seek to be a friend

I'm shy.

I don't feel like I fit in.

I don't have anything to say.

What if they don't really like me?

What if I put myself out there and am rejected?

Have you ever been plagued by these thoughts?

I think we all have from time to time. Some of us maybe more so than others. It's a toxic trap really. Our thoughts start swirling around in our own heads until we actually begin to believe them. I think we as women all struggle with this in some way. We crave relationships, and beyond that, deep and meaningful friendships. These types of toxic thoughts leave us sitting around feeling sorry for our {perceived} situation and don't do anything to solve the problem we feel is there.

Something I am learning about friendships is that we can sit around moping and complaining about our lack of deep, meaningful friendships OR we can get up and go actively seek to be a friend to someone. Stop in our tracks. take the focus off of "me" and place it on someone else. Purpose to have a servant's heart and love others the way Jesus tells us to.  

When we take the focus off of self and are motivated to be a friend to others, we may just stumble upon the best friendships of our life. 


Anyone else struggle with these toxic thoughts? How do you try to overcome them?

black bean corn salsa

I don't know about you but I love a good salsa recipe. This one ranks high on my list without a doubt! My mom shared this recipe with me early in my homemaking years and it continues to be one of our favorites. It's flavors are simple and fresh making it a great side dish to add to your next Tex-Mex night.

{black bean corn salsa}

Simply combine:

• 2- 15 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups of corn {fresh is great but frozen works well, too}
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 green onions, sliced
• 6 Tbs fresh lime juice
• 4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt

Serve your delicious salsa with tortilla chips and watch it disappear. 

If you happen to have any left-overs {never happens around here} keep this salsa in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!

linking up with:

Hearts 4 Home, The Better Mom Mondays

the real essentials

Do you ever feel that you overcomplicate things?

Taking something simple and making it so much more than what it is?

Focusing on man-made regulations, rules and expectations instead of on what God's requirements are? 

This overcomplicated focus just leads to frustration. 

An enormous, suffocating load of frustration that just seems to sit on your chest like a giant elephant that won't move. 

We can't live focused on man's rules and regulations. The requirements we put on ourselves that are outside of what God really desires for us. We will end up frustrated and burnt out. 

We must center our minds on the real essentials and seek to please God as He has clearly outlined in scripture. 

Here are the real essentials:

• Fear God { Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."}
• Live in a way that pleases Him {Colossians 1:10 "so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;"}
• Love Him {Deut 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."}
• Serve Him with all your heart and soul {1 Samuel 12:24 "Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you."}
• Obey His commands {1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome."}

Concentrate on His real requirements and find peace in the journey. 

Respect, follow, love, serve, and obey. 

hands on Easter activities

In yesterday's post I encouraged us in our role as parents to create a meaningful Easter for our children.

I gave several ideas based on a few different age ranges for what this might look like practically. I thought today I would provide you with some links to some of these ideas. 

Easter is just over a week away but it isn't too late to focus on the Resurrection with your little ones over these coming days. 

{Easter Garden}

Probably our favorite activity in the past few years has been making an Easter or Resurrection Garden. My boys {and now my toddler as well!} love gathering together the supplies and talking about just what we are making as we fashion a tomb out of a hillside. As we sow the grass seeds and talk about new life and the hope we have in Jesus. Placing the large rock over the opening and knowing that He isn't there. Oh no, He is Risen. He is Risen indeed!

This post found on We Are THAT Family is where I first saw what a Resurrection or Easter Garden was. I was instantly interested in making one of these for our family. It is such a great hands-on activity  to focus on the empty tomb. We start ours just a week or so before Easter and use a fast growing grass. We get so excited as we see the small blades emerge during Holy Week and grace our beautiful garden just in time for Easter morning. 

{source}

 This version of the Easter Garden on A Holy Experience is beautiful! I love the large rock with the hole in it for the tomb! 

 {source}

{Resurrection Eggs}

I think just about everyone knows of Resurrection Eggs but just in case, here is a look into them. We have used these for years, since my oldest was a toddler. We have the set bought from the store but we have also gathered our own pieces of the Easter story to create a set all our own. I think that makes the contents of each egg even more impactful. This is such a great way to share the story with even the youngest child. Opening each egg with anticipation and holding each symbol of Easter and learning about the significance of each one. 

 {Benjamin's Box}

I first came across this resource when I was teaching kindergarden and long before I was a mother myself. It is a wonderful book just right for school-aged children who may want to look at the contents of the Resurrection Eggs in a new way. This book shows us a boy named Benjamin as he follows Jesus through the days leading up to His crucifixion. Along the way, Benjamin gathers little tokens {the same symbols from the Resurrection Eggs set} and keeps them in his little box. 

We have made our own little "treasure" boxes out of paper mache boxes from the craft store that we decorate with paint and jewels. We then use the boxes to gather our own treasures from the Easter story. You can very easily use the same contents of the Resurrection Eggs to fill your treasure boxes. 

{The Jelly Bean Story}

Another sweet way to share the story of Easter with your little ones is through the Jelly Bean Story. This is such a yummy and easy one to do! It is also easy to make many of these as little treat bags to give out to others in your life during Easter week. Check out this blog for a cute printable giving the meaning for each color of jelly bean to add to your container of jelly beans. 

{source}

These are of course just a few activities to do with your young children to help create a meaningful Easter for them. Pick just one and use it to point your child's heart to Jesus. 

linking up with:
Weekend Whatever, Saturday Show and Tell, Family Fun Fridays

creating a meaningful easter

What is Easter? What is it all about?
How would our young ones answer that question?

candy?
baby animals?
eggs?
Easter baskets?
the Easter Bunny?
new outfits?


With so many commercialized imaged of Easter, it is easy for children to get confused. They see so many images on TV and when we are out and about running errands. Just a walk through the Easter isle at Target can send our kids into a candy tizzy.  It is easy to see how the real meaning of the resurrection can be lost in the shuffle.

Our job as parents is to make the true meaning of Easter clear to our children. We must unpack the sacred from the secular and separate the symbols of spring from the resurrection. We must make Easter meaningful for our children. We can do this by sharing its significance, the death and resurrection of Jesus.

So what do we do as parents to unpack the significance of Easter for our children?

First, we need to start where they are in their understanding. If they think that Easter is about eggs and a bunny, then begin there. Tell them how eggs and bunnies are symbols of new life. Begin with what they know but don't stop there! Move beyond the symbols and point to the gospel. When we do this, as our children encounter these symbols of spring and Easter, they will see their place and also look beyond them to Jesus.

The TRUTH & POWER of scripture is complicated yet it is a simple message that our children can understand.

Know where your children are in their understanding and simplify to their level of understanding. Add more information and details as they are ready for it. As they ask questions, give the details and answers that they are ready for. I used to panic when my oldest asked any questions. I thought I had to lay the entirety of the gospel out for him in that moment. All we need to do is give appropriate answers based on where they are in their understanding. As they are ready for more information, they will ask more questions. This learning dialogue with your children is a beautiful thing!

What might this look like for various age ranges?

Preschooler~ At this age children need to know that there is a God and that He made them. Emphasize that God loves us and loves them as an individual.
Resources like Resurrection Eggs, Benjamin's Box, and making an Easter garden are excellent hands-on activities for this age. Read the Jesus Storybook Bible to this age group.

School-aged~ From age 5 to about 8, children are ready to receive more details about what the resurrection of Jesus is. Tell them that Jesus died for them, to pay a sin debt that they could never pay. Redemption is a hard concept for young children but start laying this information on the foundation you have already established.
Resurrection Eggs and Benjamin's Box are still great for this age as they can understand more of the details. The Jesus Storybook Bible is still a great resource for this age as well.

Older Elementary Age~ At this age, children are able to understand more of sin as they encounter in their own lives the difficulty and pain it causes. My 9 year old is dealing with this almost daily. He is frustrated with how so much of life doesn't go as he wants. He tries to do the right thing and sin comes in and messes it all up. He is learning more and more of the need for mankind to be rescued from the bonds of sin. His understanding of redemption is increasing.
Based on where your child is in this stage, talk more about sin and its effects on man. Your older child may be ready to see images of the cross and go through the stations. Emphasize to this age that Easter is what Christmas points to and that Christ came for this purpose.
Older kiddos still enjoy the same activities as the young ones and are able to grasp even further understanding as they grow in their knowledge. If they have younger siblings, let them join in with you to lead the younger ones.


Take advantage of Holy Week to observe what Easter is about. As we celebrate the whole week and move towards Easter Sunday, we point to the cross and the Savior. As we come into contact with the symbols of the season, we are able to keep them in their place as symbols of spring and new life. When Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday arrive, we have been pointing ourselves and our little ones to Jesus all along and He becomes the beautiful focus of it all.

Ultimately, Easter should be a celebration of what we already know about the Lord. Our daily lives are teaching our children about Jesus. As a mother, I need to make Jesus visible on a day to day basis through my walk with Him.  I need to be authentic in front of my children. This is especially evident to me as my oldest is approaching 10.  I am convicted that I need to expose my walk to my children. How easy is it to go about our day and as the Lord reveals things to us and speaks to our hearts to simply show that to our children? And yet, I usually don't make the effort to expose these things to them. But what a blessing it is for all of us when we live authentically and display the grace of God in our lives. Our children will learn vital lessons and understand so much more about the story of redemption if we do.

Take advantage of Holy Week and have gospel conversations with your little ones. Point them to Jesus.

chickpea and parsley salad {gf}

This salad is one of my spring time favorites. It is so light and fresh, perfect for the season.

Just a few simple ingredients come together for a tasty and filling salad. With the promise of warmer springtime days ahead, this salad will be showing up frequently on my kitchen table! 

{chickpea and parsley salad} 

• can of chickpeas {rinsed and drained}
• 1/2 a diced red onion 
• 1/2 an english cucumber, cut into half moon slices
• 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 1 cup picked flat leaf parsley {pick the leaves from the stems}
• 1/2 cup feta
• 2 Tablespoons good quality olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• salt & pepper to taste

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and lemon juice to make a simple dressing. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste. The feta and olives already add a salty bite so be cautious as you season. You can always go back and add more later if you find that you need it.
Toss the salad with your dressing and finish by adding the feta and tossing gently to combine.

So simple, and yet this salad is both beautiful and tasty. And since it's gluten free, it makes my tummy happy, happy! I hope this is a recipe that you will enjoy adding to your collection. 

Enjoy!

{repurposed} tp roll bird feeder

The birds are beginning to sing sweetly in the trees as spring slowly approaches. 

A sweet way to welcome these little feathered friends is by making bird feeders out of a few simple items.

These feeders make great use of an otherwise hard-to-recycle item, toilet paper rolls. Some municipalities do not accept these because left over bits of paper on the roll itself can make a mess of facilities. 

This is also a great project for the kiddos! They will love making these easy feeders and then watching for the visitors who are sure to show up for the feast. 

 You will need:

• peanut butter
• bird seed
• empty toilet paper rolls
• few little helpers

Start by getting all of the tp remnants off of the rolls.

Use a spoon to spread an even layer of peanut butter all over the outside of the roll. 

In a plate, pour a shallow layer of bird seed. 

Here is the fun part!

Let your little ones get busy rolling the tube in the seed to cover the peanut butter layer. Make sure the peanut butter is completely covered with the seeds. A little even pressure as you roll will help everything adhere.

Next, find a tree with low branches and let your little helpers slide the rolls on! This is so easy!

Nothing else is needed. Just slide them on the lower branches and wait for the birds to show up.

Within a few hours, we had several cardinals and bluejays {as well as a few other species} visiting our feeders. We spent the afternoon perched at the window with a bird book in hand. 

So, make use of those empty tp rolls and make a sweet bird feeder with your kiddos!

linking up with:

Family Fun Friday