Trista Laborn's Blog, page 8

Broken

Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Sharing my story of brokenness is hard. Its hard because when I think back, old feelings start to comeback and it’s not always a joyful place I like to talk about, but because its a story of how I came to know the Lord and experienced His goodness, its a testimony of brokeness I don’t mind sharing multiple times.

Broken

I didn’t grow up going to church. I knew there was a God but didn’t know who was real. I met my husband while I was in college, living on my own and working 2 jobs… I felt like I was living the lifestyle. When I met my husband, he was a young Marine, living in the barracks, living his own life. A year later after travel on the grey hound bus to spend time with him, I soon found out I was pregnant and I felt like my life was over.

Now that I’m pregnant I had to stop going to school, stop working and live with my mom, in Raleigh-Durham area, NC, until the babies we’re born and It was a month later I would find out I was having twins. During this time, I feel into a great depression (without realizing it), I would just be home. At the time, I didn’t know the relationship of my husband and I, he went on a 6 month deployment when I found out I was pregnant and it was hard not being able to speak to him as much as I wanted to. We would email back and forth.

Soon, the babies we’re born and this began a new Journey of being a new mom… I had no clue what I was doing. While I had on the job training of being a mother, I would watch different different preachers such as Joyce Meyer, TDJakes, Joel Osteen and so on. I was being woed by God, I was intrigued by the stories some of these pastor would share and would want to experience that for myself.

The time came, when my husband came back from Deployment and we decided that we would live together and work things out. So when he came back from deployment, the twins and I flew to South Carolina to start my Journey as a new wife, mom and everything in between. I thought we would have a nice life together (for some reason) but It didn’t happen that way. We both had a rude awakening of learning each others, likes and dislikes. I came into the marriage with no skills as a mom or a wife and didn’t know what I was getting into, as a military spouse. I was in a new a new area, a new home, starting a life. I noticed he was working long hours, deploying every 5 minutes and I felt alone most of time.

There was a breaking point in our marriage and felt like we should start going to church together. We went to a great church where they started to love on us and this is where I experienced God. I felt like it was time for me to get to know the God of the bible and see how real He is. When I decided to accept God into my heart and life I remember telling God that I want to know that He’s real, that I was trusting Him. I believe since I said those words, God hasn’t stop showing me and is with me every step of the way in my life.

About the Album

During my time of brokness I would write down, what I was feeling in a Journal. The hurt, pain and loneliness I was feeling with two children, I didn’t know how to take care of. Matt Redman’s new song, Gracefully Broken hits home, because I know the feeling too well. Matt Redman teamed up with several of his worship-artist friends for this album, first releasing the track “Gracefully Broken (feat. Tasha Cobbs Leonard).” Tasha Cobbs Leonard also released her own version of this song on the same day! The album also features Kierra Sheard, Guvna B, Madison Cunningham, and Kim Walker-Smith.

The lyrics says:

“Here I am, God

Arms wide open

Pouring out my life

Gracefully broken

My heart stands in awe of Your name

Your mighty love stands strong to the end

You will fulfill Your purpose for me

You won’t forsake me, You will be with me”

Since that day, I know these lyrics to be true. I learned how much I LOVE being a mother and can now encourage other moms and share with others God’s goodness. My husband and I are in a better place then we we’re back then and been married for over 11 years now and still going strong.

Interested in getting a CD, here is the link for more information:

Buy Link: http://capcmg.me/GlorySong?IQid=flyby

Here is more on the Matt Redman’s song story of Gracefully Broken:

The post Broken appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

My Heritage DNA Results

I’ve always wanted to know more about my heritage, Where my roots, stem from… (see what I did there?!)

I grew up in New York City. I was born in Brooklyn, NY but moved to the Bronx. My mother is from Brooklyn. I grew up with my father not in the picture, when I was a child, my father was caught up in drugs and the last thing I know is that He’s in Jail. I grew up with mostly knowing distant relatives. Such as my great grandmother from my grandfather side (My Mother’s father).

My Mother grew up in brooklyn, knowing her mother and father but at a young age of between 7-9 her mom died and was left with her father. By this time, she knew very little of her mom side. She knew of her grandmother and found out that she has a half sister (Very Long story). Her father at this point was an alcoholic and eventually died of cancer between the age of 15-16. My mom was being cared for my a babysitter, that would come by and take care of her, while her father was sick. So this babysitter became her guardian and I grew up knowing her as grandma. She died when I was 12.

Here’s a little bit of prediction of what I know. I know I have roots in Africa (probably Nigeria) but don’t know exactly where. I also, knew I may be mixed with Irish, due to my maiden being collins and the origin is from Ireland.

So, I share this story with you, to share, the background of why I have no idea what my heritage is and how this was such a God blessing for me. Having the opportunity to know my Heritage will answer so many questions for me and I fill in the gaps in my life. Below is a video of my results you can watch.

I was shocked to find out, Greek and Amazonian, that was a little shocking for me.

 

The post My Heritage DNA Results appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

How to overcome discouragement

Lately, I’ve been fighting being discouraged. I’m sharing some tips on how to overcome discouragement.

Since Joining my new church, I recently accepted the position as the co-coordinator of MOPS at my church. If you haven’t heard of Mops, it stands for Mother’s of Preschoolers, it’s an organization of women around the world, a sisterhood of women, who, encourage one another, because raising humans is beautiful and hard, and having each other to lean on is life-giving. Connecting moms all over the community, who meet twice a month, together to laugh, cry and embrace the journey of being a mom. It is such an awesome group of women.

Taking on this position has challenged me, every way possible and there been many times, I’ve wanted to quit. Lately, I’ve been snappy and that’s not like me. I’m always joyful and excited to do God’s work but I’ve been more worried about getting things done and God not coming to my rescue. When that is a very lie from the pit of hell! God has always come through, He is ALWAYS faithful.

God is always faithful!
Click To Tweet

My snappiness and not trusting God has come from my lack of putting in time in God’s presence. Demonstrating my trust in God is by sitting quietly in His presence. Putting aside all that is waiting to be done for the day and refusing to worry about anything. Sitting in God’s presence strengths me and prepares me to face whatever the day will bring.

This act of faith, drawing near to God and waiting before working is the most effective way to resist evil. This world is complex and over stimulating that you can easily lose your sense of direction. Doing countless unnecessary activities will dissipate your energy, but when you spend time with God, He restores your sense of direction. As we look to God for guidance, he will enable us to do less and accomplish more! 

Hebrews 11:3 “By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created…
Click To Tweet

Overcome Discouragement

1. Focus your mind on God

In Psalm 16:8, it says “I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” In the Message version it simply says… “Day and night I’ll stick with God, I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.” I LOVE it. It shows the goodness of God and focusing my mind on God is the best thing I can do it, instead of focusing on the worry of whats not working. Works EVERY TIME!

2. Praise & Worship

Singing about the goodness of God gets me in God’s presence EVERY TIME. This is pretty much my Go to, whenever I’m discourage there’s a song called “Even if” and its by Mercyme, they sing about being in so much hurt and pain and in the midst of that, God can save us with His mighty hand but even if He don’t, my hope is still in God. He is mighty to do anything. I encourage you to listen to the song, it’s encouraging.

 

 

3. Know you will have to fight

Sigh… I have to honestly say I forget this. I forget the enemy wants to take me down and make things hard for me. Whenever you’re doing things for God, the enemy is not happy, with the change you are about to do. Giving God the glory and helping people change their lives.  In 1 peter 5:8, it says… “Be alert, be on the watch! your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” The scripture says Be alert! As I stated earlier I forget this. I get so caught up that I forget I’m even in a war.

4. Trials & tribulations strengthen you

Sometimes, when you step into a new season, you have opportunities to know God at a deeper level, you will learn new things about your self and discover God’s blessings along the way. Trials and Tribulations in life is there to strengthen your muscles to get you stronger. In James it says, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” This is James 1:2-4 the message version.

5. Surround yourself with encouraging friends

It’s important to surround yourself around like-minded friends that can encourage you along the way and help you mature.  I have a friend, that I’m running our MOPS group with and she is constantly encouraging me and see’s things in me that I may have over looked. In Hebrews 10:24(amp), it says… “and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds…” We encourage one another along this unfamiliar Journey and resting in the fact that God has us. He is faithful and is always there.

If you don’t know anyone, Consider joining your local MOPS (Mother’s of Preschoolers) group. there are groups all over the world. All you have to do is put in your zip code and find one near you and connect. 

 

The post How to overcome discouragement appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

5 Back to school essential oil diffuser recipes

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a percentage off your purchase, to help with the content of this site.

Essential oils can do so much with just a few drops in a diffuser.

Now that my kids are back in school, creating a routine and helping them succeed in their studies is important to me as a mom. Using essential oils is a relaxing way to help with back to school changes and helping my kids with their studies.

My kids are now in the 7th grade and they are a little nervous about the work and getting older. They will soon turn 13 years old and become teenagers. My kids are excited and nervous at the same time. In addition to that, there’s a lot of changes going on and nervous energy and I want to create an atmosphere for my children to thrive and essential oils can do that. I’ve been using essential oils for a few years now and it has been a big impact on my family. My mother uses peppermint to help with headaches she have. I diffuse lavender and Lemon combine to bring a since a refreshment and energy into my home.

Below is a few recipes I use to achieve a purpose in my home. As I stated above, knowing the purpose of each essential oil and the purpose will help you in so many ways. I even use essential oils in my hair, even after cutting my hair, I still use peppermint to oil my hair.

Peppermint is said to have purifying and stimulating effects. It also helps with eczema, dermatitis, headaches, etc.

The post 5 Back to school essential oil diffuser recipes appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

7 Vegan snacks ideas

Disclaimer: I received this product from Moms Meet, May Media Group LLC. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are 100% my own.

I always look forward to trying new snacks, especially vegan snacks.

Dairy is rough on my body and when I do eat dairy my face breaks out. Not just dairy but any kind of greasy foods as well. Here are a few vegan snacks ideas you can try as a healthy snack.

Coconut or Almond milk Yogurt- These yogurt alternatives I LOVE, they have the soy kind and that doesn’t do well on my body.

Pretzels/Popcorn- You can never go wrong with these snacks. What I like to do is get the unsalted pretzel and the 35 calories per cup of popcorn are my favorite.

Rice cakes with almond butter or dark chocolates Almond butter the unsalted kind and I’ll add fruit to it, like strawberries, bananas or apples. This is the same for the dark chocolate.

Sunflower seeds- Barbeque is my favorite flavor. Sunflower seeds are also a busy snack. Whenever you are in line waiting or writing a blog post, sunflower seeds help you with your energy and keeps you busy.

Fresh fruit- Here is another alternative to salty, un healthy snacks. Fresh Fruit is delicious. Such as blue berries, strawberries, mangos are a good snack, watermelon, you can never go wrong with apples & oranges too.

Trail mix/Nuts- I LOVE to make my own trail mix with some of the dry snacks like popcorn, pretzels, sunflower seeds and I might add a sweet treat like m&m for a sweet balanced treat.

Bean & Rice chips

These chips are the best. These chips are PACKED FULL of so much flavor. I was surprised that it was all made with black and Navy beans and was very good. My youngest daughter LOVED the barbeque, nachos and sea salt flavors. She didn’t like the spicy, jalapeno, but she doesn’t like anything spicy. My husband, on the other hand, LOVED it! My favorite was the sea salt, black bean and white bean flavored. I would add chunky salsa with it as a wonderful snack

Did you know?

Liza Braude-Glidden, Beanfields co-founder, made the company’s very first bean and rice chip in her kitchen. The result was, in one word, epic. Not only did the chips taste great, but the bean and rice combination gave the chips more fiber, protein, and nutrition than typical corn and potato chips!

During the eclipse, we had a small family party. We grilled, had fruits and eat the black bean and brown rice chips with salsa, we all the great time. I highly recommend Beanfield’s chips. They are healthy and so good for the whole family.

Just the facts

• Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips have 5 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber per serving.

• They are Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten free, allergy friendly, vegan, and kosher pareve

• Beanfields offers seven delicious flavors: Nacho, Sea Salt, Pico de Gallo, Jalapeño Nacho, Black Bean, White Bean, and Barbecue.

• Price: 5.5-ounce $3.29-$3.79; 1.5-ounce $1.19-$1.4

How it all started

Beanfields started with a big idea—to help change the way people eat by creating delicious and nutritious snacks with mainstream appeal with beans as the primary ingredient. The founders wanted great-tasting chips that appealed to health-conscious snackers. The chips needed to taste just as good, if not better, than traditional tortilla chips. Additionally, the chips had to be vegan, gluten-free, allergy-friendly and made with non-GMO ingredients

Where to purchase

Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips are sold atamazon.com, thrivemarket.com, walmart.com, vitacost.com, Whole Foods Market, and Sprouts Farmers Market. To find a store near you, visit: beanfieldssnacks.com/store-locator

Learn more online/Connect

with Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips online to see their latest products and special offers!

Website: beanfields.com

facebook.com/Beanfields

twitter.com/beanfieldssnack

instagram.com/beanfieldssnacks

The post 7 Vegan snacks ideas appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

How to make chocolate chip pancake muffins

I’m always on the look out for easy recipes. Muffins are an easy go to breakfast meal for the family.

I’m still in summer mode and I’m not ready for it to end. It’s back to school time which means Fall is right around the corner. I LOVE fall and all it has to offer with leaves changing color, cold weather, hot chocolate, Pumpkin Spice and everything else that comes with fall. I’m not ready for it.

My babies (My soon to be 13-year-old teen twins= “My Tweens”) started 7th grade this year and I tried to take a picture but they didn’t let me. They ran away from me and finally told me no. I want to respect that. I did do a video of me taking them to their first day of school. Last year was their first year as middle schoolers and next year they will be in the 8th grade, getting ready for high school and my youngest will be getting ready for kindergarten. They grow up so fast. I remember when my twins first started 1st grade and was wearing uniforms. How time FLY’S! 

Below is the back-to-school video I made.

Last year, I started a new tradition with them, whenever they go back to school, I make muffins and their favorite is Chocolate chip. I made homemade Instant pancake mix that can be used for pancakes, bread and muffins as well. This time around, I didn’t have time to put together the ingredients for it and I wanted something easy and fast to make. I had some pancake mix and Belgian waffle mix and decided to make muffins.

I tried it with both regular pancake mix and the Belgian waffle mix, as I mentioned above and they both came out the same…. Delicious! Here’s how to make it:

Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins 2017-09-04 05:50:49 Serves 8






Write a review
Save Recipe Print
Prep Time
5 min

Cook Time
10 min

Prep Time
5 min

Cook Time
10 min
Ingredients 2 1/2 Cups of Pancake Mix 2 Eggs 1 cup of milk 1 teaspoon of Vanilla 1/3 cup of sugar or less if desire 1 cup of chocolate chips
Instructions Pre-heat oven for 350 Mix ingredients in bowl Pour mixture in muffin tins Back for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown Enjoy!
Notes I like to add the chocolate chips after the pancake mix, so, the chocolate chips are mixed within the muffin, instead of on top. The sugar makes it sweet, with the 1/3rd cup, which is why I added "or less" because its up to you. I thought it was too sweet with the 1/3 cup, so, when I made it the next time, I added less and it was perfect for me. Add more or less to your desired taste.
By Trista A Purpose Driven Wife http://adrivenwife.com/

The post How to make chocolate chip pancake muffins appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

3 Back to school tips for Military Spouses

Going back to school or starting anything new, can be overwhelming and scary. Here are 3 tips for military spouses to help you get started.

As a military spouse moving around with family and trying to figure out my career path has been a roller coaster ride. Having questions about who to call first? Wondering what your options are or how you’re going to afford to pay for school? Can be frustrating, daunting and can even discourage you from even starting school.

The good news is as a military spouse you have Lots of options and resources that can help you get started, even with choosing what career path to take. I’m almost done with my degree and I’m glad I took that step to finish. Let me share with you what I did first.

I spoke with my spouse. My husband was the one that actually convinced me to go back to school to finish my degree. At this point of my life, I’ve started businesses and working on others. I was doing pretty good for myself and felt like school wouldn’t be able to give the entrepreneur education I was looking for, but after prayer and having long conversations with my husband about going back to school, I took that step.

Tip #1- Choose a career path. Choosing a career can be intimidating. For me, choosing a career path was a life long learning experience that helped me discover my true passion, which is business. If you don’t know what to choose from, contact your local Education Office, on base. They can help you in so many ways, by sitting down with a counselor, you may be able to narrow down your career choices.

One of the resources I’ve found that was very helpful was O*Net online at onetonline.org, Here you can discover different degree options that may fit your personality and career goals. You can even take what’s called an interest profile (or MyNextMove) on the website. This can help you find out what your interests are and how they can relate to the world of work. It will ask you 60 questions (I know it’s a lot but it’s SUPER quick and easy and this is a step closer to the career you might be interested in, give it a try). When I took the test, my biggest score was Social, Enterprising and Artistic. Artistic people like creativity in their work, they like to do work that can be done without following the rules. Social people like teaching, giving advice and being of service to others. Lastly, enterprising is not surprising to me, these people like persuading others, leading and taking risks for profit. After taking this test, it gave me a lot of career options to consider, it even suggested I become a fitness coordinator. I LOVE fitness and can even do it as a business. Taking this test can steer you in the right direction.

Tip #2- Funding your education. Funding was my #1 concern, I felt like I wasn’t in a place to financially fund going back to school. I felt like it was going to be the biggest obstacle and honestly, I didn’t want to tackle it. After talking with the education office, I walked away VERY Hopeful. There are funding opportunities such as TONS of scholarships, grants, and even your spouses VA benefits. (Loans are an option as well, but for me, I didn’t want it but it is an option).

Grants are essentially free money that you do not have to repay. The grant that most people think of is the Pell grant, which I received going back to school. This is a grant that you can apply for at FAFSA.gov (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The best part about receiving a Pell Grant is that once your tuition is paid in full if there are funds leftover, you are able to use those on other college expenses such as books, transportations, class fees or housing.

In some situations, you may not get offered enough to cover all your costs. Don’t let this stop you! There are other funding options such as scholarships. There are many websites such as: Scholarships.com with this website you can create a free profile and based on your profile you will instantly get scholarship results. There is an abundance of resources on the website you can check out. Another website is Niche.com, this website allows students to browse through different categories such as General, career, interest, race, military, major, religion, and state. Lastly, is USA.gov/grants has LOADS of information about grants. They even have grants for those interested in starting a business.

If your active-duty spouse meets certain requirements, they have the option to transfer a portion or all of their post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to you. This is what my husband did for me. Your local education office on base has a list of scholarships for you to review and apply for. One last scholarship for military spouses, in particular, is the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MYCAA). This program assists spouses of active-duty services members with as much as $4,000. I personally signed up for this grant when I completed my associate’s degree. This grant helped me a lot in making that transition from being a SAHM for years, I went back to school and was able to become more confident in myself. I recommend this grant Highly! In order to qualify, you must be pursuing a license, certification or associate degree with an approved school and your spouse must be in the pay grades of E-1 to E-5, W-1-W-2, and O1-O2. Again, your local education office will have more information about this program and signing up.

Tip #3- Choosing your school. Once you know what degree you want to pursue and how you are going to fund it, You may have other questions like how do you know which school is best? How do you apply? Does the school require entry exams? Should you do a strictly online program or one that is in the classroom setting? When I made the choice to go back to school. I whole heartedly wanted to get back into the classroom setting, I wanted to interact with adults, hear different opinions, ask the teacher questions, etc. I wanted to basically get out the house.

I went to Park University because they had a campus in South Carolina where after I got my associates degree I went right to Park. Plus, my husband was a student there as well and I thought it would be fun and even cheaper if 2 people in the same household. Sometimes some schools will give a discount for 2 people of the same household going to the same college. The education office can help you this decision.

The post 3 Back to school tips for Military Spouses appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

5 ways to cope when deployment is overwhelming

Deployments suck and can be frustrating at times, here are 5 ways to cope when dealing with deployments.

It has been a while since I wrote about deployments, almost 4 years ago and A LOT has changed. While, I am still thankful for deployments and have experienced quite a few while married 10+ years to my Marine, at times it can be overwhelming. Recently my husband went on a month deployment and I thought this would be a good time for me to get my school work done (in peace!), I can finish up some blogging and work on my YouTube channel, etc. No… Things have gone crazy and I completely forgot how crazy it can get while hubby is away.

While, I’m able to get my school work done, I have to wait until the kids go to bed, to get other stuff done. I again, completely forgot, that while my husband is away, the kids will be on summer break and that would leave me to entertain the kids while he’s gone, By MYSELF. In addition to keeping the kids entertain and keeping them away from 24/7 screen time, I have 2 dogs my husband left me with and didn’t realize again that it was MY responsibility to make sure things don’t go crazy with 2 dogs… it went crazy! Lets just say, I don’t have to take them to the VET, THANK GOD!

I recently, LOST IT! I was COMPLETELY FRUSTRATED, I cried and felt like I couldn’t do anything right. My kids looked at me like… Who is this lady?! I forgot deployments can bring out the ugly person in you and while deployments can do that, I realized I have the power to take control of the craziness and turn it around for the benefit of everyone. Here are a few tips to get your power back:

Eat a Cupcake!

I had a nice delicious, chocolate, buttercream cupcake that was freshly made, at this cute little bakery, down the road from me. I felt like I needed something to get my mind off the situation. At times you have to step away and eat a cupcake.

Journaling

Writing in my Journal is very therapeutic for me. In my Journal, I don’t have to be fancy, I don’t have to have correct grammar, spelling don’t have to be correct, I can be myself, and what I can’t say in words, I can express myself on paper (Brain dump).

Seek God/Prayer

Seeking God and crying out to HIM in my frustration does so much for me. God answers my prayers, He is so merciful, understanding and wise, I literally run to Him for EVERYTHING. Through out my day when I begin to feel overwhelm, saying: “God Help me!” has literally been my prayer and He has come through EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I can count Him with no doubt what so ever. Here’s a scripture that helps me ALL TIME. Psalms 34:4- “I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.”

Seek out Counseling

Seeking out counseling is the best thing you can do. Especially if you are new to your area and you haven’t made any friends or even met anyone, going to a counselor is the best thing you can do. I personally have done this and It has helped me in a lot of ways. A professional counselor can point out patterns or depression, that a friend maybe not. I went through Military One Source to get more information about it for military dependents and its free for a certain amount of sessions. 

Talk with a friend

If you are in a new area and blessed to have met that one friend that understands. Get together and have a girls night and talk ( Not husband bashing) but you sharing and talking with that one friend that will understand and also keep you accountable.

Create routines

When life gets crazy, especially during a deployment, creating routines can help you get that power back in your life. I wrote how busy moms can create routines in there homes and a few videos on what that look like. Getting back to my routine help me get school work done, blogging done, video editing done, etc. Everyday is not perfect and I’m ok with that, Creating routines blessed me and I pray it does the same for you.

Save

Save

Save

The post 5 ways to cope when deployment is overwhelming appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

How to make an All Purpose Coffee Rub

Yes, an all-purpose coffee rub, here’s how to make it.

I’m all about making inexpensive craft. I’m always in the dollar store looking to get into something new. I was doing research on how to make an all-purpose rub, because my husband love to cook with different spices, especially if its spicy. When I came an across a recipe that looked interesting, a seasoning rub recipe made with coffee?! I was excited to try. When I made it, thought it was good but made a few changes to the recipe and I’m so excited to try.

I was inspired by Pups with chopsticks and they made it one way, here are a few changes I made to the recipe.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp coffee grounds (UnFlavored)

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp dried onion flakes

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp salt

3 tbsp Light brown sugar

2 tbsp of dried pepper flakes (Optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients

place in an airtight container

ENJOY on anykind of meat (Ribs, Chicken, Porkchops, etc.)

I even made a video to help you get a visional on how you would like to make it for yourself and you can even customize it, add more garlic, salt, brown sugar, etc. You can make it less spicy or not spicy at all. My kids don’t like spicy so I didn’t add any, but my husband LOVES it! This can also be made into a nice gift. I even got the container and he seasonings at the Dollar store. It was VERY easy and affordable!

I even bought my first airfryer (Pictured above) from Wal-Mart (Faberware) and made a 1 lb of chicken wings for the first time and seasoned it with this coffee rub, and I’m excited how juicy and crispy it came out in less than 20mins. A review of the Airfryer is coming soon. Let me know if you tried the coffee rub, this is my new favorite recipe!

Save

Save

Save

The post How to make an All Purpose Coffee Rub appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.

15 ways to prioritize your marriage

When life gets busy, marriage can take a back seat, here are 15 ways to prioritize your marriage.

 

Currently, my life is pretty busy. I’m currently in school, I’m taking a few classes to finish my Business degree, Working part time, building my YouTube channel and this blog. My Pastor at the church I attend is teaching about Marriage from the book Song of Solomon. Here are 15 ways to prioritze your marriage:

Quality Time. Spending time with your spouse is never wasted. Netflix and chill (Actually watching netflix and relaxing, together!) is one of our ways we spend time together. After the kids go to bed, my husband and I was a show (I hihgly recommend) called: The Night Shift. This show is really thought provoking and after each episode we spend some time talking about it.

Involvement. Involve your spouse in the things you are passionate about and vice versus.

Finances. I work a part time job and there are 2 most important things I do with my pay check. I tithe and take my husband out on a date. Marriage is very important to me and I love to show my husband, how much I care, so I like to do special things for him.

Attitude. My attitude I notice can be a deal breaker to my husband. I notice that lately and try to fix it. When my husband come home from work, I like to be in a good mood. Everyday is not like that but most days I’m intentional about having a good attitude.

Invest. Investing in anything in your spouse is worth it. Time, Money and everything in between, can speak volumes to how importnant your spouse is to you.

In this picture, hubby wanted to try this seafood place. He LOVES seafood and this place is pretty popular in my area. So we tried it out. It was FUN!

Emotions. Its the  same consept with attitude, is controlling your emotions. You don’t want to hide them and you don’t want to go out of control as well. Its being mindful about your emotions.

Words. Speaking positive words, encouraging and uplifitng your spouse is one of the many ways you can priotize your marriage. You are making a decision to put your spouse first in everything you do.

Relationships. Letting people know that your spouse is important to you, even in public. How you talk about your spouse, not making mean jokes about them in public. Your intent is priority to your spouse and others.

Interest. Taking an interest in the things your spouse is passionate about. My husband loves Jiu Jitsu, watching movies with action and fixing vechiles are some of the things my husband loves to do. Taking an interest shows he’s important to me and I want to learn.

Listen. Don’t give your spouse half your attention. This means looking into your spouses’ face, their eyes, not talking over them, be fully engaged in what they are saying.

Trust. Expect your spouse to do what is right. Making a point to fully trust your spouse. No matter what.

Grace. Realizing your spouse is different. Prioritizing your marriage by, embracing their differences, let them be themselves, don’t make fun or  get angry about it. God created each of us differently, give your spouse grace.

Forgiveness. Forgive your spouse. There will be times in Marriage when your spouse will hurt your feelings, Forgive them. By Priotizing your marriage, you be the first person to forgive first.

Respect. Respect your spouse opinion. It can be neither right or wrong, it could just be different. You don’t always have to be right, or put them in their place, by priotiziing your marriage, you are respecting your spouse opinion and leaving it at that.

Special Occasions. Anniversaries, Birthdays, Big accomplishments, anything that is special to your spouse, make it a SPECIAL OCCASION. By priotizing your marriage, you are treating your spouse special, more important than any other person, your kids, your goals in life, etc. Your spouse is #1 in your life.

Matthew 19:3-6 (NKJV)

(v.4) ” … And he answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”

The concept here is to leaving the ways, what you used to do when you we’re with your family and establishing a new relationship with your spouse, which takes priority over all others. Your marriage relationship is what matters above all else. These 15 ways can give you some ideas on how you can start proitizing your marriage in your everyday life.

Save

Save

Save

The post 15 ways to prioritize your marriage appeared first on A Purpose Driven Wife.