Why Motherhood is Like a Casserole by Elaine Mingus

They are hungry...again. With six mouths to feed, nourishing my children can feel like a never-ending task.

I raided the fridge to figure out what I could shovel in their mouths for the umpteenth time that week. I had no dinner plans, but I did have cheese, corn tortillas, ground meat and some leftover beans. Victory! Or at least I hoped.

Depending on the day, my children may or may not decide to "like" one of those ingredients.

With that in mind, I opted against adding a can of salsa for fear that the meal would be shunned because of the tiny slivers of "yucky" vegetables.

Without a recipe, I layered the corn tortillas with the bean/meat/cheese mixture. It was when I was adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that that I realized that motherhood is a lot like my makeshift casserole.

Most of us know the basic ingredients to making a casserole. (If you don't, never fear! There is an easy recipe at the bottom of this post!) We know that what goes in this time might not be exactly what we do next time, but as long as we have most of the right stuff the end result will be tasty.

In the same regard, we've all read books and blogs telling us how to be the "perfect" mom. We spend a majority of our time during many gatherings confessing our motherhood mishaps and receiving well-meaning advice for overcoming our parental obstacles.

When we return to the kitchen of our children's hearts, we are equipped with the recipe for becoming a good mother. But like all the mothers before us, we remember some of the ingredients while accidentally forgetting others.

In essence, when we are in the middle of this mommy thing, we wing it -- just like I did with my casserole.
 

Being a good mom is exactly like making a good (recipe-less) casserole.

 

As long as we mostly understand how to raise kids, our children will be successful humans -- each slightly different than the next but wonderful nonetheless.

It's when we leave out key ingredients like love and respect that our children will be seasoned with bitterness and hatred.

So today, don't worry if you haven't added all the right ingredients to being "the perfect mom." You're not required to follow an exact recipe, you just have to get it mostly right!  Just remember that love is like butter...and you can never add too much butter!

EASY MOM CASSEROLE

• 2 Cans Beans (do not drain)
• 1 Lbs. Ground Beef
• 1 Tablespoon Season All
• 18 Corn Tortillas
• 2 Cups Grated Cheese

1. Brown meat and season with spices
2. Mix in beans anad heat
3. Layer casserole dish with corn tortillas alternating meat/bean mixture with layers of tortillas
4. Top with cheese

Elaine Mingus is a Christian performance poet, blogger, homeschooling mother of many children, & fiction writer who wants to inspire her readers to greater depth in Christ. She is an avid reader, ex-bulimic, ex-heroine addict/drug dealer, wannabe missionary, evangelist, and journalist. Her personal motto is "Changing the World, One Baby at a Time."
 

Visit her blog:  Super Radical Christian Writer Chick

 

Thriving the First Days of Becoming Mommy (EBook Devotional) 

FREE DOWNLOAD Friday(1/9/15) and Saturday (1/10/15) ONLY!!!

No one warns us about motherhood. Or maybe they do and we just weren't listening. Thriving the First Days of Becoming Mommy acknowledges that moms spend most of their time keeping up with the new task of caring for a new baby and that their Bibles always seem to sit out of arm’s reach. Thriving the First Days of Becoming Mommy includes a month of short devotionals new moms can digest while tackling nursing, diapering and the whole new world of motherhood. With uplifting and humorous stories, the author, Elaine Mingus, explores her first days of becoming a mommy with the wisdom that comes from having six children. It functions as a gateway back into the swing of having a quiet time with the Lord, despite being busy with a new baby.

DOWNLOAD NOW!!  AVAILABLE FOR FREE TODAY Friday(1/9/15) and TOMORROW Saturday (1/10/15) ONLY!!!