Cooking with Michele

Cooking Class
With Michele Helms
When: Thursday Night, December 1st, 6-8pm
Where: Stonecrest Baptist Church, 485 Arnold Mill Road

Menu
Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail with homemade sauce
Main Course: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Glazed Carrots, Grandma’s Mac-n-Cheese, and Muffin Biscuits
Dessert: Apple Pie
Cost: $25.00 (Includes the above meal, complete cooking instructions, and printed recipes.)

This class is designed to help you make a meal that everyone in your family will love and I promise it will be easy! Every dish will be demonstrated and every question answered! You will receive a copy of all the recipes that we make and best of all you will get to enjoy eating all of the prepared meals.

Pay at the door. Email me to reserve your spot michelehelms7@gmail.com

Don't assume!

I can tell you that I am sort of glad that we have not been in the ministry all of our married life...I might be a hardened bitter old lady by now! :) I remember years ago talking with one of my friends who is a ministers wife....we were talking about how much we loved the thrift store and we were swapping thrift store find stories. She told me that she found a Dooney and Bourke handbag for $4.50...this particular one was regular $200....she loved it! She carried it to church one Sunday and someone recognized the brand.....I personally wouldn't know the difference.....anyway....this person said......"Love the purse....Guess I need to get a job at the church so I can afford something that nice" my friend quickly told her about the thrift store but never carried it again because she said she felt like she needed to wear a sign that said "thrift store find....don't judge me"

It was so nuts but it made me evaluate the way I look at others....was I guilty of judging when I didn't know all the facts..probably!

Now fast forward ans we have been in the ministry for almost 4 years and I am on the receiving end of that judgement! It is very difficult. There certainly are those who give the rest of us a bad name....those who take money for ministry and live in utter extravagance....but when you live very frugally and make huge sacrifices all the time, it is so hard to have every move analyzed! I really do feel like I need to constantly explain our every move. If you have a question about how we spend our time or resources....come and ask us....do not make comments to others and do not make jabbing comments to us...just ask...I'll tell ya!!!! Don't assume cause you may just be really really wrong!

Show Grace

I blew it! You know those moments that you just wish you could have a "re-do"....well this is one of them! Emily has been volunteering all week in VBS.....and at night she has been staying and playing freeze tag with the other volunteers....then she is home by 9:30. Well last night 9:30 came and went.....9:45 came and went...so my sister and I went looking for her and her cousin.....nothing....... 10:10...I'm about to be in full fledged panic! My sister asked if I thought they had walked to Wendy's...surely NOT! She is almost 14 she has never gone somewhere without asking me!!

We pulled up and there she was inside with a group of friends. I couldn't believe it....my worry quickly turned to dismay and anger. I walked in and asked her to come outside where I began to explain how worried I was and that I couldn't believe that she would just go without calling. OK I will tell you that up till this point I stand behind my decisions.....then I told her to get in the car...she had lost the privilege to hang with her friends.

So what do I regret.....she has NEVER given me any reason not to trust her.....she serves Jesus all the time by serving others.....she was with a great group of friends...I truly believe that she got caught up in the moment and that it wasn't a rebellious intentional action. Knowing all these things..I should have extended grace...but I didn't! I wish I had! She and I talked that night about all the why's and the importance of calling me and about how we would gladly give her freedoms but that she had to communicate and get permission. The next morning I talked to her and told her why I should have extended grace and that I was sorry. She was awesome and full of her own apologies for forgetting and that she sure hoped she had not lose my trust. All is good but I have to practice what I preach act but don't just "re-act."

Love those babies!!!!

My big Dream!!!!

What is your dream? I mean your BIG dream from the Lord??? Do you ever feel like it is so big that it is ridiculous? I do!!!!! We moved into our house 15 years ago. It was such a blessing....it was owned by a drug dealer who went to prison...it was trashed but we could see the potential! We worked hard to restore it and we love it! We knew from the time that we moved in that it was not ours....we have always viewed our "stuff" as the Lords. Really from the very beginning Eric and I have known that we are supposed to give this house to our church(right across the street). Our church has a couple of amazing ministries...one is to provide furlough homes for missionaries and another is to provide homes for pastors who are hurting and need a place to come for healing hearts. Here is a picture of our house.

Then comes the second part of our dream. There is a piece of land here in Woodstock.... 87 acres right in the heart of Woodstock....and it is in foreclosure:) Here some pictures of it. It is way too long of a story to write here...but the Lord started burning a Big dream into our hearts. We would love for Driven To Encourage to own this land.....with several uses....one is that it is already set up as pasture land....we would love to have horses and a place for equine therapy(which is actually Emily's BIG dream) for mentally and physically handicapped children. Secondly we would have facilities for the kids that Eric mentors. And last...and dearest to my heart personally....we would have a large unit......for around 30 couples to live. Marriages are falling apart!!!! My dream is to have a place for newly weds to live for a year under the agreement that they will attend marriage classes and put themselves in a place of being mentored. They would continue to work or go to school and they would pay some sort of rent. We would open the classes up to any married couple who wanted to attend but we would focus intently on those 30 couples.

So what do you think??? What is your BIG Dream?????

What is under my bed?

What is under my bed??? Well the reason that I am answering this question is that our house is really small for 4 people...much less 7:) So I have to constantly declutter and make sure that I am making the very best use of my space! Under the beds is a great place to start. First I start with these great risers...I love high beds and these are great to give that look and it gives more storage space under the bed. They are inexpensive...I bought mine at Wal-mart but you can get them at Home Depot.
I have several different clear plastic containers in varying sizes.

One is filled with gift bags(dollar store has great bags!) for all occasions. The box is complete with tissue paper, scissors, ribbon and tape. I save bags that I get gifts in as well. This keeps them all together and it saves me from running to the store when I need one.

Another is filled with extra free drugstore stuff that I might use as a hostess gift or a birthday gift. make-up, lotion, body spray, room spray, candles, tea towels.....

Another is filled with seasonal clothes....small house...small closets:) So now all my sweaters and sweatshirts are under my bed and at the end of summer I will switch them out.

All of my kids have these boxes under their beds for a variety of things...my little boys have most of their toys under their beds....leggo's, cars, GI Joe men, guns and swords...all in separate boxes.....easy to pull our and easy to clean-up!

New Coffee Table

This coffee table is made by Laura Ashley and it costs $600....I love it so I have been looking for one to recreate.

I found this very beat up coffee table at the Thrift Store for $20. It was solid and in great shape. One leg was wobbly...nothing a few nails didn't fix.

I washed it down and then rubbed the surface with steel wool.

I bought black stain for $4 at HomeDepot. I pained it on....it only took 1 coat.
After it dried I used this handheld sander and distressed the table...this is the funnest part to me. I ran the sander over edges...stepped back and looked at it and then sanded it again. Because the table was so worn from previous owners I decided to distress it further with a hammer and a few other random tools that I used to swing at the table. I love it!!!

Emily's Party

When our kids turn 13 we have a special party for them. We bring in friends and special mentors to speak into their lives and encourage them and then we take a trip. Emily LOVES horses so I found a farm in Florida that raises Freisian horses and off we went. The owner of the farm was so very gracious and we had a blast. I think that Emily could have stayed for days! Then off to the beach for a few days. We had an awesome 3 days away...lots of laughing and talking and playing! We drank enough tea to drown a person! We made lots of memories.