A Quiet Respite Served with Christian Hospitality

September 15, 2025September 13, 2025 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Happy Monday, friends! We were on the road this past weekend with D and D ministries. It was a joy to speak at a church staff training and encourage the folk regarding their ministries where they serve. I had the blessing of speaking to the women in a split session. Dale preached three times on Saturday and three times on Sunday. I guess you could say we jumped into the fall schedule with both feet! It was a blessing!

We stayed overnight in the home of Church members, and we were served so sweetly. Our gracious hosts served in such a way that made it seem easy. Yet it’s humbling to be the guest because I know how much work goes into that. I always pray for our hosts the week before we go, knowing the load that they carry.

The gracious people who housed us worked ahead before we got there. I could see it in every detail.

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cakes · Celebrations

Chocolate Cake From Scratch – Easy and Delicious!

September 8, 2025September 7, 2025 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Birthdays and cake just go together! I think it would be a sad celebration without one! When my girls asked me to make a cake for our family vacation and family celebration, I looked at lots of options, then landed on our long-time favorite – Triple Chocolate Cake. I think deciding which cake to make was harder than actually making it! First on the list was making sure I had all the ingredients on hand. That didn’t mean a run to the store because I am enjoying the blessing of occasionally having my Kroger grocery order delivered. I was able to get a rate for being a Kroger Boost member $35 for the year. That allows me to have groceries delivered the next day at no charge. For the most part it’s been wonderful. Why?

It keeps me home.
If I forget something, it allows me to add things to my order up to about two hours prior to my delivery time.
For the most part, I’ve gotten everything I’ve ordered.

However, a happy accident happened when the Devil’s Food Cake Mix didn’t show up in my delivery. I was planning to make the cake layers for the Triple Chocolate Cake on that day. Since I didn’t want to undo the blessing of the delivery, I went looking for a cook chocolate cake recipe that I could make from scratch instead. The happy accident was that the recipe I baked made the Triple Chocolate cake recipe so much better that I’ll never use that box mix again!

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muffin · Uncategorized

Brighten Your Spring with Lemon Muffins

March 24, 2025March 23, 2025 RefreshHer2 Comments

What says, spring more than lemon-flavor? I love its tanginess, its brightness and even its color. I have many delicious lemon recipes that I’ve used over the years, including Lemon Loaf, Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Pudding Cake and Coconut Cake with Lemon Curd. But since you can’t have too many lemon recipes, I recently made a Lemon Muffin that paired well with the Rotisserie Chicken Dinner I served. My husband loved them! They were equally as good served alongside our breakfast the next morning!

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baking · Cookies · Healthy Eating

Low-Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

January 30, 2023January 28, 2023 RefreshHer2 Comments

I had a fun baking afternoon last week. I whipped up a batch of Low-Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. When I told my daughter Alli what I had made she said,

No cookie should be Low-fat!

I get what she’s saying, but honestly, I have tried many recipes that are labeled “low-fat,” but still have so much flavor. Also, they don’t taste like you’re eating the sand on the beach! This new recipe is one of those great finds! It replaces applesauce for some of the fat, giving it plenty of moisture. It has oatmeal in it, too, giving it texture and chewiness. Add those chocolate chips in there and you have a delicious cookie without the guilt!

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Fast dessert · Kitchen Tips

Homemade Bisquick

January 16, 2023January 14, 2023 RefreshHer2 Comments

Bisquick is a baking mix that has flour, leavening, and oil in it (plus a bunch of preservatives). Pancakes, biscuits and muffins (and MANY other recipes) come together very quickly with this baking mix, because you just have to add a few other ingredients.

When I made brunch recently, I was sure to add Sausage Balls to my menu because not only are they the perfect finger food, everyone LOVES them! They’re so easy to make because it’s just Bisquick, sausage and shredded cheese. When I went to purchase the Bisquick I gasped! It was not cheap! Then I realized I have a recipe to make my own!

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