Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

December is a crazy, busy month isn’t it? With the trimming of trees, prepping of Nativity Scenes, practicing for the church musical and shopping for Christmas gifts, it’s a whir of activity and let's face it... stress!

Which is exactly why taking time to enjoy a meal with the girlfriends was so important. We managed to find an evening that worked for the four of us and made it a date.

To continue our theme of staying local in Richland, Michigan, we chose Kare’s Village Diner. The proprietor, Kare (pronounced like the word “care”), dreamt of owning her own restaurant since childhood and happily opened her diner in the spring of 2007. You can read more about Kare’s here.

Since it’s opening 6 years ago, Kare’s has become a popular breakfast spot in Richland, located just across M-89 from the Gull Lake Schools campus. It’s a pretty small place with little more than a handful of tables. 

We knew they were open for lunch as well, but were happy to learn they are open until 8 p.m. most days, serving breakfast, lunch or dinner! On Friday nights they have a fish fry!

We arrived at 6pm and had the restaurant to ourselves. It was not Friday, so we checked out the menu and after some chatting with the waitress, all decided to order a hand-pattied burger. Ruth went for the basic burger with cheese, lettuce and tomato. Elisabeth continued her search for the best olive burger in Richland and Sarah followed her lead. I chose my favorite burger species - mushroom and swiss.  Hand battered onion rings or hand cut fries accompanied the burgers. 

True to the promise, the burgers were fresh and the onion rings crispy-fried masterpieces. Although the jury is out on the BEST olive burger in Richland, Kare’s has a place on the list of finalists. 



As the evening progressed, the conversation moved from excitement about the season to checking on personal concerns and discussing logistics for our upcoming trip to visit Snowbird Anna! As we watched the snow fall outside, we chatted about pedicures and beaches in our future. But it was the friendship surrounding us that made us feel warm that night.  

We reminded each other that Jesus is the Reason for the Season and to just... slow...down. 

Even though we felt stressed when we walked in, we enjoyed lots of laughs and love during dinner and left feeling supported and calm. Isn’t it amazing what good friends can do for us? That reminds me of a Bible verse: 

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 

May you experience the blessing of Jesus today and always,

Miriam

Blessed by Faithful Friends

October has come and gone.  With Anna out of town, the other four of us met for dinner at Mission Pointe Steak and Seafood House. It is a locally owned and operated business that serves a nice selection of steak, seafood and pasta dishes.  They have nightly dinner and drink specials.  The evening we visited the establishment was busy with tables full of ladies.  While the food wasn’t excellent, it was good.  Sarah and Elizabeth had pasta dishes while Miriam and Ruth had fish.

The best part for me of every meeting is not the establishment, it is not the food, it is the gathering with friends and breaking bread together.  God has blessed me with these Christian women I call friends.  They are faithful women who love God.  They continue to grow and learn on their journey.  They serve God and others within their local churches as well as their community and abroad.

These women are real. They have families. They work. They have challenges. The difference between them and other women is that these women don’t do any of this alone.  They have God on their side. They love Him. They lean on Him. They are learning to trust and obey Him more every day.  They are an excellent example to me and those they meet.  They point others to God.

Each time we meet the conversations move between what is new at work, what is happening in our families and what are we going to do next.  This particular evening the controversial subject of same sex marriages came up.  We discussed same sex couples we knew, both family and friends.  While we recognize everyone will read and interpret the Bible for themselves, we also recognized that the Bible is very specific on what it has to say about this.  We also recognized that God calls us to love the sinner, not the sin.  That is what He does for us and expects us to do for others.

On a lighter note, another controversial subject was that of Endorsements on Linkedin.  We had some laughs over who has been Endorsed and the subject of the Endorsements.  For an interesting read on the topic, go to: http://www.corebrand.com/news-views/blog/747-why-i-dont-like-linkedin-endorsements. 

The evening ended with plans for a trip to visit Anna.  She will be out of state for some time and has invited us to come for a visit. We are hoping to visit her and have dinner sometime in mid to late January, pending confirmation of work schedules.  Although we keep in touch via email and text messages, we are all looking forward to that gathering!

Until next time,

Sister’s in Christ,

Ruth

Where is Richland, Anyway?

Welcome back to Girlfriends Breaking Bread!  Maybe you’ve come across our blog accidentally and don’t know much about our little village so I decided to share a bit about the area.  

Richland is in the southwest corner of Michigan about nine miles northeast of Kalamazoo and sixty miles east of Lake Michigan.  Richland Township has about 7,000 residents, while the village of Richland has less than 700 people.  

On the surface it looks like a typical, small, middle-class, Midwestern town and it is; but to those of us who call it home it is very special!  This isn’t where I grew up. In fact, I’ve only been here about 12 years, but in that time I have fallen in love with this little, peaceful community.  It seems quite appropriate that we have chosen to eat exclusively in local restaurants.

This month we met at Liz’s Parkview Café. Liz’s is located in the heart of downtown Richland, just a few steps from where we enjoyed our Subway sandwiches last month. Liz’s is one of eight restaurants owned by EMA Enterprises (owned and operated by Mike Leeuw), based in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Interestingly, EMA stands for Elizabeth, Michelle and Andrea.  Those are Mike’s daughters and the names of several of his restaurants, including Liz’s Parkview Café.

I’ve been to Liz’s before for breakfast. I was anxious to try them for dinner! Elisabeth and I had burgers, Miriam had a wonderfully fresh-looking salad, Ruth had a thick bowl of soup and a loaf (!) of fresh bread. Anna had a chicken breast sandwich. The food came promptly and was nicely presented. We all enjoyed our meals enough to consider returning for dinner in the future.  

Our server was young and adorable. We fell in love with her instantly so it was easy to overlook her slight imperfections as a waitress. She seemed amused by us taking pictures of our food and giggling like school girls and probably thought of us as quite strange ‘old ladies’. 

We topped off our meal with delicious chocolate cupcakes that Ruth brought to celebrate Anna’s birthday.  

It was a fun evening. Conversation was probably much like that of any other group of 50-plus-year-old women. As we always do, we talked of family, jobs, retirement, as well as day to day frustrations and struggles. I think what sets us apart from many other groups of women is our faith in God.  We pray together, we talk about our faith and we celebrate answered prayers! 

I am so blessed to have such wonderful Christian women friends. Often, I am reminded of a Christian women’s book club that we all used to belong to. It was called koinonia. Koinonia is a Greek word which is used in a variety of ways in that language. Wikipedia does a nice job explaining the many uses of the word, please click here if you are interested to learn more than the following. 

Koinonia “identifies the idealized state of fellowship and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ.” The first use of koinonia in the Greek New Testament is found in Acts 2:42-47, where a description of life shared by the early Christian believers is given.  

The NIV translation says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. <snip> All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. <snip> They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

This week we also said good-bye to Anna, the snowbird in our group! Travel safe and be well. We will miss you. See you in the spring! Remember, it's less than 6 months away!

Until next month,

Sarah

End of Summer Park Party

Meeting with girlfriends in the park in Richland on a most beautiful, warm and sunny summer evening after visiting our local Subway for our selected meals - life doesn't get any better than this!  

Delightful conversation followed as Miriam and Sarah tried the pulled pork and Ruth stuck with her Subway standby, the Italian BMT. I chose the oven roasted chicken and we all made it a meal by adding our favorite chips and cold drinks.  All meals were tasty, with many healthy veggie additions! 

It was a really comfortable evening on the picnic table in an active town square. We talked and laughed over the details of a recent excursion on the Kal-Haven trail, bicycling in monsoon rains that Ruth and  Miriam bravely attempted.  We were very proud of their efforts, however, in getting out there.

We all discussed those friends we had who were going through health challenges and prayed together, missing our friend Elisabeth, who was out of town.

Work and life challenges were again topics of concern, as well as our children and families. Updates on possible retirement areas we have considered were examined also. Wow, we can't possibly be saying that!  We're all way too young for retirement.          

It's great knowing each of us can depend on the prayer and support of our entire group! We all seem to be refreshed and lifted up after sharing time together.  

Looking forward to our next meeting and the next update,

Anna

The Blessing of Friends

Today I was reminded just how important our women friends are, especially our Christian women friends.   

I recently applied for a different position with my employer.  I asked my girlfriends to pray with/for me. I had asked them to pray for "without a doubt clarity" on the  direction God would have me take and for me to have a willingness to submit to His plan no matter which position I end up in.  

Each friend sent me notes along my journey with Bible verses, experiences they have had and words of encouragement.  
 
Today I learned I didn't get the new position.  My friends all sent notes as soon as they learned the news.  They continued to lift me up in prayer and they turned my focus to God and His GREAT plans.  

Each friend had wonderful words of wisdom and advice.  They noted that sometimes we as Christians believe we are boasting or not being humble when we talk about our skills, accomplishments, talents.  But these are all gifts from God and He would be proud to hear us describe those gifts to others, especially if we are seeking to continue to use those gifts in another job.  

They pointed me to Matthew 7:7. "Keep on asking and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened." 

They continued to pray with me.  
 
After hearing from each, I was encouraged that God did answer my prayers.  He has a plan.  I will trust that plan.  
 
Praise God for loving me.  Praise God for the wise women in my life.
 
Ruth

Buying Local at the Richland Farmer's Market

Since our goal is to Buy Local in Richland, Michigan I thought, what a better topic than the Richland Farmer’s Market!  Now that’s taking the ‘eat local’ concept one step beyond the restaurant to buy fresh goodies for your home table. 

I make it a point to get to the market almost every week and fortunately my schedule allows me to get there just after opening so I get the best selection of everything the market has to offer. 

My first stop is always to get a nice cold glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade to keep me cool and quenched while I shop. You see, there is a young lady who makes and sells it to fund her summer camps. It always makes me feel good to help a young entrepreneur. 

My next stop is the Fruit Man from Ferndale. He is typically on the right side about 3 booths in and in my book, he has the best fruit around. This week I picked up a 10 pound box of blueberries which I will freeze to enjoy this winter. I also grabbed peaches and huge, beautiful blackberries. Yumo!

Next, I picked up a peck of pickles from the folks at Russell Farms to make Sun Pickles. They also offered zucchini, onions, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, and so much more!

Next thing I know, I'm at Jane’s booth where she sells hydroponically grown wasabi. Yes, you heard me right, wasabi. No, not that green horseradish stuff you get at many restaurants! This is the real thing which is actually a rhizome that you simply grate to add a bit of heat (without the sinus clearing action of the green paste). She also sells the leaves which make a lovely pesto and the stems which are fabulous in a salad or (I’m told) a bloody mary!

In addition to lots of fresh fruits and veggies, there are ready-to-eat items. Succulent pasties, spicy tamales with chips and hot sauce and local honey are just a few items. I am in love with the strawberry cupcakes from Sweet Helen’s and I always pick up a bag of Kahoona Kitchen’s freshly made granola bars. 

There are even booths with fresh meats, jerky, colorful scarves and organic soaps. 

As I was leaving, The Hoot Owls were just beginning to fluff their feathers and I wished I could stay to listen, but it was time to get home and put away my haul. 

The market is open every Wednesdays from 3 - 6 pm through Mid-October. It’s conveniently located behind the Gull Lake Middle School on M-89 in Richland where there is plenty of room for both booths and parking. 

What are you waiting for?

Here's to enjoying the bounty of God's green earth. Blessings to all!

Miriam

In Honor of Friendship Day

My calendar indicates that today is Friendship Day, which made me think of Girlfriends Breaking Bread!

So, I found a couple of Bible verses about friends and thought what a better way to share them than on our blog. I hope these verses help you celebrate the joy of good friends. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

John 15:12-15

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Proverbs 27:17

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Blessings to you and your friends!

Ruth

From Hamburgers to Hammer Toes

Elisabeth here.  Another great dinner with the girlfriends in the outskirts of Richland. We ventured to The Dock at the Bayview across the street from beautiful Gull Lake.  Weather was great and we perched outside on the deck, overlooking the bay.  A little breezy, but warm sunshine and great company kept us cozy.  

I was anxiously awaiting this particular dinner since the Dock has recently re-opened and I had heard somewhat mixed reviews.  

Photos on The Dock's Facebook page showed the inside looking nicely updated with a shiny wide open dance floor and evenly spaced tables surrounding.  The view is always great, so I knew that would not disappoint.  

What did disappoint is that the pictures were much more generous than the real thing.  Though it was clean and somewhat updated, there wasn’t much difference in the layout, the table and chairs were the same old ones, carpeting had not been replaced, and to top it off, the salad bar boat was still there! 

Having said that, the atmosphere was lively and there were plenty of thirsty golfers and lakers enjoying a cool drink and a bite to eat.  

Our food was good and served hot within about 20 minutes; not the best burger I’ve ever had, but for a bar and grill, I thought it passed the test.

Enough about the place.  It was really the company that was the best.  Sarah, Miriam, and Ruth joined me and the conversation always abounds.  We covered the gamut, from kids to spouses to bosses to parents.  

It seems no matter how old we get, kids always seem to continue to be a topic of concern and prayer.  Some of us are happy that the kids have finally left the nest, and others are hoping for new babies to arrive.  Whatever the case, we continue to lift our children up in prayer, knowing that God’s ultimate plan is always the best, no matter how much we think we may know better!  

Health was an interesting topic this week, too.  How we went from trigger fingers, to hammer toes, to rotator cuffs, to hot flashes, I do not know, but it was very entertaining!   Our conclusion was that too many doctors merely want to do surgery to solve every problem, and that we need to be cautious about overlooking  less invasive alternatives.  Whatever happened to physical therapy first?  

Jobs, well, what can I say?  Jobs are always a source of many prayer requests from our group.  As hard as it may be to comprehend, we actually do pray for our bosses!  Go figure.  Maybe instead of always praying for things to work out for us, we should pray that God opens other hearts to see things differently.  Maybe this will positively impact our situation.  What a concept…. take the focus off me. 

All in all, it was a great evening and I always leave in good spirits knowing that I have strong women to support me, listen to my whining, lift me up in prayer, and just love me!  It’s a great feeling. 

‘Til next time… Elisabeth signing off.

Welcome to our blog!

We are a handful of Christian women who choose to meet to grab a bite to eat and catch up on each other’s lives. Friendship, faith, support, love and laughter abound as we dine. Food is an important part of this festive gathering and where to eat is always part of the planning for our next get-together. At some point, we decided it would be helpful to have some sort of theme - or method to our restaurant choosing madness. 

We discussed trying a different cuisine each month or searching for the best hamburger, rueben or other specific fare. None of these ideas seemed to have wings, until we hit upon a “Buy Local” concept. 

Since we all live and worship in the community of Richland Michigan, we thought it fitting to support the local eateries. It is now our mission to eat at every possible place in Richland. The community has more eateries than are obvious in a quick drive through town and together they offer a variety of fare from simple subs to succulent Ossobuco. Our goal is to conquer them all!

Check out our blog to hear about our favorite dishes, get a glimpse into the conversation, and maybe to even learn a bit about the charming village of Richland and the surrounding area. 

Here's to hearty "dining" on the musings of Elisabeth, Ruth, Sarah, Anna and Miriam as we break bread, buy local and build faithful friendships.