A Mother's Reliance on God

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7

I always heard that being a single mom was hard but I hardly heard a lot of people saying that with God EVERYTHING is possible . . . except for my Mother.

She did so much for me and my brother, always making sure we had what we needed. We didn’t have a VCR or a DVD player, but church activities were ALWAYS in our house. With God's help she amazingly managed to send us to a Seventh-day Adventist Academy. I thank God He gave my Mom the resources to pay for our education and with that, we were able to attend a great Christian School from Kindergarten until we graduated from High School.

Now I became a Single Mom myself and found out that there is nothing in life that’s easy, we do have to work for what we want and make sure we do things right . . . but there is ONE THING that doesn’t change, even throughout the years, and that is God’s willingness to be there for us, to help us, to guide us through thick and thin. I can tell you that being a Single mom is NOT an easy task, but being a Christian Single Mom who prays constantly and asks God for advice is the easiest task in my life. Being able to trust God, being able to ask His presence in my life and my kids’ life is the greatest blessing and for that I thank God: for being part of my life, day in and day out.

He cares about us and wants us to give Him our worries, then, what are we waiting for? I received an email this past week and thought it was the perfect sentence that can resume the way we, as Women of God, should be: "A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ, that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."

By Carla Gutierrez (Carla is pictured with her two children: Emily and Angello)

Recipe of the Week - Samosa Soup

I found this recipe on the Eatnvegn blog. This is a really delicious recipe that I have tried many times. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
2 t. mustard seeds
1 yellow onion, diced
½ t. chili powder
1 t. tumeric
½ t. cayenne
½ t. curry powder
½ t. coriander
½ t. garam masala
½ t. cumin
1 T. fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. potatoes, diced
1 lb. cauliflower, chopped
1 lb. bag frozen peas and carrots
3 c. vegetable broth
1 can lite coconut milk
8 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
¼ c. fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 t. salt
½ t. black pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a soup pot. Add mustard seeds, cover, and let them pop. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add spices (except salt and pepper), ginger, garlic, potatoes, cauliflower, and peas and carrots. Cook a minute or two, mixing well and coating vegetables with spices. Add broth. Simmer, covered, until potatoes and cauliflower are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add coconut milk, spinach, cilantro, and lemon juice. Simmer 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

A Word for Women

As we begin our journey together through the world of blogging I would like to share this poem with you that I read a couple months ago. Learning to take time for ourselves is the greatest service we can give to our families, friends and to God. Feel free to comment on how this poem strikes you.

Angela's Word

"When Angela was very young
Age two or three or so,
Her mother and her father
Taught her never to say NO.
They taught her that she must agree
With everything they said,
And if she didn't, she was spanked
And sent upstairs to bed.

So Angela grew up to be
A most agreeable child;
She was never angry
And she was never wild;
She always shared, she always cared,
She never picked a fight,
And no matter what her parents said,
She thought that they were right.

Angela the Angel did very well in school
And, as you might imagine, she followed every rule,
Her teachers said she was so well-bred,
So quiet and so good,
But how Angela felt inside
They never understood.

Angela had lots of friends,
Who liked her for her smile;
They knew she was the kind of gal
Who'd go the extra mile;
And even when she had a cold
And really needed rest,
When someone asked her if she'd help
She always answered Yes.

When Angela was thirty-three, she was a lawyer's wife.
She had a home and family, and a nice suburban life.
She had a little girl of four
And a little boy of nine,
And if someone asked her how she felt
She always answered, "Fine".

But one cold night near Christmastime
When her family was in bed,
She lay awake as awful thoughts went spinning through
her head;
She didn't know why, and she didn't know how,
But she wanted her life to end;
So she begged Whoever put her here
To take her back again.

And then she heard, from deep inside,
A voice that was soft and low;
It only said a single word
And the word it said was . . . NO.

From that moment on, Angela knew
Exactly what she had to do.
Her life depended on that word,
So this is what her loved ones heard:

NO, I just don't want to;
NO, I don't agree;
NO, that's yours to handle;
NO, that's wrong for me;
NO, I wanted something else;
NO, that hurt a lot!
NO, I'm tired, NO I'm busy,
And NO, I'd rather not!

Well, her family found it shocking,
Her friends reacted with surprise;
But Angela was different, you could see it in her eyes;
For they've held no meek submission
Since that night three years ago
When Angela the Angel
Got permission to say NO.

Today Angela's a person first, then a mother and a wife.
She knows where she begins and ends,
She has a separate life.
She has talents and ambitions,
She has feelings, needs and goals.
She has money in the bank and
An opinion at the polls.

And to her boy and girl she says,
"It's nice when we agree;
But if you can't say NO, you'll never grow
To be all you're meant to be.
Because I know I'm sometimes wrong
And because I love you so,
You'll always be my angels
Even when you tell me NO."

By Barbara K. Bassett