Bible Journaling: Leviticus 6:13

I've been really enjoying my time Bible Journaling. It gives me time to focus on a specific verses and a way to creatively and actively meditate on God's Word.

This verse is from Leviticus 6:13 which says: "The Fire must be kept burning on the alter continuously; it must not go out."

In this verse, God is giving Moses instructions to give to the Israelites about the alter. It talks about the literal fire that is always burning where offerings are given. Each day the priest is to clear the ashes from the day before and add wood and keep the flame burning. It needs to be consistently renewed.

And I believe that this is true for our spiritual fire. It must be kept burning. There must be a daily connection to God to keep the fire going. A daily renewal. Just like the physical fire in the temple.

For me this means reading my Bible everyday. And talking to God. Some days have long conversations and other days it's just a quick check in. But there is always something to bring him in. I also will spend time, usually weekly, working on some kind of Bible journaling. And we also do some kind of weekly Bible study with the kids.

I want to do my best to feed the flame of my spirit. I never want it to go out.

What's for Dinner?: Chimichangas

A couple of months ago I made awesome giant chimichangas. I've been meaning to share them for so long. And it just slipped my mind.

These chimichangas were awesome. Let me share with you how I made it.

I started with a 2-3 pound pork roast and placed it in the slow cooker. I added a bag of frozen 3 peppers and onion veggie bag. And on top I added the spiced I like, cumin, chili powder, basil and minced garlic. Set to cook for 6 to 8 hours. This makes a ton of meat.

When the pork is fully cooked and tender, remove it and the veggies from the broth and through it in the stand mixer. Put in the paddle attachment and let the mixer do the shredding. Makes it so much easier than the two fork method. Two minutes in the mixer saves 20 minutes.

Throw the meat into a bowl and add some of the cooking broth until moist. Take a bite and add salt and pepper or more spices to taste.

Now, its time to roll up the meat in some giant tortillas. I used 12 inch tortillas. Add cheese, if desired.

Heat up oil in a skillet. I used a cast iron to keep an even fry.

Once oil is hot, add in chimichangas, and fry until golden and then flip.

This recipe makes a ton. But they freeze well. Just wrap each individually in foil and reheat in the oven when the craving for one hits.

You can eat these as is or topped with sour cream and guacamole. They can really be made to any preference you like.

If you try it out, let me know how you like it!

Bible Journaling: Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8 is a verse that sticks with me all the time. Mainly because I have a hard time keeping my mind in a positive place. I am someone who will let things get to me and just pull me down into a hole that is hard to crawl out of. 

Because of this, I spend a lot of time fighting my own mind. I have to remember to take my runaway thoughts and let them go and think of better things.

And to help me with this I turn to Philippians 4:8 which says "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think of such things."

I know that I have to think on the good. Because there is so much good. And when I get into a thought funk I will miss it. It will just pass me by. And so I actively work on keeping my mind focused on the "true, right, noble, pure, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy"- it really helps make my days better. And it keeps me focused more on God and not myself.

Bible Journaling: Exodus 14:14

Bible journaling has become all the rage on Pinterest.

I've seen many pictures pop up as I would go through my Pinterest feed of beautifully made pictures to describe Bible verses.

As I looked more into it I became more and more intrigued. Because I love decorating with words. I love seeing words become pictures to give a visual expression of what is being said.

So I wanted to dive into it myself.

First things first: Pick a Bible that has wide margins and is in a translation that I like. I wanted it to be a hardcover binding so that it will lay flat and be sturdy when I work in it.

I chose this one:

It's not too big in size. Has readable print and wide margins. It's perfect for me.

And once I got it, I grabbed some colored pencils. I opted for pencils because I wanted to option of erasing if I needed and wanted to keep it as simple as possible for me. But I still wanted many color options and minimal fuss. Some people like to use paint or crayons, or painters pen. Some like stickers and glue and glitter. There is really no wrong way to do this.

And then I needed to choose my verse. I decided to stick with a verse instead of a big chunk of scripture. I wanted to be able to keep it simple and meditate while I created.

I chose Exodus 14:14- "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still."

This is one of my favorite verses. That is why I chose it to start my Bible Journaling. You can read this chpater of Exodus here.

The Israelites were being pursued by Pharoah and his army after fleeing Egypt. They were at the shore of the Red Sea and could see the Egyptians approaching. They began to fear. They began to question what they were doing. They began to question God. And Moses tells them: "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still."

And Moses then listened in obedience to God and lifted his staff and the Red Sea parted before them.

You see, this was not a time for battle. This was a time for obedience. The Lord was already prepared for the fight. They just needed to follow his instructions and he would take care of the rest.

For me, it's all about getting out of God's way. I don't have to prepare to fight. I don't have to be in the battle. Instead I can hang up my gloves and step aside and just listen to God. And he will take care of the rest.

Have you dabbled in Bible Journaling?

I'll share more as I continue to add in my study.

This post contains affiliate links.

Homemade Sub Bread

Lately we are busy! It seems almost every single night there is something to do and we are rushing through dinner. There are even nights we aren't even able to make it home. So what are our dinner options? Either some kind of fast food, which for this family of 5 could cost us around $30-$40, or bring something from home that is easy to take along.

And our preferred easy travel food are sub sandwiches.  Everyone can have just what they want on their sandwich so there is no complaining and it's filling with chips and fruit on the side. It makes a full meal and that makes this mom happy!

And I have completely embraced making our own Sub Sandwich Bread. I have found that the store sub bread just never quite makes the cut. It just lacks flavor, is typically too thick and makes sandwiches too dry. But this homemade bread can be as thick as you like and is soft and just plain yummy!

Give it a try and see how your family likes it. And it's super easy.

Homemade Sub Bread

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups bread flour

2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp oil (I use olive oil)

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1 1/3-1 1/2 cups warm water

1. Set the stand mixer with dough hook. In bowl add flours, salt, oil, sugar, yeast. Combine on lowest setting for 30-60 seconds.

2. Slowly add water to mix while mixer is on. (start with about a cup and if it looks too dry slowly add a little more at a time until dough is wet)

3. Once a dough has formed knead on medium low for about 5-7 minutes and the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.

4. Dump dough on to a clean counter a knead until it forms a smooth ball.

5. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with dishcloth and let rise until double in size, about an hour.

6. Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and divide into 6-8 pieces and shape to desired size and length.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and let bread rise for about 30 minutes.

8. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes. At 15 minutes, you'll have a crunchier crust and a soft inside and 10 minutes is soft all around bread.

9. Let cool, then slice through the middle and add your favorite sandwich fix ins!

I have found that this bread goes great with just about anything! Enjoy and let me know how your sandwiches turned out!

Goals for 2016

To say that 2015 has been a hard year would be a complete understatement. It has been the hardest year of my life. So much has happened.

I don't want to be vague but I also do not want to delve into the hurt and the pain and the work that has taken place.

I was not able to complete many of my goals for 2015. I didn't read as many books as I wanted to. I didn't run a single step, let alone a mile. I ignored my blog completely. There was so much that I wanted to say and so much that I couldn't find the words to express.

So for 2016 I need to a whole new set of goals.

1. Have new family pictures taken
2. Read 12 books
3. Read 24 books
4. Have 12 out of the house, kids free dates with Michael.
5. Have weekly in home dates with Michael.
6. Post 2 blog posts a month.
7. Write a Bible Study
8. Complete Mario Maker "100 Mario Challenge" on expert level
9. Have weekly Bible studies with the kids
10. Paint the kitchen and bathrooms
11. Paint my bedroom
12. Lose 25 lbs
13. Make a pretty cake all from scratch
14. Crochet a blanket for Michael
15. Write a short story
16. Complete gift projects that I started for the kids
17. Finish Dragon Age Inquisition with Michael
18. Drink water daily
19. Identify one good thing everyday
20. Encourage my family daily

And there you have it. My 2016 goals. I'm hoping that these are all achievable. Wish me luck as 2016 begins. I'm ready for a new year and new goals.

If you want to follow me as I update my goals throughout the year you can go to my Goals Page.

How Veggie Tales Ruined Church for Me

Well, that's really an exaggeration.

Veggie Tales didn't actually ruin church for me but what it did was ruin a specific phrase. If you have seen Jonah: The Veggie Tales Movie you may understand exactly what I am talking about.

The final song in the movie is Jonah was a Prophet and in this song they sing the phrase probably 4 bazillion times and every time they say "Jonah was a prophet" it is followed by an "ooh, ooh". And now, for the life of me, whenever the phrase "was a prophet" is uttered in church my mind sings "ooh, ooh".

There seems no stopping this madness! I am fully aware that this movie is 13 years old. That is how long that this has been a problem for me.

So I will be sitting in church, listening to the sermon, enjoying myself and then they will say:

Isaiah was a prophet....

my head then will sing "ooh,ooh"

or

Jeremiah was a prophet... ooh, ooh

Micah was a prophet... ooh, ooh

and on and on and on.

Do you know how many prophets there are? This can just go on forever. And then my head will be full of this song for the rest of the day.

And now I will share it with you so you can also enjoy it in your head too!