30 Southern Sayin's

Growing up in the south I remember hearin' all kinds of sayings. Whether they come from my momma, my grandpa, other family, or my pastor! Over the years, I've actually made note of a few of them that I want to never die out. Here are a few of those plus some others I find valuable.

1. Good Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise!
2. Put your big girl panties on and deal with it.
3. Lord have mercy!
4. I've been runnin' around like a chicken with it's head cut off!
5. Bless your heart. (My personal favorite...it can be used as a simple phrase or a preface for an insult.)
6. Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit.
7. Heavens to Betsy!
8. Hey ya'll! Watch this...(Every rednecks famous last words...)
9. I reckon.
10. Doggone it.
11. Dagnabit.
12. Dagum!"
13. I'm fixin' to...
14. Hold your horses!
15. Whoopsy Daisy.
16. Madder than a wet hen.
17. Slow as molasses.
18. What in the Sam Hill...
19. Oh my word.
20. Gimme some sugar.
21. Have you lost your cotton pickin' mind?
22. This too shall pass...
23. Ya'll come back now... ya hear?! (Sound familiar?)
24. You're gettin' too big for ya britches.
25. This ain't my first rodeo.
26. We were walkin' in High Cotton.
27. A few bricks shy of a load...
28. Do what?
29. Mind your manners!
30. Hey, Jack! (as made famous by the one and only Si Robertson)

These are no where near ALL of the sayin's I know of or have always heard... but that's a good list. 

From my southern heart to yours, 

-Darby

These Are Just A Few Questions I Had

It seems to me that we, mankind, have this unhealthy obsession with things that are ultimately... unhealthy. We seem to have a passion for the things that we can do without, for the things that we are better without. 

Why do we crave what harms us? 

Physically... Mentally... Emotionally...

Relationships for example, not the ones we live with...but the ones we have learned over time to live without or forget all together. I'm talking about the toxic relationships. Why is it so hard for us to forget and move on after a break-up? Why is it difficult for us to learn to "deal" with the outcome when we are wronged? Why is it hard for us to relinquish our troubles and give them up to God (who we know is the Ultimate Healer and Comforter)? 

These are just a few questions I had... Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts! I'd love to hear what you all think.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Rotini (Under 500 calories!)

Since I'm in the process of changing my eating habits and trying to lose 30ish pounds, I've been trying to find certain foods that are good for the taste and good for the nutritional value! This recipe is one I have come up with by just combining two of my favorites... chicken and pasta! This recipe serves 3-4 people but can be adapted to serve as many as you want! 

1 serving is only 470 calories!! 

(A serving consists of 6 oz of chunked chicken breast, 1 cup pasta, and 1 Roma tomato.)

What You'll Need:

- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

- 3 roma tomatoes (or a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes)

- 3 cups of rotini pasta

- lemon pepper 

- seasoned salt

- olive oil

I learn recipes better in steps so that's how I'll list them for you! (Honestly, a few steps can be interchanged but this is all how I prepare my meal. So if you feel you prefer one step first over another then by all means...fix this yummy dish how it works best for you!)

1. First what I do is put a little olive oil in a skillet and turn it on low heat. That way the oil doesn't "freak out" in the skillet and start popping while I prepare the chicken.

2. Next I cube my chicken breasts and put them in a bowl. (I try to do a 1" cube but really just chunk it up all in about the same bite sized pieces.) After you cube the chicken, season it with the lemon pepper and seasoned salt however your tastebuds want. I like heavy seasoning on my chicken so I used about 1 1/2 tbsp of the lemon pepper and 2 tsp of seasoned salt. Try to evenly coat every chunk of chicken. 

• After you chunk that chicken and WASH YOUR HANDS... go ahead and dice  up those 3 tomatoes. Or if you have the cherry tomatoes then cut them all in half.

3. Put the chicken chunks into the skillet and turn the heat up to medium... You still don't want that skillet to get too hot or else you'll scald the outside of the chicken, you'll think it's done, and then it may not cook all the way through. I don't "turn up the heat" until I get my pasta cookin'! Keep an eye on your chicken so that if you need to turn a few pieces over you can do it quickly without it burning.

4. Boil some water in a medium-large sauce pan (depending on how much pasta you need/want...If you're like me, more is better) on medium-high heat. Once the water is boiling, add in your rotini and turn down the heat to about 5 o'clock. In other words "Turn down for what?!" 

5. Okay, so is the chicken all the way cooked... how can you tell? Take a knife or metal spatula or something and cut through a couple of the bigger chunks and make sure the middle isn't pink. Once your chicken is cooked all the way through and your pasta is almost cooked to perfection, add in the tomatoes to the skillet with the chicken. Turn down the skillet's heat to low so the tomatoes don't get all "mushy."

6. Pasta's done! Turn off the heat and strain the pasta of the left over water but DO NOT RINSE. Return the pasta back to the sauce pan.

7. To plate the meal what I usually do is make sure I have about 3/4 cup of the cooked rotini down as the "bed" then I add the chicken chunks with tomatoes on top. Now it's your food so you can plate it however YOU want! That's the beauty of cooking your own dinner.

Now you're all ready to eat your yummy Lemon Pepper Chicken Rotini!! 

Happy eating and I hope you enjoy!

Unanswered Prayers Turn Into Unexpected Blessings

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs, just because He doesn't answer, doesn't mean He don't care. Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." -Garth Brooks Unanswered Prayers 

Sometimes this song just seems so relevant to sooooo many situations in life. We don't always realize it when it's happening, but when it's all said and done, we look back and see that when we thought He was ignoring us.... He was actually piecing together the greatest gift of all.

That's something I can personally relate to. Back in 2013 I answered God's calling to leave my university and start looking for jobs. I've grown up in a family that has a Dean and a Professor so college always seemed like the obvious path for me. I even wanted to go to school. In the summer of 2013, God started working on my heart... opening it up to the idea of leaving school and following Him down whatever path He may lead me on. Going against His pull, I enrolled for the fall 2013 semester.

Worst. Decision. Of. My. Life.

(If anyone ever asks you whether you follow God's plan or your own... word of the wise, follow God's.) The Lord very gently reminded me throughout the semester who ultimately was in charge and who I had verbally committed to follow. One thing led to another and by the end of the semester, even thought I had settled into a major that I was ecstatic for...I was miserable. I was enrolled in classes I hated. I didn't have any form of a social life because I was invested into those same classes. I even became that one "unlucky" person that every professor seemed to lose her papers and emails (which also affected my grades.) I eventually learned to keep at LEAST 2 extra copies of all papers and work with me when I went to class. After extra prayer and talking to my parents and going over and over possibilities.... I decided to not enroll for the spring 2014 semester.

Now I know what some of you are thinking... "Education is the key to any career. Are you sure you're making the right decision." The answer I have for everyone that asks me that is "Absolutely." So now what? Well, I need to get a job to sustain myself while I wait for God to show me the next steps. I ended up with two jobs. One as a barista at a local Christian bookstore/coffeebar and one working for a family who needed a babysitter (but I'll get to that one in a minute). Working at a coffeebar in a christian bookstore that I grew up going to was a dream come true! I mean, two of my favorite things... Coffee and God. Needless to say, that job was and continues to be a blessing to me. Now on to the babysitting gig.

It all kind of just came together. I received a phone call from my former girl scout leader who knew I was looking for a job. She started telling me about the family she worked for... a young family with a five year old daughter and "almost two" year old triplets (a boy and two girls). Yep, you heard me right. Triplets...that were almost two. I'm sure you've heard of "terrible twos" ... well multiply that by three. I knew nothing about this family, or what I would be getting myself into but having babysat for years I thought that it would be a challenge. It was one I was up for. So after a couple weeks I was able to meet the mom and dad, meet the kiddos, and kind of get a feel for their routine. I had NO idea how blessed and happy these four kids would make me over the next several months.

Long story short, those four kiddos have brought me so much happiness and joy. Especially in times when I need it the most. Deciding to stay out of school was one of the hardest decisions I've made and it doesn't come without it's critics who think I'm "making a huge mistake with my life." But those four faces...those four faces that I see twice a week make all of the scrutiny and negative comments worth it. Those four faces that smile and giggle when I tickle them..those four faces that call me "Dah-bee" and give me sweet little kisses...those are the faces that I look forward to seeing and they make me see the beauty in God's promises. You see... He made a promise to me that if I trust in Him with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding... He will make my paths straight. Does that sound family to all of you Bible Drillers? It's Proverbs 3:5-6. While He's making my paths for me, I'm trusting in Him and letting Him guide me. Not only is He setting my paths before me, He's making my time in waiting oh so sweet. 

Everyone... meet four sweet little blessings...

A Blessing or A Curse?

Today at church, a very dear friend of mine and I were trying to catch up on our Sunday School lesson. Somewhere in the middle of that discussion we both shared that we felt like the Fourth is more of a "couple" holiday. Let me explain... as two single women we both talked about how either we watch others' children or we are in the middle of love-birds. It isn't that we don't enjoy playing with the kiddos or seeing couples enjoy themselves, but we both seemed to share the same feelings about how it would be nice to get to do those "couple" things on holidays. So to sum our feelings... Holidays alone can stink. I know what some of you are thinking... "Geez girl, you're only 20... you have all the time in the world for romance, enjoy being 'just you' for the time being." This is very true. I am JUST 20 years old. I am JUST a "young'n" as my grandfather would say, but you know JUST because I'm young doesn't mean I don't feel alone sometimes. Don't get me wrong, being single isn't always a bad thing. There are days when I thank the good Lord above for not having a relationship.I feel there are just certain times though, it would be nice to be able to post those cute couple pictures or be able to share about how amazing my boyfriend is and I'm sure I am not alone in thinking that. 

But you know what? It's okay. It's perfectly normal to want a relationship. No, it doesn't make you weak to want someone. No, it doesn't mean that you can't make it on your own. It's HUMAN NATURE to want someone. God didn't make us to be creatures of complete independence. If that's what He intended then I don't believe He would have made Eve. Being single isn't a curse...it's a blessing in disguise. Not where you thought I was going, was it? ;) I recently ran across a quote that I have actually written on my mirror at home. It's a quote by Daniel Goddard and says:

"Appreciate being single because that's when you grow the most...and with that growth, you come to know what you're looking for." 

Let that sink in. Even during that dreaded time of being "just you" you actually get to grow. You get to figure out who you are and really focus on yourself. You are given time to figure out just what you want out of life and not only that but you also have time to truly evaluate what you want out of a future relationship.

Being single isn't a punishment. It's not a curse. It's a blessing. A blessing that you get to decide how it's handled. You can sulk in it, or you can seize the opportunity to spend time focusing on yourself. It's not selfish to focus on you and grow. Being single doesn't mean that no one wants you... it just means that right now you are letting God work on your while He works on your "one." 

So don't be ashamed of being single, be proud that God thinks you're strong enough to handle it. 
AND YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH. 

A Little Bit of Me

Hi ya'll! Welcome to my blog! I'm fairly new to the blogging world but figured I'd give it a try. After all, I don't have to be limited to 140 characters here! Before I get into any nitty-gritty posts, how about I introduce myself and let ya'll get to know me a bit better?

My name is Darby and I am 20 years old. I grew up in a small Kentucky town and still live there to this day. I'd describe myself as a people-person....which can be a good and bad thing. Good, because I've never met a stranger and I love learning about others. Bad, because I usually tend to trust everyone (Now I know some of you are cringing at the thought of that but it's just how I am) until they give me a reason not to. I'm definitely one of those annoyingly optimistic people who will dig until she hits China when trying to find a bright side to a situation. So bear with me, because I know I'll find that bright side at some point! Hmmm.... lets see.... what else? 

I am a child of the ONE TRUE KING! I serve the risen Savior and I do my absolute best to follow His plan for my life...which at this moment currently has me working two part time jobs as a barista and a babysitter. I love my jobs!! Now some people wouldn't necessarily see my being out of school as a good thing (and believe me, I've had MANY inform me of the negatives) but I can assure you that I am doing what God has planned for me and I am okay! :) God is such a HUGE part of my life so I seek His guidance and opinion in all matters of my life. I hope that throughout my posts that my love for Him will show!

Not only do I love God, family, and friends... but I also love all things southern! Southern sweet tea, southern summer nights, southern sports, etc etc. Pretty much you can stick an anchor, a bow, or a gun on it and I'll love it. This blog isn't going to be strictly devoted to one subject. I wanted this to be a place where many topics can be discussed. Some days will be better than others and I'm okay with that! If nothing else, I hope that ya'll are able to get at least a little encouragement for your day!

You'll learn little bits and pieces more about me as more posts are written. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this blog! I hope you enjoy your stay!

From my southern heart to yours, 

Darby