10 Things

10 Things the enemy of your soul would love for you to be:
1. Forgetful
2. Thankless
3. Discontent
4. Unforgiving
5. Tunnel Visioned
6. Anxious
7. Undisciplined
8. Pain free
9.  Joy-less
10.  Self lover

Yummy Travel Food

1.  Gluten Free Homemade Trail Mix

            1/2 c. Slivered Almonds

            1/2 c. Rough Chopped Pecans

            1 c. Rice Puffs

            1/3c. Dried Goji Berries

            1/2 c.  Raisins

            3/4 c.  Sunflower Seeds

            1/2 c. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

            1/2 c. Chocolate Chips

Mix all ingredients into a gallon zipper bag.  Shake to mix up.  Place paper cups with family members names into zipper bag, if there is room.  Serve portions in cups and “drink” trail mix….less mess by avoiding hands in chocolate!

2.  Easy Beef Jerky

            1 lb. Lean Ground Beef

            1 TBSP Ketchup

            2 TBSP Soy Sauce

            1TBSP Worchestershire Sauce

            1 TBSP Chili Sauce

            1 tsp Red Pepper sauce

            1 tsp onion powder

            1 tsp garlic powder

            1 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients with hands or mixer.  Press into 1/4 inch thick patties or desired shape.  Place into dehydrator for 4-5 hours (155 degrees) or until jerky cracks when bent.

3.  Banana Chips

            12 ripe bananas (soft when squeezed through peeling...the riper the banana the sweeter the chips)

Line dehydrator with parchment paper. Slice bananas using the slicer attachment for a food processor.  Don’t worry about making mush…it won’t matter in the end.  Spread processed bananas onto the lined trays with a spatula; keeping thickness to between 1/4”- 1/2" thickness.  Dehydrate for 12 hours (135 degrees) or until bananas no longer retain spots that are soft and sticky.  Peel parchment paper off of bananas.  Cut into desired sizes with sterile scissors.

4.  Lunch Meat and Crackers

            1 package of lunch meat cut into 2 inch square pieces

            1 package of crackers

Place desired portions into sandwich bags and serve on the road.

5.  Miscellaneous food ideas for the car:

            Popcorn without the butter and salt as these make it messier

            Snack bars

            Fruit

            Gum with Xylitol and no sugar, aspartame  or other artificial sweeteners (this will actually help to keep the teeth clean in between brushing)

            No Corn Syrup Suckers (Yes indeed they do make those and they taste better than regular suckers)

            100% Fruit Leather

            Any vegetable cut up and served in sandwich bags

            Pecans, Walnuts or shelled Pistachios mixed with raisins served in sandwich bags

6.  Enjoy!!

Being a Christian

     As a mom, I really want to do the best I can do for my kids and be there for them as much as I can.  I want to be a good wife and keep my house clean and laundry done.  On the other hand, I have these callings that God has placed on my life plus not to mention that I have to help earn an income for our household.  Because of my Celiac Disease, food allergies, and my families miscellaneous food issues, I cook three meals a day from scratch on most days.  Does this sound familiar to your life with your own unique challenges?  Some weeks, I admit, that I  get stressed out with the pressure of everything that I have to do.   I have experienced long periods of time where my attitude is way less than desired.  When life gets this way, I have cried out to the Lord for help.  I ask Him how I should juggle and what I should do.  Should I quit my volunteer ministry work at the Women's Correctional Facility?  Should I just let my house go and let it get dirty?  I know that I can't quit my job and I won't quit my family.  Where does that leave me? 
     Some time ago the Lord began to speak to my heart about the way He wants me to live my life.  He began to give me an image of my life as a blank canvas.  Because of my attitude at the time, I was seeing myself painting big black ugly streaks across the expanse before me.  The next day, I would receive another white canvas cause I'd messed up the one from the day before; I would again grab for the ugly black marker and angrily scar up the sheet.  This process repeated.  One day, a few months ago, the Lord gave me a vision for what I could do instead.  Everyday is new and fresh "with no mistakes in it" (a quote from "Anne of Green Gables"...by the way is an awesome movie).  The Lord tells us in His word:
     Lamentations  3:22-23--"The LORD'S  lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,  For His compassions (or mercies) never fail.  They are new every morning ; Great is Your faithfulness."

Well, I gathered that the Lord wanted me to purpose newly everyday with this blank canvas to make it as beautiful as I could.  Though being no artist, the best I envisioned was a canvas with streaks of bright and beautiful colors.  With every opportunity that He gave me, I needed to make the most of those opportunities.  This realization really stirred up joy in me and gave me a bounce to my step and I would do well and keep this mentality for several days....then something would happen and my attitude would crash again.  The enemy is so good at realizing when we are making right choices.  They do everything in their power to try and screw that up for us.  Though, I must say too, that sometimes the enemy doesn't have to do anything at all and they just stand by and applaud as I do their willing all by myself.  But God....(don't you love "But God" statements?) in His great mercy, would remind me and add a little bit too of what His desire was for me.   I would repent and start over again.   This cycle repeated itself for many months.  Each cycle I would go a little longer with the right mindset and less time with the black marker.  I had almost gained victory, I could feel myself inching closer. 

    A few weeks ago, my husband made a declaration for us as a family.  There would be no more complaining....himself included.  He had strongly sensed from the Lord that we had grown to be a family of complainers.  He was convicted that we had become like the Israelites in the dessert.   Their complaining had become synonymous with idolatry....ewww...when he spoke these truths to us....I knew he was right and I knew that this was what was holding me back from complete victory in this area of my life.    I spent the whole next day grieved by my horrible complaining.  I prayed all day, at my jobs and at home, asking for God to give me the supernatural ability to stop groaning and complaining.  I knew that in and of myself I was incapable of stopping this behavior.  All I knew to do was to take each moment a step at a time and trust that the Lord would give me the guidance and help I needed to have mini-victories. 

   Since then, I have discovered a freshness to my life.  Although I get physically tired, I no longer seem to struggle with "all that I have to do".    I still have my moments that I fail....I quickly repent and get back on track (isn't that what being a Christian is all about?).   I gotta do what God has called me to do!  I am learning to give myself to the Lord and to paint that canvas with beautiful colors at that moment; whether it be in selling a pizza to the pre-teen at school, to calm a crying child, to drive according to the limits of the law, to bake waffles and fix dinner for the 10,000th time or to listen to a woman who has lost everything for the third or fourth time.  It is in this that "I can do all things through Him that strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). 

Being a parent

This is my first born, Joshua. I think of him as my bulldozer. He pretty much paved the way for the other two.  I was 23 years old when Joshua was born.  I had no idea what I was doing. I knew to feed him and love him.  When he grew to be a toddler, we spent hours playing games, reading books, and going to the park. Darren worked long hours when Joshua was young, so he pretty much had my undivided attention.   My successes with Joshua:  I didn't let him get away with much.  Since we spent so much time together I discerned his strengths and weaknesses pretty early.  I protected him from negative influences pretty well and disciplined him fairly consistently.   My failures:  I forgot to teach Joshua how to do things like keep his room clean, and be disciplined in the day to day things.  He would get into trouble for a messy room but I never taught him how to keep it clean.  I supposed this was something that would come naturally....it didn't ;)   Currently, Joshua is 20 years old.  He is going to college full time.  He is in Army National Guard.  He also works a part/full time job in a correctional institution.  He is one of our "sound guys" at church.  He loves Jesus and serves Him daily.

This is Alexis.  She is 12 years old.   This is a common position for her.  She is on the couch working on her laptop doing homework.  Her goal this year is to maintain straight A's in school (7th grade).  Three quarters into the year and so far so good.   Alexis has been a pretty easy child to raise.  She has a very good and easy going temperment.    My most challenging moments with her were when she was a year old and kept getting very ill.  After several months I finally found out that she was lactose intolerant and allergic to peanuts.  Alexis is a very capable little mommy.   As a matter of fact, I have found myself making the mistake, at times, of letting her be mommy....not a good plan.  I have to remember that she is a child and that she isn't mature enough to have that much responsibility, even though she may want it and appears to handle it well.   I am not sure I can take much credit for successes with her.   She hasn't required much discipline.  I have spent many hours talking with her about just normal growing up issues.  Alexis is very involved in AWANA and shares her devotions with us every morning at breakfast.

This is Lydia Joy.  A picture, here, is worth a thousand words!  Her name means "to travail with joy".   She is true to her name!   Although we are seasoned parents through our own children and through foster children, we seem to come up short on how to handle Lydia sometimes.   As a baby, Lydia had a very difficult character to deal with.  She would not sleep for more than a few hours at a time and would not take naps.  She bit me and hit me which I found unusual for such a young child.  Her doctor suggested a book...of which I can't remember the name. The book spoke about getting a child on a solid rhythm of sleeping and eating.   She was pretty close to one but the one thing I wasn't doing was putting her to bed very early.   So I began putting her to bed at 6 pm.  The first night, she slept all the way until 6 am.   After a few weeks she started taking regular naps.  AND!!!...she stopped her defiant and angry behavior.  She is 6 years old now and she still needs to be in bed 5-6 nights out of the week by 7:30 pm.   She is able to sleep-in now which was never a possibility in the toddler years.  She is much more peaceful and her behavior is so much more compliant when she eats right and gets enough sleep (Lydia has to be on a gluten free diet as well).  She is truly a joy to have around.  She is very unique and makes us laugh with glee regularly.  We are looking forward to watching her grow up.