Marriage Encounter

This past weekend my husband and I attended a Marriage Encounter weekend. I've been wanting to go to one of these for at least 20 years. Finally, my husband, unenthusiastically, agreed to go. We both felt like we benefited from it immensely and wished we had gone sooner. It feels like a fresh start. I felt like so many prayers were answered just from us taking this time out to spend together and picking up some tools to better communicate. So, no matter how long you've been married, don't quit trying to make your relationship grow, especially if you're in a place where you've given up hope. God has shown us over and over never to lose hope.
P.S. If you've never heard of Marriage Encounter, check it out at www.agme.org

It Is Finished!

It is finished the battle is over
It is finished there'll be no more war
It is finished the end of the conflict
It is finished and Jesus is Lord!

Some of you may recognize the words to this old song. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with it playing in my head.
I don't know about you, but I don't always cherish getting woke up during the night when the Holy Spirit is telling me to get up and pray. I also don't always love it when the alarm goes off really early in the morning telling me that it's time to roll out of my warm bed and spend some time praying and reading my Bible before I start my day. I love my time of devotions, but it's not always easy to get awake. But I know if I don't do it early, daily life will crowd in and too many times crowd out quality, quiet time with God. And I must take this time to pray. There are a lot of needs that I must make time to keep before God in prayer. I have friends and family who need God. There are needs in our country and needs in our church. It's not always easy to fast and pray and intercede for others, especially when I'm not seeing immediate results. But, as this song rolled over and over in my head this morning, I thought about the fact that one day it's all going to be over. I won't have to spend time in my already pressing schedule to pray for that one who is dear to me, because it'll be over. I won't have to be trying to keep my eyes open praying for that need that God has placed on my heart, because it will all be finished. It's a sobering thought. It's a privilege to pray and intercede for others, and we may not have tomorrow to do it.

What's Stressing You Out? What Do You Need To Lay Down?

This time of year can be very stressful. As if us ladies didn't already have enough to do, now we have to think about decorating, gifts, parties, Christmas dinner, and on and on. If we're not careful our spiritual lives suffer. Isaiah 26:3 says, " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee..." . Christmas is supposed to be a time of remembering and celebrating Jesus and His birth anyway, isn't it? If you're finding yourself stressed out, ask yourself if your mind is truly on Jesus? If it is, you should be at peace.
I know that a lot of the stress comes from the added financial burden that comes with the holidays. However, Hebrews 12:1 says, "...let us lay aside every weight...which doth so easily beset us." I'm not saying not to celebrate, but think about what is truly weighing you down. What's getting your mind off of Him? Is there a way you can make things simpler and less costly for yourself and your family this year? Is it really necessary to exchange gifts with all of the people that you do? Are you trying to not look cheap and impress with the gifts you give? Give something inexpensive, but fun this year. I think I'll share some of my own ideas and things we are doing in my next post. Anybody else want to share some of their own ideas?

Tips For Next Thanksgiving

Okay, my busy, frantic, Thanksgiving morning, was my own fault. For one, I am the worlds worst procrastinator. Secondly, my daughter decided to paint my kitchen the night before Thanksgiving. Well, that would have been fine if I had not procrastinated until the last minute to start my baking. So, we were up really late and I'm getting too old for that. Thirdly, a lot of my recipes are just in my head, so, it was easier for me to do most of the cooking, than to try to tell anyone else how to cook them, while I was trying to cook something else myself. It might sound like things were too crazy to be enjoyable, but that's not really true. I'm not complaining. I had a great Thanksgiving and really do love all the work that goes with the preparations. But, I did get an idea that I think will be helpful for next year, to make things a little easier (besides not procrastinating to shop and get started). First, I should make sure every little dish has the recipe written down. Before we get started, place the recipe along with all of the ingredients that goes in it, in the pan that it needs to be baked in. This may sound like a really simple thing, but if you have people there trying to help who aren't familiar with your kitchen and recipes, this should make it a lot easier for them to help. Second, don't try to bake your pies and paint your kitchen at the same time.

Learning Can Be Messy

Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Confession: I have a problem with giving up too soon on my learning ventures when they don't turn out so good from the beginning. I could learn a lesson from this baby. He is very persistent in feeding his self. And, I'm pretty sure we won't have to be washing him from head to toe after every meal for the rest of his life.

Lesson to self: Don't be afraid to learn something new. And keep trying, and trying and trying!

From Flop to Frugal

A few nights ago I tried out a new biscuit recipe. Well, I made a couple of substitutions, using what I had on hand and it didn't work out so well. They were edible, but just barely. No one asked for seconds, and I had lots left over. Being the frugal homemaker that I am, I can't bear to throw anything away if I can help it. It called for a lot of butter and butter is expensive. I also had some green apples that were awfully sour and were not getting eaten very quickly, so I decided to experiment. I first sliced the apples up in a pan. Then I crumbled the biscuits up in the food processor with some brown sugar and a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Next, I sprinkled the crumbs on top of the apples and baked it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. It was wonderful! The perfect warm, fall, apple crisp! I love the creativity that being frugal brings out in us.

Reflections

I know! I keep saying that I'm going to get back to blogging consistently, but I've still been having computer issues. Last night my husband spent a really long time on the phone with the Internet tech and hopefully we have things fixed for sure now.

Since my blogging has been so sporadic this summer, I thought I'd post some pictures of a few of the things that have kept us busy.

pic 1 - Hubby and I on cruise (anniversary gift from kids).

pic 2 - We went to Ft. Riley, KS to welcome son, Ryan home from a year in Iraq.

pic 3 - Nolan, our grandson, turned 1 yr old already! Here he is with his mom and day, Kara & Adrian.

pic 4 - My house has been getting baby proofed.

pic 5 - My husband with our son, Jonathan, in the mountains around Albuquerque, on our trip out to see him.