Peaceful Travel: Day 20 OBS

Welcome to Day 20 of the Christmas Peace for Busy Moms online Bible study!  I’m posting a bit later than usual, due to spontaneous Thanksgiving fun:

• Black Friday shopping with my 8-year-old daughter last night and again this morning.  I found so many incredible deals, including my first new laptop computer since 2008!
• Time with my youngest sister, niece, and baby nephew at my grandma’s house.  Loved having time stand still for family bonding.
• A spontaneous date night tonight, since my children are spending the evening with grandparents.  Hooray for us!

I’ll make this post briefer than normal, since many of you are also enjoying your holiday weekends.

Day 20 is about peaceful travel.  I had to remind myself on Wednesday that I wrote a chapter on peaceful travel as I sat in very slow-moving traffic.  Typically I’m not an impatient driver, but that afternoon the temptation to grumble overwhelmed me.  I took some deep breaths, remembered I am an example to my children sitting next to me, and prayed for help.  Instantly, I felt more peaceful.

I recommend this Grit & Grace podcast by Amy Carroll and Cheri Gregory for lots of practical tips on peaceful travel.  When you listen to it (or read the transcript), let me know what tips inspire you.  I love the idea of pray-oritizing during travel time!

Questions for you:

Which tips in Day 20 of Christmas Peace for Busy Moms or the Grit & Grace podcast inspire you to have peaceful holiday travel?

On this Thanksgiving weekend, how are you spreading God’s peace among your friends and family?

Party Meatballs

As promised, here is this week’s holiday main dish recipe.  We enjoy this recipe at Christmas and New Year’s Eve.  Such a wonderful sweet-and-sour sauce!  Perfect for a slow-cooker, once the meatballs are browned.

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1 onion, minced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 egg, beaten

Milk

Mix all ingredients together and moisten with milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture holds together well.  Shape into 1″ balls and fry at medium-high heat in large skillet with 2 tsp. olive oil, watching closely and turning every few minutes until browned on all sides but still pink inside.  Transfer to a plate and wipe out excess oil.

In the skillet, combine the following:

2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup ketchup (Heinz is preferred)

1 cup water

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Whisk until combined and bring to a simmer.  Add more water if needed–the sauce should be a bit thicker than tomato juice.  Add meatballs into the sauce and turn to coat. Turn heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes with the lid on.  Serve with toothpicks as an appetizer or over rice for a main dish.

Please head over to Day 21 now to learn about peaceful planning for busy December.

Our theme verse for this week:

Find the printable Bedside Reminder Card of this verse here.

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