If We Are the Body...

Lately, my life has been a reality rollercoaster. I got laid off from my job, my husband's hours have been cut short at work.... and we just really want to go home. I've been so focused on trying to figure out what I needed to do to make our lives better... but I forgot that the only way things will get better is if I lay them down before the Lord. And then I started thinking... what kind of example am I setting for my friends and family? Freaking out, stressing and complaining isn't showing them that I'm focused on my Father... it's doing nothing but show them that I don't count on him. So what did I do? I pulled out my guitar, sat at the computer and searched for some music. If you don't know by now, but the best way for me to get closer to my Lord is to just praise Him with my voice. Eventually, I found one of my favorite songs... "If We are the Body" by Casting Crowns. It's an AMAZING song. It talks about two individuals who just want to fit in but feel like that the other people in church just won't accept them... and the chorus goes on to say that if we are part of Christ, and if we are part of His body.... why aren't we teaching them what He's all about? Why aren't we treating them like Jesus would have? Wow. What a reality check right? Here are the lyrics:

V1
It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in... trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is carrying
Farther than they know
Farther than they know, Lord

Chorus
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way.

V2
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances
are better out on the road

Bridge
Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the bo - - -dy of Christ

Chorus
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way.
Jesus is the way.

Let me repeat that..... JESUS IS THE WAY.

A Time For Thanksgiving

Holy Crow. Can you believe that tomorrow is Thanksgiving? I sure can't! This year had FLOWN by! It seems like we were just planning on our big move to TN & we were just moving our stuff into the apartment.... and here we are almost to 2009! I can't believe it! It's amazing how time flies, it's almost bittersweet!

Well, so many things are happening in mine and Justin's lives right now. Obviously, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so the inlaws are coming in to share that with us. I'll be running errands, cleaning, washing the dog & cooking tonight so that there will be less to do tomorrow. BUT I'm VERY stressed.... more than very... COMPLETELY stressed. EEEK!

Tuesday, December 2nd, my amazing husband is turning 22.... seriously?!?!?! How about another... EEEEK! He continues to amaze me - he is such an incredible man and an even more incredible husband. He makes my life just that much more amazing! We will be spending his birthday in North Carolina, hopefully making pit stops to see friends and family. But what I'm excited about is seeing TWILIGHT!!!! YAY!!!!!!! I'm so excited! I've been waiting and waiting and I even reread the Twilight Saga last week (yes, all 4 books in 1 week) so I'd be ready to go! Justin wants to go to our favorite Mexican restaraunt, Las Cazuelas, which is also where we had our first date on 2.14.06.

Other than that.... Christmas is coming soon, and I'm hoping to have a new sewing machine sitting in my home so I can start sewing up a storm! I want to make a lot of the crafts I've seen on Jill's Website, http://www.homemadebyjill.blogspot.com. She has made and found some of the coolest crafts EVER! I don't have any children right now, but eventually I will and she has some CUTE stuff - bibs, burp clothes... all kinds of cuteness! You should totally check it out!

Anyways, I also wanted to ask if you would pray for my mom and her side of the family this week. A year ago, on Thanksgiving Day, my maternal grandfather passed away. He was an AMAZING man, and my mom misses him more then I could ever explain. Please keep everyone in your prayers!

Have a happy Thanksgiving!!!

There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time for birth and another for death,

A right time to plant and another to reap,

A right time to kill and another to heal,

A right time to destroy and another to construct,

A right time to cry and another to laugh,

A right time to lament and another to cheer,

A right time to make love and another to abstain,

A right time to embrace and another to part,

A right time to search and another to count your losses,

A right time to hold on and another to let go,

A right time to rip out and another to mend,

A right time to shut up and another to speak up,

A right time to love and another to hate,

A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Garlic Chicken Pizza

We've made this yummy pizza several times, and so I thought I'd share the recipe! For the crust, I recommend the pillsbury dough, you can find it with the canned biscuits and croissants.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough/Crust (we used a premade crust for this pizza)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup garlic powder

1 cup parmesan

1 cup mozzerella

2 tablespoons parsley

2 tablespoons basil

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 small onion sliced thinly

1/2 green pepper sliced thinly

1 chicken breast, diced

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

First, dice your chicken and toss with 1 tablespoon basil, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1/4 cup garlic powder, and 1/2 cup parmesan. Throw on the grill on low heat. Next, slice your onion & pepper and grill these beside your chicken. Drain your diced tomatoes (we use the canned version) of any excess fluid and toss with your veggies.

Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, mix your butter, remaining garlic powder, basil, parsley and 1/4 cup parmesan over low heat. There will be enough for your pizza sauce AND to dip your pizza in.

Once your sauce is melted, pour over your pizza crust (not too much or you'll have a soggy crust).

Next, add your veggies & chicken - doesn't have to look pretty! LOL

Then add your mozzerella and the remaining parmesan.

Cook until your crust is browned (lift the pizza with a spatula to check center) and your cheese is melted. Slice and enjoy :)

Booooooring.

Seriously. Seriously? I have gotten EXACTLY 12 calls at work today, ALL for Thanksgiving. New flash.... we have 3 cabins left. All are one bedroom, and they all ONLY accommodate 2 people. No we cannot squeeze 3 in, no we cannot guarantee we will have cancellations.... maybe next year you'll book a cabin in September rather then 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving? It's sooooo boring today. I'm currently watching Dr. Doolittle 2 on ABC Family, texting my amazing husband & reading blogs. I lead SUCH an exciting life!

So yea..... now I'm just wasting time wishing i had something interesting to post about...... nope nothing. Maybe tomorrow will be more interesting!

Fever

I'm not entirely sure who reads this blog. I know for a fact that my beautiful friend Janelle does and that a few girls from the BBC do. I don't even know how to track how many views I get, but that is FAR beyond the point, lol. I have a fever. Not a temperature fever, but a baby/craft/cleaning/baking fever. Pretty crazy right? I have HORRIBLE baby fever, every where I turn there are babies and pregnant women. EVERYWHERE. I also have craft fever... I have this NEED to cross stitch and sew... HELLO! I'm turning into my mother, what will I do? I also have cleaning fever - you should have seen my house when our families came to see us. ABSOLUTELY spotless. Seriously. I got EVERY nook and cranny. I am NOT a cleaning person, I despise cleaning actually. And right now, sitting at work... the clutter is driving me INSANE! I also have baking fever.... I've been baking like crazy! I made a white cake with sprinkles in the batter, topped with buttercream icing and rainbow sprinkles... YUM. I also recently made cuppy cakes that were absolutely scrumptious. I've made cookies and brownies.... and I bought MORE ingredients to make more cake this weekend. YIKES!

So enough of my multitude of obsessions, I've been feeling pretty yucky lately. As I sit here writing this at my desk I'm feeling nauseus and achy and my head is THROBBING. And I think I should apologize for the multitude of CAPS I've used. So I guess I'll leave you with this... and stop writing for not only my sanity but yours....

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,”
- 1 Peter 3:18

Love

If you know me well, then you know I'm a HUGE Grey's Anatomy fanatic. I never miss an episode, and if I do, I'm on the computer ASAP to see the episode. The episode tonight is a TEARJERKER. Not only does Izzie start seeing Denny, but there is an elderly couple who are madly in love. The woman has a brain tumor, and has opted to have it surgically removed even though she could live a few more years with the tumor (on bed rest). When she signs the papers, she looks at her husband and says, "Goodbye honey." And he does the same, and they kiss. They explain to Dr. McDreamy and Dr. Bailey that everytime she signs papers for a medical operation, they said goodbye and once she comes out of the anesthesia they say hello. (It sounds better coming from them, then from me). She has the operation and comes through fine, but after being in the ICU she starts coding, but because of her DNR request the doctors do nothing to revive her. Her husband realizes what is happening and starts giving her CPR. He has tears in his eyes and says "I just can't let go". So Dr. Bailey takes over and she can't let her go either, so Dr. McDreamy has the husband sit down and takes over for Dr. Bailey.... and they let her go. And now I'm in tears, and boo hooing... ugh. But wow. I'm gonna have to find the clip on youtube and share, cuz its just not the same without seeing it!


Here are the videos:

Fastforward to 2:30...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2TlG55zH04

Fastforward to 4:25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JivLqrvHItg

My Precious Grandmother

Lillian is my grandmother, if you could see pictures of her from her teens - twenties, you'd say she was a beautiful woman. She had long, silky black hair and kind caring eyes. She may not be as young as she used to be, but now that she's in her seventies.... I still think she's one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. My Granny has several medical issues, both physical and mentally. My parents believe that she may have had fetal alcohol syndrome, along with most of her brothers and sisters. That sounds horrible, but when "Little Granny" (my grandmother's mother) started having kids, she was 14 and they didn't know anything about the effects of alcohol on a baby. Granny is schizophrenic, she started showing signs of dementia when I was in high school. She has always had short term memory loss, but when the dementia started showing symptoms, it was much more obvious. At one point, I took care of her 3 days a week, I gave her baths, made sure she had EDIBLE food to eat, and that her house was clean. This year, our family decided that it was time to put her in a nursing home because we could no longer be there, by her side, 24/7. My grandmother, being her usual stubborn self, fell last night trying to move from her wheelchair to her bed... in SOCKS. Regular old slippery socks and she fell and bonked her head on the floor. The nurses from the nursing home called 911, because they were worried about her head injury, her speech was slurring and she was disoriented. They ran tests at the hospital and said she was fine, but noticed some tremors in her hands.... so now they suspect she may be in the early stages of Parkinson's. My precious grandmother, my beautiful, amazing Granny who raised 4 amazing people, and is the most loving, generous Christian woman I've ever met. When will she cut a break? Why does she have to suffer so much? I just don't understand it. I can't even be there for her.... I'm sure I've rambled enough... but please pray for her. Lillian Elizabeth deserves better, she gives so much love and she still suffers.

Cupcake Bites/CuppyCakes!

Bakerella is a new favorite blog of mine, you can see her blog in my "favorites" ------>
I tried out her bakery cuteness.... here are some pictures:

In case you can't tell. These cuppycakes are about an inch tall!

Crunchy Stuffed Baked Chicken Parmesan!

Yes.... its all of the above and it's DELICIOUS! And I came up with it by myself. OOOOOOOOo yes. Here's what you need:

2 Chicken Breasts (or more..... depending on your family size)
2 cups of Plain Corn Flakes
2 egg whites
1/4 cup milk (buttermilk is best)
Mrs. Dash (I suggest the original)
1 Tspn Chipotle Pepper
2 Tspn Adobe Seasoning (you can find this with the Mexican foods/seasonings)
A pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup of parmesan
2 cups of Mozzerella Cheese (shredded)
1 cup of Spaghetti Sauce (i like traditional)

First, prepare your chicken breasts by taking either a pair of meat scissors or a knife and cutting an opening large enough for 2 fingers (you will stuff mozzerella & seasonings into the chicken breast). Once your chicken is cut & ready, mix 1 cup of mozzerella & some Mrs. Dash (your preference to how much) in a small bowl. Stuff half of the mixture into each Chicken Breast. Set the chicken aside.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare your breading. Crush your cornflakes, you can leave them larger, but I like my cornflakes crushed finely. Mix the cornflakes, a fair amount of Mrs. Dash, the Adobe seasoning, Chipotle Pepper, Cinnamon, & 1/4 parmesan. In another bowl mix the egg whites & milk.

Spray the pan you'll be cooking your chicken in and make an "assembly line". Chicken first, egg white/milk mixture second, Breading mixture third & finally your greased pan. Dip your stuffed chicken into the egg/milk mixture and then roll it around in the breading mixture. Cover your chicken thoroughly. Place on your pan and stick it in the oven. Usually takes 30-45 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breast. My general rule is to slice the largest chicken breast at the 30 minute mark to see how done they are.

Once the chicken is cooked, pull the pan out and smother it with your remaining cheeses & spaghetti sauce. Place back in the oven just long enough for the cheese to melt and the sauce to get hot.

Serve with a salad & breadsticks and you've got a tasty meal!

I'll post pics later (maybe!)

I Need to Vent

I am so frustrated right now. I finally found this great job that I actually enjoy going to everyday, I love our apartment, I have an amazing husband... I love this place. But guess what. My husband, ya know the guy who started this whole "Let's move to TN" shindig.... he's not happy. He hates his job, he hates this place and he's homesick. I TOLD him this would happen, I TOLD him he would get homesick because the fact of the matter is.... HE'S A MOMMA'S BOY. I love my husband so much, but this is so ridiculous. I don't know what to do. We can't just pick up and leave now. But I want him to be happy... but I want to be happy too.