Thursday, June 30, 2011

Memorizing God's Word

I used to memorize...big chunks of Scripture.  That was when I was younger, and the brain cells worked better. Back then I memorize because I was told that that was what I was supposed to do.  Now I memorize because I need to renew my mind...think differently about life.

For awhile it has been on my heart to memorize the ENTIRE book of James.  It seems like an impossible task. James is such a rich book with practical advice. Last week I finally took the plunge...

One of the people that has inspired me to start memorizing again is Ann Voskamp and her posts at A Holy Experience.  On her site she has links to materials in order to memorize Ephesians and Colossians.  I really liked the book you could make to memorize Colossians, so I asked her if she had a template for it that I could us and just change the verses.  She didn't, but she gave me this idea....

Basically, you write out the verses in a small booklet and then work on memorizing them.  So that is what I have been doing.  Ann suggested these books..
Writersblok Bamboo Small Notebook, Ruled, Pack of 4, 3.25 x 5-Inches (WBB701).  I wanted to get started right away so I found some small notebooks of my own.  I have spent time writing out the first chapter and have memorized the first several verses.  I am just praying that I can follow through on this.  I have a terrible time on follow through with big projects!

If you are interested in starting to memorize more Scripture you don't have to start so big...pick a couple of verses and go from there.  And definitely read Ann's post on memorizing.  There are lots of great ideas!


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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Favorite Crockpot Recipes


I have been enjoying the recipes from Stephanie O'Dea's site on crockpot cooking.  Here is a list of our favorites or ones that we want to try:

Drinks
Pumpkin Spiced Latte Yum!
Peppermint Hot Chocolate Want to try
Caramel Apple Spiced Cider Want to try

Main Dish
Falafel This are great!
Brown Sugar Chicken (This is good, but I am finding that for any of the chicken recipes I need to brown the chicken first before putting it in the crockpot.  It just makes it overall better than chicken being cooked in a lot of juices.  I think it is the caramelization that I need.)
Meatloaf (I am not a big red meat eater, but this is delicious! My family loved it!)
Chicken Adobo Want to try
End of the Summer Harvest Soup Want to try
Baked Bean Soup Want to try
Pioneer Dinner Want to try
Puffy Pizza Casserole Want to try


Sides
Baked Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Italian Rice

Dessert
(I am not going to list a ton of stuff here.  I am currently trying to watch what I eat so we aren't going to be eating a lot of desserts any time soon.)

Peanut Butter Cup Cake (This is for Tim since he is such a peanut butter chocolate fan.)
Sugared Cinnamon Almonds

There are other recipes in Stephanie's cookbooks that aren't on her site. Here are her two books:

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking

More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: 200 Brand-New, Budget-Friendly, Slow-Cooker Recipes


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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Blast Away Boredom


Are your kids a little bored this summer?  Amy over at Mom's Toolbox has a plethora of great ideas for things to do this summer! Check it out!


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Monday, June 27, 2011

No Self-Pity, Please



"And the more I verbalized what I was thankful for, the less cloudy my heart felt. I couldn't explain my feelings, and I still didn't understand them, but I think verbalizing what I was thankful for was the very thing that kept me from wallowing in pity." --Lysa TerKeurst from the book Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl


{1,546-1,560}

Summer desserts
Manual labor for the boys and I
Fresh garlic and chives bread
Time to memorize Scripture
That God holds us while we are hurting
Little babies
Honeyberry bushes
Birds chirping
Pesto
Cucumbers galore on my plants
Pizza night with friends
The ability to learn Scripture
The book of James
Raindrops on flowers
That I was asked to be a team leader during the online session of the Bible in 90 Days

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

Birthday Cake Round-Up


Today at Life as Mom we are sharing our birthday cake ideas.  We have had a ton of cool cakes through the years.  I normally look for ideas, but it is Tim that does a lot of the decorating!  Here is a trip down memory lane birthday cake style!  (I apologize for some of the small photos!)

{Pirate ship--the candles were sticking out the sides where the canons should be!}

{Elephant cake--Noah had a fetish for pachyderms for awhile!}

{Tim working on the Millenium Falcon}



{Snake cake}

{Noah's football cake...he's a Bengals fan. Can you tell?}

{Zach's car cake}

{Froggy}

{Tim decorating the monkey cake---see, I told you he does all the decorating!}


{Alligator or crocodile?}


This is the site that we got a lot of our ideas from.


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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Bible in 90 Days-starting July 11th

Have you ever wanted to read through the entire Bible?  Last year I started an amazing journey trying to read the Bible in 90 days.  What an awesome experience!  Since then, I have become a mentor for those that want to take on this challenge.  If you are interested in signing up please click here.  You can request a certain mentor if you like.  I would be honored to mentor you through this process.  Just mention who you would like as a mentor in the last question on the sign-up. 

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More than a good Bible study girl

Sometimes I lose my mind!  I am currently reading three different books? Why? Probably because I can't seem to focus...one of the books that I have been enjoying is Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa TerKeurst. The premise of the book is that we should actually apply God's Word to our lives instead of just studying it. We need to put it into action.  While many of the concepts aren't new to me there have been a few in her book that have jumped out to me...mainly in the realm of conflict with others.

One point that Lysa makes is that Satan's name means "one who casts something between two to cause a separation." Wow, doesn't that description fit him to a T.  Does he not try to set up a divide between God and Man?  How about between people? Is he not a master at bringing discord between family members, friends, co-workers, etc.? Truly, the verse from Ephesians 6:12 could apply to this concept..."For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  When we are in conflict with another we are not really struggling with them, but with Satan who has allowed or maybe even orchestrated the discord.

Lysa also wrote,
He (God) addressed my misperceptions about the situation by helping me to see it from another perspective. My perception was how wrong it was for this woman to have spoken ill of me. God's perception was that He could bring good out of even this.

This words struck me.  I have been dealing with someone in my life that listen to someone who spoke ill of me and then took action on those words.  I have to admit there was anger and hurt that I was dealing with.  But really when it is all said and done, the whole incident was was pulled together by the great "divider", Satan, and yet, God has the full intention to bring blessing from it.  I am still waiting to see how He brings about the good in this situation.  Just seeing God's perspective on it has helped me get closer to forgiving this woman for what she has done.  Maybe that is our problem we need God's point of view more than ours.

Lysa's book has so many other concepts like how people, possessions, and postition can never fill us up. How gratitude can change our hearts. How jealousy can be dealt with by acknowledging that God has a different path for each of us. 

Have any of you read her book?  Any thoughts?

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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Projects Around the House

Here are a few of the projects that have been done around our house.  This summer we are really focusing on some much needed work on the house...

The first project is our new shed that Tim has been working on. It will have a bay window (I know, sounds a bit strange for a shed, but it will make the structure look interesting) and enough space and light to put a few tomato plants in there to grow in the summer. 



The other project has been the boys' bedroom.  It needed a serious coat (make that coats!) of paint.  We did about two coats of Kilz (and stain blocker) and then a color...a desert sand.  Here are a few pictures of Zach applying some color.




And, of course, there is always my garden...my favorite project.




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Monday, June 20, 2011

Thanks be to God



{1,531-1,545}

More books to read

This song...


Resolution to problems

That God hears our prayers

That He is in control

Memories from different Bible studies that I have done and how they have changed my life

How God creates humor in our lives

Making no-sew blankets with the boys

Pizza nights

That God understands us when we don't even understand ourselves

My crockpot

Tears that bring joy

Dirt that the dog brings in

Pizza night

Eggplant



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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day, Dad!





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Friday, June 17, 2011

Homeschool Mother's Journal-June 17th

The Homeschool Mother's Journal


In my life this week…We are puppy sitting this week for Titan's (our mini schnauzer) relatives (his uncle and mom).  Sure do love having the extra paws around! LOL Life is never boring with canines!

In our homeschool this week…We are still plugging along with reading and math.  Noah this week has been learning how to add and subtract fractions with the Muggins math games we bought.

My favorite thing this week was…helping the boys make new no-sew fleece blankets. 

 Things I’m working on…Continuing to work on decluttering the house.  I went through the boys schoolwork.  We also painted and decluttered the boys' room.  It looks so great now!

I’m reading...Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa Terkeurst.  I have heard such great things about this book.  I need to get a handle on my eating...I exercise enough.  I actually crave the exercise...I need to stop craving the foods that aren't healthy for me. Now that I say that please don't even read the "I'm cooking..." section of this post! *Sigh*

I’m cooking…made refried beans in the crockpot.  They actually tasted great!  Did some more freezer cooking to get a jumpstart on July. Made some French toast scones...yummy!

I’m praying for…Three girls from our church that are going on a mission trip to Ecuador. A friend and her husband in the hospital.  And for the various needs of our youth at church.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share… Flowers from my garden....

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Thursday, June 16, 2011

June's Freezer Cooking

The hot weather has hit! Many of the meals that I decided to make for our cooking adventures (a once a month event when a friend and I cook together and swap meals) don't require an oven this month.

{Italian Zuchinni Pie}

Here are the recipes I decided to do with the sources to find them.
Simply in Season Expanded Edition (World Community Cookbook) (Love this cookbook...everything is laid out according to what produce is in season)

Italian Zuchinni Pie
Stacked Veggie Quesadillas

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking
Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
Meatloaf (yes, meatloaf for the crockpot!)
Note: You can probably get these recipes on Stephanie's blog, A Year of Slow Cooking.

Not Your Mother's Casseroles (NYM Series)
Pasta Al Forno

Pineapple Pepper Chicken

So, what's cooking at your house?



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