Mid-Week Motivation

Starting Your Day Out Right!
Scripture, Short Devotion

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”  Psalm 25:5

As I began my day, I thought it would be nice to ponder “truth” for a moment.  It’s such a small word with big meaning.  One thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word is, “Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”  You see, we humans are constantly questioning the truthfulness of one another.  We have little sayings to remind us that “Honesty is the best policy.”  It’s as though we have to remind ourselves of the right choice between telling the truth or telling a lie.  This is both the beauty and the ugliness of free-will.  We can choose.

This is where God is very different from us.  He cannot lie.  The Bible confirms this in Hebrews 6:18.  Just wrap your brain around that for a moment.  It’s not that He makes the choice not to lie, He can’t.  Today, let’s consider how much differently we might behave if we lived like we truly believed God.

Is Your House in Order?
Cleaning, parenting, marriage, organization tips, etc.

My husband is my best friend, and I am so thankful to have him.  While we don’t have a perfect marriage, people often ask us how they can have what we have.  My usual response is, “make your marriage a priority.”  We discussed last week that God should be in the number one spot on your priority list.  There, right under Him, is your spouse.

There are literally dozens of ways to keep your marriage a priority but I would like to focus on just one…communication.  Erik and I have learned a great deal about communication over the last 13+ years of knowing each other.  However, our most profound lessons came when only three months after meeting at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS., we were separated by the military, each to different bases with a 9+ hour drive between us.  He proposed shortly after we were settled at our duty stations, and we began a 10 month engagement.

Most of our communication was either by mail, e-mail or long distance phone calls.  We couldn’t rely on facial expressions or hugs or kisses.  If we had an argument (which we called “discussions”) we had to work it out right then and choose our words and tone carefully.  We couldn’t issue a hug to say, “I’m sorry.” We had to actually say the words – and mean them.  At the time, I really disliked that we weren’t together, but in hindsight I can see how the Lord prepared us for the long haul.  The communication skills we gained during those 13 months have proved to be marriage savers.

Some of our communication “rules”

  • We will not go to bed angry with each other (this has meant staying up till the wee- hours sometimes).
  • Listen up!  If your honey is talking, keep an open mind.
  • Speak up!  If your feelings are hurt, please say so (in a kind way).
  • Do NOT ignore a problem; bring it up and talk it out.
  • Be respectful with your words and tone; your sweetheart has feelings too.
  • Constructive criticism should be more constructive and less critical.
  • Don’t be afraid to say, “I’m sorry.”
  • Don’t assume, ask.  (“When you say ____, I take it as _____. Is this how you mean it?”)
  • Your spouse is not a mind-reader, tell him (kindly) what you need or want. (I like to receive praise from Erik but sometimes he misses when I need that from him.  In the past I would get upset about it and not say anything – until I became angry, that is – but now I’ll usually bark and pant like a puppy, then grab his hand and pat my head with it while saying, “Good Job, Honey.”  He’ll laugh, and then comes the praise.)

Communicating isn’t always the easy thing, but it can be very rewarding when done in the right way.  Aside from our faith in Christ as our foundation, learning to communicate is critical to the survival of any marriage.

Afternoon Pick Me Up
Writing inspiration

Last week, we went back to the basics by using our imaginations.  This week, I’ve another photo for you.  Let it inspire you.  A picture doesn’t have to be breath-taking to speak to you.  It doesn’t have to be a photo of someone or something you know about.  You get to make it up.  You get to decide the story behind what you are looking at.  If you want to get really creative and complicated, you can take what you began from last week and use this photo to continue the story.  Or you can start fresh with new ideas and new characters.  The choice is yours.  Just have fun.

What’s For Dinner?
Quick dinners, crock pots, etc.

Easy Cabbage Lasagna

12 oz. cottage cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/3 c. dried parsley
1 t. onion powder
½ t. dried basil
1/8 t. pepper
32 oz. spaghetti sauce
¾ c. cooked ground beef (or turkey)
1 small to medium head of cabbage

Preheat oven to 375.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the core out of the cabbage and peel off the individual leaves. Salt the water and blanch about 6 or 8 cabbage leaves at a time for about 1 minute. Remove and drain. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, onion powder, basil and pepper until well blended.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix spaghetti sauce and cooked ground beef.  In a 9 x13 glass baking dish, spread ¾ c. meat sauce on the bottom.  Place a layer of cabbage leaves in the pan.  Next, spread ½ of the cheese mixture and 1 ½ c. meat sauce.  Add another layer of cabbage leaves.  Spread with the remaining cheese mixture and top with a third layer of cabbage leaves and remaining meat sauce. 
Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until bubbling hot. Remove from the oven, and garnish with sprigs of thyme, parsley or parmesan cheese.

Note:  You may trade the cabbage out with lasagna noodles by adding three lasagna noodles per lasagna layer.

A Restful Night’s Sleep
Scripture for a restful sleep

“Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.”  Psalm 40:11

Our Lord is so merciful, loving and truthful.  Doesn’t it make your soul sing to know that you can count on Him to be those things all day, every day without fail?  Many of us may have never considered how His truth protects us.  Ask God to reveal to you the times when relying on truth has delivered you from a desperate situation. Thank Him for His faithfulness. 

Gina Conroy

Gina Conroy

From the day I received my first diary in the second grade, I've had a passion expressing myself through writing. Later as a journalist and novelist, I realized words, if used powerfully, have the ability to touch, stir, and reach from the depths of one soul to another. Today as a writing and health coach, I inspire others to live their extraordinary life and encourage them to share their unique stories. For daily inspiration follow me on https://www.facebook.com/gina.conroy and check out my books here https://amzn.to/3lUx9Pi