Talents....

My sister and I were talking last week about how we each feel a little lost when it comes to deciding what our specific talents really are...or if they even qualify as talents. Everybody is good at something...at least that's what I believe! So...how come I have such a hard time deciding if I really am gifted at something? You see, the problem is I'm always comparing myself to someone else who does what I consider my "talent" even better than I do. I realize the whole problem with my system of talent identification is indeed the fact that I compare myself to every single person on the entire planet others when I really just need to focus on what it is I feel like I do well. It shouldn't matter if someone else does it better than me!

This whole discussion also got me thinking about what a talent really is. Why do we only hold up certain "talents" and not others. Is it that it's more appealing to a wide array of audiences to say something like your talent is in music? Because...who doesn't like music? Who doesn't admire that sort of talent? Oh, or if your talent happens to be that you are athletic...now that's a sexy talent! Right?? You know I'm right! I mean who wants their talent to be something lame like "I'm a good closet organizer", or better yet "I'm really good at...cleaning", "list-making", "dinner planning", "problem solving", "creative meal planning for toddlers". Yup, THOSE things don't sound very interesting to most people. HOWEVER, I'm here to tell you those boring things are indeed what I'm good at. The truth is, I may not be the very BEST at those things, but I don't have to be! All I have to do is accept that I AM good at some things, and appreciate & enjoy them.

While I'm certain that somewhere out there in this big world there is a woman that is 10 times the closet organizer that I am , that's OK, because I still like my closets! Seriously, I can't be all things to all people & I don't want to be. I also don't want to constantly compare my life to someone else. That never brings happiness or contentment. So, for now I'll have to bring you stories, tips, and tricks from my little corner of this world. I'll let you know my secrets for organizing your medicine cabinets, refrigerator, kid closets, toy chests, and linen closets. I'll share my favorite dinner recipes, cookie recipes, cake decorating tricks, breastfeeding information, natural childbirth tips, and what foods I love to eat when I train for marathons. THOSE are the areas where I've got a little know-how & a few good years of experience. I'll never claim to be an expert in those areas (except for maybe how to cure mastitis...it's a long story!), but I have to give myself credit for the things I feel like I do well. If you want to know how to keep your plants alive, sew some fancy curtains, or how to deal with your moody teenager....I can't help you there!

I also have to celebrate my small victories every week & pat myself on the back when I feel like I'm getting something right (like my meal planning list this week!). I know it's not going to be as impressive as someone who can run the 100m in 10 seconds, or as neat and tidy as the anal-retentive organizing chick from HGTV who labels all her kitchen spices with a calligraphy pen and puts them in matching glass jars & stacks them alphabetically, but I've never felt compelled to be that person. I'm just "me" & that's what I'm pretty darn good at being. :-)

Not Me! Monday!

Oh....it's "Not Me, Monday" time again! Don't be shy, you can play along too! Or just go and see what MckMama and her 20,000,000 readers are up to!

So, last week I certainly did not giggle out loud when I opened our water bill and noticed it's gone DOWN about $10. That would certainly have nothing to do with the fact that I've been taking the kids to the swimming pool for weeks & considering them "clean" for the rest of the night (thus, negating the bedtime bath ritual) after a quick rinse (and sometimes a shampoo) in the locker room showers before we leave the pool ;-). Who knew skipping baths at home for several weeks would save that much on your water bill? Apparently, not me! I am also not exceedingly proud of the fact that we have not spent one single solitary dime at the concessions stand at said pool. This would not be because I have been packing a ridiculous sized cooler every time we go packed with water, fresh fruit, hummus & crackers, and nut butter sandwiches...oh, and diet Pepsi & Oreo's (for goodness sakes, did you really think I was that healthy!)!

I have also certainly not been obsessed with trying to get a tan for the first time in my whole adult life. Nope....everyone knows that getting a tan is sooooo bad for you and will surely give you skin cancer, so who in their right mind would want to do that??? Certainly not me!

Since we are not really being honest here, and I'm pretty sure my sister does not read my blog very often, I will also not tell you about what a bad auntie I was last night! I promise....I DID NOT let my kids and my 2 year old nephew watch 2 movies back to back last night while eating popcorn, grapes, and sugar cookies for dinner! They also did not go to bed at 10:30 (without baths or brushing teeth!)! Oh, goodness....I would never let that sort of thing happen while watching my sweet little nephew for his first ever cousin sleep over. Hehe! Nope not me!

What's For Dinner, Wednesday's?

Whew! I'm barely getting this one in on Wednesday! OK...this is what we had for Dinner tonight-hope you try it :-).

THAI CHICKEN PASTA

-3/4 Cup Robusto Italian Dressing (Wish Bone)

-1 lb Skinless boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into thin strips.

-2 (generous) Tbsp. crunchy peanut butter

-2 Tbsp Honey

-2 Tbsp Tamari Soy sauce (I prefer Tamari soy sauce, but you could use regular soy sauce if you want.)

-1 tsp crushed red pepper

-1 8 oz bag fresh sugar snap peas (DO NOT use frozen!)

-12 oz pkg of linguine, cooked and drained

*1 Tbsp. Olive oil, and 1 Tbsp. of Mongolian Fire Oil (if you want an extra KICK in the pants!).

1) Pour 1/4 cup Italian dressing over cut up chicken, toss to coat. Cover (or throw it in a Ziploc bag). Refrigerate at least 1 hour (or all day while you are at the pool with the kids!). When you are ready to prepare the meal remove chicken from marinade; discard leftover marinade.

2) Mix remaining 1/2 cup dressing, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper with a wire whisk until well blended; set aside. Next, start a load of laundry....oh, wait- I just do that because my washer is next to my stove! I guess you can skip that part if you don't have the same convenience!

3) Heat olive oil and fire oil in a large skillet on med-high heat. Cook chicken about 5 minutes. Add snap peas; cook and stir for another 3-4 minutes.

*I have the pasta boiling while I do all this & then when the pasta is done cooking I lift it straight out of the boiling water and throw it in the hot skillet with the chicken and peas. The extra heat and steam from the pasta usually finishes cooking the peas!

4) Remove skillet from heat, pour dressing mixture over pasta, chicken and peas, toss lightly and serve!

**Just a hint. Did you know partially frozen chicken is MUCH easier to cut! I usually pull chicken from the freezer the night before (or morning of the meal) & put it in the fridge...BUT it's always frozen after several hours in the fridge! I started cutting it while it was semi-frozen and it was so much easier to slice it nice and thin that way. Try it!

Whatever You're Doing...

*If you want to hear this video you might want to pause my play list player off to the left....


It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

(Chorus)

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out

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I've never been shy about sharing my feeling or letting someone know what's on my mind. I'm pretty much an open book, which carries it's own special torment at times. I realize this can be both my strength and my downfall. I also think it's important to know the difference between when to speak, and when to stay silent. As much as I try to stay true to my convictions, even I have my moments when transparency is really tough. This would be one of those times!

I want to share from my heart something that the Lord has been doing in my in my life that has lead me down a road that feels both daunting and beautifully freeing! This song describes it perfectly I think..."It feels like chaos, but somehow there's peace". You know how there are defining moments in your life where you can point to that moment and say "Yeah....that changed me forever.."? I've been going through that!

As much as I would love to lay it all out & be my normal transparent self, I want to temper my enthusiasm with a good dose of wisdom. I don't want to come off as a "know-it-all", because I'm far from it! I do want to try to begin to address the changes Jon and I have been making in our Church life though. It's been tricky to field questions about where we go to Church, because...well...we are done with the institutional Churches we used to attend. So, when we run into people in the grocery store & they ask "Where are you going to Church", and we tell them we are doing "House Church"... it's hard to see their confusion, or worse...their pity. That's a huge source of frustration for me! We are neither bitter nor angry about our past experiences, in fact, I'm thankful for them because they helped me become the person I am today. We just recognized that it was time we sought the Lord in a more simple, organic, and authentic way. It's actually been more healing and positive than I ever expected, which has been such a blessing.

What I am struggling with is this lack of ability I seem to possess when I try to explain what we are doing. It's been....interesting to hear people give us their feedback (which is funny in and of itself since we never really asked for "feedback") on this issue. That's certainly the "chaos" that I'm going through right now! However, I've never once lacked the peace that has come from this decision. I guess I need to let go of this need I seem to have to "explain" myself to everyone. It's a very bad habit of mine, and I need to surrender that desire of mine to God!

We began this quest a couple of years ago because we were so tired of the "Church crap" that happened everywhere we went. It was nothing but discord and discontentment ALL the time. Call me crazy, but that hardly seemed like something that was part of God's plan or design for His Church. Churches should not be places where abuse of power, pain, suffering, harsh judgements, and hierarchical dominance is practiced. Some people would explain the overwhelming downfall in today's Churches as an "attack of the enemy", but to me it seemed like there just had to be a better way for believers to come together to experience real community (which, in my opinion, is the whole point of why we even meet together). I wanted to get real with myself and my faith & reconcile everything that I know in my head, with what I truly believed in my heart. That lead me to a time of "detox" from all the old teaching and preaching I'd heard my whole life. It's been hard to re-train myself to open the Bible and read it without automatically inserting into the text something that just isn't there, but that's the part that has been bringing me the most freedom in my walk with the Lord!

I could go on (and I probably will at another time), but that is the "nutshell" explanation that I wanted to share. Don't worry, we are still saved, we still love the Lord, and we did not join a cult! Just thought I should clarify that-ha! I will address another time more of what we have been doing, but I wanted to make this one last point very clear: We DO NOT think we know it all! We also do not want to alienate any of our friends and family that have chosen an institutional Church rather than a House Church. This is simply where God has led our family & we feel blessed to have found it! We would never require any of our cherished friends or family to do what we doing if that is not where God is leading them.

Blessings,

Amber

Sticky Situation.

The other morning I let the girls have a lollipop after breakfast (because this is summer & I can be such a cool mom like that!) & then I went about my business. A few minutes later the girls returned to me to let me know that a.) Judah was up from his nap & b.) Judah REALLY likes lollipops! Oh, dear! Let me tell you, this 4th child has relaxed me in a way none of my other children were able to do! I guess once you are this outnumbered you see how futile it is to get all bent out of shape about the little things. Had this been my first child noshing on a sugary lollipop at 8 months old I would have FREAKED out...but this was my 4th kid... so I grabbed my camera!

"What a great big sister she is to share her candy like this...."

"Hey mom, I promise I'll start eating solid foods more often if they all taste this great."

"See....I'm not even doing the 'yuck' face or gagging or anything. Can you make my peas & rice cereal taste like this?"

"Don't go too far with that thing, I'm not finished with it yet."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....what do you mean I'm too little for red #40 and corn syrup? But I LIKE sugar.....give it baaaaaaaaaaack! Mom, you're so mean...that's why I love Dad!"

What's For Dinner?

Again...I'm late on this, but I was too tired last night to do a "What's For Dinner, Wednesday" post. But, I have to share a favorite recipe that I fixed last night for dinner. Enjoy!

Spicy Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

6 -8 cups chicken broth
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2- 10 oz. rotel tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
half cup carrots, finely chopped (I use a little more)
half cup celery, finely chopped (I use more...)
juice from 2 limes (at least...may need a little more)
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
half cup cilantro (or more if you LOVE it as much as I do!)
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
1 tsp garlic
1 small can sweet corn

1 can drained and rinsed black beans
Toppings:
shredded cheese
tortilla chips
avocado

1. Let all ingredients (except tomatoes, corn, beans and chicken) boil for 10 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, corn, black beans, and chicken.
3. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Serve with chips, cheese and diced avocado

Music or No music?

I've been tracking my "stats" on my blog for a little over a month now & I've discovered that I have about 5 "regular" visitors to my blog (Thank you Jodi, Karen, Michaela, Jon, and Omaha Nebraska & Kansas City, MO....not sure who those two are, but they tie for 5th place?). After my 5 "regular" visitors I have anywhere from 50-80 other visitors (I have no idea who "they" are...I just get info about what city I get visitors from...as is the case with "Omaha" and "Kansas City") that float in and out from time to time. This means that my blog does not get much traffic & most of what I do get is friends and family.

Soooooooooo....my question for you is "Do you get annoyed with the player on my blog?". Do you hate it...love it? Originally I put it on my blog because I didn't have but 4-5 people that even knew about my blog, so I used it as my personal radio station & played my music while I was working on the computer. I'm thinking of taking it down, but I was curious to know what you think. I know it's a love/hate thing when it comes to music on blogs & I've noticed lately that a ton of blogs don't have music anymore, so maybe I'm behind the curve. If you care about this at all...or you've been dying to tell me you love/hate the music player, this is your chance! :-)

Thanks!

School is out!

Well...it's been out for well over a week now. I never got around to this post last week because a few hours after school got out for the summer we packed our bags and moved in with my parents for a week so Jon could refinish the hardwood floors in our house. Now we are back home, but we are still not "back to normal" yet as we still have to move all the furniture back in the house. Pictures of the completed project will be coming soon :-).

However, because I gave my kids teachers my blog address, I thought I should at least send them a BIG "THANK YOU" for such a great school year. Here are my kiddos with their teachers on the last day of school. Boy, am I gonna miss these ladies! I have to say I feel so blessed to have been given some of the very best, most talented teachers in the world! I just loved my kids teachers this year. It was kind of a rough year for me as I couldn't participate very much in my kids classrooms because I had a new baby at home that needed me, but I felt completely at peace knowing my kids were in good hands every day.

Channy and Miss C.

Chandler and his "Girls"!

Chandler and Mrs. C

McKenna and Mrs J.

(*Cute side note: McKenna wants to be just like Mrs J. when she grows up!)

Now...on to 1st and 2nd grade next year!!!!! Oh, and preschool for miss Maya!

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Oh, and if you didn't catch my post a few weeks ago....this is where you will find us just about every day this summer :-)


On the lazy river....

Or just hanging out pool side......

Lessons in Economics.

1.) Did you know that when people lie, cheat, steal, and walk away from their responsibilities...it hurts the economy! No...really, it's true! When people do dishonest things someone has to pay the price. There is not this "black hole" that dishonesty fades away into where no one gets hurt. REAL people lose their jobs & REAL consequences are paid when corruption takes place. I know this is a huge shocker to a lot of people, but it's actually true. I think it's downright sad that we live in a society that is so self-centered that we creatively justify our "wants" and sell them to everyone as "needs".

I debated whether or not to open this can of worms on my blog, but I decided to let it all out today because I'm frustrated. You see, my father has been unemployed for 6 months, and my husband may be headed there too since he works for a financial institution that is limping along in these tough times. I get FURIOUS when I hear people talk about what the government OWES them! I don't believe I DESERVE anything! In fact, I probably don't even deserve what I DO have, but you can bet your butt I'm thankful for it.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about contentment lately, and I've come to the conclusion that I need to spend some more time aligning my heart with what God really wants for me. You see, I don't really believe God WANTS me to have a bigger house, a better car, fancier clothes, or more crap. I don't think God cares about stuff. You know why...it's just STUFF! "Stuff" doesn't teach me anything, or bring me closer to God. Honestly, what very well may draw me closer to God is my ability to not see Him as a fairy godmother with a magical wand. I think we put the "Magical Fairy Godmother" frame around God all the time. We pray for God to "bless us" (with His almighty magic wand), and then we somehow find a way to accumulate whatever it is we want & then we say "Look...God blessed me". In reality, we just did whatever we wanted and made sure to say we prayed about it and got God's stamp of approval.

Have I ever asked God for something? Sure! Do I think God does sometimes provide "stuff" as an answer to prayer? Sure! But, I don't think that should be the focus of our relationship with the creator of the universe and savior of our souls. Do you feel me? I guess I'm just bothered by the ever increasing "prosperity gospel" that I'm hearing all around me. There is so much of that sort of thing going on that it's making me say "back the truck up" when I hear what some people think God wants them to have. Call me crazy, but I don't think God is in the "genie in a bottle" business. I don't think just because we make a wish God wants us to have it!

If all we ever do is ask God for things, then what does that say about us? To be honest, if you study the Bible real closely I believe it says we all deserve DEATH! But, because God loved us he saved us so that we may have life with Him. Never anywhere in the Bible does it say that God want us to have a bigger house, 4 cars, a boat, a beach house, and a $10,000 shopping spree in New York. When the Bible say "life abundantly"...it DOES NOT MEAN you get an abundance of STUFF! What we deserve is death...just remember that the next time you are tempted to whine at God about your crappy little overstuffed house that isn't big enough for you and your 4 kids (yes, I'm talking to MYSELF here!).

Oh, and just remember there is no "bailout" clause written in the Bible either. If you make the choice to buy a bunch of crap you can't afford, then you should probably make a plan to pay for it too. I mean, you could always pray that God will wave His magic wand over your finances & dismiss all your debt (hey, it worked for AIG)...but I think I would stick with the "find a way to pay back my debts" plan. Yeah, you could probably find a verse or two in the Bible to support that idea ;-).