Archive | September 2025

The Exploding Casserole Dish

Sep16

Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail.

When I read the prompt for today,this memory came to mind, so here goes.

Years ago, money was tight and we had a family of 6 to feed. I don’t remember how we got a pork loin (Given to us? A great sale?), but I was cooking it for supper and felt very blessed to have this gift for our family. I cook pork loins (typically) in a shallow, glass 8×13 (ish?) pan. I also would add some water straight from the faucet into the pan during the cooking process. Now I had cooked pork loin like this for years; never had any problems and the pork loin was always moist.

Well…this particular time, I took the hot dish out of the oven, held it under the faucet, let just a little water go in the pan, I stepped back, turned towards the oven, and (đź«Ł) the pan exploded into thousands of tiny shards! The pork loin fell to the floor with all the glass and I just stood there frozen with my hands in the oven mitts still in position holding the pan that was literally all over the floor! I was so shocked, stunned, and just couldn’t even process what just happened! I started looking over my arms and legs expecting glass shards to be embedded in me and you know what? Not…a…one. Hand to God, not one piece of glass “got” me. I was so thankful! However, I felt bad for ruining supper for the family.

That experience shook me for quite a while. I quit using my glass baking dishes and got rid of them. I know that was foolish because it was a user error as to this epic fail – don’t add cold water to hot glass! Over the years I bought more glass baking dishes and everything is good, but I don’t know that I will ever forget the exploding casserole dish in my hands.

A Mother’s Time

Sep11

Becoming a mother takes time,

Much longer than she foresees.

She really has no idea the task before her –

Becoming a mother takes time.

It starts with nine months of time to prepare,

To plan for a little bundle of joy.

Becoming a mother takes time.

When the day comes to hold her child,

She doesn’t want to ever let go.

Becoming a mother takes time.

As the child grows with each new day,

So does the mother’s love.

Becoming a mother takes time.

In time the child starts to make friends,

She knows she can’t hold on forever.

Becoming a mother takes time.

Their first loose tooth, a stubbed toe,

An A+ on a test, their first cavity –

Tears of joy, tears of sadness

Shared by mother and child.

Becoming a mother takes time.

Their first crush, their first job,

Learning to drive, and graduation –

She is there as needed with arms wide open

Or holding out a box of tissues.

Becoming a mother takes time.

Their first car, their first apartment,

A career, a significant other –

She is always available for the midnight phone calls,

the talks over containers of ice cream,

Advise asked for

And even when it isn’t.

Becoming a mother takes time.

To be a mother is an investment of time,

A commitment to another person’s joy,

Happiness, sorrow, life.

She has no expectation of a return on investment –

But she hopes.

She hopes all those moments over the years

Were precious to her child too.

She hopes that bond that’s been

Created will never be severed.

She hopes that when her time on this earth is done,

That her child will look upon her as a blessing.

She hopes that when she faces

Her Heavenly Father, she will hear, “Well done.”

Becoming a mother takes time.

*Note from me:

My husband Eric and I are a blended family; together we have 7 children, however, they are all adults now. I wrote this poem earlier this year when I was going through some gut-wrenching moments as a mom. No, that is not an exaggeration, it was truly, truly hard for me. This poem just poured out of me. It is hard for me to share it like this, but I do need to be obedient to God. Perhaps it will help another mother. One more thing that is also hard to admit, but just to be honest and transparent, I do not have an active relationship with all of our children.

In my opinion, being a mom is the toughest job – period. Prayers and love, Sharon

The Race That Is Set Before Us

Sep3

The past three days had been quite challenging for me. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but I knew something was bothering me and I just couldn’t seem to get out of this “funk” I was in. It got worse and worse over the course of those three days – so bad that even I didn’t want to be around myself. I used to have this struggle off and on since coming to Christ, but I actually hadn’t experienced this in quite a long time. I thought I had remembered what the struggle was like, but until the past three days, I had somehow forgotten or just thought I knew. You know the saying, “the good, the bad, and the ugly”? Yea, the past three days got to a capital U-G-L-Y! I prayed, I read the Bible, I listened to ministering music, I talked things over with my husband (my best friend) – nothing was “working”. During these three days one thing that God had said to me was, “Manage your expectations.” When that was said, I took it in stride and was like “ok, done”. Oh dear, did I fool myself! At the end of the three days (yesterday evening) I finally had a breakthrough and realized that I was allowing things to affect my identity. I was leaving a door open to the enemy and the snake that he is slithered on in. (By the way, I HATE snakes!) I allowed my identity in the Father to be messed with. What was I thinking? Such foolishness and I know better, yet, it happened, and I allowed it to happen.

This past Thursday (pre-U-G-L-Y) I wrote and posted a blog that got a lot of traction on this website and on Instagram. I was shocked by how much attention it got. I am not the type of author who wins awards or is a best-selling anything. Nor do I write so eloquently that my words are quoted on social media or in movies. I am me; I am really only trying to please One, and that is the Heavenly Father whom I serve. I’ve never been in the spotlight, nor have I ever sought it out (plus I have astigmatism, the lights bother my eyes). If I were on a movie set, I would be the person that wouldn’t really be noticed; the person that didn’t even get her name in the credits – or maybe they did get my name in the credits but it would be misspelled, Sherman Sponge, lol, or something like that. But you know what? I’d be fine with that, because it’s really not about me.

The past ten years since the first release of “Love Waits”, I’ve had a lot of time to think, process, understand, and grow closer to God. So, when the blog got so much attention last week, I was taken aback. I believe – even though I’d rather not admit it, especially publicly – but I believe I allowed some stuff to go to my head. I truly didn’t mean to, I really don’t want to be that way (my husband wasn’t too fond of it either). Perhaps when a person doesn’t usually get attention, that when it happens (even on a small scale like mine was), that it can easily go to a person’s head. I have repented of this, I knew it was wrong, but until the Father pointed out to me exactly what was going on, I honestly couldn’t see it. (Should have been as obvious as a train wreck, right?) Like I’ve said for many years now: even if one is called to teach, we should all be students at all times and ready to learn.

If I’m being honest, I kind of didn’t want to write this blog, I mean really, would you want to share a U-G-L-Y moment you recently went through? But I knew that this was what God wanted and I knew I was going to do what He was telling me to do.

We moved to where we currently live just over 2 ½ years ago and the other day I finally got some wall décor put up. I unpacked the picture that I took for this blog because it really can sum up what we all need to do in our own walk with God. I hope that it can be an encouragement for you. Here is a “wider” scope of the Bible reference in the picture:

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” NASB