I am super happy to Introduce you to Beth today.

She was kind enough to do a Guest Post for me while I'm out of town.

So please grab a warm mug of something, settle in and get to know this sweet friend of mine.

 

Hi, friends! I'm Beth and I blog over at Becoming a Virtuous Woman.

I've been blogging for a little over a year, but this is my first guest post!

I was so honored when Rachel asked me to guest post!

I met Rachel through Instagram and found her blog.

Isn't she the sweetest little thing?  

I love her heart for people and for the Lord.

I've been married for just over a year to my best friend, Tyler.

He is my light and joy, and I'm so blessed that God picked me to do life with him.

We've been on a roller coaster ride this past year, but I've learned what it really means to be a follower of Christ and wouldn't change it for anything.

 

I love to cook, bake, sew, read, and cheer on our beloved St. Louis Cardinals!

I also run an etsy shop!

I am looking forward to hosting our first Thanksgiving with my family in our apartment in just a few weeks!

Can you believe that the holiday season is upon us?

 

Today, I want to share with you one of my *new* favorite recipes.   I found this one on Pinterest.  Are you as addicted to that site as I am??  I'll be sharing the recipe for Garlic and Lemon Chicken with Green Beans and Red Potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 lemons: 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt (I used regular salt)
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 3/4 lb trimmed green beans
• 8 small red potatoes, quartered (I bought 8, but only used 5)
• 4 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on  (I used boneless, skinless breasts)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Trim the green beans, slice the lemon, and quarter the potatoes.  (I trimmed and sliced on a newspaper so I could wrap it all up and throw it away when I was finished...so much easier!)

Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish.  (I have found that you don't really need that many lemon slices.  A little will go a long way, and if you're like me and don't want your food too lemon-y, you will probably want leave the lemon slices off the bottom.)

In a large bowl, combine the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. 

I learned (from watching Rachael Ray) that if you squeeze the lemon, cut side up, the seeds won't spill into the dish!  Brilliant!

Add the green beans and toss to coat.

Remove them and arrange them on top of the lemon slices in the baking dish.  The add the potatoes to the same olive oil mixture and toss to coat.

Place the potatoes around the edge of the baking dish and on top of the green beans.

Place the chicken in the same bowl, in the same olive oil mixture and toss to coat.  

Place the chicken, skin side up, in the dish or skillet (I just placed them in the dish). Pour any remaining olive oil mixture over the chicken.

Roast for 50 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet.  Place the beans and potatoes back in the oven for 10 more minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

*Notice, the chicken did shrink.  So you will want to use big pieces of chicken {or a bigger pan so you can squeeze more chicken pieces in}.*

I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I have!  It's fun to tweak things and make the recipe "yours."

You can find me in various places:

Blog

Shop

Facebook

Instagram:  @beth_elaine

Stop by and say hi! :)

Oh and since y'all are so awesome, I'm giving away one of my favorite ruffle scarves!

The Autumn Ruffle.

Thank you so much for having me today, Rachel!

I am blessed to know you through IG and your blog.

 

Beth, thank YOU for sharing with us and so kind of you to giveaway one of your creations!

 

So if you are interested in winning this beautiful scarf, send me an email or leave a comment and tell us what you love most about the holidays!

Coffee Talk

So many moons ago I used to have a standing Tuesday coffee date with the lovely Amy from Lucky Number 13 .
She took a little break and now she's back!:)
And I'm so glad she is!

I had my coffee earlier this morning, in my favorite mug, with cream and sugar. Nothing out of the normal, but now I've switched to Egg Nog and Ice Water. All in Mason Jars:)

 

We love mason jars around here:)

And let's talk about Egg Nog?

Are you a fan?

Let me just say this, I like it in small quantities.

When I brought it home from the store and aske the hubby if he wanted some he started making a lot of gagging and barf noises.

Boys.

 

 

 

So this week starts a really busy and full schedule for us.

I'm definitely excited about all the things, but not really ready.

Ready to hear it?

Ok.

Tonight we have community group which is a small group from our church.

It's our first night attending and I'm really excited to dive in and get to know these people.

Tomorrow night is First Wednesday, where everyone meets at the church has dinner together and then we have a word from our pastor.

Laid back, good food, good times, good people.

It's all GOOD!:)

 

Then Thursday we are meeting up with our Pastor for lunch, then heading to Branson!!

We are joining our friends there to go to Silver Dollar City and have a great time!!

I have never been to Silver Dollar City, and it's kind of BIG around these parts.

Think like a small scale Disney World [ ok really small scale], with rides and shows and food and they have their Christmas lights up and the parades in the evening.

And it's Christian based. Boom!

We'll be with them until Saturday, then Monday morning bright and VERY early we leave for Illinois to go visit my grandparents.

Whew!

That's a lot of stuff!:)

 

So enough abot all that- how are you?

Anything new?

 

Are the leaves still pretty near you?

 

 

 

 

 

This scene was so much prettier in real life. My phone pics don't usually capture the true beauty.

 

 

And since we are having coffee/egg nog/ice water with Amy today,

it's very appropriate that I share with you a little something I got from her shop last week.

 

 

You should go check out her SHOP.

She adds cute handmade/vintage/upcycled items every week! :)

 

And since we're talking about #happymail,

I also got something really cute from Megan over at Contented Sparrow .

 

 

It's a vintage needle craft from 1976!

It will be my first!

I can't wait to cozy up with a quilt on a cold night, maybe some hot chocolate and get to work on this:)

 

 

 

 

Happy Tuesday!

Thanks for coffee Amy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She Reads Truth

Today  starts a new devotional , following along with the blog She Reads Truth .

 

I struggle everyday to spend time in the word, reading and listening to what God wants me to hear.

The gals over at She Reads Truth have somewhat simplified this for other glas wanting to have a daily reading plan, but not quite sure where to start.

You can read about how this movement started here.

Oh, and you need to get familiar with You Version.

It contains the whole BIBLE and LOTS of reading plans.

 This is where the reading plans are done.

You can follow online or download their mobile app Here.

Did you know that You Version is the second most popular app for iPhone?

# 1 is Angry Birds. I know you were wondering.

Today, the She Reads Truth girls are starting Colossians .

Here is part of the devotion that you can read on the website as well.

Verse 1 of Colossians in The ESV reads, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”.
The Message reads, “I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God’s master plan.”
Yes, there is a whole lot more of Paul’s letter ahead of us. Yes, this seems like such a inconsequential afterthought of a verse, and to stop just one verse in seems silly.
But it’s not. I want you to write it down – I want you to say it out loud:
“I, ______, have been send on a special assignment by Christ as part of God’s master plan.”
Do you believe it, sister?
I mean truly… do you?
Because it’s true. Your special assignment is different than mine. It’s different from your sister’s calling, it’s different from your mentor’s, and your neighbor’s and the girl who sat in front of you in church last week. It is as unique as you are, this calling to point the world to Christ.
And no matter how old you are, and how many days God has written for you on this earth, sister, YOU are a part of the MASTER PLAN. He has willed it. It is written. (Psalm 139:16 says, “in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were not of them.”)
Can I share something personal with you? Really personal? The Lord has graciously given my husband and me seven precious babies. I have delivered and held and kissed three of them, and only two of them have toothbrushes in the upstairs bathroom, shoes in the hall closet, and dirty clothes in our laundry room.
And do you know, that even those fleeting little lives – those longed-for souls whose hearts beat for 212 days or less – they were on special assignment by Christ? That at the end of their lives, God said “Well Done. Mission Complete.” (and “PS, I’m still working on your Mama…”)
So what about us? What does this mean for us? Paul lived his calling with conviction and submission. He knew it in his head, and he knew it in his heart. He acted his calling and lived it with zeal!
Do you sometimes forget your high calling in His Kingdom? Do you ever wonder how your obedience could possibly be critical to the master plan? Do you ever question how God could use you, yes even you, as a vital cog in His plan and in the furtherance of His kingdom?
Turn off your screen and sit quietly with the Lord this morning. Submit yourself to Him. Report for duty. And trust Him to stir within you a confidence and surety that He will use you.
Because every day that your heart is beating is a day to live your calling as a daughter of the King! And we are so grateful that he chose you to serve along with us!

Will you join me?

 

1 Peter 5:6

So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

 

 Continuing the Thankful Series.....

November 4-

I am Thankful for deer meat and the hands that cooked it last night with biscuits, gravy, green beans and some sweet tea. This city girl never thought she would like fried deer meat as much as I do:)

 

November 5-

I am thankful for the little beagle we adopted a year ago. I had no idea that when we walked down the hall of the humane society that we would be so blessed everyday. I truly believe our little Charlie is a God given gift. That being said, I also believe that All Dogs DO Go To Heaven :)

Time To Get Thankful

So it's that time of year when everyone remembers it's time to be Thankful and write about what we are most glad for in our lives.

I'm not being snarky here, and I'm just as guilty for not being more thankful on a regular basis.

 

I'm going to try and be thankful every.single.day.

Really.

 

Source Pinterest.com

 

 

Day 1- Nov.1

I'm thankful for a God who loved me enough to send His ONLY son to this earth and die for my sins.

That never ceases to amaze me! Little old me, sitting in a little town in Arkansas, and He knew long ago what our circumstances would be and wanted to save us from the firey pits of Hell-ooooooo.

Thank you God.

 

Day 2- Nov.2

I'm thankful for a goofy, hard working, hairy, handsome, God loving, beagle lover of a hubby who constantly makes me laugh, takes care of me, makes red velvet cakes for me and loves me for ME. {That's a big job ya'll!}

 

Day 3- Nov.3

I'm thankful for family and friends. This life would be so lonely without them. Even though family members often make you want to pull your hair out and wonder if you were truly adopted.

Thru good times and bad, family and friends are all you have. And I'm so glad:)

 

 

By the way, above are some free printables you can PRINT HERE.

 

And if we had kids, I think this would be an adorable thing to do.

A Thanksgiving Tree.

 

Source Pinterest.com

 

 

 

And here is one just because. :)

 

Source Pinterest.com

 

 

Happy Saturday!

TGIF

Happy Friday To You!:)

 

I wanted to say hello at least some point this week. I haven't found much mojo in my blogging life lately. Feeling a little dried up actually. Not much to say.

But I know how much better I feel when I do say hi and when you say hi back:)

So HELLO!

 

Oh, the girls say hi too:)

 

We're still juggling around names as we get to know them, but the group in the picture remains nameless except the sweet bird in the bottom right hand corner.

That's Annie Loo :)

Named after a sweet friend of mine that you should know from the blogging world.

Hi Annnie !!!!

 

 It's so sad that most of the trees have lost their leaves already.

For so long they were abundantly beautiful.

And now they are all mostly bare.

Just a few leaves hanging on for dear life.

 

 

 

 

I made two of these cute little pies over the weekend.

Pumpkin is a favorite around here.

And I couldn't help but add a little pie dough pumpkin.

Sometimes my own creativity amazes me.

I don't say that to sound prideful, but so often I feel like the picture of that tree up there, just a few leaves barely hanging on- especially in the creativity department.

So when it came to me to carve out a little pumpkin, my dorky self was just tickled pink about it.

 

And can you all believe it's November??????

Guess what?????

That means it's only a few more weeks until Thanksgiving and just a few days after that when the Jeter Family Christmas Tree will go up!

Yahoooo!

Have a great weekend!

 

Weekend News

This last weekend we went to an auction at my hubby's grandparent's place. I think I told you this right?

It was my first auction and I fell in love FAST.

The energy and excitement of the bidding was electric!

Also dangerous! :)

I came home with 10 boxes of fabric, some woven cane chairs and a pie safe.

Gobs and gobs of vintage fabric. 

So many possibilities!

And I ordered a few things from my friend Lisa online.

She had the most adorable hoop art.

And I knew it would look great in my kitchen next to my pie safe.

She also included a few other items and the packaging was SO cute!

Thank you again Lisa! If you are on IG you should follow her @lisakaiser .

I also found a few magazines to bring home recently.

Magazines are one of my weaknesses. I really need to say no, but often they end up in my shopping cart.

Grit was totally necessary now that we are a family with chickens.

And speaking of the girls.

They are doing GREAT!

We are finishing up a few little touches here and there on the chicken coop and they have even laid a few eggs which we scrambled this morning for breakfast:)

Hope you are having a GREAT weekend! :)

Persevere

Sometimes I forget that I am a child of God. And I let worry, fear, disappointment , etc. come into my life. 

And I try and handle it on my own, instead of leaning and trusting ONLY on God.

Why do we do this? 

We know better.

"Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."

Hebrews 10:35-36

I was reading thru a Joel Osteen devotion and he writes this:

" This morning, you may be waiting for God to change your circumstances. Then you're going to be happy; then you're going to have a good attitude; then you're going to give God praise. But God is waiting for you to get up on the inside and take courage. It will definitely take determination, but you can do it.

God wants you to be a winner, not a whiner. Don't allow yourself to wave the white flag of surrender. Show the enemy that you're more determined than he is. Shout aloud if you must, "I'm going to stand in faith even if I have to stand my whole lifetime!" When you do your part, God will work supernaturally to change things in your life."

That passage is so true of me. 

I thought that once I got married I would be happy or once I lose weight I'll be happy or when we have children I will be happy or if we lived down a country road on a farm that will make us happy. 

But it isn't the things of this world that make us happy.

No ma'am.

It isn't any purchase you score at a flea market, or the newest Starbucks flavor, or a pair of shoes either.

It is ONLY God who can bring the true happiness and fulfillment in our lives here on earth.

And only by persevering and standing UP for Him, that we can gain this.

I needed that reminder in a big way.