1. I absolutely love a good cup of coffee.  A bad cup of coffee is just a waste of time.
2. It takes A LOT of product to make my hair do what it do. My hair is uncontrollably wavy.
3. I’ve worn contacts since I was 16 years old.
4. My sister and I rode horses when we were young.
5. I despise pantyhose and only keep one pair in case I attend an event where I would have to wear them.
6. I love shoes. I have since I was 4. My mother says I would notice peoples shoes and comment on them.
7. I can’t seem to keep my purse clean
8. Summer is my favorite season
9. I’m horrible at video games but love Battlestar Galactica
10. My mother tried to scrub the birthmark off my arm when I was 4

Chronic stress can cause women to enter into a “stew and chew” cycle, where we internalize the problem or source of stress and eat to deal with it. If we would instead make a lasting friendship, we could share our feelings and this  would help us cope.

This week I have had the opportunity to work on some friendships. I have shared some of the stress in my life and had women pray with me. I know I am not alone and they are supporting me.

My husband is a great man and I have an amazing relationship with him, but there are sometimes when I need girl time. I need to share my heart and be heard from a woman’s perspective.

Another way I have made friendships is through, Leading and Loving It. If you are pastor’s wife or  a woman on staff at a ministry, you need to click on the link and sign up for one of their virtual round tables. Lori Wilhite and the LLI team are working hard to connect women in ministry with each other. I have met wonderful women who share the love of Christ and are truly concerned about me.

We all have areas in our lives where we need encouragement. Don’t believe the lie that you can go it alone. When we are isolated is when we are the most vulnerable. Find time to work on building lasting friendships.

So many times I have gone through life trying to focus on things but they weren’t clear. God wants to give me focus and clear vision.  Like Adam, I can’t rely on my own eyesight.  I need God’s word to keep the vision in focus.

If I know God’s word then I know what is true.

Psalms 119:10 & 11

¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

My second love is my husband Bryan. My responsibilty to Bryan is to submit to him. I am not supposed to nag him or criticize him. God didn’t call me to be Bryan’s Holy Spirit he called me to be a helper to him and a partner. Sometimes I have to be reminded what my function is as a wife. When life gets to me and I am frustrated with a circumstance I need to remember that the unity of the two of us is stronger than me on my own. I have to choose how I am going to react to circumstances and if I go ahead and choose then when things happen I will make the right choice.

My third love is my children. My children are a gift from God that he has entrusted to me.  It is my responsibility to pray over them and teach and train them. My heart is that all my children will serve God all the days of their lives. The Power of a Praying Parent helps me to pray prayers for my children.

Keeping my loves in right order is my responsibility. It is my responsibility to tend to these relationships and protect them. May I be diligent in all things.

My duct tape art piece

Bunnies, chicks and eggs are what you might think of when you hear about Easter. Bunnies and chicks are cute and eggs taste great, but there is more to Easter than a hide and seek game in the grass.

Jesus came to earth as a baby, died on a cross, and came alive after being dead three days. He rescued the world from sin and death and gives us the opportunity to make him the lord of our of lives. He let’s us choose to trust him, worship him, follow him and give everything to him.

This year ROCK Church is expressing what Jesus did through art. Using words SACRIFICE / RESURRECTION / FORGIVENESS / REDEMPTION / LOVE / THE CROSS we will create art pieces, film, and photography. I have started working on my piece, and can’t wait to submit.

March 14th is the last day to enter. There are details at ROCK Church of the festival. Take the time to enter a piece and show your creative gift.

Bringing volunteers has made the experience sweeter. What we’ve seen and heard at Unleash is infectious. Even the youth took away something tangible.

I am thankful that I was able to take this time.

To not crumble when my life feels like it is turning upside down:

• I have to know what God’s word says about who I am.
• Rehearse who I am and what God’s word says about my situation.
• Focus on those things that are pleasant Phillipians 4:18
• Know that joy isn’t a feeling
• God’s love gets rid of fear
• Don’t go it alone- there is power in numbers. Share your situation with someone you can trust that can stand with you.

All the world may feel like it is crashing around you or it may feel like only part of your world is falling apart, but God cares about you. When we are going through difficult circumstances, we have a choice how we will live it out. It’s easy to say what I will do, but when a situation happens I have a choice.

Monday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Bean Curry and Rice:
2 tbls. Olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
½ c. dry lentils
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbls. Curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
1 8 oz. can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
½ c. raisins
Salt and pepper to taste
8 c. cooked brown rice

Prepare the brown rice according to package directions so you have enough for 8 servings. Heat
the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the lentils and
garlic, and season with curry powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir
in the tomatoes, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and raisins. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Tuesday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Black Bean and Rice Stuffed Peppers:
1 qt. 100% Vegetable or Tomato Juice
2 c. cooked black beans
1 c. cooked brown rice
2 med. green onions (chopped)
¼ c. fresh cilantro (chopped)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
2-3 large bell peppers (cut in half lengthwise and deseed)

Combine all ingredients except juice and bell peppers in bowl and mix well. Place peppers in
glass dish and stuff with mixture. Pour juice over peppers and plenty of excess in the dish.
Cover and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Wednesday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Leek and Potato Soup:
1 tsp. crushed fennel seeds
1 tsp. ground pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 pints vegetable stock
2 lbs. leeks (trimmed, cleaned, sliced)
2 lbs. potatoes (cleaned, cut into cubes)

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large pan. Add garlic – heat for a few minutes until golden.
Add fennel seeds and pepper and stir in with garlic. Add leeks and potatoes and mix well with
other ingredients. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Stir quickly. Cover and cook for 5 minutes
further. Add stock. Bring to boil, then cover, turn heat down and simmer for 40 minutes.

Thursday

Dinner (Martha Fry)
Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Chowder:
1 ½ quart vegetable stock
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 12 oz. bag frozen whole kernel corn
2 large onions diced
3 stalks celery diced
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 chopped carrots
1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice
1 red pepper diced
1 green bell pepper
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano leaves
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2. tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp. liquid smoke

Boil black beans with a little kosher salt until tender (do not over cook). Rinse cooked beans
with cool water and set aside.

In soup pot, heat olive oil and sauté onion, celery, carrot and bell peppers until tender and
slightly brown.

Add water and broth and bring to boil. Add all remaining ingredients except cilantro. Simmer
for 10 minutes and then add cilantro. Simmer for additional 10 minutes, uncovered.

Friday

Dinner
Pinto Beans
Spanish Rice

Being alive is a wonderful gift. I have the opportunity to choose how I live each day. Will my day be spent blessing others with my actions or words? Will I allow my thoughts to control what actions I take? Will I be in a bad mood and put everyone around me in a bad mood?

My desire is to be like Paul who gave everything to serve Christ. He “died” every day to serve Christ.  How much easier would it have been for Paul to have done what he wanted when he was falsely accused, thrown in prison, or beaten? Instead he sang and worshipped even in prison. Paul died to his desires, his wants, his thoughts, and gave himself completely to the service of God.

I am not dead yet, but I am working on dying everyday.

Since most of you seem to be coming here for the dinner recipes,I am going to post the dinner menu & recipes only. I hope these have been a help to  you. Hopefully these recipes spark ideas for you to add on. If you need other ideas for breakfast or lunch feel free to leave a comment and I will add them

Sunday

• Hummus recipe
• whole wheat or corn tortillas
• salad

Monday

• Chili
• Blue corn chips
• They make tofutti sour cream-not too bad
• salad

Tuesday

• Potato soup
• piece of sesame seed Ezekiel bread

Wednesday

• “Cheesy” pasta primavera whole wheat pasta ( this is amazing)

Thursday

• Tomato basil soup
• Ezekiel bread peanut butter and jelly

Friday

• Baked portabella (drizzle olive and a little sea salt over bake for 10-15 minutes) mushrooms over polenta
• salad

You could also saute the mushrooms in some olive oil on the stove and then serve over polenta. Yummy too!

Saturday

• Bean burrito
• Spanish rice
  4 cups of rice
  2 cans of diced tomatoes
  sea salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder to taste
  several fresh sprigs of cilantro
  4 cups of water.

  Add all ingredients into rice cooker and stir. Turn on and rice cooker will turn off when done.