It's the Love that Goes Into It

I love watching the Food Network... probably because I love to cook! One thing that I hear repeated over and over is that what makes the really special dishes so special is the love that goes into it. Truly, preparing and serving food is an act of love. No one demonstrated this to me more than my grandmother, Nanny.

My Nanny and Grandfather lived a 10-12 hour drive away. Much of the drive for a visit was spent anticipating the food that I knew would be waiting for me. Nanny knew everyone's favorite dishes and she always had them ready the moment you drove up. Welcome hugs were brief... we just headed to the table. It didn't matter how complicated the dish was to prepare or how many hours of labor went into it. If it was our favorite - Nanny stood in the kitchen for hours to prepare it. It was a labor of love. The look on her face after we took our first bite spoke volumes. Our delight was her reward.

I thought of Nanny a lot over this past weekend. Friends were coming for dinner and I decided to make Nanny's all day pot of sauce. I woke up at 6:00am and started making meatballs... just the way Nanny made them. I browned beef short ribs, pork, Italian sausage, chicken, and my meatballs before beginning the sauce. The VERY LARGE pot simmered all day before I placed it in the fridge overnight and then pulled it back out the next morning. I made manicotti, salad, garlic bread and, of course, the sauce. I poured love into each dish - just like Nanny did. And, just like Nanny, I felt warm and fuzzy knowing that my guests were enjoying every morsel and would leave with full bellies of home-cooked, traditional Italian food.

You may or may not be a gourmet chef (OK - I know Chef Diane is.. Hi Diane) but you don't have to be a great cook to prepare food with love for those you love. The simplest of treats can look and taste very special. Here are two great examples of extra-easy (but fabulous) desserts that ANYONE can make!

Chocolate Clementines

Peel and section Clementines and dip half of each segment into melted dark chocolate. After dipping, place on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet or tray and place in the refrigerator for about an hour so the chocolate will set. Before serving, place in a footed compote dish or in a goblet for a beautiful presentation.

Cream Puff Delight

Purchase a package of frozen cream puffs (no need to thaw). Arrange cream puffs in a footed dish or platter. Spoon about 1/3 of a cup of cream cheese frosting (in a tub) into a microwavable dish and microwave on high for about 10-15 seconds or until it is a glaze consistency. Add 1/2 of a teaspoon of maple extract (or to taste) and stir well. Drizzle the glaze over the cream puffs. Sprinkle with 1/3 of a cup of chopped pecan pie glazed pecans (green package in the nut section of the grocery store). The cream puffs should be thawed and ready to eat by the time you are finished.


Variations:

Drizzle with melted chocolate glaze and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Drizzle with vanilla or chocolate glaze and sprinkle with fresh berries.
Drizzle with lemon glaze and sprinkle with blueberries.

See... you don't have to be a great cook to prepare something spectacular. It's the love you put into it that makes it special!

Sweet Blessings,
LeAnn

Celebrating Anne

I am double-posting today. This same post is on my other blog, A Widow's Might. In loving memory of Anne, I want as many people to read her devotion as possible!


My sweet friend, Anne Belk, went to live with Jesus in August. (Read related post) Tomorrow would have been Anne's birthday. In honor of her birthday, Wendy Pope has written a beautiful devotion celebrating Anne and the impact she had on others. (Read the devotion)

Anne lived her life for Jesus. Nothing made her happier than leading others to Christ. Her devotion to her Lord and Savior inspired Wendy's devotion in honor of Anne.

My friends...

Please read the devotion.

Please pray that many will come to know Jesus through Anne's devotion.

Please forward the devotion to your friends and family.

Please pray for Anne's family. Her husband and children are grieving the loss of the heart of their home. They celebrate her new residence, but miss her terribly.

Sweet Blessings,
LeAnn

Cocoa and Christmas Trees

I love Christmas traditions. But, as Nick has gotten older, he isn't quite as excited about making a gingerbread house, decorating cookies, and watching the old Christmas specials like Rudolph, The Little Drummer Boy and Charlie Brown. We used to sit and watch all the old specials (on VHS) while we decorated the tree, sipped hot cocoa, and decorated a gingerbread house with an overload of candy. We both looked forward to this special "bonding" time. No more (frown). Nick would rather play video games than decorate a gingerbread house.

With changing our website host at work, I've been keeping long hours. I planned on working all day on Saturday but...

About halfway through my day, Nick asked if we could go and pick out a tree TOGETHER and stop at Starbucks for hot cocoa!

When my 15-year-old boy asks me to do something WITH him... I drop everything! I cleaned off my desk and headed home.

We left soon after and stopped off at Starbucks for hot cocoa before heading to the tree lot that we always go to for our tree.

I take my time looking for the perfect tree while Nick makes jokes about my height and dares me to try to touch the top of the trees. (This too is part of our tradition.) We finally found the tree that we wanted to welcome into our home and Nick stopped to pose beside it with his cocoa!


I figured I better document this occasion in case it doesn't happen again! What a sweet moment that I will remember for a very long time.

Sweet Blessings,
LeAnn

Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Will Provide

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

It never ceases to amaze me the way God provides. Nothing is too small or too insignificant. With Thanksgiving now behind us, what I am most thankful for is a God that loves me so much that He provides for all my needs as only He can.

Thanksgiving in our house this year wasn't exactly traditional. Actually, it was just like any other day. I went grocery shopping and did a few loads of laundry in the morning and then headed to church to decorate the sanctuary for a wedding that was taking place on Friday. I finished decorating, headed to Marybeth's house for dessert, and then ran home to fix dinner for me and Nick... Barbequed ribs and cornbread! (Like I said... it was just an ordinary day.)

I spent Friday helping Vickie decorate the Family Life Center for the wedding reception. We still needed a few items so I had to run around looking for what we needed... during the busiest shopping day of the year!

Thanksgiving could have been rough but God kept me so busy that my mind couldn't wander down the dark path. It was filled with wedding decorations and errands. In fact, I'm not even sure I would say we noticed that it was Thanksgiving. God provided... He provided a distraction and a sense of purpose.

I ended up spending about $100 on wedding decorations. My gift to the bride and groom was my time. The expense was not in my budget and I was told to save my receipts as the grooms family would reimburse me for my expenses. However, as more last minute items were needed, they were already over budget and I knew that the extra expense would be difficult for them. If decorating the sanctuary would not have been my gift, I would probably have spent about $25 on a wedding gift so Vickie thought that I should turn in the receipts for the extra $75 that I spent. I got my receipts together and set them by my purse, intending to bring them to church with me yesterday. However... when I was getting ready for church, I felt God telling me NOT to bring the receipts.

OK - I have Christmas shopping looming before me and other expenses like driver's education for Nick. The extra $75 would be a bit of a hardship but I certainly wasn't going to argue with God. He asks that we trust Him and I do. Therefore, I did not bring the receipts to church nor did I tell the grooms parents how much I spent.

Right before I left church, I woman from our women's Sunday School class came up to me and placed a folded up check in my hand. She completely caught me off guard and I didn't even look at it. I kind of assumed that it was for something specific and that I was simply to pass it along. I walked into Vickie's Sunday School classroom and opened the check. My jaw dropped as I realized that the check was made out to me and that it was in the amount of $75! Of course it was for $75... any other amount would not have revealed God's perfect provision. He provides exactly what we need, exactly when we need it and sometimes in the most unexpected way.

Now that I have survived another Thanksgiving... I am very grateful for Jehovah Jirah - the Lord Who Provides - for keeping me so busy that I didn't have time to think about what I didn't have; for allowing me to help with a wedding - a wonderful, joy-filled, hopeful event; and for placing people in my life that truly are His hands, His feet, and His heart.

I pray that the one who placed the $75 in my hand will be blessed abundantly knowing that God used her to provide for my needs. And, I pray for each of you to recognize a very real, very tangible God working in your life in the big and in the small ways. Nothing is too insignificant to God if it isn't insignificant to his beloved children.

Sweet Blessings,
LeAnn