Simple Blessings

"Bringing Joy to your Kitchen"
Its a loud day already here in our home. The skys are dark and the cold rain has been falling since wee hours in the morning. My children are still in their pj's and having a blast! Soon...very soon we will start our daily schedule and move into our school work. But I can hold out for a few more minutes...hearing their giggles I know they are in the middle of making memories together. Memories that they will remember and share with eachother over the years to come. Memories of the boys being super heros and rescuing (my daughter) the maiden in distress. Memories of "the wiggle worm" chasing them and tickling the other wiggle worms out of the one they caught. Memories of seeing the homemade capes they got for christmas last year flying through the house.
One area of our home I am working on making more memories is the kitchen. A place where currently we have no kitchen table (as we are working on making one) and very few counters. This room is where, more times than most, I am rushing (due to my lack of preperation) to make a meal before it gets too late. This is the place where we find the messiest of messes and sometimes the room I need the most patience in.
Today in my kitchen I am chosing JOY! Joy is something I teach the kids often...and its easy to explain how they should put Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last. But its oh so much harder to remember that when I am in the kitchen with six little hands and six little feet (add 8 more if you count the dog and the cat chasing eachother) all wanting to take part. If I put Jesus first I should be focusing on the eternal ones around me and letting them help as we find ways to bless others with the food we make. If I put others second I shouldn't be so quick to shoo them off from under feet so I can get it done faster and with less mess. If I am putting myself last I will not be selfish when it comes to my time in the kitchen.
Joy is intentional. You have to be intentional about adding that to your recipes, and mixing it in to your meal plans. You have to make it a point to remind myself that soon those little ones will no longer be little and their footprints of flour will not fill my floor. So for the next week or so I will be posting about different ways I have found Joy in my kitchen, and I hope it challenges you to look for Joy also.
Looking for Joy,
Dawn