Catch up...

Lots and Lots of things to catch my readers up to speed. So, I'll do what my friend Joy did...Ten things real quick:

1. Sorry I've not posted for real in forever.

2. Things have been CRAZY around here: power went out for 2.5 days during finals week, then visitors and Christmas.

3. Weigh in this morning put me at 156 again. It's HARD to lose when there's so much good food around at Christmas.

4. People wanted to see our Christmas tree...as pathetic as it is.

You might not be able to tell, but the tree only lights up half-way. We have the top off in an effort to find the bulbs that are out so that they whole tree will be lit. The red disc is an old CD marking the branch we think might be the problem.

5. Hehe...we gave up. It's packed away for next year. But, on the plus side, as my dear sweet sister-in-law pointed out - It can be one of my firsts for next year!!

6. I got a digital cam-corder for Christmas!

7. As a result of #6, I took a video of our house for those of you who haven't seen it. As soon as I can figure out how, I'll post it here.

8. I ended up sending out 143 Christmas cards. How many did you ladies send out?

9. I'm done with my pantry challenge. Anyone have favorite freezer meals? I'm hoping to fill my freezer with those for people in our church who need them, and for Micah and I to eat instead of boxed crud.

10. I have TONS of new year's resolutions. Mostly it's my 52 firsts and completing the Motivated Mom's sheet, but that sheet has 3 blanks for every-day tasks. One of my every-day tasks I'm going to try to do is blog....but don't hold your breath.

I repent :)

I'm back up to 156...things have been CRAZY for the last week or two. I'll have to let you know about it all in a few days...but I didn't wanna miss another weigh in.

I'll be back on the plan tomorrow...so hopefully I'll start losing again. :)

Winter Weather

So, I got this e-mail from my place of higher learning today:

Since the forecasted ice storm has the potential to disrupt final exams on
Tuesday, please read the entire message very closely:

* TO ALL
STUDENTS EXCEPT THOSE IN LAW AND PHARM D:
If Tuesday examinations are
cancelled, they will be rescheduled for Thursday, January 17, 2008,
currently
scheduled as the first day of the spring semester. These exams
will replace
classes scheduled for that day.

Your instructor will be
contacting
you as soon as possible to inform you whether your exam will be
moved to January
17, or whether some other alternate arrangement has been
chosen. Students who
will not be enrolled on campus during the spring
semester should contact their
instructors.

Faculty cannot reschedule
Tuesday exams for other time
periods this week because of potential
conflicts with other currently scheduled
finals.

* TO ALL
STUDENTS:
At this time, all Monday exams are on schedule, though university
officials continue to monitor the weather situation. Any decision to cancel 7:30
p.m. Monday exams will be announced by 6 p.m.

The university will announce a decision on Tuesday's exams no later than 6 a.m. Tuesday. A decision to cancel exams will be broadcast via area media, e-mail and text messages. Additional information will be available on our website.

Should Wednesday's exams also be cancelled due to weather, faculty will contact their students with their contingency plans. The make-up date for Wednesday exams would be Friday, January 18.

The safety of students, faculty and staff is paramount. No exam is worth a dangerous trip on icy roads or over slick sidewalks. Please monitor the weather forecast and road condition reports and use your best judgment.

Isn't that CRAZY?! I can't imagine taking my final over a month from now!! But, I have to admit - I'm kind of torn. No tests tomorrow would be nice!! :)

"Stick with what you know"

That's what is going to be on my tombstone.

I am a creature of habit. If something works, I'm going to stick with it until it doesn't work anymore. And, if I'm going to try something new, I've got to know it has worked for at least 2 other people and will work for me.

Isn't that awful?!

One year, 2005, I think, I had a New Year's resolution to try one new thing every week. 52 new things, that's it. AND, they didn't have to be hard things at all. Some examples include:

Wear leather pants
Read a comic book
Bake a cake - seriously.
Eat Sushi

I so cheated, too. I got married that year. There are A LOT of firsts that come along with marriage, and I counted them all. Which brought my total to 20. TWENTY!

I'm not sure why I'm so afraid to try new things...(I did in fact try sushi, and I LOVED it. I still love it. I beg Micah for it at least once a month)...but, it needs to change. I'm missing out on wonderful things!!

So, I'm trying it again. 52 new things to try. I don't require myself to actually do one a week. I try, but I'm flexible just in case an opportunity arises.

I'm putting the things above on my list again, cause besides the sushi, I didn't do them. Some other ideas I have are:

ride a mechanical bull
visit another country (even if it's just Canada)
cook a turkey
take a class or two (fun ones on like arranging flowers, storm spotting, or photography!)

And, of course, I'm going to count graduating from college, because I'm lame.

What ideas do you have me? I need a lot!!

Yahoo!!

So, I resisted the chocolate ice cream and milk late last night, and IT PAID OFF!!

Weigh in this morning - 154! :) I'm on my way, ladies!

Not getting my CPA

A weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I'm telling you!

So, I went to my graduation check a couple of weeks ago and found out that I will indeed be graduating in May! But, instead of being 3 hours away from meeting the requirements to sit for the CPA exam like I thought, I am 9 hours away!

No big deal, right? Just take the extra 6 hours and be done with it.

But, it is a big deal to me! I am SOOO burned out.

I came home almost in tears over this. I've put 5 years of work towards this CPA exam, and now I'll have to do ANOTHER semester? I don't think I can handle that.

I was chatting with whining to a wise friend of mine and the conversation went something like this:

Wise Woman: Why are you getting your CPA again?

Me: So that if something happens to Micah I won't have to sell my soul to
McDonald's just to feed my family.

Wise Woman: Think of it: you have 4
kids and you lose your husband and their father, so you think it will be good to
go back to work? They will need you to be there.

Me: Yeah, but what
option do I have?

Wise Woman: my vote is a bigger insurance policy.

So, after some talking and praying with Micah: it's decided. We can easily buy enough insurance on Micah so that I could pay off our house and raise 3 children without me ever going back to work. AND, what's more: we can pay for 10 years of that insurance just with the money I would have spent studying for and taking the CPA exam!

Isn't the Lord good?

I have been discouraged with school for some time now, and suddenly: I'm DONE in May. No 6 months of studying, no 4 extremely trying tests. I'm DONE.

I blame the Cactus Blossom...

Or was it the Carmel Apple Pie ala mode at 11pm?!

I thought of this blog title last night as I was laying in bed dreading my weigh in.

You see, Thursday night is the ideal time for Micah and I's date night. I don't have school on Fridays, and so on Thursday night I'm in weekend mode, and really enjoy going out.

One of our favorite places to go is The Texas Roadhouse. We like to go there because our brother-in-law works as a waitor there, and we love to get to see him!

BUT, last night, he bought us a cactus blossom! And, I don't know about you, but, in my head: free food is free food, regardless of any plan! I don't even wanna THINK about the calories in one of those things.

THEN! THEN my so-called personal trainer! Remember her?! The one that said I can't eat after 7pm? Know what she did?!

You guessed it. She brought Carmel Apple Pie Ala Mode TO MY HOUSE. Served it up for my husband and I, and then sat and watched us devour it...at 11PM last night!

Can you believe it?

Isn't that AWESOME? I mean really! Can I really fault her for something so wonderful even if it doesn't fit with "the plan"?

I think not.

All this to say: I'm still at 156.

BUT: If I can have those wonderfully free and delightfully delicious dishes the day before my weigh in, and still maintain my weight...I'm one happy girl!


In other news: Should I move my weigh-in time to Thursday morning? This would leave me guilt-free for my date with my honey, and then I could be a good girl the rest of the week. What do you all think? I think I just might do it.

Pantry Challenge - update

Chipotle Burritos
Frito Chili Pie
Chicken Nuggets, Au Gratin Potatoes, RL Buiscuts
Sausage and Potatoes
Pancakes/Waffles, Sausage
Chicken Nuggets, Stuffing
Chicken Helper, Green Beans
Ramen Chicken Nuggets, Au Gratin Potatoes
Pancakes/Waffles
Chicken Nuggets, Stuffing
Stir Fry, Rice Noodles
Ramen
Lasagna, Veggies
Pancakes/Waffles
Chicken Soup - pasta and broth
Sloppy Joes, Cauliflower and Cheese
Pancakes/Waffles
Chicken Helper
Chicken Nuggets; pasta side
Hamburgar Helper
Pancakes/Waffles
Chicken Nuggets, pasta side
Hamburgar Helper
Sausage and Potatoes
Crock Pot Classic
Lasagna - freezer one bread, salad

For those of you keeping track, this list is 13 items shorter than the previous one!! I'm SO making progress!

It's official!

The plan is working! I am down to 156!

You may be thinking, "how can she know it's working after only losing 2 lbs...that could be water weight."

But, I tell you, it's working! How many people in America do you think LOST weight after yesterday?! :)

And, what's great is, that's my only Thanksgiving dinner. In about two hours I will be leaving to take our church youth group to do a work project at Kansas Bible Camp. So, not only will I not be getting another Thanksgiving dinner (and all the leftovers that come with it), but I'll also be getting lots and lots of STEPS!

So what do I attribute this week's success to? Go visit my dear sweet friend Joy's blog. She's also started her "plan"...it's real encouraging to have someone working right beside you! (Even if she is STATES away!) I don't know how to link to the specific post. It was from Nov. 15th, so just scroll down some.

Bake Sale/Sleep over

So, a few weeks ago I had the duty of being the sole authority for 12 junior high and highschool girls as they embarked on an all day bake sale.

Yes, that's right, I said ALL DAY. We started at 10:30 am on a Saturday. And, since the baking was going to be at the church, one of the high school girls that had planned decided that we would bake through the night and sleep at the church so that all the girls could come to church the next morning. Then, after church, we went to the nearest Walmart and sold the baked goods.

I don't know about you, but, I'm married. And, in my circle, married means your OLD!! (We often joke that when you're married, you add your ages together!) So, I just turned 48 - and 48 year olds are not meant to have slumber parties where the only place to sleep is the floor....and where the average age is 13.

I'm sure many of you have heard my complaints about this situation before...so why am I posting about it?

1. To complain about it some more

2. To share the Lord's faithfulness

Now that the complaining is out of the way, on to the praise.

Our Lord is SO good, SO faithful, and SO big.

Needless to say, I started this weekend feeling so overwhelmed, so inadequate (did I mention that I've only ever baked pre-packaged cookie dough? Seriously. I'm ashamed.), and so tired.

BUT, God provided for me in ways I would have never thought possible (to my shame, really). I was praying harder than I ever have before, that day. Mostly I was praying that the Lord would show me what the girls were "up to" before it was too late. And, of course, He did.

There were rancid cookies - but they got thrown out.

Pizzas got baked with the cardboard tray - but there was no fire.

There were lots of age groups, and cliques - and only one run in.

AND, everything got cleaned up before we went to bed, so the church was ready come Sunday morning.

The Lord we serve is faithful, ladies! Praise Him.

Torture

So for the last week or so, I have not been couponing.

I LOVE to coupon. I LOVE getting great deals, but I DO NOT love having to dig through literally every single coupon I have (and I have a lot!) to get said great deals. It puts me in a bad mood.

SO, the solution? I have banned couponing entirely until I am able to get caught up on my cutting and sorting.

The result? I'm not shopping at all. Of course, there's no ban on just plain shopping...but I can't bring myself to do it! I can't bring myself to pay full price for something. In the back of my head I keep thinking, "You know there's a coupon in your pile for this. You could spend $1.00 less on this if you just looked."

It's the curse of couponing. Couponing is great - you get awesome perks! Like being able to have name brand stuff, and a variety at that. And like spending only $25 a week on all groceries, toiletries and cleaning products. But, it's also a curse. It's ruined me for normal shopping. I will never be able to go back!!

I have GOT to get more serious!

OK! It's the moment of truth! It's been a week since I started my plan, and it's time once again to post my weight.

Sadly, it's still 158. So, naturally, I've been analyzing.

I'm not serious enough about this goal.

Here's how I did on my goals this week:

1. 10,000 steps a day - I did reach this goal...however, in my first post, I had mentioned that my new year's resolution was also 10k, but in order to meet that goal, I was going to have to get 20k. The 20,000 steps has yet to happen. BUT, I now have a more defined plan in this area!!

I figured out that I normally walk about 133 steps per minute if I'm just walking. I also figured out, that in order to get 20,000 steps in 16 hours (leaving 8 hours for sleep), that would only be 1200 steps an hour. I'm not a rocket scientist or anything, but, shouldn't 1200 steps only take me 9 minutes? And, don't you think I probably at least get SOME steps when I'm not strictly walking? (Like, when I'm putting away laundry and dishes?)

SO, you're probably thinking: GET TO THE POINT. And here, it is: 10 minutes until the top of each hour, I'm going to stop whatever I'm doing (whenever possible - I'm obviously not going to walk out on my teachers!!) and get the rest of the steps I need to complete the 1200. Should be easy enough! I'm sure I'll keep you posted. :)

2. Eating every 2 hours and not after 7pm - I'm doing really good about the two hour thing! (You ALWAYS have to look at the plus side of things first!) And, most of the time I've even done the 7pm thing. I cheated a couple of times, cause, honestly: my hubby doesn't get home until 7pm or later some nights...and it's not HIS fault I need to lose weight. So, I wait and eat with him.

OK, that was the plus side; this is the negative: I am cheating WAY too much on WHAT I eat. And, what's worse, I'm justifying it by saying, "this isn't a diet, it's a plan, so I'm allowed to cheat." But, guess what? If you cheat too much on your plans, YOU WON'T MEET GOALS!! What's my goal? To be under 158! So, I'm going to try to cheat waaaay less this week. Do you think I should give myself 3 cheat cards or something to use throughout the week? Is 3 too many? What would you do?

3. A piece of fruit a day - I only did this ONE time. Shameful, isn't it?! BUT, have no fear: I actually HAVE fruit in my kitchen right now. That's a BIG improvement over where I was 7 days ago. And, as I predicted - I really did like the one piece of fruit I did eat (which was yesterday) so I'm sure I'll want another one today!

4. 80 oz of water a day - I'm pretty sure I only did this one time as well. (Are you beginning to see why I'm still at 158?)

Just like the steps, however, I have a plan! I will need to get 7 oz of water an hour to meet my goal. So, when I take breaks in my day to catch up on steps, I'm also going to finish my 7 oz for that hour. :) That way I'm not sitting here at 11:30 trying to chung my last 10 oz before bed like I was last night!

5. Post my weight every Friday. YAY! Something I did perfectly the WHOLE WEEK! Look at me go!! I'm like the plan QUEEN! :-D

There are other postivite things about this situation:

1. I can take a before picture and it'll still be very accurate.

2. When I do get down to my desired weight, I'll know that this level of activity should be able to maintain my weight. :)

Have a great Friday everyone. Thanks for listening, eh, reading to my horribly long post...I promise the next one won't be nearly as long.

So, It's 7:50, and I have steps to get and water to consume!

Home Owners Insurance FINALLY taken care of

Ok, so I'm sure I've shared this story with most of you...but if I haven't, the letter does a pretty good job of recounting all the facts. My husband wrote this letter to finally end all the confusion. And, it's freakin' hilarious.


Sunday, November 4, 2007
To: Mortgage Company A
From: luaphacim
Re: Returning Funds Withdrawn in Error from Escrow Account
Account Number: 123456789
Name: Mr. and Mrs. luaphacim


To Whom It May Concern:


The following events have transpired over the past few months, resulting in almost immeasurable consternation for both me and my lovely bride of two years, seven months, and twenty days. I appreciate your attention to this matter and hope that it can be brought to a quick resolution.


On July 9, 2007, we bought a home, taking out an FHA loan from MORTGAGE COMPANY A to do so. It is a nice home, with plenty of room and some pretty good amenities. For instance, the sellers threw in a free refrigerator which, unfortunately, leaks like a diabetic racehorse. However, as we do not believe in looking gift refrigerators in the mouth, we are quite satisfied with our purchase.


At our closing, $679.00 was taken from our closing costs and paid to INSURANCE COMPANY X as our first year of premium for our home owner’s insurance.
On or around July 18, 2007, a withdrawal of $679.00 was made from our MORTGAGE COMPANY A escrow account and sent to INSURANCE COMPANY X for our first year of home owner’s insurance, leaving our escrow account with a negative balance. Since we had also paid for our first year of insurance at closing, this was a double payment. I do not have a degree in finance or anything, but I suspect that this is not supposed to happen to an escrow account. Ever.


On August 6, 2007, INSURANCE COMPANY X Insurance sent us a check in the amount of $679.00 to reimburse us for overpayment of our premiums. Naturally, since we did not know that MORTGAGE COMPANY A had made the erroneous withdrawal from our escrow account, this caused us some degree of confusion and concern. My wife and I made several calls to INSURANCE COMPANY X in order to find out why this check had been sent, and we eventually found that one of the checks had come from MORTGAGE COMPANY A.


We made a number of efforts to communicate with our local MORTGAGE COMPANY A personnel about this error, but they repeatedly told us that they would have to “wait to hear back from the national office,” or some such thing. Please do not take this as a complaint about them, though – they were very helpful with a number of things. Just not this one, really.
On September 1, 2007, MORTGAGE COMPANY A sold our souls home loan to MORTGAGE COMPANY B, which is a company dedicated to a diverse workforce and the good of humanity and so forth. At least, that is what I have gathered from being on hold with them for nearly an hour and listening to their never-ending loop of propaganda recordings.


On September 13, 2007, we received our MORTGAGE COMPANY A annual escrow account disclosure statement informing us that we had an escrow balance of -$132.76. At this point, we realized that something was seriously screwy with our account at your company. We were not sure whether the negative balance had been transferred over to our account with MORTGAGE COMPANY B, so we waited to see our next statement from them.


Our next MORTGAGE COMPANY B statement showed a positive escrow balance, so MORTGAGE COMPANY A clearly needs to receive the $679.00 to reconcile our account. We have therefore enclosed a check in that amount.


At your earliest convenience, please send us a letter stating that:
You have received the enclosed check
Our account with you has been reconciled and no further payments will be necessary


Please send this letter to:
Mr. luaphacim
1234 Main St
Someplace, KS 65432


If we do not receive this letter within a reasonable period of time, we will request a stop-pay on the enclosed check because of failure to render services. In other words: we mean business.


In addition, in consideration of the significant amount of time and effort my wife and I have expended because of MORTGAGE COMPANY A’s error, I would like to make the following demands as compensation. I understand that I will almost certainly not receive any of these demands, but it makes me feel better to demand them, so please humor me.

• A service fee of $30.90. My wife and I have spent well over six hours trying to resolve this problem, and I would like to think our time is worth at least minimum wage.
• A bag of microwave popcorn. This is useful and necessary for the watching of movies in our new family room area with the track lighting. Did I mention that our new house is totally sweet?
• A year’s worth of free rides on a Shetland pony, preferably one named “Buck.” This is a humorous name for a pony, and I think you will agree that pony rides are inherently awesome.
• U.S. military intervention to stop the genocide in Rwanda. Seriously.
• A George Foreman Grill. My doctor says I am obese, and I hear that George Foreman Grills are a great way to become magically skinny.

Please submit this list to your compliance department for consideration and so that they can laugh at my pitiful efforts to be recompensed for my valuable time, which could have been spent writing a magnificent novel or learning Japanese or on something equally edifying. I could probably make empty threats about reporting MORTGAGE COMPANY A to the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, 700 SW Jackson Street, Suite 300, Topeka KS 66603-3714, but I think we both know I am not really too serious about this, so I will not do so.


Eagerly awaiting your response, I remain your humble servant,
luaphacim
Home address:
1234 Main St
Someplace, KS 65432

I refuse to use the D word

What I am about to embark on is NOT a d*et; it's a PLAN.


Yes, my goal is to lose weight, but more importantly, it's to set up a pattern that will work for my life. I have a few rules that I'm going to try to implement:


1. 10,000 steps a day - I actually need to get 19,000 of steps a day to catch up with my new year's resolution of 10k a day. I also heard that 12-15k is needed for active weight loss, so 10k will be more continued goal (Cause, I don't want to lose weight FOREVER), but until the end of the year I will be getting 20,000. Wish me luck. This may sound easy to some of you who have never worn a pedometer before. But, alas, it is NOT!


2. Eating Every 2 hours, and not after 7pm - My "personal weight trainer" (really it's just Shawna, but she's the one that's lost bukoos of weight and got my motivated on this) suggested these two guidelines, and said that about 200 calories every two hours is a good snack portion. I'm going to try to stay with this, but I'm not going to stess over it...cause, if I did, wouldn't that qualify as the D word?

(And, I must confess, JUST THIS WEEK, my honey and I took advantage of half-price Spin Dip at a local bar...which is only half price AFTER 10pm! Isn't that awful? But, Spin Dip is my weakness. It might possibly be my downfall...)


3. A piece of fruit a day - Isn't it AWFUL that I have to put this on my list? People are supposed to get like 2-4 servings of fruit a day...but, sadly, I don't even get one. I can go WEEKS without having fruit. Seriously. It's pathetic. So, I'm not going to jump right in and say I have to get the 3 servings...I'm just going to start with one. But, my thought is, the more I eat fruit, I'll probably realize I like it! So, this isn't a max...it's a minimum. (On a side note: for all those couponers out there, what's a good price for fruit? Right now I've only been buying bananas cause you can get them for .19 a pound at Dillons when they're discounted. And, just last night I got 6 pounds of apples for 2.98. That's 50 cents a pound, which I thought was pretty good, but they are kind of mushy...do you think that's because they were older, or is it just a cheaper brand?)


4. 80 oz of water a day - I've also heard that in order to actively lose weight, you need to be consuming half your weight in ounces. Some of you may be doing the calculations in your head and thinking, "wait! Is she really telling us that she weighs 160lbs?! Girls aren't supposed to tell their weight!" In response to your musings, 1) yes, I AM telling you my weight. Actually, to be exact it is 158 pounds.


Which brings me to 5:

5. Post weight every friday morning - EEK! This is the real killer! This is what's going to keep me motivated... but the only way I'm going to stay motivated is if I get comments from you guys telling me you're still around, you read my current weight, and you're going to harrass me if it actually goes UP!


And, to reinterate: this is NOT the D word. This is my plan. And, since my goal is to pick something that will work for life, my intention will not always be to lose weight. I've consulted a few web sites, and averaged out their responses to come to the conclusion that my weight goal should be 115. BUT, since this is my PLAN (have you caught on yet?! :)) if I at some point plateau on this then I'll do one of two things:

I'll either decided that that's the weight for me,

or I'll add something to my life to get my closer to the ideal.


So, with that said, look back next Friday...I'll post my progress.

House Projects

I have sooooo many things I want to do with our new house! (Like, post pictures on my blog! Sorry, I know I promised. I'll get to it sometime.)

Some of these things include:
Buying a new couch and love seat set for our front room
Buying end tables/coffee table for the living room
Buying end tables/coffee table for the family room
Getting electrical work done (like updating outlets, and adding a few outlets and fixtures)
Replacing the kitchen floor
Buying a new kitchen table
Painting the kitchen
Painting the livingroom
Painting my scrapbook room
Painting the stairway

But! All of these things take time and money...two things I'm kind of short on! (Yes, I know I'm short on other things; like inches!) So, my question for you gals is, what do I do first? If this was a list of things that needed to be done to your house, what would YOUR priorities be?

Motivated Moms

Ok, once again, I have started a NEW system to get things done! (Big shock, I know!) I was doing Fly Lady, but the e-mails were overwhelming me. So, now I'm on to motivated moms. You can check it out on http://www.motivatedmoms.com/.

It seems to be going pretty well for me....we'll see how I like it once I get passed the first week.

What system, if anything, do you ladies use to keep yourself organized, to get work done, to keep you motivated? I'm always so facinated by these things, so do share!

Pantry Challenge

So, 3 weeks ago I was challenged by a friend to do a pantry challenge (which basically means try to reduce the amount of food I have in my pantry to a more manageable amount). In these last three weeks, she has been doing her own freezer challenge, and making great progress. I on the other hand, made a list, and have done nothing further!!

But, in my defense, I've had good reasons:

1. I wanted to get rid of leftovers before cooking any new things

2. We have had dinner with my family several times in the last several weeks. (Which contributed in two different ways! One, we didn't make anything new, and two, we brought home new leftovers to clear out first!)

3. I cook for youth group every other Sunday, and am SOOO not a judge of how much to cook! Micah makes so much fun of me because I'm constantly thinking in my head that I'm cooking for about 20 people (around 15 kids and 4 adults). He has to remind me over and over again that I'm not really cooking for 20 people...I'm cooking for a dozen junior high girls, and 7 people! Hehe..so needless to say, this has caused MORE leftovers.

But, I think we are seeing the end of the leftovers!! Praise the Lord...Micah is so not picky, and will eat anything I serve, but I know he's getting tired of the same things over and over again. So, starting on Monday, I will be going full force on my pantry challenge.

Perhaps, though, I should explain what "full force" means for us!
First, the reason for this pantry challenge is because my pantry is chock full of processes/boxed dinners, and I'm wanting to get away from that, and get into freezer meals (cooking for a month at at time) instead. Also, there are only two of us, and a lot of these boxed dinners are intended to feed four, which means by cooking one night, we're creating 2-3 left over portions. Which is fine, we can eat them for lunches...but sometimes other things come up and we have to eat the leftovers before they go bad, which means we don't always cook another meal!
Second, I am gone Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and so Micah fends for himself. We also eat out for lunch on Sundays, and have dinner with the youth group on Sunday.
So, that leaves Monday and Thursdays definitely, and possibly Saturday and Sunday, though plans for those days can change!!

So, as you can see, it'll be slow going!! But, I'm going to try to make an effort to clear out 2-3 meals a week! We shall see!

Here's my list so that you can keep track of my progress too!:
Chipotle Burritos
Campbell's Supper Bake - Savory Pork Chops, Green Beans
Frito Chili Pie
Chicken Nuggets, Au Gratin Potatoes, RL Buiscuts
Sausage and Potatoes
Pancakes/Waffles, Sausage
Chicken Nuggets, Stuffing
Chicken Helper, Green Beans
Ramen
Chicken Nuggets, Au Gratin Potatoes, RL Buiscuts
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Pancakes/Waffles
Chicken Nuggets, Stuffing
Stir Fry, Rice Noodles
Ramen
Lasagna, Veggies
Pancakes/Waffles
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Chicken Soup - pasta and broth
Chicken Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes
Chicken Nuggets, Stuffing
Sloppy Joes, Cauliflower and Cheese
Pancakes/Waffles
Chicken Nuggets, Stuffing
Tuna Helper
Alfredo
Chicken Helper
Chicken Nuggets; pasta side
Hamburgar Helper
Pancakes/Waffles
Chicken Nuggets, pasta side
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
spaghetti
alfredo
Tuna Helper
Hamburgar Helper
Sausage and Potatoes
Crock Pot Classic
Lasagna - freezer one bread, salad

Coupon Party

As you can see, I'm WAY behind on clipping and sorting my coupons! I even have 2 (now three since this picture was taken) UNOPENED Sunday papers, 2 rebate forms I need to fill out and mail in, an All You magazine from JUNE (while unpacking more stuff in our new house, I found 3 more uncut magazines) and an accordian folder full of coupons even though I haven't used that system in MONTHS!

So, last night, me and two other girls (and my husband!) got together to cut and sort our coupons! I was sooooo behind, which is why I planned the party. It was sooo fun to get to hang out with them, but I didn't get nearly as much done as I would have liked!

Ok, in the picture, do you see the envelope full of already cut coupons? I only got through maybe 9/10ths of that!!

It's sooooo not fun to shop when you constantly have to dig through your coupons. I want to be caught up RIGHT NOW! I have been taking breaks between homework today to get caught up on my coupons. Wish me luck!

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

51Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

53For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.

55"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

57but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.


I was really encouraged by these verses this morning, so I thought I'd share.
What's so encouraging? So much!
- We will all be changed
- We will put on the imperishable
- We will put on immortality
- We will be free from sin
- We will have this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ


Paul says, "Therefore"....because we have been given these wonderful things (and how wonderful they are!!) we are told to to be steadfast. We are told to be immovable. We are told to always abound in the work of the Lord. We are told to know, to remember that our toil is not vain in the Lord.


So how come so many of the things I do feel like they are in vain? Probably because I'm not being steadfast. It's possible that the things I fill my life with aren't the work of the Lord. I need to work on that.


But, be encouraged! We have victory through Jesus. Thanks be to God!

Golf Scores

So, Micah and I were lucky enough to get a chance to play Golf with Jere and Reagan! The only problem was we play be completely different rules! Among other things, we didn't agree on which direction play should proceed in.

Let's take a poll:
Do turns pass to the left (clockwise) or to the right (counter-clockwise)?

But, we would not be detered. We decided to play Micah and I's version, then Jere and Reagan's version, then Micah and I's again. The scores ended up:
Micah 118
Reagan 87
Jere 42
Magen 52

and, if we only take the scores where Micah and I's version was played, the scores look about the same:
Micah 70
Reagan 46
Jere 18
Magen 32

BUT, taking only the scores from Jere and Reagan's version, they look MUCH better!!:
Micah 48
Reagan 31
Jere 24
Magen 20

I think that's proof that I'm much more adaptive!!

God is SERIOUS about Love!

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My
disciples, if you have love for one another.

I was struck in my reading today about how many instructions 1 Corintithians 13 gives on love. I mean, I know it's called the Love Chapter, but have you ever counted? Just in verses 4-8, I got this list:

Love:

• Does not brag
• Is not arrogant
• Does not act unbecomingly
• Does not seek its own
• Is not provoked
• Does not take into account a wrong suffered
• Does not rejoice in unrighteousness
• Rejoices with the truth
• Bears all things
• Believes all things
• Hopes all things
• Endures all things
• Never fails

I say that I love my husband. I say that I love my family and friends. But, am I loving them the way God would have me to love them?

I journal a lot in my quiet times. It helps me to keep my thoughts focused, and putting in to words what the Lord is teaching me helps me to really grasp the priciple. After I finish one notebook and start on another I always go back and read through what the Lord has taught me throughout that period of time in the old journal. As I was doing that this morning, I was struck with how many times the Lord laid on my heart to pray for a single christian mom I am friends with and her 18 year old son who knows the Lord but is not walking with Him right now. Part of my prayer was that I just wanted to SHAKE this young man. He KNOWS the truth; he knows our Lord. I want to force him to serve his Savior. But then (isn't it amazing how this works?!) the Lord turned my frustration into to amazed thankfulness. How grand it is that faith doesn't work that way. No one can force you to serve Jesus. He lovingly give us the free will to choose Him. How much sweeter it must be for Him when we decide to follow after Him.


I have been burdened with (in a good way!) the amount of unsaved people around me. Sometimes I forget how many there are, because I have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding me (no complaints here)! Sometimes I feel like a broken record in my prayers for my family and the unsaved friends Micah and I have a lot of contact with. But, our Lord is SO faithful! I may never see responses to my requests. But, shame on me if I ever start thinking that's why I pray for them!

I pray, Lord that You would keep me faithful in my prayers for them. That I
would never lose track of why I want them to know You. It is NOT for my
satisfaction, Lord, but for Your glory.

Yet, if I do see responses...praise the Lord! He has rewarded years of prayer time and time again.


I encourage you ladies...keep at it. He wants you to bring your concerns to Him. If there is something on your heart that you've stopped praying about, I am praying that you would pick up the burden again with new vigor.


Have a blessed day!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived; neithe fornicators, nor idolators, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nore thieves, nor the covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sactified, but
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our
God.

What an AMAZING God we serve that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8)!! I look at that list up there and think, "oh, I would never do those things!" but in my heart, I know that I am guilty of such sins. But, what an amazing knowledge we have as believers. What an amazing gift to know that we are washed. And not only washed, but sactified. And not only sactified, but justified!!




Go out and praise the Lord today!

Spacing...

I had hard returns in that last post so it'd be easier to read, and when I posted it, they didn't show up. Does anyone know how I can fix that?

Ch. 13 - The Great Mystery

I've been reading Debi Pearl's book Created to be his Help Meet a lot lately. Chapter 13's opening paragraph accurately put into words the desire of my heart these last several months.

"A wise woman understands that her husband's need to be honored is not based on
his performance, but on his nature and his God-ordained position. She learns
quickly to defer to his ideas or plans with enthusiasm. She looks for ways to
reverence him. She knows this is God's will for her life."

I know this may sound silly, and probably I should have grasped this truth many years ago, but it has just recently struck me as amazing that God's will for my life is so very clear in His Word! There's no guess work, no room for doubt. He makes it so obvious, yet I've not understood until now.



He wants me to be a help meet to my honey. He tells me that I am perfectly suited to be Micah's help meet. Some of the traits of a help meet that Debi mentions in her book that I've been pondering/trying to improve on are:


- Has a passion to be of service (first to her husband, then children, and when time affords, to others) So many times I have gotten this order backwards. It should be easy for me, not having kids, to keep this straight...but it's not! My norm is to serve others first and then serve Micah with my left over time.


- Joyful, makes love fun, is thankful and content. I have lumped these three together in my head because they all seemed linked to my attitude. How can I make love fun for my dear hubby if I am grumpy all the time? How is he going to know that his love is more than enough for me if I am constantly griping and never satisfied?


- Learns to be flexible and to appreciate her man for who he is. This has really been a
hard pill for me to swallow...every day! I like for things to be orderly, I like to be in control. And, for some reason, it is so hard for me to understand that my hubby is a sinner just as I am, yet so easy for me to expect him to forgive me because I'm not perfect!





Sorry I have been away from this blog for so long. These thoughts of marriage, and my attempts to make mine what God desires for us, has taken priority of late. God has given me such a heart for this sacred institution He has created. If I know you read my blog, you can rest assured I pray for your marriages. Micah and I have purchased a case of Debi Pearl's books, and I would be more than happy to give copies to anyone who sees a need for them (whether for themselves or other women). Let me know if you'd like one - or several! What amazing gifts God has given us - our husbands AND clearly defined purposes for our lives!


Hope all is well with you.


(Oh, and yes, I know I'm still needing to post house pictures. I do not own a digital camera, but as soon as I am able to get my hands on one, I will post them!)

Proverbs 31

Description of a Worthy Woman
10An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
11The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
12She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
14She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
15She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
16She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
18She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
20She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24She makeslinen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
25Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
26She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29"Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all."
30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.

I have been noticing lately how quick I am to ask Micah to do some task that I don't enjoy doing. He is more than happy to do it for me (folding laundry, cleaning the toilet, loading/unloading the car). But, I am HIS help meet, not the other way around. There are also times that I give him tasks because, "I'm not capable of doing that!" But, look at the woman in these verses! She can do it all!! And, if I weren't so lazy and selfish I could definitely do the things I unload on Micah. The more I think about it, the more I realize that they're not hard tasks, they're just the tasks I don't enjoy. But, being his help meet is my God-given role. Even cleaning out the shower drain can be an enjoyable task when I am serving my hubby, and in turn, worshiping my Lord.

Proverbs 25

Lots to consider in this proverb!

Verses 11-12:
Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.
Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

So many times I think that I know just the right thing to say in a given situation. How wrong I can be!! Too many of those times, I probably did know the right thing to say, just didn't pick the right time. My problem is, that I'm defining the right time, I am not letting the Lord show me HIS perfect timing.

Verses 21-22:
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thristy, give him water to drink;
For you will heap buring coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Verse 24:

It is better to live in the corner of the roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

I've heard this verse quoted several times, but have never really stopped to think on it. According to dictionary.com contentious means:
1. tending to argument or strife; quarrelsome
2. causing, involving, or characterized by argument or controversy

I wouldn't normally think of myself as a contentious woman...but as I read these definitions, I could totally think of times that I have been contentious. And, at first thought...why should it matter? I mean, I'm not contentious ALL the time...just a few times, here and there. But then, don't I want my hubby to be happy living with me all the time? Should I be content to only make him happy he chose me as his bride MOST of time time?

Thank you, Lord, that You are continuing Your work in me.

More Interesting!

I want to make the look of my blog more interesting. The whole thing is kind of empty (the Be Productive box at the top, and the little green box over my picture). I also don't have anything in the about me part. Does anyone have ideas on what I should add to make this place more like myself?!



I'd appreciate any input!

Raising Children (Proverbs 22)

These last two weekend we were very blessed to get a chance to hang out with a few of our nephews. One of the huge blessings that came from it, for me, was to see my brother and sister correct their children in love, teaching them the way that they should go. I'm sure to them it seems like a never ending job right now - and it probably is! But, such great rewards God promises for it!

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

To those of you with children: Keep on! I pray for you. There are several of you who read my blog that are major examples to me! Thank you!

Packing...

Packing is so fun to me! It soo fits my desire to be organized! I'm foolishly hoping that I can stay organized right from the beginning in our new house. We shall see.

I've got all my scrapbooking stuff packed and ready to move into my new scrapbooking room! That's right, the house we bought has a room JUST for scrapbooking! I took a picture, and am ashamed of all the stuff I have...and then I added a whole nother box of stuff that wasn't even in this picture. But, in my defense, the majority of those two big clear tubs are pictures and trinkets to scrap...not all of it is paper and embellishments!

Couponing!

I went out earlier this week and did my shopping at Walgreens and Dillons. Here's what I got

Walgreens:
2 windex class cleaners
2 windex surface cleaners
2 lysol air sanitizers
3 boxes of trash bags
1 dollar to breast cancer

Spent: $5.26
Will receive back: $7.70


Dillons:
8 Healthy Choice Entrees
2 Frozen Lasagnas
2 Bryers Ice cream
2 packages of lunch meat
2 packages of cheese slices
2 sour creams
4 toothbrushes
9 chef boyardee ravioli
2 Suddenly Salad

Spent: 31.46
Will Receive Back: 10.00


I love this hobby!!

"Magen needs..."

I saw on my friend Joy's blog several weeks ago, that she posted a thing where she googled "Joy needs" and discovered all sorts of things about herself. I thought I'd do the same thing!

- Magen needs YOUR help in the War Against Terror.
- Magen needs your generous donations
- Magen needs to listen when told to wear sunscreen
- Magen needs to plan a day off
- Magen needs to take more care in her choice of friends
- Magen needs your votes
- Magen needs to get her bathing suit so we can go to the beach
- Magen needs a computer desk
- Magen needs to get over it
- Magen needs to learn how to burp

The generous donations, the day off, and the computer desk I'll take!! :)

Our New house!

Yes, the rumors are true! Micah and I did indeed buy a house last Saturday. The move in date is set for June 22nd. I am going to be finishing up a summer class about that time, so I'm hoping to get all my packing done as soon as I possibly can! If you have any boxes that you'd be willing to donate to the cause, let me know!

Here's a link to a virtual tour. I'm not sure how much longer the link will work...but enjoy it while it lasts!

http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?T=869803

I've been Tagged!

tsbjf has asked me to list 10 weird or random things about myself. It's taken me a while to sit down and do this, but here goes!

1. When I was born, my head was so big, that the doctors were worried I wouldn't be able to hold my head up on my own for a long time.

2. I retroactively write things in my agenda so that I won't forget things I've already done. (Micah makes so much fun of me!)

3. I married a man that one of my dearest best friends had a crush on for years! (Awful, huh?)

4. I play games in order to motivate myself. I've done all sorts of things including Super Woman Points, and earning money to spend however I please.

5. I set new years goals for myself, and then make myself finish no matter how long it takes. In my silly agenda world, I am still on December 13th, 2006.

6. It took my husband and I exactly one week to search for and buy a house!

7. I was born on the Ides of March (the 15th), which is the day that Julius Caesar was assasinated. (I'm sure I spelled some of those words wrong.)

8. I don't think having to list ten things is very fair, because other friends of mine only had to list 7 things!

9. I was born in the same town that my mother-in-law grew up in. She loves to do geneology, and has still not ruled out the possibility that my husband and I are related some how! :)

10. I spent $80 on a really cute shelving unit to store all my free stuff that I have gotten at CVS and Walgreens. But, I'm so sure that I'll be able to recover that and much more!! :)

There you have it! Hope you enjoy your day!

Parts of Psalm 145

I will extol You, my God, O King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and higly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable...

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works...

The Lord sustains all who fall
And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all who look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
And to all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry and will save them.
The Lord keeps all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

May your mouths constantly speak the praises of the Lord, dear readers, and may you cling to these promises, as you go throughout your week in the roles the Lord has for you!

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of on'es youth.
How blesssed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

What a wonderful Psalm! My bible says that the theme of this psalm is "Like without God is senseless. All of life's work - building a home, establishing a career and raising a family - must have God as the foundation." 3 of the most important things to me!
This view on children is also very encouraging, and convicting, to me. God values children soooo much!

Don't have a whole lot to add to it - just thought I'd share.

Psalm 126

When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad.
Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bring his sheaves with him.

I actually scrapped today!

Aren't you proud of me?! :)

Ephesians 3-4

Well, I've been trying really hard to work on my devotion time. I've been doing good at keeping a regular time the last several days. One thing I struggled with was deciding where to read. I finally decided that I was going to do just a quick read through of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians so that I have a better idea of what is there next time I'm searching for a verse. But, man oh man was Ephesians chapters 3 and 4 a big chunk to swallow today! I think that I'm going to have to pause here for a while and really try to grasp what the Lord is trying to tell me (convict me) about in these verses. They're great ones...I'd suggest giving them a read if you get the chance.

42 days to form a habit...

I have been challenged by my friend Joanne to for healthy habits for my life. Her goal for the next 6 weeks (starting today) is to eat healthier and exercise regularly. Joy and I have decided to do it with her. The idea is that you should be able to form a habit by doing anything for 6 weeks.

And, as you all know, I'm an overachiever! I have LOTS of goals for this six weeks. Here they are:
1 hour of devotions
10,000 steps a day
64 oz. of water
1 serving of fruit (I'm horrible at this!)
Shining my sink (Trying the flylady thing again)

That's it! Shouldn't be too hard right? So, how have I done so far today? Not so great.
When I get done here, I'm gunna do my 1 hour of devotions...
I currently have 7264 steps...not too bad.
I've drank 32 oz. I started out so good! But, no fear, I'll be up for several more hours.
And, I still need my fruit and to clean my sink...

So, basically, I haven't finished any of these things yet! But, I will! And, tomorrow I'll try to get at them a little sooner.

Wish me luck! (Good luck to you girls too!)

Ok...I got tagged...

I've been tagged by my friend, Joy...I'll fill it out, and whoever wants to can fill it out too...but I'm not gunna be tagging anyone. :)

A= Available~ "nope, not at all."
B= Best Friend~ my hubby
C= Cake or pie~cake
D= Drink of choice~dr. pepper (though i'm trying to quit...)
E= Essential item you use everyday~ my computer (sadly!)
F= Favorite color~ blue
G= Gummy bears or worms~ both! :)
H= Hometown~ Poteka
I= Indulgences~ chocolate!
J= January or February~ February-it's so short, so it feels like the semester is going faster
K= Kids and Names~ 3 two boys and a girl...still some question about the names...
L= Life is incomplete without?~ Jesus! What's the purpose without Him?
M= Marriage date~ March 19th 2005
N= Number of siblings~ 1...or 15!
O= Oranges or apples~ I don't mind either as long as someone else prepares them for me!
P= Phobias or Fears~ spiders, roaches, snakes, mice...you name it!
Q= Favorite Quote~ Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus...
R= Reason to smile~ Christ died to pay for my sins so that I can spend eternity with Him in heaven. (I'll steal this from Joy..I bet she doesn't mind.)
S= Season~ Summer, I hate being cold
T= Tag 3 or 4 people
U= Unknown fact about me~ I have a HUGE HEAD!
V= Vegetable you don't like~ peas...I like snow peas, but canned peas are awful.
W= Worst habit~ speaking without thinking
X= X-rays~ just teeth...what a boring life I lead!
Y= Your favorite food~ Spin Dip! (With chips and salsa, of course!)
Z= Zodiac Sign~ Pisces

Last Fling...

Micah and I were so blessed to be able to make a trip to Hutch to visit A&M before school started up again. It was sooooo very nice. We got there Friday night, and M had a wonderfully delicious dinner waiting for us...one of many wonderful meals to come while we were there! Thanks!

We had to cut our time short and leave in the early evening of Saturday, but we had a great time anyway! We got to do so many fun things...
story time with the pictures Micah and I took on our trips
a movie
chatting
playing in the snow
games
It was great! We really miss them, but enjoyed the time and really felt rested when returning to school on Monday.

Conviction

Two events in my life always cause great conviction: the start of a new year, and the start of a new semester.

So here I am, 2 weeks into a new year, and a week away from a new semester, and I find myself double-ly (I have no idea how to spell that word...when it doubt, go with how it sounds in my head!) convicted, if that's possible.

Where has all my time gone? Do I have anything to show for it? Am I being a good steward of my time? I am constantly reminding myself that I need to be a good steward of the money the Lord has blessed Micah and I with...and I'm getting better at it with much work....but do I use my time like God would have me use my time?

I've been reading A Purpose Driven Life with a couple women in our church. I swore to myself I would never read it...it was such a fad for so many years! But, I'm getting lots out of it.

One thing, which I've known before, but it's good to realize again is...What am I here for?

I am here to bring God glory. That's it.

Those 7 words make it seem so simple...so why do I have such a hard time with it?

Purpose lists the 5 ways we bring God glory:
1. We bring God glory by worshiping Him.
2. We bring God glory by loving other believers.
3. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ.
4. We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts.
5. We bring God glory by telling others about Him.

I'm still on Purpose #1, worshiping Him. I even need to re-read this section. But, one thing that's really stuck out to me, is how weak my devotions are. I usually do them at night, even though several very wise women in our church have suggested I do them in the morning. I'm NOT a morning person. Usually I have 8am classes, so it's all I can do wake up by 7:15 so that I can start my 30 minute walk to school. But, that's no excuse. I need the time BEFORE I start my day...I need to be meditating on His word...I need to jumpstart my day with thoughts of Him, so that I can be thinking about God, and praying to God through out my whole day.

So, this semester I don't have class until 11am every day. This is time that I know was given to me so that I can establish a routine. A routine that I will hopefully continue into the semesters with 8am classes. We shall see.

Hopefully this semester, I'll use this blog not only to keep track of the things I've accomplished every day, but also to reflect on what the Lord has taught me through sometimes continual prayer and meditating on His word.

Pray for me. :)

An Encouraging Day

Today was such a gift from the Lord. (Every day is, but today I was smart enough to realize it!) I was wakened by a phone call this morning at 7:30am, getting asked to run the sound system this morning. Of course, I said yes...I have no problem wanting to serve others. Though, lots of times, even though I like helping, I get discouraged, b/c it's hard for me to worship when I'm "working". (Hard to focus on two things at once.) Though, I'm learning that even the act of service is worship, and so maybe that's what made today so much better.
I was able to truly praise our Savior today during the songs...something that I have a hard time doing while up in the sound booth.
But, more surprising, I was able to get something out of the service! There are so many distractions up there, it's hard to learn...but I sure learned a lot today! Maybe after I have some more time to meditate on it, I'll write something about it.
Anyway, then after church, we got to hang out and have lunch with J&A and the kiddos. That's always nice...I like that sunday ritual.
After that, Micah got to take a nice long nap, and I got several things done around the house, including starting on my coupon clipping, and working on a workable spreadsheet to keep track of our budget.
Then we went bowling. We normally do that with my parents every Sunday evening, but they're on their way to Hawaii right now, so we bowled with my sister-in-law and a friend of the family instead. Which means, I got to hold my niece Hannah almost the whole time. It was great!
Then, after bowling, Micah and I went to pick out a couple of movies, and I ran into the mom of an old friend from highschool. My friend is has a 4 year old little girl, and one on the way. You could pray for her, her mom says she's having a real difficult pregnancy and having to see specialists. They think the baby might have downs. My friends name is Heather, in case it helps you pray!

Now I need to go because my hubby and I are going to watch a movie before bed. I love it! God is so good!

I like this Fly Lady thing...

I'm feeling inspired once again. That trip to Chicago was really good for me. It gave me the break I needed...and also helped me to see how good routines are for me! I get so much done when I stick to them. I'm in a really productive mode right now, so I should go, but I just wanted to share how good it feels to FLY!

So, here I am, sitting with my hubby at the coffee shop while he studies. We've been here for about an hour, and I have plenty of things to be working on (last year's goals, this year's goals, preparing 2007's agenda, reading my textbooks...) but instead, I've been reading blogs. BLAH.

That's ok...1:30 starts a new hour (hehe...in my head, ok?!) so I'm going to be WAY productive for a while!