The Excellent Wife

I have no clue how long we will be living in Wisconsin, but I know for a fact that as long as I'm here, it's crucial that I get involved with other believers. No man is an island. We need the fellowship and encouragement and sharpening of other believers in our lives, no matter how old or wise we may be. We attend services on Sundays, but I also want something deeper to challenge my faith.

I was invited to join a ladies study on the book The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace.

 
We had our first meeting last night at an adorable new coffee shop by our old house! If that coffee shop would have existed two years ago when we still lived here, I would have been a regular customer for sure! Let me tell you, I know this book is gonna kick me in the booty. But that's a good thing, right? :) Let me give you a few excerpts from the first chapter to get you hooked as well...

"As a beautiful flower in the light of the morning sun reflects the glory of Father's creation, an excellent wife reflects Father's glory by her attitudes and actions."

"Father's will for every believing wife is that her most important ministry be to her husband (Genesis 2:18). After a wife's own personal relationship with the Lord, nothing else should have greater priority. Her husband should be the primary benefactor of his wife's time and energy, not the recipient of what may be left over at the end of the day."

"Father has called every believing wife to His excellence! Any flower can bloom when it is tended by Father's hand. A wife's responsibility is to learn to put her confidence in the faithfulness of Father and His Word- to do what He says. She can become what He wants her to become if she does what He wants her to do. There is no other way!"

Wow, doesn't that excite you? When us women chatted after reading the first chapter, I felt inspired and determined to take a closer look at my marriage and make sure my husband is a priority I am taking seriously. Anything good takes work. A good marriage doesn't just happen, and it doesn't just stay good. It's like a garden that requires continual weeding and careful attention. I am deeply in love with my SuperDan and I want to do what it takes to keep our marriage alive and healthy. If we pour into our marriage, then our parenting will thrive, our ministry will thrive, and our generally well-being will thrive.

I am deeply saddened by the rate of divorce in this country. I am still very young and already many people in my age group have divorced. When I was growing up, I hardly knew anyone who was divorced. Times are changing. It's time now more than ever to stand up for marriage and teach our children what commitment and forgiveness and perseverance can do for a lifetime of love. It's not easy. Definitely not easy. But it's worth it. So very worth it!

Planning a Bridal Shower

I had a blast planning my sister-in-law's bridal shower which was held on Sunday! If you would have asked me three years ago if I would be willing to host an event like that, and I would have laughed with a hearty, "No way!" I just never thought I had what it takes. 

Then two years ago I moved to a little country across the world. In a place where everyone is far away from mothers and sisters, it's up to us friends to plan the parties for each other. All of us had to step up to the plate and make things happen for each other. We became each other's family. I never, ever, ever thought in my wildest dreams that I would be able to put together a baby shower or birthday party for someone else. But after a few attempts, I realized that it wasn't all that difficult. The key? Make the guest of honor feel special. When the focus is, "How can I bless my friend?" instead of, "How can I impress everyone?" it makes everything so much easier. Because really that's what it's about- blessing the ones we love and making them feel important.

I discovered that there are really only a few main steps involved in making a party great. 

1. Ambiance- If it's a bridal/baby shower or birthday party for an adult, use candles and soft decorations to make the mood relaxing and lovely. Play music in the background according to your guests (for example, for the bridal shower I played upbeat and romantic music). If it's a youth hangout or a child's birthday party, use fun and bright colors for decorating like crepe paper and tissue paper balls to hang from the ceiling. Play music that teenagers or little kids would like. 

 

For the bridal shower I wanted a fall theme because my sister-in-law's wedding is in October. I used pine cones, acorns, fake leaves, candles, brown ribbons, and fall colored table cloths. 

 

I also made a fun banner to hang on the wall that said, "Congrats Annah". I cut out big triangles from scrapbook paper, then cut out circles of plain color and glued them on the triangles. Then I wrote the individual letters on the circles. I hole-punched each triangle and strung them together with hemp.

 

2. Games- Pick games that honor your guests. I use trivia question games for birthday parties and showers. That way the game is all about the guest of honor, and everyone gets a shot proving how well they know them. I also like games that involve a bit of surprise and creativity. It's fun to think outside the box and do a little research- don't always play the same games everyone else plays at parties. 

3. Prizes- Make sure there are a variety of prizes for the winners to pick from. That way it almost feels like they are going "shopping" :) Pick prizes according to who your guests will be. Make sure your guest of honor also gets a shot at winning a prize!

4. Food- This is the part that used to scare me away from planning parties. I'm not really a gourmet cook, and I usually try to get by with easy recipes most of the time. But I realized that parties don't necessarily require gourmet food, they just require a fun variety! Thankfully my mother-in-law took the reigns in the food department for the bridal shower. We planned a meal consisting of a cheese and cracker tray, fruit salad, vegetables and dip, a snickers caramel apple salad, and pumpkin spice cream cheese muffins. We also had apple cider and coffee to drink. It's good to have a nice mix of salty, sugary, and healthy foods. Too much of one kind can be boring.

5. Make your guest of honor feel special- Remember, the event is not about you, the hostess. It's about blessing the guest of honor and making sure they felt special the whole time.

Interested in some of the recipes from the party? Here they are!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Muffin Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

 Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat over to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper liners.
• In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until smooth. Spoon equal amounts of batter into the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Frosting directions:

• With electric mixer, beat together butter and cream cheese until very smooth. 
• Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and slowly mix in
• Add vanilla extract and mix
• Spread over cooled muffins

I added fall style sprinkles on top of the frosting for a nice touch. I also used special muffin cups with cute toothpick inserts of pumpkins and leaves. I found the muffin cups and toothpick inserts in the fall decoration section at Wal-Mart.


Snickers Caramel Apple Salad Recipe


Ingredients:

• 6 Snickers candy bars, chill and chop
• 6 apples cored and chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 (12 ounce) container Cool Whip
• 1 (5 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding (do not prepare- use dry mix)
• Garnish for extra flair- 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping and 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Directions:

• Mix Cool Whip and dry pudding mix together
• Chop apples and chill Snickers
• Mix together
• Heat caramel sauce a bit in the microwave
• Drizzle caramel sauce on top and sprinkle peanuts on top
• Chill for an hour then serve

Have you heard?

Have you heard?

We're having a baby!! May 1st is the due date :)

I am thrilled beyond belief, and sicker than a dog.

Music, loud TV, and noise really irritate me. The louder the noise, the more nauseous I become. I like silence. I love to stare outside and watch the leaves rustle in the trees. Nature is my entertainment. It's very therapeutic actually.

Most the time I'm just trying to get through the next hour. Not even the day, the hour. My constant thought? Don't throw up. Don't throw up.

I wake up every night around 4am feeling sick, wandering around the house searching for a cure. Sometimes I just lay on the couch eating fruit, other times I sip on Ginger Ale (which, by the way, seriously helps).

I look at all the wonderful American foods I've missed like crazy and wish I could gobble them up, to no avail. I watched SuperDan munch on pizza topped with parmesan cheese the other day. My mouth watered and my stomach churned. It's a weird concept, I know.

Hopefully someday soon I can eat my favorite foods again. Hopefully someday soon I can feel like myself again. Hopefully someday soon I will be excited to wake up in the morning. Until then, I'm just keepin' on keepin' on.

P.S. I got this awesome haircut one week before my nausea kicked in. Sadly I have zero energy or desire to style my hair now. Thankfully at least it looks halfway decent even if I do absolutely nothing with it. You know something's wrong with me if I don't want to do my hair. Seriously wrong.

Thoughts

I'm home but I don't feel home.

I'm excited for the future yet mourning the past.

I'm anticipating new friendships but missing the old.

I see the twinkle in my daughter's eye as she enjoys new things, but am reminded of things of old that gave her happiness as well.

I'm loving adventure and change but am lacking routine and stability.

I'm relaxing without much responsibility but missing what I used to be in charge of.

I feel like a stranger at times, but that's okay. This is a new season and time for change, and I can handle that. But that doesn't mean that it isn't hard.

I'm more than convinced that Father's Son experienced the same feelings I am feeling now. He left his heavenly throne for our earthly home, gave up riches for rags. He made big changes all for the sake of the ones He loved. Who has ever heard of sending a King to be born in a stable with animals? His love for us is relentless.

Thank you Father, that I am able to identify in your sufferings. For in them I find You.

I think it's time to cry.