Fall Giveaway: MOPS Membership

If you have young ones at home I hope you've heard of MOPS! It is a nationwide ministry for mothers who are pregnant or have children under 6! Groups get together several times a month while out kids are taken care of in 'MOPPETS' for a meal, crafts, speakers, but most importantly to support each other!! I can't tell you the number of times that I have looked forward to MOPS, walking in with the weight of the world on my shoulders and after sharing my troubles with the other moms at my table left feeling so much better. Some of my very best friends I have met at MOPS!! 

The MOPS Membership that I am giving away is nationwide and will cover the annual membership fee at any group you choose to attend. Most groups do have a small meeting fee to help cover the cost of childcare, crafts and other group expenses. To find a group in your area visit {www.mops.org}. 

The theme this year is 'A BEAUTIFUL MESS' To enter for a chance to win a free MOPS Membership, please comment below with your email as well as your response to: 

You know motherhood is a beautiful mess when...

Winner will be chosen from the comments below on 9/21/13. In order to complete your membership, mailing address and email will be required. 

Have you ever been 'that mom'

Moms are the WORST at comparing ourselves to others. Either we are quick to point out everyone else's flaws or we are consumed with mom guilt and envy. Do you remember before you had kids ever seeing a mom struggling with her children and thinking the worst of her attempts, claiming that you would be so much better when you had kids? Yeah - I think we can all agree that motherhood is a whole lot more challenging that we ever imagined it would be. What we really need is not advice, looks of disgust, or condescending comments... what we need when we are 'that mom' whose kids are in the middle of a melt down is grace. I love verse 4 of this passage! It reminds us that God is 'very kind to you, puts up with you, and deals patiently with you.' The next time you see a mom who is at her whits end, don't just walk by - offer a smile that says you've been there. And when you are the one with the kid who is making a complete fool of himself in the middle of the store remember that this too shall pass and remember how God has dealt with you!

Pray: Jesus thank you first for never giving up on me. For chasing after me when I was still a sinner and for loving me enough to find me. Help me not to judge other moms Lord and at the same time help me to be content. Content with who you have made me to be as a mother, and content with the season of life that I am in with my children. When my children push my buttons remind me of how you have treated me and fill me with patience, kindness and a love that smothers rebellion.

Romans 2:1-4

2 No matter who you are, if you judge anyone, you have no excuse. When you judge another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. 2 We know that God’s judgment is right when he condemns people for doing these things. 3 When you judge people for doing these things but then do them yourself, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Do you have contempt for God, who is very kind to you, puts up with you, and deals patiently with you? Don’t you realize that it is God’s kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act?

Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Muffins

Don't knock it till you try it! These muffins are loaded with vitamin A and aren't overly sweet. There were super yummy with golden raisins but would be equally good with chopped apples. 

Sugar-Free Sweet Potato Muffins

1 medium sweet potato, baked until very soft

2 cups sugar free muffin mix

2 eggs

1/2 - 1 cup of water

1/2 cup oil

1 cup golden raisins

Mash sweet potato in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup water, oil and eggs. Add muffin mix just until moistened. Add water as needed until your batter is still thick but slightly fluid. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Sugar-Free Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

These were are delicious surprise when I made them and I was stoked that they had no added sugar! My kiddos gobbled them up as fast as I did. Next time I will have to make a double batch and stash a few in the freezer!  

Sugar-Free Banana Muffins

3 medium ripe bananas

2 cups sugar free muffin mix

1/2 cup Adams Natural Peanut Butter

2 Tbsp honey 

2 eggs

1/2 - 1 cup of water

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mash banana in a large mixing bowl. Add peanut butter, honey, 1/2 cup water, oil and eggs. Add muffin mix just until moistened. Add water as needed until your batter is still thick but slightly fluid. Fold in nuts. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Living with our eyes closed

Have you ever been looking at something and tolerating it for so long that you don't even realize how bad it has gotten? Then someone points it out and like a smack in the face it occurs to you! Paul's description of the fallen world sounds a whole lot like our culture today in America doesn't it? Politics aside, the is no denying that we have some issues. Paul begins this passage by explaining that no person, regardless of when or where they live will have any excuse not to believe in God. We should be able to see God by just looking at creation. When my first son was born my entire faith was changed. The miracle of growing a child within my womb and giving birth was amazing! Within moments of coming into the world, God has placed in your child the instinct and ability to breath, eat and cling to his mother. Amazing! As he grows he watches and learns. As he watches me in a world full of sin and pain what will he learn? How do I react to the things God has called sinful? How do I treat those who sin? Am I the light and love of Jesus Christ in a fallen world that is blind?

Pray: Heaven Father, You have show us your glory every day from the moment that we wake until we lay down again to rest. Open my eyes to the things in my life that I have come to tolerate and accept as a normal part of life. Show me the areas in my life that I have replaced You with an idol - my smart phone, popularity, even my family. As I lead my family, give me wisdom and help me to discern what to do and say in difficult situations. Thank you for saving me and for always loving me not matter what.

God’s Anger at Sin {Romans 1:18-32, NLT}

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

Having a Reputation

I love to have play dates for my kids and mom friends! Usually we get together in the morning. One of us will make a light morning snack and someone will bring coffee. While the little ones play we spend the morning gabbing - sharing stories and advice. Paul was writing to a group of believers that he had grown close to. I imagine the women in that community would also find themselves gathered around gabbing as their children played nearby. Paul says that their faith was being talked about in the places that he traveled to. That is a reputation to be proud of! Is your faith as a wife & mother part of your reputation? When your friends talk about you to other people do they remember the way your relationship with Jesus has changed you? Would nonbelievers even notice something different? 

Pray: Loving Father, let my faith be one that gives me a reputation among my friends! Help me to be a woman that shares hope instead of gossips, a wife that trusts instead of nagging and a mother that prays instead of yelling. Help me to always be chasing after you so those who follow will find Jesus.

God's Good News {Romans 1:8-17}

Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son. One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (Romans 1:8-17 NLT)

Finding Purpose in Parenting

Sometimes my day to day life as a stay-at-home-mom can feel lackluster and without much impact beyond the front door. How much significance could changing diapers, making peanut butter sandwiches, and playing on the floor possibly have? Raising children is incredibly important and I know the time I spend with my kids will has lifelong worth...to them. But often I feel like its not enough. Like I am missing out by not working outside of the home. Have you been there? Paul reminds us that we have been given the privilege to tell people everywhere about the love of Christ and what He has done for them! When my children wake up in the morning, do I tell them that God loves them? Do I pray with my oldest before he goes to school each day? Are my ears open when I visit with a friend during a playdate for how she may need to be encouraged? Am I watching for people who need the love of Christ while I run my errands? A smile, an extra hand, a friendly word. When we share that love with the people that we meet during our day we bring glory to his name. 

Mom Prayer:

Jesus, help me to find purpose in parenting. Thank you for the blessing of my children and for the privilege to share your love with them. Give me the courage to tell people everywhere what you have done in their lives. And may the words I speak and things that I do always bring glory to your name. 

{Greetings from Paul, Romans 1:1-7}

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Bulk Sugar Free Muffin Mix

If you are trying to cut down on sugars in your diet, quick breakfast ideas can be a challenge. With four young kiddos something fast is important, but I don't like to start the day by loading them up with sugary cereals. I revised my muffin mix to remove the refined sugar, making this breakfast staple in our house much healthier!

When you add fruit such as applesauce or bananas, fresh fruit juice and other naturally sweet mix-ins your kids will never know the difference and you will feel good about what they are eating! Experiment with different combinations, these muffins are almost fool-proof and always taste great (even plain). The key to light and tall muffins is a batter that is like a thick pancake batter.

{Sugar Free Muffin Mix}
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup buttermilk powder (contains naturally occurring sugar from milk, lactose)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Combine ingredients well with a wire whisk. Store in an airtight container. 

{Sugar Free Banana Nut Muffins}
2 cups Sugar Free Muffin Mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar free apple juice
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 ripe bananas, smashed
1 cup chopped walnuts
Whisk eggs, water, oil, honey and bananas until well combined. Add muffin mix, stirring just until moistened. Fold in chopped walnuts. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.