She sat on the stool at my kitchen island and helped me make chicken chowder while sipping on sweet iced tea. I gave her an old butcher-block cutting board, a bunch of carrots and my favorite knife.

The iron skillet sizzles with onions, garlic and celery as the soup pot heats the chicken stock. Its steam rises up like worship on Sunday.

My friend chased the lemon in her glass with her finger, as her pregnant pause prepares to birth a new conversation.

Brushing back a renegade curl from her forehead she begins telling what is on her heart. “ I thought life would be different by now.”

“What were you expecting by this time?” My spoon begins to ladle the onion mixture into the chicken stock.

“More success as a writer than I have now. Every time I sit down to write, someone needs something. My writing is broken into a thousand little pieces. It feels like interruptions have crushed my creativity.” She lifts the lemon from her glass and bites it causing her face to twist into a knot.

Laughing, I wipe out the iron skillet and begin mixing the ingredients for cornbread.

As all the dishes cook, I motion her into my workroom. Showing her a bracelet I’m working on, I draw her attention to the cut pieces of silver scattered across the workbench. All of these cut pieces are involved in one bracelet.

At first, all of this looks like one big disaster. I work on it – walk away – work on it – walk away, until it finally begins to take the shape of a bracelet.

We walk back into the kitchen and I pour the hot soup into bowls.

Look at all those beautiful carrots you chopped up for this soup. On the chopping block it looked like a carrot massacre, but in the context of this soup they are morsels of rich flavor.

Interruptions, when you are trying to create your art can be frustrating. We need to try to slow a bit and ask God, “What are you showing me in this?”

Instead of a writing massacre, we may discover He is adding richness to our basic.

God wants more for us than a basic chicken-stock life.

God wants us to live life to the fullest because that is the life that brings us joy and Him Glory.

You can make a meal out of chicken broth and bread. But wouldn’t you rather have a meal with chicken, carrots, butter, cream and cornbread? If so, then it takes patience, and it takes things breaking into pieces before it can come together into something wonderful. 

“Oh Lord, how many are they works! In wisdom Thou hast made them all; The earth is full of Thy possessions. Psalm 104:24

Creamy Red Pepper (and chicken) Soup

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 (12-ounce) jars roasted red bell peppers preserved in water, drained

• 1 russet potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 16 (3/4-inch thick) baguette slices, cut into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• Breast meat from rotisserie chicken chopped fine. ( This is my addition to the recipe)

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, garlic, and thyme and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, bell peppers, potato, wine, and sugar. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Partially cover and simmer until the potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool the soup slightly.

Using an immersion hand blender, puree the soup in the pot until it is smooth. Alternately, working in batches, puree the soup in a regular blender, taking care while blending warm liquids. Add finely chopped chicken, Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and saute until they are crisp and golden, about 8 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Dollop a tablespoon of mascarpone in the center of each bowl and top with croutons. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

Recipe from the Food Network by Giada De Laurentiis

 

Hey! If you’re coming to Allume or interested in coming but are still on the fence, come join our Facebook community here.

Billowy gray fills the southern sky, blowing the hot breath of summer across the lake. Pinecones hit the metal roof then roll down onto the deck, causing everyone to jump, then laugh.

My daughter and I sit on the porch swing watching the storm roll past with all of its fury. Lightening crackles as thunder chases the wind. We tuck the old blanket around our hips as one-foot rocks us keeping rhythm with the song in my head,

“Sitting on the porch swing listening to the light rain…rockin with the rhythm of the rain”, by the Judds.

My daughter is my best friend, and I am hers. We have been seated on the first row of many of storms of life. Talking things through, at times with a great passion for opposing points of view. We can be brutally honest with each other. At times our words can draw emotional blood, yet we are fierce if anyone else speaks unkindly.

During most of her growing up life, I was a single mother. She saw how I put her needs before my own, and how hard I had to work to keep a roof over our head. She did her part as she learned to wash clothes and start supper for us. I was her first example of womanhood, showing her how to navigate life, though she has had several mentors other than me as she went through college and then her career.

A mother is our first mentor helping us navigate life.

Moms are the ones, who first teach us to make friends, understand the actions of others and set the example of a godly woman. Setting a perfect example in front of our children is not the most important example we give our daughters. Living authentically in front of them is more important.

Life is not easy or perfect. They need to see the good, but they need us to teach them how we handle our mistakes. They need to see what to do when a mean girl gossips about them or what to think when life is not fair.

Things, such as, when the coach’s daughter is chosen for All-Stars when your daughter has the better stats. Or when someone talks unkindly about her and she overhears. This is when you can share your stories. Let her know you have been through a similar situation. Let her know how you handled it – even if your response was not ideal.

Laugh and let her know that you might think about putting superglue on the cell phone of a gossip. Then set the example of praying for your enemies, and showing kindness when anger kindles.

We want to show our daughters the perfect woman, but they learn so much more when they see how we respond to our brokenness and the brokenness of those around us.

I have yelled, broken promises, used words that should not be used by a mom, forgotten to send money or was so late she was the last one waiting for her mom. But in it all, she knew without a doubt she was loved. She knew that no matter where I failed her, that I was trying my very best.

God gives the grace needed in parenting when love is the rule. 

In God’s own miraculous way, He is able to use our failures for good. I don’t know if I will ever cease to be amazed at the magnitude of His mercy, grace and redeeming power. He took a child bent on rebellion, and a mom soaked in the sorrows of single parenting, to create lives for His glory.

Mother and daughter by birth, forever friends by choice.

Heavy rain now pelts the tin roof, as her head rests on my shoulders and we gently swing.

This is how a conversation with Connie (not her real name), a friend who is also a mentor, began:

ME: I can’t meet tomorrow at 1:00. My husband called and said tomorrow we need to meet with the accountant. Can we move our meeting to another day?

Connie: Tomorrow is Tuesday; our meeting is on Wednesday at 1:00.

Me: Oh…okay then, I’ll see you Wednesday, the day after tomorrow, at 1:00 (blush)

Connie: Try slowing down and laughing a little! You’re doing a great job with all that is on your plate right now! Love you! See you Wednesday!

Sometimes, I feel like an order of hash browns from Waffle House – scattered, smothered, and fried!

Life seems to move faster and faster. There are so many wonderful opportunities for us and for our families. We want to experience all life has to give. But what if trying to do all things means you lose your focus and miss your goals.

The odds are that you will lose your joy if you continue to add everything without discretion regarding your schedule.

No Limits = No Focus = No Joy

Joy is the one thing we don’t want missing from our day. Giving ourselves time to slow-down and focus on the priorities first helps to keep our joy for life from slipping through our busy fingers.

Some days move at the speed of light, long before our first cup of java. We are zooming into shoes, grabbing Toaster Strudels for everyone and jumping in the car as the first beam of light makes its way over the horizon.

 

When I was a pre-teen, my dad had a string of prisms hanging from a tree outside our kitchen window. Sometimes, in the late afternoon, as mom was cooking supper, I would sit and wait for the afternoon light to engage with the prisms. When it did, small circles of rainbows would dance across the kitchen ceiling.

It was a Kaleidoscope of color that would have thrilled even Claude Monet. As I watched their beauty, I found my whole body relaxing for a few minutes. Homework, chores, being popular at school and whether or not I made cheerleading all vanished away. For just a few minutes I could focus on the beauty in the world around me.

“You know why light is so beautiful though the prism, don’t you?” my dad asks me one day.

“Because, when the light engages with the prism, the light slows down and you can see its true beauty.”

This is what a mentor does. She is a friend who walks beside you. One whose life experiences are just a little further down the road than yours. She encourages you and helps you see the beauty in you. She is a friend who prays with you and for you. Sometimes, she tells you the truth that only someone who is close and loves you can say. She helps you to slow down, and focus not just on the busy but also on the beauty that brings joy.

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“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20 

Is there a mentor in your life? If not, what would you look for in a mentor? What is a question you would want to ask a mentor?

In the vine,

Diane W. Bailey

www.dianewbailey.net