Saturday Night Fever

Sometimes...

Things can get....

A little...

CRAZY...

Around here...

On a Saturday night!

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot PIE!

This is one of my family's favorites.  It's especially yummy on a chilly fall day.

You need:
2 9 in. pie crusts (I like the Pilsbury roll-out pie crusts)
1/4 c. margarine
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp. pepper
salt to taste
1 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. milk
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed
2 c. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (I like corn, peas and carrots...green beans don't get as tender as I'd like in the pie)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place one crust in an ungreased 9" pie plate; set aside.

Melt margarine in a lg. sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour, seasoning, salt and pepper.  Cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly.

Gradually add broth and milk; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly until mixture thickens.

Stir in chicken and vegetables; cook until heated through.

Pour into pie plate.

Place 2nd crust over filling, crimp edges and cut slits in the top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until pie crust is golden.

Thankful

Today, Aidan is our guest blogger.  The following was written by him for Thanksgiving:

I am thankful for my pets and my mom and dad and family and food and water and friends and holidays and God and home and close [clothes] and cenputer [computer] and tv and musek and world.


I guess that just about covers it.  I'm glad that pets got top billing.  ;o)

Family

I love this picture:

Not only was this picture taken in one of my favorite places...Pagosa Springs, CO...it also has a few of my very favorite people in it.  They are my family.  The people in this picture are family...they love each other. Grandchild, pawpaw, brother, sister, daddy, daughter, son...family.  Yes family, even though, with the exception of Ella, no one in this picture shares one bit of genetic material.  That's right, not one ounce of DNA is shared among any of these boys.  Yet, they are family just the same.  


I'm so thankful that real family has nothing to do with genes or chromosomes.  Real family has everything to do with love...and devotion...and commitment.  It's the people who tell you what you need to hear, instead of what you want to hear.  Family consists of the people you want to call when something goes right and the first to show up when something goes wrong.  They are the people on which you can depend.  


So, maybe these guys don't share the same eyes, or the same hairline, or any other genetic characteristic. But, they wholeheartedly love each other and take care of each other.  They are family.  I am so grateful that they are MY family.

Preaching to Myself

I've been longing for something deeper lately.  I'm ready to go to a new level with God.  I want to draw a little bit closer...know him a little more...understand him a little better, and be a little more like him.  I've been struggling to find resources, aside from the Bible itself, to help me in my quest, and haven't been sure what direction to take all this longing.  There have been many roadblocks too...busyness, self-doubt, the same old sins rearing their ugly heads.
So, I was thrilled today when I was reading Matt Hammitt's blog and he referred his readers to a blog by John Knight called "The Works of God."  He said, "it is not lightweight material, and it will engage your heart and mind on the difficult issues of sickness, disability and suffering from a Biblical worldview." I was intrigued after I read "it is not lightweight material."
(Matt Hammitt is the singer for Sanctus Real.  His son was born 3 months ago with a heart condition, and he has been blogging about the experience at http://bowensheart.com)


So, I decided to check out John Knight's blog.  At first it didn't really seem to apply, since the blog is mostly about living with and caring for people with disabilities.  While I can certainly empathize, thankfully, that is not something I have personally had to deal with.  But, thrown into the mix were some challenging nuggets of truth.  I really encourage everyone to read his post about real joy.  It is relevant to our culture and thought provoking.  But, what's been churning around in my head is this quote (by Mary Horning) that I read in one of his posts: "Depression often occurs because we listen to ourselves instead of talk to ourselves.  We need to turn off the thoughts of anxiety, fear, & doubt and start preaching God's truth to ourselves."

Wow, I love that...it was just what I needed today.  I've been exploring the idea lately of the power behind speaking and praying God's word.  And this further confirmed for me that it is powerful and it is something I need to be doing more often.  See, my biggest struggles are in my own head.  I beat myself down A LOT.  I've come to realize of late that it's self-centered to think about myself so much...even if what I think is mostly negative.  So, I've been struggling to "take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).  When that cloud of depression and negativity tries to push its way in, I need to fight it off with God's truth.  I saw someone (on a blog, I think, wish I remembered who) refer to it as "packing heat."  God's truth is our weapon.  Even Jesus, confronted all of Satan's temptations with scripture.
So, today, I'd like to share with you (and remind myself) some of my favorite truths that I turn to when I'm struggling...I'd love to hear any that are meaningful to you also.

I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  Psalm 27:13 and 14


"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  2 Corinthians 12:9


"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17


If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.  The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  Isaiah 58:  10 & 11


Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.  Isaiah 54:10


So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10


The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Isaiah 40: 28-29


The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1  (one of my favorite Psalms, but I'll refrain from writing the whole thing!)


Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9


and finally,

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  Phillippians 4:4-8


I could go on and on...there's so much good truth there...and I feel renewed already.  I will be praying these verses over myself and my family this week.  I think I'll be searching for more of these scriptures as they relate to more specific struggles...anxiety, self-doubt, fear, etc. and posting them here on a semi-regular basis.  If you have any that are particularly helpful to you, I'd love to hear them...you can leave them in a comment or email me.

Random Randomness

Wow, I have really been in a blogging slump lately.  It's not that I haven't had anything to write about, I've actually been thinking of lots of potential posts.  The trick has been finding time to sit down and think them through and write it out.
Anyway, lots has been on my mind.  I've had lots of thoughts lately, none of them that I've had time to really develop.  So, here are some random tidbits...some of which may turn into a more detailed post later.

Occupying most of the space in my mind lately has been my friend Dan and his family.  Dan was diagnosed with melanoma.  Whether you know him or not, I plead with you to follow their story.  I don't know how it is going to play out, but I know that God is sovereign and regardless of what is in store for Dan and Linda, they will bring glory to God through this journey.  That's just the kind of people they are...that's the kind of faith they have.  I cannot adequately describe how special this family is.  So, follow their story on Caring Bridge and I promise, you will be blessed.   And while you're at it, if you could send up tons and tons of prayers for them, I would be eternally grateful.

On another note, I haven't really shared this with anyone yet, but I am writing a Bible study for kids.  I think.  I'm really just trying to take it in whatever direction the Lord leads.  At first, I was writing it on fear for kids Aidan's age.  I am really wanting resources for my kids that teach them how to go to the word of God to deal with problems in their lives.  So, I've been researching lots of scripture on fear.  The more I study it, the more I'm drawn to the concept of Fearing the Lord.  So, this Bible study on fear in general, may be morphing into a Bible Study on the Fear of the Lord.  And, while I really want to have this resource for my own children, and I love working with children, and know a lot about children, I'm also feeling pulled to work with women and possibly write something for women...so we'll see.  Living (or trying to at least) your life in total submission to God is a lot of things...scary, exciting, confusing...but never, ever boring!

Christmas is coming up and I just want to encourage everyone to slow it down this year...take it all down a notch.  We, unfortunately...or fortunately, depending on how you look at it...are very strapped for cash this year.  The money for Christmas just isn't there.  And, we are committed to paying off our credit card debt and not adding anything to it (on a side note...we haven't used a credit card in a year!  yea!!), so if there isn't cash to pay for it, it's not happening.  Can I just tell you how freeing this is??  We had a garage sale last week, and that combined with a little bit extra we've set aside is all we have to spend for Christmas.  That's it.  Our kids will have plenty...not as much as some...but that's okay.  It feels so good. No more worrying about it...we'll go shopping this weekend, and then, we're pretty much done...except for a few odds and ends here and there.  The rest of this season will be spent going to see Christmas lights, drinking hot chocolate and just spending time together and making Christmas memories.

This song, by Amy Grant has been running through my mind and bringing me a lot of peace lately.  I'm just really in love with idea that our God is big enough for our questions and loves our honesty more than our Sunday School answers.

Well, I've got more to say, but not enough time right now...Aidan is going on a cub scout camp out tonight with my dad, and Ella is spending some one on one time with my mom.  (I am doing a joyful dance and singing the praises of my parents right now...not really, but it has been a LONG LONG LONG time since we haven't had either of the kids for a WHOLE night...if that doesn't deserve a hallelujah, I don't know what does.)  So, I've got to get both of them packed up.

Autumn Beef Stew

I have really enjoyed the crisp weather we have had lately.  It's a real treat for a Texan to get some "real" fall weather.  Although, I love the chilly weather occasionally, I could never live where it is really cold all the time.  I would stay home and eat all day every day!  Does chilly weather make anyone else want to cook, and bake and eat??
The other night, I had a craving for tasty soup, but had not really planned that into our menu.  So, I rummaged through the freezer and pantry, mixed together what I found and hoped for the best.  This is what I came up with...it was a hit with the family.  Maybe your family can enjoy it on one of these chilly nights too!

3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato paste
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. hot water
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced

Put flour, salt, pepper, and stew meat into large resealable plastic bag and toss to coat.
Brown meat in olive oil in a dutch oven or soup pot.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic and oregano.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender.

We ate it with some yummy cornbread...a nice crusty french bread would have been good too.  YUM!