Where Has the Time Gone

 

As I sit behind my computer screen today my heart is filled with joy and heartache.

Yesterday was my middle sons LAST DAY of school. He will be entering into the 10th grade next year. All I can think about this morning is, “Where has the time gone”? I am not ready to think about another child leaving the house.

I have been married for almost 12 years, my oldest son is almost 22, middle son is almost 15, and my baby is 9.

All I can think about is, have I left behind a good enough {Spiritual Legacy}? Have I {grown} every year into the person that God has created me to be? Or have I {stepped} in His way, slowing Him down?

The time is going by SO fast. Embracing every moment that is given is truly a blessing. There is work that still has to be done to insure my son is ready to take on the world. I am ready for the challenge to be apart of what God has instore for his life.

As the time spins fast, God is teaching me to take a break, spend less time doing things that are less important {house work}, being more productive with my time, spending every moment with my children, say YES more, embracing every snuggle, kiss and hug that is given, showing them how much I love them and that God loves them even more then that, teaching them to fear the Lord and most of all to be a servant of all.

If we sit and complain about where the time went, we will miss what is right in front of us. WE are in control of our time, WE add to much to our plate. WE make other things a priority. WE act like we have tomorrow.

The face of the matter is we are NOT promised tomorrow and living each day as if it is out last, with no regrets, prepares each day for all the blessings that the Lord has ready for us to receive.

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Matthew 6:34 ““So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”

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Are you embracing every moment or are you asking yourself where did all the time go?

Would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

 

Serving Him With Joy,

I am linked up with blessings :

When Facebook Becomes a Stumbling Block for our Children

 

Just this week my son was on his facebook page strolling through his live feed and there were some pictures of his friends that concerned me.

My first thought was to say “What are you looking at son”? However I took a moment to step back, pray and use this as a teaching ground and point my son to Jesus.

Some of you reading may think why does my son have a facebook page anyway? That is a good question and I’ll try to explain:

We are a military family and both of our family members are out of state. We felt this was a good way to keep in touch with our family by posting pictures and status updates. We told our boys that the only way they could have a facebook page was if we were their friends, their pages were private, and only friends from school {which are still moderated and deleted if I see fit}, and they could NOT add anyone they did not know.

I then started asking my son questions since he has both girls and boys from school on his facebook page.

Do you think it is ok that your friend post these kinds of pictures of themselves?

Do you think those kinds of words is ok to be saying?

Why do you think they are posting this kind of stuff?

How does it make you feel to see this?

Do you think they have YOU in mind in causing you to stumble when they post this kind of stuff?

These were just random questions that came to mind to go with what I saw on his page.

The answer he gave me to all the questions was “Mom I just pass over that stuff” or “I just ignore it”.

That was a BIG red flag for mom because my son was MISSING the bigger picture in what the enemy was trying to do.

I then read Matthew 5:29 to him “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell”

I softly said, “Son its not about what people are posting, its about them not considering what they are posting could be causing another person, {you}, to stumble”!

I could see a light bulb come on when I said this however I knew he had not even looked at in this way.

It was a great reminder for myself in letting me know that being a Intentional Parent we never are on a break. Our kids need us to be strong for them every minute, second, hour, day, week, month, and year.

Facebook can be a a place that our children can get lost in a fancy world of envy, pride, disrepect if we are not careful to keep them accountable and moderate what is going on on their facebook pages.

Though my son is only 14 and still has a lot of growing to do in the Lord, it is my job to step in, point him to Jesus, and set up the guidelines to help his foundation become STRONG. Even though he doesn’t agree or like what I have chosen to do, I know it is best.

What measures have you taken to point your children to Jesus through the encounters they go through on their facebook page?

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

Serving Him With Joy,

 

I am linked up with these blessings today:

Tasty Tuesday with Janelle {Link Up} #19

Good Morning sisters! My favorite time of the week is here, “Tasty Tuesday” with Janelle from Comfy in the Kitchen.

If this is your first week stopping by or linking up please make yourself at home. Please take a moment to grab the Tasty Tuesday button so that your readers can join in on the fun of grabbing new recipes.

This week she is sharing with us “Strawberry Jell-O Poke Hole Cake {Allergy Friendly}”



One of the biggest challenges I have had eating gluten-free has been passing on cakes and breads. Now I know there are gluten free options out there, but there are few and far between that taste as good as the real thing. Why eat the extra calories if it isn’t going to be worth it? I’ve tried some recipes that require special trips to special markets…not going to happen all the time with this stay at home mom of 3.
Tonight I decided to make a dessert for the family. Hodgson Mills makes a pretty good gluten-free cake mix but I knew it could use a little help with texture and flavor. I changed some ingredients and added a few too-would you know it turned out delicious!!!?? Wohoo! My husband took a bite and asked “Is this glutenous minimus?!” lol…why, yes it is Dear….tricked ya, did I? It was so nice to have a moist piece of cake again!!! YEA!



You may use your cake mix of choice {my friends who do not have allergies- you may use a regular yellow cake mix}

I f
ollowed the package instructions but I used coconut milk instead of butter milk and coconut extract instead of almond.




Spread batter into a prepared pan {this is an 11×7, you can use an 8×8- a 9×13 would work with a regular boxed cake- gluten free boxed cake mixes have less in them} Bake at 350 for apps 25 mins or per package instructions.



While the cake is baking, make your jell-o. Combine the packet with boiling water, then add your cold water. {If you are using bulk gelatin- this is 1/3 cup jello with 1 cup boiling and 1 cup cold}



1 container of vanilla frosting combined with 2 Tbsp of strawberry gelatin and 1/2 cup chopped strawberries. Blend together.



YUM!



When cake is done baking, poke all over with a fork and pour jell-o over top. You may not need to use all of your jell-o. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours.


Beautiful, isn’t it? Tasty too! What a treat for this “glutenous minimus” girl…lol.


Strawberry Jell-o Poke Hole Cake {Allergy Friendly}
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 8
Gluten and Dairy Free
Ingredients

• 1 box gluten free yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup softened butter (or butter flavored crisco)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 2 (3 oz packages) strawberry jell-o (1 packet for pouring and 2 Tbsp for adding flavor to frosting)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup strawberries (1/2 diced 1/2 sliced for garnish)
• 1 container vanilla frosting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Make caked by creaming softened butter or shortening with cake mix.
3. Add eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, and coconut extract.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 for 25 mins or until golden brown.
5. Make jell-o by combining jell-o packet with 1 cup boiling water. Whisk, then add 1 cup cold water.
6. Make strawberry frosting by combining 2 Tbsp dry strawberry jell-o and 1/2 cup diced strawberries to vanilla frosting-blend together.
7. When cake is done baking and still hot- poke holes in it with a fork.
8. Pour prepared jell-o over top. You may not need to use all of the jell-o.
9. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours (make sure to put a pot holder underneath so your dish doesn’t crack-the heat can build up.
10. Frost with strawberry frosting and garnish with sliced strawberries.

Notes
You make make this with a regular cake if you do not have food allergies! You may also use strawberry frosting instead of adding strawberry gelatin flavoring.

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Now it's {link up} time! It's Becoming a Strong Woman of God {Link Up} Party! Join the fun, do some blog hopping and don’t forget to grab the Tasty Tuesday button for your post so your readers can join in on the fun!

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To get even more amazing recipes head on over and visit Janelle’s blog at Comfy In the Kitchen is a must! You can get even more recipes on Friday when you join her for Feasting In Fellowship Friday Link-Up Party!! She also just started "Getting Comfy 101" where you can learn even more in depth kitchen tips!

Serving Him With Joy,

I am linked up with these blessings:

Tasty Tuesday with Janelle {Link Up} #18

Good Morning sisters! My favorite time of the week is here, “Tasty Tuesday” with Janelle from Comfy in the Kitchen.

If this is your first week stopping by or linking up please make yourself at home. Please take a moment to grab the Tasty Tuesday button so that your readers can join in on the fun of grabbing new recipes.

This week she is sharing with us “Easy Fruit Salsa”

Mmmm….doesn’t this look so refreshing, so juicy, so irresistible?! Something special happens when ordinary fruit is washed, diced, and combined with other delicious fruits {fruit salsa, if you will}. I can’t explain how addicting it is…but I can give testimony that this very triffle is sitting on my lap right now, haha. I keep taking 1 min breaks to scoop in a mouthful as I post this simple, yet very blogworthy treat. A definite “make” for Mother’s Day!

I found this beautiful vase at Marshall’s and thought it would be the perfect container for the salsa! I love to be able to see the “parfait” appearance of all the fruits stacked onto one another. Throw-away Ziplocs are more expensive than this- what a deal! Yea!

I used my dicer to dice the fruit. I diced, than rinsed.

Beautiful.

I continued dicing the fruits I had on hand…strawberries, pineapple, watermelon

And I threw in some grapes. You may want to add berries {do not dice} or bananas {they will brown, so eat immediately or toss in citrus juice}.

Layer like so. Would you look at those beautiful juices blending together?! Mmmmm!!!!!! This dish doesn’t need a thing…just beautiful fruits blended together make it as delicious as ever. Oh…and it’s pretty, got to love presentation Enjoy and make often- I sure do!

Easy Fruit Salsa

5.0 from 2 reviews Prep time: 15 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 1 Fresh pineapple {Twist off leaves, cut outer layer off and slice lengthwise along core-leaving core out}
• 4 cups strawberries
• 4 cups grapes
• 1/4 of a watermelon

Instructions

1. Dice fruits individually, then rinse.
2. Layer one fruit at a time in a clear glass container

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Now it's {link up} time! It's Becoming a Strong Woman of God {Link Up} Party! Join the fun, do some blog hopping and don’t forget to grab the Tasty Tuesday button for your post so your readers can join in on the fun!

---

To get even more amazing recipes head on over and visit Janelle’s blog at Comfy In the Kitchen is a must! You can get even more recipes on Friday when you join her for Feasting In Fellowship Friday Link-Up Party!! She also just started "Getting Comfy 101" where you can learn even more in depth kitchen tips!

Serving Him With Joy,





I am linked up with these blessings: