A Gentle Nudge

Sweet Readers,

Last week would have been my mother’s one-hundredth birthday and my father would have celebrated his one hundred seventeenth birthday two days later. I hasten to add I was born late in their marriage! LOL! I wish I had asked more questions about their childhoods and early marriage; we think we have all the time in the world, and…we don’t.

Watching the ball fall on New Year’s Eve made me more aware of how fleeting time is. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NSV) says: Be carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

The day I started writing this post my watch stopped working; a conspiracy or a gentle nudge from God, saying, “Be a good steward of the time I’ve given you, my child.” How best do I manage my time? A dear sister, Adrianna Vermillion, gifted the attendees at the NCompass writing conference a tool to help with this matter. The sheet Adrianna gave us had a breakdown of how we use our time. She said that we needed to tithe our time as well as money. Tithe my time, I thought, somewhat hesitantly. But it works, sweet readers. Try it and see how much time we waste on unimportant things. Oh, and I was given a clock for Christmas!

Last week I promised a recipe for biscuits and vegetable beef soup. Hope you enjoy this cold weather favorite of my family:

(Sweet readers, I don't cook by written recipes so be kind as I start trying to get the hang of this.)

Vegetable Beef Soup  — Your home will smell all "wintery" divine!

Ingredients:

• one and a half pounds stew beef
• (2) yellow onions
• (1) 28   oz.  canned whole plum tomatoes
• (1) 15   oz. canned tomato sauce (add to taste-some like a more beef broth flavor-some more of a tomato flavor)
• (3-4) 15   oz. cans of mixed vegetables
• (3-4) med. cubed potatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• And more broth and water as needed

Preparation:

• Place stew beef that has been cut into cubes in stock pot.
• Add 2 diced onions and the box of beef broth. 
• Finish filling pot to three quarters full with hot water.
• Cook until beef has had time to get partially done.

Then:

• Add can of plum tomatoes (I cut off ends and chop)
• Add tomato sauce
• Add mixed vegetables
• Add cubed potatoes
• Add salt and pepper
• Add more broth and water as needed

Bring to a boil and then let simmer for a few hours so flavors can marry.

Yum!

Eating instructions:
Find biggest bowl in house and grab a spoon!!!!!!


Rain and fog set in the hollow for the past few days, completely hiding the far ridges. I feel the rain gives me permission to slow down and snuggle with a good book. I am reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts.  Oh, the blessings we receive daily.

The kittens are growing; I gave them names today, probably not a wise move on my part. I am trying not to get too close to them (slim chance), thinking of the day they will go to their forever homes.

It is a slow week in the hollow and my mind turns to cooking. I think I will make a potpie tonight and add a salad and maybe some homemade applesauce. As I always say--YUM!  My mother and father owned a restaurant and I have so many good recipes of theirs...I’ll gladly share.

Having spoken to you about time management, I better do-as-I-say and get to the kitchen. Don’t you just love the way cooking warms the kitchen and the heart?

Come go home with me next week.

Love to each of you my sweet readers,

Dee Dee