Always close by.

so, I was trying to understand the nearness of God. In my experience, it has been so easy to make Him into a conditional Father, when yet He its not. The conditional nature that I envision Him to employ hangs on whether or not I open my bible or spend sacred time in prayer. He has been challenging me to understand that no matter what I do-however I go about my dealings, He its always ever so near to us. I have truly noticed a difference in my personal feelings of closeness when I spend time with Him on a regular basis. All I can equate it to is the similarity of the frequencies of a radio. sometimes the station is hazy, much like us when we don't spend regular time with God. The more time we spend, the clearer the frequency, yet the station was always there. Before we know it we're singing right along with Him to the tune of a beautiful upbeat melody. It is at these times that we are at our best.
Jesus is so very near to you today. If your communication with Him feels a little like static, spend some time with Him. Before you know it, you will be able to hear the beautiful song He has been singing over you all along.

More for your money

All this for less than $5! 

So, I've finally decided to become wise and take advantage of  price matching at Walmart. I never really thought it would do much good... more specifically, I was trying to avoid compounding the workload of the already exasperated employees at the checkout lanes.

This week, I was broke and decided to stretch the money. I found an employee in the store who was more than helpful. She directed me to a binder full of the ads of the stores in the area. I took out my list and we price-matched until I either increased the quantity of what I was trying to purchase, or cut down the price of my purchases by about 50%! It was amazing. I will definitely be Price-matching from now on. The greatest thing was once I checked out, it was fast and easy. No problems, and a whole lot of groceries!

By the way, you are seeing 3 pounds of bananas, 4 pounds of carrots, 5 pounds of oranges, 4 pounds of Roma tomatoes and about 3 pounds of broccoli.

Woo hoo! Do you have any great price-matching stories to share?

Some good food.

So, I've said it before... I love food! Jon and I recently decided to go Paleo- almost a month ago. I have to admit in the beginning I was having junk-foodie remorse, but now I can honestly say that I'm loving it. I feel like I've been far more creative with my meals than before, cause I'm all about taste. If its gotta be Paleo, it's gotta taste good. I'll share with you one of the recipes from this week. Check it out:

So the recipe is adapted from Lobel's Meat bible, a pretty awesome cookbook about meat!

INGREDIENTS
	4 tablespoons olive oil 5-8 chicken drumsticks or thighs 3-4 cups chicken stock 1 large onion, chopped 3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped kosher salt 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 5-8 pitted dates, chopped 3-4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 1/3 cup almonds, blanched and slivered 1 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp cinnamon  1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS 1. Begin by boiling the chicken in 3 cups of stock, add a bit of garlic, onion, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 25 minutes 2. Meanwhile, place chopped carrots, dates and remaining ingredients in a shallow pan and simmer in remaining cup of stock until carrots and onions are tender. 3. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a pan. Once hot, add 1/3 cup of almonds and cook until toasted. Add almonds to vegetables. 4. Remove chicken from pot. Spoon vegetables over meat and enjoy. Let me know what you think. It was a hit at our house:-) Ps. Sorry I didn't add a picture. I took one but it didn't do the meal justice at all. lol

Searching for something meaningful

Meaning is such a profound thing. I mean, it can be found in anything, and pretty much anywhere. In the gait of a passerby, in the wind, in a city skyline or graffiti on a wall. One of the biggest depictions of meaning that I have in my head lately centers around a profession or vocation.

Its easy to think that being a homemaker is a meaningless profession. Anyone whose life has been poured into and forever changed by a loving parent in this way knows the weight of such a sacrifice. Nevertheless, I can't help but think I should be doing more. In this desire, have I completely missed the point? Why is it so hard to see the value of raising a child or managing the home? I don't know. All I know is that I've felt this way many times before.  I may have even blogged about it.

I've tried writing books to venture out, painting art pieces that just weren't "Masterpiece material." I've tried singing, wish I was better at dancing. I've tried education. In all of these, I've only been able to find a semblance of peace in my faith. In Jesus. Meaning portrayed through those nail scarred hands speaks volumes through my soul. When I work for that cause, I feel like I'm truly impacting the world.

So now what. Do I feel this way because I haven't been connected to this purpose enough? Or could am I being led to some greater thing that is a part of the "grand design" of my life's blueprint? I don't know. All I know is that I'm tired of feeling this way.

Lord I'm here

Waiting for something new

Been waiting for years.

Waiting for you.

is it just that I've run

run away from you

from your plan

from the "us"

that knits me to you?

Bring me back, dear Savior.

Dare I ask you to chase?

If this is a game

please find me

in the arms of your amazing grace.

Love is what I have for you.

Be near me tonight

As I fight this feeling inside me;

end this longing plight.

The Next Big thing

I'm frustrated. I'm stuck wanting the "Next Big thing" to happen in my life. Maybe its a awesome business ideal, a multi-million dollar invention or winning a sweepstakes. It frustrates me that I equate money and joy when I see people all of the time who have tons of money and are miserable. Maybe I'm thinking about how our car could die... but I don't remind myself enough that we got it for free. Or maybe I recall how I haven't purchased new clothes in years ad have tons of holes in mine... at the same time I often fail to recall the person who made my tattered jeans possibly earns 9 cents a day for making them... or think about the millions of people around the world with no clothes at all. I just wish our society didn't make you feel bad for looking less than- because for me, accepting the "less than" puts my heart at ease because today, I'd rather appear less than and give all the money that I would have spent on a shopping spree to the poor. The irony is that I have to go spend money on new jeans anyway because in my society, I can't walk around naked.

Hmm

All I need is one line, one Word from God to make me see

One time, one try from Him to me.

Then I give Him one glance, one listening ear.

He's told me more than one time

I'm not listening enough to hear.

He's told me again today how I often waste my time.

I've become the Martha and not Mary

haven't embraced peace sublime.

All it takes is one time

one minute for me to see

that in His two arms lies peace

In just two arms that this break-back pace subsides

Those two arms carried me from my live to die.

So die I must if I want to be free.

Die again today

Dying to me.

A Time for Everything

The Sun had set,

Her eyes were closed.

She dreamt of life,

her love unfolds.

Yet in her eyes,

there rests a tear.

A forlorn smile,

from ear to ear.

She breathes a sigh.

One glance around,

before she falls,

upon the ground.

Amidst the leaves,

into her hand.

She turns the veins,

colored of sand.

Of life, of love,

of joy snuffed out.

Of hopes, of fears...

covered in doubt.

But now she waits,

amidst the leaves-

and stares at tops

of Poplar Trees.