The Happiest Place On the Earth!

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

I just heard a comment from a high school senior on her senior trip to Disney World say,

“This has to be the happiest place on the earth!”

Having been there I can understand her sentiment. With beautiful flowers everywhere, light-hearted music, Mickey and Minnie, fun food, fun rides and fun times. Of course it’s a happy place!

There is another place that should be one of the happiest places on this earth –home. Home should be the most loving, secure and fun place for a child.

What will you do today to make it that way for your little ones? Are you homeschooling? Incorporate spring ideas into math or phonics reviews – put the facts on little paper kites made from construction paper and with each fact they get correct, let them hang the kite on the wall and let it fly! Perhaps you could give them a goal for the week – learning a certain number of new facts and then when it’s accomplished you and your child go fly a real kite.

Change things around today. Let your children eat their dessert first! Have lunch under the table instead of on it. Go to the library and get new books – perhaps books about spring, baby lambs or even a child’s cookbook. Read together in a new place – build a comfy spot on the floor with pillows and cushions or make a tent using all the kitchen chairs as props.

Play uplifting music – Patch the Pirate, The Donut Man, etc. Let the atmosphere of your home be encouraging for them. It’s easy to play what we like instead of what they would enjoy.

How about some fun food? Cut their sandwich into shapes using cookie cutters. Peanut butter and jelly can take on a whole new taste when it’s cut differently! Family Fun has tons of great food ideas for children.

Make your home the “happiest place on the earth” by taking time to be with your children and using creativity to make each day one they won’t forget!

Did you add a fun element to home recently that you could share? We’d love to hear!

Lovingly,

Lunch · Main dish.

Balsamic & Dijon Chuck Roast (& Soup with Leftovers!)

February 29, 2016February 27, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

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When I have a busy day ahead of me and don’t want to have to be fussing much in the kitchen for supper, I pull out the crock pot! I love a roast cooked in the slow cooker, because it’s so tender and moist!

This Chuck Roast is so flavorful, thanks to the Balsamic Vinegar. It gives it a depth of flavor that is rich and delicious! It made for the perfect meal on a busy day. I added a slaw on the side, and that was it! Dinner was complete with only about 15 minutes of prep! Here’s how I did it…

Balsamic and Dijon Chuck Roast

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
4 pounds Chuck Roast
1 medium to large yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
5 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
2 cups beef broth – I added water and chicken stock b/c I was out of beef
1 bag Baby carrots
1 pound very small baby potatoes, white or red
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over high heat. Season chuck roast well with salt and pepper, add to pan and brown well on all sides (a few minutes a side). Remove roast and set aside.
Add chopped onion to drippings in pot and reduce heat to medium. Saute onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, increase heat to medium-high and boil until reduced and slightly syrupy, about 4-5 more minutes. Stir in Dijon.
Transfer onions to a crock pot.
Set roast on top of onions in pot. Pour in 2 cups broth and add thyme. Place potatoes and carrots around roast in the liquid. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until very tender.

If (and that’s a BIG if) you have any leftovers, you’ll want to make this soup for tomorrow’s lunch! I had about 8 oz. of meat left, as well as carrots and potatoes. It made a hearty little pot of soup the next day!!! Most of the work was done already in the crock pot – it’s just a matter of adding some bouillon and seasonings!

I’m not going to be able to give you measurements for this soup – it all depends on how much you have leftover to put into the pot! Just “eye ball it”, adding enough liquid to make it a hearty soup.

Balsamic Beef and Veggie Soup

Shredded Balsamic Chuck Roast
Cooked carrots and potatoes from last night’s supper
Drippings from roast
Beef Bouillon – or Beef broth
Water – To mix Bouillon ( I added half water, half chicken stock)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and cook until heated through.

I’m not sure what was better – supper or the soup the next day! You try it and let me know which you like best!

With love from my country kitchen,

salvation · Uncategorized

Why Am I Not Seeing Growth In That Believer’s Life?

February 26, 2016February 25, 2016 RefreshHer4 Comments

That little blue card sitting by itself is more than a pretty little note card – it was probably one of the biggest blessings of my week last week! Let me explain…

The day before the arrival of that card, I’d had an email exchange with a friend in another state about a woman who had received Christ as her Savior this fall, but since then she’s not really desiring to come to church to grow. That news saddened my heart.

It also reminded me of another lady (and other people) who accept Christ, but then seem to fall away, or not really show fruits of their salvation. My husband and I chatted about it, stating our heavy hearts at these kinds of situations. “Did they really get saved?” “What’s wrong?”

The next morning in my quiet time, I talked to the Lord about it. I prayed for this dear lady to have a hunger for God’s Word and the fellowship of God’s people. I didn’t know it then, but my husband was also praying about this need in young believer’s lives.

Our mail comes fairly early in the day, so not long after praying my husband went out to check the box, and brought a note in to me. I read the card…and I wept. It was like getting a card of encouragement from God Himself with a hug tucked inside. Here’s part of the note that blessed my heart so much:

I was wondering if you remembered a lady named, ______________. She attended a ladies’ retreat at Boones Creek several years ago. I saw her today and she was speaking fondly of the retreat. If you remember, you gave her the plan of salvation and she claimed to have accepted Christ, but later said she had always known the Lord, so we wondered if she ever actually got saved. Today she said to me “After I got saved at church…” meaning the day of the retreat.

She attends a local Baptist church and is growing in the Lord. I thought you would like to know.

Oh, was she ever right! I did love finding out that this dear lady had indeed been saved, and was now growing faithfully! It was God’s loving nudge to me, saying, “Keep planting the seed and leave the results with me.”

“Yes, Lord, I will. You do all things well. This is your business. Help me to just obey!”

Can I just encourage you to learn from my lesson? Don’t get discouraged if someone you know has been saved but isn’t growing at the rate you’d like to see. God will do the sanctifying, just as He did the saving.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 1:6

Keep sharing the Gospel and be refreshed as you refresh others!

Uncategorized

The Blessing of The Church

February 25, 2016February 24, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

After cooking up about eight pounds of ground beef (and getting a lovely facial in the process!), singing some old songs of the faith to a large group of homeless people, praying for their hearts to receive the message my husband preached to them, and then assembling about 100 Sloppy Joe’s, I found myself at home fixing lunch for myself and my husband.

As I worked in my kitchen, I thought back on the blessing of being a part of a church that has the heart to reach out once a month to the homeless. We get to serve them a hot meal and show them the love of Christ at The Melting Pot. Many of Jesus’ miracles and times of teaching were around a meal. I love that we get to do what Jesus did – to provide for their physical needs, and also give them the spiritual food that will benefit them for eternity!

What a blessing to be a part of a church that is willing to reach out, to get their hands dirty, to rub shoulders with people who aren’t like us, but who have the very same needs for the Gospel! A church that is healthy will share the Gospel to a lost world!

The night before we went to The Melting Pot, we had a fun ladies’ event at a painting studio. There were over 20 ladies, church members, and guests, alike, who gathered to follow directions and paint a picture together. None of us are Van Gogh’s , but we sure had fun brushing, dobbing and stroking paint onto canvases while we laughed, encouraged one another and bragged on our neighbor’s talents! A church that is healthy can laugh and fellowship together without the worry of not fitting in or not being good enough.

Last night I got to serve in our children’s ministry, Pioneer Clubs. There are about 30 adult workers – it’s incredible! Everyone has their own part in the ministry – activity leader, snack provider, Bible teacher, memory teacher and on and on. It takes all of us to get the accomplished results. It takes everyone using their particular gifts to make a ministry like this happen, and bring children to a closer walk with Christ. A healthy church will encourage each member to use their gifts for God’s glory.

Another blessing is my relationship to the pastor of my church – we’re pretty close. =) Being married to a pastor is a blessing. It doesn’t make the Christian life easier – we both have to pursue a relationship with the Lord every single day. But my life is full of up-close experiences in which I get to see God at work!

I get to hear what the Lord is doing in his heart in reference to his sermon preparation, his own prayer life, answers to prayer, and the work of God in the church ministries, which he oversees. My heart is so very grateful to be married to a pastor – a man who has given his whole life to the work of God in His Church. Why? Because a healthy church will have a pastor who is seeking God in his own personal life, and it will overflow onto the church body.

Here’s what God’s Word says about the pastor:

And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

I see his heart for the church. I hear him pray for his sheep, for the ministries that are taking place in the Church, and for those that are outside the Body of Christ, who need to be saved.

My heart is overflowing with thankfulness for the Body of Christ that assembles at Boones Creek – inside and outside the church building. I’m thankful I can be a part of such a place that serves the Lord and gives me opportunities to lay up treasures in heaven where moth and rust will not corrupt. I’m thankful for God’s gift of the Church.

Are you a part of a fundamental, Bible preaching church? Are you active? Are you using your gifts? Are you given opportunities to serve? Are you hearing the Word? If so, be sure to thank the Lord and your pastor; it’s truly a gift!
If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” I challenge you to find a place like I have described. You’ll soon find the blessing like I have described as part of your life as well!

Lovingly,

Marriage

Marriage Matters in February

February 24, 2016February 23, 2016 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Marriage matters! We talk about it a lot here on my blog. It matters because it matters to our God! If Christians don’t stand up and defend, first their own marriage, then the biblical view of marriage, then we have no right to complain when the state votes against it!

I love highlighting biblical marriages here. I love showing what a healthy marriage should look like. Note that I did not say a Perfect marriage, for none exist. But if you and I value marriage as God does, then we need to be putting intentional thought into time with our spouse, intentional effort into respecting our husband with our words and actions, and intentional effort into keeping the love fresh and vibrant!

That’s why I’m encouraging my readers to Instagram pictures of ways they are showing Marriage matters to them. There have been some great posts this month. For whatever reason I’m not able to move those posts from Instagram to my blog, so I’ll share what I can visually, then tell you about a few highlights so you’ll have some great ideas of ways to make the most of your marriage!

The picture below was from my friend, Angie. She found a recipe for Super Bowl snacking that she was pretty sure her husband would love. She said how much it meant to him that she would plan a special food just for him!
Another friend made a coconut pudding for her husband that he loves, but she dislikes. How thoughtful!
Do you know what your husband loves? Do you make an effort to please him – even if it’s something you might not enjoy? That’s a rebuke to me, because it’s easier to make things I like, or that we both enjoy. I need to do better at that!

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Whitney shared about the importance of getting fixed up each day – even if it’s a day she and her husband are sharing together at home. Putting on make-up and fixing her hair for him shows that he’s important to her! It’s easy to be a little sloppy if we’re not going out, but what a message it gives if we look sharp just for our husband! That is a great tip from a young wife!
Another friend bought a special seasonal treat of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in the form of an egg for her hubby. What’s your husband’s favorite candy bar? What does bringing home a treat while we’re out say to our husband? “I was thinking of you in the middle of a busy day!” This is a great way to show your priority of loving your husband over your children…bring him a treat in secret. The children don’t have to have one every time you spoil him!
My friend, Kellie, plays the piano for her church. Her choice of an offertory was especially for her husband who loves the song, Victory in Jesus. So in the middle of a church service, her piano playing was in essence, playing a melody of love to him! It’s a little wink, a nod to him, saying, “I knew you would love to hear this song!” How sweet!
Something that my husband did for me last week was to send me a text (while we were both home!) to say, “I need someone to watch Fixer Upper with me. How about sharing some popcorn, too?” This is a show we both love to watch together, and it was fun to turn it into a special time as we dug into the popcorn bowl and laughed at all Chip’s antics together!

Again, whether or not you post your picture, I pray that these posts will remind you of the importance of being intentional (have I said that word enough today? Ha.) about pouring effort, love, words, and actions into your marriage. It really does matter.

With love,