Monday, October 6, 2014

Dear Readers - Heartfelt Housewives Blog


Dear readers,

   Recently three dear christian friends of mine published a blog called Heartfelt Housewives. Please take a few minutes to check it out! They are going to be posting DIY projects, recipes, photography, housewife wisdom and many other things, and I'll be writing a post as a guest blogger soon, so check back regularly! 


Aren't they beautiful? :)


Madam Mocha

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Chex Mix Ideas











 There are so many Chex mix recipes out there, but a few years ago, my mom found this one. It's a lemon white chocolate Chex mix! I've been making variations ever since. It makes a great snack to carry along on pick-nicks, to take to a party, or to work because it doesn't have to be refrigerated, it doesn't melt in hot weather, and the best part about it, it only takes a few minutes to make!

Ingredients
Original recipe makes 12 cups
  • 9 cups Rice Chex® cereal
  • 1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine
  • 4 teaspoons grated lemon peel
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
In 1-quart microwaveable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container

   Of course there are a million variations to this recipe. My very favorite is to substitute the lemon for some peanut butter and add MnM's and pretzles! This makes a great valentines snack with the white Chexs and pink and white MnM's too. And these are just as good with regular milk chocolate.

 Wow, my stomach is growling at me just thinking about it! Let me know in the comments how you like it, and share your favorite Chex recipe with us!
-Madam Mocha

Monday, February 17, 2014

Inspiring and Powerful Pro-Life Message

  This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life... -Deuteronomy 30:19

In 6 short minutes you are going to see one of the most powerful sermons preached vibrant with the meaning of Beautiful Womanhood. This is the loving heart of a father and mother knit together in unity and eternal purpose. This is the meaning of life, it’s worth, a value no longer understood. This is faith and trust in the sovereign will of God. This is courage, humble resolve, perseverance, obedience sacrifice that is not of this world.  This is selflessness sacrifice and entering into the suffering of Christ. This is understanding eternity and loving not your life even unto death. This is the meaning of pro-life. -LAF (http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com/)

I thought I'd share this amazing message with my fellow bloggers. Be sure to pin, and share this one and spread the message of the Lords love for the unborn!

Madam Mocha

Sunday, February 16, 2014

10 Men Christian Women Should Never Marry

          



   Valentines Day is over, the chocolate and candy is on sale and singles still on the market are wondering if they’ll forever be on the shelf. Your dad just bought a vase of flowers for your mom, and you start day dreaming about how happy you'll be one day when you have a special someone to buy you red roses. The sense of urgency to marry peaks on days like valentines leaving you feeling lonely. But the after affects of another solo Valentine’s Day don’t always influence us for the better. Here’s caring word of caution from J. Lee Grady to counteract that loneliness.


 My wife and I raised four daughters—without shotguns in the house!—and three of them have already married. We love our sons-in-law, and it’s obvious God handpicked each of them to match our daughters’ temperaments and personality.
I have always believed God is in the matchmaking business. If He can do it for my daughters, He can do it for you.
Today I have several single female friends who would very much like to find the right guy. Some tell me the pickings are slim at their church, so they have ventured into the world of online dating. Others have thrown up their hands in despair, wondering if there are any decent Christian guys left anywhere. They’ve begun to wonder if they should lower their standards in order to find a mate.
My advice stands: Don't settle for less than God's best. Too many Christian women today have ended up with an Ishmael because impatience pushed them into an unhappy marriage. Please take my fatherly advice: You are much better off single than with the wrong guy!
Speaking of “wrong guys,” here are the top 10 men you should avoid when looking for a husband:

1. The unbeliever. Please write 2 Corinthians 6:14 on a Post-it note and tack it on your computer at work. It says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (NASB). This is not an outdated religious rule. It is the Word of God for you today.
Don’t allow a man’s charm, looks or financial success (or his willingness to go to church with you) push you to compromise what you know is right. “Missionary dating” is never a wise strategy. If the guy is not a born-again Christian, scratch him off your list. He’s not right for you. I’ve yet to meet a Christian woman who didn’t regret marrying an unbeliever.
2. The liar. If you discover that the man you are dating has lied to you about his past or that he’s always covering his tracks to hide his secrets from you, run for the nearest exit. Marriage must be built on a foundation of trust. If he can’t be truthful, break up now before he bamboozles you with an even bigger deception.
3. The playboy. I wish I could say that if you meet a nice guy at church, you can assume he’s living in sexual purity. But that’s not the case today. I’ve heard horror stories about single guys who serve on the worship team on Sunday but act like Casanovas during the week. If you marry a guy who was sleeping around before your wedding, you can be sure he will be sleeping around after your wedding.
4. The deadbeat. There are many solid Christian men who experienced marital failure years ago. Since their divorce, they have experienced the Holy Spirit’s restoration, and now they want to remarry. Second marriages can be very happy. But if you find out that the man you are dating hasn’t been caring for his children from a previous marriage, you have just exposed a fatal flaw. Any man who will not pay for his past mistakes or support children from a previous marriage is not going to treat you responsibly.
5. The addict. Churchgoing men who have addictions to alcohol or drugs have learned to hide their problems—but you don’t want to wait until your honeymoon to find out that he’s a boozer. Never marry a man who refuses to get help for his addiction. Insist that he get professional help and walk away. And don’t get into a codependent relationship in which he claims he needs you to stay sober. You can’t fix him.
6. The bum. I have a female friend who realized after she married her boyfriend that he had no plans to find steady work. He had devised a great strategy: He stayed home all day and played video games while his professional wife worked and paid all the bills. The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians, “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2 Thess. 3:10). The same rule applies here: If a man is not willing to work, he doesn’t deserve to marry you.
7. The narcissist. I sincerely hope you can find a guy who is handsome. But be careful: If your boyfriend spends six hours a day at the gym and regularly posts closeups of his biceps on Facebook, you have a problem. Do not fall for a self-absorbed guy. He might be cute, but a man who is infatuated with his appearance and his own needs will never be able to love you sacrificially, like Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25). The man who is always looking at himself in the mirror will never notice you.
8. The abuser. Men with abusive tendencies can’t control their anger when it boils over. If the guy you are dating has a tendency to fly off the handle, either at you or others, don’t be tempted to rationalize his behavior. He has a problem, and if you marry him you will have to navigate his minefield every day to avoid triggering another outburst. Angry men hurt women—verbally and sometimes physically. Find a man who is gentle.
9. The man-child. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m suspicious of a guy who still lives with his parents at age 35. If his mother is still doing his cooking, cleaning and ironing at that age, you can be sure he’s stuck in an emotional time warp. You are asking for trouble if you think you can be a wife to a guy who hasn’t grown up. Back away and, as a friend, encourage him to find a mentor who can help him mature.
10. The control freak. Some Christian guys today believe marriage is about male superiority. They may quote Scripture and sound super-spiritual, but behind the façade of husbandly authority is deep insecurity and pride that can morph into spiritual abuse. First Peter 3:7 commands husbands to treat their wives as equals. If the man you are dating talks down to you, makes demeaning comments about women or seems to squelch your spiritual gifts, back away now. He is on a power trip. Women who marry religious control freaks often end up in a nightmare of depression.

If you are a woman of God, don’t sell your spiritual birthright by marrying a guy who doesn’t deserve you. Your smartest decision in life is to wait for a man who is sold out to Jesus.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of the Mordecai Project (themordecaiproject.org). You can follow him on Twitter at @leegrady. He is the author of 10 Lies Men Believe and other books.

Happy hunting, ladies! ;)
Madam Mocha

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas Hot Chocolate Gift Jars!


     MERRY CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!!! I'm so excited about the holiday season! Christmas is just around the corner, and some of us (including me) don't have all our gifts ready to be dispersed yet. I was on the way to town the other day to pick up some new knobs for my dresser, when I remembered that I had seen this idea on Pinterest recently and had noted that I wanted to try it this year. I did a little price checking while I was in the store, and found that I could do a dozen of these adorable little jars for about $30-$40 dollars. I picked up some wide mouthed, quart sized mason jars(which they annoyingly sold separately, so I couldn't use my %40 coupon on the case), some ribbon and matching Christmas crafting paper for the lids. When I went to the grocery store, I got two giant hot chocolate cans, a bag of marshmallows, three bags of Hersey's kisses(which I pulverized in the food processor). On the way to the checkout, I saw a box of a dozen beautiful candy canes, which I added to the jars, and really made them look special! I put all the jars together in about an hour or two.



   I ended up giving the dozen to ladies at our church, and they all loved them! What a pretty, affordable, and easy gift to give out to family and friends!

Madam Mocha