From the Heart, Mrs. Faulkner's Birthday AND More Soccer

Good Wednesday morning!

In case you're counting, this is the THIRD short-and-sweet post in April. My goal was to "create" it in 45 minutes or less from start to finish, and so far, so good.

Let's get started!

FROM THE HEART - I wanted to share an act of kindness I read about this week that really made me think, think, think.

Here it is...

"My father, John, wanted to complete 90 acts of kindness in the year leading up to his 90th birthday. He wrote letters to friends, distributed chocolates and gave books to children. By his birthday, he had completed 116 kind acts. My dear father passed away in 2018. He liked to say, 'Spread a little kindness and reap a lot of love.'" I plan on doing just that in his honor."

I thought this would be a good idea for parents to suggest to their own children after they celebrate a birthday. For example, if the child is turning eight, after the party (but before they go to bed), sit down with them one-on-one and give them a "special" birthday card challenging them to perform eight acts of kindness sometime during the next week or so (family, friends, neighbors, etc.).

Depending on the child, you may need to help keep up with the acts of kindness, or maybe even give them ideas if they get stuck.

On a day that has totally been about the birthday child, what a sweet lesson to be able to teach them.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - And it isn't lost on me that I'm going to have a milestone birthday in a few months.

Sixty sounds like a lot, but if John can do 90 (and I'm assuming he was probably a little more tired than I am on a daily basis), maybe, just maybe, I could crank out some acts of kindness, too!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Mrs. Faulkner's Birthday - Mrs. Faulkner turned 89 this year, and she celebrated one weekend with her daughter's side of the family and one weekend with our side of the family.

We kept it pretty simple.

Bubbles and balls on the outside, and cake on the inside.

ANOTHER NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I know you might be wondering about the half-glazed birthday pound cake.

Some people like their pound cakes without glaze, so I was just covering all my bases.

RANDOMNESS #2 - More Soccer - I also know we talked about this in the last post, but here are two more pics of a really cute soccer player.

I hope you and yours have a very good week...

Hot, but good!

I'll be talking to you very soon.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. We went to McWane Center for the first time in a year this past weekend. We can talk about that a little in the next post.

Also, Melia told me I could Photo Shop her out since her eyes were closed...

But guess who doesn't know how to do that?

From the Heart, Whipping Cream Pound Cake AND Guess Who is Playing Soccer?

Good Thursday morn!

Here's another semi-short post. (I'm getting better, I think!)

From the Heart - The past few months, I have been trying to focus on my prayer life and ways to make it better.

After watching several different Bible Studies and sermons on the subject over the past few months, I made the following "go-by" for my daily prayer.

1. Start by reciting (and really listening to the words of) Psalm 23.

2. Pray for the things I am thankful for on that specific day.

3. Pray for any unconfessed sin I might have, and also, that I will recall anything I have done in the past which needs forgiveness.

4. Pray Romans 12:1-2.

5. Pray for wisdom and control over my tongue when I speak to people during the day (especially, but not limited to, Mike, Austin, Melia, Josh, Courtney, Roxie, Judith, RT, Eden, ME and Beverly).

6. Pray for help remembering the prayers God has already answered in my life over the years (be specific), and make me aware of divine appointments, open doors, people God may bring alongside me for a reason, calls to missions and ministries I can perform through the Holy Spirit... not by myself.

7. Pray for a desire to have an attitude like Christ... to have humility and submit to the will and Word of God.

8. Pray Ephesians 6:10-20 inserting my name in all the appropriate places.

I have blank pages at the end of each month in my journal, and I write down very specific prayer requests there. At the end of the month, I begin a new list. Some prayers carry over, and some will have already been answered.

This is what is working for me in my prayer life right now. I literally sit down with the above list in my hands before I start praying each day to help me stay focused, because, "SQUIRREL!"

I am so easily distracted even when totally alone in my house with no kids running around.

Please know, the fact I am 59 years-old and still such a work in progress is not lost on me. But also not lost on me... God loves me and always wants me to spend time with Him each and every day.

His mercies are new every morning, and all I have to do is go to Him in prayer.

Whipping Cream Pound Cake

This recipe came directly from the back of the Swans Down Cake Flour box. It is a really good pound cake, and I have made it several times. Also, it is delicious with or without the glaze.

You will need the following:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) salted butter, softened
3 cups white granulated sugar
6 large eggs (room temperature)
3 cups sifted Swans Down Cake Flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream

You will need the following for the Glaze (if desired):

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Butter and lightly flour a 10-inch tube pan.

3. In large mixing bowl, cream butter then gradually add sugar beating on medium speed until creamy.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

5. Add Swans Down Cake Flour and heavy whipping cream alternately beating on low speed until just blended.

6. Add vanilla.

7. Pour into prepared pan.

8. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long tester inserted in center of cake comes out completely clean. (Cover top of cake with a loose sheet of foil after first 20 minutes in oven so it will not get too dark.)

9. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

For the Glaze:

1. Combine powdered sugar and melted butter in medium size bowl.

2. Stir in 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.

3. Beat until smooth and creamy, adding more cream 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

RANDOMNESS - Guess Who is Playing Soccer? - It's been a skinny minute since we've done this, but Mike and I found ourselves on the sideline of a riveting soccer game a couple of Saturdays ago.

There were a lot of other athletes playing, but this little guy caught our eye!

I know I'm probably a little biased, but I definitely see us attending an Olympics soccer event in a few years.

I'll keep you posted!

I bet Sister and Mimi (and all the rest of us) will be wearing matching shirts in the stands!

And the cousins!

The cousins will definitely need/want/insist upon matching shirts, too!

Have a most wonderful "rest of the week" and weekend, and I will certainly try to do the same.

Take care, and I'll talk to you soon!

Sincerely,

The Ever-So-Short-and-Succinct Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Someone had a birthday this past weekend, and unlike last year, we were able to celebrate it with her.

No. It wasn't Eden, but she was definitely there to help blow out the candles...

And shoot people with her new bubble gun.

I'll share the rest of those pics next time.

From the Heart, Blog Linkage, Easter Egg Hunt AND Easter Day

Good Monday morning!

I am well aware we talked about the 2021 plan for A Simple Life in January.

To recap, I was going to try to post much shorter blog posts two or three or four times a month instead of the wordy/picture-heavy posts I have given you the last decade or so.

Turns out, it is very difficult for me NOT to write the long posts.

Very difficult indeed.

Please bear with me today while I try (very hard) to keep this April post UNDER 45,000 words and 52 photos!

Wish me luck!

From the Heart - Here are a few quotes from Ann Voskamp which I read today regarding Easter.

"On the night when Jesus was betrayed, He gave thanks. If Jesus can give thanks in that, you can give thanks in everything."

"If Jesus can dip from the same bowl as Judas, we can share the same table, the same space, with anyone, with grace."

Blog Linkage - If you have any time today, go to https://annvoskamp.com and read her blog post entitled, "WHY THIS IS THE STORY WE ALL HAVE TO GO AND SPEAK."

RANDOMNESS #1 - Easter Egg Hunt - Mike and I hosted our family Easter celebration last Sunday, and below you will find a few photos from that day.

Eden was all about the egg hunt this year. She needed a little assistance at the beginning, but by the end, she was pretty independent.

ME was much more interested in quality over quantity...

And in the end, an egg in each hand was all she really needed.

Some of the Egg Hiders were a little over-the-top when it came to finding the "perfect" hiding places for some of the eggs, but we decided to forgive them after they helped the tiny people retrieve them from tree branches and other ridiculously high places.

RT loves cars, so if anyone came across red plastic eggs (all of which contained cars), they knew he was the only one who could pick them up.

And Judith loves fingernail polish, so if anyone came across purple plastic eggs (all of which contained polish), they knew she was the only who could pick them up.

And so on, and so on.

Since ME was only interested in two empty plastic eggs (and her empty bucket)...

That was all she needed to be perfectly happy.

And just in case you were wondering, Eden was in the corner with her back turned opening her yellow eggs which contained yogurt-covered raisins.

Simple pleasures are truly the best.

RANDOMNESS #2 - Easter - Mike and I went to church with The Chick in Auburn this Easter Sunday, and the other kids sent me several Easter pics from their celebrations today...

And you'll find those below.

Austin and family...

Josh and family...

Mike and Roxie.

We did take a pic with all three of us, and our faces all looked pretty good. However, Roxie was wearing a floral print...

And Mike was wearing plaid...

And I was wearing a blouse covered in vertical stripes.

It was all I could do to sit beside them in church, much less post a photo of the three of us together.

* * * * * *

Okay. From beginning to end, it took 50 minutes to put this post together, so that is much better than I've done in the past.

I am going to try to finish the LONG post I've been working on the last three or four weeks which contains Maine stuff, Eden's second birthday party, etc., etc. before June!

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Someone's playing soccer, and I will try to get that SHORT post up in the VERY NEAR FUTURE!