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10 Day Challenge: Thankfulness in Action
Today is November 20th. That means you have ten more days to focus on Thanksgiving and the beauty of being thankful before life is all about the hustle and bustle of Christmas. So I think it is time for a little challenge. I challenge you to take the last ten days of November to live out your own blessing of thankfulness. Show people you are grateful for them. Pay attention to circumstances that are blessing you. Realize how the Lord is weaving his blessings throughout your life. Live blessed. And live to bless others. But first, I want you to read a devotional I came across this morning that really resonated with where my heart has been lately.
Thanksgiving
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:15-16
Thankfulness is foundational to the Christian life. Thankfulness is a conscious response that comes from looking beyond our blessings to their source. As Christians, we have been forgiven, saved from death, and adopted as God’s children. There could be no better reason for a grateful heart!
Lepers in Jesus’ day were social outcasts. Their highly contagious condition ostracized them from those they loved. When ten lepers encountered Jesus, they desperately implored Him to show them mercy. Jesus sent them to the priest. As they obeyed, they were healed! These ten men had been forbidden to enter their own villages, to live in their own homes, to work in their own jobs, or even to touch their own children. Imagine what unrestrained joy must have filled them as they ran back home again!
One of the lepers, a Samaritan, stopped and ran back
…Read MoreSlow Cooker Salsa Verde Soup
I like to have a few super easy recipes ready to make during the Thanksgiving week. When I spend day after day, planning, decorating, shopping and beginning my food preparation for the holiday meal, the last thing I want to do is stress over what to cook for dinner the few nights before Thanksgiving. So having an easy throw together slow cooker meal that is this delicious is wonderful!! Ingredients 2 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice 1 (10 oz) can salsa verde 2 medium yellow onions chopped 2 cloves garlic minced 1 cup chopped cilantro 2 cups water 1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth 1 Tablespoon concentrated chicken stock 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon oregano 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (2 large) 1 (10 oz) can corn 1 (10 oz) can black beans Place all ingredients in Slow Cooker and stir. Cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 2 ½ hours. Before serving, shred the chicken and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve in big bowls with optional toppings-shredded cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream and salsa. Nutritious and delicious!!!
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Alive
With the focus of Halloween everywhere being on death, ghosts, frights, and darkness, my heart feels heavy. Its just too much darkness. So much of life this month is focused on evil and fear. No wonder our world struggles so much with depression, sadness, anger, and fear. I think this mentality and perspective seeps into how people interact with each other, holiday seasons, and peoples joy. It takes away from the hope we can have in a more purposeful and fulfilling life. Ironically, I have been studying Ephesians 2 lately which talks all about how we were once dead in our sin, and the opportunity and gift of being alive in Christ. It gives a great picture of what we once were: stuck, blind, lost, and dead. But Christ, out of his love for us, saved us in his grace so we could fully live. But we only fully live when we surrender to his purpose, his truth, and his way, but in that we receive riches, blessings, and immeasurably more than we can ever imagine. So why stay stuck? Why not take a step of faith? Wouldn’t you rather feel alive and free than lost and dead?
Ephesians 2:1-10 reads “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made …
Read MorePumpkin Carving and Crafting!
I don’t know about you, but I am seeing pumpkins EVERYWHERE!! The ways you can craft or decorate with pumpkins is limitless, but sometimes it is hard to think outside the box of putting a display of mini pumpkins on the dining room table or carving a jack-o-lantern for your front porch. Our friends, The Dating Divas, are going to help us out today! I am going to share their …
60 Creative Pumpkin Carving Ideas
and
90 Creative No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas
Click HERE for the rest of the ideas and the how-tos! These ideas are so fun, you don’t want to miss them!
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Stunned by the Beauty of God’s Creation
Towering mountains of sandstone, voluminous white puffy clouds casting shifting shadows, babbling brooks becoming rapidly flowing flash floods after sudden thunderous storms fill their banks with fresh rain water, incredibly interesting rock formations……….all part of experiencing Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
In Zion National Park, precipitous canyon walls and massive monoliths are seen in abundance. The Virgin river flows between them and these sand stone formations soar thousands of feet above the floor of Zion Canyon. We hiked to the top of the Observation Point Trail, an 8 mile roundtrip trail, rising 2,150 feet from the Canyon floor, to an elevation of 6,508 ft. The views from the top were breath-taking.
We forged the Narrows, a hike through the rocky river bed that took us to Wall Street where the canyon walls are sheer, near and so high that they appear like walls on either side of the river. We climbed over boulders and sloshed through knee deep water and were fortunate enough to take our trek the day before the big storm hit, which prevents explorers from trekking up the Narrows, due to potential flash floods which can be very dangerous.
In Bryce Canyon, where weathering and erosion create the statuesque rock forms called Hoodoos, the views from the top of the canyon are colorful and unique. The limestone pillars are formed by frost, snow, ice and rain enlarging cracks in the thin walls of rock. Holes are created and bridges form but eventually collapse to leave free standing pillars of stone. The immensity of canyon allows fantastic exploration opportunities. The trails weave through the Hoodoos, down into the canyon floor and go around and under archways and bridges. Our favorite trail was Fairyland Loop. It was long and steep but captivated us with rewarding …
Read MoreBlessed Abundantly
We usually don’t post on Mondays, but today is my 2 year anniversary and I wanted to take some time to post… I could get all sentimental about how much I love my husband (but I’ll save that for just him) but instead I want to post about how very blessed I am by some specific people. So here’s a shout out to my sisters, and all the girls in my wedding party. I love all of you so very much, and this day, and this moment could not have been any sweeter. I will remember it for my whole life. Anniversaries are a time to think about love, meaning of marriage, the fun wedding you had, and just how amazing the special people are in your life. So in honor of our blog, and my sisters, my bridesmaids, and my family… you NEED to watch this.
Aren’t they the best!!!!! Here’s to two years 🙂
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One Day at a Time
The thing that helps me stay organized and focused is to just take one day at a time. As much as I hate taking time from my evening to prepare for the next day, it is a huge relief to wake up and know that I am ready. Now getting my kids ready? That’s a whole separate ball game. But at least I am ready! I even do my best to get dressed and ready before I even go in the girls’ room. This helps me stay focused on them and their needs during our crazy morning routine.
Something that helps me stay focused on one day at a time is to keep my calendar current and up-to-date. I have my physical calendar on the wall in the kitchen with handwritten plans and commitments, plus my icalendar on my phone. I make sure to keep both accurate to keep myself focused. I appreciate that I can set reminders on my phone. I usually do a one day before reminder and a second one hour before reminder to keep my schedule in check.
Another thing that gets me focused is to have short term goals throughout the day. For example, my goal is to have the girls fed and ready by 8am, so that when the two sweet girls I babysit and take to school arrive, we are mostly ready. Once my girls are ready I know that we can leave at the drop of a hat if needed. I have already packed the car the night before, or at least organized our bags to take to the car when we leave. That give me a little wiggle time to wash dishes or maybe even apply some mascara and brush my own teeth before we have to leave at 8:30.
My …
Read MoreLabor Day/Back to School Week
Growing Weisser followers…..
The Growing Weisser Staff is taking this entire week off to regroup and get recharged for the upcoming year. Stay tuned for more innovative and exciting developments in the weeks to come. Check back next week for the start of an awesome Fall season!!!
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Decorating on a Budget-Part 2
It is 11:30 pm and Bekah is still sorting and organizing the new home she and Ashkon moved into 2 weeks ago. So I am her ghost writer tonight. Today, we had a successful adventure searching for the best deals we could find. We were looking for creative ways to store useful items in her home in an organized manner. Buying new pieces of furniture was definitely NOT in their budget so we brainstormed all the places that might have things we could use. We hunted for inexpensive things that could be used for functional storage spaces. We saved a lot of time and money by being prepared with all kinds of coupons, discount codes and special apps on our phone. We had a strategy for which stores to start with and what to look for in each store.
Here are some things Bekah did before we left that gave us the upper hand for our “Decorating on a Budget”.
1. Look up each store online to discover their weekly ads and markdowns and print up any available online coupons.
2. Take advantage of the in-store specials.
3. Check to see if the stores you are going to have apps on your phone and have all the items you wish to buy designated before hand on the app. (Target’s Cartwheel app is fantastic!)
4. Check for coupons that come in the mail, in magazines or in flyers that you may have picked up the last time you were in the store. Some stores even give you coupons on your most recent receipt, but you have to keep an eye on the expiration date on those receipt coupons.
5. Check your email for free membership subscribers coupons that come to your inbox once or twice a week and print out any …
Read MoreRoar-iffic Lunch
I am on a “simple with a twist” theme. Can you tell? Baby #3 is coming in a couple months, so I’m trying to keep things interesting in very simple ways.
My two girls have been very picky for meal time. I had some success this week making them a “roar-iffic lunch.” They really like lions and making lion sounds, so I decided to make their lunch food into a lion.
They loved it!
I just changed the look of the same foods I have been offering them to make it a new experience. Here is their lion lunch:
Frozen waffle with butter, blueberry smile, cheese mane, freeze dried strawberry ears and nose, raisin eyes.
The silly lion faces made lunch fun. We also talked about the different parts of the face (eyes, ears, nose, mouth), which made it a fun learning experience.
There are so many little things we can change in small ways that make a big different with our kids. This lunch was fun for me to make and fun for the girls to eat.
How do you keep things exciting for your kids in simple ways?
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