A Good Leader

So on Tuesdays the younger two kids have a sports class called Sporties For Shorties.  It is a great way for the kids to get some exercise and learn sportsmanship.  The kids have so much fun.  And last Tuesday was rock wall climbing.  The kids strap on the ropes and harnesses then climb this 20 foot rock wall- ok, so they might not climb all 20 feet, but they do their best.  I watched as the children- scared and unsure- climbed up as high as they could go.

There were two different coaches who helped the children climb.  As I watched the children climb up, I started noticing that there were differences between the two coaches.  I noticed that one of the coaches was repeatedly getting the children higher and on the rocks longer than the other.  At first I thought it was just a coincidence with the children who were going to the respective coaches.

As I watched, I noticed that there were certain qualities that first coach had over the second.  The first coach (whose students were not getting as high) was quick to tell the kids to grab the ropes and swing down.  In fact this coach seemed to almost encourage them to get down faster. The children left this coach just as scared and unsure as when they started.  The second coach would encourage the kids, cheer them on.  He was patient and pushed the kids past where their comfort zone was.  The coach would wait for the kids to really be ready before the swing down was suggested. He asked them to go beyond what they thought they could, patiently waiting and setting them back when they came off too soon.  He was there if one of the kids fell and they were always in his confident hands.  The kids with this coach not only got higher on the wall, they came down excited and proud.  The other children seemed afraid and unsure.

As I watched the differences between the coaches.  I started thinking about how God treats us.  He is patient, He encourages us, and He pushes us.  He asks us to step outside our comfort zones and asks us to go beyond what we think we can do.  He always has us in His confident hands and will catch us when we fall.  We may be afraid when He brings the challenge in our path, but at the end we grow and are stronger and more confident.  Aren't you glad He isn't like the first coach??  Aren't you glad that there is a God who is there to guide us in the right foothold and won't let us fall down????

God bless!!

What I Wore Wednesday

 So I thought I would do this new thing- There is a really great blog/store called The Pleated Poppy.  She is over there encouraging bloggers to just get dressed and share what they wore.  I thought I would join in the fun.

(Don't mind the car in the back!)  This is what I wore on the way to church this Sunday.  Dress- Converse for Target a million years ago, vest- American Eagle from 3 years ago, boots- can't even tell you when.

Ok- the jeans!!!! I resisted buying colorful jeans.  Then I saw them on a real grown up and they looked so cute!!  I decided that I, too, would join the colorful jean movement.  I bought these shocking babies at Ross for $10 (so if I hated the colorful jean movement it would not be a huge dent in my pocket).  The white undershirt- Marshalls $10, tank- Good Will find $4, handbag- Good Will- $6, shoes- target a million years ago.

This was the Date Night outfit.  Jacket- Marshall's last year- $20 (a great investment.  I wear it constantly) sweater and under tank- White House Black Market- gifts from my wonderful Mother In Law, Jeans- Miss Me- birthday gift last year, shoes- Charlotte Russe from years ago.


So I am linking up with Pleated Poppy, if  you want to see other outfit ideas- that is a great place to get them!!!

Date Night....And other fun

So Bryce and I had a date night.  It was the first in a LONG time!  Well, if you don't count the dr appt I took him too a couple weeks ago.

(Sorry for the dark pic!!)
   It was so fun to get away with my loving husband!  Date nights around here take planning, with my gluten issues (celiac) and the fact that we are vegetarians, eating at places can be a real chore.  There is a great Greek restaurant in our town-Taverna.  It is amazing, they do the "OPA!" dance and flame throwing.  It has REALLY good food!!!  I called ahead and made sure that they had food for me (they special made a gluten free vegetarian moussaka).

Then we went to a great movie.  We saw The Raven, it was a good movie, maybe a little gory- but good. It was very suspenseful and entertaining.  It had me reminiscing on poetry.  I used to read a lot of poetry when I was younger.  So on the way home I read The Highwayman to Bryce (if you like love, poetry, or a good story in general, look it up....and for you all, just because I can and in honor of Edgar Allen Poe, here is another one of my favorite poems (much shorter than The Highwayman)

Annabel Lee
By Edgar Allan Poe

  It was many and many a year ago,
          In a kingdom by the sea,
    That a maiden there lived whom you may know
          By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
    And this maiden she lived with no other thought
          Than to love and be loved by me.

    I was a child and she was a child,
          In this kingdom by the sea;
    But we loved with a love that was more than love-
          I and my Annabel Lee;
    With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
          Coveted her and me.

    And this was the reason that, long ago,
          In this kingdom by the sea,
    A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
          My beautiful Annabel Lee;
    So that her highborn kinsman came
          And bore her away from me,
    To shut her up in a sepulchre
          In this kingdom by the sea.

    The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
          Went envying her and me-
    Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
          In this kingdom by the sea)
    That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
          Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

    But our love it was stronger by far than the love
          Of those who were older than we-
          Of many far wiser than we-
    And neither the angels in heaven above,
          Nor the demons down under the sea,
    Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
          Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

    For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
          Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
    And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
          Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
    And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
    Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
          In the sepulchre there by the sea,
          In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Changes and Cinco De Mayo!

It has been forever since I have written on this blog. And I am making some changes!!!  I am going to be blogging daily- m-f.  I am going to make a pattern- to this stay tuned to see what they will be about!!

This Sat was Cinco De Mayo- also known as in our family as Nani's birthday (what my kids call my Mother in Law).  Daddy had all the kids call Nani- who is off having fun in New York City!!!  So we stayed here and had a little Mexican themed fun.  We had a nice time with our lovely neighbor and her daughter who came over and we had a Mexican-style meal.  So for those of you who don't know, we have gone plant based.  I won't say vegan, because we occasionally eat cheese or local eggs (rarely) so our meal was sans animals.  There was some yummy beans (homemade local pinto beans ) and rice and calabacitas AKA summer squash -Sorry no pics  :(  - the camera was MIA during that time.  I wanted a margarita- but didn't want to share, so the margarita mix stayed put.  It was ridiculously filling.  But there is always room for cookies!!!!!


The one thing that did stand out from the meal......my new discovery.  I had a last minute craving for cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies!! These are gluten free since my body hates gluten....darn celiac. But these cookies make you forget Celiac!!! They were SOOO Good!!! Best part is that they are vegan....so the dough is NOT off limits!

Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies- vegan/gluten free

2 tbs cinnamon

1 1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup potato starch

1 tsp xanthum gum

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup vegan brown sugar

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1/4 cup vegan shortening

1/4 cup margarine

2 tbs flax

3/4 c water

3/4 c chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 365

melt shortening and margarine in the microwave.  Add sugar and cinnamon and mix. In a separate cup put flax and 2 tbs of water together, wait a minute for it to gel.  Add to the sugar/margarine mix.  Add in the salt, starch, flour, xanthum gum, and baking soda and mix.  add in the rest of the water and stir.  Finally stir in the chocolate chips then cool in fridge.

  Then spoon the cookies onto a pan with parchment paper or that has been greased.  Bake for 10 -12 min each and then let cool for 3 minutes each pan and remove to a separate plate. 

And enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

The Left or The Right

This morning I was reading Joshua 23, Joshua was speaking to the people of Israel. He warned them about becoming one with the other nations that surrounded them. In v 6-8 he warns them not to stray from the laws of the Lord, but to cling closely to the miracles and blessings He had given them. Joshua warns them not to look to the left nor the right from the law.

The path is very narrow to life , Jesus himself tells us so. We must be careful to follow the laws of God closely and to obey Him in our words, walk, and our wisdom. With our words- we must be careful and choose them, every idle word spoken will be held to account. I heard someone say- weigh your words carefully, you do not know yet how heavy they are. With our walk- we must daily pick up the cross and walk in a manner fitting to our calling. Jesus said we would show our love for him in how we obey him, that is easier said than done and at times it really means going against the flow. We cannot do things simply because we did them as children, or because our parents did them, or because Bob the elder at church said it is ok- is Bob God? Who ranks higher- God's law or Bob's law? Be Bereans and sift everything you do with the word of God. With our wisdom- when you are making choices or giving advice to others, whose wisdom are you using? Are you using the World's wisdom? Do you line your wisdom up with what Us Weekly said is true? Or what God's everlasting word says is true?

These are important things to remember. Everyday be in touch with God's truth and his words, this is critical for being tapped into what He says is righteous. Be righteous, like Christ is righteous, for we are made righteous through him. This blessing is beautiful but it comes with a responsibility. The responsibility is to show the world who the Lord is. You are His ambassadors. You are the way they know who Jesus is. Go, love one another and walk in a way becoming to a servant of the Lord. Do not look to the left or the right, stay fast on the narrow road to truth!

The Spots

We had our carpets cleaned today, it was long overdue. Having lived in this house for 2 years now we have had our share of spills, pet stains, dirt being tracked through the house, etc. Our carpet had started out a light beige color, however, after three kids, and random pets running through the house made that beautiful beige carpet morph into a dingy darker brown colored carpet.

The potential for the carpet was not the brown. That was what happened when we didn't maintain it as we should have. When we allowed the carpet to be dirtied up and didn't fight against the small stains as they came about. Soon, after a few years the whole carpet looked dirty and was a whole other carpet. So today when we had the cleaners come and clean the carpet the put the carpet back to its clean and cleared up potential. Our carpet is once again a beige and clean beauty. However, it was a lot more work and a lot more money than it had been if we had decided to spot by spot and spill by spill clean it, or if we had regularly been cleaning it with a smaller carpet cleaner.

We are the same way all things are like that- the second law of thermodynamics says that if left to themselves all things deteriorate rather than develop. This is true of our health, our homes, our relationships, our sinful nature. If we don't take care of the things in our lives they destroy. This is what frustrates me about Christians when they say about sin "it's ok- I am forgiven by grace" or "God knows I am human, it was a small sin so I don't have to correct it" or some other such nonsense. When left to its own devices our sinful nature will take control. Slowly- like the spots in my carpet. If we are careful to take care of the little spots in our lives, like the little messes in our homes, we can keep our spiritual carpets clean. If we don't then they will take over our lives.

Character Challenge

We have recently started having some challenges in our home. I had a serious surgery on my foot a little under a month ago. I am not allowed to put weight on my foot for a total of 8 weeks so that is giving me just over a month more of not being able to walk. For a woman who has two small children and looks at running as an equal to chocolate in a feel good blessing in life- that is a serious challenge. I have found that housework is often not possible to accomplish and as such my home looks like a college frat-house, my children are having to solve their own issues more often as I cannot run to the rescue- or run at all for that matter, and my attitude is absolutely grumptastic! (My podiatrist offered Bryce some meds to deal with me in my lack of mobility!! tee hee)

This has given me a time to really think about the times in life when things are a challenge. God allows us to go through difficult seasons in our lives- some more than others. These are times when we are supposed to be learning something. It is so easy to just complain about the challenge. It is easy to forget that God is in control. However, if there is a lesson to be learned in this season of challenge- it is well suited that we are quick to learn it! Otherwise, the liklihood is that we will be blessed to repeat it!

I know that first hand in my life. I have had to endure the same challenge a few times in my life. It is primarily my dependence on others as opposed to God. In past experiences I have been more likely to draw nearer to friends or significant others than I have to draw nearer to God. I recently have learned (after about 4 different seasons of the same trial) to draw nearer to God when dealing with big trials in my life. I advise that instead of following in my stubborn footsteps that all of you, dear readers, would trust only in the power and comfort of the Almighty.

James 1:2 tells us to "Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of all kinds" This sounds like a joke- seriously? rejoice in trials? Yes! I say wholeheartedly that we can all rejoice in trials. Now I don't suggest we all go out and beg God to try us- that will come on its own! But when it does come, I suggest you look at it as an opportunity to grow more into the image of Christ. It is a beautiful joy to become a more lovely and into who God has envisioned for you to be!