November 2, 2009

Menu Plan Monday ~ Nov. 2, 2009

menubutton

Ok, so my menu last week, with recipes taken from my new Clean Eating cookbooks, didn’t really happen!!  I didn’t make it to Whole Foos for my shopping until Saturday.  So here is my menu for this week, whick looks pretty similar to last weeks!  I am so excited to try these new recipes! 

 

MONDAY

Chicken Tacos on whole grain tortillas, black beans

 

TUESDAY

 Linguine w/ shrimp and spinach, garden salad

 

 

WEDNESDAY

 (Trevor’s Birthday Dinner Request)
Lasagna (made with ground turkey), salad, and italian bread

 

 

THURSDAY

 Leftovers

 

 

FRIDAY

 Stuffed bell peppers, homemade whole grain dinner rolls, salad

 

SATURDAY

Chinese Chicken & Rice (w/broccoli, carrots, & mushrooms)

 

SUNDAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maui Black Bean Soup, garden salad, fresh guacamole & Blue corn chips

October 30, 2009

It’s That Time of Year Again

Every year I make up my mind (sometime during the month of October) that I am NOT going to write about Halloween again this year!  I am done, I have already written about it, I am tired of talking about it, I am going to leave it alone!
And every year, as the 31st draws closer, I feel the Lord tugging and my heart, harder and harder and harder…”post the article.”  Until finally, I can’t resist any longer, and by His Spirit, give into His leading!

I am a very non-confrontational person ,and this article is very confrontational and pulls me way out of my shell!  But, that is just one more reason I know that it is totally the Lord’s will and leading for me to write this and post it year after year.

So, here it is…my Halloween article from last year, and the previous years:

___________________________________________________________

***Disclaimer:  These are my personal, very strong convictions about Halloween.  I understand that this is a VERY controversial topic!  If you are proned to be easily offended, you might not want to read any further!  :)

trick-or-treat-01

My first year of blogging, back in 2006,  I wrote an article called “Halloween – Should Christians Participate?”  Each year, I re-link to this article.  My desire has been to educate other Christians on the origins and also the reality of the occultic activity that still occurs on this day each year.  You can read that article here:

Halloween: Should Christians Participate?

The conviction my husband and I have is that, we, as Believers, should not be participating in trick or treating, Haunted Houses, Fall Festivals, dressing up, or any of the normal activities on the day of Halloween.  Instead we desire to make much of Christ on this holiday that is intended for darkness and evil.  We believe that EVEN Halloween is “the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!”  We do this first by praying together as a family.   We pray that the Lord would prevail over darkness.  We pray that the Lord would protect those who are going to be harmed on this night in occultic rituals (see my original article for more info on this).  We pray for a variety of issues surrounding this celebration.  We teach our kids about the truth of this holiday and its origins and true meanings, and the reason we do not take part in any of the traditions that go along with it.  We focus on Reformation day instead, and on those whom have desired to make much of Christ on this day, rather than go along for the cultural ride!  We then go out and do something as a family!  We go out to eat, or go see a movie, or hang out with friends!  To those around us (when we go out on Halloween night) it might seem strange that we are not dressed up, and taking our kids trick-or-treating.  This leads to opportunities to have conversations about Christ with people in our community!

Each year I have done more and more research on this topic.  It baffles me the ways may well-intentioned Christians attempt to brush aside the reality of this holiday (when they already understand the truth of it).
One argument that I have often come across is that we need to mesh with our culture, and be able to relate to them, and therefore we should participate in trick or treating, dressing up, etc…  Excuse my boldness, but since when did following Christ become a popularity contest?  I do not remember Jesus attemping to please everyone, and fit in with the culture.  He was hated and rejected by men, and his teaching and ways were not at all popular!  We are called to be in and not of the world.  We can be in our culture, and relate to them, and share Christ with them without participating in an evil celebration (that is masked by ‘fun’).
A little while back my husband was invited by a co-worker to go to a strip club.  Obviously my husband didn’t go, and was able to have a great conversation with this co-worker about his reasons why he wouldn’t go.  Applying this same idea, that we need to ”relate” to our culture, and need to go along with their ”traditions” no matter if they are pleasing to God or not,  would they also say my husband should have gone along to the strip club, so he could “relate” to this co-worker, and be a light in the darkness?  Do you see how ridiculous that reasoning is?  Instead, my husband was a light by NOT going along with what an unbeliever was doing as a ”normal guy thing.”  I believe that rather than trying to identify with and ‘fit in’ to todays culture, and ignoring the Bible as the ultimate source of truth and guidance for living out the life of a Believer,  we should go to the Word, and to God in prayer, and truly seek God’s direction in this area of celebrating Halloween!

My original article from 2006

CBN insightful article on what to do with Halloween

Article – Should Christians Participate in Halloween and ‘Harvest Parties’?

October 25, 2009

Menu Plan Monday ~ October 26, 2009

menubutton

Trying some of the recipes from my new Clean Eating cookbooks!

MONDAY

Chicken Tacos on whole grain tortillas, black beans

TUESDAY

Linguine w/ shrimp and spinach, garden salad

WEDNESDAY

Chinese Chicken & Rice (w/broccoli, carrots, & mushrooms)

THURSDAY

Maui Black Bean Soup, garden salad, fresh guacamole & Blue corn chips

FRIDAY

Stuffed Pumpkins, homemade whole grain dinner rolls, salad

October 22, 2009

My Baby Girl Turns 5!

Where does the time go?  My sweet baby girl turned 5 this week!  (On Monday)

100_0278Here she was the day after she was born…all 9lbs 12oz of her!!

100_0286And here is Trevor welcoming his new baby sister to her home!

100_5125

And my big 5 year old girl today!

100_5499Jumping on her and her brother’s birthday present!

I can’t believe how fast the time flies, but I am enjoying every minute of it!  I am so thankful for the blessing of our little Zoe!

October 8, 2009

Wordless Wednesday ~ Cousins

100_5197

Going to watch the Mavs Fan Jam!!

October 1, 2009

The Mundane

Love this quote from Carolyn Mahaney on the Girl Talk Blog.  Dear homemaker, wife, mother…May it encourage your heart today, as it does mine:

I got out of bed each morning so that I could do everything I did 734842_98231030the day before.
I washed the dishes so they could be dirtied again.
I ironed the clothes so they could be worn and wrinkled again
I wiped noses so they could run again.
I picked up toys so they could be played with again.
I mopped the floor so mud could be tracked on it again.
I cooked meals so that I could go to the grocery store again.
I made beds so they could be slept in again.

Some days I wondered: if I do all I do, only to have it undone, am I really doing anything?

…I realize that all of the mundane, repetitive days were actually full of significant, enduring work. A home was being built. A family was being knit together. Four souls were being shaped for eternity.

This home has spawned three more homes where the same tedious yet momentous work goes on day in and day out. And God willing, many more homes will one day be built, day by day, so “that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:9). – Carolyn Mahaney

September 30, 2009

Wordless Wednessday ~ Growing Up

100_5130

TOO Fast!  *sigh*

Here’s what they looked like when I started this blog….3 years ago!

100_5378