I Hated Today and I Didn't Like It.

I saw it all go down. 

A boy with a plastic cord in his hand cantered down the middle school hall. Suddenly the cord became a whip and he thrust it up in the air and slapped it down across another boy's neck. 

I saw the innocent boy cower in pain. I saw the bully laugh.

Enter my adrenaline. 

I shot up out of my chair and went after the culprit. On my way, I shoved my head in a classroom and shouted at the teacher, "I need help!". I didn't want to lose the bully amongst the massiveness of kids roaming the hall. I said, "Brown shirt, straight ahead at the locker, he hurt someone." When the teacher went after him, I came back to a hurt, angry, and not surprised boy. I'm guessing this is not his first physical and emotional wound.

All was handled well, justice prevailed in the direction of the principal's office. 

I sat back down as hatred filled my entire body.

Not at what happened. Oh no.

Hatred toward the bully.

Justified, right? Clearly the bully did this on purpose. Mean people suck.

And then it hit me. Hard. Instead of being angry and full of hate, I should have been broken with sorrow over the action. I should have wept at what was in this boy's heart to make him do something so cruel. I should have felt just as sorry for the bully as I did for the boy who was hurt. 

Without warning, I was overcome by a overwhelming flood of compassion for brown shirt boy. Who's been unkind to him? Who's hurt him emotionally? Physically? Such mean-spiritedness hides one's own wounds. 

So I started to pray for this broken boy. 

Enter my heart-transplant. 

Precious, made-in-God's-image boy, formerly "the bully", became the recipient of my prayers. He needs the unconditional love of a Father who heals for a living. He needs attention and lots of hugs. Taking a closer look at him through different Eyes, I saw he was unkept, and not doted on at home I am sure.  

Truth is there is plenty of this going on all day every day in the world we live in. May my next response be full of grief and actions that make a difference. Not hatred. 

An hour later as I was leaving the school, I saw the boy who was hurt coming out of the school office. I said, "I hope you feel better." He looked at me, said nothing, but cracked a small smile in my direction. You're most welcome sweet boy. 

Thanks for reading,
L.

FREE is Very Beautiful!

Listed below are books I am giving away. I want to offer them first to you, my dear blog family. I am on a mission to purge and simplify every single area of my life. Most of these books I have read and have been blessed. Time to pass the blessing along. 

This Inspirational Study Bible-Lucado
The Women of Faith Daily Devotional
Experiencing God-Blackaby
My Utmost For His Highest-Chambers
Praying God's Word Day by Day-Moore
The Hole in the Gospel-Stearns
Soul Cravings-McManus
A Voice in the Wind-Rivers
Redeeming Love-Rivers
In My Father's House-Thoene
The Atonement Chld-Rivers
Fresh Faith-Cymbala
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire-Cymbala
The Bondage Breaker-Anderson
The Delaney Sisters
Peace Child-Richardson
The Mystery of Marriage-Mason
The Christmas Hope-VanLiere
The Ten(der) Commandments-Mehl
Children's Letters to GodHample
Traveling Light for Mothers-Lucado

Thank you for being a part of "Every Thing Beautiful".  

Grateful,
L. 

Olivia and Moses, Twins?

My beautiful daughter Olivia and I were out recently enjoying a warm summer night. We just came from evening service and felt blessed and famished. Over a shared wok bowl, we were talking about random things when she tenderly spoke with tears:

"If I could have one wish...it would be to see my Chinese mother's face." 

One wish. 

More than anything in the world, all my little girl wants is to see her birth mother's face. 

Her words remained perennials in my heart.

Today, my heart led me to Moses. Olivia and Moses have a great deal in common. Both of their birth mothers couldn't care for them and put them in prominent places to be found and raised safely. Moses was delivered from Egypt. My daughter was delivered from China. Moses was "slow of speech and tongue", Olivia is hearing impaired. Both acquired confidence issues. Both procure an enviable fearlessness. Lastly, both suffered a monumental loss; Moses never entered the Promised Land and my sweet girl will never see her birth mother's face. 

While feeling grief for my daughter's loss, I gained an overwhelming peace as I was ushered into the story of Moses. You see, Moses received something far better. God would speak to him face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Can you imagine?

You know what?

I believe God has something better for Olivia too. 

I can hardly wait to see His best for her.

This post is dedicated to everyone whose one wish is eminently impossible. God has something eminently better for you. 

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." Ephesians 3:20

Thanks for reading,
L.

Crazy Easy Blueberry Hemp Crisp (Vegan)

Before:

After: 

Not only is this recipe crazy easy, it is also crazy delicious! With the capacious amount of blueberries my neighbor blessed me with, I couldn't experiment fast enough. In one word, success! You won't be disappointed. 

Ingredients:

1/2 lemon

4-5 cups of fresh blueberries

3/4 cup of flour (I like spelt)

1/4 cup of oats

1/2 cup of sugar (I use coconut palm sugar)

1 to 2 tablespoon of hemp seeds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (Vietnamese is my all-time fave)

5 tablespoons of vegan butter, cubed (Earth Balance is perfect)

1 tablespoon of oil (canola or grapeseed oil work well)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an eight inch square baking dish.
2. Pour blueberries into dish and squeeze lemon juice over berries.
3. Place the flour, oats, sugar, hemp seeds, cinnamon, butter and oil in a food processor and pulse a few times until crumbly. Pour over berries and spread out evenly. 
4. Bake 25 minutes. The top should be golden and like any berry dish, the berries should be bubbling.

It's THAT easy. 

I love that you don't cook the berries ahead of time. I love that you don't add sweetener to the blueberries. I love that I can have it "farm to table" in about 30 minutes.

Just one more thing before I leave you to your baking. For those who can't/don't eat dairy or refined sugar, "ice cream" seems inconceivable. Look no further. 

Luna & Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss is sublime. It's low glycemic, vegan, gluten-free, as well as free of soy. In essence, it's heaven in a small container. (Purchased at New Seasons Market.) The Ginger Cookie Caramel was fantastic with the crisp. Blueberries + ginger = nummylicious!  

Thanks for reading,

L.

Our Greatest Privilege and Responsibility

Our children have one prominent way to see and know God's love and that is through us. 


We can't leave this to chance.


If we don't show our children God's love, who will?


We've learned the world is not the best teacher of His love. It says you have to look and dress a certain way in order to be accepted. It says you have to act a certain way, saying all of the right things at the right time in order to be affirmed and validated. The world says you can't make mistakes. 


The fact is we will teach and influence our children. The question is what and how?


It's a Privilege 
I know of no greater privilege we have than showing our children God's love through our words and actions. We are their first look into who He is and how much He loves them. We get to pave the way to the greatest gift there is!


It's a Responsibility
Are we showing them God's love is unconditional? Are we quick to forgive and restore our relationship? Does our love and grace flow freely during the "unlovable" times? We have one shot at this, but it's never too late. 


Here is my goal and prayer:
I want my children to know that God loves them no matter what and that nothing they have done or will do can do can separate them from His love. Nothing. When they mess up, and they will, everyone does, there are consequences but God's love is unwavering and isn't measured by their choices. It is a gift. The best one we can give them. 


Thanks for reading,
L.

10 Things I've Learned Being Married 9,132 Days

Here are the ten best things I have learned being married for over 9,000 days. I have not perfected any of them, and they are a good reminder for me as well. They are not listed in any particular order. 

1. Men cannot and will never be able to read a women's mind. Don't get mad at your husband when he doesn't pick up your vibes like your girlfriends can. He may get lucky sometimes, "Everything okay?", but don't punish him if he doesn't, it's not intentional. They aren't wired that way like women are. You have to tell him. 
2. Please continue to date. You fell in love dating your spouse, right? That's how you really got to know each other. Dare I say, magic happens on dates. 
3. It's okay to be mad at your spouse, or not even like them, for a brief period, but don't stay there. It's normal to feel mad at your spouse and not like them from time to time. Extremely normal. But nobody really talks about that. We are human, we are selfish by nature, and people make mistakes. Give each other some space, pray alone, then pray together and talk it out. I repeat, don't stay there. 
4. Every now and then ask yourself, "What's it like to be married to me?" Am I kind? Affectionate? Encouraging? Forgiving? Healthy? Patient? Protecting? Respectful? Or am I selfish? Easily angered? Critical? Cold? A downer? Be willing to work on you when it's needed. 
5. Sex is to your marriage what water is to your garden. Gardens need LOTS of water. ;) No water for your garden leads to a dehydrated, starving plant, no fruit and no joy. The same is true for your sex life and marriage.
6. Make a budget, stay on budget. Also, agree on an amount each of you can freely spend without checking in with the other person and or give each person an allowance each week to spend however, without question. 
7. Pray together regularly. There is a beautiful intimacy that comes with praying with your spouse. It takes the focus off of one another and invites God in. He will honor this.
8. Do not compare your marriage or your husband to other marriages or other husbands. We don't compare fairly. We are tempted to compare our spouse's weaknesses with another's strengths. Comparing usually leads to pride or envy, neither is healthy.
9. Just because marriage can be hard, it doesn't mean it's bad. Don't confuse the two. If it's a hard patch, acknowledge it, and work through it positively and with hope. EVERY couple has them.
10. If you are struggling in your marriage with communication, expectations, sex, finances, or spiritually, get help. Your marriage is worth it. Talk with someone you admire, trust and respect. 

I still have a lot to learn but I am grateful for all of the lessons along the way. Here's to the next 9,132 days David Manning! Love you babe. 

Thanks for reading,

L.

Everyone Needs an Angel

I have an angel. She does Zumba. 


My angel's name is Jan and she just turned 80 years young. Her favorite birthday gift? Red cowboy boots of course!  


Her words are sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. When Jan speaks to you, she cares from the depths of her heart, as if no one else mattered on the planet in that moment but you. 


Her words are life-giving and memorable.


She cries for your children's trials and heartaches when you cannot cry anymore. 


She speaks up for those who cannot speak for themselves and she defends the rights of the poor and needy.


She prays fervently and she's a fighter. A darn good one. 


She is funny:

Jan: "It is really cold out there, I should have worn a heavier jacket."

Me: "Yes, it's damp cold."

Jan: With a straight face, "Did you say it's damn cold or it's damp cold?", then she breaks out in a contagious laughter.

She is beautiful on the outside too...

Everyone needs a Jan. She inspires me to be a better everything. 


"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Proverbs 31:29


Grateful for my angel,
Leslie