Bringing Dinner to the Table Week 4

Ha ha!!! I am very surprised that here I am at week 4 and still going strong. Yeah baby!!!! Although I'm not getting the pictures each night, I'm still fixing what I have planned and its going really well and I'm saving around $50 each week. Well I guess save isn't the right word as I have quickly found new ways to redirect that money, lol. So off we go, getting ready to dive into another week!!!

Day 1 Cheese Ravioli w/ Sweet Sausage & broccoli

Day 2 Salisbury steak, Mashed Potatoes & Mac-n-Cheese

Day 3 Tuna Casserole & side salad

Day 4 Sloppy Joes w/ Baked Fries

Day 5 Lasagna, Parmesan Green Beans & Cheddar Biscuits

Letter from Jesus about Christmas...

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER..

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15:1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.


3. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

4. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

5. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

6. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word.. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

7. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

8. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

9. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas

**author unknown

Advent for Adults

I often get so focused on teaching my children about Christmas that I often forget to pause and reflect as a daughter of the King. Needless to say I was richly blessed to find this site when looking for a prayer to post with my week 2 candle. May you be richly blessed as we enter into our second week of Advent and light the Candle of Hope!!!

Bringing Dinner to the Table Week 3

Well last week was a bit challenging. I forgot to take pictures of our meals, which might be a good thing cause nothing was prepared as I had originally planned. Oh well, just gonna dust myself off and try again this week. So here is what I have planned for the week of Dec 7^th-11th:

Day 1 Spaghetti Carbonara, Italian Zucchini & Peach Banana Freeze

Day 2 Chicken and dumplins & Apple Crunch

Day 3 Easy Chili, Sour Cream Cornbread & brownies

Day 4 Pork Chops over Rice, Skillet Corn & ice cream

Day 5 Broccoli Chicken Quiche & Melt-aways

FYI, Day 6 is usually a Homemade Pizza or eat out night and Day 7 is my use it up night.

 

I am sadly learning that I still spend way too much time out of the house. And honestly it has been a bit hard trying to reason with myself about the importance of being at home. Let's face it, it's not all fun and games and everything doesn't always smell like roses but I know this is where I need to be. I have finally come to the conclusion that if I need to be home then I'm going to do it MY WAY. As in not trying to keep my house the same way other moms might or keeping the same school schedule that others do. Because we are traveling a path less taken, although more frequent these days, I have to realize that means I've got to figure a lot out on my own and not try to find someone else who has the answer. I was having a discussion during a hormonal day with Big Daddy where I told him "Instead of looking at what hasn't been done, focus on what I have done." And you know what? I really should have told myself that. I get so overwhelmed by what I don't get done; I don't get a chance to enjoy what I have accomplished. And when you really think about it, comparing ourselves to others isn't fair to them or ourselves because we are comparing the best of what they are showing to the worst of what we know about ourselves. Isn't exactly a fair playing ground when you think about it that way is it? So if you would like to play along I would love for you to write three things you like most about yourself, in my comments and I just might be able to send that wonderful you, you are, a little something just in time for the New Year!!!!!

My list:

1. I have a lot of patience

2. God has gifted me with mercy. And although this can seem like such a burden to carry at times, I would not trade being able to be so sensitive to others needs for anything in the world!

3. I don't buckle under stress

 

And the winner of 20 Thank You Note Cards is……….

The Art of Motherhood…

Would you buy a book with that title?? I bet it would be a best seller as I believe every mother has the desire to be the best mother they can be. As I thought about "The Art of Motherhood" it dawned on me, my subject matters, oh I mean my kids, are the best resource for how I'm doing as a mom. Therefore, I think it is reasonable to say if I want to become an expert in "The Art of Motherhood" then I need to spend more time in "research" with them; not on them. So, I have decided to take the rest of December off to study, oh I mean, spending time with my kids. Doing whatever we desire for that day. We are chucking the lesson book and letting each day write its own lessons for us to learn. Ahhh I can feel the stress melting away already!

Are you kidding me!!!!!

I have been suspisious that my boys have been putting clean cloths in with the dirty cloths as they clean up their room. And I finally got my proof!!!




Sooooo busted... there is no way to claim that it is not clean when it is still O-N the hanger!!!

“Let me ask you something…”

Self: "Is it working for you?" (I think I heard Dr. Phil ask this of one of his guests and this is what I begin to think as I look at all this laundry that I have to do.) Self: "Well no it's not." Self:"Don't you think you might want to try something new then?"}in my best Dr. Phil impersonation. Self: "Yes, yes I do." And my brain starts to rattle around a couple of ways to help defeat the laundry clutter once and for all. Self: "I need something that will work for the long run and not have me doing all the work. After all my children are 8, 5, and almost 3, they can help out, they N-E-E-D to help out. They can fold their laundry and put it up!!! And I'm the mom, not the maid and I want to do more with my day than just laundry and dishes. I want to enjoy actual T-I-M-E with my kids while teaching them practical life lessons as well as math lessons."

Okay, sometimes we need to be our own cheerleader cause let me tell you it is so easy to get stuck in the routine of laundry, dishes, lessons, naps, dinner, dishes, house clean up, bed times…… it can become more than boring it can become overwhelming, depressing and feel rather pathetic. And when I get to this point I just yell:
"Stoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop, focus! Where is your focus?" I can usually get more of a perspective when I ask myself how I can involve the children in what needs to be done. And that is how I came up with my latest attempt in conquering The Laundry Monster. Today, with computer and T.V. off, each time a load is done we will all gather in the living room with our own personal laundry basket by side to claim our clean clothes. I'm thinking this will also be a good time to review AWANA verses, math memory work, or have some fun discussions. And here I am starting to get all excited about laundry again!!!!!!

 

Speaking of focus today is December 1^st and if you haven't already started Advent, the countdown to CHRISTmas has begun!!! If you have never done an Advent or Jesse Tree countdown for Christmas I would suggest that you prayerfully consider taking time to do it this year. A couple of weeks ago, after neglecting my quiet time God posed this question to me: "L2L, if you are too busy to keep me in your daily life, you are too busy doing things that just don't matter!!!" So to help you get started here is today's reading from this Jesse Tree devotion and here is my post on other things you can do. And to show you how simple it really can be, here is all you need to read today:

Genesis 1

Heaven and Earth

^1-2First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

 ^3-5 God spoke: "Light!"
      And light appeared.
   God saw that light was good
      and separated light from dark.
   God named the light Day,
      he named the dark Night.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day One.

 ^6-8 God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters;
      separate water from water!"
   God made sky.
   He separated the water under sky
      from the water above sky.
   And there it was:
      he named sky the Heavens;
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Two.

 ^9-10 God spoke: "Separate!
      Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
   Land, appear!"
      And there it was.
   God named the land Earth.
      He named the pooled water Ocean.
   God saw that it was good.

 ^11-13 God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
      of seed-bearing plants,
   Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."
      And there it was.
   Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
      all varieties,
   And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
      God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Three.

 ^14-15 God spoke: "Lights! Come out!
      Shine in Heaven's sky!
   Separate Day from Night.
      Mark seasons and days and years,
   Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth."
      And there it was.

 ^16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
      to take charge of Day,
   The smaller to be in charge of Night;
      and he made the stars.
   God placed them in the heavenly sky
      to light up Earth
   And oversee Day and Night,
      to separate light and dark.
   God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Four.

 ^20-23 God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
      Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"
   God created the huge whales,
      all the swarm of life in the waters,
   And every kind and species of flying birds.
      God saw that it was good.
   God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
      Birds, reproduce on Earth!"
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Five.

 ^24-25 God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
      cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds."
   And there it was:
      wild animals of every kind,
   Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
      God saw that it was good.

 ^26-28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
      reflecting our nature
   So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
      the birds in the air, the cattle,
   And, yes, Earth itself,
      and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
   God created human beings;
      he created them godlike,
   Reflecting God's nature.
      He created them male and female.
   God blessed them:
      "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
   Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
      for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

 ^29-30 Then God said, "I've given you
      every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
   And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
      given them to you for food.
   To all animals and all birds,
      everything that moves and breathes,
   I give whatever grows out of the ground for food."
      And there it was.

 ³¹ God looked over everything he had made;
      it was so good, so very good!
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Six.

Genesis 2

 ¹ Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.

 ^2-4 By the seventh day
      God had finished his work.
   On the seventh day
      he rested from all his work.
   God blessed the seventh day.
      He made it a Holy Day
   Because on that day he rested from his work,
      all the creating God had done.

   This is the story of how it all started,
      of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

From the Message Bible

Or present to your family in another format the Days of Creations. Here are some other resources on the web you might want to check out.

DLTK

K4T: Creation video

I pray that this greatly blesses you and gives you just what you need to help you focus on the reason for the season: Jesus!!!