I’m linking up with OrgJunkie today on her Monday Menu planning.

You know, when you plan ahead of time, meal prep is soooo much easier.  What are some of the benefits of planning out a weekly menu?

• Sunday – Balsamic Roast (See recipe below), Potato Wedges, Fried Okra, Cucumber Salad w/Dill, Wheat, Feta, Dill biscuits
• Monday – Leftovers from Sunday
• Tuesday – Dollywood!
• Wednesday – Italian Meat Loaves, Roasted Potatoes, Tomato slices
• Thursday – BBQ Pork Ribs, Oven “fried” Onion Rings, Strawberry Salad, Inside Out Apple Pies (Come back later this week for recipe!)
• Friday – Leftovers
• Saturday – Grilled Pizza, Salad

The Balsamic Roast was a new recipe for me and we LOVED it!  It’s a great crock pot recipe for a Sunday dinner – or anytime you are going to be away from home and want to come home to a tender, juicy roast!

With love from my country kitchen,

This is a picture of our Salsarita’s lunch outside.

I think most of us wait and dream about summertime.  In the middle of a cold, snowy winter we’re daydreaming about walks outside, barbecues in the backyard and a picnic at the park.  I’m so glad summertime is here!!!!!  Woo hoo!

I am enjoying this summer season so much!  How? Well…

So sit outside when you eat at a restaurant this weekend.  Enjoy the breeze.  Enjoy the warm temps and tuck away a memory you can dream back on this winter when the snow flies!

What are you loving most about summer?

Be refreshed,

Not long ago, I was wanting to snap a picture on my computer’s web cam.  So, I furrowed my brow and started looking at all the apps, hunting for the web cam one.  Finally I found it, and I clicked on it.  A couple minutes passed and then suddenly, the camera was projecting my face – furrowed brow and all!  It was as frightening as seeing something crawl towards you in a dark basement!  The camera revealed my concentrating, searching expression and it was not pretty!  Once I realized the camera was on me, I “straightened up my face” and replaced the scowl with a smile!

On a recent trip to Dollywood – the area’s amusement park, it was really surprising to me how many happy moms I bumped into!  Everyone seemed to being having a ‘good day.”  That’s kind of sad to say, isn’t it?  But think about it – when you’ve been out in public how many moms with her children in tow are smiling?  How many are speaking to her offspring in sweet tones?  It’s been my experience that they are few and far between.  Most are agitated, grumpy and demanding.  Scowls are the prominent facial expression.  I’ll call it “The Mommy Look.”  When she speaks, there are a few sighs peppering the conversation to show her deep frustration with her children.

When I see a mom out in public that looks as I just described, I wonder if her disposition would change if she realized she was being watched – if she knew the “camera was on her face,” so to speak.  Would she “straighten up her face” and turn the scowl into a smile?

I understand, moms.  I’ve been down your road.  I know there are days that you wonder if you’ll ever get that child trained, if you’ll ever see them turn towards the Lord, or if they’ll ever have a compliant attitude.  At times I’d forget that the the Lord had his “camera” on me and I’d scowl at my girls.  I’d scowl at the cat.  I’d scowl at the hard days of motherhood.  How sad and how scary!

The Lord’s camera on our face isn’t to shame us, but to reveal what’s really in our heart.  Motherhood isn’t about changing our children; it’s about changing us.  Motherhood reveals what’s in our hearts.  That shouldn’t be scary – that should be a good thing, revealing a smiling face, rather than a scowl.

It starts early in the morning, before the children arise.  The first way to change your facial expression is to change your heart.  A mom on her knees before the Lord will certainly wear His image on her face through the day!  Get up, spend time in the Word and prayer.  Get a change in your behavior so that it will influence your face!  His camera is on you and He can change the look on your face when He changes your heart!

The second practical suggestion I have for moms is to ask the Lord to help you be aware of your facial expression and tone of voice.  Think about what your face looks like when you’re correcting or instructing.  Is it necessary to knit your eyebrows together?  How is your tone when you’re asking your son to do a task?  Make it sweet; that’s how the Lord calls to us, isn’t it?

So, careful – there’s a camera on you today.  Take a peek into your heart and see if you  need to change the look on your face!

How do you ensure that you have time with the Lord each day in the midst of being a busy mom?

With love,

A Peek Into My life this week

My husband was gone for a few days last week, so I took that time to putter in my house, changing this, and updating that.  I don’t do it while he’s away because he would mind if he were here, it’s just that I seem to have more time to do that sort of thing when he’s gone!  I like to spruce things up and let him come home to a special look in our home!  Let me give you a peek at what I did:

One thing I love about having a fireplace is having a mantle!  It’s so much fun to change it out, and I do that  frequently. Why? Because it begs for it!  I had a Fourth of July mantle recently, and once a holiday is over, I’m ready to replace it with a more relevant theme.  Since it’s summer and growing season, I went with a flower, tree, seed, bird kind of theme.

I have so much fun drawing on my chalkboard as seen here, here, and here.  These are not all of the drawings I’ve done, but just some I’ve posted.  I got an adorable card for our anniversary and loved the picture on it, so I used it as my inspiration for the drawing on my chalkboard.  Here’s a close-up:

Then another little change I made was to add some texture and print to my bookcase.  I did that simply by placing sheets of scrapbooking paper at the back of the cabinet.  I was surprised how much it added!

Here’s a contrast shot of the before and after:

You could use wallpaper, or you could paint the back wall of the cabinet for a striking addition. You could do this to a china cabinet, book shelf or even a  cabinet that has glass doors.  I’m loving it.  It was easy and inexpensive and makes a huge difference to me.

Does anyone else change things around while their husband is away?

With love from my country porch,

Thirst sent me to the fridge to grab a carbonated beverage as we headed out for the evening church service.  That carbonation quenched the parched feeling in my mouth and was refreshing me until…the car lurched forward like a frog jumping at a fly.  The liquid that was just trickling into my mouth also lurched – right into the back of my throat, causing me to swallow it in such a way that coughing and sputtering followed for hours afterwards!  It just didn’t go down the right way and made me choke!

Later in the evening something else made me choke!  I was looking at some posts on Instagram.  Someone I follow said they got so inspired when they read this post by Joel Osteen:

I’m sorry, but I wrote that quote with the crossed out application, because I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I’m endorsing what he said!!!!!!!!!!!!!  How sweet all that sounds. How “syrupy.” Our flesh loves that kind of talk, but hold on a minute!  If you could read that and swallow those words without “choking,” can I sweetly say, you need to check that against the Scriptures!  Where do you read in the Bible that you should celebrate yourself?  Where are we commanded to give ourselves a compliment? Or where are we told to keep ourselves encouraged (other than encouraging ourselves in the Lord)?  Let’s help this go down much easier by weighing this against the Word of God.  It says: