Life Between Sunday and Supper

 As promised, I come to you today with: DESSERTS! There's just something about summer cookouts that makes everybody suddenly save room for dessert. Maybe it's the smell of burgers on the grill, kids running through the yard, or the fact that somebody always says, "I couldn't eat another bite," right before grabbing a plate of banana pudding. The Classics We All Secretly Hope Somebody Brings Let's start with the obvious heroes of the cookout dessert world. Banana pudding? Absolutely. Brownies cut into uneven squares because someone couldn't wait? Necessary. A big tray of cookies that have melted just enough in the heat to somehow taste even better? Perfection. And then there is watermelon. Listen, technically it's a fruit, but at a cookout, it absolutely counts as a dessert! Especially when it's ice cold and dripping down your arm while you stand around talking to people you may only see a few times a year. Desserts That Feel Like Summer Summer dess...

Hello friends and happy Monday! I took last week off from blogging so I could catch up on a few things but now I'm back with a few BBQ ideas for your summer. A few are classic, a few are slightly odd in a good way, and all of them belong outside with paper plates! (Note: these are just ideas and not recipes) 1) Classic Cheeseburgers I'll admit it: I'm picky about burgers, mostly because dry ones make me feel personally insulted. Use 80/20 ground beef, form those patties, season right before grilling, and don't squash them like you're mad at them. Add cheese during the final minute so it melts without turning into a waxy blanket. If you set out onions, pickles, and mustard, people will act like you hired catering. 2) Grilled Hot Dogs Hot dogs are underrated because they're easy, and easy gets mistaken for boring. Grill them until they blister a bit, then pile on onions you've cooked until they're sweet and a little smokey. I like setting out a "toppi...

 Happy Monday! I hope all of you mothers were spoiled and treated like the queens you are! I had a great weekend. Carl is pretty good about making it special for me. My kids were all over the place on Saturday, and Carl was off, so we spent the day together :) We went shopping, grilled out for lunch and supper, and spent some time at the pool. I also helped my mom get things ready for Mother's Day lunch at her house on Sunday. Sweet Makena brought me home a delicious fun drink from our local dirty drink place, The Quack Shack (she had to work all day) and gave me her gift early and Trey came home in time for supper and gave me his gift (it's funny how the smell of food always brings him home!). Sunday was church day. Carlie and Wrenley came out and brought me a gift, and we went to church (Caleb was at the fire station). We refreshments for moms between Sunday School and Morning Worship. After lunch at my parent's, I came home and did exactly what I wanted...NAP! Here are a...

 Hey guys, we're half-way through the week again! I want to share a yummy budget friendly recipe with you all that I first saw on TikTok. It hits all of the major points: quick, tastes great, and easy on the pocketbook!  I'm not sure if this has an official name, so we'll just call this Easy Cheddar Chicken and Rice. Here's What You'll Need 2 packages of Knorr Cheddar Broccoli flavored rice 2 cans of cream of chicken soup 1 can of chicken broth (fill chicken soup can) 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese 1 bag of frozen chopped broccoli 1 package of chicken tenderloins salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste Here's How To Make It Step 1: Get a 11x9 casserole dish and spray it with non-stick spray Step 2: Pour your 2 packages of rice in the dish followed by your 2 cream of chicken soups and chicken              broth. Stir. Step 3: Add bag of broccoli and top with cheddar cheese. Step 4: Season your chicken tenderloins well. Step 4: Top with Chee...

 Some days, if I’m being honest, my Christian life feels a little… phony baloney. Not in the “I don’t believe any of this” kind of way—but in the quieter, more uncomfortable way. The kind where I’m singing in church on Sunday with heart stirred… and then by Tuesday I’m impatient, distracted, and wondering if anything I said or felt was even real. It’s that strange tension between who I want to be and who I actually am. I know the right words. I know the verses. I know how to show up, smile, serve, and say all the “faith-filled” things. But sometimes underneath it all, there’s a nagging voice that whispers, “You’re just going through the motions.” And maybe that’s what makes it feel so fake—not that my faith isn’t real, but that it isn’t as consistent, passionate, or polished as I think it should be. But the thing I’ve had to wrestle with—and honestly, relearn over and over again is that feelings don’t get to be the measuring stick. We live in a world that tells us if something is...

 Happy Monday, friends! It has been a great weekend here on the homestead. Carl, Makena, and I worked at our community center's annual barbeque. Makena has recently been voted in on the board of the community center, so we decided we would go and mingle. Yes, you read that right. I made the choice to be social! It's the miracle of May! The ladies of our church also had a bake sale at the BBQ, so I helped with that.  Wrenley found her some popcorn (and Nanny) at the bake sale. She LOVES popcorn (and Nanny)!! Makena helped with the ticket sales My dad, the ticket ladies, and some of our "runners" for the takeout plates. Our cooks! Picking out baked goods can be a hard choice! These are our old neighbors. I snapped this picture as they were pulling in the takeout line. Wrenley wanted to go play on the playground. This is the same tire I used to spin around on as a kid. Carl is always visiting with someone. We tease him and say he's running for mayor :) More visiting ...

 Somewhere between Monday's fresh start and Friday's finish line, life gets busy again. The days blur a little. The to-do list doesn't shrink as fast as we hoped. And spiritually, it's easy to shift into "just get through it" mode without even noticing. That's where a mid-week faith check comes in- not as something formal or complicated, but just a quiet moment to check in with your heart and with the Lord.                 Not because God has moved.                                                                                                                        But because we often do.              ...

 Happy Monday, friends! We have had a super busy weekend here on the homestead. We spent the latter part of the week running around and preparing for Carlie's baby shower. Makena had a vision, but no time because she was busy preparing for her "Coffee with the Curator" segment at the museum on Thursday night, and she also works on Saturdays. That left my mom and I running around gathering decorations as well as food and gifts for the shower. We also cleaned the fellowship hall at church, before we could even decorate. It was definitely a labor of love. Thankfully it did finally rain, so Carl was off to help us. She did an amazing job on the top of what the Grand Pairie is. Here are the pictures I got at the shower: Weekends like this one leave me with tired feet and a full heart. Between the laughter, the conversations, and celebrating Carlie and sweet baby Wesley, it was one of those weekends that felt busy in the best kind of way. Life has a funny way of packing so much...

Let's talk about something that happens in almost every church at some point--the feeling that the pastor has favorite members. Maybe it's the people who always seem to be in the inner circle--the ones who get the most praise, the ones whose opinion carry the most weight. If you've been in church long enough, you've probably noticed it. The truth is that pastors are human. They naturally connect with certain personalities just like the rest of us do. Sometimes it comes from years of serving together, similar life stages, or simply working alongside each other in ministry. While that always means intentional favoritism, it can still leave others feeling overlooked or frustrated.  So what do we do when we find ourselves in this position? First, guard your heart. It's easy for hurt feelings to turn into bitterness, and bitterness spreads quickly in a church family. Scripture reminds us to keep our hearts soft and our attitudes humble. The goal is not to win a popularit...

Hey good friends! Hope you've had a great weekend. We didn't get a whole lot accomplished here. That has been a big problem lately. I have been very unmotivated lately. Just kind of in a funk. I do post a little more frequently on Instagram, but even that has slowed down. Anyway, we had a pretty good weekend. On Friday evening Carl and I went to the farm. We were just checking out the rice they just planted and talking about that if it didn't rain soon, they would have to flush the rice so it would grow. I'm not extremely familiar with this process because it isn't something that happens all that often. In the thirty years Carl has worked on the farm, he has only done it 3 times. We just really need some rain! We took the Ranger around to the reservoir to see how it looked. I am ready to go fishing!   It looks perfect!  A little dirt road therapy Saturday was the laziest day we have had since winter. Carl was off. It was cloudy and dark-ish. The perfect day for just...

Happy Monday, friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. Our weekend project involved building a wrap-around walkway/porch on our houseboat. You know, just a quick little project. Carl has way more patience than I do when it comes to building things. He measures...and measures...and measures some more before deciding what to do. We make a pretty good team though. I'm always eager to help, even if it is when he says, "hold this while I figure this out." We started around 1 and finished around 5. We were thankful for a nice day. Usually when he gets off early, it is due to rain when you really can't do much.  Here are the before and after pictures: Notice how there is no walkway next to the porch. This is the part that took the longest.  Lots of measuring and cutting! We love it! It will give us lots more room to tie up and hang out! The back end. Makena and I have plans to tan back here while Carl and Trey fish out front! We did all of this on Saturday. I personally th...

 Happy Friday, Friends! Today I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  for another Friday Favorites. What a week it has been! Having picnics with Wrenley and Makena were pretty high up on my favorites list. She wanted a lunchable (big surprise there!) while Makena and I had tuna salad. Playing outside is a must with Wrenley! And she loves making sure the bird bath has plenty of water! Another thing on my favorites list is listening to Trey play the guitar. This smile is also my favorite! We had a celebration for my son-in-law, Caleb this week. He is a pretty great guy and we are thankful that he is "ours" now :)  He is my favorite son-in-law! As I was studying for my Gospel Project lesson earlier this week I realized we only have 3 more lessons! That means that summer break is just 3 weeks away (for our Wednesday night program)! Although I will still have to prepare lessons for Sunday School and VBS.  Summer is my favorite! This summer will be extra sp...