The Mothership

Hurt is all over the place. We see it in the everyday... ...in the parent-less child ...in the destruction of marriage ...in the tearing down of people ...in the the drug epidemic that plagues your neighborhood ...in the mentally sick ...in the weapons that are used in the face of fear ...in allllllll the sickness and amidst it all, there is goodness.  Goodness for God's redemption story. It's all about perspective...it's all about how you handle "the news". Sure there are loads of opportunity to be depressed, and down and feel as if you are never making it out. But what is that doing for you?  Is that forward progress? NO! When bad news comes it would be unrealistic to be happy when you should be sad.  But Jesus, Jesus is the defining line to sad and depressed...he is what pulls me out from the depths...he is what changes my perspective and shows me that he has SHOWN UP in the terror of the bad news. Jesus is there.  Among the worry, among the hopele...

When you are good at making certain foods you can get comfy in just making those delectable items. But this season I wanted to come up with something that was easy...semi-homemade...and didn’t need a ton of ingredients. Soooooo... Ta-da! Now, this is a small, one serving Cake. I was making items for a bake sale and wanted to fancy up an easy chocolate cake recipe and this is what happened. My grandmother handed down a bundt pan that holds six mini bundts (which is NOT fun to grease and flour btw). So, I also made 4 smaller loaf pans which were cute but I didn’t get a picture of them.  I’m going to say that here is a recipe with a BOX cake...SHOCKER! A box of chocolate cake mix at your nearest grocer. I actually made one batch with a box mix (because I wanted fancy with less cleanup) and one with a scratch mix (because I had extra time) and they both tasted awesome. If you choose the scratch just google basic chocolate cake recipe and I’m sure it’ll be greeeeeat. So, you decide;) ...

I'm early to my workout class...which is an anomaly in and of itself. Whenever I am there early I find myself feeling inadequate. I'm looking at myself in the large mirrors picking out all the "problem areas".  The room begins to fill with loads of ladies.  All different ages, capabilities, sizes, shapes...but none of that matters.  Most of the women in this class make it a POINT to workout.  They are here almost EVERY week.  The only things that keep them from coming are sickness, vacations, or caring and loving on their family. People talk and share stories from sleepless nights to taking care of grandbabies, to the vacations they were on...and we all meet in the middle. Class begins. and I continue looking at my shape and thinking of how my body "used to be...before kids...before marriage...before college..." and how it's just not good enough. This is a loooooong battle with the enemy right there.  He whispers these insecurities in my ears and m...