Menu Plan Monday

Happy Monday morning! First, I must share that the Orange-glazed Pork Chops and Skillet Lo Mein were a hit at our house last week. You've gotta try them if your family likes Asian food at all. (Or if you want to try some that they would like!) My 10-year-old son (resident chef-in-training) made two batches of the orange sauce and also made the Lo Mein. Both recipes were simple and very, very yummy.

Here is our menu for this week:

Monday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables

Tuesday: Fettucini Alfredo, salad, green beans, garlic bread

Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken Tacos and all the fixins' (My family LOVED these last time I made them!)

Thursday: Out for a fun birthday surprise for hubby who turns 40!

Friday: Chicken pot pie or leftovers

Weekend: out-to-eat and leftovers

Please stop by Laura's to read more menus or to add your own. Have a terrific week!

Are you a "basket case" trying to get it all done?

Bring your basket of loaves and fish and join me at the Internet Cafe today!

Real Growth

"Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. "

Colossians 2:18-19, NASB

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across this passage from Paul's letter to the Colossians. I've been reading the book of Colossians every day, becoming increasingly familiar with Paul's wise words to the believers at Colossae and prayerfully heeding his words of warning. God must have known that the dangers they faced would be common to all believers, so He caused these words to be written by Paul instead of spoken in person, so we would still have them. I'm not glad for Paul's imprisonment, but I love how God sovereignly used it to transport His Word through Paul to us today.

What caught my attention this morning were the words, "...grows with a growth which is from God." That statement implies that there can be growth which is not from God. Not all things which aren't from God will wither and die right away. There can be a period of growth and fruit (albeit, bad fruit). The tares grow alongside the wheat. So how do I tell if the growth I'm experiencing is "from God?"

First, I must check to see that the teaching I am receiving is "holding fast to the head." The Head is Jesus Christ. I may have measureable growth in certain areas, but if what is feeding or teaching me does not acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ, it is not "growth which is from God." I don't want that kind of growth. That kind of growth, like a cancerous tumor, will grow and grow until it robs my mind and spirit of the healthy "nutrients" it needs. It's bondage.

I love this post of Terri's the other day, dealing with the book "The Secret" and other books like it. I encourage you to read it. (The post, not the book!) So many earthly teachers today, inflated without cause by their fleshly minds, are defrauding believers of their prize, their spiritual blessings in this life and in the life to come, by teaching what does not acknowledge Jesus Christ. I am burdened by what I see, and I know many of you are as well. Self abasement (false humility) angel worship, and grand visions characterized the false teachers in Colossae, and we do see those qualities present in the false teachings we see in mainstream media today. But I think they represent the types of teachers Paul is warning us about those who teach any persuasive, empty doctrine. If believers accept these teachings and put them into practice, they won't lose their salvation but they will be robbed of present and future spiritual blessings.

Just because it's growth doesn't mean it's from God. "Measurable" does not equal "meaningful." I want my growth to be real. I want it to be of God. I want my fruit to last. And I know you do, too. I pray that all of us would test our teachers and the teaching we're receiving to see if it is supported by the Head, Jesus Christ, Who holds all things together and (praise God!) holds us in the mighty grip of His grace.

SO cool!

We get to love on another "sista" this week. Heather, a fellow homeschooler, blogger, and sister in Christ, fighting a courageous battle. I loved her post today, "You Picked the Wrong Girl." Oh, my WORD. Goosebumps. Boomama is hosting an event similar to the "For Kelli" event a few months ago, and what a blessing it was to be part of that! Click here to read the story and click here to donate. Please let her know if you are praying, whether you are able to contribute or not. This is where it gets real, folks.

And it is real.

Works-for-me Wednesday: Car Snacks

Well, WFMW didn't "work for me" the week of the car edition (though I enjoyed some of the great tips!) so I'm posting a car-related tip this week.

I no longer have toddlers or very young children, so gone are the days of the little baggies of Cheerios or goldfish-shaped containers of (what else?) Goldfish crackers. But with a teenager and a preteen, we are into the years where they crave (and need) snacks as much as ever! I have found a great way to make sure the last sleeve of crackers that nobody wants, or the about-to-be-old bag of animal crackers or pretzels will get eaten... just put them in the car!

It's amazing, snacks they wouldn't choose if they were grazing in the kitchen become quite appetizing when it's the only thing available in the car on the way home from a field trip, golf lesson, or gymnastics class.

My kids (and their friends who ride with us!) have really appreciated having something to munch in the car, and I'm enjoying not throwing away remnants of snacks that have gotten old in the pantry. Works for me!

To read more tips or to link us to yours, visit Rocks In My Dryer. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

This is my Dad and I several years ago when we played in a group together in a concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center. A fun memory! My mom says this is one of her favorite pictures of us.

(Yes, my hair has changed a lot over the years, but my love for my sweet Dad has not!)

Have a wonderful birthday. I love you!

In Other Words

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
~ David Livingstone ~

To be commissioned by a king has always been an honor. But the honor of carrying on the work of the king, of acting in his stead and in his power in his kingdom, has never been without sacrifice. Those commissioned by the king have had to be willing to leave home, family and country, forgoing comfort, even risking loss of life. So it is for us as those who have been comissioned by our Heavenly King. Those committed to the "ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18) must see our commission for what it is-- the highest of honors. We are ambassadors of the Most High God! Infused with His very power, we have been given the greatest of privileges- to be called His children and to do the work of His kingdom on His behalf, for His great glory. But, worship and service to our Heavenly King has always involved sacrifice, even for His own Son, Who gave His very life doing what He had been commissioned to do. Can we say with David, "I will not offer... an offering to the Lord which cost me nothing." (2 Samuel 24:24)? The commission is an honor-- the sacrifice, a privilege.

No one knew this better than David Livingstone, who was moved by "the smoke of a thousand villages–villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in this world." Those words, spoken by his mentor, Robert Moffat, solidified Livingstone's commitment to the commission he received from His Heavenly King. The honor of the commission is what must have sustained him in the crushing jaws of the lion, the disease-ridden days in the interior of Africa, and the years of not seeing his beloved family. All sacrifices, to be sure, but infinitely worth it because of the honor of carrying out the commission of the Lord Most High.

My commission is worth whatever I am asked to put on the altar. What will I offer Him today? May I count it an honor.


Laurel Wreath is our host for this week's "In Other Words." Please visit Laurel to read some other thoughts on this quote, and to link your own. Thanks for hosting us, Laurel!

Menu Plan Monday

Have you found dinner-as-as-family each night to be a challenge? We have. It seems that no matter how I prioritize it, schedule it, look forward to it, and agree with those "family table" ads on Nickelodeon, it's still difficult to pull off some weeks. As a homeschooling family, the kids are home during the day and we eat lunch together most days, and breakfast together some (sometimes they straggle in or are at different points in their morning routines, so we don't always see each other at breakfast!) But dinner is when Dad is home, when all four of us can finally sit together and we don't want to miss it! But, neither do we want to miss gymnastics, golf, or guitar class. Sometimes I have homeschool association meetings or prayer groups, or other meetings which I really enjoy. I was thinking about this as I was looking at my nice, neat, Menu-Plan-Monday all typed up, ready to go. It looks so... simple, like it's going to happen at the same time each night. But, it doesn't.

For instance, tonight each of the kids has an activity from 6:00-7:00. We'll all be home by 7:30 so we'll probably eat then. (I'll cook it before we leave.) Some evenings when we have an activity, I'll have dinner on the table right at 5:00, so when my cute husband walks in the back door he sees our faces sitting at the table waiting for him. That way we have about 45 minutes for dinner before one of us takes a child somewhere. Sunday nights after we're finished with Awana, we don't eat until around 8:30. I've found it takes some doing, but the benefits of dinner as a family are worth it. It's working so far! I'd love to know what works for some of you, too.

Here's what we're having this week:

Monday: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday: Leftovers (Isn't cold fried chicken just the best??)

Wednesday: Orange-glazed Pork Chops, Skillet Lo Mein

Thursday: Quick Cheeseburger Bake, baked sweet potato fries

Friday: Leftovers or order pizza

Weekend: sandwiches, leftovers, out-to-eat after church

Visit Laura's to read more menu ideas or to link your own. Thanks so much, Laura, for hosting MPM each week. Have a yummy week!

Catching Up

Every once in awhile, I come across a blog post on a beloved blog, simply catching us up on random details of her life. I find myself enjoying "getting the scoop" on what she's been up to, sort of like reading a newsy letter from a friend. If you enjoy those posts like I do, then settle in with a good cup of coffee/tea/cocoa/Diet Something and get ready. If those types of posts aren't your cup-o-tea, this is your chance to click on by. (And I completely understand! ;)

It is another overcast, cold Saturday following another cold-snap-Friday. Last week it was Good Friday that turned cold, and what followed was a FREEZING Saturday. And I mean freezing, as in snow flakes. We were to help with an outdoor event across town in an empty lot in a primarily Hispanic subdivision as an outreach for our church's Hispanic church. Last Friday night, in anticipation of the freezing temperatures to come and a day in which the wind chill would not leave the 30's, I actually hoped the event would be cancelled. Saturday night, I couldn't believe I had wished such a thing! It was indeed cold, we froze our toes and hid Easter Eggs with snow flakes swirling all around, but we had a fantastic turnout and a wonderful time. Over 100 people from the surrounding neighborhood came out for hot dogs, hamburgers, an Easter Egg hunt and a bounce house, and found out about the ministries at our church which are conducted in Spanish. We found out Sunday that a number of folks that had come Saturday were at our Easter service. Praise God! We also had a team of missionaries from Mexico from our partner church there, who got to see snow for the first time! I was chatting with one of them whom I had met when I was there back in 2003. I went down there to help with relief work after a major flood in their area. He told me (in Spanish, as he speaks no English) that the previous Wednesday, April 4, had been the anniversary of the flood. I understood every word of what he said, I couldn't believe it! I then proceeded to enthusiastically answer him... in French. Oh, my brain. I need to just pick a language and stick with it... The whole time I was in Mexico that year, I spoke fluent Franish. Frantic Franish, in fact. (French + Spanish)

We enjoyed a fun Easter Sunday with Luke's family over at his brother's house. The cousins enjoyed driving the golf cart all around, fishing in the pond, and (of course) hunting eggs. The (grown up) sisters had their annual Easter egg smack-down hunt. Last year I participated, but this year I sat out because I've not been working out, and was thus, too out of shape for such a competitive event. (Okay, I was actually still tired from the day before.) It was fun to watch, though! They actually did all end up on the ground at some point. It's serious, I tell ya. (Congratulations, Tina!)

Tuesday night the phone rang and it was my dear friend in China with whom I'll be staying in May. I always love talking to her at night. I'll be in my jammies getting ready for bed asking her, "So, what are you going to do today?" because they're just getting up! I still have the microwave clock set on China time since last summer when Bethany was there. It messes with my brain at times, sending me into a panic thinking I'm an hour late for something (they're 13 hours ahead of us) but it's fun to know what time it is in the place where our hearts and prayers are so often. It was wonderful to hear how they're doing and anticipating seeing them in about a month!

The kids and I resumed our school work this week, amid continuing efforts to box up, organize, sort through, clean out and pack. So. much. (too much) stuff. Luckily our subdivision is having its semi-annual neighborhood garage sale next weekend. I am having a major "spring clearance!" Last night we had severe weather and heard the tornado sirens sounding from across the lake and I thought as I looked in my dining room (where the garage sale stuff is living at the moment), "It looks like the tornado has already come through!" Regarding the weather, we survived. It was dark, scary, and loud. We had sideways rain and a bit of hail. The closet under the stairs was cleared of coats and prepared in case we needed it. The kids and I sat in a big chair (while Zac-the-weenie dog took up his command post under the chair). Luke and Haley-the-German Shepherd monitored the weather radar. Unfortunately, we did have to cancel an Awana Cubbie event last night, though. Hopefully we'll be able to get it rescheduled.

Today we are painting the upstairs bathroom and decorating it with some fun, new stuff my daughter-with-an-eye-for-decorating helped me pick out. We have a fun day tomorrow, with a China meeting and then our spring "Leader Appreciation Dinner" for all of our awesome Awana volunteers and their spouses before our Awana club night. Planning these events (for 150 +) is one of the things that intimidated me so much before we took this position, but yesterday as I was running around (ahead of the storm!) gathering table cloths, door prizes, centerpieces, and kids' activities for the leaders' kids party, I realized how much I really do enjoy it. I thanked God in the parking lot at Michael's craft store for giving me a love for what He has asked me to do. It is such a privilege to love on these incredible volunteers and to minister, in any way that I can, to the families in our Awana program. This week is the dinner, next week is "ice cream sundae" night, and the following week is our awards program. Then, that's it! Sprinkle that in with finishing our school year, packing for a move, staging the house and planning for China and that's my life in a nutshell. :)

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Don't Lay Down Your Bible!

The current series on Revive Our Hearts is called "Walking Through Life's Deserts." (The series starts here. ) Today's episode was called "I Can't Do This!" The title caught my attention, because I have said those three words so many times, even in the past week!

Three women on the show today shared their stories of difficulties (some of which I can't imagine!) and discussed what sustained them during those times. This part really spoke to me today:

"It was such a shock in about my mid-30s when all of a sudden there were really tough things in my life that I didn't initiate or choose, but they were there. I had to walk through the process of coming to grips with who God was in the midst of Him allowing things in my life that I didn't choose.

I think at the beginning of that process in your life it's hard because you've never done it before. I think when you've seen God prove Himself faithful over the course of several things like that maybe you're a little quicker to recognize the hand of God in the midst of hurt or difficulty. So you surrender to it. You acknowledge who God is.

Then I think the thing of persevering and getting to God for hope means you can't lay down your Bible. There were moments in those years where the only time I felt okay was when I was sitting in my den with my Bible open having time to stay in the Word. If I got away from that, the circumstances were so hard that I would think, "God, I don't think I can live through this." But if I was sitting in the presence of God in His Word, it gave me encouragement and hope and perspective that I had to have.

If somebody says to me, "Well, yes, I'm surrendering to this. I’m getting to God." But they're not in the Word. They're not going to have what they need to be able to walk through that thing because that is the thing that brings us back to the point of truth.

Nancy: When you think of how God provided in the wilderness for the Israelites, He provided manna, water, protection, provision, His presence. All those things really are what we find in the presence of God and in the Word. That is our manna. That is our bread. That is our water. That's what sustains us in the desert."

Persevering and getting to God for help means you can't lay down your Bible...

Those words really resonated with me this morning. How prone I am in times of battle or seasons of stress to lay down the true Sword of God's Word, even momentarily, and begin wielding my wimpy sword of self-reliance. I loved this reminder today, and I needed it. The word "sword" has "w-o-r-d" in it. God's Word.

May I not lay it down, even for a second!

Sometimes you're too busy doing it to blog about it...

Life, that is!

Man, I've been busy! I decided to pop into blogland today and it's the first time I've been on my computer ALL DAY. (And that's saying something!)

First of all, I can't post today without acknowledging that on this date in 1990 my cute, hunky college sweetheart gave me a gorgeous diamond and asked me to marry him. I couldn't say "yes" fast enough, and I've loved every minute of being his fiancee and then wife. Happy engagement-anniversary, honey!

Second of all, 32 years ago this week (April 9 to be exact) as a knobby-knee'd second grader I slipped out of my pew and walked to the front of the church to tell the world that I had given my heart to Jesus. I was so nervous, scared to death of the preacher, and would rather have been swallowed up by the floor than to stand up in front of anyone. That's how I know it was the Holy Spirit drawing me! At times I'm still knobby-knee'd and nervous, but I still love every minute of walking with my Jesus.

So, I've had a fun couple of "anniversaries" in my life this week. All I can think is... God is SO faithful! He has had His hand on my life in every conceivable way for so long: at every age and stage, in every area. It's real, y'all. I know you know it because I read your blogs and can see His hand in your lives as well.

If you're not sure, if you don't "feel" His hand and recognize His presence, just look for the good. EVERY good and perfect gift is from Him. (James 1:17) A smile from a teacher when you were in first grade. A beautiful flower in a pot on your porch. A meal to eat. A warm hand to hold. A soft pillow under your head. The love of your family. The kindness of a stranger. The opportunity to love and serve others. The love of your life asking you to marry him. A grape jelly kiss from a toddler. If it's good, it's from God. He's there! He's been there all along.

And I'm still here, just busy!

Love y'all!

Menu Plan Monday

I. am. stuffed. It is Easter Sunday night, and we have had a wonderful day over at my sweet brother-in-law's house eating the most amazing food all afternoon. And what am I doing now? Typing a post about more food. The way I feel now, I can't imagine that we'll need to eat this week! But, just in case, here's what I've got planned:

Monday: Pinto beans with leftover Easter ham, cornbread
Tuesday: Chicken Fettucini Alfredo, Caesar salad, green beens, garlic bread
Wednesday: Crock Pot beef stew
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Bar-b-cups, mixed vegetables
Weekend: Sandwiches, leftovers, and out-to-eat after church

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend with those you love, and I pray you have a joyful week ahead of you!

Victory!

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.

It was in an uproar because it is mocked.

It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.

It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.

It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.

It took earth, and encountered Heaven.

It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?

O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!

Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!

Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;for Christ having risen from the dead,is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

John Chrysostom (349-407)

Entire sermon found here.

A Gift for You...

What do you usually do after you have picked out the perfect gift for someone? Do you simply thrust it at them right out of the shopping bag, with the price tags flying and the receipt still stuck to it? As tempting as that is (because it’s just so hard to wait!) we usually take care to choose just how we’re going to present it. We may choose just the right gift bag or wrapping paper because part of the gift is in the presentation...

...You can read the rest of my Easter post entitled "Unwrapping the Gift" here. I'd love to see you at the cafe!

In Other Words

"At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ

where evil did its worst and met its match."

~ John Wenham ~

I wonder if he can still see it in his mind's eye. I can just imagine the enemy as he "prowls like a roaring lion" throughout the earth, "seeking those whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8) What a horrible reminder that must be for him as he passes the exact place where the cross stood on that day. Man may not be able to pinpoint exactly where it was, or may have to rely on tradition as to it's precise spot, but make no mistake- Satan knows. I wonder if he avoids that particular location (for he is not omni-present). Or maybe he goes back there to get "re-inspired" when he gets tired (for though he is powerful, he's not all-powerful). How it must continue to mock him. After all, he was "made a public spectacle" there that day. (Colossians 2:15)

You see, he gave it all he had. He used his best ammo. And for a brief moment, he must have thought it worked. How me must have listened with glee, almost giddily, when Jesus cried out to His Father Who had forsaken Him. He probably had a host of demons high-fiving him. Their "victory" (even if it was in their own minds) was short-lived. And praise God, Christ's victory is eternal. And so is ours if we are in Christ. We'll never have a day as bad as Christ's was that day and by His grace we'll never have an eternity as tormented as what is in store for the enemy.

They both gave all they had that day, and only One came forth the victor. I'd say Satan met more than his match when he pitted himself against the Son of God. So, what does that say about his chances against God's children? I must remember Whose child I am, and the victory that was won for God's glory and on my behalf. Evil can try to have its way in my life, but... it's met it's match because of Who dwells in me.

By God's grace and mercy, the cross is at the heart of my story. I pray it's at the heart of your story as well.

Iris is our gracious host this week. Visit her at Sting My Heart to read more views on this week's quote, or to post your own. Thanks, Iris!

I've been so busy thinking...

I haven't posted my Thinking Blogger post yet! First of all, thank you SO much Linda for nominating me. It means even more, given what a thinking blogger you are yourself (as well as the cyber-Titus-woman you've become to me.) Thank you, thank you! I haven't ignored the meme, but I've been, well, thinking! Several of the ones I'd like to forward it to have been nominated, and you're supposed to keep it to 5, which is doggone near impossible in my opinion.

Here are my heartfelt nominations, and if they are duplicates then she can just know that she's a Thinking Blogger Squared (or cubed, etc. ;)

Come to the Table

relevant blog

A Spacious Place

Home is Where You Start From

Dandelion Momma

If I have tagged you, here are your instructions:

Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with the link to the post that you wrote.

Until I started blogging, more often than not I would get on the computer to veg out. To surf. To click, scan, zone, and NOT think. What a waste of time that was! (Okay, not all the time, there are some great websites out there! There just isn't a "comment" button, LOL.) Now I'm reading things that challenge me, writing thoughts I didn't know I had until I wrote them, and meeting a host of new cyber-sistas! What a blessing! Thank you to all of you (many beyond those listed above) who make me think- about my Jesus, about glorifying God, about loving my family well, about discernment... about things worth thinkin' about.

Y'all are the best!

The Joy of the Gospel

If you haven't yet read this post of Chris's at Come to the Table, head on over! I'll be here when you get back...
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Wasn't that good? Hopefully you clicked on the wonderful resource she has linked from Cornerstone Bible Fellowship. In case you didn't, here it is again. It is an excellent booklet written by their pastor, Milton Vincent, about "preaching the gospel to yourself" each day. I read through it yesterday and it ministered to me so much. I know I'll be using this resource again and again, and reading it to my children. It's an incredible blessing that this is available free of charge. What an appropriate time, Holy Week, to direct our focus right back to the cross and to resolve not to look away!

I know in my own life, I have regarded the "gospel message" as something separate from other concepts I am studying in the Bible. Certainly I needed to hear the gospel message before salvation, and I have needed the gospel when sharing with others or on mission trips, but daily thinking about the gospel wasn't something I did very often. Last summer I read Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C.J. Mahaney. It really changed my perspective on the role the gospel message plays in my daily life as a Christian. The gospel is everything! The cross is where it all began for me! Why did I ever leave that place?

Preaching the gospel to yourself every day, which Mahaney recommends as well, is an idea from Jerry Bridges' book The Discipline of Grace. The booklet from Cornerstone not only explains why to do it (in the same vein as Mahaney's book) but he writes out a prose version as well as a poetry version of the gospel message to read to yourself. Oh, how I loved lingering over it and praying through it yesterday on Palm Sunday. It was a wonderful way to focus my heart and worship this Holy Week. I highly encourage you to take a look at it and pray through it yourself, and see if you are blessed as well.

On this subject, I would like to share one thing I gleaned from Mahaney's book, something that was missing for me that is a byproduct of preaching the gospel to yourself everyday: Joy.

"And the inevitable result of preaching the gospel to yourself will be a pronounced joy, an infectious joy, a consistent joy. Like nothing else, the gospel creates joy; it's both the source and the object of our joy. The gospel alone allows us to obey the biblical directive to "serve the LORD with gladness." [Ps. 100:2] Joy is a command. You may be working hard and serving the Lord faithfully, but if you aren't serving with gladness, you aren't serving Him appropriately or representing Him accurately. Are you someone who's consistently joyful and continually aware that 'the joy of the LORD is your strength?' Or do you normally appear to others to be someone who's burdened, busy, and easily bothered?"

"... not representing Him accurately."

"Burdened, busy, and easily bothered."

Ouch! I'm afraid many days those words would describe me. And even if others aren't observing that in me, certainly my children are. Where is the joy that should be there? My joy is in the message of the gospel! There are many, many other aspects to infusing the gospel message into your heart each day (like developing a Romans 9 heart for the lost, as Chris mentioned) but this is one aspect that my heart has needed so much. True joy is in appropriating the gospel and its truth into my daily life and thoughts. That joy will undoubtedly well up and overflow onto those around me, drawing others to Him as well.

We have a wonderful opportunity to center our thoughts on the cross this week. My prayer is that we would, like a compass, realign ourselves with it and let that be our focal point each day. May we have cross-centered hearts this week and gospel-centered lives as we go forward. And may we find joy!

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:12

Menu Plan Monday

"Oh taste and see that the LORD is good..." Ps. 34:8

This week around after dinner each night we will be incorporating some of Noel Piper's Holy Week ideas found here. We started it this weekend, and it is quite meaningful. I am looking forward to our special time together each night. The candles and readings are really helping us to focus our hearts as we approach Easter. I highly recommend it if you're not already using a Holy Week devotional. It's not too late to incorporate it into your family's table time or after-dinner time this week.

Here's what our family will be enjoying for dinner each night:

Monday: Baked Potato Soup, salad, garlic bread

Tuesday: Out to eat for my father-in-law's birthday (Happy birthday, "Big Luke!")

Wednesday: Chicken and dumplings, fried okra

Thursday: Left-overs

Friday: Passover Seder meal with our Family Bible Fellowship (Sunday school class)

Weekend: Easter dinner- ham, spinach salad, green beans, rolls, blueberry-banana pie

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Crock Pot Ham (originally from mamaliscious)

5 lb. bone in fully cooked ham
1/3 cup apple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper

Place ham in 4-5 quart crockpot and pour apple juice over ham. Combine brown sugar, honey, mustard, and pepper in a small bowl and blend well. Spread over ham. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Slice and serve. 12 servings

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Spinach Salad

6 hard-boiled eggs, diced

8-10 slices of bacon , cooked and chopped

2 bags baby spinach, destemmed and washed

Dressing:

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup vinegar

2 heaping tbsp. mayonnaise

Whip dressing until smooth (I do this in the blender). Toss just before serving.

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Blueberry Banana Pie

1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

1 8 oz. Cool Whip

3 bananas, sliced

1 cup sugar

1 can blueberry pie filling

2 graham cracker pie shells

Mix cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Add 1/2 of Cool Whip and blend well. Layer banana slices on bottom of pie crust, then put a layer of cream cheese mixture. Next, put a layer of Cool Whip. Refrigerate until top is set, then spoon blueberries on top.

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Visit Laura for more menu ideas, or to share your menu plan.

Have a blessed, set-apart week!

"Loosed" for the Lord's Purposes

"...and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it.' and immediately he will send it here." Mark 11:2-3

I love this passage, especially as I came across it this week approaching Palm Sunday. The "colt" Christ is speaking of in the above passage is the donkey colt that He would be riding as He entered Jerusalem in His "triumphal entry." There are so many lessons to be learned from this pivotal moment. But, I keep coming back to the colt.

I have been carrying a bundle of notecards in my purse for the past few months. Some have scriptures on them, which I'm trying to memorize. Some have Greek words on them, from my (very) Elementary Greek curriculum that I'm slowly working through. One of the notecards that I regularly review has the word, "luo" written on it, in my best attempt at Greek script. The word "luo," as I have memorized, is Greek for "I loose." In the Greek scriptures I have memorized, this hasn't been a word. I haven't used it in any translations or sentences yet, but faithfully I have memorized this word. Luo. Got it.

Today as I read the above passage I "got it" on a little deeper level! The colt had to be "loosed," for "the Lord has need of it." Whoever owned the colt was not told exactly what the Lord would do with it, only that He the Lord needed it. What needed to be "loosed" was so that the Lord might use it for His glory. That particular colt carried our Lord to a chorus of "Hosannas," acknowledging Who He was. It's the same word used in the New Testament to describe when Lazarus needed to be "loosed" from his grave clothes after his resurrection. It's also the word used to describe the woman who was "loosed" from the evil spirits who had plagued her for over eighteen years. In these instances, involved being "loosed from" as well as being "loosed to."

What do I need to "loose" so that the person of Christ might be better displayed in my life? What do I need to be "loosed" - set free- from? The One who calls me, Who will use it for His glory, is the One who will do the enable the "loosing." Praise His name!

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name

of the Lord!'

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David

That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!"
Mark 11:9-10

Random Friday Fun

I found this over at Susanne's, and her answers were fun so I thought I'd give it a shot (since any and all of my thought-provoking-post-writing brain cells have taken the day off).

1. Name six things in your refrigerator:
~ homemade syrup
~ leftovers from this week
~ pepper jack cheese
~ Caramel syrup, since my daughter has discovered the joy of the Caramel Macchiato
~ Guacamole
~ Fat Free Cream Cheese (a.k.a. "What's the point?")

2. Name six things in your freezer:
~ popcorn chicken
~ Starbuck's Java Chip ice cream
~ Pizza Rolls
~ Sponge Bob Square Pants ice packs (for lunch boxes)
~ pancake and sausage on a stick , a.k.a, "pancake dogs," LOL. My kids love these!
~ bags of frozen veggies

3. Name six things under your kitchen sink:
~ dish detergent
~ some jar candles
~ the watering can for my houseplants
~ a container of clothes pins (for closing chips and misc. bags)
~ hand soap
~ scrubbing sponges

4. Name six things around your computer:
I'm on a laptop, so the "scenery" always changes... right now I'm in the living room so there is...
~ a dachshund
~ my coffee cup
~ my homeschool association newsletter that I received yesterday
~ the dvd remote
~ my son's yo-yo
~ my daughter's Chinese In 10 Minutes a Day book

5. Name six things in your medicine cabinet:
~ my husband's vitamins (mine live in a drawer, too many to fit in the med. cabinet!)
~ kids' Tylenol
~ Sudafed Shower Soothers, haven't used any yet, but I thought they looked cool...
~ an epi-pen
~ a prescription of Zithromax that we take with us when we travel
~ Seabreeze

6. Name six things around your nightstand:
~ my bookbag
~ a container of pens/pencils
~ tissues
~ nail file
~ hand lotion
~ a small, framed plaque that says, "I am woman. I am invincible. I am tired."

There. Now you know a little more about me... I wouldn't have participated if it were "What's in the closet under the stairs" or "Name six things you found under the cushions of your couch" meme, though. I love y'all too much!

Happy Friday!

Not Feelin' It

You know, that "cleaning-and-organizing-are-so-addicting, one-project-fuels-the-next" feeling that supposedly comes from getting organized. I'm SO not there. I posted on my homeschool blog that we're taking a much-needed two week break from school so that we can work on the house. The two weeks is so that it won't be such a push, and so we can work at not-so-breakneck-speed. Also because my husband is taking off some days next week and I can work a bit on some things ahead of him, "clearing him a path" in a way. But, I'm not lovin' it! I look at the projects in front of me and think... yuck. I wish for one second I could have a little of what Laura (the "organizing junkie") and others like her have- something in me that thrives on organizing and cleaning, that gets a rush from creating order out of chaos. I really just want it... DONE.

Now, we're not total slobs, we do have systems in place. The kids dutifully do their chores each week and everything has a spot. But I am finding more and more... THINGS! Too much stuff! So, I'm sorting, prioritizing, donating, selling, labeling, thinking, and perhaps a little bit of procrastinating. Last week I told my husband, "I've been reading some really great books on organizing." His (ever-witty) reply was, "Does one of them say, 'Put this book DOWN?' " He knows me so well. I would rather read about it, talk about it, strategize for it, make lists of it, pray about it and sing "Kum Ba Ya" around it than actually, well, get to it!

So that's what I'm doing this week. Waiting for the mood to strike, working while I'm waiting. I hope it strikes soon!

Coffee's On!

... at the Internet Cafe. We've got a comfy chair ready for you, and a tasty cup of "Bloggers Blend" is waiting! Come sit a spell!

I'm posting this:

Over here today:

Click here to go directly to my post called "Choose You This Day" or click the above logo to go and read what others have been writing recently. If you haven't visited the cafe lately, I encourage you to. The ladies there always inspire me.

Love y'all!

Menu Plan Monday

Busy, busy, busy. That's what we are around here this week! So in my menu plan this week, dinner falls into one or more of my three favorite categories: (1) Simple (2) Crock Pot, or (3) Out.

Monday: Roast (in the crock pot), with vegetables and crescent rolls

Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas, black beans, corn

Wednesday: Out to our favorite burger place

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Coca Cola pork chops (pork chops+ BBQ sauce + Coke+ crock pot = awesome), stir-fried veggies

Weekend: Leftovers, sandwiches, or out-to-eat

Visit Laura at Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas, or to share your own menu plan. Thanks, Laura!

Have a yummy week, everyone!

Within Arm's Reach

As usual, I sank down in the big, comfy chair in our living room this morning, my steaming cup of coffee on the table beside me, my open Bible in my lap, and my mind full of questions. Issues. Challenges. Worries. I sipped my coffee and brought it all to Him. I love my time in the mornings...so early... still dark. This time of day serves to magnify the reality of how I come to Him in my human-ness: foggy-minded, surrounded by darkness, alone, filled with questions.

I've been struggling with the issue of whether I trust God, really trust Him. If asked, I would be quick to say that I do. But that pesky emotion called "fear," those anxieties both big and small that surface in me throughout each day, testify to the truth that on some level, in some things, with some things... I must not really trust Him. So it was in front of that spiritual backdrop that I read a verse this morning that fell on me with a fresh relevance.

"And the LORD said to Moses, "Has the LORD's arm been shortened?"

Numbers 11:23

I just sort of stared at those words this morning. The NKJV rendering of the above verse asks (rhetorically, of course) if something has happened that has limited God's power. Have His power and might, which so often is what His "arm" represents, been altered in any way? The obvious answer is a resounding "No!" The Lord's arm has not been shortened by... the sickness of a loved one, a possible scary diagnosis for another, the chronic problem that has plagued my extended family for almost two decades, financial issues, marriage concerns for a dear friend, a burden for the lost... or anything else I brought to Him this morning. His arm is as long as ever. His power is as great as ever. None of this has surprised or shocked Him, none of it jarred Him off His throne or "shortened His arm." "God is not mocked." (Gal. 6:7) Neither is He shocked, nor is His world rocked. "Giving Him control" is simply aligning my view to what is already a reality: He is in control. He's never not been.

"Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?" Isaiah 50:2

"Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear." Isaiah 59:1

"And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm;" Deuteronomy 5:15

His arm is as long as it ever was: long enough to save, to reach, to extend His accomplishing hand to bring His will to pass in His creation and in His people, in my circumstances and of those I love... and long enough to draw us to Himself. I can trust Him. Praise You, Lord.

Works-for-me-Wednesday

"DINNER!"

"TIME FOR SCHOOL!"

"GUYS! COME HERE A SECOND! I NEED TO ASK YOU SOMETHING!"

"ARE Y'ALL UP YET? BREAKFAST IS READY!"

"[Friend who came over to play]'s MOM IS HERE TO PICK HIM UP!"

"TIME TO GO!"

These, and many other extremely LOUD phrases are yelled by moms in two story houses everywhere. Yes, it would be nicer to walk upstairs and look into their eyes, speaking quietly and lovingly to the children to call them to mealtimes, when their friends are at the door, or to let them know it's time to leave for an activity but, truth-be-told, I've usually got my hands full in the kitchen or am otherwise occupied. What I need at that particular moment is to see their sweet faces. Downstairs.

What has worked for us in this house is a wireless door chime we picked up at our local home improvement store. I have the doorbell "button" down in the kitchen and the doorchime sits on a bookshelf in the hall upstairs. Instead of me YELLING at the top of my lungs to get them to come downstairs when they're up in their bedrooms with the doors closed, I simply ring the "doorbell" from the kitchen. The one we got has all kinds of holiday songs, and we have fun resetting it according to the seasons.

Less yelling from mom. Works for me my kids!

For more tips, visit Rocks In My Dryer. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

A Missions Grip

It started with a $250 check.

In fact, the money wasn't even originally in our account, but was the result of selling a Southwest Airlines voucher on Ebay. My husband traveled frequently for business at the time and would receive such vouchers periodically, which we didn't need, so he would sell them for cash. As a newly-single-income-family, with mom now at home with young children, we desperately needed money more than airline tickets! What we did with that check has, in my opinion, changed the course of our family.

You see, we took that check and gave it to someone who was taking a short term mission trip to Ghana, West Africa. A boy, actually. An eight-year-old boy in my husband's Awana group was going with his father. "How nice for them," I thought. "If God says go, you should go. More power to 'em," I inwardly told myself. At the time we were living in an apartment, having sold our first house much more quickly than we thought we would (a great problem to have!). We had scrambled to find a place to live while we built a new home in a neighboring city, a beautiful upper middle class suburb. It was an exciting time, but we were "short" on cash, as such transitions can be quite financially draining. We received the support letter from this sweet boy, looked in our bank account, and didn't see funds readily available. Luke remembered the Southwest voucher and we gave what we had. There. Done.

But, we weren't done. Not by a longshot. Up until that point our means of supporting missionaries had been through tithing to our church, which we knew supported missions worldwide. We received periodic updates from our denomination's publications or via email. This time it was personal. We knew this boy and his father. I knew his mother. I couldn't imagine what that would be like, your husband and young son half a world away! How could she put them on a plane like that? They would definitely need prayer. I caught a vision, though, of what they were going to be doing- taking the gospel to those who had never heard it, muchless going to villages where they had never seen a white person. Whoa! How must that be, to be used of God like that? Good for them! So, I prayed. I prayed more personally and fervently for that mission trip and for that part of the world than I had ever prayed.

I believe this is a prime example of "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Until we consciously, deliberately gave what we treasured to the work God was doing in another country, my heart had not so firmly been planted there. My heart definitely followed my treasure.

And it never returned. Such a transformation took place in our family as a result of contributing to and praying for this trip, it would take me miles of posts to write about it. I will tell you that by the time my daughter was ten years old, I found myself where I "couldn't imagine" that mom had been several years earlier: putting my young child on a plane with her father to go half a world away to share the gospel. That's one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. My heart certainly followed my "treasure" that summer as well! Within months, our family returned to Ghana together, and again the following summer. It has become a driving force in our family, so much so that we are now preparing to sell that house we built six summers ago in the beautiful country club subdivision so that more of our resources will be available for involvement in mission work.

I titled this post after a typo I made at the beginning of it. I mistakingly typed "mission grip" instead of "mission trip." When I saw those words together, I smiled. Missions has a firm grip on our family. It has infiltrated how we see our earthly possessions, how we interact with our community, and how we see our ministry at our church. My daughter and I are preparing for another trip to China in just a few weeks. My son told me the other day he wants to go anywhere... anywhere God would send him. "I just love mission trips!" he said. Praise You, Lord! You have done this!

"It is insufficient to proclaim that the Church of God has a mission in the world. Rather, the God of mission has a Church in the world."

~ Tim Dearborn ~

The church, the Body of Christ, is made up of many members, all with different functions and callings. I know that not every family is to do what we have done, and there are certain seasons when our family has been called to stay. (I am reminded of the man whom Jesus healed who wanted to follow Him, but Jesus told him no, to go home and proclaim Him there.) Missions does not always entail going across the world, but so often just across the state line, across town, across the street or across the room.

Wherever you are to go, here is what God told my anxious heart the night before my first transatlantic flight, "The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you." (Deut. 31:3) Jesus Himself crossed the barrier 2000 years ago, leaving the familiar and walking foreign soil.

I have learned that "mission work" is not just for other people, the uber-Christians, the super spiritual, or for those who sell everything and go live in a hut somewhere. Involvement in missions ...from sending money, reading biographies, praying through the countries, emailing missionaries, reading their blogs and praying for them while dinner is in the oven or the kids nap... is for all of us! "The God of missions has a church," and that's us!

Let's let it grip us.

The other "In Other Words" participants have touched my heart today. Go to Laurel Wreath to be linked to their posts and be touched as well, or to write your own take on this week's quote.

Mind Boggling

"God praying to God so that God would do God's will...

If this doesn't boggle your mind, you're not 'boggle-able' !"

John Piper preaching from Romans 8:25-27,

an excellent message found here.

Menu Plan Monday

Oh my WORD the weeks fly by, don't they? I'm sitting here typing this thinking, "Didn't I just do this??" I do have to say that I just love planning our meals and cooking for my family. I look so forward to our time at the dinner table each evening. I am also enjoying the idea of sharing our menus online, and not just for the (many yummy) new recipe ideas. One evening last week my husband came home excited about dinner~ he had checked my blog at work to see what we were going to have! Isn't that fun?

The favorite at our house last week was the crock pot chicken tacos. We ended up having them Friday, too. My husband said they reminded him of the tacos he gets at his favorite "taqueria."

Here's what we'll be munching this week:

Monday: BBQ brisket sandwiches, baked sweet potato fries, mixed veggies, salad

Tuesday: Hawaiian Chicken Bake (didn't make this last week), rice, stir-fried veggies, rolls

Wednesday: "Hay and Straw," a fun linguine recipe that I found adapted here at Kisses of Sunshine. I froze the leftovers of the yummy ham from a couple of weeks ago and will use that.

Thursday: gymnastics night, (YO-YO= You're on your own)

Friday: Burgers on the grill, fries, baked beans, salad

Weekend: Sandwiches and leftovers

I hope your week is off to a great start and that you're ready to stir up some fun with those you love this week! For more recipe ideas, visit Laura the Organizing Junkie. Thanks again for hosting us, Laura. Happy Monday, everyone!

A Quiet Morning

It's an overcast, spring-y, Sunday morning. My alarm clock quietly clicked on at 6:15, and I quickly silenced it so as to not wake up my sweet husband who enjoys sleeping past 4:40 AM on weekends. Getting up that early is a Monday through Friday occurence for him. I slipped out of bed, tiptoed quietly to the master bath, freshened up my ponytail and slipped on yesterday's jeans which were waiting for me in the closet. I padded into the kitchen and poured a welcomed cup of Starbuck's French Roast, waiting for me thanks to the timer on my coffee maker. I glanced upstairs to make sure I saw signs of life in my daughter's room, and saw the faint glow of her bathroom light shining through the crack of her bedroom door. She is a typical teenager who loves her sleep, but she faithfully gets up early on Sunday mornings to be at the church by 7:00 AM to work in our church cafe, making espresso to the glory of God and earning money for her mission trip account. (We attend church on Saturday nights as a family.) I sat in our quiet living room, ready with my car keys and coffee. Those seem to be the two main ingredients necessary for the life of this mom some days!

I drove home from the church in the dark, listening to Travis Cottrell's beautiful rendition of Psalm 145 (Forevermore) and thinking of what a wonderful God we serve. What a privilege to be one of His children! Moments ago my husband and son left, fishing poles in hand, for some much-needed father-son time down at the lake.

So here I sit, in my quiet house, the strains of Psalm 145 still playing in my head and heart:

"One generation will commend Your works to another
They will speak of the splendor of Your majesty
They will tell of the tell of the power of Your awesome works
They will celebrate Your abundant goodness
And joyfully sing..."

Have I commended His works to my children enough this past week? Oh, I hope so. I will make more of an effort to do that in the coming week. God has been teaching me so much lately about His sufficiency. The Scripture that has been rolling around in my head the past couple of weeks is 2 Peter 1:3~

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and goodness."

That's what I want! A life of godliness! I somehow imagine a "godly" life as a someday-I'll-get-it sort of life. Once I learn enough or pray enough or serve enough or go through enough trials... it'll finally add up to "a life of godliness." A "life of godliness" seems like such a struggle most days, when I'm just trying to have a good attitude while homeschooling, answering phone calls, doing house chores, or serving in a ministry. I look at others who I imagine live a "life of godliness," but most of the time I don't see myself as one of those people. Of course, I wonder if those who truly live a godly life think to themselves, "I sure am living a godly life." Probably not.

What has struck me this past week as I have mulled that scripture over and over is that He has given us "everything we need." Has given us. It's not a yet-to-be-attained thing for those who are in Christ. The "knowledge of Him" in that passage refers to a saving knowledge through Jesus Christ. Why do I keep trying to add to it? His divine power has already given me everything I need for a life of godliness. If a life of godliness is what I truly want, then I have all I need in Him. The truth is that at times I want a life of godliness and a life of... comfort, thinness, attractiveness, intelligence, wellness, financial success, etc., etc... OR, at times I think that for my life of godliness I need God plus a prewritten Bible study, mission work, good works, etc... I'm always trying to add to either the life I want or the means to godliness. I wonder why that is? Something to continue to pray about.

It's a quiet morning in bloggy-ville, too. I love it, because I know that most of you are at church (I'm sure we "Saturday night attenders" are in the minority.) I am praying for you this morning as well, and all the services that are being held in His name at this very moment. God is doing a mighty work in this generation and in His church. If you are reading this, know that I prayed for you this morning. I prayed for all who might happen upon this blog today.

Have a blessed Sunday and an abundant week!

To The Ends Of The Earth

"Who am I Lord? Or, rather, what is my calling? that you appeared to me in so great a divine quality, so that today among the barbarians I might constantly exalt and magnify your name in whatever place I should be, and not only in good fortune, but even in affliction?"

"So that whatever befalls me, be it good or bad, I should accept it equally, and give thanks always to God who revealed to me that I might trust in him, implicitly and forever, and who will encourage me so that, ignorant, and in the last days, I may dare to undertake so devout and so wonderful a work; so that I might imitate one of those whom, once, long ago, the Lord already pre-ordained to be heralds of his Gospel to witness to all peoples to the ends of the earth. So are we seeing, and so it is fulfilled; behold, we are witnesses because the Gospel has been preached as far as the places beyond which no man lives."

~from The "Confessio" of St. Patrick, available in its entirety here.

You might be a child of the 70's if...

hanging your sweater in the closet makes you sing the theme song to "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood."

Oh, yes I am.

"...won't you please? Won't you please? Please won't you be.... my neighbor?"

Now, we'll see if I toss my tennis shoes back and forth later when I put them on. Sigh.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! And, I'm special!

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

I know this poem has been around the internet for awhile, but it came to mind this morning:

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

"When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me good night and I felt loved and safe.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but its all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say,

"Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking."

~Author Unknown~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To my own parents:

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw the light on in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning as you studied your BSF lessons,
and I learned that God's Word is worth getting up for.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you preparing delicious meals for our family,
and I learned that time around the table is important.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make room in our home one night for a woman and her baby whom you met, stranded at the airport,
and I saw how warm hospitality blesses people.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you financially supported the work of missionaries all around the world,
and I learned that it is a privilege to do our part to help gather God's family.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw both of you kneeling by your bed, praying. I heard you pray for my future spouse. I am blessed by the answer to that prayer every single day.

When you thought I wasn't listening (as an eye-rolling teenager) you taught me how to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month, a practice I still follow to this day. It's what I was doing this morning when God brought to mind so much that you modeled for me when you thought I wasn't looking.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for always pointing me to God's Word.

~Author: your grateful daughter~

Works-for-me Wednesday

Is it Wednesday already? Wow! We have "sprung forward" indeed!

Today's WFMW is a deep, life-changing bit o' wisdom, to be sure.

Lip gloss. Chapstick. Lipstick. A combination of all three. I have this sort of "trifecta" going on at any given moment. For me, it started with Bonne Bell Dr. Pepper flavored lip gloss in sixth grade and has been a habit ever since! I picked up something a few weeks ago that I really like: Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer.

It's not as heavy as lipstick, is shiny like lip gloss, but functions like chapstick. It's great for days when I need a bit of color but don't want to look too "made up." I happened to pick a tube of it up at the checkout counter at Books-a-Million (because, well, don't we all go to the bookstore to buy lip gloss??) and I've been really pleased with it. It's pepperminty and tingly when you put it on, and it's got just enough color. I hadn't really thought about it until I looked it up on Amazon and read a review, but another bonus is that it is all natural. (Which, since you ingest what is on your lips, is a good thing!)

And, it's about $4.00. Works for me!

For more tips, visit Rocks In My Dryer. Have a beautiful shade of Wednesday!

Menu Plan Monday

Okay, I must start by saying I figured out who I got the ham recipe from that I made last week: Mamalicious posted it a couple of weeks ago here. I have to give her credit and link it this week because it. was. the. BEST! My family absolutely loved it, and I wish I'd have bought a bigger ham so we would've had more leftovers. If you missed it when she posted it, go back and get the recipe! I might use it for our Easter ham this year. :) And, the pizza pancakes were a hit as well. Thanks, Laura!

I am kickin' it into high gear this week in the "spring cleaning" department, so I reserve the right to cancel the following plans in favor of sandwiches or cold cereal in the event I go missing in one of our closets (or throw my back out!) but here's what I have planned this week:

Monday: Pan-fried tilapia with lemon pepper, steamed vegetables, crescent rolls

Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos, black beans, corn

Wednesday: Beef Casserole, mixed veggies (I didn't make this last Sunday like I had planned)

Thursday: Left overs

Friday: Hawaiian Chicken Bake, rice, stir-fried veggies, rolls

Weekend: Sandwiches and leftovers

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Creamy Ground Beef Casserole
(This recipe is described as a "comfort food" that kids will love. I am making it with low-fat ingredients to "comfort" my conscience. :) It looks good, I think.)

1-1/2 lb. ground beef
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (8 oz.) pkg. elbow macaroni
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (12 oz.) ctn. cottage cheese
1 (8 oz.) ctn. sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 (6 oz.) pkgs. sliced mozzarella cheese

Brown ground beef, drain. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook macaroni, drain and set aside. Combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream and onion; stir well. Layer half each of the macaroni, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese and meat sauce in a greased 13x9x2" baking dish. Repeat layers except for mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Place remaining cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
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For more plans and awesome ideas from some of the best cooks on the web (as well as some great tips for getting organized this spring) visit Laura the Organizing Junkie. Have a yummy week!

Sunday Funny

A young boy walked into his father's study. His father, a pastor, was working on the sermon he was to deliver in church that week.

After watching his father write for a few moments, the boy asked, "How do you know what to say?"

"God tells me," replied his father.

The boy watched quietly for a few more minutes and then asked, "Then... why do you keep crossing things out?"

Yet I Will Praise Him

It's been a great week. It's been a busy week. It's been a fun week. In some ways it's been a spiritually challenging week. How about you?

I was so glad for Thankful Thursday yesterday. I needed the fresh breeze of gratitude to blow through my mind and home, scattering the dust of discontent that had settled, unnoticed, into my heart. Discontentment is subtle like that. It will descend into certain areas of my life when I'm not actively grateful, "entering His courts with thanksgiving." I guess gratitude is sort of a "spiritual swiffer" that way!

Yesterday morning I was on a brief phone call with a friend before we started our homeschool day and I casually mentioned to her, "I've decided I'm going to be thankful ALL day. For everything. In everything." At that moment I saw that my son was putting his laundry into the washer (his Thursday chore) so I added, "Like, I'm just glad the washing machine is working!" We ended our call and, grasping my attitude of gratitude, I went about my morning routine preparing for school.

A few moments later my son burst into the room.

"Mom! Mom! Something's wrong with the washing machine!"

Sure enough, as I walked into the laundry room, my footsteps turned into splashes as I realized I was standing in water. Hm.

We immediately turned the machine off, grabbed mop, bucket, and towels and began sopping up the water. My son nimbly and helpfully jumped behind the washer and dryer where I couldn't fit (we have a tiny laundry room) and he worked and worked with the towels I handed him, making sure it was dry all along the baseboards. I turned the dial to drain the remaining water out of the drum and we spent the remainder of the day with wet, soapy clothes in the washer and a disconnected dryer sitting in the kitchen. I should've taken photos. It was pretty.

What of the thankfulness that I had expressed for a "washer that works?" Within moments of making that statement, the very thing I had been thankful for was gone. Was it wasted gratitude? Absolutely not! I found that the act of expressing gratitude for that very thing actually increased my capacity to be thankful in the "crisis" (I'll use that term loosely in this situation!) involving it. It was like stretching before a workout. In that moment, the washer might have been incapacitated, but my gratitude didn't have to be. I was thankful for a helpful son. For a shelf full of absorbent towels. That we hadn't turned the washer on and left the house. And now I have a clean, sparkly laundry room floor!

I'm thankful for Iris, who reminds us each Thursday to express our thanks. I'm thankful for God's Word, which reminds us that we should have that attitude every day of our lives, and gives us so much for which to be grateful. I'm thankful for thankfulness itself! And I'm thankful it's Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend! Love y'all!

Thankful Thursday

I'm letting The Valley of Vision speak for me today:

Lord, I am thankful this day for:

"the soul thou has created,
for adorning it, sanctifying it,
though it is fixed in barren soil;

for the body thou hast given me,

for preserving its strength and vigour,

for providing senses to enjoy delights,

for the ease and freedom of my limbs,

for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,

for a full table and overflowing cup,

for appetite, taste, sweetness,

for social joys of relatives and friends,

for ability to serve others,

for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

for a mind to care for my fellow-men,

for opportunities of spreading happiness around,

for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures.
Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity."

Amen.

To read more "Thankful Thursday" posts, visit Iris at Sting My Heart.