If you’ve read any of my guest posts on RefreshHer, you know I’m not a fan of paying a lot of money for groceries. Recently I’ve found great deals on smoked sausage – pairing a coupon with a sale, I can get a pound for about a dollar. When ground beef is $3 per pound, I’m suddenly in love with smoked sausage! =) I found a recipe on pinterest* that inspired me, but I am sharing my version with you today. Stick around for the end of the post, because I have dessert ready for you too!

*The original recipe is a very easy crock pot recipe, but I haven’t had great success leaving potatoes in the crock pot during an eight hour work day. Let me know if you try the crock pot version and it works for you! I just love roasted potatoes in soup. If you like O’Charley’s potato soup, you’ll like roasted potatoes in your soup too. =)

Ok. Let’s get cookin!

Potato Sausage Chowder

• I covered the frame with painter’s tape.  Here it is, dead, lying on its side out on the back patio.

• I used a sandpaper on the glass and “roughed” it up a little.
• I shook the can of blackboard spray paint for the full 2 minutes it says.
• I applied paint in even strokes going one direction.  I waited 15 minutes.
• I applied a coat of paint going the opposite direction from the first coat.  I waited 15 minutes.
• I added a total of 10 coats of paint, alternating directions with each coat.

Yep, I like it much better!

We’ve all probably seen a clip or two from past shows of Kids say the Darndest things. Here’s a cute little guy with Bill Cosby.

The thing that made this show work was that the host would ask the children a simple question and then sit back and listen.  Not only can the results be hilarious, they can also be very enlightening for the adult listening! 

Every wise parent will learn to make time to ask questions and then be still and listen to their child(ren).  Taking time to be one-on-one with your children is important.  Whether it’s a structured time where one parent takes a child out for an ice cream or they have one child with them to run errands or in the kitchen to make cookies, the key is to not do all the talking.  We tend to want to lecture and always be teaching.  There are times for that, of course, but it’s important to listen as much as we talk.  Proverbs 18:13 reminds us that,  He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. There is wisdom is listening before we start talking.

Here are a few good questions you could ask your child at times when you are alone:

• How do you know God loves you?
• How do you know Mom and Dad love you?
• What is the most important thing you could tell another child your age?
• What is the best thing about our church?
• Is there anything that makes you fearful?
• What do you think the Lord wants you to do with your life?
• What do you think Jesus is trying to teach you right now?
• If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
• What is the best verse you’ve heard from the Bible? Why?
• What is your favorite book? Why?
• Are there any questions you have about heaven? God?  The Bible?

As a child nears their teenage years, it’s so important to keep an open door of communication with them concerning the opposite sex, the changes happening in their body, dating, marriage and what the Bible says about sex.  They will have questions, and if they don’t feel they can come to you, they’ll talk to their friends and get wrong information.

A wise parent is a listening one.  Did your parents keep the communication lines open to you?  How will you intentionally keep them open to your child?

With love,

P.S. Be sure to write down the things they say that you don’t want to forget – the funny things as well as the profound!

There is a Patch the Pirate song that ends like this –

I was thinking yesterday about all the fun we had in the parsonage when our girls were growing up.  We did a lot of things wrong.  We were not perfect parents by any stretch, but one thing is for sure – we had fun trying!  If you would’ve peeked into our windows you would’ve seen us…

• Chasing one another around the house!  Our houses all had circular patterns when the girls were small.  It was perfect for a good chase!
• Making crafts with supplies like glue, glitter, paper, scissors, glitter, stickers, pipe cleaners, glitter and toilet paper rolls – and more glitter!

• Playing Hands Down!  Scrabble, Monopoly, Sorry!, Hi Ho Cherry O, Candy Land, and Dutch Blitz
• Tobogganing on the snowy hills
• Making cookies (real and pretend)
• Having tea parties with sugar water
• Playing Hide and Seek
• Reading books under the dining room table
• Having picnics in the living room
• Reading books on car trips
• Playing Shoe store, library, grocery store, and church
• Sitting in the tree house in the backyard eating lunch
• Having our yearly sunrise service on Easter morning in the tree house (wearing our winter coats – this was in Indiana)
• Making “Pajama Runs” for ice cream at Dairy Queen
• Riding bikes through town, on vacation, and on long trails
• Riding all the toys in the park – swings, slides, and merry-go-rounds!
• Making a train in the hallway with the kitchen chairs
• Singing around the piano
• Munching on popcorn while watching a movie or our home videos 
• Watching Andy Griffith at lunchtime on Friday’s
• Spending one-on-one time with the girls while the other was in bed “sleeping”
• Reading each night before they went to sleep
• Swimming and splashing in the pool on vacation

Oh yes, those were some fun days!  The fun continues, too.  Aren’t you thankful the Lord gives richly all things to enjoy? 

What are you doing to provide some fun for your family?  Put a little thought into it and create something you and your family will tuck away in their hearts as a wonderful memory!

What is the most fun thing you did/are doing as a family?

From the parsonage windows,

Can you think back to one thing that has happened to you that has changed your life? Perhaps it was only a temporary change, but it probably felt like it was lasting forever at the time.  It could be a very simple decision that was the turning point.  It could be a natural disaster, a choice someone close to you has made that effected you – the death of a loved one, or perhaps it is an illness that turned your world upside down.

Yesterday my Bible reading took me to the familiar story in I Samuel 17 – David and Goliath.  But as I read it yesterday morning, the Lord opened my eyes to something I’ve never thought of before.  David’s one decision to obey his father and take the simple meal to his brothers, changed his life forever!  He never went back to the hillside to be a shepherd boy again.  From the moment that he got to the battlefield and heard Goliath defying his God, everything changed for him. 

After killing Goliath, he was famous among the people!  They were singing his praises, making Saul grow in hatred towards David. He had to run from him the rest of time Saul was alive.  David’s own brother’s attitudes towards David were changed too.  They questioned his motives, and they were no longer Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah – they were probably referred to now as “David’s brothers” – just what older brothers would want to hear!

I wondered as I sat with my Bible opened in my lap, “Did David ever wish he could go back to the way things were before he took on the giant?”  How about you?  Do you ever wish that life would go back to “the way it used to be?”  Truthfully, I must admit that this giant of caring for a cancer patient has indeed turned my world upside down.  I (selfishly) miss the simpler days.  I miss the freedom of my schedule and time.  I miss time with my husband, and not feeling rushed to get back home to relieve our caregiver.  But then, I stop and consider what the Lord did for David, and how He does the very same thing for me today as I deal with my Goliath.

• He provided the five stones David needed to accomplish the task.  He gave him the necessary tools, if you will.  The “stones” the Lord gave me yesterday were:
1. His Word that encouraged me when I needed it
2. Two daughters that texted me to encourage my heart
3. A friend who signed up to come and relieve us so we could have a date
4. Time and health to exercise
5. Sunshine!
• He also gave David the right attitude in the midst.  The Lord gave him courage to face the giant.   He can (and wants) to change my attitude when I get discouraged and selfish.  He will if I see Him as my God – the Lord of hosts.
• He also helped David to throw off the comments from his brothers. He knew he was doing the right thing.  Others may criticize they way we’re handling the situation the Lord has given.  They may question our methods or our motives, but we must simply remind ourselves to be obedient to what the Lord reveals to us, as David did.

Stop in front of the giant you’re facing today. 

• Recognize 5 things the Lord has provided today to be your “stones” to help you face the giant before you.

• Write them down and rehearse them in your mind and heart all day today.  I wrote them on my adorable little chalkboard.  Put it somewhere you can see it!

• Ask God to give you the right attitude and response toward the hardship – and others’ criticism.

Life may never be like it was, but the change can be a blessing, if we stop to pick up the stones.

What 5 stones has the Lord given you today?  I’d love to hear!

With love,