Love Brightly

This morning I yelled at my kids...again. I really hate it when I yell at them. I see their little faces change--their eyes squinch up, and then the tears come. My mother never yelled. Apparently that's not true--she says she did yell at me sometimes, but I don't remember. Will my kids forget the times that I lost my temper with them? God, please, let it be so! But in the meantime, I apologized shortly after. I replayed the events that led up to the yelling...I asked myself: where/when/how could I have acted differently so as not have lost my cool? These words popped in my mind: "Be slow to anger, quick to listen, slow to speak." I recalled who spoke first in this situation = me. I saw my son's clothes in a dirty wad at the bottom of his closet. I fumed...and said aloud the first thing that popped into my mind, "Are you kidding me?! How many times have we told you to put your dirty clothes in the hamper? Now you have nothing to wear beca...

I rarely post about food, because I'm far from expert. But I threw this together tonight with ingredients that I had on hand, and I loved it so much, that I'm writing it down so that I remember exactly what I did! ;) It came about because the beef I had planned for dinner was spoiled, and I rerouted with sausage. I had a leftover half can of pumpkin in the fridge, so I pulled together some things that I hoped would complement the two. Success! Ingredients: 4 large yellow bell peppers 2 TB olive oil, divided 2 c cooked rice 1/2 c pumpkin puree 2 TB grated Parmesan cheese 2 TB grated Pecorino* cheese 2 TB butter 1/4 c milk 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp of each: ground sage, black pepper, garlic salt 6 full length Italian sausages, cooked, drained, and sliced Directions: Slice the peppers lengthwise, remove stem and seeds.  Spread 1 TB olive oil in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Lay halved peppers in the pan, open side up, and drizzle remaining 1 TB olive oil on top. Mix re...

Journal entry from Sunday, November 15, 2015--after many weeks of being weary from sickness,  lonely for home, discouraged at not being able to accomplish basic things, and feeling pressures from the lack of my accomplishments. So I allowed the presence of Christ to refresh my spirit. You may recognize song lyrics and scriptures He brought to mind, which allowed me to dismiss the pressures and recenter myself in His purposes. I am here... to enter His gates with Thanksgiving in my heart, to enter His courts with praise to say "This is the day that the Lord has made! I will rejoice, for He has made me glad!" to know God and to make Him known, to remember who I am as a child of God, to love my husband and bring him good all the days of his life, to love my children and train them in the ways they should go, to have God's commands on my heart, to have God's promises on my heart, to talk about them when I lie down and rise up and walk about the way and sit ...

My arsenal of praise. I started this project in August. I had been listening to the same praise songs for the last several years. I needed refreshment. "Sing to the Lord a new song!" Psalm 96:1 I polled friends, asking their favorite worship music. I gave one criteria: These songs must not reflect thankfulness of circumstances, but thankfulness of the UNCHANGING qualities of God. I should have made one other criteria... I probably should have said, "And I'm looking for things that don't sound like Christian music, because apparently I don't really like Christian music." I blame my high school choir teacher. She taught us to appreciate every genre of music. She had us dissect Hebrew texts, African tribal dances, Italian arias, and Underground Railroad spirituals. We learned them all in their contexts, and then performed them with gusto. Her enthusiasm was contagious. And as a result, I am rarely ever satisfied with general pop music. Thankfully, ...

This season I started my wardrobe with these 6 things that I absolutely love. I decided to build my Fall wardrobe around these 6 articles. They're comfortable, different, and in my favorite color shades for this time of year. All 6 look great with brown boots and booties--my preferred shoe wear for Autumn. I limit myself to one pair of jeans because I love variety and it helps me avoid a rut. As usual, my fashion disclaimer: I don't idolize clothes, nor do I idolize what people think of me wearing them, but I do enjoy fashion as an outlet of artistic expression. I like playing around with colors and fabrics. I enjoy finding a bargain, and even more so reinventing old items. I have found that limiting my clothing actually makes it easier to get dressed. It's also more enjoyable for me because it allows freedom in other areas--more time in the mornings, creativity, and peace of mind.  Excess = stress. I spent no money this Autumn on new tops. When December com...

It's finally here! The day of imaginary future since 1985! And so I thought I'd reflect on how I imagined 2015 for myself along the way: 1985 (age 6): In 2015, I would be a ballerina. Soft pink leotard, satin ribbon shoes. Goal: to do something that I love. 1995 (age 16): In 2015, I would be living in NYC, Manhattan specifically. A wall of my townhome would display the progression of dinner-theater productions that led to my first Broadway chorus role. In the center of the mantle sits another picture--evening gown, red carpet, pedestaled medallion, next to the Tony itself. Either that or I'd be a middle school choir director in the suburbs. It was a coin toss really. Goal: to do something that I love and do it well enough to get paid for it. 2005 (age 26): In 2015, Karl and I would be living in Texas, ministering to college students. 3 of our 4 kids would be thriving in public schools while I organized PTA events and preschooled our littlest, giving me pl...

My friend Isabella not only has great style, she is also beautiful inside and out! I wanted to feature her in Style Saturday, and since her name means beauty, I thought I'd have her share what she thinks of true beauty. She dined with our family at our favorite trattoria, and while we ate homemade pasta, we chatted about beauty, truth, and love. Sounds so Bohemian. I made some notes on my placemat. Isabella eloquently and confidently poised these thoughts: True beauty can't be about your face; it has to be something that can last.   She said she thinks beauty is rooted in spirituality--that a person's soul, mind, and attitude makes them beautiful.  I love her thoughts! I also love how she wears a bunch of grapes around her neck. It makes me think of the fruits of the Spirit, which she possesses. Isabella has confident ease in her loose leg pants and scrunchy long-sleeved sweater. She mixes blue and black and makes it work with her converse! Isa...