C. S. Lewis – Consider the Birds…

Recipes

March 14, 2017March 14, 2017 Consider the Birds

I have this adorable baby girl. I mean, she has been a showstopper since the day she was born. She is now 14yrs old, so I am not allowed to say she is my baby girl. I am also not allowed to say she is adorable. Or, a showstopper. Or, really even talk about her at anytime. For any reason. End of story. Sooooo, if we could just keep this little story between you and me that would be great…

The afore mentioned wonderful, and not sassy at all sweetheart LOVES to bake. Bella, actually LOVES all things culinary. I wouldn’t doubt that if at some point we see her on Iron Chef or Beat Bobby Flay; she’s that good! And, quickly on her way to becoming an expert. This means, she is also an expert at destroying my kitchen!

She’s been working at it since she was a toddler!

The other day she came to me and asked if she could bake some cookies. Of course, I said yes! Who doesn’t want cookies they don’t have to bake?!

She mixed. Kitchen destroyed. Cookies delicious. End of story. Except it’s not…

I walked into the kitchen just as the first batch came out of the oven. They smelled so good! But, they didn’t look quite right, and she knew she had made a mistake somewhere along the way. She was so upset and trying to figure out what went wrong. I asked her some questions, checked the oven temp, made sure she had remembered that on my cookie recipe it says 3 cups of sugar but it really means 3 cups of flour (it’s an old, hand copied recipe from my mom), but she insisted she had done it all right. Except, that she didn’t…here’s a little back story.

A couple of months ago, when we made cookies together, we were out of butter. The recipe calls for butter and shortening so we increased the amount of shortening and went on our merry way…back to the present.

When we were out baking soda she substituted baking powder. Two white powders; no big deal. But, she not only substituted the soda for powder she increased the amount of powder to make up for the lacking soda. She figured we had done that last time so it must be okay to do it this time too. It wasn’t…

It was a mistake and she desperately wanted to fix it. Could we just get some soda and add it to the remaining unbaked dough? Was it possible to figure out what we could substitute for the missing soda? Could we just start over?

I tried to explain the reasons we couldn’t fix it. That we had no idea how much to put in the remaining dough; even if we had the soda. That we had no baking soda. That you can’t just put extra baking powder in; that changes the dough too. And, then I asked why she didn’t come to me when she realized the problem? I was just downstairs. But, she didn’t want to bug me and thought she had figured out the solution on her own.

Yep, baby girl I know exactly how you feel.

She didn’t. We couldn’t. We cleaned. No cookies.

I do this ALL the time. I have it all figured out. I can do it on my own. I don’t want to bug anyone with my little problems. I have done these same things over and over so of course I can figure it out on my own this time. Except I can’t…

I screw it up. I try to fix it. It ends up badly.

How can I forget that He is as close as the mention of His name? Why do I overlook how He gives us every possible solution on the pages of His Word? Even after I have made complete mess and tried to fix my problems in my own way (which in turn usually makes a bigger mess, right?), He is still right there with me in the mess. Jesus takes my hand and helps me clean up.

I wish I could tell you that I always remember to ask first. Or, that my Bible is worn out because with every little problem I am searching through the pages to find the answer. But, I can’t. I can tell you that I am trying, and that admitting I don’t have the answers gets a little easier each time I actually DO admit I don’t have all the answers.

I am going to choose happy this week because the love He has for me is so great and reaches so far that He found me in a messy kitchen, hungry for cookies, baking with Bella. He found me and reminded me that I don’t have to figure it out all on my own and it was all because Bella wanted to bake cookies 🙂

#untilyoumeetHim

May 1, 2015May 1, 2015 Consider the Birds

I have been participating in few challenge groups through Facebook. Fitness, clean-eating, and spring clean up are just a few of the groups I have joined to keep myself accountable. I have loved being able to check-in, see how others are doing, and be encouraged. You guys, I have given up Starbucks in an effort to eat cleaner…I may be losing my mind!

Being a part of these groups gave me a little idea about other kinds of fitness too…

We all started Bible in a year plans in January (so what if you have to catch up 2 or 3 days at a time…oh is that just me?). We have pretty good church attendance. We wouldn’t dream of only praying if we were in our church buildings, and yet for a lot of us that is the only time we really worship.

I want to challenge you to take at least one day each week in the month of May to change your music.

Hear me out…

We all listen to music, right? We listen in our cars, while we exercise, and even while we are making dinner. Whether you can’t clean your house without getting down to a little Uptown Funk or Bruno Mars, or you need to sit back and relax with Jack Johnson or Nora Jones, at the end of the day music is always somewhere in the background. Music is something we all have in common.

Regardless of who you listen to or when you do it; I challenge you to replace one of those times with worship music.

Listen to Hillsong while going back and forth for car pool. Put on a little Gateway Worship while you fold laundry or clean the house. Have Passion or Jesus Culture playing while you make dinner. Get the new Bethel Music or Elevation Worship album and listen while you exercise. Instead of the TV in the background, play some Hillsong United.

I think you will be amazed to see what happens. How inviting God into your mundane tasks through worship re-tunes everything in your day. How this little change magnifies His voice in your heart.

It’s amazing! I hope you will all join me 😊

***I was thinking it would be fun to see who all is doing this by using Facebook or Instagram too; just upload a pic or share what your listening to with #untilyoumeetHim. He meets us wherever we are even while we are cleaning, writing, running, or driving.***

as a tiny little side note: I consider worship music to be different from that which is played on christian radio. I personally don’t care for contemporary christian music as a whole (there are a few artists will listen to, but for the most part, ummm no), so I would challenge you to find and listen to worship music versus christian music and see the difference!

Quietly Before Him

April 27, 2015March 17, 2017 Consider the Birds

It’s been kind of quiet around here lately. Not the type of quiet where you are just sitting doing nothing; trust me its been plenty busy. It’s the kind of quiet where it feels like the world is going about it’s business, and I am in the middle of it’s whirlwind. I am watching everything go on in slow motion around me. Like I am in the eye of a storm…that kind of quiet.

I am still, and world is spinning around me, and I am waiting for the next thing.

I have heard over and over that waiting time is not wasted time. That you grow the most during the waiting. That waiting is the best thing you can do, when you aren’t exactly sure what you should do. But, if I am being honest, seasons of waiting cause the most frustration. Especially, when I am not completely sure what it is I am waiting for. I am just waiting.

The days come and go, and I am really not any closer to whatever it is I am waiting for. The little positive is that every morning the sun comes up I find myself one day further from the unknown.

We are all waiting for something, right?! For our kids to grow, so we can FINALLY use the bathroom alone. For the bills to be paid, so we can ESCAPE on that great vacation. To get enough experience, so we can finally MOVE ON to that dream job. Even things as small as the laundry, or coffee in the microwave, the mail, or the school pick up line involve more waiting. And little things seem bigger. And frustration edges out contentment.

While I have been feeling a little stuck in this vicious cycle, I came across something C.S. Lewis wrote. He said,

“I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him (or her) to wait.“

Then, I stumbled upon I Peter 1:6,

“So, be truly glad there is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.”

I am so grateful for little pieces of encouragement placed along the way. Words placed right in front of me when I least expect it, and am distracted in my waiting.

I will choose happy this beautiful Sunday night because of God inspired words and perfectly timed encouragement. These aptly placed words have shown me that His eye is on sparrow even in eye of the storm, and suddenly seasons of waiting are filled with possibility instead of frustration.