Sometimes when I’ve planned my menu, I get excited about the upcoming meal, because it’s something new that I’m sure will be delicious! This happened recently after I had watched Ina Garten prepare a Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken on You Tube. It had all the flavors we love, so I promptly added it to my menu…and then did what I frequently do when I make a new recipe – I invited guests to join us for dinner! Ha!
This recipe rivals and maybe even wins over my favorite Katie Brown Chicken recipe that I’ve been making for years! The lemon slices that line the cast iron skillet add so much flavor, as well as the infused olive oil that is brushed onto the chicken skin. Yum!
When August comes, I always think about the moms who are sending one or more of their children off to college, perhaps for their first year. I remember the emotion that was involved in that change in our own lives. There were some difficult moments, but we had been duly warned that that day would come, so we had tried, by God’s grace to prepare our own hearts, as well as the hearts of our daughters. We certainly didn’t get it all right, and there were tears and aches in our hearts, but we had the goal of “preparation” as our motive for many years before the day of their departure ever came.
What did we prepare? We tried to prepare our own minds for the day the girls would leave home. We tried to remember through their growing up years that they didn’t belong to us – they were the Lord’s and He had loaned them to us for a time. Therefore, knowing that one day we would be “just the two of us” again, we strived to work at our marriage so we would be best friends and in love with each other, rather than strangers.
We also sought to prepare them for what was to come. We had discussions about subject matters that are sometimes sticky, but needful. I wrote this years ago concerning what parents should be teaching their children while they’re home –
There’s so much to teach our children, and I’m not referring to homeschool. I’m talking about the every day things – the stuff of life that need to be discussed with our children before they leave home.
Have you ever prayed about something, needing to know, “Lord, Should I do this or that?” Then you wondered how you could really know what God’s will was?
Since God doesn’t speak audibly to us, it can feel frustrating to know His answer…until we learn how He answers us.
Have you ever thought about the fact that everything you put in front of your eyes is discipling you? Yes, your Facebook or Instagram feed, the books you read, the things you watch, and also the people with whom you spend your time are all instructing or training you in some way.
Fresh cherries are in season and I’ve been buying a bag each week at Aldi. They’re so good in everything from yogurt to fruit cups or my favorite cherry dessert – individual berry cobblers. Yum! The Individual Berry Cobblers (which are essentially quick, personal-sized fruit crisps) feature a warm, jammy berry base topped with a sweet, buttery oatmeal crumble. You can easily scale this recipe to make exactly as many servings as you need.
RefreshHer 