Monkeys and muffins and bears, oh my!

Today is my delightful day at home. Each day throughout the week, there are things that draw me away - Bible study, school volunteering, errands, etc., but Thursdays I protect like a mama bear over her cubs, which is, in fact, what I am! Every other day of the week, I try to stay home as much as possible, but this one is special because the first trip I make is to pick up the kids after school, and there is something wonderful about waking up to a day in the den that makes this mama bear joyful with anticipation.

After checking my email this morning, I wandered over to a blog with which I have recently become acquainted (thanks to a dear friend) and I found a recipe (among many that look delicious!) that grabbed my attention. I will post it here, although it barely makes my twelve items or less requirement. I had slowly rotting (okay, they were just very very soft and turning brown) bananas on my counter so I decided to try Monkey Muffins today. Because I have twelve feet in my house, there are lots of mouths to feed so I can't seem to help myself from quadrupling a recipe, which is what I did here (praying that Mrs. H was trustworthy and her recipe was yummy!). Once I got going, I discovered two things. A) The muffins were great! (yeah!) and B) I had dozens and dozens in my kitchen! (oh my!)

I started to pray - not because I was overwhelmed by a bounty of baked good, but because God was prompting me to use them to bless some people today and I wanted to pray for them all as I prepared their yummies. You can see from my photos the resulting tower of treats. What joy to be able to bring a smile to some families today. Our teachers and pastors and friends will sample the sweetness, but I am the one who is blessed by their faithful service and I am so happy that today, in the quietness of my home, with my two youngest happily playing on the floor, I was able to prepare for them all a small token of the love that our family feels for all of them.

Have you considered that in our rush to fill up our days we might be missing the simple pleasure and the daily blessing of looking outside our hectic selves and ministering to others? Are your days so full of appointments and dates, schedules and plans, that you are missing out on that to which we have been called - loving OTHERS? Jesus said that others will know we are His by our love for one another. Is there room in your date book for "one-another" opportunities? Are you training your children to be always looking for ways to love on people, as Jesus Himself did? Will you join me in pursuing a simpler life that pulls out its day-planner and says, "Today is Yours, Lord, and I have carefully penciled in peace so that You may fill my hours with whatever you choose?" Will you help keep me accountable to this commitment?

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:15-16

In a Jam

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Strawberries were on sale. The weekend was not the best for adding the job of "jamming" but I couldn't resist the price. The other truth at play here is that making jam is one the little things that delights me about being a homemaker. It ranks right up there with baking homemade bread and mopping my floors with lavender scented cleaner! :0)

I know what you are thinking. Jam is not that pricey and readily available at the grocery store. Homemade jam is high in sugar (four cups per batch - yikes!) Who has time for hulling, chopping, canning fruit?! Well, I say you are missing out if you have never tried it. The cooked version is wonderful and keeps on your pantry shelf as long as you would need (of course, at our house, it goes fast, no matter how much I make!) The hot sweet scent of ripe berries fills your kitchen, enticing neighbors and mailmen alike.



This time around, I made freezer jam. When time is short, there is nothing simpler and the sticky sugary goodness is worth the twenty minutes it takes to wash, hull and chop berries, add sugar, boil pectin, and stir it all together into a pink heavenly concoction that will cause your peanut butter jar to swoon!

The kids' eyes get bigger when they step into the kitchen (better yet - let them help!) and see all those scarlet jars full of yumminess. Summer feels closer when one eats a piece of bread with jam running down its sides. Little cheeks beg for kisses when strawberry seeds slide into their dimples and fingers find tongues to get every last morsel.

Enjoy the treats of spring. Delight in the simple pleasures. Slip your cell phone into your apron pocket and pull out the wooden spoons and potato mashers and preserve a little love in those jars! Our days slip by too quickly not to stop and smell the strawberries!

God has given us each day as a precious gift. How blessed we are. Are you, like me, often racing through days in a fog of schedules and demands, forgetting that the things that keep us busy are often the things that distract us from those we love most. Is it worth it to stop, breathe, enjoy the bounty that God richly gives us? Can we use those sweet moments at the sink, at the counter, to talk to our great Provider and thank Him for a moment of peace? Is there a spiritual lesson in strawberry jam? Absolutely. What a sweet simple picture it is of the abundant ways our Father blesses us. Stop with me and taste and see that He is good!

Sweet Leftovers

OK - so I know you are all falling off your chairs now because I am posting two days in a row, but don't be shocked. I am loving our week at home and enjoy sharing it here with you. Today, I wanted to share my great idea (I am quite certain I am not the first to do this, but it is the first time I have done it quite to this extent!)




In spite of the fact that my children did not get baskets full of candy from us on Easter morning, there still seemed to be lots in the house (thanks to loving grandmas!) So...today I had my older boys help me sort the loot. Fruity candy went into the candy jar to go in lunch boxes one piece at a time. All chocolate got unwrapped and tossed into a bowl. Then we chopped and cut it up (even the four inch crispy bunny!) and used the chocolaty pile instead of chocolate chips in our favorite cookie recipe. The results were sweet. Sweet! I also remembered that I had a partial half-gallon of vanilla ice cream (Edy's Slow Churned) in the freezer, so I made four ice cream sandwiches. Those will go with a meal tonight to friends from church who just had a baby. Fun!


It makes me giddy to take something of which I'd rather not have in my house and turn it into
a) a fun project and
b) a tasty treat


Enjoy your day. May it be as sweet as ours!

Caramel Monkey Bread

3 tubes biscuits, each biscuit cut into fourths
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon in saucepan over medium heat. Place biscuit pieces in greased bundt pan. Pour heated cream mixture over biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees about 20 to 25 minutes. Immediately invert on a plate to serve.

Yummy, Sticky Goodness

We are thoroughly enjoying our spring vacation here. Ten of our twelve feet get to stay cozy in our warm beds a little longer in the mornings this week (sorry, Dad) and we are delighting in eating breakfast in our pjs and rolling through our days sans schedule. Today we started with a mound of sweet biscuity perfection and I thought I'd share. The original recipe was found in an old issue of Simple and Delicious, but I couldn't find it today so I made this one up. Was it as good as the original? I think here a picture is worth a thousand words (words best left unspoken while our mouths are full!) Mmmmmm!

It's No Secret

I love comfort. If you know me at all, you know that I love to have my toes in the sand or tucked under me in the cozy corner chair. You know that I like to have a book in my right hand and a tea in my left (iced and sweet in the summer, hot and creamy the other nine months). I read books over and over if I love them because I delight in returning to the fictional places that please me. I enjoy studying my Bible with lovely piano or cello music quietly playing or in the simple stillness of my screened in porch on a crisp morning or hazy afternoon. Movies that transport me and food that excites me...these are the things I enjoy. My husband who loves me and likes me and my children who trust me and teach me...these are the people I enjoy. I have friends who understand me and I know I am blessed. All these things and people and experiences add layer upon layer to my comfort. They are good things. They are blessings. I am thankful for each one on many levels. However, I know for certain that I love them too much. I love comfort. The Bible says to live is Christ and to die is gain. Die to self. Take up your cross and follow me. The first shall become last and the last first. In this world you will have trouble. Scripture is riddled with reminders that we will not always have comfort in this world, not if we belong to God. We are reminded to sacrifice our own comfort and set before us instead the purposes God has for us, which may call us out of our comfort zones and into the faith-requiring unknown. Praise the Lord that the steps of faith are into a future that are not unknown to the all-knowing Righteous One in heaven who holds my hand!

Still...I confess that I know that I love comfort more that I should and it often keeps me from stepping out in ways that I should and moving not out of guilt or obligation but out of obedience.

Pray with me as I ask Him to show me how to strike a balance between, on one side, the peace that fills my heart and leads me into a series of wonderfully quiet days (yes - even with our busy lives we enjoy a good measure of restful quiet and simple pleasures) as well as the joy that leads to utter contentment and simple satisfaction, and on the other side, the sadly selfish pursuit of only those things that please me. I want to be content only in the things to which He has called me and I want the discernment to know when to step off the porch and into the uncomfortable places that require my total reliance on God.

Isn't it fun?

Isn't it fun when there is so much snow outside that large snowmen can be built without depleting the snow supply on the ground, leaving plenty for a full afternoon of sledding?

Isn't it fun when your mom lets you have a pajama day, even if you plan to play outside, and she helps you stuff your pjs into your snow pants?

Isn't it fun to come in and discover that you had completely forgotten you were in your jammies?

Isn't it fun when your children have such a good time together that they are reluctant to come inside, even for just-delivered fresh, hot pizza? (half pepperoni, half Hawaiian)

Isn't it fun to see hot chocolate mustaches on four faces at the kitchen counter?

Isn't it fun to squeeze four kids and their sleeping bags into one bedroom so they can continue their day together?

Isn't it fun to kiss soft cheeks, brush back blonde curls, tuck in small feet, and know that these four special people are yours?

Isn't it fun to anticipate the return of a traveling husband and know he missed you as much as you missed him?

Isn't it fun to watch one more "bonnet movie" stretched out on the couch with a cup of tea?

Isn't it fun to have this super day called Saturday tucked in at the end of each week?

...trust in... the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17

Prayer Privilege

With four kids in the house, the necessity to take turns doing things is ever-present. While there are plenty of things we can do together as a family, such as setting and clearing the table, cleaning rooms, unloading groceries, taking trips to the library, and going to the park, there are others that are simply best taken in turn. Taking the dog out at 7:00 AM, toting the laundry to the laundry room, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning toilets, getting the mail - these are things that are best served with some kind of rotation. Oh - and feeding the fish must be on that list as well. Everyone wants to feed the fish, but that could be disastrous! ;0) The point is, in a busy family, there are many hands to make light of the work, but also many jobs to do. Ours is a family who works together, but we also love to play together. We enjoy our movie nights (Anne of Green Gables with pizza anyone?) and our Saturday afternoon piles of books and puzzles and games (with warm cookies and milk. Mmmmm). We love our church family and nobody complains about piling in the SUV on Sunday mornings. Our collective hearts desire the comforts of home or the fun of a trip somewhere when we'll all be together. One of the places we gather is around our table and we love that, too.

Back to taking turns, I have to admit that the kids are not pushing each other out of the figurative line to take the dog out or empty the trash. They are willing, but it is sometimes a grudging willingness. They are, after all, works in progress just like the rest of us! Sometimes the argument is about who has to do it, sometimes about who gets to, depending on the task.One thing I don't really mind them "fighting" over - and I use the term loosely and kindly - is mealtime prayer. When the time comes to hold hands and bow heads, they ALL want to be the one to pray. What a treat to see our children truly desire to go before the Lord in thanksgiving for His provision and petition for our needs and hopes. When the older boys pray, they do it with deliberate words that reveal things about the kind of day they've had, and they tend to be concise. When our daughter prays, she tends to be a bit long-winded, as though she is afraid of missing things or people. She prays this way at night before bed as well. She prays for people in Africa she's never seen and she prays for kids in her class and her brothers around our table. Sometimes she remembers to pray for the food! Our youngest prays as most three year-olds do, with one eye open, wandering the table, then settling on mom or dad, who help him through the words. He is quiet for these brief moments, so we have to strain to hear him. He is sweet in his thanksgiving for his family and hearing his little boy voice say the powerful name of Jesus is priceless. He usually needs to be reminded to say "Amen."

When the adults at the table pray, we are mindful of our daily bread, understanding in a way the children cannot, that our every need is truly met by the Father. We are thankful for His abundant provision and humbled by our blessings. We pray simply for things and people about whom our hearts pour forth much more than our few words express. We are also very aware that we model for our children the grateful hearts that pause before a loving God to thank Him for His ever-presence in our lives and in our home.

"I will spread out my hands to the Lord in prayer." Exodus 9:29

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

December is one of those months that can catch us off guard. There are so many things to do and see. We have attended kids' concerts and programs. We have shopped and wrapped. We have eaten ourselves silly and played games, even sillier, with our friends. It has been fun and I have worked hard to keep the busy hustle of the world at bay as much as possible. There was a week or so that was extra crazy, but the final two of the month we are blissfully enjoying in the comfy quiet of our home and in simple fun with our kids.

Some say Christmas is all about being together with family. Christians say, no, no, it is about Jesus, and of course it is! However, there is great merit in the together time of this special season. Our friends and our families bring us laughter and refreshment and often some much needed encouragement (and tears, I know, sometimes tears...). Christian family members sharpen and encourage our faith. Non-believing ones remind us to be bold in our witness and diligent in prayer. There is also much to be said for simply reconnecting with the ones with whom God has blessed us. During Christmas we catch up with each other and we remind our loved ones that we are there for them and they for us. If your family is like ours, you have loved ones who are excitedly anticipating great new things this new year and others who are prayerfully hoping for less change and more stability.

We are praying for jobs and good health and restoration for many we know. We are thankful for God's continued provision in our own household.

As we look ahead to 2010 (even writing that date feels like an entry in a sci-fi book!) we pray for God to continue His work in us. We know that He may choose things for us that we would never choose for ourselves, but we pray for His hand to be continually upon us, holding us up, guiding us on the path He has laid out before us.

What will your new year look like? As we finish out these last days of December, my prayer for you all is that you will join me in purposing to hug my kids more, especially the big ones, and take more time to hold my husband's hand. I want to hold my busy schedule with open hands before the Lord each day, asking Him to edit is as He sees fit. I want to want what He wants. Will you join me in asking Him for that?

December Dawning

Can it be December? September days were full of freshly sharpened pencils and shiny new two-pocket folders. Fresh, tart-sweet apple cider washed down our October days and cups of frothy hot treats accompanied our many days at the soccer field. Our fall went sailing past us on the ever cooling winds of the changing season. But November seems to have escaped me altogether! Have you seen my Veteran's Day? My National Peanut Butter Month? ;0) I blinked and we seemed to have leaped right off the neighbor's doorstep (trick or treat anyone?) right into our seat at a heavy laden dinner table! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Were you, like us, more stuffed than the turkey when the last drip of gravy was swiped off the table!

In spite of my apparent daze last month, we have landed in the precious month of our Savior's birth and I don't intend to miss a thing. The kids eagerly opened their first advent treat yesterday. They, like me, wish to savor every delectable minute of this special season.

How will you purpose to enjoy these next weeks? Will you carefully read your way through the book of Luke (did you know there are 24 chapters? Perfect for one per day until Christmas!) Will you open a special advent calendar each morning, counting down the days until the much anticipated 25th? Perhaps you will use your December weekends to go on a Christmas light tour, do some shopping, walk about your neighborhood caroling, hailing the newborn King! Whatever you do, may I challenge us all to make our plans carefully, choosing wisely the things that will bring our families together, and will point everyone to the One whose miraculous birth we celebrate? Join me in a slow, steadfast resistance to the bustling pace of the world around us this Christmas season!

Christmastime is here. Let's keep our eyes on the heavens, glorying in every precious snowflake on our faces, each sent by the One who drew us to Himself through His perfect Son.