A little computer-challenged...

So it managed to post twice and then I tried to delete it...and I don't know how...so...yeah, I'm the smart one!!

Hahah...it's ok, I don't mind. Have a great day!

:D

The Problem isn't the Problem!

Sometimes bad days happen. Sometimes bad weeks happen. When everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. The washing machine breaks. The kids get sick, YOU get sick. You break your great-grandmothers salt shaker. You find an over due bill that fell behind the desk. You hear bad news from some friends. You have a co-worker that is really obnoxious. It's been rainy, cloudy, cold and drizzly until you think the sun went on vacation! It just is going bad.


But. Through it all, it's not the problem that's the problem. It's us. It's how we react to the problem.


It's not easy to react well sometimes. After all, who really likes being sick? But you can take that time to let others practice service and learn serving skills by serving you. You can rest and take in all the blessing you have.
About that salt shaker...you really loved your great-grandma, and she's been gone for several years, and it hurts. That's all there is to it. But somebody is watching you react. Do they hear you say a bad word? Do they see you pitch a fit? Sulk? Or do they see you simply sweep it up and react with grace. Some one is going to see you, even if it is only God. Maybe that co-worker just grates on your nerves to no end. But what does our lives as Christians demand? That we turn the other cheek, that we go the extra mile, that we give them our coat also, that we heap burning coals on their heads. (go look at Romans 12:20 if you don't understand)


I always think about what Paul said in II Corinthians 4:17 "For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory;" Do you know what Paul's light afflictions were? II Corinthians 11:23 "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft." And on down through verse 28. Beatings? Imprisonment? Death? I know for a fact that my 'bad' days are walks in the park compared to Paul's bad days.


So let's all try a little harder and look a little deeper. Sit down, count your blessings, look the problem in the face and see where the real problem is. Go to God in prayer and go to His word- Psalm 46:10- "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Jehovah of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."

Let the problems of life just be stepping stone for growth, not stumbling blocks that set us back.

"Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:4-7

A few thoughts while sweeping...

I was sweeping the mud room today and the thought crossed my head- Our house would be so much cleaner if I swept the mud room every day. We walk through the mud room every time we come into the house. It's where we keep the shoes and coats, etc. That's where we bang our shoes, wipe our feet and then go into the main part of the house. And if I swept it every day, we wouldn't be tracking in all the dust and dirt into the main part of the house. Sounds simple, right? Not a cure all, but it would definitely help!

I know my mind is simple, but here's what it made me think: Do I need to sweep my "mud room" every day? What are the things I'm allowing to enter my head, my mind, my heart? I'm not necessarily talking about big sin issues, but little things that can get us down and clog up my life. Like the dustiness of a negative attitude. Or the little clumps of discontent and nagging tongue. What about just a general lack of responsibility?

Every morning I have the choice of waking up, sweeping the mud room; that is going to help keep a lot of the dirt out of the house. Not all of it, but it will help.
Every morning I have the choice of waking up and being responsible and "sweeping the mud room" of my mind. Removing all the little things that can keep me from being the kind of Christian, first of all and sibling and daughter, second of all, that I can be.

Here is a thought that encourages me to no end. And is a nice ending to what I'm trying to say-

...lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith...
Hebrews 12:1&2

"If it's not billowing black smoke, it's probably ok"

That's what I told my little brother Silas when he came in and told me to come smell my food that was in the oven! When I checked, it was fine, just smelling yummy! If you hadn't noticed...I love to cook. :) Like a lot!

In my last post I mentioned Tomato Soup...well here's the recipe! It's kinda a mix of several...we all liked it fine...especially with melted cheese sandwiches! Enjoy!

Simple Tomato Soup

1 onion, minced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart tomato juice
1 large can diced tomatoes and one can rotel blended
a little extra tomato juice if needed.
sweetening to taste
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
basil to taste
2 cups 1/2 and1/2
1/2 tsp. soda

Saute onion and celery in a little butter until just cooked through. In a stock pot heat broth, and tomato juice (all of it!) . Add onions and celery. Season with the basil, garlic (small amount!), salt and pepper. Taste soup, adjust seasoning and add sweetening. (not too sweet) Right before serving turn soup off and add soda. (the soda keeps the 1/2 and1/2 from separating) Stir in 1/2 and 1/2 and serve with melted cheese sandwiches.

Did I mention these are good with melted cheese sandwiches?! Haha...oh by the way, it would be even better if you had melted ham and cheese sandwiches, as this is a little low on protein. Plus, you could also make some really yummy hot chocolate to go with the general atmosphere of a cold winter day and eating warming, favorite food! :)

"All hands to the kitchen!!!"

Well, first let me say that I finally figured out that you can click on that little tab at the top right hand corner when you're typing your post out and "compose" means you can actually dress it up, not just have the plain layout of "edit Html"! Oh yeah! I'm the smart one! So! Moving on!

Today was a coldish rainyish kind of day...you know the kind where you like to eat warm food and watch a movie! So for lunch I decided to make Tomato Soup and Cheese Melts. (Melts because we are low on bread. So single slices and those left over biscuits work just fine! By the by, I made TWO batches of bread this week. TWO!!!)

So picture this: Miles is washing dishes and Nathan is drying. Anna is making pizza dough for supper and DJing the music for us. (it's movie music-Pirates of the Caribbean, Cowboys, Quigley Down Under, Lord of the Rings, Chicken Run, Narnia, to name a few!) Naomi is grating cheese and making the melts, Silas is setting the table and doing little tricks for me, and I'm making Tomato soup. Now in case you don't really know me, 1) I love to cook and 2) I love to tweak recipes. So I had looked up Tomato Soup on-line and scribbled down a few notes on my handy dandy marker board. So I was happily fretting over my soup and consulting my board.

The kitchen was filled to the brim with people and teeming with humming, singing, harmonizing and conducting of music, questions, conversations and reminders to go around!

"Silas, paper plates and bowls" "Nathan! Will you please rinse!!" "Miles you just sloshed the water!" "Is this enough cheese?""What part of the movie is this from!?" "How many pizza's should I make" "Lollie, how many do I set for?" "Could you hand me a squeegee please?" "This music is nice!""Could you taste the soup?"....

So then, suddenly, the melts are melted and smelling great, the soup is done and awaits the final test...whether it's edible or not....we call Dad and Mom in and have a lovely lunch. It's calm, it's peaceful, and cozy. It's another typical meal and time with my family....and I love it! :)

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

"Sun is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." -John Ruskin

"For he saith to the snow, Fall thou on the earth; Likewise to the shower of rain, And to the showers of his mighty rain." Job 37:6




The snow had begun in the gloaming,
And busily all the night
Had been heaping field and highway
With a silence deep and white.

Every pine and fir and hemlock
Wore ermine too dear for an earl,
And the poorest twig on the elm-tree
Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

From The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell

"When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I'll know I'm growing old."
Lady Bird Johnson

"We're gonna rock around the clock tonight..."

With the calender saying 'January' and all, I've been thinking about time. Here are some of my thoughts kinda jotted down...if this were on paper, they would be nice and neat with a round dot in front of each one! So keep that in mind...:)

-What is time? Is it 60 seconds, 24 hours? Weeks? Months? Years?

-Is it the wonder of a newborn baby or the beauty of age and wisdom in the wrinkled face of a grandmother?
Is it a small child counting down to their birthday? Or an adult pretending it doesn't exist?

-We relate time to things like "the year I bought the sports car" "the time we went to New York City" "the day we got married" "Junior's first birthday when he ate so much cupcake he got sick" etc.

-We say, next year I'm going to get that scrapbook done. Next week, I'm going to meet my sister and go shopping. Tomorrow I'm going to go grocery shopping. But do we really know that will happen?

-We measure time in years. Last year was 2009. In the space of one second so many held their breath and celebrated the next year, 2010. What makes that one second so special? Another year? Or is it just another day?

-Time never stops. It keeps going in an unending cycle. Sometimes that seems sad. Sometimes it's welcome! Sometimes we need time. I wish I could learn to be better about letting time go instead of hanging on and digging my heals in and missing things.

-Do we let time get away or do we let time rule us? Time is an unchanging part of life. But we can decide how we react to time.

I'm not saying celebrating a new year is bad...far from it! I'm not saying making resolutions is bad, I actually have one! But I wonder what our lives would be like if we treated everyday like we do New Years day? What if we were thankful for a brand new day, and a brand new chance to try our hardest at following Christ and living our lives?

"But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." II Peter 3:8

"What is your life? For ya are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." James 4:14

"Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16