The recipe

 Our days are busy. Channie and I catch little moments in between chores to have a chat about whatever is on her mind at that moment. It could be about Kevin the rabbit or the three new pigs we recently moved on the farm. Who knows, but at that moment I sit and listen and instead of just knowing what I should do, I do it. Being the mama she needs. Sitting and listening.   

 Taylor has been canning and jarring anything and everything. Her hands constantly at the stove, her excitement evident as she hears a jar pop. Our lives needing to pop. We know what we're supposed to be doing but rarely do we do it. It's kind of like her old, "get ya married" rolls recipe. She knows it by heart and she doesn't need the faded out piece of paper it's written on but if all she ever did was recite that old recipe and tell me how good the rolls were I wouldn't be too impressed but....

 She makes those rolls and makes a believer out of us. She draws us out of the corners of our home together to sit and break beautiful bread and we believe her totally.

If all I ever do as a mother is know how and what I'm supposed to do but never do it then my children may never believe how much I love them. They may never see Christ in my home. We have to do more than memorize the recipe.  

The recipe is good but the rolls are better. As mothers we should not only know what our roles are but live out our roles so that others can smell and taste and know how good the recipe is. Now that will call people out and they will say, "that's good I want to try that". This motherhood thing is beautiful and it's sweet and we need to live our lives being a radiance. I'm not saying that some days are not hard. Some days everything is hard. Some days I struggle with
 motherhood but that's when I get camera in hand and head out and start snapping pictures of the gifts...It changes everything.

 Everyday we pick and can, working hard,  taking care of animals. Everyday we wonder if it could get hotter but it does and things still have to be done. I love the heat though and the working. 

 The working together. Hands in buckets, girls in trees and the helping in heat. Carrying the load, your own load, so it's not so unbearable for everyone else.. 

Holding heavy buckets

Climbing tall ladders

Making the load lighter for your sister instead of for yourself

Standing at the bottom while others go up.

Pinning clothes in sunshine 

so the smell will soak through and when they put on their shirts sunshine will

be with them all day.

Carrying heavy things even though you could say, "I can't"

I love seeing many hands put to the job. Brothers holding, and working together, knowing what the Lord says about work and doing it so that others can learn from the example you set. Not just a voice saying, "it's good to work, it feels good to sweat". It's the voice next to you saying, "Come on man just a little bit further and we'll have this job done".

We can't just be the recipe and know how to make good bread. We have to make the recipe and put it before others and say, "taste and see how good the Lord is".

As mothers we can know scripture.

We can know how good it is for us.

We can memorize and recite it but until we live it or offer it as a sacrifice to 

the Lord it's really just words and everyone around

us can ignore it but when you live it people come and

they want it.

Be radiant today, let God's words penetrate through you

so that others will praise your Father in heaven-Matthew 5:16