So "Random Friday" is on hiatus this week. Instead, I have decided that we'd do "Friday Reflections" today.
Tomorrow is Districts for Dak's CC season. As you know, he has had quite a week and quite a season.
He is feeling better, but still not 100%. But we're praying for him and knowing that he will do his very best tomorrow. We are just so thankful that it looks like he will be able to run.
He is going to go for a run after school today and see how he does.
We are so proud of him and his accomplishments in CC this year.
Here are some pics of the season.
He has won several medals and ran his personal best at the biggest Meet of the year. Incredible!! Yes it has been quite a year.
We have a wonderful Christian coach. I am so thankful for his influence and love for these kids.
Every year the night before Districts, he and his wife hosts all the team and their families in their home for pasta and fun. It is always so much fun. They never let you bring anything, they just want you to come. They are generous and lovely people. Thanks Coach and Mrs. Coach McNabb. Ya'll are GREAT!!!
Since I'm reflecting today, I thought I'd do a little reflecting on past Halloween costumes for Dak. I wish I had LOTS of pics to show you, but my scanner thingy is not hooked up to my laptop, so I can't scan right now. Bummer. But I wanted to reflect on my favDak costume from over the years, and I have a few. But my fav was when he was 2. Probably because it was so sweet and what he wanted to be.
We asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween and he said, "corn-da-cob mama" (his fav food at the time =) ~~ well of course you do, my sweet fair haired boy. So "corn-da-cob" it was, and this mama went to work.
I got a green footie pajama and went to the drug store and bought some yellow cotton balls and start sewing. I had sewed yellow cotton balls onto that onsie until I thought my fingers were a pin cushion. And on Halloween a very proud of his costume Dak, donned his corn-da-cob. Every where he went, he left a trail of "corn". It was so stinkin' cute. He had very light hair then, and we gelled his hair to look like the husks on the cob. It was my most fav costume of all time. I have one pic of him in this outfit. (Before the day of digital camera's). And when I can I will scan that baby. It was just the sweetest thing.
So that is one of my most fav memories of Halloween. I'm never been a fan of the scary stuff, but I love to see all the sweet little costumes that kiddos wear as they come to the door. Terrific!!!
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just four weeks from today? (No pressure =)
I had really hoped that four weeks from today I would also be running the Turkey Trot, but the knee has stopped cooperating with training and is back to swelling, hurting, and limping. Now I could be completely bummed about this, but no sirree I WILL NOT!! This is a journey with lots of ups and downs. I am realizing that the ole knee is just not what it once was. I want it to be, but it isn't. So the time has come for modification in my workouts and letting this knee be who it is now. I am so thankful that the doc's were able to perform the surgery that has kept my knee from locking and the kneecap from dislocating for almost a year now. It has been a year of many ups and downs, as far as this knee goes, but I am truly a better person because of it. GOD IS GREAT and GREATLY TO BE PRAISED!!! So I press on toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus!! Amen? Amen!!!!!
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Yesterday afternoon I was looking for something healthy and yummee to eat, which is the task every day for me, and started perusing through recipes and I found one for poached pears.
Yes now is pear season, and they are sooooooyummee this time of year.
So I picked up some at the market and was ready to do something delish with them.
They made such a pretty presentation (even Dak thought so =) that I decided that they'd make a very nice light dessert for Thanksgiving, or even a nice snack to have before everyone arrives to help curve the appetite. They are so yummee!!!
My recipe looks kind of like this picture here (since I didn't take a pic of mine ~~ my bad =)
except I kept the skin on, much more nutritional value that way, and I took the stems off (because this is a microwave recipe and I wasn't sure what stems do in the micro.....anyway.....)
4 pears
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup cranberry juice
(any variety will work ~~ I made mine from mulled cranberry juice I'd made a few days earlier ~~ delish ~~ just the right amount of autumnal spice)
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Halve and core the pears (you can peel them if you'd like).
Sprinkle freshly cut pears with lemon juice to prevent browning.
Place in a microwave-save dish (that has a lid) and pour in cranberry juice.
Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes, until fork tender.
Check at the 6 minute mark and then cook the additional two if needed.
(I used very fresh pears, so it took the full 8 minutes).
Spoon juice over pears and let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
Just before serving sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.
62 calories a halve ~~ get-out-of-town ~~ no really!!
Enjoy!!!
Since we are talking about fruit today, I thought I'd share with you my FAV Cranberry Salad recipe.
This one is a little different because it uses pineapple instead of the traditional orange.
It is a nice twist on a lovely salad.
This picture is of little tartletts, but I generally serve mine in a pretty bowl, although I really like this presentation and may just have to try it this year.
Festive Cranberry-Pineapple Salad
1 - 20 oz. can Crushed Pineapple 2 pkgs (4-serving size each) Raspberry JELL-O 1 can (16 oz) Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce 1 medium Apple, chopped 2/3 cup Walnuts
Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add enough cold water to pineapple juice to make 3 cups. Pour into a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add Raspberry JELL-O. Stir at least 2 minutes, until completely dissolved. Add Whole-Berry Cranberry sauce. Stir until well blended.
Pour into large bowl and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours until slightly thickened, (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Stir in pineapple, apple and walnuts. Pour into serving bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until firm.
Grab a spoon and enjoy!!!
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I decorated my porch with the pumpkin idea I showed you last week. It turned out so cute, but it is dark and raining right now and so no pic of it this morning.
My decorating tip for you this week is keep it simple. The most beautiful decorations or arrangements are the simple, natural ones. Bring nature indoors. Set a bowl of acorns on your table, or a bowl of pine cones. I currently have 2 mini-pumpkins (that I got for .55 cents each at W-M), set on 2 artificial leaves I picked up at Michael's (whole pack for .99 cents). You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a beautiful table.
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Dak and I got the new Kutless CD the other day and there is song on there "What Faith Can Do". It is such a powerful song. Remember to be thankful today for the many Blessings that God has given you, and remember Faith is a powerful thing. Believe sweet ones. Be Bold. Believe what God has said and step out for Him!!!
I love you so!!
Please remember to keep Stellan in your prayers and his whole family.
They are in a fight right now and they need us to stand in the gap.
UPDATE: I just read about the problems Baby Stellan is having. Please pray for him. You can find out morehere.
So this week, starting with Friday, has been a crazy one full of highs ~~ big highs ~~ and lows ~~ serious lows.
Dak had a race at College Heights on Friday and this is him..........in first place!!! He lead the whole race down to the last 1/2 mile, and College Heights took over from there, like 5 College Heights boys took over from there. It was crazy!!! But that is just how good they are!! You gotta give props where it's due. They are the best in the state. They have the best runner in the state in ALL divisions. Impressive!! But Dak did so good!!! He took 7th place. They medal 10 at this race, and of the 10 medals College Heights took 6 ~~ yep crazy, I know!!!
So here he is running is beautiful heart out!! Notice he's running with long-sleeved shirt, hat & gloves. It was so cold that day!!!
Here he is after he received his medal. I have NO idea what their looking at, so not a great shot, but I wanted to show one with his very hard-earned medal.
So that was our big high wonderful Friday, and then Saturday hit with the flu. Yep that was a low. Well he was doing so well on Monday, I thought we had it beat and then he woke up yesterday with a fever again. What?!! And then he started feeling really bad quick. So I called the doc and they got us in yesterday afternoon. By the time we got there, he was so sick he could barely keep his head up.
As the doc was listening to him, he said I don't feel well, I don't feel well and kept slumping over, so doc told him to lay down. So we laid him back and she started listening to him and she said, "He is REALLY tight." She wanted to know if I told them about his reactive airway at Urgent Care on Saturday. And I said HELLO OF COURSE I did. She was very upset that they did not start him on Tama Flu right away given his history of this problem, and she said now it was too late to start him on it. (And I was so not happy to hear this, because the doc at UC on Saturday told us that people with RA disease, start having problems on the third day ~~ hello Tuesday, third day ~~ and that if he started to have a problem then, they would give him Tama Flu.) So now it's too late to give it to him, so we started him on nebulizer treatments along with a steroid neb treatment and went to get an x-ray. Good news is NO pneumonia!!! Needless to say, it was a CRAZY day yesterday. CRAZY!!!
I just want to interject here, if you have this flu, especially if you have asthma or reactive away disease, please PLease PLEASE be careful. It will seem like all is going well and then it takes a serious turn. And mama's you know your children, if things are not looking right, call the doc. I knew by looking at Dak about lunch yesterday that things were not going well. So I called, and I'm so glad I did.
So last night as I was trying to wind down from a very long day, my heart, (and my fingers) turned to Ephesians. I needed a reprieve from my day....a moment to unwind....to get alone and be still....and read. Ephesians seemed like where I needed to go.
Ephesians 5:1-2 "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children (2) and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
This was EXACTLY what I needed after an exhausting day. I needed to know how to act. I could have really been upset and angry that he wasn't given the Tama Flu to start, I could have been worried, because when the doc called back last night with the x-ray results, she said there is still a chance that Pneumonia could form, and if it does it will most likely be next week when we think all is going well. She said he'll be feeling good, no fever no signs and then just start getting a serious cough and very sick quickly. NOT what I wanted to hear, so I could have given into fear and worry. But God had another, BETTER idea. He lead me to Scripture that told me exactly how I needed to act. I need to be an imitator of God as His dearly loved child and live a life of love, just like my beautiful Savior did for me, as He gave Himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, and that my friends is how we are to live as well.
And as I'm typing this I am reminded of II Corinthians 2:15 "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." We are the aroma of Christ, have you ever thought about that? We are His representatives on this earth for such a time as this. I am reminded how important it is to listen and to keep Scripture hid in your heart. It would have been so easy to be REALLY upset last night, but I am sooo glad that Father led me to these Scriptures. He is good and He loves all the time!!!
So this morning Dak is better, yes still home from school, but he is better. Taking his treatments and watching movies that Alyssa dropped off for him. She's such a sweetie. So today he will be taking it easy and chilling =)
I just heard from Sweet Hubby and he is now not feeling well. Oh I feel so bad for him. We've tried to keep Dakquarantined best we can, but this flu is nasty stuff. Hopefully it is just a little bug and not this flu. He's not on his way home yet, but he's keeping a close eye on himself, if he starts running a fever, he'll be on his way home.
Well, I'm off to get my day going in full speed ahead.
Love you all ~~ have a Blessed day ~~ and don't forget Thanksgiving Thursday is tomorrow!!!
There are very many days that this could be the title of my post for that day. In fact, it has been the title before, here ~~ and many days when I sit before my computer to write that is the title I think about, but since I have already posted by that title I move on. But not so today. And there may be many more titled this in the future, because I decided today that it is just where I am most days. Needing to lean, learning to lean, and leaning on Him who can give me peace and hope. It is in Christ I lay my head and my heart. So today, again I learn to lean.
What has me needing to lean today? Well I am reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom. I received it for my birthday (back in August, ahem) and am just now reading it. I know. Procrastinator.
In it today I read this, "I know that the experiences of our lives when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do."
I really started thinking about this quote and wondering if I really view it this way, and so this quote has prompted me to lean in closer, to listen more intently to my Father, and it beckons the question: Do I let God use the experiences in my life to prepare me for the work He will give me to do, or do I wallow around in them awhile first? Do I look at the experiences in my life, both good and bad, as gifts or hindrances, as blessings or not so much?
I would like to always say that I look at them as gifts and blessings all the time, but that just isn't so. I found myself saying the other day to a dear friend (the one who gave me the book) that I just wasn't seeing a particular trial as a blessing right now, and as those words came out of my mouth I felt bad. I have never said that before. It just seems like I've always been able to see the blessing in the thorn, but this time it just felt different to me. But as I'm leaning and as God is speaking I'm seeing many Blessings that are being unveiled to me through this storm. Blessings of peace and hope in the midst of turmoil and waves; joy in the midst of pain, and love in the midst of sorrow. He is giving me understanding beyond what I could ever have on my own. These are precious gifts; beautiful Blessings among this thorn, and I am so thankful.
There is a song that I heard on Sunday and has been in my heart since. I found a youtube video today of a human video done to this song. If you have visited my blog very much you know I am a huge fan of human video's. The song is "Orphan of God" by Avalon. Let it be a reminder to you today that God has not abandoned you; He knows right where you are child. He loves you so. Take a moment and drink this video in. Beautiful. Lean into Him as you watch and know that you are so dearly loved by Him.
PS Update: Dak was really hoping to be able to go to school tomorrow, because he has a field trip, but he woke up this morning with a low-grade fever. He is sad. I feel really bad for him. But he has to be fever free for 24 hours before he can go back to school. bummer. He probably isn't feeling as good today, and he definitely wants to be feeling better so he can run on Saturday at Districts. So we continue to push fluids and encourage him to move around a little more, so he can start getting his body feeling better. GO DAK GO!! WE LOVE YOU!!!
Last night, Sweet Hubby and I studied out of Revelation at bedtime. It is such a sweet thing to study with him. My man knows so much and is so willing to learn. He has such a teachable Spirit and in turn teaches me so much as well.
Last night just before our heads hit the pillow we read out of Revelation. If you haven't read it in a while I encourage you to read it. Take some time in the Word.
Revelation 21:22-23 "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp."
Is that not a beautiful depiction of the city we are going to if we are believers in Christ? These were not part of the Scriptures we read last night, but I read them this morning and they are such a reminder to me that this earth and it's trouble is not all there is!!!!!! We are going to a city whose Maker and Builder is God and where the Lamb is the Light!! Where sin and it's effects will never be. Hallelujah!!! That is such GREAT news!!!!!
Well in the middle of the night I awoke with these words going through my mind: "Come Lord Jesus, Come!!" A couple of times through the night that is what was on my heart. It was such a wonderful way to wake, because I knew that in my sleep I'd had God on my heart. I have decided that is the BEST way to go to sleep, with God on your heart, because it is ABSOLUTELY the best way to wake!!
I want to keep an eternal mindset. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the things that are going on here, that we don't spend time in the Word as we should and with the Father. It is critical to spend that time with Him, so that my heart can be focused on Him and not what is going on around me in this world. I need to keep my eyes on Jesus. Amen?!! Amen.
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I wanted to let ya'll know that the flu has hit our corner. We had Dak to Urgent Care on Saturday evening, and he has H1N1. One of the first things he said as we left was: "Mom districts!!" Districts are on Saturday and that determines who will go to the State Meet this year. He and one other runner on the HS boys team have a shot at going and two girls on our HS girls team. So he is really wanting to get over this and back on the mend so he will be able to compete.
He is doing pretty good. He had a high fever yesterday, but is MUCH better today. He is quarantined to his room, but it's not like being quarantined to your room back in the day. He has a TV, play station, games, movies, I-pod, books and various and sundry other things to keep him busy, so he doesn't even mind. He is looking much better today and I just took him a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. So he must be feeling better if he wants cheese on his stomach =)
I hope you all have a Blessed day today and remember to read the Word today. It will give you insight and just lift you up!!!
YAY I'm back to Random Friday's. I heart RF's. If you don't know what that is, well on this blog, it is a catch up of things from the week. I love it because I can look back and see details. I love the details. anyway.....
Dak has a Meet in Joplin today (about an hour and a half from here ~~ road trip =) I'm really looking forward to seeing him run today, since I had to miss the last meet. boo. He only has two Meets before Districts next Saturday. It is so hard to believe we are already at the end of the season for this year, and that he only has one more CC season to look forward to. Time flies by so fast. We have a Meet today and then on Tuesday and then Districts next Saturday. GO DAK & GO CLEVER BLUE JAYS!!!!!
On Tuesday, I took mom to the doctor. Everything is fine, it was a flu shot and check-up kind of thing. But the highlight of the day: we're driving to her appointment when she looks over and says, "I always look so forward to spending the day with my beautiful daughter." Now I know she says that to all of her daughters (3 of us now) and of course her son is the most handsome son she's ever seen. My mom is one beautiful lady, I tell ya!! Thanks mom for a GREAT day!!! Just what I needed.
So how does CHRISTmas at Mayo sound to ya? I talked to Mayo yesterday and our next appointment is December 22nd. Yep CHRISTmas at Mayo this year (if the weather cooperates =) I am not bummed though, Father knows what we need. So I am cool with that.
It is COLD here today. High in the 40's and drizzle all day. Nice!! Again GO CLEVER BLUE JAYS ~~ YES IN THE COLD!!!
The flu has hit our school. Boo. We got an automated call this week informing us of this. Do ya'll get these? I don't know how they do it, but the computer lady calls and tells us all kinds of informative things. Yes she is a new BFF. I feel like I am in the know once again. Because let's face it, when teenager's hit high school, you pretty much know nothing about what is going on unless they need money. Funny how that works =) So if you walk in our house and Sweet Hubby is home, he comes at you with the anti-bacterial wash. No kidding. If you were the president, which I know your not, BUT if you were, yep you would not be exempt. He will come at you people. He is all about being healthy and keeping his family that way. He is a good, good provider for us!!!!!!!!! Love you D!!!!!
Since I have been in a transparent mood this week, I thought I'd go ahead and stick with that theme one more day =) and talk about parenting. Some times it is just hard, especially when your kids are teenagers. What is too much?!! When do you push or back off?!! It is a balance. I am learning that less is more most of the time, and that he is definitely growing up and that means I have to back off....ouch.that.hurts. But back off I must. But in the midst of all this backing off there are still moments that I know he still needs his mama. On Tuesday, he went to Senior night for our Volleyball Lady Jays and was only there about 10-15 minutes when I got a call from a VERY excited Dak. He called to say that the movie theater had called him and left a message for an interview. He was so excited!! So he came right home and called them back. Well he comes running into me and says, "Mom I have interview TONIGHT at 8:00 o'clock!! And you have to go with me mom!! I'm so excited!!!" Of course I said YES and off to Springfield we went. It was 7:00 pm and so we had an hour to get to his appointment and we live approximately 30 minutes from there. He doesn't know if he got the job or not (a scheduling thing), but still VERY exciting for him, and for me, because he wanted me to go with him. He did this mama's heart good.
So there is more, but that is good for now. Thanks for reading. Have a Beautiful day and a Blessed weekend,
PS I am having SO much fun with Thanksgiving Thursdays. Your comments are so fun!!! Thank you so much!!
Well, a BIG Thanksgiving hello from our kitchen table to yours (or in this case ~~ from behind my laptop to yours =) Alyssy and I say a HUGE GINORMAS WELCOME!!!
So in this installment of "Thanksgiving Thursday" we are going to rejoice together for all the LORD is to us. I believe that Thanksgiving is just what it says. I believe we are to be thankful, truly thankful for all God has done for us in giving us Christ. That is the ultimate gift, without which none of our lives would make a lick of sense. Can I get an Amen from the Louisville section? ~~ Thank you sister!! Moving on .........
Psalm 95:1-2 "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song."
So let's give the LORD a shout, go on give Him praise right now child, He is worthy!!!!!
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I really wanted to give you a peek at my porch with my adorned pumpkin, beautiful impatients (which have been in their pot since Spring, yep they made it to Fall), and my beautiful mum, a lovely gift from a friend, but alas, my pumpkin is not adorned yet and how awful would it be for me to show you a naked pumpkin, so I shall wait. For the pumpkins sake, poor thing.
So I will pass along some lovely ideas I found while searching out beautiful fall ideas.
This first one I LOVE ~~ LOVE.
This iron piece looks like a candle holder that you might put in your house,
but they have used it outdoors with small sweet pie pumpkins.
How beautiful and simple...
I love beautiful and simple....lovely.......and re-purposed.....
Now this is an idea that I always LOVE.
I wish I had a way to hang candles from my back porch.
I keep asking Sweet Hubby to build a pergola over our back concrete porch,
so far I have no answer....but I press on .... I will not be deterred =)
And if you aren't comfortable hanging candles you could put electric lights in mason jars
and hang them with wire from your porch. Another GREAT idea.
I love soft light.
And this I just ADORE, and
WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS?!!
I mean really ~~ What in the world is wrong with me?!!
This is simple and just gorgeous!! Lovely!!
Simple grape leaves attached to the top of a pumpkin ~~
GREAT IDEA!!!
So please, oh please decorate those porches, and if you are like me and do not like to spend a lot of money on decorations, use what you have ~~ re-purpose ~~ those make THE BEST decorations. They are easy and comfortable and you feel a huge hug when you walk on your porch to familiar items.
So this week I want to give you a recipe that you can make before Thanksgiving even gets here. Ya know, to get you in the Fall mood =) And then make it for that Thanksgiving dinner. It is easy and makes a lovely presentation.
I made a variation of this dessert this week. It is a FAV of my families.
I am putting here the recipe for the trifle. It is so easy and pretty and again there are many variations, even on the trife. I am going to post my dear mother's fav, but I'll add a variation at the bottom of the recipe.
Pumpkin Trifle
2 small packages of instant sugar-free vanilla pudding
2 cups of no-fat (skim) milk
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
15 ounce can of pumpkin
8 ounces of fat-free Cool Whip
Make pudding first, then fold in ingredients. Set in the refridgerator until ready to use. Next make the cake.
Combine a spice cake mix (dry) with one can of root beer (I usually use diet) and one egg.
Mix and put into a 13x9x2" pan or 2 round pans. Bake about 35 minutes ~~ do the toothpick test ~~ cool.
After cake/cakes have cooled crumbled some cake into the bottom of a trife dish, cover cake with Pumpkin Mousse, then whipped cream and continue layering. This is an elegant and delicious dessert. One of my mom's favorites!!
A variation of this is to use butterscotch pudding instead of vanilla in the mousse and then use gingerbread cake instead of spice ~~ either way ~~ delish!!
This week I made just the Pumpkin Mousse (original recipe) and put it into mini-graham cracker tart shells and topped with whipped cream. Delish!!
If you use skim milk, no sugar no fat pudding and lite whipped cream the mousse is only 1 point per CUP on WW. Now that's a deal if you follow WW.
Here are a couple of pics of Pumpkin Trifle I found online. These look very similar to what I make minus the chocolate!! Still, quite a presentation and it is really easy. My kind of dessert ~~ pretty and simple!!
This one is the gingerbread variation: so cute!!
Okay, so what would a Thanksgiving Thursday post be without Sir Cuteness? Incomplete that's what =)
C & T had some fall pics made a couple of weeks ago.
Look at this doll. I mean seriously, have you ever?!!
Love you Scoot!!
So go on, deck out those porches and make some Mousse!!
So today I will be transparent. Like really transparent.
Lately, I have struggled. Struggled with insecurities, struggled with inferiorities, struggled with inconsistency, struggled with myself, ya know struggles.
The one thing I don't want to do is appear on the outside that everything is okay and I don't have struggles, (much like the lady I told you about last week), I choose to be transparent. So in choosing this way, I am also choosing to deal. Hmpffff. Yes I must deal with the struggles that cause me to struggle, ya know?
Yes it is the struggle underneath the surface that I have dealt with from my earliest memories. My earliest memory is when I was about four and I'm sitting at the kitchen table with my beloved grandmother. She was, in my estimate as a four year old (and all the way up to a thirteen year old, when she went home to be with Jesus), the grandest, wisest woman to walk the planet. I listened and longed to be just like her. Well, when I was four I remember writing or coloring (not sure which) on a piece of paper, and I remember my grandmother looking at me like something was wrong. She took the pencil (or crayon ?) out of my hand and said, "We'll have no lefties in this household. You will write with your right hand." And so I did. And do. I do lots of things left handed, but I write right handed, because my grandmother said so, and for me, end of story. But what I remember is feeling badly that I didn't know that it was wrong to right with my left hand. Which it isn't and I know that now, and if you are a leftie, I am one too, at least at heart. =) But even from that earliest memory I felt bad and insecure.
That carried on through and up until just more recent times that has been the norm in this girls life. I have always been so insecure about what I wear and how I look and how I act and will I laugh too loudly or not enough, or if I'll say the proper things at the proper times, or if my husband or son will be embarassed by me, or if I don't know enough.....and on and on and on and on, and I could just keep going with the insecurities.
Well, about a month or so ago I did LOAM with Lisa Shaw at her web site, and through that seven day laying it down, I layed down fear, which has been a huge stumbling block for me in my life and since that time until this God has been dealing with my heart on other things, like people-pleasing and insecurities. And can I just say one bleeds right on into the other.
Last night we, Sweet hubby and I, had a conversation with Dak, in which my sweetie was telling him how insecure I used to be, and how I used to cover it up with humor. He said I was always the life of the party with my humor. He said I was hilarious. But he said that it was a covering method for me. I didn't know who I was or how I felt, so I covered the insecurities with humor and I was good at it. Thank you honey, but I WAS funny? I.am.still.funny. Thank you very much =) hahahahaha But he was right. I used to cover it with humor. Now I am not as funny (still funny =) but that is because I am choosing to deal with the issues that have caused me to be so insecure. And that is a good thing!!!
It just got me to thinking about how far I have come in this area, but also how far I still have to go. I am so thankful that Lisa was obedient to do LOAM with us, because of that consecrated time with Jesus He has revealed many things to me even now. So thank you again Lisa.
I'd like to leave you with a Scripture today and a song. I memorized this Scripture earlier this year and I love it. It actually helps me a lot to overcome insecurity, because it just simply is not about me. And when I remember that everything I do should be as unto the LORD and that it is about Him and being about His business, the focus is off of me and onto Him where it should be and my insecurities melt away in the warmth of His love and loveliness.
Romans 12:9-13 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitiality."
Now that is a verse that will keep me out of insecurity and focused on my Father's business. Amen? Amen.
I'd like to leave you with a video today from Tenth Avenue North. It talks about love, real love. The kind of love that caused our Savior to come and die so we could live. This love poured from His hands and His brow. This love flows through my veins as a believer today and without it I could not exist. He is my all in all.
Thank you for listening today and lest you think I'm going crazy on you, let me set your hearts to rest. I am fine. I just needed to be transparent and set my heart on things above and this helps.
Friday evening was Dak's Showboat Clever Belle performance with his High School Choir.
It was an absolutely delightful time. These kids are just so much fun to watch.
They did a number to the song "When I'm 64". And here is Dak the way he sees himself at 64. Hahahahahaha ~~~ I told him and Alyssii that it just wasn't very funny (heehee). Because how many of you know that the older you get the younger 64 seems? To them I seem ancient at 43. That my friends is a another story for another day =)
So this is Dak at 64 ~~ hahahaha ~~ cute son, real cute =)
Here he is hobbling onto the stage ~~ heehee!! This was another song that the choirs did......so good.
And this is my favorite pic of the evening. They are singing Splish-Splash (which I posted a little video of over the weekend). LOVE this pic ~~ yep that's my boy getting his groove on!!!
And then here are two videos of when I'm 64.
Enjoy!!!
Note: I just posted these and viewed them on my blog and I have them backwards.
So please watch the second one first and then the first one.
Dak had a Meet last night (that I didn't get to go to....only one I've missed this year....boo. silly tooth.) anyway....
G went and was giving me the blow-by-blow. This is how it went down at the finish line.........
G: Run Dak go, he's right on your tail.....RUN!!!
Me: On phone giving Dick the details as G gives them to me ~~ RUN SON RUN!!!
G: Go Dak.......pause.... He just took him out!!!
Me: What?!! Who took who out? (because seriously if someone took my baby out I'm coming through this phone!!! =)
G: Hold on.....
Me: What?!! Is she kidding me?!?!!
wait for it....wait for it.....
Dak: Mom I took 12th....Cole got 11th.......The kid pushed me mom!!! But I still took 12th!! out of breath....out of breath....can't really talk.........
So when Dak got home he told me that at the finish line the kid (who was from a MUCH bigger school....) elbowed him, (that may be how you do it in a big school, but not in our little school.....what happened to good sportsmanship) and then....... so Dak said he doesn't remember it, but he pushed back and the kid went rolling. (good sportsmanship out the window ~~ I know I raised him better than that =) He said: Mom I feel terrible. Now that's my boy. He has compassion. He didn't like being pushed but he felt bad when he pushed back. That's a good thing right?!! Or am I just putting a good spin on a pushmadetheboyfall moment?!! hmmm......
anyway....
Thought I'd show you a couple of pics. These aren't from last night, but they are from this season. As soon as I have some from last night (Coach's wife is sending me some....I love that woman!!!) I'll share with ya'll =)
Run baby Run!!!!!!!!
Kick it son ~~ kick it!!! He did medal last night. YAY that's like 3 or 4 for the season now ~~ he is just doing so well in CC this year!!
On another note: I went to the Oral surgeon yesterday for him to check my mouth. He said I definitely have a raw spot there, but the anti-biotics do seem to be working. He also said that it looks like I had dry socket, but I now have a blood-clot over the site, but that did not help this situation any. no.no.it.did.NOT.
So the plan is if this medicine doesn't completely take care of it by Sunday, then they are going to put me on Clindamyacin (a more systemic anti-biotic), but he wants me to finish the Ery first.
Mayo called me again last night to check on me. Apparently they have been very concerned, but can I just say that they seriously are taking GREAT care of me. This could be a very bad situation, and they want to make sure that we stay on top of it. We are very Blessed to have such a wonderful team of doctor's. Doc told me last night that the Clindamyacin is the proper thing to do next if the Ery doesn't quite take care of it. So all in all, things are going well.
We won't be getting Sir Cuteness this weekend. H1N1 has been confirmed in Sweet Hubby's office (as of today), and we want to take every precaution we can, so the little guy doesn't get it. But boy will we miss having him this weekend.
Let me leave you with these verses I read this morning out of The Message Bible in Psalm 91
"If you'll hold on to Me for dear life," says GOD,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust Me.
Call Me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!"
Does anyone need God to throw them a party today?!! Don't you just love that?!?!!!
I hope you all have a Blessed weekend loaded with lots of fall (cool weather) fun!!!
WELCOME to the first installment of "Thanksgiving Thursdays". Greetings from "The Chair".
Okay, I know stark white walls and white faced me, I almost blend into the walls. EEK!! =) Each week I'll greet you from this chair or somewhere equally as me.
I am a smiler. But you will notice in this picture not much of a smile. Well with the whole tooth situation it might take awhile to get my pearly white smile back, but it will be back!!
Psalm 92:1 The Message "What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to You, the High God!"
So what are you thankful for?!! What does Thanksgiving season look like in your world?~~
I'm hoping that over the next six weeks we will be able to take a peek into each others lives to see how we celebrate Thankfulness and then CHRISTmas.
So much has happened in our lives over the last year that my heart is just oozing thankfulness to Father God. He has brought us through so much, taught us so much, and is still teaching us so much as we continue to walk the path of obedience to Him. Can I just tell you that sometimes it is just stinking hard.hard. But ALWAYS worth it. There have been times this year that I have wondered what in the world God is doing, but instead of question, I have tried to trust. Sometimes I've succeded and sometimes I've failed, but I always find myself back at His feet. It is the only safe place to be.
So each week I'll start with a Scripture and this week it is Psalm 92:1 out of The Message Bible. I love the way this verse is worded here. It calls giving thanks to God a beautiful thing. Have you ever thought that giving thanks to God was beautiful?!! I don't know that I'd ever really thought about it in just that way, but I believe thankfulness to God is a beautiful thing, not only for us who give it, but also to God who receives it. Yes indeed a beautiful thing to give thanks and to sing anthems to God. So go ahead lift your voice to Him today. Give Him some thankfulness and praise what do ya say?!!
So as I was preparing for this post I was thinking about all the cool things on my heart to share with you over the next six weeks. I love to decorate and cook and come up with things that help make our house a home in each season. From the simple and mundane to the intricate and complex, I love it all!!!
So today we will talk a few simple decorations and then a yummee recipe to kick off The Countdown all official like.
I like to take my fall decoations right on into Thanksgiving. It is cost effective and let's face it, pumpkins stay pretty along time if they aren't carved. So grab one or two to sit on your porch sourounded by some gourds sitting on a bed of leaves. It's simple and a lovely way for your porch to greet your guests. I have a few other simple ideas I'll show you next week complete with pictures.
Let's focus on appetizers this week. Do ya'll do appetizers for your Thanksgiving dinners? We do. My family really likes this part of it. You see they each arrive here at different times, so it's nice to have something to nosh on while you cook and talk and talk, and did I mention talk?!! =) Now most of you know that the appetizer plates can be a real diaster for any watching what they eat, so let me give you a few healthy suggestions.
Of course vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, olives and pickles. But go easy on the dip. A good dip to serve with these is Greek Yogurt with about a tablespoon of lemon juice, a little garlic salt and chives. It is easy and a little tart and if you get the non-fat variety there are only 140 calories IN THE WHOLE CONTAINER. So this is a GREAT alternative to heavy dips or cheese sauces.
Now speaking of cheese, we love cheese around this parts, so of course cheese and crackers find their way onto our platters, but another easy thing to do to portion control is to eat the white cheeses and put just what you want for a couple of crackers on a plate with your veggies and dip and step away from the platter.....step away. If it's not sitting right in front of you, you are a lot less likely to keep noshing on it mindlessly.
Here is a recipe for roasted chickpeas. This is another wonderful thing to have to snack on as you will not eat as many of these.
Roasted Chickpeas
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Spray a baking sheet and spread chickpeas out in a single layer. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until golden and crunchy, about 45-50 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
Make these a day ahead. Yummee. This makes about 6 servings at 72 calories a serving. My kind of snack.
So there you have it, our first installment of "Thanksgiving Thursday".
Well today is our first installment of "Thanksgiving Thursdays", but first I wanted to update you on why it will not be posted until later today.
A week ago this past Monday I had to have a tooth pulled at the oral surgeon. Well over the weekend it got infected. So we had to call the emergency # and the doc on call got back with me and called in a prescription.
Well, on Tuesday (two days ago) I started not feeling very well; light-headed, dizzy, headache. When I went to stand I noticed my knee hurt (not necessarily unusual), but as I walked around it didn't get better, and it felt really tight. So I took at look at it and sure enough it was really swollen and I didn't feel good at all. So I called Sweet Hubby and talked to him about it and he told me I'd better call Mayo.
You see even though it has been nearly a year, complications can still arise, namely an infection in the joint of my knee because of the parts. Apparently my body does not recognize them, because in a perfect world, they shouldn't be there. So the anti-bodies that help fight infection are stubborn and don't want to give "the new kid's on the block" a break. I find that rather snooty =)
So I called Mayo and they called me back (rather quickly I might add), and sure enough, very concerned about infection. So she wanted me to call my local Othopod doc, I did but of course he wasn't back in his office until Friday and didn't want me to wait that long so he told me to get to Urgent Care (this was yesterday). Sweet Hubby had stayed home yesterday to take care of me (is he not the best?!! I mean seriously, he really does take that good care of me, better really than I can even express here. He is an amazing man!!) So off to the flu infested Urgent Care we went, anti-bacterial hand sanitizer in hand. (Sweet Hubs NEVER leaves home without it!!)
Side note: He drives DakCRAZY with the anti-bacterial hand sanitizer. It is perched right as you walk in the house and EVERYSINGLESOLITARYTIMEDak comes inside (from anywhere) he has to use it, and all his friends as well. Fun times for our 17 year old =) It is really hilarious, not to mention very smart on Sweet Hubby's part.
Okay thanks for letting me take you on that slight detour, now back to the story =)
So there we sat in the full flu-infested Urgent Care with coughers and hackers (doesn't anybody watch the Today Show anymore where they tell you practically daily how to cough into your elbow?!!! Obviously not in MO!) anyway.........
After about an hour they called us back. They took an x-ray and the good news is NO INFECTION. Praise the Lord!!!!! An infection in this knee would be VERY BAD news indeed!! But there is however, fluid in the joint and the infection in the tooth (or lack thereof my tooth) is causing the knee to be irritated. So today I have an appointment to see my oral surgeon and the doc at UC said that he would probably change my anti-biotic to a more systemic one that will help more with the knee as well.
So at 10:00 this morning I will hobble to that appointment. I will be so glad when this knee is back to my new normal. I'd kind of gotten used to it. My knee is adding character to my walk these days and my run. Although it maybe a little bit before I can get back to training. bummer.
So this is why I don't have my Thanksgiving Thursday post up yet. It will be up later today, maybe even in the evening time, but I do plan on getting it up today, so please check back.
I hope you all have a blessed and beautiful day and please remember Andrew and Kate in your prayers today. Both of these young ones and their families desperately need us to "stand in the gap" for them.
Although I am now thinking that this reveal quite possibly will disappoint what with some of those guesses and all.
These made me smile:
I knitted something (okay that is more than a smile. That my friend is a belly laugh. But thanks for the confidence RJ!! =)
Oh and no I AM NOT PREGNANT and not having a new g-babe, although that would be splendid. Love me some g-babe!!
And no, my hair is the same.
So what could it be?!!
Well, do you remember when I posted pics of our prayer/study room a while back?
It looked like this....
A table and some chairs in there. Our white board on a stool... Our coffee table added a little character to the room, but that was about it.
Until now!!!!
That's right, welcome to:
EXTREME HOME MAKE-OVER: PRAYER ROOM ADDITION
I am so excited to show you what I've been working on.
I've been wanting a chair for this room, a nice big comfy chair to study in, but didn't want to spend any money. Well, my neighbor called me over a couple weeks ago and wanted to know if I wanted this....
Isn't she lovely? Yes, I know. Our walls in this room are VERY white. But that is what sweet hubs does when he paints. I think he's allergic to colors.....hahahahaha Really he just likes the cleanliness of a pretty white wall, and I really don't mind. It's a blank canvas right? Right.
So with a chair to build on, the wheels started turning in my head. I moved my corner shelf out here and I love it so much in this room. It is green, my favorite color. I love all things nature in color. You know green, oranges, browns; nature.
This is a little closer look with the lovely curtain. I also really love Burgundy.
I especially love this curtain in this room. It INSTANTLY warmed it up in here. And not just temperature wise either. I mean you walk in now, and you are hugged by this room as soon as you step down. It is so cozy.
And remember the stark white board from before? Well I gave it a new coat to wear. Yep a fresh coat of Red Iron Oxide, to be exact. It goes so well with the color themes in this room.
Oh and let me just give you the verse from the board right now.
Romans 15:5 The Message "God wants the combination of His steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever He will do next."
Wow do I ever want to be characterized by His constant calling and personal counsel. Anyone else?!!
Oh your probably wondering about the window. Well it goes back into the kitchen. This room originally was a porch, but sweet hubby wanted to add on to the house, because at the time we needed an extra bedroom. So the porch was the easiest to convert. How talented is my man?!! I mean really. He does such GREAT work.
We do not have a lot of art work in this room yet, but I wanted to show you this painting I got at a garage sale a couple weeks ago for $2.00. How adorable is this? And true. Live by faith... Amen.
This is my little nook that I am typing from this very instant. Your probably wondering what the books are on the chair. Their both Bibles. I keep several translations + my computer translations close. I like to read from different versions.
Next to my much loved chair, is my much loved basket that I've had for years.
So this is where you will find me most days and evenings too.
I just love it in this little corner of the world.
This is a book shelf that was in the living room taking up space.
I love it in this room.
It houses several Bibles, pictures and gifts I've been given.
It is a GREAT addition to this room.
Adds to the cozy value.
Here's a little closer look at the corner shelf.
So that is our prayer/study room. It makes me so happy to sit in here and read or pray or just be. Ya know?
Thank you all so much for stopping by.
I hope this reveal didn't disappoint to badly =)
It is so cold here today.
After a nice warm shower, I think I'll be cozying up with a cup of almond milk hot chocolate and a book. Sound good? Any takers?!!
We heard a message yesterday on Joy. Real Joy. Lasting Joy. The only Joy that is truly Joy. The Joy that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He gave us life and He gives us Joy in the midst of it. But am I always joyful?!! Does this life ever get me down? Why yes, yes it does. But should it? Honestly, no. It shouldn't. I know your probably reading this going are you kidding me?!! This life so should get us down, I mean with all the craziness in the world today and all the sickness, especially in children, nope, no Joy there. Or is there?
Joy is not happiness. The word happiness comes from the word happenstance. So as circumstances change, certainly so does our happiness, but not so with Joy. Joy is a deep-seeded, deep-rooted truth for the Believer. We know that in the midst of this life and all its craziness, God is there. If you have a personal relationship with Christ you know in your darkness moments, He is there; guiding you, helping you, loving you, and your heart is joyful, even in the midst of sorrow.
Joy doesn't mean plaster a smile on your face and have everyone believe that you never experience pain. That is not Joy. Joy is Jesus in the midst of your situation.
I knew a lady once when I was teenager, that ALWAYS, CONSTANTLY had a smile on her face. I went to church with her. She and her husband had two boys, wonderful kids. Her husband was our song leader (tremendous talent), and she ALWAYS sat in the pew with a smile on her face, NO MATTER the situation. This puzzled me as a teen, but led me to want to be just like her. Happy I mean. I wanted that kind of happiness/joy. Because to me, at that time in my young life, the two were interchangeable.
Well, as I grew up and got on my way in life, I would see her from time to time, still with that smiling face of hers. There was never a hint that she ever had a problem. I started to wonder what was wrong with me, but brushed it off. I was living my life now, and it just didn't look like that. I was still puzzled, but thought she must have it all figured out, and I just didn't.
Well her and her husband celebrated 25 years of marriage, to which the whole community came together and gave them a surprise reception, they were truly surprised, and so were we, when 6 months later they got a divorce. That really threw me for a loop.
You see, that smile she had put on her face for so many years, wasn't real. None of it was real. There were problems on top of the problems in their marriage and lives. And no one knew. At least I didn't. I had NO idea. It was just crazy.
That incident remains with me today. That wasn't Joy I was seeing in her face, it was real pain, masked by a fake smile and very hurt feelings. Joy is NOT plastering on a smile in the face of real pain. It is trusting our very real God, with our very raw feelings and letting Him help us, and out of that real relationship there is Joy in knowing that God is on His throne and He is in the midst. Jesus said that He would NEVER leave us or forsake us. NEVER. Let that soak in. He is with you dear child.
I want to leave you today with two very real prayer requests. I know there are MANY out there, but these are the two in blog land that are at the top of my prayers right now. Little Kate McRae. If you have not read her story, please go here and read the latest and pray for this little 5 year old darling and her family. They could definitely benefit from your prayers.
And the other is a 12 year old boy Andrew, also fighting brain cancer. His mother has a blog and you can find it here. Both of these young people, need our prayers. Our fervent devoted, faith-filled prayers. So please put them on your prayer lists and pray daily for these young ones and their parents. I can't imagine the pain they are experiencing at this moment RIGHT NOW!!!
I'd like to leave you with thes verses:
John 15:10-11 "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
Complete joy, that was Jesus' prayer for us. So whatever your days holds, go forth in complete joy.
Love you wildly & crazily,
PS Tomorrow is the BIG REVEAL!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! Oh what could it be? Any guesses RJ? =)
So as you all know, Sweet Hubs is on vacation this week, and we have really just been chillin'. We haven't done anything to exciting, just mainly rest for him. He has worked so hard over the summer, that he was in need of some SERIOUS rest. We talked about going somewhere for a couple of days and getting away, but in the end, decided rest was best, right here at home, and that has worked out since the weather so would not have cooperated this week.
Well, part of the rest and relaxation this week has been making sure he is eating more healthy, lots of vegetables and lean protein has been the norm (which usually is around here), but with him working so much over the summer, he'd gotten to where he was eating a lot of fast food, so he wanted to get back to the more healthy eating.
In pursuit of healthy food, I have been cooking for him more like I cook for me, but with meat for him. Well yesterday for lunch I fixed what he affectionately told me last night was Foo-Foo and Vegetables. Hahahahahaha what?!!
This is the way it went down:
Me: Honey, ready for lunch?
SH (Sweet Hubs): Sure.
Me: Okay (went in and started cooking lunch.)
So let me explain what Foo-Foo & Vegetables really is. It is actually Couscous with steamed broccoli, sauteed onions, green peppers, and cashews with a little Tamari sauce (aged soy sauce).
Me: Honey is your lunch okay?
SH: Yeah.
Me: (Thinking everything is good at this point ~~ I go and fix my lunch).
After lunch SH gets up and goes into kitchen and I hear rattling going on. He comes back in with an almond chocolate bar he'd bought at work a couple of weeks ago from a Mighty Might.
Me: Honey (very affectionately with a hint of sarcasm =) What are you eating?
SH: A rice cake.
Me: Is it good?
SH: MMMMMYummeeeeee!!!!!
Me: Interesting.
So last night before bed I told him my tummy was growling so I was going to go eat a little snack before bed and he said it was because we ate Foo-Foo & Vegetables. To which I reminded him that was lunch and that I'd fixed him Chicken Pot Pie for supper (which btw is much more substantial and one of his fav's ~~ ahem). So I did the whole, "ohhh you don't like my cooking" to which he preceded to tell me I was crazy. hahahahahaha
So I got up and ate some Kashi cereal, thank you very much, and may just have Foo-Foo and Agave Nectar for breakfast. So there =)
I know I said not much posting going on this week, but with the weather I've been able to be on more than I'd thought.
Have a Blessed and restful weekend full of Foo-Foo & Vegetables,
