My Delightful Journal

  This post contains affiliate links in which I earn a small commission at no cost to you.  Thanks for shopping and looking!  Woohoo! I finished book two of 2021! That doesn't sound like many, but some of you know that I'm on a reading journey. If you want to learn more about how I'm trying to read more, you can check out  this post . I don't want to spoil the book... but... I'm fascinated by Hudson Taylor's beginning years. His parents prayed that if they had a son that he would one day become a missionary to China. He would say as young as 9, 10, or 11 years old, "Mom, Dad, when I get older, I'm going to be a missionary to China." His parents had not pushed him toward this thought or even mentioned their prayers to him.  His teen years consisted of apathy toward God and somewhat of a disbelief of ideas he'd been taught his whole life. However, when God a hold of his heart - he couldn't resist the pull to this particular people group.  Hud

This post contains affiliate links, in which I earn a small  commission at no cost to you. So thanks for looking. :) This is embarrassing, but I've struggled to consistently read my whole life. I enjoy reading, I majored in English, and I love to study literature and write. I would start a book, lose interest, and never finish.  I now have a strong desire to learn more through reading but still have the same struggles.  I received my advice from my dad about this because he's an avid reader. He and I are both goal-oriented people, so he gave me a suggestion on how he reads so much! I don't claim to be an expert, but I have stayed on track and even gotten ahead with this advice! Plus, I've made it into a printable for you! 😌 Good advice from Dad Choose your book, divide the number of pages to read in one month (two months if it's a bigger book, but I wouldn't suggest a bigger book if this isn't a habit yet), and follow your plan! Start with just one book, th

I've been making slow cooker lasagna since we've been married. In fact, I think this may have been the first meal I cooked my in laws. It's a great recipe if you have a large family (*define large here*) or you're having guests over.  I'm always impressed with slow cooker recipes because I can dump it all in sometime in the morning, and dinner is prepared in the evening when I don't feel like cooking. :)  I've tried several slow cooker lasagna recipes, and I've used different aspects of each over the years to create my own.  This is a husband and kid pleaser in our home! Recipe 1 lb. ground sausage* (We prefer sweet but hot would work too.) 1 onion, chopped Clove of garlic  2 jars pasta sauce  24 oz of ricotta 16 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese  8 oz shredded parmesan cheese  16 oz oven ready lasagna noodles * You can certainly use ground beef as well. Be sure to generously season it with Italian seasoning and spices.  Brown your ground beef in pan on m

Here's some fun questions that we both answered, not knowing the other's answers! What's the first time you remember seeing her/him? Aaron  - My family was visiting my brother and sister in-law in Virginia. She was across the room at my brother's youth group. I was 12, and supposed to be in a younger group, but the classes were combined that night for some reason, and she was the first thing to catch my eye. Lizzy  - Aaron's brother Dan had just become the youth pastor at my church. I was in high school at the time. I remember vividly when his family came to visit because I had never met anyone from Vermont before. I made sure to introduce myself to his parents and welcome then because I was the "good youth kid." (It's crazy to think back on that moment - They'd be my in-laws 5 or 6 years later!)  I think the first time I saw Aaron was in the foyer at church while Dan was taking his parents upstairs to see his office. I don't think I had any sp

This post contains affiliate links in which I receive a  small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for looking!  What's your reason for wanting to cut your spending? You must have something on your mind if you clicked on this post.  Paying off debt? Saving for a trip? Send your kid(s) to college? Give more to your church?  Income loss? Whatever it is, I have a few helpful tips that I'm still learning and refining!  1. Establish a budget (and use it!) I feel like this should be an easy one... like, DUH. But it's not so easy to keep track of a budget and stay on track. I've found myself slacking up in knowing where my money was going many times.  You can't cut spending to save money if you don't first know where it's being invested!  Track your... Income Budgeted expenses Actual expenses This overall view will determine where you can cut and where you can't.  If you haven't used a budgeting system before, here's a few downloads to help you get sta

 I like to get from Point A to Point B in about 30 seconds. I like outcomes and success stories. Yes, sometimes I even peek at the end of a book to see what's going to happen.  Blame it on my impatience, maybe. I don't like the journey from one thing to another unless I somehow know exactly how it will end - And I only know that if I use enough of my imagination to convince myself what I think will happen.  God has an aerial view of each of our lives (Matthew 10:29-30) and all of history.  Not only is He aware but He controls. I find gracious comfort in His sovereignty in my life (Ephesians 1:11) and over all of life (Colossians 1:16-17).  The ground isn't that pretty. I am a goal-oriented person. I like check marks and cross offs. I may or may not put "Make coffee" on my to-do list, so that I can cross it off. 😏My head is always downward trying to do some mundane task that gets me nowhere.  I create a long-term goal, then complete the small goals to get to the b

  Y'all (sorry, I shouldn't really use that word when I'll soon be referencing the great New England King Arthur Flour), this recipe is so good.  Who makes these?! Not me! - My husband! We buy flour (King Arthur to be exact) in huge bulk, and this is one great reason why.  There's a few tweaks that Aaron makes to the recipe that I wanted to share before you dive in!  As far as we can tell, salted or unsalted butter hasn't made a difference. Someone smarter than I may be able to weigh more into that! He uses regular (whole) milk instead of dry milk.  He hasn't added in the potato flakes yet! We will have to try that some time, but man - I can't imagine how they could get any better than they already are!! We use our fabulous  6 quart Kitchen Aid Mixer  to knead everything together!  PRO TIP (😂😂Nah, just something he figured out) Use a pizza cutter to slice your dough into sixteen equal portions.  Sprinkle a little flour on these babies before you cook them

  This post does contain some affiliate links. So thank you for the support if you choose to look or purchase! As we continue on this journey of learning together how to create a daily habit of Bible reading and study, I want to share some resources and products thatI've found to be helpful. You can find Part 1  here  and Part 2  here  if you haven't read them yet.  My Daily Routine  Currently, I'm working through a few different things. Every day, I write Scripture. I absolutely love writing. I love being able to write my thoughts on paper, but I also love the physical work of writing. I'm able to concentrate more on what I'm writing something down, and I remember it better.   I use a plan that I found on a blog called  Sweet Blessings . She has many different plans available. I write out the verses for the day, then I journal about the on the same page. Sometimes, that causes me to do some research on the passage, look through my study Bible ( John MacArthur Study

 In  Part 1  of this Mini Series on the habit of every day Bible reading and study, we discussed the value of the heart. Checklists and accountability are necessaries if you want to fill yourself with God's Word, but they're not the reason. A love for God and the words that He's given us must be the heartbeat of study.  Now, that we (hopefully YOU) have established that. I'd like to share some ideas on how to make this daily time with God and His Word happen. Even when your heart is right, it takes hard work to form this habit. There will be days that you do not feel like reading anything . Maybe, you're like me and would rather watch tv. Maybe there's a fiction book you've been dying to finish. Maybe you want to take a nap or just enjoy the quiet house for a little bit.  There are days where we will fail, and our feelings will get the best of us. We'll wonder why God's Word has to be such a boring drudgery and convince ourselves we need a break. &qu