Miracle Monday is still on vacation this week.
Feel free to check out the Miracle Monday archives and remember...
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
He bestows rain on the earth;
he sends water upon the countryside.
The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety. - Job 5: 9-11
I'm on vacation right now and before I left I purchased two new bathing suit bottoms.
I decided that after 4 years of wearing bathing suit skirts, I wanted to wear bikini bottoms with my tankini tops.
After all, I've been Shredding for 2 months, I've lost 3 pounds and my thighs were finally slimming down a little.
So before we made our way down to the beach on Saturday morning, I got out my new bikini bottoms and proudly showed them to my husband.
I put them on and strutted around a little.
And on the walk down to the beach I kept admiring myself. I am not ashamed to admit that I kept looking down at my legs thinking how nice they looked.
I was quite pleased with myself.
Even after we had been at the beach for 30 minutes I was still admiring my thighs.
And then I looked up and caught sight of a woman who was my age or maybe even a little older.
And I froze.
She was gliding down the beach with her 4 children.
Her legs were super toned and super tanned and she was wearing a bikini.
A white bikini.
Not just bikini bottoms and a tankini top.
A bikini.
A white bikini.
It was at this point in time that I stopped starring at my thighs and admiring them.
And in the last three days, I have eaten donuts, 2 different kids of pie, and several different kinds of ice cream. I am on vacation after all.
I have even been eating blueberry buckle for breakfast.
And let's face it. Even though it has blueberries in it, it's still just cake.
So I've been eating cake for breakfast for the last three days AND I haven't been Shredding.
It's a good thing I packed my old bathing suit skirt bottoms. I think I'm going to need them before this vacation is over.
Miracle Monday is on vacation for the next couple of weeks!
Please feel free to review any of the past editions from the Miracle Monday archives.
And remember...
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced... (1 Chronicles 16:, 11-12)
If you have a miracle it's easy to join. Write a post and link to it here using Mr. Linky. Please remember to link to your miracle and not your main page. And include a link back to Miracle Monday in your post.
Must remember never to try to make French toast with regular bread. Must resist the urge to make French toast until firm, crusty bread is available.
Also must remember not to let Sarah be in charge of dunking the bread in the milk and egg mixture. Waaaaay to aggressive. Maybe when she's 6. Or maybe it wouldn't matter as much if I had firm,crusty bread.
One last note to self - Soggy French toast is not good.
In the words of Peter, "Can I just have a sandwich?"
In the words of Sarah, "I don't think I can eat this."
In the words of Mommy, "Who's going to clean up all the dried egg and milk that got splattered everywhere?"
Here's a picture of our adorable little garden! Isn't it cute?
My husband has been planting, weeding, watering and fertilizing for the last 6 weeks or so and I'm very proud of his efforts.
It may not look big but we've got lots going on in our little garden:
4 different varieties of tomatoes
Green beans
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Carrots
Cilantro
Rosemary
Basil
Parsley
Watermelon
Some of the items were started from seeds and others were started as plants.
I've got lots of basil right now and lots of green tomatoes that we are anxiously waiting on to turn red so we can start having soups, sauces and of course, mater sammiches!
This is our first attempt at anything other than tomatoes so we are taking notes so that next we can improve on our efforts.
Two of the things we have learned so far...
We have already harvested lots and lots of zucchini and we discovered that none of us really like it. So I don't think we will be planting that next year. (And I wasn't too disappointed when squash bugs got to one of our zucchini plants and we had to remove it.)
We planted the green beans and the cucumbers on the inside row. Next year we will be planting them on an outside row so that they will be easier to pick. Or maybe just make our rows a little bigger. The kids are having a hard time helping us to pick these things because they are hard to get to being in the center of the garden.
This garden is helping us get us fresh produce cheaply, it's been fun for the kids and I think my husband has a new hobby now!
He mentioned the other day that he would like to build a brick fenced in area and plant an English garden.
Momma likes flowers but I'm not sure if Daddy knows how to lay bricks. One hobby at a time, honey!
This time of year I love serving fresh corn on the cob. But I hate getting the husks and the silks off. Hate it!
But I have discovered a simple technique that makes cooking and husking easy. Just follow these easy steps and you will be nibbling on corn on the cob in no time!
Enjoy!
And for more summer recipes, visit Kristin at We Are That Family.
Early today my Mom asked me to explain the title of yesterday's post. "I don't get it," she said. "Why are you talking about chiffon in the title of your post?"
"Not chiffon the fabric, Mom! Chiffon the Margarine!"
An I the only one that remembers the "It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature" commercials?
My husband put fertilizer on the grass this weekend because the weather forecast showed that there was a 20% chance we may get some rain on Sunday night. The rest of the week it is supposed to be clear and in the upper 80s, lower 90s with ZERO % chance of rain.
So he put it down and hoped for rain.
Because everyone knows if your fertilizer is going to work, it needs to get wet after you put it down. Everyone knows that, right?
So in a desperate attempt to help my husband and to get my kids away from Sponge Bob, I decided we would wash the car.
Because everyone knows if you was your car, it will rain. Everyone knows that, right?
Peter declared that it was too hot to be outside so he stayed in the air conditioning. But Sarah thought helping me wash the car would be fun so outside we went with the bucket, sponge and scrubber in tow.
I am not a car person. I don't car a thing about them. I just like my car to be in good working order and not to smell like Frito's and feet on the inside. Normally we do a good job keeping the car operational but I have the worst time keeping it smelling fresh on the inside.
As for the outside, I normally run it through the car wash at the gas station every 2 months. But by my calculations, it hadn't been through the car wash since we got home from our Christmas trip to Massachusetts.
So the car was dirty. Really dirty.
I decided that I could do a much better job than the gas station car wash and save $5.00 in the process so we got to work.
Sarah rinsed and I scrubbed and then she rinsed and I scrubbed and then she got bored.
And then I got bored. And hot.
I surveyed the car. It looked all shiny and clean while it was sitting there soaking wet so I put everything away and left it in the sun to dry.
And when I went to admire my work later in the afternoon after it had dried, I swear it looked as if I had not even touched it. Other than a few bugs that I had scraped off the headlights, it looked even dirtier than when I started.
How is that even possible?
The forecast is still sunny and hot for the rest of the week with no chance of rain.
Apparently for it to rain after you wash you car, you actually have to get your car clean.
"Sorry honey. I tried," I yelled to my husband last night as he was setting up the sprinklers after work.
Well, you know what they say. It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.
Happy Miracle Monday!
Today I want to share with you a miracle that Jesus performed. This miracle is found in Mark 5:21-21,35-43(NIV).
21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.
22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24So Jesus went with him.
35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"
36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep."
40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ).
42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
This miracle was part of our Gospel reading during Mass yesterday. And what really stood out to me was when Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
Leave it to Jesus to utter one simple sentence that packs such a powerful punch - not only in this miracle but for our lives today.Don't be afraid of where life will take you or what may happen to you along the way. If you just believe in Him, everything will be OK.
If you want to share a miracle, an answered prayer or even a prayer request, it's easy. Write a post on your blog and leave the link to the post (not the link to your main page) here with Mr. Linky. And be sure to mention my blog and URL in your post.
Yesterday I decided that I needed to scrub the toilets. There was one toilet in particular that looked like an award-winning science experiment and I couldn't avoid cleaning it any longer.
As I was scrubbing, Sarah came into the bathroom where she informed me that I must think I was a queen.
"Why do you think I think I'm a queen?" I asked curiously.
"Because you always tell me and Peter what to do..."
"and because you always tell Daddy what to do..."
"and you never do anything."
And then to add insult to injury, I had barely turned aside from my sparkling clean toilet when I heard a sweet voice calling, "Mooooommmmy! Can you help me wipe my bottom? It's a squishy one!"
That girl sure knows how to put a hurting on my ego and my toilet!
Today I'm participating in 7 Quick Takes Friday. It's hosted by Jennifer at Conversion Diary and you write about 7 things you want to post about but that aren't really posts on their own.
So here we go!
And no, I am not referring to Peter.
Look at the gorgeous house! Peter and I built this beauty this morning.
I almost had Peter take a picture of ME with the house since I put so much work into it but I decided that would just be silly.
Look at the details…the little tree and the little mailbox and the little flowers. The walkway and the porch and the windows…
But mostly, just look at that big smile!
I guess I really didn’t have anything I needed to do today that can’t wait until tomorrow.
Sigh…I would do anything for that smile.
I am almost 40. (Nope. That's not the confession. I've mentioned it many times here.)
Plus, the wrinkles tend to give it away!)
My confession is that I am almost 40 and I have been a Christian my entire life and I have never read the Bible cover to cover.
It always seemed like such a daunting task. A daunting AND boring one. I mean who wants to willingly plod through Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy?
But lately, Sarah and Peter keep asking me what "my favorite book in the whole wide world" is. And I always answer "The Bible." Because it is, of course, the greatest book ever written. And it is The Word given to us from God. How could it not be "my favorite book in the whole wide world?"
And then I started feeling a little guilty. If I believe that it truly is the greatest book ever written then why haven't I read it all, cover to cover?
One day while looking up a Bible verse at BibleGateway.com, I saw something that caught my eye. It said Read The Bible In 90 Days!
I was intrigued so I clicked on the link. Zondervan has published the NIV Bible so that if you read 12 pages a day, you can read it in just 90 days. If you don't want to purchase a new Bible, BibleGateway.com has bookmarked the 12 pages you are to read or you can receive them via RSS feed.
How could I not do this? 12 pages a day? I decided to go for it!
And I'm so glad I did. I'm currently on Day 17.
The Israelites have made it out of the wilderness and I feel as if I have too. Reading Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy weren't as hard as I thought they would be but I'm glad to say that I'm on to a little more exciting reading now.
And I am enjoying this way more than I thought I would. And I am wishing that I hadn't waited until the ripe old age of 39 to start this.
I read my 12 pages early in the morning before the rest of the house is up and what a wonderful way to start my day.
And I will admit, I have fallen a few days behind. I decided that I will not read my 12 pages on the weekends. I try to sleep in until the kids get up on Saturdays and Sundays and once they are up, I can't focus my full attention on my reading.
So if I stick with my it Monday through Friday, I will be able to read the Bible in 112 days. That's not too shabby!
If you are interested, check it out at BibleGateway.com.
If this is the scene in the bathroom...
...I know he's...ahem...been.
Baseball season is finally over.
After this first wonderful game, it went downhill. And fast.
The team was called the Braves and my husband and I affectionately referred to them as the Bad News Braves. Because after their first game, they never won another one.
There are lots of reasons why the Braves weren’t as good as the other teams in the league: no one on the Braves had ever played modified tee-ball before, the kids were younger and smaller than most of the kids on the other teams, a lot of our practices got rained out, and we had several kids that would not listen to the coach.
For the first half of the season, after every loss, Peter would look up at me with his big brown eyes and ask me if I was mad at him for losing.
I was finally able to convince him that I wasn’t mad.
Before every game, I told him I just wanted him to do his best. To keep his eye on the ball at all times. And to have fun. And I kept stressing the fun part.
Because after all, it’s really just a game. And if he isn’t having fun then he shouldn’t be doing it.
But Peter is a pleaser and I think he felt that Dan and I wanted him to play ball. (Which we did and do.) And I think he felt he would be letting us down if he didn’t.
There were many afternoons when I had to practically drag Peter to practice and the whole time he was complaining, “I’m not playing again next year!”
But as soon as he saw his trophy at the end of the year party, he declared, “I want to play Fall Ball AND Spring Ball!”
He has two weeks to decide about Fall Ball before we have to sign up. And as much as I hope he decides to play, I’ve got a feeling he’ll change his mind by then.
The excitement of receiving the tall trophy, the thrill of making some great plays at third base in the last few games, and the charge that comes from running across home plate will be distant memories in two weeks when I remind him of sign-ups.
I’m sure he’ll shrug and say “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to play.”
And I’ll be ok with that.
