by Kimberly | Aug 7, 2013 | life together, marriage, Uncategorized
Eating, and hospitality in general, is a communion, and any meal worth attending by yourself is improved by the multiples of those with whom it is shared.
Jesse Browner
Marriage includes many joys!
One of the highlights of marriage and ministry for my husband is the idea and general enthusiasm I have for hospitality. He is a very hospitable person – but how “odd” is it for a family from your church to come to lunch at the home of a bachelor? Even one who keeps his home immaculately and can cook a great meal. E was grateful for marriage for many reasons but one of them was his increased opportunity to practice hospitality. I’m all for it.
Most anytime I mention an idea I have to practice hospitality, my husband gives me the thumbs up. Here are some that we’ve had the joy to do in our home, yes, with an infant, yes, moving to a new town.
1. Write the Word parties: where a group of women come over one night every other month to talk about the word and write out or journal a specific book of the Bible. All I need is chairs and maybe extra pens. What is optional: coffee, tea, water, evening goodies. My husband hangs out with the little mister so I can focus on talking with the women who come over.
2. Worship Ministry Birthday Parties: My husband is a worship pastor and loves pastoring those in the choir and orchestra. And I am not a part of his choir, but I do want to be involved in his ministry. So, each month we pick a night to have the birthday people for that month (and their immediate families) over for a dessert time. I love to bake – sometimes I get to be creative, sometimes I don’t. But each month it has been a joy to get to know families – no matter how many birthday people can make it that month.
3. Men’s Discipleship Groups: Every other week my husband would meet with a group of men from the church to discuscuss a book on church ministry and leadership. I loved exploring some new breakfasts with this group, but I have to admit this one was the hardest because I experienced first trimester through this one. Early mornings were rough, but the men were gracious as was my husband. They survived some weeks on bagels or store bought muffins. And with this one, much of it could be prepared the night before and ready for Eric to welcome them in the morning.
4. Hang Out times: This one I’m sure many of you do anyway. I love being able to have women in our home during the day while E is at work. Baby can be sleeping, or other babies can come along and join in on the fun. Especially helpful if you just have something to drink on hand – but that is not necessary either. Fellowship in your home doesn’t require anything but an open door and a welcome smile.
5. Sunday Lunches: Our Sundays are long days as you can imagine, but the crockpot comes in handy for this one! Or you can always pick up a pizza on the way home! Pick a different single, couple, or family. This one with my family where it is right now is easy – because right when we get home little mister goes to bed, so he sleeps through almost anything. The afternoon is cozy and good for conversation. We don’t do this one a lot because of the hecticness of Sundays, but it is fun when it happens.
6. Porch Nights: This one is about to start. We have many single ladies in our church and I love ministering to them, discipling them, and getting to know them. We have a great porch with plenty of room. So, we are having a quarterly theme for the single ladies to get together and hang out – no agenda necessary. We are doing appetizers in August.
This post was meant to be a help to you – to know that you don’t have to have a big house, lots of money, a love for cooking, or home decorating to practice hospitality. I love opening our home to others. And God gives us the command to be hospitable to others! Have fun fulfilling this command!
by Kimberly | Jun 19, 2013 | Women
Take a look around your church next time you are there? What do you see? Hopefully, if you are in a typical (and healthy church IMHO) you will see women of all ages: you’ll see women with blond hair that includes a pink streak. You’ll see women who are tired and weary from life walking with a cane but with a big smile on their faces from years of traveling with joy with The Lord. You’ll see women who are tired from being up all night wondering if their teenage son or daughter is going to make it in by curfew. You’ll see some with spit up on their shirts because of the babies they are caring for. Women in our churches come from every walk of life and are from every generation.
I’m writing this post from the voice of a women’s ministries director or someone thinking in terms of conferences for a whole church of women. If I were writing this from a personal note as an individual then I would say bring it (and I so want to go) – because it would be a blast of a girl’s weekend with some of my best buddies. But, as far as the church ministry goes – older women in the church are vital for ministry and mentoring!
There have been many women’s conferences I’ve attended over the years, some I’ve spoken at. One of the needed concepts in planning these conferences is planning for something that appeal to all women. One aspect that I appreciate about the TGC Women’s Conference that happened in 2012 (and will happen again in 2014) is the wide range of ages who attended. I loved snapping photos of moms rocking their babies to sleep and gray-haired ladies taking notes in a worn Bible.
What about this trend of appealing to only a set age-range? Is there value in that? YES! But, is it IDEAL – No.
Value: Some of these women are going to be going through the same things as you are. Most of them will be instagramming and tweeting and have a ton of hair products and wear the latest style – and really cool bags and shoes – and plenty of iPhones and iPads. Most will have to find babysitters for older children. Some will probably locate the coolest coffee shop near the conference. Most will have families, young families at that, even the speakers – I would love to know how the speakers handle young children and a thriving ministry (because that is honestly where I would love to be). Also, the topics of interest most women will want to know/learn about will be similar. You can have a variety of breakout sessions and it might even be hard to choose which one to go! Happy problems!
NOT Ideal: If you are planning on bringing a group of women from your church – you can only bring one set. This may be a good getaway for a small group of friends from you church, talk about ministry and how it can work better or get a fresh new perspective, but you couldn’t bring your whole team (in most churches). The women’s ministry team at my church couldn’t all go because some of them are older. And I love the conversations that might happen with older women seeing their wisdom in life that has come from years of doing ministry and family.
Titus 2 does talk a lot about teaching the younger women about how love their husbands and be keepers of the home and knowing how to LOVE the Word (not mis-aligning the Word of God). And as I get older I realize I tend to look for people my same age (give or take ten years) but for those who are at different spaces in life (older kids, more years married, single, etc). I think I would actually LOVE to go to a generational conference because I love coffee, ipads, cute clothes (much easier when I’m not pregnant), and relevant messages. And if I were thinking of it as a getaway with friends from around the country that would be perfect – late night chats, makeup everywhere, interesting conversations over great food/desserts, and phone calls to check up on our kids. But, if I were to plan a conference for the women of my church to attend, I think I would opt for a multi-generational one.
I would not make this a determining factor for attending a conference – just one factor to include when planning!
by Kimberly | Jun 13, 2013
“everything important happens around the table”
I used to have a food blog. I still love to cook, but I don’t do a lot of recipe blogging. But, here you will find some recipes that I’ve put out there in the world in the last 20 years. You never know, I might add more.
Here is an index to the recipes of mine across internet land: (my fave ones are bolded)
Appetizers
Spicy Maple Pecans
Hummus Bi Tahini
Hot Cheesy Corn Dip
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
White Bean Dip
Black Bean Salsa
Simple Hummus
Stuffed Mushrooms
Bars & Brownies
Easy Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar
Strawberry Oat Bars
Chocolate Chip and Peanut Blondies
Four Chocolate Brownies
Chewy Peanut Butter Bars
Cranberry Shortbread Bars
Turtle Brownies
Campfire Smore Brownies
Peanut Butter Blondies
Oatmeal Carmelitas
Black and White Brownies
Double Decker Brownies
Peanut Butter Brownies
Almond Cheesecake Bars
Brownie’s Brownies
Blondies
Wintermint Brownies
Pumpkin Butter Bars
Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars
Peanut Butter Brownies
Lemon Bars
Maple Coconut Blondies
Bread
Southern Cornbread
Greek Crescent Rolls
Cranberry Pecan Cornbread
Anadama Bread
Chocolate Banana Bread
Homemade Bagels
Black Pepper Buttermilk Biscuits
Raisin Nut Scones
Gruyere Chive Popovers
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
Semi-Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Rolls
Basic Pizza Dough
Whole Grain Bread
Five Grain Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Dark Chocolate Banana Bread
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Breakfast
Baked Grits
Lumberjack Hash
Tomato Basil Toad-in-the-Hole
Apple Barley Breakfast Cereal
Baked Christmas Oatmeal
Orange Cranberry Coconut Granola
Maple Pancakes
Spiced Banana Pancakes
Apple Cider Couscous
Vanilla Cinnamon Pancakes
Butternut Squash Waffles
Fall Baked Oatmeal
Fall Granola
Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles
Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins
Multi-Grain Waffles
Granola Bars
Lighter Hash Brown Casserole
Peanut Butter Granola
Vanilla Walnut Granola
Cinnamon Crescent Rolls
Egg Cuties
Cinnamon Raisin French Toast
Fosters Granola
Fall Baked Oatmeal
Blueberry Banana Pancakes
Cranberry Orange Oat Pancakes
Healthy Waffles
Banana Walnut Buttermilk Pancakes
Blueberry Oatmeal
Blueberry Sauce for Waffles
Panettone French Toast
Rachael’s Granola
Gingerbread Waffles
Sweet Potato Hash
Homemade Biscotti
Baked Apple Oatmeal
Cream Cheese Danish
Cake
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Orange Carrot Cake
Molasses Maple Ginger Cake
Pumpkin Spice Cake
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Snack Cake
Cinnamon Applesauce Cake
Strawberry Margarhita Cake
Apple Pecan Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Coconut Cake
Spice Cake with Orange Rum Glaze
Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Cake
Pumpkin Caramel Pound Cake
Apple Scone Cake
Brown Sugar Pound Cake
Confections
Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows
Oreo Truffles
Peanut Butter Fudge
Candy Cane Fudge
Dark Mint Truffles
Buckeyes
Peanut Butter Truffles
COOKIES
Lemon Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Double Chocolate Ghirardelli Cookies
Orange Molasses Cookies
Chocolate Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread
Cornflake Wreaths
Biscotti
Oatmeal No Bakes
Pumpkin Pecan White Chocolate Cookies
Fall Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Miss White’s Molasses Cookies
Molasses Cookies
Fluffy Ginger Cookies
Toffee Snickerdoodles
Peanut Butter Cookies
Melting Moments
Triple Strawberry Cookies
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Best of Fall Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Carrot Cookies
Jumbo Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
Santa Cookies
Almond Sugar Cookies
Sunshine Mini Cupcakes
Orange Ricotta Cupcakes
Coconut Cream Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
Peep Smores
Creamy Toffee Dip
Apple Berry Cobbler with Cinnamon Biscuits
Sweet Potato and Apple Bake
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Easy Creamy Banana Pudding
Fruit Compote with Ginger Cookies
Cranberry and Pear Crisp
Caramel Apple Pecan Crisp
Brownie Peanut Butter Cream Trifle
Pumpkin Trifle
Peach Cobbler
Peaches and Cream Amaretto
Brownie Pizza
Strawberry Pizza
Baked Pears with Granola
Easy Cobbler (Apple or Peach)
Snickerdoodle Trifles
Rice Pudding
Pineapple Coconut Tart
Chocolate Pastries
Butterscotch Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle
Harvest Pear Crisp
Cappachino Mocha Punch
Main Dishes
Triple B Macaroni & Cheese
Mexican Lasagna
Majudra
Easy Shepherd’s Pie
Lemon and Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
Chickpea Burgers
Chicken Pineapple Salad
Sweet Potato Chicken Curry
Chicken Pot Pie
Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Egg
Turkey Enchiladas
Spinach Casserole
Mexibean Bake
Vegetable Curry
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Simple Potato Gnocchi
Turkey Fajita Rolls
Chicken and Dumplings
Oma’s Meatballs
Soup
Pesto Tortellini Soup
Creamy Roasted Jalapeno Soup
by Kimberly | Apr 4, 2013 | marriage, Uncategorized
How would you answer that question? Obviously, the conservative Kraft company (and hundreds of other companies that have products to sell: from coffee, to burgers, to car washes, deodorant, etc) think it does.
A new ad about the “Zesty” undressing dude making a salad gets “naked” to viewers to tell them to buy salad dressing. Really? This is supposed to make me want to run out and buy salad dressing?
Last night in a Colossians study at church, one of our elder’s wives taught on the sensuality of sin that we crave, and so many targets right now is in a thing called “mommy porn”. I’ve written on 50 Shades of Gray, which is pretty much porn for women and other things on this blog before, but here we go again. I wouldn’t have even known about the ad for Kraft lest I had been on facebook and several of my Christian friends had liked the ad. Seriously?
Mommy porn, like this Kraft commercial, is targeted toward women who are at home with the television on or are on social media during the day. ABC News even ran a segment on it this morning. They think that if marketers can hit that spot in a woman’s brain (or hormones) that “turn them on” and help them to feel sexy, then they can sell their product. They must think that it works (and for most women it probably does).
Does it seem to work for Christian women? Do we allow ourselves to be blinded by targets of Satan (yes, that is what this is) by buying their products. There are many products I’ve quit buying because of the premise that sex sells. I’m disgusted by these commercials. I went to ABC news to see the segment and turned this Zesty commercial off when he got to the “Beautiful pepper” part. Who writes these things?
Anyway…
1. Fill our minds. You can’t separate yourself or your family completely from culture. If you go anywhere these days you are bombarded with sex. But, what do we saturate our minds with? Is it the Word of God, wholesome books, images, good family value things? Or is it sex and porn by either what we read or watch?
2. Protect the marriage bed. I’ve been thinking a lot of this recently. Some women, even Christian women I know, tend to think that porn will help spice up a dull marriage. That is a lie from Satan too. If you have to use other means of either viewing or reading to spice up your marriage, that is nor protecting the marriage bed. That is going outside the boundaries that God set up for a marriage designed His way.
3. Honor Christ. In Colossians, Paul tells us to walk worthy of the calling that is on our lives. If we profess Christ, then we are to walk worthy of Him. Do we?
Or do we give in to a culture that uses sex, and uses it well evidently, to sell you salad dressings and cheese?
by Kimberly | Mar 26, 2013 | Bible, Books
I have a love-hate relationship with certain books.
The one relationship I have now is with Dave Harvey’s Rescuing Ambition. It is a very heart-check book but one that is difficult to handle when he writes things that the Spirit is convicting you of and wanting to eradicate in your life.
“We love glory. We were created to look for is and to love it when we find it. We’re pursuers – we go after things we value. What is it for you?” (Pg 21, 19)
If I say I’m a believer, and live my life for the glory of God…then why do I write? Do I honestly want to write this blog, write books, teach Bible studies for my glory or for the glory of God?
That is what I’ve been wrestling with this month. I want readership. I want to write a book and not have it just sit on a shelf and be a coaster on someone’s coffee table. I want it to change someone’s life. Why? So that God can get more glory than me – that His name can be made much of – or if I was honest would I say that I want people to know my name and my blog and think what I do is great and meaningful?
I do love to write. This has been a hard month, but one of more time to just be (or play Candy Crush) or to play with our son. My Sweet Mister doesn’t want me to give up writing. He encourages my writing. That is encouraging to me. I want to do what I do with a right heart toward the God who gave me the gift of writing and speaking in the first place. Not for notoriety or fame or publication or for thousands of hits. I need to keep this on the forefront of my mind daily as I start back to writing again.
So, for the three of you that read this blog, thank you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. Be glory-seekers, too!