Uncategorized

Ladies’ Retreat

RefreshHerLeave a comment

Wow, I can’t believe it’s August! I’m usually preparing my schedule for school, but now that my daughter has graduated, so have I! This August I’m planning a retreat instead. We have made many announcements about it at our church, but I wanted to post a note here for further publication.

The theme for our retreat is, “The human heart is dark without Christ, but what a difference Jesus makes.” On Friday night, the 14th, we will meet at Boones Creek Bible Church at 7 pm. The evening will begin with a fun time of skits and then refreshments. Then our first speaker, Debbie Duncan, will share her testimony. Five years ago Debbie lost her husband suddenly after 24 years of marriage. Though she has gone through some very hard times, she has had a sweet testimony of God’s sustaining grace. How can a woman go through losing her husband and not be bitter or angry with God? Well, Jesus made the difference and she’s going to tell us how.

On Saturday morning we will meet back at the church at 9:30. The first scheduled activity is a workshop time. The topics include:

  • Help! I’m homeschooling – There will be tips from two moms that have home schooled their children for several years. Topics will include such things as scheduling, extra-curricular activities, teaching godly character traits, working outside the home, and teaching multiple grades.
  • Making the Most of Your Senior Years – This workshop will help those headed for their senior years, or those already there. Information shared will be ways to grow older without feeling useless, as well as ideas of how to serve in these years. This workshop will be practical and hopeful!
  • Multi-tasking my Minutes – This is a workshop on time management. Tips will be shared about how to accomplish more in a day, how to plan ahead, cook ahead, and be prepared without feeling overwhelmed.

Following our workshop time we will have another speaker, Kathy Barker. Also a member of our church, Kathy has experienced the words, “You have cancer.” Her faith and her testimony have remained strong in the midst of the initial news, as well as during her treatments. Again, those of us that know Kathy see that Jesus has made the difference in her life. Whatever God chooses for Kathy is her heart’s desire. I know her testimony will encourage you, or anyone you know that is going through a difficulty in their life.

We will end the day by having lunch catered in from Atlanta Bread Company. The cost for the retreat is $8, which will include your meal. Registrations need to be made in advance so we will be sure to have plenty of lunches ordered. You can register by calling our church office at 423-477-3011. All ladies are welcome! I believe this is going to be a special weekend that will truly be significant for those that attend.

Uncategorized

A Blog to Read

RefreshHerLeave a comment

Just a little note on this Saturday. I found a really helpful blog this week about the subject matter of my blog Monday and Tuesday – hospitality. The blog is entitled, “4 Reluctant Entertainers.” The subtitle reads, “Real entertaining for Real People.”

The blog is full advice about making entertaining simple. There is lots of encouragement to rid the excuses we use for not being hospitable and to help alleviate the fears. She also has recipes and other ideas that are very practical. There are lots of pictures to aid her teaching. I thought I’d pass this special blog on to you. I’ve really enjoyed it and thought you might too!

Here’s an excerpt from her blog:

Sometimes I’m just too tired to think about other people, let alone open up my home to them. Some of the “joy stealers” and the excuses that often run through my head are:
* I really don’t need anyone
* My life is full enough
* I’m just too busy
* It costs to entertain
* My house isn’t adequate
* I need to look the part (Marthaidious Lie)

For others it might be:
* It’s too risky to open myself to family and others
* I’ll look foolish if I reach out
* My house is always cluttered
* I’m a horrible cook
* It’s too hard with kids
* I’m not a good conversationalist
* I need to be a couple
* It’s too much work after a long day
* My spouse isn’t interested in entertaining
* I’m just not spontaneous enough
* I am fearful and freeze up, just thinking about it
* It’s always a disaster
* I’m too much of a perfectionist

I wonder which one of these rings true with you?I know that I get the JOY sucked out of me at times, because I want things to look a certain way.What if we all pasted this quote on our front doors? “If you want to see us, come on over; if you want to see our house, make an appointment.”

I hope I’ve piqued your interest!

Have a blessed time in church Sunday. Show some hospitality there too!

Uncategorized

(Cont.) Being a Discerning Woman

RefreshHer3 Comments

Some years ago our church graciously gave my husband a 40-day sabbatical that started on Christmas Eve. During the first week of January we went to a lovely mountain home in South Carolina to rest. This home was located high up in an area known as “The Cliffs.” We were staying at the end of a section of homes at the end of the road. We could look out the large windows in the house and see the tiny lights of the houses below us twinkling in the darkness.

The weather was quite blustery; the wind was howling when we unloaded our belongings from the car and the snow was flying. After we got our things moved into the house, my husband headed back down the mountain to go get our younger daughter who had been staying the week with her sister. He would be gone about an hour and a half.
While he was gone I made supper and then put it in the oven to stay warm until they returned. I then decided that this would be a good time to snuggle into the comfy sofa with a cup of hot tea and work on a Bible study I was doing. The wind continued to howl outside the windows as I studied, banging things against the house and making all kinds of imaginary people stomp right outside my doors! Then the wind got so strong that the power flickered, then went out! I put my hand up in front of my face and couldn’t even see it! It was pitch black! I grabbed my cell phone and hit the power button to activate the light, then ran into the kitchen to look for a candle and matches. Aha! Here was a lovely scented candle up on the counter. Matches…matches….? Nowhere. Then I remembered that the stove was gas. I got the wick lit at the burner, then made my way back over to the sofa relieved at the light this little candle brought to my very dark situation!
That illustration is what discernment does in our lives – it brings light to an uncertain situation. Discernment is the ability to distinguish between two things using the wisdom of God’s Word. Discernment allows us to see issues clearly. We so desperately need to cultivate discernment so we will know light from darkness, truth from error, best from better, righteousness from unrighteousness, purity from defilement and principles from pragmatics.
How does a person get discernment? You ask God for it. Ask Him for it before you get into a crisis. It would have been better for me if I’d have prepared for the storm before the lights went out! If only I had gotten the candle lit prior to the crisis moment of darkness I wouldn’t have been so frightened. We can’t plan for a crisis in our lives, but we can prepare ahead of time by seeking God’s face for discernment from His Word. We must store it up in our hearts so it will be ready when those moments come that threaten to shake us at the very foundation of our faith. Proverbs 22:3 tells us that a prudent person looks ahead and sees the possible danger in a situation and they do what they can to avoid it, but the foolish person plunges ahead and suffers the consequences.
One wise way to prepare ahead of time is to memorize Scripture. We will all face death at some time, in the life of a loved one, or our own. What Scripture do you know by memory that will sustain you at that time? If you’re married you know you need God’s wisdom to be a godly wife. What passages are you meditating on when it gets hard to love your husband? We are all tempted to fly off the handle and “give so-and-so a piece of our mind.” What do you tell yourself from God’s Word when that temptation comes? Ladies, storms are coming. We must prepare ahead of time so we’ll have the Light for the darkness!
Abigail responded to her husband and to David in a way that was consistent with her heart. She didn’t fall apart, come unglued, or go have a crying spell. She acted in a wise discerning way. Nabal never changed, and the fool in our life may never change either. But we can remain a pure, courageous, discerning woman that glorifies the Lord even in the midst of a crisis.
By the time my husband and daughter got back to our mountain retreat the lights had come back on, though they continued to flicker often. There was nothing to fear now though- there were lit candles throughout the house. I wouldn’t be caught unprepared again. I pray that I’ve learned that same lesson in my spiritual life!
Uncategorized

Dealing with the Fools in Your Life – Part 4

RefreshHerLeave a comment
A Discerning Woman
How many times yesterday were you needed by someone? Perhaps you felt the tug of a child pulling at your clothes, your cell phone was ringing with someone who needed a question answered or a favor done, co-workers were calling for your assistance, your husband was down the hall calling your name. These kinds of interruptions are common for us as women, but at times they can push us to our breaking point and we respond violently to the one that added the proverbial last straw to our load.
In verses 14-17 of I Samuel we meet Abigail who has one of her husband’s servants running to her to ask her to intervene on her foolish husband’s behalf. The servant tells her what had transpired between David’s servants and Nabal when they requested the provisions that were rightfully theirs. They had served Nabal’s shepherds in the field and were entitled to a gift from Nabal, but instead of a gift David received insults and anger. The servant explained to Abigail that now trouble was to come to Nabal’s house if something wasn’t done.
The fact that the servant went to Abigail rather than Nabal tells us that he knew he couldn’t speak to Nabal about this. Proverbs 23:9 says, “Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.” The servant knew that Nabal wouldn’t listen to anyone. He realizes that Abigail is one with wisdom in the family. I wonder how many times Abigail had been asked by others to step in and fix a problem her husband had created? Perhaps something else had already occurred that day. Now here she is being asked to take care of another mess that foolish Nabal had made. The servant knew he could go to Abigail. She was approachable.
Do you have the reputation of being approachable? Do people know you’re a wise woman and they can come to you because you will handle things wisely? Do your children know they can come to you in a conflict or crisis and that they can talk to you? If your husband or perhaps your boss has a grievance with you are you approachable? Or do people know you’ll fly off the handle, out of control? Proverbs 18:13 “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” We need to be still and allow the person that comes to us to speak. Our responsibility at that point is to listen – not interrupt with our excuses or accusations. If we answer before we’ve heard the whole matter we are foolish and will be brought to shame, just like Nabal.
In verse 14 the servant tells Abigail that Nabal “railed” on David’s men. It means that he was screaming at them. It means to swoop upon, to dart greedily. He’s a mad man going wild with anger. If we find ourselves behaving like this in the midst of life’s circumstances, we need to stop and realize we hare behaving like a fool.
Some doctors in Gables, Florida did a study on 18 men with coronary artery disease. They ran them through some strenuous physical stress tests while monitoring their hearts. Then they gave them three mental stress tests. At one point they were asked to recall an incident that had made them very angry and give a short speech defending themselves. Using sophisticated X-ray techniques, the doctors took pictures of the subjects’ hearts and saw that anger reduced the amount of blood that the heart pumped to the body tissues more than any of the physical tests. Anger can effect us in so many ways. Anger is deadly in any relationship – a marriage, the body of Christ, in a friendship or work relationship. Now we also see it can be deadly even to our physical body. When you’re in a situation that angers you stop and take a breath…breathe in, breathe out, so you don’t blow up!
In verse 15 the servant tells Abigail that he can’t even understand why Nabal was so angry because when David’s men were with them nothing was missed from their belongings. Nothing had been stolen; indeed, the men had been good to them. In other words, there wasn’t anything that could have provoked Nabal to anger. There’s is no good reason for Nabal’s poor behavior. We look at that and we shake our heads and are sure we’d never behave like that! But wait, we may not fly off the handle, but what if our child comes to us and asks, “why?” for the 100th time today? Or just as we’re settled into our scrap booking project we hear our husband’s voice call out to us to come help him with the project he’s working on, and we turn on him with clenched teeth, a sigh of desperation, or rolled eyes. He did nothing to provoke us, the child is totally innocent in his question, but we turn and “rail” on them. We may not be screaming, but our eyes are screaming. Our spirit is yelling. We have turned into a Nabal–ish character.
Perhaps you’re saying, “I didn’t do that yesterday. Instead I was the one that was turned on viciously! I didn’t provoke, but I got anger thrust at me!” How are we to respond when we deal with people that act foolishly? Look at Abigail. She’s caught between two angry men, yet she doesn’t respond with anger. Both of these men were hurling out ugly things, but Abigail responds true to what’s in her heart. We do not have to respond in the same way as the fool – we can remain a woman of character and discernment.
…Tomorrow’s post will discuss how to be a discerning woman.
Uncategorized

Big Hearted, Low-Budget Hospitality

RefreshHerLeave a comment

Being hospitable doesn’t have to cost lots of money. The most important thing is your attitude about having guests in your home. They’ll know if you’re happy they are there!

Often the more simple the refreshments are, the more at ease your guests will be. Let’s consider the popcorn end of the Popcorn and People theme. If you buy regular popcorn rather than the pre-packaged microwave popcorn it’s even cheaper and you can dress up a couple different kinds! Here are a couple recipes I found –

Nacho Popcorn
1 t. paprika

1/2 t. crushed red pepper (flakes)
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/3 C. butter, melted
10 C. warm popped corn
1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese

In a small bowl, stir together the paprika, red pepper, cumin and butter. Microwave until butter melts. Set aside while you pop the corn. Gently toss butter mixture with the popped corn, coating evenly. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over seasoned corn, tossing to coat evenly.

Microwave Caramel Corn

2 microwave popcorn bags,
popped (plain white works best)
1 C.. brown sugar
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter
1/4 C. white corn syrup
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda

Place popped corn into large brown paper grocery bag.
Place brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in medium glass bowl and place in microwave on highest power. Microwave 1 minute. Stir. Microwave another minute. Stir. Microwave 1 more minute, or until bubbly. Stir. Add vanilla and baking soda. Stir. Mixture will change consistency.
Pour over popcorn in brown bag. Close bag and place in microwave on full power for 1 minute. Remove and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Microwave 1 more minute. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Microwave another minute. Shake 30 seconds. Dump onto waxed paper and let cool. Break up large chunks. Store in sealed container or zippered plastic bag.
Makes about 5 cups.

A favorite treat of my family’s is fried donuts. They’re so inexpensive, yet they are simple and are delicious. Take a can of refrigerated biscuits and cut the hole out of the middle using a melon baller. Drop the dough into hot oil for about 2 minutes per side. Drain onto paper towel-lined cookie sheets. Roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture and place on platter.

When the grocery store has watermelon on sale that makes a great snack. It’s also easy on the waistline! Other good fruits like a platter of grapes or strawberries make a nice choice for entertaining. Serve apple slices in the fall with caramel sauce for dipping.

A cheese dip and tortilla chips are also inexpensive and well liked. Go here for a great low-fat recipe.

A reader left a good tip on yesterday’s post. Check it out and be sure to leave your good ideas for entertaining here!