Fresh Grounded Faith

This week has been a revelation to me. One of the things I really struggle with in my RA is feeling useless. I don't feel like I take care of my family the way that I want to. A couple of weeks ago, Jesse and I reevaluated the split of household chores, and I agreed to take on cooking again. I had stopped several months ago, because it was so hard at the end of the day for me to stand up for long periods of time, and I was just exhausted. So Jesse's been doing the cooking, and it's been wearing on him. Coming home from a long day at work, the last thing he wants to do is have to make supper. And on nights when he had errands to run and didn't get home until seven, we didn't eat until close to eight, or everyone had to fend for themselves, which gets expensive.

So this last week I started making supper for the family again. I made beef taco bake, which we hadn't had in forever, a recipe for herb crusted salmon I got from Janet Bly (it was amazing!), and Friday night I made the most amazing enchilada casserole in the crock pot. Last night was a new chicken recipe which got rave reviews from the whole family. I had no idea how much I loved and missed cooking until I started doing it again. There is a sense of deep satisfaction knowing that I provided for my family in such a loving way. My heart was filled to overflowing every night listening to the kids' praise and seeing the smile on Jesse's face. It's made evenings a lot more enjoyable too. He isn't stressed out the minute he walks through the door, and if he's running late, I can just serve up for everyone else. And the best part: I don't feel useless!

Yesterday Molly and I worked on cleaning the girls' room (trust me, this was definitely a two person job), and I really overdid it. I could feel my energy fading and the pain was starting to take up permanent residence, but God provided enough strength for me to make a yummy supper. And it was gluten-free for Jesse too! Today I'm taking it easy to recover, and supper will probably be fend for yourself, but I'm making up the menu for the next week and at the top of the list is a feeling of accomplishment.

Fresh Grounded Faith by Jennifer Rothschild is a fabulous devotional for those on the go. I've read some of Rothschild other books, and she never fails to portray God's love in a genuine and understandable manner. This book is split up into 75 short chapters, each about only 2-3 pages long. The topics range from light-hearted and humorous to deeply moving and personal, but all are inspiring and faith-filled. Each chapter ends with an area for the reader to include their personal thoughts about the day's reading. This is a perfect devotional for busy moms or women on the go. The readings only take a few minutes but will remain in your heart throughout the day. Great to start off each morning or end the day right. Even on nights when I was too exhausted to take out any of my other nightly readings, I always took the time to read this book.

Tomorrow kicks off the third anniversary week of Christy's Book Blog, and I'm holding a huge contest, I hope you come back to sign up!