I have a confession to make.
As a pastor's wife, I sometimes get overwhelmed.
It usually comes at a time when I look ahead and there are a lot of events crowding my calendar. I am a very disciplined person, and I have an organized plan of what I will get done along with when I will do it. The problem is, sometimes life doesn't cooperate. Emergencies happen. Phone calls interrupt. People need me. Appointments pile up. The unexpected becomes the rule. My husband says, "Honey, I really need you to do this." And my carefully-crafted plan falls apart. And then, usually I fall apart.
Can you relate?
Right now I am beginning to feel the warning signs. It has been a busy summer, with one thing after another, and all of a sudden summer is over and the events of fall are HERE. Several appointments and long-planned-for personal events are on my calendar. Our church picnic leads into our fall missions conference, and the missions conference takes a lot of planning: scheduling, providing for housing and meal needs of our guests, correspondence, preparing information packets, decorating the auditorium. Part of the missions conference is our Fall Ladies Luncheon - more planning, although I am so grateful for the wonderful and talented ladies at our church who take so much off of me. I still have my Sunday School class lessons to write and teach, and Fall Ladies Bible study is on the not-so-distant horizon. My husband and I are trying to plan a belated anniversary get-away for just the two of us, something we have not had in so long I can't remember if we EVER did it...and all of these things in addition to my normal day-to-day responsibilities threaten to overwhelm me.
The first thing to do when I start to become overwhelmed is this: just do the next right thing. I read or heard that from someone, and I can't remember who, but it is so true. Just do the next thing, one at a time, and the Lord will order my steps if I depend on Him. Which leads me to the other important thing: delight myself in the Lord! One of my very favorite verses, which I have memorized, is Psalm 94:19 - "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, Thy comforts delight my soul." Being overwhelmed is definitely a "multitude of thoughts." I have learned God's comforts cannot delight my soul if I am not in the Word and taking the time I need with Him!
One of my greatest passions is journaling as part of my time with the Lord. I have beside me a stack of journals I have written in since the late 1990's. In them is a wealth of prayers, scriptures, thoughts, lessons, answers, blessings, quotes, musings, and encouragements. The are one of my most prized possessions because they are a reflection of my walk with the Lord. I can go back anytime I want to and re-read things God taught me and blessings He gave me.
Over the years I have taught ladies in our ministries whole lessons on the joy of journaling, and in my next blog post I plan to share why and how it is so important. I hope to inspire you to begin to include journaling as part of your time with the Lord.
Keep on keeping on!
Kathi
The Light in My Window
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
From my kitchen: Grill N Chill recipes
Happy Wednesday! It's a beautiful day in the middle of what is otherwise turning out to be a rainy week here in Virginia! I have been a little disappointed in the wet weather since my parents are here visiting for the first time in 15 months, and we want to enjoy all the outdoor things the Williamsburg area has to offer. But on the other hand, I am thankful for the great weather the Lord gave us last week when we had the church teens and college students over to our home for our 2nd annual Grill N Chill. Grill N Chill is something that we started last year to be held at the end of the summer as a way of welcoming the new teens into the Youth group and say goodbye to our departing college students at the same time. We enjoy a great cookout meal with my husband's famous grilled burgers, some volleyball and basketball, some crazy games, and a time of devotions and reflection on the summer. We love our young people, and this year we had a total of 23 here for the Grill N Chill. I hope they enjoyed the evening as much as we did. I thought today I would share two popular recipes from our meal.
The first recipe is probably one of my most-requested. It is for my chocolate chip cookies, and while I have received and made many recipes for chocolate chip cookies over the years, these are absolutely the best. The recipe has been in my family forever, and everyone raves about them!
Chocolate-Chip Cookies
2/3 cup butter (I use half real butter and half margarine - you can use all of one or the other, but do not use a spread!), softened
2/3 cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
In mixer, cream butter/margarine, Crisco, and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I use a cookie dough scoop) onto baking sheets and bake for 9-10 minutes at 375. The secret is to slightly under bake them - take them out before they look done and allow to cool on cookie sheets for several minutes before removing.
Another favorite dish included in our cookout is my baked beans, which come from Southern Living magazine.
Easy Southern Living Baked Beans
3 bacon slices, cooked and drained and broken up
1/2 small onion, diced
2 15 oz. cans pork and beans, drained
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 T. flour
Cook bacon and drain, and sauté onion in pan and drain. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients. Pour into casserole and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. I doubled this recipe and put it in my slow-cooker and allowed to cook on low for the afternoon. It is a great, easy way to make baked beans for a crowd.
Happy to share these easy and delicious recipes with you, and I hope you enjoy them!
Til next time,
Kathi
The first recipe is probably one of my most-requested. It is for my chocolate chip cookies, and while I have received and made many recipes for chocolate chip cookies over the years, these are absolutely the best. The recipe has been in my family forever, and everyone raves about them!
Chocolate-Chip Cookies
2/3 cup butter (I use half real butter and half margarine - you can use all of one or the other, but do not use a spread!), softened
2/3 cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
In mixer, cream butter/margarine, Crisco, and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I use a cookie dough scoop) onto baking sheets and bake for 9-10 minutes at 375. The secret is to slightly under bake them - take them out before they look done and allow to cool on cookie sheets for several minutes before removing.
Another favorite dish included in our cookout is my baked beans, which come from Southern Living magazine.
Easy Southern Living Baked Beans
3 bacon slices, cooked and drained and broken up
1/2 small onion, diced
2 15 oz. cans pork and beans, drained
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 T. flour
Cook bacon and drain, and sauté onion in pan and drain. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients. Pour into casserole and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. I doubled this recipe and put it in my slow-cooker and allowed to cook on low for the afternoon. It is a great, easy way to make baked beans for a crowd.
Happy to share these easy and delicious recipes with you, and I hope you enjoy them!
Til next time,
Kathi
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Still learning
Good morning - it's a beautiful Wednesday morning here! It is hard to believe that August is half over and summer is winding down already. In many areas of the country school has started. Having 2 sons and 2 daughters-in-law that are teachers, the start of school is always a big thing in our family. And this year, we have 2 granddaughters starting first grade and kindergarten, and a grandson beginning pre-K! They are growing up so quickly!
This week I have been enjoying some needed down-time at home. Last week was a very busy week with Vacation Bible School and a lot of other things going on, and I really felt the need to spend a few days at home and get caught up on a lot of things and "re-charged." I am very thankful for the opportunity to do that - to "come apart and rest for awhile." One of the things I have been doing this week is reviewing and reflecting on recent entries in my quiet-time journal. One of these days I will be blogging about the benefits of journaling because I LOVE to journal!
Lately it seems like the Lord is impressing on me over and over again (which usually means that I need it!) the thought of learning - learning who He is and what He has for me. I have been reading through the gospel of Mark. I am amazed by how slow Jesus' disciples were to learn, but isn't that a lot like us? We are so slow to learn and so easily distracted! The end of Mark chapter 6 is about the feeding of the five thousand followed by the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. The disciples were overcome by fear from not knowing who was walking toward them. The verse that caught my attention was Mark 6:52 - "for His disciples had not gained any insight from the miracle of the loaves, but their heart was hardened." You would think that after personally seeing Jesus do such a big miracle that there would be no more doubts about who He was, but they were not in the right position to learn from Him - their hearts were not open. In Mark 8, the disciples were in the boat with Jesus following another miracle, the feeding of the 4,000, and all they could talk about was the fact that they had forgotten to bring any bread. I would like to think that if it was me, I would not be worried about what I was going to eat because I would be so focused on Jesus - but I am more like the disciples than I would care to admit. Verses 16-17 - "They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, why do you reason that you have no bread? do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?" They had totally missed Jesus' provision for them and for 4,000 other people. They were so focused on their own lives and their own problems that they missed who Jesus was and what He could do.
In my teen girls Sunday School class, I have been teaching about two of my favorite Biblical women, Mary and Martha. And it strikes me that it goes right along with the theme of learning from Jesus. In Luke 10:38-42, Martha is so busy doing things FOR Jesus that she isn't spending any time WITH Him. It wasn't that she wasn't doing a good thing - she was, because Jesus never rebukes her for her service for Him. It's just that she wasn't doing the "one needful thing" - taking the time to learn from Jesus and nurturing a more intimate relationship with Him. It's a reminder that in addition to having a "hardened heart" like the disciples had, that the busyness of serving God can take away from the importance of knowing God.
So today, I hope you will do some thinking about being in the right position spiritually to learn what God has for you, about being so focused on your own life that you miss what He wants to teach you about Himself, and about keeping the right balance between knowing Him and serving Him.
With a thoughtful heart,
Kathi
This week I have been enjoying some needed down-time at home. Last week was a very busy week with Vacation Bible School and a lot of other things going on, and I really felt the need to spend a few days at home and get caught up on a lot of things and "re-charged." I am very thankful for the opportunity to do that - to "come apart and rest for awhile." One of the things I have been doing this week is reviewing and reflecting on recent entries in my quiet-time journal. One of these days I will be blogging about the benefits of journaling because I LOVE to journal!
Lately it seems like the Lord is impressing on me over and over again (which usually means that I need it!) the thought of learning - learning who He is and what He has for me. I have been reading through the gospel of Mark. I am amazed by how slow Jesus' disciples were to learn, but isn't that a lot like us? We are so slow to learn and so easily distracted! The end of Mark chapter 6 is about the feeding of the five thousand followed by the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. The disciples were overcome by fear from not knowing who was walking toward them. The verse that caught my attention was Mark 6:52 - "for His disciples had not gained any insight from the miracle of the loaves, but their heart was hardened." You would think that after personally seeing Jesus do such a big miracle that there would be no more doubts about who He was, but they were not in the right position to learn from Him - their hearts were not open. In Mark 8, the disciples were in the boat with Jesus following another miracle, the feeding of the 4,000, and all they could talk about was the fact that they had forgotten to bring any bread. I would like to think that if it was me, I would not be worried about what I was going to eat because I would be so focused on Jesus - but I am more like the disciples than I would care to admit. Verses 16-17 - "They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, why do you reason that you have no bread? do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?" They had totally missed Jesus' provision for them and for 4,000 other people. They were so focused on their own lives and their own problems that they missed who Jesus was and what He could do.
In my teen girls Sunday School class, I have been teaching about two of my favorite Biblical women, Mary and Martha. And it strikes me that it goes right along with the theme of learning from Jesus. In Luke 10:38-42, Martha is so busy doing things FOR Jesus that she isn't spending any time WITH Him. It wasn't that she wasn't doing a good thing - she was, because Jesus never rebukes her for her service for Him. It's just that she wasn't doing the "one needful thing" - taking the time to learn from Jesus and nurturing a more intimate relationship with Him. It's a reminder that in addition to having a "hardened heart" like the disciples had, that the busyness of serving God can take away from the importance of knowing God.
So today, I hope you will do some thinking about being in the right position spiritually to learn what God has for you, about being so focused on your own life that you miss what He wants to teach you about Himself, and about keeping the right balance between knowing Him and serving Him.
With a thoughtful heart,
Kathi
Thursday, August 7, 2014
From my Kitchen: Frozen Summer Pies
Good morning! First of all, for those of you who may be following my blog but do not know me personally, I want to share with you the results of the CT scans I had last week. God answered prayer in a wonderful way! They were able to start my IV on the first try (a BIG answer to prayer for me!), I did not have any allergic reaction to the dye, and greatest of all, NO mass was found on my kidney! They explained that sometimes what shows up on an ultrasound as a mass is, upon further examination with the much clearer CT scan, actually nothing - and that was the case! So I am praising the Lord! Now that I have a clean bill of health on my liver and my kidney, I wait and see what my next move is based on my doctor appointment in a couple of weeks.
On a much lighter note, now that we are into August and the days are hot and humid (although they are that way ALL summer here in Virginia!), I thought I would share with you recipes for two of my very favorite summer desserts: frozen pies. They are refreshing and delicious, and as easy as can be!
The first recipe is for Frosty Mocha pie, and the photo above is actually from Taste of Home, which is where this recipe originated, because I neglected to get a picture of mine. It is soooo good, as long as you like mocha! It is also light, especially if you use light cream cheese and Cool Whip.
Frosty Mocha Pie
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 T instant coffee granules
1 tsp vanilla
1 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip, thawed
1 chocolate cookie or graham cracker pie crust
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa with electric mixer until smooth. Warm the milk slightly in the microwave and dissolve the coffee granules. Stir coffee mixture and vanilla into cream cheese mixture. Fold in the Cool Whip until completely mixed in - color is even. Pour into crust, cover, and freeze at least 4 hours. Allow to soften a couple minutes before cutting and serving. Drizzle slices with chocolate syrup before serving.
The other recipe I am almost embarrassed to share because there is nothing to it! But it has been a favorite with my family for years! My husband does not like yogurt, but he likes this pie.
Frozen Yogurt Pie
3 6 oz. containers of fruit-flavored yogurt, such as Yoplait, all the same flavor (I like raspberry and strawberry the best)
1 8 oz. tub of cool whip, thawed
1 graham cracker pie crust
Simply put the yogurt into a bowl, fold in the Cool Whip until completely mixed and color is even, pour into crust, cover, and freeze! Very refreshing on a hot summer evening! And very weight-watcher friendly!
Both of these pies keep well in the freezer for a couple weeks, so if you only need a couple slices, no problem! I hope you enjoy them.
Til next time,
Kathi
On a much lighter note, now that we are into August and the days are hot and humid (although they are that way ALL summer here in Virginia!), I thought I would share with you recipes for two of my very favorite summer desserts: frozen pies. They are refreshing and delicious, and as easy as can be!
The first recipe is for Frosty Mocha pie, and the photo above is actually from Taste of Home, which is where this recipe originated, because I neglected to get a picture of mine. It is soooo good, as long as you like mocha! It is also light, especially if you use light cream cheese and Cool Whip.
Frosty Mocha Pie
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 T instant coffee granules
1 tsp vanilla
1 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip, thawed
1 chocolate cookie or graham cracker pie crust
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa with electric mixer until smooth. Warm the milk slightly in the microwave and dissolve the coffee granules. Stir coffee mixture and vanilla into cream cheese mixture. Fold in the Cool Whip until completely mixed in - color is even. Pour into crust, cover, and freeze at least 4 hours. Allow to soften a couple minutes before cutting and serving. Drizzle slices with chocolate syrup before serving.
The other recipe I am almost embarrassed to share because there is nothing to it! But it has been a favorite with my family for years! My husband does not like yogurt, but he likes this pie.
3 6 oz. containers of fruit-flavored yogurt, such as Yoplait, all the same flavor (I like raspberry and strawberry the best)
1 8 oz. tub of cool whip, thawed
1 graham cracker pie crust
Simply put the yogurt into a bowl, fold in the Cool Whip until completely mixed and color is even, pour into crust, cover, and freeze! Very refreshing on a hot summer evening! And very weight-watcher friendly!
Both of these pies keep well in the freezer for a couple weeks, so if you only need a couple slices, no problem! I hope you enjoy them.
Til next time,
Kathi
Friday, August 1, 2014
In the Night
Somehow when I began this blog, I did not envision myself sitting at the computer and writing at 4 a.m., and yet that is exactly where I am. I have a headache and am tired, and I hesitate to even post this in case it does not make sense in the light of day. This is all a result of the events of the past few days. Tuesday morning (just 3 days ago?) I underwent an ultrasound in hopes of finding the cause of the stomach issues that have been plaguing me for the past few months. The cause of my stomach problems has not been found, but what they did find was something completely unexpected and unrelated - a mass on my left kidney. So in a few short hours I will be on my way to the hospital for a CT scan to determine whether this mass is in fact a cyst or a tumor. And of course, since I never do things the easy way, it is complicated by the fact that I have a previous history of having an allergic reaction to the dye used in the IV. As a result I have been given the dubious label of "high-risk." I was required as a precaution to undergo this procedure at the hospital rather than the previously chosen medical center, and also required to begin a regimen of Prednisone and other medication, in addition to the lovely barium contrast I have to drink. Which explains why I am sitting here in the middle of the night rather than tucked into my bed fast asleep, since Prednisone is known for causing sleeplessness, sweats, and all the other things I am currently experiencing.
The best place for me to be in the middle of this long night seemed to be in my favorite recliner chair with my Bible. I read a few Psalms in an attempt to focus my mind on the right thoughts, and then was drawn to Psalm 91. The first 2 verses say, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in Whom I will trust."
I love the thoughts in verse 1. The only way to stay in someone's shadow is to be very, very close to them. It tells me that when I stay so close to my Heavenly Father that I will abide in the protection and intimacy of His shadow. I picture a small child trying to stay walking in the shadow with his father. That's how I feel. Verse 2 is equally precious, because it reminds me that the Lord is my refuge - my place of protection - and my fortress - my place of strength. And He is MY God, personally, in whom I will trust. The word "will" is a word of decisiveness and determination.
These are the verses I will carry with me in a few hours when I take the remainder of my medication and check in at the hospital, have my IV started (which is never an easy thing for me, since I have always been notorious for being difficult to start an IV on), and under go this scan that I have no idea of the outcome of. My God is with me! And so is my husband, for which I am very grateful.
I just want to close by saying that if you were not expecting this blog to be so serious, I understand. Neither was I. But this is what the Lord has for me these days and I trust it can somehow be a help to you.
Love,
Kathi
The best place for me to be in the middle of this long night seemed to be in my favorite recliner chair with my Bible. I read a few Psalms in an attempt to focus my mind on the right thoughts, and then was drawn to Psalm 91. The first 2 verses say, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in Whom I will trust."
I love the thoughts in verse 1. The only way to stay in someone's shadow is to be very, very close to them. It tells me that when I stay so close to my Heavenly Father that I will abide in the protection and intimacy of His shadow. I picture a small child trying to stay walking in the shadow with his father. That's how I feel. Verse 2 is equally precious, because it reminds me that the Lord is my refuge - my place of protection - and my fortress - my place of strength. And He is MY God, personally, in whom I will trust. The word "will" is a word of decisiveness and determination.
These are the verses I will carry with me in a few hours when I take the remainder of my medication and check in at the hospital, have my IV started (which is never an easy thing for me, since I have always been notorious for being difficult to start an IV on), and under go this scan that I have no idea of the outcome of. My God is with me! And so is my husband, for which I am very grateful.
I just want to close by saying that if you were not expecting this blog to be so serious, I understand. Neither was I. But this is what the Lord has for me these days and I trust it can somehow be a help to you.
Love,
Kathi
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