by Kimberly | Dec 8, 2011 | food
Moist, healthy, filling, fruit: what more could you want in a morning muffin?
I have tons of recipes that I’ve torn out of magazines over the years and I’m trying to actually cook through them. Now that I have someone to cook for it makes it a little easier (and I always need ideas)!
These were very moist and have plenty of fruit and fiber in them. And they are under 200 calories.
1 1/2 cup all bran (the cereal)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup molasses
2 T oil
1 apple, tart, chopped
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (don’t thaw) – use you can use fresh
Combine first ingredients (through the cinnamon). Mix the wet ingredients. Mix together with dry. Fold in apple and blueberries. Bake in greased muffin tins, fill 3/4 of the way, bake at 350 for about 23 minutes, give or take. Cook for 5 minutes, then cool on rack. Serve warm.
by Kimberly | Dec 8, 2011 | food
Since being married, I’ve already made this soup: TWICE. My husband likes it, it is vegetarian (not vegan), and it is so easy. What is not to love?
6 large russet potatoes, leave them skinned, chop them all about the same size (1/2-3/4 inches)
1 large onion, chopped
2.5 cans vegetable broth (or chicken)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup half and half (I didn’t say it was fat free)!
1 cup shredded cheese (I usually have taco or Mexican cheese on hand)
Toppings: sour cream, chives, bacon, cheese
Crockpot: potatoes through the pepper. Turn on high for 4 hours. Add in the half and half and cheese. Turn off, stir, let sit till ready to serve.
Enjoy with toppings of your choice.
(Thanks to Elizabeth Beeler: wonderful cook, mom of 4, wife of a youth pastor, for this great recipe!)
by Kimberly | Dec 8, 2011 | Books
“Like the Israel of old, you tend to forget the most basic things. Important thigns. You need constant reminders, and what you have been gleaning from others is not enough. You need to find ways to remind yourself about the things that matter, because when you aren’t intentionally setting the truth before yourself you forget.” (pg 135)
If you have ever heard the term “preach the gospel to yourself!”, made popular by people like Lloyd-Jones, Jerry Bridges, and CJ Mahaney – here is a how-to book. I love Joe’s simple truths, yet ones that we need to hear every day.
He has given us 48 “sermons” that we can preach to ourselves. They each take about 3 minutes to read – so its a perfect addition to your daily quiet time.
Be compelled to start taking the Word that you are reading and putting it into practice in your daily life: life with children, life with your husband, life in the workplace or in your home community group. Apply it to the areas of your personal life where you are struggling, apply it to the areas of life where you are winning!
God’s Word is applicable to every part of your life – not just the Sunday morning corporate worship time. After finishing Joe’s book – write your own Note To Self book (this is what I’m doing for a friend as a gift). Use can use personal verses that mean a lot to you and write them down, stick it in your purse or in your car – so you can read it often.
“God’s face shines on you when you are learning – experientially – His Word. This means His favor and blessing are upon you, and that you have sweet communion with Him through Scripture, but only when you receive it for what it is; God’s life-giving Word meant to be believer, received, and obeyed – not only dissected.” (pg 130)
Here are just some of the “mini-sermons” that I liked from Joe:
“Thankfulness is the joyful and humble response of a heart that has been transformed by grace.” (pg 43)
“Small Jesus does not inspire awe, command respect, lead to worship, or compel us to talk of him (much less suffer for him). And small Jesus is too little to arrest the attention of the world.” (pg 48)
“You have to make the most, not just of the day as a whole, but of all the parts that make up the day.” (pg 90) – This is helping me be like some other women I know who are industrious and not wasters of time. I don’t do this perfectly, but God is working grace in me in this area. Thankful.
“Stop thinking so small when it comes to teh church gathering for worship. It is for God’s pleasure, your good, and the health of your church. Prepare for such a meeting with God today, and worship out loud with your brothers and sisters.” (pg 116)
“You should be seeking God for wisdom and strength in the midst of your calling, whether that is in the home, at the office, or in the garage.” (pg 118)
by Kimberly | Dec 7, 2011 | Uncategorized
Christmastime is a little frazzled isn’t it? Lines are longer, traffic is more congested, seems like everyone is a little crankier, money is tighter (oh, but the credit cards)…my friend Abbey Cooler wrote a blog post about balance: especially for wives and mothers, but you can take the principles and use them no matter what stage of life you are in. Be encouraged, friends.
Finding Balance
Laundry, dishes, meals, playgroups, date nights and time with family and friend..how do we maintain the balance? Who in scripture can we look to for direction and instruction?
Like many Christian women, I grew up in the church and grew up hearing about the great Proverbs 31 woman (Proverbs 31:10-31). This seeming perfect woman has been drilled into my head. . I grew up going to Sunday School, choir, GA’s, Wednesday night supers and youth retreats. I was saved at the age of eight but I have been a Baptist since birth. Every year on Mother’s Day I heard messages on “her”. Every youth trip and college retreat I ever attended would have a “girls only” session, and we were given instruction on how to become the Proverbs 31 women. During my single days in my twenties I read every book that Lifeway or the Family Christian Bookstore carried on becoming the Proverbs 31 women. Then in 2006 I became a wife and in 2008 I became a mother. Then all my knowledge I had and all the plans I had made about being the perfect woman went out the window!
Before I had my daughter I always said that when I become a mother, my house will stay spotless, my child will follow every word of Babywise and I will NEVER leave the house without looking like I just walked out of an Ann Taylor catalogue. I was never going to be one of those “frumpy, stay at home moms”. Then I actually had a baby, who was premature, on a three hour feeding schedule, and who had gas, constipation and reflux! One afternoon I realized we were out of diapers and formula and I needed to run up to the local grocery store. I got dressed, got my daughter ready, and headed to Kroger! I took my time in the store, bought the formula and diapers, and went back out to my car. As I was about to pull out of the parking space, I looked in my review mirror. That is when I notice the dried sweet potato in my eye brow! So much for being the perfect, Proverbs 31 woman who has her life balanced and figured out!
After that embarrassing but funny incident at the local Kroger, I thought to myself, “It’s time to regroup”. How can I can I complete everything on my “to do list”, spend time with my friends, family, husband and child, and maintain a dynamic walk with the Lord. As I thought about and prayed about my “regroup”, three “P’s” came to my mind. Even though it has been eight years since I finished seminary I have a hard time giving an explanation without using three points (or four points in this case) and alliteration!
1. Plan: Plan meals, plan your grocery list, plan your days, plan when you will do housework, put plans on your calendar and plan ahead for all things unexpected. By making plans you can take the seemingly endless to do list that we all have in our lives, and break it down into smaller chunks of times, so we do not get overwhelmed. Like my mother always told me, “Plan your work and work your plan”!
2. People: It is so very important to maintain the relationships with those special people in your life. They are your family, friends, husband and children. Make time in your daily, weekly and monthly life in order to grow, nurture and invest in to these relationships. This can be a playgroup with friends, date night with your husband, or celebrating special occasions with family members.
3. Perspective: At the end of the day, have the right perspective. When your child is eighteen, graduates from high school and moves from under your roof, what will they remember? Will they remember your house being spotless, eating organic, homemade food for every meal, and their clothes always being perfectly pressed or will they remember that you loved them unconditionally and invested in their lives?
4. Pray: Above all, cover your family, friends, household, spouse, children, with prayer. God has commanded us to pray without ceasing. You can pray at each red light, over your children while they sleep, at mealtime with your family, and all throughout the day. By seeking God and His will first, everything else in your life will fall into place.
So while you and I continue to try and strive to become a well balance woman, like the the Proverbs 31 women, we need to give ourselves a break. It is okay to stop and have a cup of coffee and read a book during naptime instead of making, cleaning or picking up something. It is okay after a difficult day, to run by Little Caesars and pick up at $5 pizza. You and I need to remember that God’s grace is sufficient and we need to give ourselves some, each and every day!
by Kimberly | Dec 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
Kroger can do wonders to your mental state. (I’m kidding, sorta).
I went to Kroger on Saturday and it was one of many items on my to-do list: including a wedding, decorating for Christmas, writing, etc. Well, needless to say, Kroger took longer than I wanted. There were no buggies, waiting, pride, couldn’t find items I need, so the searching began. Tried for lower priced, so that took some time, Kroger is expensive (in my opinion).
So, by the time I got home I literally had 1 hour to fix lunch (bring on tuna helper), take a shower, get dressed, and leave for the wedding. It did happen, but not without a tearful conversation in the kitchen with my husband.
During our quiet time that morning (we usually have our quiet time, seperately, but next to each other on the couch), we were talking about ______ subject. (Really, the subject isn’t important, and maybe not knowing will help you apply these truths to your personal situation). I didn’t respond much right then but was just pensive and thinking about we went back to our reading. Kroger was fine as well as my other errands. But, then I came home, stood in the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil, and started sobbing.
My poor dear husband, didn’t know what in the world had brought that on? Where did all of this come from? (Oh, ladies, he lives out that verse very well that says live with her in an understanding way, praise the Lord!) He took my face in his hands and said these words to me, “Be at peace! Be comforted!”. They were spoken soft and sweetly and were exactly what I needed to hear. He spoke the gospel to my heart (because true peace and comfort can only come because of Jesus).
We read this morning in Isaiah 7 (our advent reading for today) that His peace will increase. We pondered that. Without looking at a commentary or my Logos Bible software…here is what I took away. Jesus is coming. Praise the Lord. We now live in the Jesus has come and is coming again. His reign of peace will have no end – and actually, the deeper we go into Christ, the more peace we will know. The song lyric from a popular Christmas carol that has stuck with me this holiday season is “the weary world rejoices”. We are all tired, flustered, bothered by something, anxious about a given situation, in an argument at one time or another…listen to my husband… “Be at Peace”
Jesus knew that the disciples would need a comforter after He returned to the Father, so He said he would promise (and He followed through) with the Comforter – the Holy Spirit. John 15-17 and Acts 1-2 tells us that this Holy Spirit is powerful and can do wonders in our lives for His glory. One thing He wants to do in our lives (all of ours) is to bring us peace and bring us comfort. There is no need to concern ourselves with things that are ultimately out of our control. God is definitely in control of all matters.
And, I need to want to bring a comfort and peace to our home – and I’m striving for that (and failing some days). And, my husband does a fabulous job at staying calm and bringing me peace and the gospel.
What areas of your life do you need peace in this holiday season? Is Christ reigning in your heart – He is the one who guards your heart so you can stay at peace.
(Photo was taken last New Year’s Ever at Sip: A Wine Store in Cary, NC)
