Chick-fil-a Appreciation Day

We were more than ok with going to Chick-fil-a yesterday!
It was a no-brainer.
It is, after all, one of our very favorite places for a yummy chicken sandwich & nuggets.
And milkshakes ... can't forget those milkshakes.

Greater than that, Chick-fil-a is a Christian company ... & we are a Christian family,
so, obviously we identify with that.
We love that they are closed on Sunday for their employees to observe the Lord's Day.
And Monday through Friday, they play Christian music in their lobby, another thing that we appreciate.
On top of all this, the customer service is second to none!
Never, not one time, have we ever had a rude waiter.
It is consistent ... they are always sweet, kind, & courteous.

We wanted to show how thankful we were that Mr. Cathy had the courage to voice his opinion,
especially during a time that conservatism is highly unpopular...
And what a firestorm has come from Mr. Cathy's opinion!
I can't begin to imagine what this past week has been like for not only the Cathy family,
but for the individual store owners, the employees, & even the customers.
Just on Facebook, I've seen harsh & hurtful words spoken ... & what's very disheartening,
some of those have some from professing Christians!
This is not a time to nit-pick or split hairs, rather the time to stand together for a worthy cause!

That's exactly what we observed yesterday as we waited in the drive-thru line.
Everyone was smiling & even from our vehicle, we could sense the buzz of excitement.
I got that same feeling that I get when I watch a 4th of July parade ... people from all walks of life
coming together for a mutual cause, one bigger than themselves.
Many were taking pictures of this historic event, happy to be a part of it.

The overwhelming thought I took away was this:
As conservatives, we are so often made to feel that we are the underdogs, part of minority, 
unable to make a difference in anything because we are old-fashioned & outnumbered.
Yesterday, all across the nation, thousands of folks came out, showed up...
& if nothing but by that act itself, made a statement on what they value, what they hold dear.
Did it send a message ... oh yes, it sent a message!
I'd say it was a morale booster for all of us conservatives!

My prayer is that it continues...right into November & on!
I hope this was gasoline in all our moral & political tanks to keep showing up, keep standing up
for conservative & Biblical values!
We don't have to be mean ... we don't have to be ugly ... we just need to stand.
Stand for the truth.


Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to STAND.
~Ephesians 6:13

Southwest Sloppy Joes

Ok, I am apologizing ahead of time for the poor photo quality that you are about to see!
My nice camera is en route to NYC for repairs & boy, am I missing it!
I've been snapping shots here & there with my smart phone, & generally they are pretty decent.
These pics, however, are not =(
But, the recipe that I want to share is SO good that I am forging ahead, bad pics & all.

We have an abundance of garden food lately from Garrett's 1st garden
& I've been enjoying finding creative ways to use this fresh produce.
This is exactly what I did to come up with this twist on traditional sloppy joes.

The recipe I started with was from my favorite Amish cookbook.
Here is my tweaked version:

2 lb. ground beef, browned & drained*
1/2 c. onion, finely chopped*
1 lg. banana pepper, seeded & chopped
1/2 green pepper, seeded & chopped
1 small Cajun bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 c. cherry tomatoes, whole
1 Tbsp. brown sugar*
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce*
1 Tbsp. vinegar*
1 c. ketchup*
1/4 c. BBQ sauce
dash of hot sauce

After the cherry tomatoes cook for a few minutes & become soft, bust them with your fork.

I basically added in the peppers & tomatoes because they were fresh & needed to be used.
From there, I decided to go for a southwest flavor & added the other ingredients to achieve it.

This is one of those recipes that you can easily tinker with to add your own flavor faves.
{For the traditional recipe, use the ingredients that have the * beside them.}

I served these on hamburger buns for dinner.
For lunch, I reheated the leftover meat & added it to a warm tortilla & sprinkled on cheddar cheese.

God Orders My {Steps} Stops

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

I know God orders our steps.
But I also believe He orders our stops. 


Have you ever stopped in at your favorite store & found a reaaaallly good deal,
an unadvertised special ... with just one left on the shelf?
You walk away feeling so happy to know that you were in the right place at the right time.


I have so many of those stories I could share & I thank God for each & every one of them.
I credit Him for all my good deals, special finds & great prices.
Not only does He provide for my needs, He has supplied many of my wants too.


Our Christian walk, however, is not all about us!
Sometimes God orders our {steps} stops not so we get a blessing, 
but so we can BE a blessing. 


That's precisely what happened to me a few weeks ago.
After a day of running lots of errands, quick stops here & there,
I hurriedly pulled into to the Aldi parking lot for my last stop of the day.
Believe it or not, I stopped to return cottage cheese.
That's right ... I said to return cottage cheese.

The container I bought a few days before tasted a little sour, 
so I decided to exchange it for a new one the next time I got out.

I had almost decided to pass Aldi right on by.
I was tired after all my errands, it was 103 degrees {literally, 103 degrees}
& had almost talked myself into trashing the cottage cheese & heading on home.
After all, we could do without it & it was only a couple dollars ...
but, for some reason, I pulled on in.

No sooner than I'd pulled into my parking spot, 
I glanced into the rear view mirror & my eyes landed on an almost flat tire.
As I got out of my truck, I noticed a little old lady just about to get into this very car!

She was white-headed, dressed nicely in a skirt & blouse, brown stockings & sandals.
She looked to be about 80 years old & seemed to be getting along fine, 
but her steps were very slow. 


I quickly called out to her & told her about the tire, & upon further inspection,
we found the tire was pretty much flat ...  certainly in no condition to drive on.

Seeing as how I do not know how to change a tire & I assumed she didn't either,
I asked her if she had someone she could call to pick her up to which she replied yes,
but they were all at work. 

She decided that maybe she should use her AARP card & call for roadside assistance.
She had no cell phone, so she gave me her card & asked me to do the calling & the talking.
Finally, after standing in the pounding sun & heat, going through 10 automated options,
being transferred to the roadside assistance department, 
we find out that she had no roadside assistance on her card.

I could see by the despairing look on her face that she was totally unsure of what to do now.
Even I was unsure, but I knew I could not leave this little lady stranded at Aldi.
In my mind's eye, I saw my own mom in this predicament ... 
or fast forward 40 years, I saw me in this predicament.
I would be so grateful that God sent someone to rescue me.


I decided right then & there to take her home.
I knew that's what I would want ... to go home.
When I suggested that, she seems so relieved.
She said she had sons & grandsons who could come after work & change her tire.
So, we loaded up her groceries in my Suburban, I helped her climb in,
& off we went.
She only lived a couple miles away.
I got her home, her groceries carried in, & after lots & lots of thanks, I was on my way...
on my way back to Aldi to return my cottage cheese.

As I began replaying the whole situation in my mind, I was SO thankful that I found her.
I was glad I was there at precisely the perfect time.
What if she had gotten on the road with that flat tire?
What if someone else, not so nice, stopped to help her?

I know God had a hand in it all.
He was watching out for her ... & He was directing my stops. 


This scripture comes to mind:
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."  {Psalm 37:23}
I especially love the New Living translation.
It says, "The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."

There's such a comforting & secure feeling to know that I serve a God
who is concerned with all the details of my life.

An Ocean of Memories

The wonderful thing about this picture is that it doesn't require a lot of explanation.

There's just something so serene & beautiful about it.

This was taken on Sunday of Clarise, James' 82 year-old grandmother.

She's gazing out at the ocean on Fripp Island, South Carolina.

When James showed me the picture, he said, "Wonder what Grandma's thinking?"

Is she thinking back to the many trips she's made here, he said ...

maybe thinking back on the vacations taken with his Grandpa, who's now passed on.

She may be reminiscing about their many fishing trips ... 

or walking on the beach with her children & grandchildren.

Oh the years of memories.

And the ocean is such good medicine ... therapy for the soul.

This is such a neat trip for her too.

She's on a week-long vacation with her only remaining brother {who is 86 years old}, 

his wife, & many of their children & grandchildren.

They are staying in a huge home right on the beach with no real plans for the week.

Just plans to relax, take in the awesome ocean view, play on the beach,

& make memories ... lots of memories.

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”

~Anonymous

*photo taken by Tammy Gibson of Tammy Gibson Photography

Couponing: I'm Baaack!

After an extended break from couponing, I'm in the mood again!

To tell you the truth, we are just too busy from about April to late September for me
to spend much time with coupons.
Not saying I don't use any coupons during those months, but for the most part,
I shop at Aldi & buy Kroger brand then.
The ones I do use are my personalized Kroger coupons that they send me in the mail.
Love those things!

I also use my stockpile to keep cost down, buying just what we need for the week.

However, I'm ready to dive back in, & thanks to my dwindling toiletries stockpile,
I'm starting a little early.

Yesterday, I looked over coupon blogs & decided to go to CVS for a few deals.
I didn't walk out with a cart load for free like they do on those unrealistic coupon shows,
but I did pretty good, IMHO.

Couponing: I'm baaack =)

Here's the breakdown on what I spent:

2  -  12 pks of Dr. Pepper
2  -  12 pks of diet Mt. Dew
2  -  24 pks Nestle Pure Life water
4  candy bars
3 pk. Ivory soap bars
1 Crest toothpaste
1 Advil 

Total OOP {out of pocket}:  $13. 04

The sodas were the biggest expense at $9.84.
Next was the toothpaste & Advil ... paid $2.65 for those 2 items.
The waters were .24 a pack!!
Yep, 24 cents for 24 water bottles!
The 4 candy bars set me back a whopping 7 cents for all!
And the soap was absolutely free.

Retail price for these goodies: $31.75 {I saved 60%}

Not too bad!

All you need are a few good deals like this to get you back in game!

Sufficient Grace

“If God wants you to do something, 

he'll make it possible for you to do it, 

but the grace he provides comes only with the task 

and cannot be stockpiled beforehand. 

We are dependent on him from hour to hour, 

and the greater our awareness of this fact, 

the less likely we are to faint or fail in a crisis.” 

~Louis Cassels

What an incredibly powerful thought!

He wants us to be dependent on Him! 

Hebrews 12:2 says:  "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."

And we are reminded again in Philippians 1:6 of a similar thought.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you 

will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

What a wonderful assurance in the life of a Christian!

He was there at our beginning & will be there in the end ...

so why not trust Him with everything in between!

Problems arise day to day, & oftentimes, we cannot handle them on our own.

Our shoulders weren't made strong enough to carry the load.

He longs for us to cast all our cares on Him, for He cares for us.

He said He'd never leave us or forsake us.

In our hours of weakness,  

He is there & will give us grace sufficient for each task.

Grace for the task, if only we'll ask!

That's the key.

His grace is sufficient for anything & everything we will ever need!

We will see His grace in our lives when we truly learn to rely on Him 

in our areas of weakness.

That's all He wants.

The more we depend on Him, the more we will see His grace in our lives

& come to know Him as our provider, comforter, & best friend.

 

 

 

Following Jesus

photo credit

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.

Ephesians 5:1

Years ago, I heard a message on following God.
Although I've heard many messages in my life that haven't stuck with me,
this one did & I think of it often.

The part I remember most was when the minister shared that he wanted to follow God so closely
that he could eat from the palm of His hand.

I remember instantly visualizing beautiful path.
I could see the back of our Lord as I was following after him, along with a group of many people.
His arms were outstretched & in His hands was bread.
Those of us following close could reach out & take it as we desired.

My mind went to those who weren't following so closely.
They were getting the crumbs that were falling along the way & were straining to hearing His voice.

I  began to reflect back on my own Christian walk.
I have faithfully followed the Lord for many years ... from the time I was a child, in fact.
But there have been times that my steps have been slow & I've followed from afar off.

I've lingered, sometimes feeling immobile because of hurt, pain, & confusion.
In times of weakness, I've even sat down to rest until I've felt able to walk on.
During these times, I've picked up the crumbs along the way.

I am so grateful that those times have been far & few between
& that His strength is made perfect in my weaknesses.
His still, small voice always breaks through the noise of crowd {or the noises in my head},
as He reminds me that I've rested long enough.
It's time to walk on.

It is the Lord who goes before you. 

He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. 

Do not fear or be dismayed.

~Deuteronomy 31:8

My heart's desire is to follow God so closely that I can eat from the palm of His hand.
I can go to Him for nourishment as often as I like ... & it's fresh each & every time.
I can clearly hear His voice as He instructs & guides.
His words of encouragement strengthen me.
I'm not as apt to fall into the ditch or the pot holes because I hear His warnings as I follow closely.
These are the benefits of living life in the presence of God & following close to Him.

During Jesus' time of ministry here on earth, people who needed to be fed followed after Him.
He wants us to to just that today ... to seek His will & follow Him
so that He can meet our physical & spiritual needs.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

~James 4:8

Here are some ways that keep me walking close to the Lord:

• Devoted time to reading/studying His Word
• Keeping a consistent prayer life
• Meditating on His goodness
• Counting my many blessings

  My soul follows close after you: your right hand upholds me.  
~Psalm 63:8