Thirty Days of Thankful

This week started the month of November and our family's tradition of 30 days of thankful.

So far I have been thankful for my boys - day 1, my job - day 2 and Jeffrey Woody - today day 3.

Over the next 27 days I am going to try to share what I am thankful for each day and more details, like I did last year. I am sure that some things I am thankful for will be the same and some will be new, different, spontaneous or maybe even random.

The Bible tells us "In every thing give thanks" I am trying very hard to that those words to heart, A friend recently said that in a "come to Jesus" moment, she told God that no matter what, whether He ever blessed her again, or ever felt his presence again, or ever got another thing in this life - she was going to be thankful and praise him for all he had already done. This touched my heart and reminded me that I am more blessed than I deserve and that God owes me NOTHING, He gave his very life for the redemption of my soul and for this there is much reason to give thanks.....

I'm Not Strong Enough.....but HE is!

Last week I shared about my struggle with singing. I also mentioned that God was leading me a new direction. The new direction that God is leading me is to work with the Single Mom Ministry at my church. I already work in the children's ministry and help with the Student Ministries. I facilitate our monthly Book Club and have assisted in leading our Life Group. So when God began to lay this on my heart,my first response was "Lord are you sure?!?!" I immediately began to give God all the reasons that I couldn't do it, that I didn't have enough time and that well I wasn't really the person that needed to lead......All the while God was saying - trust me....I want you to do it and I will give you what you need. Well we have had 2 meetings and formed a preliminary leadership team and are planning our first event! I am very excited about the possibilities that God has in store. Please pray that we will follow his direction and that I will do what he would have me to do.
This week I am burdened for several people in my life that are hurting. It seems that everywhere we turn there is trial and tribulation. Sometimes we wonder how we will hang on....I myself have concerns and struggles and sometimes feel that I am all alone. I am so glad that I know that I am NOT ALONE. I have Jesus and that is really all that I need!!
I heard a song a couple weeks ago and I heard it again today - I am sharing the words to encourage you and me. It is by Matthew West and called "Strong Enough". Hope it is a reminder of where our strength comes from.
"I know I'm not strong enough to be
everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up - I'm not strong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough - Strong enough
For the both of us"

What a weekend...

This weekend was the end of our Fall Break here in Columbia. It has been a two week break for the last several years, but this year we had a revised school schedule so it was just one week instead. Last Friday, we went to see "Courageous" - Awesome movie by the way, if you haven't seen it please do. Anyway, it was Jeff's weekend so when we were done, I dropped the boys off and had a quiet weekend. This week Zachary worked 4 hours everyday at the TRC - State Voc Rehab Traning Rehab Center. Anthony spent every afternoon at the YMCA and no big plans, vacations or trips were planned for any of us. So Thursday night during a water aerobics workout at the Y, I smelled what smelled like roasted marshmellows. Well I started thinking how good that would be and that I had a little firepit that I bought on clearance the first Fall that the boys were on our own - and never used. We had already planned to have Little Caesars Hot and Ready pizza for dinner Friday night so why not get some marshmellows and have a bonfire to end Fall Break. So that's exactly what we did. Why did we wait 3 years to do this?? It was fun. We even sang songs. It was a great start to the weekend. Saturday, we had planned to take our annual Fall pictures and Zachary's Senior pictures. We got up and left the house around 10:30am. 6 hours, 5 wardrobe changes and 8 locations later....we returned. It was a long day, but it was fun and a great memory that I am so thankful to have shared with Zachary. We got some great pictures. So many infact that I am not sure how we will choose :) Thanks to a friend from church who loaned us a previous year CHS graduation gown and cap, I had the chance to include several pics of my future grad and let me tell you - what an emotional day! It is hard for me to believe that Zachary will graduate in just 7 months! We rounded off the weekend with church - great Sunday School, an awesome worship service and message from Pastor Mark. Then we had Zachary's baseball game and a quiet evening at home. As I prepare for another busy week with work, school, meetings, church and every day life, I pause to thank God that he is in control and he loves me. I pray for a sweet family that is hurting. I seek that God will form me to allow him to fit me like a glove - a tailormade garment that I wear to honor him...... God is truly good.... I have shared a few pics from the weekend and a video of Zachary's Senior pics.

Will Shania find her voice again? Why not??

Shania Twain recently had a reality show. She has been through some personal issues (her husband left her for her best friend) and she never really dealt with the death of her parents when she was a child. Due to all of this she recently has stopped singing and has felt a strain on her voice. She went on a cross country journey to try and once again "find her voice". Now I am definately not Shania Twain, but have felt a bit of a kindred spirit to her for several reasons. Over the last several years, I have somewhat lost my voice. I sang for years in church and for other gatherings, but recently I have felt like I lost my voice. Singing has always been my refuge, I still sang in the car, with the kids, occassionally at my mom and dad's church, but something was just not the same. I know that I have not used it and lost some of it. But lately I have felt that God was urging me to start singing again. Now I don't know what that means but tonight was Song/Writer's night for our Student Ministries. For the last several (we have them every 3-4 months) I have felt that God was telling me to sing. I have prepared several times, but just couldn't do it. Even this time, it seemed that even though I said I would sing, I was trying to find a way out. I prayed this afternoon and asked God to let me find my voice. When I listened to myself as I practiced, it just sounded so strained and forced and I could hear Satan whisper - you will never be able to do it again.....Right up until the moment that they called my name, I felt like I couldnt do it. But I knew that no matter what happened, I HAD to do it.....Back to Shania, she saw doctors and therapists and new age gerus and then Lionel Richie asked her to sing a duet on a remake of "Endless Love". She was nervous and scared and after several attempts felt like she couldnt't do it. She just sang and when the time came, she BELTED it out and sounded just as good as she always did. As I watched it I cried, joy for her and hope for me....She had regained her confidence, even if just for that one moment, That gave her the confidence to try again and continue trying. Well tonight, I had my version of the "Lionel Richie Momemt" I was so scared and while it may not have been my best performance, I DID IT! I sang, there were technical difficulties and my voice was shaky, but I did it! I hope that God was honored and I hope that I can do it again. So will Shania - find her voice again? I hope so and I hope that Jodi has too.

10 months already????

WOW 10 months ago today, I blogged my last blog! Where did the time go??? Not that nothing "blog worthy has happened just that somehow I lost my motivation to blog. I was thinking today that we were getting close to Nov and 30 days of thankful and realized that after last year's great start to blogging...well I just quit. So I am going to try again. I feel like I have lots of things to share - even if no one wants to listen :) Anyway, here is a small synopsis on my life over the last 10 months....
*I AM AN AUNT to a beautiful baby girl - Jules Mary Elizabeth. She was 10 months old yesterday. She is a wonderful beautiful strong little girl who has changed all of our lives. God has BIG plans for her!
*My son turned 18 - wow not only that he started his Senior year and has a job - Who knew that little Zachary would grow up so fast!
*My other son is almost 16 and wants to drive and have a job - he just started his sophomore year - how did my baby get so bog???
*I have lost 44.7 pounds since Feb 23 and a total of 164 since I began a weight loss journey in 2006
*God has recently shown me that he wants to use me in a new direction and I am waiting to see where that will take me (stay turned for details :) )
*God has been faithful and treated me better than I deserve
*I turned 44 this year - of all the age "milestones" among my family this year this seems insignificant, but I still think of myself as 28 so almost mid-40's seems a bit strange
*Fall is here - my favorite season....leading into my favorite Holidays. I look forward to a Photo shoot this weekend. Senior pics for Zachary and family pics for the boys.

Anyway there it is in a nutshell...hope to share more frequent "windows into my world" in the future.

Thanks for reading....or not...either way I have some thoughts that I need to share:)

Some of my favorite recipes for the holidays . . .

I thought I would share some of my Holiday recipes - Enjoy :)


Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip
1 Block of cream cheese

1c sweet relish

1c peach preserves

10-15 pieces of sliced pickled jalapenos (or to taste)

Festive Crackers

Combine relish, peach preserves and jalapenos in blender will become like a sauce - taste. It should have a sweet and spicy taste. You can add a few more jalapenos if you choose.

Place cream cheese on platter and cover with "sauce". Serve with crackers. You will not use all the "sauce" and you can keep it in a sealed container for up to 6 months.

It sounds like an odd combination but it is delicious - especially with a glass of peach tea :)

Baked Beans
3 large cans of Baked Beans - drain off juice from can (I use the country style and brown sugar ones from Aldi since I "doctor" them anyway
1 onion
1/2 lb of bacon
3 T of honey
1/4c of brown sugar
3- 4 T of BBQ sauce with honey
1 T Catalina Dressing
1 T - garlic powder
1 T - onion powder as a substitute if you don't use actual onion

Saute onions and bacon, drain and add to beans in a baking dish.
add all other ingredients (taste and adjust accordingly) - Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes uncovered

Mexican corn bread
2 boxes jiffy mix corn bread
(follow directions on box)
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 12-16 oz jar of salsa (mild or medium)
1 12 oz pack of shredded cheese (I use the Mexican mix)
1 T Sugar

Prepare Jiffy mix as directed. Add the corn, 1/2 to 3/4 of the salsa, 1/2 of the cheese and the sugar.
Mix well. If it seems to thick you can add a little more salsa.

Put in a well greased 9X13 pan and bake at 425 in a pre-heated oven for about 20 - 25 minutes.
If you like you can sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake additional 5-7 minutes

I do everything just by taste and the way it looks, but I think this is pretty close.

Russian Spice Tea
2 cups orange-flavored drink mix (e.g. Tang)
2 cups white sugar
1 lemon-flavored instant tea powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions
In a large bowl, combine orange drink mix, sugar, tea powder, cinnamon and cloves. Mix well and store in an airtight container.
To serve, put 3 teaspoons of mix in a mug. Stir in 1 cup boiling water. Adjust to taste. It is also good cold - adjust amount of mix to amount of water used

Pizza Rolls
1 refrigerator Pizza crust (by the biscuits)
1 bag pepperoni
1 cans mushrooms
1 large onion
1 can sliced black olives
1 3c bag of shredded cheese
1 pack of microwave bacon
1 roll of sausage cooked and drained(if you want)
1 spaghetti sauce for dip
Garlic salt
Olive Oil

Open pizza crust on well greased cookie sheet and fill with ingredients roll closed brush olive oil on top and sprinkle with garlic salt (I like the California Garlic mix (the Aldi's version))

Bake at 400 for approximately 20-25 minutes

Let cool. Cut in slices and serve with sauce - YUM!!!!

Salsa

3-12 oz cans of whole tomatoes
1-1/2 T Garlic salt
1 small onion
25-30 pieces of sliced pickled jalapenos (or less for mild)
3 squirts of lime juice
2 T dried cilantro

Combine in blender - either crush to liquid or chopped depending on the consistency that you prefer.
Serve with Tortilla Chips

Camp Cake
1 White or Yellow cake Mix
2 Cans of Apple of Cherry Pie Filling (You can use the Sugar free with Splenda if you like)
1 stick of butter (or I Can't Believe it's Not Butter) Do not use margarine it will not melt right
Cinnamon - if you use apples

Pre-Heat oven to 350

Put fruit filling into greased 9X13 cake pan
Sprinkle dry cake mix over fruit
Cut stick of butter into 1/8" pads and randomly cover the cake mix
If you use apples - sprinkle with cinnamon

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and yummy

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Tater Tots (from Man vs Food on Travel Channel)
1 lb THICK bacon (usually 14-18 slices)
28-36 Tater tots
28-36 Jalapenos

Partially Thaw tater tots. Cut bacon in half. Wrap 1 tater tot and one jalapeno in bacon and secure with a tooth pic.
We have deep fried them and baked them - you can do which ever you choose.
If you Deep Fry - heat oil to around 350 and fry until bacon is crisp.
If you bake - Pre-heat oven to 425 and bake 30-40 minutes or until bacon is crispy - it may take longer depending on the thickness of the bacon.

Serve with dipping sauce or naked - it is up to you - they are good either way :)
By the way of you are not sure about the jalapenos - leave them out - it is still a nice finger food - just a little less spicy.

Well these are a few of our family favorites - hope you enjoy :)

A roof over my head and a place to call home.

Today - actually 2 days ago on 11/30 - I was thankful for a roof over my head and a place to call home.

I know several people who have lost their houses and have found new homes in apartments or with family members. Home is really where your heart is. Whether you own a home, rent an apartment, live with friends or family, live in a trailer, motor home or whatever else there may be - home is what is in your heart not the dwelling that you live in.
I am thankful to have a home and a roof over my head. I can't imagine being homeless, with children and facing the holidays. I paused this last day of "thankfulness" to remind myself that whatever I am facing, whatever trial or struggle is weighing me down . . .I have so very much to be thankful for. I pray that I will never loose sight of that.

This Christmas season - a season of hope and peace - I want to remember what is really important. Not the gifts and parties and decorations - which are all wonderful. I want to focus on the most precious gift . . .Jesus. Not just Jesus, but the life that he gives to each of us. The "abundant life" - the life that HE has plans for - plans to prosper and not harm, plans for good and not evil"

Merry Christmas my friends - may this season bring you peace. . .