We, some girlfriends and I, had this yummy main dish at my birthday retreat last week. I found it in the Trim Healthy Mama Table book and tweaked it a bit. I didn’t have okra, which is called for in the recipe, so I left that out. It still worked. The sauce was supposed to have 1 cup frozen okra blended in. so if you do have the okra, blend it in when you make the sauce. I imagine it makes it a lot thicker.
It sure tasted yummy and warm! It was snowing outside the windows while we ate. Inside the cabin all was bright and dry. We dined on this with rice and salad, cleaned up, got into our PJs, then settled into three hours of BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, with all the “Scooby snacks” pictured below. My kind of night!
Here is my version of the recipe (sorry, no Scooby snacks included, you will have to go get those, 🙂 ):
2 to 3 lbs chicken breasts, cut with kitchen scissors (easiest) or knife, into bite-size bits
2 10 oz bags frozen broccoli
1-3 cups of other non starchy veggies, either mushrooms, squash, bell peppers, or cabbage, finely sliced
1 cup water with 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast -or- 1 c chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp glucomanann
Cook chicken, after sprinkling with mineral salt and black pepper, in frying pan with 1 Tbsp butter for five minutes, then turn over and cook for 5 minutes more, after seasoning other side. Put aside. While the chicken is cooking, you can mix the spices, water/broth and soy sauce in a blender. Add the glucomannan while the blender is whizzing. Cook the non starchies and broccoli in another 1 Tbsp of butter until tender to the touch of a fork, but not mushy. Add the chicken and sauce and heat and stir until the chicken is done. Serve with crushed red pepper flakes for those who want more spice to sprinkle on top. Next time I make this I will also serve with roasted sesame seeds seasoned with soy sauce for added crunch. Delish!
So it’s starting to feel winter here in Utah. Ugh. This is partly why I moved to sunny south Arizona five years ago. I only moved back to Utah in August because God told me to. Otherwise I would still be in AZ, enjoying the balmy falls and winters. I get gloomy with overcast skies unless I am ultra proactive. Here’s what the weather was like last week at my cabin birthday retreat.
So what am I doing?
First and foremost, I am listening to the above book in Audible. It helps me feel excited, even after almost 30 years, about being a full-time homemaker and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. If you are like me, I’m sure you’ll like it too!
What else am I doing to combat the winter blues?
doing family history research
listening to podcasts. Some of my favorites: Nancy Campbell’s From Our Home to Yours, Trim Healthy Mama, Wallbuilders, Mission Driven Mom by Audrey Rindlisbacher, Book of Mormon Evidence, Don’t Miss This, and Sally Clarkson’s At Home With Sally.
reading books to myself
reading aloud picture books to my children
weekly trips to the public library
listening to the free Jane Austen course from Hillsdale College
playing board games with my children
reaching out to people via phone, email, and text
thrifting
serving my children with food and conversation
having regular Zoom and in-person meetings with friends and family
How do we make sense of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in light of the Ezra Eagle’s prophecy? The above video shows the Ezra’s Eagle prophecy. The video below gives one man’s interpretation of the results in light of the prophecy.
Will Donald Trump ultimately prevail? Time will tell. Here is how one woman is encouraging us to pray for the election results.
Here is Rick Green’s analysis of what will happen. Rick is an attorney, patriot, America’s Constitution Coach, and former Texas state legislator. I encourage you to check out Rick’s Facebook page for his latest updates.
In the aftermath of the election, what is happening in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada – to bring division to our country – is from the evil one.
WHAT IF we mobilize a mighty intercessory prayer army to storm the gates of heaven on behalf of the voters of these states and a legal, Constitutional resolution? If God has chosen to pronounce judgment on our nation and let it fall under the weight of its own wicked devices, then so be it. I can rest in Him knowing that I left it all on the battlefield.
The prayer strategy is simple. Join us in praying through the prayer petitions below. Then, forward this email to friends who are concerned about the future of this nation and the integrity of our electoral system. “And this is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we seek anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:4)
Will You Join Us in Praying Over these FOUR STRATEGIC PRAYER POINTS?
PRAYER POINT ONE: Many fear that some are trying to steal the election, so join me in praying that the will of God would be done. Pray that the enemies of God would be quieted and that all their plans would be put to nothing.
Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that You would please convict the hearts of any who devise wicked plans intended to invalidate and nullify the expressed will of the voters. Thwart the efforts of every person who attempts to stir conflict within their community.
PRAYER POINT TWO: Frustrate, thwart, and bring to light the plans of any who attempt to sabotage the state’s election laws, destroy electoral integrity, or subvert the expressed will of the people. Heavenly Father, please “Capture the wise by their own shrewdness and quickly thwart the advice of the cunning” (Job 5:12).
PRAYER POINT THREE: Never before in our lifetime have we faced such radical agendas with harmful outcomes. If certain people and movements have their way, our country will be altered beyond recognition and repair. We are seeing how having the wrong people in positions of authority can lead to much trouble for the average family. Heavenly Father, would you intercede and reveal Your power and glory?
PRAYER POINT FOUR:Pray Psalm 5 for protection for our country and President Trump. Heavenly Father, please cause President Trump to humbly seek you in prayer, O LORD. For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. Lord, please lead our President in Your righteousness as the current leader of our country. Make his way straight before him. Heavenly Father, please give supernatural wisdom, strength and discernment to the President and his advisors regarding how to navigate the road ahead.
We accept your sovereign will. In the Mighty Name of Jesus We Pray, Amen.
I had a wonderful weekend last week in the form of a girlfriend getaway to celebrate my upcoming birthday. It was heavenly! Six of us escaped for three days into the woods at a cabin.
Laughter, games, yummy food, sharing and learning truths filled our days. I invited each participant to share what was on her heart. some topic she is passionate about. We learned about building marriage, healing with homeopathy, family history, and Korean and Chinese languages.
Plus we sauntered in the forest, watched five out of the six episodes of the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and played tabletop games.
My cup of receiving love is overflowing! There’s nothing like an extended sleepover party with girlfriends to make my heart happy.
I had finished reading last week’s Come Follow Me reading assignment early so I decided to read randomly from the Book of Mormon. I picked Alma 1. It relates so much to today! The believers of Christ were persecuted. Despite the persecution, they still experienced peace. They were steadfast and immovable. They took care of the poor and needy, turning none away. They abounded in prosperity with grain and other material goods. How were they able to do this?
I believe the key was this: they shared what they were learning with each other. They took time from their daily duties to teach and learn. The teacher was no better than they learner. They were equal. As it says in Alma 1:23:
“,,,for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.”
That’s how I view DIY mom retreats. We take a break from our daily duties, as the priests did in Alma 1:26. Instead of bringing in outside speakers, we, the moms in my community (whether it’s the community of my homeschool group, or the moms of my girlfriends’ group) are the speakers, or “preachers.” We impart the truths of what we are currently passionate about. Then we feel strengthened to go out and “return again diligently” to our labors. We prosper as we apply what we learned. having enough to share so that we give to the needy and turn none away.
This is how learning and teaching should be everywhere! I love that it is the model for BYUI. I love that this model of learning and teaching encourages people who don’t usually feel like they have a voice to share what they are learning. You never know what person might have the light you need for your path in life. Setting aside time to share allows me to discover what’s in my girlfriends’ hearts. We didn’t finish sharing so we are going to meet online to finish. I can’t wait!
My new outfit found while thrifting, inspired by my new friend Katie.
I’m so excited to find two new “sisters in thrifting” in my new homeschool group that I joined after moving back to Utah.
At our last meeting, which I call “the moms’ circle” because we all sit in a circle to discuss principles, these two women each shared for 15 minutes about one of her passions. One of them talked about how to decorate your home on a budget, by going to yard sales. The other, Katie, talked about how to shop at thrift stores for clothes. I felt so motivated by both! I’ve been thrifting for years and love it! You can read my tips for thrifting here.
Here are Katie’s tips for clothes shopping at thrift stores:
Make a list of what you want before you go. Pray and ask God for those things.
Be willing to spend the time to shop, at least an hour per kid. Katie said that she needs an hour per kid to go through every single item on the racks for all the tops and all the bottoms. She even looks at other sizes because sometimes clothes are put back on the wrong rack.
Buy a complete outfit. Only buy a top if you can buy something to wear on the bottom half of the body that coordinates with it. Katie said she likes to buy 7 outfits per kid and limit it to that.
Buy only what looks like new. She said she likes her kids to look nice and not like “stereotypical homeschoolers.” meaning they look shabby. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of that, LOL! She wants to present a good fashion impression of homeschoolers, as well as big families, as her family represents both. Making my kids dress nicer is not something I’ve been forceful about. I’m just glad when they dress themselves with shirt, pants, and shoes on. I’m busy fighting other battles. I like it when they look nice of course but sometimes they get really attached to certain slightly funny looking outfits so I don’t fight them on it. I also have one child who refuses to wear nice, even new clothes I buy. So what’s the point in picking out the clothes? I gave that up long ago and wait for that child to come to me and let him or her pick the clothes out at the thrift store. I also wait for my children to get to be 15-16 and then they start caring a lot more about their appearance, LOL. Anyway, Katie said she does hand down clothes from one sibling to another. Sometimes the younger child doesn’t like the clothes because they are a different energy type (see link below) so she will give them back to the thrift store to complete the circle of life.
She said that everything she and her children wear comes from thrift stores. I had been noticing ever since I met her that I really like her style. (If you are into Carol Tuttle’s energy types, I think Katie’s a 1/3 or a 3/1). I felt so inspired by what she shared that I went thrifting the next day. I found the above outfit, plus a sponge mop for my new tile floor (I detest string mops), and two new board games, all for only $16. Sweet victory! The pants were $6, and the top and sweater were each $5. I love the embellishments on the sweater. So cheery! The sweater seems like something Gymboree would make for its women’s line that got discontinued, which I mourned, so I’m grateful to find something like it.
A few weeks ago I had one of the major surprise blessings of my life. It was amazing! It was a tender mercy that Elder David A. Bednar has spoken about. It left my heart feeling as light and bouncy as a rubber ball.
So this story goes back to last February. My friend Olivia was helping me mentor a class for young teens called Hero Project. I’ve blogged about that before here. It’s officially about World War 2 but we expanded it to World War 1. We had fun sharing a picture book every week at the start of class relating to the two wars. So one week Olivia read aloud the book below.
In case you can’t read the title in the flowing script, it’s called Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot. It’s the true story of the Candy Bomber, Lt. Gail Halvorsen. His story is summarized below by Tom Brokaw.
Olivia and I started fantasizing about getting the Candy Bomber to come speak to our class of young scholars so they could ask him questions (this was all pre-pandemic). We had heard he lived in southern AZ, which is where I was living at the time. We had so much fun laughing over how we could somehow sleuth out his residence and show up at his church. We imagined ourselves sitting in the back of the church meeting, scoping out the congregation and spotting him. After the meeting, we would casually walk up to him and say, “Oh, excuse us, we’re just visitors…(introducing ourselves) and…might you possibly be The Candy Bomber? You are?! Oh my, we are so pleased to meet you! Fancy meeting you! We had no idea you lived around here! By the way, we teach a class on World War 2 and would be so honored if you could be interviewed by our students.”
You can start watching the Candy Bomber’s story in the above video at the 34 min, 10 second mark.
Well, we talked to a bunch of people we thought might know his whereabouts, but could not find out any contact info. So the fantasy fizzled out. The pandemic hit, so then a lot of things took precedence and I completely forgot about the dream meeting with a hero from The Greatest Generation.
Fast forward to October of this year. I had moved to Utah and was busy unpacking and settling into our new home. Imagine my surprise when I got an email invitation from a friend to the Candy Bomber’s 100th birthday party! Yes, he’s still alive and just turned 100!
To top it off, I found out when I told my parents that I was going to his party, that they knew some people very close to him, his daughter and son-in-law. I discovered that his son-in-law was my dad’s co-worker for 30 plus years.
Lesson learned: I knew someone who knew someone who knew where the Candy Bomber lives the whole time, and I didn’t know, until the day before I met him. It just makes me wonder what else I want to know that is as close to me as reaching out to my family and finding out they know someone who can help me.
Anyway, I went to the party and it was delightful! He’s amazing to be 100 years old and still kicking! I got to visit with his daughter for several minutes and found out that my mom is one of her favorite people. They have attended several social events together and love to sit by each other to gab. I spoke a few words to the Candy Bomber as well. I didn’t want to monopolize his time so courteously ended my conversation and went on my way after wishing him happy birthday. I went away feeling as giddy as if I had just met Julie Andrews.
I felt so humbled and blessed. It’s just a little thing. I didn’t even pray to meet the Candy Bomber, but God heard my conversations with Olivia. He knew that it would delight my heart if I could meet him. As I’ve blogged about before, God truly “delights to own and bless me, when I strive to do what’s right.” Those words are from the hymn, Dearest Children (Hymns, no 96). The words are below:
Dearest children, God is near you,
Watching o’er you day and night,
And delights to own and bless you,
If you strive to do what’s right.
He will bless you, He will bless you,
If you put your trust in him.
verse 2:
Dearest children, holy angels
Watch your actions night and day,
And they keep a faithful record
Of the good and bad you say.
Cherish virtue! Cherish virtue!
God will bless the pure in heart.
Verse 3:
Children, God delights to teach you
By his Holy Spirit’s voice.
Quickly heed its holy promptings.
Day by day you’ll then rejoice.
Oh, prove faithful, Oh, prove faithful
To your God and Zion’s cause.
I’m grateful for this experience and look forward to living up to “Zion’s cause” so I can receive more blessings, both prayed for and “unprayed” for.
I’ve been making this popcorn since my early days of mothering when I joined La Leche League (LLL). I got it from LLL’s Whole Foods for Kids to Cook cookbook. It’s one of the easiest treat or party foods to make. I remember making it for my older daughter’s November birthday party when she turned 8. It’s such a yummy fallish treat. I’m making it for our Heroween party this week!
8 cups popped popcorn (if you want to be fastidious, lift the popped popcorn out of the bowl with your fingers spread apart to strain out the unpopped kernels and transfer to another bowl)
2 T melted butter
2 T honey
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Combine the butter and honey and spice. Pour over popcorn. Mix well and enjoy!
The above video features Rod Meldrum and James Prout. James has interpreted the apocryphal writings of Ezra, the same Ezra who has a book in the Old Testament. He interprets a prophecy of Ezra as pertaining to next week’s presidential election. He says that Trump is going to win, but that his second term will be cut short. I encourage you to watch the above video as well as James’ videos below and tell me what you think.
This is the week I’ve struggled with as a mom for 23 years. I won’t go into all the reasons I don’t like Halloween right now. This post here shows my thoughts which I wrote up years ago. Since I penned that, I’ve found more moms’ thoughts that bolster up my thinking. Amy Roberts of raisingarrows.net has a blog here about it. Then my younger, artistic sister Emily, who has always loved Halloween (until being a mom of 6 little kids, aka candy-lovers caught up with her), wrote here about her current hatred of the day.
So I don’t feel quite alone in being a “mean mom” to her kids because I refuse to let them go trick-or-treating. Ever since Baby #2 (she’s 24 now) was almost 1. None of the seven kiddos have memories of doing it. The result: we have no memories of being sick during the winter with horrible coughs, colds, or ear infections because of the overkill of sugar from Halloween.
I love the idea from Amy of raisingarrows.net to call the day Reformation Day. That’s because Oct. 31 is the day Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. In honor of that on some of the nights this week, I’m watching all three parts of BYUTV’s Fires of Faith series. You can watch all the parts for free here.
It’s all about the Reformers/martyrs who paved the way for religious freedom and the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I also love my friend Emily Satterthwaite’s idea to call it Heroween instead of Halloween. That completely gels with the plan I’ve had for decades to celebrate heroes on this day. Heroween is easier to say than Reformation Day. It’s so serendipitous that the Quest class I mentored a few years ago for teens is all about heroes moving the cause of liberty forward. So when I mentored that class, we had a Quest Heroween party as shown here. Another year, before that, we gathered around my firepit in AZ, ate s’mores, played the Guess the Hero game, and then I shared stories about heroes.
This year my friend and I are going to have a Heroween/Harvest of Heroes party. The kids will give clues as to what hero they dressed up as and then we’ll play Guess the Hero. We will eat chili in a pumpkin, pumpkin spice popcorn, and watch Greater. If you haven’t watched Greater, you are missing out! It’s a great movie about a scholar athlete. The football theme, as well as the fact that it’s a true story, aaaaand that he was Christian makes it THE perfect movie for the day. I thank my friend Cyndi Hampton for tipping me off about it.
We watched this fireside tonight. It’s so good! I especially loved hearing from Lisa Valentine Clark. I blogged about her here a long time ago, with this post of funny videos of being a mom by a real mom.
Tragically, Lisa’s husband passed away from ALS in June. Here’s more of their story here. They are so inspiring! And here are Lisa”s fun Chatbook commercials below. As she said in her talk above, she filmed these commercials during the day, laughing all the way, then went home and took care of her dying husband and laughed and cried with him. I admire their tremendous faith and goodness and grace in accepting joy and pain at the same time.
Tree of Life Mothering 