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A Gratitude Giveaway!

How are your thirty days of gratitude going? We are thrilled by the number of you who have joined us on this journey of intentional expressions of gratitude. Every year, about this time in the month of November, however, it starts to get old. You’ve worked hard, but now the holidays are getting closer, and there is a lot of work to do. Don’t give up. Keep choosing to express gratitude! And keep reading, because it’s about to get all giveaway-ish in here!

Sunday evening, our church was privileged to have the Mieczkowski Family present a sacred concert following our church-wide Thanksgiving dinner. Joe and I have become avid listeners of their music, and we decided to share their information with you today.

Philippians 4:6–7 (NASB) states: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We all long for, crave, and desire peace. These verses remind us that God’s peace is available to us (even promised to us!) when we thankfully present our requests to God. 

My friends, I take from these verses that an attitude of praise creates an atmosphere of peace.

So today, let me encourage you to create an atmosphere of peace in your home (your car, too)! My dear mother often told me that it’s hard for contention to exist when there is beautiful music playing. I follow her example by having instrumental music playing in the background from the minute we wake up until bedtime. (Thank You, Lord, for the “Repeat All” button on the CD player!)

As I hinted at above, Joe and I have a new favorite CD: Reflections of Praise, by the Mieczkowski Family. Two important things:

  1. Visit their website THIS week, because they are offering FREE SHIPPING (woo-hoo!) through November 25. Seriously. And the more CDs you buy for Christmas/Birthday/Just-Because-It’s-Tuesday gifts, the cheaper they are! Double woo-hoo!!!! After you read the next important thing, click here to visit their website: https://www.mieczkowskifamily.com/
  2. Leave a comment below (and/or below today’s video on our Petals from the Basket Facebook page) telling us one thing that you are thankful for today. The giveaway ends at midnight tonight (11/20/18, PST). A random number selector will choose from the entries one winner of a FREE Reflections of Praise CD! Oh. my heart. You will love how this CD helps to create an atmosphere of praise in your home, classroom, car, workplace, etc.!

We appreciate you! Now go…enter the giveaway!

By Petals from the Basket | November 20, 2018 | Bible Reading, Contests, Events, Family, Friends, God-and-I-Time, Ideas, Life Changes, Thirty Days of Gratitude |

A Month of Gratitude

We should be grateful every moment of every day of every month!

Several years ago now, I began using the month of November to demonstrate either verbally or in writing my gratitude to those who have touched my life in some way. Don’t get me wrong, as I stated above, I think that we should be grateful every day of every month, but I think sometimes it’s important to acknowledge it in either verbal or written form—partly for the sake of the one who may be wondering at that moment if what they have done or what they have taught you really mattered. I did this little exercise in gratitude for many years and then sort of set it by the wayside until 2007.

At that time, I decided to create a “gratitude spreadsheet” that others could use, and I posted it publicly so that we could encourage one another to focus our thoughts on our blessings. It has become an annual favorite for many of my friends. I would love for you to join us this year!

However, this year, even though Joe and I will continue to blog about two or three times a week, we won’t be posting on the blog every single day. That can get annoying, we know! So below are four options for you to choose from if you’d like to join us in this effort. (Just ignore the year and follow the days of the month! Some of these are “reruns!”) Simply click the orange words on the left to be directed to that tool or resource:

Facebook Live posts – On our Facebook page for Petals from the Basket, we are doing a “Live Feed,” a two-to-four-minute devotional at 7:00 a.m. For now, we’re planning on three days a week, but we may end up doing more…perhaps even daily! The wonderful thing about Facebook Live videos is that you don’t have to watch them “live.” You can watch them anytime during the day!

Follow-along PDF “booklet” – Though this was one that I created in 2013, it’s probably my favorite “viewable” download. It’s a PDF with an idea for each day of the month. Each page includes: Gratitude Focus; Recommended Reading; Name or Quality of God to Meditate On. Simply download it to your computer and follow along each day!

Follow-along, printable chart – This is actually the chart from last year, but it’s a clear and concise way to be intentional about expressing gratitude to others.

By category – Simply click on the orange words “By category” and look up all previous blog posts in the “Thirty Days of Gratitude” category. Not including this one, there are eighty-three posts for you to choose from!

And just for fun, click here to check out the original coloring pages available for you (or your children) to color this month!

Feel free to leave a comment to let us know which option you chose!

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NASB).

 

 

By Petals from the Basket | November 1, 2018 | Bible Reading, Events, Family, Friends, God-and-I-Time, Ideas, Thirty Days of Gratitude |

The Seasons of Life

Today’s post was written by my mom, Lorraine Strohbehn, a favorite contributor here at Petals from the Basket. She sent it to me today to use at “a later date,” but it was so timely and such a good reminder that I couldn’t wait to share it with you!

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With autumn and cool weather arriving, Northern Indiana farmers are diligently harvesting the corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa that they planted in the spring and tended during the summer. Farmers’ markets that started the summer with asparagus and rhubarb are now reaping their last tomatoes, cauliflower, green beans, and okra, while the pumpkins and squash are piled high at their front doors.

We just came in from cutting off the day lilies and coral bells in the flower beds around the house. They have been beautiful throughout the summer. The hearty burgundy leaves of the coral bells growing in a sea of white stones were a special source of pride and joy, but this year’s season is over, so it was time to prepare them for winter.

Autumn is my favorite season of the year, with its colorful maples and the cooler days and chilly nights. To make sure we have fresh fruits and vegetables for winter lunches and dinners, we are wrapping a few more butternut squash for cool storage, adding to the corn, tomatoes, green beans, and applesauce in the freezer, and making room for the arrival of Texas grapefruit, which will be available next month at the local Amish store.

What we planted in the spring is now ready for the harvest. Because I know what we planted, I know what the harvest should be; the early effort that we put into care will determine the quality of the harvest. As King Solomon wrote (Proverbs 10:5, KJV), “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.” We enjoy the preparation of springtime, the bounty of summer, and the harvest of autumn for the winter that is to come.

The seasons of life are pictured in the seasons of the year: what we plant is what we harvest. Paul emphasized this in one of his pastoral letters (Galatians 6:7–9, KJV): “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

May we live every season with eternity’s values in view!

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By Petals from the Basket | October 26, 2018 | Ask Grandma, Bible Reading, Family, God-and-I-Time, Guest Posts, Life Changes |

The Final Flight

There are special days that mark milestones in an airline pilot’s career. Of course, the pilot’s first solo flight is worthy of celebration. The first flight as an employee of the airline is also a noted achievement, as is his or her first flight as a captain. Therefore, you can be assured that the final flight of an airline captain is both unique and memorable as well.

My last trip as captain involved flying my family members (in business class) to London, England, and then back to Philadelphia, PA. The trip had to be completed prior to my mandatory retirement age of sixty. (The mandatory retirement age has since been raised to sixty-five.) So two days before my sixtieth birthday, my family flew with me to London, via a stop in Shannon, Ireland, on our return trip to Philly.

At Shannon, on departure, the airport’s fire trucks gave our airplane a “water cannon salute,” spraying the airplane in honor of my last flight. En route from Shannon to Philadelphia, the flight attendants passed around a journal, which the passengers and crew kindly signed with congratulatory notes for me.

Upon our landing in Philadelphia, we were greeted once again with a water cannon salute as we taxied to the terminal.

(Click photo to enlarge.)

My final act as an airline captain was to set the parking brake at Gate 23A in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and shut down the engines at 6:38 p.m., October 3, 2003.

I was truly grateful to God for a thirty-six-year career, safely flying passengers and cargo over the course of twenty-five-thousand flight hours. I remain grateful as well for the passionate professionals with whom I worked. And I am grateful to God that I was able to finish right…and thereby to finish well.

As I recently remembered these events, I was reminded of Paul the apostle. It was his goal to “finish [his] course with joy” (Acts 20:24, KJV). Paul would later write to Timothy (his “son” in the faith): “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, KJV). By God’s grace and with His help, we should all finish right, accomplishing what God desires for us to do with our lives.

If we finish right, we will finish well and receive God’s acclamation of praise, “Well, done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21, ESV).

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By Petals from the Basket | October 17, 2018 | Bible Reading, Events, Family, Friends, The Captain's Corner |

Recipe: “Come on Over” for CJ’s Chicken

Chicken. Everywhere. Seriously. Thanks to a couldn’t-pass-it-up sale at Rentown Store in Northern Indiana during a recent visit to see my mom, there are packages of boneless, skinless chicken breasts on nearly every shelf of the freezer in our garage. The day we got home, I cut the existing pieces in half (they were soooooo thick!), and then Joe packaged them, two per bag, in freezer bags. Next came the really fun part: “What am I going to do with all this chicken?”

We have some tried-and-true recipes that we’ve gathered from family and friends, but I decided yesterday to try something new and ended up creating a brand-new recipe. I’m tickled pink to share with you that it turned out to be intensely yummy—and easy! The meat was so tender and flavorful that I just had to give it a name and share it as an easy “Come on Over” recipe!

I put the chicken in the marinade late yesterday afternoon so that Joe could cook it on the grill today. However, it’s raining here, so I decided to throw it all in a fry pan on the stove and added just a little cooking spray and then spooned about one “ladle-full” of the marinade over the top of it while it was cooking. I did extra pieces so that I can slice them into small strips to put on salads later this week. Enjoy! Let me know how your batch turns out!

CJ’s (Captain Joe’s) “Come on Over” Chicken

Prep time: 10 minutes-ish
Cooking time: 20 minutes-ish, on the stovetop or on the grill
Serves: 6 (or makes multiple meals for two)
From the kitchen of Brenda Henderson

Ingredients:

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup apple juice
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning (we buy this at Sam’s Club) OR 1 tsp each of salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. Place the raw (thawed) chicken breasts in a large bowl.
  2. Mix the four liquids and the two seasoning elements in a 2-cup glass measuring cup or small bowl. Stir well.
  3. Pour the liquid mixture over the chicken; cover with plastic wrap or lid.
  4. Let marinate 3–24 hours (i.e., you can make it the same day you cook it if you want to!).
  5. Grill on medium-high heat for 20 minutes, turning every five minutes. (Make sure center is cooked thoroughly.) You may also fry with light cooking spray on stovetop for the same amount of time.

(Click photo to enlarge.)

Serving Suggestions:

  • Serve with a small tossed salad, dinner rolls, and cooked vegetable(s) of your choice.
  • Cut into strips and serve as the meat on your “Come on Over” Salad! (Click here for the recipe.)
By Petals from the Basket | October 10, 2018 | "Come on Over" Recipes, Entertaining, Ideas, Organization, The Captain's Corner |