SRC Tip, a visit with Renee Swope, and Rest, Sweet, Rest!

Welcome, y’all. Shellie here, in this week’s episode I’ll be chatting with author and speaker Renee Swope.  Renee is a WORD-lover, heart-encourager, story-teller, grace-needer; Mom of three, wife to one amazingly good man, and author of A Confident Heart. You’ll love her! I do!

 

 

And FYI, I have it on the down low that there may be a giveaway in the works. Standby for news…afterwards, we’ll whip up something delicious in the All Things Southern kitchen and I’ll close with a few devotional thoughts of my own. Right now, let’s chat…

Ladies, women friends, girls, Christmas will be here before you know it.  As always, I’m here to help. I’ve been doing some early research on what’s out there to guide you through the madness. I came across what I think qualifies as a SRC gift-giving idea, but the men on your list may or may not agree. I’ll report, you decide.

This product is marketed to our favorite outdoors-men.  And as I’ve often said, hunters can be suckered into sold just about anything if it promises to help take down that monster buck. Think, deer urine. There are people who collect it and other people who buy it. We’ve bought it at this house, but, about that gift idea.

The Bumper Dumper is designed for those times when one needs to use the facilities but there are no facilities to use. There’s a similar product on the market called The Off-Road Commode. Picture a toilet seat lid with an adapter that slides into the hitch on the back of your truck so that when nature calls you are ready to roll, so to speak. Are you with me?

The Off-Road Commode is made out of extremely durable material. It can hold up to 500 pounds…so, even big boys are good to go…you saw what I did there…right.. You can go with the plain jane look, or you can order yours with a padded camo cover. You can even buy accessories, like the toilet paper holder.  But, it’s the warning embedded in the product’s description that intrigues me. There in black and white is the following warning, “Not for use when vehicle is in motion.”

Now, you know what that means, right? Someone, somewhere, tried it. I can see ‘em now. “Naw, don’t stop, Bubba. We’re late. I got this!” They may have even tried to sue the manufacturer when things got messy, I mean hairy, I mean, oh, you fill in the blank. The instructions also noted that it was slippery when wet. I’m just gonna leave that right there.

I sent my husband, son, and son-law a group text to see if they wanted this product for Christmas. I explained all the options and then I asked them if they wanted preferred a particular color or did they want the camo? Silence. That was predictable and then text bubbles…and finally a question from my favorite Cajun son-in-law who asked: “Do they not have it in LSU?”

Yeah, that was predictable, too!

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Interview with Renee Swope

*you’ll find this on iTunes (you can subscribe for free!) or you can listen through the audio link at the bottom of this post. Just look for the audio bar and hit the play button!

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Hey folks! Welcome back to the All Things Southern kitchen. We’re making Skillet Lasagna today with Fresh Basil. We enjoy lasagna around here—and this deconstructed version is an easier way to get all of those familiar flavors to the table. Let me walk you through it.

Skillet Lasagna with Fresh Basil

1 pound ground beef, drained and removed
1 white onion, chopped
2-3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 jar Mariana sauce
1 package pasta
Red pepper flakes
Mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta
Fresh basil (chopped)
Salt and pepper

We’ll begin by browning a pound of ground beef in a large cast iron skillet. We’ll drain it and transfer it to a mixing bowl for now. We’ll add a tablespoon olive oil to the skillet and saute one chopped white onion and 2-3 teaspoons minced garlic. Pantry time! I’m grabbing a jar of Mariana sauce. I’ll add this to the veggies in our skillet and season it with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and some chopped basil. We’ll let this sauce cook on low while we prepare our pasta. I’m using bowtie, because that’s what I have on hand. You can use whatever pasta your prefer. We’ll cook it, drain it, and stir it and our ground beef back into the sauce along with some fresh Mozzarella, Parmesan and Ricotta cheese. We’ll let this cook until the cheese is melted and everything is hot and bubbly! YUM! Top with fresh basil and enjoy!  That’s Skillet Lasagna with Fresh Basil and it’s mighty good eating from the All Things Southern kitchen to yours!

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Southern Comfort

Let’s open the Word together before we go. We’ll be in Matthew 1:28. Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

And so it is.

I find that in every single thing I bring to Him, He is faithful to give rest to my soul.
But in every single thing I hold back and try to figure out, fix, or fight on my own, I am restless.

These words of His are there for the masses, available through the ages. So simple and so profound and still we cling to our unrest even as we profess to hate the chaos in our souls, like a toddler refusing to be consoled. How relentless, this love of God. He leaves the welcome mat out day and night, despite our sporadic — at best— endeavors to simply come and find the rest we need.

That’s it for this week, folks. Until next time, may the Good Lord bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace. This is Shellie with hugs for all~

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