I live in the south. It is hot. Actually this week it has been about 10 degrees cooler – so I’ll take it.
This summer I’m in the process of losing about 20 pounds leftover from being married and having kids. But, when it is hot I still want ice cream. Ice cream is an important dietary component in the summer (ok, really, anytime).
When I’m trying to count calories, the best way for me to go it an individual serving ice cream treat from Weight Watchers. It helps me not eat an entire pint or quart of ice cream and it has less than 200 calories and it tastes pretty good.
So, thanks to Influenster I got to try out two free boxes – and have since been trying them. It is a perfect cool treat at night when I want to splurge!
1. Scripture. Last week I had some good me time to sit in some cool places in Chattanooga and eat good food, take pretty pictures and read the Word. God so shows up in His Word. And having Scripture around my house always helps too because it helps me focus on it even if I can’t sit down and have a 2 hours quiet time every day.
2. My Husband. We’ve been married almost 4 years. Good times, trying times. I love sitting down on the couch with him. Sometimes we just watch the West Wing or Chef’s Table. Sometimes we eat an antipasti platter or have a bowl of ice cream. Sometime we just talk about life and marriage and boys and foot rubs. Sometimes we read a Tripp parenting book or watch a Tripp marriage video (I totally suggest his material for either parenting or marriage).
3. Pretty things. A friend brought me this blooming plant when she came for lunch a few weeks back. Still pretty. This print from Kristin Schmucker never leaves my side board in my dining room. And I just received this tray from Barn Again Design after entering a contest from my friend Lara’s 40th birthday giveaway. It came today in the mail and even though the post man rang the doorbell during nap time, he delivered a beautiful hand-crafted tray with reused barn wood. It hasn’t been sanded down to perfection. There are knots in the wood. It is definitely self-distressed. But, isn’t life sorta not-perfect. And that’s how I like to live life in front of people. Just for clarity: my hutch is never this cleaned off unless I’m taking pictures. My husband would probably prefer I take pictures every day then.
4. Books. One of the things I love doing right now for blogging is book reviews. We can’t afford books right now – they just aren’t in our tight budget, so I love getting them from publishers and reading them then putting them on here to introduce you to the goodness that is in books.
5. Cookbooks. My favorite is The Forest Feast book. I could make everything in there. Two salads are coming up this week as I try to restart my healthy eating after a trip to Chattanooga.
What are your favorite things and how do they help you get through a Monday?
I remember all those Mother’s Days where I just sat there…in the pews…seeing men pass out roses to their beautiful wives who were the mother of the their children. Listening to countless sermons telling me that being a mother was the best thing you could do in this life and nothing would ever come close to matching it. Telling me if I was a woman that I was created to be a mother. Being a mother is priceless. And God did create some women the ability to birth babies.
Past: I didn’t become a wife until I was 34 and was barely pregnant (hince a mother) that same year. I got to see my baby’s face when I was 35. That is a good 12 years after I should have been married and started having babies. That is 12 mother’s days sermons that I had to endure. Yes, endure. There were a few that I wouldn’t attend. I don’t normally like to cry during sermons. And I wasn’t married, didn’t have a baby, yet I was failing at the one thing that God had created me for.
Move on to today: Motherhood is a joy with lots of hugs and giggles and storytimes, but it is also hard. I have two amazing toddlers that I would never wish to have life without. I don’t want to miss a second of their growing and learning and running and playing. But, being a mother is a gut-wrenching job. It is a great task that can only be handled by the grace of God. And I’ve cried more since being a mom. I can’t watch shows with the same eyes as I do now that I have two little boys. I see Scripture and the Gospel in a whole new light – and know I need it now more than ever before. I cry for friends who have lost children, or who haven’t had the joy of being pregnant, or have had adoptions fail, or have lost foster children they have come to love as their own. Sin wreaks havoc on this world. The Gospel is our need. Every mother needs the Gospel. But every woman needs the gospel too. We are not counted more worthy because we are mothers, the blood of Christ already has made us righteous!
Future: My boys are (Lord willing) going to continue to grow, learn how not to throw food on the floor, learn how to tie their own shoes, take out the trash (my husband will be happy), and hopefully one day trust in Jesus. And when that day comes (I’m praying it will), I will still need the Gospel. When I’ve been a mom for two decades and they are both in college or living out another dream they have for their lives…I will need the gospel. When my littles are joined at the altar by their adoring brides…I will need the gospel.
I need to fill my mind daily and hourly and even minute by minute with the hope that I will never be a perfect mom – but I have a perfect Jesus who helps me in my times of weakness!
So thankful. And to Elijah and Sebastian – I love you both. Your eyes and kisses and hugs and vocabulary are a delight to me. Run to Jesus, babies!
When our older son was born, he was rushed to the NICU at our hospital then eventually transferred to Duke NICU. I was in a lot of pain from a hard delivery, but my husband knew enough to be really concerned. For some unknown reason, our son was born without enough platelets in his body.
So that meant if he ever got cut or started bleeding he wouldn’t be able to stop. Duke NICU doctors were puzzled and didn’t know the cause of this. He was in NICU for 4 days before we could bring him home. When you leave the hospital after delivering a baby and you don’t have your baby, there is a sense of loneliness in that moment.
We prayed for days and every time we went to the hospital we were grateful for the doctors and most importantly grateful for our God who heals. After many blood transfusions, our son was on his way home in our car. And at his next check up (1 week, he was seemingly perfect in the platelet count area). We are thankful.
But, even after that scare when he was born, we aren’t out of the woods when it comes to more scrapes and bruises. Even yesterday I was paged at the gym to go check him out after he had hit his head on the wall. Nice bruise and tears and a mommy hug later – he was running around the gym like nothing had happened.
This new book about Boo Boos and our children teaches them many things about God’s character – that they need to know all the time, but especially when they are in pain and need a bandaid or a trip to the hospital.
1. It teaches them the nearness of God throughout all of life – even when life hurts.
2. It teaches them that God hears their prayers. God is always listening – even when we fall down and hurt.
3. It teaches them that God will indeed help them to persevere in the pain.
What is your biggest fear with your children? Or share a story about when they got hurt and how you handled it.
Thanks to Tommy Nelson Mommies for this book and for a book to giveaway. All opinions are my own.
I feel like the title of the book should be a country song – but I won’t venture there.
This is a more serious book with a serious message, not appropriate for a country song.
Megan Cox has become a friend of mine through another friend, and she has such a heart for ministering to women who have come from situations that no woman would desire. She shares much of her story in Give Her Wings, and that is one of the reasons that Give Her Wings is such a powerful book. When women share their story, where God met them, how God brought them new life from death, created a new heart where only death lived, it is a miraculous story.
She shares her story in this book and offers hope and counseling to women who might be struggling in similar situations. She ministers to women with God’s truth on her lips and understanding in her heart. This book speaks of that understanding and also can be used as a guide in how to minister to hurting women.
One of the best things I’ve read in this book is the following:
“Speak God’s truth into her life. She Scriptures that encourage and comfort. Remind her she is not alone. Bless her with the Word. If she heads condemnation, her crisis of faith may very well tip to the wrong direction.” (pg 89)
There is a spot of time that women who are coming out of hurting relationships are open to hearing God’s truth. Relationships can be redeemed by God’s Love and Justice. He can bring healing. And it is books like this that offer that Love, hope, and truth to hurting women.
My husband would quickly tell you that my favorite meal would either consist entirely of macaroni and cheese or maybe just throw a good medium steak topped with onion and mushrooms on the side for some more protein.
So, since my younger son is teething and longs for soft foods, I decided today would be the day to make some homemade cheesy goodness for their dinner – and to have as a side to some leftover bbq sliders for my husbands dinner.
Cast Iron Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Pasta
Author: kd316
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Southern, baked, double the cheese, heavy cream – how delicious!
Ingredients
1 box elbow pasta, cooked to al dente according to directions
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
1 T dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup whole milk
7 oz grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
2 T cold unsalted butter
2 oz shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Cook pasta according to directions. Cook with oil and salted water – so your pasta doesn’t clump together.
In a 10 inch cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk together until no clumps remain.
Add in milk and cream and spices.
Add in sharp cheddar.
When all is blended together, fold in pasta.
When pasta is all coated, sprinkle on Italian bread crumbs.
Cut the butter in tiny pieces and place on top of the pasta.
Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes until cheese on top is melted and browned.
