Well Worn Cookbooks

Is there anything better than a well worn cookbook?

Okay, the worn pages of well read Bible ;)
But there is something so special about a handwritten recipe card or a cookbook with stains and folded down pages.  There is a post in the works about my favorite new cookbooks and websites we have been using as a family.  As I pulled out some cookbooks for meal planning today, I couldn't help but laugh at the tattered books! I must be really rough on them!  So here are my top three go-to cookbooks I've been using the last several years before I share some of my new favorites.

Start Fresh - Tyler Florence


Bread & Wine - Shauna Niequist


Cooking with Friends - Vera Bradley


I love that they open easily to my most used recipes (because there are spills and splotches on those pages).  The Start Fresh book is faded because I used to have it sitting out in our kitchen herb window.  The kids love opening this book and pointing to a picture of what they want to create in the kitchen. The recipes are easy for an entire family with options to puree food or include toddlers with a Goldfish Chowder ;)  Shauna Niequist's book was accidentally left in the rain when Vera was a newborn because I had been soaking up the sunshine and her beautiful words from our backyard.  I can't decide whether I love her stories or recipes more... I truly believe there is no way to separate the two.  Such raw beauty shared at the table.  And I have truly enjoyed "Cooking with Friends" because of the seasonal aspect of this cookbook.  Perfect for hosting a themed seasonal party or picking out recipe for a simple dinner.

Comment below with some of your favorite recipes books or websites... I might just add it to my list and share more in a future post!

A few girl scarves & outfits

bracelet from (Petite Hero)

Butterscotch Moccs from (Max Moccs)

Necklace from (Pitter Patter) Slate Gray Moccs from (Wild Explorers)

Necklace from (Pitter Patter)

Be Yourself!

I recently read a book entitled Desperate- Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe- and I highly recommend it!  Such a refreshing and uplifting read filled with so much wisdom.  "It is a life offering filled with encouragement, help and answers to some of your heart-wrenchingly honest questions."

The following section was written by one of the authors, Sally Clarkson.  I underlined and starred it while reading :)  It really spoke to me and I hope you are encouraged to be the woman, mom & wife that God creatively designed you to be.

"Determine for yourself what you hope to be the outcome of your family.  what legacies do you want to leave for your children?  Clay and I knew we wanted to pass on to our children the strengths we had nurtured in our own lives?  We wanted them to know how to think clearly, and so we chose a pathway that would expose them to great books and constant discussion of ideas.  We wanted them to have a personal relationship with the Lord, so we made plans on how to disciple them and reach their hearts.  Clay and I both loved and performed music, and so we invested time in music lessons, according to the inclinations of our individual children.  We wanted our home to feel like the best place in the world to them, so we planned activities, traditions, family feasts, games, and read-alouds.

If you do not have a plan or philosophy, then you will try to fit your life into other people's plans.  God has made each couple with the freedom to create their own family culture.  The sooner you decide to embrace your own values, preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, the more you will become who God made you and your husband to be.

Of course, it requires faith to be yourself, to embrace your own ideals and family design.  But living according to the voice of God's Spirit is always the way to freedom, joy and fulfillment.  Living by faith and cultivating your own purposes give you energy to pursue what is on your heart and to take your children along with you in advancing those ideals.

So all of you precious moms who will read this, be yourself; be the best and most excellent and most righteous self you can be, but live in the freedom of God's call and design on your life.  I love who you are and how God uses you.  When you learn to hold His hand and walk by faith and obedience, you just might find yourself in the Hall of Faith of those who followed hard after Him and were allowed to tell a story of faith in their lifetimes."

Faithful Families Giveaway Winners!

And the winners are...

Sarah Price: Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord
Amanda: Building Family Ties with Faith, Love and Laughter

Congratulations Sarah & Amanda!  Email me your addresses and I will ship the books to you all.  (savgarcia18 [at] gmail [dot] com)  I hope that these books will be a blessing to you both.

I love what Amanda commented: "I believe that 'The key to raising a faithful family' is for parents to first have a strong relationship with Christ. Then they can walk alongside their children and share their faith with them. We need to be serious about wanting to make sure we pass our faith to our kids. We must live out the way God calls us to live as parents, friends etc.. in front of our children and others, every day. As parents, we also need to make sure that we have a good relationship with our kids and make them (family) a priority. We have no excuse not too." 

Hospitality vs. Entertainment

I have started my summer reading- a huge stack of books covering a wide array of topics & subjects.  The second on my list is called High Call, High Privilege by Gail MacDonald.  My Nana Stone had passed on this book awhile ago and I am so thankful she did!  Even though it was written over 30 years ago, I have gone crazy underlining and Patrick is probably sick of me rereading paragraphs to him. 
"From the perspective of a pastor's wife, Gail MacDonald explores all four roles (Woman, Wife, Mother, Leader) and shares the spiritual and personal growth she has found within five key relationships: knowing God, having self-awareness & self-worth, understanding and working with her husband, nurturing her family, and reaching out to the community and church family."
While I could share countless lessons I have learned from her advice, life experience and study of God's word... For now, I'll just share the following quote from Dr. Carlberg that she shares helped her differentiate between entertaining and hospitality.

Hospitality is a safe place; entertainment is a show place.  Hospitality focuses on people; entertainment focuses on things.  Hospitality creates an open atmosphere; entertainment can be neat and closed.  Hospitality exudes a warm attitude; entertainment can degenerate to being cool and calculated.  Hospitality puts on at ease; entertainment implies competition.  Hospitality is a harborous disposition; entertainment sets up a win or lose attitude in which one is closed off to dust, dirt, and people.  Hospitality involves making people feel good in God's world.  God created a hospitable world; sin made the world inhospitable.  By our supportive action, we can dispel the sinful atmosphere.
-Dr. Carlberg quote from High Call, High Privilege by Gail MacDonald