Quote

"I'll choose to believe that sometimes the happiest ending isn't the one you keep longing for, but something you absolutely cannot see from where you are." 


-from Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist

Yummy Recipes to try

I loved Ree Drummond's book From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels and have loved all the recipes of hers I have tried. I am excited about her show and am going to try these recipes soon!


Chicken Spaghetti on the Food Network


Apple, Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad on the Food Network

Crazy Hair Day

THE WISDOM OF C.S. LEWIS: On Forgiveness

THE WISDOM OF C.S. LEWIS: On Forgiveness: "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.  This is hard.  It is perhaps not so h...

Cheese

Practical God

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” -Matthew 14:16


Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
Francis of Assisi
Read more athttp://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/francis_of_assisi.html#LQdwEDXhMcY7aIfL.99

Butterfly

A young boy found a cocoon, and seeing how hard the insect struggled inside, split the cocoon with his camp knife, thinking to let it escape. Instead, the nascent butterfly died. A butterfly collector told him that it's the struggle within the cocoon that gives strength to the butterfly and enables its wings to grow and develop. Only then can it emerge and go free.

Tired Supergirl Book #3 - I Blame Eve

I came across Susanna Foth Aughtmon's first book advertized in a magazine and instantly connected with the snippit I read and ordered the book. I loved it and much to my delight did I discover her blog and later got the opportunity to read AND review both her 2nd book and most recent installment "I Blame Eve". Much like her other writing I love her wit and relate to her as a wife, mother, and a woman with a heart for Jesus.

What spoke to me the most about this book was how so closely we relate to Eve. We were made to expect a perfect world, a perfect life. When we examine Eve we realize, we are her.  "In the presence of God, the devil has no power. You have just given him more power in your minds than he deserves." (pg 70 I Blame Eve). What I realized is that we, like Eve, have to trust that God has our very best in minds and that no plan we can come up with could be better. It would have been great to be Eve and experience that perfect world for even a little while but "God is no longer offering us Eden" (pg 81). Ouch.

That last line about punched me in the gut because she's absolutely right. God isn't offering perfection here on Earth any longer. Just grace, hope, and forgiveness so that we can have a perfect life with him in heaven someday. Someday. Sigh. However, there is great power in weakness, in other words, submitting control of our lives and our strife towards perfection to God gives us peace. If we don't "Sometimes God chooses to pry our manipulative fingers off the so-called steering wheel of life by using the school of hard knocks." (pg 142). I am glad she too has to forge the fight to follow everyday (or even every hour). That's not easy to admit being a pastor's wife. With my husband starting seminary in just a couple of months it helped me to hear it.

I highly recommend all of Susanna's books (and blog) including this one and bottom line -"Don't mess with the snake".

Kid Funnies

So my son has informed us that Momma is the only one that gave him life. Papa did not contribute.
I. love. this. I am now on a rolling joke about how "Papa is pretty lucky I picked him to be the Papa". LOL.

Course we are not going to have "the talk" at 6 but I did tell the boy that God picked Papa to be his Papa too.

Classic.

Not that I'm braggin' but....

I am....I had a check-up at my doc's office this week and I came out clean as a whistle. BP 100/70.....YES!!!I was a little worried after all that job stress and what not. Check out these stats:

Component	Your Value	Standard Range	Units
Cholesterol	154	100 - 199	mg/dL
Triglycerides	45	0 - 149	mg/dL
Chol HDL	97	>39	mg/dL
According to ATP-III Guidelines, HDL-C >59 mg/dL is considered a negative risk factor for CHD.
VLDL Calc	9	5 - 40	mg/dL
LDL calc	48	0 - 99	mg/dL
LDL/HDL Ratio	0.5	0.0 - 3.2	ratio units

Finding Myself

This is me after about 5 months at my last job:

pretty ain't it?........NOT. I start a new job next week and I am oh so hopeful. This week, well, I finally feel a bit like myself again. Thank you Jesus....and thank you playlist.com... it ROCKS ;-)

Two great reads

I am reading two very therapeutic and highly recommendable books:


Kristin's book is funny and relatable. Makes me feel like I am not alone, and what I really need is perspective and a good laugh.

 Great devotional that I read in 2010 and is proving very helpful again during some "bumps".

Perspective on Work: A blessing and a curse

It's been hard going back to work and I have really not settled in to it. I could argue my particular job is above average in the stress department but my husband argues, so are a lot of peoples. I keep trying to get perspective, be thankful, and settle into my full-time job but every time I do some very off-putting thing happens at work and I think to myself (and God), really? Not to mention, since we have found out officially that Chris is going to seminary this summer, the joy I feel about it is drowned by the overwhelming pressure of supporting the family the next four years with my meager income at a less than satisfactory job. I just want to feel settled, if not somewhat satisfied, with this whole working thing. Should I suck it up and just smile or do I keep searching, maybe I just haven't found the right job yet.

Then I talk to people who have a lot more stress balls to juggle than just their job: marriage, divorce, finances, faith, illness and I wonder...maybe I just need to get. over. it. I am blessed, more than I deserve, isn't that enough, and really aren't we to be thankful in all circumstances and isn't God going to grow me exponentially from this? Yes, sure, but still I made a list of pros and cons of my current, um, situation. Here it goes:

Pros:

• HEALTH BENEFITS (above average I would say)
• Paid Time Off (17 days and 10 holidays, not too shabby)
• Good commute and free parking
• NO overtime (because it's not in the budget)
• Customers (though some call me from the fiery pit of hell, most are sweet old ladies from churches that say "You are a genius" or "God bless you" or "I love you!", much appreciation, most of the time, from the customers anywho.....management well that's another story
• Bookstore discount
• Co-workers (mostly outside of my dept) who are encouraging and can relate to the stress because they work there too
• Small cash Christmas bonus and a new Kindle (which I love, love, love)

Cons:

• Pay
• Workload/stress
• Tardy policy/stringency (one minute late and we will document it, 6 and we can fire you, lovely)...even though I am only paid for the time I am clocked in, duh
• Time clock (a subtle way of saying, "we don't trust you" and "we are watching")
• 30 min lunch (don't be a minute late or we will mention it) and rare breaks (and NO 4 minute trips to the bathroom is not a break!)
• No job security ( have had two friends fired since I have been there)
• Spiritually draining (which is very ironic considering my company, very)
• No tangible value of the "little" people or much development of them; rather our thanks to you is that  you get to work here (maybe that's a tad exaggerated but not much)

So an even split but do some outweigh the others?...........debatable. In the meantime, I am praying and searching.....and hoping that wherever I am at the end of 2012, I feel peace that surpasses ALL understanding.