Mona Hodgson's Blog, page 2

Miss Hattie’s Lemon Scones

A signature treat at Miss Hattie’s Boarding House in Two Brides Too Many.
Ingredients for scones:
2 cups Flour
½ cup cold butter, cut
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Ingredients for Sour Lemon Glaze:
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
½ tablespoon lemon zest

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in the butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, cream, and egg. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients, just until dough starts to form. Knead a couple times until the dough holds together.

On a lightly floured surface, gently press dough into a circle, about an inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges.

Place scones on an ungreased baking sheet, not toughing each other, and bake at 350℉ for 25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.

Prepare the icing by mixing the powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle or brush icing over warm scones.

Add a cup of tea and a Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek novel and you’re ready for a summer porch or an autumn fireside.

Enjoy! Do me a favor, let me know if you make this. Please snap a photo and post it with a comment on my  or .

www.MonaHodgson.com

 

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Nell’s Peanut Cabbage Salad

Nell’s Peanut Cabbage Salad

It’s time for a picnic in Two Brides Too Many, and Nell is bringing the salad.

1 head of cabbage, chopped fine
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup of chopped peanuts

Mix lightly with a fork, should be just wet enough to hold together nicely. Pepper and salt to taste.

Enjoy! Do me a favor, let me know if you make this. Please snap a photo and post it with a comment on my  or .

www.MonaHodgson.com

 

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Tilda’s Lemon Snowballs

A favorite teatime treat in the Sinclair sisters’ home in Portland, Maine. In Two Brides Too Many, they were snacking on the lemony goodness when Father broke his news and turned their world upside down sending Kat and Nell to Cripple Creek, Colorado.

 

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups flour

1 cup unsalted butter

1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Zest from 1 lemon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

¼-½ cup chopped pecans, optional

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream butter, ½ cup powdered sugar (set the rest aside for rolling), and lemon juice. Once those are blended add salt and stir in lemon zest. Add in pecans, if desired. Mix the flour in and stir together until the dough thickens.

Scoop cookies (tablespoon-size] onto your cookie sheet, leaving about an inch between cookies.

Bake for 8-12 minutes. The cookies should no longer look wet. Cool 10 minutes before rolling in powdered sugar and additional lemon zest.

Place remaining powdered sugar in a bowl (you can add more lemon zest, if desired). Roll the cookies in the mixture to coat them.

Enjoy! Do me a favor, let me know if you make this. Please snap a photo and post it with a comment on my  or .

www.MonaHodgson.com

 

 

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Why I Hang Out with Older Women

Hello, friend.

Turns out I grew up surrounded by a treasure trove and I didn’t know it. Grandmothers, aunts, women in the church. Sunday school teachers. Camp counsellors. The youth pastor’s wife. Women who, whether they knew it or not, poured into me out of their life experience and faith in God.

Turns out I grew up surrounded by a treasure trove and I didn't know it.
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In my 30’s and 40’s, while in the throes of momming two tween-into-teenage girls, serving a husband who had suffered a physical disability and the loss of his career, and losing my dad and walking through my fifty-six-year-old mother’s grief with her, I discovered the value of hanging out with women older than me who could speak life and shine light on my dizzying days.

In my 30's and 40's, while in the throes of momming two tween-into-teenage girls, serving a husband who had suffered a physical disability and the loss of his career, and losing my dad and walking through my fifty-six-year-old mother's…
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Following my husband’s discharge from law enforcement, we moved to Arizona. That’s when I met June, Jeanette, and later met MaryAnn. These were older women who had embraced the Scriptural directive that we become women worth following as imitators of Jesus the Christ.

The love and care and prayers of these women provided the green house I needed for a season of intense spiritual growth–from the inside out.

The love and care and prayers of these women provided the green house I needed for a season of intense spiritual growth--from the inside out.
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Not long after God brought June and Jeanette and MaryAnn into my life, He also stitched my heart to Karen O’s heart. A leader at a speakers’ conference put us together as prayer partners. Nearly 20 years later, we still connect through email at least once a quarter with updates, praises, and prayer requests.

There was no denying the reassurance I felt knowing that someone more seasoned than I, whose faith has been more tested than mine and strengthened again and again is praying with me and for me.

There was no denying the reassurance I felt knowing that someone more seasoned than I, whose faith has been more tested than mine and strengthened again and again is praying with me and for me.
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Puritan William Bates said it this way: “Precepts instruct us what things are our duty, but examples assure us that they are possible… When we see men [women] like ourselves, who are united to frail flesh and in the same condition with us, to command their passions to overcome the most glorious and glittering temptations, we are encouraged in our spiritual warfare.”

For the past three decades, I have purposefully sought out and picked at least one woman older than me to round out my bouquet of close friends. Here’s why . . .

Five perks of hanging out with older women of faithOlder women carry the benefit of hindsight and possess the ability to help me see beyond my current circumstances. When I’m tempted to sink into believing the here and now, this moment or any moment of trial and heartache is all there is, I need someone more mature than me to remind me that God promises me hope and a future.Older women can model intentionality in the spiritual disciplines as well as purposefulness in friendship.An older woman tends to have graduated from the appearances and performance stages in life and is more willing to turn around in vulnerability to share struggles and insights from her own journey.Older women can provide a wise guide rich in life experience and insights from God’s Word.My best life is me growing and transforming more and more in Christlikeness. Older women seem more willing to risk hurting my feelings for the sake of my emotional and spiritual growth and maturity.

Admittedly, following each of my birthdays, finding women of faith older than myself becomes more and more of a challenge. In my case, an older woman has seven, eight, or nine decades of experiencing God’s unfailing love and faithfulness.

Over time, I’ve had to say goodbye to many a sweet friend and prayer partner. Believe me the benefits of the relationships are above and beyond worth the goodbyes. I begin to pray. Okay, first, I grieve and whine to God about my loss and my need. Then I ask Him to lead me to another older women.

Where do I find older women?

Serving as a greeter at church. Working with volunteers. Observing a neighbor. Participating in a women’s Bible study. Engaging in women’s activities and events in the church and the community.

I’d noticed her from the front door of the church where I served as a greeter. Her smile captured my heart. I saw that it was a smile that transcended her circumstance as I watched her serve her husband as disease weakened him. After her husband passed, I engaged her in conversation more and more until she invited me to come walk with her. Now we hang out and visit once a month over lunch or tea. Or some other activity. You haven’t lived until you’ve had a ninety-year-old beat you at cornhole. No handicap offered, although I could have used one.

Questions for you to contemplate . . .When did you last spend time with a woman five or more years older than you?Who in your circles could be an older woman of faith that you might connect with?What are your ideas for how you might make that connection?

Not sure where to start in your search? Ask God to provide you with someone older to build a relationship with and pray for the courage to take the necessary steps.

7 Questions for deeper connection with an older woman . . .Tell me about your relationship with Jesus.Have you ever struggled with regret? What did you learn in that struggle?What role does prayer have in your life?What is the biggest waste of time in a marriage?What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were a mom of young children?Is there a Scripture that helped you survive a crisis or a devastating loss?What is God teaching you in your current season?

You can tailor your questions to fit the areas in your life in which you could use some guidance or encouragement.

I’d love to hear from you. What has been your experience with a friend/mentor older than you?

 

Click here to find 100 Questions to Find the Gold in a Christian Woman’s Heart by Laura Booz.

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Delight, a Dicey Word

Hi, friends!

I’m one of those folks who choose a focus word for a new year. Then I sit with it, turn it over and around as if it were dice with magic numbers on it. I had been chatting with God about my transformational word for 2022 but by the last week of December, I still had nothing.

While reading Magnolia Journal on December 29, 2021, I gazed to the page of an article, “let delight reign,” written by Joanna Gaines. That’s when I laid eyes on the right word for me. Yes, I knew at first sight my word for 2022 was

Delight!

While reading Magnolia Journal on December 29, 2021, I gazed to the page of an article, “let delight reign,” written by Joanna Gaines. That’s when I laid eyes on the right word for me. Yes, I knew at first sight my word for 2022 was…
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A word I normally associate with a child. I pictured a wide-eyed, jaw dropping reaction to something that inspired wonder and awe in a little one.

When I receive a word for the new year, one of the first things I do is to see what God has to say about it in His Word.

Delight in the Word of the Lord. Psalm 1:1-2
Take delight in the Lord. Psalm 37:4
Delight in the great works of the Lord. Psalm 111:2-8
Delight in the Lord’s decrees, His Word. Psalm 119:16
Delight in the counsel of the Lord’s testimonies. Psalm 119 24
Delight is found in His [the Lord’s] presence. Proverbs 8:30
Delight greatly in the Lord, in response to His unfathomable blessings. Isaiah 61:10
For Christ’s sake, delight in weakness and difficulty. 2 Corinthians 12:10
The Lord delights in His people. Psalm 149:4

Did you have any idea so many Bible verses featured the word delight? And those listed are only a sampling.

As I look at what Scripture says about my word, I also search for definitions.

For delight: Take pleasure in. Find joy in. Gain satisfaction in. Experience wonder and awe. Please greatly.

The Hebrew term hepes means to bend towards, to be inclined towards an object or a person.

So you and I are to. . .

Take pleasure in the Lord’s presence.
Find joy in the Lord’s salvation and in His ways.
Lean into our weaknesses.
Incline ourselves toward the Lord’s counsel.
Continue being and becoming someone the Lord delights in.

Why do I consider delight a dicey word? My word for a year packs purpose so it doesn’t show up alone. Unwrapping the word and digging into what Scripture has to say about delight always reveals a question. Usually many questions. A soul-searching inventory and investigation follows.

Why do I consider delight a dicey word? My word for a year packs purpose so it doesn't show up alone. Unwrapping the word and digging into what Scripture has to say about delight always reveals a question. Usually many questions. A…
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What does it look like to delight in the Lord?

Toward what or whom are you leaning into the most?

Are you viewing your weakness/overwhelmedness as an invitation to incline yourself toward the Lord?

What inside you (not on your activity list) is delighting the Lord?

I delight in and find joy in the Lord’s presence, in His salvation, in discovering what truth-treasures He gifted me with in the Bible. The Lord and fellowship with Him is my happy place. Remember that, Mona. Remember!

Father God, Your unfailing love and compassion, mercy and grace, forgiveness and restoration delight us. Help us to remember. Help us to run to You always with childlike faith and delight. In Jesus’ name and for His sake. Amen! 

I’m curious. . .  D id you choose a focus word for 2022? If so, what was the word and what’s been your experience with it? I love to hear from you in the comments.

 

 

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Revival in Verse

With the reluctance of a nested
fledgling testing her wings,
I turned the final page in
Brown Girl Dreaming.

The poetic memoir born of
Jacqueline Woodson’s days,
her remembering
her seeing
her questioning,
has this girl
wondering what is in me to
uncover,
overcome,
embrace.

How far back was the seed of wordsmithing
planted in my appetite?
And what of its root?
The notion that I could
that I should pick up
pen and paper,
set fumbling fingers to keyboard,
wrestle with what was and is,
to set it in words?

How deep is the root’s burrow?
Its resilience strong enough to resist
draught,
pestilence,
doubt?

Forever tangled in analysis?
Or might I have the power
to begin afresh
to uncover, dig up
the depths of the writer
in a mulched soil?

Revival in verse.

© Copyright 2022 Mona Hodgson

NOTE TO JACQUELINE

Jacqueline, celebrate! You did catch words. You made them float. Thank you for the revival in verse.

 

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Book Birthday Sale and Free Resources

Friends, I’m celebrating the one year anniversary of the release of my picture book about prayer, I CAN TALK TO GOD.

Prayer is the language that lifts us out of the mire of the mundane and connects us with the Divine. Our Father God is at the ready to hear from us and to speak into us through His Word and His Holy Spirit. Any time and anywhere.

Prayer is the language that lifts us out of the mire of the mundane and connects us with the Divine.
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If you’re like me, knowing and remembering that truth is critical. The same is true for the kiddos in our lives. We can all use a reminder about the provision of prayer. And what better way to reinforce that truth than with an illustrated book with stunning visual reminders.

Book Sale

And the book is on sale! The Kindle version is available for only .99 for a limited time. 

I Can Talk to God is also available in print.

 

Free Book-Related Resources

As Spring ushers to Summer, we look for new and different activities and projects to do with your children, grandchildren, or other kiddos in our care. I’ve provided some coloring pages, a rebus, and a frameable poem for you. Click here to check out  some of my suggestions and resources.

Coloring PagesAnna Prays for Other PeopleBoy Prays for Other PeopleBoy Talks to God About His ProblemsDear God Prayer Prompt Coloring PageGirl Asks God for Help to Know What to SayGirl I Can Talk to GodI Can Pray COLORING PAGEJonah Talks to God About His ProblemI Can Pray – FrameableI Can Pray – REBUS

Click here to learn more about the book’s illustrator, Patrick Carlson, and his creative process.

Might you know someone with kiddos that you could share this post with?

Thanks so much for your support of my ministry through books–children’s and historical fiction. I appreciate you!

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Do you need a writing coach?

You had children. You have grandchildren. You teach children. You’re a favorite aunt or uncle. You know children. Children live in your neighborhood.

Writing a children's book is pretty straight-forward, isn't it?
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Not really. Not at all, actually.

Children's magazine and book editors know that one size does not fit all children.
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In fact, the age break-downs are critical. And there is a feast of formats specific to children. Then there’s the challenge of marketing to agenda-driven adults while also trying to engage a young child.

That’s where a coach can come in handy. Not just handy, but a coach can be invaluable.  Especially if she’s the author of 31 published children’s books, including board books, picture books, early readers, and the middle reader too.  Fiction and nonfiction. For the Christian marketplace and the general market.

I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to coach the Children’s Writers Kinship Circle at the West Coast Christian Writers Conference, February 25-27, 2021.  Next month.

Online! No packing necessary. And you don’t have to wear a mask. It’s virtual.

My group of 8 children’s writers in any and all stages of experience will have five hours with me live on Zoom, Saturday, February 26, 2021.

Participants in my coaching circle will experience it all–conversations about the craft of writing for children, instruction, practical examples, writing exercises, community, and constructive feedback on their work-in-progress (WIP). Those signed-up for my circle will submit writing samples from their WIP prior to the conference. More specifics will follow your registration.

I can’t wait!

Only a few openings remain in my coaching circle for children's writers, so if that sounds like a good next step for you, please sign up now!
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Click here, to check out and register for the virtual West Coast Christian Writers Conference.

 

 

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The Good Shepherd is For You

Hi, friends!

In my Bible reading, I’m revisiting the book of John in the New Testament.

Some mornings when I read it feels like I’m walking side by side with Jesus on dusty roads or sitting on grassy hillsides listening to His teachings.

This was one of those mornings. As I read through chapter 10, I could hear the confusion and disbelief in the Pharisees’ voices (and in my own). And the confident, compassionate clarity in Jesus’ voice.

Jesus said so much in those 42 verses that can cast out fear, replace lies with truth, comfort us, ground us in courage, and fill us with hope.

Jesus said so much that can replace lies with truth and ground us in courage.
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I’ve selected seven of those truths for us to consider and camp on.

 

Jesus said, “I am The Good Shepherd.” (Isaiah 10:11 & 14) Jesus is my faithful and compassionate leader.
The Good Shepherd calls His sheep by name. (Isaiah 10:3) Jesus knows my name and calls out to me.
The Good Shepherd leads His sheep, goes ahead of them, and they follow Him because they know His voice. (Isaiah 10:3) Jesus goes with me and knows the path ahead of me. I follow Him because I know Him and I recognize His voice as that of my Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd is the gate; He provides the way into the pasture for the sheep that will follow Him and He saves them. (Isaiah 10:9) Jesus is the way to salvation. There is no other way by which I can be reconciled to God the Father. In John 14:6, Jesus said it this way, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (Isaiah 10:11) Jesus left heaven to walk this earth and die on the cross to make amends for my sin. He laid down His life for me.
 The Good Shepherd came that His sheep may have life to the full. (Isaiah 10:10) The grace Jesus demonstrated on the cross and in the empty tomb is the same grace God provides for me to live in victory in the here and now.

The grace Jesus demonstrated on the cross and in the empty tomb is the same grace God provides for you to live in victory in the here and now.
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The Good Shepherd knows His sheep. (Isaiah 10:14) I can take my next steps (into the known or unknown) in full confidence that my God sees me, hears me, knows me and is with me always. (Hebrews 13:5)

I can take my next steps (into the known or unknown) in full confidence that my God sees me, hears me, knows me and is with me always (Hebrews 13:5).
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Those facts give you and I a platform to stand on and someone to rest in. Jesus–our Good Shepherd!

 

We live in a time of heightened stresses and hovering anxiety. Professionals and public figures preach the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. Awareness. In Psalm 77, David writes, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord.” Nothing outweighs the benefits of soaking up God’s word. Remaining mindful of His presence. Reflecting on His promises. Remembering His faithfulness. Resting in His goodness. Meditating on the Truth and His messages to us in the Bible.

Here’s the big question: What are we allowing our thoughts to camp on, chew on, and send straight to our hearts?

What are you allowing your thoughts to camp on, chew on, and send straight to your heart?
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Let’s choose right now, again, to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and set our minds (Colossians 3:2) on Jesus, our Good Shepherd!

 

 

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News and Ways You Can Help Spread the Word

Hello Friends!

 

I have a personal update as well as NEWS about a book giveaway and ways you can help:

My cancer surveillance scan last week showed no new tumors! Grateful, relieved, and celebrating–that’s me. I’m ready to write some more.
 GoodReads is hosting a 10-Book Giveaway for my new picture book, I Can Talk to God! Ends June 21st at 11:59 pm.

Book Giveaway of I Can Talk to God on Goodreads
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 I Can Talk to God is now available on Kindle and in paperback.

I Can Talk to God is now available in print and on Kindle!
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I need your help to spread the word about I Can Talk to God to parents and grandparents, teachers and children’s ministry leaders.

 

Kids are confused and scared, whether we notice or not. Would you take a minute to see if there are three simple things (only one would be a big help too) you can do to help me get my timely book about prayer into the hands of kiddos who need to know that they can talk about God anytime and anywhere, about anything?

1. Share a photo or video of you and/or your kids with I Can Talk to God.

2. Write a kind review for Amazon.com (scroll down to Product Details), and any other online review site. Maybe you could feature your book review on your social media outlets. Goodreads, too, if you’re active there.

3. Subscribe to my social media accounts and share my book related posts and free resources on your social media outlets. Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. Twitter. Make sure you tag me!

4. Do you know any Mom bloggers or women who have podcasts for Moms who would be interested in the book and the free resources available on my website? Could you put in a good word and send them the book link?

5. Ask me to be a guest on your blog, podcast, or on Facebook Live with you using Zoom.

6. Choose I Can Talk to God as a baby shower gift or as a gift for new grandparents.

7. Give a copy of the book to the kiddos in your sphere of influence—family, neighborhood, church, school, and circle of friends. Maybe use the book as a hostess gift when visiting families or grandmas?

8. Share on social media what I Can Talk to God meant to you and your kiddos. Make sure you tag me!

Many thanks to you for any and all you do to help me get I Can Talk to God into big and little hands.

 

 

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