Day 11 - When Stuff Happens

Stuff happens... Goodness - it happens often.

I feel Satan attacking me. I feel him threatened. He is attacking me from every direction. He knows he's losing the battle with me - so he attacks more and harder.

Death, sickness, uncertainty and spiritual battles have been been one after another this new year.

What happens when we feel stuff continually happening?

An old hymn my grandpa used to sing proclaims...

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the Solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand!"

My answer is to give it all to Jesus. The good, the bad and the ugly. Give it ALL to Him.

Will you join me?

Lord Jesus - I give it all to you... My faith and in times, my lack of faith. My fear and my strength. My marriage. My children. My finances. My womb. My health. My possessions. It's Yours. Be glorified.

Day One of our Journey - The Day of Rest

I guess I should begin by making sure that I communicate clearly. This is now my journal. A way to look back and reflect. A way to see blessings and some not so great decisions. A time to learn. This is MY and my family's learning. Therefore, when I write posts, I am writing for my family and my opinions of my life. I would never tell anyone how to live. My hope is that through my writings, you will be stretched and maybe find some new ways of doing things. If you don't, that's fine too. You can just sit back and call me crazy. It's OK, I have already heard it a few times. :)

How fitting it is to start this journey the day before the Lord's day. A day to worship the Creator of all things, relax and reflect. A time to rejoice in praise and rest while rejuvenating our mind, body and soul. It is fitting because it's the foundation, the backbone one might say, of setting up a productive and God-filled week. A week of hard work and staying on track. A day to be thankful for the blessings that abound.

The Sabbath has been abandoned. We fill our schedules and we run, run and run some more. If the Lord of Lords, the God of the Universe, had to take a break after six days of hard work, why would I think that I would not? Am I super woman? Do I have more strength to continue? God did not take the day to rest because He was tired. I really don't know that He gets tired. He's amazing and perfect. I think He took the day to reflect and look back on what he achieved during the days before.

The first step in our journey is to embrace the Sabbath. Go back to how the Lord would like it.

I will be working very hard (and it will take some preparation) to not cook, clean, use the computer or internet and abstain from places in which someone has to work on the Sabbath. Is that extreme? Some might say it is. However, as you can probably tell, I am an extreme person.

I also know that for some, the Sabbath is not Sunday. For that, I totally understand. Find a day during the week that works for you. A day where you can look back at the six days before and know you've done your best work. A day where you can put everything aside but your love for your Father and family. Relish the moments. Enjoy the day. Relax.

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day. 

                  - Exodus 20: 8 - 11 (Message)

What about you? What does the Sabbath look like for your home? 

BEST and Easiest Pizza Dough EVER! :)

Remember this post about finding ways to have some family fun? This pizza has made it all come together!!

This crust keeps my family from having pizza delivered! It is just that yummy and easy. All you need to do is plan ahead BECAUSE you put everything in the bread maker and allow it to do the work! Easy-Peasy! :) 

Put in machine in this order:

• 1 cup and 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups flour 
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning or pizza seasoning
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoon yeast 

Select the dough setting and walk away! After the bread maker's dough setting is complete, punch down dough and spread onto pizza pan. Add choice of sauce and toppings. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.

Go ahead! Give it try this weekend. The only think you'll regret is not doing it sooner! :) 

Making Memories

We are/have been on vacation. We came down for my best friend's wedding and decided to rent a house with my parents for the remainder of the week.

We really didn't have an agenda or anything that we wanted to do after the wedding but take it easy and embrace life at a slower pace. Andy has been working a lot and the boys (and I as well! <3) have been yearning for his undivided attention.

The trip started out with a good but hectic trip through three airports with three little people. The airplane ride was nice compared to driving but keeping the boys entertained and quiet was quite a job. They were really well behaved, it was just trying. I was trying to keep the baby (who has taken up screaming - shrill at the top of his lungs) quiet and Andy would try and keep one of the other boys entertained.

We then came into a major city and had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We then went right into the rehearsal - Dylan the ring bearer and I a bridesmaid - and were constantly busy with wedding activities. Poor Andy was stuck in the hotel room with the other two. If I were him I would have been crying and pulling my hair out.

The morning of the rehearsal, we woke up to Dylan having pink eye. I tried to get into contact with my friend to find a pharmacy and we got the doctor to call in a prescription, not knowing the pharmacy was closed. By the time we figured out the pharmacy was closed, the doctor's office was closed as well. Fortunately, eye drops seemed to do the trick.

As the week goes on, we've had many issues arise. Yesterday, the baby barfed all day and we were constantly cleaning up the mess.

Today we were determined to make memories. We decided to set up to Big Lou's Pizza. A pizza house that was featured on one of our favorite shows, Man v. Food. As we were pulling in, we saw a bus of school kids unloading. I took the baby and ran, all the way praying that this would be a good experience, to the front door.

As we sat down and began ordering, I hear "MOMMY!". As I looked over I saw that Dylan had poked a whole through his ginormous drink of red Hawaiian Punch. It was spilling out everywhere. I was tempted to get upset and make a huge deal but when I looked at the look of embarrassment in my son's eyes, I just cleaned up and joked with him. He was still embarrassed and very wet and sticky but we eventually moved on and made it a memory. We had a great time at that pizza house!

This vacation has and I'm sure will have more stressful and embarrassing moments but we have made great memories as a family that I'm sure we will never forget. So next time something happens, choose to laugh at it and make a memory instead of a time of tears and frustration. Some day, I'm sure you'll look back at it and smile.

"Don 't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So don't forget to stop and smell the roses. " - Walter Hagen