The Beatitudes

Haven't written a song in a while. Got encouraged to do so. I was having some quiet time reading the beatitudes and thought hey this would be a good song. Hope you enjoy it.

What a slacker!

Wow, totally neglected the blog. But, I have good reasons. Husband came home, visit from Mother in Law, doing the church duty thing, and taking care of the kids. I also lost interest in writing for a while, because I didn't know really what to write about. But, I have found a little new obsession lately, and it has to do with the new diet that we have tried for the last month. The science behind the diet itself isn't something I truly believe in, but here is what I like about it so far, I haven't eaten anything processed in thirty days, and I HAVENT HAD A DIET COKE IN FOREVER! Plus, I haven't missed it. This is a miracle people!

Brian and I started the Paleo diet, and so far I like it a lot. Like I said before, some of the stuff they talk about behind the reasoning is a little whack, but I do like the majority of it. Here is the deal, and you probably think I am insane, but here is what I can eat : Vegetables, Fruit, Lean meat, Fish, Nuts. What I can't: Sugar,Dairy, Legumes, and any Grain ( no oats, no nothing) Yikes.

It seems extreme, I thought my husband was nuts, but I will try anything for thirty days, and this is what happened:

1. I lost 5 pounds pretty quickly

2.I feel awesome and never icky after meals

3. I cook every meal

4. I am enjoying creating new things.

Here are some of the things I don't like:

1. I love black beans and legumes, I will reintroduce some after Sunday

2. I will have a frozen yogurt from time to time after sunday, you just can't stop that

3. I will have a cheat meal once a week, because I believe in freedom and I love a good roll

4. Sometimes I just want to wake up and grab a bagel and not have to cook my breakfast, but discipline beat out this one.

So, that is what we have been doing for the last few weeks. I really think it is a way of life that I can live with. Preventative medicine, keeping my body clean and healthy is a plus.

So what was on the menu for lunch you ask? I am pretending you asked because I am going to tell you anyway... Stuffed mini portabellas

Recipe:

2 Packages of mini portabella mushrooms (8 mini or 4 large)

1 red,green, or yellow pepper chopped

1 cup and half of kale

1 clove of garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

1 egg

1/2 cup of almond meal or coconut flour

1 package of chicken breakfast sausage

3 slices of bacon

preheat oven to 350

Scoop out stem and gills of your mushrooms and place them stuffing side up in a roasting pan or cookie sheet ( I line mine with aluminum foil for easy clean up)

In a skillet cook the sausage and bacon in either olive oil or coconut oil when that is browned you can add in the bell pepper

while that is cooking assemble the rest of the ingredients in your food processor

Once the meat and peppers are cooked transfer it to your processor and pulse all the goodness together until mixed. It should not be smooth! It should just looked crumbled.

Scoop the filling into the mushrooms and bake for about 20-30 minutes

Enjoy!

the countdown has begun....

We have a double the countdown this year. 21 more days until Brian gets here and 23 more days until Christmas, the girls decided to make construction paper chains to countdown the days. Another plus was it was a great way for Lauren to practice her numbers. Lauren made Brian's countdown and Hannalee made the Christmas countdown. Although we have two advent calenders already :-), this was a fun craft to do with them, and it will be exciting to see the chains go down in size each day.

How Emptiness Sings

There is such beauty in the words of this song. My heart can get heavy sometimes. So much going on, even in my own little bubble. But oh, the beautiful grace of God. Sometimes, even in the grief, even in the sorrow, we see God at his best. A loving, caring comforter, who softens our hard hearts. If you haven't heard of Christa Wells, go and listen to her! She is amazing. This is off her newest cd...

Brother, he’s suffered like a tree taken down
Wept as he witnessed his dreams carved out
And how can a man just keep walking around
With his heart full of holes

But ooh,
His bow is on the strings
And the tune resonates in the open space
To show us how emptiness sings:

Glory to God, Glory to God!
In fullness of wisdom,
He writes my story into his song,
My life for the glory of God.
Hmm, hmmm

Sister carries her loneliness
In a hidden hollow inside her chest
And sometimes all that she wants is an end
To the long, long night

But ooh,
Her bow is on the strings,
And the tune resonates in the open space
To show us how emptiness sings:

Glory to God, Glory to God!
In fullness of wisdom,
He writes my story into his song,
My life for the glory of God.
Hmm, hmmm

I haven’t been asked yet to walk the hard roads
Still there’s a sense of deep loss in my soul
In the middle of a party, I’ll just want to go
Home.

But ooh,
My bow is on the strings,
I’m beginning to learn where to find the words
To the song that emptiness sings
Ooh, bow is on the strings:

Glory to God! Glory to God!
This is how emptiness sings, oh,
This is how emptiness sings
Hmmm, hmmm

Much to be thankful for....

I have a lot to be thankful for.

It is hard to believe...

That my baby is 7.

Costumes