Real Love Isn’t Conditional
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I have been thinking a lot about love this week especially with all the great posts on the blog. I have really been inspired by the words of my amazing family. It was hard for me to make Valentine’s plans when many days I just feel tiredness and exhaustion rather than love. However, I realized that love isn’t conditional. Real love isn’t based on feelings. Although I don’t feel an overwhelming sense of love in all the hard moments, love is there because real love perseveres, hopes, and trusts. Bethany shared a wonderful verse from 1 Corinthians 13 that says without love we are nothing, but with love we can be “free, filled, and flowing!” LOVE IS A BIG DEAL! Therefore, we can’t base love on feelings because feelings wax and wane. When we make a promise to love – we love when it hurts and we love when we aren’t loved back. We love because God first loved us. He loves us in spite of our mistakes. He loves us when we fall short. He loves us the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
The promises in God’s love for us have challenged me this week in my love for my family and in my love for others. I must promise to love my children the same when they disobey and when they obey. I have made the promise to love my husband when we agree and when we disagree, when days are hard and when days are filled with laughter and joy.
Remember to fill every day with love. Some days will have a little love, and some will have a lot, but when you choose to love unconditionally, LOVE WILL BE THERE!
“The only way love can last a lifetime is if …
Read MoreChicken White Bean Tomato Casserole
Chicken White Bean Tomato Casserole
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 chicken breasts(about 2-1/4 pounds total)
2 Tbsp lemon pepper
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
3 stalks celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Great Northern beans
1 14 1/2 – ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
6 ounces light, cooked smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces (optional)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet, heat oil over
medium-high heat. Add chicken; season with lemon pepper, and reduce heat to medium-low. Brown chicken about 10 minutes, turning once to brown both sides. Remove chicken from skillet, but leave drippings.
2. Add carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to drippings in skillet. Cover
and cook about 10 minutes or until vegetables are just tender, stirring
occasionally. Stir in beans, undrained tomatoes, sausage (optional),
thyme, oregano, salt, and, if desired, cayenne pepper. Bring to boiling.
Transfer mixture to a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange chicken
on top. Try to put some of liquid mixture on top of chicken to keep chicken moist.
3. Bake, uncovered, about 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink
(180 degrees F). Makes about 6 servings
4. Enjoy
…
Love is…Valentine’s Day Craft
Do you need an easy craft to make your home more Valentine’s Day ready?? If so, keep reading. If you don’t think you do, keep reading and you might change your mind! 🙂 This craft was inspired by Bethany’s post last week on Love being Free, Filled, & Flowing and one of my favorite Bible verses.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Materials:
Construction Paper- Pinks and Reds preferable
Scissors
Stencils
Sharpie
Tape
Ribbon (Optional)
12-14 Mini Clothespins (Optional)
2 Hooks (Optional)
2 Large Binder Rings (Optional)
Instructions
1. Find a blank wall or space in your home to put your artwork.
2. Choose your Valentine’s day colored construction paper and a heart template that you like. You can either create your own template by hand or find a heart online that you like and print it out.
3. Stencil the words LOVE IS and LOVE NEVER FAILS. As I have said in previous crafting posts, stencil the letters upside down so that if the trace/cut isn’t perfect the pen or pencil marks will not show on the front. Cut each letter out.
4. Trace and cut 12-14 hearts. (You can group some of the phrases or do each individually) Use a sharpie to write the words from the verse- Patient, Kind, Does Not Envy, Not Proud, Not Rude, Not Self-Seeking, Not Easily Angered, Keeps No Record of Wrongs, Does Not Delight in Evil but Rejoices With the Truth, Always Protects, Always …
Read MoreGrowing Through Conflict
If you are a member of a family, you will face conflict!
Conflict can range from small disagreements to differences of opinion about certain topics to serious struggles over big issues. Each conflict that arises gives us an opportunity to learn, grow and change. Sometimes we need to use tough love, sometimes we need to simply offer forgiveness. Sometimes we need to manage the conflict with discipline and sometimes we need to step back, reevaluate and wait for wisdom and insight to help us know how to deal with the conflict. Dealing with controversy and struggles by getting angry or using avoidance techniques are other options but do not tend to provide resolution and these choices usually cause anxiety, pain and more confusion.
Patience is one thing we need in abundance during conflict resolution. Last week, I was listening to a teaching on patience. I do not usually like pat answers or formulas, but something the speaker said about developing patience during conflict really resonated with me…..
“CONFLICT plus COMMITMENT leads to CHANGE”!!!!!
I have been thinking about this quote all week as I have observed various scenarios in my own family. And it actually seems to work…..
A parent needs to be patient when their child disobeys or willfully chooses to not follow directions. A parent who is committed to unconditionally loving their child and helping develop a strong moral character in their child will make choices to use conflict as a teachable moment to help their child grow and change.
A spouse who is devoted to his or her mate is more likely to demonstrate patience when disagreements or disappointments arise. A true commitment to respect and love one another in the midst of conflict combined with patience will help resolve the problem and will hopefully lead to …
Read MoreThe Benefits of Being Brave
I feel like I am constantly faced with the choice to play it safe and stay in my comfort zone, or be brave and do something that might seem a little scary. This week some plans with a friend fell through and I was faced with a choice to stay home and stick to our routine, or to try something new.
I decided to be brave and went on a little adventure with my girls to Sea World.
I was nervous to go all by myself, especially since I haven’t been in years (and never with kids), but everything went great. We saw two shows and both the girls loved the turtle reef where you could get right up to the glass to see turtles and fish.
I am so glad I was brave and got to make this memory with the girls.
Although it can be hard to be brave, I think there is always a lesson to be learning from trying something new. Sometimes the lesson is easy: when you are brave you can have fun, meet new people, share a new experience. Sometimes the lesson is difficult: you realize things you need to adjust in your attitude, the kids have a meltdown, it isn’t the experience you hoped for. However, it is the good and the bad things we learn along the way that make us who we are and help us have experiences we can share with our kids.
Here are some resources to encourage bravery in your household:
For Tweens: 10 Ways to Teach Your Children to Be Brave from iMom
A list of books that build courage from Scholastic
Some great quotes about bravery:
How have you been brave recently? What lesson did you learn?
Here’s a challenge: Do something brave in the next …
Read MoreFree, Filled, and Flowing
As Valentines Day quickly approaches, I cannot help but think of the legendary LOVE verse found in 1 Corinthians 13. For those of you that do not know it, it reads, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But …
Read MoreQuinoa Pizza Bites
Quinoa has become quite the craze! It has become one of the most popular Superfoods in the US in the last 10 years! However, a lot of people still do not know much about it. Here is some info about Quinoa from quinoa.net…
“It is called quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), and is a seed that comes from the Andes Mountains of South America. Quinoa’s origins are truly ancient. It was one of the three staple foods along with corn and potatoes, of the Inca civilization. Quinoa was known then, and still is known, with respect, as the mother grain. We call it the ‘Supergrain of the Future.’
Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain; an average of 16.2 percent, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat. Some varieties of quinoa are more than 20 percent protein.
Quinoa’s protein is of an unusually high quality. It is a complete protein, with an essential amino acid balance close to the ideal … similar to milk!
Quinoa’s protein is high in lysine, methionine and cystine. This makes it an excellent food to combine with and boost the protein value of other grains (which are low in lysine), or soy (which is low in methionine and cystine).
And here are 10 things you may not know about quinoa:
Quinoa is a versatile, protein-filled superfood. While similar staples like bulgur and barley tend to be relegated to health food aisles and your hippie aunt’s vegetarian casserole, quinoa is a crowd-pleaser with enormous global appeal.
Here’s the truth about quinoa…
1. Though it is often called a whole grain, quinoa isn’t a grain at all. True grains like wheat and maize are derived from grasses, whereas quinoa is part of a protein-rich plant family that includes fellow …
Read MoreValentine’s Day Love Crafts for Family
Valentine’s Day is one day each year that reminds us to focus on the people we LOVE! I absolutely LOVE everything about showing LOVE to others but my philosophy is to focus on loving others EVERY day of the year.
Wikipedia summarizes the history and folklore of Valentine’s day
“Saint Valentine’s Day, also known as Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it remains a working day in most of them. St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to February 14….. A popular account of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell.Today, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church.The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine’s Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni). In Brazil, the Dia de São Valentim is recognized on June 12.
The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed …
Surviving Long Days As a Mom
Before I became a mom, I had a very romantic view of parenthood. I imagined my husband and I having so much fun as a family, going on lots of outings, and just feeling happy all the time. This is definitely a part of parenthood, but so are long days, hard work, and loneliness. Being a mom can be very isolating. However, the more moms I talk to, the more I realize we are all in this together!
Many of my friends have husbands who commute and work long hours or are in the military. Regardless of your situation, there are going to be long days when you need some ideas in your pocket to make it to bedtime.
I asked some friends to share their favorite ways to survive long days.
Here is a list of our tips and suggestions:
– Easy Dinner – make sandwiches or pancakes.
– Utilize free events and story times at your local library. I used to do this all the time with Ellie.
– Host a play date. Then you can still have company without leaving your house!
– Join a Mommy Group. This is definitely what saves me most days. You can join shared interest groups, find groups on Facebook or Meetup, or a become a part of a church group like MOPS. I have many virtual friends that support me through our talks and sharing on Facebook.
– Utilize technology: text, FaceTime, Skype. Kids love to see family. Ellie and Hanna love to FaceTime with their Aunts and Uncles.
– Do a house project to pass the time and stay focused on a task.
– Plan something for yourself at the end of a long day: a Mom’s Night, wine and a good book, a prerecorded favorite show, or a nice …
Read MorePressing on
Do you ever feel like something is holding you back from you being the person you want to be? Are you trying to push through something and feel like you are getting nowhere? Are you not reaching your goals and getting discouraged along the way? I know I often feel like this. Life is hard. Situations are rough. Sometimes its hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I believe in a God who loves me right where I am. I believe in a God who is always with me. I believe in a God who has a plan bigger than me. I believe in a God who can transform me to become more like Him. I believe in a God that has Purpose, Power, and Perseverance. The one thing I have to do, LET HIM DO HIS WORK IN MY LIFE. Check this verse out…
Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
So let’s break it down. Living with Christ is a journey. We have aspirations. We have desires. We are going somewhere. And we have to look to the Lord for what he desires for us. Christ has a plan. He has a purpose for us. We have to choose to live our life with him. But we have not arrived. We have not reached our goals. …
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