The Reese Cake

A couple of weeks ago, I experimented with my first-ever layered cake. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. Today, I am trying something new and so.... *takes deep breath* ... Here I go!

First, I made one yellow, butter cake in a round pan.

After cutting the edges and transfering it to the cake plate, I made a second - the same way! While the second cake was in the oven, I took 8 Reese cups and blended them up with 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter.

After blending the middle filling up, I covered the bottom cake with the mixture. Then, I placed the second cake on top!

Next comes - the icing! I picked up a container of Chocolate Buttercream Icing at the supermarket and stirred in 2 large Tablespoons of peanut butter. Then, I iced! :) And voila! Here is the finished product.

 

 

Now, it is currently chilling in the fridge; waiting for tonight! Simple, yummy, and completely loaded with carbs. But ah well. :)

As much as my husband loves peanut butter, I cannot wait for him to sink his teeth into this!

 ****EDIT****

The cake was ah-may-zing! (aka - amazing).

10 Habits of a Clean Home

I found this, 10 Habits of a Clean Home, from the I Dream of Clean website and just had to share it with you, wives!

It’s really quite simple to have a home that always looks like a showroom.

Don’t have kids, don’t get married, don’t have guests over, and don’t live life in your home. That will pretty much ensure that you have a clean home at all times! But, that also means you won’t have any fun!
If you’re someone who likes to actually live in your home, it will get messy. It will become unorganized. And it will get dirty! But, there are a few habits you can begin now to ensure that your home is reasonably clean most of the time.




1. Shine Your Sink


Several years ago I was on the flylady email list and the first think I learned was to “shine your sink” every night. (Unfortunately, that’s as far as I got with the flylady. Maybe I should try again!) Anyway, the shine your sink concept is a great habit to begin! Every night take five minutes to clean your kitchen completely. Put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, clean off the counters, and scrub and dry your sink until it’s shiny.






2. Wash One Load of Laundry Daily


Instead of waiting until the weekend to wash several loads of laundry, get in the habit of washing one load every day. As soon as you wake up, put a load of laundry in the washing machine. Then, before you leave for the day, transfer the load to the dryer. When you get home, fold and put away the clothes. You may need to modify the routine if you’re worried about your clothes getting wrinkled or you have more or less than seven loads of laundry every week. Just make adjustments and find a way to make laundry part of your daily routine.






3. Process Mail Immediately


Go through your mail daily. As you walk in the door, open all envelopes, throw away or shred junk mail, and put bills and other action items in your command center.






4. Create a Command Center


A command center is an area in your home that can be used as a catch all for items that need to be processed (i.e. bills that need to be paid, cards to send out, etc.). It’s also a place that can house items that need to be picked up quickly as you walk out the door like keys, bags, and phones. Some also benefit for having a calendar in this area. Customize the command center to fit your family and life!






5. Throw Away Trash


Throwing away your trash seems so simple right? But, how many times have you (or someone in your family) taken something out of a package and put the package on the counter beside you? Or, maybe you’ve taken tags off clothes and just placed them on the dresser instead of the trashcan? Instead of waiting until later, just take a few extra seconds and immediately throw away trash in the trashcan.






6. Straighten Up Every Night


Waking up to a clean home can make the start of your day more pleasing and productive. Take a few minutes each night to pick up around the house. It doesn’t have to be spotless, but straightening up nightly helps to keep the mess from becoming overwhelming.






7. Create a Cleaning Schedule


Depending on your personality, a cleaning schedule can be as detailed or scaled down as you want it. You may want to clean bathrooms on Monday, mop and vacuum floors on Tuesday, dust on Wednesday, cut the yard on Thursday, and something else on Friday. Or you may prefer to do everything on the weekend. In either situation, a plan will help you move through the list much more quickly. Just like other areas in life, a plan will encourage, motivate, and enable you to reach your goal for a clean home.






8. Become a minimalist


Reducing clutter reduces stress. You’ll have less to clean, less to pick up, and less to maintain. You may even be able to live in a smaller house! Or at least not have to move into a bigger one.






9. Do One Thing


Sometimes the list of household projects can seem so overwhelming. If you have a list of 10 things that you need to replace, build, or update, just pick one thing to complete. Then do one thing that will move you closer to finishing that project. For example, if you need to organize your closet, start with your pants. Then move onto skirts the next day, and tops the following day. Break down a large project by just doing one thing.






10. Have a Junk Drawer


Yes, a junk drawer is a must for a clean home. In some cases, a cabinet or closet may be more reasonable! Having a place to store random items that don’t have a home can be so freeing. Plus, when you’re in a hurry, sometimes it’s just easier to dump everything into one place. Of course, the only downfall is that you must clean it out periodically!

Created To Be His...Help Meet | pt 2

So this is Part 2 of my study on being a Help Meet, taken from the book by Debi Pearl, Created To Be His Help Meet. This section is called "A Merry Heart." Fellow wives, let us rise up and accept, with grace and with joy, the wonderful position God created for us.

Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.

A Merry Heart

The joy of the Lord is my Strength.

The Bible tells us that the JOY of the Lord is our strength. For this marriage-making journey you are on, you will need all the strength affordable by the joy of the Lord.

God says in Proverbs 17:22 - "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." A merry heart is the foundation of health and happiness. And the day you have a merry heart will be the first day of rebuilding your marriage into the heavenly gift it was meant to be.

When your husband first fell in love with you, you were a sweet little thing, full of laughter and fun. From the very bottom of your soul you were thrilled with him. Every day you woke up planning some activity that involved you both. Is he still married to the same sweet little thing, or have you become a long-faced, sickly complainer? Love is like a flower: you can't expect it to grow without sunshine. Has your lover seen your sunshine lately?

Proverbs 15:13 says, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance."

Everyone is drawn to a smile. Who and what you are is reflected in your face. Does your husband see you as a happy, thankful woman? Does he smile when he looks at you, amused at the cheerful little grin on your face and the totally delightful things you think and say - even the dumb things? Learn to charm him with your mischievous "only for him" grin.

It is a mistake for a wife to take her position for granted, to assume that love and contentment exist because "we are husband and wife." Earn every smile and shared moment. Cultivate his love for you. Remind him of the loveliness and beauty that first attracted him to you. A woman holds her man with the fragile threads of adoration, thankfulness, delight, and just plain fun. He needs to hear gladness and appreciation in your voice when you speak to him, even when you are talking of everyday things. Always remember that the day you stop smiling is the day you stop trying to make your marriage heavenly...
God's perfect will is that I learn to be the best help meet possible. God's will is for a wife to have a merry heart, a cheerful countenance and a glow that will refresh the most stressed and tired husband on the planet. Bubbling cheer goes a long way to maintain or even restore a marriage. Make a decision right now to break the "poor me" habit. Today, put it down as sin and rebellion, and then tomorrow, wake up with joy in your heart and home.

Proverbs 17:22 -
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

Establish a habit

What can I do today that will make him smile?

Getting Serious with God

Do a study on the word JOY. The word joy is often coupled with shouting, music, the playing of instruments, dancing, gladness, and praise. Write down and memorize your favorite verses on joy. God's Word is effectual. As you read, memorize verses on joy, and ponder the word joy in God's Word, real joy will be worked into your heart.

Every morning, let the first thing your husband sees on your face be a gentle smile, even if your eyes are still closed. Any time your eyes meet or your hands touch, let it be a reminder to smile and offer a word of gladness. When you eat, always show thanksgiving by means of a smile and a joyful spirit. During the day, sing and play and dance as you work around the house. The lightness in your soul will help put you in a good frame of mind for your husband when he comes home. If you have reason to be hurt or discouraged and yet you sing with thanksgiving, this is a true sacrifice of worship to God.

Psalm 100:1-5
"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."


    Running With You,

Weekend Gospel Music Camp!

This past weekend was our Gospel Music Summer Celebration at my family's camp. What fun it was! There was plenty of guitar pickin', gospel singin', good fellowship, and great food!! :) Here are a few snapshots of the fun!

Baking cakes for the cake auction!

Me and the hubby ;)

Created To Be His...Help Meet | pt 1

One month before Grant and I were married, a sweet friend gave me a book that has changed and inspired my marital life. I consider it a beautifully written book that encourages and challenges wives to rise up and be exactly what God made them to be. The title is, Created To Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl. I have been so blessed reading it over and over again but, now, I am studying the book. And as I go through each chapter, I would like to share the gist of the lesson with you readers. As wives, let us rise up and accept, with grace, the position God created for us.

Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.

God's Gift

A wise woman doesn't take anything for granted. She is thankful to be loved and seeks to make herself more lovely.

God gave Adam the most precious gift a man will ever receive - a woman. Genesis 2:18 - And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Genesis 2:21-23 - And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Later, God tell us, "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing..." - Proverbs 18:22

If you are a wife, you were created to fill a need, and in that capacity you are a "good thing," a helper suited to the needs of a man.

As you have probably already discovered, you don't just marry "the right man" and live happily ever after. Every man I know is a bona fide sinner. And, considering that you, too, are a selfish, fallen creature, it will take real effort to make a heavenly marriage. A good marriage, just like anything worthwhile, takes doing the right thing every day...every hour...every moment.

When you are a help meet to your husband, you are a helper to Christ, for God commissioned man for a purpose and gave him a woman to assist in fulfilling that divine calling. When you honor your husband, you honor God. When you obey your husband, you obey God. The degree to which you reverence your husband is the degree to which you reverence your Creator. As we serve our husbands, we serve God. But in the same way, when we dishonor our husband, we dishonor God.

Men are created to be helpers of God. Jesus willingly became a helper to the Father. The Holy Spirit became a helper to the Son. Society is structured so that men and women must submit to authorities like government, employers, police, the Internal Revenue Service, child protection agencies, the courts, etc. There is no loss of dignity in subordination when it serves a higher purpose. God made you to be a help meet to your husband so you can bolster him, making him more productive and efficient at whatever he chooses to do.

It is our job to learn how we can help our husbands in every way possible.

God's perfect will for my life is that I be a help meet to my husband. I do have a choice in how good my marriage will be.

1 Corinthians 11:8-9
For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

Make a new habit

Think of ways you can be a helper to your husband. Start today.

Getting Serious with God

Locate in Scripture (KJV) the following words or traits as they relate to a woman of God. Write the verses in your diary, and ask God to work each of these attributes into your character.

1. Virtue
2. Graciousness
3. Wisdom
4. Prudence
5. Goodness

A Good Help Meet has a Passion to be of ServiceThe words help meet bring up images in my mind of a woman who serves others. A good help meet will have a passion to be of service. Her first calling is to be of service to her husband, then her children, and when time affords, her passion of service will spill over to serving others.

    Running With You,

Flowers From My Husband

My sweet husband brought me flowers today - just because! Isn't he precious?! :)

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.
~ Emma Goldman

Eternally Newlyweds

I want to talk a bit about marriage. (btw, this post can also be found on my bridal blog)

Can I just say right now that I loooooooooove being married? :) My hubby and I have been married for a grand total of 95 days! ....(which, sadly, is a record these days)

We are still newlyweds. *bats eyes*

Actually, Grant and I have both made a decision that we will work to have the "honeymoon" feeling for the rest of our lives. We want to always be so totally in love that, 20 years from now, people will think we are just newly married. Tomorrow, we want to be more in love with each other than we are today. It takes work. It takes effort. There have been days when we have grown lazy. But all in all, I have to say that we feel more blessed, more excited, more passionate, and more in love today than on our honeymoon. So far, so good!

You know, as a wife, I want to feel like a newlywed for the rest of my life. But here is a thought: Should we not feel the same way about our Heavenly Husband? Think about it. Go back in time. When you first asked Jesus to come into your heart and life and change you, make you whole, make you new, and SAVE you, didn't you feel just wonderful?! :) Didn't you feel light and happy and completely at peace? Didn't you feel like you could walk on air? Didn't you want to shout, laugh, and cry all at the same time? You were COMPLETELY in love! You were a spiritual newlywed. :) Why is it that we lose that newlywed feeling towards our Love? Why do we get lazy in our attempt to fall more and more in love with Christ? Why are we slack? Why are we selfish and indifferent? Why do we act so deeply amazed by Him when we walk in Church, but then leave and ignore Him the rest of the week? Or call to Him when we are in trouble? Is that the reason we "married" our Heavenly Prince? Would any wife marry her husband only to give him attention one day a week? Call him only when she needs help changing a flat tire?

It is a profound thought. A convicting one.

As a wife, I adore my husband! Though he is human, I look at him as my Prince and my Knight. I want to be with him all the time. I watch the window and run and fix my hair as 5 o'clock rolls around each evening, when I know he is about to come home from work. I want his thoughts and opinions about everything. I want his approval. I want him pleased. So why are we not the same (and more!) with the King of Kings? Why do we not want to be in His presence every moment of every day? Why do we not anxiously and excitedly long for Him to come to us? Why do we not rid ourselves of the spiritual stench and sloppiness in our lives for Him? Why do we not seek Him in our every decision? Why do we ignore His commandments and standards and rules for our living? Why do we not care about pleasing Him?

I would have to say that we, as spiritual brides, are pretty rotten wives sometimes. We need to get our perspective corrected and work a bit harder. I don't know about you, but I want my relationship with my Heavenly Love to be MORE blissful and amazing every day. I want to be eternally newlyweds with my Jesus! Just as I long and work to keep the passion alive with my husband, I should work harder and long more strongly to keep the Heavenly Honeymoon spirit alive and well in my relationship with Christ.

....it's something to think about.

John 15:9 -
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.


Song of Solomon 8:6a, 7a -
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death...Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it:...


Jeremiah 31:3 -
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.