What I learned at VBS

Wow, I missed almost 2 weeks in blogland!  I knew it had been a while since I posted on my bloggo, but I didn't realize it had been THAT long.  

The absence has been for a good reason though.  Among other things, I have been at Vacation Bible School.  I love to teach children about Jesus!   I have been helping with VBS for several years and it's one of those mixed bags of a lot of work and a lot of reward.  And at the end of the week, I am both happy and sad that it's over, not to mention exhausted!

Here are a few things I learned at VBS:

There are no easy jobs.  You would think that snacks would be an easy job, right?  No, just ask the people working in the snack area!  If everyone just does a part, even a small part, everything comes together.   That's the way the body of Christ works!

We may never know the impact what we do has on others.  I already said it's a lot of work with the coordination, getting volunteers, decorations, etc., not to mention managing the kids.   If just one child or even one of the volunteers grows in their life with the Lord it is worth it. 

Include everyone.   No, I'm not a Democrat, ha ha!   God loves everyone and as difficult as it is, we should too.  When the 2 and 3 year olds show up, include them.  There is a way.  Invite the parents to stay and participate.  Grab another willing adult or teen whose job is simply to hold hands, play or read a story with them!

Talk to people.  Especially those I don't know.  I am not a big talker.  Sometimes this is difficult for me, it requires effort.  What do I say to them?  I usually just introduce myself, say "nice to meet you" (like most southerners do) and go from there.  Since I feel I am a better listener than a talker, maybe they will do the talking!  Maybe I'm just supposed to listen.

I was a crew leader for the preschool and kindergarten.  I was told I was the best one for this job.  Who knew?  Those of you who know me might be surprised to hear that!  I'm still trying to figure out what I've learned from that!

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 ⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Friday's Fences - North Georgia

I loved this scenic overlook in north Georgia.  If there had been a bench to sit on, I would have sat down and looked and looked and looked!

Friday's Fences #39

PW Simple Scrumptious Grilled Chicken

Have you ever looked at a word and you just know it's misspelled?  I just know that "scrumptious" is misspelled, but it's not!  I also notice misspellings on advertisements.  I know, it's weird.  Drives me crazy sometimes that I notice these things and I am not a perfectionist either.  Oh well, I will get on with this "scrumptious" recipe!

This was one that I chose for The Sweet As Pie Cooking Club.  It's June, fire up the grill!

Get the marinade going. 

Marinating with balsamic vinegar is good!

The steak seasoning will be good too!

Cut chicken into tender sized portions.

The chicken marinated for about 6 hours.  Next time, I'll do this the night before and marinate overnight.

I knew I was forgetting something, the sauce!  I had the grill fired up ready to put the chicken on when I realized I had forgot the sauce.

So I'm back and forth between the stove and bacon....

...and the grill and chicken...and then back to the stove and bacon....

Note to self:  don't do that again!  Fry the bacon before the chicken goes on the grill.

I did like the Sweet Mesquite black beans.  And bring on the sides with fresh squash and cabbage available from local gardens.

We kept the sauce separate so everyone could spoon as much or as little as they wanted.  But when it comes to the leftovers, go ahead and pour it over the chicken before it goes in the frig since the honey will thicken when it cools.  Next time, I'll just toss the chicken with the sauce after grilling instead of having it separate.

The Bassman's friend was in town to fish a tournament with him.   They were my taste testers.  They especially liked the little bit of bite in the sauce.  And I "may" have added a tad more than the recipe called for (winky face).

This chicken was scrumptious and we'll definitely make it again!

Linking with The Sweet As Pie Cooking Club

Barn Charm #89 and Happy Father's Day

This is my father's barn. 

It was built by hand and is at least 75 years old.  There was no electricity available on the property at the time it was built.  I can't image, no electric saws or nailers were used!

He considered restoring it, but it's so costly. 

I like the side shed.  I don't really know why, I just do!

The craftsmanship and uniqueness of the angled siding is, well, charming. 

I took these photos on a barn tour with him this past January.  Lots of memories here...

Happy Father's Day to you Daddy! 

You might enjoy my friend Amy's collection of barn photos at Just Past the Barn.   We took a little barn tour recently and she shared photos of my father's barn here.   

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PW Tremendously Delicious Marinated Steak

It's June at the Sweet As Pie Cooking Club and that means it is my turn to choose a recipe selection for the club to try.  Yay! 

AND it's grillin' time!  Well, it's actually grillin' time a lot at our house.  Even when it's 40 degrees outside you might find the Bassman (not me :-\ ) at the grill.  But summer is almost here and it's not 40 degrees out, hasn't been in a long time as a matter of fact. 

Off I go in search of a Pioneer Woman grillin' recipe.  I have made her favorite burger and it is good.  I could copy her and say it is now my favorite too, it really is good.  I was searching for something besides a burger. 

After seeing some of the grilling contest posts a while back, I chose Tremendously Delicious Marinated Steak.  I immediately warned the Bassman that this would be different, it says it right there on her post.  I was actually a little hesitant, but he was excited to try this.

He likes his steak marinated in Dale's sauce while I prefer garlic powder, salt and pepper on mine.   So all of these spices on a steak are definitely going to be different!    Instead of garlic salt, I used garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Smell the cinnamon?  or the chili powder?  Whoever heard of ginger and nutmeg on a steak?  Me either.  Oh my, have I made a bad choice for the ladies at the cooking club?

Add the oil.  This is a first for me, marinating steak in oil.

I wanted to try a decent steak, not flank or skirt, without a high price since we I was skeptical about this.  I chose to use strip steaks.

Smoosh it around and marinate in the frig, at least 3 hours.

We used our old gas grill.  It's been rebuilt twice and the igniter doesn't work, so I don't mess with it myself.  The Bassman is getting a new grill for Father's Day...shhhh...don't tell!

Whoa, flames!



They're almost ready.  We went for medium instead of medium rare. 

The Bassman impressed me with those grill marks! 

We may have canned baked beans when we're feeding the whole family because they are quick to prepare, otherwise I am not a big fan of them.  But since I'm trying this new steak, we also tried the grillin' beans.  I'm not a fan of those either.

Hesitation is gone (rubbing tummy)!  This marinade flavor is not strong like I thought it might be.  It is a slightly cinnamony, slightly southwestern flavor, kinda hard to describe.  But definitely tremendously delicious!

Have you been at the grill this summer?

At the table with The Sweet As Pie Cooking Club .

Blakelie's Answer Revisited

You can read here about Blakelie's Dash and Blakelie's Answer to get the beginning of her story.  We are still amazed at this answered prayer and I wanted to share a picture of the figurine. 

I believe God is still working on the hearts of our young couple and my prayer is that they see how much He wants a relationship with them!

Sharing with Imparting Grace

Bathroom renovation happiness!

It took a while to get there, but it's done!    And I LOVE it! 

The project was impacted by everything from tornadoes, procrastination, undecisiveness on my part, scheduling with the Bassman on stuff we were going to work on together, and too many other fun things to do other than WORK in the bathroom!  Do your DIY projects go like that or is it just me?

This was my inspiration at House Beautiful. 

I considered the grey color trend that is going on now, but just couldn't commit to that, not in a bathroom anyway.  I learned a lot about choosing whites at Color Me Happy.  There were some things that we weren't planning to replace like the toilet and the tub so the whole white decision was stressful.  What if it looks too yellow?  too green?  too pink?  or don't match?  Ugh!  I'm not sure I got it right, but I'm happy with the results, and I think that's the bottom line in a DIY project.

We removed as much of the construction grade stuff as we could.  We ripped down the knee wall to make a little more space.  Why do they call it a knee wall?  

The wallpaper was awful.  It was applied directly to the drywall with no paint underneath.  What a nightmare!  This stuff wasn't coming off, it was one of those projects that I wish I had never started!  But I was determined it had to GO!

Potty room before:

The Bassman and I did the crown molding ourselves.  Yes, scary I know.  And we're still happily married, ha ha!  We used the crown molding from Lowe's that's the same on both sides making the cuts easier.
Potty room after:

In the old shower, the Bassman had to duck down to get into and out of the shower.  Not anymore.  And look at those two access panels, they're not even the same color!   Obviously, the builder cut a few corners.
Shower before:

I love the shower now!  We hired a tile crew to do the floors and the shower.  They did an excellent job and were wonderful to work with.  I love the frameless glass, the little corner seat and the niche for shampoo and soap.

Shower after:

The vanity area had one of those cheap gold light strips with the 6 globe lights, standard mirror and those 1980's Longaberger baskets that I tossed my stuff into!
Vanity before:

We used our Costco membership to hire Old Castle Surfaces to install the new countertop.   The Bassman swapped that 6-globe-light out for updated lighting over the sinks. 

Vanity after:

The existing cabinets got a facelift with new doors, new hardware and a coat of paint.

I like it simple and uncluttered.   I may hang some faux roman shades at some point but for now I'm happy!

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Metamorphosis Monday

Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
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