Do You Need a Dose of Joy Today?

by Jan Drexler

When I was getting ready to write this post, I thought I'd share my recipe for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with you.

I was going to tell you how this "change of life" my husband and I are going through since he entered semi-retirement has brought about one wonderful new habit in our lives...after nearly 36 years of marriage, we are eating most of our meals together. After all, when you work in food service, you eat at work!

I was going to tell you how I've started making cookies again so that hubby can pack them in his lunch. I was going to tell you about my father-in-law, who took these cookies to have with his lunch every day. Four cookies. Every day.

But then I realized I had already shared this recipe on the blog, and when I reread it, I decided I needed to share the entire post that I wrote back in January of 2014. 

In the months after I wrote this post, it became clear to me how very, very good God is. My mother passed away just a few weeks after I wrote this, and the rest of the year wasn't all that great, either. BUT, God knew I needed this word. He knew I needed to be reminded of His joy.

And as I read this post again, I realized that you might need to read it. If my prayer list is any indication, a lot of us are going through circumstances that have set us back on our heels.

Because LIFE IS HARD. Really wonderful, and sometimes...often...really hard.

But God didn't intend for us to go through this alone. If you're having a hard time with something - anything - tell a trusted friend so they can pray with and for you. 

Then mix up a batch of Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, and enjoy the moment.

My One Word and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Over in Seekerville, where we Yankee-Belle bloggers all met, some of us have made it a habit to choose One Word for the year.

I chose mine in November. I thought about it, prayed about it, saw some flaws in my life I wanted to iron out...I chose "boundaries"...

...but God chose Joy.

(Let the music play while you read the rest of the post.)

You see, over the last few…no, several…years (or decades), I've let circumstances steal my joy. I don’t need to tell you what my circumstances are – we all have our own – but it started with one devastating event. Before I had fully recovered from that event, another blow came, and then a disappointment, and then a chronic sadness….

I let the events pile up like one snowfall after another, never letting the sun fully melt the old remnants of previous storms before the pile grew larger. Even when the sun did shine, which it does often in my life, there was always a crusty patch of snow in a sheltered spot that never melted.

Lest you think I’m prone to depression, I've always been an optimist. Happiness is easy to find when you know where to look.

Joy, however, can be denied.

Like when you’re recovering from the flu and every deep breath ends in a cough. You can try to fill your lungs with joy…but, oh, the cough. I’ll wait…until later…when I’m feeling better.

My word, Boundaries, sought to isolate that old patch of crusty snow…control it…deny it by ignoring it. 

Joy isn't so gentle. Joy rips into the covering of dead branches and frozen sod, revealing the icy canker, letting God’s grace melt every last remnant.

Once you give Joy access, it can’t be controlled. Joy will refuse to be hidden away behind circumstances. Joy will make itself known, and once known…you never want to let it be stolen again.

So my One Word is bright sunshine, warm rain, the scent of growing earth, bare feet in green grass, and the promise…oh, the promise!...that on that day when all is revealed, when the dark, rotting branches and mold covering my sins is stripped away…Grace will see Christ's righteousness instead. 

Oh, can there be greater joy than that?

What does all this have to do with Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies?

Years ago, when I was a young mother with one small son, I made these cookies often. Because of my novice helper, I would forgo bringing the mixer out of the cupboard, and do all the stirring by hand.

One of the things I've lost over the years is the enjoyment of those sweet moments with my young children…lost in a concern for mess, and getting the task done, and satisfying clamoring voices. 

Letting circumstances steal the joy instead of using the circumstances to magnify it.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients (for a small batch - feel free to double or quadruple the recipe):

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1/2  cup chocolate chips

Let the butter come to room temperature in a large bowl – and don’t cheat by trying to hurry the process in the microwave! While you’re waiting, read a good book. Or plan ahead of time to make these cookies, and get the butter out while you’re fixing breakfast.

With a large spoon, mix in the white sugar and brown sugar. Stir and stir until it’s all smooth. Now taste a bit. Isn't that delicious?

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork or small whisk. Add the water and vanilla, and keep mixing until it’s all combined.

Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture and stir. Stir until everything is all one happy mess.

Add the flour, soda and salt, and…you guessed it…stir some more.  Isn't this fun?

Now add the oats, mix it all up, and finally add the chocolate chips.

Of course you can eat one of them! Eat ten! No one will tell!

Wait…did you forget to preheat the oven? Do it now. 350° is perfect.

Drop the cookie dough onto baking sheets by the spoonful. You decide how big you want them, but be sure to leave enough room between the bits of dough so the cookies don’t all run together while they’re baking.

Is the oven hot yet? Good. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. They should be golden around the edges, and the top should spring back when you touch one.

Let them cool as long as you can (try to hold out for at least five minutes so you don’t burn your tongue on the chocolate chips!), and then take one.

Hold an edge in each hand and s-l-o-w-l-y pull it apart. Catch a crumb on your tongue. Rescue that dripping chocolate. Pop one half in your mouth and savor it. 

Isn't that the best cookie you've ever eaten?

Now, grab a cup of coffee or tea, have a seat here in the cafe, and join in the conversation.

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.

My One Word and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies - a rerun post with a reason

Life happens, doesn't it?

Last Monday morning, I got a call from my dentist's office. They had an opening at 10:00, and would I like to come in to get my pending crown done then instead of waiting until March? 

"Sure," I said. 

What I didn't know is that MY plans for the rest of the week had just flown out the window. Because once my dentist started preparing my tooth for the crown, he opened a whole can of worms.

Okay, not really worms (Ewww!), but definitely not what he expected from the x-ray we had taken the week before. 

So Monday morning I got my first implant. If you've never had one, you can read about them here. If you're familiar with them, you understand what I spent last week doing. And what I'm going to spend the next four or five months doing. The healing - the knitting together of my bone and this new implant - is a long-term process.

What does this have to do with my "One Word"? My "word" for this year is "be still." Yes, I know, that's really two words. But it's one idea.

Be still (to me) means to take my hands off the wheel. Let God do what He needs to do in my life without trying to take control back into my own hands. Be still means to watch what God is going to do with this situation.

I could fret about this delay in my writing schedule. (LOL! What writing schedule?) Or my looming deadline, or the pending contract my agent is working on for me.

I could fret about my already packed year with two book releases, multiple deadlines, and the wedding of the decade!

But I've found that when you prayerfully choose that One Word, God has a way of bringing the reality of His Word into your life.

The reality of His presence into your life.

So I choose to Be Still. God has this.

This week's experience reminded me so much of the year that God chose my Word for me. I wrote the following post in January of 2014, little knowing what lay ahead in that year. The ups of multiple book contracts and the bittersweet passing of my mother, among all the other, less momentous happenings through the days, weeks, and months of that year.

With that knowledge of how my 2014 went, this blog about JOY was especially meaningful to me this week. 

My One Word and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Over in Seekerville, where we Yankee-Belle bloggers all met, some of us have made it a habit to choose One Word for the year.

I chose mine in November. I thought about it, prayed about it, saw some flaws in my life I wanted to iron out...I chose "boundaries"...

...but God chose Joy.

You see, over the last few…no, several…years (or decades), I've let circumstances steal my joy. I don’t need to tell you what my circumstances are – we all have our own – but it started with one devastating event. Before I had fully recovered from that event, another blow came, and then a disappointment, and then a chronic sadness….

I let the events pile up like one snowfall after another, never letting the sun fully melt the old remnants of previous storms before the pile grew larger. Even when the sun did shine, which it does often in my life, there was always a crusty patch of snow in a sheltered spot that never melted.

Lest you think I’m prone to depression, I've always been an optimist. Happiness is easy to find when you know where to look.

Joy, however, can be denied.

Like when you’re recovering from the flu and every deep breath ends in a cough. You can try to fill your lungs with joy…but, oh, the cough. I’ll wait…until later…when I’m feeling better.

The word I had chosen, Boundaries, sought to isolate that old patch of crusty snow…control it…deny it by ignoring it. Joy isn't so gentle. Joy rips into the covering of dead branches and frozen sod, revealing the icy canker, letting God’s grace melt every last remnant.

Once you give Joy access, it can’t be controlled. Joy will refuse to be hidden away behind circumstances. Joy will make itself known, and once known…you never want to let it be stolen again.

So my One Word is bright sunshine, warm rain, the scent of growing earth, bare feet in green grass, and the promise…oh, the promise!...that on that day when all is revealed, when the dark, rotting branches and mold covering my sins is stripped away…Grace will see Christ's righteousness instead. 

Oh, can there be greater joy than that?

What does all this have to do with Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies?

Years ago, when I was a young mother with one small son, I made these cookies often. Because of my novice helper, I would forgo bringing the mixer out of the cupboard, and do all the stirring by hand.

One of the things I've lost over the years is the enjoyment of those sweet moments with my young children…lost in a concern for mess, and getting the task done, and satisfying clamoring voices. 

Letting circumstances steal the joy instead of using the circumstances to magnify it.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients (for a small batch - feel free to double or quadruple the recipe):

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1/2  cup chocolate chips

Let the butter come to room temperature in a large bowl – and don’t cheat by trying to hurry the process in the microwave! While you’re waiting, read a good book. Or plan ahead of time to make these cookies, and get the butter out while you’re fixing breakfast.

With a large spoon, mix in the white sugar and brown sugar. Stir and stir until it’s all smooth. Now taste a bit. Isn't that delicious?

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork or small whisk. Add the water and vanilla, and keep mixing until it’s all combined.

Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture and stir. Stir until everything is all one happy mess.

Add the flour, soda and salt, and…you guessed it…stir some more.  Isn't this fun?

Now add the oats, mix it all up, and finally add the chocolate chips.

Of course you can eat one of them! Eat ten! No one will tell!

Wait…did you forget to preheat the oven? Do it now. 350° is perfect.

Drop the cookie dough onto baking sheets by the spoonful. You decide how big you want them, but be sure to leave enough room between the bits of dough so the cookies don’t all run together while they’re baking.

Is the oven hot yet? Good. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. They should be golden around the edges, and the top should spring back when you touch one.

Let them cool as long as you can (try to hold out for at least five minutes so you don’t burn your tongue on the chocolate chips!), and then take one.

Hold an edge in each hand and s-l-o-w-l-y pull it apart. Catch a crumb on your tongue. Rescue that dripping chocolate. Pop one half in your mouth and savor it. 

Isn't that the best cookie you've ever eaten?

Now, grab a cup of coffee or tea, have a seat here in the cafe, and join in the conversation. 

Have you chosen your One Word for this year? And if you have, has it made a difference yet?

Or, what will you do to keep circumstances from robbing you of joy?

And just in case you need someone to teach you how to pluck joy from the passing hours, take the time to read this. How to Live Outside the Box

* * * * * * * * 

Now that we're six weeks into 2016, how is life with your One Word going? 

If you haven't chosen your One Word yet, do you think you might?

Fun at the Ranch and All My Favorite Cookies!

Tex here, fresh off of an invigorating weekend at the ranch. I love to go down there. Get away from the city and enjoy some of the simple things that you just don't get to do when you live in town. Like campfires and Polaris rides through the woods. 

Funny thing about the ranch, though, you just never know what you might find. 

Of course, these babies are expected this time of year. The pasture was full of calves.

And beautiful views are always welcome.

Don't see many of these little fellas, though.

Not sure how this baby mole managed to stray away from his mama, but he was still cute.

Much cuter than this guy.

I'm referring to the gator, not my son. Although Ryan would not agree. To say that he loves gators would be an understatement. So when this fella wandered into one of our ponds, Ryan couldn't wait to catch him. And, as you can see, he did just that. This was his farewell kiss, though. Little Buddy (yes,Ryan named him) went back to the pond after we took this pic. A few months later, he was gone.

Ryan has another passion, too. And I hate when these guys show up.

Yep, that's a Copperhead. As in poisonous snake. See the stick in Ryan's hand? He uses that to catch these disgusting creatures. Personally, I prefer a gun, but Ryan captures them, ogles over them, scares the fire out of us, then releases them into the woods. Hopefully the snakes are freaked out enough from being manhandled that they won't come back.

Shudder!

But enough about yucky things like gators and snakes. I'd much rather talk cookies.

You ever see a recipe and think, "I gotta try this?"

That's exactly what happened to me as soon as I perused this recipe.

I love cookies. Chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal... Which is exactly why this captured my attention. Why not combine them all?

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? However, the name is a little misleading. They should call them Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. Kind of a mouthful, huh? And you know what's weird about these cookies? 

No flour. 

That's right. There is no flour in this recipe. However, there IS lots of flavor and fiber. So in my book, that makes them almost healthy. I mean chocolate is one of the major food groups, right? ;)

So here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 6 cup rolled oats (not instant or quick - I used the old fashioned style)
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used my 60% cacao instead)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Cream together butter and sugars.

Nope, not looking to creamy to me either, but that's what the recipe said.

Add the vanilla, eggs and peanut butter.

Now we're looking creamy.

And, if you're a sucker for peanut butter like I am, this smells divine.

Stir in baking soda, oats and chocolate chips.

Yep, this is a work out. And I must forewarn those of you who like to sample their cookie dough like I do. You get started with this and you might not be able to stop. Oh. My. It was AMAZING.

Drop by 1/4 cupfuls (yes, you read that right) onto a cookie sheet.

Then partially flatten with your hand.

Bake 14-16 minutes. The cookies might not look done, but they'll continue cooking out of the oven.

Now came the real test. I was afraid they might be crumbly. Instead, they were soft and chewy. And oh-so-satisfying. One of these with a cup of tea about mid-afternoon and you'll be good until dinner. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Our dogs like going to the ranch, too. And they always know when we're about to go. They see us bringing down suitcases and loading the car and they get all excited. 

Dixie, our golden retriever, has a special fondness for fish. Sometimes the boys will throw a few bass into the stock tank and Dixie will stay there for hours, chasing the fish round and round. Which is good exercise for this pudgie pup. She's even jumped in a time or two, though she doesn't hurt the fish. 

All she wants to do is play.

What did you do this weekend? Work or play? Did you watch the big game? Did you do something productive? Or did you kick back and enjoy doing nothing?

My One Word and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Over in Seekerville, where we Yankee-Belle bloggers all met, some of us have made it a habit to choose One Word for the year.

I chose mine in November. I thought about it, prayed about it, saw some flaws in my life I wanted to iron out...I chose "boundaries"...

...but God chose Joy.

You see, over the last few…no, several…years (or decades), I've let circumstances steal my joy. I don’t need to tell you what my circumstances are – we all have our own – but it started with one devastating event. Before I had fully recovered from that event, another blow came, and then a disappointment, and then a chronic sadness….

I let the events pile up like one snowfall after another, never letting the sun fully melt the old remnants of previous storms before the pile grew larger. Even when the sun did shine, which it does often in my life, there was always a crusty patch of snow in a sheltered spot that never melted.

Lest you think I’m prone to depression, I've always been an optimist. Happiness is easy to find when you know where to look.

Joy, however, can be denied.

Like when you’re recovering from the flu and every deep breath ends in a cough. You can try to fill your lungs with joy…but, oh, the cough. I’ll wait…until later…when I’m feeling better.

My word, Boundaries, sought to isolate that old patch of crusty snow…control it…deny it by ignoring it. Joy isn't so gentle. Joy rips into the covering of dead branches and frozen sod, revealing the icy canker, letting God’s grace melt every last remnant.

Once you give Joy access, it can’t be controlled. Joy will refuse to be hidden away behind circumstances. Joy will make itself known, and once known…you never want to let it be stolen again.

So my One Word is bright sunshine, warm rain, the scent of growing earth, bare feet in green grass, and the promise…oh, the promise!...that on that day when all is revealed, when the dark, rotting branches and mold covering my sins is stripped away…Grace will see Christ's righteousness instead. 

Oh, can there be greater joy than that?

What does all this have to do with Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies?

Years ago, when I was a young mother with one small son, I made these cookies often. Because of my novice helper, I would forgo bringing the mixer out of the cupboard, and do all the stirring by hand.

One of the things I've lost over the years is the enjoyment of those sweet moments with my young children…lost in a concern for mess, and getting the task done, and satisfying clamoring voices. 

Letting circumstances steal the joy instead of using the circumstances to magnify it.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients (for a small batch - feel free to double or quadruple the recipe):

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1/2  cup chocolate chips

Let the butter come to room temperature in a large bowl – and don’t cheat by trying to hurry the process in the microwave! While you’re waiting, read a good book. Or plan ahead of time to make these cookies, and get the butter out while you’re fixing breakfast.

With a large spoon, mix in the white sugar and brown sugar. Stir and stir until it’s all smooth. Now taste a bit. Isn't that delicious?

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork or small whisk. Add the water and vanilla, and keep mixing until it’s all combined.

Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture and stir. Stir until everything is all one happy mess.

Add the flour, soda and salt, and…you guessed it…stir some more.  Isn't this fun?

Now add the oats, mix it all up, and finally add the chocolate chips.

Of course you can eat one of them! Eat ten! No one will tell!

Wait…did you forget to preheat the oven? Do it now. 350° is perfect.

Drop the cookie dough onto baking sheets by the spoonful. You decide how big you want them, but be sure to leave enough room between the bits of dough so the cookies don’t all run together while they’re baking.

Is the oven hot yet? Good. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. They should be golden around the edges, and the top should spring back when you touch one.

Let them cool as long as you can (try to hold out for at least five minutes so you don’t burn your tongue on the chocolate chips!), and then take one.

Hold an edge in each hand and s-l-o-w-l-y pull it apart. Catch a crumb on your tongue. Rescue that dripping chocolate. Pop one half in your mouth and savor it. 

Isn't that the best cookie you've ever eaten?

Now, grab a cup of coffee or tea, have a seat here in the cafe, and join in the conversation. 

Have you chosen your One Word for this year? And if you have, has it made a difference yet?

Or, what will you do to keep circumstances from robbing you of joy?

And just in case you need someone to teach you how to pluck joy from the passing hours, take the time to read this. How to Live Outside the Box