Turnip Green Soup

This soup represents the pinnacle of comfort food.

The blend of flavors in this hearty soup will pleasantly surprise you, even if it’s your first time adding turnip greens to your grocery list. Trust me. This pinnacle of comfort food is great for cold weather cuisine and is a perfect welcome for travel-weary guests.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 medium chopped onions

1 teaspoon minced garlic, or to taste

¾ pound cubed ham

2 cans 14.5-ounce Glory brand turnip greens, undrained

2 15.5-ounce cans Great Northern Beans

2 red potatoes diced

4 14.5-ounce cans of chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons sugar

A pinch of Cajun seasoning, or to taste

Instructions:

In a soup pot, sweat the onions and garlic.

Add the diced ham and cook on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the other ingredients and cook for 45 minutes on medium heat.

Comments behind the cupboard door:

• A must—serve with hot cornbread.

• Since this makes a large volume, consider making half the recipe. However, keep in mind that it freezes nicely.

• My friends and family in the desert Southwest have difficulty finding canned turnip greens. I suggested they try to order online.

Blessings to you as you make the effort to love others with delicious food and warm fellowship. Making a difference in today’s frantic world through the vehicle of hospitality is a rare and beautiful gift. You are truly Living With Eternal Intentionality®.

Creativity Heals the Heart

Guest post By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Physical or Emotional Stress + Creativity = Healing.

Creativity allows us to use our imaginations to develop something beautiful. The artistic expression draws on a mysterious side of us that we don’t fully understand. We have an idea for an object that is admired, useful, and meaningful. We take that idea and develop it into a tangible item.

Through creativity, we can inspire, appreciate, and help ourselves or others heal from physical or emotional pain and trauma.

Creativity Heals the Heart

The foundation of pain is stress—mental, physical, emotional, or a combination. A proven method to battle against stress is to engage in creative art expression. This allows us to experience a sense of satisfaction while we welcome the involvement in an activity we love. By focusing on creativity, our minds and bodies find peace. The expression may not replace counseling or anti-depressants, but it will calm you and help you restore confidence in your life.

When stress no longer battles the body, blood pressure lowers. A positive attitude replaces irritability. Dizziness flees. Headaches vanish. Depression and anxiety diminish. Strength and energy are restored. All are good reasons to embrace artistic expression into our daily routine.

The type of creative expression is not the same for every person, and we have a variety of options to choose from. I’ll list a few activities below in alphabetical order that have been proven therapeutic.

Crafts

The list is endless, from sewing to refinishing furniture. If you are longing to spend hours in a craft, search for the one with the most appeal.

Dance

No need to be a professional to enjoy moving and swaying to music. The steps aren’t important, only the joy of feeling one with the rhythm.

Gardening

When I need a break from the world-of-overwhelmed, I head to the flower beds. The act of pulling weeds, cutting back leggy growths, and planting new growth and colors does more for the soul than a sleep-in-Saturday.

Music

Music soothes the soul. Close your eyes and relax to whatever style you prefer.

Painting or Sculpturing

The idea of picking up a paintbrush or dipping your hands in mud may not appeal to you, so choose what does. Doodle on a blank piece of paper or pick up a coloring book.

Photography

Enjoying photography doesn’t require professional ability or fancy equipment. Grab your phone and take a walk. Admiring unique lines, colors, and shadows helps us appreciate beauty outside ourselves.

Writing

Fashioning words on paper that reflect our dreams, thoughts, desires, heartache, trials, tragedies, and victories allow us to work through stress.

Don’t put off finding an artistic means to express your emotions. Begin now to find a creative way to heal and stay healthy.

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; the Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. She says, “We’ve all been given gifts and talents to further the kingdom of God. Don’t let them go to waste. Develop your skills and reach out to grasp that which God has purposed for you.”

The Dreaded Thistle

On my knees—and not in prayer—the Holy Spirit set up an appointment with my heart.

The enchantment of the late afternoon beckoned me to stay outdoors. Summer’s twilight created the perfect ambiance for lingering. Within minutes, a nearby flower bed called out, and soon I found myself on my knees pulling weeds. But not just any kind of weed. My target was an invader, the dreaded thistle.

This ruthless nuisance shows no mercy and sets out to conquer any place it decides to homestead. Additionally, the plant possesses mean, prickly stickers designed to punish the gardener with each attempt to pull it up by the roots.

With my impetuous self, I didn’t bother to don my gardening gloves, a decision I would soon regret. Consequently, my hands suffered from the painful pricks, but my obsession with the battle kept me at it.

“Then somewhere between bushes, right there on my knees this lovely summer evening, God the Holy Spirit invited me into the classroom of my heart. ”

— Debby Thompson

Like the harsh prick on my hands, my soul felt the painful sticker of an incident where I felt abandoned and hung out to dry. Thankfully, at the time of the occurrence, the Holy Spirit miraculously moved within me to extend forgiveness. But now in the solitude of my late afternoon gardening—out of nowhere—a prompt in my spirit alerted me to see yet another nasty thistle weed trying to spring up within me.

To ignore such prompting would be dangerous, as the Scriptural warning in Hebrews 12:15 (HCSB) urges, “Make sure … that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many.” What would be my response?

Bitterness is bad business, never stays contained, and starts as a tiny weed, just like the ones I was clearing out of the dirt. It would be so easy—and certainly human—to leave it alone. But God calls us to more. And His more is worth the commitment needed to keep any root of bitterness obliterated from our hearts.

So, there on my knees, surrounded by mocking thistles in my flowerbed, I submitted the soil of my heart to the Holy Spirit and allowed Him to pull out the seedling by its root and force it to die. Then, prayerfully releasing a fresh waterfall of grace over the entirety of the matter, I got up from my knees, looked around, smiled a quiet smile, and breathed in the wonder of it all.

Then sings my soul …

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

Intimacy with Jesus

Authenticity with others

a Passion for your calling

a Purpose for your influence

When recently did God nudge you to deal with the soil of your heart?

How did you respond?

What counsel would you offer someone who wants to nurse, rather than release, such a matter?