Hearts in Service

Sunday night was the beginning of a Bible study I'm hosting. We have 9 ladies studying, Becoming a Woman of Excellence by Cynthia Heald. I'm excited about this study because this is something I strive for. For the record, excellence does not mean perfection. I am far from perfect! Just ask my husband and children. However, I do strive to do my best in all I do. Sometimes I succeed and often I fail. Yet when I fail, I get up and brush myself off and try again. I think this is something that all of us who are followers of Christ should be doing. However, the Christian community is often known for their lack of quality and excellence in what they do. When people look at us they should be able to say there is someone who takes pride in what they do. It doesn't matter if you are a garbage man, a pastor, a homemaker, or the President, we should do our best. Why? Because as I Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it...

I feel like all I've done is post recipes lately, but I've come across a string of good ones that are worth sharing. This is what we had for dinner last night. Sloppy Chicken Combine all ingredients in crockpot: 6 cups diced cooked chicken 2 cups chopped celery 1 cup chopped onions 1 cup chopped green peppers 4 Tbsp. butter 2 cups ketchup 2 cups water 2 Tbsp. brown sugar 4 Tbsp. vinegar 2 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. salt Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. I served it on homemade Italian rolls and with a side salad. Enjoy!

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9: 10-12 If you were a first time visitor to our church and are used to a traditional setting, you will probably feel uncomfortable. We don't look like your normal church. In fact, we have quite a few messy people. In fact, our church might make you not want to come back. It's not a traditional church. We allow people to drink coffee during the service. We have an extended greeting time during the service that sometimes is difficult to get people to come back to the...

I have a large patch of rhubarb outside my door and I'm trying to use it up without constantly making pies. I found this recipe recently and it is very good. It's a moist, snack cake and it is very simple to make. Rhubarb Cake Cream together: 1 1/2 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. butter Then add and mix well: 1 t. vanilla 1 egg 1 c. buttermilk Add: 2 c. flour 1 t. baking soda Stir in: 2 c. rhubarb sliced thinly Spread in a 9x14 greased pan and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

I found this recipe for granola bars and made them yesterday and let me just say, "YUMMO"! Every recipe I've ever tried is either too dry and falls apart or the children won't eat them. These were so delicious that I thought I'd share them with you. Chewy Granola Bars Mix together: 1 c. brown sugar 2/3 c. peanut butter (We have a severe peanut allergy here so I used soynut butter) 1/2 c. honey 1/2 c. melted butter 2 t. vanilla Then add: 3 c. oats 1/2 c. coconut 1/2 c. sunflower seeds 1/2 c. raisins 1/3 c. wheat germ 2 t. sesame seeds 1 c. chocolate chips I omitted the raisins, wheat germ and sesame seeds. I would imagine you could add any combination of seeds and nuts and dried fruit you wish. Stir in well. Then press into a greased sheet pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350. Cut while still warm, then let cool before serving. Enjoy!

My favorite time of the year has begun! I've been working the past few days to put out my autumn decorations. I don't have a lot of them and sometimes I think people overkill on the holiday decorations. However, I do have a few things that I do to make the house look like Fall. I make a centerpiece every year from things I just have around the house. I change the table runners to my autumn patterns. Garland. I put up my wreathes, door, and wall hangings. Add a pumpkin and a spray of leaves and viola! I'm done. Even Emily looked in the autumn mood this morning as she left for school.

Remember my lovely vacation back in July when I ended up in the hospital? I had a bout of diverticulitis and when they did the CAT scan they also found a cyst on my ovary. It was a wake up call that I have to take care of myself. Well, after a month and a half and a bazillion doctor's appointments, a colonoscopy, pap smear and ultrasound, I have the following reports: ♥ I definitely have diverticulosis which means I have to eat a high fiber diet. That's not a problem because normally I'm pretty good about that so I just have to stay on top of it. ♥ Pap test came out negative. ♥ The cyst is gone!!! That one is a huge praise for me. So, I need to stay on top of my yearly medical check-ups which I was horrible at, but I have a clean bill of health.

I saw this plant by the corner of the house the other day and I have no idea what it is. Any ideas? Here is a closer view. I have never seen anything like it before. The only thing that is normally there during the summer is very tall blades of some sort of grass. Hopefully, someone can give me some ideas.

I made this a few weeks ago and it is delicious, especially with cream cheese and crackers. Hot Pepper Jelly 2/3 cup jalapeno peppers 1 bell pepper 1 1/2 cups white vinegar 6 cups sugar 2 packets of Sure Jell 1 teaspoon green food coloring 1. Chop peppers and put in blender with vinegar. 2. Blend well and pour into large boiler. 3. Add sugar and mix well. 4. Bring mixture to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. 5. Remove from heat, strain through sieve and return liquid back to a boil. 6. Boil for 5 minutes. 7. Remove from heat. 8. Add Sure Jell and food coloring quickly. 9. Put into prepared 6 (1/2 pint) jars and seal. 10. Boil in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.

What do you do when you are up in the middle of the night with acid reflux? Post your crafty things! Here is a quilt I made this week for a couple in our church who are expecting their first baby. Close-up. Though you can't see it from these pictures, there is quite a bit of lavender in the different animals which matches the lavender flannel squares. Back view. I just need to tack down the binding and I'm done.

I decided to make everyone happy this morning by making old-fashioned doughnuts. These are very easy to make and everyone loves them. Mix together: 2 eggs 1 c. sugar 1 t. salt 1 1/2 t. cream of tartar 1/4 t. ginger 1/2 t. cinnamon 1 t. nutmeg 1 t. vanilla 1/2 of a third cup filled with oil (the original recipe was double this, so this is it halved) Combine and add to the above mixture: 1 c. sour milk (1 T. vinegar added to sour the milk) 1 t. baking soda Stir in 4 cups of flour to make a dough easy to handle, but not too stiff. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut with a doughnut cutter. Fry in hot oil (I have a deep fryer), turning after one minute until nicely brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar. Enjoy!