Barnabas Lane

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Tasty Tuesday- Strawberry Cake & Recipe Link up Party

Hi friends and welcome to another Tasty Tuesday! Thanks so much for stopping by.

If you've been a reader for a while you probably know how much I love strawberry anything (anyone remember the time I tried to become a self-proclaimed jamstress and fell in love with homemade strawberry jam? I had dreams of that delicious jam in the middle of winter) So it's no surprise that today I'm bringing you a favorite cake of mine and that it's strawberry. This is a super delicious and super simple cake to put together, but nobody else will be able to tell that one. Here's what you'll need...

Printable recipe here!

-1 box white cake mix

-1 (3 oz.) box of strawberry Jello

-4 eggs

-1/2 cup water

-1/2 cup oil

-1/2 cup pureed strawberries

Start by preheating the oven to 325 and greasing and flouring 2 8 inch round cake pans. Next puree the strawberries

In a large bowl mix together the cake mix and Jello. Then add water and oil. (A hand mixer would definitely make this job a lot easier, I just didn't want to get more of a mess going. Plus sprinkled spatulas make everything better, right?)

Add the eggs one a time, mixing well after each one. Then add 1/2 cup of the pureed strawberries, mixing that together as well.

Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes

I made a strawberry cream cheese frosting for this particular cake, but I love getting creative with this one. Think chocolate ganache on strawberry cake? Yes please.

Linking up with: Emily, Mandy, Ali, Melt in your Mouth Monday, Pint Sized Baker, The Recipe Critic, Kathy, Kayla, Table for Seven, Kathe, The Gathering Spot, Feeding Big, Marvelous Mondays, Nan, Create with Joy, The Lou Lou Girls

Printable version here!

Now on to the party! A huge thank you to everyone who linked up last week. Here are a few favorites from last week's party!

Making a Healthy Lifestyle

Roxy's Kitchen

A Bountiful Love

A Plate at My Table

If you've been featured please feel free to take a Featured button:

Party button here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, May 12, 2014

What my family needs the most

Proverbs 31. It's hard to get through the Mother's Day Sunday morning service without its' reference. It's an important, and beautiful, chapter in the book of Proverbs-undoubtedly divinely purposed to shape us into the women God has called us to be.
But I'll be real, sometimes I walk away from a "Proverbs 31 Woman" sermon feeling like I've just got handed down a to-do list. On top of the 10 to-do lists that are already sitting at home waiting for me.

Really?

Sure I might start Monday morning off fresh out of the gate and ready to give it my best, but I can almost gurantee you by 3pm you will find me with a bag of cookies crying over the fact that I'll never live up to it, I'll never get there.
I like my sleep too much.
Might as well curl up on the couch to a new Dr. Phil episode until the Mr. gets home from work because this clearly is not happening. The gusto I woke up to hours ago is gone and forgotten.

Over it.

But what if we did away with the lists?
What if we stopped looking at what we are supposed to get done, and look at what is really needed? What is the best? The most? What does my husband need-I mean really, really need more than clean clothes and a meal from me? What do our families need more than anything else?

Spirit-filled wives and mothers.
Before the to-do lists get a glance, it must start with Him. In Him.
As women in our homes we are thrown a lot of tasks, important, must get done tasks. But nothing will be more important than our time with Jesus and our walk with HIm.

Worship must always precede work. All of my work will flow out of that.
Abiding must precede activity. In John we're told apart from Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5)

If I look back on just the past week and had to write down every single thing I did for my husband, my home, and my family I would fill it up faster than you could imagine. Sadly, ask me how much I did of that list out of His power instead of my own and I would stare and blink at that page for quite some time. Because most days I forget that if I am not yielded to His power in me, I'm going to mess this up. Guaranteed. Definite. Doesn't matter how much gusto and determination Monday begins with.

Here are 4 quick ways I really believe we can strive daily (shoot, I'll be real-hourly somedays) we can be who our families really need us to be...
1.) Be authentic. Nothing can replace a genuine Godly existence. Genuine with her lips and her life.
2.) Be available and approachable. Remember that nobody can replace your role in the home. It's more than just being present. It's listening more than lecturing.
3.) Be affirming. Distinguish the person from the performance.
4.) Be aware of your primary responsibility that is above all other responsisbilities-show them Jesus and how to live according to His Word. Point them to Jesus that they would learn to trust Him more than you.

Linking up with: Nan, Faith, Kendra, Kathy

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Scripture Sunday

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The stuff you won't see on Instagram

My first indicator of the kind of day that was coming at me was the time on the clock.

I woke up late. Really late.

And because of my attitude of disgruntled-ness towards the Mr. the previous week that listening to him hit the snooze button 5 times in a row every single morning made me want to chop my ears off, I had been put completely in charge of getting us both up on time as he shut off all alarms of his own.

Oops.

My husband showed major grace to me like he is typically known for and greeted me with an understanding smile and kiss and said, it's ok babe happens to us all instead of rubbing it in my face like he would have had every right to do.

Learning humility is down right embarrassing sometimes.

The next thing that happened was a seriously annoying pain in my hip every time I took a step that made me wonder who put the rocks under the mattress that I must have slept on all night.

Ugh.

I groggily made my way to the kitchen to make some coffee-stat. This morning needed some help and quick. I spilled water everywhere. I was now annoyed, sore, and wet all in the first 5 minutes of the day. Kudos to the Mr for walking in and realizing I hadn't put a coffee mug under the coffee dispenser right before it shot out all of the floor.

This is life. Real life. The day before had seemed kind of magical honestly. We had celebrated our second anniversary of marriage and it had been a beautiful day of sweet remembrances, friends and family dropping by with sweet hugs and gifts and messages from faraway loved ones, a sweet flower delivery that arrived just before the Mr arrived home, and a perfect quiet night for just the two of us. I must have soaked in all the goodness a little too much because the next morning was a wake up call like you wouldn't believe.

Can we all just go back to bed and go back to yesterday? It was full of flowers and love and down right good stuff.

And I didn't think of Instagram-ing or Tweeting any of this hot mess one single time.
Because you know, it wasn't pretty.

We live in such a strange time. We see a beautiful sunset and our first reaction can be to "instagram it" instead of praise the One who made it. We spend hours staring at a computer screen "pinning all the things" all the while our own home is slightly falling apart because we can't pull ourself away from "all the screens" We miss out on really connecting with someone because we can't really break away from the beeps and bzzs going off. Out of all the blessings and miracles that God brings out of this age of technology-and oh does He-we are also tempted to be swayed to this dark side. I'm not bashing this part of life, I'm a fan actually. This blog has led me to connect with other people I would have probably never met otherwise. I can't tell you how many times I open up Instagram or Twitter and I'm honestly blessed and encouraged by someone. And let's not even get started on Pinterest, you know..you know...

But if we get too wrapped up in it-we'll miss it all. And if we only post the "pretty" we'll miss it all as well. Because even though it was harder to find, there was still beauty in the hot mess that was that morning. As I leaned against the kitchen cabinet and held my head in my hands for a minute, ignoring the fact that we were still running late, late, late. (Thanks to me no less.) The Mr paused from his running around to take me in his arms and say a prayer over me I exhaled. It was a new day, things going array or not, His mercies were still new, His faithfulness still real. Enough to carry us through a day that starts off going in a million directions that all seem wrong to me.

Linking up with: Nan, We are That Family, Growing Homemakers, The Dwelling Tree, Lovely Ladies Linky

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Tasty Tuesday-Corn & Black Bean Salsa

Hi friends and welcome to another Tasty Tuesday!! Thanks so much for stopping by.

It's one of my favorite times of year, when the farmers markets and produce stands are popping up everywhere. Few things make me smile more than hugging the necks of the farmers and produce stand workers that I haven't seen since last summer as we sigh with relief that we made it through another winter. Yes, I spend so much time there each Spring/Summer that I become friends with them.

So I always have fruits and veggies running out my ears this time of year.
Just the way I like it.
This dish is the perfect excuse to make another trip to the produce stand, or to use up the excess from when I go crazy and buy one of everything. And it couldn't be more delicious. Here's what I used, but this is one of those dishes that can easily be changed to use what you like or have on hand.
Printable Recipe

2 (15 oz.) cans yellow corn, drained
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14.5 oz.) cans Italian sized diced tomatoes
5 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil

Chop everything up and throw in the bowl, saving the olive oil for last.

You can definitely eat this right away (which I did. shamelessly), but it really just gets better the longer it refrigerates as the flavors mingle more. This dish makes a lot! But I love it that way because we use it on EVERYTHING. It's delicious with a side of chips for snacking, topping for tacos, salads, or the best quesadilla of your life. Make this one and feed a crowd, or eat off of it all week on a ton of different dishes!

Printable version found here!

Now on to the party! A huge thank you to everyone who linked up last week. Here are a few of the favorites!

Luv a Bargain

My Lamp is Full

Gentle Joy Homemaker

Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen

Sandi's Allergy Free Recipes

If you've been featured please feel free to take a Featured button:

Party button here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Sunday, May 4, 2014

scripture sunday

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Top 10 Vegetable Gardens

I have a thing for vegetable gardens. I'm semi-obsessed and typically begin planning in mid-Janaury.
1. Because I love it so much and I can't wait any more.
2. Because January.

There is something so satisfying about the whole process from the planning stage, to planting, to stepping out your door to pick some goods for dinner. You might remember my Top 10 Outdoor DIY Projects I did a few months ago here. If you noticed I didn't include any vegetable gardening in that post because I knew that once I got started I wouldn't be able to stop-this one needed a post all its own. So today I'm sharing with you my Top 10 Favorite ideas/tools/inspirations for all things vegetable gardening