I'm A Sinner!!

Dear Ladies,

Just a short note before I head to bed. I was listening to a sermon on line this past week. The speaker discussed the topic of asking God for forgiveness or our need to repent of our sins. I occurred to me that in my quiet times with the Lord I had gotten away from asking God to forgive me. I had forgotten how I need to confront my sins and confess them to God. I seldom hear the topic of repentance talked about, so I guess it had slipped my mind. How foolish of me!! I know Jesus died for my sins, so why is it I was forgetting to ask forgiveness. It isn't because I never sin, I sin everyday. I yell at my kids or say things I shouldn't. I get angry at my husband. I'm judgemental. The list could go on, but you get the picture. Sinless I am not.

We are all sinners and it is only by the grace of God that we are able to have relationship with Him. I'm thankful that God gently reminded me that I need to confess and as I begin naming my sin I have a better understanding of what I need to work on to become like Christ.

I encourage you, dear sisters in the Lord, to take a few minutes this week and reflect on your sins. It isn't fun, but if we don't take the time to think about our short comings we can become caught in the trap of thinking that we are doing everything right. Ask Him to open your eyes to your sins; once we know what sin is harboring in our life then we can begin to work on reflecting Jesus in all we do.

God is merciful and will forgive. He even will forgive us for when we forget to confess our sins.

In His Service,
Melissa

Easy Chicken/turkey Bake

Ladies,

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and were able to enjoy some time with your family. For those of you that had turkey today for Easter Dinner, here is an easy recipe to use some of your leftovers.

1 pk. cornbread stuffing mix
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 lb chicken/turkey(cooked)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag of frozen mixed veggies-thawed and drained(broccoli or green beans will also work)

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of dry stuffing evenly on bottom of 13x9" baking dish. Add hot water to remaining stuffing mix, stir until moistened.

Place chicken over dry stffing mix. Mix soup, sour cream and veggies, spoon over chicken. Top with prepared stuffing.

Bake 30 minutes.

The sour cream is really what gives this dish its unique taste; you can make the dish without it, but it is better with the sour cream. This dish works well to put together during the day when you have time and then it is ready to stick into the oven at dinner time.

Enjoy!

Fun and Easy Easter Treat

Here is a quick and fun treat you can make with your children and share with them what Jesus did for us and the really meaning of Easter.

You will need a tube of refrigerator biscuits. I used the cheap ones that come 4 tubes bundled together. You will also need marshmallows(any kind you have will work), melted butter, cinnamon and sugar.

Have your children stretch out a biscuit as best them can and wrap it around a marshmallow. Brush each biscuit with butter and then sprinkle or roll them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Bake your biscuits according to the directions on the tube. Remove from oven and cool a little before eating.

As they work and then enjoy share with them what each part represents.
The marshmallow represents Jesus and the biscuit is the tomb. Just as Jesus was put in the tomb, you put your biscuits in the oven. Have your children bit into there biscuit and notice that the marshmallow is gone, there biscuit /tomb is hollow. As they enjoy there sweet treat share with them the goodness of Jesus' resurrection and the empty tomb.

Enjoy,
Melissa

Dear Ladies,
I have sat down several times and started a letter only to never finish it. I have not forgotten you nor have I given up writing altogether.

The children and I are on our own for the month. Eric is in Afghanistan, so that means cereal for dinner, movies and pizza. We have been to see the cherry blossoms and have dinner with friends planned, and maybe a road trip to visit the University of Virginia, to help the time past.

On Sunday we had the great blessing of having our first service in our new building. I was very busy with the babies in the nurseries. We had a record number of children with a total near 40 in our second service. I never even got a chance to peek in at the worship service, but my day will come. Until then I will love everyone babies and will be glad for three beautiful rooms to care for them.

Of all the letters I send the recipes are the most popular, so I will add one to this update.
One of our favorite soups is "Brown Jug Cheese Soup"

4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 qt water
2 1/2 cups potatoes, raw and cubed
1 (20 oz) pkg. frozen mixed veggies(we like broccoli)
1 lb Velveeta cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Put all but the soup and cheese in a large soup pot and cook until potatoes and veggies are tender. Stir in soup and cheese(cut into large cubes). Stir until cheese is melted.

Add a loaf of bread and dinner is done. This is an easy recipe to put together early in the day and heat up just before dinner. We still have some cool days ahead that make good days to have soup for dinner, so enjoy.

Melissa

Apple Crisp Recipe

This morning I brought an Apple Crisp to our Mothers Of Preschoolers meeting. It was a big hit and was really easy to make. We picked a lot of apples last fall and I froze some of them. I froze them already peeled and sliced so they were ready to make a quick pie, apple crisp or applesauce. At the time this was alot of work, but i is very handy to have packages of sliced apples in the freezer. The night before MOPS I mixed up the topping, so in the morning all I had to do was put the apples in a dish, sprinkle on the topping and bake.


Apple Crisp

Peel and slice enough apples to fill a glass pie plate or a 12x12" baking dish. In a separate bowl soften 2/3 cup butter, add 1 1/2cup flour, 1 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix all together until you have a crumbly mixture. Try not to melt the butter, if you do and your topping isn't crumbly add a little more flour. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of your apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour or until the apples are tender.


This topping is from a recipe called "Crumbly Top Apple Pie"

Burned Out

Burn Out! It is so easy for us as moms to over commit. We already have our hands full with all the jobs of motherhood and being a wife,but on top of those jobs we add many more. Serving in the church nursery, teaching a bible study, helping out at the kids' school, and the list goes on. I have at times been so overwhelmed with items on my to-do list that I wanted to cry, but that would take time and there is no time for that. Over extending ourselves with good things to do can lead to anxiety and worry, plus steal from us the time we need to be spending with the Lord. Once we lose that time with the Lord we face the danger of burning out in His work. God never intended for us to do so much that we don't have time for Him.

This time of year it is easy to feel burnt out with various commitments. Much of the energy we started with is gone and the fresh ideas are stagnant. Our service should not become an unhappy burden.


Romans 12:11-13 says "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder."

Scripture gives us the key to avoiding burnout. Pray! God is concerned for you and the activities you are involved in. Ask Him for renewed energy, ask Him if there are any areas you can step back in or ask someone to take over or help. Renew yourself in His word, so you can finish the race and finish well.

March can be a long month, but it can also be a good month to reconnect with theLord. Your time with the Lord doesn't have to be in the morning or always at the same time, but try to find a portion of your day that is for God alone.

In His Love,
Melissa

Cookies for Breakfast

One of the items I like to bake is breakfast cookies. They are easy to grab if you are running out the door and are good for anytime of day. Plus I can tell my guys they can have a cookie whenever they get hungry. I haven't official compared them to Pop Tarts or granola bars, but I'm sure they are healthier. Both of the recipes below can be adapted to your taste. I like to use dried cranberries in my cookies, but you could also add walnuts or pecans, sunflower seeds, any type of dried fruit or nuts. You could also try replacing some of the butter with an equal amount of applesauce. If you use fresh apples, keep in mind they wouldn't keep as long as cookies with only dried fruit. Using the two recipes below you could invent a breakfast cookie that works for your family. Have fun experimenting with your cookies. When I first started making breakfast cookies I did a google search and found a lot of recipes. I would love to hear what ingredients you add and how your cookies turn out.

Jumbo Breakfast Cookies

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashion or quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups cheerios cereal
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together sugar, butter, peanut butter, water vanilla and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients, except cereal. Gently stir in cereal. Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough to about 1 inch thick

Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

Hearty Cookies for Breakfast

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 apple chopped
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup raisins
Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees. My recipe doesn't say for how long, but my guess would be about 10 minutes.