His work His way!

Before I post about some great ideas of serving in easy  mom friendly ways that still make a big impact, I want to share something God has been showing me about this whole serving topic.


First off, we are all called to serve!

However just because we are all called to serve does not mean we are called to do ALL things!
I love how the ladies from Passionate housewives desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald, talk about this subject.

"God has a lot for us to do! His work for women isn't small, narrow, or confining. It calls forth the best in us and requires the faithful use of the talents he bestows. At the same time, God desires us to do his work His way!"

We DO NOT have to be doing "BIG" things to be making a BIG difference in peoples lives! Sometimes the little things get swept under the rug to make room for the big projects which are time consuming and don't always have the best rate of one on one time with people. Doing little consistent things make a big impact on non-believers because they are seeing God's word lived out through our lives!

Our husbands should come first and then our children and then of course others. We cannot forget that we are our husband's only help meet and our children's only mother.

Serving should be a way of life! It should be something you do throughout your day and something that your children grow to just do naturally because that is what they have seen from their parents!

Just because a program is making a huge difference in peoples lives and it seems all the doors are being opened for you to help with it, does not mean that is really what God wants. If that ministry is taking away to much time from your family and your main priorities it is not what God wants for you. If you are like me and are not extremely organized and great at balancing at time you will have to be really careful with saying yes to many things. It's so easy to just say yes to so many things then become overwhelmed. I know I needed to learn how to say the No word a lot more.

You will never regret the time you spent investing in your children and being the best possible help meet for your husband. You may regret all the time missed while you were busy volunteering for different projects that caused you to miss precious moments of time in your little ones lives. (I already had to learn this the first year of princess Eli's life and I had to actually step down from a ministry I was involved in.)

Take some time to talk God about your priorities and if you are really doing His work His way!

Being a wife and mom is not enough!

Do you ever feel that way?

I have sat with a few friends and have discussed the fact that it sometimes feels like we are not doing enough for the lord or that we aren't doing anything "big" enough.

But, for most of us moms especially with little ones getting involved in ministry takes to much time away from the family and fills our schedules to full. We have to face it that our children and husbands are most important ministry we have!

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Really we are doing something that will impact the world and future generations by training our children!

So how can we still serve others like God asks us to? I mean don't we have to volunteer for all kinds of projects, groups, and all kinds of community outreaches?


Nope! (Not that doing those things is wrong. We must each decide for ourselves what the lord is asking of us and our families.)

So tomorrow I will give you some ideas the lord has been laying on my heart of ways I can serve!

And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:44-45

9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:9-11

Love Languages

Don't you love when you have those moments of  "Not sure why I didn't figure this out till now.". I have those a lot and I know it's all just part of the learning process.

Well while I was at the Women of Faith Conference (which is so worth going to if it's coming to a city near you) Andy Andrews was talking about the love languages and I started to think. I am pretty sure I know King Los' love language. But, I was deteremined when I got home to look at the book the Five love languages by Gary Chapman and talk to King Los about it.

I am so glad I did that! Not only did I discover I was not loving him with his love language I realized I was actually loving him with my love language which is pretty normal to do.

See I had been affirming him with more words then he needed. I mean seriously I thought to myself who could ever here enough great things about themselves and what they do. Although King Los appreciated those nice things I had been saying I realized he appreciated acts of service so much more.

He would much rather have a clean home, yummy cooked meals, and of course something yummy baked then hear a hundred kinds words. It seems so obvious now and of course I had heard of the love languages a million times I just thought I had it all right.

If you haven't checked out this book you need to! There is also one for kids and one for teenagers love languages too.

So talk to your spouse and find out if you could be showing love better to them.

Canning... in your oven

How to Can in the oven!

So if a few of you ladies are like me you aren't quite lucky enough to have a pressure cooker or canner. You'll be as excited as me to find out you can actually can peaches and pears in the oven. It's so simple and the process is pretty much the same as if you were going to use a regular canner.

*Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

*You still fill the jars nice and full of peaches. Then make your syrup and add that in the jar.

*Then move your bottom oven rack as low as it can go and put two cookie sheets on it.

*Put six jars on each cookie sheet making sure that none of the jars of touching each other. You should put no more then a total of 12 in at a time.

*Then bake for between one hour and 15 and one hour and twenty minutes.

*Make sure when you take them out that the liquid inside looks like its bubbling just a little because that means it will seal for you. Also it's fine if a little of the liquid spilled out just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't all spill out.

*Then of course let me sit for twenty four hours and they should  seal nicely for you!

*Also another fun little tip is to add about a tsp of vanilla to every four cups of syrup to add a little extra flavor to the peaches.

Make sure you save some fresh peaches to make some yummy peach pies. King Los  took one to work for the guys he works with and they absolutely loved it so make sure you make one for your family and one for a gift!