Lyrics that clicked today

I want to love what You love, I want to see what You see
I want a hope that burns like a fire in me
I want Your light in my life, I want my heart renewed





I don’t want to weigh you down like an anchor
If that’s how you see me now





I don't wanna waste another day
Living in regret from my mistakes
I'll move on and the sun will shine
Pick up the pieces walk away
Live with the choices I have made
You've forgotten and so will I
So will I

not mine

Recent cookings

I made these Homemade Graham Crackers because the organic ones that I wanted (without corn syrup & hydrogenated oil) were almost twice as expensive as generic ones. They were probably the sloppiest cookie I ever made, because I knew I was only going to grind them to crumbs (for crusts).

Used:

regular smart balance (gotta use that stuff up =///) instead of butter

half honey, half molasses - the way she suggested

whole wheat instead of graham flour

lined cookie sheets with foil and put the dough directly on

I'd like a rolling pin this width! (but with a shorter handle!) -not my pic-

I skipped 7, 8, 9, and the "flipping" part of 10. I preferred to dry them at 170 for 3 hours instead =P I think I put 2 times too much "butter" in! So that may be why it took 3 hours! A double recipe made 8 cups of crumbs. =)

Espresso bark for the neighbors for Christmas.

It was tasty except for the coffee grit leftover in my mouth! I would've halved the beans.

Veggie Pot Pie. 

Filling was good =) I experiment so much with oil crusts, and I didn't like this one. Used a regular pie pan and just ate the filling that wouldn't fit in it. Used broccoli instead of cauliflower.

Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa.

Not sure if I got the recipe there, but she has it =)

Pretty good. LOVE the chicken thighs - cause I'm so used to fat-less chicken breasts. Threw in some pinto beans to compensate for my lack of, and dislike for, olives.

not mine

not mine

not mine

Good to be back in my kitchen for a few weeks. =)

Tonight's blessings

not mine

I'm not much of a movie person, maybe even less a movie-theater person. I was nonchalant about watching a movie at my grandparents instead of the theater, but super blessed by the movie I found at Blockbuster. Like Dandelion Dust - based on a Karen Kingsbury book. Definitely a tear-jerker! Definitely a good movie! I'd forgotten all about it and wanting to watch it, but God hadn't. =) I did wish there had been a little more about God in it - considering that it was from a christian author's book - but it was still good and so much better than 99% of the other options.

Blessing #2: My grandpa gave me a flashlight.

I took my ipod with me to listen to Jillian Michaels for the 15-20 minute car ride - just because I like to squeeze things in whenever I can - but the battery was close to dead. I was wishing I had a flashlight that I could take with me so I could read my new (amazing) book: The Power of a Woman's Words. So I listened to Jillian on the way to dinner, and read with my flashlight from the National Federation of the Blind (makes sense, right?) on the way home!

There's even more that God's done tonight!

Room re-do

From: August 3, 2011, 1 am
 

There's a great story behind the repairing, redesigning(?), & redecoration of my room.  It's an awesome & obvious testimony of God's faithfulness and Him doing things in His own timing.

My plain-white-walled, undecorated room took a big hit when our house needed plumbing work in October of my 6th grade. I even shared a room with my brother (not a problem, I love him) for 5 months during the couple days it was worked on and the months of "intending" to fix it back up. Rest assured, I had many angry complaints as 5 October's passed with no change happening in my room. I had different ideas in my head for redoing it, but a cream carpet (so it would go with anything) and "new curtains with purple in them" was about all that I was ever thought of.

Sixty-seven months later, someone steps through my ceiling. Long story short: they repair the ceiling AND the damage from the plumbing work; my dad and I sand, scrape paint, prime, paint, etc the whole room in a little over two months.

my room

God waited to unfold His plan until I was mature enough to come up with a solid plan for my room, to accompany my dad (or maybe it was vice versa) in redoing it, and maybe to also acknowledge His hand in all of it.

The amazing story about the curtains and bedspread is that I found them when I was randomly looking online for curtain styles and fabric designs. I was wishfully thinking when I emailed a link to my best friend. Turns out they were at a store ~30 miles from me! I picked them because they beautifully coordinated with my carpet; picked the paint & a lamp because they matched with the curtains & bedspread; picked frames to match with my desk (which blessedly looks good with blue & white); and a lamp that matches my desk was given to me a few months later.

 I didn't expect it to ever get fixed. I had resigned myself to the fact that I could be moving off to college in a little over a year (at the time that we fixed everything.) So why don't I always look to this story when I'm fearing that God won't provide what I want at a good time?

"...No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." - 1 Cor 2:9

God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him! (Isa 64:4)

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD." - Isa 55:8

2012 elections

I wish I had some love for politics that drove me to know everything important about all the candidates.  But I have different priorities, so I don't make enough time, and I don't even know what info to trust. 

Now I don't even know who's running! I thought it was Paul, Romney, Cain, Perry, and Obama! But then another site had a dozen or more candidates and included that Cain dropped out. Ok, now I see that Washington Times shows 10 current candidates. I'll trust that.

I like that Ron Paul has so many of his stances listed right on his site under Issues, but I'm disappointed that Romney has only 3 issues listed. Can't make a good comparison with that info =/

This looks like a good chart for comparing the candidates! 

I've bookmarked 9 of the candidates websites and jotted down their stances on my most important concerns. I'll probably thoroughly read the candidates "beliefs/issues/stances" sections and I'm sure I should be reading the news for the next 11 months =/

Then...no matter who my favorite is...there's still the question of will they be able to win out over who I don't want? =/ Savage obviously has the same concern since he offered Gingrich $1 million to drop out.

The candidate selection sufficiently narrows as election gets closer, right?

Prayer is a good tactic here too.

not my pic

Patience and Contentment

I love the great things I've been reading about patience and contentment. They're from Character Makeover. However, the first passage I ran across about contentment this past week was from a Max Lucado book. 

It was this: 

"Take a fish & place him on a beach. Watch his gills gasp & scales dry. Is he happy? No! How do you make him happy? Do you cover him w/ a mountain of cash? Do you get him a beach chair & sunglasses? Do you bring him a Playfish magazine & martini? Do you wardrobe him in double-breasted fins & people-skinned shoes? Of course not. Then how do you make him happy? You put him back in his element. You put him back in the water. He will never be happy on the beach simply because he was not made for the beach. And you will never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for earth." - Max Lucado

Love that! 

The great passages that really spoke to me from Character Makeover were:

Those who are good at waiting are those who are convinced that God will provide, that He is on schedule, and that He in in control.

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.  - Francis de Sales

If happiness could be found in having material things and in being able to indulge yourself in things you consider pleasurable, then we...would be deliriously happy. We would be telling one another frequently of our unparalleled bliss, rather than trading anti-depressant prescriptions. - John Gardner

We spend more but we have less; we buy more but enjoy it less; we have more conveniences, yet less time; more leisure and less fun; we have more knowledge but less judgment; we have more gadgets but less satisfaction; more medicine, yet less wellness. We spend too recklessly; laugh too little; drive too fast; get angry too quickly; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too little; watch TV too much, pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; we talk too much, love too little and lie too often. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have more parties, but less fun; more acquaintances, but fewer friends. There are times of fancier houses, but broken homes; higher incomes, but lower morals. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to our years. - Bob Moorehead

Contentment is a sense of satisfaction in God that doesn't go away because of what you lack, how you're hurt, or where you're stuck.

God knows my pain, and He knows my needs. God is a pain-healer and a need-meeter. He has been faithful to take care of me in the past. He will take care of my todays. He will keep His promises in my tomorrows. I can trust His voice and follow His guidance. 

In...[an Aesop's fable]..., a dog is carrying a piece of meat in his mouth while he crosses over a brook. He looks down and sees his own reflection in the water. Thinking it is another dog with another piece of meat, he decides that he also wants what that dog has. So he snaps at the shadow in the water, but as he opens his mouth, his piece of meat drops into the water and is lost. The moral of the story: If you covet all, you may lose all.

Try these "thinking steps" to get you from the "state of wanting" to the "practice of trusting":  

1. God is ABLE to give me anything I ask (Jer 32:27.)     

 2. So, I ask (James 4:2.)     

3. Now there are 3 possibilities that can occur: If I get it, it's because God knows it would be good for me to have (Matt 7:11); if I don't get it, it's because God knows it wouldn't be good for me to have (James 1:7); if I get something different, it's because God knows what I need better than I do (Isa 55:9).    

4. So, I can trust God to give me what I need (Phil 4:19.)

God is so good....there's so much I want to learn. I'm loving the Bible verses and godly sayings that my mirror frame is gradually getting covered by!

not my pic

not my pic

 

No bake energy bites & Smart Balance

obviously not my picture - mine were bars

Made these No Bake Energy Bites yesterday, they're delicious =) Leaving the chocolate out would've been healthier, but at least I used dark chocolate hershey's bar pieces. They needed more peanut butter though, maybe double. I don't waste time shaping foods, I just put 'em in a 7x11. 

So I've been eating Smart Balance for years, and for some reason a friend asked, "What's in Smart Balance?"

Water, Natural Oil, Blend (Palm Fruit, Soybean, Canola Seed, Flax Seed and Olive Oils), Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Vegetable Monoglycerides and Sorbitan Ester of Fatty Acids (Emulsifiers), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Soybean Lecithin, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA, TBHQ and Lactic Acid (To Protect Freshness), Vitamin E Acetate, Vitamin A Palmitate and Beta-Carotene Color

Well...I want to go back to eating butter...but we have like...3 pounds of Smart Balance...  O.O

8 recipes to make before Christmas, and 4 of them are supposed to be done secretly =/ This will be tricky. 

Obama

I realized during SOC class: Obama and Hilary (if she had actually run in the end) both had social advantages over McCain. How many people voted for Obama JUST because they were supporting having an African American president? How many would have voted for Hilary to express how badly they wanted a female president? How many more would have voted for McCain if he was African American, too? And how many fewer would have voted for Obama if he were white? How many didn't pay attention to his political plans and just paid attention to his skin color?

not my pic

not my pic

Chai

I'm pretty excited about the chai I made of Thanksgiving break.  After using this chai tea mix for two years, I decided it was time for a healthy change.  (That tea mix is half sweeteners!)  I always dissolved that mix into milk because I don't like flavored water (Plain coffee, tea, fruit flavor infused water, etc; it's just too thin.) So here's what I did:

• Steeped black tea in a mug of hot milk
• Combined the spices of that chai tea mix & added 1/16 teaspoon to a mug (Haha, I did some crazy math figuring out how much powdered milk I could add to the spices just so that I'd be able to scoop an even measurement into my drink. After I figured it out, I found that my evaporated milk was expired. So much for that!)
• Added about 2 small spoonfuls of honey (closer to a tsp than a TBS)
• Added a dash of vanilla

So much healthier =) Now I just want organic milk in a glass jug. =)

Not my pic

Ooo! Peppermint chai sounds pretty good! Except...my experience with it is that it's nastily thin and sweet. I'll have to try making my own =)