When all else fails.  Breathe.

Trust your instincts.  You will be an unbelievable mom.

There is nothing quite as sweet as baby toes.  Kiss them often! 

What you didn’t get right today you can practice again tomorrow.  (After all, isn’t that what you will teach your Little One?)

Keep a calendar handy to joy down those precious things your baby does.  Years from now, you’ll be glad you did!  (And so will your baby.)

Expect to fall in love every day. 

Be patient with yourself.  This is definitely on-the-job training.

“Go with the flow” will come to have many new meanings.  Enjoy them all!

Whatever you dream for your baby, be sure to keep dreaming for yourself.  You will be richer for it.

Just think!  Your baby is going to learn how to love because of you.

Record your baby’s laughter.  It’s a sound worth saving forever. 

It’s okay to make time for yourself.  Your baby needs the break too!

You can never take too many pictures.  Make sure you are in some of them too!

Capture a new memory every single day.  Play lots.  Be amazed.  Laugh often.  Watch for rainbows.

I was sitting in the nest I had made in the living room: a chair from which I was recovering from yet another surgery. One of my cats lay blissfully asleep on the ottoman in front of me. Suddenly he jerked awake and was up on all 4 with ears bent. I turned down the TV, what startled him?

Then I heard it to, the sound of many footsteps on my front porch. Oh great just what I don’t need an unannounced visit from people. I wasn’t expecting anyone this evening and I certainly didn’t feel like entertaining a group. Knock, knock. I started to stir from my nest peeling off layers of blankets and pillows but fortunately my husband got to the door before I got too unwrapped.

Door opened, in marched my 3 best friends together, but what were they doing here? The bigger questions was what in the world where they wearing? What was going on?  With my jaw hanging open on my lap the three women silently came in and seated themselves on the carpet in front of my chair.

And then it happened, the 4 us busted out in laughter. I could not believe what I was seeing and was laughing hysterically in disbelief.  Each of my friends was wearing a burlap sack! And their faces where smeared with something, something…blue?  As I took in the scene I could see that the 3 had even made a nod to my obsession with fashion. They had used 2 of the “hottest” colors for spring, tangerine orange and cobalt blue to accessorize themselves. Wearing chic little strings of orange yarn they had made into belts, large spring flowers pinned to their sacks and cobalt blue “ashes” smeared on their faces.

I am the most blessed woman on the planet!  The proof was sitting on my living room floor. For several years now I have battled a variety of unusual and unexpected health challenges. In a good-natured manner I was bestowed the new nickname Job by my friends. Now before me were Zophar, Bilead, Eliphaz come to sit with me in “sackcloth & ashes”. But unlike the biblical story they did not sit silently mourning my latest tragedy, nor did they try to give me any advice. Well, they might have tried, but if they did I did not hear them because I could not stop laughing. I am not sure silence was even an option; after all you had 4 crazy women in one room, who expects the miracle of silence?

I was overwhelmed. How did you guys plan this? Where did you get the burlap sacks? What’s the blue stuff? You changed in the parking lot of the nearby mall?! Are you crazy? The answer to the last one is yes.

I had received many lovely cards filled with kind words during my recovery, but here was love-the love of Christ in physical presence before me. I am indeed blessed, blessed with the valuable gift of amazing friends.

“This is my command love each other” John 15:17

Written by Julie Walters

Perfect Peace, by Laura Story

Stay close by My side
Keep your eyes on Me
Though this life is hard
I will give you perfect peace

In this time of trial
Pain that no one sees
Trust me when I say
I will give you perfect peace

And you’ll never walk alone
And you’ll never be in need
Though I may not calm the storms around you
You can hide in Me

Burdens that you bear
Offer no relief
Let Me bear your load
Cause I will give you perfect peace

Stay close by My side
And you’ll never walk alone
Keep your eyes on Me
And you will never be in need
Though this life is hard
Know that I will always give you perfect peace
I will give you perfect peace

Mexicali Chicken
3 chicken breasts
1 bunch green onions
1 can of chili (with or without beans, or you can also use just chili beans)
3 oz can olives
7 oz jar of salsa verde (about 1 cup)
4 oz cream cheese (works best if it’s at room temp)
1 cup Mexican mix cheese

Cook the chicken, then shred. Spread evenly in a 9×13 pan. Mix all other ingredients thoroughly and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly.

Buen aprovecho!

Sausage Stuffed Loaf
Yields: 2 loaves

2 loaves (1 lb each) frozen bread dough
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1 pkg  (10-16oz) spinach [original recipe used frozen, I prefer fresh spinach]
4 cups (1 lb) shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
1 egg lightly beaten

Thaw bread dough on a greased baking sheet according to directions: let rise until doubled.   Cook sausage until no longer pink.  Drain and cool slightly.  Add spinach, cheeses, oregano and garlic powder.

Roll each loaf of dough into a 14X12 inch rectangle.  Spread sausage mixture lengthwise down the center of each rectangle. Bring edges of the dough to the center over filling and pinch to seal.

Return to the baking sheet, placing seam side down: tucking ends under and form in a crescent shape.  Brush with egg.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.  May also cool loaf on a wire rack, wrap in foil and freeze up to 3 months.  To use frozen loaf: Thaw at room temperature 2 hours, place unwrapped on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Enjoy God’s creation!

Here’s the link.  The nest is located in Decorah, Iowa.

For more information on the project and additional pictures, you can find them on Facebook under “Raptor Resource Project.”

Tell us about how you came to be at Women’s Retreat this year.
In the last year I recommitted my life to the Lord.  While I’m not normally prone to New Year’s resolutions, this year it was clear that the Lord was asking me to make one.  I committed to trying new things and branching out in ways that, in the past, I have been nervous about.  This included attending Women’s Retreat.  I was interested in attending Women’s Retreat but it seemed that I didn’t know anyone that was going.  I hesitated signing up in part because I wasn’t sure I wanted to go if I didn’t know anyone else that was going.  The topic “Time For A Fresh Start” sounded really intriguing—with all the things that had been going on in my life over the last year or so, I knew that I was living a fresh start!  The final Sunday that registration was offered I was attending the 5:00 evening service.  As I thought about the retreat, I recalled an experience I had during the Sunday evening service a month prior.  The worship team had led us in the song “Jesus, All For Jesus” while offering was being taken.  The third verse started: “For it’s only in your will that I am free.”  It hit me in a new way.  It’s only when I’m really living in Your (God’s) will that I am actually (really) free.  I’ve always been on a search to be free.  And I stopped in my tracks (I was collecting the offering) as that verse washed over me a fresh reminder of my freedom in Jesus.  I was so overcome by the truth in that verse that others had to keep the offering plate going for me!  The final hook for me to sign up was the zip line.  I used to be an adrenaline junkie—I’ve even been skydiving—and I have always wanted to try a zip line.  So I signed up for both Retreat and the zip line!

Was there something Connie Cavanaugh said that made a strong impact on you?
Saturday morning Connie spent time talking about our secrets; that we all have secrets that we don’t share with others, that we don’t want anyone to know about.  At one point, she read a list: secret after secret that women keep.  As she read down the list, it was obvious by the stillness in the room that women in the room were relating to each secret.  “I have a problem with anger.  I have been unfaithful in my marriage.  I’m an alcoholic.  I had an abortion.”  The list went on for quite some time.  Finally, she reached the end of the list.  But it seemed she left one out—my secret.  Six years ago I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  I was misdiagnosed for 30 years.  Thankfully, since an accurate diagnosis and now correct medication, I am in recovery, but it has been a very difficult struggle.  It is also a struggle that the church seems to not know much about or know how to address.  As I’ve opened up and shared my personal struggle, I have realized that I’m not alone.  Others within the church also struggle with mental illness themselves or have family members that do.  Mental illness and having a mental illness has been stigmatized, forcing people to hide and keep secrets.  How painful and prohibitive to healing!

I was able to talk with Connie after the session and share my secret with her.  It was through this conversation, and then later through the other sessions, that I learned she, as well as family members, also struggle with life-long mental illness.  Their struggles are with depression, anxiety, and panic disorder—a different type than mine, but mental illness all the same.  This was a secret that she herself was familiar with!

What was the most meaningful lesson or experience for you at retreat?
That it’s okay—it’s okay to be me.  Bipolar and all.  I’m finally free to be me.  It’s not a punishment, and it’s not a joke.  I spent years feeling like I was being punished or that God had played some cruel joke on me, that He really wasn’t there when I was created in my mother’s womb.  That I wasn’t actually “fearfully and wonderfully made” like Scripture promises.  But those were just lies.  I can be myself and not feel ashamed or hide it anymore (Jesus likes me, not just loves me).  Who I am and what I struggle with are not the same thing.  I have a brain illness that’s not my fault.  My identity is not my illness.  I have bipolar disorder.  I am a Christian.  My identity is that I’m a daughter of the King.  It is no longer my secret.  I have received a new kind of freedom and peace.  I have come to see that we’re all alike in that we’re all different.  No two people are the same—from physical characteristics and then on.  We all have secrets.  We all have something to give regardless of circumstances and past experiences.  I have what I need now to make a move and act (“be the tree,” as Pastor Jonathan Alexander would say.)  I don’t have to be you and you don’t have to be me.  Because of my experiences, I can touch someone you can’t touch.  Because of your experiences, you can reach someone I can’t reach.  And together we work for Jesus.  I love the quote from the Christian movie October Baby: “To be human is to be beautifully flawed.”  That’s me.  Human.  Flawed.  And learning, beautiful.  God gave me this passage from Zephaniah 3:14-17: “Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel!  Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! . . . The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Tell us about your zip line experience!
The zip line was the chocolate frosting on the cake!  (FYI, chocolate is one of the four major food groups!)  As I mentioned, I used to be an adrenaline junkie and I just could not wait to get on that zip line and GO!  As soon as I was all geared up and hooked up I asked, “How can I go really fast?!”  I think my enthusiasm confused the staff.  “You want to go fast?” they asked.  I stepped off that ledge and whooped and hollered the whole way down!  And I had so much momentum towards the end that I nearly knocked the next staff person over that was waiting to help me out!  It was such a blast!!!  Such a wonderful illustration of my renewed sense of freedom in Jesus.  I even had someone tell me, “Next year I’ll pay $8 just to watch you go!”  That experience was so exhilarating I had to find out if there were more zip lines in the area.  I’m ready to do a Tour de Zip Lines!  (As it turns out, Cascades Camp has the only zip line in the state!)

For some great resources and further reading, please check out the links below:

1) What is Mental Illness: Mental Illness Facts
2) Types of mental illnesses
3) A great meditation on Zephaniah 3:17

If you or someone you know is struggling, or just looking for a safe place to talk, please access the following resources through Community Support Ministries:

1) Recovery/Support Groups (See brochure)
2) Tower of Light Ministries – Help for the Homosexual Struggler
3) Living Waters – Sexual and Relational Brokenness
4) DART – Domestic Abuse Resource and Training
5) Stephen Ministers – Walking through a difficult situation? Stephen Ministers can help by walking with you. Contact Sue Dils at sued@nsb.org or 425.216.4435.
6) Lay counselors – for one-on-one help with a personal issue or crisis, lay counselors are available. Contact Sue Dils at sued@nsb.org or 425.216.4435.

“[The website: www.mysimplerlife.com has] a simple one-thing-a-day calendar that keeps me on task. Not overwhelmed with the all at once task but a little every day equals job complete in the end. I feel as if I have done something but still have time for everything else! Turkmen have a proverb that translates, drop by drop the river is formed. I think is a good one!”

If you have other tips for simplifying life or getting tasks done efficiently, please share!  Remember, it’s as easy as posting a comment below!

Even though my house is not yet at “Spic ‘N Span for Spring” status, I am finding myself thinking about cleaning and organizing!  I’m also thinking about FOOD.  (Hmm, then again, when am I not thinking about food?)

I would love to hear how your spring is shaping up. Are you motivated?  Inspired?  Donning a brand new apron with the BBQ fired up and new cookbook pages flying?  What are you doing these days to clean out the cobwebs–literally or figuratively?

If you have a spring cleaning tip or fun recipe–please share!

Have you read a good book lately?  Tell us about it!

Email your ideas!  You can click on the “contact us” button at the top of the page and click on my name, or email me at mlekell@hotmail.com.

If you read the blog from the actual blog site (http://blogs.nsb.org/women/) you will see a “button” at to the BOTTOM RIGHT of each post that says “no” in a circle followed by the word “comment.”  If someone has left a comment, the “no” will be replaced by the number of comments posted to that particular post.  The color of the button changes depending on the number of comments posted.  When you hover your mouse over the button, you’ll see it changes from an arrow to the pointing hand.  Simply click on this button.  The next screen will show you any other comments posted as well as a space to post your own.  You’ll see a “Leave a Reply” bubble followed by a box for you to type your text.  It will also ask you for your name and email address.  Feel free to only leave your first name if you want, and know that no one will see your email except me (the blog coodinator) because I have administrative access to the blog.  Then comment away!

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YOUR COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!  Thanks for reading!

Emily Cavanaugh, blog coordinator