Friday Finds

Check out some good blog series written this week:

Cindy Beall A Life of Generosity (good thoughts--read the whole series)

Anna Meadows Little Things I’ve Learned Living in a Big Family (written from a home educated graduate’s perspective)

Great posts to check out:

Scott Williams: Church Diversity (are we being intentional when we teach our kids about diversity, or are we teaching them anything at all?

Keri Austin : Cars with Overbearing Christmas Wreaths (A great perspective on waiting)

Crossroads Movement
– my new blogging friend, JW, from the Washington DC area. Some great words on “marks” – (you’ve just got to read it)

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We had Black Beans and Brown Rice for dinner last night! Yum! Check out this healthy, high-fiber recipe:

A few modifications: I used a pound of dry beans and simmered them for several hours. (easy, if you’re home.) I always rinse the canned ones---the finished appearance is better. Try one can for each two servings. Add water to desired consistency.

I didn’t measure the vegetables---just put them in the food processor and chopped them up and added them to the beans about an hour before we ate. The peppers were not jalapenos!

I didn’t add any oil or red pepper.

I added a package of turkey kielbasa, sliced, in place of the ham.

We ate this over brown rice, which I cooked and served separately. Add hot sauce as desired. Even my teen boys and three grands that were here liked it.

Next week: Things I learned from my husband

Choices (Part 2 of 2)

Encourage Yourself

It’s another overwhelming day. Everything has gone wrong. The kids are especially loud and disobedient, they have left everything they played with all over the house, and the rice you left simmering on the stove has now burned to a nice black crisp on the bottom of the pan. No one has called to check on you today and you’re feeling more than a little bit lonely and forgotten.

OK – maybe the scenario for you isn’t the same, but we’ve all had days when it seems like no one even cares. No one is there to lift you up and encourage you.

Well, guess what? The same thing happened to David in I Samuel 30. David and his men had been away from home, battling the enemy. While they were gone, the Amalekites raided and burned their city and took away the women and children. When David and his men returned, they found their homes destroyed and their families gone, (including David’s wives). They were distraught! And in their distress, David’s own men started talking of stoning him! Now, that’s what I call having a really bad day. It trumps dirty diapers and cranky kids any day!

The story goes on in the very next verse to tell us David’s response: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. (KJV) Wow! His wife couldn’t encourage him; his friends had rejected him. Guess who was left? Only himself! He had to encourage himself!

Once again, it’s all about making a choice. Do we drown in a sea of our own self-pity, or do we choose to pull ourselves up and be encouraged? Sometimes, you are all you have. With God, I’d say that’s MORE than enough!

Are you going through something difficult? Do you need to encourage yourself?

Choices (Part 1 of 2)

Determine in Your Heart

The year was 1990. I was pregnant (again….) and Katie, our fifth child, was nearing 4 years old. I remember sitting on the porch swing, praying (agonizing, really) and reading my Bible. And I distinctly remember making a choice. Right then, I determined in my heart that I was going to enjoy this pregnancy. I even took that thought a step further. I was determined to enjoy this child.

I can be quite a self-willed, self-directed person. And I’m not condoning that sort of behavior. In fact, I believe the Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us to do this, if we allow him. I am suggesting that sometimes we have to make a decision in our hearts to force ourselves to choose the right thing, or the right way. It almost has to be a gritting-your-teeth, digging-in-your-feet determination. And sometimes, that determination or choice has to be made over and over again, many times in the same day or even the same hour!

Whatever you may be struggling with today, consider making a determination in your heart to choose God’s very best for you. Don’t allow your old thought patterns to pull and weigh you down. Make the choice to reach out and accept the grace and power that is there for us all. Determine in your heart that you’ll make the best of any situation you’re in.

Oh, and on the pregnancy, it wasn’t such a bad one, but the baby that was born, Kody (now 15 years old) was an extremely difficult baby. It’s sure a good thing I determined to enjoy him! Even through the difficulties of an extra-cranky baby, I often reflected back to that choice I made on the porch swing.

I really did enjoy him. And I still do!

The Student Becomes the Teacher

This week I e-mailed a blog I was working on to my daughter. What I was really looking for was confirmation I was making sense, heading in the right direction. What I received back were some red marks, noting some grammatical errors and a few suggestions to make my writing more complete and concise.

I tell you this, not so you can feel sorry for me, or think that she was being rude. Or even to try to figure out which article received help.

I tell you this to encourage you.

This same child I worked with on spelling, grammar, writing, life skills, emotional and spiritual direction, and every other attribute a mother tries to convey to her daughter has now become my teacher! She has surpassed my skills as a writing teacher, praise God! Her gift of writing has not been hindered by my lack, ineptness or insecurities, for she has a Teacher who has no lack.

I pray she surpasses me in every area of her life!

A Perfect Christmas

I’m sure by now you’ve got your advent calendar out, your lesson plans for teaching generosity and the timeline of the Magi’s travels all worked out. Did you remember the coloring sheets of the maps of travel to Bethlehem and the family lineage of Mary and Joseph memorized so you can share it with your kids? Oh, and you handmade your wreath, already addressed your Christmas cards and remembered to get enough of the same color wrapping paper so your gifts can all be neatly wrapped like the magazine picture, and you found the recipe for Sugar(free) Plums and remembered to get all the ingredients while you were at the store. Right? Right?

OK, so maybe I’m overdoing it a bit. But, admit it. You often feel guilty if you don’t try to do something new and exciting for Christmas. You want your family to have some great memories.

This can be a very hectic time of year with many extra activities, the making or purchasing of gifts; there are additional meal preparations, additional guests, additional services at church, etc, etc.

I remember some of the most spiritual, memorable Christmases we had when the children were young were when we made life easier by relaxing, and keeping things very simple by:

*Lessening the academic load for December
*Limiting the amount of time we were away from home to the “musts”.
*Spending more time reading, listening to music, doing puzzles, playing games, and just being together
*Not fretting about the decorations, the food, the gifts

The best memory your children can have of Christmas is not the gifts, or the creative things you made or baked or taught them. It’s them knowing that you love them; that they come before any Christmas trappings or holiday concerns you may have. This year, keep it simple. You’ll like yourself better, and so will your family!

Soup Search

El Chico has the best chicken tortilla soup around. It’s our favorite rainy-day place to eat out. The problem is, they are no longer located in Edmond (the closest one is May and Britton) so Dirk and I have been on a quest to find a substitute. And we haven’t found anything that even comes close!

El Chico’s soup is a savory, thick, red enchilada-type sauce poured over grilled chicken breast, shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, tortilla strips, and cubed fresh avocado. Yum! It warms you all over!

We’ve recently tried the tortilla or enchilada soups at:

On the Border – it was ho-hum and the service was really lousy
Planet Subs – a good bowl of soup, but missing the tortilla chips and salsa
Los Arcos – a local Edmond restaurant. The bowl was very pricey -$9.00!! (eek!) and it wasn’t even close to that good!

So, I ask you. Do you have a suggestion for a place to get a good bowl of chicken tortilla soup?

Not Enough to Go Around

By the end of the day, you’re a frazzled mess. Today your only “alone” time was in the bathroom and that was with a child or two beating on the door and crying for you. Everyone needs you at the same time (even your husband, bless his heart). You wish you had a clone, or at least a full-time housekeeper, chauffer, and teacher! There’s just not enough of you to go around. And guess what? You’re right! And it’s ok! Really! In fact, it’s a good thing.

It gives you opportunity to teach your children

*that some needs are greater than others. (A baby, a sick or special needs child)
*patience (waiting without complaining)
*independence (learning to play by themselves, if necessary)
*leadership (older children can take care of many needs of younger children)
*life isn’t fair (and neither are moms and dads) ; )

So, take a deep breath. Learn to rest in the truth that as moms we’ll never be enough to everyone.

And go lock yourself in the bathroom for five minutes again.