Our Dooley Adventure!: May 2012

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Love' in the Kitchen

For the first few months of marriage many of our meals were eaten in Bethany's cafeteria as a part of our work package here at the College. But in just these past 2 weeks our status has changed and we no longer receive meals... so that has given me the blessed opportunity to become more active in our own kitchen. Really, it is the first time that I have had to plan, buy, prepare, and cook all of our meals! Since leaving home (many years ago) I have always been apart of a school or program that provided meals, or someone else was cooking and I assisted, or I shared the responsibility with other women. So I was a bit nervous at first!

Would I be a good cook?
Could I plan meals well?
Would Curtis enjoy my cooking?

Well, I have to admit... Now, I absolutely love it! I've got a system down that I really enjoy and I'm excited about.This system has eliminated so much stress because I am not haunted by the daily question, "What are we going to have for dinner tonight?" This question can stress me out when I don't know and am unprepared with the right ingredients that I need. For me, having a plan and system eliminates most of the stress associate with cooking so that I can enjoy and have fun with it.

Before the week starts, I plan the meals for the week and then make a separate list of all the ingredients that we need. The meal schedule goes up on the fridge so that we know what's coming up for each day. I think Curtis enjoys knowing what's next for meals and I enjoy watching him get excited when he looks at the schedule to discover that I am making Barbecue chicken in the crock pot that night! :)

I have also decided to make my own personal cook book full of recipes that I have tried to make and we love to eat. I search my recipes online, in cook books and through the recommendations of others. After eating the meal Curtis and I decide whether it is keeper or not. If so, then I set it aside to go into my own personal cook book, which I will title "Love'in the Kitchen ~ All meals made with love".

Why that title? Because I believe that part of my ministry as a wife and some-day mother is to love my family by cooking in the kitchen. Some of my fondest, most comforting childhood memories were when I came home from school knowing that my mom had a home cooked meal for me. It meant so much knowing that she was waiting for me at home and cooking. I could feel her love for me and desire to provide healthy, wholesome food through her home cooked meals. So my desire is to express that same kind of love for my husband and future children through good, healthy, wholesome home cooked meals!

My goal is to have my own personal cook book, full of recipes that we know and love, by the time we have children. No, we are not planning on having children in the very near future (so there is no particular rush) but I would like to start it now. That way, when a few kids come along down the road I have a plethora of recipes to choose from, gathered in one source, and easy to choose from. I suspect that will personally eliminate a lot of stress from the chore of cooking with children by making it easier to choose recipes! ... at least that is my hope!

And with this title ~ Every time I pick up my cook book to seach for a meal to make for my family... I will remember that cooking in the kitchen is not just a daily chore but a ministry and expression of love for my family!

I am so excited!

* Wow, I never thought I would say that about a cook book, but I guess marriage changes you :)

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

What's next?

Curtis & I are working on 5 months of marriage... and it has been AMAZING! I have no regrets, no hesitations, and no doubts about the decisions we have made in getting married, moving to Minnesota and working in our current rolls at Bethany College of Missions. We have enjoyed these past 5 months as newlyweds and have set a great foundation for the rest of our marriage. We don't want to rush this season to the slightest degree. Instead, we want to soak up every single day yet, because both Curtis & I are planners :) ,we can't help but wonder, "What's next?"

It is so exciting to be at the beginning of our life together and wonder...
Where will God lead us?
What will we accomplish together?
Where are all the places we will go in the world?
So many questions ... and so many dreams to live out!!!

It's exciting!

Just in the past month or so we have begun to ask ourselves some of these same questions and weren't getting many answers. So we decided to get away from Bethany campus for an extended weekend to pray, seek the Lord, relax, and have some fun!

A few weeks ago, we packed up the car and headed to Wisconsin Dells
where we enjoyed the weekend at Chula Vista water park.

We had a blast together, spending about 8 hours each day going down extreme water slides, floating down their "Crazy- river" (instead of lazy-river) and livin' up the many water attractions. In the evenings we could come together and really talk about the specific dreams that we have on our hearts to do in life, family and ministry. We even took some time to separetely write down all of our dreams, desires, callings, etc so to make them simple and clear. Afterwards, we came together to share them!

It was amazing to see how our dreams and desires complemented each others in so many ways!

Through that weekend of retreat, we came to conclusion that we will not be staying at/with Bethany International long-term. After writing out our dreams and desires we realized that they can not be accomplished here, in this place, and with this ministry. Our time at Bethany will be only for a season, to prepare us for what God has next around the corner. So we set a time in the near future for us to move on and begin stepping into our dreams. By the end of this year, we will be leaving Bethany and moving on.

Where?
you may ask...

We don't know!
There is a bend in the road ahead.
We know that it leads away from Bethany but we're not sure where it leads next.