It Has Been A While – Trusting God in 2022

A flower trusting to bloom

In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? ~ Psalm 56:4 (ESV)

It has been a while since I have updated this blog. Not sure what prompted the notion to update the blog today. Maybe I am ready to share again? Not sure…

The first thing I did is to update the face of this blog, and I am sure there will be more changes coming in the future.

Much has happened since the last blog entry in 2014.

  • June 2015 – I lost my beloved mom
  • January 2017 – My husband has had kidney failure
  • May 2019 – My husband became a dialysis patient
  • June 2018 – I became a member of Click Pro Elite (I will talk more about that)
  • February 2019 – I took a trip to California to meet up with my photography friends
  • March 2020 – I began working from home (and still am) due to the pandemic
  • May 2021 – The journey to qualify my husband for a kidney transplant began
  • December 2021 – We lost our beloved dog Corky
  • January 2022 – My Word for the year “Trust”

Trusting God, giving everything to Him, is often times hard for me. No matter how long I have been following the Lord, there are still things that I’d like to control! Maybe is just me, but then again, if we are honest, we all like to control certain things this side of heaven.

The most important thing right now for me is to keep healthy, so that I can continue to take care of my family. Staying healthy, is not only a physical thing, but also a mental/spiritual thing. I am thankful that God continues to guide me, even when I stumble.

Where I will go with my blog, I have no idea. One thing for sure is that I will share more about my spiritual journey, maybe some tips on self-care, some photography related items…We shall see.

May our Lord continue to guide and protect you.

Much love,

Iris

 

Sowing the Word In Our Lives

At The Masters Feet-coverIt seems when you’re trying to honor God with your life, a barrage of mishaps can come your way. It can be many different things trying to discourage you from honoring God with your life. When you keep obeying and serving God you can have opposition from Satan. Doing the right things isn’t always easy, but if we keep doing them we’ll be rewarded. God blesses those who honor Him. Life on earth isn’t easy for anyone, but we have to press on.

I have found a way to press on– soaking up God’s Word. God encourages us in His Word to keep sowing good things so that we may reap good things. Sowing good things can be frustrating when you are constantly attacked by Satan or tested by God. Through those attacks or tests, God is purifying us. He wants to know that we won’t take our hand off the plow sowing for His kingdom. He is ridding us of those impurities that are within us.

It’s easy to give up while serving God, but it takes courage to keep sowing good things in our lives and the lives of others. We may not understand why adversity comes our way when we are our obeying our Father, but we can be comforted that He loves us. He desires good for us and He has wonderful plans for us. Many times I become weary while doing good things and I want to give up. I’m so grateful for God’s Word because it encourages me and reminds me that my prize sets before me and I can finish the race.

My desire to write a devotional was to encourage others through God’s Word. It can strengthen our faith and boost our confidence in God. It’s so effective in our lives if we’ll apply it. Soak up the truths God gives us from His Word and be encouraged.

Book Description
Have you ever felt discouraged during a trial? What about feeling lifeless and numb? Have the cares of the world completely overwhelmed you? If this describes your life, then you’re in need of encouragement from God’s Word.

God’s Word is rich in knowledge and wisdom. His greatness is vast and His goodness never ends. There is power in His Word and in soaking it up each day. We can seek refuge and guidance from the Word of God. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. In it, we can find comfort during hardships and exhortations to praise God at all times.

This devotional book provides encouragement in various ways. It examines numerous scriptures in the Old and New Testaments to gain wisdom from above. Some devotions have personal stories to help you relate to the author while showing you that we all have struggles. While we are in the midst of trials and joys, triumphs and defeats, good and bad—we can turn to God’s Word for encouragement. Heather invites Master’s feet, as Mary did, and learn from Him.

Heather_2Mississippi born and raised, Heather Strickland is a stay-at-home wife and mother with a passion to encourage others through writing. God planted this dream of writing a book in her heart when she was a teenager, began to grow it during her early adulthood, and now – with the help of many dear friends – God has made that dream a reality. She enjoys sipping coffee on her front porch, flipping through the pages of a good book, and holding hands with her love. When she isn’t serving her family, Heather blogs regularly at Becoming Titus 2 Women, Laced with Grace, and The Imperfect Wives. But her primary ministry is to her husband and three boys. Not only is Heather crazy about them, they give her an abundance of writing material. Through them, God has molded her and taught her many life lessons. Heather is forever grateful for God’s grace and guidance in her life.

You may contact Heather on Facebook at Becoming Titus 2 Women or email her at the.stricklands06@gmail.com. The book is available on Amazon.com as a printed version or on Kindle.

 

 

The Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg

Hard Boiled Eggs

If there is one most useful trick I have picked up in cooking is how to hard-boil an egg. I know it sounds simple to hard-boil an egg; however you may have the same issues I had. I used to never get them perfect. Sometimes they even had a little blue ring around the egg-yoke because I boiled the eggs too long.

A couple years ago I watched a cooking show on the Food Network and the trick to hard boil an egg perfect every time is quite simple. You place the eggs in cold water, bring the eggs and water to a boil, let them boil for 1 minute. After you boil the eggs for a minute, take them off your burner, and let them sit in the hot water for exactly 13 minutes. Shock the eggs with cold water and let them cool. Seriously, this little trick works; no matter how fresh the eggs are.

And since I already shared with you the little trick how to perfectly hard-boil eggs, I thought I share with you my modified recipe of devilled eggs (or eggs mimosa or Russian eggs as we Germans say)…

As you all know, my husband has to watch his sodium intake. And since devilled eggs is one of his favorite dishes, I had to modify it; using no salt at all. Trust me, it is not easy to get the dishes right without salt, but you just need to try and try again 🙂 .

Ingredients for Devilled Eggs

So here is my simple, yet sodium-savvy ingredient list for my devilled/Russian/mimosa eggs:
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Mustard, Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil, Fresh Ground Pepper, and Smoked Paprika.

Remove egg-yoke from your perfectly hard-boil eggs, add 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp your choice of mustard (I use German mustard of course 🙂 ), 1 1/2 Tbs of Kraft’s Mayo, 3 twists of fresh ground pepper and 2 pinches of smoked paprika. Mix the ingredients until the mixture is smooth, add the mixture back to your egg halves. Voila – sodium savvy devilled/Russian/mimosa eggs. Serve cold on Rye Bread with unsalted butter. (recipe is for 6 eggs/12 halves)

Living sodium savvy does not mean that you have to eat bland foods; you just have to modify your favorite dishes. Your heart will thank you.

Until next time…skip the salt — add flavor instead!

Iris

Update on Life & New Hostess for Thankful Thursday

I have been a little quiet. I have been busy with family and my work. Actually I have changed jobs within the last couple of weeks. I still work for the same company, just in a different department. I have been busy training my replacement (not sure if that went well) and I started to learn my new responsibilities.

I also still work on my portrait business, but I guess I am not corky enough to attract new business. Why I am saying that? Well, as I watch other portrait photographers in town, I notice that I dress too conservative (no multicolored socks or funny skirts in my wardrobe…just Converse and a pair of great jeans). I did book a maternity and newborn session for May and June. And I have a pending job for product photography. So, I guess I do book sessions, just not enough to quit my day job…yet!

Also, our son landed an awesome job. Wow – I wish I would have had that kind of pay and perks at his age (almost 29). But then again, I don’t have the education he does. I am very, very happy for our son that all the studying and ‘nerdiness’ finally paid off for him.

On another note, Jenn from Busy Being Blessed has taking over the Thankful Thursday meme that I was blessed to host for 7 years. Please visit her blog “Busy Being Blessed” on Thursday to continue sharing your thankful heart. Jenn created some beautiful new buttons that you can use. Here is one of them:

Thankful-Thursday-1-Busy-Be-1

Now you know why I have been quiet; just busy – nothing special.

Thanks for stopping by today.

In His love,
Iris