Cooking with a seasoned pro.

This weekend I was able to spend time with my mother-in-law. We went to Universal with my husband and brother-in-law, went to an Art Festival, and cooked =).

Being the cook she is, she prepped the most time consuming part of the meal before heading to Orlando so we can cook the remainder of it and eat. That's what I was able to enjoy with her.

Now, I've made lasagna a couple times and that's about it. I'm a fan of eating but not making it because it's so time consuming. Even though she seasoned the ground turkey at home, saving us so much time, it took over 1 hour to complete. See, I just don't have the time to always be prepping and cooking meals that take over 30 minutes. But this was great to see the tricks of the trade. 

We started with the boiling of the noodles and prepping the sauce on the bottom of the pan. We got all the ingredients ready so as soon as the noodles were ready, we'd get started on the layering. So first thing I learned, I needed a huge pan like the one in the first image.

The times I've made lasagna, I've used the glass container (normally used for casseroles or cakes) but it would always overflow. Second thing I learned, don't fully cook the noodles. They just need a little time boiling, but if they become to tender, they'll crack.

As we finished the layering, she showed me how to create the seasoning for the garlic bread. I've always loved her garlic bread better than any other I've tried, and now I was able to do it myself with her right by my side.

Once the seasoning mix was perfect, we cut open the French baguette and poured it on.

We baked it in the last 10 minutes left of the lasagna so they'd be ready at the same time. And voila....a delicious lasagna with garlic bread!

It was great to not just eat the result of a delicious meal but to actually get to try it and do it in my own kitchen with her.

To a wonderful cook...love you Ma!

Puzzle Pieces.

I love puzzles! I'm so cheesy when I do puzzles because I can't help but think of a million different life analogies as I work on it. So, of course, I'm going to share the one that affected me most during this puzzle.

As I begin a puzzle, I get such a rush when I see all the puzzle pieces thrown on the table before me. I begin by separating the end pieces and the four corners. Then, I begin creating my border. When I completed my border, I noticed 4 pieces didn't fit toward the bottom. I left them pending until a few days into the puzzle because I couldn't see them fit anywhere.

I became so frustrated because I usually get the border the first time around. My husband noticed and decided to take a stab at it. Then, he had the audacity to tell me to return it because they gave me a bad puzzle. I started laughing because there was no way that happened.

A day before finishing the puzzle, I realized I had forced a piece that looked like it fit in 2 different places. That made all those pieces unable to fit. As I was adjusting my error, I realized that in life, we sometimes force things that aren't meant to be. We choose our will instead of the Lord's will in our lives. When we do, we see the consequences of those choices. The opposite is true.

When we allow the pieces in life to fall into place, they do. The promises of the Lord are true yesterday, today, and forever. Twice in one week I've read that God is no respecter of man. It's true. If you follow the principles of God's truth, whether or not you believe in Him, you will be blessed. Jethro Kloss said it best:

"When physical law is obeyed by any human being, whether good or bad, he will reap the reward God has promised. When a man, who does not believe in God, tills his soil properly and sows and plants properly, God gives him sunshine and rain the same as he does a righteous man, for God is no respecter of persons."

The other quote was from another book I just read by Jackie Mize:

"God is no respecter of persons. Abide in the Word of God and let His Word abide in you and you can ask what you will and it will be done for you (Acts 10:34, John 15:7)."

Don't force pieces of the puzzle because the bigger picture is perfectly created. You just have to make sure the right pieces go in their place, so when you step back and see it completed, it is just as it should be.

The Bigger Picture.

During my quiet time with the Lord yesterday, I read 1 John 2:15-17 and was cut to the heart. I put the verse as my recent update on Facebook but felt a prodding to go deeper into how clearly this passage affects us daily. 

The passage reads as follows (NIV):

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

Now having cable, it's so tempting to watch the latest reality shows (I'm not talking about Jersey Shore...I won't stoop that low), but at times I find myself casually getting sucked into the life of the Kardashians. The one I watch the most is actually a very pleasant reality show that I've loved for years, House Hunters on HGTV. 

The media, socialites with their own shows, celebrities, and reality shows in general have taken over. But when you really look at them, all they offer are the "cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has and does." All that you find now is each bragging about how expensive this or that is, how much the dress they wore at an awards show cost, or what they do or how many fans they have...etc. It's so empty because all it offers is what the world has: temporary satisfaction, but no truth.

Even the one I watch most, House Hunters, is about couples looking for the right home. They end up with the top 3 and you get to guess along with the show which one they choose (I'm normally wrong...lol). Regardless, something as nice and simple as that show makes me long for desires of this world. I've noticed how when people choose the perfect home, it's so much about the "stuff". Bigger is better, nicer appliances, bedrooms so large that you don't know what to fill it with, closets sometimes bigger than some peoples apartments, and yet there's still little satisfaction. 

As a society, we always want more. Guess what? The world never satisfies the lust of the flesh, so it will keep you wanting more and more with nothing but emptiness at the end of the tunnel. 

BUT...

The Lord offers us a hope in him. He will give us eternal life, eternal love...one that only he can give that satisfies beyond anything the world can attempt to offer. 

I exhort my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to go beyond the desires of the world. It's easy to get caught up in it...I have. But look at the BIGGER picture. It's only a short time we're on this earth, and it's not meant for our fleshly satisfaction or our society's "life is short so live how you want" mantra. It's meant to reach others for Christ. 

"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

New Website!!!

I finally have my new website ready! I'll be updating it constantly to keep it current.

Please visit my new site at www.SimplyJenelle.com

You'll find the latest posts, recipes, my handbag store, arts and crafts and more, all in one place.

I'd love your feedback and your support in forwarding it to your friends!

The End of my 25th Year.

I always wanted my 25th year to be a big deal because it's the big "25", a quarter of a century old. Now a few days before my 26th birthday, I started wondering what was so great about this year. After last weekend at the marriage retreat, several things surfaced that helped me analyze just that.

As a wife, I had been praying for several of my weaknesses that were affecting my marriage and my husband. It was on the undercurrent for quite some time, because since I felt it was second nature, I never truly noticed how it was truly affecting everyone around me, especially my husband. It wasn't until about 1 1/2 years ago that I consciously made the decision to change. It was hard!!!

You may be curious as to what weaknesses I'm taking about. Well, in one word: anger. I gave in to fits of rage or get angry quicker than anyone. It was terrible and as I felt the anger rising, instead of stopping it, I would feed it and let it loose to create destruction knowing I would feel remorse afterwards. It was terrible and even writing it is hard to admit. But I wouldn't be writing it if things hadn't changed. This is a mini-testimony of what the Lord has done for me this year.

After making that decision to allow the Lord to work in me I saw meekness, kindness, mercy, gentleness, patience and love more than ever in my life and marriage. It was subtle and definitely didn't happen over night. It took time, swallowing my tongue, truly living out patience as opposed to just praying for it and then exploding, AND lots of prayer!!! It took Christ in my life and FULL surrender to the fact that though I've prayed for this change for years, I couldn't do it on my own.

What happened last weekend? My husband told me how hard it was for him when I would explode and how amazing our marriage has been the past 1 1/2 years. I didn't realize the hurt it was causing him until I saw the change in my life reflected in our marriage.

What's most interesting is I tell people all the time, without noticing, that our marriage is better now than ever before. I feel like we're still honeymooners. We're not infatuated, we're truly in love with one another and with Jesus Christ.

My 25th year has been a turning point for the better. There were other wonderful things that I noticed happen, but this was by far the most important to me. I still continue to pray for meekness, kindness, mercy, gentleness, and patience. I have too, because I need Jesus everyday in my life and marriage and I can't do it on my own.

I welcome my 26th birthday and can't wait to see where I'll be next year in my spiritual walk, my marriage and my life =)

Calm after the Storm.

There's something so absolutely beautiful about the calm after the storm. After it rains, you know there's a rainbow somewhere. Today, I was able to see it clearly (so did my camera).

What a sight!

Engagement Pictures Take-two

I didn't really like my engagement pictures, so I had decided we needed to have another session even though we've been married 3 1/2 years. Well, a really good friend, Dee Stecco, shot our photos and they came out great.

My favorite part was noticing how much more in love I am with my husband . I felt like we were newlyweds all over again! What a wonderful feeling to be in love!!!