Heart Hope by Olga

My sister, Ginny Phillips is one of the best cooks I know. She graciously shared this recipe with me. I hope you enjoy! Chutney Cheese Ball 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 C. extra sharp cheddar cheese, softened ½ tsp. salt 1 tsp. garlic salt ½ tsp. curry powder 3-4 tsp. dry sherry ¾ C. Major Grey’s Chutney 3 green onions, chopped 3 strips bacon, fried and crumbled Mix first 7 ingredients. Blend well. Shape into a circle on a plate. Chill. Before serving, sprinkle with onions and bacon. Spread chutney on cheese first. Serve with crackers preferrably Wheat Thins. hearthope.org

This week, I spotted the first yellow leaves appearing on the trees. It seems just yesterday that I was watching the leaves burst forth from the dormant trees. Summer will soon be gone and fall will be here in full force with the vibrant yellows, reds and oranges on the mountains. Change…I am not very good with it, in fact, I would be happy if summer would continue on, but it won’t. And in reality, it shouldn’t. Life is a lot like the seasons--just when I think life is set, something changes. Children grow up and start their own families. Jobs come and go. Moves take you from place to place. Loved ones grow older and even pass on. Landlines become obsolete and the newest updates in software come quicker than we can learn the previous version. Seasons of life can be hard and they can also be exciting. Change is really good for us even if we do not like it. If things never changed we would become stagnant and boring. God’s desire is for our lives to be challenging, stimulating, and ever-...

Since yesterday was my birthday, I have been contemplating them. Isn’t it fun that we can all celebrate the day that we were born! We can have a day that is almost all our own, unlike other holidays when we have to share it with others. In our early years we cannot wait for each birthday to arrive so we can be older, in fact, we often times said things like, “I am five and a half” to make us seem older. Then as we get older we don’t really want to have anymore birthdays or at least we don’t really want people to tell people our real age. However, I do have a friend that is quite clever. She will add 5 years to her real age and then people respond with, “You look great for your age.” There are the monumental birthdays. At ten you get to be in double digits. Thirteen is an exciting one since you become a teenager. (Personally I’m not sure it’s all it is cracked up to be. Have you considered all of the things that happen during those years? Peer pressure, pimples and puberty) “Sweet sixte...

Today while walking into Wal-Mart my phone rang. It was a friend who was going to stop by my house to visit with my mother and me. I told her that I would be picking up 5 items and then would be heading home, so she could meet us in 30 minutes. After finishing shopping, the store greeter stopped me and asked me how many items I had purchased. I was confused and wondered if Wal-Mart had established the same policy as Costco, where they check your receipt as you exit the store. I told the worker that I had bought 7 items. He then proceeded to scold me, saying that I was only supposed to buy 5 things. At that point I was really perplexed, until my mother reminded me that on the way in the store I had told my friend that I needed to purchase 5 things before returning home. As Mother and I got in the car, we were laughing hysterically about the situation. When entering the store I had not even seen the store greeter and was totally unaware that he had overheard my conversation with my frien...

I'm not sure of the authorship of this, but it says that it was written by a young African pastor and was tacked to his wall. If anyone can tell me the original source, please let me know. I hope you find it challenging, encouraging and even convicting. Feel free to pass it along to others who might benefit from it. I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down,back away, or be still.My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean...

4 cups plain yogurt ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted ¼ cup good honey 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 teaspoons grated orange zest ½ to 1 cup peach nectar ¼ cup raisins 1 peach, peeled and diced ½ pint fresh raspberries Line the sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and suspend it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the sieve and allow it to drain, refrigerated, for 3 hours or overnight. Place the thickened yogurt into a medium bowl and add the almonds (reserving 1 T for the garnish), honey, vanilla, and orange zest. Thin with peach nectar until it is a desirable consistency. Add the raisins, peach (reserving 1 T for garnish) and raspberries (reserving 2 T for garnish). Garnish with the reserved almonds, peach and raspberries. hearthope.org

Who would have ever thought that Vacation Bible School could transform a family… after all it is just for kids. Our church offers a free program for anyone who would like to attend three hours a day for one week during the summer, therefore the church is overflowing with children whose parents want to have a place for them to go. While helping with registration for VBS at our church, we had a mom stop by the check in table and make the announcement that her family did not practice Christianity at home (well, that is the very reason that we open it up to anyone in the community who wants their child to attend, so yay!). The mother proceeded to tell us that she had grown up in a Christian home, but had gotten away from the church and that when she and her child went to church on Easter with her sister, she realized that her daughter knew nothing about Christianity when the child asked her mother why there was a “t” on the wall at the front of the sanctuary, which of course was the cross ...

At least four times in the last few months while sitting in my living room, I have heard a thud at the window. Each time, I discovered that a bird had crashed into the large picture window that looks into my backyard, and believe me it was not because the windows were so clean that they could not tell that they were flying into the glass pane. I’m not sure exactly why these crashes happen, but I do have a few guesses. The first one is that they just get distracted either by another bird or by the freedom that they feel gliding through the air. That sometimes happens to me in life; I lose my focus and while distracted I get myself into a situation that might be harmful or even dangerous. Another possibility for the flying mishaps could be that the reflection in the glass makes it look like there are blue skies and clouds out in front of them, but it is actually a mirage. This can happen in life too when we don’t check out things carefully we can be fooled into a false manner of thinking...

These are so yummy and easy since they can be made in advance. Sticky Buns ¾ c chopped or whole pecans 2-1 lb packages frozen white dinner rolls 1-3 oz box vanilla cook and serve pudding mix (not instant) ¾ c butter ¾ c packed brown sugar Generously grease a 15x10 baking pan. Sprinkle the nuts onto the bottom of the pan. Place rolls evenly over the nuts—there will be space between the rolls. Sprinkle the dry pudding over the rolls. In a medium saucepan, bring the butter and brown sugar to a rolling boil. Pour the hot mixture over the rolls. Coat plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray and cover the pan. Let the pan stand overnight on the countertop, allowing the rolls to rise. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully remove the plastic wrap and bake rolls for approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Place a cookie sheet over the baking pan and invert to remove rolls. Serve hot from the oven. Makes 24 rolls. heart...

Four Eagle Ranch has a Colorado Buffalo as part of their animal herd, but it is not an ordinary animal. Its name “Reject” might be the first clue that he is not your run of the mill buffalo. His mother rejected him at birth because of his defects, the first recognizable one was the abnormal hump on the animal’s back and then when his horns began growing in there was another strange sight. One of the horns was a typical horn, pointing up, but the other one was not—it pointed down. This provided one more reason for its mother to discard her baby. Reject was adopted by the ranch as a kind of mascot and instead of being a mistake that was of no use, the buffalo has been able to bring joy and laughter to children and adults alike. When we think of being rejected, we see it as a painful, heart-breaking occurrence. Rejection can come in many forms. It can be as simple as not being invited to do something with a group of friends. It might be more distressing such as getting a notice that you a...

Why do we reward bad behavior by making heroes out of people who have done something wrong? I was just listening to the commentary on Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who cursed at passengers, pulled the emergency exit chute, grabbed a couple of beers and then slid off running to his car, putting many at risk with his poor behavior. In the past few days he has gotten thousands of fans on his Facebook page and has even raised money to help with his defense. He is being called a “folk hero.” There is something very erroneous with this behavior. As one who served the public for many years in a classroom, there were many days when I too could have jumped and run—notice I said could have, but there was a choice to be made. You can imagine that there were “abusive” students in the inner-city school where I worked who may have been much ruder in their behavior than the passengers on an airplane, but the thought never crossed my mind to abandon them. They needed me to be the exampl...

A great summer morning, good friends and a beautiful mountain to hike—it just doesn’t get any better than this! While walking along the path to Shrine Pass God showed me how our lives often parallel the hike I was on. Since I had not been on this trail before, I started out with excitement and curiosity. Our lives are a lot like this, aren’t they? We begin our journey with great expectation about how wonderful it is going to be—free from hardship and hurts, but we quickly find out that things might not be just as we think they should be along the way. As I walked the path, there was beauty all around, but there were other things that could come in and steal the moment from me. There were gnarly dead trees that had been damaged by the wind, weather or fire and were really no longer good for anything. Some people end up like these stumps and logs. They allow the junk of the world to come in and kill and destroy the very life within and then become hardened and dry, not useful to anyone o...

Thank you to Christy for sharing her yummy, healthy version of grilled potato salad! 3 large sweet potatoes ¼ c olive oil 8 oz bacon finely diced (don’t really need that much & use turkey bacon if you prefer) 2 shallots thinly sliced ¼ c red wine vinegar ¼ c fresh flat leaf parsley chopped 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped 1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped Salt and Pepper In a large pot of salted water, boil the potatoes until just cooked – not soft! (They didn’t say to peel them first, but I did.) Drain immediately. Heat grill to medium. In a medium sauté pan over high heat, cook bacon until just crisp; remove the bacon with slotted spoon & drain it on a paper towel. Return the pan with the drippings to medium heat; add the shallots and cook until golden brown and slightly caramelized (about 3 minutes) Add the vinegar and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in ¼ c olive oil, all of the herbs and salt & pepper to taste. Cut the potatoes into ¼ in thick ...

Do you know how many times a day you glance at your watch to see what time it is? I didn’t realize how much of a habit that is until the battery went out on my watch recently. I first noticed that something was wrong with my watch when I looked at it and it was 10:10 and then a short time later I looked at it again and it was still 10:10. Throughout the morning, I would glance at my wrist only to discover that the time had not changed. Now you would think that after a couple of those quick peeks, I would have stopped looking, but habits are difficult to break. Some habits are good for you, such as brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, and daily exercise. Other habits are not so positive in our lives--those such as eating out of boredom, turning the TV on for no purpose, and yes, even gossip. Good habits are often difficult to establish while the bad ones are hard to break. There are several suggestions that I have heard to help us change our habits. First we should work on one habit a...

Luann Prater has had a ministry with teen girls for several years and as so often happens at that time of life, some of the girls had become a bit skeptical about the power of prayer. One of the girls was particularly belligerent about the subject, so Luann knew that she had to do something drastic to show the girls that they were wrong regarding their doubts. Luann prayed and God gave her an idea. Since it was around Christmas, she had each of the girls purchase a cool gift for another teenager, wrap it up and meet back the next week. Upon their arrival the following week, Luann gathered them for prayer and then gave the girls their instructions—get in the car, pray and tell her where to go in order to deliver the presents. So the adventure began with the girls bowing their heads in silent prayer and then in unison shouting out, “Turn left” and left they turned. Back to prayer they went and then another shout, “Turn right” and on and on that went for about 20 minutes when they finall...

Since I love to eat and know many good cooks, I am planning on making Tuesdays my day to post recipes. If you have a great one that you would like to share, just let me know and I will give you all of the credit on the blog. It would be a bonus if the recipe was not only tasty, but healthy too! Here is an easy and versatile summertime recipe for using those sweet juice peaches: Balsamic Glazed Grilled Peaches Serve these with main course or with ice cream as dessert ½ c balsamic vinegar 2 T honey 4 peaches halved and pitted Bring vinegar to boil in a saucepan; reduce heat and simmer until reduced in half. Remove from heat and stir in honey. Coat grill with cooking spray and heat before heating (it could explode if spraying while heating and since you know my experiences with fire, we don't want that to happen). Lightly coat peach halves with spray. Place peaches cut side facing down on the grill and cook until well marked, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until fairly tender, about 3...

Have you ever noticed that we talk a lot? Often times it is women that get blamed for talking too much, but if you ever watch TV talk shows, I think there are many men who like to hear themselves droning on and on too. In doing a bit of research I found that we probably select from a vocabulary of about 500 words a day, but many of them are used multiple times during the day, so the World Wide Web told me that the number actually spoken in a day could range from between 1,500 and 24,000 words. Someone named “loz” on the Internet did the math and figured out that approximately one million billion words have been uttered in the last thousand years. Her math was too high for me, so I couldn't check her on it, but anyway….enough said about this. I am just wasting words here and what I really want to get to tell you about is my weekend. Last Friday through Sunday, I was in Charlotte, NC at the She Speaks Conference put on by Proverbs 31 Ministries (which by the way is probably the best ...