BeautyRevealed | The Blog of Melissa J. Dillon

I’m so behind on posting, but I wanted to share a few pictures from Angela’s Shower that we were able to go to in The Cities on June 20th. It was held at Bethany by a few of her friends, and it was so special. It is such a joy that Jamie and Angela are a part of such a loving Christian community. 

This cake was to die for! It was chocolate with a cream cheese filling… from Cosco! We were impressed. We all sneaked a second piece later when the left-overs ended up at Jamie’s apartment.

I didn’t count how many actually came, but I would say it was between 30-40 ladies. It was fun for mom to see so many wonderful friends from Bethany. Whenever we are there it feels like coming home. 

It was so special to see how much Jamie and Angela are loved. 

They had a special prayer time for Angela before they opened gifts. Angela’s mom, Char, is kneeling next to her, and my mom is the one with her hand on her shoulder. It’s so precious to see the Godly heritage surrounding her. 

Then it was on to the gift-opening… they were so blessed! My dad told her that she came out really clean from this shower! I can’t wait to see it all set up in their apartment in August. Jamie has pretty much lived with bare walls and a simplistic bachelor’s life, so it will be fun to see how homey it will be with a woman’s touch! They registered for some classy things!

Of course it wouldn’t be a Bridal Shower without a few gag gifts! 

In all, it was a very special time. I know Angela was so blessed, and we were blessed to be able to be there. The wedding is coming soon and we are so excited for the happy couple! Bless you, Angela and Jamie!

“Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” 

- Jane Austen

It is a humid and sticky evening tonight as I sit down at my computer to write. The windows are open and I hear the voices and laughter of happy children swimming down at the beach. Summer is upon us and it gets harder and harder to blog consistently as the pace of life picks up speed. Although most things are just little things that add up. Here’s a little update on what’s going on at the Dillon household ~

My little garden is starting to grow. It’s so fun to see the daily progress as my buttercrunch lettuce, beans, onions, and carrots push their way through the soil. I also have peppers, broccoli, tomato plants and some herbs. I’m hoping to have a good crop despite the chilly spring we had. 

Mark is busy building retaining walls around our yard this summer. We found some really nice stone-work at Home Depot, and I think it’s going to turn out really nice. All his hard work will pay off, I know, but I’m still looking forward to the summer when we can actually enjoy our yard instead of working in it! Does that ever happen??

My cousin and Aunties are helping me plan Angela’s Bridal Shower coming up in July. We’re going with a “Garden Party” theme here in our yard. I hope it turns out well. I think Ang has a shower just about every weekend until the wedding! She and Jamie are blessed with so many people that love them and want to celebrate with them. We’re headed down to Bloomington on Saturday for a shower at Bethany. I’m looking forward to seeing all the fun stuff they get for their apartment! It’s such an exciting season. 

I’ve been enjoying babysitting little Jackson so much. He adjusted to our home so quickly and is a good napper. He’s over 20 pounds now so my arms get quite the workout! I play lots of “airplane” games with him so I tone up (Who needs weights when you’ve got a chubby baby on hand?? ) He’s at a fun age (just over 6 months) ~ he’s quite vocal and loves to giggle. His favorite song is “Raindrops on Roses”, although his dad would like me to find some manlier songs to sing to him. Ha! He definitely brings me joy… and keeps me very busy! 

Thanks for all the comments and e-mails wishing us a happy anniversary! Ya’ll are so kind. Mark and I spent a fun day down in Duluth and then ate at the Olive Garden (Thanks, Deborah, for the gift certificate! It was yummy!) We had such a nice, relaxing day together as we celebrated 5 years of marriage. God has been good to us. 

Hope everyone is having a blessed Summer! Make sure to stop in for some iced tea sometime!

Melissa Joy

“There is nothing half so sweet in life as love’s young dream.”

- Thomas Moore

{all photography by the amazing Mark Nye}

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.”

- Psalm 62:1

“Many of us suffer from the delusion that activity, accomplishments, size, and hubbub endear us to God and confirm His blessing. Although it runs against the grain of our surrounding culture, we must learn to practice the art of stillness, of quietness, of listening, and of receiving if we desire to be intimate with God. Because it takes time and loving attention to sustain a quality relationship, the Lord is more interested in our presence with Him than our performance for Him. While we come to love God by knowing Him, it is just as true that we come to know God by loving Him. Contemplative prayer seeks to apprehend God through love and faith in such a way that theology is not merely speculative but lived.” ~ Kenneth Boa

“I accept the rebuke that religious busyness, ‘over activism,’ is a sign that one is still in spiritual adolescence. Maturity is marked by the repose in which lieth power. Therefore, I believe that, increasingly, I should endeavor to be silent unto God and should take time for that blessed culture. Already I have found that, when calm is upon the spirit, one is drawn out more readily in adoration.” – G. H. Morling

“Blessed the man who learns the lesson of stillness and fully accepts God’s Word, ‘In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’ Each time he listens to the word of the Father, or asks the Father to listen to his words, he dares not begin his Bible reading or prayer without first pausing and waiting, until the soul be hushed in the presence of the Eternal Majesty. Under a sense of Divine nearness, the soul, feeling how self is always ready to assert itself, and intrude even into the holiest of all with its thoughts and efforts, yields itself in a quiet act of self-surrender to the teaching and working of the Divine Spirit. It is still and waits in holy silence, until all is calm and ready to receive the revelation of the Divine will and presence. Its reading and prayer then indeed become a waiting on God with ear and heart opened and purged to receive fully only what He says. ‘Abide in Christ!’ Let no one think that he can do this if he has not daily his quiet time, his seasons of meditation and waiting on God.” – Andrew Murray

“We should make a private chapel of our heart where we can retire from time to time to commune with Him, peacefully, humbly, lovingly.” – Brother Lawrence

Along with the warm, summer evenings comes the wonderful aroma of smoky barbecues wafting through the neighborhood. Mark and I are not expert grillers by any means, but we are learning… and are so enjoying the process (as we must taste-test all of our experiments).  I am trying to cut back on the amount of carbs that I eat, so grilling is a good way to try new things with protein: salmon, tilapia, shrimp, chicken, turkey, etc.  I have been enjoying a magazine called Clean Eating, and have been trying out some healthy recipes that we really enjoy. We’ve even been grilling our dessert! Last night we tried grilling pineapple, bananas and mangos to make a Tropical Vanilla Fruit Salad. Soooo yummy! But I’ll save that for another night. 

Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil, 3 T. lemon juice (about ½ a lemon), 2 garlic cloves (minced), and 1 pound of fresh medium-sized shrimp. 

Instructions:

In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, lemon juice and minced garlic well. Place shrimp in another bowl and pour marinade over top. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.

Thread shrimp onto 10-inch skewers (previously soaked in water for 10 minutes) or put into grilling basket. Place over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time. Serve immediately. 

Ultimate Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

1½ pounds ground turkey, 1 medium red pepper (diced), 2 garlic cloves (minced), 1 T. parsley, ½ t. sea salt, ½ t. freshly ground pepper.

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients together well. Make into patties (should make 6). Grill over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side (or until burgers are golden brown and firm in the middle).

Serve burgers on whole grain buns with lettuce, tomato and onion. 

Well, hope you enjoy these as much as we did! What are some of your favorite grilling recipes??

“In summer, the song sings itself.”

- William Carlos Williams

“Just now the lilac is in bloom, all before my little room.” 

- Rupert Brooke

Oh, I wish you could smell them! They are simply heavenly. We have a long lilac hedge separating our backyard from the alleyway… I wish I could take credit, but these bushes have been around for over 50 years. They weren’t really taken care of by the previous owners, so it took a lot of thinning out and pruning to get them to bush out like they should. And only two years later, we are enjoying hundreds of gorgeous lilacs. I wish they lasted all summer, but I’ll enjoy them while I can. I love to make bouquets for every room in the house and it makes the whole house smell wonderful. They remind me so much of my childhood… my mom had lilac bushes at our house in town, and the scent brings me back to barefoot summer days in the backyard. 

For those of you who live close by, come on over and grab an armful of lilacs anytime. And make sure you stop in for a glass of iced tea. Hope to see you soon!

We made a quick trip down to The Cities yesterday to help Jamie and Angela with some wedding preparations. Then we enjoyed some time walking around St. Paul in the afternoon… it was a gorgeous day (such a blessing since it rained all day back home).