If you are looking for tasty, healthy meals to make this Christmas, you will enjoy this episode of Better Together! Cooking is Lisa Lewis’ jam and she has been a part of First Place for Health wellness weeks and events for many years. She’s not afraid to take whisks. 

Join host Barb Roose on this episode of Better Together Facebook Live, for a time of fun and Christmas cooking with guest, Lisa Lewis!

Lisa's Tasty Recipes:

1. Christmas Tree Salad

What You'll Need (this recipe is customizable depending on your preferences)

Swiss Chard (you can also use kale)

Walnuts

Cranberries

Pecans

3/4 cup of red grapes (cut in half)

2 peeled and separated mandarin oranges

Optional: Pomegranate

Dressing:

1 tbsp of maple syrup

1 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Chop the swiss chard and put it in a bowl, making sure that it is dry.

Add your toppings (walnuts, cranberries, pecans, red grapes, mandarin oranges, etc.) and toss.

Mix your dressing in a separate bowl by combining all ingredients and whisking them together.

Pour dressing on top of salad and mix.

Pile your Christmas salad on top of a serving plate to look tall like a Christmas tree. If you'd like to add a star on top, cut one out of a slice of bread, toast it and place on top of your salad.

2. Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Honey Siracha Sauce

What You'll Need 

1 pound of Brussel Sprouts

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 pinch of salt

Dressing: 

1 tbsp of siracha

3 tbsp of honey

Directions:

Cut the ends off your brussel sprouts. Cut your sprouts in half and peel off the leaves.

Place your brussel sprouts and the leaves in a bowl.

Add olive oil and salt into the bowl and mix until your brussel sprouts are covered.

Place your brussel sprouts a good distance apart on the baking pan with the cut side down and place in the oven. Do not use parchment paper!

Roast at 425 F for 15-20 minutes.

Once finished, place your sprouts in a bowl.

Whisk your siracha and honey in a separate bowl and pour on top of your roasted brussel sprouts.

Mix them together and place on your serving tray.

About Our Guest Lisa Lewis

Lisa Lewis works with First Place for Health, a Christ-centered whole person, wellness organization. This organization focuses on not just the physical, but the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of a person. She is also the author of the Healthy Happy Cooking cookbook.

Links from today's episode:

Lisa's Website

healthyhappycooking.com

Healthy Happy Cooking Cookbook

Grab your copy here.

Better Together host Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author with a passion to help women live beautifully strong and courageous in Jesus' name. She's the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus and Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Visit Barb's online home at barbroose.com.

Do you ever look at your life and feel like it is littered with shame, anxiety, fear, or perfectionism? What would it look like for you to give yourself a break and give yourself the same grace that God gives to you?

Join host Barb Roose on this episode of Better Together Facebook Live, for an honest conversation with guest, Amy Seiffert, on 5 ways that you can begin giving yourself grace today.

5 Ways to Give More Grace To Yourself

1. Remember that grace is about what God has done, not about what we have done.

When you feel down and discouraged because you just feel like you can't get it right, remember that grace is all about God and not about us. God's grace is abundant and available for each of us.

2. Recognize God's grace in your life.

Did you know that the words "gift" and "grace" are synonymous? Grace means receiving something that you don't deserve. Amy encourages us to take some time to stop and think about the things that we didn't deserve but were given anyways. Practice being thankful for God's gift of grace.

3. Get still. 

Take time for a short sabbath in the middle of your day to be silent and reflect on the fact that you are loved, cherished and taken care of by your Heavenly Father. Even if it's just 5 minutes, it will make a difference!

4. Meditate.

During your 5 minutes of quiet, choose a verse (or even just a part of a verse) to rehearse in your head over and over again. Amy often uses the phrase, "He restores my soul," during her moment of silence.

5. Breathe.

Amy reminds us of the power of just taking time to breathe. Take some slow, deep breaths to help your body relax and recenter on God.

About Our Guest Amy Seiffert

Amy Seiffert is an author, writer, and teacher. She currently is on the teaching team at Brookside Church, where she directs community groups and team cohesion. She has also been an affiliate Cru staff member for more than eighteen years. Weaving biblical wisdom through her presentations, Amy inspires, teaches, and humbly invites any willing spiritual pilgrim to walk alongside her in the pursuit of truth and the knowledge of God. Amy is married to Rob, and they live in Bowling Green, Ohio, with their three kids.

Links from today's episode:

Amy's Website

amyseiffert.com

Grace Looks Amazing On You 

Grab your copy here.

Choosing Gratitude 10 Day Devotional

Available on the YouVersion app!

Better Together host Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author with a passion to help women live beautifully strong and courageous in Jesus' name. She's the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus and Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Visit Barb's online home at barbroose.com.

With everything that life has thrown our way lately, many of us are in need of some wisdom and refreshment.

Join host Barb Roose on this episode of Better Together Facebook Live, for an honest conversation with guest, Susan Seay, on how to refocus our lives on what truly matters when we get out of alignment.

Practical Ways to Reclaim Center

 1. Listen to your body.

 Are you feeling tired and overwhelmed? Has your personality or appetite changed? Do you just feel like isolating yourself from others instead of being in community? Susan encourages us to take the time to listen to what our body is telling us in order to see what areas have fallen out of alignment.

 2. Alignment looks like being still. 

 Susan reminds us that being still is more than just not moving our bodies, but choosing to relinquish our minds, emotions, and will by resting in God.

 3. Focus on the right things!

 It's easy to get overwhelmed when we are focusing on our never ending to-do lists. Susan encourages us to reign our thoughts in and focus on what is good, true, honorable and life-giving.

 4. Determine your 3 core values

 Susan describes core values as our guiding systems that help us to make decisions for ourselves and our families. What areas are most important to you? Choose your 3 core values together and make sure everyone in the household knows them. When you feel like you are getting out of alignment, review your core values and assess where you may be getting off track.

About Our Guest Susan Seay 

Through the “Mentor 4 Moms" Podcast and the relatable style found in her book  “The Intentional Parent: Parenting On Purpose When Life Gets Busy" you can get a sense of Susan’s heart to provide encouragement to moms combined with helpful practical tools. As a wife and mom to 7, she truly understands the challenges of trying to be an Intentional Parent. Susan has been a mentor to women locally in Austin, TX, and Internationally for over a decade. 

 Links from today's episode:

 Susan's Website

 susanseay.com

 Mentor 4 Moms Podcast 

 susanseay.com/podcasts

 Susan's Parenting Cards

 susanseay.com/shop

 Better Together host Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author with a passion to help women live beautifully strong and courageous in Jesus' name. She's the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus and Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Visit Barb's online home at barbroose.com.

How can you remain joyful when you just want to give up?

On this episode of Better Together Facebook Live, host Barb Roose talks with Suzanne Eller, as she shares 6 surprising, Biblical truths about joy. As a two-time cancer survivor, these truths helped Suzie see joy in God in a new light.

You are invited to embrace these same truths!

Big Ideas From Today's Show

1. Joy is more than a feeling; it is a knowing. 

As Suzanne was walking through a very hard season, she asked God to redefine her understanding of joy. She discovered that joy was not tied to her circumstances or her feelings. God cares about our emotions, but His joy is deeper than that. Joy is knowing who God is, who we are, and that every promise that God has spoken over us will come to pass, even if it looks different than we expected.

2. God cares about our feelings. 

Suzanne reminds us that God created us to feel and that one of the biggest joy stealers in our lives is the belief that if we feel sad, confused or upset, God will be disappointed in us. Invite Him into your hurt and heartache, friends. He will be with you. In Suzie's words, "When we give ourselves permission to be honest with God, we're not only giving ourselves permission to feel, we're giving ourselves permission to heal."

3. You can become a joy noticer!

When we truly choose to look around and see what God has done (and is still doing) in our lives, we can become joy noticers. Suzie shares a Biblical definition of joy as when, "We consciously walk into God's love and care."

About Our Guest Suzanne Eller

Suzanne Eller is an ECPA bestselling author, podcaster, and is frequently listed as a Top 100 Christian women blogger. She’s an International speaker and Bible teacher, ministering to women across the U.S. and in several countries.

Suzie has written 11 books including her latest, JoyKeeper. She’s co-host, along with Holley Gerth and Jennifer Watson, of More Than Small Talk with the KLRC network podcast, and has been featured on Focus on the Family, Aspiring Women, Harvest Show, 100 Huntley Street, KLOVE, Daystar and many others.

Links from today's episode:

Suzanne's Website

Home

More Than Small Talk Podcast 

Podcast

JoyKeeper Book

JoyKeeper

Better Together host Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author with a passion to help women live beautifully strong and courageous in Jesus' name. She's the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus and Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Visit Barb's online home at barbroose.com.

Does prayer make a difference? We know that we are supposed to pray, but sometimes we can feel discouraged or wonder if we’re doing it right.

On this episode of Better Together Facebook Live, host Barb Roose talks with Mary DeMuth, who will share about how you can pray in confidence every day, even when you don’t feel like it.

Big Ideas From Today's Show

1. Prayer is like a muscle.

Just like we go to the gym and exercise to make our muscles strong, Mary reminds us that prayer is the same way. The more we work out our prayer "muscles", the stronger they will become and the more connected we will feel to Jesus.

2. Prayer is relational.

Mary defines prayer as discussing your stress, worries and bothers with your Father who loves you. God hears and cares about our prayers. Next time you pray, try writing your prayers out and seeing how God answers!

3. God can "restory" our lives.

You do not have to be bound to your past anymore. God is able to redeem your hurt, pain and shame. Mary reminds us that God is willing to "restory" us so that we can be used to do the same for others. 

About Our Guest Mary DeMuth...Mary DeMuth is an author and speaker who loves to help readers and audiences live uncaged, freedom-infused lives. She has written numerous books including Not Marked: Finding Hope and Healing after Sexual Abuse and Worth Living: How God's Wild Love for You Makes You Worthy. She is also the host of the popular Pray Every Day Podcast. 

Links from today's episode:

Mary's Website

Home

Pray Every Day Podcast 

Pray Every Day Podcast

Mary's Etsy Store

https://www.etsy.com/market/mary_demuth

Better Together host Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author with a passion to help women live beautifully strong and courageous in Jesus' name. She's the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus and Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Visit Barb's online home at barbroose.com.