I'm Excited For...

...Friday (yep, that's tomorrow. Best news of the week!)

...going to Oregon on March 25th!! 

...the completion of my 1000 hours on April 10th!!

...to be an "auntie" for baby Weasel #1

...Third Day being in tri-cities even if I can't go... but I plan on being there

...my kiddo  to keep up the amazing progress on his programs (sidenote: I only use the word kiddo to distinguish that the child is not actually my own, but one i take care of - otherwise, the word kiddo does NOT make me excited)

...my other kiddo to stop tearing up my hands

... for the word kiddo to die

...someday my husband to let me have a puppy to nurture

Righteousness

I went to a worship night with a friend yesterday and spent a lot of time reading Psalm 37.  The passage spoke about the rewards for the righteous.  The Lord really spoke to me through the scriptures, the worship songs, and the prayers of the people around me as I sat in His presence for a couple hours.  The following is the raw journal of my reflection... I'll try and edit it for confusion, but please just take it as it is... 

Righteousness is not based on perfectionism.  No, it instead comes from a relationship with and respect of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The righteous do not earn their salvation - it is given, a gift from the Lord God Almighty.  One is not qualified as righteous simply by his actions. 

Righteousness begins in the heart.  The righteous one delights first and foremost in the Lord, in His desires, and commits to following his way, however it may differ from the individual's thoughts and self-driven goals.  The righteous one spends time with the Lord the Savior, demonstrating patience - waiting for the Lord's plan and words to come.  Peace is granted to the righteous one who is still before the Lord.  Trust in the Lord and righteousness rains down out of the floodgates of heaven.

The righteous live for a cause - a just and holy cause to further the kingdom of the Holy Lord God Almighty.  Trust is shown in the act of doing good.  Hope of the righteous is rooted in the trust of the Lord God Almighty's perfect, holy plan.  Hope brings an inheritance, on immersed in the glory of the Lord.  Righteousness brings peace, beautiful peace.  Characterized by meekness... the righteous are humble, lowly in spirit.  Jesus Christ the Lord was righteous - meek and humble in spirit.  The righteous one is slow to anger, turning away from wrath and bitterness.

Rest for the righteous comes in the presence of the Lord God Almighty... the loving, holy presence of God's Holy Spirit.  Peace, love, and victory are in the presence of God.

The righteous show no shortage of generosity; and because of their free-giving spirit, the Lord never forsakes them.  They are well-cared for, never hungry or in need.  Their generosity comes from the free gift of Jesus Christ's salvation - his sacrifice.  The righteous one can do nothing but give to others in response to his amazing rescue.

What is the land that the righteous inherit?  It is the presence of the Lord of Glory, full of abundance and grace.  A land of peace, one where there is rest for the weary soul.  The righteous desires nothing more than to be in the inheritance - in the presence of His glory.  

One who is righteous does not speak lightly nor rashly.  Instead, the words that come from his mouth are full of wisdom, peace, and healing for those who hear.  The words bear the good news of Christ in every syllable.  They speak of the devoted love of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The righteous know the law of God, the precious words of scripture - they are written on his heart so that he will not falter.

The power of the Lord rests upon the righteous, equipping his hands to do the good work of the Father and bring healing to the nations.  One who is righteous does not rely on shortcuts or the easy way out.  He waits for the Lord to fall down upon his heart... the righteous wait for the Lord to use them to heal and bring a new vision and dream to the broken and lost. 

The Lord is the stronghold of the righteous; she relies on him alone for help in times of trouble.  The righteous take refuge in the Lord and He helps.

Fridays

Why do we all LOVE Fridays?  Because it means the week is over.  We get to go home.  There's no work responsibility or specific routine following Friday.  Friday means relaxing, seeing a change of pace, and spending time with those you love.  

But, of course, getting through Friday is always treacherous.  Something goes wrong and we always say, "hey, at least it's Friday." The day drags on... "I'm so glad it's Friday!" You get pinched or fail to complete something... "well, come 3 o'clock, it's the weekend." I feel that Friday never quite receives the full attention it deserves like every other day.  On Fridays, we slack.  We say, "oh, it's Friday, I don't feel like working." We wear jeans. Push through the day, but don't give it our full effort.  Simply because we're glad it's Friday and we're more excited about what's to follow it... going home.

What if we treated life like a Friday?  We should, you know?  Everyday should be, "Thank God it's Friday - soon I get to go home."  I hope that I'm as excited to go to heaven to be with my Loved One (Jesus Christ my Savior) as I am to go home from work to my husband.  Everyday should be filled with anticipation of the weekend, the time when God calls us to our true home and we get to spend every moment with no agenda praising Him.

I'm so glad it's Friday!!

Second Blog

I started a separate blog to put recipes on.  I did it more for the sake of Anna, my sister, who is in the Philippines and needs some good stove-top and no-bake recipes.  That said, the initial recipes posted here are not necessarily my favorite, but are definitely easy to make, use fresh ingredients, and can be made without an oven.  Enjoy!

http://morecipes.blogspot.com

and it wasn't supposed to be "more recipes" it's MO (my initials) recipes.. .just so happened it also make more recipes. ok i'm done.

The Ban, Food, Michelle, in that order.

1. The Ban

My husband (so lovingly) banned me from baking until further notice.  If you know anything about me, you know that I love, love, love baking - and - the ban is rightfully placed.  I bake a lot. A lot, a lot.  When Mac realized that we had bought 3, 1 lb. packs of butter that was gone in about 2 weeks, that was when the ban took place.  I guess that's a lot of butter.

I stretched the limits yesterday by making some low-fat banana muffins that don't have any butter.  That was about 3 days after the ban was placed. Go me.

2. Food

I love food; making it, researching it, eating it... Making it is my favorite though.  We (Americans) spend so much money on food and eating it.  So, as a newlywed who likes to cook, I decided the best budget cooking advice is to make a monthly menu.  That way, when you go to the grocery store, you buy what you need and that's it (at least that's the idea).  Also, you can make recipes that use the same ingredients but have slightly different form or taste, and space them out a bit.  This allows you to buy less ingredients and buy in bulk, which is cost-effective.

Currently, since it's just the two of us, I can make one meal that serves us two dinners, which is also really helpful. 

So, this is the February menu in the Ovenell home:

2/11-12: Chicken Tacos with fresh salsa and tortilla chips

2/13: Left over Krautranzas & steamed veggies

2/14: It's Valentine's Day, so we're splurging and making salmon w/ red potatoes and something else

2/15: Every Sunday, we make a big brunch so for dinner we watch a movie and have popcorn, apple & cheese slices

2/16-17: Chili (which I will freeze half of to have in coming months)

2/18-19: Chicken & Dumplings with roasted red potatoes

2/20-21: Tomato mozzarella casserole

2/22: Sunday meal

2/23-24: Turkey Noodle soup (that i made and froze at thanksgiving)

2/25-26: Paprika Chicken, Brown Rice, and Steamed veggies

2/27: Fried Rice (with left-over rice)

2/28: Spaghetti & Meatballs

The ingredients to make all of this, plus fruits and veggies for the next 1-2 weeks cost me only $56.00.  That's less than $14.00 a week. for all our dinners and produce.  I know I semi-cheated, because I had some of the ingredients & dinners (such as spices, the frozen krautranzas and soup, and our sunday dinners). But still.

3. Michelle  

This was for you. :)

Tired

Today was a "I'm-tired-of-life" type day.  Mondays are my long days; I work from 7:30-1:30, kill time until 4, which is when I have my staff meeting until 5... So, I'm gone from 7-5:30, which is a long day for someone is gone for only 7 hours the rest of the days of the week. This post was not meant to be a complaining vent... I just think everyone can relate to being tired.

I was able to talk to my best friend today for quite some time, which has not happened since Christmas.  It was amazing to catch up.  There is so much going on in both our lives right now and I just hate missing out on her wedding plans, her ministry opportunities and Bible school experiences.  I hate that she can't see my life here in Spokane nor be part of my new marriage.  One can only say so much on the phone.  When so much of human communication is nonverbal, it's a bit difficult to get your point across when you can't see the person's face, watch his/her body language or really hear the tone of voice.  It's just information. I'm tired of having phone conversations with people... especially when they only happen every two months or so.  Speaking of, I decided phone tag is the worst game ever.  Malori, if you're reading this, we need to just set a time when we're going to talk, because I haven't talked to you since October 18th, and that's ridiculous.

This weekend I went to tri-cities to visit my dear, beloved second family.  The boys are getting so big, and really developing into the unique personalities that God created them to be.  We were able to listen to Lane (12 years old) play the guitar and hear all his talent.  Seth poured out his soul's passion for animals as he included us in his decisions of picking out chickens and steers for 4-H this year.  There is a creative caterpillar growing inside of Chad that is just dying to bust out in glorious shapes and colors.  When it does, it will be completely unique and have his name written all over it.  Ian is just a clown, loving the attention of his older brothers (when they're nice) and of course his beloved Mac.  I'm tired of missing out on they're growing up years and talking with their Mom and Dad everyday.

The Kings have two dogs, Gem and Zoey.  Zoey is just a puppy and pretty much the cutest thing on the face of the earth.  I've been wanting a dog for quite some time now, but it's just not feasible with both of us working full-time and living in a 2nd-story apartment with no yard.  I definitely have recognized that the Lord has given me the heart of a woman - one that longs to nurture and care for things.  And since it's not currently in the budget or our plan (and we don't think it's in God's either) to have a baby right now, I've resorted to desiring a puppy.  I'm tired of wanting to always spend money and time on things that I can neither have nor really fully take care of at the moment.

At 8:15 I told Mac that I was sleepy-tired. Really sleepy-tired. I probably could have fallen asleep right then and there.  He counter-acted that desire and made me some hot chocolate accompanied by a challenge of the game of Settlers of Catan.  I love my husband, he's wonderful.  I'm tired of being tired at 8:15, and going to bed at 9:30 because I simply cannot make it any longer.

On that note, I'm going to sign off because it's 9:43 and if I don't go to sleep, I'll wake up saying I'm tired of going to work.  Which I am, but only on the days that I don't want to go. Which are usually the days after I go to bed after 9:30.  Therefore, good-bye.

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  - Matthew 11:28-30 - The words of our Comfort and Strength, Jesus Christ.

Raising Kids

I won't pretend I'm an expert on raising children, because I've never raised one of my own.  I also won't deny that I know a lot about teaching kids and have spent my fair share of time caring for little ones.  Nonetheless, I found this passage quite enlightening.  It fit right in line with a sermon we heard a couple weeks ago also regarding parenting.

Judges 13 shares the story of Samson's birth.  An angel comes to his parents to inform them that they will have a child (Samson's mother was barren just like Sarah, Rebekah, and Elizabeth). Knowing this kid is going to special, Samson's dad asks the angel "What is to be the child's manner of life and what is his mission?" (Judges 13:12).  Wow, wouldn't you like God to answer that question regarding your child's life, not to mention a calling for your life?? Believe it or not, the angel gives him an answer.  Listen closely, though, because as usual, an unexpected answer is given.  The angel replies, "Of all that I said to the woman [Samson's mother], let her be careful. She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat anything unclean.  All that I commanded her let her observe" (Judges 13:13-14).  

The angel didn't say specifically what Samson would grow up to be, or how he would live his life.  Instead, he gave a direct calling to Samson's mother (the specifics of which aren't the focus) - that she must be faithful and obedient as a path for Samson's mission.  How often to parents or role models (such as myself) attempt to push children one way or another.  We teach and teach and teach, but how often do we actually model the obedience to the Lord that we ask for from them?  How often do we fulfill our mission in life as we expect them to seek a direction?  

I know this is just one short passage in the old testament.  But how would our lives change if we followed the example this story?  How would our children's lives change if we set the example for them before we set the expectations on them?

Good intentions

I had good intentions to go work out today when I got home from work.  I guess there is still time left in the day, but chance are slim that I will follow through with that particular good intention. Instead I'm sitting here drinking peppermint tea with soy milk, listening to Jon Foreman and the like, and contemplating exactly what I should write my book about.  

Let's just say it's always been a life goal of mine to be a published writer... I know the aim is high, but we all know I'm ambitious.  I've been keeping quiet about my desire, mainly because I'm afraid of failure.  If I make it known that I'm going to write a book and it never happens, suddenly I've failed because it was more than just an internal desire.  So, thus explains my previous post... written in a sense of accountability, one might say.  

I've tossed around a couple ideas for my book's main subject, none of which seem to really stand out, which would prove to be a boring book that no one will want to read.  I want to write something that captures a stranger's attention; one that anyone can relate to, and most importantly, one that shouts the truth of God's love without actually saying it.  

So, there you go... I had good intentions to work out. I had good intentions to start my book, but instead I'm using up all my words on this post instead.  So I'll sign off and think of more intentions that are good and waste more time not completing them.