One Quarter of the Year 2012 ~~~ Gone!

WOW, where did three months of this year go? Seems like it was only yesterday we were ringing in the new year ... and now hear we are at the end of March! Exhausting just thinking about all the joys we've shared, fears we've faced, and life-altering decisions we've made!

Today it is raining here in Yakima and tomorrow we are volunteering at the Yakima Canyon Marathon ~~ hoping the rain will subside for at least the morning hours!

Looking ahead to April, it will be an honor to celebrate Easter -- I am so humbled to think that Jesus went to the cross to save me!

A week following Easter, my sister (Becky) and cousin (Cathy) will attend the Women of Joy conference in Oklahoma City. I know we are going to be truly blessed: Speakers are Stormie Omartian, Pam Tebow, Anita Renfroe, Lisa Harper and Charles Billingsley. The concert will be Casting Crowns with Matthew West and Royal Tailor. So looking forward to this event!

My dear husband bought me this most wonderful gift yesterday! I can hardly wait until the work day is over to start finding out about it and using it. I love to prep veggies, etc., for the week's meals as it is so much quicker to get a great meal on the table during the week. Oh, the possibilities!!!

Random .... there's that word again!

There is nothing random about any aspect of my life, and I’m not in charge of its destination. God is. He is sovereign, not random. Therefore, my life path is sovereignly superintended by a loving God. This message came through loud and clear in numerous ways this morning!

First, I had a random conversation with my sister Linda where we discussed how God gives us free will and even though we make the wrong choice, that choice is in His plan for our lives and He will provide the moment of redemption for us to get back on the right path.

Second, reading my devotionals (this one from Women of Faith) and Marilyn Meberg supplied the beginning paragraph of my post today.

Third, our Command Sergeant Major has 32 years in the Army and is anxious about retiring because he really wants to continue to work and ... he stopped at my door this morning and we also discussed how nothing is random in our lives -- God has a plan for him ... and for me (also contemplating retirement this year).

I thank God every single moment of every day that NOTHING IS RANDOM in my life!

Monday, Monday

What can I say about Monday? I am always exhausted when I come home from work on Monday -- it's a mental thing because Monday is not really any harder than any other day of the week!

I happened on this Bible verse today during my blogging and studying: Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I found solace in this verse because it means I don't have to do everything, be superwoman, etc.; I only have to do what God purposed for me.

Began reading "You're Already Amazing" by Holley Gerth today for Bloom (in)courage book club -- wonderful way to read a book and chat with the author and other women as we all dig into the book and God's word together. I have the book on my Kindle reader, along with my Bible for easy cross-referencing.

R is for ....

Random ... my daughter is always telling me, 'Mom, that is so random.' What is random? Random: Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective. Hmmm, I am pretty certain that I do have a specific pattern, purpose, or objective but sometimes those get twisted about like spaghetti on my plate! I find myself jumping from here to there and leaving plenty of unfinished business. So, beginning today, I am going to be less random!

Redeemed ... in church this morning, this blog post came to my head -- Redeemed: to buy or pay off; clear by payment; to recover by payment or other satisfaction; to exchange for money or goods. As we enter this Easter season, I am sorely reminded of how my Redeemer paid my debts by dying on the cross. And what can I do to repay that sacrifice -- live my life to His glory! To spin the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, 'As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you cause He made you to do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face.'

Repent ... never a day goes by that I do not find myself asking God to forgive me for sins I have committed in word, thought and deed, knowingly or unknowingly. I am so thankful that He is a loving God and saves me by grace when I fall, even repeatedly. Life would not be the same without this personal relationship with the Father.

Reborn ... born or as if born again, esp in having undergone spiritual regeneration! Being reborn, a born-again Christian, has changed who I am forever. The day I realized I couldn't do it all alone and asked God to come into my heart was the best day of my life! I thank God for so many, many blessings -- even adversities because they make my relationship with Him stronger --- and I hope you, too, will find this same rejuvenating water of life!

St Patrick's Day

Mike and I decided to have bangers and mash for our St Patrick's Day dinner instead of the usual corned beef and cabbage. He found the bangers at our local COSTCO store. First, I browned up the bangers in a little unsalted butter. Next I sauteed some onions in the drippings and added brown gravy mix, stirring and reducing the heat until it thickened.
Forgot to mention that before I started this process, I placed our potatoes in the microwave to cook --thanks to our good friends, Butch & Lynn Lott, we never cook or bake potatoes on the conventional stove --

Once the onion gravy has thickened, spread about half on the bottom of your baking pan, layer the bangers, and cover with the other half of the onion gravy.

Mash your potatoes with butter, salt, pepper and enough milk to make them creamy. Layer them on top of the bangers with gravy: Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes.

While the main dish was baking, I used a Bobby Flay recipe to saute fresh kale for our green side dish -- kale must be an acquired taste and I don't think we will have it again but ... it was pretty and the garlic was great!




Dinner was served and we watched Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close after dinner -- intense movie but very insightful.