Christian Life

Get-Aways and Ordinary Days

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Ministry life is busy.  Very busy. It is also draining.  Very draining. So, every now and then, we just need to take a couple of days and get out of town.  Going away helps recharge our batteries so we can keep serving with strength.

Last week my family took a couple of days to head to Dollywood, an amusement park in Pigeon Forge.  They were having their fall Gospel singing, and honestly, it’s my favorite time of the year to be at the park.

We had PERFECT weather.  It was in the 60’s by mid-day and it was sunny and gorgeous.  The leaves took on  spectacular colors in the sun’s light.  Alli and I rode several rides, but I just enjoy strolling through the park, looking at the fall arrangements and the trees, shopping in the stores, as well as hearing the Gospel groups sing. Here are some pictures of our time there:

When we came home, we got rack back into the saddle – it was like jumping onto a moving Merry-go-round.  Things were already in motion and we joined in its activity.  Our time away was so much fun and so beautiful that I found myself whining wishing we could stay longer.  But you know what?  Those two days away really were sufficient, and they refreshed us and made us ready to keep on laboring for the Lord.

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This is Sour Dough Bread that I made yesterday. Yes, it’s on a heart shaped bread board!  =)  Maybe because I love bread!  

Not every day can be a Get-away Day.  Most days are ministry laden, laundry folding, bed-making, meal prepping, people-helping, bread-making kind of days.  They’re ordinary days, and that’s okay. They are familiar.  They are comforting.  They are the reason we exist.  We don’t live for the get-away’s – they simply help equip us and gird us so we’ll be ready to keep serving (and we all need to make sure we make time for rest!). Dollywood was fun, but it’s not why I exist.  The ordinary days?  Yeah, that’s why I’m here.  So then, I must put my heart to it, for God’s glory.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 

I Corinthians 10:31

Have you had a get-away recently?  I hope it helped you to return to your work/ministry!

Lovingly,

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Marriage

When Your Marriage Feels Like a Roller Coaster

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No one wants to be forced to ride a roller coaster – especially when it’s an emotional one caused by stress in a marriage.  But, if we’re honest, we’ve all been there at one time or another.  We feel like life is spinning and twisting out of control and all we can do is hang on and hope for a safe and eventual landing.

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That Marriage Roller Coaster ride can also make you feel helpless, alone, and desperate. In the middle of a marital crisis, you can “feel” like you will never be happy again, that there’s no hope for your relationship, or that it would just be better if your marriage was over. These can all be dangerous emotions/actions, if not handled biblically.

How about if we just stop together and get a biblical perspective for those kinds of days?

  1. Realize that your spouse is not your enemy.  Satan is the one attacking your home.  But the biblical perspective is, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”  (I John 4:4) God is stronger and greater.  He can get you past this hurdle, and that’s all it is – a hurdle.  The good news is that hurdles are meant for jumping over!
  2. Struggles are not a sign that your marriage is done.  Jesus told us, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer – I have overcome the world.” John 16:33  Since He has overcome, so can we!  When two sinners live together, there’s bound to be difficulty at times.  Add to the mix, children, who are also sinners, and you can have a house full of struggles!  But, as in the roller coaster analogy, you don’t just jump off when you’re climbing the steepest incline of the ride!  You sit tight, hold on (to the Lord and one another!), close your eyes (in prayer), and do the next right thing.  Soon you’ll be pulling into the very place the ride started, renewed in your love and softer and gentler with one another.
  3. Ending the marriage is not God’s answer to the struggle.  Seek for restoration. Humble yourself and do what is necessary to obey Romans 12:18.  Sincerely ask the Lord to show you if you are in the wrong.  Seek the biblical advice of a godly friend who will love you enough to be honest with you and tell you what you need to hear – not what they know you want to hear.  Lovingly talk to your spouse, when the time is right.  Share your heart.  Ask if you can get down on your knees and pray together.  It’s pretty impossible to pray as a couple and stay angry.  Again, humility is necessary on your part!  You can’t change him, but with God’s help, you sure can change the girl in your shoes!
  4. Believe the truth that the best is yet to be.  Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan to give us a hope and a future, and that includes your marriage!  You can both learn from this experience and enjoy greater days in the future, because of the restoration and reconciliation that has taken place.

Proverbs 24:10 says,

If thou faint in the day of adversity,
thy strength is small.

Let the Lord be your strength, and climb down off that roller coaster, straighten your wind-blown hair, and don’t faint!  Believe the biblical truth and press on for God’s honor!

Lovingly,

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baking · cakes

The Most Delicious Go-To Cake Recipe

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Everyone needs a cake that’s easy to throw together when you need a fabulous dessert, right?!  It’s also a blessing if the ingredients are things that are easy to keep in the fridge or pantry “just in case!”  I have found that recipe, friends, and if you like German Chocolate Cake, you’ll be so glad to have stumbled across this fabulous and easy recipe!  A sweet friend at church made this for my husband and me when we visited their home, and I fell in love with this cake at first bite!  I used to spend hours assembling a three layer German Chocolate cake because it was so delicious that it was worth it, but honestly, this is every bit as delicious, but a thousand times easier!  It all starts with a cake mix…

Upside Down German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
Betty Crocker German Chocolate Cake Box Mix – Super Moist
3 eggs
1 1/4 water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut flakes
1 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)
1 stick butter (softened)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 9×13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of baking dish with coconut flakes & chopped pecans. Mix cake mix with eggs, water, & oil (per box instructions) and pour over the coconut/pecan mixture.

In a separate bowl combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, & vanilla. Using a mixer, mix ingredients thoroughly until powdered sugar is completely dissolved. Using a rubber spatula, add cream cheese mixture to the top of the cake mix. The cream cheese mixture will sink down into the cake mix as you add it in.

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Bake for 40 minutes. Slice cake into individual servings & serve upside down.

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This is the cream cheese mixture that sinks down into the cake and makes it moist and wonderful!
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It’s not beautiful when it comes out of the oven, but remember the top will become the bottom when you flip it over on each serving plate.

I didn’t get a great picture of the finished cake, because we were so excited about diving into it, but I promise you, this is out.of.this.world delicious!wpid-20150922_130732.jpg

What’s your Go-To cake recipe?  If you don’t have one, I hope you’ll put this on your list to try!

With love from my country kitchen,

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Uncategorized

Autumn’s Splendor

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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:

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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,

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

Marriage

How To Make it To Your 70th Anniversary

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70th cake

We had the unique and blessed privilege as a church to honor a dear couple on their 70th anniversary!  Yesterday, October 27th was Rod and Hope Carter’s 70th anniversary celebration.  On Sunday night we gathered as a church to recognize them and give them the honor due a couple who makes it to this milestone that is reached by a very small number of couples.

To live long enough to be married 70 years is remarkable, but living 70 years together is even more unusual!  In a day when commitment is as flippant as a teen age girl’s crush on the neighbor boy, it’s a blessing to witness two people who got married and were determined to keep their vows, “Til death do us part.” 70thI asked Hope the advice she’d give to young couples getting together today and her answer was,

“Well, there’s a lot of give and take you have to do. Learn that!  Oh, and get in a good church!  We learned so much there!  Where would we be without the Lord?!”

Here’s my interpretation of “Give and Take:”

Give love.  Take on Christ’s image.

Give forgiveness. Take the high road.

Give kindness.  Take humility.

Give service.  Take the back seat.

Give a soft answer.  Take biblical advice.

Give your time.  Take the treasured memories.

Are you willing to give and take in your marriage so that you can make it to 70 years? Get in a biblical church where you’ll learn to apply God’s Word to your marriage. Then you’ll also have an example to give, and the blessing to take from it!

Lovingly,

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