Sisters

My girls

Not a day goes by that I don't find a reason to be thankful for my family! I am a mom of three girls ages: 20, 16 and 13, and everyday I feel truly blessed that God has entrusted them to me! I am one proud momma! 
Although the word sister is a common part of my life now, I grew up with not one, but three brothers.... and NO sisters.  I often wondered when I was younger what it would be like to have a sister. As I got older I always listened closely when people talked about their relationship with their sisters. I've heard ladies talk about the bond they have with their sisters....about sharing clothes, shoes and purses. About how sisters stay up all night talking, getting advice, giving advice, and how your sister can know you so well she finishes your sentences for , and I couldn't help but feel like I was missing out. Although I have great relationships with my brothers, it isn't the same as having sisters. Those of you with sisters are probably nodding your head right now!

Sisterly Love

I had the honor to spend several hours with some ladies from my church family. I love these sweet ladies and our time together!  We talk, we laugh, we swap stories and recipes, and share wonderful ideas with each other. Our times together are so special to me! Some of you may understand exactly what I'm talking about....
Tonight all the ladies from church were invited to meet at a local restaurant and eat dinner together. After we ate a great dinner, one of the ladies shared her testimony. She shared with honesty and vulnerability about the transformation that God did in her life, and it moved me. I wasn't moved just by her words, but by the fact that she trusted us enough to share it.
After she spoke, we all took turns sharing what we were thankful for, and as each person took their turn she shared with the same type of honesty and vulnerability....that is when I realized that God has blessed me with a room full of sisters! How exciting!
All of us ladies have different backgrounds and histories. Some were raised in church and some were not. Some have children and some do not. Some are married and some are not. Some have sisters......some do not. But tonight, the common denominator was our relationship with Jesus and the fact that He saved our souls. That was the common starting point and in that we were forever connected. God saw to it in His perfect plan, to bring us all together and placed us in a family of sisters!
As I think about my evening with my sisters I can't help but smile. Each one is different in her own right, and amazingly beautiful with a wonderful story to share, and I am blessed with the opportunity to glean biblical truths and practical lessons from these ladies I call sister!

Me and two of my sweet girls

Creamy Potato Soup

With winter biting at our heels, I have been craving soup. I tend to be a bit of a soup snob. When I was little I hated soup, then I grew up and started making my own soups and fell in love!

 I am so excited to share my potato soup recipe with you guys! It is one of my all time favorites and a favorite of my three girls!


This recipe is made without meat, but my guy believes that it can't be considered a meal if it doesn't have meat in it, so we tend to make this when it is just me and the three girls at home!  If we do make it for a meal that my guy will be eating with us, I just add some sausage to it.  You can add breakfast sausage and brown it and add it, or you can use smoked sausage and slice it into the soup. Either way, it is a wonderful addition to this soup!





Let's get started crafting some incredibly yummy soup!





Peel and dice 10 to 12 ;medium sized potatoes and place them in a soup pot and cover with water. For richer flavor, add chicken broth.

I am an onion lover, so I diced a medium sweet onion and added it to the pot so the flavor could cook into the potatoes!  YUMMY!

I also added minced garlic, crushed black pepper and sea salt.

The potatoes are getting happy! 

My girls have already started coming downstairs to ask what I was cooking!  They are hovering like little hawks ready to pounce. These potatoes need to cook up quickly, I have some hungry girls on my hands! 

Once the potatoes are cooked I add the cream!

And 2 packages of softened cream cheese. I chop it into cubes the best I can and work it through the soup to make sure that it melts completely. While the cream cheese is melting in the pot, I cooked up some bacon to garnish the soup with.

 Then I add some crushed red pepper and parsley. I like to add dried to this soup so that it doesn't try to take over!

Last I add the shredded cheese! My mouth is now watering and I can't wait to dig in! 



Dinner Time!

I hope you love it as much as we do! 

Ingredients:

10-12 potatoes
1 medium onion
2 T minced garlic
1 T crushed black pepper
1 T sea salt
2 T dried parsley
2 t crushed red pepper
2 pkg cream cheese
1 qt heavy cream
3 cups shredded cheese
1 lb. bacon

Instructions:

Peel and slice your potatoes. Try to keep the pieces small enough to fit nicely in your mouth!
Add the potatoes to a soup pot along with diced onion. Cover the potatoes and onion with water and cook until the potatoes are soft.
Add the cream, cream cheese, parsley, and crushed red pepper and let it cook until the cream cheese is completely melted.
While the cream cheese is melting, cut the bacon into 1" pieces and fry in a skillet.
Once the cream cheese is melted add the shredded cheese and stir well.
It is ready to serve. Garnish with crispy bacon pieces.

What is Your Favorite Soup

Winter has started reminding us that it is right around the corner.  With that is "Soup Season!" If you're like me, you love both making them and eating them!

What is your favorite soup to make?  What is your favorite soup to eat?

I will be making my potato soup and will post the recipe in the next couple days! By far, it is my favorite soup to eat!  My family loves it too. They got so excited when they heard I would be making it.

I can't wait to hear from you about your favs!

Legacy

The older I get, the more I realize that I have been thinking about what I want to leave for my children. I know for a fact,they think about it too. They each have their "favorite" jewelry, book, knick knack, or whatever it is that they have their eyes on.

I know that is normal, but I also want to leave them something more than that. I want what I leave them to be just as tangible as the knick knack on my end table, but impact them for eternity. I'm sure that all of us parents feel the same way!

I have struggled with what that would look like for years. I have tried to imitate other people's ideas, I have tried to journal, I have tried to scrapbook, I have tried to crochet them blankets (BIG FAIL)....the bottom line is I have tried to become someone I am not.  I don't want to be remembered for that.

 My mother is beautiful through and through. What I would treasure most of hers when she no longer has use for it on this earth is her Bible. As a little girl I remember coming into the living room and my mother's Bible was always on the back of the couch with a notebook in it. Her Thompson Chain Bible full of notes from her devotional time with God. I didn't appreciate it as much then as now. When I was little it would frustrate me because I was always knocking it off, or would whack my head on it when I sat down....But oh how I would love to get my hands on it and flip through the pages and read all the highlighted scriptures and notes in the margins that my mother has spent her entire lifetime notating and commenting on. What a treasure trove of wisdom is to be found in those pages! 

But then again, I know this...I know that the highlighted verses were also highlighted in her heart. She has been diligent to pour that into my life at every opportunity. That is the true legacy!  You see, that is what I want to leave my kids. Not to say that all of the other things that you wonderful, apparently more organized parents than me can, save and create for your children isn't good...it is wonderful!!! It is part of how God made you and will be wonderful memories for your children.  Like I said earlier.....Oh how I wish I had the time, creativity, and "want to" for those projects. 

Instead, I choose to embrace what I know that I can and will do.  I will love God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength - like commanded to in Deuteronomy 6:5. With that will be an overflow of Godly wisdom that pours out and leaves a legacy of godliness....a tangible path for my kids to follow. 

You too can leave a path of godliness for your children. Live your life purposefully. Choose every moment of everyday to live passionately for Jesus Christ. Turn to God when you don't know what to do....He will direct your path. Proverbs 3:6 say "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Your children may not say so now, but one day they will realize the wonderful legacy that you created on their behalf, and they will thank you!

Dig Out!

I find myself sitting at my desk today, feeling a little overwhelmed. Have any of you ever had that moment where all the sudden you feel like everything is heavier than it used to be and you can no longer hold it all up?  I don't think I'm alone in this! 
Sometimes we can be gliding along just fine, keeping everything going, then for some reason that we really can't put our finger on.....we come to a screeching halt and everything goes flying!

So, as I sit at my desk today, that is how I feel. That everything that once was a breeze, now seems to litter my office with no exact rhyme or reason!

I want to share a little secret with everyone so lean in.....it's okay to feel that way!  I bet you can't even believe I said that! ha ha ha
It's okay to take a moment and regroup. It's okay to have a moment of feeling overwhelmed.  You see I have learned something that helps me deal with days like this better than I ever have in the past. We do not have to let our feelings dictate our future.

I could sit here feeling overwhelmed and let it so consume my thoughts that I can't get anything done....or I can realize that anyone would feel overwhelmed when they have papers, books, pens and pencils, and a myriad of other miscellaneous items strewn all over their desk. You see I have neglected my office space and not spent much time there lately, so it has become the catch all for whatever was deemed "Mom's" and everything got stacked in, on, or near my desk. So I am doing something about it....it's what I like to call "digging out."

I know that as you read this you probably can relate to a time that you had to do the same thing. I would like to tell you this is the one and only time this has ever happened to me, but that would not be true! It does happen from time to time with all of us.

Sometimes we run into the same problem in our walk with God. Things are going smoothly and that is when we start neglecting the foundational pieces of that relationship. We may not even realize it until something hits us square in the face and we find that we no longer have the strength to go on. I am so thankful that God is not like my desk. My desk offers no help when I find myself overwhelmed, but God is my refuge and strength, my very present help in time of trouble. Psalm 46:1  James 4:8 tells us that if we Draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

We are His children and He never takes His eyes off of us.....even when we take our eyes off of Him. So if you find yourself realizing you have been neglecting those foundational pieces of your relationship with God (Bible reading, prayer, church attendance....) it is time to do something about it. Don't just sit there thinking "It has been so long, and I feel so far gone to do anything about it!".......Dig Out!! 

Pray and ask God to forgive you for the neglect and move forward, Open your Bible and read His Word, go back to church!  Your church family is waiting for you with open arms!  More importantly, the God of the universe who created you and delights in you is also waiting with open arms!  His love is never ending!!