Sunday, October 31, 2010

Day 31 of Praying for our Children

A Passion for God

Lord, please instill in my children a soul with a craving for You,
a heart that clings passionately to You.
Psalm 63:8

As we come to the end of this month of prayer for our children, I hope that you have been blessed by this. I know I have. Also, that you will continue in praying intentionally for your children each day.


Saturday, October 30, 2010

Day 30 of Praying for our Children

Growth in Grace

I pray that they may "grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
II Peter 3:18


Friday, October 29, 2010

Day 29 of Praying for our Children

Respect (for others, self and authority)

Father, grant that my children may "show proper respect to everyone", as Your Word commands.
I Peter 2:17


Thursday, October 28, 2010

Day 28 of Praying for our Children

Self-Control

Father, help my children not to be like many others around them,
but let them be "alert and self-controlled" in all they do.
I Thesselonians 5:6

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Day 27 of Praying for our Children

Salvation

Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation
 that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Isaiah 45:8, II Timothy 2:10


Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Overheard......

Amanda  "Boys don't like weddings because they have to kiss."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joshua  "I like the Bears and the Packers."
Brad "That's just not possible, you can't do that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac "Why do robbers do bad stuff?"
Joshua "Probably because their mom and dad didn't tell them about Jesus."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac "When I get big I don't want to play sports I want to paint and then work at Ford and come home in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping."

The next week Isaac tells me, "When I am in second grade I am going to paint with dad and then when I'm in high school I'm going to go work at Ford with dad and come home in the middle of the night."

(For those of you who don't know, Brad has been painting during the day and works the evening shift at Ford Motor Company. Someone really wants to be like his dad!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We were reading a Bible Story about how God sent manna to the Israelites to eat but they could only take enough for one day or it would go bad.

Joshua says, "Kind of like our food, it goes bad sometimes too. And like our coupons, sometimes you have to throw them away."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex talking to her siblings, "If you take your check to the bank they turn it into money. They do! I'm not sure how they do it but you give them your check and they turn it into money!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac, "Sometimes I wonder about you Chuck."

This may not seem funny to you, but if you hear him say it, it's funny! He says it with an accent and it makes me laugh every time.

Day 26 of Praying for our Children

Compassion

Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion,
 that they may care for others as You do.
Colossians 3:12

Monday, October 25, 2010

Day 25 of Praying for our Children

A Love for God's Word

May my children grow to  find Your Word "more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb."
Psalm 19:10

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Day 24 of Praying for our Children

Faithfulness

"Let love and faithfulness never leave (my children)," but bind these twin virtues
 around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts.
Proverbs 3:3

Friday, October 22, 2010

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Day 21 of Praying for our Children

Love

Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love through
the Holy Spirit who dwells in them.
Ephesians 5:2, Galations 5:22

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Gourmet Potato Soup, Chicken Nuggets and Applesauce

Today I posted on Facebook that I had canned applesauce and then was going to make potato soup and homemade chicken nuggets. I then got a few requests for my recipes and thought it easiest to just share them here.

First is the Gourmet Potato Soup and may I say it is FABULOUS! This is the first time I made it and it is delicious!


2 c. diced potatoes                                            8 oz. Sour Cream
1/2 c. diced celery                                            2 T. chives
1/2c. diced onion                                              2 T. Flour
1 c. water                                                          1/2 c. Shredded Cheddar
1/2 c. Chicken Broth                                         1/2 c. Bacon bits
1 c. Milk                                                           Salt to taste
1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream

Combine potatoes, celery, onion, water, chicken broth, and salt in a large saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. heavy cream. In a medium bowl, blend remaining cream, sour cream, chives and flour. Gradualy pour in remaining milk. Pour some hot mixture to bowl to slowly raise temperature. When mixed, pour bowl into hot mixture and cook until thickened. Serve with cheddar and bacon bits sprinkled on top.

I'd recommend that if you are making this for your family, you should probably make a double batch.



Recently I was at my friend Dori's house and she made me and my children homemade chicken nuggets and they were so delicious! I had to try to make them myself. I'd say that this is a work in progress. Sorry, I don't have exact measurements so I'll just tell you what I did.

Boneless Skinless Chicken
Butter
Corn Flakes

Trim fat off of chicken and cut into pieces.
Dip in butter and then coat in crushed cornflakes. Put in greased 9x13 pans. I then baked them for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

They didn't turn out as delicious as when Dori made them, but they were still pretty good. I think I cooked them a little too long, my chicken ended up a little dry. Next time I will either lower the temperature or adjust the time.

Next on to my applesauce. Once again, I don't really have an exact recipe but I will share what I did.

First, you enlist all the help that you can. We had our own little applesauce sweatshop going on. Brad happened to be home today too, so he got suckered into helping for a little while.



I like to mix my apples. I used half bushel of Ida Red Apples and full bushel of Fuji. Fuji is really sweet  and Ida Red's are more tart, but really you can make any combination that you want. I like my sauce sweet so that I don't have to add sugar.

You can go to any farm stand to get your apples, but I recommend VanDerGriend's Red Barn in Lansing because my Brother-in-law owns it. Ask for Scott, he'll hook you up!

Next, invest in buying some sort of machine to make your life easier or find someone you know that has one and become good friends with her so she'll let you borrow it. My aunt has this magnificent machine that hooks onto my Kitchen Aid Mixer! This is the second year I've used it and I love it!

I quarter my apples and cook them in a large electric skillet with a little water until they are soft. Then I simply put them through my machine and add cinnamon to taste.

In years past I put it into plastic containers and froze it. This year I just don't have enough room in my freezer, so I canned it. Just transfer your sauce to jars, put the lids on and then you have to process them.

To process, I put them in the oven (thanks to my sister Nikki for this suggestion!) at 320 degrees for 20 minutes. Take them out of the oven and you will soon hear your lids popping. Once they've popped you know they are done.

Hope this helps everyone who was asking. Enjoy!!!!

Day 19 of Praying for our Children

Contentment

Father, teach my children "the secret of being content in any and
every situation....through Him who gives (them) strength."

Monday, October 18, 2010

Multitude Monday 427~434

Continuing the list of blessings given to me by my heavenly Father.

Free Firewood


Leaves crunching underneath my running feet.

Campfires in our backyard.


Random socks left lying around the house.

Stains on pants from kids playing tackle football with their dad.

Hayrides and pumpkin patches.


Apple Pie

A family game of Hide and Seek.

Want to join the Gratitude Community? It's easy, you don't need a blog to start, just a pen and paper. Start today and begin to see the changes in how you view the world around you.



holy experience

Day 18 of Praying for our Children

Perseverance

Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to "run with perseverance the race marked out for (them)."

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Day 17 of Praying for our Children

Strong, Biblical Self-Esteem

Help my children develop a strong sense of self-esteem that is rooted in the realization
that they are "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus."

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Day 16 of Praying for our Children

A Willingness and Ability to Work Hard

Teach my children, Lord, to value hard work and to work hard at everything they do,
 "as working for the Lord, not for men"

Friday, October 15, 2010

Thursday, October 14, 2010

A Couple Things Worth Checking Out

I just wanted to share with you all a couple links that are worth checking out. One is to read and the other to listen.

Recently a friend of mine on facebook had a link to Beth Moore's hairbrush story. If you aren't familiar with Beth Moore, you should become familiar with her. She is a woman that has a true passion for Christ and follows the Spirit wherever He may lead her. So, if you haven't read this story, just click on the link above and read it. Warning: you will probably cry.

The second link is to a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll. If you aren't familiar with him, once again I highly suggest him. He is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. This sermon is about Mary and Martha but don't let the name fool you, this sermon isn't just for women. It's a sermon that all of us busy Christians need to listen to.

I'll be honest, I am a Martha through and through. I've had a hard time lately being anything but a Martha because my schedule is so busy, actually I like a busy schedule but it leaves little time to be a Mary. I often fail at putting Jesus first and sitting at His feet before I start all my Martha tasks.

Below I've copied and pasted what is posted on the link about this sermon. After reading this, I highly suggest clicking above on my link and listening to the whole sermon. Download it onto your ipod and listen to it while you workout, clean house, or drive in the car.

Are you Mary or Martha? Mary’s contemplative; Martha’s active. Mary’s about being; Martha’s about doing. Martha thought she was going to serve Jesus the good portion, but Mary chose the good portion. Jesus is our good portion that will never be taken away. A meal is temporary, but time with Jesus is a gift that lasts forever.


We live in a Martha world; we’re troubled, we’re anxious, and we’re distracted. But God built this world to be a Mary world with Martha moments. When sin entered the world, it turned into a Martha world in which we have to fight for Mary moments. The rhythm of our day is supposed to be Mary first, then Martha. Spend time with Jesus, then get stuff done. Worship like Mary, then work like Martha. Worship God before you work so that you can worship God in your work. We want Mary’s heart and Martha’s hands.

Day 14 of Praying for our Children

Self-Discipline

Father, I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may acquire
"a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair."

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Day 13 of Praying for our Children

Responsibility

Grant that my children may learn responsiblity,
 "for each one should carry his own load."
Galatians 6:5

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Day 12 of Praying for our Children

Purity

"Create in (them) a pure heart, O God," and let
their purity of heart be shown in their actions.


Monday, October 11, 2010

Tasty Food That's Easy To Make

If you know my family, when it comes to supper time they are SO FUSSY! Making supper has become one of my least favorite things to do because I always get at least one (if not more) "I don't like that!" Mind you, most the time it's something they have never had, they have just determined before hand that they won't like it.

For this reason, I try to make things that don't take me a lot of time because then when I hear those words I don't care as much and haven't wasted a ton of time making something that I have to beg them to eat.

Here are couple easy recipes:

At Aldi they have this bag in the freezer section for about $3 of stir fry vegetables with a teriyaki sauce. I grilled a couple chicken breasts, cut them up and added them to the stir fry. You have a quick, delicious and healthy supper.

Of course my kids complained, but there are enough different vegetables in there that they can at least find a couple that they like and then they also like the chicken.

My second recipe I found in the coupon inserts of the Sunday newspaper. It's called Dripping Roast Beef Sandwich and is found at CampbellsKitchen.com.

It is so easy to make and so delicious! All you need is 4 Hoagie rolls, 1 can of French Onion Soup,  3/4 lb deli sliced roast beef,  Worcestershire sauce, and Provolone cheese. In place of the deli sliced roast beef, you can also use that leftover pot roast from Sunday dinner. Not sure my kids would ever ask for this but they did eat it without much complaining and Brad loved it!
If you want the full recipe, just click on my link above. 

Enjoy!

Day 11 of Praying for our Children

A Servant's Heart

Lord, please help my children develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly
 "as if (they) were serving the Lord, not men."

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Day 10 of Praying for our Children

Hope

May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and
hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Day 9 of Praying for our Children

Prayerfulness

Grant, Lord , that my children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests"

Friday, October 8, 2010

Day 8 of Praying for our Children

Gentle and Forgiving Spirit

Please, Lord, let my children develop a spirit of forgiveness, that they may not insist on their rights or harbor bitterness against those who have wronged them, but "forgive, even as Christ has forgiven them."

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Monday, October 4, 2010

Day 4 of Praying for our Children

Faith

I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith
they may gain what has been promised to them.
Luke 17:5-6 and Hebrews 11:1-40

A month of daily, intentional prayer for our children.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Day 3 of Praying for our Children

Courage

May my children always "be strong and courageous" in their character and in their actions. Dueteronomy 31:6

A month of daily, intentional prayer for our children.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Day 2 of Praying for our Children

Generosity

Grant that my children may "be generous and willing to share (and so) lay up
treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age." 
I Timothy 6:18-19

A month of daily, intentional prayer for our children.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Day 1 of Praying for our Children

A Heart For Missions

Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples.
Psalm 96:3

A month of daily, intentional prayer for our children.