I stopped and (feeling rather irrational) gave my brand new purchase to the library. (I almost didn’t let go as I handed it to them.) They thanked me and I went on my way. It was fun to check for it whenever I returned to the library. I liked seeing it there on the shelf, but honestly, I preferred not finding it because that meant that someone had checked it out and was enjoying it. I have no idea how many people have read my book, I don’t even live in that town any more. But I still think about it.

Whenever I think about books that have influenced my life—and I think about it often—I inevitably recall this experience. If money wasn’t so extremely tight, I would love to buy copies of all of the exceptional books on my “life changing books” list for our local library and maybe even for some not so local libraries. In my mind, it is an easy way to make an impact on the world around you and hopefully change some lives.

After about an hour of this, I noticed a kid enter the pool area that I knew from volunteering in the first grade of our local elementary school. The first grader (whom I will call David) was with his family, which I’ve never met. After a few minutes David made his way over to see Santa. As he approached, I decided to have some fun with him. In my best Santa voice I greeted him by name. “Well, hello David.”

He stopped in his tracks.

“How do you know my name?”

“I’m Santa Claus,” I replied knowingly.

After a minute of shock he was able to turn and run to his mother who was busy somewhere else in the pool. A few minutes later he returned but stood a ways off. When I acknowledged him, he asked, “Do you know my brother’s name?”

I could tell that this was the clincher. He had talked to his mother and she had told him to ask this and that this would prove once and for all if Santa really knew everything about him like the song said. I had no idea if he even had a brother so I came up with a plan.

“Which one?” I asked.

“Mark.” He clarified

“Yes, I do,” I said dramatically. “His name is… Mark.”

His mouth dropped open and his eyes got really wide. He ran off and never returned to tell me what he wanted for Christmas. I guess it didn’t matter, because now he knew that Santa knows how naughty he had been.

They seemed so happy about everything and I found out that they were celebrating their anniversary—52 years. A girl that I work with asked the natural question “What is your secret to a good marriage?” The woman quickly responded “Marry an artist!”. The husband blushed, but smiled. We peppered them with more questions and every answer revealed more of a genuine love of life. Eventually, we asked how they met, and they were happy to tell their story.

It had been at a dance—a common thing in that era. They had met, danced, and fallen in love. And apparently, they had been dancing together ever since. Then the most amazing thing happened. Spontaneously, right there in the store, they started dancing for us! They didn’t care about being embarrassed or what anyone else thought. Their love for each other and for life itself was too strong for that. It was pure magic.

When they left the store, we who had seen it were all in awe. We couldn’t stop smiling, laughing, and talking about the wonder of that serendipitous moment. The pure joy of life lingered in the room for a while. I’m sure if someone had walked in from the outside world right then they would have felt like smiling—or even dancing—and not known why. I imagined this happy couple walking down the street together, repeating their story to other lucky people and leaving a bit of hope and joy everywhere their feet took them.

This is a new situation for me, but I don’t believe I’m alone. I’ve come up with a few ideas, I’d like to share:

1. Kids need you! Can you cut any expenses out that would allow you to spend more time with them?

2. Make it a family affair. It’s not easy and it takes patience, but get your children involved. Let them know they are needed! My son helps his Dad with the projector and lights at the theater. He feels so good knowing he can do those things.

3. Don’t settle! How are you going to get beyond this. What would it take to increase your hourly wage(more education, improved resume, more experience, etc)? Could you change jobs? Could you make some passive income? Can you get rid of some debt, so you don’t need as much money each month?

4. Ask for Help. It’s okay to ask for and accept help. We all need it at some time.

5. Turn to God for guidance and the strength to carry on.

I have never worked so hard in my life and saw so little in return, but I have hope of a greater future. The Lord is sustaining and guiding me. I take it a moment at a time and pray to know what is most important. At that moment it may be to hold my child close or it may be to email a potential client.

What are you doing to find or keep your life in balance? How do you meet your children’s temporal as well as mental/spiritual needs?

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup (3oz) finely chopped pepperoni (I only had half the amount on hand and thought it still turned out great)
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used an Italian blend of cheeses)
2 Tbsp. parsley
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
Pizza sauce for dipping (optional)

1. Preheat over to 450 F. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets; set aside. In a large saucepan combine water and shortening. Bring to boiling. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes.

2. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Stir in pepperoni, cheese, parsley, garlic powder, and black pepper.

3. Drop rounded teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Position the 2 baking sheets on separate oven racks. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until firm and golden brown, switching oven racks halfway through baking. Transfer to wire rack. Repeat, as needed, for remaining dough. Serve warm. If desired, serve with pizza sauce. Makes about 40 puffs. Enjoy!

Check out other inspiring recipes at:
Tasty Tuesday

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

Often in the family room you revert back to childish behaviors, not always appropriate or productive to building adult relationships. This can especially cause a problem when one person is ready to grow up and the other is not. When faced with reality you may need your grown-up sibling by your side or maybe you don’t want to feel like a child around your parents anymore. Some patterns will keep repeating themselves. The key is to recognize them and change.  Keeping in mind you can’t change another individual, only yourself. In the book The Nine Rooms of Happiness they use a formula to demonstrate this: A+B=C (A is you, B is the other individual, C is your relationship) Change yourself (A) and that will change the relationship (C).

One of the good things about family (I think) is that they can be brutally honest. My son, who is only 5 years old, already tells me—at least once a week—to go change my clothes because they don’t look good. He is the fashion police for our home. (The problem is: how much fashion sense can a child who wants to wear pajamas all day really have?)

As we get feedback (referred to as “pinging” in the book) from family we learn how to measure ourselves. We learn what is true and false and who we can trust—what feedback to listen to and what to ignore. Limits are essential and need to be placed on relationships. Sometimes limits or boundaries are needed to keep yourself safe.

The following quote pretty well sums up what you are trying to do in the family room to make yourself happy:

“In the family room, the people there know you the best; which means they know where you’ve come from, but they may not always know where you want to go (or even who you are today). They continue to see you as the “kid sister” or “daughter,” which will always be true, but it’s only part of the picture. You need to let them see you grow and evolve, but that doesn’t mean leaving them behind. You can still be part of the family in a new way, one that reflects your contemporary self. And happier too.”

Philadelphia Sugar Cookies
1 pkg (8oz) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Beat cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well. Refrigerate one hour. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut cookies and place 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 325 F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 min before placing cookies on wire rack. Cool completely and frost.

I doubled this and it made about 55 cookies. I’m not sure how much dough was eaten in the process of making them

Check out other inspiring recipes at:
Tasty Tuesday

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

6 cups diced peeled potatoes*
5 cups water
2 cups diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups diced cooked ham
1 (12ounce) cans evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups Velveeta cheese, cubed

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except milk and cheese in a large crock pot.
2. Cover. Cook on low 7-8 hours, or until vegetables are tender.
3. Stir in milk and cheese.
4. Stir until the cheese melts.

*To cut down on time you can use frozen hash browns (diced, not shredded) for the 6 cups of potatoes.

Check out other inspiring recipes at:
Tasty Tuesday

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

According to The Nine Rooms of Happiness,”The basement is where all your childhood hurts and torments are stowed away in cabinets and under the stairs. You would rather not revisit them, but you have to in order to understand how you think and feel today.”

We all have something in our lives that happened that we will never forget. We may not even realize that we are still reacting to it. We may take that memory and try to prove that person wrong or we may think they were right and become weak in that area.

Fear comes from the basement. Lucy Danziger shares in The Nine Rooms of Happiness how her fear of sharks kept her from  swimming in open water. This was keeping her from accomplishing her dream of completing a triathlon. Once she faced her fear and did exactly what she feared by getting in the water. She began to enjoy swimming in open water and completed her dream of doing a triathlon. This act of courage helped her to face other fears form her past that had held her back. She had the attitude of I overcame that fear, so I can overcome this. She was no longer paralyzed.

I can relate to her story. Though I’m not afraid of sharks, I’m very afraid of coming across as stupid. An individual in my past had made reference to my poor handwriting, poor grammar, and mispronouncing of words. It didn’t matter that I had great grades in school, especially English. Because of what he said I stopped making comments in class and hated writing. My  husband would leave me sweet notes when we first got married. I can’t count the number of times I wrote him a note and then ripped it up because I was sure he would think I was stupid. I now know he would of loved the notes of love and encouragement. I’ve also come to realize that my ability to write isn’t as horrible as I had thought. I have room for improvement, but that will only happen as I continue to work on it.  I find it liberating to face this fear. My confidence in many areas of life have improved as I, at first, forced myself and later came to enjoy participating in class discussions, blogging, emailing, and writing notes of encouragement to those I love.

I love this visualization of the house . The basement “may be the largest room in the house, but it’s also not in the house, it’s under it. That means you can always climb the stairs, turn out the light, and go to any room you choose without taking the baggage with you.”

One last thought to ponder as you explore your basement.

“The past should inform the present, but you don’t want to get stuck in it. You can’t steer the car by looking in the rear view mirror without crashing. To go forward, focus on what’s ahead of you in the road, not what you’ve passed. A glimpse in the mirror can be helpful, but your future lies in front of you. Look ahead.”

Texas Sheet Cake
1 c. butter, melted
1 c. water (hot)
3 Tbsp. cocoa
2 Eggs
½ c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ½ c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda

Mix together melted butter, hot water, and cocoa. Set aside.

Cream eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Add to cocoa mixture. Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and soda. Add to mixture and beat well. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350° F for 25 minutes.

Frosting:
¾ c. butter, softened
6 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1lb powdered sugar

Mix ingredients together. Frost cake while warm.

Come back every Tuesday to add your recipe to Delicious Dishes (or just be inspired!)

If you’d like to add a recipe link to Delicious Dishes, please link directly to your recipe post and not your blog URL, so that everyone can find the recipe months from now.

Check out other inspiring recipes at:
Tasty Tuesday

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

Gold Star Wednesday