November is a month of adventures!

This month seems to be a month of adventures for us. Of course, as I am sure you are all aware (all two of you, ha!) who follow me on Facebook, the fourth annual Art and Soul Craft Sale is almost upon us. You can usually tell how close it is by how much glitter is spread around our house. Poor David. In years past it's landed on his weight bench, chair, clothing, and sadly one night it ended up on his dinner plate. This year is very very odd though.. NO GLITTER! That's right, not a bit of glitter in sight. This year I've entered metal stamping, wire hammering, and more. I've up-scaled my glitter obsession to Swarovski crystals, and I'm happy to say they're all accounted for. But, if you want to see glitter at my booth just glimpse down as I plan to wear these delightfully glittered flats!


This weekend marks the first time that Bethie will be able to attend a women's church retreat with me. In the past she was old enough but the timing was always bad, And, just to make it special Grandma Beth will be joining us. AND... if that isn't special enough we've ordered several boxes of Peacetree Mountain Truffles in which to indulge. Hang on to your socks... movies, and chocolate and chatting on Friday night, and an amazing day of teaching by Jan Silvius on Saturday. We'll be in Crown Point, Indiana with Crossroads Fellowship Ladies Conference.

The following weekend Bethie will be trying out for club volleyball. This is a HUGE step for her, and we're grateful for a club which practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sweet! This opens a new world to her, where she'll be able to indulge in her favorite sport and hone her skills.

The following weekend of course brings Art and Soul. (See above... ha!)

And finally, we get to make our second to last, Lord willing, drive to Longview, Texas to visit Aaron at college. This will be the first Thanksgiving we've spent with him in several years, followed a few weeks later by a visit for his graduation. WOW! Hoping Josh will be able to join us, but he's in the midst of his job hunt after his graduation this year. My boys are men now... what an odd thought! But exciting.

So, what does November bring for you?

Of course, if you're able you should all be out to vote next Tuesday. Meantime, you can certainly be praying for our country and our elected officials... new and old.

Blessings,
Kim

Improve Your Serve

Nope, this isn't about tennis, or even volleyball. Rather it's about your Christian walk. Our church, Emmanuel Baptist Church, has begun a series of studies on how to improve our service in our walk with God. Last week we had two messages, one of which was the beginning of this series. In this sermon Pastor Schroeder taught from Mark 10: 35-45 where the "sons of thunder" requested a seat at the right and left of Jesus in Heaven. Jesus shares with them that he has come to serve, not be served, and that they likewise will be required to serve. (Not to mention, that the seats they requested are not his to give.)

This week's message though really really hit home. It was entitled: "Improving Your Serve - It's About Time."
This sermon was based on Psalm 90: 1-4.

1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.3 You turn man back into dust And say, Return, O children of men.4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.

Today Pastor Schroeder spoke about how our time is focused, about the proper order of our service, and about how we spend our "free" time. It was a very very encouraging message and had me thinking over how my time is spent, not only my free time, but how my time in service is spent. His point was that if we get things out of order, no matter how good our intentions, our service will not be as effectual since we aren't first serving where we are called to serve. It was an excellent sermon, and one which I am sure will cause me to continue to reflect throughout the week.

(Sunday school has also been eye opening, and we've only just reached the third chapter in Genesis... after many weeks.)

Our family is thankful for the blessings we are receiving as the Lord teaches us.

Blessings,
Kim

God's Benediction Tree

It's been 10 days since I last exercised. In the past this would not have been a surprising statement. The surprise would have been if I had said I had exercised once in the past ten months. 

Things change. I've changed. God is changing me. Molding me. Doing with me more of what He wants and hopefully making my wants to be conformed to His plans. 

Anyway, I had noted the following things during the first weeks/months of my exercise journey. 

1. I like to exercise. Who knew?
2. I have flat feet and shin splints. I DID know this, just hoped maybe it had changed. HA! NOT!
3. I can walk far and fast. I can jog a LITTLE and slow. I can't do TOO much or it hurts. Pain keeps me from exercising. BE WISE.
4. I LOVE biking. 
5. My iPhone plays music. and sermons. and podcasts. and MUSIC!
6. Steven Curtis Chapman has GREAT music by which to exercise. 
7. I gained 7 lb. when exercising and eating less and eating right. 
8. I lost 3 lbs. this past 10 days when eating more, not as healthy and NOT exercising. 
9. I still want to exercise. 
10. I felt better today, so I walked. 

I'm a rules sort of girl. I want the rule. I want to follow the rule. If the rule is supposed to work and I follow the rule then there should be no problems. But... people aren't made from cookie cutters. We're each unique. 

So, I'm learning. SLOWLY!

If I've been sick and have had a swollen ankle I can't expect to start right where I left off. NO BODY WILL SEND THE EXERCISE POLICE IF I WALK INSTEAD OF BIKE!. Yes, I'm yelling in all caps. God has to really shake me and holler in my ear to get me to hear sometimes. 

So, I walked. And listened to an awesome sermon. I still had some distance left when the sermon ended so I decided to end the worship time with some praise. All along I had been enjoying the sun, a babbling brook, mockingbirds flitting back and forth and dappled light through trees. So, my latest favorite praise song, "10,000 Reasons" seemed the obvious choice. 

Here are just a few of the words, can't put them all since it's copyrighted, but, you'll get the idea...

"Bless the Lord,  O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name.... "

[a few more lines then...]

"The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning,

it's time to sing your song again

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes. "

(Matt Redman)

So, as I contemplated the past year and what's happened in my life, and all the blessings God has been pouring down upon our family I just lifted my face and started to praise Him as I walked on the trail. 

At that very moment I saw this gorgeous tree and all these golden leaves just started raining down towards me, and on me and around me, with the light streaming and the music playing and it felt as if God himself was laying His hand upon me and giving me His benediction. 

ben·e·dic·tion/ˌbeniˈdikSHən/

Noun:

The utterance or bestowing of a blessing, esp. at the end of a religious service.

And so I have begun to exercise again, praising God and receiving His blessing, as it were. More importantly I am seeing God at work in my life, day and night, in the good and the bad times, He is always there, leading, guiding, sustaining. And my prayer is that I'll still be singing when the evening comes. 

Shalom, 

Kim

Kim's Stuffed Peppers

So, it's like this. I say.... hmmm, I'm sick, I'm hungry, I've got thawed beef and some peppers. What should I make? I ponder options and immediately discard the idea of stuffed peppers. They sound nasty... mushy peppers, who wants them? Keep pondering and come back to the idea. Dried out peppers, who wants them? Keep pondering. 20 minutes of searching online for a recipe. ANY recipe. OKAY already, I'll make stuffed peppers. 

So, back to the online search, because stuffed peppers? I've NEVER. HAD. THEM! Nope. Not once. Nobody in my family  made them as far as I can recall. But, having never had them I still have opinions. Oh yes, I ALWAYS have opinions. And, none of these recipes is "just right" so I combine, tweak, reconfigure, and yes... I have  recipe. And oh my, IT IS GOOD! Yes? YES!

So, here it is. 

• 4 peppers... whatever color you want. I like LOTS of colors. WE used red, orange and yellow. (That's what we had.), tops sliced off, seeds and ribs removed
• 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
• 3 green onions, chopped, cooked with beef (Note to self... use 1/2 of a sweet onion next time)
• 1.5 - 2 c. cooked rice
• celery salt to taste, maybe 1/2 tsp.
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1/3 c. ketchup (note to self... use all ketchup in future)
• 1.5 c. shredded jack cheese, divided

1. bring salted water to a boil
2. cook peppers for 4 minutes... NOT till mushy, colors will be very pretty
3. remove from water, turn upside down on a plate and let drain
4. meanwhile, brown beef, when close to done add diced onion, cook till onion is opaque and meat is no longer pink
5. cook rice
6. mix meat, rice, ketchup, celery salt and one c. jack cheese
7. stuff peppers (at this point you can cover and put in fridge if not cooking right away, or you can wrap and freeze for use in the future)
8. cook in covered dish at 350 for 30 minutes
9. take out, add cheese to top, pop in for 5 more minutes
10. serve. YUM

Somehow this is becoming a foodie blog. Guess that's fine. It's my blog and I can write what I want to. HA! 

Enjoy, and if you have  better ideas, please let me know. 

Shalom, 

Kim

Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

So, sans photos... sorry, but I'm sick and I just didn't think of this till now.

Took an old recipe and tweaked it to fit the ingredients on hand. YUM!

Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

1 2-4 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed (reserve the seeds for roasting)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, diced
olive oil
stock... veggie is best, chicken works (4-6 cups... just to barely cover the veggies)
ginger.. 1-1.5 inches, peeled and minced
orange juice--1/2 cup maybe
zest of 1/2 - 1 orange

sour cream
Tabasco sauce

1. Prep veggies, and everything will turn orange!
2. saute onions for 3 minutes, add carrots for two more minutes
3. put in veggies, including ginger
4. add stock to barely cover veggies, and orange juice
5. bring to boil
6. turn down to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until fork tender
7. add in ze3st
8. use stick blender to puree'
9. serve with dollop of sour cream and as much Tabasco as you'd like

You can make this with pumpkin as well.

We have the pumpkin version every Thanksgiving thanks to my SIL, Meg. I couldn't find the original version, so used a combo of recipes from online and used ingredients on hand. Serve with a crusty bread, and some apple sauce to cool the "heat" of the ginger.

Enjoy!

And it was good...

Just one last photo of our trip this past summer. What a great adventure David planned for us. ALL four of our kids could be with us. Such a great trip with many adventures. This last major adventure was a Whale Watch Cruise out of Bar Harbor, Maine. It was AMAZING! LOVED the time on the boat, actually saw whales, and a seal, and puffins, and more. Felt badly for MMH who had a bit of a sea sick episode, and for WeeOne who was FREEZING (it pays to listen to Mama!), but even so we loved it.

Did laugh at the naturalist who explained that whales evolved from hippos. That got David going. I think, according to Genesis 1, that God created all living things, EACH after IT'S OWN KIND... 'nuf said.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle aftertheir kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 

Genesis 1: 20-24

We've been studying Genesis in Sunday School. It appears that the majority of arguments that are posed about Christianity are cited to be related to the first 11 chapters of Genesis. So, our teacher is having us study these chapters and see what we think, and find what the Bible really says. David came up with what I believe was the best answer, when confronted with questions such as, "When was the earth created?", "How long did it take to create the earth?" and other such questions it is safe to point the questioner back to Genesis 1:1. (Also, after each bit of creating God saw that it was good. That means He creates good things. Seems simple, but as you think about it this takes on new meaning.)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

That's really the crux of the answer. All the other details are not important. Truly they aren't. What IS important is to recognize WHO created all things. Once that's recognized you can move forward from there. Anyway, that's what hit us as important in chapter 1.

Meanwhile I hope you enjoy the family photo. And hearing about all the sea creatures and flying creatures we saw. And, if you have questions about Christianity, creation or the Bible feel free to ask me. I'd be happy to talk further with you, or even post some other thoughts.  

Love to all, May you rest in the fact that God rejoices over you with singing... isn't that amazing?

Shalom, 

Kim

New Journies...

Over the past 10 months or so there have been any number of changes in my life. During this time I have tried hard to focus on God, His word, and His plan for my life. 

Until the age of 30 or so I was always under weight. SIGNIFICANTLY so... as in 20 pounds or more. Something changed after the birth of our second child and my body and I were not so friendly any more. It didn't seem to be treating me well and I was definitely not treating it well. Can you say cookies, ice cream and brownies? YIKES!

So, now here I am almost 50 and realizing I am not treating my body right. 

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁸ Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

So, what immorality? Gluttony, laziness, and neglect. And so this journey, a journey to physical health, begins. I've started Couch to 5K using a free app on my iPhone. It was so easy to use and seemed just the right plan. That is it seemed just right until an old nemesis returned. Shin splints. OUCH! Having spent the time and money years back for properly fitted orthotics, and this year for properly fitted running shoes I really hoped that the flat feet were not going to be an issue. Alas, it was not to be. I wanted to say my body had failed me, much as I had failed it. But, I'm going to look at this as a way in which the Lord will guide me to what HE thinks is "just right" for me. 

Back to biking. 

And healthy eating. 

Ah yes, no more ice cream for breakfast. Okay, maybe now and again. But not every day. So to kick off the healthy eating I tried a smoothie as shared by my friend April. Here it is in all it's loveliness. 

Green Smoothie

1 carton Greek yogurt (I used Dannon Oikos Vanilla)
5 strawberries
1 frozen banana
BUNCH of baby spinach leaves 
skim milk (Or almond milk, soy milk, whatever)

Blend till smooth. I know... the color. OH MY! And the texture isn't much better. But, April was right, you don't taste the spinach. Give it a try. I had this smoothie and a bowl of rice for dinner last night. Not bad. 

Meanwhile, I'll continue to exercise, back to biking for while, and remember that God joys over me with singing. What a concept! May you also experience that joy!
Shalom, 
Kim

Life verse for now...

Zephaniah 3:17

New International Version (NIV)

The Lord your God is with you,

    the Mighty Warrior who saves. 

He will take great delight in you;

    in his love he will no longer rebuke you, 

    but will rejoice over you with singing.