What's in your pantry?

I have a very well stocked pantry, 2 freezers, and my full fridge, yet, I still go shopping and spend hundreds of dollars on grocerys. So today I decided to trim that down some and save a penny. I went shopping in my pantry. 

I knew in my fridge was left over hamburger patties from dinner 2 nights ago. Most leftover meals are made into new creations so my family doesn't usually realize it is even leftovers, tonight was no exception. 

I took the left over patties and chopped them into bite size pieces. The patties were full of flavor bc they were made with  grass fed beef, turkey meat, and sausage. 

I then chopped some onions, bellpeppers and jalapeños I had frozen, and sautéed them for about 10 mins. I added salt, rosemary, and fresh basil. 

I grabbed a can of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and Italian herb spaghetti sauce (I am not sure how long it had been in there) and added them to the sautéed veggie mixture. 

I let this summer and reduce down for prob 30-45 mins. 

During my free time I watched House hunters, called my sister so someone could feel sorry for me since I am not feeling well, and got water boiling for the pasta. I grabbed what ever pasta I had on hand and today chose some gluten free kind that basically rocks in the lack of gluten dept. 

Once the sauce was super reduced I added the chopped up hamburger patties. 

The meat did not need to be cooked of course, so I just heated it up and then yelled at the top of my lungs for everyone to wash their hands and get their booties to the table. 😉

Dinner was served, everyone enjoyed it and I was super pleased with my made up- thrown together- tomato sauce. 

This was a great meal and the best thing about it was I didn't spend any extra money, I shopped right out of my pantry 

What do your have in your pantry that you can make a meal with? Hashtag it 

#pantrymademeals on Instagram I would love to see what you came up with! 

Working through the book of John.

A few weeks ago I decided to post on Facebook that I was going to read John and need accountability to keep me on track. I was doing very well but as with most of my vacations, time gets away from me and word time gets put to the side. We get up early and go all day long to the Disney parks and come home and crash. I don't usually think twice about any kind of reading time. 

As I have been posting on Facebook what I am getting from the reading I have also saved those status into my notes on my phone. 

My post today will be adding 5 of the days to this one blog post. 

Day 1

Last night I wrote about needing accountability and wanting friends to join in reading the book of John from the bible. 

I love how when we actually want to make the time, the time is there. So many things can get in the way and a million real excuses can prevent us from reading our bibles. But, when we make a decision and choose to do it...time is there. Today I slept until 7:30. I got up, had my spark and vitamins, talked to my parents and sister, and still have time to start reading John before anyone wakes up. I am loving the summer sleep ins. 

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Verse 10 in John 1 makes me sad when I read it from a parent's point of view.  "...the world did not recognize him" 

The whole first part talks about who is the true light and that v3, "Through him all things were made" 

How would you or do you handle a situation when someone doesn't recognize something you have created? It might be a great dinner, a clean house, an art piece, organizing an entire event, or a simple hair cut, that no one gave you credit. 

Day 2

For those of you reading in John with me congrats!! 🎉 Every excuse gets in your face a screams "I am the most important thing you have to do today....do it NOW" 😤

If you are seeing this for the first time I am reading the book of John from the bible and love having friends joining me for accountability. You can start any time, we are not on a schedule. I am just posting things that stand out and you can join with comments on verses you like too. 

Today I loved how all through John 1:19-34 John always points back to Jesus. When asked who he was he says v23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' " 

Do our words always point people back to Jesus? I don't mean in an awkward way where people have no idea what you are saying but does our life and our actions and kind words show people that we are set apart. Do they see something in us  that says "I want to follow this Jesus?" 

V37 two disciples heard he was Jesus and followed. 

V41 -the first thing Andrew did was find his brother and tell him. 

V45 - Philip found Nathanael and told him " We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law..." 

This is convicting to me because I think -how many people did I tell when I first learned who Jesus was?- 

How many people do I tell about Jesus now? 

It is easy to post about it on Facebook but He is amazing news 💕and I pray that my daily words and actions show people that I am set apart. 

What did you read about today and did anything stand out? Also how can we lead people to Jesus as we live our normal life?

Day 3 

It is the end of the day posting about it but I did get my reading in with the book of John. I am going to be real honest here today. On Sundays  I normally allow my church bible time to be my time to get in the Word, but I decided that today I would keep with the daily reading of John and post in case someone else didn't make it to church. For the confused ones, some friends and I are (at our own pace) reading the The book of John from the bible. I needed accountability and asked friends to help 😊 There are about 7 of us 😍 Anyone can join at any time, just post in the comments and say you want to and you can start reading John chapter 1 at your own pace. 

I am going off memory here so no actually verses but in John chapter 2 Jesus and his mother Mary attend a wedding. The wine runs out and Mary tells Jesus about this. He says (my words so maybe a little off) "why do you concern me with such things" 

I love this for two reason. 

1: I would imagine that he had to of walked some things out in faith in his home because how else would his mom of even know he could do anything if she hadn't seen him at home. (The water to wine at the wedding was his first public miracle if I am correct) 

2: All parents are super proud of their kids and the giftings they have. At parties or around friends we say "......show your aunt here what you can do" 

I wonder if Mary had some of that mama proud moment when asking Jesus to do something about the wine. 

I wanted to keep reading and post this morning but then littlest woke up and needed cuddling so...ya know. 

 

What are your thoughts on these verses? 

Did you get to read any parts of John today your self? 

Also for everyone who said you wanted to join are you ok if you get tagged for accountability purposes on your side? I want this to be fun and in no way condemning. If you say you want to join and go strong for 2 days and known for 3 days that is ok 👌🏻 Just pick back up where you left off. If you are comfortable posting when you miss we can even say a prayer for time to work out so you can get in the Word. 

 

(Please correct my verse words if I messed them up. I am in bed and have no plans of getting up to confirm. 😜)

Day 4 

It is past the end of the day...I am so glad I got my reading from The Book of John in this morning because there is no way in a million years I would get it in now. I have learned this and said years ago that I never want to get up early to read my bible but I have never regretted doing it and I am always so glad I did! You can make small changes to your life that will make a long lasting ripple effect.

Day 5

Look at this, today is day 5 of my daily reading from the bible in John. See people, accountability works!! Just the simple act of setting my mind to something and posting about accountability has helped me get in the word every day since that decision. That is so huge and awesome. Today has been my favorite reading so far. John 2:12-25 talks about men using the temple courts for a market and Jesus was ticked to say the least. The part that I really looked at was the very end and I would love to hear your thoughts on it too! Verse 23-25 check it out and comment. ❤️

It is great to go back and even read what I posted not so long ago. God's word is always exciting and always alive and powerful. If you get in a funk where reading the bible is about as fun as walking through a pond of mud, that is OK. 👌🏻 

Before you start reading ask God to open your eyes to see his word in a new light. Pray for your heart to be open to what he is saying. Maybe pick a common section of scripture and study it. Look up the meaning of words and see if new insight comes with the well rounded definitions. Always push though the dry spells because blessings come when we push though those times. 

To be or not to be content, that is the question.

There are many places in the bible that talks about being content in all areas of our life. I have learned this and lived this many times over the years and I am finding myself walking through it again.

 This time I am learning that there is a good side and a bad side to being content.

14 years ago when Jerry and I stepped out into full time ministry we went from having a job that payed Jerry 6 figures a year to making about $400 the first few mths. We had just built a new beautiful house and lived there 3 mths before deciding to rent it out to save money. We needed a cheap place to stay and found ourselves in the upstairs rooms of this older woman's house that Jerry knew from his real estate office. We had just Gabi and Caleb at the time and they slept in one of the rooms that was half full of storage and half cleared for their beds. Jerry and I had our room, another room was packed to the roof with our boxes and the last room became our living room, kitchen, playroom, and office all combined. The bathroom was not only for the obvious but it was also where all the dishes got washed.
Did we love it? No, not at all. Were we content? Yes, most definitely. This was our situation and complaining about it did not change the fact that this is where we were. We were content in our situation, we knew it was not forever and were doing our best to change it. We had joy in the waiting.
This is an example of good contentment.

This week I realized that contentment had settled in with my pain since back surgery but it was not the right kind of contentment.

This is how I see the two being different. This is not a dictionary version of the definition.

See the difference is good contentment is having joy and peace in the situation you have been giving all the while continuing to seek God for guidance on what to do next.

Bad contentment is possibly having joy/peace in the situation but then staying where we are because we are good. It is being so content that we stop seeking God about what to do next. We might get a little freedom from some problem so we forget about it. We might get a little raise at work and it is just enough to pay the bills. There could be some freedom from the physical pain or even the emotional pain and it be just enough that we forget just how bad it was in the first place. We have just enough light at the end of the tunnel that we forget that the goal is to get to the end. Our eyes adjust so well to the little bit of light that pretty soon it seems good enough to stay right there.
That is the problem, God does not want half way for his children. If you are a parent you would never want you child to get half way unstuck and than stay there because this way is not as painful as the last spot. You would want full freedom for your children. God wants the same for you!

Last friday April the 29 I went to my physical therapist in a overall bad mood. She worked on my back and I left there feeling so much better. In fact my mood only went uphill from there, I even noticed that my pain level was decreasing by the slightest amount. I was a happy camper. 

Today is Wednesday, only 4 days later and this is when I realized I had slide over into the bad area of contentment. I was unstuck just enough that I was happy. I was content because it was way better than the last spot I was in.
When I was in the horribly painful place I was praying so often throughout the day and thanking God for my healing. I had joy and peace while I was there but I was always seeking God's word and heart about what to do next. Now that I was finding myself in less pain I stopped seeking God as often. I did thank him for my healing but it was not as much as before. I was going about my day happy because for the first time since surgery pain was not my constant thought. I was finally able focus on more things that blinding pain. 
Why is it that most of us only heavily seek God when our walls are caving in? How much better would our lives be if we sought God with that same passion even when our walls have support beams up?

I want to be content in all circumstances but I want to also seek God passionately in all circumstances.
Let's make it a goal to not be a people that get half of what we are praying for and than drop God like a bad habit.
Let's seek God and find out what is his heart for all of the todays and where he wants to take us for all of the tomorrows. 

The day I was thankful for pain

The other day I woke up feeling good. I had minimal back pain and to be honest the past week and a half I have felt ok. For the most part I know what triggers my back pain and I was being careful to avoid it. I began to doubt my need for the back surgery. I knew what the X-ray and Mri showed. I remembered being in so much pain that it put this level of depression over me that I was not used it. Yet, here I was walking the kids to school, going grocery shopping, cooking dinner, and even hosting parties. On the outside everything looked fine, a stranger would never know I was about to have or need back surgery. Even when answering the questions about what pain medication I am on and I answer "nothing more then ibuprofen" I start to question is surgery really needed? 

Then the other day I woke up and threw in some laundry, I carried some more clean clothes to my room, I folded and put away towels, and I even ironed some clothes. All normal activities and the laundry it's self I have done a million times but adding in the ironing and folding was too much twisting, turning, and bending of the back that it ended up causing terrible pain. I had to lay down, take some medicine, and cancel all evening plans.

 I daily live with pain in my lower back and I daily live with the sore muscles because they are over worked trying to protect the injured part but this day....like so many in the past...was above and beyond pain. Pain I can deal with, heck I have naturally given birth to 6 babies (5 earthly, 1 heavenly, in case you read this thinking "wait, she only has 5") 

but pain that makes me angry, changes my whole out look and I lose my joy, pain the cause me to miss out on time with my family because I can't get up or I am to cranky to pretend I want to hear a story, that pain is why I am having the surgery. 

I laid in bed so thankful for the pain, so thankful for the reminder of why I was doing this. Yes, I am sure I could go though life and never have the surgery and I would survive but isn't thriving so much better then just making it? 

I want to be the best mom God has called me to be, I want to be the best wife I can be and dealing with the root of the pain is so much better then finding ways to work around it. 

I realize that we do this with so many areas of our lives, we may get an emotional injury and it hurts but we figure out ways to work around it so it doesn't get inflamed. We are fine, we have no physical scars for people to see, we are not taking any pain medication or getting counseling because we are "fine" 

yet, one wrong activity, one wrong movement can bring back all the pain. One wrong word or memory can inflame the emotions and we remember why we are angry, hurt, rejected, bitter, or lonely. So many people do this but they quickly try to get back to the avoiding the pain. They don't use the pain as a reminder that the root of something is still there, they don't take the steps to get the emotional surgery they need. People then live life without joy, they are surviving and they may have moments of happiness but the pain out weighs everything. A wall is put up to protect, memories or activities or even people are avoided to not spark the pain. 

I am on the front side of dealing with the root of my back pain. You may be at the front end of dealing with your emotional pain. The idea that "surgery" is about to happen or needs to happen is scary. What if something goes wrong, what if I dealt with the root only to walk away more Injured then I was when I went it? 

I know my surgery will be long (3 hours) and the recovery even longer but the idea of being on the other side of full healing is well worth it. The idea of dealing with the root so that I can thrive in life is worth the jump. 

So yes, I am so thankful for that day (days) of pain. I am thankful for the reminder of why I am doing this. 

6 days and counting until I start my healing process. How many days until you start yours? 

 

Journal entry #1. 2 week count down

I, on purpose, bought a new journal to capture my thoughts in during this next season. I know the Lord will teach me things and I don't want to forget one minute of it. I want to be able to go back and see how I was feeling during this time. I have asked a few people about their own surgery but as time does best, it fades the memories. I don't want them to fade. This will be a really good season because God will be smack dab in the middle.
I am writing some of my journal notes in here. They will be choppy, they may not make sense, but this is me. 

3-7-2016
journal entry #1

Today marks 2 weeks until my back surgery.
*I am excited that it is almost time.
*I am nervous that the time is almost here.
*I wonder - did I miss out on God's super natural healing for me because I went ahead with the surgery-
*I wonder if this is God's healing for me and that through this other lives will be blessed.
*I have no fear of things going wrong.
*I am concerned I will feel this major need to get up too soon and help.
*I have thoughts (not concerns or even fears...just thoughts) that if I were to be paralyzed that this is my last chance to walk.....so I enjoy every single step like it is my last.
*I have thought that if i were to die this would be my last 2 weeks with my family....so i always make every moment count.
*I am not going to be paralyzed or die but the enemy likes to throws us a bone to see if we grab it and chew. I see the thought (the bone) and I move on, this is life. This is having victory. Losing is when we grab the bone the enemy threw and we make a full meal out of it.
*I love my bed now but I imagine I will be more then ready to leave it when the time comes.
*I have lost about 7 pounds the last few months from all my walking. I DO NOT want to gain it back while in slow motion life.
*I am excited to see how God will show up in this time. I know he has heard my prayers for super natural healing and bc it didn't happen like I wanted, I know he has got a great plan. I am thrilled to be in the middle of it.

Snack over load.

One of the (many) things I am trying to get done before the surgery is food prep. I know that people will bring meals and that is a huge blessing. I won't have to think about dinners. 

What I am thinking about is after I am up and can cook. I LOVE cooking and I know it will be something I want to do as soon as I am allowed. I am trying to make things easier for me by pre-prepping meals now and freezing them. 

I am also thinking of snack ideas for the family. I want quick snacks that are yummy but not full junk food. No need in teeth rotting out bc mom ain't in the kitchen. 

My mother in law (who is Korean) has this dipping sauce she makes. Jerry and Gabi love it and will dip cucumbers in it. 

I called her today so she could remind me how to whip some up. 

Being the true, amazing cook that she is she just gives a list of ingredients. 

Hot Korean paste. 

Vinegar

Sugar

Sesame seeds and oil. 

She said mix to taste but here is the problem. I am white, did not grow up ever eating this, and don't really eat it now. So mixing to taste is a no go. 

But I gave it a shot and will let my peeps be the ginny pigs. 

I did try it on eggs bc I was starving and why not....Just an FYI it is amazing on eggs. 

This will definitely happen again. 

Do you have any nice snack ideas that can be made ahead of time and even re-filled easily that work for your family? 

Start the count down.

The 21 days until I wake up with a new back. 

To say I am having to pray about a ton of things is an understatement. 

I am not nervous about the actual surgery per-say, I am more nervous that it will be for nothing. I do not want to go through it all only to have pain years from now. 

I also think a big challenge for me will be the resting after. I have been going non-stop for 18 years and to come to a screeching halt seems impossible. 

I have pushed through so much pain for years that to teach my self not to push through this too fast is going to take some leaning on the Lord. 

I have terrible sitting and standing habits and I know ALL of that needs to change to heal properly. I need major prayer in this area because almost 40 years of habits can be hard to break. 

My house. My family. Where do I even start? My kids are often saying that they have to do so many chores and yet they have no idea everything that I do to help them with their measly chores. They will soon find out. I want and I am praying for peace in my home during the next two months. 

I want accomplish a list before hand that is a mile long yet sometime this kind of thing puts me in bed rest to help the back. I am praying for an efficient pace to  finish strong without hurt. 

I love to serve and find it very hard to accept help in return. 

I will have to accept help. I may even have to ask for help. Lord help me. 

I will be writing more to document my thoughts thought out the month as the date gets closer. 

Please say a prayer as you think of my family.