Well, this past several days have been pretty good!   The words from my mouth (and from my fingers on the computer) have been (for the most part) reflective of an attitude of gratitude.   I am thankful to my Lord and Saviour for showing me how the world had crept back into my heart and was pouring forth from my mouth.   So, now that the mouth is under control, everything is hunky dory right?   NOPE!!!!   It’s still in this heart of mine!   I find myself still with an inner attitude of negativity.  Thankfully I have a knowledge of just what it is now, and it isn’t pouring forth….. you know what I mean?       I am  so thankful that I have the Holy Spirit to show me these attitudes of the heart…..I’ve been praying daily (and sometimes hour by hour) for healing.   And I know that God is working on it, but I keep taking it all back.

Why is it that we hand it over to God and give Him control, and then take it all back?   I surely hope I’m not the only one that does that!   I so desperately want a heart that reflects Him from the inside out in ALL of my attitudes and in ALL situations, not just most of them.   And when the Holy Spirit shows me where I’m holding onto the world, I give it to God but it really doesn’t take long before I’m taking it all back…..why?   Why do i torture myself that way?      I know why…..it’s a process!   God’s word says that we are a work in progress until the “day of completion”….which I believe is the day we die or the day that the Lord returns.    Thank you Lord for continuing to show me just how much you love me through the work that you continue in my life!   I pray that I could finally hand all of the negativity over to you so that we can work on the next thing

Tonight’s dinner used up more leftovers, thawed meat that had been in the fridge for a few days, and an abundance of veggies.   So tonight I used my mandoline and made 12 zucchini squashes into  “noodles” (it was nearly 10 cups of zoodles).   I had 6 italian sausage links that I cut into disks, and 8 slices of tri-tip roast that I cubed up, half an onion that I diced and a jar of spaghetti sauce (Ragu Sweet onion & garlic).   I sauteed the sausage and tri-tip and onions together until the sausage was cooked through then I added the sauce and let it sauce simmer for a few minutes with the meat.   In the meantime I had brought a large pot of chicken broth to a boil (actually it was water with chicken broth powder mixed in) and then just before I was ready to serve I dropped the zoodles into the broth and let them cook for about a minute and half to two minutes.  I drained them in my colander and tossed them in with the sauce.  Served it all with parmigianno regiano, green salad, and fresh cantaloupe.   It was a WONDERFUL dinner…..even my zucchini hating kids enjoyed it so much!   LOVED this dinner and looking forward to making it again!

Well, so far this year, we’ve attended 1 college graduation party and had many of our young friends graduate from college this year, we’ve got a weekend filled with high school graduation festivities with many of our friends’ children (and some of our children’s friends) graduating from high school, and it goes all the way down to a precious friend  who’s daughter just graduated from Kindergarten yesterday…….  Many new stages of life for these young people, and many activities to attend…..busy busy busy!    And it has me thinking about needing to do some brainstorming for the planning of R’s high school graduation in a couple of years.   We aren’t part of a school group, so we will do our own graduation (hopefully with other independant homeschooling families).    I am looking forward to the planning of this! :)   I want it to be a very special day for our girl full of blessings and surprises

This “graduation season” is the beginning of a very busy summer!   We have a week off now before the kids are involved in our church’s music camp (it is a VBS that also involves learning and performing a musical at the end of the 2 weeks)….the two younger girls will be participating, and the two teenagers are leading small groups, and Momma gets 40 hours of quiet!!!!   10 days and 4 hours per day…..QUIET BLISS!!!!   I do look forward to this two weeks each year :)  The day that music camp ends (the last day of their performances) R & H leave to go to Awana Scholarship camp for a week, and then everyone is home for a week before M leaves for his Jr. High Houseboat Camp.  Then the day after he gets home from Houseboat Camp R leaves for her 2+ week missions trip to Fiji.  We have a week off when she returns and then we start school, and D and I go with our high school group to their annual beach retreat to cook for them ( we have another couple that cooks with us).    VERY busy summer!   Will FLY by!     At least we will get a weekend at the beach in there….REALLY looking forward to that!  And hoping to plan another beach weekend for just D and I at some point during the summer/fall.  We could really use a retreat weekend!

Today’s daily devotional from the New Life Daily portion of the Crosswalk.com devotionals  was awesome!   And a timely message for me….

The main scripture verse for today’s devotional is

Luke 11:9

⁹“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

I realized this morning after reading the devotional that my trend lately has been to turn to God for help when I’m at the end of myself and my own resources instead of turning to Him at the very beginning of anything and everything.   Now don’t get me wrong, I do seek His guidance on most everything, but when trials come my normal M.O. (at least lately) has been to try to go it on my own first, and then when I’ve totally made a mess of things that’s when I turn to my Father in Heaven for help.   NOT what He wants us to be doing.   This scripture is very clear that we are to seek Him first, not when we get into trouble, but FIRST before anything ever has the chance to get into trouble.   I know that in my personal situation, if I were to seek Him first in my day, my hour, every situation, every interaction….if I were to seek Him FIRST my attitudes would be more Godly, and the Holy Spirit would be more readily able to intervene instead of having to get around my stubborn will.   If I’m seeking Him, and allowing Him in all that I do/say/think the negative attitude and world’s way of dealing with things wouldn’t have any way to worm their way in to my heart.

Lord, I pray that I would remember to seek You first, and that that would become a habit, and that through seeking You first in all things, that my heart would be softer towards life and my fellow man.  I pray that You would continue to reveal Yourself  through Your word, and in my heart!  Bless this day, and all that I may come into contact with today.  I loveYou Lord, and I live my life for You!

I know that I have blogged about something similar to this before, but when faced with needing to decide whether to make the planned dinner for tonight or the plethora of leftovers that is overflowing in my refrigerator, I decided to do the responsible thing and use up the leftovers.   SO I decided that I am going to make beef hash (similar to how I’ve done it before with potatoes, onions, peppers, but after my middle daughter sharing many meals with some friends of ours and having “hash” made in a style from New Foundland (which includes cabbage) I’m going to cook up the leftover coleslaw mix (raw veggies, no dressing on it) and add that to my hash.   So I’m going to make beef hash, eggs, and a big fruit salad.

Whew, I am ever so thankful for today!   Woke up this morning feeling pretty good about everything!   Spent time right away with the Lord and just committing my day to Him and then I got online to check an online devotional that I found yesterday.  It is a daily devotional that I used to read faithfully, but had gotten out of the habit of doing online devotions when I started doing women’s Bible study, and now I’m finding that I really would like a daily devotional in addition to whatever I’m doing.   I have always found that when I’m going through a crisis whether it is an actual physical crisis or a lesson from God crisis (like right now where God is doing some pruning and refining) that if I look at devotional guides or scripture of the day or anything like that, they tend to be there for me for that day as a special little gift of God.   Today was no different!   So I go to the website and click on daily devotional for Wed, June 3 and this is what I found!

The Right Kind of Attitude 

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness,
but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
2 Timothy 1:7 HCSB

If you want to defeat Old Man Trouble, you’ll need the right kind of attitude: the positive kind. So what’s your attitude today? Are you fearful, angry, bored, or worried? Are you pessimistic, perplexed, pained, and perturbed? Are you moping around with a frown on your face that’s almost as big as the one in your heart? If so, God wants to have a little talk with you.

God created you in His own image, and He wants you to experience joy, contentment, peace, and abundance. But, God will not force you to experience these things; you must claim them for yourself.

God has given you free will, including the ability to influence the direction and the tone of your thoughts. And, here’s how God wants you to direct those thoughts:

“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8 HCSB).

So, the next time you find yourself dwelling upon the negative aspects of your life, refocus your attention on things positive. The next time you find yourself falling prey to the blight of pessimism, stop yourself and turn your thoughts around. The next time you’re tempted to waste valuable time gossiping or complaining, resist those temptations with all your might.

And remember: You’ll never whine your way to the top . . . so don’t waste your breath.

We are either the masters or the victims of our attitudes. It is a matter of personal choice. Who we are today is the result of choices we made yesterday. Tomorrow, we will become what we choose today. To change means to choose to change.
John Maxwell

We shouldn’t deny the pain of what happens in our lives. But, we should refuse to focus only on the valleys.
Charles Swindoll

Today’s Prayer

Lord, I pray for an attitude that is Christlike. Whatever my circumstances, whether good or bad, triumphal or tragic, let my response reflect a God-honoring attitude of optimism, faith, and love for You. Amen

Ok, so once again, I broke down in tears!!!!   THANK YOU LORD!!!!   It was just what He’s been showing me, and now He’s shown me another verse to meditate on!!!!   GOD IS SO GOOD TO ME!  And I truly don’t deserve it, but I am very thankful!

So far today I am having a really good day attitude wise.   When I’ve started to get negative, I’ve just meditated on the Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing unto you Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” and He has brought me through!

Another verse that He has given me in the midst of all of this is…

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”- Proverbs 15:1

How true is that????   If I am gentle in my words/thoughts/actions, then the negativity around me will really mellow out.  But if I’m reacting to it, not only will it make the attitudes/thoughts/words and actions of everyone involved more negative.

Thanks for sticking with me on this

Last night we had a precious friend from church over for dinner.   She is a college student and is serving as a youth intern this summer at our church.   I made chicken tacos and was out of the seasoning that I normally use, so I thought “rather than running to the grocery store, I’m going to make my own”.    SO, I took the stems off and shook the seeds out of 4 guajillo (sp?) chili peppers (they are dry and come in bags in the mexican food section of your grocery store in clear plastic bags), and tore them into about 1″ pieces.   I placed the chili pieces into my spice grinder (a coffee grinder that is reserved specifically for grinding spices), added 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds, 3 whole black peppercorns (yes, 3 individual peppercorns), and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.   I processed them in the grinder until they were a powder and seasoned my boneless skinless chicken breasts with them and let them stand for about 45 minutes before I poached them, and then shredded them for the tacos.   I added the 1 1/2 cups of water with the spices that came off the chicken into the shredded chicken meat to keep it softer and I have to say, that is THE BEST chicken taco meat I’ve EVER made!   I think making my own spice blend using real chilis (dried) was definitely the secret to my success

Well, last night I slept horribly and woke up this morning feeling very “blegh” (not blah, but blegh).    While I was in the shower I was crying out to God and asking Him what else I need to turn over to Him to be put into the Refiner’s Fire (let me tell you, I DO NOT want this lesson to take long to get through…..it’s very painful!).   He showed me some major control issues and other things, so I confessed those to Him (YUCK, I say so much YUCK is in my heart!!!!   God clear it out!) and those led to a few other things (all things of my heart/attitude/tongue).   Well, let’s just say that I had to send an apology note to 2 different people this morning asking them for their forgiveness.     The scripture that I’m meditating on today is one that one of my friends shared with me on Facebook yesterday……

Psalm 19:14

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

So today I am mediating on that scripture all day!   That is my prayer today.   My heart’s song to my Lord……

Lord,  may all that I think, say, and ponder over today be pleasing in Your sight!   You ARE my Rock and my Redeemer!   Thank you Lord for the lessons that are even hard learned!   I’m drawing near, Lord, I’m drawing near……

Yesterday I came to the realization that a very negative attitude has festered in my heart.   I came to this realization when I had to apologize to a friend for the 2nd time in the past week.   What really stinks about this is that this friend is a Godly man that I have a lot of respect for, and I have just been really trampling all over him lately (no this isn’t my husband, but I’ve been doing the same thing to him ) and the whole reason is because I have allowed those old voices those old negative thoughts and attitudes about everything, EVERYTHING get rooted in my heart again!   During the night I had a dream, I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I know that it had to do with those icky things being rooted in my heart…..I knew that it was a dream from my Father that loves me more than I will ever deserve and wants me to be my very best with Him reigning every area of my life!

This morning I woke up with a part of a verse running through my head and my heart so I went to my favorite online bible resource  and found that they have a verse of the day……

“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear … Read Morefrom their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”- Revelation 21: 2-4

My heart’s desire for my life and the lives of our family is that we would all be as a bride beautifully dressed for her bridegroom…..that we’d all be clothed with righteousness. And that the dwelling of God would be in my heart and radiated through my mouth, attitudes, thoughts, desires, goals and dreams. Thank you Lord for the healing that I know is ultimately coming!!! And for giving me this verse today!

So after I found that verse (and did a facebook status update thing on it, then went and spent some time in the kitchen), I did the search for the verse I was looking for…..the portion that I was meditating on was “take every thought captive” so I did a search on those words because I couldn’t remember the reference or the rest of the verse.   Well, when the verse came up I did what I usually do and clicked on the “verse in context” link so that it will give me the verses around it to put it into context….. this is what I got!

¹By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! ²I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. ³For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

It hit me right in the face that I’ve been waging war as the world does!  By hurling my words (which haven’t been prayed over, they are just regurgitating from a heart that I have allowed the things of this world start to take root in again) and negative thoughts and attitudes, I have been justas the world is.   So my prayer today, this week, and every day (I hope) from this day forward will be that I would wage war in the complete knowledge and guidance of God, and that I would be obedient to Christ and that I would take every thought (and attitude) captive!   Lord begin anew this work in my heart!

Good morning to my loyal readers…..you all are MUCH more loyal than I am as a blogger!   Sorry

I wanted to get my menu plan down for the next several days to hopefully encourage others as we are coming into a busy time of year…..May and June are full of end of the year concerts, dance recitals, music recitals, graduations, parties, etc.   I think it is really important to plan ahead during these busy times of year.   Here’s my menu plan for the next several days:

Friday, May 15, 2009

• chicken tacos
• mexican rice using brown rice
• green salad
• homemade mango sorbet

Saturday, May 16, 2009 (Daddy’s cooking!!!)

• grilled sausage and pepper sandwiches
• chips
• fruit
• maybe some potato salad?

Sunday, May 17, 2009

• hamburgers
• homemade mac & cheese (probably cooked on the grill, because it’s supposed to be 100+ degrees this weekend)
• green salad
• veggies

Monday, May 18, 2009 (hopefully going to have company :))

• kefta kabobs (I will cook them like this )
• pita pocket bread
• tzatziki
• greek salad
• cupcakes for dessert

That’s all I have planned out for now, but at least I have that much planned