A Prayer of Hope and Calling

I wrote this prayer about a month ago during our Thursday morning Prayer and Praise time at Hoodland Lutheran Church. I hope that it will encourage you as it did me.

Dream the dreams of the Lord. Follow Him, He leads you along His paths.You may see many gathered against you.You may see hard paths, treacherous waters, great trials and tribulations may threaten, but the Lord says: Lift up your eyes, lean not on your own understanding, fear not for I am with you. Behold a great multitude surrounds you. He who keeps you does not slumber nor sleep. He will keep your life.

You are hidden in Christ, what can you fear? Failure? Uselessness? Pain? Rejection? Loss? The Lord is your life and your portion forever. He is the giver of every good thing.

Why do you tremble or doubt, why do you fear?
He is more than able. He is the God of the unprepared, the weak, the foolish. He lifts up the downtrodden; He makes great the unable. We are made strong in His power through our weakness.

Do you not know, have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God... He will not grow tired or weary. His compassion is new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. His love endures forever. His plans will not be thwarted.

God will not waste your life as you seek and trust Him. He will guide, mold and mature you for He knows the plans He has for you and He knows how to prepare you for all that is to come.

He has shown you, o man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you. But to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

My Response to 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

Many of my friends know that over the past few weeks I've been reading the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. It's no great literary work, but I do find that it demands a response. But how should I begin to change my life in ways that eliminate excess for the glory of God and the benefit of other people. There are many ways in which we live to great excess that hinders our worship and our service. I want to address 3 main areas of my life in the coming months: clothes, service and entertainment.

I began with clothes. As an experiment, I tried to breakdown my basic wardrobe needs: everyday, work, workout, nicer, and pajamas. Here's what I ended up with:

It's over 20 items (including 3 pants, 6 basic tops, 6 layers/cardigans/sweaters, and 1 dress plus workout gear) which still seems a bit excessive but I'm not trying to be ascetic. Instead I'm trying to see where excess is pinning me down. In fact here is what I've eliminated:

It's over 100 items! So I'm experimenting with roughly 15% of my usually wardrobe.

My goals with this reduction are: to see how more items complicate my life rather than freeing me, to have a fresh perspective on which item I can give away, and to only keep those few items that work, look good and are functional.

There are spiritual implications here. I am so blessed to have these clothes. Clothes should serve as a means of warmth, modesty, and attractiveness. They should not be a source of stress or a balm for the soul. I feel that God will use this intentional reduction in clothes to lead me in new directions. The first step of faith in taming my surroundings.

That may sound ridiculous to you. Why would God care about my wardrobe? But I see it as a gate into my heart and a means by which to increase my longing to serve others in the community, non just through my bounty (i.e. giving away my belongings) but also through my hospitality (i.e. less stuff = easier house to clean, therefore more time to serve).

So that's my prayer:

O Lord, please use this little experiment as a seed planted in faith. Please grow in me a thankful, serving heart. Help me to live more simply that I might live more abundantly. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit who will empower me to cling to the cross when I'd rather avoid confronting my sin. Thank you for this opportunity to fight complacency. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Smash: Rewrite This Story

This song will not leave my head:





Then I saw this video and thought, I'm so glad that there's Someone who can re-write our stories.

New Music Can Be Good Too!

For the most part I am partial to hymns, ancient and modern. I ran across this song today though, and I don't think it can qualify as a hymn but it's not a simple praise chorus either. It'll be on repeat for a while.

I Am Living in a Land of Death
by Citizens

Verse 1:
    F                   Am
I'm living in a land of death
    C                 Fmaj7
the trees are burning grey
          F                    Am
there's a smoldering smoke overhead
        G                           
and the night looks the same as the day

it seems a miracle that I can stand
when everyone i've known
drifts up in the air with the ash
every time that the wind starts to blow

Prechorus:
            F           Am              C
but i feel alive with a life that's not mine
              F              Am             C
your law is a stream in this wasteland - my lifeline

Chorus:
        F                  C
so much more than precious gold
         F           Am
are your promises my lord
        F               C
by them is your servant warned
                 G
in keeping them great reward

Verse 3:
your direction is marked in light
your law secures my wounds
i will meditate day and night
and in season you'll harvest your fruit

Verse 4:
though a poison should threaten to kill
i know my Savior reigns
and when the breezes of death leave a chill
I've got Jesus' blood in my veins

Prechorus 2:
So i feel alive with a life that's not mine
and i'm believing that that is your intended design

Chorus
so much more than precious gold
are your promises my lord
by them is your servant warned
in keeping them great reward

Interlude

Bridge:
                F
The kingdoms of man have all decayed
             Dm
the ruins of progress turn to waste
            C
the gods of greed lay in their graves
            G
darkness is everywhere
but there's a path in the dark that has emerged
i can see a great light beyond this curse
a brilliant blaze that is your word
a beacon of hope that burns

Outro:
               F
and I focus my captivated gaze
               Dm
on the radiant light from Jesus' face
             C
the water of life is all i crave
          E7
only your word remains

So much more than precious gold
is the beauty I behold
give me the glorious reward
of knowing you my king, my lord

Lyrics from: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/c/citizens/i_am_living_in_a_land_of_death_crd.htm

Paleo Plus - Chicken Chili

One of the challenges of eating well is feeding your family. As you start out eating paleo, you may not yet have your family on board or you may not be able to afford feeding everyone so much fresh food. My current solution is to cook a main portion of my food in common with my family and supplement as necessary for the rest of my family.

I used this recipe from Everyday Paleo, but I made a few modifications to make it fit my life.

First, I put 1.5 lbs of frozen chicken thighs and one can of tomatoes and green chiles along with about 4 cups of water into my crockpot. I turned it on high for 5 hours. This step cooked my chicken as well as making my chicken broth in the recipe. For the adult members of the family, this was my only modification. The result is a deliciously spicy soup. If you choose not to eat it with avocado, you'll definitely need something else to fill you up. This soup brings the flavor, but you'll need a side to be satisfied.

My kids are learning to like spicy things, but, in the main, they are wimps. So when I removed the chicken thighs from the crockpot, I reserved some de-boned meat for them. I served their meat with some Kerrygold Cheddar Cheese and gluten-free tortilla chips. I could have easily made nachos or something similar.

I love that there was no extra work involved, and everyone ate happily.

My Best Parenting Tips (for now)

So I am currently enjoying time off from work, and more time with my children. By God's grace, there are things that we've done well as parents; although I don't claim that ANY of these tips or ideas originated with me, but since others might find them useful, I wanted to share them.

Here are my favorite things we're doing with our kids at their current age level:

Alex is 8 years old. This stage of parenting is challenging because it's about character development. Since he's reading well, we've started having him read a children's Bible every morning before he does anything else. We're praying that the habit continues throughout his life.

Jason and Alex share a love for games. We only allow our kids to play video games once they're 7 years old; we want to make sure a love for reading is established first. Alex is allowed to play video games on Saturdays and Mondays (Jason's day off). So far, this has worked very well for our family.

Sunday afternoons Jason plays board games with the kids. We've already seen the benefits in Alex's reasoning skills and math skills. If you don't like the idea of competing against your kids, check out cooperative games like Castle Panic, Forbidden Island, and Escape: The Curse of the Temple.

Lauren is 5 years old. Her main parenting challenge at the moment is dealing appropriately with emotions. She has not responded to discipline in the same ways as Alex so we've had to change up our routine. We've begun a habit of praying with her when she faces temptation, and she feels free to come tell us because she knows we're on her team. Praise the LORD! We're still working on developing her communication so that she can control her anger without lashing out verbally. And yes, all of this is a very convicting and sanctifying process in our hearts as well. Check out this video for more teaching on parenting. We love Paul Tripp!

I'll echo the board game comment here as well. Lauren is motivated to learn to read so that she can play more games! Her addition skills have improved dramatically along the way as well. Games also allow kids (and adults) to practice patience, grace, and love as they win or lose. King of Tokyo is a great game for this age.

One more quick note about Lauren. Her interests and giftedness appear to be more artistic, and so to love her is to provide opportunities for her to enjoy those interests and gifts. She is happiest in a world of music, dance, cooking, painting, drawing, coloring, and just creating. 

Olivia is two years old. At this stage, our main goal is to keep her busy, fed, and rested. :) So my main idea for two year olds is to invite them to participate in life with you. We let Liv sit on the counter or stand on a stool while I cook. She throws clothes in the washer that I hand to her. She sorts clean cloth diapers into piles and puts them away in the drawer. I ask her to entertain the baby for a minute while I finish a task. She can find and bring to me most things in the house. 

Of course toddlers also throw tantrums and have bad attitudes. Our main way of dealing with fussing and whining is to send her to her bed until she can control her emotions and speak normally. Of course sometimes further discipline is needed, but most times teaching her to handle her frustration and disappointments is the main goal. Also if the underlying issue is exhaustion, sending your toddler to bed could  lead to an early nap, as Liv has done many times.

You may think that two is too young for games, but I spent a long time this morning playing Memory with Liv. We play it with the cards face up, and she makes matches. The experience is teaching her to find things, discriminate visually, use her dexterity (picking cards off table requires fine motor skills), increase patience, and build confidence. If you are looking for another game for this age range, I'd recommend Chicken Cha Cha Cha. 

Emily is 9 months old. My favorite parenting tips for her age is to begin room time with siblings. Room time is when the kids go and play in their room together in the afternoon after lunch. It's a part of our daily routine. For a baby like Em, just place an exersaucer or pack n' play into the room where the older kids are playing. Please note: I don't recommend leaving a baby in a room with zero supervision. The room in which the kids play has french doors, and I can hear perfectly if not see everything. I think she lasted 5 minutes the first day. Now she spends 15-20 minutes with them. It's a great break for me, and a wonderful way to build her ability to play and be happy with her siblings.

The other tips are for moms. As babies get older, a common issue for nursing moms is that the baby might stop nursing and prefer baby food. The tip is to establish a routine of nursing first. When the baby is hungry, nurse. Then, only if the baby still seems hungry, offer baby food. Along with feeding the baby, this is a great age to start using baby signs. We stick with the basics, more and all done. Here's a great resource if you want to expand your baby sign vocabulary. Babies can definitely sign earlier, but I always forget to use it until around this age. 

I hope you found this helpful, and of course, feel free to let me know what some of your favorite parenting ideas are!

Merry Christmas from the Daltons

Note: It's been several years since we've sent out Christmas cards. We'd like to get back into the tradition, so if you'd like a card next year, let us know and we'll add your address to our 2013 Christmas card list. This year, we decided to do a blog post instead.

Merry Christmas! 2012 has been a year of blessing and change for our family. We're thankful for God's leading in our lives, and for His provision of jobs, house, family, and health.

In December 2011, Jason graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity degree. Just a few weeks later, we jetted off to Welches, OR to visit a small church to see if God would have us minister there. In May 2012, Jason was ordained and installed as a minister in the Presbyterian Church of America (picture above is from his installation service at Evergreen Presbyterian). The next weekend, he was able to officiate at the wedding of some very dear friends. Because of the generosity of our friends, family, and our church family at Pear Orchard Presbyterian, we were able to move in June to Oregon. Jason is now the pastor of Mt. Hood Community Church. We are so thankful for this opportunity and pray that God will bless His church through Jason's ministry.

Our family welcomed Emily Grace Dalton on March 17, 2012. After her maternity leave, Elizabeth transitioned to part-time work with Kaplan. She is now solely teaching online for work, though she instructs at Dalton Academy in person. :) Elizabeth is also helping the church by teaching children's church and organizing Women in the Church activities and ministries. 

Alex turned eight years old in December 2012. He is currently a yellow belt in taekwondo and a second grader at Dalton Academy. He is a voracious reader as well as an excellent older brother. His favorite books of 2012 were the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. He reports his favorite school subject is History; we use the Story of the World curriculum.

Lauren turned five years old in July 2012. She enjoys being old enough to play board games with Alex and Jason. This fall she played soccer, but she has just begun taking taekwondo classes and plans to continue those in the new year. Lauren is a kindergartner at Dalton Academy; she loves to paint, color, and draw.

Olivia turned two years old in February 2012. She loves books, especially Margaret Wise Brown and Sandra Boyton, and anything with bears. Olivia enjoys dancing and coloring as well as being a big helper around the house. 

Emily is excited to celebrate her first Christmas at the age of 9 months. She is crawling and pulling up to standing. She has only two bottom teeth, but she may receive her two front teeth in time for Christmas!


And that's the Dalton family update! Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy:

Drinking Coffee without Dairy

One of the tough changes to make if you do a Whole30 challenge or decide to go dairy-free for various reasons is what to do with your coffee. If you're like me, part of the pleasure of coffee is the creamy flavor of half and half or cream. If you decide to go dairy free, I have used a couple different approaches.

First there is the simplest: drink black coffee. I have done this in a pinch, but most of us will find this an unsatisfactory solution. It's hard to go cold turkey to plain coffee. If you don't enjoy black coffee, I have a couple other suggestions as well.

The easiest transition will be to use coconut cream. It's pricey but incredibly delicious. You want the good stuff from Aroy-D, a Thai company. Amazon sells it in large packs. I pour a carton into glass jars and shake well. You'll get a nice stiff cream from whipping this, and it's naturally sweet from the coconut flavor, but not cloyingly sweet. It's a nice treat.

What I've been doing recently is a third alternative. I've been adding a few tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa (full of great antioxidants) and some maple syrup to cut the bitterness, just a teaspoon or two. It's not that much sugar overall, and maple syrup is my favorite natural sweetener. It's a nice mocha flavor and a great treat for this time of year.

If you'd like more ideas for dairy free creamers, here's a list of recipes that call for coconut milk and use date paste for sweetener. Enjoy exploring the world of dairy-free coffee treats!

Abide with Me

Yes, we're still here and doing well. Life can sweep away the time to blog, but I have been clinging to this song this afternoon, and wanted to share it.

Abide With Me 

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Sunday HYMN 10/14/12

I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say 

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done.

thredUP Haul

Last spring I ordered a Clean Out bag from thredUP. I filled it up with name brand boys clothes that Alex had outgrown. A few weeks later, I received an email telling me how much money thredUP was giving me for the clothes. It was really just as simple as that! Now that they had added the money to my account I could choose to cash out, making the transaction just like consigning clothes, or I could use the money on other items for sale, which also happens a lot when I consign clothes. :)

So just a few days ago, I ordered some lovely clothes for Lauren and Olivia. To appreciate these pictures, you need to know that my girls will wear these clothes every day. For some kids, these clothes would be Sunday only, but for my girls, they are good for everything but hiking. Seriously. Don't look at me! I don't dress like this. Also please note that all these clothes are in AMAZING condition. None of them has any signs of wear or pilling.

Here's the first dress on Olivia. It's a 4T by Savannah and cost $4.49.

Yes, she's the cutest 2 yr old in the world. And no, she's not for sale!

Here's a 4T zippered hoodie dress from Gymboree. It was $9.49. Something similar at Gymboree is on sale for $40!

The embroidery is really sweet.

Lauren is growing too fast to count on cousin hand-me-downs so I picked up 3 dresses for her.

Here is her favorite: It's a size 7 Mossimo sweater dress that cost $8.99.

She is so lovely and grown up looking!

Here is my favorite: It's also a size 7 from Mossimo that cost $8.99.

We'll probably pair this with tights or leggings, but the colors look amazing with her blue eyes.

The final dress is from Gymboree. It's a size 7 black turtleneck dress with pink ballet slippers and crowns in the embroidery. It was $13.50.

The prices are for your information, but I didn't spend any money out of pocket for these great outfits!

Sunday HYMN 9/16/12

Why So Heavy by Red Mountain Music

You can listen to more and purchase here.

I remember thinking when I was in middle school and high school about how very blessed I was. My parents were still married and loved each other as well as loving their kids. Our family was healthy and whole. But it scared me. I know that I didn't trust God to love me beyond these blessings that I enjoyed. So I was fearful that they'd be taken away.

Flash forward, oh let's just say a few years. :) In the last two years I've experienced the most loss and change as well as uncertainty in so many areas of my life. However, God has kept our family together and close to Him through out the process of Dad's death, Jason's job hunt, our subsequent move across the country, and even now as we seek to minister to the Hoodland area.

However, being me, my heart is not always soaked in truth. It doubts, it pouts, and generally it tries to dictate reality by making me feel abandoned or lonely. That's where the great hymns come in. They remind me of God's truth in a way that spurs my heart back toward Him.

Here's the lyrics written by Edward Caswall in 1873:

Verse 1

Oh why so heavy, oh my soul?
Thus to myself I've willed
Oh why so heavy, oh my heart?
And so sorrow-filled?

Refrain

Hope thou in God, He still shall be
Thy Glory and thy endless praise
His saving grace shall comfort thee
Through everlasting days

Verse 2

His goodness made thee what thou art
And yet will he redeem
Oh be thou of a contrite heart
And put your trust in him.

A few house pics

I realized that I haven't posted any pictures of the house. Well it was clean last night so I took a few to share.

Here's the front door.

After you walk in, there is a big open great room that encompasses our living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Our renovations are coming along. I'll post some pictures of the progress soon!

Dalton Academy 2012 The Pupils

Dalton Academy is in session. Here are this year's pupils:

Alex is starting 2nd grade this year. 

Second grade is serious. He'll be working a full load of awesomeness.

Lauren is starting kindergarten this year.

 

She's focusing on art, reading and simple addition.

Olivia is 2 years old. 

She'll be focusing on coloring, recognizing letters and numbers, and maybe even potty training!

Emily is 6 months old. 

She'll be working on motor skills and solid foods!

We're trusting God for a great year. I heard Heidi St. John say, "Some trust in curriculum, but we trust in the name of the Lord." I'm praying that we'll be a family that trusts God as we learn together.

Sunday HYMN 9/9/2012

This was on my brain this morning as I contemplated my youngest daughter's baptism:

How Deep The Father's Love for Us

Lyrics:

How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure How great the pain of searing loss, The Father turns His face away As wounds which mar the chosen One, Bring many sons to glory Behold the Man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers It was my sin that left Him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished I will not boast in anything No gifts, no power, no wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom (REPEAT)

Whole30 Report

I finished my Whole30 August challenge on Saturday. Since then life has been extremely crazy. So here's the quick report.

I lost 5 lbs doing a 100% perfect Whole30 diet. I lost 6lbs of fat so that's pretty exciting. I wish I had measurements to compare but I'm pretty sure I lost a full size despite the lower weight loss.

I'm taking this week off, but I'll be back to it on Monday. If you have any questions about Whole30 just let me know!

Sunday HYMN 9/2/2012

Did anyone else grow up with Psalty, the Singing Songbook? Today's "hymn" has been on my brain all week long:

The words come from Matthew 16:24.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24 ESV)

Hello Mornings Week 2

We spent this week exploring 1 Peter. What a treasure trove of wisdom and encouragement! God used this little book mightily in me this week, and I'm so glad to have spent some time in these verses.

We were asked to choose one verse each day for meditation. Here are mine:

Day 1 - Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13 ESV)

Day 2 -  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:16-17 ESV)

Day 3 - Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. (1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV)

Day 4 - Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (1 Peter 4:19 ESV)

Day 5 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV)

I wanted to focus specifically on 1 Peter 5, though the entire book was just perfect for where I'm at these days. I'm so thankful that God provided His words to me at the right time.

1 Peter 5 is initially directed at the leaders of the church, the shepherds of God's flock. The encouragement is to lead humbly, not for personal gain, not domineering, but being examples of Christ. Peter reminds the leaders in v4 of why they should behave this way: there is a Chief Shepherd! He will return one day, and his faithful servants will receive the crown of glory. My husband is the pastor of our church. This passage gives me great examples of how to pray for him as he leads God's people as well as assurance that every pastor is truly an under-shepherd that is called to faithfully serve the Chief.

Peter begins to wrap up his letter, but he has many important reminders thrown together in v6-11. Humility is a Christian word, one that not many people use outside of churches. We've been working on teaching our son the meaning of humility and have tied it very closely to being teachable. Here Peter ties the idea of humbling yourself first to the mightiness of God. Be humble because God is awesomely powerful, mighty to save, more than able to meet your needs. Next Peter says be humble so that God might exalt you at the proper time. Show the world that your treasure is Christ and that God's promises are true by being humble in the face of suffering and persecution. Peter says demonstrate your humility by casting all your cares on God because He cares for you. How we handle our daily stresses reveals our hearts. If we believe that we can carry the world, we will be on edge, constantly planning and attempting to control our circumstances. But Peter calls us to a different life. One that says, God, I know I'm incapable of changing my situation. I'm even incapable of changing myself. However, Your Word says that you care for me, that you will keep me, and that you will not give up on me. A humble life embraces these truths and trusts in God to complete the Spirit's work in our lives.

Verse 10 sums it all up: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

I'm so thankful that God chose to preserve this encouraging letter from Peter for the good of the church eternal. What a great testimony of His grace that a man who denied Christ would write of the goodness of God to restore, confirm, strengthen and establish His people. May we too be drawn into the fellowship of suffering with hearts that turn to God in our time of need.

5 Dinners 1 Hour Review - part two

So we really enjoyed trying out the sample menu from 5 Dinners in 1 Hour.

The five meals were:

Honey Sesame Chicken
Monte Cristo Sandwiches
Broiled Steak Bites
Panko Pork Chops
Black Bean Enchilada Casserole


I loved the idea of assembling the meals so quickly. The directions were pretty clear on everything. I had to adjust a few things to make the meals tasty for my family:

Honey Sesame Chicken - I made the marinade again so that after the chicken came out of the crockpot I could put full strength sauce on it. Otherwise it didn't have enough flavor

Panko Pork Chops - the Panko crumbs didn't brown well. I think this would be a better dish to cook on the stovetop with some oil in a pan. We made it with coconut flour for our extra pork chops, and we loved it.

Black Bean Enchilada Casserole - Be careful serving this to little ones. Our kids thought it was too spicy, even with mild sauce and mild salsa. We were able to mix in some corn to help them eat it. It may be a more adult meal.

Overall it was a great experience with a great product!

Now she's offering a Clean Eating version. I'll have to work through that next!

Sunday HYMN 8/26/12

We're worshiping with all the churches in the area in a unity service this morning at Wildwood Park. In honor of the body of Christ in it's various forms, I chose this hymn:

The Church's One Foundation

The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.

She is from every nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.

The Church shall never perish!
Her dear Lord to defend,
To guide, sustain, and cherish,
Is with her to the end:
Though there be those who hate her,
And false sons in her pale,
Against both foe or traitor
She ever shall prevail.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed:
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song!

’Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won,
With all her sons and daughters
Who, by the Master’s hand
Led through the deathly waters,
Repose in Eden land.

O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly,
On high may dwell with Thee:
There, past the border mountains,
Where in sweet vales the Bride
With Thee by living fountains
Forever shall abide!