Trusting in the Lord

“Mom, What am I going to do?”
Our 16 year old daughter called stranded, alone, and thousands of miles from home.

The day we found a place to rent up north and were trying to desperately, quickly snatch up and sign a contract so we would be able to move just 4 days later was turning into chaos.

The entire time she’d been gone on her humanitarian trip I’d felt like she’d left us with this incredible gift but little did I know that she’d been given something ahead of time that would prove to be life-changing for her and her resilience in life.

Trust in the Lord

We took an absolutely amazing trip to the mountains and on one particular evening we were caught off guard by this incredible glow of the most spectacular display of light. The next day we drove home and walked through 5 more homes trying so hard to find a place to buy as time was winding down to leave the home we’d sold.

Sometime that evening Peyton texted me before heading off to a friend’s house,

“Mom, you should read sister @bonniehcordon talk on Trusting the Lord, it seems important.”

I did.
And it was.
The next night I had Peyton share it with the family along with an invitation to adopt the 3 areas mentioned to increase our trust:
1. Have meaningful prayers
2. Study the scriptures
3. Serve others

We decided to do each one every single day for the summer as a way to show the Lord that we trust Him to lead us to where we are to go.

I thought it would help us focus and actively participate in “waiting” on a blessing.
And it did.

But I didn’t know that it was to teach her to be ready to face a trial all on her own at 16.

Delayed

Peyton served for 2 weeks on a humanitarian trip and continued our 3 areas of focus. The day she was to return I woke up frustrated that we hadn’t found a home, a prayer I’d begged for an answer to so that she wouldn’t return home to the mess of life.

You all know how that went down and I was aware that even though it was the last hour, which it often is, that the blessing was granted. Not the way we wanted but it felt guided and right.

And then my phone started going off.
Delay afte

VegetableRecipes.com is a brand new website dedicated to everything vegetables! Why? Because vegetables don’t have to be boring!

If you’ve been cooking with me for any length of time at all, you’ve likely caught on to just how much I enjoy food. I created Barefeet in the Kitchen 11 years ago to share our favorite recipes with family and friends. Along the way, I quickly discovered that sharing recipes online is a whole lot of fun.

This leads me to today’s news. I love sharing recipes with you so much that I started a brand new website dedicated to everything vegetables – VegetableRecipes.com. Why start a brand new site that’s all about vegetables? Because vegetables don’t have to be boring and I’ve grown to truly love them.

Never fear, I’ll still be here sharing the recipes we love, but I’m also there sharing a new recipe every single weekday!

On VegetableRecipes.com, you’ll find recipes for meat lovers, as well as an abundance of vegetarian options. Every recipe on the new site features at least one vegetable, though some recipes feature many more.

Pan Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan is a classic cheese and broccoli combination that is elevated with a sweet note from a sprinkling of brown sugar.

This veggie spaghetti is delicious when made both with or without any meat. My own preference is fully loaded with vegetables without any meat needed.

I’m certain it won’t surprise you to hear that my guys enjoy this pasta best with a pound of hot sausage or ground beef added to the mix. If you prefer the vegetarian option, it’s delicious without a b

Author and content creator Louise Pentland joins Happiful's podcast to talk about adulting, boundaries and grief

Author of Time After Time Louise Pentland brings a beautiful energy to the opening episode of our new season of I am. I have, as well as a ton of talk about continuing to learn, boundaries, her thoughts on grief and what she hopes the future will look like…

Our full interview with Louise can be read in Issue 66 of Happiful Magazine.
Find out more about getting your copy

Louise on

Learning

Just when I think I've got the knack of things, whether that's Motherhood, my job, friendships or just adulting, I learn something new or I learn that I don't know something, because you don't know what you don't know.

In terms of relationships, I'm still learning that the impacts of those, how they can affect you, how things you've said to people can affect you too and how to make peace with that, as well as how to validate your children's feelings.

Sharing some tips on whether you should do strength or cardio first in your workout routine. 

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a great morning and hope you enjoyed the long weekend! I’m already counting down the days until the next school break. Waking up early is not my cup of tea lol.

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about strength vs.cardio and which one you should do first in your routine. There are so many different types of exercise routines, and they offer different benefits for the body (and mind!). Doing an combination of strength and cardio can help you acheive your body composition and fitness goals, and knowing how to structure these in your routine can help you maximize the benefits. Deciding which one to do first depends on your fitness goals and other factors.

In today’s post, I’m sharing tips on how to decide which one to do first!

Should I do strength or cardio first?

A balanced fitness plan includes strength and cardio components, as well as mobility and rest. You also want to make sure that you’re alternating workout intensities throughout the week. For example, if you have a really hard cardio day, follow this with an easier day or rest. How much cardio and strength training you do in your weekly routine depends on your current fitness level, goals, unique factors (like age, health issues, injuries, medications, etc.). While I am a certified personal trainer and women’s fitness specialist, please remember that I’m not a doctor. Talk to your doctor before making any fitness changes and honor your body.

Also, remember that whenever you start something new in your routine, you will likely be sore, so DON’T push it too hard. This is why I usually have beginning training clients start with bodyweight-only or super light weights; they’re going to be sore no matter what.

Benefits Of Cardio After Weights

For body recomposition:

I typically recommend cardio after strength training if building muscle is the priority.  Typically women don’t understand that if you’re looking for a more “toned” look, you need to put on muscle. For this reason, we’ll emphasize strength training (progressive training and phased programming for optimal results), and sprinkle cardio in, but not too much.

For hormonal considerations:

Also, many of the women I work with are dealing with hormone imbalances, often from years of stress, under-eating, and overexercising. Workouts can be an extra stressor on the body, especially intense cardio. So, we’ll focus more on strength training and stick to daily walks until their energy levels return and inflammation is down.

Weights first helps to prepare the body for cardio

Doing strength first can help the body prepare for more explosive cardio movements, as you’re often working the joints through full range of motion and warming up the muscles. It can be helpful to mimic some of the upcoming cardio movements during your strength training routine.

Increased metabolism through higher muscle density:

Muscle tissue is “hungrier” than fat, which means it burns more calories at rest. When you’re focused on muscle-building, you may not s

Cabbage Soup with Sausage is loaded with great flavors and it’s filled with far more vegetables and meat than broth. Today, I’m giving you the first new soup recipe for the fall and I couldn’t be more excited about it–Italian White Bean, Cabbage, and Sausage Soup.

Updated to add: I’ve made this soup countless times over the past few years and it’s a favorite freezer meal now too.

When I first made this, we were living in the desert and that meant cranking the a/c to really enjoy a bowl of soup. Now? Living in Ohio as the weather begins cooling off? Soup is a beautiful way to warm up at dinner time!

Cabbage Soup with Sausage

Best of all, this soup comes together in under 30 minutes. I am so very ready for cooler weather and this soup represents my wishful thinking for more of the rain that we were lucky enough to see here in the Arizona desert last week.

This was a dinner that I pulled together without any advance planning at all. (The ingredients were about all we had in the house after a couple of weeks of travel!)

All it takes is browning some sausage, adding broth, beans, cabbage and simmering it all together. Onions, tomatoes, and lots of Italian herbs and spices add the finishing touches.

Italian White Bean and Sausage Soup is ideal for a weeknight meal and also makes enough that you’re likely to have leftovers for lunch the next day!

I love adding sausage to my soups. It adds a terrific flavor and holds up very nicely both for leftovers and for soups stashed in the freezer.

This soup is so hearty that it’s almost more of a stew. This is plenty filling enough for a full meal on its own, especially served with a side of crusty Italian Bread or soup crackers.

When you’re feeding a crowd, cabbage and sausage soups are an economical choice, too. Cabbage is one of the least expensive vegetables per pound and sausage can be found at a bargain, too.

Cabbage and Sausage Soup

You can use either regular breakfast sausage or a spicier variety of sausage to make this soup recipe. I’ve used both depending on what I have on hand and it turned out well both ways. If you’re a spice lover, using hot sausage adds a kick you’re sure to love!

The Italian white beans add a lovely element of texture and flavor to the sausage soup with cabbage. White beans, navy beans and Cannellini beans all work beautifully in the soup. I enjoy that they don’t get mushy but the creaminess contrasts well with the bits of sausage and cabbage.

The first time I made this soup it turned out so w