We Have a BIG God!

Have you ever had so many things on your mind you thought you might go crazy? We tend to worry a lot, don't we. I've mentioned before how it would be so nice if we could just see a peek in to the future - or see around corners, so to speak. I find myself at times wondering if everything will really work out ok. It's in those times I have to remind myself just how big God really is.

I'm a very visual person. I have to see something, to really grasp it. So, many times when I am at the coast and just watching the ocean, I am amazed by how big it is. I begin to think about how it is only one ocean out of many in the world. Then I think of how God not only created what I am looking at in front of me, but every thing around me. I feel so small.

How could someone so big be concerned with someone so small? I think about my children, when they were babies, their entire hand would wrap around one of my fingers. And though they were so small, I'd give my life for any of them. Guess who we learned that from?

Matt 6:25-31

25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Like I said in the beginning, their are times when I find myself worrying. But one thing that helps, is remembering what He has already brought me through. When we put Him first, He will always make a way, where there doesn't seem to be one.
WE SERVE A BIG GOD!!!

Millionaire by Age 30 - Say What?

I read a quote somewhere the other day, and it said "money can't by happiness". Then right underneith it, someone who was wealthy wrote back, "yes it can!" I laughed... probably out loud - and I thought to myself "I wouldn't know". :) I keep telling my husband that the only reason I married him was for his money. Well, that and his good looks!

When we first got married, we had everything all planned out. We were going to be multi millionaires by the time we were 30, therefore never worrying about debt. We would have a beautiful "ginormous" (giant + enormous) house, and maybe even our own airplane or two. The thought of vacationing on beautiful tropical islands, where the sand is white and the ocean is a beautiful light blue, anytime we wanted to, was so intoxicating. It didn't matter to us, that he worked at Safeway, and I worked at Supercuts.

I am now almost 36, and as I am sitting here writing this in my one story house that needs a fresh coat of paint, on furniture that has been through the ringer, I look over beside me. Laying next to me, in a chair sleeping, is my beautiful daughter Anna, all wrapped up in her pink blanket, like a burrito. I realize, I am a truly a happy woman. To be married to a man I love, to have 4 children who adore me, and to be right with God - who can beat that? Well - maybe someone who has all that, plus a million dollars!

Be thankful today for what you have. Maybe it's your family, maybe it's your friends, maybe it's just a little bit of quiet time that you get, or maybe you're packing your bags to go on vacation :) Whatever it is - be thankful.

Although I would still have NO PROBLEM having lots of money - happiness comes when you have a thankful heart, and you can't buy that!

Accomplishments

Coming home from Eugene last night, I had a large cup of coffee, and a stash of sugar candy that was just as large right next to me. Driving at night when I am tired is not fun for me. Heck, I scare myself driving in the daytime when I'm wide awake! None the less, I was driving home as an extremely proud mother. Sitting in the backseat, was my beautiful daughter, who had just won 1st place in every event and all around at her State Gymnastics Meet. It's such a great feeling when someone you love accomplishes something. I will be the first to tell you though, that this did not come easy for her. She is NOT a natural gymnast. However, she is a hard worker, and this was the night when all of her HOURS of stretching and conditioning had paid off.

When I think about the Lord, I can't help but think that He is proud of our accomplishments as well, because we are His children. Those areas in our life, that might not come easy or natural for us, but we overcome them anyway. I can tell you in my life, there have been things that I needed to overcome, that no amount of physical conditioning or stretching would fix. I straight up needed God's supernatural help. I think we've all been there! On the other hand, there are areas that God says He'll give us strength and favor, but we will have to work hard for the victory.

Each step of Emily's journey, we've been proud of her. When she was 8 and just starting, we didn't expect her to do a back tuck. We were proud of her getting the horrendous (at the time) single leg shoot through on the bars :) Now, she could do that in her sleep, but she works on other things. Isn't it the same with all of us? We are all on a journey, and I think God is proud of the accomplishments we have everyday, both big and small!

So keep "conditioning", "stretching", and believing in the supernatural. When you feel as if you've been doing it for hours and hours - still trust that your VICTORY WILL COME!

Getting the Right Directions

A few months before Sean and I got married, we were getting ready to meet some friends up at Howard Prairie for a party. Sean had to work late that night, so we were coming up a few hours later then everyone else. But, being the brilliant party animals that we were, we got directions from a friend to get to the "hideaway" camp. He said, "all you have to do is turn right when you see the beer cans". Seriously, how many beer cans are you going to see on the side of the road up by Howard Prairie!?! At the time Sean drove a little gray 2 Wheel Drive Toyota pick up, and when we turned right, we ended up driving in to snow. Within a few minutes we were completely stuck. So, around 1:00 in the morning, we decided we would walk to either try to find our friends, or walk home. 5 hours later, we were still walking, on a road, out in the middle of no where, wondering how in the heck we got there. Thankfully, at 6:30 in the morning, a truck came by and offered us a ride home.

In life, there are so many decisions we have to make. Where do I go in the area of family, friendships, health, career, ministry, my personal walk with the Lord, etc.? Every season we are in brings new decisions we have to make. It is important to know who you're getting your directions from.

I wish we could see around corners. It would be nice to know if the turn we were making in life was going to get us "stuck in the snow". However, I believe with all my heart, we serve a God who does see around corners, and when we let Him give us directions, - we will always stay on the right path!

Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."

Making a Difference

What is one of the things that most people would say they wanted to accomplish in thier lifetime? I think, if you ask most people what they want to do, it is to somehow make a difference in the life of another person. Whether you're a pastor, teacher, coach, doctor, nurse, it really doesn't matter what area of work you're in, you can be an influence and help to others.

I have had many influences in my life. Sometimes there are people who are there to encourage you, and sometimes there are people who are there to push you out of your comfort zone. Many times, this can be the same person! I have had people in my life for a short season, and other's who will be there for a lifetime. It is the same with each of us.

I have come to believe that whenever you put yourself in the position to be there for others, there is the chance to get hurt. Why? I think it is because we open our heart, and that is vulnerable. But do you know, I wouldn't change it for the world! There's an old song by Garth Brooks called "The Dance". Part of the chorus goes like this..."I could have missed the pain, but I'd of had to miss the dance."

Make each day count, even in the struggle, you are making a differnece!

Singing Songs to my Kids!

We all have things we wished we did better in. You know, those gifts that someone else has that you wish you could just steal for a moment. Maybe it's playing sports, maybe it's cooking, maybe it's drawing, maybe it's just me...
One of the things I really wish I could do well, is sing. Luckily however, I have recognized I can't hold a tune, and I don't try to force my way on to the worship team, or go in front of millions of people and audition for American Idol :) But, that doesn't stop me from singing. I just do it in the confinement of my own home, and guess who is the lucky ones who get to hear me? You guessed it, my family.

I have 4 kids, and each of them has a song I made up for them. Ever since they were babies, I've sung to them. However, what I do, is take tunes from other songs and put my own wors in them. For example - Timothy's song is to the tune of "Baby Looney Tunes" - and it goes like this "Heeeee's tiny, he's toony, he's Timbo Roony, and he is a good boy, I love him very much!" Christopher's is to the tune of Winnie the Pooh...you get my point. Ok - I never said it was brilliant, I just said I sang to them. I have found that one of my "giftings", along with remembering people's birthday, is making up random songs that rhyme. And I do it all the time :) Secretly I think they all love it.

When you have children, you ponder them, you think about them, you make up things for them - even if they are strange. Do you know that God ponders us? We are His children. The Bible says that He even knows the number of hairs that are on our head, He pays attention to us that much! Do you know what else I think He does...I think there are times that He sings over us! I wonder what my song is? I wonder what your's is.

Be Specific

Have you ever been in a situation and thought to yourself, "oooh, I should have been more specific!" This question can have many answers. I'm sure we all have our stories. Sometimes with my children I'll tell them to clean their room, and I quickly realize - I needed to be more specific. For my daughter Emily who is a competitive gymnast, being specific is vital. If she is off on any of her routines, or even the slightest movements, she gets deducted. Being specific in the area of prayer is no different.

About 7 years ago we were in the process of moving. Our third child was almost 1 and we were living in a 2 bedroom house. The year before my husband and I had mapped out to the tee, and prayed specifically what we would like our house, and especially our back yard, to look like. I had commented several times that I wish we could move into a house like I had when I grew up, because it had a huge yard. Now, for those of you who know me, you know I am sentimental and a little wierd. So, when you mix the two together you get someone (me) who drives not only their children, but also their daycare kids by their old house that they lived in growing up - just so they could see. I even mapped out my old house in one of my journals...like I said, I'm a little wierd!

The week we had made the final descision that we were going to put our house on the market and look for a bigger one, my friend called me. She said that my old house was just put up for sale. So I drove over there, and again because I'm wierd, knocked on the door without an appointment. They graciously let me come in and see it. It looked completely different from when I grew up there, except for a few things, but I loved it. After I went home and told Sean, we took out the mapped house we had made. I am not kidding you, it was exactly what we had drawn out. The back yard was incredibely specific, and they even put up a wall in the family room to make it a four bedroom house, which is what we were looking for. There are so many other details about this, it is to long to write. But, now for the last seven years we have lived in the house I lived in growing up.

What are you praying for? Be specific - be patient - and like I said in the last post, trust that God's timing and His ways, even though they may be different than your's, are perfect!

Early, Late, or On Time?

There are 3 different types of people in the world. Those who are always late, those who are always early, and those who are right on time. Growing up, my family was always early. No matter what it was, we were there 10 minutes early. However, we have known people who are the opposite. No matter what it is, they are always 10 minutes late. Now I have adapted to my parents ways in this area, except for, I have taken it to the extreme. Not only do I not like it when myself or others are late, but at times I already feel like I'm late, hours before the event is supposed to start. I'll give you an example. This weekened I was having a birthday party for my son Chris who turned 11. We planned to have his party on Friday from 5:00 - 6:30. At around 2:00 my husband noticed I started getting a little restless, and he questioned why. I explained that the party was going to start soon, and I still had a couple things to do. He looked at me like I was crazy, and said "babe, you still have 3 hours!".

Now, don't get me wrong...there are things that I procrastinate on, unfortunatley. I wish it wasn't so, but it is.

Pondering this idea, I can't help but think about other areas in my life. I think we all, at times, wonder why we're here on this earth. We have so many questions that at times go unanswered. When you're young, you wonder if it's too early to dream or have a calling, and when you're older you wonder if it's too late to fulfill your dreams or calling. I have come to the conclusion though, that when we put our trust in the Lord, we don't have to worry, because He is always right on time!

You can never be to young or to old to fulfill His purposes.

Joy - Have you ever laughed so hard you cried?

Have you ever laughed so hard you couldn't breathe? If you've never experienced laughing until your crying, you're truly missing out! If you have, then you know what I am talking about. This usually occurs with a good friend or family member. What is kind of creepy is when it happens and there's no one else around :) I've done this before...you know, when you think about something funny that happened a while ago, but you're still laughing about it! How about laughing at the wrong moment? I remember one time my husband was standing on a chair changing a light bulb outside, and the chair gave way, and he biffed it hard. Immediately I started to laugh, and then my second thought was, "oh I better see if he's ok!" What if you're in a meeting or class, and it's a serious moment, and you begin to lose it? That's the worst! Today, I want to focus on the joy of living.

There were times in my life when I felt like I couldn't laugh. Those seasons we go through where feeling happy seems so far away. You may know what I am talking about. But what I have learned, and am continuing to learn, is that you can still have joy in the midst of chaos. There is a peace that surpasses all understanding. Psalms 30:11 says, "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing: You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness."

No matter what season of life you're in right now, let's focus on joy today. Maybe for you that means laughing your head off with a friend (or by yourself), or maybe for you it means just putting your trust in the Lord, and knowing that in the middle of madness...you can dance!

By the way, if you have a funny story you want to share - let me know. Or if you can comment a couple sentences on facebook, that's always fun too!

Go the Extra Mile

I'll never forget the first time our cell group was in charge of cleaning up after one of our annual church picnics. We were up at Medford Oaks Campground, and everyone, except for our group was already gone. We were responsible for making sure the picnic area was clean and put back to how it originally was. In my mind it looked great, but Sean was not satisfied. So, he had all of us go practically inch by inch, not only in the picnic area, but all the way around the picnic area also, picking up trash. This included the tiniest pieces of trash that weren't ours.
I remember being so annoyed (because I can be selfish) and accusing him of being a perfectionist, in a bad way. He explained to me, that it wasn't perfectionism, it was having a spirit of excellence.

Last night I went on my monthly grocery shopping trip to Food 4 Less. Which by the way, is going very well! I am now in my 3rd month of doing it, and needless to say, I had a lot of groceries. While I was bagging up my second cart of groceries, a young man who worked there named Chase came over and very nicely offered me help. Now I was always under the impression that at Food 4 Less you bag your own groceries, and that is true, but Chase went above and beyond what was being asked of him in his job description. Not only did he bag my groceries, but he helped me bring them out to my car in the pouring down rain. What do I think of that? SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE!

So many times in my life I try to just "skate" by. Like all of us, I am busy, so at times I do the minimum that will make whatever I am doing acceptable. I'm ashamed to say that I don't always have a spirit of excellence. I think we can all relate though...at least in some areas. So, this week, I am deliberately going to go above and beyond my "job description". I want to have what Sean and that young man Chase has - and that is the desire to go the extra mile.

Matthew 5:41 says: And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

Once a Month Shopping Update

If you are visiting this blog for the first time, I want to say thank you for checking it out. Also, thank you to Sarah Lemon for giving me the opportunity to share what I am doing with more people! If you would have asked me 2 months ago if shopping once a month was possible, I would have laughed. In fact, I did! My first questions immediately were, "what about dairy and produce?" What I have found is that it can work, and it can work well.

It takes some time to learn, and plan, and I am still in the process of doing all of that. I am by no means an expert in any of this. However, like a lot of us, if I can find a way to eventually save time and money, I'm in!

Freshness is important to me, I think there is nothing better then fresh fruit and vegetables. I am excited about checking out the growers market Sarah was talking about some time - I never have before. My husband and I also are excited about planting our annual garden here in the next few weeks.

I would love for you to follow me in my adventure - maybe even see if it works for you. I am never closed to ideas, so if you have suggestions or thoughts, please comment - I personally read them all, and appreciate all the advice. Here also are my menu ideas (Menu 1, Menu 2, Menu 3) and shopping list.

Pancake Topping Ideas

As you know, one of the things I am learning to do is be creative with my food. In the last couple of months, we have been eating pancakes a lot for breakfast. And, as with anything, if you don't switch things up a bit, even pancakes can get boring.

This last weekend we celebrated my oldest daughter's 13th birthday, and she wanted me to make her a cake with strawberries. Since we bought the ingredients for it a few weeks early, I got frozen strawberries instead of fresh, because I wanted them to last longer. Well, lo and behold I got the wrong cake mix, and instead of taking it back to the store I made the cake for a Children's Bible Study snack, and we bought her a new cake at Costco... So guess what we had left over? We had a tub of frozen strawberries, and one morning I put them on my pancakes.

It was like the clouds parted and the angels came down from heaven singing hallelujah! Now I know this is something simple, but for me it was huge! It was another way to make pancakes - and since we eat them a lot, it was important :) So today I am sharing a list of a few more topping ideas for pancakes I have found. I hope you enjoy it, and remember...whatever area of your life you're in - don't stay in a rut!

PANCAKE TOPPINGS

Applesauce
Frozen berries, thawed and stirred or blended
Cream cheese
Flavored yogurt
Jam or preserves
Warm honey
Melted peanut butter (thin with apple juice, if desired)
Fresh fruit puree
Cottage cheese
Melted cheese
Cream cheese and fruit
Spiced pineapple (1/4 c. crushed pineapple blended with 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon)

(Can also use combinations of any of the above.)

Featured Mail Tribune Story? What do you Think?

As some of you may have read on my facebook profile, I recently talked with Sarah Lemon from the Mail Tribune. She writes a Southern Oregon Food Blog called "The Whole Dish". She was asking me questions about my "Once a Month Shopping" blog and how everything was going with it. So I thought an update would be appropriate.

I am in the last week of my second month - I will shop again next Monday night. In the last two months I have been to the grocery store less then 5 times. The first month, which was February, I made it the entire month without having to shop except for 2 gallons of milk and some bananas. This month, the only thing I have gone to the store for since March 15, is a bag of cookies, 1 loaf of buns, and 4 gallons of milk. All of which could have been avoided if I pre planned better. Pre planning is HUGE if you are going to succeed at this! I have to admit, I got busted though. Sarah asked me on the phone if I had my menus planned out for this last week - and I didn't! Kind of embarrassing, but I have never claimed to have this down perfectly :) I am learning as I go.

I again have a budget of $400 a month for food and $100 a month for other things like cleaning supplies, shampoo, toilet paper, etc. This budget is for a family of 6 and an in home daycare. So far we have stayed within our budget for the most part. We did go out to eat for my daughter's birthday, and I bought her a cake for her party. Other then that, we have succeeded. I believe you can to!

I am hoping Sarah will read this, and I would like her to know if you would be interested in a featured story on my adventure - who knows, maybe it will be the next "Julie and Julia" or maybe...not :) Either way, all of my facebook comments will go on the blog comment page - so let me (and her) know if you want a story!!!