Blackberry Cobbler

Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, but I wanted to share this recipe for Blackberry Cobbler.  A good ol' southern recipe (from Southern Living).  They really don't let you down.  Be prepared for sugar, flour, butter, and cream.  Those are the usual ingredients to good southern food, am I right? ;-)

Blackberry Cobbler

5 cups fresh blackberries or 2 (14 oz) frozen blackberries, thawed & drained
1 cup sugar

3-4 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 Tbs lemon juice
Crust (recipe below)
2 Tbs butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon sugar

Crust

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 Tbs sugar

1/4 cup shortening

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup buttermilk

Combine first 4 ingredients. Mix well. Put into a lightly greased 8-9 inch square pan. Prepare crust. Spoon mounds over the blackberry mixture. Brush with butter and sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar. Bake uncovered, 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown & bubbly.

I was watching Pioneer Woman's show the other day.  She also made a blackberry cobbler but had a different approach to it.  It looks delicious as well and I would love to try it some time.  She is awesome and hilarious.

A Pumpkin Dessert

We had dinner with our friends the other night and I was asked to make a "festive" dessert.  Lately, when I go to the grocery store, I usually get a few cans of pumpkin puree because I know I'll be making something with pumpkin in it.  I ended up making this dessert.  Everyone said it was delicious, so I had to share it on here, just in case anyone would want to make it!

Via All Recipes

The Great Pumpkin Dessert

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fl oz) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 box/package yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix well and pour into the baking pan.
Sprinkle the box of yellow cake mix evenly over the top, then drizzle it with melted butter.  Top with walnuts.
Bake for 1 hour or until the knife is clean.
*Note - some people do not like walnuts.  It is definitely not needed, but I liked the crunch.

Enjoy! We sure did...it was a delicious, warm, fall dessert!

Some Truth to Throw at Your Fears

I found this on the internet and I had to share it.  We need to remember and own this TRUTH. Just some encouragement for this very day you are reading this.  It does not matter the day, but this is the day the Lord has made....therefore, he has full control over it.  Hard to remember at times. But we must choose it.

Psalm 118:6 "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?

Romans 8:31 "...If God is for us who can be against us?

Little humor with some BIG truth!

A Challenge that Brings You to Your Knees

As of late, it has been heavy on my heart to be more consistent and intentional in my prayers for my husband, Lee.  I can say or do all that I think is right to be supportive and encouraging to him, but I need to remember that's its most crucial to be bringing it to the Lord first.  With that said, I want to share with you something my wonderful sister-in-law put together.

My sister-in-law, Erin, has a passion for marriage and wants others to know the significant value of the relationship between a husband and wife above all else (after your relationship with the Lord, of course).  She has an awesome marriage blog and diligently writes a "Marriage Monday" post every week! They are always so encouraging and have great perspective from areas that I would not have thought of beforehand.  Speaking of that, check out her latest post: It's Never Too Late.  

Erin, put together a day-by-day prayer calendar for the month of November, which you can use each following month as well.  (I know it's a week into November or so, but I just thought that I HAD to share it with everyone).  She thought of and created the best topics to pray over your spouse, some topics I would not have thought off the top of my head.  That is why I love the prayer calendars, because they give you something specific to pray about and really focus on.  There are several out there, but I wanted to share hers with you because I love it.  There is one for the wife and one for the husband.  I am so excited about this and to see how the Lord uses this in our marriage!  Even if you are single, this is still applicable to you.  Start praying now for your future husband or wife.  You never know what God is doing in their life right this minute! Pray for him/her as God prepares them to be your spouse! 

To download the printable pdf go here to her post: November Prayer Challenge

Let's get real.  You may not always "feel" like praying for your spouse. Yes, I said that.  We are humans and we have flesh that likes to rival with all things that fixes our eyes upward (unto Him).  This is where we make a CHOICE as a spouse.  We cannot base things on feelings, because let's face it our feelings are not the best thing to depend on.  I don't know about you, but my feelings have made me look really stupid sometimes :-) Make a choice to love them by praying for them!

Speaking of PRAYER.  Can I ask you to please pray for me as I start the job search and interview process? I am graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing in December (less than 6 weeks away!!).  I am so excited about starting this process, but also very nervous.  I am very interested in many areas of nursing and I can not wait to start taking care of patients on my own!  It's a very exciting time, but also overwhelming knowing that I will be the patient's nurse, not the nursing student anymore!

House Projects: Headboard & Entertainment Center

The past few months, Lee and I have been working on a few house projects! They were a little bit time consuming, but I am so happy the way they turned out.  Let's be honest, Lee is my hero and can make/build anything and did all the hard work.  I did most of the sanding, painting, decorating.  I told him that it was dangerous, because now I know what he is capable of and will be having more projects down the road ;-)

Our first project: Old Door Headboard for our guest room.  Got this idea from a picture on pinterest from this blog (the last picture on that post).

This is the old door that I found at an antique shop to use for the project.

List: old door, decorative trim (from Lowe's), primer, sanding tools, and putty.

Lee quickly realized that the door was disproportional (one long window, one short) & too long for the bed.  So he worked his magic and cut off the end, saving the end panel, and piecing it back together to make it look even.

Finished Product!

Close up of the trim and distressed look. I sanded the edges, painted stain on the sanded areas,  & quickly wiped it off with an old rag to give it that aged/distressed look.

Our second project: an entertainment center.

I was so excited about this project, because I originally found this "look" on pottery barn.  I already knew about ana-white.com, which provides you with hundreds of free PDF plans for furniture.  I went to see what kind of plans they had for entertainment centers and found the same look!

Hard working husband getting started!

Working on painting together

Finished product! Didn't he do a fantastic job? I really love the knobs as well, they dress it up a bit! It is exactly what I had pictured and it could not have turned out better. It really helps our living room feel complete.

Who am I? I used to tell my mom that I did not like the word "hobbies".  Even though, I now love Hobby Lobby, making things, cooking, etc.  She always encouraged me to have a "hobby".  I guess, I didn't want to have something called a hobby because I didn't want to be stuck with that thing if I changed my mind, haha!  That's why I don't have a jewelry blog, or a craft blog, or a recipe blog, or a story blog, but I have an everything blog.  I am just that way....I don't have "favorites" with much of any category.  I like to change things up! Sometimes I like to stay in and make things and other days I would much rather be out playing a sport.  Oh well, keeps life interesting.  

"Little Man" Shower & A Pinterest Party

My sweet friend, Ashley, is having her second baby boy this december! I have known Ashley since I was in high school.  She has always been a faithful, true friend to me!  It has been amazing to watch her become a mommy and what a role model she is for me in that department.  I am so thankful for her!  Of course, we had to celebrate this second precious addition with a baby shower.

Our theme: "Little Man" 

Since it was her second little boy, we decided to do something a little different when it came to gifts (instead of clothes, etc).  First of all, we all know that diapers are expensive, not to mention when you have to buy for two little boys for the next few years! We decided to have a "diaper raffle".  Everyone brought a packet of diapers and put their name in a bowl. We gave out a gift card to whoever won.  In addition, we asked for gift cards, so that Ashley and Evan could use that to buy a double stroller, a second crib, and all the other things that they would need!

I got these cards at Tip Junkie. It was a sweet way to give blessings  & wishes to Baby Brody

"Little Man" Theme - Bowties & Mustaches :) I got this idea off another blog. Everyone looked like they had mustaches when they drank their punch ;-)

My sister in law made this AWESOME diaper cake! :-)

The absolutely beautiful Mommy expecting her second handsome boy!  I can not wait to meet him. 

I hope you know what Pinterest is by now.  If you don't, you need to know! I describe it as a virtual idea board.  You can "pin" things from all over the internet and from the home base on pinterest on to boards that you have made.  For example, I have a food board, clothing board, holiday board.  You pin all your ideas on there, it saves the website that you originally got it from, and then you can go back at anytime to look at them!  You can also "repin" things others have "pinned" previously.  A few friends and I decided that we had so many home decorations we wanted to make from Pinterest, that we decided to turn it into a party! Everyone made their own hobby lobby trip and brought their supplies over to my house.  We ate, made our little creations, and watched movies.  Perfect, relaxing night for us girls! Here is what I made...

My fall wreath.  Just got ideas from pinterest!

I did not have time to make this second project...but I am almost done with it. I'm using different colors than from this picture, but I think its an adorable necklace and not too hard to make either.

As you can probably gather now, I really just get all my ideas from other blogs and....pinterest! :-) Even though they are not my own, I wanted to share them with you to maybe give some ideas to y'all as well. After all, that's how I got mine!

Significance of "The Delightful Hour"

I started thinking about what I would name this blog.  I wanted it to be something different that easily encompassed everything, because this blog isn't just about one topic. Over the passed few years, the Lord has brought my attention and my heart to the word "delight". 

 "Delight" : a high degree of gratification, joy, extreme satisfaction, to take great pleasure.  

My senior year through my sophomore year of college, I read and reread a book called "Passion and Purity" by Elisabeth Elliot.   One of my favorite parts in that book is when she discusses the possibility of us being able "...to waste the present altogether" (p. 78). That hit me hard that we can so easily be guilty of that very action.

The Lord has ordained my life...He knows where I will be at one moment in what hour no matter the significance.  But that's just it, I'm placing a level of significance on one thing or the other.  Meaning, I'm deeming certain things as not significant at all.  Ok, y'all, that doesn't mean that I'm thinking, "oh, dang, I'm about to go to Walgreens...this is significant...I should delight in this...". No, not the case.  What I'm trying to say is wrapped up in one of my favorite quotes of all time, which is also in the same book "Passion and Purity":

"Wherever you are, be all there.  Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." - Jim Elliot (Elisabeth Elliot's late husband)

To me, this quote means that we are to be aware of our surroundings and circumstances....aware to the Lord's will.  "Delight yourself in the Lord..." (Psalm 37:3), "I delight to do your will" (Psalm 40:8).  Depending on your version, it says we should delight in the word and commandments of the Lord nine different times in Psalm 119. Therefore, if we are to follow His word as believers and believe that our life is ordained by the Lord, then we need to delight in it.

With all that said, I am continually being taught by the Lord that no matter if I am working, doing dishes, cleaning up something messy, having a conversation, studying, enjoying the outdoors, being tested, caring for others, dealing with a difficult situation...no matter where I am, what I am doing, who I am with I need to be sure I am delighting in the very hour that God has so graciously given me.  Delighting may look many different ways.  Sometimes, I hear of horrible trials people are facing and I think, "Ok, Lord, how are they supposed to delight in this situation or "consider it pure joy" (James 1:2)?" A circumstance that I may face might be so difficult that all I can do is turn to His word and delight in it.  That may be the only thing I can truly do to be delighting in that hour of that circumstance.  

I intentionally titled my blog "The Delightful Hour", so that each time I visit it and come to write, I will be reminded that very moment "Have I been delighting in the hours of today?".  It's a way to remind myself of this truth and hopefully encourage others.

I am not very good at explaining things and I do not write very often.  However, I hope that I got the point and truth of "The Delightful Hour" across to whoever reads this post.

Do not forget:  Even though we are commanded to delight in Him and His word.  Remember, He first delighted in us by loving us enough to send His son to die in our place, while we were enemies of Him. Because of that, we may have a genuine relationship with Him that we may live in His grace on earth and eternally with Him in heaven.