Month: June 2016

get active, working out

1985 called

dailystepsblog

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I love, love the colorful workout pants… ON EVERYONE ELSE. They’re adorable and they catch my eye every time I see them on people. But when I put them on, it just feels like “1985 called and they want their pants back”. I just can’t do it. I like my plain, black, THICK workout pants.

I’m not giving up though.  I will try again to get out of my box on this. If you read my previous post about the mismatched socks, you may remember that I have found freedom in surrendering before.  There’s a carefree attitude than can easily sweep across us when we embrace the going-for-it.  Joy can be in the littlest of things like non-black spandex.

Getting out of our comfort zone can be good for the soul, so I’m going to keep trying.  Like I wrote about yesterday, I had fun coloring my world in a day. I just can’t color my bottom half quite yet.  Perhaps this could be a good exercise in perseverance and goal setting.  Colored spandex, I’ve got my eyes on you.  Legs, get ready.  🙂

being mindful, daily moments

color my world

dailystepsblog

Color makes me happy.  I have never done a bible study (picture below) where I marked over the words of my bible so much.  I mean, I LOVE my journaling bible but pretty much stay in the margins.  Color coding so many different colors on so much scripture just felt a little weird when I started.  But then I realized, the whole reason I bought this bible was to get more hands on.  I wanted to write, takes notes, decipher, and learn in a way I hadn’t done before.  I wanted to step out of the box of how I had always studied.

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Seeing the pages of my bible so colorful makes me smile.  So much so in fact, that I decided I was going to try to add more color all throughout my day, to get out of my margins a little bit and be more hands on.  I want to color my whole day happy.

Below is a list of things that added color to my day… to the everyday.  Things that ordinarily seem mundane, but for today became a little more vibrant and noticed.

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1-I used one of my favorite coffee mugs this morning.  I bought it on a stop we made in Luckenbach, Texas on a girl’s trip.  I love Texas, I love country music, I love time with my girlfriends, and I love Willie Nelson’s songs.  I smile every time I use this mug, which was handcrafted by a local artisan.

2-I grabbed a different pair of tennis shoes to wear to my jazzercise class.  I haven’t worn them in forever because I prefer the fit of my others, but I love, love, love the colors of these!  Every time I looked down while teaching class, I smiled.  I’m happy to be back with my jazz friends, getting stronger each day, and working on my physical health.  Coming off of an injury, I am feeling grateful that I can exercise.  On a different note, yes those are mismatched socks in the worst way.  You can check out my thoughts on letting go and living surrendered on one of my earlier blog posts.  All because of a pair of mismatched socks.

3-I listened to different music on my way to class today.  My ipod is my lifeline for jazzercise.  It is loaded with SO many great songs that I get to teach routines to.  I skipped around my playlists, finding songs I haven’t listened to in a while.  Good music always makes you smile!

4-I brought my water bottle with me while I had to wait on an oil change at the car place.  Any other day the red blinds probably would have gone unnoticed as just part of the whole car waiting room décor, but for today, they make for a nice contrasting backdrop for my pretty blue water bottle (I’ve got a previous blog post about that, too!).  I mean, really, when is the last time I’ve seen bright red blinds in a window?

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5-I easily noticed the green summer grass!   I walked out to our back patio this morning, to water a plant that my mom gave me for Mother’s Day.  When I looked over to this exact spot in the photo, THERE WAS A SNAKE!  It’s head was sticking up from underneath the edge of the patio.  I screamed and he went back under as quickly as I could get back inside.  The part of this that’s outside of my margins?  I took this photo after GOING BACK OUTSIDE.  I faced a fear (felt a little heebie-jeebie-ish while I did so) but I got the plant watered.  It was the fastest watering job ever, but for now I’m calling it Me-1, Snake-0.

6-These simple containers will be filled tomorrow with fresh fruit for church on Sunday.  I helped start a health and wellness ministry at our church a couple of years ago.  It is something near and dear to my heart.  One part of what we do is provide healthy alternatives to donuts on Sunday morning.  I LOVE our MOVE Ministry- what we do, the people that participate with us, and meeting new friends.  It makes me smile OFTEN.

7- Laundry!  Typically I would look at this table covered with clothes that I need to fold and think, “ugh!”.  But today, I just noticed the COLORS.  99% of the time I don’t look favorably at folding clothes.  But while focusing on coloring myself happy today, and thinking OUTSIDE of my usual margins, I felt grateful for this variety of colors.  They represent four healthy daughters and a healthy hubby.

8-My lunch today.  Yummy!  I had fresh summer foods and a shrimp burger (my new favorite that I will be blogging about soon).  Eating a rainbow- from God’s garden, not a skittle bag- made me happy.  It made my insides feel happy.  And how lucky am I that I can get all of this right down the street at the grocery store.  🙂

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9- A lovely gray rain shower. Gray CAN be happy. Summer showers are perfect for snuggles and movies and forts. Even the pups like to get in on it. And it leads to…
10- Snacks! Yummy yogurt dessert to be exact. It’s been my go-to sweet treat since I started Weight Watchers.  You can’t see the chocolate chips in it but they’re a must. The pretty colorful flower bowl made it all cheery and good, especially on a rainy afternoon.
11-  Like they say, our kids- they’re watching us. This is my youngest lunch plate- she wanted to make it pretty and colorful “like mom does”. She even cut one of her strawberry slices into a heart. My older daughter also snap chatted me a picture of her pretty food plate. (But I’m new to SC and still learning the ins and outs and did not get a screenshot).
12- Riding shotgun. This one could be bittersweet if I let it, but I’m not. It’s happy in a different kind of way, a color I really  haven’t used before.  My oldest daughter now has her permit and is wanting to drive us EVERYWHERE. On one hand, it’s great to be chauffeured after 17 years of driving. On the other, we are now THERE…. watching our child gain her independence and confidence to go out on her own into the world. Today, I’m coloring my world with the joy of watching her blossom. I will cherish this sweet spot of her getting-ready-to-fly-but-not-quite-yet. And I will enjoy the ride.

Today was a good day.  I went about my usual habits and errands with an intentional eye.  I noticed things and paid attention.  Little moments, big moments, mundane tasks… the everyday.  It was all highlighted in different colors that meant something to me, just like the page in my bible.  Yes, colors do make me happy.  🙂

 

family produce project, healthy living

family produce project-purple and white asparagus

dailystepsblog

Our second week of family bonding over veggies proved to be just as fun as the first.  No, seriously.  It has been so much fun for all of us to just hang out in the kitchen, cooking and laughing together.  There may be a few moments of everyone trying to take charge and be the boss of everyone else, but honestly, if that didn’t occur in a kitchen of four daughters and a mom, I may have to look out the window for flying pigs.

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The veggies chosen this week were asparagus.  However, we didn’t choose the regular green vegetable that my girls are decent fans of.  We found both the purple and the white variety and thought we would check out how they compare to what we already know.

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In their raw state they are actually quite pretty.  I never think of white when I think of produce.  I think of bright green and deep reds and warm oranges and yellows.  Seeing a bundle of cauliflower colored stalks is just different.  They definitely have a clean, crisp Spring vibe.  If they weren’t five dollars a pound, they would even make beautiful centerpieces- the tidy bundles placed in bunches down the table’s center- tied up with pretty twine or ribbon. What a simple, rustic, natural look.

But this is a food post, not a decorating how- to, so back to the veggies. The purple stalks are just as pretty.  They are a deep, dark hue with a gorgeous texture.  And, to our surprise, once you cut into it, the inside is green!

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When we got these home, we had to figure out how to prep the stalks for cooking.  The purple aren’t too different than regular green asparagus.  You simply wash them, snap off the ends, and chop them to the desired size.  And this really not a sad step in the produce prep, as my daughter would have you believe with her expression.  In reality, I think she’s feeling like her sister is taking too long with the we-haven’t-used-it-in-a-while carrot peeler (see below) and that she has waited longer than enough for her turn.

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The white asparagus, having a tougher outer skin, do require peeling.  The girls took turns using the vegetable peeler and got them all trimmed up.  These needed the ends snapped, too, and are more fragile to work with.  They are also smaller so we were careful to not waste too much of it in the prep. More often than not, when we got to peeling, the stalks would break at some point.  It really wasn’t a big deal since we were chopping anyway, but it was a bit of nuisance to chase rogue pieces when you’re in your peeling groove.  And our hopeful dog goes for rogue pieces of most anything, but asparagus are not one   (Note the purple piece, untouched, on the floor next to him.)

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While a couple of the girls are peeling and chopping,  the other two are looking up how they want to cook these.  They all decided sautéing was the way to go.  So, they found a simple recipe of using part olive oil, part butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and sautéed each color separately.  They started with the purple first.  Once we got it cooking, we learned that they don’t stay purple- they turn green!

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We did a little research right then, and that is a fact of cooking purple asparagus.  They turn a green to bronze color but keep some purple accents when cooked.  There’s nothing wrong with it, of course, but if you want to retain the beautiful contrast of the purple skin and green flesh, you can eat them raw. They would look oretty to just slice them in thin pieces and add to a salad.  Never peel the purple skin off or you’ll lose the phytonutrients and antioxidant power that it’s color provides!

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All in all, both of these were a keeper.  The girls all agreed they would eat these again, so yay!  It was fun to see them try each one and do their best to decipher the different flavors and textures each provided.  The purple were preferred, maybe because they do have a slightly sweeter flavor.   The white had a slightly tender, more crisp texture to them.

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Aside from the prep and the cooking, here are a few fun facts we learned:  white asparagus are grown without light.  It’s a process called etiolation.  The dirt is kept mounded up around the emerging stalks, to keep the light away.  This prevents photosynthesis from occurring.  The plant will not produce any chlorophyll, which is what would turn it green. This is obviously labor intensive for the grower and adds to the cost of the product.  White asparagus are considered a delicacy in Europe as well.  And nutritionally speaking, one cup of asparagus provide 3 grams of fiber, 4-5 grams of protein, and antioxidants.  They are high in vitamins A,B, C and K and are a good source of copper and iron.

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After just a couple of weeks of intentionality in the kitchen, my girls do seem more at ease with using basic kitchen tools and following a simple recipe’s directions without asking me 85 questions before each step.  They seem more confident.  They’ve also already picked out the next produce we will try next week.  I can take that one of two ways:  either they secretly enjoy their mother’s food nerd tendencies and kitchen lessons, or they are appeasing me in hopes that they’re scoring brownie points to keep in the bank for the future.  Either way, we get time together doing something productive and fun and are making memories along the way. Bon appetite! 🙂

 

 

 

being mindful, daily moments, devotions, friends

seasons of stories

dailystepsblog

“He made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he put eternity in man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11.

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I am loving the @womenlivingwell study! I am learning about Solomon and realizing how similar his story of seeking earthly joys seems to our world today. I came across this previous note I made in the margins of my bible. It is from a women’s retreat I attended a couple of years ago.

I relate to it personally, but I think it can relate to so many of our stories here. We ALL have stories. I love following all of the stories I see on Facebook and Instagram, on Twitter, and on the blogs I follow. I find myself  learning so much day to day. I see people who are real and genuine in their fails, and so inspiring and humble in their successes. Let’s keep sharing, keep living out and telling our stories. Every part of His story is important. Every part matters…. YOU Matter.

Here’s what my jotted down notes say- notes from an incredibly wise young speaker:
“Our stories are going somewhere on purpose! Some days I feel I may have a larger part of God’s story than other days, but to God every part is important. Every part is intertwined and interdependent. Even the smallest of “parts” can have an impact for years to come. I need to remember that.”❤️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

recipes

blackberry-basil flatout pizza

dailystepsblog

After hanging out on Pinterest over the weekend, I stumbled on the most delicious looking pizza I had seen in a long time.  The pin linked me to The Food Charlatan and I instantly LOVED her site.  Her food looks amazing, her style is very down-to-earth, and her photos bring it all to life.  And this recipe… oh my goodness!  It was different- full of fresh blackberries, creaminess, fresh basil… not to mention the fresh dough it was baked on!  My mouth watered.  And I wondered why… these weren’t the typical flavors I was drawn to, and cheese is most definitely NOT my thing.  But I kept going back to check out the photos and read through the recipe wondering if I should just go for it.

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If you know me at all, you know that I tend to OCD on things once I get them in my head.  I just can’t help it.  So, at my next stop at the grocery store, I picked up a small carton of blackberries, ricotta, and the laughing cow cheese wedges.  As soon as I got home, I set out to try a lighter version from the recipe I had found…. one that I could use up just a modest amount of my weight watchers smart points for but still get the flavors I was craving.

I must say, it turned out to be SO yummy!  When you track food through the weight watchers app, there is an option to save the list of food you entered as a meal.  I love this new feature!  I used it right away for this pizza… I will most definitely be making it again!

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Blackberry-Basil Flatout Pizza

1 Italian herb flavored Flatout Bread wrap

1 wedge Laughing Cow Asiago cheese wedge

1 small carton fresh blackberries, rinsed

1/3 cups low fat ricotta cheese

1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon Gourmet Garden Basil herb blend

olive oil

fresh basil

salt

pepper

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Brush one side of the Flatout bread wrap lightly with olive oil and bake in oven for 5-7 minutes just to crisp it up.  While it’s baking, place 1/2 cup blackberries in a bowl and mash until you get an even consistency.  In a second bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese and basil herb blend until fully incorporated.

Once the wrap is toasted, spread the laughing cow wedge evenly to cover.  Second, using a fork, begin to add the smashed blackberries on top, spreading evenly.  It works best to use a fork or slotted spoon to get the pulp and not the juice in this step.  Next, using a spoon, drop small dollops of the ricotta mixture on top of the blackberries.  It works best to spread it out evenly over the entirely flatbread, leaving a small space between each blob.  Sprinkle the grated parmesan and a a bit of fresh basil over everything and add a small handful of fresh blackberries evenly over the top.  These are easy to place sort of in between the ricotta pieces.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until edges are brown and crispy or cheese mixture is bubbling.  Top with the remaining fresh basil and enjoy!

I’ve gone ahead an included a photo of what it looks like to have two big bites out of your piece.  Get used to that view.  This pizza is so good, you will want to dig in fast!  And maybe be a little sad when you are all done…

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recipes

dark chocolate chia seed pudding

dailystepsblog

Chia seeds are one of most nutritious foods you can eat.  They are high in protein, fiber and omega-3s to name just a few.  Making them part of your dessert is a win-win- equals parts tasty and healthy!

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This recipe is about as easy as you can get!  The trick is to PLAN it far enough ahead of when you actually want to EAT it because it takes several hours to set.  It’s best to make it the night before and have it ready to go the next morning.  There are so many variations and flavors you can add to almond milk and chia seeds, but this one is by far my favorite!

1/2 cups dark chocolate Silk almond milk

2 Tablespoons chia seeds

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

fresh strawberries

Fat free whipped cream

semisweet chocolate chips

 

Mix together almond milk, chia seeds, vanilla and cinnamon.  Stir well.  Pour into glass dish and let sit overnight to set.  The mixture will congeal together.  When ready to serve, top with a dollop of whipped cream, fresh sliced strawberries, and a few chocolate chips.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

devotions

stones that are alive- wait, what?

dailystepsblog

1 Peter 2:5…”you also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  As I finished up my last day of James, a 7 week bible study I took part in, I lingered around on this verse: sometimes it just takes me a little longer to soak in certain scripture. I kept going back to the words… “we are living stones… being built into a spiritual house…”

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I really had to think on this and what it meant.  I started to imagine a stone home where every single part of that structure is made of stone- floors, walls, stairs, pillars. Every stone is unique, cut and shaped to fit where it works best, where it fits in with others to make the overall design and function of the home work. Each stone fits together to make the whole, well, whole.

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I thought back to the verses in Peter, reading how we are like living stones. How we, as believers and followers of Christ, are all so unique and different from one another. We are all shaped and designed individually by God for His purposes. We all fit together and are using our lives… our talents… and are building His spiritual house, where we each serve and do the job we are designed to do.  So, in reading 1 Peter 2:5 again, am I doing my part? Am I living for the purpose He designed me for? I had a sinking feeling. If I am not, then what happens to that pretty house I envisioned? If my stone was missing, how stable is that part of the house? What if it’s not just me? What if several of us are not living out His plan for our lives?

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Imagine what would happen to the stone house if several of those stones were missing.  If you took just the right few out of the wall, it could collapse. Take a few stones from the staircase and it could be unusable, unable to help people move about the house.

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The same thing can happen in our world. God has called each of us to live our lives on purpose… with purpose…. surrendered. Each of our gifts and callings fit together to build an amazing spiritual home. If I don’t do my part- what happens to the overall design of His home? How can we secure our stone in the exact spot God wants it and strengthen the overall design He created and planned?

Dear God, I want to be a strong living stone for you. Please help me to live a life surrendered to you. Help me find and nurture the gifts you have given me so I can be a stone, set in place, in your spiritual house. Guide me to seek and encourage others to stand confident in who they are and to help us all stand firmly in the place you have called us. Amen.

daily moments, family produce project, healthy living, recipes

family produce project- rutabaga

dailystepsblog

In an effort to learn about other foods, learn kitchen skills, and practice working together, our family has taken on the weekly “Family Produce Project”.  Every week we will seek out a new fruit or vegetable that is either completely unfamiliar to us or that we haven’t done much with before.  We will scope out the produce sections of our grocery store(s), agree on a new item to try, research how to clean and prepare it, and find a yummy recipe to try our hand at cooking it.  Anything goes- from the most obscure to a rather known fruit or veggie, keeping in mind that our goal is to try new things and get out of our food comfort zone.

The first week has been fun.  I initially thought we would make a special trip to find the perfect subject to get us out of our box.  Week one already proved busy, so in our Wal-mart run for camp things, we decided to check out what the produce department had to offer.

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I was actually pretty impressed with the selection and the display.  There were rows and rows of every color you could look for.  The girls had to determine if they wanted to try a fruit or veggie, decide what color they were looking for, and figure out if they were going for something they sort of knew or something that they had never heard of before.

Not too long in the hunt, they found the rutabaga.

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I love how Wal-mart gives the shopper a brief blurb about the produce.  High in vitamin C, sort of tastes like a turnip, good to cook stews or soups with, and look for one that is not mushy or decaying.  We figured two would feed our family of six in a side dish, so we bagged them up.

This will be our Monday night gig.  All the girls have to plan to be home and all have to work together in the kitchen and on the computer (or their phones) to figure out a recipe that sounds good to everyone.  They have to determine how you clean and prep the food to eat (skin, de-seed, peel, slice, etc.) and will have to gather all the ingredients and tools to make the dish.  After a few hits on Pinterest, it didn’t take long for them to agree on making rutabaga fries.  That pretty much meant ketchup, too.  I’m sure they saw that as a necessity to trying to eat something that looked like an huge, dirty, rock.

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We first had figure out how to cut into the rutabaga.  Did it have a seed or pit?  Can you eat the skin?  They determined it’s best to start by slicing the whole veggie straight down the middle, so you can work then with each half.  You lay each half flat-side down, then slice 1/4″ all the way through (much like you would slice a loaf of bread).  You then take each half-moon shaped piece, cut the skin off, and slice 1/4″ slices, very much looking just like raw French fry pieces would.

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Once both are cut, you simply toss with olive oil and spices, lay out flat in baking pan, and bake.  Pretty simple prep for limited cooking abilities in the kitchen.  The finished dish smelled yummy and each of the girls seemed genuinely interested to and willing to try it out.  When we sat down to eat, we looked up what we could on rutabagas.  Did you know that we are the only ones that call them that name?  In just about everywhere else in the world they are called Swedish turnips, or Swedes for short.  And they are actually a cruciferous vegetable- just like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage to name a few.  They are an excellent source of Vitamin C, potassium, and manganese.  They have fiber and other vitamins and minerals that promote healthy functions in the body.  They are antioxidant and beta-carotene rich and help protect from heart disease and cancer.

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So, this will be a goal for summer.  Every Monday night is family night, girls night in if Brad has to be gone.  We will cook and learn and laugh and hopefully make some healthy memories in the kitchen.  Healthy for our bodies and healthy for our souls.

Rutabaga Oven Fries: (adapted from a recipe on cookinglight.com)

2 medium rutabagas

1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons rosemary

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Slice up the rutabaga into matchstick size pieces, similar to the cut of thin French fries.  Either in a baggie or just in the jelly roll pan, toss and coat the fries with the oil and spices covering the pieces evenly.  Roast in a 425 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, or until tender and browned.

 

 

being mindful, daily moments, devotions

the leaning boxwood

dailystepsblog

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I walked out of my garage a couple of weeks ago and this caught my eye. My once straight-up-growing, symmetrical boxwood is now completely leaning forward- growing from the shady porch area towards the light. It’s grown all the way to the front of the planter box, because to keep thriving in this spot, it needs the sunshine. The science nerd and questioner in me googled this. It’s called phototropism which occurs when a plant responds to light by turning in the direction of the light. With too much shade on my porch, my pretty green plant will stay sort of stagnant… dull. Isn’t this a little how we can find ourselves, too? We are designed to respond to the Son and bend our lives towards His light. That’s how we thrive. When we don’t, we are not really flourishing like we were made to do. I have times where I find myself tucked away in the shade. I’m not growing towards the light like I should be. I feel off and a little out of sorts. I think it’s because of how we are made. It’s an innate response to grow towards Christ when He is in your heart. When I don’t seek Him, I remain pretty stationary. I’m thankful that I noticed this leaning porch plant. Every time I walk past it, in or out of my house, I feel a reminder to keep growing towards the light…. His light… of love and grace…. gentleness….forgiveness…. joy and kindness. Just like my boxwood, I can thrive when I grow towards the Son.❤️ John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

devotions, friends

levees and friends

dailystepsblog

This past spring, our city has gone through a deluge of rain. In fact, it was the second year in a row Houston has been hit with such a downpour. The floods that ensued have been devastating. Our suburban neighborhood, designed with a levee of protection, has been one of several around the city spared by the rising waters.  This levee is a a raised embankment that channels the waters of the overflowing Brazos away from us. The waters have risen, the roads have even shut down in places, but the levee has protected us, leaving our homes, and our families, dry and safe.

levee at camp sienna

Storms happen in life. Hard times hit us all. Psalm 107:29 says, “He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.” The bible doesn’t talk about IF the storms come. It assumes they DO.  Storms of grief…. of worry and fear.  Storms of sadness and anger .  Storms of the need to let go, but the lack of trust to do so.  Our storms are full of emotions that often drive our actions and attitudes day to day.  Storms, that on some days, leave us covered and trapped.

This past spring has been a season where we have experienced the emotional kind of rains. Losing pets is tough, especially on your kids who grew to know them like a sibling.  Helping your child grieve and learn a new normal is hard but necessary.  And, to put in bluntly, bullying sucks.  The word can be overused, I know, but when your child experiences it it is real.  Really real.  Ugly words said can leave a stain on your heart for years to come.  Words that came unexpected from former friends, people you had a love for and trust of. And as a mother, witnessing this can rip at your heart in a way you hadn’t felt before.

As I reflect back on the last several months, I begin to realize…. just as the levee has protected our homes and community from devastating floods, so too, has our family experienced the same kind of protection by our friends.

All around, we have had friends loving us, being sad with us, and just taking on some of our heartache in order to protect us from the flood of emotions that grief and hurting hearts bring. These friends acted just like the levee does. The storms came, but the rise of waters that follow the downpour have been channeled away from us by each act of love and friendship… by prayer.

Watching my daughter be on the receiving end of some rather obnoxious nastiness was hard to do. Mommy claws can be SHARP and LONG. But seeing true friends walk with us through that ordeal helped us deal. And it wasn’t always big noticeable acts… these sweet friends just loved on us through simple acceptance and kindness and prayers that we never specifically heard out loud, but we felt in our hearts.

levee fully surrounded home

I have to be honest with myself here. Am I like a levee? Do I help shield the storms of life from taking over my friends?  Do I help build up and protect from the heavy burden of hard rains?

I have had so many friends go through so much this last year. SO MUCH. We can’t change the fact that the storms will come, but we can try to keep the flood waters from overcoming those that we love.  Do I share in my friends’ hard times, taking on some of their heartache, and just love on them?

If I can do that, I can help guide the remnants of their storm away from them, protecting them from the flood of emotions that can easily swallow us up. Galatians 6:2 says “Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” When I read this, I realize it is my DUTY as a Christ follower to carry burdens with my friends. Jesus does so for us all the time. Every day. All day. No matter how big or small the circumstance.  Jesus, our crown-wearing prince, is our ultimate protection.   Is it any coincidence that in my research of levees,  I came across the diagram below, showing that the top of a levee is called a crown?

levee diagram

So… am I following His lead… am I like a levee? Do I raise up and protect others during their time of storms? Do I help to channel away all the murky waters of sadness and fear, frustration and heartache?

Every time I come up on one of these strong embankments, I will try to remember to ask myself this.  It will be a self-check of sorts.   Rains come, waters rise, but the strong embankment of friendship can protect from the flood of it all.  Friendship that can last a lifetime if it’s grounded in the one who gives us ultimate refuge.” Carry each other’s burdens…. “