Absolutely

I found this a great truth today,

God didn’t promise
days without pain,
laughter without sorrow,
sun without rain,

but He did promise
strength for the day,
comfort for the tears,
and light for the way.


Read this very slowly and let it sink in…

If God brings you to it,
He will bring you through it.

Hugs for you today

Slow cooker recipe ideas

 I love my slow cooker at the moment with all the busy-ness in the days since this season of illness came, I am very concious of how it is good to have the early evening settled & dinner made ahead of time & hot & smelling fab when everyone comes in. I found this free e-book of slow cooker recipes that are a little different from the usual ho- hum slow cooker casseroles. I thought I’d like to share it with you:

http://www.recipelion.com/master_images/RecipeLion/Slow-Cooker-Suppers-eCookbook-1(1).pdf

it has some really nice sounding new ideas that I am looking forward to trying. I will post my favourites and I’d appreciate if you try some too leave me a comment of what you thought & we can put some new ideas into our meal plans- I am going to try the golden chops this week
have a wonderful day :)

Family Update

This week ahs been a mixed bag. Our lil 3yo DD's bowel started bleeding again yesterday and the cerebral symptoms are increasing - the dr thinks that because she has had a slight cold that has increased the lymph nodes in her tummy just marginally which is enough to pinch of her bowel again and increase the pressure in her head. We are praying and she is back on fluids for now.


I am due in the eye hosptal again friday to see how much damage has been done to my vision ( I had an incomplete stroke on mothers day and that has effected my left arm and left eye/ face) My vision is much less but is improving everyday so I am thankful.

DH has broken his foot and is off work on crutches.

It is all happening. I am so dependant on my time in the Word and am gaurding that time as a priority at the moment because I feel out of stregnth. Seems to be wave after wave. I got a timely email prayer today that has been such a blessing:


GOD'S PERFECT POWER 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Dear Father,

Your grace is sufficient for me. Your power is made perfect in weakness.
When I am weak, Christ's power will shine through and lift me up. Please let this happen!
For Christ's sake help me to be content with whatever you let come
my way - weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
calamities - for when I am weak, then I am strong!
Let me be strong with your strength even when consumed by my own weaknesses.
In the name of Him who is my strength, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

In the water

Today I read this an it really touched my heart: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2 NIV"



God says the storms they will come but He will be with me when I am IN them. So WHEN the storm passes, I might be soaked but I won’t be swept away.

I will be supernaturally protected by Him and what everyone thinks should happen/ the natural or expected outcomes are not the rule. There is evidence of this everyday in my life- children with senso-neural hearing loss never in the natural regain their hearing- but my yo DD has been without her hearing aides for 6 months now & her hearing & speech is developing everyday.

I do fear and I need to remember the promises that God has spoken to us through His word and not get into reaoning and the natural outcomes.

Thank you Lord for the history I have in my life of how you have brought me through the storms. Help me trust You more and lay my worries down and stop trying to pick them up again and try to work them out in the natural world. Amen.

Check out steadymom’s 30 min. blog challenge:

http://www.steadymom.com/moms-30minute-blog-challenge.html

17 years on...

Last week I couldn't post my first in the challenge because my DHbroke his foot and again we were in the emergency room, now with crutches and physio and pills I am in a better
position to reminisce!!
Oday I looked over our wedding photos and a few things really struck me-
1. I had a tiny waist!!! No baby hips :)
2. Both our parents were in the photos- that is not a reality in our (or our childrens) lives-1 by choice to leave us the other is singing in heaven
3. How very young and relaxed we looked!

I think on our vows and we had traditional vows and we choose the "for better or worse" (& wow over the last 17 years have we put that to the test but every single time God has turned the "worse" into our better) and "to love, honour & obey"- the first person I ever promised too obey of my own choice, freely. I was not forced or made to obey by will or dominence but I promised to obey out of respect & love.
I have NEVER been submissive or weak - in fact I tend to be the opposite- the gal who is capable to get by and survive, a pioneer to independence & competence. Thankfully God has given me a man who completes me and whom my love is overflowing- He is someone I deeply respect and I love to be around and yes I do love to obey because this completes the part of me that doesn't know and doesn't understand- the part that God sees and planned for when He bought this wonderful man into my life.
Still a shame about my waist ;)

Cinnabon Buns!- Yum

I wanted to make a special breakfast on Monday- it was a public holiday here in Australia and I got this recipe from Rae at  A likely Story in her recipe archives. I have never made Cinnamon Rolls before and they were so easy and delicious.

Rolls:

1¼ oz. pckg. Yeast
1 c. warm milk

½ c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. melted butter (do not subsititue margarine!)

1 t. salt

2 eggs

4 c. all-purpose flour


Filling:
1 c. packed brown sugar (I just sprinkle as much as I like)
2½ TBS. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter


Icing:

3 TBS. butter, softened
3/4 c. confectioners sugar
2 oz. cream cheese

½ t. real vanilla extract (or almond extract, which ever you prefer)

1/8 t. salt (I didn't use the salt- its up to you)

 

Rolls:

(1) Disolve yeast in milk.
(2) Mix in sugar, butter, salt, eggs, flour. Mix well.
(3) Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead into a large ball. Cover; let rise 1 hour.
(4) Roll dough into a 21" x 16" wide rectangle. With the butter softened, I just use my fingers to spread it generously over the dough. Load 'er up with the filling (see below).
(5) Roll from long-side to short-side. Pinch the ends.

(6) Using very sharp knife cut into 1 inch wide rolls, making sixteen. If want fewer, bigger rolls, cut them wider.

(6) Grease (butter) your preferred baking pan (I like mine to be all squished up next to the other)- I generally use an 11"x 15" pan. Then place rolls in pan. Preheat Oven to 400° F/ 200C. Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes.

(8) Bake until the rolls are slightly browned and not doughy. This will vary according to your oven. Mine took about 7 minutes and two got a bit dark but they perfect.

(9) When done, take 'em out and cover them in the delicious icing.

Filling:

While dough is rising, prepare the filling and the icing. Clean-up a little and then go read a chapter or two in your book.

(1)Soften butter, so that it is spreadable.

(2) After dough has been rolled out to the gigantic rectangle, spread the softened butter all over.
(3) Sprinkle brown sugar over entire buttered rectangle. Use more if you like more.
(4) Now sprinkle the cinnamon over the now sugary, buttery, doughy, rectangle.

Icing:

Cream it all together with an electric mixer and Spread on hot rolls.

Yum, I will put the kettle on,

Power naps and paint

Today started a VERY long time ago. Since the encephalitis our beautiful contented sleepy toddler has become a power napper. So today began at 4.40am- she was done- I was not!!  
My dear hubby is on his sheduled week away for work and the reality of little sleep and much worry seemed a bit much today- UNTIL .....
Yep! When ever I have a "nope I just have nothing left Lord" cry He says "finally!- can you sit down awhile and let me get what I need done!" 

I keep laying my situation at His feet and then sneaking back and picking it up again- madness of the sleep deprived! Today was a gentle lesson right in the midst of the mayhem. 
Today I have been mulling over two scriptures that on first read were 'yep-check, good verse but not underlining and leap of the page as applicable for today but hey alot can happen in 20 hours of daytime!!
Colossians 3:13

Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. Hmmm even tempered, content- they have not been in abundance lately, then came my opportunity to forgive, I have to say- really not so quick. 

My DD gym teacher sent her home a demerits note for me to sign and return for not having her full uniform for the 2nd time this year. He had dates as evidence of the misdemeanor- the first was on the day dear 3yo was readmitted to hospital some 300km away facing emergency surgery to untwist her bowel, the second was today when she put on her jacket without her jumper ( as her classmate spilt paint all over her new pure wool school jumper and kilt yesterday and we had to leave them in at the drycleaners to see if they can be salvaged or if it is going to be a new full uniform.) We had a spare size up kilt. (& some VERY talented mumma pinning at 10pm last night) but no spare woolen jumper, so when the temp got down to 3'C and the sleet started to fall DD put on her jacket. Apparently you must nit wear your jacket without your jumper- if she had her jumper she could wear her jacket but just a jacket - nope! Not on! Demeritable offence with a letter home to prove it. 
How do I respond?!, my mumma dander is ruffled big time, I am ready to march down there.... You get the picture and it's not a pretty one, I've been wronged, my bear cub has been threatened and bless me I'm in the right- not much grace, or quick forgiveness, hmmmm... 
For months I have had not much that I can do, then hey- this obscure lil situation over a uniform comes up and wham!! Off comes my head, peace goes, grace gone, forgiveness and mercy well they didn't even get in the room. Then back comes  Colossians 3:13

Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you." hmmmmmm.

Thank you Lord for lessons learned in deep ditches, Thank you Lord for lessons learned by stubborn heads, Thank you Lord that DD didn't give me that note til after the school switchboard was closed ( see-never say teens dont have wisdom- clearly they do!!)
Thank you Lord for my second scripture today: 
Psalm 119:173 says "Let Your hand become my help". Fear not, I am with you - O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, I will still give you aid, I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand, Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand."
Thank you Lord for being gentle with me as I learn I am not really standing at all and mostly Lord thank you that you have me held in your hand,
Hugs all, goodnight- I have a 4 hour power nap to do :) 
  

Slow Cooker Lasagna

My neighbour gave me this recipe for cooking a lasagna in the slow cooker- she tried it and just raved about it- so tomorrow I'm jumping in and having a go!! Mind- I'm really particular about my lasagna but I am definately developing a dependence on my slow cooker so while my dear hubby is away for work again this week :( I am going to try it out on the DD's 13 & 3!!

Completing Him Challenge at Women Living Well

Courtney over at Women Living Well is running a new challenge!!

  Courtney is a passionate and gifted teacher who has blessed me so much with her commonsense approach to teaching women to be proverbs 31/ titus 2 women.

I am so excited to be part of this challenge. It is a chance to open new areas of communication within my marriage and to recapture some of the "passion of our youth" Im really looking forward to the next few weeks and share the journey with you, please pop over and have a look at what is on:

Completing Him Challenge

She did a Wee!!!

Lil DD "C" did a wee on the potty!! I have left the potty prominently in the
lounge room and have decided I would not make an issue of the whole toilet
thing(she was fully toilet trained a year ago but since the E hit has been back in nappies full time and had no control at all) and I had just taken her nappy off and l was getting her dry tracksuit pants from drying beside the fire and she said "wee" and i pointed to the potty and she sat on it and DID A WEE!!!!
So sorry to be this excited but wow u should have seen me at the actual event-today is 4 months to the day that this illness entered our lives and we have had a leap forward today!!!!!!!

How are you dressed today?

Today I am praising God for the beautiful weather. It is a gorgeous sunny day with a lovely breeze. My plan was to get some washing done. Then came a lesson from The Lord in my washday.

We all give a fair bit of attention to our clothes. After all, we pay good money for them or have taken our time to measure, cut and sew them.
Today my verse was Colossians 3.12-14
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. (The Message)

"Put on" is an instruction to do something on purpose. To make a decision ahead of time on how we are going to act. God is instructing us to on purpose put on mercy, put on peace, gentle ways, humility and most of all put on love. I have to do these things on purpose- giving them my attention.

Every morning I get dressed. When I get dressed- I give my attention to making sure that my clothes match, that the colours and textures go together. I check that the clothes that I am putting on are clean, properly fitting and appropriate. I also take care when I select the clothes by giving consideration to outside influences, such as the weather, to make sure I am protected. The conditions that I wear my clothes in will effect what I put on that day. If the day is very cold and rainy I put on more clothes.

We know that we live in an age of wickedness, just take a look at any news stand or news bulletin. The Word tells us: Matt 24.. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

We know we live in dark times. We don’t even have to look globally. We just have to drive to our local store: on the way we see road rage, rude attitudes of people, swearing, lazy attitudes of thoughtless people, some days these people are even ourselves!- I am ashamed to say just how mad I can get when someone cuts me off or the cashier is talking on the phone when I’m in a hurry to pay and get going, my attitude alone is evidence enough!

It is really important that we take care and attention in our spiritual dressing each morning before we start our day and prepare to meet its pressures and headaches and frustrations. We need to accurately assess the climate in which we live. We know that in our daily lives the enemy makes it his business to mess around stealing our peace and joy. John 10.10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; Every day we see evidence of this in anger, frustrations and resentments invading our homes, our marriages, our attitudes. We need to purposefully dress for these conditions so that we are well protected and prepared.

I take care doing my buttons & tying my shoe laces, I usually check in the mirror that I haven’t missed anything and that I am ready for the day. In the same way I need to check my preparation against the Word of God- held up against the Scriptures- does the “end result” of how I appear reflect Godliness. Am I showing and living in an attitude of love, peace and joy? Am I walking in love? I may want to show off my beautiful designer jacket but if it has a big stain on it I will have to do some serious work to get it presentable again. So it is with my life, when I fall into sins such as pride, selfishness and anger, I am showing a stain which is an area that needs some pre- treating to get it cleaned and right. If I simply ignore my bad attitudes they will set and remain spoiling the whole garment.

Some days I get up and get dressed quickly and don’t get it right and my dear 13yo says "lovingly" that I don’t match- I haven’t done a good job of preparing and I need to adjust my choices to be well dressed. Similarly some days my circumstances tell me that I haven’t done a good job of getting spiritually dressed too. I don’t put on enough "mercy"- I scream at my kids when they are clumsy or slow. I get frustrated if I am waiting and the checkout line is long. I need to take time in those times to make the effort to go back and put on "mercy" on purpose. I can be self controlled with my kids. I can correct them gently and lovingly without yelling- I need to prepare my heart to do that EVERY day. It is not an easy thing for an over tired, busy mum to be gentle. I find it is not a character quality that I naturally have. I need to spend extra time giving attention to this area.

A considerable part of my chore time as a mum is spent on clothes. We make such preparations for getting dressed even before the actual act of getting dressed begins-we sort, spray (treating spots and stains that left unchecked would ruin a garment) we wash, dry, iron and fold clothes, so that the family has all that we need to get dressed each morning. I really want to make a priority to spend time IN each day soaking in the Word. Not to grab a hurried minutes but to really treasure the time as a priority.
I wonder what my days would look like if I spend time- even 5 minutes every morning- getting spiritually dressed on purpose, before I start my day.

How are you dressed today?

Creamy Smoked Paprika Chicken

This is a recipe I got in the new philly cheese cookbook.


1 T oil
4 Chicken fillets
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic crushes (or 1T minced garlic from jar)
2t smoked paprika
1 x 400gm crushed tomatoes
250ml Philadelphia light cream for cooking
S & P to taste
2 T chopped parsley

Heat 1/2 oil in pan, add chicken, cook 3-4 mins each side til brown. set aside
Add rest of oil, saute onion & garlic til softened- 3 mins.
Add paprika,saute 1 min, stir in tomatoes. Return chicken to pan and simmer covered 10-12 mins til chicken is cooked through.
Stir in the philly cream, seasonings and parsley. Heat 2-3 mins

Serve with steamed veg.

Very easy and really yummy- we will be eating this again.

Managing Monday's- Meal Plan day.

Weekday breakfasts are cereal and toast.
Lunches during the wweek are sandwiches of ham, salami,cheese, tuna or chicken & mayo (in those little cans- so yum)

Monday: Leftover Chicken Brick and vegies
Tuesday: Creamy smoked paprika chicken and steam veg (so easy)
Wednesday: Fish with Herb cream and chips/wedges
Thursday: Meat, veg & chive mashed potato
Friday: Slow cooker Beef & Red wine ragout and crusty rolls
Saturday: BF: Toast, egg and spaghetti, banana cake & muffins for snacks, Ham & salad sandwiches for lunch, Dinner: Homemade pizza
Sunday: BF: ham, eggs,grilled tomato, mushys, hash browns & pancakes. Lunch is leftover beef in rolls, Dinner is Salmon and herbed cream and aspargus, potato bake.

I am really loving the organisation and variety that sitting down and actually planning my meals is giving me. Also my shopping days are so much less stressful- I know exactly what I need to get. I am hoping we will have less waste and confusion at that 5pm witching hour by having some meals that I can prepare earlier in the day at hopefully a more quiet moment, or some tasks I can delegate to my 13yo helper ahead of time rather than that frantic cupboard gaze after the day has melted down into tears and catastrophe!!!