Summer Suppers

It is so hot today I think I am melting! The forecast for the next 7 to 10 days is above 90 degrees each day with little chance of rain. We are in a drought stricken area right now though some places are much worse. My poor husband is a landscaper for a living and has been pretty successful, Thank You Lord. On hot days like this week and for the days to come he truly is exhausted at the end of the day. So there is nothing he dislikes more than a hot supper. So if you are in the same boat with your own man, here are a few cool supper ideas. Tonight I am making a cool and creamy chicken salad stuffed into tomatoes I am going to pick in a few minutes so they can cool off in the house. I also love to make salads. More often than not I grill some chicken, shrimp or a steak to add to our salads. Fruit and cheese trays are great too. I add a few deli meats and some funky bread. Spread this all out and it looks really appetizing. Add some pickles, olives and different spreads and you will think you are in a real deli. Sometimes I make muliple salads like egg, chicken and tuna to serve with crackers or bread or just on lettuce. We love cold melons too. Add some ice tea and you are set for a great supper. When this weather breaks I love to take my cool supper and eat....outside! I hope y'all are having a great summer!

Bless y'all!

Cindy

Two Vacations

I am back from a glorious week at the beach! Beautiful weather, sun, sand everything relaxing you can ask for! This was my first vacation. My mother and I went to spend a week at the beach together. My two daughters and niece came down for 4 days and we had a blast with them. Young adults ( they are 22, 21 and almost 20 years old) can be so fun. On our first day we unloaded bought a few groceries threw on some suits and hit the beach around 4 o'clock. As we walked we came up on a wedding that was just too precious. Lots of people were stopping to watch so we did too. The bridal party was very casual but the bride and groom were dressed so beautiful. They looked about 12 years old. So young and scared looking but very much in love. I am guessing they were right out of high school. the pastor performing the ceremony was very serious as he charged this young couple with all the wedding vows and Biblical principals. They bowed in prayer many times and I prayed very hard for this young couple. Marriage is no day at the beach alot of the time. They sealed their union with a sweet kiss and I saw the bride's daddy wiping tears from his eyes. Made me wipe a few of my own! The week flew by. Each day brought it's own episodes of family life that makes you think back when your own kids were small or to think ahead to grandbabies. I thought and reflected on many things and had many conversations with God. On the last night mom and I took another walk and came upon a second wedding. This one was more was more casual and laid back but just as sweet. This couple was also very young. In todays scary world I pray that these two families hold tight and stay strong...together. We headed for home the next morning refreshed and renewed.
Now for my second vacation. This week at church has been Vacation Bible School. I love VBS. All the kids are running around and singing and are just so alive! I had signed up for anything but crafts. I do not like crafts. Frankly, I am severely allergic to glue, construction paper, stickers and the like. ICK!! I was asked to work in the prayer room Tuesday through Friday. I was so excited. This was something new and I wanted to be so prepared. On Monday I helped with registration and then asked who needed help. Where did I get put? Preschool ....... crafts. There is nothing like 58 3 and 4 year olds. Most do not even speak English. But they were sweet and did do a good job with their sunvisors. The next day I prayed that morning that the Lord would use me in the prayer room and give me the words to say. When I got there I was the only who showed up for this area. I was a little nervous but I thought...no big deal? Right? I have never been so humbled. 33 little children came to the prayer room that day. The Lord is just so good and perfect. I had exactly 33 Bibles to give out laying on my shelf. One little boy looked up after we prayed and asked, "Does this mean I am God's forever?" Just so precious. The rest of the week I marched myself down to the craft room and helped where I was needed. Whether I like crafts or not, God must because it brings so many coming to Him.

Bless y'all!

Cindy

One of my favorite things...

Tomorrow I am leaving for one of my favorite places. The beach. Living in the beautiful state of North Carolina I am fortunate to have mountains and coast within a few hours travel for me. Each year though I head straight to the beach. I simply love nothing more than the salty air, the bigness of the water, the sunrise that sets the water on fire. Truly wondrous. For at least 22 years this annual trip has been a girls getaway. Beginning with my mother, my sister, grandmother, 3 aunts, 5 of my cousins and sometimes a girlfriend of one or two. All girls. This year it has dwindled down to mom and me. My 2 girls and my neice are coming down for 3 days but as young adults they have busy lives. How I miss the whole gang. My precious grandmother is in heaven now and my aunts are unable to go any longer. So I am treasuring this sweet time with my own mother. She is one of my closest friends now in my life. We see each other daily and I am so thankful to God for her in my life. She truly is a treasure. I pray that when my own girls are married and have me some grandbabies (yeah!!!) we can still go down as a group and have fun playing in the water and on the shore. And of course do our all time favorite thing as a family of women...people watch. My husband enjoys this too, but this is strictly a chick-trip! Sometimes you get quite an eyeful too! I will be sure to report back all my sights and hopefully insights. I plan on spending quite a bit of this time reflecting on paths that I feel God is leading me towards and praying about many decisions coming my way. I can't think of a better place to connect to Him than sitting on the beach and gazing at His handiwork.

Bless y'all

Cindy

A Joy-Filled Noise

I just love to sing. I really do. I sing in the car, bathtub...everywhere. My only problem is I can't carry a tune even if it had a handle attached! Many, many times I have wished (and prayed) that I could sing. Really good too! I would sing in church every time I was asked and I would just be so excited to lift my voice up to the heavens. I am sure I would look up the whole time to make sure that God heard me loud and clear. But, I sing just awful. It never fails that I always sit in church around people that can sing. I feel like crawling in a hole when I see them look at me and smile. You know, "that smile". This morning in church the service was so good. The sermon touched my heart. It was on how we serve the LORD. Do we see it as a duty or a delight. Am I burdened by my walk with Jesus and do I really love being a Christian. After praying and really seeking the truth, I truly love and delight in the LORD. I love church, Bible studies, VBS all the things to do with church. I would love to sing in the choir too but... there is that one problem. I love having people in my home. Praying with co-workers. All that stuff. At the close of the service the musicians came back up and sang two songs that I love and that always make me cry. "I Surrender All" and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". They are just so precious and have so much to say. God so desires and wants us to surrender all to Him. Not a little or half but all. No matter how tightly I have my fingers around it, He wants it. So precious. The second song is my life anthem. I am "prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love". That, is a new mercy we can have each day. God wants to take our hearts and seal them. Seal them to the courts above. Needless to say I sang my head off. I am sure that some people wondered, "Who is THAT"! But I was making a truly joyfilled noise. My friend, Tracy, tells me that one we will both sing in the choirs in heaven. She suffers the same affliction I do. That singing issue. She says that in heaven she will even direct the choir. Well, I am going to be in that choir and singing my head off straight to the LORD! Whew! I can't wait!


Bless Y'all
Cindy