1. Our number one problem.  Before you get out of bed identify your number one problem and give it to God.  Let Him take care of it.  God can take the very worst thing in your life and turn it into something good.
2. The good things. Too often we only think that God will use the bad things for His glory and our good, but He will use even the good things to do the same thing, because many times they are just as challenging! Ministry is a good thing that can be a challenge.  Graduation from college can be a good thing that’s a challenge – where do you go from here?  A promotion at work is a good thing!  You’ve gotten to be the best at your job, and you get promoted to a whole new position and it’s tough!  Retirement is another good thing that brings changes and challenges.  We have to grow and stretch during these times and we need God’s help.
3. The bad things.  Most of us think we understand this one.  There are things we label as bad – evil, hard done to us, or suffering.  Along comes Rom 8:28 and we understand that God doesn’t prevent “bad” things from happening to His children, but He turns those things into blessings for us by using those situations to transform us into Christlikeness. 
4. The “people things.”  People who make your life miserable, people who hate you, or people who are just difficult can be used to bring about good in your life.  Here’s a quote that will help you not to blame others for how they are – It is not them – it is Him!  We must realize that God is using the people in our lives to conform us to the image of His Son.

Thankful that we can trust a mighty God for the “all things” in our lives,

This little piggy was at the market, and this little piggy came home… and found himself sitting on our dinner table!  That’s what I found on sale recently at our local Ingles store – pork!  It was a nice change from chicken and we do love it. I was also anxious to try a couple of new recipes.

One recipe was Mushroom Glazed Pork Chops.  I found this in my recent  Good Housekeeping Magazine.  These were browned in my iron skillet, then put into the oven to finish cooking.  They were very good.  I served them with mashed potatoes so we could spoon the gravy over top.  Mmmmm!  Fresh asparagus and popovers completed the meal.



Mushroom Glazed Pork Chops

 The changes I made in the recipe were:  I didn’t go to the expense of buying the fresh mushrooms, but used canned ones I already had.  I also substituted the alcohol for beef broth and milk for light cream.  It was still delicious!

I just had to show you my gorgeous roses from my sweet husband.  See why I love to fix him new recipes?  He’s just too sweet!  I’m also blessed to be married to a man who is willing to try whatever I make.  There have been very few things he didn’t like.  That sure makes cooking fun!

Take the tenderloin out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Film an ovenproof skillet with oil and sear the tenderloin over medium-high heat to brown all sides, about 5 minutes in all. (Reserve marinade)  I then placed the skillet in the oven at 200 degrees to cook slowly while we were at church.  Remove from the oven, tent the pork with foil and let it rest. 

I deglazed the skillet using the reserved marinade and the drippings from the pan to make a  gravy, and I also added a little chicken broth.  I thickened it up a little with some corn starch.  Serve this meal with rice and pinto beans and you have a nearly Puerto rican meal!  Thanks, Sue!

 I also added a Strawberry Salad – Leaf lettuce, fresh strawberries, red onion, and almonds with a vinaigrette I made up with 2 T Balsamic vinegar, 1/3 C olive oil, 2 T strawberry jam and a pinch of salt and pepper.  This has to be my favorite salad!

The Lord so sweetly give us richly all things to enjoy…good sales and yummy pork!

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen?

With love,

Being in the ministry requires stepping outside the parsonage to minister to people. One of the places we frequent is the hospital. It’s not always easy – especially if things are critical, but sometimes it is truly a special time – especially if we visit a strong believer who has gone through, or is going through a hard trial. That may sound odd, but the blessing is in finding a seat, and then just listening as they speak.  That was the joy I had yesterday.  I sat and listened to a dear lady who has been ill for over a year share what the Lord has been teaching her.  Wow!  I heard what God’s grace has done in her life.  Let me hit some of the highlights with you:

• If I had been wealthy, or had lots of possessions, even that wouldn’t have stopped this from happening.  However, those things couldn’t have given me the peace the Lord’s given me.  You can’t put a price tag on that!
• The Lord has been so faithful.
• I’m not afraid. I can honestly say, whatever the Lord wants, I know will be good for me. 
• I wish I could be doing other things, but I’ve had lots of time to pray and I’ve been praying about…..and….and….
• I used to have to be in control, but the Lord’s showing me that I must take my hands off and let Him be in charge.
• The Lord’s been teaching me some wonderful truths from His Word…
• A wife needs a husband that will stick with her in times of sickness like mine has.  You don’t just stay together when things are easy.
• The Lord has been so faithful.
• I’ve been through some painful things, but I try to cooperate with the hospital staff.  When they tell me what a sweet patient I am, I tell them it’s because of God’s grace.
• The Lord’s been showing me unconfessed sin and He’s digging deep in my heart.  It’ been hard, yet so sweet as He’s revealed these things to me.
• The Lord has been so faithful.

A 15 month-old boy scrambled up into his grandad’s lap to view pictures on Grandad’s phone.  After siezing the phone from his grandpa, the little tyke held the phone with both hands, thumbs placed squarely on the keys, and began moving his thumbs all over the key pad as though he were texting!  He had seen his parents do this many times, and was now perfectly immitating their texting skills!  What a hilarious sight!

What a reminder that our children are watching us and will learn about their world from what we do.  They will also imitate the things we do, as illustrated by this tiny texter!  It’s a sobering thought!  What would their actions reveal about how we pray?  Do they know our place of prayer? Would they know the notebook where we keep our prayer lists?   Would they know how to open the Bible and search through its pages because they’ve seen us doing that on a regular basis – not just at church, but also at home? How does their speech reflect what they hear come from our mouths?  Do they see us using our free time in a way that’s productive, rather than sitting for long periods of time at the computer or television? Do they know to always bow their head and thank the Lord for their food because we wouldn’t think of eating without thanking the Giver? 

These reminders are not to give us a guilt trip; that’s Satan’s tactics.  But we need to be reminded that our children are watching and will imitate what they see in our lives.  Ezekiel 16:44 says,  As is the mother, so is her daughter.  It’s certainly true also of sons.  Oh, that they will be godly because that’s what they see in us!

With love,

Being prepared on Sunday is easy when you do a little planning ahead.  This dish was even easier to make because I had cooked several chicken breasts earlier and then frozen them for dishes such as this.  So all I had to do was cook the noodles and assemble the casserole.

Chopping things up for salads for the week can also be a time-saver.  If all you have to do is grab the bags of chopped vegetables and add them to your lettuce (I seldom ever buy the packages of salad mixes; they’re too expensive), add croutons and cheese and you’re salad is done!

Here’s another dish I made for a weeknight using some of the chicken I cooked and froze.  These were Chicken Taco Salads.  I make my own Tortilla shells by baking them in the microwave.  They are so good with this salad, and you really don’t miss the “fried” taste! I tipped the tortilla bowl over on its side for ease of eating and looks…

Put a large flour tortilla into a microwave safe bowl  (cereal size).  Microwave for 1 minute.  Remove and let cool.  That’s it!

For the salad part I add lettuce, cool, cooked corn, tomatoes, diced mango, red onion and the chicken strips I cook in the oven with salt and pepper.

The dressing is 1 part Ranch dressing to 1/2 part salsa.  It’s a favorite meal of ours.

Here’s a new dessert recipe – Upside down Pear Cake.  Yum!  This came from my Taste of Home Magazine.  With fresh pears, molasses and walnuts, this is super good.  I served it with frozen yogurt and it was a hit!