Posts by Kerry Weisser
Peace
Our theme for the month of March is PEACE. Peace is the state of tranquility or serenity. Peace is the freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety or an obsession. Peace can also be a state of mutual harmony between people or groups especially referring to personal relationships. But is this really all that peace is…a state of mind, a freedom from the difficult things of this world? So how do you find this peace of mind, how do you get your mind free from distraction, how do you move through challenges and sorrows to a place of peace?
“The biblical concept of peace is larger than that and rests heavily on the Hebrew root “slm”, which means “to be complete” or “to be sound.” The verb conveys both a dynamic and a static meaning”to be complete or whole” or “to live well.” The noun had many nuances, but can be grouped into four categories: (1) shalom as wholeness of life or body (i.e., health); (2) shalom as right relationship or harmony between two parties or people, often established by a covenant (see “covenant of peace” in Num 25:12-13 ; Isa 54:10 ; Ezek 34:25-26 ) and, when related to Yahweh, the covenant was renewed or maintained with a “peace offering”; (3) shalom as prosperity, success, or fulfillment (see Lev 26:3-9 ); and (4) shalom as victory over one’s enemies or absence of war. Shalom was used in both greetings and farewells. It was meant to act as a blessing on the one to whom it was spoken: “May your life be filled with health, prosperity, and victory.” As an adjective, it expressed completeness and safety. In the New Testament, the Greek word “eirene” is the word most often translated by the word “peace.” Although there is some overlap …
Read MoreBirthdays-Celebrating Life
Today is an extraordinary day. 35 years ago on this day, I gave birth to my firstborn, a precious daughter we named Rachel Hannah. Today, March 4, 2016, the baby of our family, Rebekah Cherie, gave birth to her firstborn daughter, Sophie Hadassah Banihashemi. So we have a double blessing to celebrate today! Here are the two birthday girls. Love then both!
Happy 35th birthday to my amazing first born daughter. Rachel, you are creative, passionate, amazingly fun and someone who others want to follow. I am inspired by your motivational leadership, and your willingness to give and serve everyone you meet. I love watching you guide and teach your daughters and love and serve your husband!!!You are a shining star!!! May your year be filled with abundant blessings!!!
We are filled with joy that from today and forever, on this day will have a double blessing as we celebrate you and Sophie. Sophie, may you grow in grace like your Auntie Rachel. May you have a tender heart toward the Lord and bring glory to God throughout your life. We hope for you a life of Joy, love, kindness, passion and creativity. You are loved. Rachel, you are the leader of the tribe in our family-the oldest of our daughters and we know God chose you for this role because of your amazing leadership qualities we live birthdays and we live celebrating you and Sophie today I know Bekah and Ashkon are honored to have their daughter share her BIRTH day with you! We love you both!!!
Happy Birthday to Rachel and Sophie!!!
We love you both and thank God for you!…
Read MoreTurkey Loaf Minis
Growing up, one of our favorite dinners was Turkey Loaf, mashed or baked potatoes, orange glazed carrots and a big green salad I know that many people turn their noses up when they hear about meat loaf of any kind but in our home we loved turkey loaf!!! This recipe is a fun rendition of our original turkey loaf, made into mini loaves and brushed with a secret glaze before baking. Our own Grammie Rozzie tried this rendition and thought it was “blog worthy” so we are sharing it with you today. We had it for dinner tonight and Poppa Rick thought it was scrumptious. Give it a try and you will have your family asking for MORE!!!
Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
½ cup oats
1 small onion chopped fine
⅓ cup broth or milk
¼ cup parsley chopped fine
½-1 teaspoon salt
Glaze
⅓ cup organic ketchup
1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard or regular yellow mustard
Directions
Mix all meat loaf ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until mixture is all blended. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Shape meat mixture into mini loaves and place on cookie sheet. (For a fun party idea-you can also grease a muffin tin and fill with the meat mixture to make mini turkey loaf cupcakes.) Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl and mix until blended. Spread a generous amount of glaze on each mini loaf. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes. Whip up a batch of your favorite mashed potatoes and make a big salad and you have a delicious and very nutritious meal.
Risen-a Must See Movie
Last Friday, I had the privilege of seeing the movie, Risen.
Risen is absolutely fantastic-a must see movie! This movie is the story of Roman military tribune, Clavius, played by Joseph Fiennes. Under the authority of Pontius Pilate, he is commanded to undertake the greatest manhunt in human history – the search for the missing body of Jesus Christ. This movie is told from the point of view of a skeptic and his search for truth. Clavius becomes an investigator who searches crime scenes and interviews eyewitnesses and followers of Jesus. At one point in the movie he is confronted with the question…. You have seen and yet still struggle to believe, what about all those who have NOT seen who struggle to believe? He is challenged to make a decision for himself. One of my favorite quotes was when Clavius was talking to Mary Magdalene and she said “ You’re looking for something you’ll never find. Open your heart and see.” Clavius was looking for the physical body of Jesus after he had been crucified and had risen……Clavius would never find the body but when he opened his heart he saw something that changed his life for eternity.
One of my favorite places to go for movie reviews is Plugged In. Here is a portion of what Plugged In says about the movie: “Clavius is a man hardened by a lifetime spent doing the bloody bidding of his betters. And that, we see, has taken a toll on his soul. In a telling, poignant scene with Pilate, the Roman prefect asks the weary soldier what he wants in life. The man’s first responses are general and perhaps a bit worldly: “Power, wealth.” But then Clavius gets more personal, even confessional. “Family,” he says. “A place in the …
Read MoreAmerican Sukiyaki
Asian food is wonderfully healthy. An authentic Japanese diet is composed of fresh vegetables, lean meats, fish and tofu and rice. When I was growing up, my mom loved to serve international dinners for our family. She created this easy sukiyaki recipe that became a favorite at our home. We named the recipe American Sukiyaki (probably politically incorrect in this day and age) because it had a similarity to the Japanese dish with an American flair. It is so easy to make and really yummy. When you need a quick dinner that gives you an extra dose of iron and beef protein, this is the recipe to try.
Ingredients
1 lb lean top round steak thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions thinly sliced
1 garlic clove smashed
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar or honey
1 (16-20 oz) package of frozen FRENCH CUT STYLE green beans
2 (15 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 cup rice cooked according to package (we use Hinode short grain rice for authentic sticky rice)
Brown thinly sliced beef in olive oil on high in a large skillet (I use an electric fry pan on 400 degrees). When browned but not cooked all the way through, add the onions, garlic, soy sauce and sweetener.
Stir until onions start to soften about 2 minutes. Turn to medium (325 degrees for fry pan) and add bag of frozen green beans and stewed tomatoes. Stir once or twice, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over rice.
- 1 lb
Community-Build it and Grow
Community is essential for my growth and development. Community is my life-line. Community keeps me balanced, focused, on track and able to conquer my fears and achieve my dreams. Establishing a community can take time or it can happen fast-out of desperation. The people that I draw into my inner circle have earned the right to breathe life into me. Developing community takes time, intentionality and effort. Trustworthiness, honesty, authenticity, faithfulness and enthusiasm are character traits that are important to me as I build my community.
When I was first married, my husband and I were both in school so our community developed fairly easily with classmates and church friends, but then we began to move around a lot because my hubby was in the Navy. Developing a community was imperative because we had small children by then and I needed the support since my husbands hours were ridiculously long. I desperately needed my love cup filled to overflowing so that I could be a good mom and a blessing to him when he returned from work especially after his 36 hour shifts. I quickly started searching for like-minded gals from church and wives of my husband’s colleagues that needed friends like I did. I reached out and invited them into my life. We started play groups and babysitting co-ops. We organized tennis dates and park days. We bought season passes to the zoo and Sea World and went once a week on a field trip with the kids. As we spent time together sharing life, our struggles, our joys and our frustrations, our community grew into a sisterhood of bonded friends. None of us would have survived those years without that community of friends.
During the years that I had school aged daughters, there was always so much going …
Read MoreBe Salty for Valentine’s Day
Love is in the air. Valentine’s Day is around the corner and everywhere you turn something or someone is telling you how to express your love. A few weeks ago I heard a message about the Kingdom of God and how the teachings of Jesus are the map to know about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the #1 subject that Jesus taught His disciples about-He was passionate about modeling Kingdom values here on earth. So during this season of Valentine’s, chocolates, flowers and Love, I am going to focus on reflecting Kingdom values. I am going to ask myself if my attitudes and actions represent someone who models Kingdom values. I am going to pay attention to the needs of others and actually do something that shows love.
- Take time to make that phone call to a friend.
- Drop by and visit with someone who is housebound, sick or recovering from an illness or from surgery.
- Write a note of encouragement.
- Bake some cookies and take them to a neighbor.
- Send Valentine’s cards to your children or grandchildren.
- Make a meal for a friend just for fun.
When we take the time to stop our busy lives and think about what truly matters, we will bless others and have a deeper sense of emotional satisfaction and joy.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt is an amazing chemical. Salt is used in cooking to enhance flavor, as a preservative and as a flavor suppressant. Salt enhances the flavor of what it is seasoning-you add salt to a stew or soup to enhance the flavor of the meat and vegetables that are slowly cooking together. The result is not a salty taste …
Read MoreValentine’s Day Crafts and Friendship
Celebrating Valentine’s Day can extend to giving and sharing more love than just the love you have for your spouse, kids, grandkids and extended family. Tonight we spread the love around as we gathered for a Valentine’s craft night. I personally love crafts of all kinds so I will clear my schedule anytime for a gathering of women who want to do crafts. One dear friend opened her beautiful home for us to gather, another friend found some projects on Pinterest that we could make and she brought all the supplies. I sent out an email invitation and encouraged people to bring friends. We each contributed some money to cover the cost of the supplies. Add some delicious and nutritious snacks and you have the perfect Ladies Night Out!!! The extra treat of fellowship time with a group of beloved girl friends adds a bonus that can’t be beat!
And LOOK WHAT WE MADE!!!!
What you will need to make the Valentine’s Tree:
-A variety of colored and patterned scrapbook paper
– A small pot
– Floral foam
– Wire
– Wire cutters or scissors you don’t mind cutting wire with
– Glue gun
– BBQ skewer sticks
– Fabric
– Wooden heart or make one from cardboard.
– Moss or rafia
– Ribbon
What you do:
Love in Action
Falling in love through service is an incredible experience. When your heart is moved by an unmet need and you know that you are being called to participate in fulfilling that need, an instantaneous thing happens in your heart-you fall in love with the people you are serving. TRUE greatness in this world comes through serving others. True love also comes when you give 100% to another person and that happens through serving one another.
This weekend, I attended a Gogo Grandmothers Board meeting where I spent a glorious day with friends renewing our hearts and reaffirming our commitment for the continued work being accomplished in Malawi. I feel so privileged to be a board member for the SAFE /Gogo Grandmothers ministry and have loved every minute of my time serving with the other members of the board. (SAFE stands for Sub-Saharan Family Enrichment) We serve a mighty God who moves in mighty ways! My current project involves organizing a manual for preparing groups who want to go have a hands on experience in Malawi with the SAFE/Gogo Grandmothers ministry. I am excited for the day when I get to go meet the Gogos and the staff in Malawi. It will be a blessing to someday meet the people that my heart already loves.
Here is a chart from the 2015 End of Year report that shows how our ministry has grown because of people like you who have joined in to serve and put their Love in Action!
Gogo Grandmothers provides for the orphans of AIDS in Malawi, Africa by assisting the grandmothers who care for them. In America, and across the world, individuals and Gogo Grandmothers groups (often uniting women who are grandmothers themselves) gather monthly to pray and carry out fund-raising projects that provide what poor …
Read MoreComplacency
As the new year rolls into “full steam ahead”, I have tried to take time each day to be grateful for all of my blessings and focus on having my “walk” match my “talk”. I want to be a person who at the end of the day, lives out the things that I believe in my words and actions and behavior. I really want to be a genuine person, vulnerable and open to growth, correction and change. I strive to have my attitudes and motives support a life of authenticity and service. I am hoping to be an example for my daughters to follow. I believe that each one of us has a circle of influence. Those people who we interact with on a regular basis or people that we see once in a while but when we are together we have an instant deep connection with them. I am not a person who likes to be in a clique and I love interacting with people from all walks of life. But that does not mean I am not regularly tempted to get caught in the lie that tells me my significance is determined by who likes me, who emails me, who stops by…….I think we all get caught in this insecurity cycle. I want to be free to live and love and learn. I want to be ready for whatever circumstances come my way. I want to stand with conviction and face the challenges in my life with confidence and willingness to trust God in every situation.
COMPLACENCY is a word that keeps coming up for me as I have been preparing to teach a lesson at our women’s bible study. Complacency is a feeling of security, a sense of quiet pleasure often while unaware of the potential danger …
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