My Living Proof -- Lisa King

I find great strength from women of amazing faith. Lisa King is one of those women whom I admire and love. I have followed her blog for quite some time now, and I think she is glorious. Her story of courage is phenomenal. You can learn more about Lisa on her blog: www.lisajking.blogspot.com. She spoke at a Time Out for Women, and I want to share her video, so you can also gain strength from this courageous woman. Thanks for sharing your light, Lisa!


My Living Proof Life - Lisa King from Time Out for Women on Vimeo.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Brownies

This time of year I start craving pumpkin. There is just something about the autumn season that causes me to stop and smell the pumpkin spice. What a wonderful spice pumpkin adds to life. I love this time of year. 

I do not recall enjoying pumpkin treats as a child. Sure there was pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, but the texture of the pie was always a deterrent as a child. It was just too mushy. Pumpkin pie was never a favorite; if I had a choice, I would choose something else, like chocolate. 

But tastebuds change with time. 

I did not enjoy pumpkin flavoring as a child, but now -- it is one of my favorites! 

I remember the moment the change in my tastebuds occurred. 

It was more than 10 years ago. A friend knocked on my door, she stood with arms outstretched, with an offering of freshly baked chocolate chip pumpkin bread. I remember thinking it seemed an odd combination -- pumpkin and chocolate? 

Say what?  

Why taint chocolate in such a cruel way? For shame. 

I was a brave soul, and I did not want to waste my friend's kind efforts, so I gave it a try. Pumpkin bread and chocolate chips... Wow! I can still recall how amazing the bread tasted. In that moment, I became converted to the glories of cooking with pumpkin. (I never had to be converted to chocolate, it has alway run deeply through my veins, entwined in the fabric of my DNA.) 

The combination of pumpkin and chocolate became a new favorite of mine. Since that time, I have been seeking out new ways to use the 2 perfect companion ingredients. Just yesterday, I found a new way... 

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Brownies. 

Yeah, I know. 

Triple wow. 

So, I am sure there are a variety of ways to pull off this recipe. I chose to use a brownie mix, just for ease and convenience, as well as a can of pre-made frosting. If I were to really do it right, I should have made homemade brownies, and homemade cream cheese frosting. The pumpkin portion was from scratch, so I was not completely lazy. 

First I started by making the batter for pumpkin brownies. This is a recipe that can stand on its own, if you just want pumpkin without the chocolate. It is pretty quick and simple to make.

Pumpkin Brownie Recipe

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, I stirred the pumpkin, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended. I then combined the dry ingredients, and stirred together with the pumpkin mixture.

I set the oven to 350. The brownies took about 30 minutes to cook. I used an 11x15 pan, but I think I could have used a full cookie sheet and had a good result.

Once the pumpkin brownie mixture was ready, I then whipped out another bowl, and quickly followed the directions on the chocolate brownie mix box.

Super easy, super fast.

I then poured the two mixtures into a pan lined with foil and cooking spray. I used a knife to swirl the two batters together. It was very therapeutic, like running a rake through a Zen rock garden.

 I could have used a larger pan, the brownies were a bit more like cake than brownies.

I let the cake brownies cool, and then I removed it by lifting the foil onto the counter. I then grabbed my can of cream cheese frosting and covered the top, which was also therapeutic.

I cut the brownies, and smiled as I saw the inside of my beautiful creation. Besides being a little thick, it was just what I was hoping for. I sprinkled a bit of cinnamon sugar on top, just because.

There are a few things I will do differently next time, but the attempt at Pumpkin Brownies was a lovely success. The children gobbled them up, and it was agreed that they were absolutely delicious!

Inviting Jesus into Our Home

I love Jesus. I also have a great desire to teach my children to love Jesus. It is not just the desire of my heart, but it is my responsibility as a mother to teach them the things that they need to know, so they can return to Heavenly Father. There is nothing I want more than to have my children love the Lord, and honor Him throughout their lives and into eternity. I cannot force them to love the Lord, but I can teach them His ways, so they can choose for themselves if they will listen to His voice, and do His will.

We read from The Book of Mormon every night, and we study the Bible as well. It has been routine since Charles and I got married. Recently, I had this idea that we should add some visual learning to our routine, and we started watching the New Testament Bible videos that are all about the Life of Christ. We read from the scriptures, and then we show one of the videos each night before bed. We watch using youtube on the TV, iPad, or even my phone if we are in a hurry to sleep. We have been doing this for a few weeks, and have really enjoyed it.

I have often found myself in tears as I watch the depiction of the Savior's life. The more I watch the videos, the more I feel a strong and unwavering love for Him. I can tell it is having an affect on my children as well. Though all the videos are wonderful, the kids have been the most captivated by his Death and Resurrection. They all observed that those are the best videos. I believe it is the Spirit whispering to them the truth that Jesus did in fact die for us, so we can live again. The reality of the Resurrection is extremely meaningful and important to our family.

Because of Jesus, we will be with Charles again.

I know it is true. I know it.

There is a reason I decided to watch these videos as a family everyday. A few weeks ago, I got a picture of Jesus walking on water for my room. When I showed it to my 8 year old, he said, "Jesus can walk on water?" I was a bit shocked that he did not know the story of Jesus walking on water. It caused me to wonder what else I have not taught my children about the miracles of Jesus. Sure they are taught lessons in church at Primary, but the real teaching takes place in the home, and I realized I can do better.

I realized that I must do better.

It is harder as you have more children to make sure the younger ones are being fed the spiritual nourishment that they need. When my older children were just babies, I would sit with them and teach them the stories of Jesus, and focus on those things a lot -- I had all the time in the world to do just that. Now, as there are more children, and a greater flurry of activity, life takes on a different pace. But that is no excuse for slipping up on the things that are of the most worth! It is my calling and responsibility as a mother to teach my children about the Life of Christ.

I can do better. I can take my efforts up a notch.

We have been reading from the scriptures together daily, but for some in my family, visual lessons are so much more powerful and easy to internalize. I am amongst those in that visual learning group. I can learn from straight-up reading, but if I see something depicted visually, with inspirational music -- then the Spirit can pierce my heart in a very quick and powerful way.

I remember when I was just a young child, I watched a video of Joseph Smith's First Vision in primary. It was in that moment -- a moment I will never forget -- that I gained my testimony that he was a Prophet of God. The simple video pierced my heart in a way no amount of written words could have. I knew it was true, I felt it in my soul. It was like remembering something I already knew.

Visual learning is powerful.

These videos about the Life of Christ can be life-changing. They have been life-changing for me!

I have thoroughly enjoyed inviting Jesus into our home in this new way. We have had some really wonderful family discussions, as the videos have sparked questions and learning for all of us, myself included. I love it when my children answer my questions, and I love it when they make observations that I never considered before.

I realize that even though I am their mother and their teacher, they seem to have come prewired with individual faith and understanding, beyond what I have taught them. It is a beautiful thing to observe.  It has been really precious to see them strengthen their love of Jesus.

I am really grateful for these inspired videos that have brought us all closer to our Savior.

For the link to the Bible videos click : HERE 

September Sunday Snapshots

I took the children and my camera out for a walk. The leaves are just starting to change colors, and it is a beautiful time of year to be outside. I just love it. Here are some images from our Sunday evening together as a family, enjoying God's creations. We sure have a beautiful world to live on. I am very grateful for the beauties of this life.