GMG Week 2 Reflection {Ephesians 1:15-23}

Last week the Good Morning Girls studied Ephesians 1:15-23;

"For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (NASB)

How many times in my life have I prayed asking God for "wisdom" that is promised in James 1:5? How many times have I been disappointed because He didn't send some magical answer to whatever question or situation I was hoping to address? Many. I believe this disappointment stems from an inaccurate understanding of what is godly wisdom.

In the verses we studied this week, Paul is praying for his fellow believers.  He asks for wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.  He prays that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened to know the hope of God's calling, the riches of God's inheritance, and the greatness of God's power towards them.  It sure seems as if wisdom relates to knowing God, as opposed to wisdom being the answer to a specific question.  Based on these verses, I think that wisdom is a result of allowing my knowledge of God, and His character, to transform me so that my choices reflect God's heart.

The second half of these verses focuses on our understanding of Christ's headship and authority. While studying these verses I asked myself, "Why is it so important to Paul to elaborate on Christ's authority and headship over the church?" and "What does understanding Christ's authority have to do with wisdom?" I attempted to answer these questions by asking myself another question; "If I really understood what Paul is saying, how would it affect my life?"

I think if I really understood Christ's authority I would have peace and confidence in doing what is right (even if it is hard or scary) because I could rest in knowing that God is powerful and in control of all things. He will empower me to do what is right and regardless of the personal consequences (favorable or unfavorable for me personally), He is in control and I am on the winning team.

I think if I really understood Christ's headship over the church and my role as part of "the body," I would have a clearer sense of purpose.  As part of the church, I am part of Christ's body, and the purpose of the body is to carry out the will of the head (Christ). If I really understood this, I would submit my life everyday to God, and I would live to carry out His purposes on earth.

As far as what an understanding of Christ's authority and headship have to do with wisdom, I think having confidence to do what is right and submitting my life to God for His purposes would probably naturally lead to wise choices.

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I have been so blessed by these verses this week. Our family is currently making some big decisions and we have really needed some godly wisdom. I am so grateful that God gives wisdom generously when we ask (James 1:5). I know that by studying His Word and spending time in prayer and in fellowship with other believers that I am coming to know Him more and I can already see the effect my relationship with God is having regarding the development of godly wisdom in my life. Praise Him!

And finally, know that I've been praying for YOU my friends! That "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" and that God would "give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him!"

A few of my favorite things...

sunshine.

dogs.

the beach.

photography?

This morning was gorgeous here on the Cali central coast. Q and I couldn't resist taking the dogs to the beach for a little fun in the sun. 

We got a DSLR camera last year for Christmas and I've very slowly been learning how to use it with the help of a talented photographer friend, Audra, of Simple Soul Photography based in Yorktown, VA.  On a recent trip to VA to visit Audra and her family she showed me a couple basic things in Photoshop, which I've been toying with for a couple months trying to figure out (rather unsuccessfully). 

So along with Q and two unruly beasts, I toted the camera and my current favorite lens (50mm f/1.8) to try and do a little photography practice. It was kinda tough since Q was strapped to my belly in the Ergo carrier (really must figure out how to use the Ergo on my back... too bad I threw away the instructions...). But I got a couple shots I was happy with.  I played around with these in PSE with my limited knowledge of photo editing and attempted to understand layer masks (I still don't...). But here is the finished product none-the-less!

 Winston is the happiest little guy, especially if he has something to chase, which he didn't today because I forgot to bring his ball. At least I remembered the leash (I have forgotten that before and it is a pain)!

I love this action shot of my two fur babies with Monterey in the background. It was sunny, but as is typical for Monterey Bay, there was a light haze hanging over the water- lovely!

Don't make too much fun on my beginners photography! It is a new year's revolution of sorts to learn more about photography and photo editing:-)

My Bread and Butter

I have a particular fondness for Texas Roadhouse.  It might have something to do with their delicious rolls and cinnamon butter.  It might also have something to do with it being a frequent date location for me and my husband early in our marriage.  Back then, when our budget was tighter, we would order the steak and ribs meal with two salads and two iced teas and could go out for a date for $20. I ate the ribs, he ate the steak, and we both gorged ourselves on the yummy yeast rolls! Since that first year of marriage, and a brief stint when we lived in New Hampshire, we have been deprived of living remotely near a Texas Roadhouse so I had to take matters into my own hands.

The following yeast roll recipe was passed onto me from our friend Tish. These rolls aren't exactly like TR's, but they are fluffy, moist, slightly sweet, and a perfect partner for honey-cinnamon butter. The honey-cinnamon butter was adapted from a recipe I found on another blog. The original version tasted way too much like honey and not enough like cinnamon so I doctored the portions significantly and I think I've got it close to right.

I hope some of you out there will appreciate this as much as I do:)

Tish's Sweet Yeast Rolls
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1 egg

4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp buttermilk powder
1/4 cup butter, softened

Microwave water and milk for 30-45 seconds. Beat in egg.

Place the remainder of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add, the water/milk/egg mixture. Mix with paddle attachment until moistened. Knead with dough hook until smooth and no longer sticking to the sides.

Remove from bowl, place on floured surface, cover and let rise until doubled. Cut dough in half, roll into logs, cut in half again, then again, then again.  You should end up with 16 pieces. Form each into a ball and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Let rise until doubled.

Bake at 375 until browned, about 15-18 minutes.

Honey-Cinnamon Butter
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup honey (maybe less depending on how much you like honey...)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whip all with the whisk attachment in a stand mixer.

You + Me + The Navy = Love {our military marriage}

I am not one who likes to acknowledge the differences between civilian and military life.  I have always looked at the Navy as my husbands job and tried to keep it at that, not allowing it to work it's way into our family identity. But try as I may to pretend it is no different being a military wife than a civilian wife, finally after over five and half years of marriage I am coming to terms with some of the effects it has had on our relationship.

In some ways it is easier (yep, I said easier) to be a military wife than a civilian wife. When my husband was on sea tour he was gone roughly 75% of the time. While that absence brought it's own difficulties, mainly missing him, it also gave both of us a break from being full-time spouses. We could each choose to focus entirely on our careers (or whatever else we wanted/needed to do).  Free from wifely duties, I was able to accomplish significantly more career-wise than I could have hoped to with him around.

For the record, my husband isn't a slave driver, expecting me to do all the housework.  But because I love him, I want to be able to make him a warm, healthy meal each night and make sure he has clean clothes to wear and a clean toilet to sit on. And planning, shopping for, and preparing delicious and healthy meals takes time. Cleaning and doing laundry and ironing take time. Investing in our relationship by doing things together takes time. And even though I take pleasure in doing those things for and with my husband, sometimes it's nice to a have a break from being a "full-time wife" in addition to the many other roles I have.

During my husband's last deployment I was pregnant, teaching full time, and a full time graduate student.  I was so tired when I got home from work that I would collapse on the couch, eat cereal for dinner, and go to bed. I was so grateful during the exhausting months of pregnancy that I did not have the pressure of continuing to cook and clean the way I tried to when my husband was actually home. I think I did laundry maybe four times the entire six months he was gone, and I didn't iron once! And I could bask in the joy of not feeling guilty about any of it!

Then my husband came home from deployment, we moved to shore tour (which is the closest thing to civilian life that we will know), and we had a baby. At first I was still finishing my graduate degree and I started two new full time jobs; full-time mommy and full-time wife. And I thought I was busy before- ha! Unfortunately, my role as full-time mommy often conflicts with my role as full-time wife.  Some days (okay... a lot of days...) a fresh, healthy dinner doesn't get made and come meal time we are scrounging around in the freezer looking for a Stouffer's lasagna or a pizza. And some days when my husband gets home from work the house is even more of a mess than it was when he left and based on all appearances I haven't accomplished anything other than barely managing to keep alive a screaming baby.

This inability to be the "perfect wife" is really tough for me. Right now, taking care of our 1 year old and keeping my sanity are top priority.  My husband is so understanding and supportive of that.  But I am not use to failing, and it feels like failing when I can't accomplish things like making dinner and keeping the house clean. I'm getting better at figuring out how to "do it all," but it is hard!

All this to say, I am sure that if we were a civilian couple, and I didn't have these extended "breaks" from my role as a wife, I would have gotten over the need to be the perfect wife long ago. But because in the past I have only had to have enough energy to do all those "good wife" duties for relatively short periods of time (and I didn't have a baby vying for my attention), it has taken me a little longer to "fail" my mission.

I think this "failure" is a good thing though. I am learning to trust that our marriage will be okay (better than okay) even if I am not perfect. And I am learning humility in realizing that I can't do it all, all the time. This current period of shore tour is the closest thing we will ever have to civilian life.  And I'm grateful for this uninterrupted time together so our relationship can grow in ways it didn't have the opportunity to with all the little "breaks" sea tour provided.

Best Ever Blueberry Muffins

In an attempt to get out of my cooking slump I vegan-ized my favorite blueberry muffin recipe. The (very healthy) blueberry muffin recipe that I adapted came from my friend Heather, who got it out of "Eating Well." I had the (un-vegan) version at her house this past summer and was in love! Not only do these muffins taste delicious, but they are great for you; made with whole wheat flour, flax seed, and no refined sugar. They are the first thing my husband requested when he picked me up at the airport when I returned from the East coast a little over a week ago:)

1/5 cup ground flaxseeds

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 tsp Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 Tbsp water (or 2 eggs)

1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup or agave)

1 cup "buttermilk" (mix 1 Tbsp lemon juice with any non-dairy or dairy milk- I use Almond or Soy)

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp fresh orange zest

1 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 Tbsp raw sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 and coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

Mix first 6 (dry) ingredients in a large bowl. 

Mix next egg replacement and water with honey in a medium bowl. Add buttermilk, oil, orange zest and juice, and vanilla.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredient and sit till just combined.  Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and sprinkle with raw sugar if desired. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

PS- These freeze well!  After cooling I pop half of them in a ziplock and put it straight in the freezer. Thaw and enjoy any time:) 

GMG Week 1 Reflection {Ephesians 1:1-14}

This past week was the first week of Good Morning Girls (GMG) new session and we will be studying Ephesians for the next few months.  I was so excited to get back into a regular Bible study and am super excited to have several real-life friends, near and far, that are going to be joining me through this study.

Ephesians is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  It is one of those books that I come back to over and over again.  If I am thirsty for God's Word and don't know where to start, I generally find myself in Ephesians.  In college, I even took a wonderful class on Ephesians alone.  Yet, God is still teaching me through studying Ephesians and I look forward to all He has planned for me to learn in the coming months.

This week we studied Ephesians 1:1-14;

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of you salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory." (NASB)

He chose me, He adopted me, He redeemed me, He let me in on His plan, and He promises me an inheritance. Why? "To the praise of His glory." All of creation brings glory to the Creator, but He has chosen to show grace to me (and you) as a means to bring about that glory. He could bring glory upon Himself in any variety of ways.  He is God, He does not need me (for glory, or anything else). But because of His "kind intention" He choses to give grace as a means of bringing glory to Himself.

God's choice to give free grace to an undeserving creation is pretty incredible. I want to live for the glory of a God like that.  I want to be like Him, with kind intentions and full of free grace, even for those who do not deserve it.

As I have studied these passages this week, in addition to being overwhelmed by His grace, I have done a lot of thinking about God's will.  This passage indicates that His will is the summing up of all things in Christ.  But I know that God also has a specific plan (or will) for each of our lives. People often ask God to make known to them His will for their life. That seems like a good idea, but if I'm perfectly honest, it kind of scares me to ask for God's will. I mean, what if He tells me what He wants me to do and it is scary? I can't exactly say that this passage has me feeling cool, calm, and collected about asking God what He wants me to do with my life, but it has certainly helped build my trust a bit by reminding me that God has kind intentions. It has also reminded me that it is not about me, regardless of what God asks me to do, it is not about me, it is all about Him.

The Spirit of Christmas

I love Christmas!  Who doesn't? It truely is the most wonderful time of the year!

My husband and I were elated to be able to travel "home" to Maryland to spend Christmas with our families this year.  The past couple of years my family has come to us because we were either living over seas with limited time off of work or we had just delievered a baby. We are so grateful that my family came to us when we couldn't come "home" but it still didn't quite feel like Christmas when we weren't back in Maryland. So this year has been a real treat for us despite missing my little sister who is currently living abroad in Italy and couldn't make it home (though she did join us for Christmas eve dinner and Christmas morning via Skype).


Dad giving my sister a skype kiss over Christmas Eve dinner

Q skyping with Zia (what he calls my sister) Christmas morning

This Christmas has been especially fun because Q is old enough to enjoy it!  Last year, at a tender 3 weeks old we were lucky if he would wake up to peer at his presents.  This year, he still doesn't really "get it" but he definitely had fun checking out the ornaments on the tree and very slowly ripping miniscule pieces of wrapping paper from his abundance of gifts.

What I look forward to most about Christmas is spending time with family and sharing traditions like searching for ornaments at Valley View Farms with my husband's family and the anticipation of waiting to open presents until after my Aunt Dale's sausage casserole and my mom's baked pears on Christmas morning. This year Q got to pick out his own ornament at Valley View for the first time (he chose a miniature snow globe) and we made some new traditions like going to my brother-in-law and his wife's Christmas Eve party at their new home.

There is also something about coming "home" that makes me feel like a child again and children seem to enjoy Christmas the most. Most likely this phenomenon has something to do with my lack of responsibility at home since our parents are happy to take over taking care of Q and I don't have to cook, clean, etc- it's fantastic!

As wonderful as it is to see our family, participate in traditions, and enjoy the "magic" of Christmas by becoming a kid again, in my family we are always aware of the real gift of Christmas. The reason for all the merriment and joy this time of year comes from a gift that we can enjoy no matter where we are, no matter who we are with, and no matter what season it is.  That gift is God's love. 

This year I was touched by my father's Christmas list.  He asked for $5 Subway cards.  My dad works in the city and will sometimes have homeless people ask him for money to get something to eat.  He is hesitant to give them money since he has even smelled liquor on some of their breaths, but he does not want to turn away a hungry person, so he wants to be armed with something practical and loving that he can give them.  I am so proud to have a father who considers it a personal gift to himself to be prepared to show God's love in a tangible way to others.  Isn't this the true spirit of Christmas, recieving God's love and passing it on?

I have been privileged to grow up in a home were these sorts of acts are the norm, not the exception. I have grown up seeing my parents give and show love to others even when they didn't think we were watching. They live out the spirit of Christmas all year round. Now, as a parent myself, I'm asking myself, what will my children see in me and my husband? What little acts of love will they notice as they grow up? Will the spirit of Christmas live in our home and our family throughout the year? I hope it will. And I believe it will because of the legacy of my own parents who taught me to live in that way. And I hope and pray that the spirit of Christmas lives on in each of your homes too!

Bon Voyage?

A few weeks ago I flew alone with my barely one-year-old son from our home in California to where our extended family live in Maryland. We flew a few days before my husband was finished with work so I could spend some extra time helping my mom get ready for Christmas.

Q is no stranger to traveling. He's been taking road trips since before he was a month old and this was his 5th cross country flight and it was the 2nd that I had done with him without my husband. He had always been an excellent traveler but that didn't keep the ball of anxiety from growing heavy in the pit of my stomach as the day of our flight approached.  Something told me that now that Q is weaned and very mobile, that this flight might be more challenging than previous trips.

The key to traveling with young children (actually, the key to surviving with young children) seems to be patience, and lots of it. Unfortunately, patience is not typically a strength of mine and it has been a virtue that God continually tests me on as a mother. Knowing this, and anticipating that this trip might require an extra measure of patience, I prayed that even if Q gave me good reason, that I would not lose my cool with him and that I would show love and compassion to my son while also being as considerate as possible to other travelers.

I had confidence that God would provide this for me because of a passage I had recently studied in scripture. 1 John 5:14-15 says, "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

In the past, I have had difficulty with this passage because, well, how I am supposed to know what is in God's will? I might pray earnestly for something that never happens because it wasn't part of His will.  So what exactly can I have confidence in? Then it dawned on me several weeks ago as our pastor was talking about praying for the fruit of the Spirit in his loved one's lives. I know that it is God's will for me to become more like Him and to demonstrate the "fruit" of my relationship with Him ("But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23). And I know that God has the power to do things through me which I am not capable of on my own, such as keeping my cool for 10 plus hours of travel with an exhausted one-year-old and no help. So I can be confident that He will empower me when I request His help in demonstrating any of those virtues.

I am pleased to report that despite a miserable trip, with God's help, I did not lose my patience with my son.  Throughout the flight I felt calm and capable of handling what my son was doling out.  I did apologize to those around me and tried to demonstrate my efforts at being considerate as well as loving.  And I am so thankful for the very gracious people sitting near me on both of my completely full flights!

God even offered me some much needed encouragement through the mouths of other passengers.  I had several other travelers come up to me after both of my flights to compliment me on my parenting. Seriously, who compliments the parenting of a woman whose child just wailed for the last hour of the plane ride?!? But, thank you kind strangers, your encouragement helped me get through a trying day! And my prayer is that God recieved the glory for any good parenting that was noticed because it was only due to answered prayer that I made it through that day!

When relating my story to my mother after arriving safe and sound in Maryland, she laughed and asked if I had ever heard of the saying 'Never pray for patience' because God will give you an opportunity to use it. He sure gave me an opportunity that day, but I do not regret asking. I do not regret asking because He faithfully provided and I am more like Him now than I was before that trip.

Do you struggle with any of the fruit of the Spirit like I do? If so, I challenge you to pray with confidence for that virtue and watch how God will refine your character.  And while you are at it, you can be praying for an extra measure of patience for me on my return trip to California soon...