what is it about affirmation

Many years ago I read the very popular book titled The 5 Love Languages, I think everyone has either read this book or is at least familiar with it. The way I feel loved is through acts of service but a close runner up is words of affirmation. When I get an affirming word from others, it speaks love to me. It encourages me, puts a smile on my face, and makes me feel really good about myself. Give me an affirming word and it will last me a long time. On the flip side, give me a negative word and I can find myself discouraged, sad, and down about myself. I'm not talking about those times when truth is spoken to me in love by people I love, respect, and have a deep relationship with. Thank goodness I have people in my life who are honest with me and challenge me to be the woman, wife and mother God created me to be. What I'm talking about are the times when something negative is spoken against me that results in my feelings being hurt. Thankfully I don't find myself in this position that often.

What is it about not being affirmed by others that can have such a negative affect on me? Why do I sometimes take words that others say and it feels like a sting on my heart?  Or there are times when I perceive a negative vibe from someone and then I find myself replaying past conversations with that person in my head and wondering if I came across in a certain way, said something wrong, should have said something different? Or I question if they think I'm a good person, a good mom, a good wife, a good homeschool teacher to my kids, and the list can go on. I recently had a situation where I was hurt by something a friend said to me. As I was feeling hurt and also a little betrayed, I found myself stuck. Stuck in the numerous thoughts like I listed above. I was driving myself nuts over this, so I finally did what I know best, I spent time praying about the situation.  Like always, God turned my eyes back on myself and off this other person (He's very good at that) and made me see that I so often seek affirmation from others when what I need to be doing is seeking my affirmation from Christ alone. I think this is a lesson I keep on learning as I grow up. Luckily this specific lesson is fewer and farther between but every now and then I have a wake up call and that's exactly what this situation did for me. I decided to look up some verses to act as reminders when I find myself seeking affirmation from others and not from Christ alone. They really spoke to me.

Galations 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.


1 Thessalonians 2:4 We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 

2 Corinthians 5:9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

I want to live my life under God's approval, not man's approval. I want to please my Savior because He is the one who knows my heart. I'm so thankful I have God's word and that it can speak so clearly to me in my time of need. When I find myself in this situation again, I am going to act quicker and look towards God first and seek His approval before I look to man. I love what Beth Moore said in one of her studies. She shares how she seeks God's approval and any other approval that comes from others is icing on the cake, above and beyond what she needs. I just love that. So what about you? Can you relate?

A chef I am not, day #5

I realize it is only 5:32 p.m. and we have already had dinner. Our day started early, therefore we ate lunch early and that made us hungry for dinner early so we ate at 5. We do that every now and then. It's nice to change things up a bit and not always have dinner at the same time. And the kids were out the door as soon as they ate, so that leaves me a little slice of quietness to blog before we gather our crew and go on a family walk. So day #5's dinner consisted of garlic chicken, green beans with bacon, and rice. We have ate our share of fresh fruit this week so I did not serve fruit with dinner.
And in case you are wondering how long my "A chef I am not" posts are going to last, I will wrap it up on day #7. My kids keep asking me why I am taking pictures of food. It is a bit strange especially since I am not a chef, thus the title of these posts. So about dinner tonight...
Garlic chicken, it is so yummy and only uses 5 ingredients and that includes the olive oil.

 I didn't make that much because Anna is picky with her chicken and not a fan of garlic so I knew she wouldn't be eating chicken. We're not the kind of parents who force their kids to eat something they don't like, they just politely say no thank you and consume the side dishes for dinner so yes, sometimes they leave the dinner table hungry but like we always say, "You can have a big breakfast in the morning." :)

 I believe this recipe is from a cookbook we put together for my MOPS group one year and if I am right, this recipe comes from my friend Sara.

 We don't eat green beans plain, it's just not the same without a little bacon.

 Yeah, I know. So unhealthy, I'm fully aware. I make mac and cheese once a week and usually it's at lunch time but I thought it might make a yummy side tonight and when you split one box 5 ways, it doesn't add up to that much. And just fyi, the only kind of mac and cheese I will eat is spirals. I don't know what it is about it, but the spirals are so yummy.

 Dinners ready!

It's now 5:44 and it's time to go work off all those sides! And the quietness is all but gone as I have kids breathing down my neck with questions like, when are we leaving on our walk, where are we walking too, how long will we be gone, can we swim when we get back, can I have my dessert. They sure can fire off questions faster than I can answer them. At least I had about 7 minutes of quietness. I'll take it!

A chef I am not, day #4

With today being Memorial day it was a grilling kind of a day. We celebrated with our neighbors and enjoyed some great food and fellowship. Michael grilled up some steaks, and man were they delicious! I made a fruit salad, we had some baked beans and chips. Our neighbors brought over chips and homemade salsa, potato salad, and more fresh fruit. We grilled some hot dogs for the kids. Dinner was so good!
Here is the before picture, the steaks were marinating and waiting to be grilled.

 This is not the greatest picture but this was my plate before I consumed all the yummy food. The salad at 7:00 was leftovers from last nights dinner. The potato salad at 11:00 was divine! The steak was mouth watering good. For dessert we had treats from the freezer, some had fudgesicles, some had popsicles, and others had a frozen lemonade treat.

There is nothing better than eating good food with good friends on Memorial day.

action shots

I have had fun taking some action shots of the kids swimming in our pool.

 And some non-action candid shots.

A chef I am not, day #3

To continue my series titled "A chef I am not" I have for you dinner #3. A wonderful summertime dinner. Tonights dinner was served with watermelon and cantaloupe. My parents joined us for dinner tonight so not only was the food good, but the company was too.

 Here are all the ingredients minus the chicken because it was in the slow cooker waiting to be shredded. I didn't have any fresh parsley so I used the parsley from my spice rack but just a dash.

 Instead of 1 inch pieces of chicken like the recipe calls for, I chose to shred the chicken. I like to serve this dish cold, it's yummier that way. It works best if it sits in the fridge for a couple hours before serving.

 This is what it looks like fresh out of the fridge before the feta cheese goes on. I didn't mix the feta in since not everyone in the family is a feta fan.

Stay tuned tomorrow for dinner #4. And just a heads up tomorrow is Memorial day so dinner will be prepared on the grill! YUMMY!

Lizard boy

If you know Jadon, this pretty much sums him up. He has such a love for reptiles. He has wanted to be an exotic veteranarian since he was about 3 and this desire has lasted almost 10 years. On his right shoulder is Jasper, his newest addition. He is a water dragon and probably about 4 months old. You can't see his tail but it probably reaches the middle of Jadon's back. On the left shoulder is Belle, she is a leopard gecko but not the kind you find outside. She is a special breed. The big yellow guy is Spike and he is a uromastic. He has the most personality of all his reptiles and even throws a few tantrums now and then when things aren't going his way. It's pretty funny. And then in Jadon's left hand was the first reptile Jadon ever got and her name is Sam. She is a sweetie. As you can see Jadon keeps very busy with taking care of these pets. He has 4 cages to clean, 4 mouths to feed, and they all need to be handled daily so he has his work cut out for him. He does a great job!

pool fun

A few action shots I took today while the kids were swimming! We sure love having a pool even though it can be such a pain. I honestly think you need a chemistry degree to figure out the chemicals. 

A chef I am not, day #2

So tonight's menu consisted of breakfast for dinner, another family favorite. I made an egg souffle and it was delicious. The recipe is from my mom, she made it for special occasions growing up so it comes with fond memories.
All the ingredients waiting for me to mix em up!

 I made it this morning because it is best to let it sit overnight or all day depending on when you are going to eat it. This is what it looks like before I baked it.

 The recipe from my handy dandy notebook. I left a few things out when I wrote it down. For one, I don't use a full 3 cups bacon, I think I use about 2. And I added 2 more eggs than it called for and 1 more cup of milk. The bread pieces I cut were larger than I normally do them so it required a little more egg mixture. And I left out the part of letting it sit overnight or all day before baking.

 And the finished dish. It is so yummy. I served it with fresh fruit and told everyone they could have a bowl of cereal too. I also had a small platter with crackers, cheese slices, and turkey. Stay tuned for dinner #3 tomorrow night!

A chef I am not, day #1

I have been gifted in some areas but cooking is not one of them. It's not that I don't enjoy cooking, I really do. It's not that I don't enjoy eating, because I really do. It's not that I can't follow directions because I really can. Maybe it's because I compare (I know, bad me) myself to two of my girlfriends who are AMAZING cooks. Amazing is probably an understatement. They just come alive in the kitchen and come up with some delicious meals. When I hear them talk about their culinary creations it honestly sounds like a foreign language to me. I'm just not on the same wavelength. I like to keep things simple and I'm just not brave enough to venture into their kind of cooking. I  have come to peace with that, I really have. I think? Moving on, there are some dishes that I feel I'm pretty darn good at making and the family seems to agree so I thought I would put some of them in our memory book so we can look back some day and see what we enjoyed eating as we were raising our kiddos. I print out my blog into a memory book every year and we all enjoy looking back and remembering the fun we had as a family, and now we can see what we enjoyed eating as we were having all that fun. So over the next few days I'm going to be blogging about what we eat for dinner.
Here is dinner #1, Creamy pasta with bacon, asparagus, and watermelon

I like to have everything prepared in an organized fashion so when the recipe calls for it, I already have it measured out and ready.

 I have compiled a cookbook over the past several years and when I find a recipe I like if it be in a cookbook, online, or in a magazine, I simply tear it out (yes I know, I tear out pages from a cookbook) and then place it in my three ring binder. That way all my favorite recipes are in one book. It's such a time saver for me. I named this cookbook I created, Korri's Homecooking. Very original, I know. :)

 I love asparagus and it's so easy. I drizzle olive oil on top and then use sea salt, pepper, and italian seasoning to sprinkle on top and bake it in the oven at 400 degrees until it gets crispy and a little brown. So very yummy.

 Watermelon, it just speaks for itself.

 And this is what the creamy pasta with bacon looks like when I'm done. The picture doesn't really make it look that great. It is so mouthwatering good.

So that's meal #1. Stay tuned for meal #2.

I stand

I don't really know why I am amazed at the things God does for us, afterall He is an amazing God and I should never be surprised by His amazing acts. I pray for things, my prayers get answered, and then I act astonished that my prayers were answered. Why do I seem so astonished that my Lord answers my prayers and often times blesses me above and beyond what I asked for in the first place?

It kind of reminds me of the story in the book of Acts when a crowd had gathered to pray for Peter to be released from prison and they were holding a prayer meeting in an upper room. As they are praying for Peter's release, the Lord sends an angel and Peter escapes from prison with the help of the Angel. Peter then goes to the house where the crowd has gathered to pray and Peter knocks on the door. A young girl by the name of Rhoda goes to the door and in her excitement of seeing Peter standing there, she closes the door on him and runs to tell those praying that Peter is out of prison and standing at the door! Their response to the girl is, "You're out of your mind!" Now wait a minute, these people are praying for his release and when God acts on their behalf and answers their prayer they stand astonished that it actually happened!  I can only imagine what Peter was thinking as he stood at the door after having it closed on his face.

Little things have been happening lately in our life where I stand amazed at how God is answering specific prayers. He even seems to be blessing us in the little things. For example, this week is our Sabbath week from homeschool which means we get the week off. I prayed over the weekend that God would provide us with a good week despite not having much money at our disposal and also for some friends for the boys to hang out with this week, our neighborhood doesn't have any boys their age to play with and many of their friends are in school during the day which could make for some boring days. I could just tell they were craving some play time with boys their age and our normal group of friends we hang with had other commitments this week. So guess what happened? Monday afternoon a car pulls up in front of our house and a friend Jadon had two years ago gets out of his car along with his younger brother who is the same age as Camden. These boys live a few blocks away and attend the school behind our house. Jadon and the oldest boy were in 3rd grade together and this sweet boy remembered Jadon and wanted to see what he had been up to so his mom drove him to our house after school. Um, that doesn't just happen, I see God at work all over this. The boys played for a bit, the mom and I got caught up and a playdate was set up for after school today when both boys came over and played with our boys all afternoon. How cool is that! Thank you Jesus for providing this new found friendship for our boys! Camden has another friend coming over tomorrow afternoon too, it's been a good week and I haven't heard the phrase, "mom, I'm bored." It's been a great Sabbath week!

Another thing Michael and I have been praying about is our finances. With him out of work, things are tight, 50% tighter than our normal income to be exact. But again, God has been so faithful in providing for our every need at just the right time. Michael has had an abundance of opportunities to do side jobs for friends and the money he brings in is providing our every need down to the very last penny. Every bill has been paid for the second month in a row and our tummies are full and we are content. Thank you Jesus for your provision on our family. Just this morning we woke up to a thank you card left on our front porch with a gift card in it to the grocery store thanking Michael for some work he did helping our friends with their roof. With a dwindling grocery budget and still more days left in the month, this was exactly what we needed to get us to the end of the month. God is watching out for us and I stand in awe of His provision!

There is so many other things I could mention about how God is getting us through this time of Michael being without a job, He is growing us, He is teaching us, He is humbling us, He is doing so many amazing things and these are a just a few. At some point I want to sit down and share what God has been teaching us by way of our small group Bible study we are doing on the Patriarchs of the Bible. This study couldn't have come at a more fitting time, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob along with Sarah, Rebecka, Rachel, and Leah are just the friends we have needed to learn from as we walk through uncertain times. I'm sure God had the timing of this study all planned out to. More on that in another post.

So getting back to Peter and his friends. I wonder how God would have liked Peter's friends to respond when seeing their prayers being answered and Peter standing in front of them? Did it bother Him that they acted astonished? Is God thinking, "But I'm God, why do you stand amazed, don't you know I'm God and I can do all things!" Maybe He simply wanted them to praise Him upon seeing Peter and say "thank you Jesus, you have heard our prayers!" How does God want me to respond to Him as He hears my prayers and provides for us so abundantly? A song we sing in church come to mind and I think this is very fitting of how I should respond.

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours


All He wants is me, it's that simple. He wants me to offer myself completely to Him with my arms high and my heart abandoned in awe of the one who gave it all. There is nothing I would rather do. So tonight, I simply stand surrendered to my God. 

a couple of new doo's

The girls in this house are sporting their new doo's for summer. Hello summer, I think we are ready for you!

this and that

This is Camden after a day of work. Yes, I said work. Camden loves to work, loves to be busy, loves to get dirty, loves to work up a sweat, loves to help his dad, loves anything to do that involves tools and building. This lucky boy got to go into his Uncle's workshop and help dad with a project. He worked for about 6 hours and loved every minute of it! He came home filthy! I snapped this picture before he washed up. I love my hard working boy.

 Anna got into some trouble the other day and without being prompted I found this shortly after she got in trouble. I love that she came up with this on her own, afterall I have told the kids this hundreds of times. At least it's sticking!

 Just in case anyone cares, I oiled our kitchen cabinets. They were filthy and needed a deep cleaning. For some reason, I enjoyed this project very much. I found it relaxing. I can't quite figure out why but it's a chore I enjoy. I now need to do it more often.

 I find things like this all over my house on a daily basis. The boys come up with inventions like this all the time. You  never know when you might need a pen and hair clip, just find the curtain and you will have both.

 This picture cracks me up. It's the contents of Anna's purse that she carries with her everywhere, even when at home. You never know when you might need a calculator, scissors, flash light (all very practical if you ask me), a Border's rewards card (the girl does love to read), a DS (no explanation needed), the remote to turn on Christmas lights that only works from Thanksgiving until New Years when the lights are up but why not keep it handy until then. And my favorite, a gun lock. Why is it not on the weapon in the house, well my guess is that it couldn't be found when Michael was looking for it because it was in his daughter's purse. Don't you worry though, the gun is locked in the gun safe and locked inside it's case so we are still safe over here.

And that's about as random as you get.