The Day My Baby Went Missing From Her Crib

I sat up and groggily rubbed my eyes, then reached for my phone to check the time. Wow!  I'd slept really late!

And yet, I wasn't all that surprised.  My kids are all great sleepers, and considering the fact that we'd all been a little under the weather, I had gone to bed the night before assuming we would all sleep in.

I sat propped up in the bed trying to get myself completely awake, and after a couple minutes I heard the kids beginning to stir.  I knew they'd all be up soon.

The first sleepy-eyed child came tiptoeing into my room soon after, and I was looking forward to a couple minutes of snuggling before we began the day.

But he seemed timid about climbing into the bed.  “What's the matter?”  I asked.

“Is the baby sleeping your bed?” he questioned in reply.

“No…” I answered, somewhat puzzled.

“Well, where is she?  She's not in her crib.” He had a confused look on his face.

“Of course she is.  She was in our bed, but Daddy moved her to her crib when he left for work.”

“No!” he shook his head emphatically.  “It's just her blanket in there.”

“Well she must be under it,” I answered, knowing there had to be some logical explanation as to where she was.

“There's no way!  It's just wadded up small in the corner of the crib!”

Confused, I swung my feet over the edge of the bed, pulled on my bathrobe, and made my way to the girls' room.

EMPTY.  Her crib was most definitely empty.

Still half-asleep, I was trying to make some sense of where she could be.

She doesn't know how to climb out.

The “k” word briefly crossed my mind, but that didn't really make any sense.  There's absolutely zero possibility that family or friends would take her, and it didn't seem likely that a random stranger would break into the house, pick up my baby out of her crib, and then LOCK THE DOOR back when they left (yes, I had checked by this time to see if anything looked fishy about the door.)

BUT WHERE WAS SHE???

I went around and checked in the beds of all the kids who were still sleeping.

I checked every nook and cranny of the house.

I checked the beds again.

I checked the nooks and crannies again.

While I was checking, I knew that the only reasonable explanation was that my husband had taken her to work.  But taking your toddler to work isn't exactly standard procedure, and he certainly hadn't said anything to me about it.

Once I had determined that she was nowhere in the house, I picked up the phone and dialed my husband's number.

I knew that this phone call would either satisfy my curiosity as to why he had taken the baby to work or else it would usher in sheer terror for our family.

As I was dialing, I heard one of the kids holler from the kitchen, “Dad took the Suburban to work!  And the diaper bag is gone!”

It seemed my little detectives were coming to the same conclusion I was.

I knew as soon as I heard the “Hey” on the other end that he was expecting me to call.

“Did……you…take the baby to work??” I asked inquisitively, knowing by now that the answer was yes, but still incredibly confused as to why.

“Yeah.  Did you get some sleep?” he nonchalantly replied.

“Well…yes…but…why did you take the baby to work?”

“I knew you hadn't slept well all week.  I really didn't think she was going to get back to sleep and I wanted you to be able to get some more sleep.”

It was all true.  I hadn't slept well all week thanks to a lovely head cold and neither had the baby.  We'd both been awakened early that morning as my husband was getting ready for work.  I brought her into my bed hoping I could snuggle her back to sleep, but she was very restless.

Once my husband was ready for work, he picked her up and took her back to bed.  “You're not going to get any sleep this way,” he told me.

Only he apparently wasn't putting her in bed; he was taking her to work with him.

“Why didn't you tell me?” I asked over the phone.

“Because I didn't want you worrying about whether she was okay or whether I was able to get my work done with her here.  I knew you'd sleep better if you didn't have anything on your mind.  And I knew you'd know where she was when you woke up.  So anyway, now I'll bring her back home.”

So now as she rests comfortably back in her bed, and I sit here reflecting on the events of this morning, I ask myself what point I'm trying to make by telling this story.

And I guess it's this:

I was able to stay calm and assume that my husband probably had her at work even though I couldn't think of a good reason why at the time.
And he was able to make a decision like that, knowing that my reaction would be pretty much exactly what it was.

Why?

Because we trust one another.  And we trust one another because we know each other well.  And we know each other well because we work hard at it!

• Clear communication.
• Spending one on one time together regularly.
• Learning and making note of what makes the other person tick – what do they like, what do they dislike, what stresses them out, what helps them relax, etc.

These are all things we have to do to make sure we know each other well.

Daddy combing my hair

In conclusion, I have two things to be thankful for this weekend.

1. That my little girl was safe and sound with her daddy.
2. That her daddy loves both of us fiercely and works hard to show us that he does!

A Dress Code for Homemakers: How to Be Beautiful Inside and Out

I hope you don't think I'm going to start listing articles of clothing that are/are not acceptable for a homemaker to wear. You see, there's more to what we wear than just what goes on the outside, although I'll be talking some about that too.

Before I am a homemaker, I am a follower of Christ. Scripture instructs each of us, male or female, homemaker or not, to put on certain things:

1. Mercy, kindness, humility, longsuffering, forgiveness, and love (Colossians 3:12-14)

There are many instances throughout the day that require us to portray the characteristics of mercy, kindness, humility, longsuffering, forgiveness, and love.

We can only display these when we are walking in the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23.)

If we get up each day and forget to put on these things — if we walk around garbed only with our own strength and willpower, then when the annoyances of the day start to come at us, it is likely our reactions will not be very beautiful.

However, when we have clothed ourselves with the inner beauty that only the Holy Spirit can create, its loveliness will outshine even the most beautiful outward adornments we could wear.

2. The armor of God (Ephesians 6:10 – 18)

Friends, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We wrestle against the devil's attacks against our minds.

He knows that he has been defeated. He knows that we belong to Christ. He knows he has no recourse other than to tell us lies about who we are. 

He accuses us.
He shames us.
He burdens us with guilt that is no longer ours to bear.
He tries to make us forget that we have all the power of Christ within us.

In this way, he seeks to make us ineffective. He knows we do have all the power and authority of Christ and there is nothing he can do about that, so the only weapon he has is to try to make us forget to walk in that power!

We must armor up. We must put on the proper attire which will allow us to deflect the lies of the devil.

Read: 2 Corinthians 10:1-5

3. A smile

It can be easy as a homemaker to focus on the little irritations of the day. Someone tracked dirt on the freshly mopped floor; the laundry is piled up yet again; it's time to make another meal and the kitchen isn't yet clean from the last one. Or is that just me?? Sometimes I realize that in the middle of it all I'm wearing a scowl on my face!

When I focus on all the things that go wrong about my day, I can end up pretty grouchy, and it doesn't look very pretty on my face. (At least, I assume it doesn't. I don't particularly enjoy it when other people scowl at me!)

Do you do this too? Do you find yourself forgetting to smile?

When you pause for a minute and find something to smile about, you'll look a whole lot nicer and you'll feel better too. I have a child who has almost a permanent scowl on their face. (We are working with this child about this.) But when this child decides that they have something to smile about, their whole appearance changes! They look so pleasant! Guess what…when I'm the one who is scowling because things aren't going my way, then I'm the one who's not very pleasant to look at! I can improve my appearance a whole lot just by counting my blessings and then reminding my face about them.

*Note: I want to make it very clear that I am not talking about plastering a fake smile on your face or trying to manufacture joy out of thin air. Sometimes there are legitimate things to be sad about, angry about, or grieving over. There is a time for everything, including less-than-happy emotions (see Ecclesiastes chapter 3). I am speaking here of being aware of our attitudes when we're simply choosing to be grumpy because we just plain old want to be grumpy.

4. Appropriate attire

I think sometimes people subconsciously conflate June Cleaver homemaking with being a Spirit-filled homemaker.  While I do believe in looking nice and putting effort into our appearance, I don't believe that wearing heels and pearls makes one a Godly homemaker and wearing spit-up stained pajamas makes one an ungodly homemaker.

That doesn't mean you should intentionally be a slob. It just means that as Christians we don't live by a set of rules. We live by the Spirit. There are a wide range of clothes we could wear. They all have their purpose, and we each have the freedom to dress the way that makes the most sense for us.

Dressing nicely is not a requirement for a homemaker —  beauty truly does come from the inside.  At the same time, sometimes putting in a little effort on the outside can make you more productive and pleasant.

Appropriate attire might be yoga pants one day and a nice outfit the next. So much depends on your season of life, your to-do list, and your personal priorities. There's not a right or a wrong way. 

Some of the clothing resources I use to fill my closet with comfortable, yet stylish clothes:

1. Stitch Fix is an amazing styling service to help you find beautiful clothing. You fill out your style profile, basically clicking on pictures of clothes you like and don't like, then you fill out a little questionnaire, and a personal stylist will pick out flattering outfits for you and send them to you. You can try them all on, and the benefit of doing so at home means you can pair it with other items in your wardrobe to see if they match or look well together. You'll only pay for the clothes you keep, and the rest you can return for free in the bag they provide.

You can see a more in-depth post I wrote about Stitch Fix here.

If you want to give it a try, you can get a $25 credit when you sign up through this link.

 
2. Wantable is another clothing subscription site similar to Stitch Fix.

I wrote an in-depth review of Wantable here.

3. Thredup is  an online thrift store, and I use it if I have a specific color/article of clothing that I'm looking for. It's a bit more expensive than going to Goodwill, but it saves me a ton of time if I need something specific. I can use the powerful search features at Thredup to quickly find exactly what I'm looking for.
I've written a post about how I shop for specific outfits at Thredup here.

What kind of attire do you wear in your home? Are you dressed with the beauty that can only come from a spirit-filled life? We do not have to beat ourselves up when we don't measure up to our self-imposed standards. Instead, we can let the beauty of Christ fill our souls and radiate to those around us.

3 Surprising Ways to Drastically Reduce Your Grocery Budget

With 5 growing kids, our grocery budget is our highest household expense.  Every week I am shocked to see how quickly we go through the food that I buy.

I am constantly tweaking the menu and trying to make things stretch as far as I can.  Since I know many of my readers are in the same boat (tight budget, but you gotta eat!) I thought I would share some of the more surprising ways I have found to reduce our grocery budget.

(Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.)

1. Don't use coupons.

Yes!  You read that right!  Now there was a time when I would have vehemently disagreed with that statement, but I've completely changed my tune now!

I used to be quite the couponing queen – to the point that I often made money buying my groceries.  As I traveled further and further down the path to a more healthy lifestyle, though, I eventually realized that there weren't too many coupons for healthy foods, and the coupons were only tempting me to splurge on unhealthy things way too much. (Read about the time we ate 40 boxes of Pop-Tarts!)

I ended up spending 25 cents here and 50 cents there on food I would have never purchased otherwise just because it was cheap.  You might be very surprised to find out that once I stopped using coupons, we were actually able to eat better quality food  for less money.

Why?

Because I was nickel and diming myself to death on the cheapest things I could get, but that we didn't necessarily need.  Sure, our grocery bill was very low, and cooking was a breeze with all those boxes and cans in my pantry that I could just dump into a pot.  But I didn't have planned-out, healthy meals; it was just pure randomness.

Once I started planning healthy meals, and I ditched the coupons, our health improved and our grocery bill went down.  I found that planning trumped randomness on both quality and cost, even when the randomness only cost a few pennies!

2. Use cash.

Paying for my groceries with cash forced me to create a plan and stick to it.

And as I already emphasized, planning plays a gigantic role in lowering the grocery bill.

When I use cash, I am adding up the cost of all the ingredients as I add them to the cart, and if I'm over budget, I can't cover it with a credit card; I'll just have to put something back.

There's no better way to stick to a budget than by giving yourself no other option!

3. Don't shop on the same day each week.

This strategy might not work for everyone depending on your family's schedule, but one really successful way I have found to keep my grocery budget low is to only shop when I run out of food.

Even though meal planning is important, things don't always go as planned.

• When I'm cooking I might decide I can use 1/2 the meat that the recipe called for and substitute beans for the rest.
• We may be invited to someone's house to eat and not end up using the meal that was planned.
• We may sleep in and have brunch instead of breakfast and lunch that day.
• etc.

So if I plan to shop once a week, inevitably there will still be random food articles left in the fridge on shopping day.

But if I wait until I've used up everything in the fridge and pantry, I can stretch our budget for an extra day or two (or if I'm really feeling resourceful I can sometimes make it an extra whole week!)

Using everything up before I shop keeps my fridge spic and span without forgotten leftovers rotting in the back too.

Want even more help reducing your family's grocery budget?

Grocery Budget Bootcamp is a course that my friend Tiffany put together with families like yours in mind.  She has a passion for helping people feed their families well without breaking the bank.  Numerous testimonials like the following are coming from her students:

“I just want to say THANK YOU for the course and the depth it goes into. I've saved $300 from the first 2 weeks!” – Kristen

“In just 2 months I've trimmed my grocery budget by 43% AND saved nearly 10 TIMES what I paid before the course was even over!” – Laura

Enrollment is currently open, BUT only for the next few days.

You can CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

OR

CLICK HERE FOR A FREE MINI-COURSE!

Easter Bible Verses: 15 Scriptures to Celebrate the Resurrection

Easter will be here very soon.  As I reflect on Christ's resurrection, I thought it would be appropriate to share some Easter Bible verses that you too can meditate upon during the coming days.

Here are 15 scriptures to help you celebrate the Resurrection:

1.  And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.  Matthew 20:17-19

2.  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. 30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. 31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. 32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.  Matthew 26:26-32

3.  And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. 45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. 46 And they laid their hands on him, and took him.  Mark 14:43-46

4.  And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the
King of the Jews? 13 And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. 15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.  Mark 15:12-15

5. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. 47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.  Luke 23:33-34; 46-47

6. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.  Matthew 27:57-60

7.  Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? Luke 24:1-5

8. He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. Luke 24:6-9

9. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?  John 11:25-26

10.  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 6:8-11

11.  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.  Romans 8:31-34

12. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.  10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  Romans 10:9-13

13. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: I Corinthians 15:1-4

14.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.  I Corinthians 15:19-22

15. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  I Corinthians 15:19-22

My Honest, Unsponsored Real Plans Review

It was nearly time for me to leave for the grocery store, and I was still frantically googling for “Real Food Menu Plans”.  I had a list of dream features in my head for what I needed/wanted in a menu planning service, but I assumed it didn't exist because it was basically like I was hoping for a personal mind-reader.

I saw Real Plans come up several times, clicked on it, and left the page.  Like 3 times.  I assumed it wouldn't be everything I was hoping for, even though it looked close.  On the 4th time, I said, “You know what?  I can just do this for a month and see how I like it. I don't have to keep up a subscription if I don't want to.”

So I did.  After the first week I said, “Yup.  I'm buying the whole year subscription.”

And now, 3 months later, I'm still finding new things to love about it. Update: It has now been 8 months since I purchased my subscription to Real Plans, and I'm still extremely happy with it.

This is going to be a long post, because honestly it's got everything.  But here we go.  Here is why I am loving Real Plans so stinking much.

(Disclosure: this post includes affiliate links)

1.  Customize likes, dislikes, food allergies, etc.

When you first set up your profile, you can choose whether or not you eat a specific type of diet, like Paleo or Whole30.  I don't even remember how many choices there were.  There were a lot.  I just chose a traditional diet.

Additionally, if you have specific allergies or even foods you dislike, you can add those and it will not include any recipes in your meal plans that have any of those ingredients in them.

I so much love that all of the recipes are real food recipes, and not something where I have to make manual substitutions for foods we wouldn't eat.

2. Customize your meal schedule

I can choose which days of the week I want it to plan menus for and which meals I want planned.  So, for instance, if I know we don't eat breakfast on Saturdays but have a large brunch instead, I would set the Saturday schedule to only plan breakfast and dinner. I can even set the Saturday breakfast settings to “large” meal size so that it would be appropriate for brunch.

Every meal can be customized with advanced filters.  So, for example, if I know we have soccer practice on Thursday nights, I can set the prep times for Thursday night dinners to always plan a 15 minute dinner for me. (What?!  I'm still blown away by how amazing this software is.)

If I want to have a crockpot roast for Sunday dinner every week, I can tell it to do that.

If I want to do a Mexican Mondays, I can set Monday dinners to always be Mexican cuisine.

I could keep going, but I think you get the point that you can do so much with this software!

3. Customize to your real food cooking style

Another thing in your account settings is what your real food cooking style is.  Do you typically buy organic, pre-made ingredients from the store?  Do you make every ingredient from scratch?  Do you make certain easy things like bone broth and purchase the rest?

Depending on the settings you select, the software will add ingredients to your shopping list or else add to your weekly instructions that you need to prepare those ingredients.

4. Customize how many servings you want

A downfall of some menu planning services is that the recipes are based on a certain number of servings and you have to adjust your own shopping list accordingly if your family is larger or smaller.

With Real Plans, I can set each meal to be the number of servings I want, and it will automatically adjust the recipes and my shopping list.

Right now, I have all my dinners set to 14 servings (there are 7 of us.) I leave the lunches blank.  This way I don't have to cook a separate meal for lunch, and I can be sure that my dinner recipes make enough to ensure leftovers that we can eat.

5. Use pre-made menus, customized menus, or a combination of both

After you set up your weekly schedule, your menus are automatically generated for you each week.  Simply log in or open up the app on your phone and your menus and recipes are already there waiting for you.  Don't care for a specific meal on the schedule?  You can search the database and replace it with any recipe you like, or you can play “recipe roulette”, where they will generate some random choices.  You can keep clicking the thumbs down sign until you see one you like and it will replace the originally planned meal with the new one you selected.

6. Add more recipes from your favorite bloggers or import your own

Real Plans comes with a database of  1500 real food recipes, but they have also partnered with some favorite recipe bloggers. You can also purchase an upgrade and it will add every recipe from their site into your recipe rotation.

Additionally, you can install the chrome extension (free) and use it to import any recipes you wish from around the web and add them to your meal schedule.

7. The shopping list is automatically created and syncs to the phone app

No matter how many adjustments I make to my meal plan, the app automatically adjusts every ingredient on my shopping list.

I LOVE that the shopping list is divided by section of the store, making everything so quick and easy to find.  Each item has a check box beside it, and once I've added it to my cart I can click it and it disappears.  This makes it so nice so that I can see the items disappearing off the list instead of hoping my eyes haven't missed something as I skim over the list.

(If I make a mistake, I can go to the “Got it” section and re-add the item to my list.)

8. Additional shopping list convenience

Since I shop at multiple stores, I can tell the software which items I typically purchase from which store.  Every week it puts my Aldi items on the Aldi list, the Walmart items on the Walmart list, the online items on the online list, etc. That way when I go to Walmart, I only see the 3 items I need to get when I'm in Walmart.

If I always have certain items on hand, coconut oil or apple cider vinegar for instance, I can check “always have it” and it will not clog up my shopping list with those items week after week.  If I want to purchase certain items on a schedule (for instance, I like to order my sprouted flour once a month) I can set the shopping list to schedule it for me once a month so that I remember to  buy it.  (I'm telling you, once you enter your settings, Real Plans is like having your own personal mind reader!)

9. Cooking timeline

If you know anything about real food, it's that you always have to be a couple steps ahead of the game.  (Whoops!  Beans for supper tonight, but I forgot to soak them yesterday!)

Real Plans is so smart that it reads the ingredients in your recipes and creates a timeline for the week.  Here's a snapshot of mine for the week:

10. Cooking convenience

With other menu planning services I've used, I either have to print the recipes out, or go tracking them down via my Pinterest profile when I'm ready to cook.  It's time consuming and a pain.

With Real Plans, all I do is open the app on my phone, and the recipe for whatever meal it is automatically pops up.   (If I decide I want to eat tomorrow's meal today, I can just scroll down and click on it.)

I also just noticed that there is a place to rate each recipe from 1 to 5 “hearts.”  I'm assuming that if you really like a recipe, you can just give it a high rating and Real Plans will add it to your meal rotation more often. (Like I said, I keep finding new things to love about it!)

11. Nutritional data on every recipe

If you have special health concerns or you're dieting and want to count carbs, each recipe has all the nutrition facts included.

12. 24 hour chat

If you're stuck or confused on how to use a certain feature, you can just click the chat button (available 24 hours a day and they will help you immediately.)  Seriously the best customer service ever.  They even called me when I first signed up to see if I needed anything.

13. Money back guarantee

Not that I think you would need it, but it is always reassuring to know that if something doesn't work for you, you won't be out anything.

I paid $72 for a year of Real Plans and even though it's only February, I have already more than paid for the service with the amount of time I've saved and with the money I've saved at the grocery store.

• We don't waste food because I have a specific plan for my leftovers.
• It's easier (and cheaper) to make ingredients from scratch because Real Plans reminds me early enough in the week that I don't have to grab a jar or package at the last minute.
• Having a shopping list ensures I buy only what I need – no more and no less.
• Having a meal plan and everything I need on hand to make the recipes keeps us from spending money on spontaneous splurges.

I am super picky about products and don't often recommend things because I'm hard to impress.  But Real Plans has honestly been like a dream come true for me.  We're eating healthy meals and saving money in the process!

If you'd like to give Real Plans a try, you can click here and order 1 month, 1 quarter or 1 year. (You can always try a month and upgrade later too.)

The Thing You Must Remember When You Are Overwhelmed

I can still feel the pit in my stomach. Our family had recently made the most difficult decision of our lives, and we had no idea what lay around the next corner.

Would people support us or would they ridicule us? How would we pay for the necessary expenses? Would people understand just how difficult this was for us or would they assume we had gone off the deep end?

As I sought for a good “thinking place” amidst my turmoil, I decided to lie down on a sheet on the ground outside. It was a balmy spring day, and I could feel a gentle breeze brushing over me.
With my head so close to the ground, my attention was drawn to the tiniest of flowers – flowers I couldn’t even see without being down so low.

My children were running around in the grass near me, and I watched as the flowers seemed to be crushed under their feet.

But no sooner were they crushed but they sprang right back up, no worse for the wear.

As I watched those little flowers, I thought of the song by the late Alfred B. Smith:

I was wearied, I was worried with my trouble,
And my heart by its burden was oppressed.
Now I’ve learned my Savior’s lesson on the lilies,
And I find in its teaching perfect rest.

In case you didn't catch it, that song is based on Matthew chapter 6, where the Holy Spirit through the writer tells us not to be concerned about whether we’ll have enough to eat or drink or whether we’ll have clothes to wear.

Matthew 6:24-33, KJV:
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

God knows what we need before we even know ourselves what we need.

As we are faithful to seek Him above all things, he will faithfully provide all that we need.

Whether we are facing difficult trials, or whether we are overwhelmed with our daily responsibilities, whether we have physical needs or emotional needs, God will provide the strength that we need.

Solomon with his riches and glory did not compare to the beauty with which God clothes the lilies of the field.

Grass and flowers which are beaten down by wind and rain and trampled underfoot are cared for directly by the hand of God – how much more will he take care of his children?

Those tiny purple flowers which go completely unnoticed under normal circumstances are important to God! He clothes them in beauty and provides the resilience for them to make a full recovery after being crushed underfoot.

Will he not care for my needs? Will he not give me comfort when I’ve been hurt? Will he not give me courage when I’m afraid? Will he not give me wisdom when I'm confused, peace when I'm frustrated, strength when I'm weak?

When I’m tempted to look around at my problems, I recall the image of the purple flowers and I remember that God is there.

He knows.

He cares.

And I can rest peacefully in Christ’s lesson on the lilies.