For years and years many people have told me I should write. My mother, the English teacher, has always encouraged me to write... "You're a natural" she would say even though I have never really written anything of worth. Several professionals with fancy degrees and high dollar per hour fees have encouraged "journaling" as a form of therapy when there were exceptionally difficult mountains that I was climbing in my life's journey. I have even gone as far as purchasing the journals only to stack them on the bookshelf to collect dust. They are pretty don't you think? But........if you would open one of those pretty books you would find empty pages. I just never could find the spirit within me to write in them. I have even prayed, "Lord, please give me the heart to journal!" But nothing ever got written!! As time has past, as we all know it does, I was encouraged by yet another person this past fall in my Community Bible Study ...."You should write a Cookbook!" You see I have the priviledge of making lunch each Wed for 30 women in CBS leadership and they wanted some of the recipes. I do love to cook and it comes so easily for me. Lunch for 30....No Problem!! "Good Idea" I said about the cookbook and went on my merry way without a plan to accomplish that task, kinda like the empty journals, except there was a still soft voice within that kept saying," You need to do this or at least you need to try. Don't give up so easily!!"
A few weeks later one of the children's leaders even volunteered to help proof and edit a book if I would get the recipes together. I thought about it a lot. I prayed about it... a lot!! There are a lot of good cookbooks out there.....Believe me I know!! If you would come to my home you would probably agree that I own most of them!! But I wanted this book to be special, not just another cookbook with pictures and recipes, although I do enjoy a great cookbook!! I wanted it to be an offering back to God for all that He has given me. All the blessings of good food, friends, faith, trials.....all of what has made up my journey while here on earth. And then before I knew it I had my title....Pot, Pans, and Prayers.
Not knowing how to get started on the task of "writing" a cookbook or a book of any kind for that matter, my daughter suggested a "Blog". Being over the half century mark I said , "What is that?" I mean I knew about "Julia and Julie" and "The Pioneer Woman" but never thought about doing it myself. So again I put off starting "The BLOG". I had doubts about my ability to write. I tried to convince myself , "It had already been done", "There is nothing new for you to do out there",......but there was that still, soft voice saying.... "Do this!! Don't let doubt and fear overcome you." So just this week I had a plumber come to look at an outside faucet that was leaking. I drove up just before he arrived and left my garage door open. As I walked out to meet him he looked up and said, "So tell me about your license plate, MTN MAMA?". Don't ask me why but that confirmed something deep within me. It was like God was speaking directly to me saying, "The world needs to know more about Me and I can do it through YOU if only you get started!!"........so here we go....
I am the MTN MAMA, boy do I have some stories to tell, some great food to cook and the love of an awesome God to share!!! We'll see y'all next week with our first recipe, I can't wait to find out what it's going to be... Can You?