“I think I prayed for you.” The six words that God used to change the trajectory of my life. Sit down folks, and get ready for a Testimony I have been waiting to share with you for longer than I have even known.
Shortly prior to writing my last blog post “Not All…Right Now” (linked here if you haven’t had a chance to read https://www.thisrealtorcooks.com/post/not-all-right-now), I found myself sobbing on the phone with a friend. Sure there were obvious things going on in my life that could have made me sad- my dog was dying, my son was gone to see his father over the summer, and that’s always hard, and probably most of all, I was hoping for more in the relationship I was in and wasn’t getting it. Even with this all at play, my life was seemingly pretty great- I was thriving in my business, had a healthy incredible son, surrounded by supportive family and friends, yet I was feeling true deep seeded sadness. The type of sadness you can’t pinpoint, but you just know it’s not how we’re meant to feel.
Later that week, I found myself alone at my then boyfriend’s house and I went for a morning swim, not something I typically did, but as I swam laps, I found myself weeping again. Without thinking about it, I felt called to surrender, to surrender not only to the God I have always believed in, but to call on Jesus Christ, who I’ve had a wavering Faith in my entire life. You see, I was raised Methodist, confirmed in the church, and went to church off and on my whole life (more on holidays than anything, but I was certainly introduced to religion and Jesus). Eventually I went off to college and met my now ex-husband, who is Jewish. I remember him being nervous to tell me this, as I was a self proclaimed “Christian”. I was too young, nay too unsaved and unsanctified, to realize that this should have been a concern. Instead, I approached it with enthusiasm and curiosity. This lasted throughout our marriage and beyond. I dabbled in learning Hebrew, considered converting, and even brought our son up in a semi-Jewish household for his first four years of life. Before any of this makes you squirm too much, I am not going to speak of regret or lend any kind of persecution to anyone. Rather, I am sharing these details to explain how it gave me a deeper understanding of the one and only God, who’s son is Jesus Christ, who also embodies the Holy Spirit, who I believed visited me the day of my surrender and has not left my side since. The Old Testament is made up of the writings of The Torah, which is what Jews believe in and study, and the holidays observed by Jews bring to life these writings and the history that led up to Jesus’ birth. All of which, I spent a lot of time exploring and experiencing during those 10 years of marriage.
God weaves every single detail together for good.
After the day of surrender some things happened quickly, and others, a bit slower, and THEN, well, you’ll have to wait and see. A couple of weeks later the then boyfriend and I decided to take a break. The conversations we had been having and will have continued to have throughout this process, I can’t describe any way aside from confusing. Ultimately, we ended up breaking up and I felt devastated. As you may or may not remember, my dog was sick. Well, the day we went on that break was the same day she died. Also, only 8 months earlier, I had lost a dear friend to cancer, and two years prior to that, a close aunt passed away. The grief from all of this surrounded me, and even though I had surrendered to Christ, I did not continue to seek Him. In His infinite wisdom, He placed a fantastic counselor in my life who led me through and out of that grief, and He placed me in the presence of my great friend, Steph.
Steph is the type of devout Christian that can almost intimidate you, but at the same time, exudes a calm that fills you up when you are near her. I cried with her and shared what I was going through with her as we sat on the playroom floor with her young son. She confirmed that the feelings of calm I was getting from her were not from her, but from Jesus. I remember thinking, is she for real? But it stayed with me in a way I can’t explain. During another one of our visits, she and I were speaking, and I told her of some things I had noticed in my life and she said to me “He is wooing you.” Speaking of Jesus. She was saying to me in the most serious of ways, that Jesus, the son of God, was wooing ME! While my worldly side again thought, is she serious? Something in me knew what she was saying was true. He was answering my call of surrender, but I didn’t have my eyes open nor my heart softened enough to see it.
She and I planned to begin a Bible study later in the month for Advent. Now this wouldn’t be the first Bible study I had done with her, but it was the first one I was genuinely interested in participating in. Once I opened the Bible to begin this study is when His transformation and salvation truly began. I felt a shift in my wants and the way I saw the world. I began to spend time with God and listen for His voice. The study was called “Joy of Every Longing Heart”. It was all about seeking and longing for Jesus. She knew my heart was longing for a partner in life, but she also knew that that would never suffice. That without Jesus and God first, there’s nothing. I would end up right back at that place of suffering, sobbing, and sadness. My pride continued to get in the way throughout this study, but she knew what she was doing through Him.
Before I move on to where things get really exciting, I have to take a moment to say thank you to Steph. Steph, you haven’t left my side, nor left one question unattended, as I experience this rebirth. You study with me, pray with me and for me, and you loved me so much that you ensured I heard the Good Word. I love you, my beautiful sister!
As I found myself ready to get back out there to find my husband, I found myself doing it anew. Looking for shared Faith, and a truly Godly man. Thinking I found him after a couple of dates, I was quickly dashed by yet another failed romance- missionary doesn’t always mean walker with Christ, folks. God knew this and the only way I can describe it, swiped him from my life. I remember praying a lot about who I wanted and even prayed over the apps I was using to date, to invite God into the process. It seemed like it was all futile, until, one unassuming Friday evening, I met someone by the name of Ryan. This particular Friday, I was lying on my couch resting my neck that had been tweaked, which in turn, kept me from going to look at a house I was considering purchasing in Woodstock, GA (about 40 minutes away from where I currently lived). I hopped on one of the apps I mentioned above, and matched with Ryan. We started chatting and it was one of the better conversations I had on one of those apps, but people never cease to surprise you in this new world of dating, so I kept my hopes tamped down. Over the next couple of days, he and I began talking non stop, late into the night (usually I was asleep by 10 pm due to early morning school runs). God was brought up in the second phone conversation, and we realized we had both experienced Him and His saving us quite recently and how incredible it was. How we felt as though we couldn’t discuss these things with most people, who would think us insane or weird.
A couple of days later, many other key details about Ryan- his personality, values, sense of humor, Faith, and more came to light, and in a moment stepping out in Faith, I spoke those 6 words “I think I prayed for you”. He responded, “I think I prayed for you too.” It was one of the most incredible feelings and affirmations I’ve experienced in my, then, 37 years, but it wasn’t an affirmation from man, it was an affirmation from God saying Yes and Amen to me at that moment.
Fast forward eight months later and I am living a completely different life- on a farm with 33 acres, more animals than I can count, with a man who is more than I could have asked for as a partner and bonus parent, and with a purpose only God could have created.
There are so many more details and small moments I’ve seen or felt His presence than I can write here. Having the opportunity to pray daily with my childhood friend, Vol, reading my Bible, and practicing His presence have become a way of life for me. While I cannot pinpoint an exact time I felt “saved”, it was more of a slow realization of His true magnificence and accepting the Truth of the Gospel through reading my Bible, I can say there is one thing I know for certain, without Him, I have nothing. If you are looking for the same salvation and transformation- open your Bible, I promise you won’t be disappointed. If you don’t have one, you can download this app. I’d be glad to chat with you or study with you there too! Or just start with this beautiful and inspiring verse-Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” Matthew 21: 21-22
There’s no way to segway gently into Real Estate and food from here, except in recognizing that God is a part of every aspect of my life and He had been working in it before I even asked for Him to. He brought me a team member, someone I could trudge this difficult Real Estate world with and who is also Faith based. She and I are currently what makes up Summit Real Estate, and we are working to find like-minded business partners, whether it is a Real Estate agent looking to join the team or a Property Owner looking for superb management of their commercial assets. Our main goal is to grow together, in a symbiotic and respectful relationship. I’m down in the Western part of GA while she maintains the North, and we can accommodate anything in between.
This self proclaimed “single mom” has also found herself a teammate in the household and kitchen, of course I’m speaking of that wonderful guy Ryan, and we have created so many tasty dinners together. One of them being the Chicken Cobbler recipe below, which was passed along to me by my other fantastic teammate, Rebecca. This has been all over Facebook, Tik Tok, Pinterest- maybe you’ve heard of it as “Cheddar Bay Biscuit Pot Pie”, “Chicken Pot Pie with Red Lobster Biscuits” or as I have found it “Chicken Cobbler”. In any case, I know you will find it delicious! Check out the recipe below, and let me know how you get on when you try it.
First thing's first, gather your ingredients. This recipe is super easy. Just a matter of a little bit of mixing, layering of your ingredients, and then just popping it in the oven. Did I mention it was tasty? Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
First layer- butter! While you preheat your oven, go ahead and add the butter to your baking dish and melt it. Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.
Next up is the chicken and veggies. If you're as lucky as me to have someone who smokes meats, a smoked chicken is delicious in this recipe. If not, any type of cooked and pulled chicken will work great. Just sprinkle the chicken along the bottom of the baking dish followed by the frozen veggies.
Go ahead and mix your milk and biscuit mix with seasoning packet together, as well as your cream of whatever soup (I put cream of onion soup in the recipe, but any creamed soup will do great) and chicken broth together. I made an edit here in the cobbler I baked, as I only had about half of the chicken broth the recipe called for, so I added milk to make up the liquid and it worked out great. Pour the broth and soup mixture over the meat and veggies, followed by the biscuit mix mixture and DO NOT mix. This is all going to seem strange and like WAY too much liquid. Trust the recipe, it is all necessary.
This last layer is optional. But is it?? Sprinkle about a cup to a cup and a half of cheddar cheese on top. Sorry, I learned a lot of my cooking skills from Rachael Ray and didn't measure. Once you've finished your layers, bake it in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until browned and firm on top. God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food, by His hands we all are fed, thank you Lord for daily bread. Amen.
Chicken Cobbler
Recipe inspired by plowingthroughlife.com
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and pulled chicken (white and/or dark)
1/4 cup butter
2 cups (16 ounces) of frozen vegetables
2 cups milk
One box of Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuit mix
10 ounce can of cream of onion soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter to your baking dish and melt it in the oven as it preheats. Carefully remove the hot dish once the butter has just melted. Next, layer the cooked chicken along the bottom of the baking dish followed by the frozen veggies. Mix your milk and biscuit mix with seasoning packet together, as well as your cream of onion soup. Pour the broth and soup mixture over the meat and veggies, followed by the biscuit mix mixture and DO NOT mix. Last, sprinkle 1 to 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, do this step to your taste, or skip it all together if you so choose. Carefully place the whole thing in your preheated oven and bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until the top is firm and lightly browned. Enjoy!
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