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The smell of whole wheat bread, just out of the oven, is one of my favorite childhood memories. Our family never bought bread from the store. Mom always baked it. I was embarrassed to take the odd, thick slices to school as a sack lunch sandwich, but I was plenty happy to eat it straight out of the oven at home!

Warm and smothered with butter and honey, it is a glorious piece of heaven.

Mom baked it recently and was happy to share her recipe here. This makes 4 large loaves. (more…)

Yesterday was a busy day. My resolve to post every day in January took a back seat to other things. They were good things, but I’ve discovered that, while it’s easy enough to write a post a day, it’s hard to write something worthwhile every day.

Shouldn’t my entire life be about something worthwhile, every day?

Since we moved last summer, I’ve felt like I’m often just responding to the next thing, (more…)

Mom sent me this by email, and it was so encouraging that I asked her if I could post it. It’s a helpful meditation when things seem out of control and I’m tempted to scramble frantically. Thanks, Mom!

A (Very) Loose Paraphrase of Psalm 46

We can depend on God to be real close when we’re having trouble. Even if the physical earth seems like it’s out of control, we don’t have to be afraid. He has the ability to protect places. And when people-nations seem like they’re out of control, too, God is with us to protect us. Look at what God can do with the earth and look at what He can do with the nations. (And, surely, if He can do it with those things, He can do it in my own life.) So you, you let go. (This has been translated as “Be still,” but this is the only place that word is translated like that. It usually has the meaning of go slack, be weakened, be feeble, leave alone, withdraw, etc. ) Give up control! Turn loose of the reins. Quit striving. Quit trying to be the one in control. “Know that I am God, (and I am in control).” HE will be exalted among the nations and on the earth. God is WITH us and He IS our refuge. Think about that.

This was a comfort to me today.

I was surrounded by young kids (all mine, of course) a couple days ago. They were climbing on me, crowding me, asking me repeated questions, with one request piling on another before I had a chance to respond even to the first one.

This wasn’t how I imagined parenting to be. Some days I’m a walking sermon on child spacing.

In the middle of this, my husband called. He was sitting in a call room (more…)

I started my New Year’s diet by finishing off a jumbo pack of peanut M&Ms. I needed to have them out of the house, so I ate them!

Sigh.

I’m taping this to the back of my hand:

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

Today is a new day and a fresh start. Happy Sunday!

In the second year of our marriage, my husband and I took a foster care training class together. First we planned to take foster children in need of temporary homes. Later, after our biological children were older, we hoped everything would fall into place to adopt a child.

We didn’t go into this plan entirely uninformed. My husband is the oldest of five siblings. When he was a teen, his parents began taking foster children into their home. By the time he graduated from college, his parents had adopted six children, with a seventh to follow a few years later. We’ve watched plenty of highs and lows for everyone involved.

Within that second year of marriage, (more…)

Today marks Day One of a race with family to see who can lose ten pounds first! I’ve been pulling salad ideas out of the recipe box.

For Christmas Eve dinner on my side of the family (where we made bets on who could lose the weight first) we ate a salad that was full of my favorite things. I went home and created my own version: (more…)

One of my favorite quotes:

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

– Leo Buscaglia

My 19-year-old sister-in-law is staying with us for a while. She watched me write a few posts, and then she asked if I would like to post a picture of a project she just finished. I said YES! This post is written by her.
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