Monday, January 24, 2011

half marathon

This week I begin my pre-training for the half marathon I will be running in June. I have been walking and exercising more in January and this week I will be doing one and two mile runs before I start this training program. I am registered for the Rock-n-Roll Marathon on June 5th and if anyone wants to run with me let me know. Please pray for me as I begin my journey.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Menu Planning

As a single income family, we have had to budget our money very carefully. One thing that we do and I LOVE is menu planning. When I worked I would cook, but I think it’s harder to get dinner together and ready as a non- working mother. I thought that I would share my menu this week as it based off of this incredible blog I uncovered called Budget Bytes. She tells you how much it cost to purchase the dinner and the amount per serving. She also has soooo many tips that help save money. I had most of the ingredients for these recipes at home and only spend $35 on groceries this week, with 75% being organic. Breakfast and lunch is also planned, but kind of boring, but I wanted to share how I do this each week. We also save money because we eat all our leftovers; it also gives me a break from cooking.

Sunday-

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: PB&J, orange, and string cheese

Dinner: Lemon chicken, steam broccoli, Mushroom Ragu

Monday-

Breakfast: Bagels for us yogurt and banana for Brooke

Lunch: Frozen burritos

Dinner: Chicken Chile Verde

Tuesday-

Breakfast: Bagels for us yogurt and banana for Brooke

Lunch: Grilled cheese, chips and salsa, applesauce

Dinner: Chicken Chile Verde

Wednesday-

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and cheese, orange and banana

Lunch: PB&J, orange, and string cheese

Dinner: Baked Ziti & Salad

Thursday-

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: Grilled cheese, chips and salsa, applesauce

Dinner: Baked Ziti & Salad

Friday-

Breakfast: Bagels for us yogurt and banana for Brooke

Lunch: Frozen Burritos

Dinner: Shepherds Pie & Spinach salad

Saturday-

Breakfast: Breakfast pizza

Lunch: Grilled cheese, chips and salsa, applesauce

Dinner: Shepherds Pie & Spinach salad


Along with this week I am making homemade tortillas and black beans to make frozen burritos for breakfast and lunch.
Tortillas
Black Beans
Frozen Breakfast Burritos
Lunch Burritos: Black beans, rice, cheese, and salsa

Have a great week and eat well!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1 John 3

SOOOO GOOD!


1 John 3

1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,a]">[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

More on Love and Hatred
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,b]">[b] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Tug of War

Last night Brookelyn started playing tug of war with Bernard. She would bring the toy over to him and they would tug for a little while. Then Bernard, being a good boy, would give in and let her have it and Brooke would just give it back to him too cute!


1 John 2

1 John 2:15-17: I try to constantly watch this part of my life, because it is SO hard to get caught up in the ways of the flesh. I think my biggest hiccup is vanity and I have to constantly tell myself, "it isn't necessary, is is all meaningless!"

1 John 2: 18-26: This is an interesting passage and I feel it is meant to bring confidence to true followers of Jesus. Let me know what you think?

1 John 2: 28: A continuation of John writing to the church to give confidence of their faith.

1 John 2

1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for Goda]">[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sisterb]">[b] is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sisterc]">[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.

14 I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.

On Not Loving the World
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Fatherd]">[d] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Warnings Against Denying the Son
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.e]">[e] 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

God’s Children and Sin
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

Monday, January 10, 2011

1 John 1

To go along with my post on obedience, I thought it would be fun to post 1 John this week. This might be your only chance to read God's word, so take the time to read what God has written for us, you will be blessed.

1 John 1

The Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make oura]">[a] joy complete.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from allb]">[b] sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Obedience

God has lead me, well, more like pushed me to write down my thoughts about what the Holy Spirit has been teaching me. I have actually felt this need since High school; to minister to others in a more is less kind of way. I can be very verbal, but I don’t like to talk to big groups and some of you I may never get the chance to talk to again. Even more than that, and something I feel you can relate to, is that thoughts and feelings are sometimes easier to communicate on writing; you can re-read, edit, filter, etc. through writing and I always come from a conversation analyzing my words and regretting forgetting something I wish I would have said, but just didn’t remember in the midst of listening and speaking.

My hope is that we learn from each other and I would encourage you to communicate with me on whatever God has opened your heart to. I have no plan, but I trust that God is asking me to do this for whatever reason. There is no need to respond, but like I said earlier, ALL of you can teach me something. I must continue to grow as God’s bride and become the woman of God he wants me to be- please help me do that.

I don’t know how many times I will write, but I do know that when God calls me to share I will not ignore him anymore!

This week has been crazy, God has moved me and I have had to completely humble myself before his throne. There is too much to discuss in this post so I am going to keep this first one simple. One of the topics God has been continually revealing to me is obedience! If I love God and know God, then not only will I be obedient to his word, but I would WANT to be obedient to him. Isn’t it hard in our interactions with each others to obey or respect a person when we don’t know them? God already knows and loves you, but do you KNOW him? I think the way to answer that is, do I obey him? If I would be answering I would say that I try. I honestly do, I try to do things out of love and I try to listen to his will, but that darn sinful nature gets in the way and I find myself every night asking forgiveness for a sharp tongue, lack of patience, coveting, laziness, etc. But I do think that my heart is always trying to obey, listen and love and there is a difference. I have heard some Christians use others mistakes as an excuse for their own, but we must understand that God will not compare us; we will only be judged by what we did, did we know him, did we seek, did we spread the gospel, did we do everything in our power to serve him?

I could go on forever really, but I will stop.

I am just finishing Romans and wanted to share a couple verses from there along with a couple more.

Really all of Romans 6 is great, but Romans 6:11-18 “11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Jeremiah 7:21-23 21 “‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.

My last request is that sometime this week you take the time to listen to this podcast by Francis Chan. If you haven’t heard him speak, you are in for a big treat. I would encourage you to really try to turn the TV off and listen; in the morning while you get ready, getting ready for bed, cooking, driving, etc. Open the link on your phone and listen while you work out. I promise that it will bless you.

Title of the sermon is: How Does the Holy Spirit Fill You?




New Year Resolutions

This year I am going to be better. I am going to listen more closely, talk less, read my Bible more, clean more, be more organized, exercise, eat better, etc. It is time to stop making excuses and do what God has put me on the earth to do; share HIM! So this blog will still be about Brookelyn and our family, but there will be more sharing about my spiritual walk and where I am coming from and where I am going. I will discuss my struggles and my triumphs and I hope that you will be encouraged by it.

God has lead me, well, more like pushed me to write down my thoughts about what the Holy Spirit has been teaching me. I have actually felt this need since High school; to minister to others in a more is less kind of way. I can be very verbal, but I don’t like to talk to big groups and some of you I may never get the chance to talk to again. Even more than that, and something I feel you can relate to, is that thoughts and feelings are sometimes easier to communicate on writing; you can re-read, edit, filter, etc. through writing and I always come from a conversation analyzing my words and regretting forgetting something I wish I would have said, but just didn’t remember in the midst of listening and speaking.

I am so excited for this year, everything God is going to teach me through his word, through my life, and through the people I surround in my life.



Saturday, January 8, 2011

A Quiet New Year

Kyle and I spent New Years home of course with Brooke, although she still went to bed at her normal bed time hour. I made little snack foods for me and Kyle, we rented Inception, had hats, horns, purchased our yearly board game of Yahtzee- we had big plans. Well after the movie, which was intense, I was exhausted. I looked over at Kyle and said,"You will never guess what I am about to say." And what I said was...."I am tired and want to go to bed." His reply, "Thank goodness!" We were in bed at 11pm this year- not like me at all. Oh well!

Christmas

Relaxing with Grandpa

I think this was one of my favorite Christmas's as a family because this year we were able to see parts of both sides of the family; this year Grandma and Poppa Ferguson were with us in San Diego on Christmas morning and it was our first Christmas morning at our house.

Playing with cousins!

Christmas Eve morning!

We spent December 15th- 24th up in Fresno with my family. We had a great time! We got to see a lot of family and spend a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa. Brooke had fun playing with Grandma in the morning, while Kyle and I got to sleep in! Thanks Grandma! Brooke had a great time playing with her cousins and opening presents on Christmas Eve morning. Because we weren't going to be there Christmas morning we had our Christmas morning on the 24th. Brooke loved opening her gifts more then the actual gift. She got Lego's, a Tickle me Elmo, all my old Disney stuff animals, a cute rolling backpack, books, and DVD's. Then we headed out to San Diego to pick up Poppa and Grandma. We were expecting heavy traffic, but it was smooth sailing the whole way. God is good!
She loves Legos

Tired girl after opening lots of presents.

Watching the Balloon Parade. She loved it!

We picked up Grandma and Poppa at the airport at 7pm and we let Brooke stay up past 9pm to hang out with them. Then we proceeded to get everything set up for Christmas day! She ended up having too many gifts to open up, I went dollar store crazy, and she didn't finishing opening them until the following day. Highlights of the day were, Minnie books from Poppa and Grandma, going on a ride in her new trike, playing tea party, and making us dinner. Poppa made us a delicious Prime Rib with his yummy cheesy potatoes. My friend Jen joined us and made us the most delicious peanut butter mousse pie ever!

Santa came!


She was so happy about to get in her trike.

The rest of the week was a blast. We went to the zoo, spent a day up in Julian, enjoyed the Holiday Bowl Balloon Parade, and Brooke was spoiled in every way by Poppa and Grandma. It was a precious week, with precious memories and we were so thrilled to have them with us. We love you Poppa and Grandma and wish we could see you more!!

Playing at the park!

Riding her Trike!


Not sure why she is saying please in this picture.

Walking with Poppa and Grandma in Julian. She wanted to walk the whole time.

Looking at the elephants.

The new elephant exhibit is amazing!

Playing with Grandma

Such a cutie!

There was music playing at Seaport Village and she stopped to dance. Grandma joined!


Goals for today

1. My house needs to be spotless. I have a bunch of college kids coming over tomorrow for lunch and I don't remember the last time my floors were scrubbed.
2. Update blog for Christmas and New Years
3. Discuss new year’s resolutions on blog
4. Run
5. Clean out my 455 emails in my inbox
6. Respond to emails
7. Get organized

We will see...