Food Network is not going to be knocking on my door!
I don't think I am a bad cook, in fact I think I can cook pretty well. However, last night I proved myself wrong. To my defense, I did not have high hopes for my dinner because I was having to work with tough chicken.
Let me take a sidebar here and give you a little advice that I have learned the hard way. In 2008 if boneless, skinless chicken breasts drop below $1.99 a pound there might be something wrong with the chicken. My mother clued me in on a great sale at her local grocery store. They had boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.64 a pound.
So what did we do...well we bought a lot because that is insanely cheap. Well, I cooked my second batch of said chicken last night and it is just plain tough. The reason the chicken was so cheap is probably because they were senior citizen yard birds.
Now back to my dinner. I was making a chicken ring (sounds gross doesn't it) where you shred your chicken and mix in other stuff and then wrap crescent rolls around it to form a ring. As you probably guessed this was a Pampered Chef recipe to be cooked on one of their stones. To go with my chicken ring I cooked beans and Velveeta mac-n-cheese. I told you I did not have high hopes!
We were all sitting at the table and my daughter (the one who promised she wouldn't forget me) immediately told us what she would and wouldn't eat. I am sure you can guess the only item she would eat. And then I started watching my husband. He had taken one bite of the a'la chicken ring and was trying to prepare himself for bite number two. He moved it on his plate several times before having the courage to actually pick it up with the fork. I started to laugh because I couldn't really make myself eat it either.
He did not pick up on what I was laughing about. He ate some beans and then moved back in for bite number three only this time he was really having trouble mustering the courage. He moved it back and forth on his plate. I guess maybe he hoped if his fork danced with the chicken ring it would taste better. Well, I just couldn't contain my laughter any longer.
I said "its disgusting isn't it?"
I added that they didn't have to eat it if they didn't want to. To which my son (who is 7) said "Well thank goodness!"
After church Chick-fil-A came to our rescue and served us some wonderful, tender chicken nuggets!
I think I am going to retire the chicken ring!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Forget Me Not
Last night my daughter, who is five, said the cutest thing to me. I was holding her in my lap before bedtime. She had just gotten her bath and was comfy in her pajamas. She smelled so sweet. She put her hand on my face and she said that she loved me. She proceeded to tell me that she was not going to forget me tomorrow.
I said, "Oh great, I'm glad you are not going to forget me tomorrow."
She added, "Every other day I forget you, but tomorrow I am not going to forget you."
I did what every good mother does and I pretended to start crying. I was playing with her and saying how can you forget me. So tenderly she said with her finger pointed in my face, "But tomorrow I said I was not going to forget you."
If she only knew how my heart made me want to eat her alive for being so cute. (Here in the south it is common practice to say that you could eat someone alive for being cute.)
Last night in bed I was retelling this story to my husband and we just laughed at how adorable she is.
I got to thinking this morning that I am a lot like my daughter. There are days when I forget my Heavenly Father. Some mornings I wake up running in fast forward and before I know it the day is over and I have not spent any time with Him.
It is important for my sake and also for my family's sake that I get intentional about spending time with my Father. No matter how my day starts I need to steal away a few minutes to "be still and know that He is God."
Will you declare with me "but today I said I would not forget you God!"
I said, "Oh great, I'm glad you are not going to forget me tomorrow."
She added, "Every other day I forget you, but tomorrow I am not going to forget you."
I did what every good mother does and I pretended to start crying. I was playing with her and saying how can you forget me. So tenderly she said with her finger pointed in my face, "But tomorrow I said I was not going to forget you."
If she only knew how my heart made me want to eat her alive for being so cute. (Here in the south it is common practice to say that you could eat someone alive for being cute.)
Last night in bed I was retelling this story to my husband and we just laughed at how adorable she is.
I got to thinking this morning that I am a lot like my daughter. There are days when I forget my Heavenly Father. Some mornings I wake up running in fast forward and before I know it the day is over and I have not spent any time with Him.
It is important for my sake and also for my family's sake that I get intentional about spending time with my Father. No matter how my day starts I need to steal away a few minutes to "be still and know that He is God."
Will you declare with me "but today I said I would not forget you God!"
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Joy!
I was on my way home this morning and got behind a small truck with a dog in the back. The large dog was in a wire crate. At the stop light, the dog decided to be brave and stand. When it stood, the wind took hold of it's jaws and formed a huge smile on the dogs face. It was hilarious! The dog decided to sit back down and face my car. I then got the full view of his huge, wind induced smile. What a sight!
You know sometimes my circumstances don't induce a smile on my face. Sometimes I get discouraged, sad and just down. What about you? Did you wake up this morning hearing the blue birds singing or did you wonder if they flew south during the night?
I am so thankful that my circumstances, whether good or bad, do not affect the joy that I have inside of me. Sure, my circumstances can make me feel happy or sad, but my joy comes from Jesus. My joy comes from knowing that I have a Savior who loved me enough to leave His throne in heaven to die for my sins. My joy comes from knowing that He will never leave me or forsake me. My joy comes from knowing that He has a plan and a purpose for my life. And my joy comes from knowing that one day He is coming back for me.
Do you have real joy? When happiness departs, joy remains because it is not based on circumstances. Joy is based on a person and His name is Jesus. Do you know Him? He wants you to know Him. He longs for you! May you experience the joy of knowing Jesus today!
Laurie
You know sometimes my circumstances don't induce a smile on my face. Sometimes I get discouraged, sad and just down. What about you? Did you wake up this morning hearing the blue birds singing or did you wonder if they flew south during the night?
I am so thankful that my circumstances, whether good or bad, do not affect the joy that I have inside of me. Sure, my circumstances can make me feel happy or sad, but my joy comes from Jesus. My joy comes from knowing that I have a Savior who loved me enough to leave His throne in heaven to die for my sins. My joy comes from knowing that He will never leave me or forsake me. My joy comes from knowing that He has a plan and a purpose for my life. And my joy comes from knowing that one day He is coming back for me.
Do you have real joy? When happiness departs, joy remains because it is not based on circumstances. Joy is based on a person and His name is Jesus. Do you know Him? He wants you to know Him. He longs for you! May you experience the joy of knowing Jesus today!
Laurie
Friday, August 22, 2008
Desires of My Heart...
I know that you are all wondering where I have been and why I have deserted you. I know everyday this week you have come looking and I have not been here. I am so sorry that I left momentarily. Just kidding, I know that your days went along just fine without any posts from me. I really do appreciate you checking in. Please don't just be a lurker, write me a comment and let me know you stopped by.
Well, you may be wondering what I have been doing. Unfortunately, it is nothing glamorous just cleaning and getting organized. But it sure does make you feel good when everything has a place. I have been wanting a large bookcase because I have books everywhere, but I did not want to pay very much for it. You see it is more for use than beauty and no one is really going to see it (I have it hidden away upstairs.) So this week I decided to go look at Goodwill and Salvation Army. I went to Goodwill first, but they did not have anything. I next went to Salvation Army and guess what was waiting for me. There standing tall and alone was the exact bookcase I had been wanting. I thought this was too good to be true, so I went right over to check out the price. The bookcase was only $10. I was more than excited. I took my little treasure home and began the fun task of cleaning out to prepare for the bookcase. So it has been a week filled with dust and stuff I didn't even know I had, but today as I type and look over at my glorious, organized bookcase I am very proud.
I have been praising God this week for my bookcase. You may think that sounds crazy, but I believe that God cares about every detail of our lives. It reminded me of the time I was dependent on hair wax. I went to the only store that carried the brand I liked and to my horror they decided to no longer carry it. That day I prayed right there in the aisle about my hair situation, remember I said I was dependent on it. I turned the corner and guess what my little eyes beheld...one last container of my hair wax and it was on clearance. (You will quickly learn that I love a bargain) Talk about having a revival, this girl had one! Now I am not of the belief that whatever I ask for God will give me. I am smarter than that. But I do believe that God gives us the desires of our heart. Do I believe that I always get what my heart desires, no I don't.
So is there some magical formula we can follow to always assure that we get what we want? I know the short answer to that, but I decided to turn to God's Word and see what He said. In Psalms 37:3-6 it reads:
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
I don't know about you, but three words jump out at me...trust, delight, commit. That seems like a pretty good formula to me. "Trust in the LORD and do good." It is hard to trust God sometimes especially when what He is asking of us takes us out of our comfort zone. But God desires for us to trust Him with all our heart even when it is hard. "Delight yourself in the LORD." I looked up the meaning of delight and it is to satisfy. Now read it "satisfy yourself in the LORD." When I think of satisfy, I think of wanting nothing more. Can I say that, can you say that, "we want nothing more than the LORD." Lastly, "Commit your way to the LORD." Once again I turned to Webster's to find the definition of commit and it says "entrust to another's care." Isn't that good! We are to entrust our way to the LORD's care.
When we do these things, I have found that the desires of our heart line up with His ways. It becomes less about getting what we want and more about serving Him. So, how do I explain my bookcase and hair wax. I don't really know, but I do know that I want to trust Him more, satisfy myself with Him and entrust Him with everything. How about you?
Well, you may be wondering what I have been doing. Unfortunately, it is nothing glamorous just cleaning and getting organized. But it sure does make you feel good when everything has a place. I have been wanting a large bookcase because I have books everywhere, but I did not want to pay very much for it. You see it is more for use than beauty and no one is really going to see it (I have it hidden away upstairs.) So this week I decided to go look at Goodwill and Salvation Army. I went to Goodwill first, but they did not have anything. I next went to Salvation Army and guess what was waiting for me. There standing tall and alone was the exact bookcase I had been wanting. I thought this was too good to be true, so I went right over to check out the price. The bookcase was only $10. I was more than excited. I took my little treasure home and began the fun task of cleaning out to prepare for the bookcase. So it has been a week filled with dust and stuff I didn't even know I had, but today as I type and look over at my glorious, organized bookcase I am very proud.
I have been praising God this week for my bookcase. You may think that sounds crazy, but I believe that God cares about every detail of our lives. It reminded me of the time I was dependent on hair wax. I went to the only store that carried the brand I liked and to my horror they decided to no longer carry it. That day I prayed right there in the aisle about my hair situation, remember I said I was dependent on it. I turned the corner and guess what my little eyes beheld...one last container of my hair wax and it was on clearance. (You will quickly learn that I love a bargain) Talk about having a revival, this girl had one! Now I am not of the belief that whatever I ask for God will give me. I am smarter than that. But I do believe that God gives us the desires of our heart. Do I believe that I always get what my heart desires, no I don't.
So is there some magical formula we can follow to always assure that we get what we want? I know the short answer to that, but I decided to turn to God's Word and see what He said. In Psalms 37:3-6 it reads:
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
I don't know about you, but three words jump out at me...trust, delight, commit. That seems like a pretty good formula to me. "Trust in the LORD and do good." It is hard to trust God sometimes especially when what He is asking of us takes us out of our comfort zone. But God desires for us to trust Him with all our heart even when it is hard. "Delight yourself in the LORD." I looked up the meaning of delight and it is to satisfy. Now read it "satisfy yourself in the LORD." When I think of satisfy, I think of wanting nothing more. Can I say that, can you say that, "we want nothing more than the LORD." Lastly, "Commit your way to the LORD." Once again I turned to Webster's to find the definition of commit and it says "entrust to another's care." Isn't that good! We are to entrust our way to the LORD's care.
When we do these things, I have found that the desires of our heart line up with His ways. It becomes less about getting what we want and more about serving Him. So, how do I explain my bookcase and hair wax. I don't really know, but I do know that I want to trust Him more, satisfy myself with Him and entrust Him with everything. How about you?
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pork Chops Anyone?
I love to watch the Food Network. I am not a great cook by any means and I get pretty bored with my repertoire (yes, I had to look up how to spell that word). I watch the shows in hopes that one day I will go in the kitchen and magically be able to whip out a gourmet meal all the while looking fabulous in full make up and nice clothes. It has yet to happen! However, this weekend I watched Down Home with the Neely's and they actually cooked something that I thought I could do. I went to the grocery store and purchased my first frest herb, cilantro. My goal was to prepare marinated pork chops with a pineapple fruit salsa. It sounds delicious doesn't it. I started preparing for dinner before lunch time today which was a first for me. I assembled my marinade which consisted of honey, olive oil, fresh garlic, jalepeno pepper, cilantro, fresh squeezed lime juice, salt and a dash of red wine vinegar. I bought nice thick pork chops just like the ones the Neely's cooked. I was excited. I could just hear the cheers from my family as I plated my beautiful chops with pineapple salsa tumbling down them.
My husband came home from work and grilled our beautifully marinated pork chops. When he brought them in they looked delicious. The honey in the marinade had glazed the chops just like the Neely's said it would. My mouth was almost watering. I served my husband his chop and surprised him with the fruit salsa. He said it looked good. I then fixed my plate and I could not wait to get a bite of the pork chop. The Neely's had friends over when they served this meal and every one was moaning and groaning with delite as they ate. I was anticipating a few moans and groans of delite from my own dinner table. I sank my teeth in to the first bite and I could have swore some one traded my beautiful, honey glazed pork chop for a piece of shoe leather. It was so tough! I could not taste the garlic or even the salt for that matter. It was just a regular ol tough pork chop. I tried not to act disappointed, but my eyes had deceived me. What looked so wonderful on tv and so wonderful on my plate, left so much to be desired.
Isn't that what satan does to us daily. He tries to entice us with things that look nice and appeal to our weaknesses. I was reminded of the Garden of Eden and how delicious and alluring he made the fruit look to Eve. We are quick to judge Eve and wonder how she could fall for his scheme. But if we are honest don't we do the same thing. I have decided to get more passionate about hating satan and the lies he tries to get me to believe. Everything that looks good is not always good. My pork chops are proof. Everything that sounds good is not always truth.
I know that it takes more than passion to combat satan. We have to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord. We have to know the Truth of God's Word so we can identify lies. We have to be ready for battle everyday. Let's suit up in the armor of God and show satan that we are not going to be easily fooled.
Ephesians 6:11-17
11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
My husband came home from work and grilled our beautifully marinated pork chops. When he brought them in they looked delicious. The honey in the marinade had glazed the chops just like the Neely's said it would. My mouth was almost watering. I served my husband his chop and surprised him with the fruit salsa. He said it looked good. I then fixed my plate and I could not wait to get a bite of the pork chop. The Neely's had friends over when they served this meal and every one was moaning and groaning with delite as they ate. I was anticipating a few moans and groans of delite from my own dinner table. I sank my teeth in to the first bite and I could have swore some one traded my beautiful, honey glazed pork chop for a piece of shoe leather. It was so tough! I could not taste the garlic or even the salt for that matter. It was just a regular ol tough pork chop. I tried not to act disappointed, but my eyes had deceived me. What looked so wonderful on tv and so wonderful on my plate, left so much to be desired.
Isn't that what satan does to us daily. He tries to entice us with things that look nice and appeal to our weaknesses. I was reminded of the Garden of Eden and how delicious and alluring he made the fruit look to Eve. We are quick to judge Eve and wonder how she could fall for his scheme. But if we are honest don't we do the same thing. I have decided to get more passionate about hating satan and the lies he tries to get me to believe. Everything that looks good is not always good. My pork chops are proof. Everything that sounds good is not always truth.
I know that it takes more than passion to combat satan. We have to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord. We have to know the Truth of God's Word so we can identify lies. We have to be ready for battle everyday. Let's suit up in the armor of God and show satan that we are not going to be easily fooled.
Ephesians 6:11-17
11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
No Need for Portion Control!
I have peaked your interest haven't I. I have never been very good with portion control. I really enjoy some good food and have been know on occassion to enjoy some bad food. Pretty much I just like food. My mother tells me I came into the world that way. Well, I want to share with you a "portion" that you can heap on your plate and loose all control with.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:24
Finally, a diet I can live with! Do you know what I have found? The more I make Him my portion the more satisfied I am with every other part of my life. How satisfied are you with your life? Maybe you are trying to cut back on the wrong things. Try a little more Jesus, increase your portion of Him by spending more time in His Word, by spending more time in prayer, by spending more time with other believers and just see what He will do for you.
Well, I want to leave you today with my favorite verse of scripture and I think I like it so much because of the sweet taste my Jesus leaves in my life.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalms 34:8
All these analogies of food are making me hungry. I have had breakfast, but I am not above a mid morning snack.
Have a great day in Him!
Laurie
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:24
Finally, a diet I can live with! Do you know what I have found? The more I make Him my portion the more satisfied I am with every other part of my life. How satisfied are you with your life? Maybe you are trying to cut back on the wrong things. Try a little more Jesus, increase your portion of Him by spending more time in His Word, by spending more time in prayer, by spending more time with other believers and just see what He will do for you.
Well, I want to leave you today with my favorite verse of scripture and I think I like it so much because of the sweet taste my Jesus leaves in my life.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalms 34:8
All these analogies of food are making me hungry. I have had breakfast, but I am not above a mid morning snack.
Have a great day in Him!
Laurie
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Waiting on the LORD...
Psalm 130:5-6 reads "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."
Today I was helping my son determine what type of punctuation should go at the end of a list of sentences. We read the rules regarding the different types of sentences and the punctuation that should be used. Based on the punctuation mark that you give it, the sentence can almost change meaning. I thought about that when I read the title I gave this post...Waiting on the Lord.
Go back to second grade with me and let's give it a punctuation mark.
Waiting on the LORD? Posed as a question it begs an answer.
Waiting on the LORD! The exclamation mark displays strong feelings and emotion.
Waiting on the LORD. With the simple period, it is a statement.
So what mark best applies to you right now? I know for me, I am waiting expectantly on the LORD with some pretty strong emotion. Yes, my soul waits for Him more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
May you seek the Lord as you go about your day!
Laurie
Today I was helping my son determine what type of punctuation should go at the end of a list of sentences. We read the rules regarding the different types of sentences and the punctuation that should be used. Based on the punctuation mark that you give it, the sentence can almost change meaning. I thought about that when I read the title I gave this post...Waiting on the Lord.
Go back to second grade with me and let's give it a punctuation mark.
Waiting on the LORD? Posed as a question it begs an answer.
Waiting on the LORD! The exclamation mark displays strong feelings and emotion.
Waiting on the LORD. With the simple period, it is a statement.
So what mark best applies to you right now? I know for me, I am waiting expectantly on the LORD with some pretty strong emotion. Yes, my soul waits for Him more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
May you seek the Lord as you go about your day!
Laurie
Welcome!
I am very excited to be making my first post on my new blogspot. This is pretty exciting for someone who is not very techno savy. So, welcome and check back often for posts. I would love to hear your comments.
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