Month: January 2019

Love is like Mushroom Risotto #LovelikeJesus 1.

Love is patient. ( 1 Cor. 13:4 )

Dear Amber:

I am so tired of waiting. My prayers seem to no avail, as I wait on God to help a relationship that has grown hard and cold. I feel like curling up in a ball and giving up. What should I do?

Dear Sweet Sister:

My arm felt heavy as I continued to stir the mushroom risotto well past the 25 minutes promised in the recipe. I yearned to cook a rare homemade meal for my husband and my son who was visiting during Christmas break and I decided to try something new. Since I love to order mushroom risotto at restaurants, I decided to give it a try. The secret is to slowly add the boiling stock one ladle at time and to keep stirring and Stirring and stirring. The goal it that the Arborio rice when bitten will be “Al Dente”which means: soft on the outside and firm in the middle. (not too hard on the outside and not too soft either..think goldilocks and how she kept trying to find “just the right bowl, chair and bed”). Mushroom risotto requires the diligence of stirring while tasting and not leaving the stove until it is JUST RIGHT.

I almost gave up. I started to doubt myself. Maybe I didn’t follow the directions correctly I thought to myself. We had another new dish (chicken) that was now sitting on the counter getting cold. Maybe I should just give up and call it quits. I kept tasting the risotto and the rice was grainy and hard. Ten more minutes past the recipe range and I was still stirring.

And then my husband came downstairs to see how things were coming along. He took over the stirring. He kept adding water and stirring and tasting some more. Finally, after 10 more minutes of “long-suffering:)” the risotto was Al Dente. The rice felt so soft on the tongue that it seemed like creamy puffy pasta. Yet the final product was firm enough so that the rice was not mushy and each morsel distinct. The flavors of mushroom and chicken stock blended together perfectly. So delicious and so. worth. the. wait.

So how does this help me Amber with this friend who now won’t speak to me? or This spouse who will not forgive me and is giving me the cold shoulder and silent treatment? Oh and the long suffering of having a child who has such a hard heart and acts so angry at me after I have given so much?

Oh Dear Sister…..your loved ones heart is like the risotto rice kernel that still needs to be stirred. Keep Standing, add some liquid love of kindness, and patiently keep praying for them. I needed my husband to help me along so I didn’t give up. Find a sister to pray with you for your loved one. Stir together in prayer on the phone after sharing your aching heart. Be on guard that your own heart does not become hard but instead trust God’s recipe of Love. My challenge for you this year of 2019 is for you to read I Corinth. 13:4-8 every morning. Read it slow and mediate on this powerful recipe of how to change hardened hearts to perfect Al Dente ones. Ask God for help on how to better love your friends and family. Ask him for the perseverance to not give up and to keep stirring until the hard shell of your loved ones heart becomes soft. (toward you and most of all soft to God and His will)

Don’t leave the stove sister because your loved ones’ heart IS slowly softening. Keep stirring and ask a trusted sister to stir with you. We sisters need each other.

The first ingredient for Love is patience. The last secret ingredients are these: Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres,

Love. Always.Wins.


What will you do or not do in 2020? That is the question.

Dear Amber:

What is your New Year’s resolution? and How can I stick to mine? I am stressed about picking the right goals and following through.

Dear Sweet Sister:

I understand your stress.  I have spent the last few days in prayer and study as I attempted to make my yearly goals for my body, mind and spirit. I talked to my physical trainer who encouraged me to pick a physical and a nutritional goal. I studied my monthly planner who encouraged me pick a theme (word of the year) to set my priorities and to make goals for all of my relationships: Family, friends, business. The stress mounted as I thought about all the people in my life and how I wanted to help them all and yet with another year passing, I know how little time there is in every day to accomplish so much.  So instead of an excitement over the new fresh year, soon I was feeling overwhelmed with all I felt I “should” accomplish.  I see why some choose to just not make any resolutions or goals at all…..the fear of failure is crippling.  But I for one know that people that set goals accomplish more that those who don’t and that writing them down and coming back to them increases the likelihood of them being realized.  If a resolution is defined as “a firm decision to do or to not to do something” then our focus should not only be on what we plan to do in 2020 but also what we plan not to do.

So what should we do Sweet Sister?

First, what should our number one focus and priority be as Christians ?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden of sin that clings (distracts us) to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.”        Hebrews 12 : 1-2

 Our goal to to run after Jesus keeping our eyes fixed on Him,  to stay on the narrow path and to invite as many of our friends and family to come join the race.

So ask yourself these two questions?

  1. What is weighing me down or distracting me from following closer to Jesus?   Is a person, social media, a hobby, an addiction,  T.V., clutter, love of sleep..?…..What do I do first when I wake up instead of spending a date with Jesus? What do I need to take away so I have more room to grow in my relationship with Jesus?
  2. How can I be sure to stay close to Jesus in 2020? Do I need to go to bed earlier? wake up earlier? make a pact to not look at emails or Facebook until I  have sat in quiet and became still before my Lord and Savior? To not exercise my body until I have exercised my soul? Maybe decide to read the good news before I  read or watch the depressing news on T.V?

We are promised be bear good fruit, if we remain close to Jesus. So this needs to be our Top priority. He will guide us each morning as to all the other goals.  We don’t know what the future will hold and what we will face, but if we meet with God and walk and talk with Him on a daily basis, we will know at the right time what we should do.   When we have our “date time” then we can ask…How can I take better care of the body you gave me?  How should I handle this business decision? How can I show Love to this person who really rubs me the wrong way?

Now this is really important Sister. Write down what you plan to get rid of and hand it over to Jesus.  You need to make room for Jesus and so some housekeeping must occur in your heart.  Don’t just think about it….write it down. now:) 

Next, write down how you plan to improve or add your personal relationship with Jesus.  Will you make a commitment to not look at Facebook or emails when you wake up until you chat with the one who loves you the most ? Or make a commitment to attend your church more ? and Join a small group bible study?

Just as an athlete makes sacrifices and trains with others that are like- minded, as Christians we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and  find like-minded sisters to keep us accountable and encourage us.

So Write down what you will remove from your life or only do after you spend time with Jesus……….and then write when and where you will meet him for your daily “Date”.  I have a special place and chair and if I fail to allow for some good, sweet time to chat with Jesus and tell Him what’s on my heart, I imagine in my mind’s eye that He quietly waits until I do make time. Love is patient and He will not force His love but quietly waits for us to make room.   I hope we look back on 2020 as the year that no matter what happened around us or to us that we kept our eyes fixed on Jesus and we persevered in running the race.