Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Q + A With Amy

I want to share an opportunity for YOU lovely gals (and guys if you’re out there!), one I’m so super excited about! And something I’ve never done before. Send any and all questions my way for a little Q&A session on Monday, how fun is that!

I wanted to treat this as a chance to share more of my story with you, and to have some fun while doing it. Ask me anything! Feel free to ask about blogging, faith, chickens… anything you like.

You can ask in the comment section below, message me on Facebook, shoot me an email at gypsytree@windstream.net or ask on my post on Instagram!
Let’s have fun!  I’ll be answering all questions in a post next Monday, January 9th.  

 

Ham Salad Spread

In this house, the week after Christmas {and Easter} means having a lot of leftover ham.  I always put some aside for ham pot pie and ham and bean soup.  Which leaves me with just enough left to make ham salad, one of my favorites!

The first thing I did was borrow my Mama’s vintage 1971 Oster electric food grinder.  My Mama bought it new in 1971 and she’s been in our family ever since.  She’s over 40 years old and is still in perfect condition and works beautifully!  I use her every year when we make our homemade relish and hot pepper dip.

I start out by cutting my ham into cubes about 1″ in size.  I put the cubes into the top of the grinder and push it through.  If you don’t have a grinder, you could also use a food processor.  If you are using a food processor, be careful.  One too many pulses and you’ll end up with mush.  I would pulse only 3-5 times.  Keep a close eye on it to make sure it’s the consistency you want.

Next I put the mayo in a bowl along with some of my sweet pickle relish that I’ve canned. I added the dijon mustard, a few cut up sweet pickles, the onion powder and mixed it all together.  I poured that over the ground ham and mixed it up.  Perfection!

You can eat this on a roll as a meal, or use crackers and eat it as a dip. I guarantee that if you put this out at a party, it would all disappear fast!

But the ham salad is equally good as a sandwich spread, or you can put it on a lettuce leaf if you’re watching your carbs.

See how gorgeous and creamy this ham salad is. It has the right balance of a little crunch from the pickles, a little sweetness from the relish and a whole lot of goodness from the ham. Enjoy, I know you will love this recipe!!

Ham Salad Spread

Ingredients
3 cups ham, fully cooked and ground
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
5 heaping tsp sweet relish
2 tsp chopped sweet pickles

1/4 tsp onion powder

Instructions

Finely grind ham, set aside. Combine mayonnaise, relish, dijon mustard and sweet pickles in a separate bowl; pour over ham mixture. Stir to coat. Refrigerate until serving time.

Next Door As It Is In Heaven {Book Review}

Next Door As It Is In Heaven:
Living Out God’s Kingdom in Your Neighborhood
By Lance Ford + Brad Brisco
About the book:

There was a time when neighbors knew each other’s names, when small children and the old and infirm alike had more than their families looking out for them. There was a time when our neighborhoods were our closest communities.

No more. Neighborhoods have become the place where nobody knows your name. Into this neighborhood crisis the words of Jesus still ring true: Second only to the command to love God is the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

In Next Door as It Is in Heaven, Lance Ford and Brad Brisco offer first principles and best practices to make our neighborhoods into places where compassion and care are once again part of the culture, where good news is once again more than words, and where the love of God can be once again rooted and established.

I’m fortunate to have grown up in the neighborhood that I did. I knew the names of all my neighbors, spent hours playing in their yards, were scolded by them a time or two and we all genuinely knew they cared.

I owe a lot to my neighborhood. Not only did my neighbors watch out for my welfare and tell my parents when I was up to no good {even my bus driver, and close neighbor, would call my parents and tell them if I was misbehaving}, my neighborhood had a lot to do with forming my personal identity.

What an amazing way to grow up!

In fact, I loved it so much that I’ve never left. And I’m raising my littles in the exact same neighborhood.

Sadly, many people will never get to experience a neighborhood like mine. Between privacy fences and no trespassing signs, it doesn’t leave much room for community.

The premise for Next Door As It Is in Heaven is simple: we are disconnected in our modern age of so-called connectivity, yet being a good neighbor is at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus.  This book is all about empowering you to transform your neighborhood for the glory of God. It provides motivation and Biblical reasoning on the why’s and how to’s of hospitality. 
The most exciting section of the book for me was on hospitality, the importance of eating together and the value of third spaces. The authors write: “We wrongly assume that one of the greatest needs in our lives is safety. But what we need most is connection and acceptance from other human beings” (99). This connection can be found as we share food and time with our neighbors, and especially as we seek to meet the needs of those who can’t return the dinner invitation. Our neighborliness can actually make the gospel enticing to those who aren’t part of the family of God.
It comes down to this…show them Jesus through you.

This book is full of advice for overcoming fear, time management to create more time for neighboring, creating third places and cultivating bread communities.

Even if you’re an introvert, this book will inspire and encourage you to respond to your calling to be a messenger for Jesus.

I received a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes from Tyndale House.