Skills

Today I am thankful for the dads in my life.

I am thankful for the skills that my dad gave me,

the work ethic he tried to instill,

the experiences he provided,

the exposure to LOTS of things.

I am thankful for hubby's dad.

Again, the skills he taught,

the work ethic he instilled,

the experiences,

the exposure.

More and more often,

I run into people without basic skills.

Basic home maintenance, basic auto knowledge, an awareness of tools and how to use them.

They were not given the teaching in these areas

and have not taken the initiative to learn on their own ...

and they are in a sense "crippled."

I am thankful for the skills I have learned

and for those who have sought to hone those skills,

for those who have been willing to teach.

Inspired Again

Do you have moments that change you?

Moments that spark change?

Moments that encourage?

I have some of those.

To hear about broken families (especially in the church)

always inspires be to keep my marriage fresh,

to communicate as I should,

to put my all into my "job."

This week was one of the other inspirations.

It just takes a move - 

helping someone to move his/her life,

the entire contents of his/her home.

I am inspired again to look with new eyes.

I do not want my "things" to hold me down.

I do not want to hoard.

do I love it?

do I use it?

does it help my home or hinder me?

I have a small pile started and will work more next week.

Always

Psalm 55:17
Evening, and morning, and at noon,
will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

So much to pray about ...

so glad that I have a God who hears and answers.

I just need to be faithful.

Just A Little Tip

Once again, my schedule is out the window ...

there is a church family moving locally, and a family down health wise that needs some yard care,

and it is midterm week for our college kids (goodies in the mailbox are called for)

BUT ...

I am pleased that I am still getting much accomplished.

Tonight I was making Grilled Chicken Pizza for hubby's lunch box tomorrow,

as I returned to my "preheated" grill ...

no flame, no gas.

Then I remembered a tip that was given to me once.

I was told that even though my tank seemed empty,

the gas was just "gelled" at the bottom.

The tip was to turn the tank upside down.

I did so for about 2 minutes ...

and voila ...

gas to cook the chicken.

BTW - the pizza looks really good.

I also got a batch of granola made tonight,

and a batch of graham crackers so that I can attempt a Chocolate Eclair Cake tomorrow.

Supernal Comfort

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Aren't you glad for that comfort?

It was a day when I needed that reminder.

Supernal - being or coming from on high, heavenly, superlatively good

A Schedule

This week,

I am thankful for my schedule.

I sat down over the weekend and made an hourly schedule.

I knew that it was just lofty, a broad frame ...

... and sure enough, this week was not made for that schedule.

Monday had a two hour block knocked out,

Tuesday and Wednesday, I started each day with very large headaches,

today, my piano lesson times were changed.

BUT ...

that schedule has helped me to get more done.

The outdoor shed has been cleaned,

the gutters have been cleared (time 1 this season),

the cobwebs have been knocked down outside,
mildew has been scrubbed off the gutters,

new meals have been chosen and executed,

hubby and I are back to studying the modern Hebrew language.

Some weeks may allow me to follow the schedule to a "t,"

but in the mean time, it is inspiring me to be more productive.

Accountability

Everyone needs it,

but who really wants it.

I have recently asked some people to be accountability partners.

Hubby is helping me with the Couch to 5K program again.

So far, with his encouragement (and pushing),

I am already 2 minutes ahead of the last two times I went through the program.

I am not surprised.

The time goes quicker and I am challenged to not slow him up too much.

I have also asked two young ladies in the church to help me with verse memory again.

We are studying the Proverbs 31 woman together,

so we are learning 2 verses of that passage each week.

They were also working on James (which I have memorized in the past),

so they are helping me to review that book.

As we study Proverbs 31,

we also give each other challenges.

So far we have challenged each other ...

... to be more trustworthy,

... to do things before being asked,

... to do the unlovely job for other people,

... to consider others before ourselves,

... to proactively work on our health,

... to look for and meet needs,

... and to prepare for the future in a reasonable way.

Each challenge must be met with a specific example.

While it is hard to be vulnerable to others,

the accountability is really helping me to make the most of each hour,

to put Bible memory back in the forefront,

and to challenge my physical strength.

Are you accountable to anyone in a specific way?

Why not?

It might surprise you how much it will help you.

It Doesn't Matter the Season

Matthew 1:21
And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from their sins.

It is not just a verse for Christmas.
I read this yesterday morning.

He was given the perfect name (s).

He only could save - 

because He is perfect, holy, righteous, forgiving ...

He died for me and He died for you.

He alone could save - and does save.

Always Tweaking The Plan

I know, I have not been very faithful,

but I think I have a plan worked out that will give me more time to share with you.

The past months have changed my schedule,

and I have not really thought about all of the "little" things,

so they have been forgotten or pushed to the side.

Over the weekend, I made a schedule to put some of those "little" things back in:

blogging, Hebrew lessons, piano practice, hand lettering, more snail mail ...

My schedule was not the only thing that needed tweaking.

After nearly 16 months on a repeated 30 day eating plan,

we were getting bored.

Back to the drawing board.

We had learned so much on the plan and our bodies had responded so well.

I loved the simplicity of shopping and cooking to meet my caloric needs.

Hubby responded well to less processed food and had a much improved allergy season.

How could we improve it?

My plan was to take our 7 favorite breakfasts and cycle through them.

Take 7-9 favorite lunches and cycle through them.

The variety would come through dinner.

I am now back to searching the internet for new favorites,

or revamping and revisiting old ones.

Last week, we enjoyed Cheeseburger Pie from the Alpha-Bakery Cookbook
put out by Gold Medal Flour.

Of course, I tweaked the crust recipe for our Gluten-free diet,
but it was just as good as we remembered.

One of our new favorites is Philly Cheese Stuffed Peppers.
I tweaked the recipe to use a few less mushrooms - 

and Steak-umm for the flank steak.
Did you know that Steak-umm is 100% beef?

I was shocked.

Philly Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

2 green bell peppers

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 (4-ounce) container baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

8 ounces Steak-umm

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

8 slices provolone cheese or mozzerella

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400° F. 

Spray an 11x7-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

Boil green pepper halves in water 2-4 minutes.  Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until the onion and peppers have softened.  Add Steak-umm to the skillet.  Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2 to 4 minutes. 

Place the green bell pepper halves open side up in baking dish. Line the inside of each pepper half with slice of cheese.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer ½ cup of the flank steak mixture to each bell pepper half.

Top each pepper with the remaining ½ slice of provolone cheese.

Bake the peppers for 10 minutes in preheated oven until cheese is melted.

Thank You!

My brother posted the "thank you" below to those of you who have given of your 

time to pray for baby Timothy.

My brother and the 8 children are travelling to Rochester today to visit with Timmy and mommy.

"Here is the latest picture to come home. His hands stay bundled now so he doesn't pull out his NG feeding tube again. He has been smiling more, which does his mommy's heart good.

My sister had been working on our family having a day of prayer for Timmy today, setting aside a day a month ahead of surgery to pray for him. As she told me "God knows what is needed and when" as the day of prayer falls a week into Timmy's hospitalization. She set up a schedule and there is a family member or friend praying for Timmy and us every half hour of the day today. You can see the schedule here. I know we have been encouraged by the number of people praying for us, and by my sister's planning and concern. I'd like to invite you to pray with us today. Then, if you want, to add your name in the blank third column by any time of day you're praying for Timmy and us as well. There is limited space, but if you click on a cell in column "D" or "H", you can add your name to any other names in there.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. Not sure if we will have any more updates today with driving up and back and all. Today should be another stable day, the plan is to not do another echo for a few more days, to increase his feeding volume from 75 cc to 80 cc every 3 hours, and to love on little Timmy.

Thanks again for praying. We appreciate you all."

If you missed the first day, why not choose a time on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

At 9 am I  prayed for some noticeable changes that will lead to a testimony of the power of prayer.

May I add my own thanks to all of you - 

you have blessed my heart as well - 

it is great to have help to carry heavy burdens.

God has blessed already in the day,

when I got up for the third time this morning,

hubby said "God is good.
He woke me up about 30 sec. before my prayer time at 1:30
and kept me awake to pray with consciousness.

I second that.
The weather was perfect that I could climb out of bed without freezing
and was able to stay awake in the early hours of the morning.

If you would like to "meet" Timmy,
check out his blog here.