Archives for July 2019

No Shame. Only Love.

July 15, 2019 Leave a Comment

Have you ever felt shame over your struggles? Like no matter how hard you try to crucify those patterns and “die to self,” you just keep messing up? Like seriously, this is going to be the last time that Jesus forgives you for this. same. stinking. Sin. That His grace is going to somehow dry up and run out because you just can’t seem to make yourself get it together? I know that I can relate to these feelings on a very deep level, in more than a few different areas of my life.
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This verse spoke to my soul this morning, in the midst of my mess. Jesus is not unable to relate. He has been exactly where we are, dealt with the same struggles and temptations. I truly don’t think that He endured this solely to prove Himself better than we are by being able to withstand and not sin. No, friends, He humbled Himself to this so that He could relate to us and love us exactly where we are!
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See, it truly is hard to empathize with someone until you have been in the very painful place that they are. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that as hard as it was for me to endure and as much as it shook my faith, without God allowing me to walk the road of miscarriage, I would not be able to help the dozens of women that I can help now. I would not be able to relate to their hurt and I would not have perspective. Would I choose to have another miscarriage? Absolutely not! But I have seen the hand of God through my experience.
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You guys, Jesus CHOSE to go through the very struggles that we are going through for the sole purpose of being able to love us in the midst of our messy. He did this so that we could confidently draw near to Him and allow His mercy and grace to wash over us. We don’t have to feel any shame in the presence of Jesus. Only love.

The Most Delicious Berry Cobbler Recipe

July 12, 2019 Leave a Comment

Not much says “summer” like a good cobbler! Growing up, we used to love to pick fresh blackberries for my mom to turn into the best treat. Sadly, we don’t have many blackberry bushes around our current home, but I still love to make this family fave for my sweet girl. Really you can substitute all kinds of fruits, but this go around I did a mix of blueberries and strawberries. If you want something different, just swap it out cup for cup!

The Most Delicious Mixed Berry Cobbler

Servings: 8-10
Time: Approximately 50-60 mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

5 cups of fruit. I did 2.5 cups of each. You can use fresh or frozen!
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups flour (all-purpose)
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of cinnamon
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided in half
1 cup whole milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups boiling water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray your 9 x 13’’ baking dish with cooking spray and spread your fruit evenly across the bottom. Drizzle with the lemon juice. (You can skip this if you happen to forget like I have…it doesn’t affect the taste too much).
Stir together the salt, flour, cinnamon, half of the sugar, milk, butter and vanilla in the bowl of your stand mixer just until combined. Its totally ok if there are lumps. Don’t over mix!
Spread your batter over your fruit in the baking dish.
Stir together the other half of the sugar and the cornstarch in a small bowl and sprinkle on top.
Pour your boiling water over the surface, using a spoon to poke several holes in the batter.
Place the dish in the over and bake for approximately 50 mins, or until the cobbler is golden brown and crispy.
Serve warm with home made ice cream (optional but SO GOOD!) .
I promise, this is still as good the next day straight out of the fridge….I may have had it for breakfast a time or two. 😉

Nothing is Outside of His Control

July 11, 2019 Leave a Comment

Shew, did I ever need to read that this morning!! How many of you are like me and have a powerful morning devotional, and then literally lose your peace the minute you stop? It’s not an every day thing, but some days it seems like I immediately forget the capabilities of the One who I just spent time with as soon as the worries of the world flood in.

The truth of the matter is, so often I tend to put Jesus in a box, acting like He isn’t able to or doesn’t care to deal with the things that worry me. But this verse reminds us that when God sent Jesus down to earth to live the perfect life, die the most brutal death, and rise again to make payment for our sins, He put everything under Him. Not just the big things. But the things that seem to overwhelm Katie Lee in 2019.

He left NOTHING outside of His control. Not one single thing. Not cancer. Not financial ruin. Not broken friendships. Not the loss of a child. Not the ability to create and sustain a life. Not a strained marriage. Not travel plans. Not broken cars and home repairs. Not income worries. Nothing is outside of His power. And He loves us enough to handle them.

You know what else? He even loves us enough to handle our worry because He knows that in our weakness, we are not able to get out of our own way. And that is so freeing to me! So often I tell myself that I need to worry less and trust Him, but in the heat of it, that is so much easier said than done. We are not a stumbling block to Jesus. His power is made perfect in our weakness. The only thing that we have to do is seek Him, and He will handle the rest.

A Rustic Wedding Cake (and cupcakes and cookies!)

July 10, 2019 Leave a Comment

Jared and Cierra are a very special couple, truly one of a kind. Cierra worked for us at our business and was easily one of the best employees that we had the entire time we owned it. She is a faithful servant at our church. We even trusted her to love on and look after our most precious this in this world, our sweet Addilyn. She has a heart of gold and loves with all she has. Seeing her fall in love and marry Jared, literally the perfect match for her sweet soul, was very special. So when they asked me if I would do their wedding cake, I was beyond honored and happy to tackle this new challenge.

The wedding was in a barn, with dreamy strings of lights and warm breezy air. They wanted simple, which I truly think is the best a lot of the time!

For the main cake, we did my vanilla pound cake for all three layers. To add some fun, the bride and groom chose to add chocolate and fresh strawberry cupcakes, all topped with my signature buttercream! I dropped these off in torrential downpour (huge shout out to my girl Jenn who dropped everything to help me with her giant SUV) and prayed that the icing held up until wedding time!

How perfect is that beautiful slab of wood that we were able to set this up on?!

Of course, in true Katie Lee fashion, I HAD to create them a set of cookies as a gift!

Wood grain royal icing is one of my new favorite techniques! It is not as complicated as you would think and it makes a big statement!

One final thing to say about this amazing couple. How many weddings have you been to where the bride and groom voluntarily chose to SERVE their guests their dinner before ever sitting down to eat themselves? What a beautiful way to start your marriage off being the hands and feet of Jesus. Like I said, truly a special couple and we are blessed to call them friends.

Easy Sheet Pan Chicken

July 9, 2019 Leave a Comment

I’m not going to lie to you, juggling full time ministry, a part time baking gig, a household and a toddler can be a struggle some days. It is really hard to get good, healthy meals in a lot of the time, so any time I find something easy, delicious, and toddler approved, I am all about it!

This sheet pan chicken checks all of the boxes! It comes together in minutes, requires hardly anything and is full of flavor. The recipe below includes the veggies that I use, but you could totally use whatever you have on hand, or whatever floats your boat!

Easy Sheet Pan Chicken

Servings: 3-4
Time: 35 mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

1-2 lbs chicken breast meat, cubed
2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
1-2 zucchini, cubed
1 red bell pepper, cubed
1 Yellow bell pepper, cubed
1 onion cut into strips
Cherry tomatoes
Olive Oil
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375.
Drizzle olive oil on your pan (or spray with cooking spray!)
Combine all of your cut up veggies and cubed chicken on the cooking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.
Season liberally with Italian seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Roast in the oven for approximately 25 mins, or until chicken is cooked through and the veggies are soft. If things look like they are browning, you can give it a little stir halfway through.
That is it! Told you, SO easy!

Remember What You are Fighting For

July 6, 2019 Leave a Comment

To live in America in 2019 is to live in the midst of constant controversy. We are a melting pot of hot buttons, and it is only going to get worse with a new election year upon us. Politicians and media outlets will sensationalize the issues and actively drive a wedge between us. And honestly, I get it. When you believe in Christ, it can be a bit distressing seeing the word of God trampled on. As believers, we can do a lot of damage though, thinking that we are acting in the Lord’s name. I have been there, taking up my keyboard and slinging words in “defense” of the gospel.

But this verse sums it all up. We ought not to take part in foolish controversies and quarrels. Rather we need to ground ourselves in God’s word, embedding the truth in our hearts so that we can stand firm. But when we choose to open our mouths (or our smart phones), we need to make sure that we do it with gentleness and kindness. Not one single soul is won for Christ with insults and harsh words. The people we are “fighting” are broken and lost. Our war is not with them, THEY are the prize that we are fighting for! All too often, we make them a casualty of war instead.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

– Ephesians 6:12-

Remember, friends. Love the sinner, hate the sin. Speak the truth, but make sure you are doing it in love. This is something that I am working on myself!