How To Deal with Criticism

June 4, 2015June 3, 2015 RefreshHer9 Comments

We all like to think we have no enemies, that everyone is behind what we represent, how we live and what we do. But the truth is, none of us will ever please everyone. There will always be someone who will criticize and slander our name.

When was the last time someone spoke evil of you? Maybe it was to your face, or perhaps that word was behind your back, but got back to you (as gossip and slander always do!).

Apparently David also knew what it was like to be criticized and talked about. I recently read Psalm 119:23

Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.

I love David’s response! Rather than thinking about the people who were talking, rather than repeating what the people said, and rather than dwelling on what he’d tell them if he got the chance, he made the choice instead to meditate on the Scriptures!

When I’ve dealt in the past with criticism, I have often done all the highlighted things above. I rehearse it in my mind, I think about “those people!,” and I make long, speeches in my mind, instead of meditating on Scripture. My thoughts did not help or comfort me! But what if I had chosen to dwell on God’s Word? Oh, the comfort, the counsel and the wisdom it would bring!

Are you dealing today with ugly things that have been said about you? Don’t think about it! Instead, follow David’s example and find a passage of Scripture to meditate on. Write it on a card and keep it with you all through the day. Commit it to memory. Pray it back to the Lord. Those biblical thoughts will profit you and encourage growth – something that dwelling on the evil will not do!

Refresh yourself with thinking on God’s Word!

Home decor

A Peek from my Porch

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 RefreshHer5 Comments

Here are some recent goings on at my house this past week:

Recently while scouring through some boxes in the garage, I came across my father-in-law’s old lunch pail. He used to take his lunch in it when he worked on a construction site. My husband has fond memories of his boyhood years when his dad would save a little treat from his lunch and bring it home in his lunchbox for his son to enjoy at the end of his workday.

When I put my hands on this old treasure I longed to find a way to integrate it into the decor in my husband’s office. I knew it would be a clever place to hold all kinds of things, but I wanted it to be something my husband uses often, so he could have the joy of using it daily.

So, I placed it on the table beside the recliner in his office and put his prayer journal, his daily journal and his pens he uses to study in the mornings inside. In the lid I just added a little greenery. I like how it looks and it really meant a lot to my husband. Take a peek…

A couple weeks ago I posted a recipe for Chicken with Blackberry Salsa from Taste of Home. I hadn’t made it yet, but was excited to make this recipe for two. I fixed it for us last week; here are the results:

It was very good!

Then last weekend for our church’s Sunday night fellowship, I made my mom’s recipe for Homemade Ice cream and followed my dad’s technique for layering in the ice and rock salt. Here’s the end product, and trust me, it was as good as it looks! You can’t beat homemade ice cream!

How about you – do you have an antique that is sentimental? How have you integrated it into your decor?

Any new or yummy recipes going on in your kitchen this week?

With love from my country porch,

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That One Little Thing

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 RefreshHer1 Comment

It was just a finger. One little pointer finger, but it was placed in the middle of MY omelet at a restaurant, and it turned my appetite sour! Let me explain.

It was late at night and my husband and some friends and I had been out for the evening. It was too late for common restaurants to be open, so we stopped at what I believe was a Waffle House, or that sort of place that’s open all night.

When we got there, our group overwhelmed the tiny establishment, so they called for reinforcements to help wait tables. I’m not sure where our waitress came from, but she wasn’t dressed the part of a server, but more like someone who was in charge of unloading the truck or cleaning out the dumpster out back. She wore a big, baggy sweatshirt and her hands and nails looked like it had been a long time since they’d been washed or manicured. “At least she’s not touching our food,” we all thought.

When the food was brought to the table, it seems that myself and someone else had both ordered an omelet. One was a ham omelet and one just cheese. “I had the ham omelet,” I managed to say, hoping her thumb wouldn’t enter the safety zone of my food as she set the plate down. A puzzled look fell across her face as she looked at the two plates containing the omelets. Then to my horror, she stuck one of her fingers into the folded flap of my omelet to make sure it was the one containing the ham! “Yep, this one’s yours!” she said as she set the now contaminated eggs before me. That one finger, such a little thing, compared to a whole hand, but it was all that was needed to ruin the meal.

Do you ever think about the one lie you told to avoid an awkward situation, or the gossip tidbit you shared, or the small bitterness towards a co-worker, and think “It’s just a small thing. It’s dismissed because everyone talks about others at one time or another, or it’s understandable that we’d lie if we were in that situation! But, like my omelet, by that One Little Thing you have been defiled by that sin. Now when you go to pray and seek God’s direction or wisdom or leadership or provision you wonder why it seems that heaven is shut up or that your requests fall on God’s ears as it would a mute man. We feel that way because that’s exactly what happens when there is one little sin in our heart. It separates us from God.

The prayer of the upright is His delight. Proverbs 15:8

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.Psalm 16:18

You’re probably wondering if I ate the omelet. I cut that whole part off, and I think I even removed it from my plate, then I ate what was left. In a MUCH higher sense, when we confess our sin, God removes it from us and then He can use us. He can hear and answer our prayer now that the defilement has been “cut off.”

Don’t let one little thing keep you from being in close fellowship with the Lord. If He points out something in your life, get it right with the one you sinned against, and with Him. It’s then that your spiritual appetite will be renewed!

I’ve never ordered an omelet since then that I didn’t think of that experience! May we be as mindful of the displeasure of our sin!

With love,

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What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

June 1, 2015May 31, 2015 RefreshHer3 Comments

I love to go fingering my way through my recipe box until I come across one of my treasured dishes that I’ve made for my family for years and maybe haven’t made in a long while. This is the case with Colorful Kielbasa, a recipe I found in Taste of Home YEARS ago! My family likes it because we could eat the Turkey Kielbasa, which has less fat, and the recipe has all the components for a filling meal – meat, starch and vegetable. Add a slice of bread and a salad and supper is ready in less than 30 minutes! By buying Kielbasa on sale and freezing it, I can have everything on hand for this meal anytime I need to get dinner on the table in a hurry.

It also lives up to its name in being colorful on the plate! I served it with a version of this watermelon salad and it was a great meal served out on the patio.

Ingredients

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound smoked kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, combine the soup, water and butter; bring to a boil. Add kielbasa and rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 18 minutes or until rice is almost tender.
Stir in peas and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender and peas are heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until melted. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Here are pictures of the simple process:

I like using fresh mushrooms, rather than canned.

I love having tried and true Thirty Minute meals on file for those busy days! What do you make when you’re in a hurry for dinner?

With love from my country kitchen,

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Freshen Up Friday

May 29, 2015May 28, 2015 RefreshHer3 Comments

My mom is very organized in her home. Every closet, drawer, room, or cabinet are all in order so that you can find every item because it’s in a logical place.

The same goes with the way she keeps record of things – like the perennial plants in her yard. She has a special Gardener’s Journal where she records any plant, tree, or bush that put in their yard. She cuts out a picture of the planting and adds it to the page, along with:

When it was planted
Where it was planted
If it was moved to a different spot
If it was removed completely and why

PicMonkey Collage gardening — The left picture is the outside of my mom’s journal. Of course you could use any kind of plain notebook as well. The right picture is a sample of her entries.

How clever is that?! This would really refresh your gardening. A book like this helps you to remember:

the specific name of each plant or tree out there
how to care for the plant
if you are able to get a refund for it because it died.

If you happen to move from that place, you could leave the journal for the new home owners so they’ll have that valuable information!

I usually snip those tags off the plants and bushes when we put them in the ground. Now I know what to do with them – they’re going in my Gardening Journal!

Are you a gardener? Do you keep track of your plantings?

Have a wonderful weekend! Refresh your heart by being in church Sunday!

Stay refreshed,