What a Gift, Your Friendship & Bread

So much sweetness in this life...

 

Family.

Friends.

Faith.

Food.

Yep, I am a foodie.

I love it.

My hubby and I love trying new recipes,

and 10 days ago

we received a new one,

Amish Friendship Bread.

I had never heard of this bread before,

 so I was pretty excited to receive it,

but also a little nervous to try it.

Ooh, the pressure...

My friend gave me a bag of dough,

that came with 10 days of instructions.

What if I mess up the recipe and my friend asks me how it turns out?!

What if I tell people about the bread, then ruin it and

I don't get to give any out?

Can you believe I was nervous about bread?

Well, I was!

I'm a “what if” girl.

I have a tendency to let fears get to me.

I'm an often quiet, shy girl,

who sometimes worries about mistakes

before

I even make them!

I'm a lot of other things too.

I just have to

to remind

myself sometimes.

I'm a creative type.

I'm a wife, mother, step-mother, and friend.

 I’m a personal chef, chauffeur and a baker.

I’m a college grad and homemaker.

A former school teacher, a scrapbooker and a maid.

I’m a freelance/blog writer and avid reader.

I’m a child care coordinator, and personal events planner.

I’m responsible, compassionate,

careful, and loyal.

I’m a nifty, thrifty, crafty girl,

And a savvy problem solver might I add.

I wear many hats.

I try lots of things.

I have experience.

Yet, even after

knowing

all of the things that

I know,

I still

at times

spend time

worrying

About the things

that  

I don’t.

I am smart

enough to know,

some things just don’t matter.

Who cares if I make a mistake,

life will go on.

And as I have gotten older,

 I have learned to worry

(a little) less

and to say

who cares

(a little) more.

The days goes by so fast,

 and

I shouldn't stress about silly things.

Sometimes I get it right.

Sometimes I don’t.  

I don’t have to

worry about everything

and care so much

because I know that

God

cares enough for the both of us.

Yet, still,

I have my moments

and on occasion

I'll find myself nervous,

only to discover

that I worried for no reason at all.

Everything turned out better than expected.

Just like ~ this bread ~ last night.

And

even if it wouldn't have turned out perfectly,

I would have been just fine,

after all...

making mistakes is part of the growing process…

in the kitchen,

and

in life.

And I do realize that the best part of this bread,

Wasn't the  bread itself,

but the

friendship

that came with it!

30 – 3 things old seen new…dinner trays repainted, journals retyped, new blossoms on our old bush   

31 – a gift on a paper, in a person, in a picture…a card I found while cleaning that was given to my hubby a few years ago, my mother-in-law’s call (who’s bday was today), a drawing along with a hole in the wall, because my niece unexpectedly tacked a picture up for me in my office

1 – a visit from a friend, his time and love, putting together a puzzle with the kids

2 - hubby won a trip, she’s happy to go because she loves him, the power is in believing

3 – clarity, expression, revelation

4 - invitations made with my little one, a newly hatched bird in her cage, crumbs she left… because she was home

5 – a blouse from my friend, the bench that my hubby made with me, her red heart blanket

Seeking to Please & Pleasing to Seek

I second-guess myself.

Often.

Some people expect a lot from others.

(I do, at times.)

But mostly,

I expect a lot from ME.

I can be tough on myself.

I worry about pleasing everyone.

I want to make ‘their’ loads a little lighter.

‘Their’ lives a little brighter.

I want to be good enough for 'them.'

So many times, I have to remind myself to just let go.

Be ME.

Do what makes me happy.

Because more than likely,

who I am,

is making others happy.

But

 if ‘they’ are not happy,

that is okay too.

I am here to love many.

If they love me back.

Great.

Lucky me.

Lucky them.

But the truth is,

I am only here to ‘please’ one.

The Lord.

I need to stop seeking ‘my’ definition of perfection

and continue to seek Him.

I know this.

Many times when I am questioning something,

feeling a little confused and insecure,

or seeking clarity,

He sends me reminders.

I am doing okay.

He loves me.

Two verses that stood out to me this week,

just when I needed to read them….

Titus 2:3-5

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live…

They can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands…

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven.

It never fails.

When I am in need of a little peace

or reassurance, I find it 

in Him.

Project 31 ~ What Jesus has taught me...

Day 10: What has Jesus taught you as a wife, mom or friend?

Jesus has taught me many things.

Christ embodies love, sacrifice, kindness, humility, surrender, compassion and so many inspiring traits, but the one thing that Jesus has taught me more than any other is forgiveness.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Forgiveness is freedom!

We forgive people for their actions. We forgive life for throwing curveballs our way. We forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We forgive God when we have moments that make us question our circumstances.

Choosing to forgive has made me a better wife. It makes my marriage fun and carefree. It means that even when we disagree, we can quickly get over it.

I love my husband too much to remain angry.

Choosing to forgive has also made me a better mom. Even though I am no longer with my ex husband, my daughter sees that we get along. As she matures, she will know that we loved her enough to forgive each other for the past. Too many children suffer because of divorce. The parents choose to stay angry, the kids know all of the details of the divorce, they are thrown in the middle of arguments and the children end up having issues of their own.

I love my daughter too much to remain angry.

Choosing to forgive has also made me a better person. Life gets complicated. I have made many mistakes in this life, but I forgive myself. I have given myself a chance to start over and I encourage others to do the same.

I love myself too much to remain angry.  

Do not choose to be bitter, choose to be better.

We become bitter because we hold onto our hurts, but everyone has hurts. 

Choose Forgiveness.

Forgiveness makes us stronger. There is a misconception that forgiveness makes us weak. That when we forgive we are giving in to another person that tried to hurt us or a hardship that tried to bring us down. People believe that if we stay angry we are tough, but anger does not make us tough. Anger makes us unhappy and unhappiness makes us weak, and let us be honest, angry people are no fun to be around.

I have not seen an episode of Doctor Phil in forever, but yesterday, the show looked intense and so I kept it on. At the end of the show, Dr. Phil said these words,

"You don't forgive the people that deserve it. You forgive the people that YOU deserve to be free of. You deserve to forgive them. It does not mean that what they did was okay or that he/she deserves your forgiveness, it means that you refuse to invest your life and energy on them! Tell yourself this situation needs a hero and it's going to be me."

It was such a powerful ending.

He is telling us to set ourselves free. Forgive, not for them. Forgive for us.

The easy thing to do, the weak thing to do, is to stay angry. Anger, hate, bitterness...those are easy emotions. Forgiving and loving those who have sinned against us is hard work, but it is possible.

To do this we have to remove our pride, but who needs pride anyway?

We don't need to be proud, we need to be humble, we need to be grateful.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)

We need to realize that everything we have and everything that we accomplish is because of God.

Every good and perfect gift is from above. (James 1:17)

Christ loves us and He wants us to let go of our hurts.

He wants us to forgive.

He will give us the strength to do so.

Jesus helped me to let go of my hurts and to forgive.

If you have not done so already, I challenge you to let go of yours!

Do not focus on all of the ways that she/he hurt you.

Do not hold on to the fact that not all of your prayers have been answered.

Don't hold on to all of the illnesses that have affected your family.

Don't focus on the losses you have suffered.

Just let go and let God.

It really is empowering...

Allow yourself to forgive.

Allow yourself to let go.

Allow yourself to be free.

Allow Christ to work miracles in your life.