Thoughtful

 

My friend Sharon was at my house this week-end. I had my table set with my Christmas dishes.  She told me she has the same dishes. She also buys a dated plate every year. A fun thing about her doing this is at their Christmas dinner each family member uses the plate with the year they were born. Tonight Sharon came over again and this time had a beautiful gift bag which she gave me.  Inside was a beautiful dated Christmas plate.  It didn't have just any date, but the year that our daughter, Amy, went home to the Lord!

 

The plate is so pretty and so meaningful to us...

a very special gift from a thoughtful, sweet friend!

 

 

 

A gift from a friend

I received my first Christmas present today! UPS delivered lots of boxes and I thought they were all gifts I had ordered for others. One return address didn't look familiar and I didn't remember ordering from this company. The reason was... a friend sent me a Christmas gift! This friend is a gift to me all year long! I will always think of her when I use this pretty mug.

Thank you Jenny....

I love my new mug!

 

A day in the life of our church

I used to think you had to be special for God to use you, but now I know you simply need to say yes.                                 ~Bob Goff   

CityLife Church serving an apartment near us

 setting up

"Spider man" captured my heart

repaired and painted court where kids can now play soccer

fun balloons given to all the kids

lunch prepared by men willing to cook in over 100 degree heat

willing to take time for others

raffle prizes for adults

and for kids too!

willing servants cleaning a lady's apartment

an awesome water slide

It was fun walking around capturing the day in pictures and talking to people that lived in the apartments.  I am so glad for this day and the smiles I saw. I am glad that as a church and as individuals we said yes, to God!

 

       

She worked really hard for this...

Colette has been trying really hard to not suck her thumb.  Her reward was to be an American Girl doll.  She was so excited the day she told me she had stopped and would be getting the doll.  Her mom surprised her yesterday!

A good book is worth reading and giving...

Yesterday you would have found me at Starbucks in a comfy chair, with a vanilla latte, and reading this book. 

A few quotes from the book:

"We are God's chosen ones, even when our world does not choose us."

"To give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can offer."

"From all eternity, long before you were born and became a part of history, you existed in God's heart."

As I was reading this book I kept thinking of a friend that I thought would like it.  I am giving her a copy...and a hug... this morning at church!

What book are you reading? Have you been thinking of a friend that might enjoy a copy?  I bet she would!

We give and God blesses...

The title of the chapter we were on Tuesday in the book What Happens When Women That Say Yes to God was

Giving Up What Was Never Ours...We are managers, not owners, of God's resources

Two significant things happened in class:

One, a lady shared that although she loves blessing others she has never been blessed in a tangible way.

The second thing was that a lady asked for prayer for their finances.  She had to leave class early so she told me the request before leaving. As we were going to prayer another lady in our group felt that we were to help supply the financial need. How fun to reach into our purses and give to this precious lady. A card would be purchased and we would give her the card with the money in it the following week.

Eight of us went to lunch after the study. As we were preparing to pay our bill the waitress told us a man in the restaurant paid for our lunch. He paid the bill for ALL of us! We could not believe it...it was our lesson.  It was saying yes to God.  It was receiving a blessing when we give what is not ours.  We began to reach into our purses to bless the waitress.  As we left that day I looked at the pile of money laying there on the table and wished I could see her eyes when she came to clear the table. I could hardly wait to share this story. I wonder if the waitress is telling someone this story?  And the man that paid our bill must be filled with joy for blessing us. I have a card with a large sum of money ready to give to the lady with a financial need and can hardly wait to see her smile. 

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.

1 John 3:18-19



I am keeping my eyes and my heart open for opportunities God places in front of me to give, to bless another and to say YES to God! 

Great is thy faithfulness

www.papercraftmemories.com

Is it easy for you to accept changes?  It is not always easy for me.  There have been changes with our church which are good and I am excited about, but a still they are changes. I woke at 3 Monday morning and could not go back to sleep for over an hour. I thought of how our church was moving in a different direction and changing names. Not everyone is going with us in this change.  I know it is OK and we will still be friends, but I will miss seeing them weekly. I will miss them participating in our small groups. The more I tossed and turned the sadder I became. I felt alone and unloved. I prayed and poured out my heart to the Lord about how I was feeling! I finally fell asleep. Ever been there? When I woke that morning I felt drained, sad and had a headache.

At ten o'clock I received an email from a friend in Minnesota:

Just wanted you to know how you have been on my heart. I love you.

Yes, I cried. I knew that the Lord had put me on her heart! I wrote her back and as soon as she received my email she called me.  My heart felt lighter the more we talked. I felt loved...by God and by her.

Last night I received another email.  This one was from a friend that lives near me:

I love you so much and miss you…do you know that? It is true, I do!!! Also, I want you to know that I think about you and pray for you often. I know that there are so many changes going on with the church and I just think about your heart and how you are dealing with longtime friends leaving. I can imagine that it is hard for you to see all the changes. I know it would be hard on me. I was thanking the Lord just the other day that I didn’t have to go through any of it. Change is hard. I am not looking for any details, I just wanted you to know that I love you and I am praying for you.

 I cried again.  How good of God to speak to two friend's hearts letting them know some of what I had only told Him.  How precious of them to pray for me and then to let me know they care.

Today, I'm not sad, I don't feel alone, and I feel loved.  I will surely have these emotions again and I hope when I do I will remember God's faithfulness to fill my heart with His love and joy. I am so thankful to Him for His lovingkindness and to my friends for hearing God.

Sweet surprise...

A surprise that blessed! 

I cannot eat chocolate...but love anything with white chocolate!

I love this candy bar, but more than that,

I love that a friend thought about me!


A simple act of kindness can bring a smile to a person's heart!
I'm still smiling!



 

Bran Muffins...

I love trying new recipes and often use them over and over. 
I also love having some of my recipes on my computer where I have fast access to them. 
But there is something special about reaching into your recipe box and taking out a recipe that a friend gave you many years ago. Sometimes the recipe is written by me, sometimes by the person that gave it. 
As I picked up the worn recipe card I had happy memories of the friend that gave it to me. I thought of the many times I had made it and how much our family had enjoyed it. This recipe is at least 38 yr. old. It is one I can always count on tasting good. I made the first batch and saved the rest of the batter for other mornings when we would want warm, yummy muffins. 

BRAN MUFFINS

1 C. oil

3 C. sugar

1 qt. buttermilk

5 t. soda

4 beaten eggs

5 C. flour

1 15oz. Post Raisin Bran

Mix cereal, sugar, flour, soda, eggs, oil and buttermilk.  Mix well.  Fill greased muffin tins 1/2 full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min. 

Batter keeps weeks in refrigerator. Don't stir batter again when you fill muffin tins from refrigerated batter.

Long time friends ...

I love when friends visit.  I especially love when long time friends come.  It is like we were never separated and after our welcome hug we begin talking as if we were just continuing a conversation we had the day before. Our friends flew here from Minnesota to attend the Kari Jobe CD Release Worship concert.  They brought their granddaughter Maddy.  She loves Kari's music, is a worship leader herself, and was so excited to come.  Stacy was able to get front row seats for them and meeting Kari was a surprise for Maddie!

If you are not familiar with Kari's worship music you will want to check her out here: Kari Jobe

We had to have lunch at a Mexican restaurant...their favorite food!

Love the days we spent together and can hardly wait for another visit with them!

Night of Wonder

Our church works with a non-profit organization called 6 Stones My husband, Jim, also serves on the board. One of the things they do during the year is work with all 19 elementary schools in the area to have a Christmas Party for the children and their families. This party is called Night of Wonder and is held on each school campus in early December. At the party, each family will receive their gifts and a Christmas dinner to take home. They also have a very special gift created for the children to give to their parent(s) on Christmas morning. During this party a local pastor will tell the real reason for Christmas...Jesus! It is a very meaningful and fun evening.

I want to share Jim's story of one night when he went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things:

"I went to Walmart this past week. They had poinsettias on sale for $3.47. I picked up 3 of those. There was water right inside the store. Within 60 seconds, I was at the quick checkout. The lady said, "Oh, those are beautiful poinsettias. How much where they?" I said, "They're $3.47." She said, "Oh, I love poinsettias, but that's way outside my budget." She paused and a smile spread across her face as she continued, "Last year the strangest thing happened. My two girls were adopted by some organization and we went to this Christmas party they were having. They gave away these poinsettias as raffle prizes and we won 2 of them! We were so blessed last year.

I said, "Do you mind if I ask you, do you know who that was?"
"It was some group of people that call themselves 6 Stones."

We have adopted our family and bought our gifts.  We will be working at Night of Wonder next week. I want to share the love of Jesus and see smiles on the faces of those we are helping.

Fudge Nut Bars

I baked some cookies and bars today. It was fun being in the kitchen listening to Christmas music as I baked. While I was making the Fudge Nut Bars I began to think of the friend that gave me the recipe. I met Janet when we were stationed at Ft. Benning, GA in 1977.  We lived next door to each other and became fast friends. Janet loved to entertain and had a lot of good recipes.  I am glad she shared this one with me. Tomorrow I will share them with the ladies at our Christmas event.

Fudge Nut Bars

1 C. butter

2 C. brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 C. flour

1 t. salt

1 t. soda

3 C. oatmeal

2 t. vanilla

Combine above ingredients.

Spread 3/4  of oatmeal mixture in bottom of 13"x9" pan.

Filling: 

Combine in double boiler

12 oz. package chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 t. butter

1/2 t. salt

Heat and stir until smooth. Add 1 C. nuts and 2 t. vanilla.

Cover oatmeal mixture with the filling.

Dot top with remaining oatmeal mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Don't overbake.

Freezes well!

Nertz

Giving Thanks

Today I give thanks for the game night we are having tonight. Jim is in Honduras and it is fun to have a girls night. A game of Nertz is planned.  I know there will be tons of laughter and fun because it always happens when we girls get together! We'll eat snacks, talk and hopefully I will win a game.. or two!!

Thankful,

Elaine

Giving Thanks!

Today I am giving thanks for my friend Carol's grandchildren. I was invited to attend Grandparents Day at their school.  They go to St. Vincents School. We went to chapel first where both girls sang in the choir. Then we went to the music room where the 4th grade did their presentation. They have been studying artists and each child was to chose one to  write about. Then they chose a picture their artist had painted and they painted one like it. Veronica was Vincent Van Gogh.  She borrowed a jacket from my husband, Jim and a beard from my nephew, Joshua.  She memorized what she wrote about Van Gogh and did a great job!

Her picture was Van Gogh's Starry Night

Giving Thanks...

Elaine

Thankful for this gift

Every time one arrives in the mail I feel encouraged and loved.  What a kind gift of love is given me each week.  It started shortly after our daughter, Amy, went home to the Lord in 1998 and continues to this day! One time I told her she did not have to keep sending them to me and she told me that when the Lord tells her to stop she will.  I am humbled and in awe that someone would do this for me.  So today I give thanks for my faithful friend, Joy, and each beautiful card that she sends me. Each card has been different and I cannot imagine how she never sends duplicates. Words cannot express how much it means to be thought about and prayed for! 

This is today's card!

Giving Thanks,

Elaine

Sisterhood

Today I give thanks for

Sisters in Christ 

My friend Jennifer says so well what my heart feels.

Visit her at Heart to Hear  and see what she has to say about sisterhood and our group that meets together every Tuesday morning!  Wish YOU could join us! 

Giving thanks,

Elaine

Precious pictures

Today I am giving thanks to the Lord for a friend that sent me 4 precious pictures of our sweet Amy.  I had never seen them.  I was overwhelmed when I opened the envelope and saw Amy with her sweet smile!  The pictures were taken around her senior year in High School with her close friend, Robin.  I just love them!  When you have a loved one with the Lord and you see a picture of them you have never seen before it means so much!

Giving Thanks-

Elaine



Dreams do come true...

Giving Thanks

to the Lord

Today I give thanks for this young man...Celestino Velasquez Garcia. He attended Ruach International Christian Academy in Comayagua, Honduras. Upon graduation he was awarded the Amy Elizabeth Pack Memorial Scholarship. He was able to attend a college near us before he attended ORU. We know the Lord has big plans for Celestino and love that his dream of becoming a doctor is coming true!

 From Honduras to Med School

Celestino Velasquez Garcia, originally from Comayagua, Honduras, is a junior at ORU. He is majoring in biomedical chemistry with a pre-medicine concentration and minoring in biology.

When Celestino completes his ORU degree, he said he plans to “go right to medical school. …Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to be a doctor.”


There’s a good reason why Celestino wants to go into medicine. As a child, he suffered from a severe case of asthma. One incident in particular helped convince him to choose medicine for a career.


As an eleven-year-old, Celestino was in a small village in the mountains in the western section of Honduras. “It’s a pretty isolated town,” he said. “It took about three or four hours to get to the nearest city that would have any specialized medical attention. They just had a very, very small clinic.” And that clinic had one doctor who worked short hours—just a few days a week.


Celestino says he did not always have an inhaler to help him with his asthma. “One time my asthma attacks got very severe. They were coming very frequently, and my mom didn’t know what to do. I was hyperventilating, struggling just to breathe.” His mother carried him through the village for hours, calling out and asking people if there was a doctor in town, or if there was anyone who could help her son.


“There were a few important people in the town like a mayor, a university professor, a lot of politicians, some engineers, but none of them could really help me,” Celestino said. “There was only one person in the entire town that could help me, and it was a doctor. So my mom and I went to his apartment.” In desperation, Celestino’s mother knocked on the doctor’s door and yelled for help.


Finally, the doctor answered the door and asked what the problem was. “He tried all kinds of things on me,” Celestino said, and eventually, through “continuous puffs of an inhaler,” the 11-year-old began breathing normally.

Looking back, Celestino said he “was just amazed at how this man had such a vast amount of knowledge that surmounted all these other people in the town. That saved my life. If he wouldn’t have been there—a person with his knowledge—I wouldn’t have survived.” Since that time, it has been his dream and his goal to become a doctor, “to go to people that can’t have access to medical assistance and be able to provide for them.”


Although Celestino says he would like to go back to Honduras eventually, he realizes it’s not so much what he wants to do; “it’s what God wants me to do, I know. This is what God wants me to do right now—go to med school.”

How did Celestino get to ORU? He heard about the Whole Person Scholarship program from a friend. He applied to ORU, took part in a Whole Person Scholarship event—including interviews and essays—and some time later, he received a phone call saying he had received a full award.
“I just hung up after that,” Celestino said. “I didn’t even say bye to the person. I kind of wanted to jump up and down and run all over the place, but I didn’t. I just felt peace. And I knew right then it was the place I wanted to go.”

Celestino says the Whole Person Scholarship has definitely changed his life by helping him afford his dream of receiving a college education and by emphasizing the importance of becoming a whole person in spirit, mind, and body.

This ORU junior sees how the Whole Person Scholarship program teaches that “life isn’t just about academic achievement or achievement in one particular area, but becoming servants of the Lord that care about people and that, for example, in my case, have been taught to have a healthy and disciplined physical lifestyle—watch what I eat, work out.” Equally important: “to have a spiritual time, to be socially adept, and to be responsible in my academics; those are qualities I want to have as a doctor.


“It’s a unique award because it doesn’t just honor achievement, grades, or test scores. It’s about honoring that person’s discipline and commitment to leading a good life.”

French Toast...

Today I give thanks for new recipes! 

My friend, Karin, gave me two french toast recipes.  She brought one to our  Neighborhood breakfast and we all loved it. Because she has two recipes she likes she sent them both to me. 

French Toast Casserole

* Cube (or tear) a loaf of French bread and place in a greased 9x13 pan

* Mix 8 eggs, 3 cups milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl

* Pour over bread and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight

* Pull casserole out of refrigerator 30 min. before baking

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cube 3 Tablespoons of butter and dot the top of casserole

* Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle on top of butter

* Bake for 45-50 min. or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

* Enjoy with warm syrup and powdered sugar!

** I added nuts even though the recipe doesn't call for them.

 

 

 

Overnight French Toast

• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 loaf brioche or challah (French toast can also be sliced 1 1/2 inches thick)
• 8 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• (optional) maple syrup and powdered sugar for topping

Directions

• In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
• Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary.
• Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices.
• Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.
• Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours.
• In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don't dry it out completely.
• Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

 Adapted from www.ezrapoundcake.com

God is comfort...

Give Thanks

Today I am thankful for God's comfort.  This morning I learned of the death of a friend's daughter.  I met this person years ago when we were first married and we have connected again on Facebook. A mutual friend told me about it thinking that I would know how to help because I have experienced the same thing.  I have prayed asking the Lord to comfort this friend and her family with the comfort only He can give.  I know He will because He has comforted me.  Both of us have the Hope of seeing our daughters again one day. Until then we will be comforted by the Lord who is the One that gives us hope, comfort and is with us always!



Elaine