Yesterday’s Bible study was about serving others. My prayer was that the Lord would help me to put into action what I’d studied. God will answer that prayer if you ever pray it! I stayed very busy all day obeying the Lord’s directives and it was such a blessing! It was wonderful to see God working and nudging me. If I’d only do that every day instead of going my own way!

Recently we’ve been encouraged in our ladies’ Bible study to set spiritual goals because “if you don’t have a goal you will surely hit it!” If you’re a part of our Bible study, I pray you’ve gotten started on your “five fat files.”

Let’s think about some other goals today – Summertime goals. Think about five or ten things you’d like to accomplish this summer. Write it down somewhere. Post it on your fridge, or put it somewhere where you’ll see it and be encouraged to get started. Then check each item off as you complete it. Make a list and then get after it. It’s June 2nd, so you’ve got three months – 92 days. Wow! We could accomplish lots in that amount of time if we start today!

My Summertime Goals: (for starters)

• Paint the bathroom
• Read three books on the topics in my five Fat Files
• Finish cleaning out the back of the basement
• Have a yard sale to get rid of basement “stuff”
• Entertain on Sunday nights on the deck
• Memorize a verse a week
• Meet with a younger woman each week

Proverbs 13:19

The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul…

What goals will you have for the summer? Inspire me!

With love,

Yesterday found my husband and me in the basement going through some boxes of “stuff.” Stuffed animals, old toys, pictures, school annuals, dolls, dishes, and books were sorted through. I was down there for several hours – not because I got so much accomplished, necessarily, but because when I go through old things it brings back memories and I have to stop and reflect! My husband and I passed many pictures back and forth to one another. “Oh, remember this?” “Look at us! How hilarious!” (You will not be seeing any of those pictures posted here!) Not only did we recall many special times from our past, but it was a sweet time together recounting good memories and numerous blessings.

Allison, our 18 year-old, is now at The Wilds for staff training week. She will spend the summer waitressing there. Her three weeks of rest are over and her bedroom is once again packed up, quiet and very empty. That’s okay – I’d so much rather have her at a place like The Wilds all summer than here with me. What a blessing to know the opportunities she’ll have to serve the Lord, as well as learn. I’m excited about that and can’t wait to hear what God is doing in her life!

While she was home she put in many requests for her favorite foods that she’d missed while she was in college. One of the many requests were for muffins – Strawberry Muffins and Blueberry muffins. I made the blueberry ones to have as a quick breakfast the morning we headed to camp. They are so good. If you like blueberries, you need to make this recipe! My sister shared this with me years ago and it’s my favorite blueberry muffin.

Mix:
1 Box White Cake mix
2 Tbl. flour
1 tsp baking soda

In another bowl, mix:
2/3 C milk
1/3 C oil
3 eggs

Add liquid mixture to dry mixture. Add 1 Cup blueberries. Pour into paper lined or greased tins (only fill about 3/4 full). Sprinkle with crumb mixture and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. This makes lots of muffins – I make a dozen regular-sized ones and a dozen small ones. If you don’t have a small muffin tin, it would probably make 6-8 more regular sized ones.

Topping:
1/3 Cup flour
1/3 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbl soft margarine

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen recently?

With love,

I just love my old copies of the Southern Living Cookbooks. I have a collection of about ten of them and they are my absolute favorites. I’m always finding new recipes! If you find a Southern Living Cookbook on Amazon or at a yard sale I’d say snag it, because their recipes are tried and true. I can’t think of one recipe from their books that I’ve made that we didn’t like.

• Make up a menu at the beginning of the week (this is soooo needful!)
• Choose recipes with few ingredients, quick preparation and easy-to-follow directions.
• One-dish meals are ideal – lasagna, chicken & rice dish, etc.
• Recipes using chicken or seafood are speedy as well as delectable.
• Prepare the recipe the night before, and refrigerate until time to cook or reheat.
• Or prepare part of the recipe ahead, such as a sauce.
• Marinating food overnight adds flavor and requires little effort.
• On weekends or when you have extra time, cook double batches, freezing the extras. All you have to do is defrost foods such as meat sauces, breads, waffles, cookies, cakes, soups and meat loaf in the microwave oven or overnight in the refrigerator; then heat.
• Use the microwave oven for side dishes or reheating.
• Stir-fry meals are convenient when time is short.
• Make salads ahead of time; refrigerate the dressing and other ingredients separately.
• Gather all necessary ingredients and utensils for the recipe you are preparing.
• Clean up as you cook; then you don’t have a big mess left when you’re finished.

I know for women that work full-time, meal prep can be difficult, but these suggestions should help you get a jump start and aid you in getting ahead. If you can begin your preparation early you’ll be that much closer to suppertime after you get home!

Here’s a fruit salad recipe I made this week from one of my Southern Living Cookbooks. The citrus dressing is so good on the fruit.

Fruit Salad with Citrus Dressing

1/4 tsp grated orange rind

2/3 cup orange juice

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp cornstarch

4 oranges, peeled and sliced

2 kiwi, peeled and sliced

2 cups fresh pineapple chunks

1 cup seedless red grapes

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

3 bananas, sliced

Combine first 7 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minutes. Cool.

Combine oranges, kiwi, pineapple and grapes. pour dressing over fruit; cover and chill. Add strawberries and bananas; toss gently. Serve immediately. Yield: 6-8 servings

I used half amounts of the fruit for my family and reserved half of the dressing in a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer to use another time – an example of having a sauce on hand for a quick salad.

Happy cooking!