How Beautiful

How Beautiful Lyrics

This morning I sang in church. This is not so unusual for me. I have been singing in church since I can remember, honestly. But I ran into some trouble this time. Before we left for church, I could NOT decide what to wear.

Not a big deal, you say? Well, it was a BIG deal to me. I have worn all my clothes a BILLION times, give or take a few million. I haven't gotten any new skirts or dresses in a very long time. But it's Easter Sunday!! I wanted to look beautiful. I stood in front of my closet for about 20 minutes, pulling things out and putting things back, throwing things on the floor and whining quietly about how I have "nothing" to wear. Finally, I put on a shirt I hadn't worn in awhile with a vest and skirt-- a combo I've never actually worn. SO, it worked out. Who knows whether I looked beautiful or not.

Then we got to church. This morning we had two baptisms, both of them very young girls. It was so sweet and made me cry. How beautiful...truly beautiful. As I sat in church, singing congregational hymns and thinking about the song I was about to sing myself, I was stricken with the thought that this morning's clothing woes were very silly. I was reminded of what was truly beautiful. Baptisms of beautiful young girls, sermons of elderly "retired" preachers, lunches at kind people's houses, and the body of Christ as He died for the very people who spit on Him.

I am a person who admires beauty. I really do. Why, then, do I sometimes miss the TRUE beauty? I am thankful that God chose those moments, BEFORE I sang my special music for the rest of the church, to remind me of what really IS beautiful. Of what I should be worried about. There is no shortage of beauty, so why should I worry?

Day 5

Day 5 tells me to describe a time when I felt like ending my own life.



I don't know that I've ever been suicidal, but there has been one time in my life when I was desperately sad. I spent the day, New Year's Day interestingly, crying in a fetal position on my bed.



Without mentioning any names or saying anyone was bad or whatever, I'll just say I suffered a rather yucky breakup. Before this time I never thought much about teenage breakups or really teenage romances. I always kinda thought it was a little ridiculous for teenagers to think they were SO IN LOVE. Well, dadgummit, I changed my own mind. For three years I "dated" this guy, two of these years we never went anywhere because he couldn't date until he was 16. I was a year older, so I waited for him to become of that age. During this time I developed very strong, very real feelings for this guy. I definitely have a lot of love and loyalty to give someone, and I gave it to him.

Well, I guess all I should say is that it did not end well. Maybe I idolized him. Maybe he wasn't a very good boyfriend. Whatever the reasons BETWEEN US TWO, it did not end well. We broke up November 5th, the day of our 3 year anniversary. I spent that day crying, too, but it wasn't until I saw him New Year's Eve with someone else, that I fell utterly apart. It took me months to get to the point where it didn't make me sad to think about him. I still sometimes tear up when I hear Rascal Flatts' song "What Hurts the Most" or Nick Lachey's "I Can't Hate You Anymore" or Evanescence's "My Immortal" or Katherine McPhee's "Over It". One day I am going to make a book of these songs and my own poems I wrote during and after that terrible time.

Day 4

Day 4 of the 30 day challenge is my views on religion. There are really far too many specific thoughts for me to post on here, so I guess I can just share some general ones.

Religion.

I think the word "religion" has gotten a bad rap. I mean, it basically is something that you habitually do in service of the deity you worship. However, this word is also overused, and the idea behind it replaces the actual act of worship, in my opinion. Many many people are "religious" and go to church, basically act "good", but are not Christians. They serve not as much out of love and devotion to their Savior but more for the reason of doing what they've always done, looking good in front of the world, and for some to earn their place in Heaven. Even true Christians sometimes are RELIGIOUS, but do not worship Christ wholeheartedly.

I admit I am NOT even close to perfect. I KNOW this. I say this as much to myself as to anyone else. We say we are Christians. We try to convince others to come to Him, but we do things that push people away, as well as pushing ourselves away from the relationship we could have with God. We may be basically "religious", but there are little things we do or don't do that make people question our devotion. Making mean comments, being prideful about our own faith, not going to church so we can do something more "fun", not tithing. The list goes on and on.

Consistency, people. God is consistent, so if we're trying to be like him, shouldn't we be consistent, too?

This is my view on religion.

Day 3

Well, day three is my views on drugs and alcohol.

As for alcohol, it's a bit of a challenge for me to say absolutely one way or the other. As far as I can see, the Bible says not to be DRUNK with wine, which to me does not completely disallow alcohol. However, it may be one of those cases where it is better not to begin something and have to stop yourself. It is a fact that alcohol inhibits your impulse control. It relaxes that part of your brain. This makes it more difficult to make wise decisions. Even if people say alcohol is not neccessarily BAD for you in itself, which can be debated either way, it still makes it easier to make other choices which aren't good. Under an alcoholic stupor people can go places they wouldn't go sober. I have heard of people doing sexual things and also acting in extreme ways out of anger. This in itself is a reason to generally stay away from it, in my opinion.

I also do have to say I have a problem with a lot of drinking going on when children are present. I have witnessed an event where some of the adults were drinking and left their drinks out. The children climbed on their chairs and started trying to drink the leftover alcohol in the glasses. This worries me to an extreme degree. Even if you think it's OK to drink, do you really want to encourage children to drink? Especially at a very young age. This is just worrisome to me. I truly think people should go somewhere else to drink. Do not include the children if you must do it.

Drugs. Well, I assume we're discussing illegal drugs. As a Christian, I believe we are supposed to follow the laws laid down by the earthly authorites we are under. Therefore, in general, I say NO to drugs. Putting aside the illegality of these substances, I think the same idea applies here that I mentioned with alcohol. Drugs make your brain do strange things, causing you to act in ways that are at the least unlike yourself and at the most dangerous to yourself and/or others.

My only issue with my own logic...hahaha...is that the same can be said for almost anything you ingest. All foods and drinks have some affect on your brain, even if it is just, "Mmmm, this is yummy." Maybe if I eat too many mashed potatoes I get grumpy and act in ways I normally wouldn't. This could be a problem. Seriously, I don't think EVERYTHING we ingest is a drug. However, I do think we should avoid substances that cause us to act with impaired judgement.

Well, those are my views on drugs and alcohol in general. I am not an expert on anything, but I have thought a lot about these things. As of now, this is how I feel.

30 Day Challenge: Day 2

Day 2:



Where would I like to be in 10 years?



10 years. I will be 31. Wow. I think that instead of being practical and saying where I think I probably WILL be, I will paint you a picture of where I truly WISH I would be. Here we go.



I hope that in ten years, Daniel is a music minister at a good medium sized church where they love and respect him. I hope he is able to make plenty of money, so he can provide all his family needs...and some of their wants, too. Wait, I'm dreaming here!! I wish we could never worry about money. I hate worrying about money...it makes me have indigestion and nausea. Therefore, more money than we need, so we can do fun things as a family and share money with other people who need it.



I want a big house made of wood and stone, with a big front porch and a porch swing. I want a BIG backyard with beautiful green grass, a brook flowing through it, and a willow tree draping gracefully over the water.

I want to be homeschooling my children and doing fun things with them. I want our little family to go places and see things and enjoy being together.

I want to be very self-reliant. I want to know how to make clothes and food and other things. I want to have a garden and some cows and some chickens.

Ten years-- not so different from today. I just want to be happy with my loved ones.

30 Day Challenge

OK, well, I thought this would be fun to do. I plan to use this as a writing prompt. I stole this image from my friend, Michelle.

Day One:

My current relationship status. Well, I'm married. That much is obvious to anyone who knows me. Daniel and I have been married for two and a half years. That's right, we got married when I was 19. He was 20.

And...drum roll please...we met on MYSPACE. Yes, I met my future husband on an online networking site. Are you shocked? I was, honestly. I always say it was really a God thing. I almost never add people I haven't actually met in person. I made about TWO exceptions in my Myspace career. Daniel was number two. I only added him because he was friends with a couple of my friends, so, when he requated me, I thought, "He must be OK." And there we left it for several months. Then one day I was at school on Myspace...because what else do you do at school when you're not in class? Anyway, up pops my chat window. It's Daniel. I don't know this guy...awkward. We started talking, and bonded over a common aquaintance who was a Wiccan. Both being Christians, we both had ideas and interest in this person. This was our first conversation, a conversation about Christ and witnessing to non-Christians. I would say that's a pretty good beginning to a relationship, wouldn't you?

After Myspace we did meet in person, obviously. We became friends and hung out at school and chatted on Myspace some more. He asked me if I wanted to "hang out" over Spring Break, thereby asking me on a date. I said yes. This was another God thing. I have known several guys who I have gotten to know and then refused for dates, because I felt wrong about it. But with Daniel I said yes. I couldn't believe it even then. We went to Subway in Lovington for our first date. Then I surprised myself by asking him to the homeschool formal. Surprising because, well, I didn't think he was my type. He had long hair and wore all black. But I asked him. He said yes, and we went.

The more I got to know him the happier I was that I did. I realized he loved his family, especially children. In fact, during our first chat he sent me a link to pictures of his nieces and nephews. He was homeschooled like me. He played guitar SO well. He was a music major. He loved Jesus, and was really involved in his church. When I explained to my parents that we were dating I told them I loved him because he made me want to be a better Christian.

I dated one boy before Daniel, and clearly it didn't work out, but I didn't date Daniel long before I knew we would get married someday. About a year and a half after we began dating we got married. August 9, 2009. Our wedding was small, sweet, and comfortable. I like to think it was very suited to us.

So now, we've been married 2.5 years, like I said. We have a beautiful daughter and a sweet apartment. We are vastly different but so much the same. God planned this, no doubt. Sometimes we have doubts, sometimes we really can't stand each other, but always there is the love that God planted in our hearts.

Cooking With Baby: Chicken Adobo

So, as some of you may know, I really enjoy cooking. When I had Mae, however, my cooking experience changed dramatically. There are days that I am not free to "slave" over the stove or "babysit" my cooking dish. Therefore, I have begun devising ways of cooking good meals for Daniel and me with Mae around. Often, I carry her in her sling, being careful to avoid splashes of hot food. This works out well most of the time. Now that she is bigger, she is able to play on the floor by herself for a lot of the time. She sits on the kitchen floor and chews on a wooden spoon or crawls around. So, I am going to begin to post my memorable "Cooking With Baby" moments. Let this be an encouragement to all the busy people out there that YOU CAN do it. You can cook good food even when you're busy. :-)

Chicken Adobo

I got this recipe (basically) from http://www.foodnetwork.com/ . Giada deLaurentis made it on her show, and I thought it sounded relatively simple. It is a Filipino dish, which is interesting since she's Italian. Sounded good....

Good things about this dish:

*Once the marinade is together, you can leave the chicken alone in there for an hour or two-- no babysitting...well, other than turning it over once.

*Once the chicken is in the pot simmering, you can leave it alone for 20 minutes at a time. No babysitting!!

Bad-ish things about this dish:

*I used chicken thighs with bone in and skin on. This created marvelous flavorful chicken, but also added some additional fat to the broth it cooked in, and afterwards the chicken skin was a little unappetizing. Next time I will either a) remove the skin prior to cooking, b) sear the chicken after marinating but before cooking to create a crispier skin, c) use a less fatty cut of chicken, d) after cooking, put the chicken under a broiler to crisp up skin.

*This recipe calls for a CUP of soy sauce! It tastes really nice, but that seems like a lot of salt and a lot of soy sauce to use.

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

I used 6 chicken thighs with skin on and bones in. Giada's origial recipe called for 12 drumsticks.

Marinade:

1 cup Vinegar

1 cup Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 Bay Leaves

How I deviated:

I used--

1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 cup Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

1 cup White Sugar

2 Tbs. Molasses

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Sauce:

2 cups Chicken Broth

2 Tbs. Arrowroot

2 Tbs. Lime Juice

Salt

Pepper

My deviation:

2 cups Beef Broth (That's all I had.)

2 Tbs. Flour

2 Tbs. Lemon Juice

Salt

Instructions:

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together until sugar and molasses are dissolved and distributed. Place chicken pieces in a 9x14 pan and cover with marinade. Let marinate for 1-2 hrs., turning over once.

Place chicken in soup pot. Cover with marinade and add broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to simmer for about an hour, turning chicken over every 20 minutes.

Remove cooked chicken from pot. Add flour, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to the broth and whisk rapidly until slightly thickened.

Serve chicken with the sauce on top and as a dipping sauce.

I served this with homemade mini cornbread muffins and lightly salted broccoli. It was a hit!! :-)

Words Matter

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing."

Words are important.

I am often angered by people who carelessly utter unkind words. It seems like people usually say either:

1. Oh, when I get mad, I say things I don't mean.

or

2. I'm just joking!

Neither of these are appropriate. Deep down we KNOW that, right? We KNOW it's NOT OK to allow unkind words "slip out" when we are upset or angry. In my case, I lean toward meaning every word I say. I shouldn't say some things, but I mean every word. NOT OK.

AND, despite what most people seem to think, it is also NOT OK to make cruel jokes at the expense of others. While it's good to have a good sense of humor, and not take everything seriously, it is not appropriate to make jokes about other people. I used to feel like the ocassional poke at someone was OK, and maybe it is. But maybe it's much better to just say NO to mean jokes. Avoid it. The Bible says, speaking of the wicked and the evildoers;

"They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows."

How we in our society seem to look highly on those with quick wits and sharp tongues! Sharp tongues HURT like deadly arrows! Why do we think it's OK to say mean things under the guise of humor?

A lot of times it is because people think they can say TRUE things (or at least things they think are true) using humor and it makes it better, eg. "That shirt's working hard." (ie, you're fat, and your shirt's too small.) or "Lost your hairbrush?" (You should brush your hair, it's tangled and looks messy.) If it's not OK to make the comment without the humor then don't make the comment with the humor. It's an obvious dig, and it still hurts.

AND why do some people think it's OK to call people names or say unkind things about them or to their face even? Things like, "You're spoiled." "You're worthless." "You're dumb." Those things hurt. Again, people tend to say these EXTREMELY hurtful things and then laugh or smile like it's so funny. Guess what. NOT FUNNY!!

You may think I'm overreacting, but why waste time saying mean and hurtful things when there are plenty of other things to say, not to mention NICE and ENCOURAGING things.

I am not perfect AT ALL. I say things sometimes that I shouldn't say whether I think them or not, but I am making an effort to avoid saying mean or hurtful things, because I realize how destructive words are. Not only do they hurt, but they stick in your mind.

You can never take words back. Sure, you can say "Sorry", but it's always there. That is in that person's mind forever. "I'm fat. I'm stupid. I'm spoiled. I'm onery. I'm dumb. I'm ugly." WHY do you want that floating in the mind of someone you love, convincing them that they are those things? WHY????

I will continue to make an effort to be kind with my words, spoken, written, typed, thought.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, Oh Lord."

Psalm 19

One Pan Brown Rice Lunch

Today I made a really yummy lunch.

I cooked the brown rice per instructions, only I used chicken broth instead of water. Super flavorful!! When it was ALMOST done, I added two raw eggs and stirred them in. I allowed it to finish cooking with the eggs in it until the eggs were tiny chunks in the rice. To this completed rice I added pepper (no need for extra salt!!), crushed red pepper, a slosh of lemon juice, and about 1/2 tsp. of honey.

It's a meal in itself. It's pretty easy, because you just leave the rice to cook for about 45 minutes and then add the eggs real quick. YUM!!

~CLMW

My Foodie Husband

The other day Daniel made supper for us, and it was amazing!! I might hang up my apron, I tell you.

What he made was Braised Chicken Thighs with Garlic, Tomato Sauce, and White Wine. It was so yummy you wouldn't believe.

First, he seared the thighs in a cast iron skillet to get the skin crispy. Next he added tomato paste, garlic and white wine to the skillet and put it in the oven at a relatively high heat. 20 minutes later, we had AMAZING chicken!!

Thank you, Daniel!! =-D

Respect the Potato

I love Food Network. I watch almost every show they produce. My favorites are the game type shows. I LOVE Next Food Network Star and Next Iron Chef. Recently, on the latter program, a chef annoyed his fellow contestants by continually spouting the same line, "Respect the potato." Granted, the challenge was about respecting your ingredients, but all the same it got me thinking. Imagine that. I get so frustrated with constantly hearing people say men should respect women. Not that I disagree. I certainly think men should love women and treat them with great courtesy. HOWEVER:

Women should also respect men.

Satan is a master at twisting truth. He almost never actually LIES, it seems. Satan takes a perfectly valid truth and distorts it, so it is a hurtful deception. One of the worst lies of our society is that men are held over women on a pedestal and women are put down and practically enslaved. Does this happen? Sure. But what about the scores of men on TV, movies, songs, etc. who are called "clueless", "stupid", and constantly treated like they are?

I do not think men should be "above" women, in the sense that they are superior, yet they are just as priceless a creation to God as women. God made Adam first, and LOVED him. He was GOOD.

Why is it that women can't treat men with love and honest respect, but they expect men to kiss their toes and bake them eclairs? Being a wife and mommy, I know that sometimes I'd like a break. I sometimes ask my husband to help me do things I normally do myself. There's nothing wrong with this. Similarly, he sometimes asks me to help him with things he normally does. Again, nothing bad about this. NEITHER of us is more entitled to courtesy and help than the other. BOTH of us are told by God to love and respect the other.

So, in retrospect, the potato is not the only starch worthy of respect. Respect the crackers. Love the pasta. Care for the bread.

Women LOVE your husbands. Treat them with respect. I'm no expert, but I am fed up with blatant discourtesy shown these men, especially men of God, by the women who should care for their feelings the most.

Last Year's Stock

It's a new year. One with no mistakes in it...yet. Another Anne of Green Gables reference. (Tomorrow is a new day. One with no mistakes in it.)

Anyway, I was thinking about the new year, and I had several initial thoughts:

1. I am not making resolutions. If I do, I have set myself up for failure. I am thinking back, and I don't think I ever stuck with a resolution I made EVER. So there I am. Instead, I plan to set monthly goals. This should be more productive, since I think I will be able to re-evaluate at the end of each month and either mark it accomplished, tack it on to next month's goals, or trash it. I think this will help me to stay focused on what I want to get done.

2. Last year never goes away. It does, but it doesn't. It's like making soup and starting with strained stock from the last batch. It makes the soup more flavorful. I think this is how we SHOULD start our new year-- we should extract the best times and best lessons and use them to begin anew. Lots of bad things happened last year (jarred sweet cabbage does not make the best cabbage soup), but what's important is for me to learn things and use that knowledge to move forward.

3. God has already been here. He is here. This year should not bring fear with it, because God already knows what's in it. He has promised that He has plans for our good and not for our defeat. He has said He is with us wherever we go.

4. New Year=New Chance to do things I always wanted to do. Sometimes during the year I feel like I have missed out on my opportunity to do things, or it's too late to start now. NOW is the time to put aside those feelings and do something new. I love to have tools I can use to organize my life a little bit better. These help me with my goals. I have a planner already, and I think I will continue to use this with NEW pages from this printable planners site.

I know I need to be encouraged in this new year, and I hope to be a help and encouragement to other people, too. I hope to NOT be a stumbling block or a discouragement to anyone.

Happy New Year, faithful readers. Seize this day, for it is new and it is beautiful.

~*~CLMW~*~