The God of all creation . . .

To me, there's not much that can take my breath away any more than God's creation. Especially when looking at beauty of the landscapes of this earth. We spent Monday and Tuesday of this week in Dallas. The trip was planned with friends who wanted us to see the Dallas Arboretum and botanical gardens. We used to live near Dallas (early marriage) and it has been a while since we spent any time there -- more than just passing through -- so the trip brought back a lot of memories of back when ....

Here are some pics from yesterday.

The Texas Lone Star.
They also had a longhorn steer, covered wagon w/horses & a butterfly.

A simple but beautiful little rose.

In the sunken garden.

The bells are so fascinating to me.

There were plenty of these little guys who just love to eat zenia blooms.

This is a great place to bring your children. However, toddlers may be very tempted to pick the flowers (a real "no, no") or run through the flowerbeds (another "no, no"). You can bring a picnic lunch or snacks and sit on the beautiful grass under the huge trees and just rest for a while. These is a petting zoo, homes to tour and much more. We didn't see it all but had a nice time.

Dear sisters in Christ, we serve the God of all creation. To see the delicate flowers and the care in which He made them just reminds me how much more He loves and cares for us. To be His child means that we are heirs which gives us special access to the God of all creation. No matter what your need might be today, the great I AM is there to be more than enough for your situation. More than enough!!

Life at the parsonage . . . feeling in awe of God's greatness!

Sherry

Scrapin'

I just love to scrapbook. I wish I had the space to keep it set up all the time, but the parsonage just isn't big enough. I did set up in the guest room this winter, but had to put it all away -- guests were coming and they needed a place to sleep! :) I had started out organized on two small tables but it grew like fungus to the floor and then to the bed. I do have a lot of stuff!! So, it is now all packed up in my scrapbooking storage drawers, bags and bins in the closet.

I'm a lucky scrapbooker because I got one of these for Christmas.Oh - my - word! I just love my Cricut! I have used it for not only scrapbooking, but for my toddler class crafts, bulletin boards, cards and more. If you scrapbook, you'll love a Cricut. No more needing to buy stickers, letters, etc.

If you have one, do share. What's your favorite cartridge?

Life at the parsonage....creative?

Sherry

A Merry Heart

Last night our church took a bus trip to see Mark Lowry (pictured left) on his "Be the Miracle Tour". He was joined by Stan Whitmire and LordSong. It was very good. Mark is hilarious and so talented!

The Bible tells us that a merry heart (laughter) is like a good medicine, Proverbs 17:22. I would have to say that a large crowd of people overdosed last night! Only God could come up with something like laughter to lift the spirit of man. That in itself is a miracle. His ideas and plans are the best, aren't they?

Life at the parsonage ... still laughing.

Sherry

Wordless Post

(Kona, HI)

Sherry

"Fresh" Salad Anyone?!!!

Look closely at the package. Just below the words "Fresco Lavado"...

Oh! My! Word! Talk about freaking out. That would be me! It is believed that the water the lettuce was washed in contained polliwogs and these became "fresh" new frogs, right in the packages! I guess, as the Cajuns would say, Mexico put a little lagniappe (something extra) in their bags of lettuce!

Life at the parsonage ... avoiding this brand of lettuce!
Sherry

A Day in the Life ...

This morning -- I am sooo sore! I told you in an earlier post that I have been steam cleaning carpets. Over the last 3 days (Sunday not included) I have cleaned carpets at a rental house that we own (pictured below). Note: I have not had the privilege of living in this house. I really love it. It's larger than the parsonage we live in and I just love s-p-a-c-e.


The renters left it in very good condition, but being the daughter of the "Queen of Clean" I had to buff and shine the place myself.

There are new renters moving in May 1 so, yesterday, I went back to finish up (1 hour drive). I vacuumed the clean carpet upstairs, THE stairs and downstairs; ran a broom over it to make it even (I just love a good presentation:)); finished cleaning windows; shined the kitchen; shined the powder room; cleaned front door inside and out; shined the sink in the utility room; and mopped all downstairs floors on the way out the door.

I loaded the pickup truck with all items needed for this cleaning frenzy, swept the garage, and left for the parsonage at 5:20 p.m. (an hour drive back). I had to stop to fill up with gas ($60 -- highway robbery) and since I had not eaten all day, I stopped for a restful hamburger at Sonic.

To make the most of my driving time, I made a few phone calls checking up on some friends. I also called hubby to ask him to call a lady in our church who was hosting a Joy Fellowship meeting at her home at 7:00 p.m! That's right -- I WAS GOING TO BE LATE!

When I got home I asked hubby to unload the pickup truck for me in case it rained, then I changed clothes. My hair and makeup were still intact from the a.m. so not much needed there. I made it to the meeting just in time to e-a-t. I didn't. It was a wonderful evening with some of the sweetest ladies on the face of this earth. The theme for the evening was Living a Life of Balance!!! Needed that! Great job Carolyn!!

Life at the parsonage ... recovery mode!
Sherry

Friends and Food

Last week our Music Pastor, Allison, invited us to a family dinner at her new home. She served the best turkey burgers I have ever tasted. When we walked into the house there was an incredibly delicious aroma. She was cooking the burgers and let me tell you, they tasted just as yummy as they smelled. Here is the recipe:

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey breast

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

course salt, stripped and fine chopped, to taste

fresh ground pepper, to taste

2 scallion, fine chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1/2 small zucchini, fine chopped (or shredded)

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

4 leaves green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce

1 vine ripe tomato, sliced

1 cup store bought refrigerated creamy ranch dressing or herb salad dressing

4 crusty roll, split

Directions

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl and form into 4 large patties.
2. Brush with olive oil and cook 7 minutes each side over medium high heat in nonstick pan.

3. Serve on split buns with lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing.

(I think she also added a chopped red bell pepper - to taste.)

Also, we had a Strawberry Spinach Salad with homemade dressing. AND.... for dessert, a giant chocolate chip cookie with a cream cheese mixture spread on top, then the whole thing was topped with fresh whole strawberries drizzled with chocolate. I've made this recipe before and it is so yummy!! I will post these recipes another time. But for now ....

Life at the parsonage ... heading out the door to buy some ground turkey!!!

Sherry

I'm Steamn'!

Nope. I'm not angry about anything and I'm not on my soap box -- today. I have been cleaning carpets! Whoo Who! Last Friday I purchased my first steam carpet cleaner. (I no longer will rent the "beast".) After doing some research, I decided on this one:
Good choice. Bissell has obviously been listening to the users' suggestions. This one has the bells and whistles that I wanted and it does a great job. BUT... can you say BLISTER? Maybe someday they'll come up with a way to prevent that??:))

Life at the parsonage.....all bandaged up.

Sherry

Wordless Post

Sherry

What Shoe Are You?

I took the quiz.

You Are Loafers

You are confident, powerful, and successful. Hard working and business like, you always dress and act appropriately. You are consistent and a bit conservative. You aren't really susceptible to trends, although you always dress well. While you tend to be formal, you know how to adapt to your surroundings. So are professional at work... but more laid back when your with your friends. You should live: In a huge city You should work: In a competitive field where you can rise to the top

I'm not so sure I fit the above description, but there's one thing for sure -- I'm a shoe nut! I have way too many for my closet, but it is such fun to have something for every occasion. I buy shoes, t-h-e-n I find an outfit to go with them. How about you? Do you have a fetish for shoes?

Life at the parsonage .... well shod and ready to go!

Sherry

I JUST LOVE THESE! The Mr. Clean Magic Erasers will clean when nothing else will. You should read the instructions, though, because they're not to be used on all surfaces. It is the best soap scrum cleaner ever! I have used them for over 4 years and still do. If you have not yet tried them -- DO! They really work!

Life at the parsonage ... clean!

Sherry

Can He Cut It?

Infomercials have flooded the television over the past several years. If you happen to be up in the very early hours of the morning and turn on the TV, that's pretty much what will be showing.

Today I saw the Gardner Groom Hedge Trimmer. It looks likes this:

I caught myself laughing as I watched them trimming pre-trimmed hedges and shrubs. They were demonstrating how easy, neat and clean it worked but what made me laugh was that when they finally ran the trimmer across a piece of hedge that needed trimming -- it didn't cut! They had to go back over it once or twice! Yeah buddy, it made me what to pick up the phone and order one of those babies! I would have liked to have seen what it would have done on a shrub that really needed trimming. It may be a great product, but I will have to have more proof before I buy. You just never know if the infomercial items for sale are genuinely a good deal. Our local TV news networks review various types of infomercials to reveal if they really work or not. In the case of the trimmer's first try, it couldn't cut it.

It makes me think of Christianity. There are those who wear the "tag" as a form on godliness. Matthew 7:15 tells us to beware of those who come in sheep's clothing but inside are ferocious wolves. They are such a danger to the body of Christ not to mention the baby Christians who are not yet stable in their walk of faith. Thank you Jesus for the Holy Spirit who helps us discern these types of things.

I desire to be genuine in my walk with Christ. I strive to be wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove (Matthew 10:16). I want the sword of His spirit (the Word) to cut away anything in my life that does not belong. Can He cut it? Oh, yes he can!

Life at the parsonage .... thinking on the Word.

Sherry

Happy Birthday To My Love!

Today is my honey's birthday. I love birthdays because they are a celebration of a life. I am so thankful for him. He has brought so much joy and fulfillment to my life. I tell him that God made him especially for me.

He is the 5th child of a minister. They were very poor so let's be realistic here. They certainly did not need or plan for # 5 -- probably not even for #4, or #3. Come to think of it, since #2 and #1 came so soon after the marriage I suspect that none of them were planned. That's why I say he was made just for me:)

Our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter met us at The Cheesecake Factory for a b'day dinner. The food and cheesecakes are so scrumptious. We all had something different and sampled each others dish. It's always so nice to spend time with family; especially when the relationships are great!

Life at the Parsonage tonight .... very blessed!

Sherry

Weekend Recap

Breanna turned 4! Here are a few of the MANY pics that I took of the party fun. (She is such a fun girl.)

Blowing out the candles on the pig-nosed Cinderella cake I made. Even though Cinda needed a nose job, she was delicious.
It was a fresh strawberry cake.

Mommy's yummy cupcakes.

Blue ice cream cones. Thank you uncle Billy.
Blue is my favorite color and flavor.

Best bud, Riley. Do they look like partners in crime - uh -mischief or what? These two munchkins play together without conflict! Honest! I caption them as "joined at the hip".
So cute!

Mommy, Daddy and baby brother who will arrive in June.

The gifts!

A bike!

Don't forget the protective gear!
Later she discovered how cool the knee and elbow pads are.

Outdoor fun! (Pa Pa supervising).

Watch out! Here comes a woman driver.
She gave the phrase "cruis'n for a bruis'n " a new meaning;
she crashed him into the swing set!
Actually, he was steering, she was the "girl-power".
The video of this is hilarious. She started pushing the car without him in it. He decided that he wanted a ride, so he ran and caught up with her. She just kept going and he jumped in the car while it was in motion. Thus, his crammed-up position.

Me and one of the loves of my life. What a blessing he is!

Me and two more loves of my life!

The Tods played outside for a long time. After everyone left, I helped DeLayna put the house back in order. They went out to dinner with DeLayna's parents and then took Brea to Chunk E. Cheese to use some tokens she had. We had dinner in town before going home. A great day Sunday topped off the weekend. I, like David, was glad when it was time to "go into the house of the Lord."

Life at the parsonage this weekend .... full of thankful hearts.

Sherry

S-t-r-e-a-k-l-e-s-s

I have found something much better to clean glass and mirrors – streak-free. This may seem strange but Lemon Pine Sol is absolutely wonderful.

Mix water with a small amount of Pine Sol in a cleaning pale. Using a cotton cloth (something that will not leave lint) wet and wring out and wipe mirror or glass. Many times you will not even have to dry it. Do not use paper towels, they will cause streaks. If you need to dry or wipe because of some lint left behind, use a terrycloth hand towel, etc. It is the best thing I have ever used and is so much easier than going over the surface several times trying eliminate the streaks. I have a large mirror that used to give me grief, but it looks great now. Of course, it’s great for cleaning counter tops, mopping floors, and anything else washable. It does not leave a residue. Good stuff!

Life at the parsonage ... shiny!

Sherry

Bippity Boppity Boo

Today was shopping day for our granddaughter's 4^th birthday. I usually have her gift earlier than this but this year she wants a slide that goes round and round – in other words, a turbo tube slide. Therefore, PaPa was in charge of the purchase. Since the tube slides are a minimum of $400 for the slide only – no platform, no ladder, no lumber included – she will be getting a speedwave instead. It mounts about 7 feet high so that should thrill her. Lest you think I’m a careless Grammy for getting something so high up, it has fairly high sides, basically cradles the child and hold up to 270 pounds.

Also, for her birthday, I will be making and decorating her cake (#4). Her first birthday was a duck in a bathtub (orange cake bathtub and lemon pound cake duck). Birthday #2 was Rainbow Bear (chocolate fudge cake). #3 birthday was Strawberry Shortcake (homemade strawberry cake) and this year, #4 is Cinderella, and its another Strawberry cake. It will be Bippity Boppity Boo and all the trimmings !

With the all of this in mind, I had better get busy ready instructions on icing, color and decorating tips.

Life at the parsonage … studious.

Sherry