A Time to Open up Our Home

" Use hospitality one to another without grudging." 1Peter 4:9

When we bought our home I was so thankful to the Lord for providing it for us and still am. I prayed when we moved in that God would use our home to minister to others whether it was by having missionaries stay with us or just having people over for dinner. Our calendar is always full with "dinner guests" and we wouldn't have it any other way. One thing we started doing the past couple of years is having the "Young Families" in our church over for a BBQ a couple times a year. It's always so much fun to spend time together, watching the kids play and just encouraging one another. We just recently had one such BBQ and I decided I wanted to try this "Pepper Relish" recipe that I had found on the back of a potato chip bag...man am I glad I made the effort! It was so good that I had to post the recipe here for you.

Pepper Relish

1 1/4 C diced red bell pepper                                       

3/4 C diced green bell pepper

1/2 C diced red onion

1/2 C diced yellow onion
3/4 C cider vinegar
1/2 C water
3/4 C white sugar
pinch chopped garlic
salt & pepper to taste

1. Place all ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan except for salt & pepper
2. Bring the mix to a boil over high heat & reduce to a simmer.
3. Simmer mix for 30-35 mins stirring occasionally , until almost dry and the vegetables are tender.
4. Remove the relish from the stove, season with salt & pepper; place in container & refrigerate.

If you don't regulary have people over for dinner, I would really encourage you to do it. It's always more of a blessing to us, I'm sure! It's such a great way to get to know people better. I used to really stress out about the house being perfect and clean and having this elaborate meal planned. After we had our 3rd child I came to the realization that if I was going to keep those standards I would not be able to entertain. That was not an option so I've lowered my standard and continued having people over, haha! I guess I just feel that it's not the food or a perfect house that is important. What's important is taking the time to get to know other people, finding out how you can be an encouragment to them or how you can pray specifically for them. It's hard to really know people if you don't make the extra effort to do so. I'm just thankful that the Lord has allowed us to minister to other's in this way!

A Time to Start a Blog

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. ~1Cor. 10:31

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow..."Lonely nights with my husband away on a business trip I guess is what started this whole thing. Normally I wouldn't have had the time to set this up-I had no idea what a long process this could be! But with Ben away and an over-active imagination that does not let me sleep, I decided I'd try to start a blog. The purpose for this is two-fold. The first reason was because all our family lives away from us and they don't get to experience first hand very often what our family does day to day and what keeps us busy in our neck of the woods. The other reason was so we could share with others how awesome the God we serve is and how he works in our lives daily. I often feel bad for my kids that they don't get to spend time with grandparents, aunts & uncles and cousins very much because we live so far from them. Hopefully this will help our family know our children better even if it is from a distance. I will say though that the Lord has really answered many prayers in this area. Raising children is difficult and more so when you feel you have no family to turn to in time of need. In the past couple of years though the Lord has given us so many wonderful, godly friends who treat us like family, treat our children like thier own grandchildren and take care of us when we need it. This week is a great example of just that. I wasn't really sure how I felt about it all, being alone with all 5 kids for the week. I don't sleep well when Ben is away so that was my main concern. The Lord has reminded me this week that He does not want me to bear this burden alone but wants to share in that burden and help me.