Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

What measurements do you use for your personal ministries? How do you judge if you're successful in what you do? How many people show up?  The number of unbelievers who get saved? The comments you receive after you do something? If you're congratulated, promoted, or awarded for what you've accomplished? Whether your name is in the bulletin or program or announced for everyone to hear? If the numbers are high and the "standards" are met, we're on top of the world. God's been good, He's blessing, He's smiling and proud of us, right? But if there's no one there or we don't get any recognition, then we must be doing something wrong. It seems like we're the ones lacking and less than based on the actions and reactions of those we're supposed to be ministering to. There have probably been times when we've all done one or some of these measurements, trying to see if we're living up to the "standards" we think have been pu...

Have you ever found something in the refrigerator or pantry that you forgot you had and it was a little like Christmas? You immediately pulled it out, found some other ingredients, and enjoyed it right then and there?  If the answer was no, what are you waiting for? Go see what's in the back there that you could use tonight? If the answer was yes ... isn't it the most wonderful feeling? Sometimes it's all the creative spark you need to come up with a whole new meal or recreate a favorite. For me this week, it was these big, fat, lovely chicken tenders. With just four more ingredients that I already had on hand, and you probably do too, these lemon butter bites came together in a matter of minutes.  Ingredients: Olive oil Chicken tenders Chicken seasoning (I used Blues Hog's Rodeo Rub) Lemon juice 1/4 cup butter 1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.  2. Shake chicken seasoning over one side of the chicken tenders an...

Literally - hooray, it's my birthday! I have loved my birthday week ever since I was a little girl, and even at this last milestone year before I turn 50, it's still really special. It will be the third one without my mom, and that hasn't gotten any easier, but I know she would be celebrating right along with me. And don't forget that the number isn't important - I'm just happy to be here! There is very little rhyme or reason to my planner layout this week, except that it's full of every lovely birthday-themed sticker set I could find in my collection. My birthday is on Wednesday, so that box is especially stacked. And I filled up the to-do list section as a reminder that it doesn't have to be a run-til-ya-get-stuff-done kind of day. My basic plan was to make little clusters of words and images and sprinkle them across the layout, and I think I accomplished that beautifully. There will be something to make me happy on every day, even after the party is t...

There is very little better in the kitchen than a well-prepared chicken thigh. Whenever we get them in our Butcher Box, which means it's free-range and pasture-raised, they're always the first package that we thaw.  Why are chicken thighs so amazing? They have more fat in them so they are naturally juicer and have much more flavor. They soak up marinades and seasonings, and they're incredibly versatile through many different cooking methods. And, bonus points, they're often a less expensive cut when you're browsing the meat counter. What I love most about this brown sugar/apple cider chicken thigh recipe is that you make everything in one skillet - from the meat to the pan sauce, it's so quick and easy. A simple sear, a 6-ingredient sauce, and less than 30 minutes from skillet to table, and all you have to add are a couple of side dishes to this fabulous main dish. Ingredients: 6 chicken thighs Salt and pepper, to taste Olive oil 3 Tbsp garlic, minced 1/2 cup br...

I am what is affectionately called a free and flowing crier. Whether it's happy, sad, scared, or angry, the emotion is probably going to turn into tears. Perhaps my tear duct valve needs to be adjusted, I'm not sure, but I can always tell when it's coming. I'm sure other people can, too. At the end of every movie, you can bet I'm going to cry - rom-com, action, cartoon - it doesn't matter. If I see someone hurting in real life, I'm definitely crying and praying over them. And don't get me started on book endings. Even if everything is wrapped  with a bow like Hallmark, I'm grabbing Kleenex. I used to think that tears were a problem. Like I couldn't control my own emotions so I must be less-than somehow. But once I got saved and dug into Scripture, I realized that being made in God's image, tears of all kinds are beautiful and special. That's why this necklace is one of the most precious pieces of jewelry I own, next to my wedding ring. It...

Let's keep the puppy theme going this weekend! It's been all about our dogs for the past few days - getting their promotional pictures taken and handling a few health issues - so it seems right to keep the love coming for the next week in my planner. They're always on my mind in some way or another, and I love the idea of showcasing them where I can see them for the next few days. For this planner spread, I combined two sets of stickers and some of my favorite washi tape. I wanted it to look like each dog has a loving home, so I used both puppy stickers and a home interior set to make little vignettes back and forth across the page. Each puppy gets something to pose with and a paw print to commemorate that they were here. It is very possibly the cutest thing ever. With all the negativity and ugliness in the world right now, my prayer is that we'll keep the little things that bring us joy in the forefront of our minds this week. if there's something that you love and...

Our upcoming blog and email at work are about how dog-friendly our community is, so I absolutely jumped at the chance to bring our two dogs in to get their video and photos taken. The boys had never been to my office before, so it was definitely an adventure kind of day. Our in-house photographer and digital specialist is absolutely amazing, and he captured our little group in such a sweet way. It was about 90 degrees outside that day, so we worked fast to get them in and out of the heat. Not having been downtown before, they were easily distracted by all the new things, but they were on their best behavior, too. Diesel is forever my soul dog, and he loved being out and about, even in the heat. He stayed right beside me, did whatever was asked of him, and smiled pretty for the camera. He enjoys wherever he is at the moment, and he took full advantage of checking out the sights of downtown. Cooper, on the other hand, was a handful. Our puppy was just that, and he had the attention span ...

Ever have one of those days (weeks, months...) when you know your attitude is less than perfect? Everyone rubs you the wrong way, you're overwhelmed, you're crankier more often than not, and you'd love to just crawl back into bed and try again tomorrow. Maybe. On Wednesday night last week, we talked about valleys and how everyone is either going into a valley, in one right now, or coming out of one. The valleys in our lives all look different, from physical to spiritual to emotional to mental. Those low times can affect every part of us if we're not careful. Says the voice of experience. But the little mini Jesus I saw at the local coffee shop pointed to the truth. Depending on your attitude - the way you choose to look at life and the world happening around you - the day can be good. And that attitude doesn't come because we're strong or smart or super spiritual. The right attitude develops because we put our time and energy into praising the Lord for everythin...

I've been going through my mom's boxes over the past couple of weeks, and in one of them was her favorite television character's collector's piece. The Six Million Dollar Man's boss, Oscar Goldman, had his own office playset that came out in the late 1970s, and hers is still in incredible condition. Mostly because I wasn't allowed to play too roughly with it! The only problem with it was that the buzzer and light mechanism wasn't working. When you open the desk top, it reveals the undercover and Top Secret office equipment that helps him run the department's missions. But even when the alarm button was flipped on, it didn't buzz. And do I ever remember that buzz! The issue was battery corrosion on the metal piece that held them to one side of the desk. I knew the problem, but I definitely didn't know how to fix it. With two questions to our town's resident toy expert and a little online research, the answer was simple: vinegar. Yep, ordinary ...

After our Saturday trip out of town, we were full of local meals and had absolutely no interest in more real food. Instead, I pulled out some frozen fruit, a little fruit juice, and milk and made a literally-in-minutes sorbet that rocked our world. Added bonus: I learned how to use the "crush" setting on our blender to cream frozen fruit chunks. I was getting a little frustrated on the other settings, and then Danny showed me that trick. The result was a beautiful, smooth sorbet with a lovely consistency.  Start with two cups of frozen mango chunks in the blender. Pour in a cup of milk to start, along with about a tablespoon of lime juice. Pulse the three ingredients on "crush" to pulverize the frozen, mix in the milk, and get the juice through the whole sorbet. Then pick a pretty bowl to pour it into and garnish with a small piece of frozen mango. By the time you're done with the sorbet, the mango has softened enough to eat. The cool part is that this works wit...

Every time we fly, my smart watch tells me that we're in a loud environment ... as if I didn't know. If we try to talk to each other without our headsets, it looks and feels like a vintage cartoon with the sound muted. Read lips much? But with the headsets on and the mic touching your lips, you can hear and understand quite well. They're not noise cancelling, but they shut out enough of the background noise to make communication possible. They were designed for that purpose, which makes all the difference. The tools needed to communicate effectively were created to change a loud, overwhelming situation into a toned-down, easy-listening conversation. And if you can't communicated in an airplane, things can go very wrong very quickly. King Solomon, who lived roughly 3,000 years ago, understood the importance of good communication tools - and he definitely wasn't flying a plane! He knew that face-to-face communication was essential for being in a strong relationship wi...

It's been a long couple of weeks, so I took a day to myself on Friday. Now I'm coming back into a very busy week with a three-day weekend under my belt and some new fuel in the tank. We've been chosen to host a state baseball championship in a couple of weeks, so we're planning that, plus getting our Pages for Pennies book sale ready to accept donations in just a few weeks, and greeting all those summer visitors who want to know what Ottumwa's all about. My planner is going to get a workout this week! That's why it's filled with the most beautiful wildflowers I could find. I need some life breathed into a fast-paced schedule, and they remind me very much of the wildflower fields around our house. I won't be home, but it will feel like it a little. The two large sprays of sunflowers mirror each other on the two pages, and I scattered vases and butterflies through each day so there's always something pretty to look at. My prayer for this week is that e...

 It started with a conversation about just having two dogs now. We were up to four, then we lost three of them in a year and got a new puppy. We've never had a puppy this young, so that was a change in itself. That talk of change made me realize just how much change there has been lately, some major, some minor, and some just annoying. Let's start with annoying and get it out of the way. After almost 15 years in this house, the string on the in-the-door blinds broke. That means replacing the entire door, which we've obviously never done before, as well as the change of look and feel in the living room. Home ownership is amazing, until it means projects that you weren't planning on, but we've already found what we need and have plans to switch them out. If you've ever been to our office, you know that it's just the two of us and it's very quiet. I can't write or think with lots of noise, which is going to change after this coming week. We're hosti...

There's nothing worse than having to work or travel in the heat and not having a good snack to cool you off when you get home.  Two of this week's featured snacks came from turn of events in the kitchen. The fruit I picked up at the store was closer to going bad than I thought, so  For the strawberry rings, I just cut the good strawberries into tiny chunks, laid them in a single layer in a donut pan, and filled them in with melted chocolate. About half an hour in the fridge and they were ready for snacking. The banana was pretty soft, so I sliced it very thin and spread a tiny amount of peanut butter between them, being careful not to squish them. After 30 minutes in the freezer, a dipped each banana sandwich in melted chocolate and put them in the fridge to harden. Here are just a few more summer weather-ready snacks to help you keep your cool: Raspberry Lemonade Fudge Pecan Cranberry No-Bake Cookies Grilled Apples Patriotic Cheese Ball Kiwi-Pineapple Smoothies Homemade Black...

Do you ever just feel dry and heavy inside? Like God is a million miles away and everything is just hard? You've gotten away from the faith you once had, and you're just not sure how you got here or how to get back? In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, God called that a heart of stone.  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do  them. Ezekiel 36:26-27 God hasn't gone anywhere. That heart of stone is usually because we have put something between ourselves and the Lord. And that can be a very scary, lonely place to be when we think about having an idol in our life. We hate the word idol because it sounds like worshipping something horrible and evil. We're not like that, right? Well, we may not be serving an evil entity, but we might ...

After a week of heat and humidity, what I really need in my planner is a walk through a cool, beautiful garden. Oh look ... that's what next week has! I adore these bright summer colors, and the two sets - both the images and the faith phrases - work together perfectly. They create this beautiful garden that I can spend all of next week relaxing in. One thing that I love about these two sets of stickers is the variety of sizes and shapes available. Creating clusters like the flowers and butterflies is the perfect way to use those super-tiny flowers and hearts many of your collections probably have and you've never been able to use. Each day of this planner spread has alternating images surrounded by smaller flowers and hearts to make little vignettes. And they leave plenty of room to write in appointments and to-do lists while still being eye-catching. My prayer for this week is that I'll find some real-life cool, relaxing ways to spend my time, as well as enjoying that fee...

Did you know that it's completely ok to not finish a book? If you didn't, you now have permission to not struggle through a book you don't like or just isn't great. It's not elementary school - no one is going to grade you on your reading completion! I did that twice this month, so I didn't read nearly as many books as I would have liked. But because I started different books and tucked the other ones away, I'm in the middle of three more that I absolutely love. Here are the five that I did finish! Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation by Cokie Roberts. This is a companion book to another of my favorites, Founding Mothers. Using letters written by women from all walks of life in the beginning of our nation - from First Ladies to diplomats' wives to journalists - this book gets to the heart of what was on the minds of that generation of ladies. I learned so much about the Revolutionary War period and its practicality and survival, as well as ...