How to resolve a conflict with LOVE:

                                                  

• Listen~Truly hear what the other person is saying. (James 1:19)  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
• Speak the truth in LOVE~ in a way that doesn't threaten or accuse them.(Ephesians 4:15) Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 
• Forgive~ forgiving means giving up the right to punish those who hurt or offended you. (Ephesians4:32)Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.        

Mommy's Ministry

Over the last 9 years that I've been a christian, I've done many different ministries. I've always had my children involved. When I first became a christian my oldest child was 6 years old. I dove into ministry serving as a youth leader in my church youth group. My husband and I brought him with us on a mission trip and we dragged him along in anything we did. Then child number two, three, and four came and the less I could be involved. I still helped out by cooking meals for people in need and I would help out in the nursery on Sunday mornings when needed. But that was about all I could do. It was a tough season for me to get through. I felt like I wasn't pulling my weight around the church and wanted to be more involved in things. I've had so many conversations with other young moms and they felt the same way. Then one day I was let in on a little secret by a more seasoned mom. MY CHILDREN ARE MY MINISTRY. I'm raising an army for God. I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing. I'm training my children to love others and serve God. Now my children are all a little older. My youngest is three years old and he tags along wherever our adventures take us. I've found many ways to be involved in ministries with my young children. We've served in the soup kitchen together, we've made meals for people in need within our church. We've also unpacked and folded clothes in our church mission. This week we're making cinnamon rolls with Happy Birthday Jesus tags on them and taking them to our neighbors. There are so many things that you can still do with your children even at young age. It might take a little extra work and some extra planning but it's possible to be involved and still be a good mom. And if you still can't find opportunities and all your doing is staying home raising your babies. That's where you need to be. There's a season for it all and your season will soon change. God has entrusted you with the most precious gift of all. His children. Raise them up for Him and He will be pleased.

~This Moment~

 - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soule Mama

The Christmas Village

It's one of those things that you remember from your childhood. You remember looking at all the little people and the lights. You remember how you felt, that feeling of comfort that it brings. As I place each little figure in it's own special place I hope that my children will remember it fondly. Maybe one day they'll have their own little Christmas village.

Comfort in a mug.

My comfort food is actually not a food at all. It's a nice hot beverage. It doesn't really matter if it's hot cocoa, coffee, a latte, or tea. I'm not afraid to try new things either. Today I tried a nice frothy mug of Pumpkin Spiced Latte.  I've had the Dunkin Donuts version and it was delicious. But at $3 a cup, I thought that I would try my hand at making it at home. It was super easy to make. I found the recipe online at http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/beverage/diy-pumpkin-spice-latte-096277. The smell of pumpkin pie just wafted through my kitchen. It was heavenly. The final result tasted nothing like Dunkin Donuts, but it was still very tasty. So hears the recipe if you would like to try it yourself. Feel free to leave me a comment telling me what your favorite comfort food or drink in some cases may be.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Makes 1-2 servings

2c milk
2tbl canned pumpkin or 1tsp of pumpkin spice syrup
2tbl sugar or Splenda to taste
2tbl vanilla extract
1/2tsp pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup espresso or 1/2c of strong brewed coffee)

In a sauce pan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you have a blender just whisk it. Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add espresso on top.

Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with pumkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top

Would you eat a horse? Ya or Naaaaa

Sorry about the title. I just couldn't help myself. So one of the hot new news stories is Obama legalizing the slaughtering of horses for consumption in the US. When I first read this story I thought "This can't be real". How barbaric. Lets just grab some clubs and put loin clothes on and live in caves. Then I read it all over FB. Surprisingly enough though it didn't seem to bother that many people. Then I started to think about it from different angles. When compared to just another farm animal, it doesn't seem like it's that bad. Although I would never eat one myself. I'm not a very big meat eater anyway. I think that horses are beautiful animals but does that mean that we should eat pigs because they're ugly. Just kiddin... I don't really think that pigs are ugly. They're cute when they're babies. I would love to hear your comments on this. What say you?

~This Moment~

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soule Mama