

What if that had happened on a day that I was being unkind to my husband?
What if I had said something unkind about someone else?
What if I had been griping and complaining?
What if I had been going off on some rampage?

Yeah, what if? But of course the truth is, God always hears those words. My complaints, my hatefulness, my griping, my complaining, my slander. He hears it all.

Psalm 139:4
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, you know it altogether.

After that incident, I would start to make a comment, and then close my mouth, knowing that I wouldn’t want that recorded! Sometimes they were just words that weren’t needed. It was best to allow the silence to fill the room, instead of my talking. Other times they were words that shouldn’t be said. It was best to be still.

Wow. What a lesson that was to me, and one I pray I won’t forget.
Maybe asking yourself,

Would I want this to be broadcast for everyone to hear?

will keep you from saying what doesn’t need to be said.

Oh, and you might want to check your cell phone to be sure it’s off. I remember some time last year a friend going “Live” on Facebook without ever knowing it! It could happen to any of us, but if we guard our words, it won’t be a worry if it does.

Refresh others with your words!

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