Here We Go.... First Worship Services of Naples Presbyterian Church!

As I sit here listening to my husband practice music with a young man named Wil, who will be playing the violin at our first worship services tomorrow, my heart is full with thankfulness and praise to God.  He has called us to bring His good news to the South/East part of Naples, Florida and we are ready to begin!

Eric and Wil practicing for worship.

We have been here for four months now, and all the preparations have led us up to this day. We have sent countless emails, handed out dozens and dozens of invitations, made hundreds of photo-copies and gathered all the gear we think we will need. We've had open-houses and Bible studies, and read the books about church planting.  Humanly speaking, we have done what we can do.  But we realize that ultimately none of our efforts mean anything without God's blessing and approval.  He is the one we are serving, and all our "work" only has meaning when done for His glory.  So we humbly ask Jesus to bless our efforts and bring His sheep into our fold.

Our living room is a mess with all the literature, signs, and supplies we will need tomorrow.

We'll be meeting outdoors at a hotel's poolside patio since the conference room we have rented won't be ready for us tomorrow.  It's not what we originally envisioned, but it will be a memorable part of our church's story.

"Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Let all that is within me bless his holy name!"

Recipe Classic: Banana Bread (or Muffins) Extraordinaire

 So everyone has a banana bread recipe, because we all need to find a way to use up those brown, freckled bananas that accumulate on our kitchen counters ... but do you LOVE yours? Does your family love your version?  If not, I invite you to try this one.  I can say with confidence that this recipe is the rock-star of banana breads.  It is moist and heavy and stays fresh for several days after baking.  (And it's even better with chocolate chips in it.)

Banana Bread (or Muffins) Extraordinaire

1/2 Cup butter (1 stick) softened, but not melted
1 Cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 Cup mashed bananas (very ripe, approx. 3 medium bananas)
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: 1/2 Cup chocolate chips OR chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9-by-5-by-3 inch loaf pan OR put paper liners into 24 muffin tins. (See comment below.) Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together until well blended (I use an electric mixer for this part). Beat eggs into mixture and blend completely.  Add the mashed bananas and blend again.

In a separate bowl,  thoroughly whisk flour, baking soda and salt together.  Using a large spoon, begin stirring this into the butter/sugar/banana mixture.  Alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream & vanilla until all are combined.  Do not over-mix; stir only until all ingredients are just blended.   If desired, gently stir in chocolate chips or nuts last.

Pour into prepared pan (or muffin liners) and bake.  For loaf, bake approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, until center tests done with a toothpick. Rest in pan for 10 minutes before turning out to cool.  
For muffins, bake approximately 20 minutes until golden on top.  (Note, you may not get 24 muffins from this.  It depends on how full you fill the muffin liners.  I usually get about 20-22 muffins).

On a personal note, I highly recommend making this in the form of muffins.  Muffins are easy to grab and go, but mostly muffins are easy to share.  I took some of these over to our new neighbors across the street this past week, and they invited me into their home for a cup of coffee and conversation... how wonderful is that?  A friend told me that baking for neighbors is very "old school".  I took it as a compliment. :)

The Mayonnaise Jar Lesson

I recently read something that was simple, but profoundly inspiring.  I'm happy to share it here:


THE MAYONNAISE JAR

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you...” he told them.

“So... pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”


I love this story!  The "pebbles" in our lives are things that matter, but if that is all we focus on, there is no room for our "golf balls".  How much time do we waste on the "sand",  and neglect the "golf balls"?  Sadly, I have even told myself in the past that there was no room for the coffee.   I am constantly trying to re-prioritize, and this visual lesson is a great tool.

I remember watching a presentation very similar to this several years ago at a homeschooling conference.  The speaker was Don Aslett, and he used different sizes of rocks and a large jar to make the same point about time management.  In order to get the most important things accomplished each day, we have to take care of the "big rocks" first, or there won't be time for them at the end of the day.  If we fill our day (or our lives) attending to less important things, we will never accomplish our most important goals.

Good stuff to ponder!

Church Planting 301

It's been seven weeks since we embarked on our glorious adventure! And since this is the third church-plant we've been involved with, I have the blessing of perspective.  While the early days of church planting might look like a breeze to those on the outside, they can actually be quite challenging and hectic. But I am not experiencing the kind of doubts and fears that I have felt in the past.  We truly believe that God has called us to this work, so we face each day with confidence in Christ and his promises. It is also easier as "empty-nesters" since we do not have children at home who are experiencing sadness over moving.

We planned it so that our first two weeks in Florida were actually accrued vacation time from our previous church.  That was to allow us to take some "time off" to unpack and settle in without feeling guilty about making few contacts right away. That was the idea in theory.  But we no sooner arrived, and we began to feel the pull of seeking out people. It's just who we are and how we roll.

So while we unpacked and set up house, we regularly had friends (new and old) over for meals, swimming, and visiting.  Amidst all the cardboard and clutter we have had some very sweet fellowship.  Hospitality is a vital component in church planting, and we're blessed that we do enjoy having people in our home.

Someone asked my husband, "What do you do all day?" It's a great question, and he answered it more extensively here. Besides all the normal things that must be done when you move (driver's licenses, new insurance, car registration etc etc), there are lots of church tasks to attend to.

Many of our days have been spent driving around looking for that ideal place to begin holding worship services.  We have visited store-fronts, schools, office buildings, hotels and stand-alone properties. We've met with realtors, principals, managers and owners.  It's been a good experience and we feel much more well acquainted with our community after visiting so many venues.  The cloud of confusion is beginning to lift, and we think we have an obvious front-runner - yay!

Last night we held our first "event" which was an open house (in our home) to introduce people to our denomination and answer questions about our new church.  We were excited that 29 people came! We received some encouraging feedback via response cards, and now we pray for God to move in people's hearts.  We know that without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing.  Only the Lord can draw people to himself.... He simply calls us to be faithful in showing others the way.

No-Egg Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

This recipe has been in my family's repertoire for years.  It's cookie dough you do not bake.... just mix it up and enjoy! 

This became our boys' signature birthday treat in elementary school, and their classmates would even request it as celebrations approached. We have served it at all of our graduation open-houses and never had leftovers.  So I'm sharing it here for others to enjoy!

Hauslers’ Cookie Dough

2 ¼ Cups Flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt (or less)

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

1 Cup Butter (2 sticks)

¾ Cup White Sugar

¾ Cup Brown Sugar

¼ Cup Cream or Milk (I use Half & Half )

1 tsp. Vanilla

1-2 Cups Chocolate Chips

Cream butter and sugars together. Add the milk and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture. Add more milk if needed for a creamy texture. Stir in chocolate chips. Eat raw with a glass of milk. Store leftovers in fridge. (DO NOT BAKE!)

This recipe is easily doubled. We use a double recipe to make enough for about 25-30 kids.  Can serve individual portions in Dixie cups or cupcake liners. Enjoy! J

Before and After: Yellow Stain Miracle!

As we were recently moving, I realized that some of our pillows were really, really yellowed. I figured we would just use them as padding on the truck, then throw them away when we got to our new house. But then I came across this article with tips for whitening mattress pads, pillows, etc., so I figured I would give it a try.  It's always nice to save money and keep more trash out of our landfills, right?

It worked!  What an amazing difference!  See for yourself....

BEFORE: Yellowed and dingy - Bleh!

 *Please no comments about how bad these look! I already know!:)

AFTER:  Much better - clean and bright!(Note that the bottom pillow has a blue/gray cover. It is significantly cleaner, but obviously not white.)

I confess that I am slightly addicted to "Before and After" photos. There is something wonderful about seeing things that look ugly (or) dirty (and/or) plain, transformed into beautiful (or) clean (and/or) spruced-up condition.  So I often click on pictures of furniture that has been rehabilitated, rooms that have been made over, and household items that have been given a new lease on life.  It is amazing what a little TLC can do!  
I have found many of these examples on Pinterest, which is where I found a recipe for cleaning yellowed bedding.  

As you can see, our pillows were really bad... gross in fact. (It's embarrassing to even show them, but I'm hoping no one will judge me here! ) We all sweat as we sleep, and this is what happens over time. So, here's the scoop:

Laundry Whitening Recipe:

• 1 Cup Laundry Detergent (I used generic powdered stuff from the dollar store)
• 1 Cup Powdered Dishwasher Detergent
• 1 Cup Bleach* (or non-chlorine bleach if you wish)
• 1/2 Cup Borax
• VERY HOT Water, using as little as possible so your solution is concentrated

Since the goal is to create a HOT, concentrated solution to soak the laundry in, I set my load size on "small" and added a couple of pots of boiling water to boost the temperature. (I would suggest skipping the boiling water if your laundry room is on a different floor than your kitchen. Mine is only a few steps away.) 

I let the washer agitate for a minute to dissolve the ingredients, then I stopped it and put two pillows in to soak. 

The water only reached about halfway up the pillows, so after 30 minutes I turned them over to soak the other side. You can definitely soak things longer, but I was impatient.  The difference was already dramatic:

After they had soaked on the other side for another 30-40 minutes, I filled the washer up so the water would almost cover the pillows, and put them on a short wash cycle. As you can see, they are MUCH cleaner and brighter looking! Not quite like new, but WAY better, and they smell great too! Now that I've proven this recipe works, I'll be giving the same treatment to all our pillows! I think I will soak them longer next time just to eek out that last bit of whiteness.

*A word about chlorine bleach: After checking a few places online, I see that the use of bleach is controversial. Some people prefer not to EVER use chlorine bleach, and some fabrics won't tolerate it.  I decided to give it a try, since I was willing to part with these pillows if it didn't work.  If you have heirloom linens or expensive pillows, you should probably avoid the chlorine bleach and replace it with a non-chlorine substitute, or leave it out altogether.

Here's another batch of pillows I did, with similar (but even more dramatic) results:

BEFORE:Super yuck!

AFTER: Fresh and white! I'm so happy!

  I think I'll also start posting some other Before & After projects I have in mind. I have some furniture I want to paint, and it's fun for me to see the difference in photos.

Book Review: Small Town Girl by Ann Gabhart

From the Publisher:
How long can two people stand on the brink of love without plunging in headfirst?
In the autumn of 1941, rumors of war whisper through Rosey Corner. The town practically vibrates with apprehension, as if it is holding its breath. But for Kate Merritt, it seems life is letting out a prolonged sigh. As Kate watches her sister marry the man Kate has loved since she was fifteen, her heart is silently breaking. And even the attentions of Jay Tanner, the handsome best man, can't draw her interest.

Then suddenly, Pearl Harbor changes everything and Kate finds herself drawn to Jay in surprising ways. Could she truly be in love with him? And if he enlists, will she ever see him again?

In her gentle and textured style, Ann H. Gabhart tells a timeless story of love, sacrifice, and longing that will grip your heart and stir your spirit. Fans of Gabhart's Angel Sister will love seeing Kate Merritt all grown-up, as well as other characters they have come to love.

My Review:
This was such a pleasant read.  I enjoyed Gabhart's Angel Sister, so it was nice to return to Rosey Corner, Kentucky and get reacquainted with the Merritt family. 

Kate Merritt is the central figure in this historical fiction, and she is a spunky, likable young woman.  When Jay Tanner comes to town, she tries to resist his charm but can't seem to get him off her mind. Many ups and downs occur, and along the way Gabhart tackles real-life topics such as alcoholism and parental abandonment. In addition, Rosey Corner is filled with interesting and quirky characters that represent the trials and blessings of life in a small town.  It's all woven together in a charming story that is perfect for a slow summer read.