Week 2 Menu

Here are some recipe ideas, recipes, and a rough grocery list. It might help the week go a bit smoother knowing what to cook.
Week 2

Monday
Skillet Burrito
Corn

Tuesday
Fettucine Alfredo
Garlic Bread
Salad

Wednesday
Calzones
Salad

Thursday
Honey Lime Chicken
Rice
Egg Rolls

Friday
Hot Dogs
Chips

Grocery List:
Black beans
1 lb ground beef
hot sauce
ground cumin
corn tortillas (the big pack!)
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream (optional)
Lettuce (optional)
Tomato (optional)
Corn in freezer section that you steam in microwave
2 jars alfredo sauce
egg noodles
frozen chicken (for 2 meals)
parmesan cheese
swiss cheese (optional)
pizza dough
spaghetti sauce
provolone cheese
salad
pepperoni
garlic salt
oregeno
honey
soy sauce
lime juice
egg rolls
rice
chips
hot dog buns
hot dog weinies



Skillet Burrito
Black beans, rinsed, drained
1 lb ground beef
1 C hot sauce
2 tsp ground cumin
salt/pepper
4 corn (flour) tortillas-cut into 1 ½ inch squares
1 C Shredded cheddar cheese
Corn
Garnish: tomato. Lettuce, sour cream, guacamole (if you want)

Cook corn to directions. Serve as side.
Cook meat and drain. Add salt/pepper/beans/salsa/sumin/1/2 C of water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer 5-10 minutes.

Stir in tortilla strips, top w/ cheese. Remove from heat, cover, let it set to allow cheese to melt. Serve w/ garnishes.

Fettuccine Alfredo
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 2 (16 ounce) jars Alfredo pasta sauce
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. In the crock of a slow cooker, stir together the chicken cubes and Alfredo sauce. Cover, and cook on Low for 2 hours. Add Parmesan cheese and Swiss cheese; cover and cook for another 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir in cheeses before serving.
2. I add cooked egg noodles in the end. I skip the swiss cheese.

Calzones
You can make your own dough or buy pizza dough.
Flatten out, cut into long rectangles. Top with pizza sauce, provolone cheese, and pepperonis. Roll up. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and oregeno. Cook in oven according to the pizza dough directions.


Honey Lime Chicken
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Directions
1. In a resealable plastic bag or shallow glass container, combine the honey, soy sauce and lime juice; mix well. Add chicken and turn to coat. Seal or cover and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, uncovered, over medium heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Menu Week 1

I created this for a friend who typically doesn't write our their menu for the week then create their grocery list based off the menu, which is how I operate otherwise we wouldn't be eating anything but Cheerios. Here is a menu for this week including all the recipes and grocery list. The grocery list is simply that, a list of what you would need. Check your pantry and fridge to see what you have and what you don't. Also, it is possible I have forgotten to add something. I have three more weeks worth I will post over the next 3 weeks. Happy eating!

Monday

Mashed potatoes

London Broil

Tuesday

Macaroni and Cheese

Eckrich Sausage

Wednesday

Red Potatoes

15 Minute Marinade Chicken

Thursday

Hamburgers on grill

Chips

Friday

Homemade pizza dough and sauce

Grocery List:
London Broil-2 pounds

Cream mushroom

Tomato soup

Dry onion mix soup

Mashed potatoes (freezer section)

Mac n cheese

Eckrich sausage

BBQ sauce

Dijon mustard

Lemon juice

Dried tarragon

Frozen chicken

Pepper

Red potatoes

Honey

Cheddar cheese

Parmesan cheese

Hamburger buns

Bacon

Worcestershire sauce

Ketchup

Onion

Egg

1 ½ lbs ground beef

olive oil

flour

whole wheat flour

active dry yeast

Italian seasoning

15 oz can tomato sauce

dried oregeno

basil

garlic powder

onion powder

mozerella cheese

pepperoni

London Broil

• 2 pounds flank steak---I like to use the London Broil cut of meat bc Kroger sometimes has it cheaper.
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

Directions

1. Place meat in the bottom of the slow cooker; if necessary, slice meat to make it fit!
2. In a medium bowl, mix together mushroom and tomato soup. Pour mixture over beef. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over top.
3. Cover, and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours.
   

Mashed Potatoes

I buy the mashed potatoes in the freezer section next to the fries. Cook in microwave for 10 minutes and add what you want to them.

Mac-n-Cheese

I use Kraft out of a box!

Eckrich Sausage
I cook according to package.

When done, I cut into medallions, put back in skillet to cook thoroughly on each side.

Take out again, clean out pan w/ paper towels, but sausage back in w/ BBQ sauce and heat through.

15-minute Marinade

¼ C Dijon mustard

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 ½ tsp dried tarragon

¼ tsp pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken halves (I use chicken tenders)

Combine ingredients in a gallon bag with chicken and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes (or fridge if hours). Cook on stove (or grill) till done.

Red Potatoes

Clean and rinse pack of red potatoes. Cut into ¼.

Drizzle olive oil in pan, Put red potatoes in and season with salt and pepper and I drizzle honey all over. Put lid on and cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir 3 times during the cooking process.

Bacon Wrapped Cheeseburgers

• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound ground beef
• 6 slices bacon
• 6 hamburger buns, split

Directions

1. Preheat a grill for high heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble in the ground beef, and mix together by hand. Form into 6 patties, and wrap a slice of bacon around each one. Secure bacon with toothpicks.
3. Place patties on the grill, and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Remove toothpicks before serving on hamburger buns.
   

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 cup lukewarm water 1 packet active dry yeast

1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 C whole wheat flour 2 tbsp parmesan cheese

2 C white flour 1 tsp salt

Mix lukewarm water and 1 C of white flour. Add yeast, sugar, salt and oil. Whisk to make “spongey” dough. Sit for 10-15 minutes.

Add remaining 2 C of flour and stir with wooden spoon. (I often have to add more water during this process to get the right consistency. Add just a bit a time.) When it becomes thick enough to knead, knead by hand for 6-8 minutes on floured surface. Knead seasoning and Parmesan cheese into dough. Place in floured or greased bowl for 45 min-1 hour.

Once risen and doubled in size, place on lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour on dough and rolling pin and roll out to desired sizes.

Brush edges of dough w/ olive oil. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Remove. Add desired toppings. Bake for 8-10 more minutes.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 (15oz) can tomato sauce

1 tsp dried oregeno

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp olive oil

Put in sauce pan, combine, whisk, simmer for 6-8 minutes.

Magazine Deals

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Crazy Love and Me

I finished the book Crazy Love. Super easy reading, super convicting on the soul. I read the bible and I know about God and I know he loves me and his promises, but to truly believe them, that is where I struggle. Crazy Love is about loving everyone more than yousrelf, even the unlovable. Who do you avoid? Love them. Who has hurt you? Love them. Who do you need to forgive? Forgive and love them. These are not easy things for me to do.
I am called to follow Jesus fully, trust completely in him in such a way that it may look crazy. I am to give more than I have, help the poor, feed the needy. After all, it's not about this life, but the life to come. I am not to put my hope in this world but the one to come.
So, how do I love God more? How do I do this thing? First off, asking God to help me. Realizing its the cross alone that saves me and enables me. It is me constantly repenting of my selfishness and asking God to give me heart of flesh that doesn't look to the law to be the point (where grace, mercy, love, compassion, kindness will be void), but leads others to the point, Christ. I must pray for humility and ask him to help me with this.
I don't want this to be just another book I read and am inspired for a few days or weeks, but something that I allow God to use a tool to transform me.

I Suck. Thank Goodness for the Cross

I have began reading a book called Crazy Love. Got it from my parents and I have finished the first 4 chapters and already feel like I suck (thank goodness for the cross!). Chapter 4 is about being lukewarm and the characteristics of a lukewarm Christian and abomination it is to the Lord. After reading the descriptions, I found myself in many of them. After finishing the chapter, I had to go back and look at the descriptions of each, confess my sin in them, repent, and ask the Lord to help me.
Just a couple of the lukewarm descriptions I found myself in are:
I don't want to be saved from my sin, just from the penalty of it.
Rarely share my faith with neighbors, friends, and coworkers.
Think about life much more on earth than eternity in heaven.
Continually concerned with playing it safe; I am a slave to the god of control.

Jesus asks for everything, but we (I) try to give him less. Luke talks about being salt. Salt was used to help manure be good fertilizer. Salt that loses its saltiness is not even beneficial to manure. In same way, my lukewarm faith is useless.

If this is only chapter 4, I can't imagine what is in store. As I go through this book, I want to really understand the nature and character of God (in addition to the bible) and have a heart that declares: "The greatest good on this earth is God." Heaven help me.

Don't Call CPS, Seriously

My sweet Abbie was turning circles in her tent with Ellie and both were full of laughter until Abbie fell down, hit her head on her fan, began bleeding every where, carpet included. I hustled her into the bathroom, grabbed a rag and tried to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible while calling Brian to see if she would need stitches but he deferred to his mom, a nurse, who said as long as the bleeding stopped, she was ok. Thankfully, the bleeding did stop and stitches were averted.
Tonight my sweet Ellie was playing on the bleachers at gymnastics when her little wobbly feet slipped and she fell, hitting her head busting her temple, scraping her forehead, and scratching her cheek. She cried a cry that told me she was in pain (obviously). The puncture didn't bleed much so I took her downstairs and got some ice where the nice lady also gave her little a little icy treat which calmed her down.
Now my two sweet girls have indentions in their head, cute to match, but this is taking it too far!

Idols

As the holiday season approaches, it seems I always find myself in a funk of my own doing. Almost a year out of step studies, I am able to better view my life, its sin, the root of it, confess and repent. God has brought to my heart my idol of comfort/security and my distrust of his providing hand. I look at our budget and think, "How are we going to make it? What else can we cut?" With that, I trim the budget again getting rid of what we don't need in hopes to be more wise and more dependent on Him.
I think God knew I would be in this funk at this moment and has provided ways of helping me deal. The sermon Matt preached over money hit home. I am not an owner, merely a steward to what he has given and does my budget reflect more of an owner, or steward? Ouch. I'm an owner. Do we live beneath our means in order to bless others? Ouch. I don't.
Beau preached on anxiety that is rooted in pride or distrust. I can honestly say I don't trust God to provide so I search the budget for things to cut, things to sell, or things to do to make money instead of resting in his character that has provided for our family each and every month, each and every year. We have never gone without. Never. Shouldn't that be enough for me to believe in the power of God? One would think. But I find myself thinking with head in the flesh instead of my soul in the spirit.
Today's verse on twitter? Out of Philippians 4 to think on true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, things worthy of praise. I went back a few verses where it tells me not to be anxious about anything, but in everything to present my requests to God.
So, here is my web confession that I am seeking comfort, making it my idol, instead of trusting the ever giving, all sufficient grace of God to provide. My worrying to does not add to my day, nor does it solve any problems. When I bring myself before the throne, confess my sin, that is when the power of God is able to move in my life. Comfort can not be my end goal, but seeking the face of God.

Cereal Deal

At Target, they have buy 3 get 1 FREE on Kellogg's Cereal. Here is a deal for you.

I bought: Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, and Honey Smacks.
My cereal prices were:
$2.99
$2.99
$3.29
$2.69

I got the $2.69 cereal for FREE. Sweeten the deal with the following coupons.

A Full Cup has Target generator coupons. Choose $1 off Kellogg's and print it 4 times.
Go to coupons.com to print out various Kellogg's coupons depending on the cereal you eat.
Go here to get $1 off 3 boxes plus additional coupons on other cereals to add in.

Here are my coupon totals
$4 from afullcup
$1 from Kellogg's website
$.75 for Honey Smacks
$.75 for Rice Krispies
Total coupons: $6.50

Average out the price for all 4 boxes of cereal: $.69 each

Now I just a few gallons of milk!!

Point of View

Have you ever had something happen, or not happen, and you immediately became upset, angry, or frustrated? Then you found out the back story of it and felt like a heel? How much more kind and compassionate would we be if we, especially myself, saw things from a point of view other than our own? I know that I might be a bit more hesitant to kick my feet and throw an all out tantrum for not getting my way or having others agree with me.
Acts 10 tells a story about God revealing animals to Peter in a vision and telling him to kill and eat. Peter refuses because they are unclean. Acts 10:15: "What God has made clean, do not call common." This was to prepare Peter for a visit to Cornelius, someone who a Jew would not associate with, ended up being saved and having the spirit fall on him. No, Cornelius didn't have to be circumsized or convert to Judaism, he only had to believe. This was how God intended it to be. No rules to follow in order to be accepted, but a heart that thirsted after him.
Acts 11 continues the story where the Jews could not believe that Peter had went and ate with these "other" people. So, Peter told the story and how God showed him nothing was unclean or common. When the people heard this point of view, they "fell silent" which led them to glorify God.
All it took was to hear another point of view to make them silent and realize who are they to stand in God's way?
The lesson I have learned is that maybe I need to not be so quick to jump to conclusions and make my mind up about people and situations, but to hear their point of view, be silent, then glorify God.

Memories

On Friday I loaded up the girls and we headed down to Glen Rose, TX where my grandparents live. I have not seen them in years and my girls have never met their great-grandparents so I figured it was time. The girls did great in the car and thank Jesus for answering that prayer. The house looked the same, my grandparents looked the same, and the house smelled the same. It brought back so many good memories of spending time with them playing outside, riding go-carts in the field across the street, and playing in the workshop. I was so happy to see the girls running around under the huge trees. We headed out to lunch with Granny and ate Dairy Queen. You know you are small town when that is about your only option! We headed out to the park where Abbie kept telling Granny to watch and it was so fun to watch Granny push Abs in the swing. I think she enjoyed it too! After wearing Granny and me out, we headed back to the house where Abbie played catch in the living room with Pa and Ellie just ran around getting into stuff.
I am filled joy that we were able to go and see them and spend time with them. It was so cool to have my girls meet their great-grandparents and for them to meet their precious legacy. I secretly think they were thrilled we had come too! I am eager to go back and share more precious memories.

Proverbs 17:6: Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.

30 and Fab

My new motto is, well, I don't really have one. I will say I now know my age when asked. For a while when I was 27, 28, and 29, I would just forget how old I was when asked. Seriously. I would have to figure out the year I was born then do some mental math which alone should be avoided. But I have arrived. I must admit I had put much fear into turning 30. I typically make things way worse they should be. I had tons of fun hanging with friends and getting a break from parenting for a night. I think parents should do that more often, especially moms. For those about to be 30, it really isn't that bad. Now 40...that will be another story!

Good Night 20-something

Tonight I will go to bed and say good-night to my twenties. I have wrestled with this and there is no going back, right? When I wake up tomorrow, I will be 30. An age that seemed so far away is lurking. I must admit, I have accomplished much in my twenties as noted in my other post, but now it is time to move on to a different decade with new challenges, growth, trial, heartaches, and joy. I am praying to embrace my birthday with joy and excitement. To allow others to shower me with love and presents---I mean praises. To be ok with this moment in history because God wrote the book. This is how he intended life to be until all things are restored. I am reminded of Psalm 139 each and every birthday because the LORD formed me, he is always there, he knows me, he loves me, he created me to be uniquely, individually his. To this I must say, thank you God for birthdays. Thank you that I can celebrate with friends and family and thank you for blessing me with another year of life. So, Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear meeeeeee, happy birthday to me!

Virtuous Woman. Me?

Proverbs 31 is by far one of my favorite books in the bible. This world is well, worldly, so I have to step back and see who God says who I am to be. I can't let the world define me by telling me how to look, how to dress, what to drive, or where to live. I can't let the world define me as a mother on what my kids are enrolled in, how advanced are they, and how you working to overcome their weaknesses? I can't let the world define my marriage by doing whatever I feel is right and usurping the God given call on my husband and being his holy spirit. I go back to the scripture and let it define me. This is a very slow process and much against the world's view for a woman. After all, we are to be achievers and go getters and balance work, kids, marriage, extra curricular activities, bake homemade cupcakes, throw together a Martha Stuart dinner while planning classroom parties without batting an eye. This is not me. Never has been. Never will.

The bible tells me clearly I am more precious than jewels (even the $66 million heist in Britain) and my husband trusts me. The virtuous woman works, takes care of her servants, her children, she is business savvy. She speaks with wisdom (in other words, knows when to keep her mouth shut!) and when she does speak, it's kind. It is not about my looks (praise God!), but about fearing the LORD.

What I have been thinking upon today is Proverbs 31:12: She does him good and not harm, all the days of her life.

Wow, no matter what Brian does or says, the bible clearly lays out that I am to bring him good. Every day. Which led me to think, how do I bring Brian good? Is it what I think he needs or what HE needs? In turn, wives, how are you bringing your husband good? What areas do we need to surrender to the LORD so that he can manifest himself in our marriages?

When I get to heaven, I would like to meet this Virtuous Woman and thank her for setting an example of what can be done when I completely lay my life before God. I may never be able to do all the things she does, but I can focus on those I am good at and ask God's grace on what I am weak at all the while, bringing my husband good and honoring God. After all, that is what it is all about.

Tick Tock

I can hear the clock ticking till my birthday. I had a great lunch today with Heather. Probably the last time we will dine in our 20's together. She will be 30 before me, well, 3 days before me. We are both trying to have good attitudes about this landmark in our lives. I am praying to accept this with dignity and grace. I will be 30 and that's that. Her motto, "30 is the new 20." I like that.
What have I accomplished in 30 years?
Skipping through my happy childhood, which it really was, I have graduated high school, completed college in 4 1/2 years with a teaching degree. I was married at 21 (just celebrated 8 years together), first job soon following our marriage, first baby at 25, second baby at 28, quit teaching after 7 years to raise those sweet babies, and am now entering my Jesus years.
All in all, these 30 years the Lord has given me have been a time of change and growth otherwise known as sanctification. I am definitely more chill than I use to be (can you believe that?). I care less about what others think and more about what God thinks. I am learning that Jesus is better than things and I truly can live without the trinkets, even though I must admit, I still really like. I have walked alongside my husband who has been caring, loving, supportive, unselfish beyond degree, amazing, kind, generous, humble, servant-hearted, and has a faith that can't be shaken. Who puts his own needs aside and is willing to sacrifice whatever to keep me home to raise our children in the Lord and to teach them about his love and commandments.
As the time ticks closer to 30, I have to see what the bible says about age. Proverbs 16:31 says, "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life." Now, don't misread here, I don't yet have gray hair but I will most likely cover it up, but then would I cover up the righteousness I have found in Christ? I digress. Gray hair is linked to aging, and the bible says it is from a righteous life. That is what I want, a righteous life, even if it means gray hair--and the Lord helps me accept that humbly!

Pick Me! Pick Me!

Some think I am crazy and turning a bit nerdy and that might be the case, but when I win a new Sienna, you won't think that. I worked as hard as possible to enter as much as possible, but I do know that others entered more than me. I did pray for God to show favor and allow me to win. Honestly, I did. But there is probably someone else more deserving than me, but I prayed any way. I am taking part of Huggies Enjoy the Rides Reward. Totally free. You earn points, you spend them. All free. You can enter sweepstakes or Instant Win. The new set of points and prizes are out starting today. Now I will try to win a gym set for the backyard!

$1.85!!

I am so excited about my shopping trip to Target. Here is what I bought:

1 Cheez It Whole grain $2. 99 $.75 coupon off Total: $2.24
5-8 count of poptarts $1.52 a box $.75 off coupons (I printed 5) Total per box: $.77
4 boxes of Raisin Bran $2.19 a box $1.50 off 2 boxes coupon Total per box: $1.44

Total Bill: $19.35
Coupon Total: $7.50
Final Payment: $11.85
Mail in rebate: $10.00
In the end, total paid: $1.85

Needless to say, you don't have to ask what's for breakfast :)

P&G esaver

This only works for Kroger and Tom Thumb. Sign up here. Choose the coupons you want and voila! It's automatically loaded onto your preferred customer card!

Kellogg's Buy 10 get $10

I have done the dirty work to the best of my ability to get you the fastest way to $10! I go tomorrow to see how it pans it out but until then, here is what I have done.

Kellogg's is doing a Fuel for School where you buy any 10 Kellogg's product, and get a $10 rebate. Go here to get your rebate. It's on the bottom right. Click on it, and it prints your rebate and list of qualifying purchases.

How about some coupons?
This is one of the best places for coupons. A Full Cup. You need to sign up. Once you do, on the home page, there is a tab on the right: Target Coupon Generator. This will pull up any coupons for Target at this time. Best part is, you can type in how many of each coupon you want. So I chose the poptarts to get $.75 off and I had it print me 5!!
On a side note, on the website click on the tab at the top Coupons, choose printable coupons, and you get about 38 pages of coupons and there are tons of ways to search for what you are looking for!

Raisin Bran is on sale at Target for $2.19. Here is a coupon for $1.50 off 2 boxes. Make them $1.44 a box!

Cheez It for $.75 off Whole Grain only. (Scroll through this link for other coupons including Kellogg's)

The 100 Calorie coupon has reached its limit. Sorry.

You can also go to google and type in the search what you are looking for such as: Cheez It coupon. This will help out tons. But again, A Full Cup so far is the best!

I will write tomorrow how the deal goes!

Sinned Against

I can say in my life that I can't recall a time that I have been sinned against where I didn't contribute to the situation. Until this week. I can't explain the pain my soul felt and the tears that were shed. It was something that I hope you never feel, but if you do or have, we can rejoice that we are suffering like Jesus. This pales in comparison to what he felt on the cross when the weight of sin was on his sinless shoulders.
I find the timing a bit ironic since Beau, the campus pastor, was teaching out of Philemon where Paul urges Philemon to receive Onesimus back as a brother and to forgive this runaway slave who stole from him. Corresponding to the prodigal son where each of us were runaways and have been received by the father. Here are two things I have learned in the past couple days.

1. Atonement: Christ paid the debt. The end. It is not my job to make this person pay for their sin. Christ did it on the cross and for me to "make them pay for this" defeats the purpose of the sacrifice. I think it would be a slap in God's face for me to try to take the place of Jesus.

2. Forgiveness: Just like Philemon was urged to forgive, God tells us to forgive our brothers so that we might be forgiven. If I don't forgive, I am not forgiven. I must never forget that I have been received into the hands of God and am under his authority now. I must believe and apply the gospel of forgiveness with his help as to avoid bitterness, anger, self righteous pride and so on.

This was not an easy process but was quick I must say. I went straight to the throne and asked God to help me and I poured over the bible as to how I was to respond to the situation. Amazing how when you press into Jesus, you can truly forgive, no bitterness, no anger, no remorse, no sorrow, no guilt, no more pain, replaced by acceptance, joy, peace, grace, and mercy. This is not me who accomplished this process, but only the work of Jesus who was able to mend my heart and bring glory to him. Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Even when we are sinned against.

Pain and Suffering

Sometimes I just get a breath of how painful life is. I sit back and know that God is control and wonder how he chooses to intervene or not. I read emails about our friends whose son is trying to recuperate from a heart transplant to a family in Ohio (I am assuming) whose in the hospital with their baby boy and the doctors are telling the family, "it doesn't look good."
I gripe and complain that my house is a mess, there is yet another load of laundry to do, another meal to cook, but my kids are healthy. They are safe.
My heart goes out to the these parents who deal on a constant basis with hospital visits and life changing decisions that must be made. I can't even imagine what it feels like to do kangaroo care with your baby in hopes that he might have his temperature rise. Is there any length that you wouldn't go to?
Oh how that is the heart of Christ. That he sees our pain and suffering, and as a gentle parent he wants to kangaroo with us, to draw us to hear his heartbeat alone, to rest in his arms and to trust him. Really trust him in all circumstances that the God who spoke the world and put in motion, took time to create us in his image, knows our hearts and minds, and pain and suffering is used for our sanctification and his glory. On this side of heaven we may never know why God chooses as he does, but we must rest in the unchangeable, unwavering, always consistent God of the universe.