Meditation Commentaries Revisited

Most of the time, I enjoyed writing Med. Comms. at Verity.  I miss doing that.  So on Sundays, as I have time, I'm going to start doing some of those again, from things Brian and I have studied throughout the week.  And hopefully, re-improve my writing again (remember all the stuff I used to do!).  When I asked Brian what I should title this as, he said, "Don't Let the Dough Get Hold of Ya."  There's my goofy guy for you.  But this is late at night, and he's waiting for me to get through.  So without further ado...






 

This is a quote I came across the other day.  I saved it because I thought it an interesting concept, and one I am particularly drawn to, because it seems that this is how God works in my life.

I understand asking God for things, praying in faith, and asking God to remove mountains.  Believing, willing, the impossible to happen.  I understand striving for and working for goals.  I know that God leads us in various ways—some to save and work for money to the point of seeming ridiculous to others, people who are always busy and working, etc.  Money, Time, Future (dreams/goals) are not wrong in and of themselves, but to solely focus on them could be an obsession.  I am also aware that so many times, whether unconsciously or consciously, I use God as a genie in a box (er, lamp).  I tell him what I think He should do in my life.  I know what would be great, right?  To create the ideal life.  I know what to work for each year, right?  God loves to give us gifts and bless us, right?  So, I know the perfect ones!

Thing is, it doesn’t really work like this.  For me, it seems that it’s much better to ask God what goals and principles He wants me to work on in my life.  To open my hands and heart to whatever He gives. 

I love planning.  In fact, it’s almost an obsession for me.  I become fired up and passionate about goal planning and dreaming.  Researching.  (Ask my Husband J.)  There’s nothing like a new year and a blank slate that creates the perfect opportunity for planning goals.  It seems that Brian and I have had the same goals for the last 2-3 years: job, house, church, ministry, friends, life permanence…  God has moved us in various directions, but we haven’t quite achieved all that yet.  Sometimes it’s hard to wait.  To be content and joyful even if these things never happen.

Many times in our lives, it’s only when we quit asking and working toward something that God drops the PERFECT thing into our hands.  And so our goals have changed some this year.  Would we love for these things to happen?  Yes.  But we’re okay if they don’t. 

We will live life to its fullest, and enjoy each moment as God gives it.  We will shine and bloom where He has planted us, help others achieve their goals, and seek Him.  We wait with open hands and ready hearts to receive whatever gifts He gives this year.

“Remember ME.”

I am excited!  So hard to wait to see what will happen!  Though I’m glad I can’t see what will transpire just yet.

…………………..

For the record, I always think of things I want to say, or ways to edit these posts AFTER I post them.  If only my brain would quit working all the time… ;) And pancakes/waffles for dinner on Sunday nights is a GREAT tradition.

Oh!  AND!  I’m going to see my other family in four days!!!!  Very, very, very happy about this. 

Smiles!

Food!  One of God's best gifts to mankind.  Food is a kind friend around here.  Not only do we like eating delectable treats around, but we love to make them too!

Greg receives a baking lesson on the combination of chocolate, egg whites, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon.

The result?

 These beauties!  Sorry about the picture; the internet seems to be uploading only a portion of the picture.  They are flourless, almost sugarless, and have no fat in them.  They taste like molten chocolate lava.  Liquid brownie.  Gooey goodness.  YUM!

I was a little lost when it came time to make dinner, so I simply started some veggies and noodles...and got a bit carried away.  Great dinners make lots of dishes, eh?  Having just two burners to work with made timing everything a little tricky.

First up, brussel sprouts.  Carmelized in a cast iron pan and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and smoked paprika.

How much can you put on a counter?

In the middle of dinner prep, I hear this thud and cry.  I turned to find Greg sprawled out.  I have no idea what made him crash, but he seemed a bit helpless when it came to getting up.

Greg chowing down!

Noodles: Carmelized onions, peppers, mushrooms, and garlic.  Salt, pepper, and more garlic.  Cottage cheese, butter, and parmesan cheese to make it creamy, though not as rich as it sounds, since I used very little of any one ingredient.

Ginger and Curry Glazed Carrots:  Steamed carrots finished with fresh ginger, butter, curry powder, wasabi, and honey.  They were perfectly seasoned--just a hint of flavor.

Tilapia: Just oil, salt, and lemon pepper.

I had fun creating a balanced, healthy meal!  Lots of veggies, small on the starch, and heavy on the protein!  Greg loves his fish!

Yummy chocolate!  He attacked the stuff.

And afterward, he received his first lesson in scratching Daddy's back while doing dishes.  He was super cute today, and pointed at everything "Dat?" 

Smiles!

Cotton Bowl

Stylin' for the Cotton Bowl!  It's pretty exciting around here for the game.

I spent most of the day sick.  The night before I had a really bad headache, and dinner didn't sit well.  I was up most of the night sick, which made today a recover and rest day.  I was hoping there would be other people/cousins around to distract Greg so I could rest, and around lunch, Jenny, Alexa, Connor, Abbie, and Parker arrived to help with that.

Brian has been really sweet and helped me with stuff today--including rubbing my neck, which seemed to alleviate the pain quite a bit.  And now we are enjoying the football game.

I can't believe how much it has rained in the last few days.  I love the rain--it makes Greg sleep better.  It's kind of soothing.

Greg worked on trying to stand up today.  He can get about half way up before collapsing.  He was also super sweet and cuddly while Mommy rested.  He would come up to me, in between playing with toys, and stroke my arm.  As I opened my eyes to look at him, he would tilt his head to the side and give me his sweetest smile.  He loves to get right in my face, tilt his head, and give me his best charming smile.

It's all the little things that truly make the day.

Smiles!

Ordinary Days

Since we know who it is that everyone wants to see around here. ;-)  This is Greg enjoying his first glimpse with a graphics card.  Daddy is training him young.

I love ordinary days.  Days to simply enjoy.  I can focus on accomplishing many projects, or I can focus on the people God places in my path everyday; mainly my husband and child.  They are the ones worth investing my time in.  I have one life to live and one chance to raise my child.  One chance to make a difference in his life.  One chance to mold a young life--such a big responsibility!  Make it count!  For me, that means stopping to chase Greg around the couch, instead of playing the piano.  Delaying dinner preparations to sample a soggy animal cracker and witness the delight in my child's eyes as he shares his treasure.  It means making my throat sore by growling like a lion.  It means forgetting about computer work, goals, and whatever else I have to do because I feel that God has given me other priorities right now.

I spoke with a dear friend today, and we talked some of marriage.  Made me remember back to when I was getting married.  Lots of lessons learned, and still learning.  Marriage and having children is, in my opinion, the hardest thing a person could do, BUT also the BEST (if that happens to be what God has called you to do).  If I am going to live here on earth, there is one person in the whole world I want to do it with: Brian.  I love my hard working, loving, patient man so much!

And, so, here is to ordinary days.  Ordinary days filled with love.  And joy.  To memory making.

Smiles!

Day 2 of the New Year

Eventually, I'm going to get more creative with blogging, but since that requires more thought, I figure done is better than perfect.

 

Today was a pretty typical day for us.  Brian went to work building Amy's house, avoiding a narrow catastrophe.  I played with Greg, made meals, skyped with Mom, finished up planning goals and schedules for this year, and made a quick run to Target to score a few deals while Brian scored more deals in other places...new phones!  Greg charmed everyone he met in the store, and we were thankful he was good the whole time (we didn't eat dinner until 8).  In the above picture, Greg climbed onto our bed, but couldn't figure out how to get off.

 Greg's new big boy car seat!  He loves it!  And I must admit that it is much easier to get him in and out of the car.  He sang the entire time in the car.  A great trip finished off with.....his favorite meal: SPAGHETTI!!

Despite the big yawns, and it being way past bedtime for this munchkin, Greg still protested with the "not sleepy" pose.  "Hi Mom!  Look how cute I am!"

Smiles!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from the Jones Family!

A new year has begun, and an old year passes away.  It's always a time of reflection and dreaming.  Looking back forward to (as our sermon on Sunday noted).  This year has been a good year, but also a tough year for our family.  It involved a move across country, being new parents, embracing new dreams, and seeking God's direction.  We pray this year brings even more direction from God, and hopefully, a job and a home.

And with the new year comes a new blog approach.  I love to journal, write, scrapbook, and blog.  However, I seem to have a hard time keeping up with all of that, so I am combining it.  I have found a program that converts blogs into scrapbooks.  My goal is to post a short blurb (the journal part) and a picture everyday, thus combining blogging (keeping in contact with family and friends), journaling, and scrapbooking into one. 

Day one down, 364 to go.

Smiles!

Last Set of Birthday Pictures

I like this set of pictures because of the story they tell.

 We set up a camp shot with Greg's favorite foods: green beans, cheerios, and spaghetti.

 This is fun!

 We were losing the good mood, so we pulled out the cheerios.

 But he couldn't figure out how to get one out.  I'll spare you the sequence of photos, but there were a bunch like this one where he is just trying to get his hands inside....and failing.

 Forget putting his hands in....he picked the whole container up!  We laughed so hard at this point!

 He still couldn't dump it.  He finally reached in and grabbed a handful!

 Yes!

 Hooray!

 Awww, sweet, toothy boy!

Smiles!