Are You Saved?

Psalm 51:7 (NCV) Take away my sin, and I will be clean.  Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

With Easter coming up this Sunday I am reminded of the goodness of God and of what He has done for me.  I am reminded of where I was and the road I was on before I truly made Jesus Lord of my Life and this made me wander...

Are you Saved?  Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior?  Do you know for sure that when you leave this earth you will be in Heaven with God FOREVER?

We will all LIVE FOREVER.  The question is where? 

If you do not know for sure in your heart that Jesus is your Lord, I want to invite you to know him. 

John 3:16 and 17 says For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 10:10 and 11 says The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Romans 10:9 and 10 says If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

It is very simple.  Believe in your heart and Confess with your mouth.

Come to Jesus just as you are.  You can never get "good enough" to be deserving of this gift He has freely given us. 

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and You would like to, Pray this prayer out loud right now.

Heavenly Father, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask you to cleanse me and forgive me from all of my sins.  I believe in my heart that Jesus is Your Son, that He died to save me and was buried and raised again.   Lord Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart right now.  I declare that You are my Lord.  Thank you Jesus for Saving me.  Amen.

Hallelujah!  If you prayed that prayer just now please leave me a comment to let me know so that I may pray for you.

 

Inviting the Joy of the Lord

Praying Parent - Week 21

Are your children happy? 

I can say yes, my children are normally happy and joyful.  Of course there are times when they don't get their way and for a time they are not so happy but it quickly passes. 

I do my best every morning to wake my children with a smile on my face and in some goofy way.  I am usually singing some silly wake up song to them (yes even at 12 and 14) because that is just who I am.  I try to make our mornings flow smoothly because I am with them a total of about 35 minutes each morning before they hurry off to catch the bus to school.  I hear friends say and read posts on facebook all the time about how awful their morning was and that really makes me sad.  I try so hard to keep the house happy and upbeat of the morning because I NEVER want to send my kids off away from me in a bad, sad, unhappy, not joyful mood.  Now, I am not perfect and of course there has probably been the rare occasion that they have left mad or upset but it is definitely not the norm.  I love them and God gave them to me and my husband to be a good stewards over. God wants our children to be happy and full of joy.

But guess what?  No matter how hard I try to keep them happy and joyful - true joy doesn't come from me or how "GREAT" I try to make their mornings.  True joy and happiness comes from God.

John 15:10-11
I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy.

Psalm 16:11 
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Romans 15:13
 I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 61:10
I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!  For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.  I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.

Pray for your children to remain full of the Joy of the Lord. Teach them that the way we have and keep this joy of the Lord is by staying in His presence and by realizing that He is all we really need.

My Bedtime Routine

Yesterday I talked about the importance of establishing good habits and turning them into your routines.  Today I am talking more about my Evening/Bedtime Routine.  I call it my Evening/Bedtime routine because really it is not something that I just do at bedtime.  I start my bedtime routine (at least the kitchen part) while I am preparing my families dinner and it lingers on until I go to bed.  It really doesn't take long - even though it looks long - and most of the things in it are second nature to most people.  However, I do not fall into the category of "most people" so I needed to learn how to break my day down into parts and then I had to figure out what I needed to do in each part of my day.   

I break my Bedtime Routine down into 3 parts. 

Pick up the house.

Think about tomorrow.

Focus on me.

Pick up the house. 

  Kitchen - After dinner is done do your dishes, wipe off your counters and sweep your floor.

Load and Run your Dishwasher.

Check your Washer and Dryer - make sure all clothes are put away

Put away all toys, clothes, etc...

Quick run through of the house - no more than 15 minutes to tidy up.

Think about tomorrow

Check your calendar.

Make "to do" list.

Lay out clothes (iron if needed).

Pack/prepare lunches (as much as possible).

Pack back packs.

Think about "What's for breakfast?".

Think about "What's for dinner tomorrow?".

Check/Send emails, Facebook, blog.

Prep coffee pot.

Focus on Me

Bath/Shower

Skin Care

Teeth

Lotion

Read/Pray/Journal

Snuggle with my husband

Are you ready to start this with me? You can follow my bedtime routine or use it as an example and come up with your own. It takes 21 days or 3 weeks of being consistent to form a habit. Lets start today with our evening/bedtime routine and work at making it a habit.   

This is a picture of my bulletin board in my kitchen with 21 little "post it" note page markers on it.  I saw this somewhere and thought it was a good idea to mark our 21 days of forming a habit.  I encourage you to do this, make a chart or get a calendar so that you can mark off each day that you successfully do your Bedtime Routine. 

Once we master this we will move on to our morning routine. Oh yes, there is a morning/afternoon routine as well.  And after we get our daily routines established we will move on to a weekly cleaning schedule.

What about you?  Do you currently have a Bedtime Routine that you follow?  If so, what does it look like?  Are you consistent with it?

Housekeeping 101 - The Number One Way to Keep Your House Clean

I took this picture the other night of the "how to" cleaning books that sit on my shelf.  How nice would it be if just having these books would make my house stay clean.  Of course without reading the books and applying the techniques and ideas that are written on their pages this will not happen. 

What is the number one way to keep your house clean?  Are you ready for it?  Ok, here it is...  My Secret and the number one way to keep your house clean is....

ROUTINES

Yep, that's right - Routines.  I know to some of you this may sound too easy or silly but to others of us it makes perfect sense.  About 11 1/2 years ago in an attempt to get a handle on my housekeeping chores and make them easier I searched the Internet for ideas.  A dear friend of mine helped in the search and we found an awesome web sight to get us started. 

Fly Lady 

We were fly babies way before it was cool.  lol  Anyway I am almost ashamed to say that I have worked my way through Fly Lady's steps more than once or twice.  In fact it seems that every time I feel like I am losing control of the order in my house I fall back to her and her system of doing things.  The one thing she stresses the most out of everything is establishing ROUTINES and habits. 

Are you starting to get the picture of what is important? 

Having a consistent established routine is important in everything we do.  Bed time with our kids and their daily routines, our Bible reading, housecleaning, etc...

We are "creatures of habit" and most of us work better when we are following some type of routine.

What should your routine look like?

This will look different for different people depending on your own individual family needs.  There is no right way or wrong way it just has to be something workable that you can do and keep up with.  Start small and simple.  Take "Baby Steps" and build from there.

I am writing this post on this subject because as you probably can guess I am feeling a bit out of sorts with my house work - AGAIN!  My house is not a disaster area but it is not where I want it to be.  So I reevaluate my old routines to see where I need to adjust and attempt to make things better.  

Start with a simple "Bedtime Routine".  Think about the things that you would like to have done when you wake up in the morning.  Flylady suggests shining your sink which basically means that all of your dishes are done and table and counters are wiped off before you go to bed.  If that is important to you then maybe that is a great place for you to start.

Let me stress (because this tends to be my problem) that just writing down what you hope will turn into habits and become a routine for you will not make it be so no more than the books sitting on my shelf on how to clean my house will make my house be clean.  You have to actually get up, get moving and make it happen.  It will get easier the more you do and the benefits from having a neat and tidy house will be a blessing to your whole family. 

I break my Bedtime Routine in 3 parts. Join Me tomorrow and I will break down my Evening/Bedtime Routine for you and we will get started on establishing good habits.

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Note:

There are many websites, blogs and books that can help you and inspire you to get your house work in order. Fly Lady is just the one that I personally like the best. It can be a bit overwhelming if you do not follow her steps and do them one at a time. Trust me, trying to skip ahead will only leave you frustrated. 

Homemade Spaghetti or Lasagna Sauce

My friend and I were recently talking about stocking our freezers with ready made food to help make our busy days flow more smoothly.  Today for dinner I decided to fix Spaghetti and instead of making just enough sauce for tonight I made an entire pot full.  We had enough for our dinner this and I had enough for 4 - 4 cup bags to put in the freezer.  I am so excited to start getting some things like this stashed so I can pull it out for a super quick meal on those days when time is very limited. 

I thought I would share my personal Spaghetti Sauce recipe with you tonight.  This recipe is one I made up on my own, it is very simple to make (as with most of my recipes) and really doesn't take that long either. 

This is the recipe for 1 batch which is what I normally fix when I am making dinner.  It gives us enough for dinner and some leftovers. 

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

water

2 cans tomato sauce

1 tsp. of the following:

salt

onion powder

garlic powder

Italian seasoning

2 1/2 - 3 tsp. chili powder

1/2 onion finely chopped

What I do is add my ground beef to a pot with enough water to cover it.  Then I take my clean hands and smoosh the hamburger in the water until when I turn the heat on it will cook up to be little crumbles of beef.  That is the way I like my sauce.  If you like larger pieces of meat then you do not have to do it this way. 

After my ground beef is cooked I drain off the water and grease then return it to the pan.

I then add in my 2 cans of tomato sauce, the onion, all the spices and about 2 cups of additional water and I simmer it on medium low for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how much time I have.  If time allows I like to let it cook longer just because the flavors blend better but it will be done sooner than that.

That is it!  Super easy!  You can top your pasta with it or mix it all together.  

I also use this same sauce when making my 3 Cheese Lasagna.  If you are wanting to make Lasagna here is what I layer with:  Sauce and Pasta of course and I use Mozzarella Cheese, Provolone Cheese, and Cottage Cheese (alternating the cheeses).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and it's bubbly.

Enjoy!

Receiving a Sound Mind - Praying for our Children

Week 20

The same verse I used last week 2 Timothy 1:7 applies just as much to this week.  We have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. 

Stormie says in her book that a large part of having a sound mind is controlling what goes in it and she is absolutely right.  1 Corinthians 2:16(b) But we have the mind of Christ.

We have always tried to be so very careful with our boys and what we allow them to watch, to listen to, read and so on.  We are careful of where they go and who they hang around also. 

It has been several years ago now my youngest son started having some issues.  He was all of the sudden having bad dreams.  He became scared of the dark.  He started having bad thoughts about people and about things happening.  He was seriously being tormented in his little mind.  My husband and I prayed with him and did our best to reassure him that everything was fine.  We told him he wasn't a bad boy for having bad thoughts because the devil will put all kinds of bad thoughts in our minds but we have to do what the Word says and take every thought into captivity.  2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  Meaning we judge every thought that hits our mind and ask ourselves some questions - Is this thought life giving?  Is this thought good?  Is this thought loving, kind, peaceful and all the things that God is?  If not then we know that the thought did not come from our Father God.  When dark, bad thoughts come to our minds that is not a sin.  If we do not rightly judge those thoughts and we act on them then we sin. 

My husband and I retraced our sons steps back over the previous couple of weeks thinking about where he went, who he was around and what he did.  After asking our son many questions we found out that the family of a little boy he had stayed the night with watched some things on television and did some things that we did not approve of at all.  1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from evil [shrink from it and keep aloof from it] in whatever form or whatever kind it may be.  The door had been opened to Satan in the short amount of time that he was with them to put these un godly thoughts into my young sons mind and he didn't know how to handle them.   Ephesians 4:27 says Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].

The point of me telling you this is to let you know the importance of praying for our children and guarding their hearts against the enemy.  Do not allow Satan to have any access to your children.  Be careful of where they go, who they are with, what they watch, listen to and read.  It may seem silly to some but I know from experience that when we give the enemy an inch he will take it and lets not forget that he comes to kill, steal and destroy.  John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows).

Enjoying Freedom from Fear - Praying for our Children

Week 19

Enjoying Freedom from Fear

When I think about fear or being afraid one thing comes to mind.  Thunder Storms.  I am not a fan.  When I was a child they terrified me then as a teenager they didn't seem to bother me so much but after I got married and became a mother the fear and terror from them returned.  Part of what scared me so much the fact that for the first almost 14 years of my marriage we lived in a single wide trailer and I never felt completely secure there.  Everything was so loud and magnified when it was storming - the wind, the rain - oh the pounding rain.  The wind sounded like it was tearing our home apart.  I kept ear plugs in my night stand drawer that I used at night every time it stormed just to help me sleep. 

My mother always told me that her mother (my grandmother) was afraid of storms and that must be where I got it from.  While I loved my Grandmother - that is one thing I didn't want from her.  That is a generational curse that I do not want any part of. 

Being a mom changes things so much.  While on the inside I might be filled with fear - on the outside I couldn't let it show.  I have to encourage my boys and reassure them that everything is fine so they will not be afraid.  We pray, read the Bible, quote scripture, sing songs and so on.  But then one day when reading in Stormie's book "The Power of a Praying Parent" I read her quote that says "Fear is something that comes upon us the moment we don't believe that God is able to keep us, or all we care about, safe.  Oh Lord Jesus please forgive my unbelief, fear and doubt. 

2 Timothy 1:7 says that fear is a spirit.  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.  John 10:10 says The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows).  If you have ever been afraid of something then you know that in the moment of fear - you are not living your life like you should be.  It changes who I am in that moment.  Fear has changed my plans many times.  When fear grips you it is impossible to live life to the fullest like God intends for His children to do.  Every good gift comes from God so I know that he is the not the one sending this spirit of fear.  James 1:17 (Amp.)  Every good gift and every perfect (^[a]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].  And to put it plainly if it doesn't come from God - I DO NOT WANT IT!

My Verse for dealing with fear is 2 Timothy 1:7.  I quote it often and remind myself that fear has no place in my life.  I am a born again believer.  I belong to God and I refuse to be gripped by the spirit of fear that the devil would try to put on me. 

I have given you a personal story about me dealing with my fear but
fear can come in many different packages over many different things.  Thunder Storms may not bother you at all while something else may.  Be sensitive to your children and what they may be fearful of.  It may be not measuring up at school, their grades, friends, storms, disappointing you or many other things.  Pray for them and with them about this and do not allow the devil to steal anything from them through fear.  We have the power to stand against the power of the enemy for ourselves and our children.  Luke 10:19 Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

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1 John 4:18 (Amp.)  There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love ^[a]turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear ^[b]brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].

1 John 4:8  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

2 Timothy 1:7 (Amp.)  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Money Savers for the Stay at Home Mom Part 2 - Readers Comments

I thought it would be cool to post all the ways that you, my readers have commented that you save or make money.  If you didn't get a chance to read my first post about this click here.  This list is from you, my reader!  Thanks for your input and for the great ideas.

• Recycling bottles and cans.
• Yard sales.
• Selling jewelry I no longer needed.
• We are currently looking at getting Netflix and dropping cable. 

Note from Jen:  We have NEVER had cable or any type of dish service.  My husband and I can not justify spending that kind of money on television.  We use an outdoor antenna to pick up local channels.  About 18 months ago when we finally were able to get slow high speed Internet - we live in the sticks - we opted to pay the $7.99 each month for Netflix.  I highly recommend it.  Lots of cute shows and cartoons for the kids and a lot of educational ones too not to mention all the movies.

• I have saved quite a bit of money by cutting our sons hair myself.

Note from Jen:  Didn't think of this one when I did my original post but we too cut my boys hair and my husbands hair from home and have for years.  The price of a good pair of clippers is equal to what we would pay for 3 hair cuts.

• Borrowing books and DVDs from the library.
• Planting a garden .

Note from Jen:  We also plant a garden.  You can do this even if you don't have a place to do a large one.  You could do a container garden if space is limited. 

• Babysitting.

Note from Jen:  I have in the past done this as well from time to time.

• I mend and alter clothes whenever possible, instead of buying new. It's often possible to turn something old into something else wearable or useful.
• Bartering.
• I don't use paper products (besides cheap toilet paper in my house-we use cloth napkins, rags, real silverware, plates and cups.

Note from Jen:  Another thing I wanted to mention is selling products from home.  There are so many things you could do like Avon, Mary Kay, Thirty One, Scentsy and so on.

Keep the comments coming.  If you are just now reading these posts and have other great ideas I invite you to please share.  We all love hearing good ideas! 

Recipe Organization Part 2

Yesterday I showed you my many recipe books and how I used a basket to sort and store my personal recipes and also how I store recipes that I am wanting to try.  Today I am showing my favorite system for sorting and storing recipes that I switched to from the basket a few years ago when my tried and true recipes began to outgrow the small basket they were in.  Click here to read yesterday's post.

 

I bought a one inch three ring binder, tabbed dividers and sheet protectors.  Using sheet protectors or laminating your recipes is very helpful in helping them to stay clean and last a long time. 

 

I used this website here to make my front and back covers. 

 

 

Back Cover

 

Front Cover

 

 

 My tabs are as follows: Cakes, Cookies, Candy, Bars, Pies, Fruit, Sweet Bread, Misc.

 

 

In the very front of my recipe binder I have an index page that tells what my dividers are through out the book. 

 

These pictures are of my recipe binder that holds all things sweet.  I have another binder that holds the following:  Appetisers, Snacks, Casseroles, Veggies, Salads, Sides, Main Dishes, Mexican, Italian, Soups, Sauces, Misc.

 

I was able to easily convert all of the 4x6 note cards with recipes on them to fit in this book.  I simply placed 2 at a time on my printer and made a copy of them and then slid the copied paper down inside of a sheet protector.  My recipe binder is a work in progress as I am adding new ones often. 

 

 

 

I must make a note here.  The only recipes that I put in my basket or binder are ones that I have made, tweaked and that my family LOVES!  If I make something that we do not care for I pitch the recipe immediatley. 

 

 What about you?  How do you sort and store your recipes?