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Faith

A New Year- A New Word

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I am now almost halfway through January and well into my journey with my new word.

2019 was my year to THRIVE and I did quite well with that word until life threw me a bronchitis curve midway through. After that, it just seemed that I could not get back on the Thrive bandwagon.

I am not sure if it was my “unfinished business” with my old word or the fact that I have not really settled into my new life that made it difficult to settle on a word for 2020. Whatever the case, I found myself going back and forth between several words for weeks before I finally settled on

STRETCH

I am not sure that some people in my immediate family completely understood my word choice. They wondered what I really wanted to do. Well…..

Maybe THIS will make it a bit clearer:

stretch your life

I want to reach out and stretch myself into my new community. I want to try doing things that I normally would not do (believe it or not I have actually signed up for a gym membership), try foods that I have always been uncertain about, go out on my own (something I do not TOTALLY feel comfortable with at times), meet new people, and begin to develop new relationships.

I also want to deepen my relationship with God and the Bible. To accomplish this I have laid out several goals for myself:

  1. Read my Bible through this year. (I did that once a couple of years ago and it was a TRUE blessing!)
  2. Journal daily (I have purchased a new planner to use for this- more about that in another blog entry)0221DF20-DB5D-47D9-A6FA-90A8570315A5
  3. Integrate devotionals into my reading for the year (This one got a jump start when my sweet son gifted me with several devotional books at Christmas.)
  4. Attend church regularly (I have already located what will probably become my “home” church here in London thanks to my daughter and son-in-law. They had begun attending a local church and I have been going with them. I feel very welcome there and I feel that God is leading me to become more involved there.

I am settling into a morning routine. I get up and brush my teeth then head into the kitchen to prepare breakfast and a sack lunch for my sweet Hubby. I take my medicine and sit and chat with him until he leaves for work around 7. Then I head into “my” room. I have set it up as a craft space with all of my stamps, inks, and other supplies. One of the key things is my little journaling space right in front of the window.

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I have all of my colored pencils and markers arranged so that I can find them easily, a few of my favorite inks, some stickers, my washi tape collection, and this stack of books:

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I have included my first devotional and 3 different translations of the Bible: an NIV, a KJV, and a CSB study bible. I like to read key passages in all three translations to help me get a better understanding of God’s words. (Yet another way, I am stretching myself.)

This is MY space and the time I spend there is time where I can truly feel God’s presence. I feel certain that if I continue this routine I will discover new things about God’s word, God’s will for me, and new things about myself. THAT is my goal with STRETCHING!

 

Family

Instant Pot Crack Chicken Soup

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Recently a recipe came across my Facebook page for “Crack Chicken Noodle Soup”. It looked really good, but I wanted to tweak it a bit to make it more ‘my own’. For today’s Make It Monday, I decided to share my end result.

Here is what I ended up with as the recipe:

Ingredients

4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (I bought mine at Walmart. One chicken was enough to use in this recipe and hubby had some pieces left over for a meal.)

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup regular almond milk

8 cups low-sodium chicken soup

1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1 packet Ranch dressing mix

1 cup bacon bits (I got mine from Aldi)

1 1/2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

Angel Hair spaghetti- uncooked (I just eyeballed this. The original recipe called for 8 ounces. I probably put in about 6. I felt there was a bit too much noodle in the final result, so I might cut back a bit next time.)

Instructions

I started by using two forks to shred the rotisserie chicken. I did not use the skin, just the meat. I put all of the ingredients into my Instant Pot, breaking the spaghetti in half as I threw it in. I set the pot on manual for about 8 minutes with pressure. I did a quick release at the end of the cycle and checked it to determine if the pasta was done enough to suit our taste. I ended up cooking mine under pressure for a bit more, but you can use your judgement.

Here is what the resulting soup looked like:

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My hubby, daughter, and son-in-law all raved about this! It was thick and creamy, filling, and had a wonderful taste due to the ranch dressing mix. I will definitely be fixing this one again when we get a big winter snow on the ground. It is PERFECT for days like that!

If you click below you can get a pdf of the recipe. Let me know what you think if you give it a try!

Instant Pot Crack Chicken Noodle Soup

 

 

Faith, Family

Looking Back to Look Ahead

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Everywhere I turn it seems that someone is talking about how this is the end of not only 2019, but the decade. It seems only fitting, then, that I looked back a bit this Christmas.

Christmas was different this year. It was the first one in our new home and the first one with both kids no longer under our roof. Kari and her sweet hubby had their own new home with their own Christmas tree, their own shopping trips, and their brand new traditions. Keenan was miles away and was only here for one day.

With the new house, I found myself getting a bit nostalgic. I wanted to do something to help commemorate the home which had sheltered us for the past 25 years, so I decided that I would attempt a watercolor.

I started with THIS photo:

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I watched a YouTube video and then played around a bit on some scrap paper. Then I chose an afternoon when Glenn was not home and I sat down to work. Here is the final result:

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I was pretty pleased with it. Not bad but for my first real watercolor, huh? This painting will hang in a place of honor in our new home to remind us of the many years of living and loving that we did in these walls. Someday it will be passed on to one of the children so they can be reminded of the memories we built there.

I also found myself focusing a bit on my parents. They are both getting older. Mom is 80 now and Dad will be 80 next year. Mom has dementia and every moment I spend with her is a bit melancholy. She smiles her sweet smile and tells me how precious I am, but she does not even realize that I am her daughter. Dad is the “strong” one. He cares for Mom, day in and day out and hates to ask for any type of help at all.

I find myself really appreciative of the raising that they provided for me and for my brothers. They took us to church, taught us about God, and helped us to learn the worth of good, hard work! Dad worked in a steel factory, a coal mine, was a carpenter, AND a farmer. I remember well the blackened coal face when he came home from the mines and the sunburned sweaty brow when he came in from the fields. Even on Christmas day, Dad found himself doing something for someone else. My niece had torn a seam in her sweater vest, so Dad pulled out his old electric sewing machine (dated 1960!) and set to work on a repair job.

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It is really difficult to shop for Dad. From his point of view he needs nothing. When I questioned him about socks, underwear, jeans, and shirts his response was always, “I have plenty.” I usually end up getting him something that no one else would think of. This year, when I saw this little red truck at Walmart it reminded me so much of Dad’s old red Ford, that I knew that I had to get it and add my own personal touch.

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It was a hit!

As I begin now to think about the next decade, I know that there will be major events in my life. Glenn and I will be working to build a new life in this new home, Mom and Dad face more aging and health issues, and I will need to build new relationships in this new town. At the same time, I can rest assured that I will always be able to look back on the old memories and remember how they shaped me into the person that I am today.

Crafting Fun

A New Hutch- ALMOST…

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For this week’s Make It Monday, I share with you something that I did NOT totally “make”. Instead I “remade” it.

I had been wanting an open hutch type storage piece to put in our new living room to hold family photos. I searched stores, peddler malls, and Restores. Then I spotted one on Facebook Marketplace. For only $100 I got this two piece maple hutch.

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The first thing I did was remove the doors on top, as well as the center panel. I wanted to leave the shelves on top as open as possible in order to display several photos. While I was at it, I went ahead and removed the handles on the bottom doors, as well as the drawers.

The toughest part for me was deciding which parts to paint and which to leave as stained wood. I really wanted it to fit in with the furniture we had already purchased for the living room, so I decided to paint the majority of the cabinet with a white chalk paint.

I had seen some ads on Facebook for Heirloom Traditions Paint, a company in Louisville, Kentucky and decided that I would give their products a try.

The first thing I used was their all in one deglosser/degreaser. It is the perfect first step to clean the surface and get it ready to accept the chalk paint.

The second step was to use their all in one chalk style paint. I used the white cashmere color.

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Here is the hutch after a couple of thin coats. (Notice that I was not too careful about the back of the hutch. That is because of my next step.)

I wanted something to add a bit of color and to tie the cabinet in with the turquoise color of our adjoining dining space, so I took a trip to JoAnn’s Fabric and found this perfect fabric. It even has the letter B in the design if you look carefully!

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I used Mod Podge to attach the fabric to the inside back of the hutch and then added a coat of Mod Podge to seal it down.

A trip to Hobby Lobby for hardware and my hutch was all ready to be dressed out with photos and memorabilia.

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Not too bad for my first big redo- huh? I am very proud of the results and I am sure it will grace our home for many years to come. It has also inspired me to “make” or “remake” some other pieces in the future!

I have to give a couple of “thank yous” to a couple of people.

First of all a HUGE thank you to Heirloom Traditions for providing the products that made this turn out so well. Also, a BIG thank you to Tara Chadwell Roberts who inspired me to give this project a try. I have been looking at her great restoration work on Facebook for a while now and just waiting to give it a try on my own. If you live in the area and you need some great Farmhouse type furniture look her up on Facebook at Tara’s Salvaged Bliss.

Family

Make It Monday- Spaghetti Squash

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One of my goals in life is to help my sweet hubby get his diet (and his sugar) a bit more under control. In order to do that I have resorted to a diet very low in carbs. When I saw this cookbook, The Complete Low-Carb Cookbook I knew I had to have a copy.  The recipes in the book are very low in sugar and very carb conscious.

One of my new favorites is a “tweak” of the book’s “Sausage Stuffed Spaghetti Squash”. Sausage Stuffed Spaghetti Squash.

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This is another wonderful recipe for the fall season. It is warm and filling (and fun to eat). Hubby and I have always enjoyed our pasta and we both found the squash “spaghetti” was an excellent alternative. Today my daughter dropped by and I shared some with her. She was surprised to discover that she enjoyed it too!

I did make a few changes to the original recipe in the book. I could not locate Italian sausage when I went shopping so I substituted Italian seasoned ground turkey. Since turkey can sometimes be a bit “bland” I added some extra seasonings with more Italian seasoning than called for and some sage.

I definitely recommend this recipe for anyone who is being carb conscious! In addition, I recommend that you try to grab your own copy of the book. (I am sure you will be seeing other recipes from the book on this blog in the future!)

To get you started, I am attaching a copy of the recipe pdf below.

Sausage Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Family

Make It Monday-YUM!

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I am trying to get more regular with my posts, so I am designating Mondays as “Make It Monday”. Each Monday I hope to share something with you that you can make. Sometimes it will be a delicious recipe, sometimes a craft, or perhaps even something to make your day go more smoothly.

Today I want to share a recipe that I tried from online.

Here in Kentucky, the meteorologists are beginning to use that dreaded “s” word…. that 4 letter winter word that school kids love and drivers dread. This recipe is PERFECT for days like tomorrow when we will likely see a bit of white on the ground and record low temps for this early in November.

I have always been a “red chili” person- you know…. the pots of luscious tomatoes, ground beef, and spices, but my sweet hubby has always preferred white chili. My daughter sent me this recipe for easy, instant pot creamy white chicken chili that Brandi shared on her Stay Snatched website. Yesterday I decided to treat hubby and prepared a pot full.

It was SO simple to make, just as the name suggests. It took only a few minutes of opening cans and sauteing a bit of onion and garlic to get everything in the pot. Then I let it do its job. When the time ended I only had to add the cheeses and a bit of spice and we were ready to enjoy.

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Hubby absolutely LOVED it and even I, the “red chili” person found it to be to tasty and perfect for a leisurely Sunday meal! If you happen to live in one of the areas of our country where temps are supposed to dip and snow is supposed to fly give this recipe a try. It is definitely one that I will try again!

 

Uncategorized

Starting Over

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I feel like it has been forever since I have posted, but I have definitely NOT been slacking. I have spent the last month packing, moving, unpacking, getting organized, and purchasing little things to make our new house into OUR HOME. (The task is still not complete, of course.)

Over the next few weeks I hope to share photos with you, but for now I want to take just a minute to share one of my new FAVORITE things!

Over the past year I had noticed ads on Facebook for something called Kwik Hang curtain rod brackets. I did not really have a use for them at the time because we already had curtains hung in our old house, but I decided that if I ever needed to hang curtains again I would give them a try.

When we purchased our new house one of the first things I did was order the brackets.

The first thing I noticed upon taking them out of the box was just how sturdy these things were. The brackets are constructed from solid metal and come in various colors.

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The second thing I noticed was the lack of hardware. EVERYTHING is all in this one piece!

The third thing I noticed was just how simple it is to install these brackets.

Just line up the bracket against the existing window frame with the “pegs” on top.

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Gently hammer in the bracket until the pegs go down into the frame and the bracket sits snug.

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That is IT! Hang the bracket on the other side of the window and then drop your curtain rod down into the bracket.

With a step ladder, a tack hammer, and just a few minutes I was able to hang ALL of the curtains in our new home! Kwik Hang even has center brackets for those longer curtain rods and bigger windows! You just line up the center bracket with the center of the top window frame and hammer it in. It supports the center of the rod.

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These brackets are a bit more expensive than the typical curtain rods that come with hardware, but the ease of installation DEFINITELY makes it worth it to me! I STRONGLY recommend that you purchase these if you are trying to hang new curtain rods, especially if you are attempting to do it by yourself! Just click on the link below and check out their product.

Kwik Hang Website

Faith

Look Up

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We have been busy at work getting together all of the paperwork to file for the closing on this house and our new house. That means long weeks of waiting. While waiting, I have been going back and watching all of the episodes of the original CSI television series. (What can I say- I have always loved mysteries and crime television.)

Anyway, it was during a recent viewing that one of the characters said something like, “Grissom always said people forget to LOOK UP!” They were referring to the actual act of moving the eyes upward to look for evidence, but it hit me just how true these words actually are.

In today’s world….

People forget to LOOK UP from their phones to interact with the people around them.

People forget to LOOK UP from their sorrow over small things to see the faces of the people who are even more depressed and lonely than they are.

People forget to LOOK UP from their to-do lists to see the faces of those around them who need help or a shoulder to lean on.

People forget to LOOK UP from their list of needs to see the blessings that already exist in their life.

People forget to LOOK UP from their everyday lives to see the miraculous world that the Lord created for us in all of its beauty.

People forget to LOOK UP from their feelings of guilt to see the redemption and forgiveness that God offers!

Isaiah 51:6 says-

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. 

Today, will you make a point to LOOK UP? Lift your face and truly look at the faces of those around you, try to make a connection; look at the beauty of this world that the Lord has provided for us, and whisper a “Thank you”; forget your feelings of guilt and accept the eternal forgiveness that God provides.

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Lord, each day help me to remember to LOOK UP at the bounty of blessings you provide, help me to LOOK UP and try to look for opportunities to bless others, and help me LOOK UP to show others just how they can accept the forgiveness you offer. 

Faith

A New Season

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As I was out walking yesterday I noticed the first indication that the seasons are about to change.IMG_1553

A few leaves on the big tree that shades our drive have already begun to turn a rosy red.

Walking on a few steps further I heard the familiar fall crunch of leaves below my feet.

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Looking down I noticed that piles of brown and yellow have already begun to accumulate along the sides of the road where wind and passing cars have forced them.

Fall has ALWAYS been my favorite season! The colors, the cool comfortable air, the tastes of traditional foods, and the fall holidays all help meld this season into my mind and my senses, but this year the changing of the seasons also means something else.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 holds this well known passage:

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I find myself at the beginning of new season in my life- for more reasons that one:  I am truly beginning the “empty nest” stage of life. My son has moved out to take a job and live on his own. My daughter has married and she and my son-in-law have purchased their own home. Hubby and I have downgraded from our big house to a much smaller, (but comfortable) house. I find myself leaving the community that I have called home for so many years, leaving people and a job that I have come to know as family.

I am not sure, at this stage, what God would have me to do with myself, but I know that he will point out the right opportunity at the right time. It may require some more patience on my part, but I am learning that I can be patient when it is called for. I know that God has a purpose for placing my family in this new home and this new community at THIS time. He is preparing me for something….. I just need to enjoy the season I am in, have faith, and wait for the signs of the changing season in life!

Faith

God’s Timing

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Music is a big part of the way that God speaks to me lately. I hear a song and before I know it I am listening intently to the words. That recently happened when I heard THESE words on KLove:

This year’s felt like four seasons of winter
And you’d give anything to feel the sun
Always reaching, always climbing
Always second guessing the timing
But God has a plan, a purpose in this
You are His child and don’t you forget

He put that hunger in your heart 
He put that fire in your soul 
His love is the reason 
To keep on believing 
And when you feel like giving up 
When you feel like giving in 
His love is the reason 
To keep on believing It’s the reason, 
It’s the reason, 
His love is the reason

If we could pull back the curtain of Heaven
We would see His hand on everything
Every hour, every minute
Every second, He’s always been in it
Don’t let a shadow of a doubt take hold (Take hold)
Hold on to what you already know

He put that hunger in your heart
He put that fire in your soul
His love is the reason
To keep on believing
And when you feel like giving up
When you feel like giving in
His love is the reason
To keep on believing It’s the reason,
It’s the reason,
His love is the reason

He’s the peace in the madness
That you can’t explain
He’s the hope in the heartbreak
The rest in the suffering
He’s closer than the air you breathe
From the start to the end to the in between
Don’t you dare doubt even for a minute
What He started in you, yeah He’s gonna finish

He put that hunger in your heart
He put that fire in your soul
His love is the reason
To keep on believing
And when you feel like giving up
When you feel like giving in
His love is the reason
To keep on believing It’s the reason,
It’s the reason,
His love is the reason

I will have to admit that over the past twenty months, my faith has suffered some blows. There were times when I really thought that God was working to get our house sold and Glenn and I back together under one roof, but every time I would get my hopes up they would be dashed again. For some reason I just could not get my heart in line with God’s timing.

Then, out of the blue, a knock came at my door and God sent a sign that his time had finally reconciled itself. Someone had received approved financing and wanted to purchase our house! I literally cried with joy!

God showed up yet again as Glenn and I began the search for our new home. We had been online perusing Zillow and had tagged several homes that we really liked. He had his favorite and I had mine, but when we actually got inside them they just did not seem right. It was kind of like a Goldilocks thing: one was TOO BIG, one was TOO SMALL.

At the last minute, Glenn had asked the realtor to add a particular house to our showing list. Online neither of us had been thrilled with the colors, but we soon learned that computer screens do not always show things as they really are.

From the minute he and I stepped inside, it was home! The colors were perfect, I could easily determine which room would serve which purpose, and I could picture us living out our years of retirement together with family and friends visiting. We left word with the realtor that we still wanted to see a couple of homes however, because we were not quite sure about the location.

Glenn returned to his apartment and I returned to our old house. We began talking back and forth over the phone and, over the next 24 hours it became apparent that Glenn and I had both made up our minds. THIS HOUSE would be ours! I told Glenn that we could put in an offer, but not to worry because I was claiming it for us in God’s name.

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Last night we made our offer and today we received their acceptance! We have a house! Now we only have to complete the paperwork on both deals- the sale of old and purchase of the new.

Looking back on these twenty months I have to admit that- just like that song says…. God was there every minute. As a matter of fact, when I talk about it with others I tell them that the BEST thing about this time I spent alone is that I used it to grow closer to God and understand myself better. I have come to cherish my private time each morning with God and I find myself leaning on him more now than ever.

There will surely be other mountains in our future and there will surely be times when I wonder when God is going to show up with a plan- but I truly do not think I will ever doubt IF God will show up. He has a plan always and he has his own timeline. It is merely our job to pray, wait, and believe.

FOOTNOTE: If you have not heard the song “Reason” by Unspoken you REALLY need to give it a listen. It is sure to touch you too!