Christian Life

Every Moment is a Gift

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Take a deep breath.  I’m serious. Inhale.  That is a blessing!  Swallow.  That is a blessing.  Did you eat today?  Another blessing.  Do you have sight, smell, the ability to walk, work, and laugh?  All blessings.  I’ve experienced them all today, and I’ve learned that they really aren’t so little.  What if they were all taken away tomorrow?  We would have wished we had been more thankful – that we had taken time to tell the Lord how grateful we were for the ability to live a somewhat “normal” life. 

After watching one of our dear church families lose all of this on Sunday after a meal, as a result of getting choked on a piece of meat, it’s been very real to me that we have so much to be thankful for every single day. The people with whom we live, those that we love, can be taken from us in a matter of minutes.  Do we verbalize our appreciation for them? Or do we only talk about the frustrations they bring?  If we knew they’d be gone, or even changed forever in the next hour, how would we live differently right now?

I don’t mean to sound so sober, but you know, when you watch someone else face death, it makes life sober indeed.  I have been thinking a great deal about the Lord’s many undeserved blessings in my life.  I thank Him for my own salvation, for the godly parents that brought me up with a knowledge of God, for my sweet sisters, who not only shared my home, but my heart.  I have a husband that loves me, daughters that are such a blessing to me, a church family that others covet, and you dear readers of this blog!  I won’t enumerate here in this post all the other things for which I’m grateful, but I will mention them to the Giver while on my knees in prayer.  I am so very blessed!

Oh, may I not grow apathetic and ungrateful for the smallest of blessings that all come from my great God’s hands. This moment is a gift…and this one…and this one. Have you told Him thank you?

With a grateful heart,

main dish

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

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After a church service on Sunday, what’s better than coming home to the smell of dinner in the oven?  Not much! I’m only going to share one recipe today (due to a very busy day yesterday), but this is a real “go-to” dish.  The reason is that there are a minimal amount of ingredients necessary, they’re very common items, and it’s super good, yet, it tastes like a fussy kind of recipe!

 Delmonico Deviled Chicken



This picture doesn’t do the chicken justice.  My cameral died and I don’t do very well using my husband’s fancy camera!  ~sigh~
The chicken was golden and crispy…pure yumminess!

2-1/2 to 3 lbs chicken, in quarters – you could also use thighs and breasts, as pictured above
4 T butter, softened
1 T prepared mustard
1 T vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cayenne, or to taste (I use about 1/8)
1 C bread crumbs (I like to use Panko bread crumbs, found with the Japanese food)

Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken in shallow roasting pan.  Mix all ingredients, except bread crumbs – will be like a thick paste.  Rub mixture on topside of chicken.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Bake 45-60 minutes, or until juices run clear.

To prepare this on Sunday, I use bone-in chicken and baked it at 300 degrees, covered.

Please give this a try…it’s so simple and delicious!  I served this with roasted potatoes drizzled with olive oil and fresh rosemary, and peas.  The chicken turned a simple supper into something a little more special!

What’s been cooking in your kitchen?

From my parsonage kitchen,

Refreshment

Freshen Up Friday

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Take time to play!

There’s just something plain ol’ fun about playing games.  It takes your mind off the stress you dealt with today and allows you to laugh and enjoy someone else’s company (unless they skunk you, of course! Just kidding!).  As pictured here, I often leave my Scrabble tiles out on the coffee table in the living room (see the bowl to the left with the rest of the tiles?). They’re not just for decoration, but also so we can play a quick game of “Take Two”.  It’s the fast version of Scrabble that’s played without a game board.

Each player takes 7 tiles and proceeds to use them all up making intersecting words on the table in front of them.  The first person who uses up their seven tiles says, “Take two!” and each player adds two more tiles with which they must incorporate into their crossword.  You can reconfigure as needed.  Contractions and proper nouns are allowed in this version, making it easier to be successful coming up with words with your limited resource.  When all the tiles are used, everyone reads the words they’ve created, points are counted and a winner is declared!

Another fun thing to do is leave a jigsaw puzzle out on a table somewhere.  This is fun to do on Thanksgiving.  People can just stop and work on it for a while.  If you leave one out for several days, it’s fun to just stop for a little bit and de-stress yourself by spending time putting a few pieces in.

So, take time to play and see how it refreshes you!

See you in church Sunday!

Be refreshed,

temptation

Take the Next Exit!

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Interstate travel is a very popular route for people who don’t want to travel the backroads and be slowed down by small towns and stop lights.  However, it can be tricky to watch the signs that enable you to take the correct exit so you will actually get to your destination, rather than “timbuktu”.

There have been times that I’ve been driving on the interstate, then realized, with a sinking heart and a backward point of my finger that the exit we just passed was the one I was supposed to have taken. After a long speech from Nigel, (the voice on my GPS) who repeats over and over that I need to “make a U-turn”, I finally find myself turned around and headed to the place I should have been much earlier.  It’s a frustrating situation, to say the least!

But you know, there is another experience of missing to take an exit that’s not only frustrating, it’s downright dangerous!  Proverbs 16:;17 says,

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil.
Here’s my paraphrase of that verse –
If you’re traveling life’s highway and you encounter evil, take the next exit!
Evil is usually in the form of temptation first.  This verse is a reminder that a godly person won’t keep cruising along with evil lurking – they get away from it!  They know that they must get off the interstate of temptation and make a fast exit! 
One way to do that is to simply get away from whatever is tempting you.  Be like Joseph who ran out of the room where Potiphar’s wife was tempting him.  He ran so fast he didn’t even bother gathering his coat!
Another way to do that is to set up hedges of protection so that you will avoid the temptation that could be lurking.  Think ahead of time of what you must avoid.  For instance:
  • I will never be alone with a man, other than my husband.  This will include being alone in a room, a car, office, or home.
  • If I send an email, Facebook message or text to a man, I will include my husband’s address as well so that it is not a private message.
The list could go on, of course; those are just a couple of examples.  The reason we would set up hedges like these is to avoid temptation.  You may say, “Oh, that’s silly!  It’s only so-and-so!  I would never fall for a sin like that!”  That’s when we are most at danger.  I Corinthians 10:12 – Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
After these previous precautions are taken, we must be on the alert for evil that could present itself when we’re unprepared.  On the recent broadcasts of Revive our Hearts this week, the guest, Julie Peterson, said that a male friend of hers gave her a two-second hug that sent off an explosion of emotions inside her.  Rather than fleeing, she allowed the feelings to continue, allowed the contact with this man to increase, and soon found herself in an adulterous relationship.  If she would have “taken the next exit” and removed herself from him and the temptation, she wouldn’t have the regrets she has today.  We must be on the alert, then distance ourselves, if we are to remain on the highway of the upright.

Have you set up hedges that will protect you from potentially sinful situations?  Will you be wise and flee temptation when it is at your door?  Don’t be foolish and think you can play with sin.  Instead, remain upright and take the next exit!

With love,


Marriage

A Peek Inside the Parsonage

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I’m going to share a story with you today – it’s one of my favorites, because it’s about how my husband and I met and fell in love.  I’ve tried to look back to see if I’ve posted this before, and I couldn’t find it in the search engine. (After writing almost 800  posts, it’s hard to remember everything I’ve written about!) If I’ve already told you “my story” please pardon me, and then allow me to tell you again.  Sit back, friends; this is my version of Cinderella, sans the glass slipper.

It was 1979 and I had a scheduled interview for a secretarial position, as well as kindergarten teacher position at a Christian school in Sumter, SC.  I was seeking God’s will for my life, and this was the open door that I’d asked for.  I met in a conference room for the interview at the Christian university I attended with a Pastor Cunningham.  While we were discussing the ministry and the possibility of my working at his church and Christian school, his son, Dale, came up to speak with him.  We were introduced.  No fireworks, no stars in our eyes…you see he was dating someone and so was I. 

I got that job and was enjoying teaching the 5 year-olds.  The next year I was asked to teach first grade. The middle of that school year Christmas break was over and I started back into second semester.   I was busy with my life, and career, but not so happy with my dating situation.  After praying about it, I felt the Lord would have me end the relationship.  I did.  Relief came and I was anxious to move on.  The next day at school, while my children were lined up in the hall for restroom break, Dale walked in.  He still had a few more days of Christmas break before he would head back to the university to finish his junior year. We had built a friendship over the time I’d known him, but nothing more.  As we chatted there in the school hall, he shared with me that he’d called and broken up with his girlfriend the night before!  I shared with him that I’d done the same thing!  We laughed about it, then he candidly asked,

“Hey, would you like to go bowling tonight, just to have some fun?”
“Sure!” I agreed.

We did just that.  We were just friends going out to have a good time and forget the past.  He was so much fun to be with.  He treated me with respect and gentlemanly courtesy.  I was blown away with the thoughts I was having as I returned home from our date.  I wrote these words in my journal that night…”I’m not in love or anything, but I believe I just went out with the guy I’m going to marry!”

The next day was a Friday, so I had to teach.  That afternoon after I dismissed my children, I returned to my classroom only to find Dale sitting on the corner of my desk waiting for me.  Be still my heart!  What a lovely surprise. 

“Last night was so much fun.  Want to go out again?” he asked.

Of course I said “yes!”.  Again, we had a great time, just being ourselves and enjoying the freedom that brings.

The next day being Saturday, presented Dale with a dilemma about how he could see me.  I wasn’t in my classroom – I was in at my home where I lived with my roommate, Debby.  Should he be so bold as to come knock at the door? What if he wasn’t invited in?  However, it was his only option, so that’s exactly what he did.  I opened the door and said, “You’re just the man we were looking for!  Our vacuum won’t work!”  He suddenly became Mr. Hoover himself.  (Many months later he told me all it needed was a new belt, but it took him a really long time to simply replace that small part!).  Pretty sneaky!

After that weekend, Dale went back to school and we wrote letters, called, and made trips back and forth.  Our relationship survived one breakup – but because it was the Lord that had started it,  He saw to it that the wanderer returned!  =) We were married in 1981, following a year-long engagement.

God is so good.  He is faithful.  He knows what He is doing.  He knew that my interview would lead me to the one I was to marry.  He guided my footsteps until they crossed the paths of my future husband. I have told “my story” to my girls many times as they were growing up.  I wanted them to know that if they would “give the Lord half a chance” He would bring the right man into their lives. 

A single girl doesn’t need to finagle to get a guy.  She doesn’t have to throw herself in his path.  God will do the work.  All a girl needs to do is be a woman of honor and wait.  I’m happy to say that our oldest daughter has confirmed that God has brought “Prince Charming” to her.  They will celebrate their first anniversary next month! And after 30 years, I can say more than ever, I am blessed beyond measure with a husband that I could never have found.  He was God’s gift to me.  It hasn’t all been a storybook life, because we are both sinners, but I know this – Prince Charming has nothing on Dale Cunningham!

I know that there are many hurting marriages – Christian and non-Christian alike.  God is bigger than your troubles, and He is able to make your marriage wonderful.  Could I encourage you to listen to the series that is being played on Revive Our Hearts this week?  It’s the story of a couple whose marriage was beyond help, humanly speaking, but is wonderful today.  I pray their story will encourage you!

From inside my parsonage windows,