Tag Archives: Faith

Ten Ideas For Wedding Showers

21 Saturday Jul 2012

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I was recently messaged by a very old friend that she would be hosting a wedding shower and would love some of the ideas I’ve used in the past. Pastor’s wives have the privilege of hosting when immediate family live out-of-town. I love to have parties, but hosting showers is hands down my favorite.

1. Mail out a small card for attendees to offer advice for the bride (enclose in the invitation).  Crane paper is best when available.

It is often the funniest moment of the event. Find the heaviest card stock available and within your budget for the invitation and the keepsake card.

2.  Ask an admired and beloved woman in the circle of family/friends to give a short meditation 3-7 minutes on the marriage union and what  they will need and not need from the group as they enter a very challenging transitional stage of their life.   Great quote to include….

I have often regretted my speech- never my silence”     Publius

3. Save all the ribbons from the unwrapped gifts and create a magnificent bouquet for the bride to carry at the rehearsal.   In the south often a substitute bride will be chose from the bridesmaids to serve the honored role in rehearsal.  Growing up in Iowa, of course, I carried my ribbon bouquet.

4. Every bride has a favorite flower. My flower 26 years ago was a deep pink rose…today I still stop as I walk my sweet Daisy and smell the pink roses when they are in bloom here in Texas.

Some brides love camelias’, Gerber daisy’s, hydrangea’s are popular. If at all possible have a few dispersed in the room in a color to match the bridesmaids dresses.

5. The punch must also match the dresses and if sherbet is not available in the color you need…plan ahead and make it yourself. Sherbet in punch is sooo good!

6. Photos of the bride as a little girl. This is just a sweet addition to cause all to pause and reflect on.

7. Display in a side room  a little glimpse of the brides trousseau…perhaps just two outfits…the departing outfit and shoes and the swimsuit, cover up and sandals.

(I recommend brides switch into an outfit when they leave on their honeymoon, this allows for a trusted friend or family member to drop the dress by the cleaners for preparation and storage).

My Uncle Fred and Aunt Bernice from Seattle hosted a party at the hotel where everyone was staying after our Riverboat Cruise wedding reception. We changed into casual dress and it was fun to stop by very briefly to bid goodbye to everyone before we left for Cancun.

8. My friend Barbara Tompkins recommends giving two wrapped frames,  one with the brides family of origin and one with the bride and groom. The gift represents leaving and cleaving.  Stating this in front of the brides family and her fiance’s family is significant. Families can wreak havoc on a new couple when they need time just to separate and solidify as God intended.

The next two suggestions are from Barbara.

9. A monogrammed guest towel. This gift represents serving one another. Barbara suggested this gift also and attaching verses on cards about serving the Lord.

10. Measuring cups… you cannot measure Christ’s love.

P.S. Barb also likes to give two baseball caps to remind the couple no one wins if you are competitive with your spouse.

Marriages grow stronger every day with Christ at the center. Make all your choices with the Word for direction.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:23 ESV

Red Velvet Cake

16 Saturday Jun 2012

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I’ve been making this cake for twenty-five years now.  The cake seems to take on a life of its own and will improve every time you attempt to make this grand and elegant southern favorite.  It has long been my husband’s  favorite  birthday cake.  This cake takes time, focus and a clear head, so I set two days aside to prepare the cake in stages, making room on my calendar to do so.    Do not try to answer the phone, text, answer the doorbell or multitask in any way shape or form while in process.

                                                      

The original recipe was from Marilyn Southard,  my mother-in-law, a wonderful Southern lady from Alexandria, Virginia who last year went home to be with the Lord.  Red Velvet is her birthday cake legacy.  She always made delicious desserts, and whether we traveled to the  mountains, or the beach she talked about her great love of God as we talked, laughed and cried together while cooking for our family.    As great a cook and mother/mother-in-law as she was, I remember her most for her faith in the Lord, strength of character, and her exemplary work ethic without sacrificing anything of her femininity, power and sense of style. For me she defined what it means to live well for the Lord.

Here’s my recipe:

1 c shortening                                            

4 oz. red food color

3 c sugar

4 T. cocoa

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. salt                 

2 tsp. soda

2 c buttermilk

2 T. vinegar

5 c. sifted cake flour

Frosting

20 T. flour

4 c. sugar

4 c. sweet milk

4 tsp. vanilla

4 c. butter

Cream shortening, sugar.  Add and beat eggs, add salt, buttermilk and cake flour.  Make a paste of food coloring, cocoa and vanilla and beat into batter.  Mix in at last-minute, but (do not beat): soda and vinegar.  Bake in 4 cake pans/ layers at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Frosting : Cook flour and milk over medium heat until thick.  Chill.  Cream butter and sugar. Add chilled paste along with vanilla.  Beat until fluffy.  Ice cooled cake.

I made this frosting  the wrong way for ten years, mistaking “sweet milk” for sweetened condensed milk.  I couldn’t understand why I had to pat it on in handfuls until Marilyn, walked me through the recipe very slowly and caught my error.  Turns out “Sweet milk” is a southern expression for whole milk where she grew up.  The two of us would chat throughout the two days leading up to my husbands birthday and although she is in heaven I like to think she can hear my thoughts as I continue to chat  with her.  That’s my hope anyway.  She’s probably busy singing Handel’s Messiah with the angels, but pretty sure Jesus let her know I was making her cake.

( I doubled the ingredients from the original recipe to make four layers)

My Father

03 Sunday Jun 2012

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Today my family will celebrate the anniversary of my father’s departure from this life. He passed on four years ago.  I’m still so sad he is gone.  I visited his final resting place on Father’s Day last year and  placed a bunny topiary. Difficult to face his headstone with mother’s name etched  without an ending date.

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.

Psalm 55:22 NIV                   

I walked by a bed of broken glass one of my neighbor’s is using as a landscape planter. The glass describes how I feel when I visit my Mom and my Dad is not beside her. We quickly run off and do something fun together, but his absence is always there. It hurts and cuts all over. Sometimes the memories twinkle in the sun and I smile, but most of the time it just painful.

Our family motto ” be prepared”.  We had everything you might need for any impending disaster…even a generator. He taught us responsibility and structure by modeling it.

When I graduated from high school I took a trip with my girlfriends to Lake Geneva.  He said “Have a great time” and handed me a map.  Our successes and failures were our own. We were never scolded or lavishly rewarded for grades or achievements.  In college I had my first really awful grade. Feeling dejected, I visited  Mom and Dad to show my report card. He pulled out a report card from his desk (we attended the same university) and we had the same grade. No words  exchanged.

He smiled and we laughed…no condemnation.

No preparation for this. I miss his blue eyes. He hardly ever smiled, but when he did it was powerful and stayed with you.

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.   Hebrews 13:5

My friend Kim C. sent me a lovely sympathy card. For four years I have kept it on my desk as a great source of comfort.

Kim and I  watched and waited as his health declined. She cares deeply for others and her great love and prayers sustained me on days I just breathed in Jesus and out Jesus.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie dow in green pastures: he leadeth me beside still waters, He restoreth my soul.

Psalm 23:1-3

My father loved everything associated with airplanes. He was an engineer and worked on all sorts of projects throughout his lifetime of designing things that fly, one particular helicopter was his favorite and when we went to take a test flight, I was little, I was whining,  but understood when my Mom said this was our bread and butter, so enjoy yourself and I did.

I gave him this airplane and it just makes me smile when I look at it.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 NIV

Black-eyed Peas on New Years Day

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Looking for a recipe for prosperity and happiness in the New Year?

Psalm 1 is a place to start.

The Hebrew word ashrei, or blessedness comes from living out your life in accordance with God‘s will.

How do you know God’s will?

Everyday wake and immediately meditate on God’s word.  Praise Him!  Begin your day in adoration of  God the Creator of all.

Pray about it, pray the verse for anyone your Father has placed on your mind.

This morning I prayed for you and my family and friends.

Here’s how it sounded…. Happy are the friends who follow my blog, my family, my friends they who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the paths of sinners.

Prosperity and happiness depends on your willingness to live in obedience to scripture.

But the humble will inherit the land and enjoy abundant prosperity.  Psalm 37:11 HSB

Humble in the Greek is translated poor in spirit — to be impoverished of self and concerned for the things of God.

What is God concerned about?

The world will tell you prosperity comes from a  cooked pot of black-eyed peas on New Years Day.  Our tradition in families differ, but cooking up a pot of these lovely legumes are a non-negotiable in southern families, ours is no different.  I’ve misplaced my cookbook so this is my twist on the tradition.

1 pound of black-eyed peas

Soak and cook a couple of days earlier tossing off the dirt (your old self) and discard any particles(regrets) in the water.

1 large can of chopped tomatoes

1 small onion finely chopped and sautéed in extra virgin olive oil.

1 large garlic clove finely chopped and sautéed in extra virgin olive oil.

Pepper to taste

Add a few small pieces of the leftover Smithfield Ham (Salt cured) before placing bowls on the table for your New Years Day Dinner.

Serve the simple dish with Udi’s gluten-free dinner rolls, and a salad.

Pull out all the stops with linens, candles, crystal and setting.

A humble dish and a table set for a King.

May you be favored and prosper in the New Year! May the Lord bless you in 2014 exceedingly and abundantly beyond your wildest imaginations!

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith.  Ephesians 3:14-16 HCSB

Thank you very much for taking the time to follow my blog in 2013. You have been a great blessing to me and I look forward to praying for you and  writing more in 2014!

Trish

 

What to do when the flu hits…

11 Friday Nov 2011

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I heard, and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Now I must quietly wait for my day of distress to come against the people invading us.  Habakkuk 3:16 HCSB

My morning began with stubbing my pinky toe on a chair in the living room. Leaping to the sofa yelping and seeing blood trickle across my toes. My daughter  very softly and asks “Mom are you ok?”
Every fiber in my body seemed to hurt and I simply wanted to crawl back in bed. I did not know it, but my balance was off because the flu had hit our house. The  invaders were the viruses from the Mucinex commercial. We had gone to bed very late the night before, our throats were sore and we could not sleep. It hurt to swallow. I drove my daughter to school thinking in my head she should have stayed home, and praying she would decide to care for herself and call. I looked at her as she exited the vehicle and said “I love you honey call if you need anything.”

My one day off all week I dragged a huge basket of laundry next to the sofa and proceeded to fold laundry while lying down.  Folding was a bit tricky and placing the piles so they would not fall was unsuccessful as they slipped off the back off the sofa.  The phone rang.  Our daughter was coming home.

If you are swept off your feet, its time to get on your knees.  Fred Beck

Somehow a jolt of strength whipped into me as I stripped down her bed and blankets to give her clean sheets and warm blankets to crawl into.  Where did my strength come from?

My lips quiver with fear. my legs give way beneath me and I shake in terror.  Habakkuk 3:16 TLB

My flesh had no strength… I ached, but on my knees before the Lord he poured into me.

 

 

Huguenot Torte

05 Friday Aug 2011

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Our daughter returned from spending most of June in Europe, seeing a few cathedrals along the way.  When she returned we headed straight for the beach for time with family.  Each of the cousins took turns sharing their summer adventures on designated nights, and for our daughter’s special evening I whipped up a light, sweet, summer dessert called a Huguenot Torte, inspired by her visit to France, and with consideration of another cousin’s Huguenot heritage (French Huguenots of the 1700s were a severely persecuted Protestant people under Catholic  France for thefoftheir Reformation theology, an irony not lost on this Iowa raised Catholic).

Enjoy this Midwestern twist on an old Southern favorite, and while you do, remember that the religious freedoms we now enjoy were paid for by people of faith who came before us.

Tread carefully…

Step one:

Candied Pecans

Heat skillet to very hot, place two handfuls of pecans and one cup of sugar.  Keep a wooden spoon stirring and start lightly spraying with water.  Watch closely as the pecans carmelize and lower the heat slowly.  The whole process is very quick keep watching closely and stirring.  Place candied pecans on marble to cool.

4 eggs

3 cups of Splenda  ( A couple of people at the beach house were watching sugars and this substitution was not noticed by anyone to my great surprise)

8 -10 tbsp. flour

5 tsp. baking powder    ( you may also use 1/4 tsp. of baking soda and 5/8 tsp. creme of tartar for each tsp.) for leavening agent

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cups of chopped apples/ 1 cup of chopped pears

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine everything in blender, but fold in apples and pears,  pour into a 9 * 13 pan.

Place candied pecans in a bag and hammer into broken pieces.  Toss pieces gently on top the batter.  Place in oven for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

The Texas Grab

14 Tuesday Sep 2010

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In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in the matter. Bring all your “arguments and …every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”, and everything will become clear as daylight to you.  2 Cor. 10:5   Chambers 9/14

While standing in line at Walgreens yesterday, the woman in front of me poured out more cosmetics on the counter than I have seen in  some time.  My friend Tom, (looks like my Dad and always smiles sweetly at me) the cashier, was ringing her out.  She hears the total and even though all her adult children are with her she flips around, grabs my arm hard and says loudly “Oh My Lord”.  She is not beginning prayer, but is exasperated by the total of her bill, which I think is quite low given the enormous pile of creams, eye pencils, and shadows of all shades.  We were not touchy people in my family growing up, so I gather my nerve back and give her a reassuring “It’s ok” as her forty-year old daughter chastises her for grabbing a total stranger in line.  

Sometimes God grabs me.  What grabs you?

Snails On A Tree

04 Saturday Sep 2010

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Trust in the Lord with all your might and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3: 5-6

Our dog groomer Leah has a tree with white snails all over it.  They look exactly like the snails served in restaurants, only they are alive and clinging to the tree.  Though I’ve never ordered them in a restaurant, I’ve purchased them at the market and served them up to Todd and our lovely daughter.

I mentally visit the tree  when  I hear something hideous or tragic has happened and my skin begins to hurt and my eyes spill tears. 

The tree teaches me the snail to simply cling.

Young Love

12 Friday Feb 2010

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This sunday is Valentine’s Day and I am enjoying waiting on the young men in their teens at the retail jewelry counter where I work part-time.  Last night I waited on a very thoughtful young gentlemen somewhere around age 16.  He spent an inordinate amount of time selecting a diamond heart necklace.  He was very cautious of the price as he pondered and looked over all the jewelry including rings for that perfect gift within his range of affordability.  Most youth his age pull out a rumpled mess of bills, mostly one dollar bills mixed with pocket change and painstakingly count the cost. 

I was fully expecting this young man to do so as well because of his careful selection of a sale item.  I assured him leaving out that small detail of discounted cost would be a good thing, and would not be lying by omission to his girlfriend  in any way, nor reflect a lack of his affection.  His father then showed up from what seemed like thin air and paid for the sterling silver pendant and chain he selected. 

His Dad and I exchanged the normal pleasantries to include “I’d love to hear the insights you glean from teen boys as they seek your advice on selecting  jewelry for their sweethearts”.  We laughed and my only insight from these quiet young giants who stop by my counter is that they want to purchase something on sale, but conceal the matter from the girlfriend. 

I don’t know what I think about the Father buying the sons gift.  The imprint left powerfully on me this day though was a reminder of the price my God paid for my sins.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have ever lasting life.” (John 3:16)   God the Father sacrificed his Son, and  Jesus Christ, the Son, in an act of remarkable humility and obedience to the Father, paid the ultimate price, once for all.  Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe…

Happy Valentines Day,

Trish

Deby DeSarro’s Mississippi Mudslide for Fat Tuesday

06 Saturday Feb 2010

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Fat Tuesday is just around the corner, the night preceding the forty days of Lent. Lent is a season to practice the discipline of fasting in the Catholic Church. 

Our family has seen astounding answers to difficult questions after we fast, pray and earnestly seek His will.  Please consider that Jesus said “when you fast,” not “if” you fast in Matthew 6:16. 

Fasting: the discipline of abstaining for a time from all or certain foods.  In the Bible, fasting often accompanies prayer for the purpose of intensive intercession, repentance, worship, or the seeking of guidance. (Grudem, Wayne, “Systematic Theology“ Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994, pg.1242)

The recipe was created by Deby, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Hope Bible Fellowship  is blessed by this great woman of faith and prayer.  We are currently studying “Becoming a Woman of Simplicity” together.

Splurge your last night before your Lenten fast on this!

Crust:

2 cups chopped pecans

2 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar

2 sticks melted butterfof

Mix together, spread in 13x9x2 pan, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool.

Cream Filling:

1 8oz. pkg. soft cream cheese

1 box confectionary sugar

1 container cool whip.

Cover crust with this filling.

Chocolate Layer:

2 1/2 cups sugar

3 tbs. cornstarch

2 cups half & half

2 tbs. butter

3 tbs. cocoa

 5 egg yolks

pinch salt

1 tbs. vanilla

Mix all ingredients in top of double boiler. Cook on medium heat to soft-ball stage, (12 minutes) stirring frequently. Cool. Place chocolate filling on top of cream filling. Cover entire concoction whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

Earnestly Seeking Him,

Trish