Week off

Well, it would seem that I have taken an impromptu week off of blogging. Generally I try to let y'all know if there is a reason I can't post for awhile, but this past week was unavoidable.

Life at the manor has been full of practicalities the last few weeks. As of a month ago our family suddenly moved from being a two-car-family to being a one-car-family. This wasn't an unexpected transition--hubby's car is quite old and clunky, and whenever a major repair comes up (which could be at any time) it won't be worth fixing. It is so old and clunky that I can't drive it because we never bothered to get the broken seat fixed (like a little girl trying to ride her big brothers bicycle, in my hubby's car my feet don't reach the pedals).

As much as we have been expecting to lose a vehicle in the near future, this did come as a surprise.

Why?

Well, because it wasn't my hubby's car that bit the dust. It was my car. The new-to-me car we bought to replace my totaled MousieMobile. The one in excellent condition, all working parts, no major repairs needed, and 3,000 miles on it. The steady, dependable, super-comfortable, gonna-last-us-awhile car. Yeah, that one. And Clunker still lives.

Go figure.

So, that was a bit of a change in plans. I guess God needed to remind us that while our 5 year plans are great things to have, He's actually the one who calls the shots on what happens.

Between my hubby and I we are currently working about 5 different jobs, 3 of which require significant, daily driving. Two of those three are my part time jobs. And I still couldn't reach the pedals on his car.

Needless to say, the last few weeks have been pretty hectic, as my husband has had full time work around doing all the part-time driving for me. This has been challenging for both of us, though on the bright side I really enjoyed the extra time we got together throughout the day.

A few days ago my husband came up with a creative idea to fix the car so I can drive it. To our mutual delight his idea worked like a dream. Now he either carpools to work with a friend or stays home, and I can drive myself around which eases up the schedule considerably.

All that to say, with a more normal schedule, from here on we should be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Lord willin' an' the crick don't rise. :-)

 

Good Friday--The Gospel

In honor of Good Friday I want to share this video I watched this morning with my husband. It really made me think about the sacrifice Jesus made for me, and how amazing it is that he died for me.

 May we all learn to live Christ daily.

Chicken and Rice Burritos

Here is the recipe I recently used for our last batch of Freezer Burritos. It turned out WONDERFUL, though I didn't follow the recipe religiously.

1 c. rice
2 tbsp. oil (I used olive oil and butter)
2 sm. onions, chopped

2 chopped bell peppers (optl.)

2 cup corn (optional)

2 clove garlic, pressed

2 c. chicken broth or water

2 c. cooked chicken, finely shredded

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 cans (16 oz.) refried beans (I made my own)

1/2 cup chopped jalapenos

4 cups cheddar or mexican mix
12 flour tortillas

Make rice according to directions on package. While the rice is simmering saute onions and bell peppers together in the oil. Mix together rice, onions, bell peppers, corn, garlic, chicken salt and pepper in a large pot.  Mix jalepinos with refried beans. 

Layer burrito with stuffing in the following order: refried beans (about 1/4 cup), rice/chicken mixture (about 1/3 cup), cheese (at your discretion--I like a lot of cheese). Roll burrito, and package as a freezer burrito (wrapped in a paper town and tin foil). 

The recipe turned out super tasty--in my opinion even better than Brown Bag Burritos, though my man may not be of the same opinion. :-)

On Distance

It's Friday, and I'm joining Gypsy Mama again in Five Minute Friday. The rules are:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Gypsy Mama and invite others to join in.
3. Go leave some comment props for the five minute artist who linked up before you 

This week the prompt is "On Distance."

On Distance (Start 11:35)

When I think of distance the first thing that comes to mind is the distance of time. I just celebrated a birthday, and I imagine what I was like 10 years ago. So much has changed. 10 years ago I didn't know who I was, I was trying to decide what God wanted me to do with my life--and if I really even cared what He wanted. I was deciding whether to pursue the world and pleasures therein, or pursue Christ. I truly didn't know which I wanted.

Time has passed, increasing the distance between the me of now and the me of last decade. I have changed and grown. Hurts have come, experiences been added, and joys felt. I've learned that all I truly want out of life is to Love the Lord, and I am so very, very grateful that that He didn't allow that 15 year old me to make the decision that would take her away from Him forever.

My Lord has closed the distance between us. He has shown me the joy of loving him. But when I think of distance, I realize that I've only traveled a fraction of the distance that he wants me to travel. As much closer as I am to Him now than I was 10 years ago, it isn't close enough. Not nearly.

Lord, close the distance between us--the huge, vast distance. Forgive me when I allow the distance to continue between us instead of running to you when I first notice a gap. And thank you for holding on to me, even when I push you away.  Don't ever let me go.

(stop 11:40)

Hamburger Patty Christianity

When something happens that we consider unpleasant, frustrating, or downright bad, my husband and I have a question we'll ask each other. We'll look at each other and ask, "Are you going to be a Calvinist about this?"   Without getting into the whole "Calvinism vs. Armienism" debate, what we really mean is, "Do you believe in the absolute sovereignty of God over everything, even this? And do you trust Him enough to leave this situation in his hands?" Recently I had a couple chances to practice trusting God's absolute sovereignty, with mixed results.

The first of the two occasions happened last week. We didn't know the full extent of the issue yet, but we were faced with a trial in which the best case scenario was a fairly significant financial setback. Worst case was a bigger financial setback and major inconvienances over the next couple months. As difficult as the situation was, my husband and I encouraged each other in the Lord, and mutually were able to come to the point that we could trust God and wait patiently (without worry) to see Him work. I was batting pretty well that day, or so I thought.

The second occasion took place the very next day when my husband and I elected to stay home and work on around the house projects. One of my projects was making hamburger patties out of some ground beef I'd recently purchased. These patties weren't just any hamburger patties. They were destined to be AwesomeSauce Burgers--one of my husband's favorite man-meals (he named it himself). So these patties had to be just right.

Much to my dismay, when I went to look for the recipe I discovered that that particular recipe book had disappeared! I couldn't remember loaning it out, it wasn't on any of the cookbook shelves, nor could I spot it in any of the usual (or unusual) places. On top of that, google searches to see if the recipe was posted online, returned uniformly unsuccessful.  Nor could I  remember the recipe well enough to wing it.

This was just too much. The meat, while still good, was on the outside of it's refrigeratable shelf-life. Even if we didn't have a roadtrip planned for the following day, I doubted it would have lasted long enough to do it the next afternoon. I didn't want to risk another recipe when cooking in bulk, and these were my man's SPECIAL meals--the ones I pull out of the freezer when he's had a rough day to make his face light up. Having second-rate AwesomeSauce Burgers just wasn't an option.

In a matter of minutes my hubby's typically sweet and patient wife transformed into a serious grump. I was NOT happy. My face when from cheery to tight and upset. My words went from pleasant to frustrated. My body language followed the same course.

And that's when my husband asked the question:

"Dear--if you can trust God with this big situation we're dealing with, can't you trust Him with the  hamburger meat also?"

Wow. Talk about conviction.

When it comes to big things, things that truly are out of my control, I can talk like a Christian, act like a Christian, and generally be wonderful and spiritual. That's great! Wonderful! We NEED to be able to trust in God when something huge happens and takes us totally by surprise.

But sometimes it isn't the big things that are the most challenging. Sometimes we can talk Christian about trusting God with something big, but the reality is we only are trusting God with it because we realized we couldn't do anything about it ourselves anyway.  If we thought we had the power to change the situation ourselves we wouldn't continue trusting God--we'd handle it ourselves.  So we aren't REALLY trusting God, we're merely recognizing our own powerlessness and slapping a Christian veneer on it. Because of that I think our heart attitude can be revealed more by how we behave over the little things in our lives, things we THINK we control, than by the big things we already know are out of our control.

 We need to be Hamburger Patty Christians--Christians who are able to trust God with the little things. With the house that just won't stay picked up, even after we give it our best. With the day we start out late, and keep getting later. With the weeks (months!) that are rushed, harried, and non-stop. And with the hamburger patties that need to be made not tomorrow, but today.

 What about you? Are you a hamburger patty Christian? Do you trust God with big things and with little? Or do you struggle to trust Him when things aren't quite right? 

Life songs--1000 gifts

It's Monday. Another Monday. I woke up this morning--or rather, didn't quite wake up--and made French toast for my man for breakfast. I wasn't unthankful. But I wasn't really thankful either. I just wanted to stay awake long enough to get to work. I wasn't living in the minute, I wasn't savoring each of those precious seconds that God has given me on this Earth--I wasn't milking every moment of the joy it has.

I didn't look around my home and see the order there--order that only was possible because God gave me the strength yesterday to work when I wasn't in the mood. I didn't look at my couch, where the laundry is neatly sorted and ready to be put away (a feat only accomplished by God's grace!!). I didn't look at the bread I sliced and wonder in awe that God had designed 6 ingredients forming a tiny little ball of dough to work together in such a way that it will feed my man and I bread for several days. Nor did I truly appreciate the creative gifting my God gave to man, made in his image, to make a machine that would work this wonder on those 6 ingredients while I slept last night.  

I didn't look at the roses on my table, a present from my man for my birthday last week, and thank the Lord from the depths of my heart that he gave me a godly husband who loves and serves the Lord with his whole heart. I didn't look at the verse posted over the office door--John 3:16 in Ukranian--and thank God that he has given me the opportunity to share His love with a lost and dying world.

I wasn't complaining either... but was I really living life this morning as I groggily poured my Grade B organic maple syrup over my home made French toast? Was I really living life in the way God intended? As a song of praise to Him? As a joyful response to his Love?

No, I really wasn't. But the day is only half gone. May the rest of the day, Lord, be a song of praise to you. May the song of praise in my life inspire other praise-songs in the lives of every individual I come in contact with.  


49. The forgiveness of my Savior
50. "Thy sins are forgiven... Go in peace." (Ref Luke 7:48-50)
51. The slight pinch of new shoes
52. watching pancake batter after adding soda
53. my own baby butter bell
54. The feel of a lusciously long broomstick skirt swishing at my ankles
55. A road trip with my husband and a good friend
56. Hearing a first concert

57. Bluebonnet fields
58. A loving, patient husband
59. A God whom I can trust with material things
60.  Birthday wishes sung over the phone
61. helping my man with his Sunday school lesson
62. My husband, making my birthday dinner himself
63. Laughter
64. A car break down that shows God's sovereignty
65. A good movie shared
66. A free book
67. Finding a kindred spirit to teach me to witness
68. Community group--growing!!!
69. Candle-lit

Worthwhile Reads

Loving the Pastors Wife--Many times in a church the pastors wife is one of the greatest--and least recognized--contributors.

Finding Time To Create--Wow. This post was challenging to me. Creativity is a God-given skill exclusive to man--who is made in His image. Maybe our "busyness" is getting in the way of our reflecting part of the creative nature of God?

A Different look at Proverbs 31 -- Mary Aldrich over at YLCF writes a modern day application of Proverbs 31.

Easter Celebration! -- I love this idea for using the tradition of an easter basket to communicate truth to children. As a child some of the most enjoyable and memorable lessons my parents taught me were done in a creative and very physical way--just like this idea.