Cinnamon Roll Cake

 

I found this recipe on Pinterest for a Cinnamon Roll Cake. Upon my first glance at the picture, I knew I had to make it. I love cinnamon rolls and I love cake. What a great combination.

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted

Mix everything together except for the butter.

Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined.

Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife.

Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes. While baking, prepare the glaze.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

When the cake is done. Wait about 5-10 minutes, then drizzle glaze. 

Taste delicious while it's warm.

If you're on pinterest, look me up :)

Are You Too Busy For Timothy?

I've been thinking about all the women in the Bible who had a Godly influence on their children. I want to be one of those mothers who's influence on her children would be carried out for generations to come. I want my children to tell my grandchildren and great grandchildren stories about me. Most of all, I want the generations that follow me, follow the same faith I have in God.

The only way I know to make sure that it happens is by spending time with my children. 

Next year, we will have two more children leaving the nest. Our sons, Trae and Benjamin, will be joining the military. I keep having these episodes that I've named "mommy moments." It's when something strikes that sensitive string that reminds me that my sons are leaving home within 6 months apart.

Am I ready for them to leave?

The real question is are they ready?

The answer to both questions are yes and yes.....Well, kinda yes and no to the first one.

I was reading about Timothy this morning. That's when that string was struck and I started to have a "mommy moment." Mommy moments are when I cry and blubber words that need an interpreter. I laugh too during those moments because I'm so proud of my sons.

I Timothy 1:5 says, "When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also."

Here's Timothy, a young man whom the Apostle Paul had great confidence in, who's faith was passed down through his grandmother and mother. Paul didn't get through the first chapter of the first book of Timothy without acknowledging the faith that was passed on to Timothy.

How did Lois and Eunice pass faith on to Timothy? I think it's spelled t-i-m-e, time. It takes time to impart faith into our children. This precious time that I have with my sons before they leave the nest is time that I will use wisely.

Mothers should never had to apologize to anyone when they say no to others so that their time can be spent on their Timothy. Your Timothy is more important than the women's meeting at church. Your Timothy is more important then the to-do list from your pastor. Your Timothy is more important than the job, your friends, your neighbors, etc.

Let us not be to busy for our Timothy. He may be the next person we read about in the history books. Your name will be there also, just like Lois and Eunice's were.

Domestic Tranquility

My home is all decorated for Christmas and I've been working on several projects. Each time I try and finish one, I start another one. Today, as I sat there at the kitchen table sewing an apron for a friend, something hit me. My home was so peaceful.

It was far from quiet. There were numerous sounds through out my home today. The washing machine which has the tendency to get louder and louder each day. Maybe I would too if I was being used for the fifth time before noon. Sarah sitting at the table with me cracking jokes as usual. One of my sons come through talking about the latest thing happening in his life. My sewing machine humming away with each step on the pedal. In the midst of it all, it's peaceful here.

Peaceful should be at least one of the words we use to describe our homes. With so many homes today in disarray, it can get discouraging at times. It's during those times that we have to remember who called us to do the job we are doing in our homes.

Being a keeper of the home is so valuable. In order for us to win the war against the declination of the family structure, the battles have to be won in our homes. Some days, the feeling of facing another battle can be overwhelming. It's on those days when we put our armor on and fight. When we fight, we don't play patty-cake with the adversary. We fight as if our lives and the lives of our families depend on it.

Peace is something that can be obtained in our homes. Look around your home. Look at your family. Look at yourself in the mirror. Tell yourself that peace in your home is worth having. Something that's worth having is worth fighting for.

Buckingham Palace Shortbread

It's that time of year when the oven is cranked and the candles glisten as I sit with the latest recipe book. I'm preparing for the holidays by experimenting with some new ideas. I've found some real treasures hidden in the pages of this book. One caught my eye because only few ingredients were needed. It's called Buckingham Palace Shortbread.

I decided to try this recipe and the results were amazing. One bite of this shortbread and I wanted another one. I decided to split a piece with the children to justify getting another one. That was so kind of me. :)

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

 2 cups of cake flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1/4 salt
1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of powdered sugar

Direction:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt until well blended.

 2. Beat the butter until creamy. Beat the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.

3. Add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions until it forms a soft dough.

4. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes preheat the oven to 350*F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or leave ungreased.

6 On a light floured surface, roll the dough out to 3/4 inch-thick stab, about 5x8 inches.

7. Gently lift the dough and transfer onto the baking sheet. Baked for about 40 minutes. Slip the parchment paper with the shortbread onto a hard surface. Immediately sprinkle the shortbread heavily with the powdered sugar.

8. While it's still warm, gently cut into 1 and 1/2 inch squares. Let it cool completely.

The shortbread taste best at room temperature. 

I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did. 

Real Ministry

As I sit here at the kitchen table watching Sarah look up definitions of this weeks spelling words, the words spoken by my son last week keep playing over in my mind. It was just an ordinary day this school year. Sarah and I sitting across the dining room table not only "doing school," but also sharing life together when my son walked in and said, "Mom that's real ministry you're doing there."

I turned around and looked at him and asked him what was he referring to. How could this be "real ministry?" After all, I'm just a mom who is homeschooling her teenage daughter. A wife who serves her husband. A woman who loves Jesus and enjoys the simple things in life. I'm not standing before hundreds and thousands of people giving the latest talk. No one really sees what I do day to day but my family. If truth be told, there are days when I'm quite lonely and would enjoy the fellowship of adult conversation.

He proceeded to tell me just that. He said although I spend many many hours here at home, but what I'm doing here in my home is "real ministry." He thanked me over and over again for my presence here in the home. He encouraged me to continue doing what I'm doing and don't change for anything or anyone.

As a mom, to have your 20 year old son say such wonderful things is a blessing to hear. There were many years of toiling that I thought my children would never get past the years of depending on me for everything. Looking back, I'm so glad I was there because now I'm reaping the benefit of all that hard work.

Though our days may seem long and tedious, you may not get the recognition now, but wait. It will be worth it because God is true to His word:

Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her.
-Proverbs 31:28

A Mom's Version of I Corinthians 13

"Grace and mercy is not your friend today!"

Those are the words I shouted this morning as the hustle and bustle started. Then I remembered that in everything I do, even in being a mother, I have to do it in love.
 
"And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 
 

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, 

but have not love, I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker. 

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, 

but have not love, my children learn cleanliness, not godliness. 

If I scream at my children for every infraction, 

and fault them for every mess they make, 

but have not love, my children become people-pleasers, not obedient children.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. 

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. 

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. 

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. 

Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present "mommy", 

the taxi-driver to every childhood event, 

the counselor when my children fail or are hurt. 

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child, 

then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. 

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. 

Now I glory in God's perfection of my children. 

All the projections I had for my house and my children have faded away into insignificance, 

And what remain are the memories of my kids. 

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture, 

dishes with missing place settings, and bedroom walls full of stickers, 

posters and markings, 

But the greatest of all is the Love 

that permeates my relationships with my children.

-By: Jim Fowler

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother's first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow—
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky—
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

By: William Ross Wallace

 William Ross Wallace, the author of this poem, was born in 1819. He passed away in 1881.

I have always wondered where that saying, "the hand that rocks the candle is the hand that rules the world" came from. Now I know.