Not so sneaky cooking

I wanted to share with you one of our favorite ways to eat broccoli! This is one of mine and the boys' favorite lunches. I box of mac and cheese, two hot dogs and a cup or two of chopped broccoli added to the boiling noodles a few minutes in, fix normally and voila!

YUMMY!

Cadbury Creme Eggs

I love this post by Jon Acuff about Creating Your Own "Love Languages"

He lists Cadbury Crème Eggs as one of his created love languages-crack me up. Of course I had to tell Aaron that I wanted to put that under my Love Language List too! And look at what he came home with!

Christian marriage/ Unconditional Love

Considering conditional love: that thought of loving “If you love me back.”

We are commanded to love (Jn.15:17).  We are also told that “loving” someone isn’t enough-we must love them from the heart, and with actions (1 Jn. 3:18-19).  Or else we are not loving God (1 Jn. 4:20) or allowing God (who is in us) (who is love) to abide in us (1 Jn. 4:16). 

Talk about a spiritual gauge.  If I am struggling with love I am well below par.

Take that struggle within a marriage. To struggle with loving unconditionally one’s spouse-the one person I am to be committed to more than anyone or thing. My own flesh.

I am called to love an imperfect person who may not always love me back, act lovingly, or even be a lovely person.

Hmm-maybe we should trade out the traditional wedding vows for something more like this:

-Will you promise to- Love this person who may or may not act unloving and be, at times, very much an unlovely person-who may undermine or usurp your position?To respect and submit yourself to this person who may or may not be worthy of that respect-who may take advantage of your position?

-Will you vow to- Love, honor, and cherish this sinful, self-struggling, imperfect person who may or may not offer you the same love, honor or cherishing back?  In strength and in weakness-be it physical, emotional, spiritual or even weakness of character…accepting all their flaws and their imperfect human status, becoming one flesh with them?Til death, and nothing else-your choice or theirs, do you part?

I DO.

So it isn’t romantic, or ideal.  Maybe its not even reality for everyone, but I think it is real, not all of the time, hopefully not even most of the time, but real nonetheless. 

I wonder how many people would get divorced if their wedding vows resembled this?!

If we made that decision would we be surprised by the unlovely moments of marriage (and they do exist!)?  Would we be prepared to love our spouse 100%, no matter what percent they brought to the table?

What security would we have in that relationship, that marriage; when our spouse enters it knowing us to be weak, to be self-centered, knowing our struggles, flaws and imperfections yet commits to loving us and sharing a life with us, making a life with us anyway!

What gift could I offer of a love that is constant, based on me not on my spouse?  Based on my choice, not on their actions or reciprocal love.

Wait a second-that sounds like God and how He loves us.

Ahh…lightbulb.
Marriage is to be an image, or reflection of Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:32).

But I am not called to produce God’s love myself.  As if I could.  God will produce the fruit of love within me as a natural byproduct of my closeness with Him (Gal. 5:22).  God will love through me if I yield to the Holy Spirit.  God’s love is inside of me because God is in me, if I abide in Him His love is perfected in me (1 Jn. 4:12).

How different could my marriage be if I let God love my spouse through me?

Love

Love that Thou Are,

Near from a-far.

Love that Thou giv'd
Be it Love lived.

Love that art Thine,

That it be mine.

Love that did'st Be,

Be Love in me.

~me.

Hallelujah in Food Court

This is amazing. An image of heaven? Only then everyone will be singing!

Fighting battles

I am raising two boys, ages 4 and 2, and through the playing and learning and growing there is in the background the thought that these boys will grow to be men.  Not soon, but sooner than I think. 

 Training men.   Men who I pray will be strong in the their faith, in their character, in the Lord.  Able to withstand the little (and big) battles with the world and with themselves that will come their way. I pray that the Lord will be their strength! and that they will know that the battle is already won!

But...right now, we fight battles of another kind!

We've been watching alot of Robin Hood lately, can you tell?  (The "swords" are made from soft wrapping paper rolls.)  I am (apparently) the villain. LOL

(I apologize for the camera angle-consider it part of the experience!)

Play Today

Luke built this tower with a curve in it!

 Joel put this train set together!

Learning through play! 

Sweetness

I opened their door to check on them before I went to bed and this is what I found:

Luke and Joel sharing Luke's bed, Luke read Joel to sleep and then went to sleep too! So cute!

These pictures are very important to me. Sometimes I need that reminder that they are friends and love each other after the toy stealing and fights they (yes, sometimes) have. Good for my heart.

Also! Notice the CUTE CUTE blankets they have, similar but not exactly the same baby blue Old-fashioned Pooh blankets?  My very talented sister Amanda made these and makes others! She sells pre-made and also made-to-order or "custom" quilts.  She makes for nurserys, but I've seen her go way beyond that.

  Check her out on her Facebook page: Baby Jenks Leelee.

Quote

Joel: "I'm stuck! I'm stuck!"
Luke: laughing
Joel: "It's not funny Luke."

In my kitchen...

  I have a little obsessive compulsion when it come to the handling of uncooked meat.  While I am not to the degree of carnophobia, and I wouldn't classify myself as having a fear or phobia of germs, I am very careful when handling meat in my kitchen.

Don't ask Aaron though, he thinks I'm crazy.


I always imagined it as though the juices from raw meat were like red paint.  If you weren't careful you could end up with red paint all over the place.  The knife and cutting board of course, but think about even the sink handles and the soap dispenser, the counter tops, the sink! Hopefully no one is running back and forth between the kitchen and the grill (oh that just opens up a whole 'nother world of spreadage)!!

I use a glass cutting board.  I know, I know, it dulls your knives (controversial), but I first used one at my parents' house, that makes it okay.  My own wooden and plastic cutting boards just never cleaned up as nice.  I could never get those "softer" boards, with all their cuts and groves to get as clean as I would've liked.  Glass on the other hand...and its shiny-always a plus!

 When I am cleaning up I have a little soap on the side of the sink I put there before I started so I don't have to touch the soap dispenser.  I wash my hands. Twice.  Clean what I have used as well as the counter surface-and this is where Aaron thinks I'm crazy-then I sterilize the sponge I used to clean by microwaving it for 30 seconds. 

I'll admit, I may be on the extreme side, but what a little neurosis in the hopes of keeping my family healthy?

Anyone want to come over for dinner?