Another gem from Dr. James Dobson’s blog…

Posted on by

It’s Okay Not to Be Okay

By Sheila Walsh

Its Okay Not To Be Okay

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

My darling mom died two years ago. I miss her every day. I don’t think anything quite prepares you for saying goodbye to your mom. After her funeral in Scotland, I stayed several days to help my sister, Frances, go through Mom’s things. One treasure I brought home was the little Bible that always sat by her bed. She’d received it in December of 1942, when she was 13 years old. She wrote on one of the blank pages, “Grace is undeserved favor. It is love stooping.”

We spent several hours going through Mom’s big red box of family photographs. “Did you really mean to have purple hair?” my sister asked with a smile, holding up a photo that showed one of my more creative choices. “Yes,” I said, grinning back. “Sadly, that was intentional.”

I paused on a photograph from the day I graduated from seminary. I remember that day so well. I was 21 years old. My hair in that season was dark and very short. I had to have most of it cut off after a disastrous experiment with a perm. I looked at my smiling face, confident I would now go out and change the world for Jesus. I remember my mom saying to me that day: “God began this good work in you, Sheila, and He will continue His work until you see Him face-to-face.” I wish I’d listened to those words more carefully. I wish I’d understood the liberating truth that God is the one who begins His work in us, and He will complete it. I thought it was up to me.

Continue reading→

8 Habits (a parody)

Posted on by

8 Habits That Kill Your Metabolism (an article modified from My Fitness Pal)

I receive health and fitness emails regularly from multiple sources. How many of you grow weary and poor from the promises of this product or this diet that will finally get your body to respond miraculously and shed those mid-life crisis pounds that simply will not come off.

A My Fitness Pal email caught my attention today entitled “8 Habits That Kill Your Metabolism.” Although more recently I have been deleting and unsubscribing, I decided to read the 8 reasons and counter with my OWN 8 habits that I happen to know are inhibiting my weight loss. Let’s see which one you agree with more and let me know if you have your own ideas.

My Fitness Pal list (without descriptions) is as follows:

Skipping breakfast

Eating the wrong breakfast

Sitting too much

Neglecting strength training

Not getting enough protein

Not getting enough sleep

Not drinking enough water

Stressing out

Continue reading→

More Wisdom from Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk

Posted on by

The Primary Reason for Failure in School

Teachers Need Our Encouragement

Brownie Mania

Posted on by

I’m a horrible neighbor. Well, I do wave when I pass someone out in their yard but gone are the days when parents sat outside as their children played, visited and even shared a glass of lemonade or iced tea. I can’t blame the culture but think about it, you must hurry home to fix supper or you have a project to work on. I know that’s been my excuse for years. There were times the power went out or a storm blew down some trees, then we saw the neighbors, but I’m extremely guilty of running into the house and doing my thing.

Continue reading→

A Trio of Found Recipes by Professional Mom

Posted on by

I don’t really remember what I was looking for, but the kitchen drawer was the spot I chose to start. Everyone has “that drawer” in the kitchen, be honest, everything paper and otherwise that you have saved is there. Addresses, recipes, pens, birthday candles, I could go on and on.  As it turns out I found several recipes, some I had made before and some not. I picked three and decided to rustle up all the ingredients and make them.

After a hundred-dollar trip to the grocery store, I was ready to proceed. My son and his family were on the way home from a trip and I wanted to prepare a great meal, so I chose three out of the ordinary (for me) recipes to make. I will share these recipes at the end of this post.

There is a certain significance to these recipes in that my mother-in-law, Kathleen McDonald, who had a huge impact on my cooking and all-around housekeeping skills, wrote one of these recipes with her own hand. She’s been in Heaven for about ten years now, so it was particularly moving for me find this recipe. That was the Broccoli Salad. The Four Layer Pie, our all-time fave, was another recipe, although written by me, but was another family recipe I got from Grandma.

She was what I would call a precise cook. As I put these recipes together, I was reminded of her special and neat way she cooked, especially the Four Layer Pie, because you could see the layers both defined and beautiful. The Broccoli Salad was cut in tiny little pieces, again, precise and beautiful to behold. My daughter pointed this out when we ate mine, but, oh well, it’s me. As I was pressing the crust into the pan for the pie, and thinking of Grandma McDonald, I sized my cooking skills up as too good for “Worst Cooks in America,” yet not good enough for “Chopped.” Funny what you think about when you’re cooking.

Continue reading→