Peace and Understanding

A couple weeks ago, God was working on me about the whole submission thing. I’m sure I haven’t learned everything yet that He wants to teach me so I know we’ll come back to that, but recently I’ve been challenged about living in peace, especially in my role as a wife. This verse has really been on my mind:

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)

I really want Big Man to enjoy being with me. To feel like I am his safe harbor from all the pressures out there in the world. To know that he can be 100% himself with me and trust that I love him. I really don’t want to be a nagging wife, a shrew,  a woman who makes her husband’s life more difficult. So I’ve been trying to make sure I actively create a peaceful environment and disrupt that peace only when there is a legitimate reason.

Sometimes, peace is disrupted because Big Man and I have a disagreement that we need to resolve. In those cases, being intentional about having a good, productive discussion (where I am not being overly emotional) is the best way to restore the peace. But there are quite a few times when our peace is interrupted for a silly reason; when one of us gets upset or argumentative with little or no cause.

For me, the biggest thing I have been doing to avoid those silly arguments is to give Big Man the benefit of the doubt and not look for trouble. Especially when I am feeling more emotional, I can easily overreact to something he says or choose to be offended by even the most innocent of remarks. So recently, if I’m feeling upset by something Big Man says or does, I’ve been trying to take a minute and think through it to see if that feeling is warranted. And sometimes it is, and then Big Man will apologize and we can move on. But there are quite a few times when I’m upset because I choose to be offended instead of just giving him the benefit of the doubt and extending some grace.

This makes a lot of sense when I think logically. I love Big Man and chose to marry him, and I know he is a good man who follows Christ. So when he makes a comment that seems a little off, instead of just reacting emotionally and getting upset, I try to be logical first. Ok, I’m not a big fan of what Big Man just said. But I love him and know he is a good man. Which is more likely, that he said it to intentionally hurt me, or that it just came out wrong? And when I’m honest, I’ll admit that it is much more likely that it just came out wrong, not that Big Man was intentionally saying something to upset me.

I’m far from perfect in this area and I still react emotionally sometimes. But the Romans verse has been challenging to me, because it doesn’t leave a lot of room for me to just sit back and hope for a peaceful marriage. The “as far as it depends on you” part means I should be actively working towards peace. So this process of evaluating the circumstance and my emotional response is something I’m working on. And even though it isn’t easy for me, the results are more peace and less discord. Life is so much easier when I’m not creating trouble that isn’t there.

There’s a humorous side to this idea too. I saw this on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and loved it. I try to remember this when I’m getting super-emotional about something that isn’t really worth all the trouble.

Anyway, this is where I am in my wife-journey right now. I’m doing my best to live in peace and understanding with Big Man, as much as it depends on me. And that peace is so much nicer than petty little arguments!

 

Sample Saturday

It’s Saturday morning! How did the week go so fast? Well, grab a latte and coffee-glazed cinnamon roll biscuit, and enjoy this week’s post round-up!

Kisses and Kiddos

35 Things I Hope My Kids Say About Their Dad - Becoming Minimalist’s inspiring and challenging post is a must read for any parent.

His Love – If you need some encouragement, this post from The Confident Mom contains a beautiful collection of Bible verses about God’s love for His children.

10 Ways To Have Fun With Your Best Friend – The Mars Hill Blog has a great list of activities to do with your spouse to grow the friendship side of your marriage.

But What If …? – A excellent three-part series on Biblical submission from The Generous Wife. (Part 2, Part 3)

Yumminess

Skittles Vodka – The ladies over at That’s What We Said posted a recipe for mini bottles of rainbow-colored alcohol! These are so cute and would be perfect for a Girls Night In party.

Cowboy Potato Chowder - The Tasty Kitchen Blog has a beautifully photographed step-by-step recipe for this hearty soup. I’m glad we still have a couple months of “soup weather” left!

Strawberry and Mascarpone Cream Puffs - Check out this perfectly sweet virtual baby shower dish showcased over at Pennies on a Platter.

Just for Fun and Giggles

Let’s Play Telephone – It’s amazing how many bakers are incapable of understanding simple instructions. So many, in fact, that there is an entire Cake Wrecks post dedicated to them.

Another Candle Stick – This tutorial over at the EPBOT blog gives easy instructions for re-branding your boring commercial candles with awesome old-fashioned “medicinal” labels.

Now, have another cinnamon roll and enjoy your weekend!

Cinnamon Roll Biscuits with Coffee Glaze

I’m totally a morning person. Early bird all the way. I love the feeling of a new day, with all its potential. Granted, some of this excitement is greatly diminished on mornings after the kids haven’t slept well, but overall, the a.m. is awesome! Here are my favorite things about morning:

~ A warm and cuddly Little Man who enjoys sitting on my lap and giving hugs and kisses

~ Fuzzy slippers

~ Big Man coming home from work (he works nights)

~ Checking my RSS feed and finding yummy recipes and challenging marriage posts

~ Little Lady wiggling and squealing with excitement at something only she can see

~ Coffee with sugar and half and half

~ A renewed patience for Bob the Tomato and 236 rounds of Pat-a-Cake

~ Any and all types of breakfast food, especially sweets.

One of my favorite breakfast foods is cinnamon rolls, but they take a lot of time. Even though I’ve had success making them the night before and letting them rise in the refrigerator, there is still too much time involved for regular weekday breakfast. These cinnamon roll biscuits are the perfect solution! A flaky, tender dough, rolled up with a cinnamon and brown sugar filling and topped with a sweet coffee (or vanilla) glaze. The recipe is simple to put together and doesn’t require any special ingredients or rise time so sweet, cinnamony, home-baked goodness is only about 30 minutes away, even on the sleepiest of mornings. This recipe is originally from my mom, and I just spruced it up a bit by adding the glaze. I hope you enjoy these special little rolls as much as I do. They’re a sweet addition to any morning routine and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee. Matter of fact, bake them up tomorrow morning and savor along with my Sample Saturday post roundup!

Cinnamon Roll Biscuits with Coffee Glaze (adapted from my mom’s original recipe, biscuit dough from Allrecipes.com)

Biscuit Dough*

2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting/kneading

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

1/3 cup cold shortening

1 cup cold milk

*You can also substitute your favorite biscuit recipe

Filling

3 Tbs. butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Coffee Glaze

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/8 cup espresso, or strongly-brewed coffee (to make kid-friendly, substitute milk and a splash of vanilla extract)

1 Tbs. milk (if needed)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease (or spray with cooking spray) one 9×13 pan or two 9-inch round cake pans.

To make the dough, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the shortening (using a pastry cutter or two knives) until the mixture looks crumbly. Stir in the milk to form a wet and sticky dough. Turn out onto a very well-floured surface and knead until a smooth ball forms (about 20 times). You may need to add more flour while kneading to prevent the dough from sticking.

Roll out dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Brush on the melted butter and sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon. Crumble the brown sugar evenly over the dough. Starting on one of the long sides of the rectangle, roll up the dough tightly and pinch the edges to seal.  Slice at 1 inch intervals and place rolls cut side up in the prepared pan (you should get between 16 and 18 rolls). Bake at 425 degrees 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the glaze, whisk together the coffee (or milk) and confectioner’s sugar. If needed, add up to 1 tablespoon of milk to get desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the biscuits when they come out of the oven, and then let cool in the pan about 5 minutes before serving.