A Mother’s Journey: The Easy Days

Twenty-six years ago, as a new mother, I entered into this role with no idea of how to succeed. It was hard. Were there times of incomprehensible joy? Absolutely!! There were also times of immense doubt and incredible exhaustion with a hefty dose of insecurity. There were many days where my efforts can only be tagged as “Complete Fail…”Gratefully, there were also many days where I turned to my Savior and my Heavenly Father for help.

As a young tired mom in moments of desperation, I would simply pray to my Father in Heaven and ask “Are you really there?”  
It was a simple prayer, where I would be blessed with a simple reassurance motivating me to keep trying.

Progressing to the next season of parenting, my prayers as a mother changed.  I would pray for the safety and protection of my children, or even that they would have help in making a free throw at the end of a tight basketball game.

As seasons continued to change, my momma prayers changed again. I had learned that fear is the absence of faith. I knew my children couldn’t survive in the world today solely with miracles that I had prayed for on their behalf.  But rather they needed to learn to pray with their own faith.

My journey as a mother thus far?… It’s been a crazy roller-coaster type ride. Here’s what I know today-
We grow and progress as we faithfully accept challenges. Life is hard. It’s God’s plan for our progression. And although it seems momma-bear instinctive to want to protect my family from the difficulties of life, it’s okay that life brings hard days for my children. I didn’t see tender mercies and feel God’s love and Christ’s grace with the greatest intensity on the easy days…And neither did my children…

My truest desire is for my children to independently come to know Christ. I want them to follow Him in faith and partake of salvation through Him. I want them to turn to Christ in their moments of struggles and again in gratitude for strength received beyond their own. I want my children to be drawn to Christ’s light and emulate it back into the world around them. I want them to experience true joy that can only be found when we forget about ourselves and go about busy in Christ’s work in fulfilling the will of our Heavenly Father.

-JC

As I reflect today, I ask myself:
Will I follow Christ’s example in making my primary purpose for my life to do the work of the Father?
Am I consistently true to my knowledge of Christ?

Chocolate Chip Brookies

Make a brownie mix as directed. I like Ghirardelli.

Spray a 9″ x 13″ pan with baking spray. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until done. Sprinkle brownie with 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or Oreos.

Pat together 1/4- 3/8“ thick pieces of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to cover brownies.

(You won’t use it all.) Return to oven and bake an additional 16-18  minutes. Remove from oven. Cookie portion of bars will be soft, but will set up nicely.  Over baking them will result in crunchy cookie and dry brownie layers.

Let set. Cut. Share.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
½ cup soft butter
½ cup buttered flavored Crisco
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 XL eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, Crisco, and sugars with an electric mixer on medium high for 1 minute or until fluffy. Hand stir in eggs and vanilla; don’t overmix. Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until fully incorporated. Add 2-3 Tablespoons more flour for high elevation. Stir in chocolate chips.

Oreo option:

Set Oreos (either whole or cut into pieces) onto baked brownies. Gently press down. Then follow remaining instructions for Chocolate Chip Brookies.

Milk Chocolate Chip Option:
Set 6 1.55 ounce milk chocolate Hershey bars onto baked brownies. Use milk chocolate chips in Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. Then follow remaining instructions for Chocolate Chip Brookies.