Although I have many topics and ideas waiting in the wings to discuss with our girlfriends group of cyber-sisters, I simply haven’t the time nor energy to tackle them on this Thursday morning. Over and over again God keeps nudging me to practice what I preach and live my priorities; make sure how I spend my time matches up with what I say my priorities are. So….

I have a house that needs cleaning. Dinner to throw in the crock pot for my boys and hubby. Car pools to run for one boy to the homeschool academy and the other to baseball. A bridal shower to put on for a soon-to-be daughter-in-law of a deacades’ long friend.

Oh…and I’m sure Jesus would like if I carved out a little time to connect with Him, since I say He is priority # one.

So blogging will have to wait a day or two.

In the mean time, let me ask YOU to provide some posting ideas here. What would you like to see talked about here on our little ole’ blog in the coming months? Mothering? Marriage? Spring cleaning? Something spiritual? Something practical? Something in between?

Do share…….. but only if you have the time……

I’m off to live my priorities…..

Kim:  Timestamp: March 15th at 11:10 am

Send your home address to me at karen@proverbs31.org and I’ll ship you your prize!

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Welcome Weight Loss Wednesday gals! (And anyone else peeking in–especially those I met this past weekend at Hearts at Home!) If you haven’t joined our little cyber group of girlfriends, don’t fret! Newcomers are always welcome. You can get caught up by clicking on Weight Loss Wednesdays in the side bar. Just leave a comment on the last post listed there. You can read any of the past post too, if you’d like. Or just join us today!!!

Holidays and food.

They just kinda go together, huh? Pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. Sm’ores on Memorial Day. Cake with thick icing on your birthday. 17 kinds of Christmas cookies calling you nearly the entire month of December.

Well, today I have a great St. Patrick’s Day recipe for you! Kind of a cleaned up, healthier version of traditional corned beef and cabbage. I’ll post it in a minute.

But now, let me ask you how your week went? Mine was 50/50.

I had four days of travel that included the Hearts at Home conference where chocolate and girlfriends abound and where I was taken out to dinner twice, ate on the road four times and had meals prepared for me four times. YIKES!

I actually did really good for 90% of the weekend, making good choices or simply going without. I did have a “Whew! Its over!” feeling after my last talk (a new one I was nervous about) so to celebrate, I decided to have one handful of the M & M’s that had been beckoning me all weekend from Julie Barnhill’s table right next to me. Unfortunately, one handful turned into four! (sorry Jules )

When I returned home, I set about trying to wrap up the weekend, unpack (still not done) and jump back into our busy spring. Todd and the boys had gotten lots of “guy food” while I was gone and I really need to go grocery shopping to restock my pantry with foods that are actually good for me! (Note to self: Guy food and my thighs make a bad match)

Today I feel like I am hitting that restart button again. Still not getting on the scale until April 1st. I’ll decide then if my break up with it was a good move or if I should go back to weighing in weekly like most of you.

Okay, here is the recipe and please check in and let us know how your week went, or if you are new, what your reason for joining us is! Happy St. Pat’s Day!

Cabbage Roll Casserole

1 lb. ground sirloin or turkey

1 onion, chopped

1 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper & 1/2 t. garlic powder

1 C. Minute Rice (brown or white)

2- 1 lb. cans of chopped tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 C. V-8 or tomato juice

3 C. chopped cabbage (can use pre-shredded, bagged cabbage to save time)

Brown meat and onions in a non-stick pan sprayed with cooking spray. Add rest of ingredients except cabbage. Place cabbage in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Pour meat mixture over evenly over the top and do not stir. Seal pan with foil. Cook 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees. If it seems a little dry , add a tiny bit more juice.

Serves 8  Calories: 205  Fat grams: 4

Your turn to check in. See ya next week!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

We have been married for 27 years…17 of them happily. After finding ourselves in a marriage counselor’s office around year 8 or so, we realized that we really didn’t know how to be married. We worked hard to turn things around and now we like to share that hope with other couples.

We have five children ranging from 13 to 25. Our oldest three are married. Anne (25) and her husband, Matt, live in Zion, IL, and are expecting our first grandchild in April. (We are very excited!) Evan (22) and his wife, Julie, have been married a year and a half and they live just a few miles from us. Erica (19) married her husband Kendall last September. They live in Augusta, GA, and wherever else the Army takes them.

We have two teenagers still at home. Kolya just turned 16. He’s learning to drive and we’ve nearly worn a hole in the carpet on the floor in the passenger seat trying to find that non-existent brake pedal. Kolya is the newest member of the Savage family. We adopted him at the age of nine from Russia.

Austin is 13 and in the 8th grade. He wants us to make sure and tell the world that this “living with less” life is a real bummer because he’s the ONLY kid in 8th grade who doesn’t have a cell phone.

Tell us about your newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

The world screams the message that bigger is always better, but we have found that is not often true. When it comes to raising a family, less materially can actually result in more relationally. Children don’t need the best houses, the best lessons, the best cars, or the best clothes. What they really need is the best home life and the best family relationships we can give them.

Why did you want to write this book?

We didn’t start out with the “less is more” mindset. We started as a double income family wanting to have the “best” of everything. Then Mark decided to pursue ministry. We went from the “high life” to the “frugal life” very quickly as we moved to another state for him to go to Bible College full-time.

That experience introduced us to the concept that less is more. We definitely had less money, but we had more time. We had less stress and more peace. We had less activities and more fun.

Since that experience, we’ve continued to live primarily on one income for the past twenty years. We’ve had to battle cultural peer pressure and make different decisions for our family than many other families in our neighborhood have made. But we’ve never felt that we were materially depriving ourselves or our kids…instead we’ve focused on what we’ve actually been able to provide for them emotionally and relationally.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?

We hope the reader is encouraged to evaluate how they are living their life, spending their money, and thinking about family matters. Our goal is to introduce families to the “less is more” concept and then equip them with the attitudes and actions to actually make that happen.

For families that are already committed to less is more, we hope to bolster their resolve and help them stay focused on the long-term goal of providing relationally for their kids.

In today’s economy, there are many families being forced to live with less. We want to help them see the opportunity they have with this unexpected downsizing they’ve been forced to do.

And for those who have just been a little discontent with their life and saying things like, “I’m tired of the rat race of life,” or “Is there more to life than drive-thru meals for dinner?” we hope to help them see other choices they have and how they can lead their family in a different direction.

What unique elements will the reader find in Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

For couples who want to read the book together, we’ve included discussion questions at the end of every chapter. This helps move the readers to discussion and eventually actions. Even a single parent can use the discussion questions for personal evaluation.

Readers will find this book a practical guide to changing your attitude and your actions to live a successful “less is more” life. They’ll find our writing style to be a warm, casual, honest discussion where we not only share our victories but our mistakes along the way. We are an average couple living successfully on an average income who want to help others to see the possibilities before them.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?

Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!

Any closing thoughts?

It’s healthy for parents to occasionally pause and evaluate their vision for their family and the choices they are making. We hope this resource will help them do that together and that it will lead them to live a life of little regret.

Now for the giveaway…..

The Savages are giving a copy of their book to one of you and I’m throwing in some gold chocolate coins for the kiddos. (okay…if mom doesn’t snatch them up first– your call!) Simply leave a comment on this post related to the topic of money. How do you save it? Where to you blow it? What questions do you have about budgetting? Why would you like this book? Or, if time is short, just leave a $$$$ and you’ll be entered! Seriously! The drawing is random Winner announced Wednesday.

Well, I’m back to my wonderful, daily life with the kiddos and hubster. Check back in later this week for Weight Loss Wednesday and more. And if we just met at Hearts at Home, please let me know that in the comment section. I’d love it if you said “hi!”

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By the way—-Thanks for all the birthday wishes! The winners of my birthday cupcakes are as follows:

*Candle:  Susan; timestamp 3/10 at 10:46 am

*Homespun Memories book: Olivia; timestamp  3/10 at 10:43 am

*Chocolate: Gabriela; timestamp 3/10 at 4:25 pm

*Starbucks card: Debbie; timestamp 3/10 at 3:24 pm

*Herb tea and heart diffuser: Laurie; timestamp 3/10 at 12:189 pm

Congrats friends! Send me your mailing address at karen@proverbs31.org

Budgetting Blessings,

If you are checking in to see who won the giveaway of Susie Larson’s book Growing Grateful Kids it is: Ann. Timestamp March 10th at 8:11 am. Email me at karen@proverbs31.org with your home address. Congrats!

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Today is my birthday.

In about an hour at 9:04 am, I will turn 46. My mom tells me I was born in the middle of a snow storm and they almost didn’t make it to the hospital.

I debated telling you that it was my birthday. It seems all self-centered and such. But when I hopped on Facebook this morning and saw that several friends (whom I know also read this blog) had already sent me well-wishes, I figured I’d better fess up.

Truthfully, I have a love/hate relationship with birthdays.

I love memories of them.

Especially recollections of taking cupcakes to my class at Delta Center Elementary School in Lansing, MI. Mom let me help in the kitchen then, mixing, baking, frosting and sprinkling those dozens of masterpieces. Then, I got to tote them all the way to school. (I was what they called a ‘walker’, meaning I lived less than a mile from school so no bus ride. I had to walk.)

As I have grown older, I have come to dread birthdays. Not because of the getting older part. You know, when everything heads south. My husband and I realize that, as my friend Debi asserts, we are all headed toward ugly. That part doesn’t bother me so much since we have committed to grow old and ugly together and have lots of fun doing it.

I dread them because I sometimes get my feelings hurt due to my expectations.

I think my kids will instinctively wake up and say, “Happy Birthday mom. You are the greatest! You sacrifice so much for us. I already got up and made your coffee for you.”

Instead, they say…”Mooooooooom……I am starving. Is breakfast ready yet?

I fancy my relatives will give me a quick call to wish me a happy birthday.

The phone doesn’t ring.

I can’t help but think of the friends I remembered to give a little something to on their big day.

I run into one of them in Walmart and she never even tells me Happy Birthday.

I…..I….I…..

Oh ladies…I so desire to be a low-maintenance friend, wife and mom. I don’t want to be self-centered. Especially on my birthday.

I want to rewind to the days when what made me so very giddy every March 10th were those sweet and colorful cupcakes taken to my classmates.

So…..I have decided….zero expectations from me today.

Instead, I want to give away cupcakes.

What that looks like is this:

Leave a comment today about your most memorable birthday. (or any other birthday-related message)

I will choose five winners who will get one of the following “cupcakes” from me.

• A For Every Body brand “Birthday Cake” scented candle for you (with cute sprinkles on top) to burn at your house each time someone turns a year older.
• A copy of the book on simple and creative celebrations entitled Homespun Memories for the Heart that I wrote with friends Kelly Hovermale and Trish Smith.
• A bag of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Melt-Away Hearts with raspberry filling
• A $5.00 Starbucks card
• A box of Snapple Brand Wild About Berries Herb Tea with a heart-sheaped tea difusser

There—- I feel better already. Jesus is so right. It is more blessed to give than receive. (Acts 20:35)

Now, when you leave your comment, please tell me what ‘cupcake’ you’d enjoy winning (or simply indicate ‘any of them’) Winners announced Monday.

Oh, and in this day and age of Facebook….is there anyone out there who went to Delta Center elementary with me in the 1970’s? I’d get a hoot out of knowing!

Cupcake-coated Blessings,

That is my moved-recently-to-the-south daughter’s new way of getting my attention when she has something quick to say and she’s in a hurry. Well, that is definitely me today, so….

Y’all….

I don’t want to miss giving you a place to check in for the week and let us know the progress you are making or the ways you need prayer in your weight loss journey. However, I have no clever advice or pertinent topic to ponder today.

No ma’am. All I have today on my plate is STRESS!!!

I leave in the morning for my biggest conference of the year. My new talk is not polished. My power point presentations are no where near done. (That is what happens when you are techy-challenged and have to go to your youth pastor to get a Power Point for Dummies course just before leaving–thanks Pastor Chad!)

I spent a night in ER with my son that ended Monday at 5:00 am. He and his brother needed to leave for a homeschool ski trip at 6:00 am. I haven’t packed. I haven’t prepeared food for when I’m gone for four days (but did dig up a whole mess of fast food coupons. They’ll probably like that better than homemade pot pie left in the fridge for them). I need to go to the bank. Inventory my books. Learn how to use my new credit card machine………

Oh, yeah….and today is my birthday.

Seriously.

I almost forgot.

So…hop on today and let us know how you are doing.

And if you have any advice for keeping away from the junk food when under extreme stress and time crunches, I know of at least one gal who’d be delighted if you shared!

Comment away and I’ll see you next week!

Hi all! Oh….I am excited to introduce you to a friend of mine.

We have been speaking at Hearts at Home conferences together for years (and I get to see her at the national conference this coming weekend. YEAH!)

I mean one of those random thoughts that seems to be whispered to your very being saying  “You should call so-and-so” or “Hey….how is your friend Julie, by the way? She’d be thrilled if you sent her a handwritten note and a simple bag of her favorite tea tucked inside.”

Many times, these promptings are God’s spirit beckoning us to act; to be his hands and feet. It just might bless the socks off of someone, and confirm for you once again these facts:

• God is real.
• He is still involved in the lives of people.
• He loves to orchestrate details in such a way that people get to see Him work.
• And they also learn to hear His still small voice, obey and as a result, watch another soul be blown away by Jesus’ love for them.

It just happened to me.

Without going into all of the sorted details, suffice it to say that I had a rough week. Not a tragic week. Not a week with bad news or unruly children or difficulty in my marriage.

Just a week of bummers and mishaps and lost time and people who had fires to put out and somehow thought I was the entire New York Fire Department with hoses ready to put out the fires THEY HAD CREATED for themselves since I had nothing better to do!!!!! (This was an unplanned editorial.)

And I had three days of travel for my son’s baseball tryouts for a team near Detroit. And a P31 devotion due. And groceries to get. And a head bleeding when I whacked it on the trunk lock when getting the groceries out of the trunk since no boys we around to help me since they were with the new puppy who had made a deposit on my kitchen floor just before 12 women from my Becoming More Bible study were to arrive after I had returned from getting my hair cut after working out since I still have stinkin’ weight to lose and……

Oh, and did I mention this all took place while I was trying to finalize my notes for next week’s Hearts at Home National Conference? It is on marriage.

Oh yeah…nothin’ puts a big ole bull’s eye on your heart and emotions like trying to talk to ladies about having a marriage that pleases God.

Anyhow–I was in tears Wednesday. My 15-year-old son witnessed my meltdown. He asked why I was crying. What was wrong?

“Nothing..” I replied. And then I promptly proceeded to blubber about how I am such an incompetent mom, awful wife, stink at homeschooling, haven’t cooked a decent meal in days….blah, blah, blah.

He sure got an earful of “nothin’”

(I am preparing him well for his marriage communication reality,  don’t ‘cha think?)

Just then, the doorbell rang. I wiped my eyes and answered it. A strange man stood there holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

“Are you Karen?” he inquired.

“Yes sir” I said, trying to stealthily suck the still-dripping snot up my dainty nose.

I smiled, took the flowers from him, went in the house and removed the attached note card, so excited to see who had sent me flowers a full week before my birthday.

It was addressed to ‘Dorothy’.

I began to bawl again. Now, not only had I had a meltdown, then been perked up by the thought of someone sending me flowers, but now had my bubble burst when I noticed they were obviously for the neighbor down the street.

But wait! He had asked if I was Karen! Maybe they were for me after all! I opened the card and it read:

Dorothy, Enjoy your gift in the “Land of Oz” for this next week before you come to Illinois. Love, Glinda

Oh…now I got it.

They were from my precious friend and accountability partner Mary who lives three states away. Ladies… NO ONE I know listens to God like this gal.

Seriously.

My kids call her my freaky friend.  Something will happen at our home that desperately needs prayer. A half hour later the phone will ring. It will be Miss Mary asking, “What happened about a half hour ago? I can’t stop praying for you.”

Cue the Twilight Zone music, please.

Well, suddenly the whole Dorothy/Glinda lingo made sense. It is because my message for Hearts is called A Marriage Made in Oz.

Duh!

When I took the wrap off  of the flowers, I nearly fell over. I had just thrown out a bouquet of flowers in the exact same color scheme that I got from helping with our church’s Valentines Day banquet. They were the perfect finishing touch to my Easter decor on my dining room table. I was having my Bible Study gals over and so wanted to run out to the store and purchase a bouquet just like it again but knew we are on a “no spending freeze” due to the extra gas baseball is requiring this spring.. But this arrangement was what God had already planned.

Sweet, yet calorie-free kisses from heaven sent through the promptings of one of God’s girls.

When I called Mary to thank her and tell her of the perfect timing, perfect colors…etc, she just chuckled. She said the Holy Spirit had just given her an urge the night before, “Send Karen flowers. And she has to get them tomorrow.” When she went to pick them out, she was instantly drawn to the type and colors.

Mary, acting in obedience to God’s prompting, completely turned my day around and reassured me that God loves me and understands.

What is God prompting you to do today? For whom?

Do it without delay.

It is so fun seeing God show up!!!

Sweet Weekend Blessings,

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Welcome Weight Loss Wednesday gals!!!

Today, let’s weigh in on eating out.

Pop quiz time!

You are in a hurry and have to swing by a restaurant to get supper on your way to watch your kid’s ballgame. Which of the following would be the best choice when eating out:

1. A bean burrito from Taco Bell
2. A McDonald’s chicken sandwich from the dollar menu
3. A small bowl of Wendy’s chili
4. An oven roasted chicken breast sub on whole wheat with no cheese and only veggies and mustard from Subway

Most people would select the Subway sub. (Jared lost so much weight after all!)

Well, it weighs in at 330 calories and 5 grams of fat.

Perhaps you should choose Mexican instead?

Think again! That bean burrito is 370 calories and 10 grams of fat.

Save money and go for the white-meat chicken perhaps?

Not so fast! That cheap chicken sandwich is a whopping 510 calories and 26 grams of fat.

However, the Wendy’s chili is only 200 calories and 5 grams of fat! And it is also the best choice if you are watching carbs as well.

Well— WLW gals. Today I want you to talk amongst yourselves. What do you order when eating out? Fast food, nice sit-down or even your favorite coffee house drinks. And let us know how your week was too.

Struggles, victories, etc…

I stayed off my scale as planned for the remainder of February. When I hopped back on I had stayed the same. Now that includes the couple pounds I’d gained back so I still feel as if I am in restart mode.

How about you and what do you eat when eating out?

I just love our accountability group! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Sweet Blessings,

Did you know that this month there is another missionary we can glean from as we hear of his longing to reach others for Christ?

I am talking about St. Patrick.

What do we really know of St. Patrick, in who’s honor patrons don green? To look around at the way modern day folk celebrate St. Patrick’s day, you’d think it all had to do with shamrocks, leprechauns, rainbows and the ever famous pot of gold at the end of them. Well, that and the traditional “wearing of the green” to prevent any pinching that might occur on March 17th each year. But there is actually some wonderful truth that we can celebrate at this holiday and can pass along to the children in our lives.

For as far as history can tell, the story goes like this: At about the age of 16, Patrick, a Scottish young man born into wealth sometime in the late fourth century, most likely around 385, was violently captured by Irish raiders and forced into a life of slavery. Patrick later escaped and was reunited with his family, but in a dream, felt called by God back to Ireland to spread Christianity to the people of that isle. So this godly young man set about to make this dream come true.

He prayed for God’s strength and then studied scripture to ready himself. Then He was prepared to return to the land of his captivity. He preached the Gospel and built churches throughout the country until his death on March 17, 461.

For the modern day Irish, St. Patrick’s Day is considered a time for spiritual renewal as they fondly remember the slave-turned-evangelist who spread Christianity to the Emerald Isle. For our family today, we feel we can use him as an example of what a young person, sold out for God can do in their generation.

Just think about this man. How many of us, after being captured and held as a slave and forced to work in a foreign land, when finally set free, would actually return to the very place where we were enslaved? It must have taken a great deal of maturity and immense faith in God’s protection to go back to that island.

And Patrick must have known that spiritual bondage is far, far worse than physical slavery.

In some ways, don’t we see modern day examples of just such a story? The drug addict who finds freedom from a life of addiction through faith in Christ, sensing a call to return to their old neighborhood and preach the freedom and everlasting life Jesus offers. The women who made a bad choice resulting in her and her unborn child both being the victims of abortion. Now she longs to counsel young girls to choose life for themselves and for their precious baby.

All of these people serve as wonderful examples of someone who found freedom and longed to lead others there as well.

So at this time of year, when you spy a leprechaun or see a shamrock, whisper a prayer that God continues to raise up men and women who have been set free to return to the land of their captivity and lead others to the same liberating, life-giving freedom.

And if you want to enter a little giveaway in honor of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, leave a comment today and you might win a bag of Irish cream and cocoa dusted whole almonds and some of my favorite whole bean Irish cream decaf coffee from Horrock’s Farm Market. (If the winner needs the coffee ground, I’ll grind it for you before I send it)

To enter, simply tell us any of the following:

• Your favorite St. Pat’s tradition or food
• Your favorite shade of green (lime, Kelly, grass, sage….)
• Or, if time is tight, simply say “I’m in!”

The winner will be announced Wednesday morning,

Top-of-the-morning-blessings,

Of course we are praying for this family; our entire church has them on our hearts. And, to put feet to our prayers many of us are wanting to help, especially with providing food for the family during this difficult time.

At such times, usually one gal will spear-head a calling campaign to set up a meal rotation. However, this is the first time that I have ever been part of a meal-scheduling Internet group. I was so impressed with it, I just had to pass the link on to you!

My friend Sharon sent me an email with the link to this clever site. Foodtidings.com is a site where you can log on to create a meal schedule for a hurting family. In their own words:

Food Tidings exists to simplify the process of organizing meals for friends or family members in a transitional time of life. For someone who has just had a baby, recovering from surgery or injury, grieving the passing of a loved one, confined to bed rest, and almost anything else, receiving dinners from loved ones can be very comforting and helpful.

Now, I know setting up a schedule of meals by email is nothing new. However, this site eliminates the need for resending emails, hitting “reply all” ( or hoping you hit “reply all”!) thinking of new people to add to the list, checking and rechecking to see if someone new has taken a day, etc…

It simplifies the set-up process by creating a webpage where those who want to provide a meal can go. They pick a date, list what they’ll make (so there aren’t three days in a row of lasagna and jello salad) and even see the family’s desired meal time, special dietary needs or allergies.

If there is someone you know who cold use a break from the kitchen for a while, visit Foodtidings.com this weekend to get started!

So simple and such a great way to be Jesus’ hands and feet to someone in need.

Well, we’re off to our boys’ regional Homeschool basketball tournaments.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Helping Women Simplify Life and Glorify God,