Day 112 of 365 Days of Transformation

Last night, I sat down with my journal for a now rare moment of alone time. I began to think about the last 111 days of this journey. And I wasn't pleased with what I found. I don't think that I've made very much progress. Joyce Meyer said that when God begins to put His finger on an area that He wants you to surrender to Him, it will be painful before it's pleasant. But once I die to myself in that area, the devil can no longer use that area to tempt me or oppress me because it's dead. With that knowledge in hand, I began to set about defining what the next 254 days were going to look like starting with today.

When it was all said and done, I had seven areas that I wanted to specifically see change in. And while I do not want to give myself room to back off, I did realize that there will be times when I will want to tweak and further define the terms of change that I would like to bring about in myself.

So here they are:

1. I want to see what will happen, who I will be, and what my relationship with God will be like if I commit to spend two and a half hours a day with Him in some form or fashion every day for the next 254 days. I know that some days I will have to get up earlier than usual. Some days, God may lead me to do something different from my usual routine. And I know without doubt that there will be more than one occasion when the devil will try to throw a hindrance in there, whether it is time constraints, family interruptions, etc. So, I realize that this one will be a tough one to see through. Up to now, I have to be honest and say that I'm a very lazy Christian when it comes to putting God first. I want to change that about me. And I can only believe that when the next 254 days (counting today) are over, I'm not going to be the same. I like that idea.
2. I want to see what God will do in the lives of my family if I consistently speak His Word over each of them. A friend gave me a copy of Joyce Meyer's The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word. It is one of my prized possessions. I carry it everywhere. I try to confess certain Scriptures over our children, our grandchildren, my husband, and myself at least once a day. Why? Because I believe that the Scriptures are God-breathed and I believe that as a creation with the breath of God Himself in me, when I speak His Word, power is loosed into the lives of those I speak it into. So, yes, I do expect to see radical changes in the lives of my loved ones after the next 254 days. I've not been faithful to do this everyday up to this point and God has already shown me evidence of His Word working in our family and in me. Will this make my family perfect or keep trouble away from us. Nope. Jesus promises that we will suffer trials and tribulations but to be of good cheer because He has defeated the world. What do I expect? I expect to see changes. I expect protection. I expect to see God's love revealed to me in ways that I could never imagine. That's what I expect. 
3. Where will I be physically if I stick to my eating and exercise plan daily? I don't think that I will be looking like Cindy Crawford or such. But I do expect to feel stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally. If I'm going the extra mile to take care of myself spiritually, it only makes sense that God would want me to go the extra mile to take care of myself physically. He gave me a strong, healthy body. It's my responsibility to be a good steward of it.
4. How well will I be able to speak Spanish if I work on my Rosetta Stone lessons every Monday through Friday for the next 254 days? I think that I might actually be fairly fluent or close to it.
5. Where will my book be if I write five pages every Monday through Friday for the next 254 days? Probably will be finished. Will it publish? Don't know. I would just like to finish it so that I can say that I wrote one. My brother threw it up in my face one day that I just needed to finish something rather that talk about it all of the time. So, here's my chance. 
6. What if I limit my television viewing to no more than two hours a day Monday through Friday? I'd definitely get more done. LOL
7. What if I put Rob second only to God every second that we are together for the next 254 days? What do I hope happens? I hope that we are closer friends and that he will learn to trust my intuition more. I hope that our romance has grown to a blazing inferno that inspires other couples around us. But, mostly, I hope that we become more entwined so that it is impossible to tell where one lets off and the other begins. I want him to feel cherished and revered as a husband and the head of our home and family. I want him to feel safe in our relationship. I want him to know without doubt that I am loyal to him without question. That's what I hope to see happen over the next 254 days.

As I said earlier, time will reveal flaws in my plan and I reserve the right to tweak and refine these definitions. Hmmm, this journey itself could be the book, the story, that I've been wanting to write all these years. 

Day 104 of 365 Days of Transformation

I'm running behind on my Beth Moore study, Children of the Day. So, I did two lessons today. I needed them. It helped to put into perspective some of the issues that I am going through as well as some that my friends are going through.

The bottom line is that we are all in need of a Savior. And even though I have accepted Christ as my personal Savior, I am far from perfect. I still find that I am my own biggest hindrance to my walk with God. And as I watch my friends struggle, I am bitterly reminded of how my own mentors probably watched my own struggle, neglecting to follow their wisdom and seek answers and solace in the Word and presence of God. But there is no doubt in my mind that they continued to pray despite my failure to listen to them.


Where am I going with this? I'm watching my friends struggle with different issues that I myself have gone through. And my heart breaks as I watch them make the very same mistakes that I did. The bottom line is that no one should hold anyone else responsible for his/her personal happiness. We each should strive to learn how to be content in every circumstance (Phil. 4:11). And we should each strive to accept each other exactly where we are while encouraging each other to grow and be better.

That last one has been a hard one for me. But once I realized what I needed to do, it really helped me in my own personal relationships. All of my life, all I ever wanted was to be accepted for who I was, not to be made to feel as if I was less because I failed to meet any one certain person's expectations. When I realized that this was something that I had wanted then I realized that I needed to sow that into others. Surely, I wasn't the only person out there that ever felt this way.

And I wasn't. God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, has led me to so many people who have already learned this lesson. And from them, I finally learned how to love myself in a balanced way which then enabled me to fully receive the love of my wonderful loving God. Now, I am learning how to share that love with others, loving them exactly where they are.

I understand how Paul felt in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20. He so wanted to be with the Thessalonians, but couldn't get to them. He wanted to be with them to help them to continue to grow and expand in Jesus. As I watch my friends struggle, I witness whenever the Holy Spirit gives me something to say. And I pray. And I love. And I give thanks to God that while I am nowhere near where I need to be, I am so far from where I use to be.

Beef Gumbo

I had some beef that my husband had trimmed off the top round that he was going to use in his booming beef jerky business. So, I thought that I would try making a beef gumbo. I love gumbo anyway and so does my honey bunny.

I cut up the pieces of top round a little more. Then I seared them in the bottom of my pot with some EVOO. After the meat was a nice brown, I added the rest of the ingredients along with a quart of my home-canned tomatoes. Yum, yum, good!

Ingredients

• About 2 to 3 pounds of beef. 
• 2 cups of frozen okra
• 2 cups of frozen limas
• 2 cups of frozen whole kernel corn

A Little Bit About Marriage

Listen, folks, marriage is nothing like the romance novels or television. Marriage is just real. It's as real as it can get. And if you really want to know how to make your marriage successful, then start with yourself. Are you happy with yourself? Really? Because if you aren't happy with you and you cannot forgive yourself and love yourself in a balanced way then what makes you think that you will ever be able to do that with anyone else? Especially a spouse?

Another checkpoint would be where you are in your friendships and social circles. Can you handle intimate relationships? Do you find it more comfortable keeping people at a distance? Are you searching for someone to make you happy? Do you want someone else to make you feel good about yourself? Do you need the approval of those around you? Hmmm...

I think the reason that marriages fail so often is because people, even Christians, go in with unrealistic expectations. Too often a spouse is shocked or surprised when the other spouse is not the person he/she thought the other was. It happens. That's why marriage should be an institution that is entered into with great thought and planning.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to reasons for divorce is the "he/she just doesn't make me happy anymore." You sound like a child who has grown tired of a toy and is looking for a new one to keep himself entertained. Seriously? We're talking about a commitment where you promised to stick beside this person for life in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse. What happened to that? Oh, those commitments are only valid as long as you are content and "happy.:"

Well...before you jump into such a commitment, maybe it would be pertinent to you to think this through a little more. Maybe you might want to consider what makes you happy and how to go about achieving that state of mind regardless of what is going on around you.

It's taken me fifty years, but I'm finally beginning to see progress in this area of my life. Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm still light years from achieving a permanent state of inner zen, but I'm far closer today than I was yesterday. And it has all come through a lot of work. I've had to face some hard, ugly truths about myself and deal with those things before I could move forward. And I had to learn how to move forward by looking forward rather than trying to keep at least one eye on the rear view.

If you are in a marriage and considering putting an end to it, please, put a little more thought into it before you make any major decisions. If you really stop and look, these decisions will affect far more people than you knew. And the impact of these decisions will follow you and those far longer than you realize.

People can't make us happy. And it isn't fair to put that much responsibility on any one, especially your spouse. Trust me when I say that while you think all of those little annoying traits, habits, or other things that you are using to rationalize divorce are justified, there is someone somewhere who won't care and will accept your spouse for who he/she is just to have someone to share a meal with. Marriage is about a lot more than your happiness. I'm just saying...

Perspective

Recently I had to face the realization that I was a narcissistic, vain, arrogant, obnoxious, self-righteous know-it-all. It was not a pleasant experience, at all. But it was very much like having a dam break in my life. I had no idea just how skewed my perspective was. Since dealing with this self-realization, I have come to see so many situations, circumstances, and people in such a brighter light.

Day 68 of 365 Days of Transformation

I often daydream of how I would have done things differently if God were to give me the gift of going back to a certain point in time with the wisdom I now have. As I was doing this, the Holy Spirit helped me to realize that love is the most important aspect of this whole endeavor of transformation.

I've heard Joyce Meyer pose the question, "What if every Christian in the world lived like Christ?" And, even now, just thinking about that makes me pause and catch my breath. What would happen if I lived every second I have left here like Christ? The first people that come to mind are Kay Hendrix, Pastor Keith Jones, and Ricky Hendon. But I have such a long list of mentors God has graciously placed in my life that I could probably go on for days. And the common thread through each one is their unwavering ability to just love.

Love by the world's standards has become so twisted and convoluted that many have come to doubt that there is such a thing as real love. And that is exactly what the devil wants. Love, real love, that is powerful and life-changing requires the one giving it to usually make some sort of sacrifice. Not always, but usually. And very few today would honestly say that sacrifice is something that he/she would do willingly.

But that's what Jesus did. He gave everything - and I mean everything - up to take on a flesh suit and become a human so that He could lay His life down and buy us back exactly where each of us are at this very second. Love.

So, if God Himself can take on every sin of every human that ever was born or will be born, then what kind of example does that set for me? I am His creation, created in His glorious image, and given free will which sets me apart from every other creation on this planet. My transformation must be rooted in this kind of love, God's love for me.

Will it be easy? No. I've watched Pastor Keith Jones and Ricky Hendon. I've listened to Tammy Harvey and Kay Hendrix and Joyce Meyer and Kenneth Copeland and Pastor Joseph Prince and SO many others. Love is the most difficult thing that I can change about myself because a Christ-like love requires that I keep my eyes/mind off me and keep them focused on everyone and everything else around me. It requires that I esteem (set a high value on) all others more than myself. It means not being worried about "What about me?" but thinking "What about him/her/them?"

So, today is where I began that part of this journey. Will I fall? Absolutely. I am human and I fall short of the glory of God requiring me to seek our my Savior. Thank God I have Jesus Who has already conquered the world. My objective here is not that I do it perfectly, but I strive for perfection perfectly. And that means never giving up. Running the race. Facing the failures but learning from them so that I don't make the same mistake again.

I'm coming out of the  wilderness and marching/running into the promised land. And I can see my heavenly Father running to meet me just as the father did when he finally saw his prodigal son returning, beaten down and worn by the world because of the bad choices and selfish decisions he had made.

Why do I believe this? Because I believe that it's God's desire that not one of us perish. It's His desire to bless each and every one of us. I am His and nothing - NOTHING - can ever snatch me from His hand. And it all starts with love.

So, my prayer is that today, I will love more freely, deeper, and more selflessly than I ever have before. I've written this in a journal of daily confessions that I have started. It's my hope that by the 365th day of this journey, maybe, just maybe, someone somewhere will be impacted by this tiny flutter of my butterfly wings and invite God in to radically change his/her life forever.

Day 8 of 365 Days of Reformation and Rejuvenation

I love how the Holy Spirit quietly teaches through everyday routines. IF we are listening, He is teaching. Today, as I attempted to prune one of our more hardier rose bushes, my mind was just quiet. (Probably one of the more perfect atmospheres for the Holy Spirit to teach in.)

As I snipped away at tiny little branches that were either dead, dying, not producing, or producing very little, the Holy Spirit began to point out to me that this was necessary so that not only would the remaining branches that were doing well prosper, but new growth could begin. I began to think about those areas of my life that were just taking up time and space, that neither produced anything or promoted new growth. The Holy Spirit helped me to understand that I needed to prune those areas out of my life. Some of these things may not be damaging at all, but they take up part of my life while not producing any fruit or contributing any at all to my overall growth. Right off the bat I thought of several little things that I do that are just time wasters and of no consequence. I knew that the Holy Spirit had been calling me to put those things away. This only served to confirm it further.

I continued to snip and put the dead pieces in my little garden wagon while I considered these things. The Holy Spirit continued to teach. I suddenly recalled a time in my life when I was really struggling. I had went to Pastor Keith Jones for counsel. Pastor began to talk to me about pruning and how it never felt good during the process. And I could suddenly hear Stephanie Sasser and Kay Hendrix telling me that sometimes we just aren't ready to hear what God is saying to us. That was the case when Pastor was trying to help me understand what God was doing in my life.

I not only kept "kicking against the goads," but I remember finally coming to a place when I was so worn down and so tired of fighting, so tired of trying to be a good person, I just gave up and told God that I didn't want to be pruned anymore. I just wanted to be left alone. The Holy Spirit reminded me of what Pastor Jentezen Franklin teaches in his book, The Spirit of Python. Once demons make themselves at home, they just want to be left alone. And I realized suddenly what I had done when I muttered that prayer.

God honored that prayer and left me alone, but He didn't give up on me. I went from wanting to be left alone to just wanting to be alone. I spiraled into an ever deepening abyss of food addiction, depression, bitterness, and just a whole lot of other emotional, mental, and physical issues. I chose to drug myself with television rather than seek God in His Word and in prayer. The enemy didn't have to steal anything from me during that time. I was freely giving it all to him.

But by God's grace, a turn-around began in 2010. I was going through some scary times financially and I ran to God. I remember one morning that I was done being afraid. I was done cowering in the shadows. And I told God that I was ready to fight. I was ready to do this His way. And if it meant pruning, then I would welcome it because the alternative was something that I could not live with anymore.

I wish I could tell you that I have had victory every day since that prayer but I want to be an honest person. I have fallen more often than not these last four years. But, just as the father ran to and grabbed hold of his prodigal son upon the son's return, so did my heavenly Father run to me and grab hold of me.

In the simple task of pruning a rose bush, the Holy Spirit helped me to understand myself. The rose bush has just finished an incredible season of new blossoms, but now it looks a little tired and haggard. Like the rose bush, right now, I'm not all that spiritually beautiful and outstanding, but the Holy Spirit is pruning me so that new growth can begin and rest and re-freshening can happen. And after every season of beautiful blooms, I'll most likely need to be pruned again so that new growth can begin to form while the rest of me recovers and renews. Pruning is just a part of life.

Another thing that I have come to realize. When I pray, I have this preconceived idea of what I think the journey and answer will look like. Silly me. I lovingly serve and am loved by the only true living God Who is bigger than this universe which is approximately 15+ billion light years in diameter. So, it only makes sense that His ways are no less than 15+ billion light years higher than mine. So, it should be no surprise to me that His answer to my prayer involves a journey and end result that most of the time in no way resembles my preconceived notion at all. But it is always the best thing for me. I'm pretty sure that Joseph was wondering how he was suppose to be a great ruler when he was sold into slavery then falsely accused and left in a dungeon for years. I wonder if Joseph knew that he was being pruned?

Gentle Lessons in Life

I have rheumatoid arthritis. I also have permanent nerve damage in my neck and sinus issues that cause me a lot of painful stiffness, headaches, and just general pain all over my face and head, especially when I first get up. I've learned that a shower as hot as I can stand it does wonders to loosen me up and alleviate the pain until the Tylenol can kick in. As I was enjoying one of these showers, the Holy Spirit brought to mind Proverbs 25:21-22 (AMP)

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

²² For in doing so, you will ^[a]heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord will reward you.

And I totally get it. God commands us to love our enemies. And by being good to them, we are blessing them and loving on them. I know that I feel very loved by God every time He provides one of those awesome seriously hot showers for me. 

So, the next time someone who rubs you the wrong way in any form or fashion comes around, try just being nice to them. Even if it's only to just smile at them. I believe that God honors every effort we make to do what He has commanded. And while that simple smile may not knock the "mountain" down right then, I believe that an "erosion" will be started as you plant a seed of loving friendship in that relationship. 

Being nice to someone who has hurt us is rarely ever easy, if ever. Still, God expects His children to love everyone, including those who hurt and persecute us. What better way to show the world the love of Jesus Who died on the cross for all of our sins and excepts us exactly where we are for exactly who we are at this second.  

Jesus knew then exactly who I would be and what I would, yet, He died for me. I am no surprise to Him. And by being kind to those who would not be to me, I am living out the love of Christ. I may not be called to the mission fields as we define them, but I am called to missions. My mission field is my life right here right now. And all I have to do is just be good to people and help them regardless of where they are in their life or who they are at this second.

 

Venison Stew, 18 January 14

I love warm meals on cold winter nights. Plus, I love a super simple recipe and this one fills both slots. I used this recipe about a week ago and my husband and youngest son had a fit over it. I used about a 1 1/2 to 2 lb eye of round roast and a neck roast. I found the original recipe on Pinterest. The website is http://homerecipescatalog.com/slow-cooker-venison-roast/main-dish-recipes/. I highly recommend anyone who eats venison to try this recipe. It's super simple and oh so easy.

RECIPE BY
A Year of Slow Cooking Ingredients
2 onions (sliced in rings)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsps gluten (free Worcestershire sauce)
2 lbs venison roast (if you have a bigger piece, that’s fine, too!)
1/2 lb bacon
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup butter (sliced, to add later)

I did make a few adjustments. I not only put pepper on the roast, but I also used regular salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. I didn't have any Worcestershire sauce at the time, so I left that out. And I forgot to add the butter later. 

The full instructions can be found at  http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2011/08/slow-cooker-venison-roast-recipe.html.

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Peel and slice the onions, and separate the rings. Place them on the bottom of your slow cooker. Rub pepper and Worcestershire sauce directly into the meat, and place it on top of the onion. Wrap bacon slices around the roast, overlapping if necessary, and tuck in the ends of the bacon underneath. Pour on the beef broth.

Cover and cook on low for 7 to 10 hours, or until meat has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will become. If the center of the meat isn't as juicy as you'd like, cut the meat into a few pieces, then return to the pot to cook on low until it begins to break down. Dry meat isn't the sign of over-cooking, it's a sign of under-cooking.

Slice, meat, and dot pieces of butter on it to melt. Serve with mashed or baked potatoes (or sweet potatoes) and something green.

I had two small roasts for the equivalent of about four pounds. So, I let mine cook for about 10 hours. Like I said, I forgot to add the butter at the end. What I served it with was smashed red potatoes, deviled eggs, and green beans with yeast rolls smothered in honey butter. Yum! For the smashed reds, I went super simple. I just boiled them whole for about 20 minutes then smashed them on the platter. I put some butter in the center then some sour cream on top of that. The meal was a hit. Yay! Will definitely be using this recipe again since the hubby processes deer and I'm a sucker for a super simple recipe. :)

17 January 14

It's been a while since I last posted. Almost a year. And for that, I apologize. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to follow through with my plans and ideas. This blog is one of the projects that I've allowed to sit idly by. To start off this new year, I've decided to share my latest success - a success in creating my own Chicken 'n Dumplin' recipe. Yay me. LOL

I found my base recipe in The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. I love this cookbook. There is just a smorgasbord of great recipes and tons of information for new and novice cooks such as myself. ;)

I'd tried making chicken & dumplings in the past without much success. The time before this was really depressing, But God was good and He gave me some advice and I was smart enough to try it.

The base recipe I used is simply called Chicken and Dumplings. Here is the recipe with my adjustments for our family.

• Approx. 3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 1/2 quarts water
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 8 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup milk
•  10 oz can of cream of celery
• large can of cream of mushroom soup

Bring the first six ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven; partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken; cool.
Pour broth through a wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl, discarding solids. Skim off fat. Return the broth to the Dutch oven; stir in bouillon cubes.
Shred chicken, cover and keep warm.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add milk, stirring dry ingredients until moistened.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; gather dough into a ball. Press dough with heels of hands, pushing it away from you. Fold top half of dough down and push away from you with heels of hands. Turn dough one-quarter turn, fold top down and push dough away. Continue folding, pushing, and turning 10 to 12 times or until dough is smooth.
Roll dough to 1/8" thickness; cut into 1 1/2-X 2-inch strips.
Bring broth mixture to a simmer (do not boil). Drop about 14 dumplings, one at a time, into simmering broth. (Dumplings should float in a single layer.) Cover and simmer gently 4 to 5 minutes. or until done. (Do not overcook.) Remove to a platter with a large slotted spoon; cover and keep warm. Repeat procedure to cook remaining dumplings.
Stir in cream of celery soup and cream of mushroom soup until thoroughly mixed with broth for a creamy texture. Stir chicken into the broth mixture; simmer 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Add dumplings and serve immediately.
My husband loved it! And that was all the praise I needed. :)