At Home with Lynn Wilson. I found my new normal and it is a moving target.
Author: resumeofamother
Dollar Tree Self – Care Products: Yup, at the Dollar Tree
So many of us are on a budget and/or just want to save money. You can go to the Dollar Tree and find some great self-care products. Here are a few that I found that I am in love with:
Face Wipes – great for a quick wipe of the face for refreshment or a morning routine. I like to use them after I shower.. I find that I do not get an oily face and the makeup stays on nice all day.
Essential Oil Roller Bottles – yes from the Dollar Tree too. I am not an essential oils snob. I use what I like and what works for me. These bottles are great and really do work!
Use peppermint for a perk in the afternoon. I like it best for relief of headaches. I roll it on my temples, wrists, and the back of the neck for some quick relief.
Use lavender for a calming effect and sore muscles.
There are so many other wonderful options there as well. Like anything that’s less expensive, you get some good and some bad. These items I have found to be wonderful.
Let me know in the comments below what you have found that you really like. Share with us what we can be on the lookout for at the Dollar Tree.
Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
Having a Tear in the Corner of Your Eye
I remember sitting in church as a kid and listening to Pastor Jack Fedalen preach. I was only about twelve, but I can remember it like it was yesterday. His preaching was always dynamic, but more importantly he had a way of making you remember what his message was all about.
That day as I sat under his teaching, he reminded those of us who are believers that we should always have a tear in the corner of our eye. Pastor Fedalen went on to say once you lose this, you have lost one of the most important things in life.
Today I was chatting with my son about several really cool God things that have happened over the past week. It is almost overwhelming how many cool things have been happening. As I shared these things with him I watched his face soften, and the tear in the corner of my eye was real.
The Bible talks about how we need to be a witness to others and love them as we do ourselves. We need to feel the pain of others. The Bible also says that the angels rejoice when one soul is reached for Christ. What I was sharing with my son was that my husband and I have been sharing with three couples about our relationship with the Lord. Then this past Wednesday I spoke to a group of over three hundred women at a mini conference. I was able to share my story and what the Lord means to me. One phone call that I received today was about my message on Wednesday. She asked if she could use some of what I shared. She has family that need to know about Him and she felt that what I shared about eternity at the end of my message was just what they needed to hear.
Again, that tear was in the corner of my eye. Being older, I can relate to what he was trying to tell us during that message years ago. When we hear of the Lord’s work, His people, and when someone receives a relationship with the Lord, it is time to shout out loud and have a tear. The day that that tear is no longer there and we do not feel excited for these things is the day we have lost sight of what God is doing.
So my question to you today is, are you watching what God is doing all around you? Don’t meditate on the negative in this world. Regain your hope and the tear in the corner of your eye by keeping your eyes open for His work that is being done.
Here are a few verses for you to consider today for encouragement:
Galatians 6:2
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Luke 15:10
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Cranberry Chutney: Simple Canning Recipe
Over thirty years ago I learned how to can tomatoes. I did that for a few years but never really ventured out from there. Recently, after watching so many YouTubers who are now getting into canning, I decided that it was time to try this again.
I reached out on Facebook to find someone who would be willing to teach me and get me going. I was blessed with a friend, and the first thing she started me with was Cranberry Chutney. I had never had chutney and really didn’t think I would even like it or use it. To my surprise I am in love with it.
We have used this for roast pork and turkey, but the best is with cream cheese and crackers. This recipe is simple and a keeper for me.
At this point I have made over thirty jars and have given most of them away as Christmas presents. Homemade is always a great way to go for gifts, and my friends and family were so pleased. I will start canning jams and jellies soon, so stay tuned for some more yummy recipes.
Do you can? What have you made? Share some of your favorite recipes with me and let me know what works best for you as a beginner canner.
Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
Cranberry – Apple Chutney Recipe
Total Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
16 servings
Ingredients:
1 – 1 ¼ cups of sugar
½ cup water
1 package (12 ounces) of fresh or frozen cranberries
2 large tart apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium onion or I like to use 1 teaspoon of dried onion instead
½ cup of raisins and I prefer to use homemade raisins
½ brown sugar
½ cider vinegar or white vinegar will also work well
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (I like to add a pinch more)
½ teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of fresh ginger (I used powder)
- If you do not have allspice and cloves….I used ½ teaspoon of apple pie spice
Directions:
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 3 minutes. Carefully stir in the cranberries, apples, onion, raisins, born sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, salt, all spice, ginger and cloves.
- Return to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until desired thickness and stir occasionally.
- Can be served hot or cold and added to Roast Turkey, Roast Pork, use as a side dish and also add to sandwiches or cream cheese on crackers ( a favorite of mine)
The Smarts……
I am always looking for new ideas for my kitchen. Whether it is a new recipe or a new appliance, I just love using new gadgets and learning how to use new things. I find all the new “smart” appliances intriguing. We used to joke that with slow cookers you could just set it and forget it. Now you have appliances where you use an app on your phone while you are at work to turn it on and/or change the cooking functions.
When I was younger, my dad would say, “now there is someone with ‘smarts’”. Of course as a child I had no idea what he was talking about. As I grew older, I began to realize what he meant. It’s interesting now, we used to have smart people and now we have smart appliances.
The reality is that I am in love with smart products and I find myself using them more and more. The one thing I have found is that I am now expecting to change things with just a push of a button. This has become the standard that I am seeing with everyone. As we shop in stores we become frustrated so we go online and push a button. I find myself getting annoyed waiting in line so I go to the self checkout. Yes, faster. I push the buttons and make things happen.
As of late I have taken notice to how isolating that has become. As much as I enjoy pushing buttons and not having to wait in line, I have found that I am missing out on opportunities that God could be sending my way.
Our family is the type that as we stand in line at Walmart, random people will talk to us about anything. We could almost tell you their bank account number by the time we get done talking with them.
All in all, the “smart” things in life are not the problem. It’s us who forget to put them down and use the smarts that God has given us. We need to pick up the Bible and read his word. Gain the wisdom that is needed to share with others, to minister to them. Yes, this means we can’t just push a button and make things happen. It means that we need to invest in one on one conversation and share part of our lives.
Take the challenge today to put the device down and reach out to someone. Use your wisdom and the things the Lord has taught you to invest in one life today.
Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
52 week Challenge 2020
My husband and I have been talking more and more of late about having just a fresh start in life. So many times we get down, by the things we should’ve done, didn’t do or should do better. Attitude has a lot to do with how we perceive things and our attitude can drastically change our perspective.
So my husband and I have decided to sit down over the next 52 weeks and make some changes in our life. Nothing that drastic, nothing so miraculous that it will change the world… but what it will do is change our lives and how we look and view life.
The 52 week challenge of 2020 will be as simple as this. Each week on a Tuesday I will post here on the blog, also on Instagram and Facebook what our challenges are that we have chosen to do for that up-and-coming week. Feel free to take on the same challenges as us or come up with your own. We may not always meet that challenge… and that’s OK. The whole point of this is to make a difference in our lives. It’s to make a better you. It’s just a start fresh and recharge in life.
At the end of 52 weeks… We can look back and honestly tell ourselves that we tried new things, we face challenges, we set out to make a difference. Again whether all of those challenges were met exactly to perfection or not is not the point. But at the end of 52 weeks the point is that we are two better people because of having tried.
Our challenge for each other this week is called the “take 5”. We have challenged each other for this week to come up with five things over the next year we want to learn that we have been putting off for years. Graeme and I each need to come up with five different things that we want to either learn or experience. You might think five things are too simple… but when you add that to a full plate already …those five things will be a challenge in itself.
Come follow us on our journey as we begin the 52 week challenge as well as trying out five new things in this up-and-coming year.
Comment below if you dare to take the 52 week challenge 2020. Let me know what some of your challenges might be or if you’re going to follow along with the challenges that we put in front of ourselves. I would love to hear from you!
Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother



More Action and less talk……
More Action Less Talk
Impacting someone’s life has been on my mind this past year. I have been blessed over the years to have someone come along side me many times and touch my life in unique ways. I say unique because every time they touched my life it was at a time where I knew it was a divine appointment. It was the exact thing I needed at that time.
I have a friend who read me the story of the one starfish. I googled it, here is a copy of the story:
The Starfish Story
A young man is walking along the ocean and sees a beach on which thousands and thousands of starfish have washed ashore. Further along he sees an old man, walking slowly and stopping often, picking up one starfish after another and tossing each one gently into the ocean. “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?,” he asks. “Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them further in they will die.” “But, old man, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can’t possibly save them all, you can’t even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won’t make any difference at all.” The old man listened calmly and then bent down to pick up another starfish and threw it into the sea. “It made a difference to that one.”
She read this at our Bible study to encourage us to impact a life. Another divine appointment since I have been thinking about making a change in my life to be an impact!
I have a friend that loves to talk. She is very intelligent, knows a lot, and loves to talk about it. She is in the medical field, she crafts, she is a planner, she travels, cooks, sews, and does so much more. Like I said, she is very intelligent. But with all that she knows and can do, she talks way more than she does for others.
I have other people in my life, including myself, who might not be as book smart, but live their life in a smart way. They are always looking for opportunities to share in someone’s life. They are looking for a way to impact and encourage someone.
I want to make this year the year I reach out and touch a life. I want to impact those around me so that they feel encouraged, not alone, and feel like they had a divine appointment.
I have created a list of ways that I plan on doing this. I have used my gift of hospitality in the past years, and I honestly have slacked off in this area.
Just the other day, I had someone message me on Facebook who I have not seen in about 10 years. She remembered a seminar I taught on hospitality where I shared about having tea in our home with very little money. She is now setting up her home, and remembered what I shared. She is now starting tea in her home. Here is one life that I touched and she is now in turn touching others.
My personal mission statement for years has been to touch one life that will in turn touch another. I guess this proves that it works!
How do you impact lives? Have you been slacking off like me? How do you plan to jump back into it?
I will be blogging my up and coming teas and other events, where I hope to encourage you with how I am working on impacting lives.
Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
Touching one life that in turn will touch another’s.
Recharge and Refresh….
So according to Wikipedia here is what 2020 is;
2020 (MMXX) is the current year, and is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2020th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 20th year of the 3rd millennium, the 20th year of the 21st century, and the 1st year of the 2020s decade.
I don’t know if you want to view this as a new year, a new decade, or something else. But how about a fresh new start? So many times we get “stuck” in stuff. I find myself so stuck at times that I can hardly move. Yet I really don’t know how I got there.
For today, I am declaring a fresh start and starting over in many areas of my life. I am giving the grace that I need to forgive myself and move forward. For today I will use the saying that my mom used to tell me, ”today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
Come and join me on my new adventure of a fresh start. Here are some of the areas that I want to start fresh in:
- Reading – I need to read more and be consistent.
- My marriage – I love my husband, but I feel like I have let things get stale, so I need to be the one to make a change.
- More boldness – I need to allow myself to just be me and do what I know I have been called to do, without worrying about what others think of me.
Three is a good place to start. Too many things would overwhelm me. Let me know in the comments below what you want to recharge and refresh in your life. I would be very interested to see what you all want to change.
Happy trails….
Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
Self-care – 10 fresh start tips to make your day even more special
- Take five to ten minutes each day just for you. Paint your toenails, use a new face mask, or try a new ice cream.
- Write yourself a love letter – take five minutes each day to write in a journal or on a note card and list one thing that you know you are good at. By the end of the year you will be amazed at how wonderful you are and how beautifully you have been created.
- Take five minutes today to call a friend and share an encouraging word with them. By giving to someone else, you will lift your own spirits.
- Take five to ten minutes and do some stretching exercises. It will make you more limber and help clear your head.
- Take a five to ten minute walk, even if it’s up and down your driveway. Allow yourself to breath deep and remember that you are breathing life into yourself.
- Take five minutes a day to look up a Bible verse for words of encouragement that you can claim and hold fast to.
- Take five to ten minutes and make yourself a fun breakfast of blueberry pancakes, oatmeal with fresh fruit, or something else delicious that you don’t normally treat yourself to. Remember you are worth the extra treats!
- In the evening take five to ten minutes to allow yourself to indulge in a new hobby. Start crochet or a needlepoint project.
- Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. Enjoy the fact that you are alive today.
- As hard as this is (and no one is watching but you), stand in front of a mirror and talk out loud to yourself. Repeat the following every once in awhile :
- I have been fearfully and wonderfully made.
- I have been chosen.
- I am worth it.
At first you will laugh at yourself awkwardly. Then you might shed a tear or two and question these statements. After a while, a fresh start and recharge along with some self-care will have you amazed at how bold you have become, and you will learn to believe these statements and repeat them to yourself.
Sour cream banana bread… Double batch!
I’m sure we have all had a bunch of bananas sitting on our counter and after a week come to realize that no one has eaten any of them… and they’re all getting extremely ripe. So here is a great recipe for you to try….my family just love it! Grab a bunch of ripe bananas about 6 to 8… this is just perfect for this double batch of sour cream banana bread.
Enjoy!
In one bowl beat together…
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract
- 10 heaping tablespoons of sour cream
- 2/3 of a cup of vegetable oil
After this is thoroughly mixed add in your 6 to 8 ripe bananas and whisk or I like to use an electric hand mixer to thoroughly mixed it together.
And then in the second bowl mix together…
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 4 cups of flour
Optional items that you can add could could be a half a cup of dried cranberries, dried blueberries, walnuts, or even chocolate chips.
Combine your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients and gently mix together.
Grease to 2 bread loaf pans, place them in a preheated oven on 350° for 45 to 50 minutes
Let stand for 10 minutes and pop out the banana bread from the bread loaf pans… Place on a plate cover until it cools off.
Make sure you lightly cover it even when it is still warm, so that the bread does not dry out.
Add a little butter… peanut butter… or your favorite fruit jam and enjoy this delicious homemade bread.
Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother
