Interesting Morning... and a Survey

Well today is turning out to be an interesting morning.

First, I was running 15 minutes late for work.

Then I reached into my purse to get my cell phone so I could call my boss and let him know I was running late ... only to find that I have no idea where my cell phone is!

Finally, the morning was topped off with a half-hour "stay" in our building's elevator. It got stuck between floors. There were two of us in the elevator, and the other chick was freaking out. Plus -- there was no air conditioning.

And now my hair is all frizzy. I hate it when that happens.

But, even though I'm claustrophobic, I was able to remain calm, and was able to calm down the young girl who was with me, and was able to share the reason why I wasn't afraid or freaking out. Praise God!

Regardless ... I really feel like I need to start the day over - with the exception of sharing the Gospel part.

Also ... I'd really like to point you over to a real-time friend's blog: Wretched Sinner. He's doing a survey and I'd appreciate it if you'd help him out with it. Basically, he's looking for your perspective on 10 terms commonly used to describe Jesus. It asks you to rank them from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most likely term you are to use, and 1 being the least likely. It takes a little bit of thought, but it is an easy, anonymous survey.

Can you hop on over and take a minute to complete the survey?

Have a crazy-blessed day! And share the gospel with someone!

Changes in my life...

I hate change.

In fact, I hate it so much that I would prefer to stay in a job I sort of like with a boss I hate than move to a job I'll sort of like with a boss I'll love. Trust me when I say... it isn't because I love to live in misery. In fact, no one treats me better than me. Except for maybe my husband. But, for whatever reason, I hate change.

And next week marks huge change in my life.

My son begins preschool. Pre-K-3. And I'm already dreading all the change. Because again, no one treats me better than me (or my husband). And I'll no longer be able to treat myself to waking up at the last minute.

For instance, I'll now have to wake up every day at 5:30 instead of 6:15, and folks, I am NOT a morning person. 45 minutes is HUGE to me! This means my alarm will now have to go off at 4:45 just so I can be awake enough to get out of bed by 5:30. To some, that's plain silly, like my husband, who can hit the alarm clock the first time it goes off and roll out of bed running. I hate people like that. And yet, I chose to spend my entire life with someone like that. I'm finding that "ironic."

Anyway, next change is that I'll be having to make lunches every day. That may be a good thing, because if I'm making one, I might as well make two -- one for him, one for me!

Of course, another change is that I'll be waking up TWO people and getting them both washed, brushed and dressed instead of one. Fortunately, only one of us uses makeup.

THEN ... oh, heavens. I'll have to fix BREAKFAST every single day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And encourage a sleepy 4 year old to actually eat it, because it is, after all, brain food.

Finally, I'll have to drop Hunter off at before-care by 7:00 so I can make it to work by 7:30.

Did I mention I'm not a morning person?

Yeah. Changes.

Hate 'em.

WFMW: Sandwich Ideas for Peanut Allergies

When my son was in daycare, there was a child who was deathly allergic to tree nuts, so we were not able to send any peanut butter sandwiches, trail mixes, granola bars, or anything containing nuts.

As you can imagine, that makes packing lunches less than ideal, as most kids love peanut butter and jelly! Fortunately, I only had to pack his lunch one time each week. I fell back on a good old standard: cream cheese and jam sandwiches.

As a result, to this day, Hunter does not like peanut butter. And while he loves peanuts and nuts of all kinds, I haven't been able to figure out if it is the texture or the flavor that turns him off. He just wont eat it. He does love tuna, hard boiled eggs, ham, turkey and other standards, but now that Hunter is going to pre-school and I'll have to pack lunch every day, I wanted to find some new cream cheese based sandwiches for him.

Here are nine recipes I'll be using this school year. Hopefully, I'll be developing more as the year goes on. If your child has peanut allergies, you might enjoy mixing these sandwich ideas up! Measurements are strictly for an idea. You know the consistency that your child would like, so use these recipes as a guide.

Cream-Cheese Banana Sandwiches

4 oz. cream cheese (room temp.)
1/2 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. raisins
2 slices canned pineapple, chopped

Combine cream cheese, banana, lemon juice, raisins, and pineapple. Spread on raisin bread.


Cream Cheese Cucumber Sandwiches

4 oz. cream cheese (room temp.)
1/3 med. cucumber, grated and well drained
1/4 small onion, grated
Pinch of salt
Mayonnaise (enough to make mixture spreadable)

Mix all together. Spread on bread.


Cream Cheese Veggie Sandwiches

4 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
1/4 carrot, shredded
1 green onions (chopped fine)
2 Tbsp green and red bell pepper (chopped fine)
Pinch of celery seed
Pinch of chopped dill
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix ingredients together in bowl. Spread on bread.


Fruity Cream Cheese Sandwiches

4 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
3/4 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
2 medium strawberries, sliced, diced or slightly mashed (more or less, depending on how much fruit you want in the sandwich)

Combine cream cheese, honey and orange zest in a bowl. Add diced strawberries (or blueberries, diced apple, raspberries, crushed pineapple, etc.). Spread on bread.


Thanksgiving Cream Cheese Sandwiches

4 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
2 Tbsp whole-berry Cranberry Sauce
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
Turkey or ham slices leftover from Thanksgiving dinner

Combine cream cheese, cranberry sauce and orange zest in a bowl. Spread on bread. Add leftover turkey or ham slices.


Pumpkin Bread Cream Cheese Sandwiches

4 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
chopped dried cranberries (optional)
chopped pecans nuts (optional)
1/8 tsp. pumpkin-pie spice
1/8 tsp. orange zest
orange juice (enough to make it spreadable)

Mix all together. Use thinly sliced pumpkin bread for sandwiches.


Peach Cream Cheese Sandwiches

4 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
1 peach, diced
A few drops of milk if necessary

Mix ingredients together in bowl. Spread on bread.


Mexican Cream Cheese Sandwiches

4 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
Salsa (add enough for desired consistency)
Shredded cheddar cheese (enough for desired consistency)

Mix ingredients together in bowl. Spread on bread.


Mandarin Orange Cream Cheese Sandwiches

4 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
Mandarin oranges, juice drained (save juice to make a smooth consistency)

Combine cream cheese, honey and orange zest in a bowl. Add Mandarin oranges. Spread on bread.

Our God Reigns Here!

I'm going to open up and just be honest here, because I know I'm not alone.

Once in a while, I hit dry spots in my walk with Christ.

I've been a Christian for over 30 years (I know! And I look so young!), and it is easy to acquire the "been there, done that" attitude when reading scripture and walking your faith walk.

But even as a mature Christian, I face issues on a daily basis that leave me feeling like I just can't face them. They can fill me with fear and doubt. Praise God that I DON'T face them alone! I have the power of the Holy Spirit in me that help face trials and temptations.

But I am human, and many times (like now), I have trials that really leave me feeling afraid of what the outcome may be.

And then ... well, then something comes along my path – a little gift from God – that renews my spirit of faith, my strength, and reminds me that GOD REIGNS, and even if the outcome of my trials are not what I want, OUR GOD REIGNS and the battle is won.

Praise God!

And here is the powerful God Gift that came my way today that blessed my socks off. And I'm not even wearing socks today! I've listened to this ALL.MORNING.LONG – literally, and my spirit is renewed, and I'm ready to continue fighting this trial my household is going through. (Note to husband: Honey – you need to listen to this song ... claim the words and get a good night sleep tonight! I love you!)

And even after the gazillionth time of listening to this song, I’m STILL getting goose bumps. This was an answer to a prayer – no, really a CRY OUT TO GOD, that I sent out early this morning for courage and ENCOURAGEMENT.

I hope it blesses YOUR socks off too. Have a listen... again, and again, and again. There is power in these words!

Spirit of doubt and fear... depression, anxiety, addiction and infirmity ... I command you to leave in Jesus name. You’re not welcome here. MY GOD REIGNS here. I claim this ground in Jesus name because OUR GOD REIGNS. The battle's won. I have no fear, because God reigns here!
I claim it, I accept it, I believe it. Thank you John Waller! (he performed this song)

Go forth and worship!



p.s. -- It may not happen in MY timing, and the outcome may not be what I want… but the issues we are struggling with and the prayers we’re sending up will be answered!

This is getting ridiculous!

Last night, I went into my son's bedroom for prayers and to tuck him in.

Low and behold, I find him standing behind his fan.

Smelling his curtains.

Because his daddy let him spray Febreze into the air behind the fan.

A four year old. Loving Febreze.

And he looks at me and all excitedly says, "smells so good, mommy!"

Would someone stop the insanity ride and let me off, please?

I should be paid for living my life. Honestly, I haven't seen Febreze used so frequently in my household as I have this past 5 weeks where I was home recovering.

Makes me wonder what these boys do behind my back.

I think my husband has an addiction...

I’m in desperate need of some good Godly advice.

You see – I think my husband has a problem. An addiction that I've just uncovered.

When I confronted him about it, he broke down and said it started off as an occasional use (recreational?), but then quickly escalated to a more frequent problem. In fact, now he does it just because "he can." Isn't that an addiciton?

He is a strong, Godly man with outstanding morals and ethics, and I can't help but wonder how something this tragic could befall my family! And think of the example he’s setting for my son! It frightens me.

Ladies … if this can happen to my good Christian husband, it can happen to anyone. I've gone through my home to try to eliminate all temptation for him, but still … he manages to get his fix.

It's gone from hidden use in the laundry room, to behind closed doors of the bathroom, to now - anywhere he wants. He's become openly brazen about it, and I feel as though I really need to draw boundaries immediately, because I suspect he’s trying to get me to be a willing partner in this addiction, just so he can "feel good" about it. Why, just last night, I was lying in our bed when he walked into the room and took a huge snort of the stuff. I was shocked!

In fact… he sprayed it right into the fan and it blew all over me. I was so disgusted. It's becoming a problem in my home. My husband's addicted, and I’m now at my wits end.

I curse the day I ever brought Febreze into my home. Lavender Vanilla Comfort FABRIC freshener. He doesn't even bother to use AIR freshener!!!

What to do???