College Girls

It is so nice to have our girls here yesterday! They all had great things to share from this year of God's faithfulness!! We want to keep Katie Beechen in prayer she will be gone this weekend building a house with a group in Mexico and Jessica Miller is in Argentina for 3 weeks on a missions trip.


Girls Gathering:
Kari, Amber, Mel, Katy and Chelsea!


Amber made a wonderful dessert that she lassoed from friends in the heart of Texas! (Another recipe for our future Heart & Keeper cookbook!) Since many of you requested it here is the recipe:



Enjoy!


Jamison's Sopapilla Cheesecake

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 packages (8 oz. ) cream cheese, softened
2 packages crescent rolls
1 stick of butter

Prespray a 9x13 pan

Whip cream cheese, vanilla, and 1 cup sugar. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon, set aside. Lay one layer of crescent rolls on the bottom of a 9x13 pan . Spread cream cheese mixture over bottom rolls and cover with other package of crescent rolls. Melt stick of butter and poor over the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, serve warm. (is great cold too!)

Spring Shower or Summer Storm

"In the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge,
until the storms of destruction pass by."
Psalm 57:1

I like to do Show & Tell, so at breakfast yesterday I had everyone bring an umbrella to go along with my devotion!
In the picture you can see some of them hanging and some of them at our feet!

Some notes from my devotion:

"Hearing Him in a Spring Shower or a Summer Storm"

"George Adam Smith a wonderful preacher and author, was on a mountain-climbing tour of the Alps. Exhilarated by the thought of the view before him and the triumph of having got to the summit ran the last few yards to the top of the peak. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came up which threatened to blow him over the edge. From several feet away, his guide called to him, "Mr. Smith! On your knees, sir! The only way you're safe up here is on your knees!" When storm winds blow, we often try to stand on our own two feet-in our own strength. We need to fall to our knees because that is where we find our stability!

We have many examples in the pages of God's Word of people in STORMS and how they reacted, let's look at some of them:

Daniel - prayed
Noah - Obeyed & Didn't Get Distracted
Jonah - Ran
(And what about Jonah, when God asked him to go to the people of Nineveh,
he turned and went in the opposite direction, creating his very own STORM! )
Joseph - Waited & Trusted
Nathan - In a STORM of wrong choices by David, was directed by God
to go to David and speak some very difficult words of truth!
Samuel - Learned to Listen

As you go into this summer may you be like Samuel, and say, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears." If we are going to be women of God, we too must learn how to recognize God's efforts to speak to us. However, we can't wait until the maelstorm strikes to do so. It's when we lie restfully in the quiet moments that we should turn our attention to God and say,
"Speak, Lord, for your servant hears."

I want to encourage you to seek Him in your quiet time, seek Him on your knees, seek Him in the storms and in the showers!

Amish Country Back Roads

For years now my husband and I go every fall to Southern Ohio to visit his family. For many generations they have had large farms with crops of corn and soy beans. Some acreage has been sold with the passing of time but farming continues with a 900 acre farm Kim's cousin Richard still runs. These visits anchor Kim to wonderful memories of summers spent visiting with his Grandma and Grandpa and Aunts and Uncles. The last couple of years when we go to visit we reserve one night to go stay at our favorite Bed & Breakfast - Murphin Ridge Inn off the Amish Country back roads at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. As we drive the slow winding lanes we see harvested pumpkins, dried corn stalks, and shafts of wheat on every farm and enjoy the orange and yellow of the trees surrounding us. When we arrive the cabins are warm and inviting, the roaring fire in their huge firepit east of the main guest house beckons us near, and the Inn's food is exquisite! Today I made a Quiche from their cookbook, at your request here is the recipe, ENJOY!

Murphin Ridge Inn Quiche

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
salt & pepper
readymade pie crust
3 cups shredded cheese (any combination)

For the filling:
We like to use a mixture of sauteed mushrooms, spinach, onion, and tomatoes; ham and/or sausage. (today I added ham chunks.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the eggs, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Layer in the pie crust, two cups of cheese on the bottom, then 1/2 cup of your desired filling, then 1 cup of cheese on top. Pour liquid mixture over the entire casserole. Dot with butter. Bake for one hour. (Set timer for 50 minutes to make sure the crust isn't over browning, you may need to fold some foil into a long strips and wrap around the outer top crust while it continues to bake.)
Yield 6-8 servings.

Love and Hugs, Linda

A New Chapter - "Silver Suitcase Society"

The Heart & Keeper of The Home
a new chapter...

"Silver Suitcase Society"

"It is God to whom and with whom we travel,
and while He is the end of the journey,
He is also at every stopping place."
Elisabeth Elliott

Today Katy and I hosted Heart & Keeper - "Silver Suitcase Society" Breakfast in our home. Last fall I realized that our 12 girls were going in many new directions with jobs, ministries and college not to mention our schedules as wives and moms!! So I set up to get together once a month for breakfast if we were to connect at all.

Now what to name it...with our many changes and new seasons, I decided to call it "Silver Suitcase Society" to represent our upcoming travels and the journeys ahead. Now to represent our new little subtitle, something I could put in the middle of the table each time we met, something that would hide a treasure or two in the way of a give-away (like a new charm shaped like a suitcase!) I had a flashy, sparkly, silver suitcase in mind. The hunt was on but no matter where I looked I came up empty handed!

I reluctantly walked into one more store, and there I saw a simple white jewelry box that had a lot of promise, home it came with me. I spray painted it a sparkly silver and attached some charms and it was perfect.

Katy and I prepared and planned and the food was tasty as ever but as I looked around I knew the real meal was drinking in the sweet fellowship of friendship!

We are all in a new season of change, perhaps you are too. Join us as we navigate the journeys ahead.

You're Invited!

Welcome to

Heart & Keeper Connected!

"Through skillful and godly wisdom is a house
(a life, a home, a family)
built..."
Proverbs 24: 3-4

Rejoicing in God's plan for us,
Celebrating family and friendships,
Simply caring for the things of the home and heart,
Enjoying being a Woman, Wife, Mom, Sister, and Friend!



You're invited to join in the journey!

More to Come!!!