My List of Goals

I have been doing some thinking and I decided to jot down a list of goals I want to accomplish in my life, my home, and my marriage. There is actually a website you can use if you are interested in creating a list yourself. http://www.dayzeroproject.com/



PERSONAL:

• Finish Honeymoon scrapbook
• Make a Wedding scrapbook
• Make a pregnancy scrabook
• Make a baby scrapbook for Nathan
• Practice music for at least 20 minutes every day
• Buy more skirts
• Read 20 books in one year
• Read 50 books in one year
• Read 75 books in one year
• Begin a "Birthday calendar"
• Rid self of one bad habit per week
• Become more joyful
• Establish more healthy and Godly habits
• Bring a Godly, peaceful atmosphere into my home every day
• Get back to writing my book
• Get back to writing music
• Make a budget for Christmas 2011
• Make Godly encouragement a lifestyle

SPIRITUAL

• Spend at least 30 minutes in prayer a day
• Memorize a new Bible verse per week
• Pray more specifically
• Sit down with Grant and do self inventory once a month
• Share Jesus with someone every day
• Begin prayer journal

HEALTH:

• Exercise every day
• Walk one mile
• Run a mile
• Run two miles
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
• Maintain a healthy, good weight during pregnancy
• Lose 15 lbs

HOMEMAKING

• Learn meal planning
• Make a household notebook
• Try to save at least $5 a month
• Learn couponing
• Build up my Recipe Box
• Organize pantry once a month
• Experiment with cake baking and decorating 
• Organize all closets once a month
• Try a new recipe once a month
• Plant a garden
• Clean out the garage

MARRIAGE

• Encourage Grant daily
• Start monthly dates with Grant
• Read a book together
• Make honoring and encouraging Grant a more joyful challenge
• Spend more undistracted time together
• Study more on being a "help meet" (Genesis 2:18)
• Write a song together
• Spend more time praying for and with him

FAMILY:

• Read a Bible chapter every day
• Begin blanket training

FRIENDSHIP

• Call a friend at least once a week  
• Start inviting people over once a month
• Contact someone when God puts them on my heart

SHAME and AMEN!

Right now, the two words going through my head right now are - AMEN!!! and SHAME!!!

Why?

Because yesterday, I saw mothers on television debate over the upbringing of children in regards to abstinence....and the lack thereof. One group of women waved the flag of being "buddies" with their children and giving them birth control (among other things) since their children are "going to do it anyway." And many of those mothers were shocked to find how little they knew of their children's promiscuity. For that, I say SHAME! The other group of women were firm and vocal about waiting for marriage, or at least until they are older and more responsible (which, in today's society, even that is a step-up). One woman proudly said that she was raising her son to wait for his wedding day. For that, I say AMEN!!

When talking to the children themselves, one 15 year old girl had to stop and think of all the sexual partners she's had, counting them in her head, before concluding that she has had a total of eight partners! Another 14 year old girl said that everyone at school knows and talks about the sex act and thought that she might as well get it over with. How heartbreaking. To see the place we have come to, where love and intimacy and the beauty of marital lovemaking is trashed and reduced to nothing more than the usual "thing to do" once you arrive in Health class. Like getting your driver's license when you turn 16, it is just the average act of teenagers.

Do Christians have any idea of the epidemic we have??

Furthermore, do we do anything about it?

Being raised in a home where abstinence and chastity were taught, I learned quite a few things about purity and honor. Such as:

• Purity and abstinence education and commitments should be more than just a list of rules.
• You should saturate your children in what the Bible has to say about chastity and abstaining from immoral conduct. (Matthew 5:8, 1 Timothy 5:22b, 2 Timothy 2:22, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Peter 2:11)
• God's way should be taught as the beautiful, worthwhile thing that it is.
• You teach by example.

I think it is wonderful when parents desire to be close to their children, but there is a fine line between a close parent and confidant and a "buddy." A parent should set the tone of the household, the rules of the household, and lead by example. They should spend time with their children, teaching them, loving them, learning them, and inspiring them. A buddy is no more than an older version of their school and play mates. That is quite a difference. My heart breaks for the children. But in reality, I am more burdened over the parents, who literally have no clue. Instead of having such low expectations for their children, they should be raising the bar, setting high standards, inspiring them, and showing them that there is a greater life and purpose for them in the eyes of God.

SHAME to those who refuse God's way and will not heed His voice. AMEN to those who "ask for the old path, wherewith is the good way." (Jeremiah 6:16)

Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Canning Tomatoes | pt 2

Is that popping I hear??    YES, it is!!

What a great sound after a long, hot day. I have spent today canning tomatoes and, I have to say, I feel quite accomplished and proud. :) Here are the results!

Sometime (either tomorrow or later this week), I am hoping to make some salsa. That is something I have NEVER done or been a part of. But I adore mexican food and all that comes with it, so salsa is something I simply must make! :) Hopefully, I will be able to get it done. For now, though, I am just going to sit back and enjoy the delightful "popping" going on in the kitchen.

Canning Tomatoes

I am canning tomatoes today. Wooooooo!! This will be my first time canning completely alone and I am excited about it.

One of the many things I love about summertime are the tomatoes. Ironically, I grew up in tomato country and HATED tomatoes for most of my life. Then I hit 20 and began to crave tomatoes. I still can't eat them whole, by themselves, but I will put them in anything. :)

I have watched my parents can tomatoes for years.....but this year is MY year! *takes a deep breath* Into the kitchen I go! Wish me luck!


P.S. For those of you housewives who want to know how I do it, here is the recipe:

1- Make sure your tomatoes are ripe.


2 - Put on a LARGE pot of hot water - you want to bring this to a boil.


3 - Wash all your jars - preferably in the dishwasher because they will remain hot longer, but you don't have to do it in the dishwasher.


4 - Put your NEW lids in a pan of hot water along with the rings. You will boil them in a little while.


5 - Put all your tomatoes in the sink or a large tub. Pour the boiling water in step #2 over the tomatoes. You want to cover them so the skins will come off easily. You will soak them a while until you can put your hands down in the water to pick them out.


6 - Skin and core the tomatoes. Just pull the skins off - sometimes you may need to use a knife, but they should just peel off. Take a small paring knife and just cut out the core. Make sure there are no white hard spots on your tomatoes. cut those out.


7 - Cut your tomatoes in quarters, or smaller and put into a pan. I always cut the tomatoes over the pot so the juice will drip into the pot.


8 - You want to cook these tomatoes until they are tender. Watch them, and stir often so they won't scorch the bottom of the pan. It's good to have a heavy pot.


9 - While your tomatoes are cooking down, go ahead and bring your lids to a boil.


10 - When everything is ready set out your jars and put 1 tsp of PLAIN salt, and 1 tsp of sugar into each quart jar.


11 - Put your tomatoes into the jars leaving about 1/2 inch at the top and wipe off the edge with a towel, place your hot lid on the jar and screw on the ring. They should be very hot so be careful :-)


12 - After you have filled the jar and put the lid on it, place it in a place where it won't be in direct a/c and let it set for 24 hours. After that, make sure the lid bubble has sealed and they will be ready to store.

Happy Canning!

That Accomplished Feeling

• Kitchen is cleaned.
• Bathrooms are cleaned.
• Living room is cleaned.
• Bedroom is cleaned.
• Laundry is going.
• Groceries are bought.

.....and it's only noon! YAY!!!  I am feeling accomplished and I love that feeling.

Next on the list:

• Eat lunch.
• Finish laundry.
• Sweep the front porch.
• Sweep the back porch.
• Prepare supper.

Gotta get a movin'!

Choices in Christianity

Yes, I drink

Yes, I am living with so-and-so

Yes, I'm fooling around

Yes, I listen to ungodly music

Yes, I swear a little

Yes, I'm a Christian....

Does that bother you or is it just me? I hope it isn't just me...

God has burdened my heart lately about those I know (and don't know) who live exactly like that. They call it "modern Christianity" forgetting that our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.

While I was thinking on this, I thought about greats in the past. They lived their lives, just like you and me. They woke up in the morning, slept, ate, went to bed at night...but they had something more. What was it? I'll tell you: they truly loved Christ. They followed Him. They obeyed Him. And that is what separated them from all the, shall I say, plastic flowers. They didn't just live Christ on Sunday, they lived it every day, every moment. They "came out and were separate.." They were "in the world, not of the world..."

John 10:27

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"

Luke 9:23

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

Joshua 24:16

"And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;"

 

1 John 2:4

"He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

It is not a matter of upbringing, tempting situations or anything else that determines what we will and will not do. It's our choices, not our past, that bring things about.

Study the lives of Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, David Livingstone, Gladys Aylward, John Hyde, Mary Slessor, Maeyken Wens, Martin Luther, Fanny Crosby, Billy Sunday, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, Hudson Taylor, Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, William Tyndale, E.M. Bounds, Isobel Khun, Esther Ahn Kim.....need I go on??

I cannot see those great men and women of Christian faith going to the bar, living with their boyfriend/girlfriend, smoking or dancing, or fooling around, or swearing, compromising, or playing with fire....I can't see it. Just like I cannot see Peter, Paul, Andrew, James, or John living like that. Or... Jesus. Can you see Jesus Christ blending in the world today? Can you see Him at the bars? The clubs? In the backseat? Why then would you???

The great men and women of God heard and obeyed when Jesus called them to "deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me."  (Matthew 16:24) They denied themselves the simple pleasures that we call "our rights." They took up their cross - whatever "cross" it may have been. Hurt, abandonment, betrayal, rejection, laughter, loneliness, money problems, health problems, whatever they had to bear, whatever their "thorn in the flesh" was, they took it. And they followed. They went to the ends of the earth. They struggled, they fought, and they prevailed! They led many souls to glory!

There are choices in Christianity. I encourage you - LIVE in such a way that when others see you, they don't see YOU, they see HIM!

Hello and Good Morning!

Hello and Good Morning! :)

Don't you just love the weekend? My husband, Grant, and I have plans for this one. We have a dinner, a wedding, and a singing! Fun. :) I'll enjoy all three. For now, we just have to wait out the hours until 5 p.m. Eight more hours to go!

So, what is on the agenda for today? Well, for me, it is writing, cleaning house, and getting things ready for the weekend. I have already cooked breakfast (my Sausage Egg Dish!), sent the hubby off to work, cleaned the kitchen, and completed a load of laundry! Go me! Now, I need to clean our bathroom (bleh!) and tidy up the house....which includes dusting, something I have to do daily!

Guess I better get started, eh?