If I treat others in a warm and gracious manner, yet my husband consistently feels disregarded and overlooked, my life is but a sham.

If I gladly get involved in every aspect of my child’s or grandchild’s life, yet my husband feels alone and lonely, wondering if he will ever again be a priority in my life, I live but a miserly existence.

 If the people around me comment on what a nice person I am, but my husband goes day after day hungry for a crumb of kindness from me, the void in my life is deafening.

 If I thank the teen at the grocery store for sacking my groceries and the bank teller for depositing my check, yet rarely thank my husband for his provision for our family, something is desperately wrong with my heart.

 Love is patient.  It easily translates the many ways a man tries to make his wife feel loved:  mowing the grass…caulking the drafts in the house before winter…going to work each day.  Love understands that a man scales things differently – and the caulking is often his way of tenderly embracing his wife.

Love is kind.  It guards the way a husband is spoken to – refusing to allow sharp, demeaning jabs come from her mouth.  Love doesn’t bash her husband’s reputation in front of her family or friends, and especially not in front of their children.  It doesn’t roll its eyes or recount stories that makes a husband look foolish.  Love makes a man feel that his name is always safe in his wife’s mouth.

Love is not rude or self-seeking.  It doesn’t compare one’s husband to another.  It doesn’t wait for a kindness to be done to her before being kind herself.  Love doesn’t allow days to go by without a thoughtful word or tender touch.

It keeps no record of wrong, and refuses to dole out the cold treatment when she feels hurt, misunderstood, or upset.  Love lets things go, and doesn’t bring up past offenses.  It forgives – even when it’s hard.  Love understands that a woman can’t treat her husband coldly, and expect a warm relationship with God.

Love does not delight in evil.  It doesn’t force a husband to jump through hooks before respect is given.  Love understands a man’s physical needs, and tenderly – and wisely – guards this area of their marriage.  Love accepts that men are visual creatures, and doesn’t put them down for being wired this way.  Love is willing to be a companion, doing things she might not normally do on her own.  Like forging rivers to fish for salmon on a cold, rainy day.

Love never fails.  Where there are meals to make and laundry to do, these will one day cease.  Where there are committees to serve on and projects to work on, these too will pass.  The many pursuits of this lifetime will one day come to an end.  But a woman will take into eternity her treatment of her husband on this earth.

When I was a child, I talked like a child…I thought like a child…I reasoned like a child.  Now that I am a wife, I commit to putting childish ways behind me.  If I look into a mirror and see a marriage that needs help, I will ask God to help us change – beginning with me. 

Now I know in part, but one day I shall know fully…I will understand that love was never so much about marrying the right person, as it was about becoming the right person.  And that God will never ask me to be accountable for my husband’s actions, but He most surely will ask me about my own.

And now these three remain:  Faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these…is love.

Light and refreshing blend of berries with a hint of mint. Ideal for dipping semi-soft buttery rich-flavored cheese.

All you need:

1 package (12 oz) Hy-Vee frozen mixed berries
1 package (12 oz) Hy-Vee frozen raspberries
1/4 cup Hy-Vee granulated sugar
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
Assorted soft imported and domestic cheeses

All you do:

Thaw berries and raspberries in a microwave oven. Blend berries in a blender until smooth. In a medium-size saucepan, over low heat, simmer berry puree and sugar until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Add peppermint extract and stir. Transfer fondue to a fondue pot and keep warm, or chill and serve as a cold dip. Serve with bite-size pieces of soft buttery-flavored cheese such as Brie, Edam, Gouda, Havarti or Port du Salut. Serves 16 (2 tbsp each).

Nutrition facts per serving: 25 calories, 7g carbs, 0g protein, 0g fat, 0mg sodium.

Rich Mocha-Chocolate Fondue

A deliciously rich blend of hot mocha and dark chocolate. Serve with slices of fresh fruit for decadent dipping.

All you need:
10 oz bag Nestle Chocolatier 62% baking chocolate morsels

3/4 cup Hy-Vee fat-free evaporated milk
1/4 cup fresh-brewed coffee
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

All you do:

In a small saucepan, slowly melt chocolate with cream and coffee. Stir frequently until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to a fondue pot; keep warm. Serves 22 (2 tbsp) servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 70 calories, 8g carbs, 1g protein, 4.5g fat, 1g fiber, 10mg sodium.

 If I wax poetic about politics and business, and debate the great spiritual truths of our time, yet my wife feels disregarded and overlooked, my life is but a sham.

 If I volunteer for Life Chain, help out in Sunday School, and take my spot in the pew every Sunday – fervently writing down every word the pastor speaks, but if my wife sits stiffly beside me with a broken spirit because of my lack of investment in her life, I am nothing.

 If I treat others graciously, yet my wife feels compelled to undress in our closet or bathroom, and feels her way into our bed in the dark, all because of the way I’ve made her feel about her body, I live but a miserly existence.

 Love is patient, love is kind.  It takes no pleasure in spewing facts about legendary sports figures if it doesn’t know those things dearest to his own wife – her hopes and dreams, her fears, what makes her laugh, what wakes her up at 2:00 in the morning.

Love is not rude or self-seeking.  It doesn’t spend half the day investing in his golf game, and just 3 minutes investing in his marriage.

 It keeps no record of wrong, and does not hold her mood swings against her.  Love endeavors to understand how a woman can be singing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” one day, and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” the next.

 Love does not delight in evil, and it realizes that the inner glow of one’s wife is far more beautiful than the seductive look of a stranger who beckons to him from a billboard, movie screen, magazine cover or the internet.

 Love never fails.  But where there are football games to be won, they will cease.  Where there are fortunes to be made, they will be stilled.  The pursuits of this lifetime will one day come to an end.  But one will take into eternity his treatment of his wife on this earth. 

 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child.  Now that I’m a husband, I commit to putting childish ways behind me.  If I look in the mirror and don’t like what I see, I will ask God to make me over, and help me see that not only does my wife desperately need my love, but that I desperately need to give it to her.  Now I know in part, but one day I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 And now these three remain:  Faith, Hope and Love.  But the greatest of these is love.

Carrot Fingers

All you need:

Baby carrots

Vegetable dip

Almond slices

All you do:

1. Cut a flat, shallow notch in the tip of each carrot using a paring knife. Then use a dab of vegetable dip to glue a sliced-almond fingernail atop each notch. Stick the fingers in the vegetable dip and serve.

Apple Lips

All you need:

Apples

Slivered almonds

All you do:

1. Quarter and core an apple. Cut a wedge out of the skin side of each quarter and press almond slices in place for teeth.

Cookie Cutter Sandwiches

All you need:

Bread

Lunch meat

Sliced cheese

All you do:

Prepare sandwiches using 2 slices bread, lunch meat and cheese. Using Halloween-themed cookie cutters, cut shapes out of sandwiches.

Strawberry Ghosts

All you need:

Strawberries

White chocolate

Chocolate chips

All you do:

Dip strawberries into melted white chocolate. Place stem-side up and allow for chocolate to set. Melt chocolate chips and dip toothpick into chocolate and draw eyes and mouth on each white chocolate face.

All you need:
1 can (14.5 oz) Hunt’s™ petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 shallot, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped
1/2 cup Hy-Vee black beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup Grand Selections frozen sweet corn
1/2 tsp Hy-Vee granulated sugar
Hy-Vee salt and pepper, to taste
Hy-Vee bite-size tostados, optional

All you do:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients except tostados. Cover. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

2. Serve with tostados if desired.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 25, Carbohydrate: 4 g, Fat: 0 g, Protein: 1 g, Sodium: 125 mg

Serves 4

All you need

1 (12-oz) pkg broccoli slaw mix

1/2 (15-oz) jar Jimmy’s fat-free coleslaw dressing

1/2 cup Hy-Vee dried cranberries

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup Hy-Vee sunflower seeds

All you do

In a large bowl combine broccoli slaw, dressing, cranberries and chia seeds. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds just before serving.

Nutrition facts per serving: 195 calories, 6g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 500mg sodium, 32g carbohydrate, 7g fiber,6g protein

Source: Hy-Vee Recipe of Month, Try Foods International

Serves 5.

All you need:

1 medium mango, seeded, peeled and diced

2 Hatch chile peppers, seeded and diced

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup diced red onion

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon Grand Selections olive oil

¼ teaspoon Hy-Vee salt

1½ pounds pork tenderloin

2 teaspoons Jamaican Jerk seasoning

All you do:

1. In a medium bowl combine mango, chiles, red pepper, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt; set aside.

2. If necessary, trim fat and shiny membrane from pork tenderloin. Rub all sides of meat with Jamaican Jerk seasoning. Preheat grill to medium heat. Grill over direct heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until internal temperature of thickest part reaches 160˚F, turning to brown on all sides. Slice tenderloin ¾-inch thick. Serve with salsa.

Nutrition Facts: 210 calories, 6g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 90mg cholesterol, 300mg sodium, 10g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 8g sugar, 29g protein.

Source: 2010 Back To School Seasons

Serves: 4

All you need:

1 (12 oz) bag Dole salad lettuce blend

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

2 tbsp Hy-Vee slivered almonds

1 cup Hy-Vee seasoned croutons

½ cup Hy-Vee dried cranberries

½ cup light raspberry vinaigrette

All you do:

1. Combine lettuce, chicken, almonds, croutons and cranberries.

2. Drizzle with vinaigrette before serving and toss gently to coat.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 160 calories, 6 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 17 g sugar, 2 g protein.