Today during class my phone double beeped telling me I had a text message. I glanced down to see it was from one the parents of a student from last year....when I taught pre-kindergarten. I waited til the kids left and checked the text when I got back to my room. Much to my surprise it was a video message! Even better.
With Avery's face filling the screen, it went something like this:
"Mrs. Gina, I miss you, I'm in kindergarten, I miss you. My sister is one now and my brother is two. I miss you. I wanted to call and tell you. Bye."
It made my day.
Isn't it nice to be missed...to have made an impression on someone's heart that they actually miss you..actually wish there was a way to see you...to spend time with you...to enjoy you? Little Avery knows just a little of what it's like to miss someone. For some reason, today, she misses me. But as we grow older, suffer more losses, we understand more and more what it's like to really miss people.
The same should be true of our Savior. There should be a yearning to be with Him, to enjoy His presence, to spend time with Him, to thank Him for the impression He's made in your life. But, how often do I fill my day so full that at the end, I'm left missing Him? Wondering where He is? Feeling like I have to tell Him how old my brother and sister are because it's been so long since I last communicated with Him.
Thankfully He hasn't moved, He's there...all along. Waiting patiently...missing us as we stay busy and preoccupied with the kindergartens of life. He's still there...and we say to Him "I've missed you Jesus, my days are nothing without you, I miss you, I wanted to tell you, I miss you." And like the prodigal child, arms open wide....He welcomes us.
Thank you Jesus.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Leadership - TKD Style
For Christmas, all this girl could eat, sleep and breathe was to be in Leadership at our local Taekwondo studio. She's been taking classes since last spring and has passed all her belt tests with flying colors...so, for Christmas she was rewarded with the privilege of being in leadership. What does this entail?
1. She will attend an extra class to develop her leadership skills each week. This is in addition to her 2 classes that she attends for her physical skills/forms/sparring.
2. She will volunteer in classes each week that are lower ranked that her current belt color. Currently she is a green belt, so that allows her to help with Tiny Tigers, white belts, yellow and orange belts. She will get credit for each class she assists.
3. She gets this fancy red, white and blue uniform, a new weapon of choice and plenty of time on the mat to develop into an even more disciplined athlete.
It's exciting to watch her confidence develop as she takes on another challenge. Little does she remember, but when she was five years old we tried enrolling her in Taekwondo in Gunter. She screamed and cried and acted bashful and shy and we ended up dropping out because she refused to participate. What we know now is that Savannah does things at her own pace! She just needed a few years.
Word of caution to anyone who tries to mess with her: She's strong as an ox and fiercely serious about her sport. I wouldn't recommend trying to get the best of her!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Complete Cupcake Foolishness
Today was Bruce's 42 birthday. I had decided that regardless of whether or not he asked for a particular type of cake flavor I was making cake. He deserves to celebrate. Right? He deserved a special treat. Right? He and the kids love cupcakes. Right? Mom wanted to use her fancy smancy cupcake cups. Right? Oh wait.
It's true. Right after Christmas I hit the motherload of cupcakery clearance sales at T J Maxx. Savannah and I had gone to Rockwall in search of a new dresser for Tucker. We ended up browsing through the shelves at the Maxx and I spotted these:
It's true. Right after Christmas I hit the motherload of cupcakery clearance sales at T J Maxx. Savannah and I had gone to Rockwall in search of a new dresser for Tucker. We ended up browsing through the shelves at the Maxx and I spotted these:
Because I'm going to go into the cupcake business....Right?
Why is Valerie Bertinelli designing cupcake liners while on Jenny Craig?
Because big taste comes in mini cupcakes ...
like what I'm making for our ladies Taste of Home Night on Thursday!
And I couldn't pass up the cuteness of these...butterfly, boots, floral and watering can toothpicks!
All this goodness marked down to $2 and $3 a package...
and that's what caused me to go into complete cupcake foolishness.
So...I asked Bruce chocolate or vanilla? He said chocolate and here's what he got
Happy Birthday Bruce!
Some Things Change
The world ends tomorrow...
Ok...well, not really....
But the Christmas Break world ends tomorrow. That's truth.
I'm trying not to mourn away my last day of
...no alarm
...leisure mornings
...late night movies
...Duck Dynasty marathons
...a clean house
...empty laundry baskets
...blogging.......
I've been wishing there was a way to keep all those things and get back in the groove and while some of those things just don't make the cut, I am striving to do a little better with others...
...the clean house - we've made a family pact to help keep the house cleaner. Picking up as we use things and a 15 minute tidy-up right before bed will help us. I'm also planning on setting the alarm 15 minutes earlier to make sure dinner preparations are made and laundry is started before I leave the house for school.
...blogging - It is good for my soul. It helps me set goals and most of all it allows me to journal how God is always working on me, in me and thru me. This also allows my own children to one day hear the stories about God's faithfulness, my foolishness, God's grace and my own walk as a woman, wife and mom. Perhaps my imperfections will help them make better choices one day. And maybe somewhere along the way, they will see the greatness of God in all of this.
...staying focused on my goal to be more devoted to the priorities that God has placed in my life for this season could quite possibly change the way I live, blog, cook, parent, play. Isn't that how it should be when God does a work in your life? It should change you. And that's a change I'm happy with.
Ok...well, not really....
But the Christmas Break world ends tomorrow. That's truth.
I'm trying not to mourn away my last day of
...no alarm
...leisure mornings
...late night movies
...Duck Dynasty marathons
...a clean house
...empty laundry baskets
...blogging.......
I've been wishing there was a way to keep all those things and get back in the groove and while some of those things just don't make the cut, I am striving to do a little better with others...
...the clean house - we've made a family pact to help keep the house cleaner. Picking up as we use things and a 15 minute tidy-up right before bed will help us. I'm also planning on setting the alarm 15 minutes earlier to make sure dinner preparations are made and laundry is started before I leave the house for school.
...blogging - It is good for my soul. It helps me set goals and most of all it allows me to journal how God is always working on me, in me and thru me. This also allows my own children to one day hear the stories about God's faithfulness, my foolishness, God's grace and my own walk as a woman, wife and mom. Perhaps my imperfections will help them make better choices one day. And maybe somewhere along the way, they will see the greatness of God in all of this.
...staying focused on my goal to be more devoted to the priorities that God has placed in my life for this season could quite possibly change the way I live, blog, cook, parent, play. Isn't that how it should be when God does a work in your life? It should change you. And that's a change I'm happy with.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Meal Plan- Wk of Jan 7-11
I've decided to post our meal plans here again for a couple of reasons:
1. It keeps me on track...If I'm planning ahead and shopping ahead, I know what we are going to eat and there's an answer for the age old question "What's for dinner?".
2. I enjoy surfing the web for meal plans...and there may be some other nut out there that is bored with what they are eating and wants to mix it up...and might need a place for a few ideas.
3. Maybe by me sharing....someone else will share and I'll get some great ideas for more interesting, healthy, easy meals.
One of the things that I am changing is that I am only planning for 5 days. Inevitably we will eat out some and so instead of buying food that is going to go to waste I just decided that I'm only shopping for five days a week. Chances are we will have leftovers anyway so if we need food or get snowed in (yeah, right) or the car breaks down or we have no money....there will still be food.
So here it is:
Day 1- Cereal or Oatmeal
Leftovers or Sandwiches
Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Salad and Rolls
Day 2- Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Ranch Chicken, Rice and Green Beans
Day 3- Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Church Dinner
Day 4- Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Beef/Vegetable Stew and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Day 5: Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Baked Potato Wedges and BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
What's cooking at your house this week?
1. It keeps me on track...If I'm planning ahead and shopping ahead, I know what we are going to eat and there's an answer for the age old question "What's for dinner?".
2. I enjoy surfing the web for meal plans...and there may be some other nut out there that is bored with what they are eating and wants to mix it up...and might need a place for a few ideas.
3. Maybe by me sharing....someone else will share and I'll get some great ideas for more interesting, healthy, easy meals.
One of the things that I am changing is that I am only planning for 5 days. Inevitably we will eat out some and so instead of buying food that is going to go to waste I just decided that I'm only shopping for five days a week. Chances are we will have leftovers anyway so if we need food or get snowed in (yeah, right) or the car breaks down or we have no money....there will still be food.
So here it is:
Day 1- Cereal or Oatmeal
Leftovers or Sandwiches
Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Salad and Rolls
Day 2- Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Ranch Chicken, Rice and Green Beans
Day 3- Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Church Dinner
Day 4- Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Beef/Vegetable Stew and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Day 5: Cereal or Oatmeal
Sandwich, Baked Chips, Fruit (Kids get a snack in lunch)
Baked Potato Wedges and BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
What's cooking at your house this week?
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Easy TN BBQ Recipe
A few (5) years back a generous couple in our church gifted us with a time share in Gatlinburg, TN for a week. Since TN is my birth state and I had been dying to get Bruce to spend some time there and convince him that there was a state as beautiful as Colorado, I was ecstatic! We decided to take two weeks off and got away to Chattanooga for one week and Gatlinburg the other. We booked for the first part of November and the leaves were at their prime, the temperature was perfect and Dollywood was already decked out for Christmas....what more could we ask for? Wanna see more? Look HERE
Good Food.
Yep. We made a pact before we left that we would eat at unique restaurants as much as we could. We hit up a place where we were introduced to the Chattagooey....a finger lickin' good sandwich with smoked pimento cheese....yummo! But, our favorite sandwich was this sweet TN BBQ sandwich we ate at a little whole in the wall place in Gatlinburg. Of course, it's a secret recipe, but here's my version...as close as I can get it to the real thing. And it's easy and delish!
Ingredients:
1 Pork Roast (boneless or not)
salt and pepper
1 cup brown sugar
2 onions chopped
Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (Brown Sugar)
Place roast in slow cooker and add other ingredients except sauce. Cook on medium for 8 hours. Drain excess juice off meat and pull apart. Then return to slow cooker. Add 1 bottle of BBQ sauce. Cook for 1 more hour.
Assembly:
Green Bell Pepper- sliced
Onions- sliced
olive oil
Texas Toast
In a skillet, saute' peppers and onions in olive oil til very soft.
Bake bread according to package.
On one piece of bread, pile pork and top with onion and peppers. Top that with another piece of Texas toast.
I promise....you'll love it!
Good Food.
Yep. We made a pact before we left that we would eat at unique restaurants as much as we could. We hit up a place where we were introduced to the Chattagooey....a finger lickin' good sandwich with smoked pimento cheese....yummo! But, our favorite sandwich was this sweet TN BBQ sandwich we ate at a little whole in the wall place in Gatlinburg. Of course, it's a secret recipe, but here's my version...as close as I can get it to the real thing. And it's easy and delish!
Ingredients:
1 Pork Roast (boneless or not)
salt and pepper
1 cup brown sugar
2 onions chopped
Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (Brown Sugar)
Place roast in slow cooker and add other ingredients except sauce. Cook on medium for 8 hours. Drain excess juice off meat and pull apart. Then return to slow cooker. Add 1 bottle of BBQ sauce. Cook for 1 more hour.
Assembly:
Green Bell Pepper- sliced
Onions- sliced
olive oil
Texas Toast
In a skillet, saute' peppers and onions in olive oil til very soft.
Bake bread according to package.
On one piece of bread, pile pork and top with onion and peppers. Top that with another piece of Texas toast.
I promise....you'll love it!
Friday, January 4, 2013
On Being the Pastor's Wife
I rarely talk about the stress of being a pastor's wife. My main reason? Because I am truly so incredibly, almost indescribably thankful that God has called Bruce and I to serve Him this way. Hopefully, I would be just as thrilled and thankful if He had called me to do something else....because I don't really believe one job is more important than any other if you're totally willing to do what God wants you to at that job.
However, I do believe there are stresses involved in ministry that (humbly speaking) only other people in the same shoes as you can fully understand. I would also say, this is true for whatever job you have. For instance, the stay at home mom has stresses that no one understand except others who also stay at home full time. The garbage man has to meet deadlines and deal with issues we don't even know about. We often find ourselves wishing for different roles, but let's be honest, every role involves it's own stress, deadlines, time restrictions....
I was looking at a few blogs the other days trying to find the right Bible study for the ladies at my church this winter. In my searching I came across this article about a pastor's wife who had committed suicide just days ago. It broke my heart. On the outside, everything looked fine, people believed she could change the world, she was successful, a mom, a grandmother, business owner, creative pastor's wife. And as I sat there reading, I thought of the many women I know that are juggling the weight of the world or their family or their church or their business on their shoulders....and realize how quickly it can all change.
I don't know what prompted this pastor's wife to commit suicide. I don't have to know. What I do know is that sometimes, in ministry and other places, people can be mean, the enemy can feed us lies, we can believe them, the burden of keeping up a spiritual appearance can be more than we can handle, we can get depressed, discouraged and completely consumed with negative, destructive thoughts. And those thoughts lead to actions...and sometimes even death.
Thankfully Jesus Christ is the answer to all those overwhelming thoughts that can consume us quickly. His Word provides every single answer that we need to overcome this world. Yes, counselors help (my mom is a great one) but she will tell you in a heartbeat, the root of all these negative actions is our own sin or the consequences of someone else's sin. The enemy wants us to get bogged down and discouraged and depressed and overcome. And in ministry...where you give of yourself, your time, your talents and your husband and yes, even of your children, it can become too much.
My heart aches for the many people I know that have been hurt in ministry. Imperfect people, who at some point in their lives felt God asking them to surrender all and go, preach, baptize and make disciples for Me, feed My sheep, take up your cross and follow Me. It's sad to watch them walk away from that call, that commission, that zeal they once had.
But what can we do? I have no real answers...on suggestions...but maybe if we become a more loving, caring body of Christ, that extends God's grace to those in leadership and those in the pew. Not ignoring or turning the other way when we need to address sin, but lovingly facing each other in agape love, shoulder to shoulder, iron sharpening iron, building up and strengthening each other, not esteeming ourselves higher than the other. Growing, learning and loving. Maybe if we have a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's leading in our lives to say an encouraging word, extend our arms to hug each other, offer a shoulder to cry on or lean on. Maybe we would see more people totally willing and excited about giving their all to Christ's service.
And for those in ministry, my heart screams out sometimes to CHEER UP! God could have called anyone to do your job but He called you! Be excited about what God is doing around you. Be in love with the Savior. Let people know He's the greatest thing that has ever happened to you. Be glad that your job happens to be helping care for the sheep....the beloved sheep...the bride of Christ....the church. What a responsibility to take hold of! Look at life through eternity's eyes. Don't be easily offended or you'll never make it! Give people room to mess up...after all isn't that what we all want...a little grace? Be REAL.....and smart. Let people know you're human but be smart enough to realize some will use this against you. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. He's strong...He can carry you...your burdens, your failures, your children and spouse, your thoughts.....all of it. He's got it.
As for this family who has suffered such loss. I'm praying that someone close to them is being the body of Christ during this gut wrenching time. No matter the circumstances, she was a mom and a wife and a grandmother who leaves behind people with questions and heartache. May God's peace envelope them.
However, I do believe there are stresses involved in ministry that (humbly speaking) only other people in the same shoes as you can fully understand. I would also say, this is true for whatever job you have. For instance, the stay at home mom has stresses that no one understand except others who also stay at home full time. The garbage man has to meet deadlines and deal with issues we don't even know about. We often find ourselves wishing for different roles, but let's be honest, every role involves it's own stress, deadlines, time restrictions....
I was looking at a few blogs the other days trying to find the right Bible study for the ladies at my church this winter. In my searching I came across this article about a pastor's wife who had committed suicide just days ago. It broke my heart. On the outside, everything looked fine, people believed she could change the world, she was successful, a mom, a grandmother, business owner, creative pastor's wife. And as I sat there reading, I thought of the many women I know that are juggling the weight of the world or their family or their church or their business on their shoulders....and realize how quickly it can all change.
I don't know what prompted this pastor's wife to commit suicide. I don't have to know. What I do know is that sometimes, in ministry and other places, people can be mean, the enemy can feed us lies, we can believe them, the burden of keeping up a spiritual appearance can be more than we can handle, we can get depressed, discouraged and completely consumed with negative, destructive thoughts. And those thoughts lead to actions...and sometimes even death.
Thankfully Jesus Christ is the answer to all those overwhelming thoughts that can consume us quickly. His Word provides every single answer that we need to overcome this world. Yes, counselors help (my mom is a great one) but she will tell you in a heartbeat, the root of all these negative actions is our own sin or the consequences of someone else's sin. The enemy wants us to get bogged down and discouraged and depressed and overcome. And in ministry...where you give of yourself, your time, your talents and your husband and yes, even of your children, it can become too much.
My heart aches for the many people I know that have been hurt in ministry. Imperfect people, who at some point in their lives felt God asking them to surrender all and go, preach, baptize and make disciples for Me, feed My sheep, take up your cross and follow Me. It's sad to watch them walk away from that call, that commission, that zeal they once had.
But what can we do? I have no real answers...on suggestions...but maybe if we become a more loving, caring body of Christ, that extends God's grace to those in leadership and those in the pew. Not ignoring or turning the other way when we need to address sin, but lovingly facing each other in agape love, shoulder to shoulder, iron sharpening iron, building up and strengthening each other, not esteeming ourselves higher than the other. Growing, learning and loving. Maybe if we have a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's leading in our lives to say an encouraging word, extend our arms to hug each other, offer a shoulder to cry on or lean on. Maybe we would see more people totally willing and excited about giving their all to Christ's service.
And for those in ministry, my heart screams out sometimes to CHEER UP! God could have called anyone to do your job but He called you! Be excited about what God is doing around you. Be in love with the Savior. Let people know He's the greatest thing that has ever happened to you. Be glad that your job happens to be helping care for the sheep....the beloved sheep...the bride of Christ....the church. What a responsibility to take hold of! Look at life through eternity's eyes. Don't be easily offended or you'll never make it! Give people room to mess up...after all isn't that what we all want...a little grace? Be REAL.....and smart. Let people know you're human but be smart enough to realize some will use this against you. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. He's strong...He can carry you...your burdens, your failures, your children and spouse, your thoughts.....all of it. He's got it.
As for this family who has suffered such loss. I'm praying that someone close to them is being the body of Christ during this gut wrenching time. No matter the circumstances, she was a mom and a wife and a grandmother who leaves behind people with questions and heartache. May God's peace envelope them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)