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The Fight for Our Attention: Every Woman’s Struggle

April 18, 2018

Multitasking women, wives, and moms are drowning in self-imposed expectations, keeping up with the Joneses, striving for Pinterest-perfect homes, meals, and children, and contributing to the household income. We have the best intentions to put God first in our lives and fit in some “me” time, because we all know we won’t be our best selves without those staples intact. We, of course, want to give our best to our husbands and children, so we read the books, browse the blogs, and subscribe to the emails to help us do, be, and know all the things. Yet at the end of the day, we go to bed exhausted, wondering if we’ve done even one thing right that day. While we’re giving a little of ourselves everywhere, we are losing ourselves somewhere. Is there even a remedy to this crazy train we so willingly jump on? Do we even want one?

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Supper Suggestion: Honey Herb Pork Tenderloin

April 15, 2018

I started cooking pork tenderloin a couple years ago when I found a super easy (and delicious) recipe in Lisa Leake’s 100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous cookbook. It’s been a regular in our dinner rotation ever since!

I was excited to find a new twist on pork tenderloin to add into the rotation, and this recipe by the Cookie Rookie did NOT disappoint! Honey, garlic, herbs…need I say more? Just a simple mixture poured over the pork tenderloin and roasted for 30 minutes brought us a delicious, savory, sweet, juicy pork dinner.

I served this with baked potatoes and roasted broccoli. I tossed broccoli in olive oil, garlic salt, and freshly grated parmesan, and roasted it in the oven at the same time as the pork!

VERDICT:

Me: Yep yep! I love the mixture of sweet and savory flavors. There was even enough liquid from the honey garlic mixture to spoon over the individual servings. (Lazy girl hack: The recipe called for chicken stock and lemon juice. I skipped this step because I was in a hurry. I’m sure it would have only made it more delicious, but if you’re short on time, don’t hesitate to cut that out!)

Hubs: Definite approval. He enjoyed having pork tenderloin in a new way.

11 & 7-Year-Olds: They love it! My 7-year-old calls almost everything chicken, including this. They both ate it up!

2-year-old: He’s just not a meat-eater yet. He’ll come around. I serve him everything we eat anyway, and wait for the day he’ll actually dig in!

Leftovers: We do have leftovers and I can’t wait to eat them! As juicy as this is, I believe it will reheat nicely!

If You Think Your Kids Are Immune From These Influences, Think Again

April 11, 2018

Influencing Our Kids With Intention

Influences consist of everything we take in on any given day. What we see, what we read, where we go, what we hear, who we interact with…all of these things have an influence on US, our MINDS, our LIVES, and our KIDS.

In this automated era we’re living in, we take a lot for granted. We don’t have to work so hard to entertain our kids (thanks, iPad apps!), help with homework (thanks, YouTube!), or screen movies (thanks, Netflix!). Spotify keeps us from having to purchase music at all (good thing), just as much as it keeps us from knowing what our kids are listening to (bad thing). No need to get a cell phone plan for your teen or child. They can FaceTime or chat on various apps with nothing more than an internet connection. This is a new day in parenting!

The influences around us and our kids are ever-present…screaming in our faces, creeping into our minds, and occupying our hearts. Shockingly, we often remain completely passive toward them as if they’re something we can’t control. Even worse, they are sometimes of no concern whatsoever.

Influence is defined as “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.” Influences mold who we are. They’re either positive or negative, but they’re always there. What influences do you hope mold your children’s character? Your own personal development? Your children’s behavior? What influences are infiltrating your life and that of your children? VIEW POST