Janelle from Comfy in the Kitchen is back wtih us today with a wonderful recipe.  She writes:

I absolutely LOVE this recipe…now that I think about it, it was the recipe I made when I had my first “dinner party” 9 years ago. I also made this dish a couple weekends ago when we had our dear friends over for “Mexican Night” and a game of Balderdash! Let me tell you…the leftovers are every bit as tasty. I paired these enchiladas up with refried beans, homemade salsa and chips, and corn cake. Muy delicioso!!!!! Enjoy! ~Janelle

Making the sauce: cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chopped green chiles, cumin, green onions 

Boil chicken, let cool and cut into bit sized pieces

Place tortillas on dish and heat in microwave for 1 min to soften (some people like to dip these in hot oil one at a time, but this is easier and saves some calories

place open side down in a 9×13

pour sauce over top

sprinkle with remaining cheese

Serve! This seriously is so good!
  

Walk with the King,

If you are in need of some fresh new recipes – then visiting Janelle’s blog at Comfy In the Kitchen is a must! She also has a Feasting In Fellowship Friday Link-Up Party happening right now – join the fun!!

Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday – and she told me on Sunday when we celebrated her birthday – “now don’t go mentioning this on your blog.” lol!!!  So sorry mom – will you forgive me?  I just can’t help myself because I LOVE you soooo much!!! 

I’ve written about my mom here - on her last birthday so I won’t be redundant – but I still have to give her a shout out!   When I was in college – every single Sunday we had a standing phone date where we would talk for an hour and she would get updated on the weekly happenings in my life and give me lots of wisdom to help me through many life decisions.  She also sent me lots of packages.  In one package – there was a big surprise!  I’m not sure if she knows how surprised I was…but we had a rule in our house growing up that we were not allowed to buy ANY secular music.  So at this point in college – I did not own any secular CD’s out of obedience to my parents.  Then one day a package arrived from my mom – it was a Valentine’s Day package – filled with fun girlie things, cookies and it had a Celine Dion CD in it! !  Surprise – and I loved it!   There’s one song on that CD that always made me think of my mom and I wanted to share it – it’s titled “Because You Loved Me.”

 Mom – it’s because you loved me enough to teach me the to do the hard things in life – that I am where I am today.  Thank you doesn’t seem enough – so I wish you a very Happy Birthday and many more. (((Hugs)))) and Kisses,
Courtney

Now it’s link-up time! It’s Women Living Well’s Wednesday Link-Up Party!!! Join the fun, do a little blog hopping and don’t forget if you join below -please add the Women Living Well Wednesdays button to your post so your readers can find us here! (Posts can include the topics of marriage, parenting, homemaking, finances, recipes, organization and more!)

Since the day my son came out of the womb – he was a rough and tumble little guy. It’s the way God wired him! As a toddler, he rarely cried when he fell or bumped his head and as a school boy he is very high energy. It’s hard to keep him from running, jumping, climbing and diving in the house! lol! He loves contact sports and has played flag football with the public school kids for the last 4 years. This year flag football was a lot like (full contact -minus- the pads) +plus+ some flags! I did a lot of wincing and turning my head – it was hard to watch! He also takes Karate and gets to do a little sparring while learning discipline, respect and tenacity. And then there’s basketball. He is currently playing in the public school league and this is his sport. He loves the non-stop running and to be honest – it seems to be quite a full contact sport at his age also! The kids are still learning the fundamentals of a foul! lol!

I love that my son can use his energy appropriately through sports, but at home this has posed a bit of a challenge. Sometimes he gets his coat out of the closet like he’s going after a football – he throws an elbow at his sister, whips his coat out and dashes out the door leaving her knocked on the floor wondering what just hit her.

This is where manners come into play. Clearly, there’s a long list of manners that are missed in this very simple – and sadly common – coat scenario. First, ladies before gentlemen would solve the entire problem – right? Secondly, words like – “excuse me”, “I am sorry”, “are you okay” “let me help you up” or “you can go first” would also help.

I have taught my children manners many times. Some weeks I’ve been a heavy enforcer and then with the hustle and bustle of life, the manners slide without me noticing. So I ordered this hand book titled: Proper Manners and Health Habits, to begin in the new year and I was so surprised when I opened the book and saw the title to Chapter 1!

Chapter 1 is titled “Gentle Words” and oh boy was I excited to tell the kids that they would be joining me for the January WLW “Gentleness Challenge” – this is a family venture!!!  Like us – children need to learn to use “Gentle Words”.  So what words are considered “gentle words?”

And there you have it.  Lesson 1 for teaching our children to be gentle!  These are the words of the month in our house and I’ve been clapping each time they use them…so yesterday Alexis said “thank you” and I kept on doing what I was doing.  She called me out on it – “mooooooooooom, I just said thank you.”  I said, “your welcome.”  Then she repeated – “no mom, I just said thank you.”  I repeated, “your welcome Alexis” a bit confused…she said – “aren’t you going to clap mom?” lol!  Children love praise which goes with yesterdays post (and by the way – clapping is SO much easier than a sticker/rewards chart and extremely effective – try it – clap and hoot and holler for your kids when they do good – they will light up – they will stand taller!).  Let’s teach our children to be gentle through using good manners and remember to praise them 10 times more than we correct them!

Walk with the King,

My son adores Tim Tebow right now and I’m glad he has him to look up to.  For us in this gentleness challenge, Michelle Duggar is a role model in the area of gentleness.  When I look at the picture of Michelle next to me… I see two similiar women – we love God, our husbands, children and our homes.  We both homeschool and I’d say we are a smiley pair!   I also see two very different women.  We have different philosophies on a few things in life including the fact that she has a few more children then me (17 more to be exact!) .  But one of our biggest notable differences would be that her tone of voice is SO much sweeter than mine.  If you want to see an example of a Gentle Mom – just tune into TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting – because Michelle is the ultimate “real life” Gentle Mother. 

On the Duggars old website they had posted their top 5 parenting tips – and I wrote them down. # 5 read like this:  

Ask God to help you conquer anger because it can destroy your relationship with your children. Praise them ten times more than you correct them.

Tip number 5 also says “praise them 10 times more than you correct them.” Ten times more?  That’s a lot!  I feel like I am always saying “keep your hands to yourself, that’s not nice, watch your words, don’t take that from her, don’t give me attitude, walk slowly, be gentle, look at me when I am talking, that’s not kind, take care of your toys, don’t make a mess” and on and on the correction list goes.  

This weeks challenge: In week 2 we focused on bringing our voices down low close to a whisper when we feel like yelling.  In week 3 – we focused on anger management.  This week add in words of praise for Christlike qualities.  Be specific and really pay attention to the godly things your children are doing.  Try to do what the Duggars do - and praise your children 10 times more than you correct them. 

If you are taking the challenge, I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section with feedback – how is it going? Take time to encourage other women in the comment section – we need each other. If you are a blogger, I invite you to “copy” and “save as” this button and put it somewhere on your blog and link it back to http://www.womenlivingwell.org Then link up below!

Walk with the King!

Courtney

**I apologize for the technical difficulties with today’s link-up – Linky tools is acting wonky

I’m linking up to:

Many moons ago, back when I posted one of my own recipes a week…I posted my Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese Recipe.  It’s a favorite of mine.  But every now and then – you don’t want to wait ALL day for your Macaroni and Cheese to cook!  So I’m thankful today for Janelle (from Comfy In the Kitchen) who has an awesome Oven Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe!  The ultimate in comfort food!  Janelle writes:

There are so many different ways to prepare Mac n Cheese…different cheeses, different methods of cooking, even different noodles! This is my family’s recipe…it is very simple, creamy, and oh so yummy! This dish is made at most of our family gatherings because it is easy to double.  Enjoy!

Melt together butter, cream, milk, salt and pepper over med heat

Add Velveeta

Stir well until melted 

In boiling water, add 2 cups of dry macaroni and cook until al dente (soft/firm- not mushy) 

“Pam” a dish with high sides (DO NOT use a 9×13 pan)
 

Drain macaroni (Do not rinse!)

Add macaroni into pot with cheese sauce and stir (it will seem runny, but it thickens as it bakes)

Place uncovered in oven set at 350 and bake for 35-45 mins

AHhhhhhhh…..Comfort Food bliss!!
Enjoy!

Walk with the King,

If you are in need of some fresh new recipes – then visiting Janelle’s blog at Comfy In the Kitchen is a must! She also has a Feasting In Fellowship Friday Link-Up Party happening right now – join the fun!!

Keisha Johnson

Torrie from Blessed Beyond Measure

Holly – with 10 children – you posted at 10:47pm – Jan. 9

Sarah Walker

Teresa from 8 Things About Me

Congratulations!  Please email me with your home address at courtney (at)womenlivingwell(dot)org

The thing I most dislike about giveaways is that I can’t give you ALL one – seriously – it bugs me…I’m so sorry ! 

If you didn’t win and you need budgeting help – over 150,000 moms are being helped by Crystal on her facebook page  - check out her blog Money Saving Mom.  You won’t be disappointed!

Walk with the King,

When you’ve been wronged…really really wronged…and the other person moves on with their life leaving you hopeless with no justice…bitterness sets in.  John Piper gives you scripture that you can cling to when you feel swallowed up by bitterness – watch this and hand your anger over to God :

How to Fight Bitterness from Desiring God on Vimeo.

 Choices…

We make a million little choices in life but when we put them all together they shape the course of our life.  Angela shared this video at Good Morning Girls this week, and I liked this quote from the video:

“If we could jump ahead 10, 15, 20 years and see the accumulation of our decisions, the chain of events we set in motion how differently would we live today? How would we choose to spend our time? What would we walk away from? How would we treat the people around us? What would we choose to pursue with passion?…Your future is a million little choices.”

If you are participating in the Gentleness Challenge – this 2 minute video will remind you why you are doing this…

 The last video, my friend Ingrid (who blogs at Reaching His Kids) posted on facebook!  It made me laugh – so this video is for homeschoolers !  If you are not a homeschooler  - please know that my identity is NOT in my homeschooling but in Christ.  There’s been no shortage of criticism for our life choices…but I know that those who make other schooling choices get criticized too…I’m not trying to send any messages here – just sharing something that tickled me – also I have not “background” checked the producers of this video – so I am not promoting all of their videos…just this one  lol! Enjoy 7 Lies About Homeschoolers!

Now it’s link-up time! It’s Women Living Well’s Wednesday Link-Up Party!!! Join the fun, do a little blog hopping and don’t forget if you join below -please add the Women Living Well Wednesdays button to your post so your readers can find us here! (Posts can include the topics of marriage, parenting, homemaking, finances, recipes, organization and more!)

So this production company contacted me to have my own reality show.  Okay – you can scrape yourself up off the floor now from laughing because trust me – that’s what I did too!

Back in October, I got an email and I returned the call.  The company said they were interested in a documentary.   That caught my attention and I was very interested.  We talked multiple times on the phone as they interviewed me and learned more about my life. (I first verified that this production company was respectable with 2 people in show business).  They wanted to know about my marriage, faith, daily life and my church life.  The more we talked, the more the casting director became interested in the other ladies in my life – my sisters and a few other friends.

She felt we were on to something special and asked to have the contact information of 2 of my on-line friends.  After she spoke with them – she was ready to fly out and meet us and she asked me to invite my sisters and these friends.  So in November, we met and the intent was to see if we would be the cast of a reality show.  The production company’s plan was to pitch the show to TLC and OWN (Oprah’s Network).  Both networks were interested in a show of this nature.    The company liked us and we went forward – laughing – laughing because seriously – if you have seen any of the “Real Housewives” reality shows – these girls are OVER THE TOP – they are wealthy, tan, outrageous and well – we are just simple moms in Ohio…we weren’t convinced there was  a story line here but we wanted to be open to God’s leading.  We fasted and prayed for God’s leading and moved forward.

From there, there were Skype interviews for all the women and they nailed it.  Then the contract came out – and it was time for us all to sign on the line in the month of December…and this mama got cold feet.  Am I ready to have cameras in my house?  What if I say something accidently – there’s no taking it back.  What if they edit me to be kinda crazy?  What if – what if – what if? This blog post written back in November was birthed from the fears that arrived from the possibilities of this show – I was freaking out a little bit lol!

Many many prayers went up – “God is this you opening a door or is this something to walk away from”?  My husband and I wrestled and wrestled and wrestled with this.  Over Thanksgiving Dinner, there was a family discussion with my sisters and their husbands – should we do this?  At Christmas dinner again we revisited this question but at this point my oldest sister was out and my other sister was on the fence.  And by New Years dinner, my husband and I had made our decision.  We would not be signing the contract.  

Oh Ladies – I love you all SO sincerely much. I want to give God all of me – surrendered for his glory – but it felt so risky putting my life in the hands of non-believers to edit.  The production company was SO very kind with my decision and left it in a place where there’s still a crack in the door if I changed my mind…I hated passing up this opportunity.  I love being bold for Christ – but I know my weaknesses and I also know my time constraints and when we looked at my calendar and other projects I’m working on for ministry – there seemed to be no way to do it all without it hurting my family.  The integrity of my writing lies in the integrity of how I live – and I could not live well with this on my plate. I’ve realized that the Duggars are very special people!

There is still a chance that the show will go on…there are 5 ladies still going forward (Clare from Peak 313 was also being pursued and has backed out.) The rest of the group is waiting to hear back from the networks to see if it can go forward.  Do pray with me that God does something great here.  I’d just LOVE for you to see my friends, their family’s, and my church on reality television – can you imagine?!!!  Oh it’s fun to imagine what God could do!  

Ephesians 3:20,21:  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Walk with the King!

Courtney

We are up to Week 3 in our Gentleness Challenge and this week I want to focus on our anger issues.  There are several reasons why we may feel angry with our children. The book of Proverbs speaks directly to our issues.  Let’s look at a few of the reasons we lose our temper.

1.  Too high of expectations.  If you hold to the philosophy of “I speak, and the children must obey immediately“, you will be angry often.  How do I know this?  Because by the time my son was 3, I had read many parenting books that convinced me my son was to obey “right away, all the way, with  a cheerful heart.”  Indeed, Ephesians 6 says that children are to obey their parents and it is my job to teach them to obey.  BUT bad news…they have to be trained to obey…and this takes years and years for children who learn the hard way – and I have two of those types of children! lol!

So my expectations were very high for my pre-schoolers and that made my patience very short.  James 1:20 says that human anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.  And I had to learn that my children were 2 and 4…they had only been on the planet a SHORT time lol!!  It was up to me to get creative – role play, read life giving stories, memorize verses with them, role model cheerfulness and joy, teach them to “try again” when they whined, give consequences for wrong behavior, pray with them, laugh with them, bond with them, enjoy them and praise them…and little by little, after year in and year out of daily pouring into them, I have begun to see fruit of my labor.  Teaching our children to obey is not an overnight process!  It’s a life long process and often God is working as much on us as mommies as he is on our children!  And in our household – honestly – we have a ways to go. (and those of you who know me in real life would agree   I do not have angelic children.  I have normal children. )

2.  Exhaustion.  The reality is – when we are tired, stressed, and overwhelmed - it’s hard to manage our emotions.  If you know you had a short night of sleep and your children are on your last nerve, zip your lip and pray your way through the entire day.  Don’t require too much of anyone that day…do the bare minimum and get to sleep as soon as you can.  Communicate this to your husband and ask him if he could help you get the kids to bed so you can go to bed early.  Race to your bed!  Nothing is going to  make that day better but sleep.   A well rested mommy is a blessing to her family.

3.  Disorganization.  I am not saying we have to be the queen of order but I will say that when we are running late, forgotten an important paper, lost our keys, laundry is piled sky high, toys are everywhere, and bills are overdue…we are going to be a tad bit edgey!  Waking early enough to get alone with God, pray over our day, get filled with his word, think through everyone’s needs, and prepare for the day in advance before the day comes charging at us, will help our irritablity levels.

4.  Bitterness in your marriage.  Beware – if you are struggling in your marriage – there is a temptation to take it out on your children.  I have noticed when my husband does something “annoying” I might not say anything because it’s “not worth fighting over.”  But that annoyance can transfer over to the children.  That is wrong.  Deal with your marriage issues…within your marriage, do not let things simmer under the surface as the anger will come out when you least expect it.

 5.  Go to the book of Proverbs.  Proverbs is stuffed FULL of wisdom for dealing with anger…here is a picture of what I did long ago to Proverbs in my Bible.  I grabbed a pink highlighter and starting in chapter 10, I marked every single verse that referenced how I am to communicate with others.  If this is a weak spot for you – I recommend you do the same.  Once you complete this – commit some of them to memory.  Let God’s word dwell richly in you – there is no greater transforming power on earth than God’s word. 

I recently re-watched this week’s video and could see the sadness in my eyes. I had cried a lot the week that we made this video because of my frustrations in parenting. This video was recorded last July – and we have moved past this incident that I explain in the video. I can honestly say that we have seen God do a lot of work in this area but we are not out of the woods. Grab a cup of coffee and join the discussion between Angela and me.

If you are taking the challenge, I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section with feedback – how is it going? Take time to encourage other women in the comment section – we need each other. If you are a blogger, I invite you to “copy” and “save as” this button and put it somewhere on your blog and link it back to http://www.womenlivingwell.org Then link up below!

Walk with the King!

Courtney

I’m linking up to:

Janelle from Comfy In The Kitchen is back with a fun birthday idea!  She attended the birthday party of a mutual friend and look at these great ideas!  She writes:

I had the blessing of being invited to a sweet princess birthday party for my friend Katina’s little girl. Katina did such a great job making her daughter feel like a princess, I just had to share it with all of you. The children’s menu was simple, yummy, and adorable. I will be stealing some of these ideas when making a lunch for our church’s mother/daughter tea!

What better time to make the little ones in our lives feel special than on the day they were born? Little do they know, it is a special day for us mom’s too.

Here is the Princess of the Hour with my daughter.

 Adorable peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the shapes of hearts. Katina simply used a cookie cutter to make these shapes. Easy, affordable, adorable and what child doesn’t like PB and J?

 The “hors d’oeuvres”- Strawberry cream cheese atop a graham cracker with strawberry garnish

….and cubed cheese with pretzel picks! How nifty is that?!

Katina made a simple cupcake and piped vanilla frosting out of a ziploc bag. I love using ziploc bags for piping too- cleaning the “professional” ones are too time consuming! These, you can just throw away. Love that. She purchased the little toppers at Party City. Making your own cupcakes saves a TON of money. Aren’t these ones just as nice? I think so.

A simple, yet beautiful Party Punch. There is something about punch that makes the day feel more special-don’t you think?

Katina and her mom made this beautiful Cinderella Cake! Jo-Ann Fabrics sells all you would need to make this very cake.

All the girls got to make a froggy craft to take home…

And each little princesses name was at a setting….

We played pin the princess in her castle.

and even had face painting! (paints and all other decorations were purchased at Party City).

 What a fun time these girls had at this very special princess party! The love Katina showered upon her little girl was so endearing. These are memories that they will never forget…grab ahold of making each day special Ladies.

Walk with the King,

If you are in need of some fresh new recipes – then visiting Janelle’s blog at Comfy In the Kitchen is a must! She also has a Feasting In Fellowship Friday Link-Up Party happening right now – join the fun!!