Thursday's Thoughts on... familiar Scripture

One of my Resolutions is to follow our Church's Bible Reading plan and read through the Bible in a year. This is also one of my Bucket List items, so...killing 2 birds with one stone and all that good stuff.

If you're like me, you've started reading the Bible numerous times. Even if you haven't, most people are familiar with the first chapters, or at least the first verses, of Genesis. (In the Beginning...)

It is tempting to just skim over the familiar verses, isn't it? It is tempting to think "whew! Today's reading is a breeze!" It is tempting to assume that we are familiar enough with these verses. Honestly, it's tempting to just skip them all together.

Don't just skim (or skip) over familiar verses. 

Over the years I've noticed something super cool about God's Word. It reveals something new to me as I mature in my faith. I am seeing it clearly right now as Izzy and I read Scripture together. (We read, we journal, and then we discuss.) 

She notices things a new Christian would notice...

• God spoke everything into existence until man... He breathed life into man 
• God said "Let US make him in OUR image" - speaking of the Trinity
• God made everything "GOOD"

I noticed these same things, but realized a few other things as well...

• God is a planner (not a god of chaos)
• He created things in the order that they would be needed
• water before plants
• plants before animals
• He created things to be self sustaining
• seed bearing plants
• the blessing to animals (and man) is to multiply
• God created the heavens (plural) and the earth. Later He creates heaven (singular). 
• I'm still sorting through this
• Satan doesn't always lie...he just twists the truth...
• In Genesis 3:4-5 the serpent tells Eve "You will not surely die" (which is true...they did not drop dead) "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil." (also true)
• Satan has been excellent salesman from the very beginning. Sometimes I forget this and assume that he will come to me with an obvious lie. 
• Satan excels in half-truths- Adam and Eve did NOT drop dead when they ate the fruit of the tree, but they DID die spiritually...they were separated from God the moment they knew sin. Not only that, they DID know good and evil (like God), but Satan didn't tell them the price they would pay for that knowledge.
• After Cain kills Able in Genesis Ch 4, God gives him (and us) a priceless piece of insight:
• "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." Genesis 4:6-7 
• It desires to have you, but you must rule over it
• First of all, sin desires to have us...to own us, to consume us, to take us captive, you get the idea
• Secondly, we are not helpless against sin's temptations, in fact, God tells us to  RULE OVER IT.
• That's pretty strong language

All this is to say, there is much to be discovered in God's Word, whether you are reading it for the first time or the 1000th time. 

I've noticed over the years that the Holy Spirit reveals what I need to know or be reminded of depending on the season I am in. This doesn't mean that God's Word changes, but IS a lovely example of how it is living and active.

Much love and Big hugs!!!

K

Wednesday's Weekly Recipe - Bread Pudding

This recipe comes from my good friend and co-worker Shellie Slay. I made it this weekend and it is OH! So GOOD!!!!!!

Bread Pudding

Pudding ingredients:

8 slices of White Bread
1 (12 oz) can Evaporated Milk
4 Eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Tear bread into pieces and place in a 2 quart baking dish.
Mix milk, eggs, sugar, and butter.
Pour over bread and bake at 350 degrees for 45 min

Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 stick butter
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and cook until thick (either stove top or microwave) - stir constantly.
Pour over top of cooked pudding


Side note: I added cinnamon to my pudding and cream cheese to my sauce. Other recipes call for diced apples and cinnamon. Still others call for pecans.

Tuesday Tips and Tricks - Plan for the New Year

I am pretty good at setting goals and making plans. In 2018, I want to work on my follow through. As with most things, I realize that I am not alone in my struggles. Perhaps you too are stronger in the planning area than in the follow through area. If so, we can work on this together!

Today I want to share some sites where I found tips on managing the 4 areas of my life that cause me the most stress. Each site (or tool) breaks things down into manageable chucks, or even does some of the work for me (like counting calories or reminding me when bills are due), which is good for me being that I usually give up on goals and plans when I am overwhelmed by the details involved in carrying them out.

• Weight -
  We all know that there as many quick fix diets out there as there are pounds we need to lose. I don't need a quick fix. I need something permanent. 
• Nerd Fitness is my fave go to site for inspiration. Maybe you aren't a nerd. Still, it's worth checking out. Lots of good information there. 
• I also use the My Fitness Pal app. (okay, I have it on my phone and have used it in the past. I AM going to start using it)  
• Finally, a friend told me about another app called Fit Notes that keeps up with your workouts. I haven't figured out how to utilize it yet...but I haven't been in the gym either, so... moving on...
• Finances-
  Money (or lack thereof) will certainly put pressure on a person and on a relationship. I don't think that I need more money, but rather need to make better use of the money I have. 
• This article in Time  gives me a lot to think about as well as some tips on where to start, including:
• Make a budget
• plan meals
• make a grocery list and stick to it
• pay all bills on time
• My bank offers online and mobile banking including mobile deposit, as well as a product called "mymoney" that tracks spending and reminds me of when bills are due. Again, I have it but have not utilized it. Will update my info and use it in 2018.

• Housework
  Housework just overwhelms me. There is SO much to do!!!!
•  The Fly Lady has great tips and tools to break housework down into achievable chunks. Granted, it is set up for someone who does not work outside the home, but don't let that discourage you; her ideas, tips, tricks, and schedules can easily be adapted  for those of us who do.
• Schedule
  One of the things Perry had me do in therapy was find a calendar and USE it. He told me to give the calendar a LOT of power. 
• I'm still working on that, but I DID find an amazing calendar on Amazon. It's made by Tools for Wisdom. It has a monthly calendar as well as daily planner. I picked it because the daily times my natural daily routine (most end too early). Once I received the calendar, I discovered that it also has the following:i
• Monthly Priorities checklists
• Essential Goals checklist (monthly)
• lots of planning pages to help set and achieve goals throughout the year

            I may have to do a post just on this calendar. I love it so much.

Something I read this week said that I should manage my house like a business. Ask questions about efficiency, profit and loss, etc. just as I would a business.  I hadn't thought about this before. 

Much love and big hugs.

K

Prayer for 2018

Father God,

As we enter this new year, help me to seek Your face. Create in me a desire to read Your Word daily and help me to understand what I read. Speak to me in the quiet moments of the morning I have set aside for time with You. 

I have failed in so many areas Lord. Help me to make this right, to restore and improve relationships, to properly care for my family, and to be a diligent and conscientious employee. Give me the stamina and self control to accomplish a full day's work each day. When the day is over, let me rest.

There are many areas where my life does not reflect Your love and Your character. My life in general is not a positive reflection of who I serve. Help me Lord, as I strive to be a reflection of You and show the world the change You have made in my life. Reveal all the areas where You are not in control. Help me to release the hold I have on anything that is not of and from You.

Thank you for bringing me this far. Thank you for saving me from myself time and time again. Thank you for my family and friends. Thank you for restoring broken relationships. Thank you for the home, car, job, talents and abilities you have given me. Thank you for allowing me to write and paint. Thank you for the ability to express my thoughts in print. 

I know that things are good when I am focused on You. Even in troubling times, I have peace, so long as I am looking to you. When I take my eyes off You, I, Like Peter, begin to sink. I know that is what happened over the past few years Lord. I gradually shifted my focus from You to other things, things that cannot fill the empty places in my soul. 

It is my desire to serve You, each and every day of 2018. I want those who know me to know You. I want those who meet me to see You. I want to be a reflection of Your magnificent love and I want my life to tell the story of healing and restoration that is possible only through knowing You. 

In 2018, I want You Lord. I want more and more of You. I want to love what You love. I want to hate what you hate. I want to serve as You served while You walked this earth. Fill me with your Spirit Lord. Fill me to overflowing so that all who come in contact with me are splashed with Your love for them.

Amen

Resolutions for 2018

Well folks, this is it! I am saying GOOD BYE to 2017 and hello to all the possibilities 2018 holds. Safe to say that 2017 was NOT my best year when ya look at it on the surface, but, as with most difficult times, 2017 grew me. I am not the same woman I was this time last year, and I have no reason to doubt that 2017 prepared me for what lies ahead. 

I am more emotionally stable than I have been in many years. I have a more realistic view of myself and the people in my life, not to mention that I have a healthier attitude about what my role is in this world (it's not to save it, in case you were wondering).

My goal for 2018 is simply to get a grip. Chaos gives me anxiety and stresses me out. Even so, MANY areas of my life are still completely chaotic. My resolutions center around my desire to live my life purposefully rather than going through each day managing crises or trying to "catch up." 

2018 will be my year to get it together, figure out what works (I am well aware of what doesn't), and set the stage to move forward. I'll be focusing on being productive in the ways God has blessed me instead of  allowing all the ways I am failing as a mom, wife, friend, daughter, sister, etc. to steal my joy. 

I am going to focus on making my outside match my inside, something that is LONG overdue. I'm going to use my bucket list to help accomplish this. I have had fitness goals on there for years. This year I plan to reach those goals.

I have often noticed that my car and house are a direct reflection of how I feel inside. My finances can also be put in this pile of stuff. Currently, it is all a utter mess...a pretty good reflection on what I've been the past several years.  As I continue to neaten, clean up, tidy up, and redecorate "Kristyanna" in an effort to become the woman I believe God intended me to be, I am going to  do the same to the things God has entrusted me with so that they reflect the positive changes going on in me.

All that being said....

In 2018 I resolve to:

1. Follow the Bible Reading plan to read through the Bible in a year
2. Plan  menus and Make a grocery list each week 
3. Go shopping ONCE a week; buy only what is on the list 
4. Drink 80 oz water every day 
5. Pay off my credit cards
6. Mark 25 things off the bucket list 
7. Use my calendar
8. Blog once a week for 52 consecutive weeks
9. Have Christmas gift buying done by October 31
10. Unplug (including texting, email, games and TV) one day per week for 52 consecutive weeks
11. Do something social with girlfriends once a month 

What are your resolutions?

Share in the comments!

Much love and big hugs!

K