And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’ (Matthew 21:13a)

Every Wednesday night, our church holds its weekly prayer meeting. It is an encouraging, refreshing, relaxing time. We share prayer requests, pray for one another, sing hymns, and offer praise reports about how God has answered our prayers, met our needs, and blessed us and those we love.

Since the prayer meeting starts at 8:00 pm, well after Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum have been put to bed, JT and I cannot go to the meeting together. So that we each have an opportunity to attend a couple times a month, we take turns going to prayer meeting. Last night was my turn to go.

I was very thankful to get to last night’s meeting as I really needed some prayer. I was tired after spending the majority of day running various errands to prepare for our 4th of July barbecue and my patience was short. Yesterday, the girls were feeling particularly “emotional” by the end of the day and concluded the day with a ferocious battle with me over dinner and baths. I practically ran into the church last night in search of relief!

Toward the end of the prayer meeting, my friend Audrey stood and offered us some marvelous words of encouragement. She reminded us that God hears the prayers of those who have a true relationship with Him and that those prayers are extremely powerful (James 5:16). Audrey encouraged us to continue praying for one another and pointed out that our church is full of prayerful, gifted members involved in a variety of church ministries, all designed to give us the support we need.

Thankfully, the day I had yesterday is atypical. However, when those days come, it’s comforting to know that I have friends and family who pray for me and my family daily. It’s also a blessing to step into my own church, a house of prayer, and find the emotional and spiritual support I need.

Do you have a church that can offer you that type of love and support? If so, continue to go and grow there. If not, I encourage you to pray about it. I know God will lead you to a church that will meet your needs and allow you to use the gifts He has given you!

Photo: Courtesy of Wonderlane

The 4th of July is only a few days away! This week Taste Tested Tuesday features five tried and true recipes that are perfect for Independence Day gatherings.

Drunken Meat Marinade
For us, our 4th of July celebration isn’t complete without ribs! Before spreading them on the grill, let the ribs soak up this AWESOME marinade. I love this marinade and I don’t think you’ll regret using it!

3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons hot sauce
½ cup bourbon
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and stir until well blended. Place meat in a container, pour marinade over, and cover. Allow the meat to marinate for at least 2 hours before grilling.

Deviled Eggs
It seems there are a million different recipes for deviled eggs. We enjoy eating deviled eggs, so I’ve tried many different recipes. Though I can’t remember its origin, this recipe is my favorite. I like to fill the egg whites using my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to achieve a pretty presentation.

6 hardboiled eggs
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons bacon bits
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish

Slice eggs in half. Remove the yolks and place them in a small mixing bowl. Reserve the egg whites and set them aside. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Fill egg white halves with the egg mixture and heap it slightly. Sprinkle eggs with a light dusting of paprika.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad
I cannot remember who passed this recipe onto me, but I’m so glad they shared this simple, flavorful salad with me. The recipe calls for diced mozzarella, but you can use small mozzarella balls. Just be sure to use fresh mozzarella cheese. It makes a world of difference!

4 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
16 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
1 red onion, sliced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix oil and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and toss.

Ethopian Punch
My friend Rachel brought this punch to one of our Cooking Club meetings a few years ago and it was an instant hit! Since Rachel introduced us to it, it has appeared at variety of baby showers, barbecues, Super Bowl celebrations, and birthday parties.

The recipe calls for raspberry syrup. This is NOT pancake syrup. It is a reduced mixture of raspberries and sugar. If you can’t find raspberry syrup in the store, make some on your own using this recipe.

1 cup raspberry syrup
1 cup maraschino cherry juice
1 cup orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup grape juice
2 ½ quarts lemon lime soda (Sierra Mist, Sprite, etc)

Combine ingredients in a punch bowl, serve with plenty of ice, and garnish with orange slices.

Death by Chocolate Cake
My grandmother was born on July 4th, so we have even more of a reason to celebrate on this day! She passes up the traditional birthday cake and opts for this chocolate delight instead. I found this recipe a few years ago over at www.pastrywiz.com and have been enjoying it ever since. If you’re a chocolate lover like my grandmother, you’ll enjoy every morsel of this cake!

4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box instant chocolate pudding
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar (for garnish)

Beat eggs, sour cream, water, and oil together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Add cake mix and pudding mix. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt or tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. When cake is cool, sift powdered sugar on top of cake.

Photo: Courtesy of trahupoo

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

At this moment, there are 14 bottles of laundry detergent, 12 one gallon water bottles, 10 jars of pasta sauce, 9 boxes of cake mix, 8 containers of canola/olive/vegetable oil, 8 boxes of pasta, 7 containers of oatmeal, 6 bottles of barbecue sauce, 5 packages of bacon, at least 4 half gallons of ice cream, and about 150 rolls of toilet paper tucked away neatly in our pantry and basement chest freezer. I’m a well organized homemaker who doesn’t like to run out of anything EVER and HATES to pay full price for anything at all!

My stockpiling habit used to leave JT thinking I was battling an obsessive compulsive disorder until he started to see the savings we were enjoying. Each week, I study (and I do mean study) the sales circulars from all our local supermarkets and drugstores. When the things we use go on sale, I stockpile. The savings increase even further because I’m usually able to pull many, many corresponding coupons from my coupon organizer.

This stockpiling philosophy has worked well for us. First, I’m able to make the grocery store sales work to our family’s advantage. A few weeks ago ricotta cheese was on sale, so I purchased several containers. I used the cheese to make stuffed shells for dinner that night and also made enough stuffed shells to keep in the chest freezer. Now I have several ready made meals that just need to be heated in the oven.

Second, our stockpiles allow us to bless others we know who are in need. My mother is recovering from knee surgery and a good friend and her family are going through a rough time. We have been able to provide meals for them both just from our stockpile alone.

If you’ve got the room to do so, I highly recommend stocking up. It’s a great way to keep your pantry full and save a ton of money! If you’d like to learn more about stockpiling, check out this fantastic article: Stockpiling Groceries.

Photo: Courtesy of babaghan