Carino's Artichokes & Angel Hair Recipe

I love meals that require the least amount of time. With a baby and Youth Pastor's schedule, I don't always have the time or, let's get real here, the ENERGY to slave away in the kitchen! My hubby and I went to Carino's Restaurant and I loved this Artichoke dish so much I wanted to make it myself. Ahh success! =) This dish is definitely one of our Top 5!

Carino's Artichokes & Angel Hair Recipe

Ingredients- 4 Tbsp. Olive oil

2 cloves Garlic, finely diced (I use 1 tsp. pre-minced garlic)

1 c. Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 c. Black olives, finely diced

1/4 c. Capers

1 small jar Artichoke hearts, halved

Chicken or Shrimp

Angel hair pasta

Prepare pasta according to package.

Saute garlic in olive oil (if adding chicken, add to pan now). 

Add tomatoes, olives, capers and artichokes. Saute for several minutes.

If adding shrimp, add to pan a few minutes before serving.

Serve over pasta topped with shredded Parmesan cheese.

So there it is! Yummo!! =) ENJOY!

A Mother's Prayer

Oh give me patience when wee hands

Tug at me with their small demands.

And give me gentle and smiling eyes.

Keep my lips from hasty replies.

And let not weariness, confusion, or noise

Obscure my vision from life's fleeting joys.

So when, in years to come my house is still-

No bitter memories its rooms may fill.

~Author Unknown

Employ Grace

I have struggled with extending genuine grace and love toward others. Not only extending grace and love, but literally being the existence of those things as Ephesians 4.24 says about "[putting] on the new man, which after Christ is created in righteousness and true holiness." Shedding the person you were before Christ entered your life and becoming the living proof of God's grace and love. I struggle immensely when it comes to resisting how my flesh wants to react in my day-to-day life. My flesh screams to allow my emotions to control what I say, how I act... Women might have the hardest time with this. With the constant hormonal imbalances taking place in our bodies for the majority of our lives, we tend to allow our bodies to control us and send us in a downward spiral of emotions with depression, rage, etc, quickly following suit. I've found this quickly opens a door to develop habits which I often allow to determine my reactions to things in my life. Take conversations with my husband, for instance. Say in the midst of a discussion, Logan says something in a certain tone or whatever that irritates or rubs me the wrong way. If I allow myself to react the way every bone in my body screams for me to react, I am allowing my unbridled emotions to take control. All of you who have been married for any length of time know the inevitability of such a scenario, so, as this happens again and again, my emotions remaining unbridled, the likelihood of this fleshly reaction taking place is just as inevitable as this scenario. That being said, I must train myself to withstand the impulse to lash out, bite my tongue and employ Grace! Otherwise, in all reality I am training myself to do the exact opposite, hurting myself by making it harder to deny the impulse and break the habit, and hurting my husband and marriage in the process. This is a daily struggle for me and something I am sure I will deal with all of my life. But I know as I deny my flesh the satisfaction and employ Grace, it will eventually become more of a knee-jerk reaction to do so. I think when that takes place is when you become the existence of love and grace. By His strength, I will strive for this every day of my life. I want His grace and love to shine through me like nothing else!

So what’s something that helps you employ grace in your daily life?

His Everlasting Love

I love quiet mornings. Hubby's off working hard and Emma is sleeping peacefully. I can relax, enjoy my huge cup of coffee and meditate on God's Word. I love when God completely overwhelms me with His love and His promises of ever-present forgiveness and grace. Our Pastor's sermons lately have been about God's grace; it's our church's theme for the year. God has been working on my heart a great deal about His grace. I just don't understand why God would create us solely to have a relationship with us. To willingly endure the constant ridicule, rejection, rebellion, and heartbreak from those He created to love… It baffles me. I will never understand it. I guess that's why God wrote so many verses stating his love and affection for us… so there would never have to be a doubt in our mind. He also wrote Deuteronomy 29.29 for us; "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God..." I think he left questions unanswered because we physically would never be able to process the answers. All we need is the faith to know that His sole purpose in creating us is to love and bless us!