The wonders of being weak :)

2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me." In a world where strength is not only expected but also highly valued and at times exalted, our God designed us in such a way that we can come to Him weak, broken, and in need. In our humanly weakness God's almighty power is made even more perfect, and therefore we can bring glory to Him through this very weakness! What a beautifully-crafted, wonderfully-backwards relationship God put into place. Does He know us intimately or what??

The Lord truly blessed me with a wonderful last day of my first week at work. I only had four precious kiddos which made for a peaceful, relaxed Friday. We painted with tempera paint mixed with shaving cream on a huge piece of butcher paper spread out on the floor, danced around the classroom, and studied the various aspects of play-doh very seriously (make-believe pancakes with invisible syrup anyone?) One of my sweet little guys and I read almost every book in our bookshelf, with him jumping up after every picture to point out colors on the posters on our walls that matched the book's illustrations (literally, every...single...picture!) One of  the best moments, however, was when we were reading a book about how God made each person unique and the illustration depicted a little boy with blond hair and blue eyes. I quizzed this cutie on the color of the eyes, to which he correctly responded, "Blue!", and I made the remark that he had blue eyes too. Looking at me with his big, and in fact blue, eyes, he asked, "I do??? Where is the mirror?" and ran over to the full mirror. From around the bookshelf I heard this high-pitched, delighted squeal, "Oh my GOSH!" and saw his tiny little arms fling up and down excitedly. I could not help myself. I sat in the middle of the butterfly rug amidst various books, toys, and puzzles, cracking up and thanking God.

My husband is out of town this weekend, which you know what that means....Hobby Lobby!!! I went this morning to peruse those deliciously-wonderful aisles filled with 50% off goodies. I was a little disappointed, however, when nothing of my interest was half-off!! I guess I will just have to wait a week...thanks for the patience lesson (and financial lesson) God! I did walk down the fall and Christmas decor aisles wishing for cooler weather (seriously, even 95 degrees would be better!) I am definitely going to miss my fall tree colors this year as I moved back to the land of the evergreens and pine trees! Those aisles definitely got me thinking of all the decorations I want to purchase/make for our first season of decorating together! This Hobby Lobby-induced fall mood could possibly be the reason I bought apple cinnamon Glade air freshener at Walmart....

Speaking of weaknesses (see Bible verse above).....delicious carbs. I thought I'd surprise my sweet husband with one of his favorite weaknesses when he gets home tomorrow....banana bread! I've tried several different recipes before and for some reason, the middle would never cook correctly. Raw dough, anyone? I found this one last year and it not only cooked right, but was delish!

Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter or vegetable shortening

2 eggs, beaten

3 small overly ripened bananas, mashed

2 1/2 cups flour, divided

1 tsp. baking soda

6 Tbsp. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Chopped nuts (optional)

1. In mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter.

2. Add eggs and bananas.

3. Add 1 cup of flour.

4. In separate bowl, stir baking soda into buttermilk and add to mixture.

5. Add remaining flour, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt.

6. Grease and flour 1 large bread pan.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, testing with toothpick for doneness.

8. Cool about 5 minutes and remove from pan to cooling rack.