A Peek Inside My January Window

Brrr! Winter has definitely come to our part of the country! With temperatures outside in the 20's or below, I have been staying inside and getting a lot of housework and catching up on projects done. This week I thought I would give you a little glimpse into what I have been up to. As usual at the end I have given you a little something to reflect on.

Where I Went

Last Wednesday my husband and I were privileged to attend the Virginia State Assembly Prayer Breakfast in Richmond. It was a last-minute opportunity, and we had to be in Richmond at 6:30 in the morning! (That translates into a 4:30 a.m. wake-up time, and I wondered at the time if it would be worth it - but it was!) There were over 1400 people in attendance, including most of the senators, representatives, the Governor who spoke briefly, and many pastors, members of our military, and local leaders. It was a blessing to hear a message by Dr. Ravi Zacharias, the key note speaker. After the breakfast we spent some time in the Virginia State Assembly Building visiting with senators and delegates and assuring them of our prayers, followed by a tour of the Virginia State Capitol, which is a magnificent and historical building. We were grateful for the opportunity to find out more about our state government as well as to meet and prayerfully support many of our officials. It was a great day!

What I Made
This is soup weather! I have a recipe that I found on Pinterest for a delicious loaded baked potato soup, and it is so easy and so good I just had to share it with you. The quantities given here are for only 2 people, so adjust as necessary, but it is the easiest baked potato soup recipe ever!

 Loaded Baked Potato Soup (for 2)

2-3 medium baking potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled
1 can (15 oz.) chicken broth
2-3 T. sour cream
pepper to taste
instant potato flakes (optional)
bacon bits or 2 cooked crumbled bacon slices
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced green onions or chives

You can bake your potatoes in the microwave, but they have more flavor if you have time to bake them in the oven. You can also use leftover baked potatoes, so some night if you are having baked potatoes for dinner, just bake a couple extra!

Cube up the baked potatoes. Put half in the blender or food processor with the chicken broth, and process into a smooth puree. Pour into saucepan. Stir in the sour cream, pepper, and remaining potato cubes. Heat until hot. At this point you can thicken if desired with some instant potato flakes.
Serve topped with the crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and chives/onions. Add a salad and some bread, and lunch or dinner is ready!

What I Loved
There's nothing better than getting a phone call from one of our children telling us that they are coming for a visit! This past weekend was a 3 day weekend with a Monday holiday from school due to Martin Luther King day, and our oldest son was able to re-arrange some of his responsibilities and come with his wife and the grandkids for the weekend. Saturday was a beautiful 60 degree day and we played outside and enjoyed a BBQ meal of pulled pork from the smoker! Sunday morning it snowed all morning! We had to cancel evening church, and we got to spend the rest of the day as a family by the fireplace playing games, snacking, watching some football and a children's movie, and capping off our day with a family Bible time. God is so good! These are some of my favorite pictures from our special weekend.

What Spoke to My Heart 
When I teach a weekly Teen Girls Sunday School class and a twice-weekly Ladies Bible Study class, I learn more than any of my students. God uses the things I study and learn to speak to my heart. In my teen girls class, we have been studying the topic of Our Identity in Christ. When you are asked the question "Who are you?" we have many answers: wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, friend, writer, runner, teacher, singer, etc. We play many roles in life, but none of them accurately describe who we really are. We need our identity to be in Christ. It is what grounds us and guards us from seeking our identity in other places and people. If we find our true security in Christ, then no matter what happens we will not be shaken.

Eph. 1:6 - "To the praise of His glory and grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved."

Accepted. The world capitalizes on this and advertises everything from shampoo to clothing to fitness equipment to cars to make us into what everyone else wants us to be. Just look at some advertising and see how many times you see the phrase "The Must-Have ----" of the season.

I have been struck by the fact that it is not just teen girls who long to be accepted, and will look to their friends, their looks, talent, or their academic or athletic success to gain acceptance. If we realize that we are loved by God no matter what, that He has not only forgiven us but bought us and adopted us as His own, blesses us, and lavishes His grace upon us daily, then we will be secure in Him.

Till next time,
Kathi

A Challenge for My Heart

Sometimes, believe it or not, I am at a loss for words. It is getting toward the end of the week and I know I need to post something on my blog, but I am not sure whether I should post a new soup recipe, pictures of an event we went to, about other happenings in our busy life... or something from my heart. Usually in those times, I tend to go with what is on my heart, something that the Lord has shown me lately from His Word. That is the case today.

This new year has begun for me with the reality of how short and how uncertain our lives truly are. As the calendar turned the page to 2016, I received unexpected news that my supervisor at my job at the public library in Illinois had passed away after a battle with cancer. I thought back with both fond memories and sadness over the five years that I had worked with her every day, and the additional ten or more years that I had known her. Along with this, a parent of one of our family members has just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

It might be because of these events and thoughts that when I was reading in the book of Matthew in my quiet time last week, I saw something that I had never noticed before, in spite of my reading this passage many, many times before. In Matthew chapter 14, we have the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000. What I had never before noticed was that this took place immediately after Jesus received the news of the death of His beloved cousin, John the Baptist. The first 11 verses tell us about John's death - by murder - and they sadly conclude with verse 12 telling us "And his disciples came, and took up the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus."

Yes, I know that Jesus is the Son of God, and as such, He knew all things - but just consider how Jesus must have felt upon hearing this very sad news from the disciples. In fact, verse 13 gives us a clue to how He reacted to the news: "Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there by ship to a desolate place by Himself. But when the people heard thereof, they followed Him on foot out of the cities."

When I read this, I thought, "Poor Jesus! He can't even have some private time alone to mourn the death of His loved one! Can't people just leave Him alone for a little while?"

But Jesus didn't get upset or angry or impatient or resentful. Like I do. Verse 14-15: "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them and healed their sick. And when it was evening, The disciples came to Him saying, this is a deserted place,and the time is now past...." setting the scene for Jesus feeding the multitude. As one in ministry, I think this is pretty amazing. He put aside His feelings and preference to be alone at that time, and He responded to the needs of people with compassion - not resentment. And He continued to just do what He was called to do - to minister. Even when He desired and had every right to be alone, He willingly gave that up to minister to the needs of people.

There's a lesson in this for all of us, I think. For those of us who are pastor's wives or missionaries or involved in some type of full-time Christian ministry, the constant demands and the needs of people can become very wearying. We may have our sights set on doing something else - like going to bed early, or having a quiet meal at home, but life happens. As my husband reminded me, ministry is rarely convenient. And my response is usually far from being like Jesus.

In case you are reading this and saying, "Well, I am not in the ministry, so this doesn't apply to me!" with a sigh of relief, before you dismiss these thoughts I want to assure you that this does speak to everyone. How many times do you have intentions of spending your time doing what you want to do, or living out your day or your week as planned, and something happens to interrupt that? Your child needs your attention. Your husband asks you to do something for him. You get a phone call or an emailed or a texted request that means you need to set those plans and intentions of yours aside for the sake of someone else. How do you respond?

I have a long way to go, but I am praying that I will do better in this area and be more like Jesus. How about you?

Lovingly,
Kathi

New Year, New You?

The Christmas decorations are down and the gifts are put away. The company has gone home and the holiday leftovers are gone. Today we are six days into the new year...how are you doing? Beginning a new year is a great time to give some serious consideration to areas in which you need to see some growth and change in your life. If you haven't already done that, it isn't too late! Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea or something warm to drink, grab your journal or notebook and a pen, and find a quiet spot.

Since I am getting older, I decided to pay particular attention to the area of my health this year. God gave us our bodies and health, and we have a responsibility to take care of ourselves with the ultimate goal of being able to better serve Him. While I am a high-energy person, we were not created to continually go at the pace that many of us are used to going. I am trying harder to slow down and to get more rest, which is not an easy thing, especially with the demands of ministry. Along with that, although I am already a healthy eater,  I am trying to eat less (I said less, not no!) sugar. I am surprised that after just a few days, I am already noticing the benefits of that. I am especially excited about the new workout plan I have begun this year. Since my husband began going to the YMCA following his knee surgery last summer, I decided to also become a member, and so I have been going for early-morning workouts 3-4 times a week along with taking a fitness class there.

I also want to fill my mind with the right things, and to challenge myself to read more books, spend less time online, and to learn some new things.

If you set some new goals for this year, are you on the right path to fulfilling them, or are things already starting to slide? I commented to my husband last night that I have lost track of how many times in the last few days I have seen the slogan, "New Year, New You." I have seen it used in advertising programs and products by countless companies, organizations, and stores. And as I was thinking about that, it made me wonder: Just because it is a new page on the calendar, will it really be a new me? The answer to that is, in a word, no. Because unless I am changing on the inside through the grace and power of Christ, and growing in my walk with Him, I can implement all the life changes I want on the outside, and they will never result in a new me in the ways that matter.

In my last post, I told you about the Scripture verse and the special word that I selected for 2016. Along with that, I spent some time praying about how I can enrich my devotional time with the Lord. As my husband reminded our congregation and I tell our ladies, if you don't have a plan, you will not do it. There are tons of good Bible reading programs and resources out there. I know many people like to read through the Bible every year, and while that is a great goal, personally I do not get a lot from that. I find that I become too consumed with staying on the schedule and do not really dig in and study the Word the way I like to. However, for the next 3 months I am doing a 90-day challenge in which I am reading through the New Testament in 90 days. And in order to help me to read purposefully, I am combining that with a study on grace. Every time I find an example of God's grace as I read, and there are lots of them, I write it down in my journal.

The point is - if you really want a new you this new year, you have to go about it the right way. That is by giving priority to the most important part of you - your spiritual self. Some of my favorite verses that go along with this thought are found in Jeremiah 9:23-24: "Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glory, glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord which exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."

Did you catch that? It tells us as Christians what our most important goal is to be. We might increase our knowledge, but we can't really rejoice in wisdom and intelligence. We can eat right and exercise to grow stronger, and we should, but that is not what we are to delight in. We can acquire possessions, but we can't glory in them, either. What we can delight in is that we truly know our Heavenly Father in a personal way. That is His delight - and ours as well. That is my prayer - for myself, and for you.

Till next time,
Kathi

Ready for 2016

I am excited to be back at the blog this morning! We had a wonderful Christmas with our daughter and her family. Other than the constant rain and dampness (at least it wasn't ice and snow!) and one sick child, it was a great time with our 3 little granddaughters and their parents. Besides a nice Christmas day and a fun trip to Busch Gardens Christmastown, playing, reading books, cookie-baking and craft-making prevailed!


In the past few days, I have heard and read a lot of comments about this "in-between" week - that is, the week after Christmas, but before New Year's. In general, people seem to have negative feelings about this week. They express feelings of depression or let-down after the Christmas holiday, boredom, and restlessness.

As for myself - I happen to love this "in-between" week!

• I love the quiet mornings to sit by the lights of the Christmas tree, with my cup of coffee and my Bible and journal, and really enjoy quality time with the Lord.
• I actually enjoy my Christmas decorations and playing Christmas music more after Christmas, when all the busyness and activity is past.
• As one of those "strange" people who actually like to clean and organize, I have enjoyed giving my house a thorough cleaning and doing some needed organization after all the busyness at church and home over Christmas.
• Most of all, I have come to relish this week as one in which I can really do some preparation of my heart for the coming year. For many years, I have prayerfully chosen a special verse of Scripture for the coming new year. I highlight it in my Bible and memorize it. In addition, this year I was challenged to do something new - to select a word of special significance for the coming year. I loved this! I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about it. I considered and then discarded several words before making my decision.

So, are you ready? My word for 2016 is: Perspective.

In choosing the word perspective, I am saying that I desire to have God's perspective on all that happens in 2016. The new year ahead of us stretches out as a blank canvas of the unknown. I want to try to remember to look at things as God would see them, with His perspective, and not how I am apt to see them. Also, I chose this word to remind me to keep things in the right perspective, whether they be blessings or challenges. I need to choose to be grateful (grateful was a close contender for my special word!). I need to see people and needs as an opportunity to love and to serve.

The verse I have chosen for 2016 is 1 Chronicles 16:11: "Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually." Short and sweet this year, but it says so much! If I would just remember to

• Always seek the Lord and not someone or something else, and
• Seek His strength and not my own, and
• Seek His face (His presence) continually,  

Then I will have the right perspective.

How about you? Do you choose a special verse or word for the new year? I would love to hear your thoughts. May the Lord bless you in this coming year. Thanks for reading my blog! I hope to be a blessing and source of encouragement to you this year as I write.

Love,
Kathi

The Heart of a Handmaiden

Only 9 days until Christmas! As Christmas gets closer, our to-do lists seem to grow longer and longer. There is the present-buying, the wrapping, the finishing up of cards and letters, menu planning, cooking and baking, and the attending all sorts of Christmas events, celebrations, and special services. If you are like me, it also seems to get harder and harder to focus on the reason for our Christmas celebrations. We find ourselves becoming more task-oriented than Christ-oriented. We are more concerned with "getting it done" than we are about why we are doing it.

In my quiet times, I have been enjoying once again reading about and reflecting on the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I especially have been focusing on Luke 1:38: "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." 

When the angel of the Lord appeared to this young, poor, teenage girl and gave her the astounding news that she, a virgin, was going to conceive and give birth to a child who would be God's Son and the Savior of the world, I think that Mary's response was equally astounding. After her question in verse 34 of how this would be, which was a question of normal curiosity since she wasn't married, she doesn't ask any other questions! She doesn't ask how this was going to work with her relationship to Joseph or her parents. She doesn't ask how she would raise this child, or what it would mean to her future. She doesn't ask why she was chosen.

Instead, she says "yes" to the Lord. Not only does she say "yes," but she refers to herself as the "handmaid of the Lord."  In Bible times, the handmaid was the lowest of the female servants. Psalm 123:2 also mentions the handmaid. It is interesting because of what a handmaid did - she was given that name because she would sit quietly and wait for her master or mistress to give her orders by a slight motion of the hands. She had to be very attentive in order not to miss it. She would quickly and completely obey the orders of her master. How significant is was that Mary referred to herself to that "handmaiden of the Lord." She knew exactly what it meant and she was wiling to obey.

The angel of the Lord told Mary that she was "favored." We usually think of that as being a good thing. When Mary said "yes" to the Lord, she had no idea of the trials that awaited her. She had to endure the ridicule and gossip of being an unwed mother. She had to face the possibility of being left by her fiancee and disowned by her family. She would endure a treacherous trip to Bethlehem at the end of her pregnancy, and giving birth away from home in a dirty stable. She would have to flee to a foreign country with Joseph to protect Jesus. Most of all, she would have to suffer watching her Son suffer misunderstanding and hatred, and die a cruel death on a cross.

None of these things were what Mary had in mind when she said"yes" to God's will for her life. Like Mary, when we say "yes" to the Lord, we expect things to be different. We expect joy and blessings and ease - after all, we are submitting ourselves to the Lord. Instead, the reality is often very different than the expectations. This Christmas, in the middle of the busyness, I am contemplating what it means to have the heart of a handmaiden - and praying that I might be more like that.

Wishing you a joyous, and Christ-centered, Christmas!
Kathi

1 Cor. 13 for Christmas

Wow, December is moving quickly - as it always does. I mentioned in my last post that I would tell you about our Ladies Creating Christmas event that we had at church this last Saturday. This was something new for us this year - in fact, I dreamed up the idea and because of that and since it was so different from what we normally do (a sit-down meal with themed decorations and a speaker), I was not sure how it would go. I am happy to report that it was a great success!

Creating Christmas was a hands-on, informal, fun afternoon of learning and making crafts and decorations while enjoying refreshments, fellowship, and a devotional. We had four craft stations, and made some really nice things: sock snowmen, curled paper-filled glass ornaments, a lovely nativity scene Christmas card, and scented foaming hand soap. We also had a cookie exchange and a take-home sheet with ideas for decorating and quick gifts, and recipes for gifts from your kitchen.  All of us had so much fun and I am already getting requests to do it again next year.

The idea behind Creating Christmas is to be able to gather ideas that we as wives, moms, and grandmas can use in celebrating Christmas with our families - the coming of Jesus as a baby into this world for the purpose of dying for our sins. As Christians, we should celebrate, because without the birth of Jesus, we would have no hope! I love the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Luke 2:19. We are told that "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." That has the idea that she treasured the events and memories surrounding the birth of her Son. We should do the same. When we celebrate with gifts, baking, and decorations, we are showing that we treasure the birth of Christ.

That being said, we have to be careful to keep a balance. We are not really celebrating the birth of Jesus if our celebrations and busyness mean other things in our lives are out of place. Consider this reading of 1st Corinthians 13, the love chapter, in the context of Christmas. I have had this in my files for many years, so I am sorry that I do not know who the author is.

"If I decorate my house perfectly with bows, strands of shiny balls and twinkling lights,
but do not show love to my family,
I am just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table,
but do not show love to others,
I am just another cook.

If I volunteer in the soup kitchen or sing carols at the nursing home, and give extra to charity,
but do not have love for my Lord,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the tree with shimmering angels and hand-made snowflakes,
and attend a myriad of Christmas events and sing in the church choir,
but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops baking to hug the child, sets aside the decorating to kiss one's spouse.
Love is kind, although tired and hurried.
Love doesn't envy another's house that has more decorations and coordinated china and linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful that they are there to be in the way.
Love doesn't give to only those who can give in return,
but rejoices in giving to those who cannot.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.

Toys will break, necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust.
But the gift of love remains forever.
Faith, hope, and love abide, these three,
But the greatest of these is love."

Wishing you a balanced celebration of Christmas,
Kathi

A Peek Inside my Window

Here we are, post-Thanksgiving and into the month of December. Is it me, or does it seem like Christmas comes faster every year? Since I was away last week, I thought for today's blog post I would first give you a little peek into where I have been and what I have been up to the past couple of weeks. I will end the post with some thoughts to ponder, as usual.

Where I Went
We were so excited to be able to spend Thanksgiving with our youngest son and his family this year. They live in Florida and are the parents of our adorable 2 year old granddaughter and expecting our eighth grandchild (a boy!) in a couple of months. We were there for 5 days and enjoyed time at the park, celebrating Thanksgiving, a day the Tampa zoo, shopping, eating pie and playing games, and other fun things! Being with them was especially meaningful because we got to be present at our son's deacon ordination service, which my husband preached the message for and participated in.

 What I Baked
For Thanksgiving, I am the designated pie-baker. I usually make far too many pies for the number of people present, but hey, I have to include everyone's favorites! And we get to enjoy slices of pie with coffee in the evening which enhances our game-playing times. I made the traditional pumpkin and apple pies, and another one our family's favorites is a decadent pie which my granddaughter dubbed "Cookie Pie." The real name is Toll House pie, and it is also very similar to Derby Pie. In the picture here, it is the pie in the lower right.

Toll House Pie
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 9 inch pie crust, unbaked

Preheat oven to 325. With mixer, beat eggs until foamy. Beat in sugars and flour until well-blended. Blend in softened butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Pour into pie crust. Bake 50-60 minutes and serve with whipped cream.

What I Decorated
This year we decorated our house for Christmas a week earlier than usual. Decorating for Christmas is a major undertaking at our house because we have 9 large storage containers of decorations, and because I like to decorate the whole house! We decorated a week early because when we looked at our calendar, after coming home from Thanksgiving we had NO free weekends until Christmas, and very few free days at all. This year I have something new - my husband made me a rustic-looking ladder to display my lighted village pieces and my Old-World Santa collection. I saw it on Pinterest and he said "I could make that!" And he did! I love it!

What Else I Did
As if decorating for Christmas, a trip, catching up both at home and in ministry after a trip, and working on upcoming activities (including this weekend's Ladies Creating Christmas event, which I will post about at a later date) wasn't enough, I squeezed in something special: I was invited to a lunch with Mrs. Heidi Cruz, the wife of Presidential candidate Ted Cruz. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with her, and I found her to be not only a lovely Christian lady, but also very gracious and down to earth!

What Made Me Smile
My favorite picture of the past two weeks:

What Made Me Sad 
In the midst of all the family time, the Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations and celebrating, and the blessings, there are two things which make me sad. The first is the unprecedented turmoil in our country. More shootings, more violence and danger, and more hostility toward God and Christianity mean that my grandchildren are growing up in a very broken world. It makes me sad that they will never know the kind of world I grew up in or raised our children in. Truly, Psalm 31:24 is a verse that encourages us as Christians: "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." The key, I think, is the end: "...in the Lord." We all hope in something - or someone. Our hope must not be misplaced - it has to be in the Lord.

The other thing that makes me sad is related to the first, and that is the apathy of Christians today. It is no accident that part of the reason our world is so broken today is because of the careless attitude of Christians - not toward events in the world, but toward spiritual things. I remember after 9-11 the turning of people to God and an increased interest in church and walking with God. Not so today. Even in the midst of all that is going on in the world, church attendance and involvement is declining. I hear over and over again "I'm just too busy." Other things are deemed more important that serving the Lord and working for Him. We are reminded how we are to respond in uncertain times in Ephesians 5:15-16: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." When we are living in the midst of evil times - and we certainly are - we are to be wise and make the most of the time that God graciously allows us. That is what will make the difference in our personal and family lives, and in turn, our country.

Lovingly,
Kathi