Today is Sunday, December 11. And what you see above is a teaser for what's (way) below. Yesterday was stamp club and I like to give a little preview of the project that I made to swap at the beginning of my stamp club post. Gotta keep you intrigued. Can't have you cutting out early, you know? :)
We had a precious time of worship at church today. We don't normally have a choir, but over the past few weeks the worship ministry has put together a choir of volunteers from the congregation and it was just such a blessing to worship with a diverse group and different musical styles. I just love my church!
On the medical front, I thought I'd let you know that we decreased the steroids by one more milligram today. So starting today, I'm only take 2mg. I took one this morning around breakfast time and will probably take the other while we're watching The Amazing Race tonight. So far, so good. I definitely can tell that I "need" something (probably more psychological), but I haven't gotten all wacky yet so I'm thinking that this is going to go well and that pretty soon I'll be able to completely stop taking them. Considering that at the beginning of this journey I was taking 16mg a day, this is very good.
So, let's go right into some scripture. These are the verses that jumped out at me today. They're not all consecutive, but they are all of the same theme.
Amos 5:4b, 6a, 14a, 15a, 24
"'Come back to me and live!... Come back to the Lord and live!... Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live!... Hate what is evil and love what is good;... I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.'"
From these words in the Old Testament it's pretty clear that the Lord desires for us to be close to Him. He longs for a relationship with us and that relationship will give us life.
In order for us to get the most from our relationship with the Lord He exhorts us to hate what is evil, love what is good, and live righteously. As far as hating evil, it may be significant to note that He doesn't say to hate those who do evil... He says to hate the evil. I've heard people say to hate the sin, but love the sinner. I think that can be pretty difficult at times, but this is how we show people God's love... by loving them when they are not very lovable to us. Most people will eventually respond to love and kindness, so as Believers we need to make sure we are consistently displaying those attributes in our lives — then as people respond to God's love, a flood of righteous living will spread across our land. And how cool would that be?
So yesterday was the Christmas party of the Stampin' Up club that I'm a part of. Oh, my. What fun! Our swap for December is recipe cards — and then we each make our item and bring it to share. I've given you this recipe on the blog before and we make this dish regularly at our house, but I've never made a recipe card for it. Seemed like it was high time to do so.
SHOW
This casserole has been part of our Thanksgiving Day meal for years... ever since some friends brought it to share with us one holiday when they were in town for a soccer tournament that their son was playing in. So — we've had it every Thanksgiving since then. We also usually take it to a neighbor's 4th of July party. And to just about any other carry-in meals that come up. It's so easy to make and so yummy that it's the perfect dish for just about any occasion.
I'm kinda of diggin' the stamping that I did on this card. I really like the neutral colors and the design. My original plan was to embellish some of the lace images with buttons, twine, and silk ribbon, but when I started playing around with the idea it just wasn't working for me. And, I'm glad. Because I really like the simplicity of what I ended up with. And it won't be all bumpy in someone's recipe card file. :)
AND TELL: stamps are from Stampin' Up (Delicate Doilies); cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream); ink is SU (Crumb Cake, River Rock, Sahara Sand).
Would you like to see the other dishes from Stamp Club?
These are Kelley's (White Chili) and Kathy's (Deviled Egg Dip).
Then we have Rita's (Buffalo Chicken Dip) and Judy's (Queso Enchildas).
Then we have Sheri's (Creamy Pumpkin Mousse) and mine (Grandma's Company Corn).
And finally Cherie's two desserts (The Best Canadian Butter Tart and Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle).
And, I'll tell you, everything was as delicious as it looks. After dinner we moved to Judy's beautiful living room...
and exchanged gifts. We each bring, as Judy says, "the best $5 stamp you can find". We wrap our offerings up, they're numbered, and we draw numbers to determine which gift we get. (Hopefully, that makes sense.) In coming days I'll show you the gift bags that I made for Kris and my exchange stamps.
And here is our whole group...
Well, our whole group minus Kris who took the picture. It was such a fun evening with tons of laughter... just the way a holiday gathering should be.
Well, I think that will have to be it for tonight. Thanks so much for stopping for a visit. I love hearing from you and will look forward to talking with you again tomorrow. Sending you lots of love!
Sounds like such a fun day with friends. The food looks great. I love your recipe cards and the simple color you chose, very elegant. Glad the med. reduction is going well so far. Such a beautiful group of girls. Continue to have a good time with your sister in law. Take care.
Thanks for the post.
Posted by: marybethL. | 12/12/2011 at 01:07 AM
Great news on the steroid reduction....I know
that you'll make it to "zero" in short order.
Sure looks like you had a great time at your
SU Christmas party. Had a question about your
recipe....do you drain any of the corn products
or add the liquid as well? Take good care and
sending you cyber >>.
Posted by: Sherry in MI | 12/12/2011 at 02:35 AM
Wow! Down to 2 ml - that is really awesome. Love your recipe card. I'm so glad you are able to enjoy these things. Looks like lots of great food. Love you. Hugs and Prayers.
Posted by: SueB | 12/12/2011 at 04:58 AM
Janelle, I received your letter that you and Ken sent :) It was so nice to hear from you after sending you a card. Hugs from Singapore.
Posted by: Stephanie | 12/12/2011 at 08:05 AM
Glad to hear that your steroid reduction seemed to work. It looks like you ladies had a ton of fun. Thanks for sharing your corn recipe. I've saved it in my recipes folder. My husband and I both love corn so I think we will both love it.
Wishing you a good Monday.
Posted by: June K. | 12/12/2011 at 09:49 AM
What a fun party! Your recipe cards are awesome! The food all looks wonderful. I'm praying that this steroid reduction goes very well for you.
Sending lots of prayers and (((BIG HUGS))) your way and hoping you are having a great day!
Posted by: Connie F. | 12/12/2011 at 12:25 PM
What a wonderful party. Thank you for sharing it. I love how you did your recipe cards, and that recipe looks pretty good, too. Hugs from rainy San Diego.
Posted by: Joyce Mehrberg | 12/12/2011 at 12:25 PM
so happy to hear of your step down on medication!
If you wrote me back to have a visiton facebook... I LOST IT the message !!! HELP ME
how fun a day you had, I love your stamping and the beautiful craftsmanship... but I really need a picture of the RECEIPE for your corn pudding and the best CANADIAN butter tart...after all I am Canadian/American!!!
Posted by: Kristine Dartnall | 12/12/2011 at 02:54 PM
I second the request for the Canadian butter tart recipe! Glad to see you enjoying the day with your friends...you all look like it was so fun!
Posted by: Mary K | 12/12/2011 at 06:06 PM
What a joyful post Janelle! First of all congratulations on the steroid reduction - that is brilliant news and it's great to hear how far you've come. Secondly I'm totally with you on the scripture today - Jesus set the example for this! And thirdly it looks as if you had a wonderful party! I love what you've done with Delicate Doilies. I've been a bit luke warm about this set but I love the way it looks in neutrals. It's late here in the UK and I must get some sleep! Take care Janelle.
Posted by: Vicky | 12/12/2011 at 07:52 PM
Way to go on reducing your steroids! That is such wonderful news Janelle! And your time with your stamp club looks simply wonderful! I adore your recipe card!
Posted by: Lynn | 12/12/2011 at 08:08 PM
The choir did sound wonderful! Nigel did a stellar job. Lots of love to you today, Janelle.
Posted by: Jessica Clarkson | 12/12/2011 at 08:29 PM
Aww....ya'll look so good.Really miss you ladies!Merry Christmas
Posted by: Jeannie | 12/15/2011 at 12:00 PM