I wake up feeling good.  No headaches lurking, no knee pain or other twangs here or there that are common to a woman reaching her mid-50’s.  It’s a beautiful day – even unseasonably cool for late June.  I have plans to walk with my husband before anything else today – partly because we just want to take advantage of the temperature, and partly to get out there before our road gets too busy.

Shoes are laced and we head out the door and I have this uneasiness about me.  I can’t put my finger on it.  We walk silently and then my husband looks at me and asks if I’m okay.  If I’m quiet, he gets suspicious (kind of sad, really!).  In answer to his question, I answer, “I’m good.”  He senses my uneasiness, I realize.  We have a great walk – well, he jogs most of the way while I walk briskly and review my memory verses.

When we arrive home, the coffee is waiting for us, steamy and strong.  I pour a cup and head back to my quiet place.  Caffeine in one hand, Bible in my lap, I begin to read my daily reading.  Today I’m in Leviticus 11.  I’m pitying the poor folk that were under all these laws, and then I come to verses 44 and 45.

For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

It was at that moment that the Holy Spirit put His finger on my “uneasiness” I had felt earlier.  The truer name for it is my Old Sin Nature.  That nature was tired and grumpy.  No, it was sinful!  Any time I am not acting, responding, or speaking in a holy manner (without sin), I am letting my old sin nature take over.  I am anything but holy!

It’s easy to get into a routine of being saved; doing all the things Christians do, and forget about living a holy life.  We can be good enough, but we’re not holy.  We can do nice things, but we’re not holy.  We can avoid saying sinful words, but we’re not holy. 

I find my self now asking questions like, “Is this a holy response? Was that a holy answer?  Is my motive holy?”  We must think of Christ when we say “holy.”  “Am I imitating Him in each of these areas?”  If not, then I am not holy.

One Day we will no longer fight our sinful flesh (hallelujah!), but until then, it would do us all well to ask the Spirit of God to make a careful inspection and reveal to us whether we’re being holy, or allowing our sin nature to preside instead!  It is a battle we can win, with God’s help!

With love,

If you have a fireplace mantle (or shelf), here’s a picture of Gracious Design’s mantle, used as an object lesson:

I would have never thought to place a large lamp on the side as they did, but because they balanced it out, not with a matching lamp, but with the greenery in the large vase, it works well. 

Here are some other tips they shared concerning decorating a mantle:

• The mantle should be the unifying factor in the room.
• Art work is a great backdrop (look at the picture above and how she used that large piece of artwork in the center)
• The mantle should be a snapshot of the rest of the room
• Mantles need to be weighted at the bottom.  Sometimes the fireplace tools can do this.  A large fireplace screen or large plant can also work.  She used pillows and candles in the example in the store.
• Mantles have to have structure.  Create a “Magic U” with pieces up high on the side, down low in the middle and then high again on the other side.  Create the “U” around the center element.  For a wider space, create a “UU”
• Have different dimensions –
• Matte and shiny
• Different shapes
• Vertical and round
• Hard and soft
• runners, greenery

Concerning bookcases:

• Counteract bookshelf with round objects
• clocks
• globe
• candlesticks
• Add shiny objects
• Place heavier pieces on the bottom shelf
• Open some of the books up (see second shelf)
• If there is clutter you want to hide, use a suspension rod and cafe curtain to cover it! Maybe like this…

Just thought you might like some inspiration like I received for your mantles and bookcases!

Do you have any great ideas of things you’ve added to these places in your home?  I’d love to hear!

From my parsonage windows,

I absolutely love a good sale!  Let me see red markdown tags on merchandise, and I can get excited!  However, I heard a quote in my husband’s sermon Sunday that has made me rethink bargains.

First layer:  Half of the cookie crumbs, half of the caramel sauce and then all of the ice cream.  I used a caramel ice cream by Mayfield.  It had chunks of caramel/chocolate bits in a vanilla base.  =)

It then gets topped with the other half of the caramel sauce before getting put back into the freezer to harden up.  Pop off the springform pan and serve.  Don’t worry about it melting, it won’t last long!

1 1/3 Cup all purpose flour
2/3 Cup quick cooking oats
2/3 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2/3 Cup butter, melted
1 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened (or your choice)

• Combine first 4 ingredients, and stir in melted butter; press mixture firmly into a lightly greased 15 x 10 x 1″ jelly roll pan.
• Bake at 350 for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned; remove cookie to wire rack.  Cool and crumble.
• Combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and evaporated milk in a heavy saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 3 minutes.  Cool caramel sauce.
• Sprinkle half of crumbs into bottom of lightly greased 10 inch springform pan. I think the next time I make this I will cover the bottom of the pan with waxed paper, then spray it with cooking spray before adding the cookie crumbs.  Drizzle with half of caramel sauce.  Spread remaining caramel sauce; sprinkle with remaining crumbs.
• Cover and freeze until firm.  Yield: 12 servings

I was in the mood for new recipes this past week and went to my favorite and most reliable source – my old Southern Living cookbooks.  You just can’t go wrong with their recipes!


Sunday dinner was a favorite menu for our family and one I’ve shared here, but with an addition of a new side dish – the one from SL.

This Pineapple-Almond slaw was really good.  What a yummy addition to a summer meal!  The sweet pineapple is a great combination with the slaw.  I had purchased a fresh pineapple from Sam’s and used it instead of the canned pineapple.

Pineapple-Almond Slaw

2/3 Cup sour cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp salt
5 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
1 15 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 (2 oz) package slivered almonds, toasted

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.  Combine cabbage and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; add sour cream mixture; tossing well.  cover and chill thoroughly.  Yield 8 to 10 servings.

What new things have you stirred up in your kitchen?

From my parsonage kitchen,

When we finished, we took the warm tortillas and filled them with chicken, cheese, tomatoes, boiled eggs and a little olive oil.  then they were folded over.  Yum!  They were so delicious!  They’re much better than the ones you buy in the store!

The best part was the fellowship we shared together.  We had so much fun chatting and laughing as we worked.  We have plans to learn from one another in other sessions, and also to perhaps invite some of our teen girls to come join our lessons. 

Make plans to get together with some of your friends and learn from one another.  If one does scrapbooking, another is a knitter and someone else makes beautiful wreaths, take turns in one another’s homes and spend time gleaning from their talents.  I felt like we were accomplishing the Titus 2 admonition for the older to teach the younger.  Age really doesn’t matter – it’s the sharing your time and abilities with one another.  What a blessing!  What refreshment! 

What would you like to learn to do?  Who could you ask to teach you? 

Be refreshed,