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I’m over on Every Day Cheer today sharing one of my favorite recipes. It’s my favorite go-to recipe and I know it by heart. You’ll love it, too!

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Thank you for all of your comments on yesterday’s post. Relatedly, but on a more hilarious note, my Travoltafied name has had me giggling all week.

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My friend shared this video on Facebook and then I had to send it to my family because I was just bawling and knew they would, too. I loved my family Golden, Beaux, and love our sweet Boudreaux so much. There’s just something about a Golden. (Yes, it’s a car commercial, but that doesn’t bother me a bit because the story is so sweet.)

Chevrolet Commercial 2014 – “Maddie” from The Herd on Vimeo.

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Today is grandparents’ day at school and we are looking forward to a fun day with family! Hudson has a little performance at school and we’re praying the stage fright nerves stay away from him.

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I feel like summer is going to be here so soon. I can’t wait to spring forward this weekend and I’m getting out my summer calendar and dreaming of lazy days at the pool and movie nights on the couch and getting ourselves into as much fun as we can find!

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For those of you that haven’t heard or didn’t watch, on Sunday night, John Travolta had the privilege of introducing the incredible Idina Menzel before she performed Best Original Song nominee “Let it Go” at the Oscars.

All over the country, little girls, their mothers, and even Todd Carroll (though he’d never admit it) were all looking forward to this performance. We’ve all memorized “Let it Go” and sung it our cars and had dance parties in the kitchen at night. If it wasn’t before, Idina Menzel is now a household name.

But maybe it isn’t? John Travola completely missed her name. In fact, he actually called her something random and off the wall and something that sounded nothing like “Idina Menzel.” (Twitter accounts, Travoltalized name generators, and many parodies have come as a result.)

But there stands Idina Menzel. Stepping out onto the Oscar stage, in front of the world, and this movie star doesn’t know her name. And she nailed it her song.

She’s still Idina Menzel. She still has this powerful gift of a voice. She is still the mother to her child. She is still an award-winner and she is loved by her family. She laughs at jokes and makes jokes. She sings to her child. She is known.

We all have this desire to be known. The presence of social media in our life has amplified it. We all have a voice. We all have an audience. We want to be known and want people to know our names.

And there are many who don’t know our names. We aren’t recognized for the work we’ve done. Sometimes someone else receives the glory for the work we’ve done. We speak up and no one hears us. We have talents that we’ve stuffed away because we can’t find the time or courage to pursue them. Or we are pursuing our talents and no one notices. We want people to hear our opinion. We want to be remembered.

But God sees you. He knows your name. He remembers your talents. He gave them to you. Especially you!

Jesus called out to Saul and gave him a new name. He called out to Peter, by name. He calls me by name, and many times I completely miss Him speaking to me.

If our talents and our art and our gifts and our service are never noticed, and we are never known by others, Jesus still knows us. He wants relationship with us the way that we want relationship and community with those around us. This desire to be known is about community more than fame. And our relationship with Christ is the same way.

He knows us. We can be who we are. We don’t have to strive. We can sing our songs and write our stories and raise our children and take comfort in the fact that nothing can separate us from His love.

Someone else may get the credit for something we’ve done (Adele Dazeem) or we may spend our days doing things that no one will ever notice. But God knows. He sees us for all that we are, and all He wants is for us to know Him in return.

Last week I felt like I was on a runaway train. If someone asked me what was wrong and I had to vocalize the list of small problems, nothing was really all that big of a deal. But when they were all compiled, I felt like I’d last control.

I was rushing from one thing to the next and not enjoying a single thing because there wasn’t any time for enjoyment. I had a long list of things to do and fires to put out, and I was on a mission to get the things done. And it sucked the life out of me.

Back in October, I wrote for 31 straight days about the importance of white space and margin in my life. I need that space to hear the stories my children are telling me. I need it to get down on the floor and play with them instead of saying, “Just a minute” over and over again. I need that space to recharge my batteries when my kids rest instead of rushing to the next thing or jumping on a call.

I’m not exactly sure how it happened that week. We had a birthday, we returned from a 12-hour road trip late at night, our contractor was fixing a few little things on our punch list and there was a big miscommunication, and then we had an inconveniently full calendar.

And in the midst of all of that, my insecurities ramped up. I wasn’t spending time on any of the things that fill me up, and I used that as an opportunity to look around and went down the rabbit trail called, “Being ‘just a mom’ isn’t valuable and you need to do things that are more important.”

That above paragraph? That is a lie. I know that it’s a lie. I know that what I do is important. But when I’m not giving God the space and the time to speak into me and for me to hear His word, I will listen to the lies.

I decided to get really detailed about how I’m going to set boundaries to keep my white space. I came up with a list of my core values, passions, and purpose. If something doesn’t fit into the list, then I say no. And it has been easier to say no because of these boundaries.

The goal is to be able to give my time and my emotions to the things that are most important to me and where I can use my strengths. Every volunteer opportunity isn’t for me, but this list helps me see which opportunities are for me. Which trips I should take, what projects I should take on, and even how to say, “Right now is just not a good time for me.”

For my family and for my ability to listen to the Lord’s plan for me, I have to set boundaries so I’m not frazzled and frantic and also so I can serve and listen and be present.

Okay, so, it’s been a while, right? I’m here! I’m okay! I hope you’re okay, too!

I’m over at Every Day Cheer today sharing my favorite tips for styling bookcases, and I’d love for you to head over there to get another peek of our home and to see the tips.