Food-Faith-Family-Fellowship (4F)

Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow!

She said:

Again this year our church is having what is called "Food-Faith-Family-Fellowship" (4F) nights each Wednesday evening. Our frigid snowy weather is wreaking havoc with our plans. Two weeks ago it was very iffy with schools closed and other activities canceled due to the weather. The meeting was still on, but we chose not to go because of the weather. Then this past week we actually canceled the evening due again to snow.

Every Wednesday for six weeks we have a fellowship meal and offer meetings/classes. This year our choices were:

The conscience consumer, learning how to be more aware of our buying and it's effect on the world.

Pick up your pen and write, in depth Bible study using writing as a tool.

Prayer, Praise & Ministry, just like is says; an informal time of prayer, praise, singing and ministry by sharing scripture.

Serving at local mission outreach, involves cutting fabric and busy work to help with overseas mission donations.

Inter-generational Interaction, a time of games and fun, by families or individuals.

I am staying with the Prayer, Praise & Ministry group as it is an extension of the meeting that began as a result from our transparency meetings. This time is precious with intercessory prayer, singing and praising. It reminds me of the old fashioned prayer meetings from my growing up years.

Hubby is not sure where he fits in. He came with me last week to our meeting but doesn't think that's for him. He's still not sure what he wants to do.

Our youths had planned a pinewood derby race for last week. (All other classes/meetings won't meet that night) But since this was canceled due to weather, we probably will try again this week.

International Low Fat Meatless Cabbage Rolls Recipe

Still yearning for spring!

She said:

Here is a recipe I put together myself that turned out so well that I thought I should share it with you. I call it International Low Fat Meatless Cabbage Rolls.

From Mexico: 1 can fat free or about 2 cups of re-fried beans
(You can make your own fat free re fried beans in a crock pot.)
From China: 1 packet microwavable brown rice
From Ireland: cabbage leaves from one cabbage (about 8-10)
From Spain: 1/2 cup salsa (we use mild)
From Italy: 1 cup spaghetti sauce

Steam cabbage leaves in boiling water for about 3 minutes. When cooled cut out any thick part of the leaves. Cook re-fried beans from the can in microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes. (If you want to make your own re-fried beans just put 1 cup of dried pinto beans, 1/2 chopped onion and enough water to cover the beans plus one cup in crock pot on low all day until soft. Check and stir occasionally and add more water if necessary. Then add your favorite taco seasoning packet after mashing up the beans.) Cook brown rice according to packet instructions. Combine the brown rice and re-fried beans. Place about 1/2 cup of this mixture in each cabbage leaf and roll it up neatly. Place these in an oven safe dish. Mix the salsa and spaghetti sauce together and pour over the top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

What a bargain! & Job all done

(I set a tea cup beside so you get a feel for the size)

She said:

A while ago (as in possible two summers ago) we picked up a real bargain at a church rummage sale. A drapery store had donated large roles of fabric to the church for their sale. Each role cost only $6. We picked out a nice neutral earth tone. Now I am making curtain/drapes for our home and the office. My sewing machine has a nifty feature that allows machine hemming. This is coming in quite handy for the job. So far I have just two windows done here. The role of fabric looks like we haven't used any yet! Hard telling how many yards are on this role. I have tested the fabric for wash ability and it passed.

What I do is sew awhile and then read awhile, then clean awhile, then cook awhile, and then begin the process all over. Eventually I hope to get this job done, just as I finally finished the quilting on the miniature quilt pictured above. It, along with it's full sized version and another wall hanging, are on their way to PA for the spring fundraiser for the school where our grandchildren attend.

A Can of Peas by Traci DePree

She said:

Hoorah!! Have found another great Christian writer.

This is a story of a young couple who make the decision to give up a life in the fast lane for the chance to save the family farm.

The story is full of humor and is very heartwarming. I love the writing style of introducing one of the small town characters occasionally before a chapter begins. This is done by giving a background story on the person. What a delight to discover another author that uses their writing talent to inspire us.

Traci Depree is the editor behind many of today's award-winning and best-selling Christian novels. Her work is a joy. She has added two sequels to this premier novel.

What I learned in high school

Already longing for the first signs of spring!

She said:

First let me say that we have a phenomenon at our house that is probably true in most homes. Occasionally we either have a kitchen container without a lid, or a lid that doesn't fit any of our containers. I am speaking mostly about those containers that we use for leftovers.

Now here is where what I learned in high school comes in.

Since I had a glass container without a lid but I still wanted to use it and store it for a few hours in the refrigerator, I placed another glass container (this one had it's lid) right on top as a substitute lid. It sort of sank a little into the under container.

What I learned in high school in physics class is that things expand when warm and contract when cold. This was important in this case because the glass container that was being used as a substitute lid was still warm. So what I learned in high school finally had a practical use. I knew that if I placed this warm glass container on top of a cold glass contain I would not need to worry about it getting stuck because if anything it would contract as it cooled.

Now the sad thing is that this is the first time I can recall using something that I learned in my high school physics class in a practical way.

A Slice of Pineapple by Mary Louise Uchida

She said:

This little gem of a book is a great read. It has unique humor and is even "laugh out loud" funny at times.

The book is small enough to fit in your purse, so you could take it along on your next doctor visit. It is very easy reading and you could probably finish most of it while you are waiting. That is, if you don't mind the stares when you guffaw at some of the funny stuff.

The author shares her insight into life's little mysteries. And she shares her life in a very entertaining and inspirational way.

We both highly recommend this one. It would make a very nice gift. This can be purchased from Masthof Bookstore & Press at www.masthof.com for $7.95, a real bargain.

She said: Resolution Discovery

It is amazing to me the number of times things have come up in the past week that are directly related to my new year's resolution.

Here is just one example: We recently went to one of our favorite restaurants to have a nice pleasant dinner. In the next booth, just behind me, there sat someone who was kicking the booth so hard that it could be heard by hubby. Now this is one of my pet peeves, so my first reaction was less than full of grace and dignity. My thought was to get up and confront the person, or at least ask the waiter for another booth. (That would not have worked because the restaurant was full.) Thankfully my resolution came to mind before any action was taken. So we talked about how to handle this situation with grace and dignity. We also talked about what was with the person doing the kicking. The person happened to get up to use the restroom, so hubby got a look. His impression was that it was just a kid. But when the person came back I noticed that it was a small fully grown woman. For whatever reason the kicking ceased and we could finish our delicious meal in peace.

After this experience, as well as a few others, I have discovered some things about incorporating grace and dignity into one's life. First, kindness and grace go together. In other words, to show grace one must be kind. If you are unkind in any way you cannot show grace. Second, it is very difficult to be angry and have dignity. The first thing to go when you loose your temper is your dignity, if you let it.

There have been other examples where my resolution to have more grace and dignity for the new year has been challenged this week. But the restaurant example is the most obvious one.
And it was an eye-opener to realize in order to have grace and dignity, kindness and controlling anger is a must.

New Year with he said

He said,

A new year is here. It is hard to believe how fast 2008 went by. Over the last number of years I have been using for my daily readings a Bible designed to be read through in one year. Many times I would skip some of the old Testament passages that were so difficult to follow or shall I dare say boring. Several times I did manage to read the complete Bible.

However, sometime in December I felt the Lord leading me to do something different after I found a book by Tim LaHaye titled "How To Study The Bible For Yourself." After reading parts of the book, I felt this was the way to approach my devotional time with God this year.

One thing that will be new for me is to write something down after each reading. His overall plan is to read some books of the Bible multiple times. Ultimately the complete Bible will be read after 3 years. The book of First John is the one that gets read the most often.

Hopefully he, the author of this blog, can share some insights and thoughts along the way in the future.

New Year with "He said" and "She said"

To begin this new year we have decided to start specifying who is the author of each blog entry. When she is writing the blog entry will be prefaced with "She said" and when he is writing the blog entry will be prefaced with "He said"


"She said"

For my new year resolution I have decided to try to improve the person that I am. Something came to me the other day. I started thinking about what kind of person I am. There are two attributes to my person that I would like to enhance. I would like to add grace and dignity to my personality. Whenever someone thinks of me, I would like them to think of these two wonderful qualities. Right this minute these are in short supply for me I feel. Sometimes I am not very graceful...in the social sense. And sometimes I don't act very dignified, especially toward my family and friends. So I can see where improvement on these fronts is very much needed.

I think of things that concern me and how easily I obsess about them. This certainly shows no grace or dignity. I need to learn to take life as it comes and make the best of it more. And stop obsessing when things aren't going my way. I need to remember who is really in control.

Sometimes my immaturity shows. I am very competitive and this sometimes is evident, especially when playing games and such. This certainly is not showing grace and dignity. I need to rejoice is someone else when they triumph not only when I win. That is a characteristic of grace. And that shows dignity as well.

Another time when these attributes are in short supply is when I am angry. I find that I often go directly to anger when I am hurt. And when that happens the first casualties are my grace and dignity. What a tragedy! For those are the times when these features are really needed the most.

So this year my resolution is to cultivate grace and dignity. Occasionally I may report back as to how I am doing. I may even report my failings...just to motivate me to improve.