main dish

A Peek Inside the Parsonage

RefreshHerLeave a comment
What are we doing over here? Ha! Brace yourself…

Getting rid of “stuff!”

Then we’re sending it off to a good home (who has time for yard sales?).
You can write off donations to Salvation Army on your taxes 
and you get far more  than the quarter you’d get
for those items at a yard sale!

Our days have been starting at 5:30 and we go non-stop
trying to keep up with ministry and moving, but I’m not complaining, just busy!

In the midst of it all, I took two days last week to go with 
Whitney to a fun girly kind of conference!

It was the Becoming Conference I mentioned on Monday.  We went to sessions on cooking, painting techniques, accessorizing your style, ridding your life of clutter (great timing!) and living well on less.  It was so practical, but also fun!

The “Becoming Conference” Speakers…
The ladies that had the dream for this conference…
Jen (on left) from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and
Jenny from Southern Savers. 
Lovely ladies with great tips on their sites.  Check it out!

And lastly, I’ve been keeping up with my menu I planned on Sunday. This Tomato Pie was ridiculously delicious! I’ve made a recipe for years with cheddar cheese in it – this one has Parmesan Cheese and I like it much better! I made a light crust and used light mayo to lessen the calories. It was a great summer recipe and a fantastic use of the fresh tomatoes I’ve been given.

Going to the conference and cooking a home cooked meal in the midst of the craziness of packing and getting ready to move were good things for me.  It felt good to do something “normal.”  It helped  me take a breath and be ready to go back to the task of boxing up all the other rooms in the house.

If you’re going through anything that’s overwhelming like dealing with a loved one’s illness or trial, or maybe you’re feeling the frenzy of school schedules beginning again, do something “normal.”  Go shop for the birthday gift you need to buy, stop at Dairy Queen for a treat, go to the library and check out a “just for fun” book to read – anything that will remind you that it won’t always be this way.  I bet you’ll feel refreshed and better able to deal with the situation at hand.

With love from the parsonage windows,

Christian Life

Really Living

RefreshHerLeave a comment

For years my husband has told the “story” of a man who died and was buried in his Cadillac. His buddy came to the funeral and when he saw his friend lying there in his Cadillac he said, “Man, he sure is living!”

What is really living? What does it look like?

 Yesterday when I read Proverbs chapter 12, I thought of what good advice the last verse in the chapter is for anyone who wants to know how to approach life as a believer; to know what it’s like to truly live. It’s the best advice for a single person, a married couple, a young person or someone up in years. It’s the same for all of us. Here’s what the first part of the verse says…

If life is found “in the way of righteousness,” what is the way? It’s only when we are right with God that we can even be called righteous, so that’s the first point. This is a person who has accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins. They are now right with God. Then to continue “in the way,” we obey God’s Word and His Word says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” It is by faith that we are saved, and we must continue to live believing God for everything in our lives.

Being in full-time ministry, I can’t remember a time that my husband and I haven’t had to live by faith. We stepped out into our first ministry unsure of how we would make ends meet, but we knew we had God’s promise to provide all our needs. Many, many times we have had to pray and wait on God to supply for every day needs, funds for camp for our girls, books for school, or money for a bill and God has always been faithful.

Even now, as we’ve embarked out into the realm of purchasing a home, we have PRAYED (my request began 10 years ago!), waited, prayed, looked, prayed, offered, prayed, waited and THEN we saw God provide the perfect house at the perfect time in a way that only He could get the glory!

I know there are many people who have the funds to buy whatever they want, and trusting God really isn’t in their view finder. I’m sorry for them. Watching God at work is incredible! But living a life of faith is more than just money – it’s turning to God about everything – job, church home, vacation, retirement, how to spend the money you do have, investing in others, and day to day decisions.

Are you really living in the way of righteousness? When you are, then and only then are you really living.

Why not embark in that righteous way today? Stop and ask the Lord to reveal how you’re going your own way instead of trusting Him in faith. You’ll find greater joy and fulfillment as you wait on Him to reveal Himself in every area of your life!

With love,

main dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer5 Comments

Okay, I have a confession…I didn’t cook at all this weekend.  My head is hung, not in shame, but because I’m doodling on my paper.  I got to attend the Becoming Conference in Black Mountain, SC this weekend!  My sweet daughter, Whitney invited me to attend with her, and I’m so glad I got to go.  It was something totally new and different, refreshing, enlightening and just FUN!  So my doodling on paper is an effort to try to remember all the great things that I learned while I was away and then make a plan to implement those good ideas!

In reference to today’s subject of cooking, let me tell you about session I attended on freezer cooking.  This sweet woman, Jackie Brown, writer of Mom on a Mission, shared some great tips on preparing meals, not just for your own family, but also enough to share with others. Her motto is “Sharing Christ through freezer cooking.”  I loved her perspective on being prepared to be a blessing to others.  It goes along with our Discipleship theme at Boones Creek Bible Church.  I mean, it’s great to know where you’re going with your own meal plan and how you’re going to provide for your family, but if you’re also able to reach out to others in a way that is simple and thoughtful, that’s icing on the cake!  I hope you’ll check out her site.  She’s got menu plans, recipes that are healthy, and a great perspective on mealtime.

How about if I share my menu for this week with you?  This is going to be a crazy two weeks with finishing our packing and preparing to move (loud, happy squeal here!), but I am resolved to use my crock pot and the great fresh vegetables that others have shared with us, to provide healthy meals to sustain us while we pack and heft those boxes!

Tomato Pie
Crock Pot Beef and Gravy
Tacos using Crock Pot Taco Meat – Love this new idea!
Stuffed Baked Potatoes topped with Crab meat (I found the imitation crab meat on sale!)
Fresh Garden Veggies and Corn Bread

What’s on your menu this week?  Do you have a plan for how you make meals for others?

With love from my parsonage kitchen,

organization

Freshen Up Friday

RefreshHerLeave a comment
A new school year has begun, and before Labor Day has passed you will have enough papers, cards, notes and coloring sheets to wallpaper the Biltmore House.  What will you do with all that clutter treasure?  I have a great suggestion for you!

 

My mom, who is Organization personified, got a cute little box like this for each of my sisters and me…(kitty not included)
As she was filing through all her junk treasures, which ever family had sent that item, would get it put into their box. Tucked inside I found things like: A thank you letter from my daughter to Nana and Papa, and homemade Valentine card made by one of my girls, announcement of the birth of our baby girls, letters from me, etc.

 

Liza’s thoughts – “There better be a treat inside that box – you woke me up!”

She turned that box into a treasure trove!  It’s great to file through and read the memories tucked inside!  The fact that it’s all contained in a cute little box turns it from a pain to deal with, to a true blessing!

Liza’s thoughts – “I’ll just take my bath while I wait for you to bring me my treat!”

Get a box now for each of your children and start piling things inside rather than waiting until you have a stack on your counter the size of Godzilla.  You and your children can enjoy flipping through the contents, and it will refresh you, rather than reducing you to tears!

What do you do with all those papers you don’t want to get rid of?

See you in church Sunday!

Be refreshed,

Christian Life

Choose Gratitude

RefreshHerLeave a comment

I had been standing in the condo kitchen for about an hour packing up dishes because, in answer to months of praying, my mother-in-law’s condo has sold! So my house isn’t the only place I’m packing! We now are in the throes of packing up what seems to be a mountain of books, a city of dishes, and a nation of pictures at the condo!

I thought I was finally nearing the end of all the kitchenware when I dared open a cabinet door as suspiciously as a mouse entering a room full of cats. When the light hit the inside, it bounced off of a whole cabinet of Corning ware. I groaned – not just inwardly, but out loud. “You have got to be kidding me! Who needs this much Corning ware?!” My complaint ricocheted off the condo walls and echoed in my ears. More importantly, it hit my heart. I knew then it was the Holy Spirit’s conviction. The words in my heart were His whispers –

“If the condo hadn’t sold, you wouldn’t have to be packing all these dishes. This is all due to your prayers being answered.”  “Oh, Lord, forgive my complaints. You are so good, and I will choose instead to be grateful for all You are doing in our lives.”

For the rest of the time I worked, I purposefully chose gratitude, thinking about the joy of this need being taken care of. What’s a little more newsprint on my hands? So what if it takes a couple more days? God did this, and I will be glad! It’s amazing how my perspective changed the afternoon.

Have you found yourself complaining and groaning in your spirit today? What’s causing it? Is it the mountain of laundry? The attitudes of your little ones? The sleepless night? The load on you at work? An unreasonable boss? Start thanking God for that thing instead and watch it change your heart and the situation!

With love (and a stack of happy boxes),