Menu Plan Monday

Here`s what we plan on eating this week:

Sunday: Homemade Macaroni & Cheese with Tomatoes, Veggies & Dip

Monday: Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas & Guacamole

Wednesday:Hearty Beef & Vegetable Soup (making up my own recipe) & Biscuits

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Homemade Pizza & Salad or Veggies & Dip

Saturday: Leftovers

*Alternate Meals or Ideas for Next Week*
                      : French Onion Soup
                       : Chicken Fingers & Fries
                      Firecracker Salmon , Stir Fry Veggies & Rice

Flexi Clip Giveaway

There is a flexi clip giveaway going on at the Growing Home blog. Check it out here if you are interested. I have one of these and I love it!

Choosing the Best Things

Sometime I drive myself crazy. I want to have it all, do it all.

Part of me wants to be able to cook gourmet meals, have a super organized, super clean, and nicely- decorated-according-to-the-season-house, have perfectly cheerful & obedient children, have a fantastic relationship with my husband, a growing relationship with the Lord, sleep 8 hours straight, run a 10k, sew my own clothes, make over furniture, craft, garden, knit, crochet, can all my gardening produce, read a dozen books in a year, extreme coupon, check facebook, play dates, blog, have my kids in soccer, violin, piano, and awana....

But I can't do it all.

I've been reading about time management lately. I am frustrated that I don't seem to get anything done in a day. Maybe the reason I don't seem to get anything done is because I'm trying to get everything done. My perfectionist tendencies drive. me. crazy. Pinterest feeds my supermom tendencies; according to Pinterest, I can have it all and do it all :-). Nope. Real life doesn't work that way.

Remember the post about thieves? Perfectionism is perhaps one of my biggest thieves. Those who know me well and have known me a long time will likely agree. I do believe perfectionism to be sinful as it is relying on myself rather than on the Lord. It make a to-do list an idol.

Over the next few weeks, I will be praying and seeking the Lord's guidance as to how to better handle the time he has given me.  I will try to work out my priorities and how I can get the most important things done. I am going to start my Heart of Dakota preschool curriculum soon. My plan was after Thanksgiving, which is this weekend, but we will see.

One thing that struck me as I read this ebook from Money Saving Mom....
Sometimes the good things have to be given up so we can have time for the best things.

Thieves

Do you have any thieves in your life? I do. Lots of them. Facebook, blogs, this blog, Pinterest, overscheduling, just to name a few. They steal my time. Too much of it. And it's only because I let them. There are other kinds of thieves, too. Maybe the same thief tends to creep up over & over again in your life. I know that's true in my own life. Maybe some of them rarely stop by. Maybe some only try to break in once in awhile, when your defences are weak. Maybe some of the aforementioned thieves mysteriously turn from a genuinely nice friend into a greedy thief after you let your guard down.

More examples of possible thieves...thieves of a different nature.

How about the thief of selfishness? Too much "me time", anyone? Do you feel "me time" is your "right"? Do you demand your own way all the time, stealing away the joy that comes from giving and laying down your life for others? It is better to give than to receive...

Anger? It is surprising how much energy it takes to stay angry. 

Covetousness? Do you wonder why you are never content? Perhaps the thief of covetousness has stolen your joy. 

Laziness? Does your slothfulness steal away projects that could be completed, things that never seem to get done?

If you are saved, you know that these other kinds of thieves are actually called sin. You know that Christians can have victory over these, too. We do not need to be defeated by them.

Perhaps you opened up your door to a thief, unaware of who he really was. Maybe he looked friendly at first. Many of them do. I know that's how many thieves get in my house. Perhaps the thief negotiated with you, giving you the pros & cons of why you should let him in until you finally, somewhat reluctantly, shrugged your shoulders and said, "okay, fine. You've convinced me. Come on in." Maybe the thief just barged on in knowing you wouldn't have the willpower to stand your ground and say "no." Maybe the thief knew you were without defence, not having put on the full armour of God. Without your shield of faith or sword of the Spirit you looked like an easy target.

It's time for me to take a firm stance against some of the thieves in my life. Time is precious. Time is short. I'm letting too many of my "hobbies" turn into thieves who are stealing time away from those who matter most to me and, more importantly, to the Lord. It's time to boot them out and tell them they are no longer welcome here. It's time to defend myself and defend my most treasured "earthly" possessions against these thieves...

Those of you who know me will know where to find me and how to reach me. Oh, and don't count on reaching me through facebook "in time" if you have an important message for me :-)

I'll likely be back...but only after I've beefed up my security :-)

Keep you heart toward heaven,



Note: I wrote this up several days ago, but today I read some related reading that addresses smashing down your idols (from a site called biblical homemaking.)

Menu Plan Monday

Last week we didn't follow our menu plan. I ended up coming down with a case of mastitis, which kind of threw a monkey wrench into the plans. If anyone has had this, you know it's brutal. It's like the worst flu. Ever. Anyway, I am feeling a lot better, but I know I need to slooowww down and try to get a bit more rest. Mastitis tends to strike when I am run down, tired, and stressed. I had it with Elianna, but that time I waited until I had a fever of 105 F to get to the hospital. This time, I caught it early and went to the doctor straight away. We are kind of in crazy mode here. In a few short weeks we have made over the entry bathroom, painted the basement, and put up a new fence. Now hubby starts a 10 day stretch of work and we have 4 appointments in 2 days. After that it's time for my brother's wedding. I'm hoping I can breathe after Thanksgiving...:-)

This Sunday we spent a nice afternoon fellowshipping with some like-minded friends at our new church. It's so sweet when like-minded believers can get together and encourage each other.

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday: Lunch at our friends' place. Seriously good food. And the coffee...the best I have ever had. No joke. Mine was Ethiopian something-or-other. Craig's was Guatemalan (I think?). These friends are coffee experts. As in, they roast their own "green" coffee beans in their own homemade roaster and what-not. After drinking this kind of coffee...the real deal...I might just need to learn their coffee ways.

Oh....and for those who wondering, we like soup around here. A lot :-). My husband has made it very clear that he could eat soup nearly once a day. That's how much he loves it! 

Monday: Sausage Potato Soup

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Ginger Beef marinated in beef marinade, Fried Rice, Egg Rolls Stir Fry Veggies

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday: Homemade Pizza & Caesar Salad

Saturday: Leftovers or Kommst Borscht & Baking Powder Cheese Biscuits

Menu Plan Monday

Last week my husband was on holidays, and we got a few projects done around the house. Our entry bathroom got a fresh coat of paint and a mini makeover. I will try to share some pictures in the next few weeks. We also started on our new fence in the backyard and patched walls and started painting the basement. Our family also managed to get away for one day, which was mostly spent shopping for my brother's upcoming wedding. My sister, Mom, and I all managed to find dresses. I was very happy to find myself a maxi-dress on a great sale (regularly priced at $170 but on sale for only $35!). I love that it is something I will wear again, will be easy to nurse in, and is long, which I prefer. It can be worn in summer and winter with a sweater. It is always nice when a dress is versatile :-). We were really busy so we went out to eat...a lot. This week we will be getting back to our usual routine. This week I am hoping to get a few other house projects done too...a big batch of homemade baby food made, start cleaning windows (I need to get this done before the snow flies), and clear out a shelf in the hall closet for my homeschooling supplies. I also realize my blog header is in need of an update, though that is going to take some time to redesign one. Ah yes, so much to do and so little time to do it. Sound familiar? :-)

Sunday: Buttermilk Pancakes & Strawberries for lunch.
             Mom & Dad took us out for supper (thanks! :-) )

Monday: Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce (using this recipe as a guide, but making a few changes)

Tuesday: Crockpot Steak Fajitas (NEW) with Bean & Corn Salad (using this recipe as a guide)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Kommst Borscht (using leftover roast beef in freezer) with Baking Powder Biscuits

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Homemade Pizza, Veggies & Dip

*Linking up to Menu Plan Monday*

Menu Plan Monday

Here are a few meal ideas for this week. We'll likely be eating out a lot this week. Please continue to remember my family in prayer.

Buttermilk Chicken (NEW), Potatoes, Steamed Green Beans

Crockpot Steak Fajitas