Wednesdays in the Word - a day later...

Hi Everybody -- I don't know what's wrong with me this week -- I think it may be the heat but I'm just not focused.  I apologize for the lateness of this post.

I've been working on a new song - learning one - not writing one (oh that God would bless me with that talent - but alas...).  It centers around the things we pray and ask God for and how in our "human-ness" we react when God chooses not to answer our prayers according to our requests but instead chooses mercy through our trials.  The question throughout the song is What if? --

As I listened to the lyrics, I found myself wondering if I believe or agreed with them.  I'm not saying it's a bad song or that it's in error Scripturally - in fact, it's just the opposite...I'm asking myself the questions because if I'm going to sing it, I feel like I need to believe it -- or at least agree with it.

Suffering is a part of our walk with Christ.  Sanctification is the process we go through.  Our goodness is as filthy rags apart from the blood of Christ.  I get that.  But do we have to suffer through hard times in order to truly understand His love for us or know Him?  Are we that hard-headed and self-centered that we can't just believe Him and take Him at His Word?  Would we avoid all the hard times if we could do this?  These are the questions that I'm asking myself as I prepare this song...

Sometimes all we want in life are the good times, and sometimes our prayers are merely habits - such as asking God to bless our food, prayers before we sleep, corporate prayers in worship, for example.  Sometimes our prayers are desperate cries for deliverance from difficult circumstances or healing from terrible diseases - either for ourselves or for someone we love.  We pray and believe at whatever level we can -- and sometimes we don't get the answers to our prayers because God has a different plan - a higher plan that we don't understand.

I think that may be the struggle.  Because God created us to have a free will there's just something about us that wants our own way.  He tell us this in His Word - "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him." Isaiah 53:6  None of us wants to go through hard times or be sick or take care of a sick loved one or experience betrayal, devastation or loss.  We wouldn't volunteer to do it - and God knows it.  But He also knows that we wouldn't really have a lot of substance to us if we didn't experience things in life that challenge us at levels we never want to go.  Does this mean that God doesn't love us?  Does it make him mean, unmerciful or cruel?  It feels like that sometimes...but as perfect as He is - our Creator, God gives us such a wonderful illustration of this process in nature.

Look at the butterfly.  It starts life as a worm - ok - a caterpillar.  It is not beautiful it has too many legs and it crawls around on the ground or in trees hiding so that it's not consumed by a predator bird, frog or lizard or spider.  If it survives long enough, it finds a place to transform.  The caterpillar attaches itself to the underside of a branch or on the eave of a house - somewhere where it can go seemingly unnoticed for a season and creates for itself a cocoon.  From the outside it seems there's nothing going on.  This little creature is bound up inside of itself, hiding from the world and not interacting with anyone or anything.  But after a few weeks the cocoon gets a little bit tight.  It's getting hot in there too.  It's painful, uncomfortable and...boring.  What this little caterpillar can't understand is that he no longer fits in this place.  He's outgrown it and is beginning the struggle to freedom.  He moves just a little and the shell cracks - it's still strong though and binding - really binding.  And as he wiggles and fights and moves the shell begins to break away and suddenly he's free!  But wait.  He's bigger, and has these big "things" on his back - they are heavy and wet.  And there are these long protrusions coming from his head - what in the world could they be -- and he's got LEGS!!!  6 of them!!  How in the world do you walk with 6 legs...but wait -- this things on his back move -- and if he moves them up and down and up and down they begin to dry.  And suddenly, a gust of wind comes by and lifts him up off the ground and instinctively - without any training at all - he does a new thing -- He flies -- legs are more like shock absorbers for landing than for walking!  A few short weeks ago he was crawling on his belly or short little feet trying to survive - looking for whatever food he could find and today -- oh today he has reached his destiny.  But he had to struggle to get there -- in fact scientists have discovered that if butterflies do not struggle to emerge from the cocoon their bodies don't produce the kind of strength that they need to be able to carry their wings and they'd never be able to fly if they didn't go through this struggle.  It seems cruel to let this beautiful creature struggle like that but it's crippling if he doesn't...and will kill him in the end.

So it comes back to us - we sheep that we are...God isn't cruel in allowing us to go through hard times.  We live in a broken world and if He rescued us or fixed everything before we met the challenge, we'd be weak and ill-equipped to live here and we wouldn't have the desire or wherewithal to begin to help others who struggle in the same areas we do and we'd certainly never reach our destiny or spread our wings and fly.  Bad things happen because this world is broken.  Sickness comes because our bodies are not made for eternity - they are for this world...and they are born into a sin nature.  The moment we are born - the clock starts until we die...if we never learn to walk, we crawl forever -- this has both physical and spiritual implications -- crawling isn't for grown-ups -- neither is spiritual immaturity.  I meet adults every day who have never stood on their own 2 feet spiritually.  They attend church regularly, read the Bible when they have time, get involved if they want to - but they never grow up spiritually.  They may take a Bible study and attend - but don't read the material - they simply wait on the teacher to "spoon-feed" the material to them.  When the going gets tough they don't have any foundation and their world comes crashing down and they lash out in anger, create trouble or walk away.  Likewise, I also meet adults who have grown callused and hard.  They had a fire for a while but hard times caused them to grow cold.  They gave up living and quit.  Life is merely existence until death.  They just don't care anymore.  They are wounded and weary and don't think it's worth the bother to grow anymore.  They've allowed the cocoon to paralyze them to the point that they may never fly or reach their spiritually destiny.  Both types of these people are spiritual crawlers.  They've become crippled by their growth because the struggle weighed more than they could take.  One is bound by immaturity and the other is bound by past hurts.  The cocoon has choked their growth and they don't have the spiritual strength to struggle out of it. 

I believe we have a choice in this life.  I believe that God is good and that He is happy.  I believe He created us to enjoy this life too - but that's not our primary purpose for being here.  If we give our lives to Him, we are made for more.  We are made to live lives that bring glory to Him.  We are made to be a reflection of Him to others in good times and bad times.  We are made to serve Him and others so that they see Jesus in us and understand sacrifice.  We are made to want more - not material gain - but more of Him.  The enemy will tug at our hearts and make us want to escape the hard times - the struggles - just like that caterpillar doesn't enjoy the struggle to get out of the cocoon.  But if we'll trust God and keep moving when things get tough - what's on the other side of the struggle is something we could never imagine.  I doubt that caterpillars really know or care about their transformation - they just do what they are created to do and don't struggle with sin or self. 

I don't know if our "other side" of the cocoon happens here or not.  I haven't reached mine yet as far as I can tell.  But I do know that we are promised that God knows the plans He has for us - plans to have a hope and a future.  (Jeremiah 29:11) I know that Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundantly.  (John 10:10) and I know that waiting on the Lord will bring a renewal and will cast us forward to fly higher if we cooperate with Him in the waiting. (Isaiah 40:31).  John 10:10 tells us who is at the root of the bad stuff -- "The thief (satan) comes steal, kill and destroy."  We are promised that life is seasonal - (Ecclesiastes 3) and that what satan means for evil, God means for good. (Genesis 50:20 and Romans 8:28).

Does this mean that we are always going to have hard times if we follow Christ?  No.  It means that we have hope when the hard times come and they WILL come.  Does it mean that God doesn't love us when He allows hard things to come our way? No.  If He allowed His own Son to suffer and bleed and die, in order to accomplish His will and if we believe Romans 8:28 to be true then in ALL things - both good and bad - God will cause to work out for the good for those of us who are called His children. 

There is a belief system out there today that is full of lies of the enemy.  It's called prosperity gospel.  The basis of this belief is that if we have a good enough attitude and if we believe God hard enough then He will bless us abundantly - meaning with money, success, material gain, fame, etc. etc.  I truly wonder whose god these people are believing.  Jesus was God's only and perfect Son.  No one had the capacity to believe God at a deeper level than Jesus when He was on this earth.  No one could have had a better attitude than Jesus - he knew he came to die and yet he lived fully while he was here.  God didn't bless Jesus with a big home, fancy chariot, a harem, a record deal or book tour.  In fact Jesus didn't even have a place of His own to sleep at night.  If God didn't "prosper" His own son here on this earth - why in the world would we think we could be good enough or believe hard enough to expect those things to happen to us...

Friends, don't buy into the lies.  The enemy wants us to beg God for deliverance from our struggles.  I've bought them lock, stock and barrel more times than I can count and prayed and begged God to remove me from situations that were so very hard.  But just like the butterfly - we must struggle with our own cocoons (our "selves") in order to break out into the fullness of God's purpose and glory in our lives. If we skip this step, we might as well go from being born right into eternity.  God calls us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  (Philippians 2:12) -- in other words, stay the course - do the thing even when it's hard.  We are called to run the course and finish the race for the ultimate goal - to bring glory to God.

I wish you godspeed in your journey.  I know this isn't what you usually get on Tips and Tricks Thursday.  I'm sorry.  My heart just needed to write these things today.  Be blessed dear sister or brother and keep walking!  I love you!  Amy

Kitchen Tuesday

Good morning everyone!  I'm sorry we missed yesterday's posting.  I had internet issues Sunday evening and Monday was well... Monday.  I promise to do better next week!

For Kitchen Tuesday I'm excited to share some easy tricks for making better pastas, tea, and to freshen up salads.  I hear more complaints from folks that theirs don't taste like they should and it's really just some simple tricks.

So here goes:

For Pasta -- always start your pasta pot with COLD water.  According to Mario Batalli and Emeril LaGasse, the water from your tap is "fresher" coming out cold.  Hot water sits in your water heater (unless you have an instant heater) for longer and sometimes the mineral deposits can affect the taste.  Always be sure you add enough SALT.  Sea or Kosher salt add more flavor and the water should literally taste like the ocean.  If you will salt the water enough, your pasta will not taste dough-y but will be a great enhancement to your sauces.  Never RINSE your pasta.  Washing all the starch away will prevent your sauces from sticking to your pasta and thus never bring out the full flavor of the dish.  And last, under cook your pasta just a little (it should still have a little "bite" to it).  Your pasta will continue cooking once removed from the heat so under cooking it will help to keep the right consistency and not get gooey.  Follow cooking directions and cut back a minute and that should work.

Tea -- like pasta, always start with COLD water.  Same reasons -- fresher water and less likelihood of mineral deposits affecting the taste of your tea.  If you want sweet tea that tastes perfect every time - make a simple syrup.  This is a 1 to 1 ratio of water and sugar.  (1 cup of water to 1 cup of sugar) -- boil on stove until sugar dissolves and let cool.  After you've steeped your tea, dilute the tea with fresh cold water and add sugar syrup.  Doing this every time will make your flavors consistent.  If you like your teas flavored with fruits or mint, you can infuse these flavors into the sugar syrup rather than letting them sit in the tea.  For mint, crush the leaves to bring out the flavors and add them to the hot syrup.  For fruits, use the zest and a few slices of the fruit you love.  You can squeeze the juices directly into the tea as part of the mixture according to your taste - but don't leave the fruit slices in the tea overnight - the pith (white part) will make your tea bitter.  Of course if you like your tea sweeter or if you're making larger quantities than a large pitcher -- adjust your measurements accordingly -- 1 to 1 is for approx. a gallon of tea.  I adjust mine down just a little because the pitcher is smaller (3/4 cup water to 3/4 cup sugar or so).

Salads -- I love a fresh tossed salad.  But sometimes I just get really tired of the mixed greens and all the sliced veggies and want to "kick it up a notch" - I've discovered that adding fresh herbs to my salads brightens the color so much.  Mint adds a freshness, Basil adds a lemony kick and Rosemary and Thyme add a little Italian flavor that just enhances all that crunchy goodness.  Cilantro added to a basic lemon vinaigrette (juice of 2 lemons, 1/3 cup olive oil, zest of 1 lemon, salt and pepper -- add about a 1/2 tablespoon of herbs) adds a Mexican flavor.  Mint or Basil can be added instead for a crisp and light taste and Rosemary chopped fine combined with thyme will bring that boring lettuce alive.  Try adding nuts instead of those fattening croutons -- lightly toast them and they will add a delicious crunch to your salad that is so much healthier.  Dried fruits make a great subtle sweet addition to salads too.  Cranberries, chopped apricots, raisins and dried bananas are just a few great suggestions.  If you like iceberg lettuce - try making a lettuce wedge salad.  So easy -- wash and quarter a head of fresh iceberg lettuce.  Top with homemade 1000 island or French Dressing (see recipes below) - just a tablespoon or two - don't flood it.  Top with Feta cheese and some fresh crispy bacon and some chopped scallion tops (green onion) and a few cherry tomato halves and you have a beautiful salad that tastes great and has a wow factor in appearance.

Homemade 1000 Island Dressing

1 cup Mayonnaise (I prefer Duke's light)
1/3 cup chili sauce (looks like cocktail sauce but does NOT taste the same)
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 to 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
Juice from 1/2 lemon

Homemade French Dressing

1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mayo (or less if you like a stronger tomato flavor)
1 T. mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together well with a whisk and spoon over lettuce.  This is a mild dressing. 

I hope you all have a great Tuesday!! Here's the verse of the day:

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you."  Matthew 6:33

See ya tomorrow!  Amy

Tips and Tricks Thursday

Happy Thursday!! I hope you are all having a good day today!  It's Tips and Tricks Thursday and I think I want to spend some time on some decorating tips for those of you who may be in the mood to simplify your decor or may be planning to sell your home at some point in the future.

If you plan to sell, the first thing that is necessary is to get your head in the game and your heart out of it.  We all get very attached to our dwellings but when it comes time to sell, it's time to make our homes attractive to people so they will allow their hearts to attach to our homes and buy them.  Easier said than done, right?  Well, not really.

The first thing to do is to go look at some homes yourself.  Imagine yourself, your family and your "stuff" occupying that space.  If you find yourself distracted by family photos, and lots of personal items in the homes you look at, then you probably won't remember the home but you'll remember the cute baby in the photo or the pretty cut glass vase or handmade quilt.  It's hard to attach your heart to that home because someone else's heart is still there.  Notice the room colors and the organization of the closet space, kitchen and parking areas -- are they the right size for your stuff to dwell?  How about the neighborhood - is it one where your family will fit in and feel welcome - will your neighbors be a bother or a blessing -- ask questions and listen for correct answers that meet your needs.

Now back to your home.  Having had that experience, it will be easier to understand how a buyer feels and needs to feel when they look at your home.  Begin packing up the personal items and putting them in boxes where you can see them and touch them but resist the urge to put them back out when your home isn't showing. 

The second thing to consider is your room colors.  If you have small children and their rooms are painted in colors that are very juvenile, you might want to consider painting them a more neutral tone and let their bedding and accessories draw color into the room.  The reason for this is that buyers really don't have a lot of imagination.  If they see a baby's room painted pink, yellow, or blue - then they may not be able to move away from that room being "for baby" -- but if they see more mature colors of beige, greens, browns, tans, etc. then they might be able to imagine the room as an office, teen bedroom or guest room.  Try to limit the amount of "stuff" that is out in children's rooms.  These are normally the small rooms of the home and can look even smaller if there are too many toys, pictures, or too much furniture in there.  Sparse is the key!  You want every room to look spacious!

Third, clean out the closets and cabinets.  Take a long, hard look at the collection of items that reside there and decide if you need to keep them, want to move them or if they can be donated or sold in a yard sale.  How many towels can you really use in a week or at the beach?  How many sets of dishes do you really use?  Is it possible to remove the clothes that aren't in season and pack them away to be ready to move when your home sells?  The buyer is going to open drawers, cabinets and closets.  They need to imagine how their "stuff" is going to fit - and if yours are cluttered - theirs will be too -- and they might as well stay where they are or look elsewhere.

Fourth, don't over accessorize.  Too many pictures on table tops, vases, plants, pictures on the walls, and furniture in the rooms can overwhelm a buyer.  They begin looking at your "stuff" and can't imagine their own.  It's ok to leave a tabletop empty.  It's ok to leave a wall without something on it.  There's a balance here though.  If your rooms are too empty they may leave a buyer imagining that their stuff won't fill up the rooms either or the home may seem cold or hard and you don't need to leave that impression with them.  I would suggest taking a look at some magazines that resemble your home's style and try to mimic the furniture placement, window decor and accessorizing by them.  Or call a home stager to help.  Their fees are reasonable and you may be able to negotiate paying them a percentage of your home's sale rather than upfront cash.  Sometimes it's nice to have a "set of eyes" that aren't attached to your home to dress it up to sell. 

Last, put the boxes that you've packed up in a place where buyers can see them.  And have them clearly marked so that your buyers see that it's stuff that you plan to MOVE.  You are sending a message that you are moving whether they buy or not and sometimes this will motivate the buyer to generate an offer.  Have the boxes stacked neatly in a garage or basement - or even an attic or unused room.  As long as they are neatly stacked and marked the message is being sent.

You can burn candles, bake cookies, make your house smell like a bakery -- or you can leave it clean.  Clean is going to sell much better than fresh baked bread.  Pick up the dirty clothes. Make sure the dishes are out of the sink and if in the dishwasher, they are clean.  Put away clutter, toys and make sure that there are some fresh flowers or plants somewhere.  Your home needs to feel warm and inviting as if you have prepared for a special guest -- and your potential buyers are just that -- very special guests who have an interest in purchasing your home....and that's $ in your pocket!

So, even if you aren't planning to sell right now, these tips are great for the person who may need a jump start in simplifying the decor of their home.  Less is more, larger accessories and less of them are better and easier to manage and packing up unused items either to sell, store or donate is always therapeutic.  Don't put family pictures everywhere - cluster them in certain areas -- places that you dwell and can see on a regular basis -- guests enjoy seeing them but they'd rather see you live and in person.  Limit your wall hangings too -- your home can look like a store or museum if you get too much on the walls.  Give your eyes a break and have a blank wall or two.

Walls need paint about every 5 to 6 years on average.  Paints fade and color hues change in trends -- a fresh paint job is one of the cheapest decorating tricks you can do.  Crown molding is also another inexpensive trick to give your home a dressier feel. 

I hope these tips and tricks have helped --- have a great Thursday and weekend!  See ya next week!  Amy

Wednesdays in the Word

Hi Friends!  I hope you are having a good day.  I have to tell you that the last couple of days have really been a stretch around here.  I don't know if it's something in the wind or if the nuts are coming out of the woodwork but whew! it's been interesting around here.  Makes me wonder if "Men in Black" might have some truth to it - that not all that walk the streets around here are human...there are aliens among us!  :) haha!! Wouldn't surprise me!

Ok -- to get to our Word for today.  I love Psalms and Proverbs.  The writings of David and Solomon truly speak to my heart in ways that I cannot fully express.  I'm leading a group of precious ladies in a study called "Fool-proofing your life" by Jan Silvious and in this study, Jan draws from both of these books a good bit.

God's Word has a lot to say about people who live and act foolishly.  One particular passage puts into a nutshell how people are affected by the company they keep...take a look...

"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20

We really need to be thoughtful and prayerful when considering people we spend time with these days.  We can be selective and not be snobs, we can be careful and not be clique-ish, we can be smart but not become know-it-alls - and in doing so honor the Lord by using the wisdom that He teaches in His Word.

Sure, we're commissioned to love our neighbor as ourselves and to go into all the world and teach all nations -- reaching the lost.  But that's not what I'm talking about - nor is that what this verse is referencing either.

There are people who will come into our lives that enrich, bless, challenge and motivate us to be better people and grow deeper in our relationships with them and with the Lord.  These are few and far between.  There are people who will come into our lives who may befriend us and for a short term it will be a healthy relationship - but then our energy begins to drain, or there are words said or impressions given that tell us to move on and let these people go -- and yet we don't.  Suddenly we are entangled with one who is a fool.  There can be all types of traits who fit this description but at the heart of them all is that these people are "joy-stealers" -- they have no desire to grow deeper in a relationship with Christ and therefore, drain us rather than inspire us to be better people.

We have the freedom to be selective in our relationships -- we don't have to open our lives to everyone we meet....the only thing God asks us to do is to share Him with others - by living, speaking, and letting God love them through us - letting our lives be living examples of His grace, mercy, peace and forgiveness.  This doesn't mean that we have to be their best buddy. 

Christians have the most amazing blessing of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.  We have access to Him to guide us in the relationships we develop -- if we'll truly listen to Him and ask Him to direct our paths and relationships.  The problem lies in our part of the equation. 

Maybe there's a member of your family who consistently acts foolish and makes foolish decisions that affect not only themselves, but you and the rest of the family too.  Maybe it's a spouse who just can't seem to get it together -- whether it's an addiction, discouragement, fear or emotional instability - it's become a difficult situation.  Maybe you have co-workers, a boss, long time friends, fellow church members, or any number of others who make bad decision after bad decision and in doing so, it affects so many others around them...these are not "bad people" but they have made some very foolish mistakes and can't see what they are doing or how it has affected your relationship with them.  Then there's the abusive spouse, neglectful child, addicted neighbor, prejudiced co-worker, immoral parent - the tried and true fool.  Ask God for wisdom in not becoming entangled with the issues these people have but to give you freedom according to His plan and will.  Don't stay in a relationship for any reason if your life or reputation are at stake or if they are involved in any illegal behaviors....be wise and get out if you can and do so quickly.

Maybe it's bad habits, behaviors, or thought patterns that go on in your head constantly.  Maybe you've allowed others to tell you how to behave or think for so long that you can no longer think for yourself. 

Well, look back at the verse -- "He who keeps company with the wise, grows wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm."   Dear friends, the company we keep matters.  It can make or break us -- and has more influence on us than we can possibly imagine.

Let me encourage you this week to first keep company with God's Word - wisdom will come from feasting on it daily.  If this is new to you - start with the book of John and then read Matthew, Mark and Luke -- and then venture into Psalms, Proverbs and go back to Genesis and go from there.  These books are great to jump start your journey into wisdom.

Second, take a long look at the company you keep -- try your best to spend the bulk of your time with people who challenge you to grow spiritually, physically and mentally healthy.  If you must be with people who drain you, limit your time with them and pray for God's protection over your mind when you are.

Third, when you are faced with a situation that doesn't involve developing a relationship but maybe communication (customer service, shopping, working with others, etc.), remember that it's only temporary and will not affect the outcome of your life.  Take a deep breath and remember Who you represent and don't enter into the ring of emotional conversation with someone who is a fool.  Remove yourself from the situation as quickly as you can and never sacrifice your appointment as ambassador to win a battle...it's not worth it and won't be ever.

Last, make time to pray over the relationships in your life.  Whether they are life-long commitments, short term commitments, or quick social encounters - ask God to speak through you and to grant you favor of His blessing over any encounter with the foolish of this world and the people who are seeking Him but haven't found Him just yet.  It's great to ask others to intercede for you - but really, friends, the Lord wants to hear from you directly...

Accept the fact that some weeks will be better than others and that seasons eventually change (I'm telling myself this a lot right now), and that life as we know it right now, is only temporary.

I pray that your week will get better (if it needs to) and that your hearts and minds will grow wiser and stronger as you seek Him in all things and know Him intimately.

Much much love to all of you - Amy

Kitchen Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, friends!! :)  I hope today is a good one for you! 

Since it's "Kitchen Tuesday", I'm gonna jump right in and give you some good recipes for this week.  I'm going to include a few grilling tips too since July 4th is just around the corner.  If you're like me, the grill is a great friend in the summer because it's so easy, quick and doesn't make the kitchen hot....nice!

Grilling tips first -- be sure your grill is hot before putting any meat on the grill.  If you can't hold your hand over the heat for 5 seconds it's hot enough.  Doing this will be sure that you sear your meat and it won't dry out. 

Flipping meat too much on the grill is a no!no! -- place it on the grill -- cook a while and when it lifts easily, it's ready to turn -- if it's holding on, just wait, it will tell you when to turn it.  Turn meat once and let it grill on the other side.  Don't press meat, you're letting out those wonderful juices -- and don't cook meats to absolute well done on the grill -- pull them off just before they are at your favorite doneness level and let them rest covered in foil for about 5 minutes -- no worries -- it won't get cold...the meat will continue cooking and you should have a perfect piece of meat after 5 about 5 minutes.

Be sure to brush fish and shellfish as well as veggies with a little oil before placing on the grill -- otherwise you're going to have a sticky mess to clean up. 

Chicken - will be juicier if you grill it bone in.  Grilled filets are prone to dry out and over cook if you're not careful.  I've found that closing the lid on bone-in pieces will help with cooking them all the way through -- also, don't rush the cooking process -- chicken on the bone takes longer to cook.  If you grill filets, don't close the grill -- leave it open or you could have a very dry piece of chicken.  Brush with marinade, oil or sauce at the beginning and end of cooking time -- too much and you'll have lots of charred sauce and a bitter taste.

Corn - yum yum!! brush with a little butter or olive oil, salt and pepper and throw the cobs on the grill -- done in NO time!! this is a house favorite!

Ok -- recipes:

Quick Corn Salad adapted from Ina Garten's recipe on www.FoodNetwork.com:

5 ears of fresh white corn - blanch in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then shock in ice water to stop cooking process.
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion or 1 shallot finely chopped
1 cup of fresh basil - julienned (roll into cigar shape and chop into fine ribbons)
1 garlic clove - chopped finely
handful of fresh cherry or grape tomatoes halved

salt, pepper to taste
1-2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar

With a very sharp knife, hold ears of corn in hole of a tubed cake pan and slice kernels off cob.  Cut close to cob to remove all kernels easily.  Pour into large bowl.

Slice jalapeno finely and add to corn along with cherry tomatoes, onion (or shallot) and basil.

In a small bowl whisk olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together and pour over corn.  Mix well and let sit.  (if you don't like raw onion and garlic - feel free to saute' it in a little oil and toss into mixture). 

This recipe is great for grilling too -- just put all ingredients except vinegar in large cast iron skillet and place on grill -- cook until lightly browned and warm -- delicious!

Here's a recipe for Roasted Crock Pot Hen that I made yesterday -- my goodness it was so good in tonight's dinner --

Wash and pat dry hen (be sure to remove giblets and neck from cavity - save for making homemade stock if you'd like to -- it's great and so easy).

Into the cavity of the hen, salt and pepper generously, and place 1 quartered lemon, 1 quartered onion (no need to peel), 4 halved garlic cloves and some fresh herbs (I use a branch of rosemary, sage, thyme and parsley).  Using cooking twine, tie legs over cavity and tuck wings under breasts at the top to hide tips.  (this is to aid in overall cooking quality).

In crock pot, place 1 quartered lemon, 2 or 3 quartered potatoes, 1 quartered onion (no need to peel) and about a 1/2 cup of broth, water or white wine (your choice).

Place hen on top of vegetables.  Top hen with a combination of salt, pepper, red pepper, dried poultry seasoning, or some Cavender's Greek seasoning.  Coat heavily.  Top with lid, then cover with foil to seal top.  

Cook on low for approximately 4 to 6 hours.  Hen will be so tender the meat will fall off the bone!

Let the hen cool and then remove to platter.  Strain the drippings and save to make dumplings, soup, stew or save for other recipes.  Discard veggies from bottom.

After hen cools, it will be easier to slice -- I chilled mine to serve the next day.  I was able to remove the bones so easily and was able to serve it quickly by adding the meat to a delicious pasta dish called Becker's Pasta (check out www.kellyminter.com/livingroom and click on recipes for more information)  SO easy and SOOOOO good!  You can make anything with this roasted chicken and serve many meals from it -- so give it a try -- most definitely another house favorite!

I'm trying to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet -- so I've gotten a little bit creative in doing so.  Here's a delicious recipe for baked apples.  Again, using the crock pot...easy breezy!

2 large red delicious apples - halved and cored
1 lemon halved
2 T. dried cranberries
3 T. quick cooking oatmeal
2 T. brown sugar
pinch of sea or kosher salt
1 t. each fresh nutmeg ground, and ground cinnamon
2 T. chopped pecans
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
4 t. grape or huckleberry jelly (Thanks, Becky!)
4 dried apricots, quartered
1/4 cup water

Place apple halves in crock pot, cut side up.  Evenly divide cranberries into the cored area of each apple half.  Quickly combine oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, spices and pecans in food processor and add pecans to rough chop.  Evenly divide over each apple half.  Thinly slice butter over tops of each apple half.  Top each with quartered apricots and then add the jelly last.  Gently pour water into bottom of crock pot.  Cook on low for a couple of hours until tender.  This is great with pork chops or as a light dessert when topped with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.  Yummy!!  I feel sure you can cook these in the oven too -- probably on 350 F. for about 45 minutes -- just check for tenderness.  I haven't tried them in the oven - only the crock pot.

Verse of the Day -- Proverbs 20:15 - "Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,

but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel."

Be blessed this day and always -- see ya tomorrow!! Amy

Meaningful Mondays

Happy Monday!!! Hope you had a restful, peaceful and enjoyable Father's Day weekend.  No doubt it's summer in the South! 

Today we'll continue our look into spiritual gifts.  I want to post the link once again to one of the best spiritual gifts inventories that I've seen.  It's a questionnaire that is completed online and then the results are compiled immediately with commentary.  So good!  Here you go:  http://www.churchgrowth.org/.  If you haven't had a chance to find out what your gifts are, take a minute to do so, you'll be glad you did!  :)

Ok, so we've covered a number of gifts already -- Administration, Service, Mercy, and Exhortation (encouragement).  You can review these by searching the blogs under Spiritual Gifts or Meaningful Mondays.

Today I want to take a look at the gift of Hospitality.  Ever meet someone who just had a way of entertaining, making you feel more welcome in their home or business than you feel in your own home, or had what seemed to be a supernatural ability to meet a stranger and make an immediate friend?  If so, you may have encountered someone who has been given the gift of Hospitality by the Lord. 

The gift of hospitality is such a special gift.  If you can imagine the body of Christ as a human body - this person might be the arms of the body -- embracing the stranger, putting their arm around a friend or preparing for a great feast or party where all are welcome.  In the church, these folks make great greeters, visitation committee members and truly enjoy decorating, cooking, preparing for a great gathering of God's people.  They also love having people into their homes and might host a missionary family, a visiting evangelist, an exchange student or a friend who might be visiting from out of town.  Their homes are the places where the kids gather, where the food is plentiful and the fun always makes a great memory.  They are fine with surprise visits and while may feign embarrassment about an unkempt home, would much rather visit with people than to maintain a spotless home.  There's always something cooking on the stove or fresh cookies coming out of the oven and anything they do for entertaining just seems effortless and doesn't really need a whole lot of praise for doing so - although the praise seems to just flow because their abilities are truly supernatural.  There's a seemingly inborn knowledge to have the right amount of food and appropriate decor for the festivities.

The gifted host/hostess is happiest when they are using their hands to serve others and make them feel welcome.  But when operating outside the spirit, may become withdrawn, hermit-like, and uninterested in opening their home or being a part of any festivities. They may avoid welcoming a stranger and feel like a stranger at times if operating outside the spirit and will almost always resent any lack of gratitude for works done if in this state of spiritual condition. They also can get so focused on the tasks at hand because of perfectionism or passion that they forget the reason and the One for whom they should be working.   A wounded host/hostess will recover quickly if embraced and encouraged to use their gifts according to God's plan for unity and purpose in reaching others.

Like encouragers, those with the gift of hospitality enjoy people more than most anything.  They are able to focus on the guest as most important and top priority and they expect nothing in return for doing so.  There is also a very deep value for community in the heart of one with Hospitality as their gift.  There's no desire for personal promotion when this person entertains, embraces a new friend, or assists in putting together an event.  It's an unselfish act that overflows from the heart of one who is passionate for serving Christ in this way.

They are good at working in groups or individually as long as people are at the heart of the reason for working.  By profession, someone gifted with hospitality should consider public relations, catering, culinary, floral, event planning, missionary work (of course, must be called to this), host/hostess work, entertaining, food service, hotel/hospitality management or work, and possibly nursing or nutrition counseling - because of the "people orientation". 

Poor career choices for someone like this would be any type of work where there is isolation or just mental work.  Some hands on activity will keep this person interested and motivated.

In the Bible, Martha (sister to Mary and Lazarus) was gifted with hospitality and Acquilla and Priscilla found ways to minister unto Paul using their hospitality gifts as well.  They befriended Paul and assisted him in ministry in both Rome and Corinth.  I'm sure there are others who had this blessed gift as well - it would appear that some of the churches that Paul ministered to were much better equipped to meet his needs and make him comfortable in his visits than others were -- it's very likely because those gifted with hospitality were being good stewards of their giftedness and God blessed them and Paul for doing so.

If you are gifted with Hospitality, the more you use this gift the more fulfilled you'll be.  The following verse would be a great life verse for you and is one that I have adopted as one of my favorites!

"Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for His Kingdom is a waste of time or effort."  1 Corinthians 15:58.

Here are a few more:
"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."  Hebrews 13:1-2

"Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality."  Rom. 12:13

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Pet. 4:9-11

I hope you have a great day today - embrace your gifts and use them to God's glory and to bless others in His Name.

See ya tomorrow!!! Amy 

Tips and Tricks Thursday

Hello Everybody!!! I hope you are having a good day today!  We got a storm last night!! I hope that if you did, all is well.  I usually write the blogs the night before but our internet and satellite went down so I'm here this morning. 

So...Tips and Tricks Thursday -- my good friend, Leisa, got herself in a bit of a quandary this past week with a bag of grits.  She was in a hurry to get supper on the table and had decided to make a delicious meal of Steak Biscuits and Grits...the steak and biscuits were doing just fine on their own but when she picked up the bag of grits there must have been a leak in the bottom of the bag because grits went everywhere!  She said to her beloved cat, Prissy, "Well, let's see what Mrs. Tips and Tricks Thursday" has to say about getting grits up off of everywhere!"  hahahahahahahaha!!!

She tried the vacuum and the fan blew them everywhere.  She tried the Swiffer sweeper both dry and wet to no avail and the broom really didn't get them all either.  I would imagine that a mop would make them sticky and for us Southerners, we know that if it weren't for the grainy texture of the grits - they could stick most anything to the wall - including wallpaper!

So, Leisa, for you today, I've done a little homework and here are some tips and tricks for you for your grits issue (and really any type of grain that falls on the floor).

A damp but not wet floor sweeper (the kind for hardwood floors) or a damp towel folded over a swiffer mop head would pick up the residue.  You'll probably have to chase them around on the floor a little bit rather than sweeping into a pile but that might be the answer.  If you'd rather get on your hands and knees you could use a damp - not wet - cloth to get them up.  (Leisa, I'm certain you are going to do that! haha!)

The key here is damp.  Wet will make any grain gooey.  Dry won't hold it to the material and will blow away.  Wetting the floor will make them swell and the glutens (I'm guessing) will activate thus making them sticky (them, being grains).

So....maybe that will be helpful to more than just Leisa and myself.  I'm sure I'm going to have a grits catastrophe too sooner than later.  In the South, a grits bag is just gonna get a hole in it from time to time!

Ok here's a gardening tip -- if you've got tomato vines getting tall and no baskets to put around them or stakes to put them up -- don't buy any -- get some bamboo.  If you have access to any in your yard or near water, the young stalks make great stakes and look pretty in the garden.  You can also make tee pees for your beans to grow on out of the bamboo too.  Just simply cut 3 stalks of bamboo at the height you prefer and then wrap the top with rope.  Sink the ends into the ground so that the wind won't blow them over and your vine plants will begin to grow over them in no time.  They won't get as hot as metal and you'll be using a renewable resource too.  If you need bamboo - call me!  I have plenty!! But it can be found pretty easily around water or in the woods.  If you don't have access to bamboo, consider using old broom handles or even the straight limbs of trees that have fallen in the recent storms. 

And finally, my eye doctor gave me a wonderful remedy for those of us whose eyes seem to be the victim of allergies in the spring and summer.  My eyes will sometimes itch, burn and get a glaze over them that kind of blurs my vision a little -- it's actually a little bit of makeup residue and can become a nuisance to tear ducts if I don't keep it in check.  Quick solution - baby shampoo.  I've been using it to wash my eyes and face for a couple of years - and my skin is so healthy and it truly does clean the makeup residue off my eyes so easily.  It's great for sensitive skin and doesn't dry it out.  My skin tends to get really oily in the summer time, and this is such a refreshing face wash.

Keep that sunscreen on folks -- enjoy this hot weather and tell someone you love them today!!!

Hope you have a great weekend!  Blessings and love!  Amy