Family Life: Fruit & Veggie Art

Quick Slideshow

Maybe your kids would enjoy spending time in the kitchen this summer. This amazing veggie art can easily be created by children. After they've had their turn at the cutting board, they can gooble up their healthy creations. How about a dollop of cool Ranch dip on the side? More delicious whimsy is here.

Related: Christian Kitchen Trivia

Did you know that Susannah Wesley, the famous homeschooling mother of John and Charles, is legendary as a woman of prayer? Historians tell us that while cooking, she often flipped her apron over her head. Hidden beneath her private cotton tent, Susannah offered up spontaneous prayers to God. Sweet.

Susannah's Aprons: Book Giveaway

Inspired by Susannah's habit of praying in her pantry, I've been developing a new website. Ta da! Are you looking for a gift for a special woman in your life? Come visit me at my new online store, Susannah's Aprons.

And, if you're the fifth person to leave a friendly comment over there (moderated) I'll send you a copy of this delighful little book called Apronisms. See you at Susannah's Aprons!

Bonus: 21 Ultimate Burger Recipes from Epicurious

Up Next—Help! I Married An Entrepreneur

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Word-Filled-Wednesday: Rom 8:38-39

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39 NIV)

Visit The 160 Acre Woods where a wonderful group of bloggers will uplift you with their timely Word-filled posts.

Scripture Memory Challenge

Beth Moore has the right idea. Back in January she challenged her readers at The LPM Blog to memorize two Bible verses per month. If you're like me, perhaps you recognize the need for a little incentive and accountablity to get the job done. What a great way to learn new Scripture every two weeks! It's never too late to join Beth and her 1000+ participants. You can get the skinny here.

Once-a-Month at Chrysalis

Unfortunately, twice month is way too much for this "bear of very little brain." If you're game to join me for a monthly memory verse, go to the comment box on this post. All you need to do is leave your first name, state or province, verse(s) of your choice, reference, and (abbreviated) translation. Like this:

Passage #1. e-Mom in Washington.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Rom 8:38-39 NIV)

Sound doable? Let's try it together! Go ahead, choose your passage and leave me a comment. If you're stumped for ideas, feel free to work on memorizing this one.

Lord, Help Me!

To make this passage digestible, I'm going to break it down point-by-point. Now I have nine short thoughts to meditate on.

• For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
  
• neither angels nor demons,
  
• neither the present nor the future,
  
• nor any powers,


• neither height nor depth,
  
• nor anything else in all creation,
  
• will be able to separate us from the love of God
  
• that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


• (Rom 8:38-39 NIV)

How easy it that?! Check back here in August to join us for memory verse #2!

Up Next—Fruit & Veggie Art

So what's your memory verse for July?


Photo: Atlanta Tom (Flickr)

Marriage Survey Results

Thank you for participating in the marriage survey on this post, "What's the Biggest Problem or Frustration in Your Marriage?"

Your valuable feedback in the comment box and by email revealed a number of areas or "hot spots" that married couples find challenging.


21 Hot Spots

• trust
• money
• communication
• in-laws
• infertility
• children
• temperments/giftings
• leadership
• submission
• romance
• sexuality
• time
• gender differences
• goals
• faith
• ministry
• working vs. stay-at-home mothers
• personal growth
• commitment
• boredom & apathy
• addictions

In the coming months, e-Dad and I would like to address these hot spots in writing. Using Scripture as our final authority, hopefully we'll be able to offer you some fresh insights in ebook form. We both appreciate your honesty and the time you took to share your private issues on this blog. Here's a special shout-out to those of you who discussed the question beforehand with your husband.

THREE Chocolate Giveaway Winners

Selected at random, the chocolate giveaway winners are Tami Boesiger at The Next Step, Wife of Rob at A Pair of Bartletts, and Hazel at Zoe Grapho. Congratulations! I'll be in touch with you by email in the very near future.

Graphic: Digital Post-it Note Generator


Would you add anything else to this list?

Marriage Monday

Traveling With My Husband

You may be newly married, married for the second time, or retired. Or you may be slogging through the middle years that seem to stretch out forever, in between toddlers and college graduates. No matter where you are on the journey, e-Dad and I urge couples to stay married. We've been together for a very long time now and we treasure our shared history.

So many of our fondest memories include a trip to somewhere. We celebrated our very first anniversary in San Francisco. Over the course of that remarkable three-day weekend, we must have ridden on every form of public transportation known to man: airplane, taxi, subway, and of course, cable car (ding! ding!).

We began our liason way back in college (university) traveling on packed Greyhound buses back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border at Blaine, Washington. I was a student at U.B.C. and e-Dad was enrolled at Seattle Pacific. After our engagement, I made the leap and moved south, gaining a new husband and a new citizenship all in one fell swoop—y'all!

My extended family still lives in British Columbia, so by now we know the stretch of freeway between Seattle and Vancouver a little too well, eh? We've been crossing borders and exploring new vistas much further afield ever since. Suffice to say, we really love to travel. Our favorite destination? Any place with sandy beaches and swaying palms.

Related: Here's a compelling excerpt from a story by
Scot McKnight which echoes our sentiments about staying married. Published by CT's Out of Ur.

The Story Called Us

"Kris and I have been married for thirty-five years. We grew up in the same community; our fathers coached together; we were boyfriend and girlfriend in grade school and junior high. We got serious as sophomores in high school and got married as sophomores in college. (Not what we recommended for our two kids.)

Here's my point: nearly everything about each of our lives is known to the other. Furthermore, in our daily conversations, we draw on our collective memory of our thirty-five years of life together, and it is now rare that one of us says something about the past that the other one doesn't already know. Our stories are reminders, not revelations, of our past together. They glue our stories into one story. Admittedly, that we grew up together gives our collective memory a dimension that most don't know, but my point is not so much about marrying someone from your hometown as staying married.

From anthropologists to theologians to those who write technically about story-telling, thinkers today remind us over and over that who we are emerges from the story we tell ourselves. Our identity swells from our story. Divorce inevitably rips chapters and pages and paragraphs from the identity-shaping story that guides our everyday. Those who are divorced, in the presence of a variety of audiences, are driven to modify or silence chapters of their story. In effect, they can only be partially visible in many, if not most, contexts. They can tell only parts of their story.

A good reason to stay married, I am contending, is to keep your story intact and to let that story develop over time by adding new chapters that deepen earlier ones. Good stories have drama, and perhaps the rough patches in a marriage will someday be redeemed by the memory that those patches, too, were part of the story we wove into one story, the story called Us."

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Today is Marriage Monday

Christine at Fruit in Season is our lovely guest hostess for Marriage Monday. Today's topic is "Traveling With My Husband." Please consider writing a post on this subject and then linking up at Christine's. I hope you'll also take few minutes to visit the other Marriage Monday sisters. You'll be blessed!

Your Feedback Please

Lately, e-Dad and I have been thinking about putting some of the marriage wisdom shared here at Chrysalis into ebook-form. However, we would love to have your input first. In the comment box on this post, would you be kind enough to answer the following question:

In your marriage, what’s your biggest problem, frustration, fear, or challenge?

Whatever you struggle with the most, I'd like to know about it. That way e-Dad and I can address those issues in our book. (Your remarks may be included, but only with your permission, of course.)

Chocolate Giveaway

Just to sweeten the pot, I'm holding a chocolate giveaway. THREE random winners will receive a bar of chocolate for donating your time to this project. Click here for more details.

Chocolate winners will be announced on Tuesday July 7, 2009.

Photos: baldi & maximili (Flickr)

Beth Moore: Living Proof LIVE

Q & A with a Conference "Siesta"

Beth Moore rocks, right? Wouldn't you love to have the opportunity to hear her teach on stage? Failing that, the next best thing is an eye witness report. Last weekend, my sweet friend Gayle went to hear Beth Moore in Stockton, CA (June 26-27, 2009). I asked her a few questions about the event.

1. Which Scripture passages did Beth cover?

The theme of the Beth Moore event in Stockton was "From Bridezilla to the Bride of Christ... a 7-Step Makeover." She used the verses from Revelation 19:1-16 to illustrate her points. While telling us why she chose this title for the event (she always has a different focus at each live event so you can never predict what she will be covering) she reminded us how June is the wedding month and she seemed to have been surrounded by weddings and proposals, etc. throughout the prior weeks.

2. Beth is bursting with passion and creativity. How did she illustrate her main points?

To say Beth Moore is excitable is an understatement! She literally bounced around the arena, often speaking directly to one of the 5,500 women in attendance! She used video clips from the movie "Bride Wars" to illustrate a typical Bridezilla moment... she also used poignant stories from her own life to profound effect throughout the two sessions.
She has an amazing ability to alternate between making you laugh and making you weep—at times very close together. She really "gets" the struggles, lack of self-esteem, and feelings of inadequacy of the women her ministry is focused upon.

3. What message did the Spirit impress upon you personally during the sessions?

The verse that struck me is Revelation 19:7... "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." "Rejoice" basically means happiness and "glad" means to exalt and leap for joy! As Beth explained... we are to make ourselves ready to be the Bride of Christ and to give God the glory every day and in every way during our daily walk with Him.

4. Describe the worship component of the conference. Were you moved?

Beth's Worship Team is such an integral component of the event as they sing worship choruses and songs for at least the first 45 minutes of each session. While the music is loud and may have been unfamiliar to many, the sight of thousands of women with their hands raised and singing with the worship leaders was incredibly moving. It just seemed that all my cares and concerns washed away with the power of the lyrics and the feeling that God was in that arena from the first note of the first song until the end.

5. What was your biggest surprise over the course of the weekend?

My biggest surprise was how much more powerful hearing Beth is in person than on her DVDs. She was so open about her abuse as a child and how that impacted her feelings of worthiness to be loved by God. She said she never felt pure and worthy to be the Bride of Christ until after she had done years of bible study and research and could come to the place of acceptance and that she was "pure" in God's sight. As women we all struggle with these feelings and I walked away from the weekend more determined than ever to Believe God and know that... "He will look intently through us into our heart" and
I want him to know that my heart is in a place of blessing and honor to Him.

Please Come Again

Wow, Gayle. This is powerful! Thank you so much for sharing your impressions. I feel like I was right there beside you. Please come visit Chrysalis again. Warm hugs!

A Boomer like me, Gayle is married to the love of her life—a wonderful man the Lord brought into her life after many years as a single Christian woman. It's a beautiful story. Smart and outgoing, she's also CFO for a small business in the Pacific Northwest. We met at our local church during Monday night Bible Study. This year, our group covered
Beth Moore's Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent, and Eugene Peterson's study,
Psalms: Prayers of the Heart.

You can learn about future Living Proof Live Conferences at Beth Moore's LPM website.

Video: Living Proof Live - Stockton from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo. Via the LPM blog.
Photo: Google Images.

Have you ever heard Beth Moore in person? Would you like to?

Word-Filled-Wednesday: Prov 2:1-5

“My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.

Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. (Prov 2:1-5 NLT)

Visit Extravagant Grace where a wonderful group of bloggers will uplift you with their timely Word-filled posts. Verse via Deborah Shank at Chocolate and Coffee.

Reflection: Success in Life Takes Sound Instruction

It's been said that the Bible is God's "instruction manual" for life. If we fail to learn and apply its lessons—especially to our marriages—we're sure to fail. One of the biggest lessons we must learn in marriage is forgiveness. True forgiveness is always accompanied by grief, for where there is emotional injury, there is also pain.

Once you've made the decision to forgive your spouse for something, don't be surprised if you feel really crummy for a time. Eventually, your heart will heal, the tears will subside, and you can move forward with renewed optimism.

The Bible is a treasure trove of Truth. These verses admonish us to attend to its instruction, and treat it's wisdom like pure silver.

Celebrate Your Silver Anniversary—Guaranteed

What an audacious promise! Needless to say, it's impossible to predict the longevity of any marriage, especially in today's culture.

I found the recent news of Jon and Kate Gosselin's divorce deeply troubling, didn't you? This week, I’ve been pondering what I can do to help younger couples succeed in marriage.

e-Dad and I have 30 years of marriage behind us, and we’d love to pass on some of our life's most valuable lessons.
We both agree that the Bible's shining Truths have profoundly shaped our union.

I’ve been polishing an idea about putting some of the wisdom shared here at Chrysalis into ebook-form. However, I would love to have your input first. In the comment box on this post, would you be kind enough to answer the following question:

In your marriage, what’s your biggest problem, frustration, fear, or challenge?

Whatever you struggle with the most, I’d like to know about it. That way e-Dad and I can address those issues in our ebook. (Your remarks may be included, but only with your permission of course.)

Chocolate Giveaway

If you decide to answer my question in the comment box on this post, and you’d like to have your name entered in my giveaway, please include your email address. THREE random winners will receive a bar of chocolate for donating your time to this project.

If you'd prefer to send me a private email, please feel free to do so at this address: marriagemonday at gmail dot com. I'd love to hear from you!

Sound tasty? Giveaway winners will be announced on Tuesday July 7, 2009. Thanks so much for your participation.

In your marriage, what’s your biggest problem, frustration, fear, or challenge?

Photos: somegeekintin & Rescue Dog (Flickr)

What’s the Biggest Problem or Frustration in Your Marriage?

Reality Touches All of Us

You've read the headlines, and maybe even taken some time to read beyond them. Perhaps you’ve been following Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC. Reality has turned ugly, and it’s a sad but familiar story. It doesn't have to be, but divorce seems inevitable for the Gosselins. Unfortunately, ignorance of this celebrity marriage failure is impossible. Thanks to modern technology, it’s in our collective face. Here are some revealing insights from FamilyLife’s Culture Watch.

Nobody’s Happy About Jon and Kate

“Few people are surprised by the announcement last night that Jon and Kate Gosselin are separating.

And nobody seems to be happy about it.

It's true that in America we appear to be drifting away from a commitment to marriage, with more couples than ever living together and having children out of wedlock. Our divorce rate remains one of the highest among nations. But a story like this shows me that most of us still want the dream to come true—we want couples to stay together and live happily ever after. We don't like watching them fall apart. And we don't like what divorce does to the children.

There are endless debates about who is at fault in this situation. To some, Kate is a dedicated mother who is doing everything she can for her kids; to others she is a harpy who controlled her husband and fell in love with the trappings of celebrity. To some, Jon is a loving father and unwitting victim of the celebrity lifestyle he chose; to others he is a passive husband who is unwilling to step in and do what he can to set things straight for the sake of his marriage and the children.

But I don't see many people happy about the Gosselins heading toward divorce. They're wondering why they don't seek counseling. They're worried about what this will do to the eight Gosselin children. It's a cultural conversation: Yesterday a co-worker was driving to work and heard a long discussion on radio about what Jon and Kate could to do save their marriage.

‘This episode was the hardest, ever, for me to watch,’ one Entertainment Weekly reader lamented. ‘After the show was over, I broke down and cried. It was extremely hard (beyond words to describe) to even hear Jon and Kate say they are splitting up. When you grow attached to a family, it is very hard to watch it all fall apart. I wish Jon and Kate were able to talk it out and not let it end this way. I am mostly concerned about what is going to happen to the children. I wish the family the best of luck and hope things can only get better...’”

Do You Worry Your Own Marriage?

If so, you can be proactive. Lately, I’ve been wondering what I can do to help younger couples succeed in marriage.
e-Dad and I have 30 years of married life behind us, and we’d love to pass on some of our life's lessons. But before we can flesh out our vision, we need your valuable input.

Many of you know I’ve been fortunate to host the monthly Marriage Monday meme. Through the summer months, our lovely guest hostess Christine at Fruit in Season
(the meme’s originator) has taken on the challenge to keep it running. Recently, she posted some ideas for writing about July's light 'n easy topic, "Traveling With Your Husband." Please join Christine on July 6, 2009.

Contribute to the Conversation

Meanwhile behind-the-scenes, I’ve been brewing up an idea about putting some of the marriage wisdom shared here at Chrysalis into ebook-form. And I would love to have your input. In the comment box, would you be kind enough to answer the following question:

Q. In your marriage, what’s your biggest problem, frustration, fear, or challenge?

A. It could be. . .

• your finances
• lack of romance
• challenges in the bedroom
• problems with the kids
• an unbelieving spouse and so on

Whatever you struggle with the most, I’d like to know about it. That way e-Dad and I can address those issues in our ebook. (Your remarks may be included, but only with your permission of course.) Are you willing to strengthen your marriage by participating with us?

Chocolate Giveaway


Let me "sweeten the pot" a little!
If you decide to answer my question in the comments, and you’d like to be entered in my giveaway, please include your email address. THREE random winners will receive a bar of chocolate for donating your time to this project. Sound tasty?

Here’s to your marital happiness, and thank you for your participation.


In your marriage, what’s your biggest problem, frustration, fear, or challenge?

Photos: KarenAquist/TLC, Google Images, Starbucks