Gas isn't cheap!

Owen bought a motor scooter/moped/mini motorcycle/whatever you want to call it, to save money on gas. He's having a lot of fun saving money!

On living in a Bubble...

I feel like I'm in a bubble; a Christian bubble to be exact. I homeschool my children, volunteer in the church, and pretty much everyone I know are Christians...or at least profess to be. Lately I've thought about starting a Bible study with other ladies from church, but the Lord kept impressing on me the need to do something to further the Kingdom. Having another Bible study is all well and good, but at what point am I planning to step out to reach the lost world?

Am I doing my part?

Am I being a "fisher of men"?

I realize that I am at a stage in my life where my children are my main focus. I am preparing them to be Kingdom Builders one day. I know that my duties are to my God first, my husband second, my children third, but for some reason, I feel like there isn't much time left. I need to be doing something else; but I don't know what it is.

I was challenged today to make a difference. I am to be salt and light. I am to let others see Jesus in me.

One person can make a difference. How am I going to be that one person?

I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Recipe Fun Friday

I joined in on my cousin Nikki's "Recipe Fun Friday" this week. The idea is that each week you try a new recipe out and then share your results on Friday. I made Chicken Noodle Casserole on Tuesday, but I forgot to take pictures. Here's the recipe from my Kitchen Keepsakes cookbook. The parts not in italics are my own notes.

3 cups (6 oz.) uncooked noodles (I used egg noodles)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream (for less fat use plain non-fat yogurt)
1/3 cup milk
1 Tbsp. chopped pimento (I left that out b/c I didn't have any)
1Tbsp. chopped parsley (fresh) or 1 Tsp. dried parsley
1/3 cup chopped celery (again, left it out b/c I didn't have any)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
Buttered bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)

Cook noodles as package directs (being sure to add salt while cooking as this is the best way to flavor pasta). Drain. Combine all ingredients except chicken and bread crumbs in saucepan. Heat thoroughly. Add chicken and noodles, mixing gently. Pour into greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Top with bread crumbs. Bake uncovered in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve with tossed green salad and Sourdough Bread.

It was pretty good, but probably would have been better with the pimientos. If I had added the celery, I probably would have cooked it first because I don't think it would have gotten done in the 30 minutes that it was in the oven and I don't like crunchy celery in casseroles.....another good reason to leave it out.

Google

Little Owen is learning how to "Google things." He became interested in "Googling" because every time he has a question that I don't know the answer to (if you know him, you know how often that is), I say that I'll have to "Google it." A few weeks ago he asked if he could learn how to Google, so Daddy-O started teaching him how.

One of the first things he wanted to Google on his own was "how many jelly fish live past one year." He had read somewhere that jelly fish only live for a year, so I guess he wanted to see how many of them beat the odds.

He also likes to play with Google Earth. He types in a location to see how far it is from where we live and then looks at it on the map in relation to our house.

More Joy from my boy!

Today Owen was singing Joy to the World. When he got to the part that says, "Let every heart prepare Him room," Tyson said, "No, it's 'Be trev his groove!' Right?"

Tyson's version of Joy to the World

Last week, Tyson was singing the version about the Devil being dead and bar-b-queuing his head. I didn't like that and told him that we shouldn't sing about the Devil but about Jesus. So he started singing Joy to the World the right way....at least his version of the right way. I wish you could hear him singing it....he is so funny!

Joy to the world the Lord has come. For earth resings for nings.

For every heart prepare in grove.

For heaven and nature sing; for heaven and nature sing.

For heaven and na-ture siiiiiiiing!

He's Still Faithful

As I mentioned once before, Owen has been without a full-time job since last July. You may ask how we've survived this long without starving, and I will tell you that it is because God is faithful! Owen owns a small business and works part time for our church, and I give piano lessons. The income from the church and piano lessons is all that we can count on every month, and when business for him is slow or I loose a student, we don't have enough money to pay bills, let alone have money for gas or food. As you can see, this last year has been a major learning experience in humility and trust. We have literally trusted God to feed us this year, and He has been so faithful. All of our bills have been paid. When we needed gas money or grocery money, it always came. God has used generous people who've given us money when we didn't ask for it, and He's given Owen work whenever He knew we needed the money. If the kids needed new clothes, either I had the money for them or someone gave them to us. None of us have been sick enough to need to go to the doctor unless we had the money in the account to pay for it.

We've even been blessed with wants. I was given two Vera Bradley's and a Coach, a dining room table, a couch and a recliner (not all from the same person, if you're wondering).

I'm not telling you this so you'll think that we are super spiritual people that always trust God no matter how grim things appear. Just this week I was worrying and complaining instead of bringing my cares to the Lord. I took them to Owen, who was already doing all he could to take care of it. I knew that my worry was a sin, but I neglected to do the right thing....pray with a thankful heart. Even then, God took care of it. He gave us what we needed exactly when we needed it. It reminds me of the time that the Israelites in the desert needed water. Instead of praying, they complained to Moses. Moses didn't have any water. He couldn't fix it. But they knew the God who could. And God, who didn't have to provide water for them, and who could have let them die in the desert for their unfaithfulness to Him, chose to bless them even though they didn't deserve it. This is another example of the compassion and faithfulness of God towards His children. He is faithful even when we are not.