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There’s nothing like hosting Thanksgiving dinner to whip your house into shape. I took a break from indoor cleaning yesterday to do some pruning in the front yard. The desert willow, in particular, had grown especially unruly and threatened to poke the eye out of anyone strolling past our house. A snip here, a snip there, and what resulted was (I believe) a lovely centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner. My husband said it looked a bit like a tumbleweed…he’ll come around. It takes vision to create no-cost decor! The best part of this centerpiece is that it serves a purpose: it is a “thanksgiving tree.” I cut leaves out of construction paper and ran a tiny thread through a punched hole in each leaf. Each of my guests tomorrow will be encouraged to write what he or she is thankful for on a leaf and hang it from one of the […]
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Having grown up in a Chinese immigrant, non-Christian home, I come each year to the Thanksgiving season with few memories and fewer traditions. As a child, I knew something of pilgrims and turkey dinners, but always felt removed from the familial traditions and rich heritage that surrounds this holiday. While Thanksgiving seems to serve as the big family dinner of the year, as well as the inauguration of the shopping frenzy we call Christmas in this country, I found myself pondering today on the significance of this holiday and the giving of thanks. I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year for family and friends. I have a great desire to not just serve up a bounty, but to feast on and consider the blessings that are ours in Christ. What do I want my kids to remember about Thanksgiving? How do I teach them to remember the significance amidst the celebration of […]
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My new favorite tea is not a tea leaf at all, but a South American shrub that naturally contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants and naturally occurring caffeine, all of which some say contribute to the energy people feel when drinking yerba mate. I have grown to love it for breakfast, and equally as a nightcap. Revitalizing and soothing…this tea does it all! Though traditionally prepared in a hollowed out gourd and sipped from a silver straw with a friend, I can get my hands on convenient teabags from Trader Joe’s up the street. My recent discovery of adding dried goji berries to my yerba mate, along with some mesquite honey, has given my enjoyment of tea a facelift and a health boost. Goji berries are rich in antioxidants and have long been used by Eastern herbalists for many health benefits. Just add a few to a steeping cup of […]
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Well, friends, the 26 letter journey has come to an end. If you have traced the No-Regrets steps during this last month, you may have picked up a new habit, pursuit, or perspective along the way. Here are the last four…thank you for those of you who’ve brainstormed with me. Z is for Zeal. n: great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of an objective. May that objective be godly and glorified living in motherhood. Y is for Yelling. Yelling ultimately says more about the person without self-control than it does about the person being yelled at. Yelling is really emotional manipulation–and it doesn’t honor the Lord…even if it makes us feel better. Note to self: try praying before speaking out of anger. X is for Xenophile. This is perhaps my favorite word of all. n: an individual who is attracted to foreign peoples, manners, or cultures. W is for Worry. […]
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Perhaps you’ve noticed that I enjoy gourmet without all the fuss (truth be told, I don’t mind all the fuss–just not with three children underfoot.) We had friends over for dinner tonight. My husband grew up with pancakes and eggs on Sunday night…comfort food after a day of church and family activities. As good as it is to have breakfast for dinner, my comfort food often requires some combination of sweet, salty, spicy, and fishy. (Those blasted Asian tastebuds!) The menu tonight: sesame-encrusted seared Ahi tuna steaks with a sweet wasabi soy sauce, homemade spring rolls, and a wonderful baked apple, pecan, and romaine salad our friends brought over. To complete this decadent-for-a-Sunday-night meal, I made a not-as-fancy-as-it-looks Tiramisu. This recipe is, as usual, a bit of an approximation; take liberties with the measurements. I also make my version sans raw egg yolks. I purchase marscapone cheese from Trader Joe’s, […]
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There’s something in the water at our church. A sweet baby girl was born to our friends, the Cawoods, this afternoon at the very time of a baby shower given in honor of another couple from church, Megan and Brian. At the shower alone were two more pregnant ladies. Aaahhh….we are blessed. While I adore infants (not so a decade ago, but only after having three of my own), I generally find baby showers cumbersome from all the silly games involving baby food, diaper changing, and word scrambles. Today’s shower was more my speed: lovely food, lovely people, lots of gifts, period. My friend, Leslie (who is NOT yet with child), did a wonderful job hosting her first baby shower. I was blessed to see our church gals come alongside Megan (who is from further East) as her family and community. That’s how it should be. Megan is a bibliophile […]
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The holidays are almost upon us. If you are craving something warm, buttery, flaky, sweet, tart, and warm NOW, but don’t want to burn out on pie-making before you even get started, here’s a quick treat for your family to try tonight: 1 store bought roll-out pie-crust (my favorite is, of course, from Trader Joe’s) 2 to 2 1/2 cups peeled and coarsely chopped apples (the more tart the better…think Braeburn, Granny Smith…) 2 Tablespoons butter, in 1/4 in cubes 1 Tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 Tablespoon flour 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon dash of nutmeg or allspice 1 egg, beaten 1 Tablespoon raw cane sugar Preheat oven to 350F. In large bowl, toss apples in lemon juice, and sugars. Then toss and coat evenly with flour and cornstarch. Mix in cinnamon and additional spices. Set aside. Bring piecrust to room temperature, per […]
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V is for Value. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 We all treasure our children and love them unconditionally, yet somehow most children struggle (especially as teenagers) with their sense of value. It makes me think: love and affection alone does not sufficiently communicate value. What, then, instills value in our children? How about their value in the eyes of their creator? Psalm 139 is a great starting point. The Gospel is also a great picture of value. How about the ways he provides for our wants and needs? There are so many more examples. Let’s take our children through the many truths and many tangible ways God shows His children that they are valuable. And in doing so, as parents, we will have conveyed value through our strongest language of value: quality time. U is for Unity. My husband and I used […]
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S is for Silliness. The words I hope my children use to describe me when they are grown: loving, gentle, honest, wise, diligent, godly, trustworthy, consistent, brave, funny and silly. I want my kids to know the real me–the woman that has a loud laugh, a penchant for impersonation, and an inner hip-hopper ready to bust out (at home.) Some of the greatest memories I have of my mother is of her hula-hooping in cut offs at my seventh-grade birthday party…or when she used make fun of herself, or when she could make me laugh just by dancing and fixing dinner at the same time. Our kids need to see us mature and grounded, but why not let them see that we were once just like them…and sometimes still are? R is for Read. Reading to our children from the earliest age inspires them to love learning, enjoy reading, and […]
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Back to the ABC’s… Q is for Quiet Time. For this particular instance, I’m referring to the “quiet time” we have with our heavenly Father as followers of Christ. (I do wholeheartedly advocate down time, or quiet time reading and playing alone, for children as well!) If you struggle to have a disciplined time with God as an adult it is probably as a result of not having a routine, yet meaningful quiet time with the Lord. Some ways I am trying to teach my young children to have a personal quiet time: 1. Listening to audio Bible CDs. (Kids have an amazing knack for audio learning.) 2. Listening to Bible verses set to music. 3. Copying a Bible verse out of his own Bible after reading a passage. 4. Keeping a prayer journal. Pictures are okay…they understand what they’ve drawn! 5. Talk to them about the “why” and not […]
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» Continue ReadingI first saw this wonderful fall dish in a Martha Stewart Living magazine last year, but have since misplaced the magazine and reconstructed this recipe from memory… Quinoa (keen-wah) is a super nutritious versatile grain. Unlike many other common grains, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it exceptionally complete in nutrition. That means, unlike with wheat proteins, you don’t need to supplement your diet with legumes (which contains other amino acids). Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest. In this form it is suitable as a hearty side dish or a vegetarian main course. Nutty, rich, savory, fragrant…fresh! Enjoy. 1 cup quinoa 2 cups chicken broth swig of olive oil 1 cup diced yellow onion 2 cups diced butternut squash, plus 4 thinly sliced rings of squash (from the bottom) 2 cups shredded parmesan 2 tsp. dried sage salt and pepper Preheat […]
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N is for Nagging. May I encourage you—don’t do it. Nagging is continuous urging to the point of irritation. When has that ever produced the results or the attitude we desire in our children? This is how I try to lead my children to obedience: 1. Assess what I’m asking for. Is it reasonable, right, and righteous (Biblical)? 2. Communicate my request (not just demand, but explain). 3. Communicate the consequences for disobedience (both physical and spiritual), and communicate to my child the joy of trusting his parent to know what’s right. 4. Follow through with my guidelines; don’t nag. M is for Money. All of us desire for our children to be responsible with money, to grow up to be debt-free, to give back to the Lord, and to be generous. Though honorable, none of these aspirations preclude our children from being lovers of money. Our children will learn […]
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Hello, friend...I'm Ruth. Welcome to GraceLaced, where you will find my imperfect, but grace-filled musings on the Gospel, motherhood, crafting, art, domesticity, cooking, and the often-times overlooked joys of finding grace in the everyday of life. Read my full profile here.
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