Who do YOU work for?

God got me again.  He got my attention as I was putting on my mascara.  After applying the mascara to one eye, I straightened before starting the next one.  I glanced down at the counter where, lo and behold, the Max Lucado daily devotional was staring at me.  

Even before I'd started the makeup application (doesn't that make it sound like it is a two-hour process, ha! ha!), I'd turned this daily calendar to the current date. Almost out of habit I turned the page but then I missed the whole point...I didn’t stop to read it.

Until the break in my mascara routine.

What I read made me stop in my tracks.  

See, I was getting ready to go to work and this is what was on the page for August 29.  I read:

“Work as if you were serving the Lord, not as if you were serving only men and women”. Ephesians 6:7

“Suppose no one worked to satisfy self or please the bottom line but everyone worked to please God.

Many occupations would instantly cease:  drug trafficking, thievery…casino management….  Certain careers, by their nature, cannot please God.  These would cease.  Certain behaviors would cease as well.  If I’m repairing a car for God, I’m not going to overcharge His children…

Imagine if everyone worked for the audience of One.  Every nurse, thoughtful….  Every salesperson, delightful.  Every teacher, hopeful.  Every lawyer, skillful.  Impossible?  Not entirely.  All we need is someone to start a worldwide revolution.  Might as well be us.”

What do you think of that challenge?  It made me step away from the bathroom counter and gasp.  “Wow,” I whispered out loud.  What a challenge.

That everything…e v e r y t h i n g I do, would be to please God and not my own needs.

Can I say it again….wow!

I’m going to need His help.  I’m going to need the Holy Spirit to reveal where my selfish motives are what drive my actions or words. 

Wow.

Who do WE work for?

Who do YOU work for?

I’m taking on this challenge.  I want to be a part of a worldwide revolution that could change our society and culture because my focus and drive is for God and not for selfish pleasures.

How about you?  I’ll ask it again….

Who do YOU work for?

An amazing thing to ponder on today…

A Corny Saturday Night

How do you spend your Saturday nights?  Last Saturday night I had a date with 60 plus ears of corn and some freezer bags.

The evening started with The Husband and Kidlet Three packing up hockey gear and taking off for a two-hour hockey tryout.  The car was barely out of the driveway and I had the laptop propped up on the table with a Netflix movie starting.  Five bags of fresh-picked corn were on the table waiting to be husked. With that movie going I started husking ear after ear after ear after ear...

It was rather disturbing when the movie came to end and I still wasn't done ripping the husks off the cobs.

Finally I was done and could carry the ears over to the stove.

Into a large pot of boiling water I dropped about 10 ears of corn.  The cover was placed on the pot and the timer set for 9 minutes.  Betty Crocker would call this blanching the corn.

I plucked that corn from the boiling water and plopped each ear into the sink filled with cold water.  It doesn't look like there is water in the sink, but there is. Several trays of ice cubes were added to the water.

Each ear was kept in the cold water for twice the time of blanching...so about 20 minutes.  As these ears were chilled, another pot of corn was being blanched.

When the ears were chilly, I set them on a towel and started cutting the corn off.  I used an electric knife.

Don't those sheared cobs look naked?

The whole process took me several hours.
The date night came to a close when I transferred many bags of fresh corn into the freezer.

An amazing Corny Saturday night!!!

Favorite-Son-In-Law

Our Favorite-Son-In-Law turned 30 over the weekend.

Today we had the honor of celebrating with him.

Let me tell you a little about this man.

He loves our daughter and that is evident.

He protects her and would stand up for her if needed.

He is a Man of God.

A man of integrity.

He has a crazy and wacky sense of humor.

He is going to be one top-notched accountant.

He loves music.

He loves sports.

If he could decorate his house everything would be

from the Miami dolphins.

Happy 30th Birthday FSIL

(Favorite-Son-In-Law)

You are amazing and we love you!!!

The Path Finder

Life is filled with paths.

On the clear path, it is easy to go about daily tasks.

There are no obstacles here.

Clear sailing.

It is on these paths that we forget there are other paths.

Where ruts and overgrowth cloud our vision.

The clear path feels safe and comfortable.

 But then the path may have a sudden turn.

And we don't know what is around the corner.

Our gait slows down and confusion may come knocking.

What happened to the clear path?

Should I go around this bend?

What is going to happen to me...

 But we all must keep walking.

Whatever the path is before us.

Thankfully a reprieve from the twist, turns and unknowns

may appear unexpectedly, as in a clearing along the route.

 From the widening and resting places, we set out

once again on the path.

With vision blocked by branches, we search

for the path we are to walk on.

Is there even a path there?

Do I go straight or do I turn to the right?

Sometimes the path isn't clear.

But we have to make a choice and keep going.

Life paths can get messy.

Sloppy.

Uncomfortable.

Whatever path you are on today, keep walking.

Don't give up.

You never know what clearing is just around the corner.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
Lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge Him
and HE will make your path straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

If you don't know God as the Path Finder, just speak out to Him.  The words I need help finding the path are great words to start with.

If you do know God intentionally but find yourself stumbling along the path these days, He's ready to help you as well.

And if your path is free and clear, whisper a thank you to The Path Finder for this period in your life.  And pray for those that are not on the same clear path.

Praise God, the amazing Path Finder.

New House

My parents have purchased land in The North Country of our state.  A new cabin/house is being built on the land.  We visited this past weekend and I snapped some photos.  Enjoy!

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of our yard work days..and fishing!

Teenagers Can Work..and Fish

Work a little..fish a little...

I Spy...

Tonight as I get ready for bed, I'm thinking back on everything I saw today.  In a way it is like I'm doing a reflective "I Spy" as I go back over where I was and what I did in this amazing day.  Here's the list I came up with:

*Laundry
*Vanilla coffee beans ground fresh for a big pot of coffee
*Four dozen peaches that I froze
*Hummingbirds at the feeder outside my kitchen window
*Toilet scrub brush (is that too much information?)
*Suitcases packed into the car
*A pug dog, in a car, sticking his head out the window with goggles on
*Many round bales of hay
*The bluest sky with clouds that looked suspended (or cut and pasted in place)
*Highway lines
*My father-in-law excited at our visit
*iPod DJ (we took a road trip and I was in charge of the music)
*A dozen of our states 10,000 lakes
*Road kill too numerous to list
*A deer statue bigger than a semi
*Families or friends gathered at a park
*A horse show at a fairgrounds
*Bugs splat against the windshield
*Sweet corn for sale
*Rain so hard I could hardly see to drive
*The Husband trying to remember the words to "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road"
*My dad and mom
*Pine-tree lined roads
*Sun, then clouds with rain and one mile later, the sun
*Kidlet Three making his grandparents smile
*Potato salad (thanks Mom)
*Great blood sugar numbers for Kidlet Three
*This bed I'm sitting in.  At my parents house.  Everyone is sleeping.  The windows are open and believe it or not, a loon is singing across the lake.

I Spy tremendous blessings in my day.  Some really random blessings (yes, we did see a dog with goggles on leaning out the driver's window of a car) and some Routine-Things-In-Life that we forget to see..like the blue of the sky or the bales of hay in a field.  There is a lot going on in this world if we take the time to really look.

Why don't you play I Spy in your day.  Right now as you are reading this, take a minute or two to think back on your day what you've seen today.  Don't go too fast in this reflection.  I bet you will be amazed at the wonderful things God has placed in your day to enjoy.

He is like that.  He loves to amaze us.

As I pluck my chin hairs...

Standing at the mirror with tweezers in hand, I prepare to attack the lone chin hairs that pop up randomly.  Perhaps this is not information you want to know about me but the timing of my tweezing and the reading of the daily devotional is uncanny.  See, the daily devotional was on the wrong date as I started my procedure so I stopped to change the calendar and my eyes fell on the first word for the current date....Aging.

Aging.  Well, that word got my attention.  Putting the tweezers down, I took the time to read Max Lucado's devotional of the day.  Here it is:

Aging is God's idea.... It's one of the ways he keeps us headed homeward.  We can't change the process, but we can change our attitude.... What if we looked at the aging body as we look at the growth of a tulip?  Do you ever see...gardeners weep as the bulb begins to weaken?  Of course not.... Tulip lovers rejoice the minute the bulb weakens.  "Watch that one," they say. "It's about to bloom."

Could it be heaven does the same?  The angels point to our bodies.  The more frail we become, the more excited they become.  "Watch that lady in the hospital," they say.  "She's about to blossom."  "Keep an eye on the fellow with bad heart.  He'll be coming home soon."

********

I did pick up the tweezers to pull those chin hairs.  Thinking on those words about aging, I found myself comforted.  My father-in-law is 90 years old and he has weakened.  If I look at him as about to blossom, it is encouraging and brings me peace.  

My own body is aging.  Chin hairs are just one sign of that weakening process.  I am not going to stop plucking those warrior chin hairs, but I will not become too vain about my someday-going-to-blossom body.    Also, because I have a personal and intentional relationship with God, death is the beginning for me.  The beginning of a forever time of literally being in the presence of my Lord and Savior.

For God to give Max Lucado that wonderful analogy of tulips and aging is amazing to me.  May you be encouraged by his words today, too.  And let me know if you need to borrow my tweezers...

Peanut Butter Bars

My mom made these bars when I was growing up.  She wrote the recipe down from a radio call-in program  called party line.  I cleaned out my recipe box this weekend and found the recipe I'd copied down when I was probably in junior high school.  It is amazing that I kept the recipe as Kidlet Two has a peanut allergy and we haven't had peanut butter in the house for years!

For a quick, easy bar, give these a try.  I did make them on Saturday and ended up freezing most of the pan (they are hard to say 'no' too so I had to get them out of sight).

Peanut Butter Bars
Cream well:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Blend in:
1 egg, unbeaten
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 t. vanilla

Sift and add:
1 cup flour
1/2 t. soda
1/4 t. salt

Add:
1 cup quick oatmeal

Spread in ungreased 13 x 9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1 package chocolate chips.  Let stand 5 minutes and spread.

Enjoy!!!

Today I...

...served venison burger for supper and didn't tell my family 
...got a text from Kidlet One while I was still in bed (she was up early)
...accomplished a lot while at work
...sang in the shower
...am looking at the boxes I've packed for a house move that didn't happen
...updated Kidlet Two's resume for a job interview he has tomorrow
...listened to Creed on Pandora most of the day at work
...talked to a friend that was just diagnosed with breast cancer and
     cried with her on the phone
...watched Kidlet Three type a paper for driver's ed.  In class today his
     'team' lost a game so they have to each type a paper for tomorrow
...spent 40 minutes on the phone with my mom
...remain amazed and grateful for all that I have in my life
...am blessed.  Amen.

Chicken Supreme

When you make this meal, you'll hear these words:

Delicious

Yummy

Can I have seconds?

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a large, shallow baking dish.
Spread 3/4 cup long-grain rice on the bottom.

Place 6 to 8 chicken breasts on the rice.
Salt and pepper generously.

Mix together 1 can cream of celery soup and 1 can cream of onion soup.  (I used cream of chicken because I had it on hand).
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dry sherry (I used 1/2 cup red wine, which made my mixture look purple!!!)

Pour half of the liquid over the chicken.
Sprinkle another 3/4 cup rice on the liquid.

Pour remainder of liquid on the rice.
Sprinkle top with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds.  (The Husband can't eat almonds so I sprinkled half of the dish).

Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake 1 hour 15 minutes.  Uncover the dish and bake another 15 minutes.

My guess is that you will hear the same responses that I did tonight.

Chicken Supreme.  Enjoy this amazing dish!

August Classic Baseball

The third place trophy in a top-players-in-the-state baseball tournament

sits proudly on our dashboard.

Kidlet Three was asked to participate in this 4-day

by-invitation-only tournament.

 Team Red was composed of boys from three different cities in the State.

Kidlet Three is #12 in the picture and represented Our City

.

In one game, these boys hit six homeruns and

for each one, the entire team met the batter at the plate.

 The Husband was asked to be an assistant coach.

He was the Booster on the Bench

and also kept the scorebook.

 Additional scenes from the tournament include...

Another homerun...

 Balls, bats, cleats...

 The catchers pads...

 Pants showing signs of a slide into a base...

 Kidlet Three enjoying the game...

 And the celebration of a hard-earned third place finish.

 Booster and Kidlet Three were excited with their trophies.

I was amazed at the talent displayed in these games.

It was a great experience watching these boys

get to know one another, encourage each other,

and have fun playing baseball together.

Way to go Kidlet Three!

And great job Booster!