Dog Lessons

I love to cross stitch.  I wanted to share my latest project with you.  I really don't have a lot of progress yet since I just started, but I'll share a picture of what the finished project will be.

What’s your Motivation?

As I said, I’ve been thinking a lot about making some changes in my life.  It’s really been going on for awhile now.  But during the recent crazy busy season at work, I hit a point that I really didn’t think I could go on.  I sent a frantic email to a friend, Kimberlee, asking her to pray for me.  She must have thought I was losing my mind.  And that’s exactly how I felt!  Of course, the fact that I was working around 70 hours a week at the time might have been a contributing factor.  

As soon as things calmed down at work, that very night as I laid down a scripture came to my mind.  I remember reading a book a few years ago (I don’t recall the name), this scripture was mentioned in the book.  The scripture was quoted from The Message, that’s not normally the version of the Bible that I read, but the words stuck in my mind.  As I laid there tossing and turning trying to figure out what was wrong and how I had become so exhausted and literally at the end of my rope, these words came to mind.  “Are you tired? Worn Out?  Burned out on religion? Come to me.  Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.  I’ll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”  (Matthew 11:28-30 The Message)

My goodness…exactly the answer to my prayers that night….right from scripture.  Isn’t God good?  

And so for the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking more and more about the changes I need to make for me.  I think one of the things that stops us from reaching a goal is our motivation.  Either we have the wrong motivation:  “ I’ll do this and maybe he’ll do that.”  Or we lose sight of what the real goal is. 

I need to make some changes for me to give me peace of mind.  I need to learn more about those “unforced rhythms of grace.”  And certainly I need to live “freely and lightly!”  So the end goal for me is to become more like Christ.  To do the things I know I need to do for me to become the person God would have me to be.

Here’s a perfect example.  I know I need to stop drinking cokes and drink more water.  Scripture says our body is a temple and we should treat it that way.  The caffeine is probably affecting me negatively in two ways:  the first is that it is probably adding to my sleeping problems and the second is that I have migraines and it is probably contributing to the recent rash of migraines I’ve had.  Another negative effect is the empty calories I’m adding in to my diet.  I’d like to lose about 30 pounds and I’m sure that if I stop drinking cokes it will help.  I need make a few other changes in my life as well, but to be successful I need to start with small changes.   I could lose sight of my motivation “to become more like Christ and the person He would have me to be” and focus on the weight loss I want.  I’m probably going to become frustrated and throw my hand up in the air and start drinking cokes again in three or four months if I do this.  I can see it now….”What I’ve only lost 2 pounds in three months after giving up cokes?  I’d much rather drink a coke!”  And there I’d be drinking cokes again probably not sleeping as well and with more headaches.  Keeping that end goal in focus is one of the keys to long lasting change. So in a month or two I can make another small step and in say a year from now hopefully I've lost those 30 pounds.  One small step at a time!

The second problem I see with motivation is the old “if I do this then he’ll do that” attitude.  I’m going to give you another example.  It’s really a simple little thing.  You might even laugh.  But this “little thing” is bugging me and so I really need to change it.  In the evenings after working, cooking and eating I still need to clean up the kitchen and help my son with his homework.  Usually that means I wash up the dishes and leave them to dry.  They are still there the next day to be put away before I can even start cooking the next day.  Is this a huge problem?  No.  But you know what?  I feel so much better if I walk into the kitchen and the counter is clear and there are no dishes to put away.  I don’t feel cooking is such a chore. I love to cook but sometimes it can seem like a chore.   And I also feel a little guilty.  You see my husband’s mother, grandmother and sister have all been stay at home Moms.  His mother and grandmother are no longer living.  But let me assure you they never went to bed with dishes piled up on the counter.  So I know that it bugs my husband too.  And I could say to myself, “if I change this then maybe just maybe he won’t leave his wet towel on the bed anymore.”  But see, in doing that, once again I’ve lost my focus.  My goal isn’t to change my husband.  My goal is to become more Christ like and to be more peaceful and less stressed.  It’s about walking into a clear kitchen where I can just start to cook instead of walking in with dread because first I have to put everything away from the night before.  Such a simple little thing and really how long is it going to take?  Maybe five minutes.  Why haven’t I made the choice earlier?

Are there changes you would like to make?  I’d love to hear about them.  I’m still praying about my list, but I’ll be sharing it soon.

Cold Oven Pound Cake

This is a favorite around my house.  I hope your family will enjoy it too.

Cold Oven Pound Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

Lightly coat a tube pan with a baking spray like Pam. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.

On medium speed, cream the butter and shortening together until well blended.  Add the sugar and mix for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one.  Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture alternating with the milk, blending just until combined.  Add the vanilla.

Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top.

Place in a cold oven.  Set the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 90 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes.  Turn cake onto plate and quickly turn again. 

Wonderful hot or cold.  Served alone or with strawberries and cream or peaches and cream.

Weekly Menu

Here's the menu for the coming week for my family.

Saturday:  Wings Two Ways with Carrot and Celery Sticks
Sunday:  Pork Tenderloin, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Yeast Rolls
Monday:  Cashew Chicken over Rice and Broccoli
Tuesday:  Cheeseburgers and Fries
Wednesday:  Bayou Chicken Pasta, Salad, Garlic Bread
Thursday:  Taco Salad
Friday:  Eat Out or leftovers

What's your family having?

Change

Have you ever really wanted a change in your life?  That's where I am now.  I want to make some positive changes to make a difference in my life.  It's kind of overwhelming when I think about it.  And then I do nothing.  So instead of trying to just change everything all at once I'm going to make very small steps towards an overall life change.  Does that even make sense?   I guess some of the changes will seem small and insignificant to some people.  I just have to remember that each small step takes me closer to where I want to be.

And this blog will be a part of it.  I don't want to start something and not finish.  It's part of an accountability factor.  So I guess this is step one.  Soon I'll be listing the ten changes I want to start.  Again it will be very small changes that I can do immediately.  I already have a few things in mind.