Living a life of excellence that fits you- Husbands

When Mike and I first married, Mike was not a committed Christian. He loved me and treated me well, he would even go to church on occasion.

Once we had children, I began to grow in my faith and yet he was not in his. He made decisions, concerning the kids especially, that concerned me(looking back I know that I made my fair share of bad decisions).

 One day I remember sitting on my bed sobbing and asking God why this was happening and trying to figure out what to do to help my children grow up in the way that I thought was best.  At that very moment God taught me something that has helped me, and many friends in need, countless times. I want you all to listen to this wisdom and let it really soak in.

 God knew the father and mother that our four children would have. He gave us to them on purpose, in order to help them become the people he has planned for them to be as adults. All of our frailty and faults and failures make us the perfect parents for the children we are given.

 Does this mean that we stop growing and learning how to be better than we are today? No, we only need to have this information so that we can stop beating ourselves or our spouses up. We only need to pray and give it all to the Lord, asking that He raise up in our children who He has planned for them to be.

  The truth that God blessed me with goes for the father you were given and also the husband you were given.

 When we are young and dumb and in love we may make mistakes, but as God’s word says “the Lord your God goes before you and he will be with you, he will never leave you, nor forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.” (That was my daughter’s AWANA verse for this week, see how God works.)

He knows it all and it is either part of his plan or He will use what Satan meant for harm and use it for good. God is good all of the time. He can’t help it, it is His nature.

All of these years later I do see God at work then and now in our family. My husband is now a committed Christian and loving father and husband. And I know for sure that he is the father that God intended for my children. I just had to learn to submit to God first and then my husband in order to see this clearly.

  The picture at the top was taken on our 20 year anniversary, the day we were dropping our oldest off at college, a Christian college that she choose to go to. God took those experiences early on in our daughter’s life and raised her up into the incredible woman that she has become.


  Learning to live for God right where you are now will bring you a peace that passes all understanding.


Check out the rest of the series Living a life of Excellence that fits you Here

  Jeannie

Easy Tortilla Soup

This was the easiest Tortilla soup I have ever made.  I love Tortilla soup.  I used to make a recipe I had found on Food Network, but this takes 1/2 of the time.



I found this one in my Taste of Home magazine. 
These ingredients plus some cooked and cut up turkey or chicken are all you need.  I didn’t make my tortilla strips, I just used tortilla chips.


Simmer for just 10 min.



I did add 1/2 teaspoon of Cumin to this because my salsa was not spicy at all.  The last thing they list is fresh cilantro.  I didn’t need to add that because my salsa was fresh and had loads of cilantro to begin with.

Hope you all enjoy!

Jeannie

Living a life of excellence that fits you- Bible study

  For some reason, using Bible study to find answers seems to be the last thing we think of as a Mom, yet it is our best tool for getting through the day. We search the blogs for ideas on making our lives run smoother, we have boards and boards full of great ideas pinned on Pinterest, we read fun magazines to read the 10 best ideas on…

 But we forget to go to the source of all of our strength and wisdom and peace.


 My daughter went to a Purity Ball when she was in 10th grade. One of the things that the speaker mentioned to the girls was that, she would put post it notes up all over her wall. On them were ideas, dreams, prayers, and scriptures. Allie has done that all of these years and has gained great wisdom from the notes she reads daily as she does her hair and makeup, especially on the days she is running short on time.

   I encourage all of you to find a way to connect with God daily. If it is just having the time to do as Allie does when she is in s hurry or if it can be getting up 30 minutes early to read the word and pray. Somehow fitting Bible study into our lives brings so much blessing and peace throughout the day.


Searching pinterest and blogs for ideas is so much fun, nothing wrong with that, just don’t forget Jesus and the importance of that relationship.


Check out the rest of the series Living a life of Excellence that fits you Here
  Jeannie

Living a life of Excellence that fits you- Ask

  Yesterday, I talked about finding freedom in knowing that you are made to be exactly the way God planned for you to be. You and I were made to be an important part of the body of Christ. We have that freedom to be who we are, but still need to strive to be more like Jesus. And that may mean finding a way to have order in your home.

I know that order in all homes is attainable because God put Proverbs 31:10-31 in the Bible. Everything he asks us to do or be in His word is attainable with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, when we desire to follow Him. All we need to do is ask.

  Right now I am asking God for a better way to form discipline in my children’s lives. I know that it is in His will for their lives, I know that I am the right person to teach it. So, I know that in His own way and in His own time He will teach me.

  I encourage you to take a look at the frustrations in your life, whether they be with your home, your children or your spouse. Try to pinpoint the issue. For me I was noticing selfishness in my children, which has lead to some disrespect issues. That is why I have been calling on the Lord for His guidance.

 Once you have pinpointed the issue, ask the Lord for His guidance and wisdom on how to handle the issues you struggle with.

 There are two things I want to point out about this process. In order to really get a grasp of what your frustrations are stemming from, you need to be quiet. You will need a time and place with no distractions, and have your Bible in your lap, ready to seek the Lord’s wisdom.

 The next thing you notice is that in my seeking wisdom in raising my children I did not race to the book store for the latest child rearing book. If we are seeking an answer, God will place it right in our laps. We will hear it on the radio, hear it from a friend, without prompting or in some other way.

  Luke 12:29 says “and do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom and these things will be given to you as well”.

  As children when we had a problem, we didn’t research the answer, but we asked our parents what to do. Our heavenly Father wants the same from us as His children. Go running to your Father with all of your worries and concerns.
 He is waiting to help you.


Check out the rest of the series Living a life of Excellence that fits you Here
  Jeannie

Living a life of excellence that fits you- Freedom

  The freedom I am speaking of is the freedom to live without a place for everything. Total disarray is not the way I want our home to be, but I just can’t seem to have a place for everything. I have friends whose homes are organized and lovely, yet they are not stressed out like I get when I try for this. I suppose it is in the very core of who they are, to have the ability and the need to have their homes in this order. I on the other hand, have tried for 20 years to achieve this with no success.


         
  I found these pictures and I thought that they displayed the way I feel about organization in my life.  When I am trying to be the “on top of it all” woman I feel like the picture on the left.  Actually it feels like everything is on top of me.  When I am an organized me, I feel more like the picture on the right.  Like the world is just flowing around me.

  I finally found peace in realizing that the reason perfect organization doesn’t come easy for me is because it is not how God wired me. The best thing I can gain from this wisdom is that it is OK for me not to be this way. It is not a defect, as my mom’s friend used to say “God don’t make no junk”. It takes all different types of people to form the body of Christ.  I Corinthians 12:17 says “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

  Verse 22 says- … those parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable…  So, the way I am or you are, is not a defect, we are actually made to be an indispensable part of the body of believers. Somebody has to make things fun, right!

 
I don’t want to sound like some sort of rebel when I say that my house is not labeled and systematically organized. We do have order in our home, there is not a place for everything and yet everything is not out of place. Wrap your mind around that sentence. I don’t have piles all over, or undone dishes and laundry dumped here and there. We have found a happy balance somewhere between pigsty and perfection.
 This is more like me!             Not like me!
                                                    And that is OK!



 We need to be able to find things, we need clean unwrinkled clothes and a healthy kitchen. But in our house we have our own way of achieving all of that.

I will have a little more on that same topic in the next post. See you in a day or two.


Check out the rest of the series Living a life of Excellence that fits you Here

  Jeannie

                                                             

Living a life of excellence that fits you

For the next few weeks I am doing a series on living a life of excellence.  The life of excellence I am speaking of, is the one that Christ has called us to.  The ultimate goal of life, above being a great mom, faithful wife and all around great person, is to be more like Jesus.

The thing that I have always struggled with in this regard is comparing my goals for excellence with the goals of others, or my achievements/lack of achievements with those of others as well.  All along I should have been comparing myself with the author of the life of excellence Himself, Jesus.

I am going to show you the things that I have learned or have been trying to learn through the years.  I have an interesting situation in that we have two sets of kids essentially, we have two kids 19 and 17, then two kids 8 and 6.  We were given an opportunity to grow as parents and in our marriage continuously.  So, I have learned some things early on and now we are learning even more.

I hope that you enjoy this series, and learn as I  learn along with you.  The Lord has shown me so many great things about life and myself along this journey.


Check out the rest of the series Living a life of Excellence that fits you Here

Jeannie

Beware of Monsters

Has anyone else been bothered by the constant presence of monsters?  Everywhere you turn these days you will see monster toys, monster children’s movies and monster shows.  I don’t know what Satan is up to, but I know that we need to protect our children right now more than ever.  Protection starts first with arming them with the knowledge that these things are not of our God.  They are evil. 





The first monster toys did not pop up in the past year.  The introduction to monsters came many years ago when we were all children.  The scary thing is they were cute and cuddly.  The most famous one is named Elmo.  Satan has slowly began to desensitize us of the goriness of monsters.  Now they are cute and cool to our society. 




I want you to know that I am just a regular mom, not a hypersensitive, over protective mom.  Please don’t blow off this idea as being fanatical.  I believe that our children are under attack, our next generation is under attack.

Monsters do not exist but, evil does and it reigns here on earth.

Pray for your children and those around you that they not get sucked in to this monster craze.  If you think that I am being fanatical, just pray before you allow your child to take part in any of this. 
 
The other reason I wanted to point this out is that, I have a feeling that this year Halloween costumes are going to be scarier than ever and to remind you to keep your eyes open to protect your little ones.

Another reason to have our nation in prayer.

Jeannie