A Heart to Heart (+ Homemade Chocolate Cake Recipe!)

It’s the first week of a new month and we’re excited about it! We love February because: 1.) It’s not January so the unnecessary stress we put on ourselves at the beginning of every new year doesn’t feel as daunting 2.) It’s Sweetie’s birthday month (she’s turning 6 this year!) and of course the obvious reason 3.) It’s the month that celebrates LOVE! And this year, we’re celebrating our 10th Valentine’s Day together since we started dating.

All sweet things aside, we also know that there are many of you walking into this month facing adversity. Maybe it’s a horrible breakup, some difficult decisions having to be made, a loss, sickness… and the list goes on.

Whatever the heartbreak, whatever is weighing heavy on your heart, we want you to takeaway this good word of encouragement today. Pastor Rick Warren (whom we love!) said it best:

"People who always say, 'I can’t' and the people who always say 'I can' are both right. Why? Because fear creates self-fulfilling prophecies. This happened to Job when he said, 'What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me' (Job 3:25 NIV). A vision based on fear rather than faith is going to limit you for your entire life. You’re going to miss opportunities. You’re going to waste the talent that God gave you. And you’re going to set yourself up with self-defeating predictions."

Never underestimate what God can do through you when you obey him in faith. Whatever he has called you to do, you can certainly accomplish in his strength. So hang in there, tether yourself to the truth and say yes to loving where you are right now despite the mountain that’s in front of you. BYOV (Be your own Valentine!) 😍

Whether you BYOV or are celebrating with friends or a partner, no Valentine's is complete without a little (...or a lot!) of chocolate. We watched Matilda recently and could not stop thinking about that chocolate cake. You know the one LOL. We ended up making one ourselves, and it was too good not to share with you! This delicious homemade double chocolate cake is easy to make and is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. 

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 3/4 Cups of Flour
• 3/4 Cups of Cocoa Powder
• 2 Cups of Sugar
• 1/2 of a 3 oz Packet of Vanilla Pudding Mix
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup of Milk
• 1/2 Cup of Vegetable Oil
• 2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup of Boiling Water

Frosting:

• 1 Stick of Butter
• 3 Cups of Powder Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 2/3 Cups of Cocoa Powder
• 1/3 Cup of Milk

How to:

Cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F
2. Grease and flour two 9inch round pans
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
4. Add eggs, milk, oil, + vanilla extract.
5. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
6. Carefully stir in boiling water (Note: batter will be thin).
7. Pour batter evenly into pans.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes
10. After 10 minutes, carefully remove from pans to a wire rack to continue cooling.
11. Let cool completely before frosting. 

Frosting (Makes 2 cups):

1. Melt the butter and add it to a medium sized bowl.
2. Stir in cocoa powder.
3. Alternately add in powder sugar and milk while beating on medium speed until you reach spreading consistency. (Add more milk if needed!)
4. Stir in vanilla extract.

You're going to want to eat it all in one sitting! Thanks for hanging with us here today. We hope you’ll share this message with a friend. We'd love to know what is on your heart this season. If you feel compelled to share, you are welcome to leave a comment below! You may find that others are feeling the same way. We are so thankful to have such an amazing and uplifting S+S community to love on!