Ingredients Matter

In honor of Courtney's 18th birthday, and because she has gone vegan, I decided to make her favorite German Chocolate Cake " vegan style". I found a great recipe online and baked the cake. It smelled delicious baking! The frosting however, was a different story. I mixed the ingredients and put it on the stovetop to heat. After awhile the frosting doubled in size and was foamy. I transferred the frosting to my biggest pan and was a little amazed when it continued growing in size. Finally it bubbled out of my pan and onto the stove. I was mortified. I so wanted to bless Courtney, but I had made a mess of the frosting and the stove.

When she came home I told her what happened. She said, "Mom, you did use corn syrup or cornstarch?" I looked up in the cabinet and saw the cornstarch on the shelf and realized I had never taken it out of the cupboard. I had used Baking Soda instead! Oh my. No wonder it acted more like the boys' volcano science experiment rather than frosting. By the way, Josiah fondly calls my concoction "frothing" rather than frosting! With a quick trip to the store and all the right ingredients, the cake was completed. But I sure learned a lesson. Putting something in that doesn't belong can spell disaster. Ingredients are important!

What is your recipe for life? Is your life bubbling out of control like my "frothing"? What kind of ingredients are you putting inside of you? Are there things in your life that you are compromising or substituting for the ingredients that really belong? I know that listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit are so vital in life. Sometimes I ignore what God might be trying to tell me thinking, "Oh, this is no big thing" but God knows what is best for me. He designed me (and He designed you too) and He knows what is best to make each of our lives perfect in His sight.

Living Nativity 2010

This was our second year participating in the Living Nativity at our church. MaryElise and Whitney are pictured "waiting in the wings" for their grand entrance.

Living the Nativity | Local news, sports, weather, blogs, opinion, crime, obituaries, business, directory, marketplace, education, high school, family, shopping, arts, entertainment, movies, books, cooking, auto, real estate, jobs, classifieds, photos, videos, comics, contests, and mountain pass webcams from Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Chelan, Leavenworth, Waterville, Cashmere, Quincy, Entiat, North Central Washington newspaper

Christmas Traditions

I love Christmas traditions and ones to teach my children more about Christ. Over the next several days you can see some of our traditions at A Snap Shot of Motherhood. Merry Christmas!

The Art of Marriage

FamilyLife has produced a video-based conference called The Art of Marriage. It is different than any other video conference I have ever seen. It is also very different than the FamilyLife Weekend to Remember. You can see clips from The Art of Marriage here
View Video Clips from The Art of Marriage - FamilyLife.com.
Check it out and let us know what you think. We'd love to help you get this resource into your church or community. The world premiere for this event is February 11, 2011. If you have questions or would like to register we'd be glad to help you. Remember, check out the videos above!

Great Offer

If you would like to host The Art Of Marriage and you register before December 25th you receive a free gift pack from FamilyLife! You can register for your event online. If you have any questions, we'd be glad to answer them for you!

This gift pack includes:

• Weekend to Remember Gift Certificate for you and your spouse
• Rekindling the Romance book
• Moments with You couples devotional book
• Homebuilders Couples Series Building Your Marriage to Last study guide
• When Christmas Came book
• While They Are Sleeping book
• Simply Romantic Coffee Dates book
• And The Art of Marriage promotional materials

We are Thankful

At this season of giving Thanks, we wanted to take a moment to say, "Thank you for all you do to make a difference in lives of people and families for Christ. We couldn't do what we do without your faithful love, encouragement, prayers and support. You are indeed a blessing to us, more than you could ever realize!"

I think Paul says it best in his letter to the Philippians, and it is our heart for you too!

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all of my prayers for all of you. I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

Weekend to Remember Comments

Coeur d'Alene
November 19-21, 2010
Attendance 720
Prayed to receive Christ 16
Holy Spirit 98
Recommit life to Christ 107

• "I was punched, beaten, picked up, cleaned up, and taught what I need to do. 1st make God the center of my life and my house, 2nd take care of my wife and 3rd take care of my family." (married 8 years)
• "This conference provided a platform and a structure to talk about things we don't normally talk about, and are good to talk about. Thank you for helping us fine tune our marriage so it more accurately reflects Christ and the Church." (married 3 years)
• "This event has changed me personally more than I ever thought it would. It was as a switch turned my brain on. I can't change him I can change me, which will change us!" (married 3 years)
• "We came last year and loved it. We decided to come back this year just to refocus ourselves on our marriage. Although we did not experience anything profound this year it has helped us keep our eyes on the ultimate goal of oneness. It is an invaluable tool to help us continue a great marriage." (married 9 years)
• "Breath taking experience the gift God gave me when He created my bride." (married 12 years)
• "Weekend to Remember is truly that, we have been given a gift of knowledge on how to receive the grace of Jesus Christ to grow together spiritually and as a family and I thank you all from the depths of my heart." (married 1 year)
• "I really wanted to come to this conference because I was looking to a separation from my husband and I wanted God to change my husband and his heart. What happened is that God spoke to me the entire weekend. He showed me where I have been wrong and where I needed to work. God softened my heart and has shown me how to improve and be a better wife and mother." (married 9 years)
• "This conference allowed us to be more open with each other and trust each other more. My wife opened up to me, that after 18+ years of marriage, she said things about her past that she felt she couldn't trust me with before. This truth gave me a better understanding of why she acts the way she does. It opened up a new door of hope for us and I am looking forward to our future together." (married 18 years)
• "It opened up old issues that needed to be resolved and provided a "safe" environment to work through them. It opened our hearts to each other and challenged us to be a better spouse and Godly parents. I feel truly blessed to have been here. I am walking away hope and love in my heart, not bitterness." (married 10 years)
• "It's always so good for us to have uninterrupted time together. We are very aware of how awful our marriage had become. Everything about this weekend gave us the encouragement and tools for us to begin our climb out of the pit. Thank you for making it possible for us to begin our journey." (married 15 years)