Anointed Motherhood Issue #1: Encouragement, Fruit & Nut Bread, a poll and more! (read or LISTEN)
Encouraging you to step into your anointing for motherhood!
If you would rather listen to this post, I have recorded it for you!
Ok this one has been fun for me! I’ve had this idea of trying a publication that holds a few different aspects of encouragement for life as a mama. Today I try this for the first time!
I invite you, with full knowledge that depending on your stage of motherhood this might not be possible, to fill your mug with something you love (tea, anyone?) and read (or listen) through it!
Below you can find:
Heart to heart encouragement
Food inspiration
Songs and stories for your littles
A poll at the end to help me get to know where my readers are at in their mothering journey!
I’m so glad you’re here today!
From My Heart |
There is no grace like grace for the moment.
I’ve almost been a mom for thirteen years, have experienced God’s timely and incredible help, and yet I still start to feel anxiety rise over what is to come. Most of the time when I look at my biggest concerns, they’re over things that haven’t happened quite yet.
Why is this?
Look around you right now. What is happening at the very moment? Are you worried about it? Maybe you are. I have some concerns that my baby girl might wake up from her nap early, that my two year old could abandon quiet time and my opportunity to write will be cut short.
Wait - did you catch that?
She *might* wake up.
He *could* abandon quiet time.
Even in the midst of trying to see what I’m worried about in this very second, I’m actually concerned about what could be coming in the future.
The truth is as Christians we live in something very real that I call grace for the moment.
It is the experience of a dramatic empowering, a Holy Spirit encouragement and a sense of peace that washes over us in the moment and is exactly what we need right where we are.
And we don’t get to step into that grace until the moment comes when we actually need it.
I don’t have the grace for a prematurely ended nap time until she’s actually up early.
This happens to me almost every single morning. My household goes crazy when my husband is trying to get out the door for work.
Honestly, it’s nuts.
Crying, screaming, dysregulation, missing items, and I’m left holding an already over tired toddler while a sense of dread washes over me.
I’m alone all day with this.
But it is never “this” like it was right then. Almost within moments of him trying to yell “bye” above the chaos it all settles down.
The grace for the moment washes through and I do not feel like a victim of my life choices. I feel like the most blessed woman who doesn’t have to head out in the cold and instead gets to be here raising my kids.
The problem for me is when the fear of what could or might happen over takes me.
I do not have the grace for those things. I only have the grace for this moment. The grace to get daddy out the door.
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]
Hebrews 4:16 AMP
There are many moments during my day that are not easy. I don’t need to give other mamas examples of how mad life with a kids can get. But there is a freedom that comes from being able to stay present in the moment that is at hand and know that you are made for such a time as THIS. This one right here, right now, knowing that the grace, when you need it most, will be right at hand.
Lord Jesus, I thank you for your appropriate and well timed help, coming just when we need it! Help us to stay rooted in the moment we find ourselves so that we can simply rest in your empowering grace. Thank you that you don’t call us to motherhood and then have us do it alone. You are right there with us. You are so good. In Jesus’ name. Amen
From My Kitchen |
I love homemade bread all times of the year, but there is something about “deep winter” that calls me to make breads with dried fruits and nuts. I have recently started baking sourdough from a starter that I began in December. It has opened up a beautiful new baking world to me.
Here is what I do when I want to create a beautiful yeast bread with fruit & nuts.
I take whatever familiar bread recipe I am currently making (I have done this with my sprouted bread recipe, this oats & honey bread, and my current sourdough sandwich bread) and I add a little bit extra sweetness the dough either with stevia, THM Super Sweet blend, honey or coconut sugar.
I then add about 1 cup total of chopped nuts and dried fruits like raisins and cranberries per loaf ( so if my recipe makes two loaves, I will have two cups), along with some cinnamon and I add them to my dough toward the end of the kneading time (I use a Bosch mixer) and continue on with my recipe as normal.
Cinnamon can inhibit yeast from rising so it’s best to leave that until the end of the kneading time so everything can be activated nicely.
With my sourdough I wasn’t sure how the cinnamon would react with the starter so I added the fruit & nuts and then allowed my dough to do the long bulk rise and then when I dimpled the dough, I pressed cinnamon in. I do not add the vital wheat gluten mentioned in the recipe I linked to so I was hesitant to do anything that could affect rising. Next time I will probably try adding the cinnamon with the fruit and nuts to see if it all still rises nicely.
This is a simple way to enjoy the delicious taste and aroma from fruit & nut breads without having to pull out a new, probably more unhealthy, recipe!
Let me know if you try tweaking your bread recipe with fruit & nuts this winter!
Stories & Songs |
Oh I wish you could see my little ones with their action songs! They just love to sing and dance and it’s the most precious thing in the world! I have been doing Seeds Family Worship with all my children since my oldest was little. It’s a great way to get God’s word in their hearts.
The last week or so I have been doing “More Than Conquerors” with my toddlers. I made up some actions combining baby signs and simple corresponding movements and they love it! My 17 month old loves the “more, more, more”part and sings and signs that! I found this video that has some actions already done for you if you’d rather try that!
The visuals are a little flashier than what I show my little ones so we stick to listening to it on our bluetooth speaker.
A book my two, turning three years in a few months, is loving is called “We Help Mommy” by Jean Cushman, illustrated by Eloise Wilkins. It’s sweet, old fashioned and inspires my two little ones to follow me around the house trying to help.
One thing I have learned over the years is that kids can be kept busy simply by doing things that need to be done. They love when I give them warm, wet rags and let them wipe down the cabinets and their own little kitchen while I’m cleaning. Today they surprised me by LOADING the dishwasher together! Up until this point they had only unloaded by passing the items to me to put away. I know they are inspired by Bobby and Martha!
I got this story in a Golden Book Collection of Eloise Wilkins’ stories. It might be hard to find at your library but this sweet grandma is reading it aloud on YouTube:
Your Turn |
If you are still here reading or listening to this, THANK YOU! I’m so glad you stuck around and I pray that this encourages and inspires you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with comments or questions, I’d love to hear from you!
Until next time, remember that you are anointed by the Holy One and empowered for such a calling as motherhood!
Bless you!
With love,
Monica