Guard Your Heart

 

Little Ideas, Much Sharing

 

Guessing Games

Rain didn’t stop us from getting together on May 21,

but it did prevent us from meeting at the park.

 

Many of us preserve meat, veggies, fruits and/or herbs. 

We shared what foods we preserve and what methods work (or those that don’t work).

Examining new recipes

We discussed what foods we preserve and
what methods work (or those that don’t work).

 Judy began with the following devotional:

 

When it comes to our marriages,
there's some stocking up to do. 

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life". Proverbs 4:23

When housekeeping, we need to stock our refrigerator, fill up our cupboard shelves, and pantry. When it comes to our marriages, there's some stocking up we have to do too.

Filling our canisters may look like this:

Gretchen made these awesome
gift bags out of flour bags!!

Flour. The grain used to make flour has to be ground down before it can be used. It's a process of work just like our marriages. We don't just wake up one day and have the perfect marriage or even a good marriage, we have to work at it day by day.

Another thing that has to be done to flour is that all the foreign objects have to be removed and separated from the ground wheat or whichever grain was used. For our marriages to become what we'd like, we have to live separated from sin in order for our marriage to become what the Lord would have for us.

Sugar.

Speak in sweet tones when you
talk to your husband.

 Sweetness sure makes things tastes good. Remember those song lyrics from Mary Poppins? A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. We have to incorporate some sweetness in our our marriages too.

How about some sweet tones when we talk to our husbands? Some "I love yous". One thing that will work wonders is a sweet attitude toward your husband. Or how about some sweet names like, Honey, Sweetheart, Sugarplum, or whatever endearing name you have for your husband? I'm sure he likes hearing that endearing name.


Be grounded in the Word of God
and in your marriage.

Coffee. Even if you don't drink coffee, it's always good to have some on hand when your mom or your new mother-in-law comes to visit.

Coffee is grounds of the coffee bean so of course we've got to get a little grounded in our marriage, and what's better than being grounded in the Word of God? Spending time in God's Word can help your personal Christian walk, but it also will have an impact on your marriage, so make time for it.

You and your husband are a
special blend.

Tea. There's so many teas that you can fill your tea canister with these days. There's special blends for this, special blends for that, and if you drink herbal teas, read that fine print on the box. They all have specific things each blend of tea is supposedto do for you. Some make you sleepy. Some make you calm. Some are good for this and that.

When you marry your husband, you are going to be a special blend too. A marriage is a blending of two lives. You've got to get along, communicate, and blend together. What type of blend will it be? What do you think will end up being written on the box? Good for fighting? Good for chaos? Or will it be a soothing blend?

We need to keep our marriages
fresh and protected too.

Canning Jars We use canning jars to keep things fresh, to preserve, to seal out bad smells, and even to keep out the flies. We have to keep our marriages fresh and protected too. We definitely need to keep those flies out!

You need to put effort into protecting your marriage. Don't put yourself in situations that even have the slightest chance to bring in the bad smells. Put safeguards in place. Set some rules for yourself. It may be things like never riding in a car alone with a man that's not your husband. Never inviting a man who is not your husband into your home when your husband isn't present. There are so many situations that you know you'd act honorably in, but you still have to put that wall of protection around your marriage and set some guidelines for yourself as a married woman.

 

As we work on filling our pantry in our marriage, we need some great things lined up on our shelves. We need all those things that will help our marriages, like love, communication, giving, devotion, trust, and even laughter. All those things start in our hearts and flow out of us.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

Devotional from Creative Ladies Ministry http://www.juliabettencourt.com/dev/pantrydev.html

 

Here are a few notes from our discussion:

• Fruits, Peppers, Onions: Wash, dry, and lay on cookie sheet and put cookie sheet in the freezer. When fruit is frozen, transfer to freezer bags or brown paper bags.
• Whole onions can be stored all year on an old window or door screen.
• Peaches: Blanch for a few minutes and the skins will pull off easily
• Peaches with brown – browsed spots can be put into a batch of jelly
• Apple butter can be cooked in a crock pot
• Make sure you put your canning jars on strong shelves!!
• Tomatoes: As they ripen, but the whole tomato in a freezer bag. When you are ready to can with them, thaw and poke a hole in the bag to drain any liquid.
• Keep a record book or how much you preserved, where you bought produce, how much it cost, etc.
• Have your children help with your canning.
• Pickles: Several people like to use Mrs. Wages mixes. Put a grape leaf in the jar to keep dill pickles crisp.
• Meats: Put raw cubes of meat in a jar with salt and water. Process in pressure cooker.
• Find some of our favorite recipes in the “RECIPES” tab.

 

Sweet new babies!
 

Have a great summer.

We look forward to seeing you next year!

 

Mark you calendars for the next LIFT:

Wednesday

September 17, 2014


 

 

 

LIFT in the Park May 21

 

Wednesday, May 21

10:00am

Little Ideas, Much Sharing

Note time change: At 10:00, we will meet at the park in McAlisterville. Many of us preserve meat, veggies, fruits and/or herbs.  Come share what foods you preserve and what methods work (or those that don’t work). Some childcare workers will be there. Please bring your own picnic lunch.

 

This is our last LIFT event of the season. We'll take a break over the summer and come together again in September.