On the Outside Looking In

Do you have a relationship with the Lord?  If so it should make a difference in everything you do!  Elisabeth Elliott said it this way: “The fact that I’m a woman doesn’t make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I’m a Christian does make me a different kind of woman." I want to be that kind of woman, don't you?  If others were "peering through the window" of your heart, your thoughts, your attitude, your actions... what would they see?  If you want to be a reflection of Him spend time in the Word and in quiet time with the Lord.  Surrender your time to Him.   In this sometimes dark and daunting world you will shine brightly.  Be that bright light of encouragement, strength and joy!

"...children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." Phil. 2:15

photo credit: Pinterest

His Gifts to Us

Whenever you see someone carrying wrapped gifts or see them stacked high in OR on top of a car remember why we give gifts.  It's to show His love to others as He did when He sent His Son to be born in a manger - the greatest gift of all.  Although the Christmas season certainly is not all about gifts they do play a part in our celebrations.

As you finish your Christmas shopping consider some suggestions on one of my favorite blogs - Girlfriends In God.  In their Dec. 20-21 posting they listed some great ideas for some meaningful gifts: A Homemade Gift, A Possession Gift, A Gift of Time, A Gift of Prayer, A Gift of Encouragement, A Gift of Care, A Secret Gift, and A Gift of Teaching!  What's some of your favorite gifts to give?

Merry Christmas!

Photo credit: Quinncooperstyle.com

Focusing My Heart in This Season of Celebration

"I wonder and I search my heart.

When I sit and search long enough to listen to God’s still small voice, I grapple with the familiar and I groan for the fresh… and I wonder. Have I shopped, cleaned, and baked away the season without bending a knee to worship the Savior? Have I decorated my home, but failed to focus my heart?" from Girlfriends in God

"Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10

Picture by Primadona

Christmas is Coming

Nothing robs us quicker of a peaceful  home than when we skip our quiet time with the Lord.  When we don't have His leading and guiding there will be no peace.  Set time aside to get to know Him in a deeper way this month as we celebrate His birth!

Photo: Inspiration by Blueberry

Happy Thanksgiving!

photo by Mimi Lee Printables

"Be Still..."

photo credit REFINDdesigngirls

This week I had the chance to gather with a group of girlfriends and one of them shared this verse from Psalm 46:10.  I love what this verse says, to spend time with the Lord in quietness, stillness, uninterrupted, undistracted.  He brings us peace in this world where so much is chaotic and loud.  Oh how I long to just hear from Him, how grateful I am that His Word tells me how to do that.  

I'm praying the same for you.  

Let Him encourage you and equip you for your day!

A favorite recipe for this time of the year-

Pumpkin Pie Cobbler

                                                                                                        photo credit from allrecipes

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz.) 100% Pure Pumpkin Filling

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Yellow Cake Mix

1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

3/4 cup butter, melted 

Directions:

Heat oven to 350.  Spray the bottom of a 13" x 9" pan with nonstick cooking spray.  

Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and salt.  Pour into pan.  Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture.  Top with nuts.  Drizzle with melted butter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.  Can be served with whipped cream or ice cream.  

Enjoy!

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Psalm 37:23

Warm & Welcoming (And YES the drawing!!)

We all long for a home that is warm and welcoming, a place we can express Christ in a loving and caring way.  A place that reflects who we are, where we can be refreshed and others are too.

Well, with fall knocking on our doors

it's the perfect time to give God His place in our hearts and homes.

Psalm 46:10 tells us, "Be still and know that I am God..."

We need that time with the Lord to order the priorities in our life. 

 There are some things that can only be accomplished as we meet with the Lord.  

When we seek Him He will always lead and direct us.

  Is there someone you've been wanting to have over,

 someone you'd like to take a little time fellowshipping with?  

 Warm up your home with this wonderful soup and cake recipe and invite them over!

Ham & White Bean Soup

(submitted by Lorna Sytsma)

2 - (15.5 oz.) cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 medium carrots, diced

1 small onion chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)

2-3 Tb. butter

3-4 cups water

2 potatoes peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups cubed, fully cooked ham

1 - 14 oz. pkg. Polska Kielbasa, sliced (I microwave it briefly and pat dry to reduce the fat)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. white pepper

1 bay leaf

Dashes of Tapatio hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions:

Mash one can of beans; set aside.  In a large saucepan, saute the carrots, onion and celery in the butter. Stir in water and potatoes.  Boil softly until potatoes are tender. Add ham, kielbasa, seasonings and whole and mashed beans and enough water for your desired consistency.  

(Originally from Allrecipes.com by Bissy Crosby.)

Oatmeal Cake

                                                                       (submitted by Pat Martin)

Pour 1 1/4 c. boiling water over 1 c. quick or old fashion oats and 1/2 c. butter.
Let stand 20 min.
Add 1 c. brown sugar, 1 c. white sugar, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp cinnamon. Use a mixer.
Pour into greased 13x9" baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 35 min.

Frosting

6 tbsp soft butter, 1/4 c milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1 c. chopped nuts,
1 c. flaked coconut. Use mixer again.
Spread frosting on cake *while warm*, place under broiler for 2 min.
It looks like German Chocolate Cake, but it's Oatmeal! Very moist, very good!
Enjoy!

Other great opportunities to share savory soup and delicious cake: a new Mom, a grieving friend, a teacher, a pastor (it is Pastor Appreciation Month!)...

And one last thing before I reveal who won the drawing.  

If you live locally (Southern California) be sure to check out my friend Bobbie Vann's Christmas Gala at Vintique Alley in Riverside, it will be festive and fun!  She and her vendors have been planning for months and have the most fabulous holiday shopping event planned for all of us! Please mark your calendars, November 5th!

And finally... 

the Magnolia Market 

"gather" 

wall script drawing!

 Thanks to all of you for leaving your comments! 

I love hearing from each one of you.

Come back to see what this next month's Give Away will be 

and I have a cute simple fall craft to show you to decorate your home with, 

also leave me your recipes in your comment or email them to me so I can post them on my blog!

And the winner for the Magnolia Market "Gather" wall script is:

Kari W.

Congratulations!

A Whiff of Fall In the Air

After a lengthy hot summer I long for fall and delight at the smallest hint of a changing season, so you can bet I take notice when that first bit of chill lingers in the early morning! Last week we had the biggest Harvest Moon, it hung huge and bright in the dark sky reminding me of a sunflower whose head nods downward with a heavy load of seeds, both beautiful in there fullness.

"He appointed the moon for seasons... O Lord, how manifold are Your works!  In wisdom you have made them all.  The earth is full of Your possessions." Psalm 104:19 and 24

Yesterday my husband and I took a drive through our local mountains and got the most delicious whiff of burning wood from someone's fireplace knowing it would be ushering in falling leaves and sweater weather.   So let's welcome those cozy afternoons and brisk evening, sink into a comfy chair and read a good book, bake something yummy to take to a neighbor or make a pot of coffee and invite a friend over!

Here is one of my favorite fall recipes that my sister Lorna gave me:

Banana Crumb Cake

Cake:
1 yellow cake mix                          1/3 c. sugar
2-3 ripe bananas                             1/4 c. oil
2 eggs                                              1 c. water

Topping                          
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter

Combine all the cake ingredients; mix for 2 minutes.  Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Blend flour, sugar and butter into a crumbly mixture and top the cake with it.  Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.  Enjoy!

Lastly... leave a comment and be entered into a drawing

for my favorite "gather" script wall hanging from

 JoAnna Gaines from her Magnolia Farms selection. 

 Perfect for a little fall decorating!

The winner will be announced Sunday October 9th!

"Watch Unto Prayer" I Peter 4:7

"The prayerless life is a powerless life.

A prayerless life may be a noisy life,

and fuss around a great deal;

but such a life is far removed from Him who,

by day and night, prayed to God."

from Streams In The Desert

photo credit: Michael Dudash

Anchor For Our Souls

"Often the weight we carry is the anchor for our lives. 

 It anchors us to the Lord Jesus. 

 It keeps us dependent on Him." 

Gigi Graham

He has Risen!

It's Friday...But Sunday's Coming

I can face things...

Let's preach this to our hearts today:

 I can face things that are out of my control

 and not act out of control.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

 patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

gentleness, self-control."

 Galatians 5:22-23

Photo credit: Pinterest

Happy February!!

Happy February!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

“The Lord bless you and keep you..."

Numbers 6:24

photo credit - Pinterest

Out of Nowhere

Before looking too far forward into this New Year I want to look back and share a lesson I learned from I Samuel 23:26-28. It's a message Pastor Jonathan Lee shared which He titled, Hope Where There Was No Hope.  Saul was in hot pursuit of David and his men, things were looking hopeless!  Out of nowhere a messenger comes and tells Saul that the Philistines had invaded the land and all of a sudden, "...Saul returned from pursuing David."  Out of nowhere God provided deliverance! Sometimes we look at our own circumstances and see no way out...a bill, a burden,  a root of bitterness and out of nowhere God provides Hope Where There Was No Hope for you as well!  May you be encouraged by this as much as I was!


Photo credit - Pinterest

I finally picked my Word!

I have tried a couple of words on for size this month, picking a few that weren't quite right and finally selecting "intentional".  Like you I want to be intentional in my Bible reading, prayer time, relationships, my time and daily schedule and much more.  In Ephesians 5:15-16amp Paul writes: "Look carefully then how you walk!  Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as unwise and witless, but as wise - sensible, intelligent people; Making the very most of the time-buying up every opportunity-because the days are evil."  Of this Wiersbe states: "Only a fool drifts with the wind and the tide.  A wise man marks out his course, sets his sails, and guides the rudder until he reaches his destination.  Someone said, "When a pilot does not know what port he is heading for, no wind is the right wind."

So I encourage you to pick a Word that will guide your course and anchor you in the year ahead!

Well now lets get to our drawing! 

Our book give away is

 Glory Days.

In it Max Lucado encourages us to not be

 "Wilderness Wanderers but Promise Land People!"  

I love that, what hope for the New Year!

From his book:

"The wilderness. Maybe you know it well.The Israelites sure did. After all, they spent forty years wandering the desert. Victories were scarce. Progress was slow. They were free from Pharaoh but not free from fear...

We all face them. Strongholds with a strong hold on our lives. Roadblocks to our joy. Obstacles in our marriages. Fortresses of fear blocking us from peace. How can we bring down these walls that keep us from the future God promises? Remember the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho? Those were some formidable foes and big barriers.

Max Lucado says the book of Joshua is in the Bible to remind us of one thing: God Fights For Us! We can overcome, because He has already overcome."

And our drawing winner

 this month is Lorna S. 

Congratulations!!