luke 11:11-13

From my last post, some of you may have guessed that Jamie and I have been having some financial problems recently. Things have been really tight lately and long story short, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to pay our bills this month. We prayed about the situation and had to trust that God would provide or show us what was best (which was easier said than done for me since I tend to be a natural worrier).

Then, on Saturday afternoon, as I was cleaning up after the yard sale, I found an envelope on our kitchen counter that said "Luke 11:11-13" on the outside. For those of you who aren't familiar, those verses say:

"What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

The envelope was sealed so I asked Jamie if it was his or if he knew where it came from. When he said no, we opened the envelope and inside was $300! We don't know who gave us that money or how or why but I can't tell you how thankful I am for it. It is refreshing and awe-inspiring to experience this example of true community and the tangibility of Christ's love. I am thankful for a living example of some things God has been teaching me through these verses:

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3: 16-18

Most of all, I am thankful for a loving Father who knows just what we need and who cares for us even we we can't see past our circumstances.

one year later.....

This past weekend, Jamie and I celebrated our one year anniversary. It's hard to believe how fast a year can fly by and how much can happen! The picture above is one of my favorites from our wedding day. I love it because Jamie can still always make me laugh. It's one of my favorite things about him.

As Jamie and I were reflecting on married life, we came up with a few surprises from the last year:

• 2 puppies -- definitely didn't think that was going to happen this time last year!
• the adjustment married life takes, especially in the area of finances....God has (and continues to) teach us a lot in this area and through married life in general!
  
• how nice it is to have a best friend that you live with :)
• how much my husband spoils me! case in point my anniversary gifts from him:
• 

I'm sure there are a million more surprising/learning/growing experiences that have happened that I haven't mentioned. I can only pray that God will continue to teach us and grow us in Him through many more years of marriage and that our marriage will be a reflection of His love.

my attempt at being a domestic diva

When I started this blog a few weeks ago (just call me a blogging slacker), it was going to be about how well my first attempt at meal planning was going. And believe me, it did go well for the first week. Then came a few snafus...

Let me start of by saying I never thought I was the "meal planning type"....I don't really know what that means except that it seemed like a lot of work for someone whose idea of cooking for the past few years was sticking a Lean Cuisine in the microwave. However, when Jamie and I sat down to talk about our budget a few weeks ago we realized we were spending WAY too much on food (namely because we were eating out all the time). Because my trips to the grocery store usually result in buying lots of food and then coming home only to realize I have nothing to actually make a meal, I decided to give meal planning a shot.

I sat down with my Kraft Foods magazines and a few other recipes and made a grocery list with all the ingredients I would need for the week's meals. I was surprised to find that not only did planning ahead help me focus at the grocery store (instead of just buying anything that looked good at the time), it actually helped me save money. Score one for meal planning!

Like I said, the first week went remarkably well. Jamie was able to come home on his dinner break each night to eat and I was able to have time after my rotation to cook. The one night I was on call during the week, I made something the night before so that Jamie could have leftovers. Then last week hit....I was on call 4 nights and Jamie worked twenty-some hours of overtime. That is when the meal planning fell apart a little. I was still able to cook a few days and have some leftovers ready for some of the other days but it didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped, especially compared to the first week.

Overall, I think meal planning is a good thing that we can make work with some adjustments to make sure things fit with our lifestyle. I've realized a few things:

1. I actually like cooking most of the time and feel a sense of accomplishment when I cook a "real" meal that my husband likes.
2. Jamie and I have crazy lives and schedules right now so it may not be a realistic goal for us to be able to cook a meal and eat together every night.
3. My meal planning may not look quite the same or go as smoothly as that of others so I need to stop comparing, but it is a way for Jamie and I to cut back on some of our spending and hopefully a step towards getting our finances under control.
4. Practice makes perfect so hopefully the meal planning will get better as time goes on!