Newlywed Mistake #1: Wait for the Sun!

Lamentations 3:22-24 "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'" Some days we just feel completely consumed by the things of this world, whether it be the stresses of job, school, or everyday life or even sins we battle constantly and seem to never overcome. However, we can stand strong and confident in the fact that the Lord's faithfulness never, ever fails. As each new day appears, His love, grace, and mercy still remains as strong and secure as ever. No matter what happens throughout our daily lives, God is our portion. His love is all-sustaining, all-consuming, all-cleansing. We will wait on Him.

Speaking of waiting, my husband and I learned our first life lesson as newlyweds during our honeymoon. We went to St. Lucia, the most beautiful island God ever created and the most gorgeous place I have ever been (or probably ever will go!) in my entire life. Here is just a glimpse of our trip:

It was one of those places where you just are amazed at God's handiwork and wonder how anyone could question His presence after seeing such a gorgeous creation! All in all the trip was perfect. Our room only had 3 walls and our view was actually the very first picture! A cool breeze blew constantly so there was no need for AC and the entire resort was open air. We ate at a 5-star restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the food was incredible! The waitstaff actually laughed at my over-the-top excitement about some of the food (plantains that grew down the hillside simmering in cinnamon, butter, and nutmeg served with homemade vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce....how could anyone NOT get super excited???) The employees were absolutely incredible at customer service and went out of their way to make our trip the best possible. In fact, I was told by a server (who had a beautiful Carribean accent) that she loved my voice...."like  Dolly Parton"......yeah. Dolly? Compliment or accident insult? I'll put it to a vote. In addition to eating and eating, oh and eating, we did a sunset sail, snorkeled, walked through a tropical botanical garden, visited a waterfall and sulphur springs, and just enjoyed God's majesty!

In the midst of having an amazing honeymoon, James and I learned a valuable life lesson/commited newlywed mistake #1. We did not pack any sunscreen because all of the bottles were too big to fit in our quart-size baggie for our carry-ons. Despite the fact that we could have bought a couple small bottles and filled them up with sunscreen we already had for a whopping total of 5 bucks, we decided to just buy some when we got to the resort. We knew it would be more expensive than Wally World but we thought eh, what the heck, I'm sure it won't be too bad. SO, day one, all giddy with excitement, we walked into the gift shop to purchase our necessary sunscreen. I expected it would be around ten dollars, a rip-off to me already. Nope....EIGHTEEN dollars later we walked out with the smallest bottle of sunscreen manufactured! Not only that....due to the rain that came in and out as well as the partly cloudy days throughout the trip, we did not use the sunscreen once! It is still unused with the price tag intact to document our one or two souvenirs.

Newlywed Life Lesson #1: Wait for the sun!

On a food note, we had a little get-together at our new duplex and I thought I'd share the menu with you! So tasty and SO easy....which is a common theme amongst my cooking:)

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This is a family recipe that is to-die-for!

1 10-oz. box of frozen chopped spinach

1 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1 large onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 14.5-oz. can or frozen artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

4 oz. soft cream cheese

1 cup mayo

Salt, pepper

1 tsp. paprika

1. Defrost and squeeze spinach.

2. Mix 1 cup parmesan, spinach, artichokes, onion, garlic, cream cheese, mayo, salt and pepper.

3. Put in greased casserole dish and top with 1/3 cup parmesan and sprinkle with paprika.

4. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Cheesy Bread

I just googled and found this recipe..I believe on AllRecipes.com

8 oz. shredded Mozzarella

1 lb. shredded Cheddar

1/2 to 1 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 cup mayo

2 tbsp. sour cream (optional - I omitted)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

I added salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to the mix

1 to 2 loaves Ciabatta or French bread (I used the leftover Italian loaf from the Chicken Bruschetta so my slices were a little thinner since it was pre-cut)

1. Mix cheeses and green onion. Stir in mayo and sour cream.

2. In separate bowl, blend butter and garlic until smooth.

3. Add butter mix to cheese mix.

4. Slice bread...really however you want!

5. Preheat broiler. Spread mix on bread and broil for 3-5 minutes until nicely browned.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Another family recipe that soon became a staple!

6-8 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (or use roasted chickens)

1 cup cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

1-2 tbsp. poppy seeds

1 to 1 1/2 sticks butter

Rice (I use the 90 second brown rice from good ol' Uncle Ben)

You will not believe how easy this dish is...

1. First layer: chicken

2. Second layer: chicken soup mixed with sour cream

3. Third layer: Ritz crackers with poppy seeds thrown in.

4. Fourth layer: Melted butter poured on top....yummmm

5. Bake in a 9x13 dish at 350 for about 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

6. Serve over rice.

You will not believe how good this is until you try it for yourself!!