Finding harmony in family, finance & military life

Read Haggai chapter 1 today and two warnings followed by a promise jumped off the page. Haggai 1:5 The Lord Almighty says "Give careful thought to your ways" Haggai 1:7 The Lord Almighty says " Give careful thought to your ways" Following the first warning was a list of what they had done for themselves that yielded little or no results. Following the second a list of what they should do to bring Honor to the house of the Lord. He, God our maker the creator of Heaven and Earth, is calling us to think! Think about what we are doing each day, every minute of every day. Do our actions honor Him? Do our words honor Him? Is He reflected in the lives we live? Are we living only to bring honor and glory to ourselves while our soul, our spiritual selves, the temple in which God the Holy Spirit resides lay in ruins? Then came the promise. Haggai 1:13 "I am with you" Declares the Lord! That declaration brings warm fuzzies to your soul. He is with you,...

I am sitting here trying to remember yesterday! I do remember reading the Bible I just can not recall the discussion we had afterwards. Ah yes now I remember bread and donkeys! We read 1 Samuel 16 when God tells Samuel to stop his mourning for Saul and anoint the new King. We got to meet David last night "A man after God's own heart" is how he is often described. A warrior, a musician, a prayer and a killer of giants. He feared nothing on this earth. He loved God! He also served under the man he was destined to replace as king. Questions covered by my crew. Why did Saul want to kill Samuel? Because he was evil, he was no longer with God he was tormented. They really have a hard time understanding that there are evil people in this world, people who will kill you for doing what it right. Why did David take a donkey and bread? Ha ha my answer well he had a long way to go and they did not have cars back then. David was a smaller guy so he could hop on that donkey and t...

Don't worry we haven't stopped! We are still right on track reading the Bible, discussing it and praying together every day as a family. We are still doing the Daniel Fast with some modifications here and there I am sure. On Sunday we tried Tahini Wild Rice Cakes  and loved them! Brent helped me make them and sprinkled some Old Bay seasoning on ours it was fabulous. On Monday we tried a tofu scramble. I will give you the recipe exactly how I shared it with a friend on Facebook. " I did "The Daniel Fast" recipe altered for my family. It was the extra firm tofu drained, dried and crumbled. You need a whole chopped onion (I used flakes) and three cloves garlic minced saute in 1-2 tsp/tbsp olive oil. I use the more. Just a co uple minutes till onion is done then add 1tsp curry 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp cumin salt/pepper and a chopped up tomato plus the tofu. Cook for about five minutes till tofu is hot stirring frequently. Add a bunch of spinach let cook till spinac...

To sum up our family time tonight my Facebook status says it all: "  I think Brent and I had way to much fun reading the Bible to the kids. Acting out Jonathan and the armor bearer climbing a cliff and killing people. It was awesome ha ha. Brent read the devotion part and the prayer =D Saaaweeeeeet!! All the kids prayed tonight even Kady! She blessed all her bubbies (stuffed animals). It totally rocked! Spending time in the word as a family just kills the devil so if you want to be a demon slayer you totally gotta try it ;-)" Today was so much easier. My mind is clearer. I feel happy. We started the day talking to our three oldest kids about money. At our house work ethic is very important. We really want to impress upon them how important it is to work hard and earn money and we want them to know what to do with the money once they have it. We went over their individual job lists and how it is their responsibility to not only do the jobs but check them off on the ...

Yesterday was so much better! I woke up in a much better mood, Brent was happy and the older three kids were back in school. We hit balance thank goodness. I was still struggling with some things but the prayers that were a struggle on Wednesday came much easier on Thursday. I also got to try a couple of new recipes and cooking even if it turns out terrible always puts me in a better mood.  First I made these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies . The kids loved them so success! As for Brent and I well the raisins definitely make them sweet so be sure to use a lot of raisins and we are still looking forward to an Oreo at some point in the future. Next I made a pizza crust  which I will get back to in a minute. Then I made unleavened bread using the recipe in "The Daniel Fast " book. I was enjoying myself! Ok unleavened bread is very oily, I mean very, very oily. It reminded me of the story about Elijah in the Bible when he goes to the Widow and asks for food 1 Kings 17. S...

Yesterday was tough. No it was more then tough it was hard. Oh forget it lets be honest I had a horrible attitude all day yesterday! It was not the attitude of prayer I had imagined yesterday would yield instead it was just the opposite. It was Sarah the crabby, angry, unhappy, flesh filled Sarah! Brent was not much better but I will leave Brent's attitude to Brent as I did nothing to help it. I could not think, concentration was impossible and every time I tried to pray I found my thoughts focused on yet another area of my own grumpy existence. What was wrong with me?! I do not think it had anything to do with the fact that yesterday was an all liquid day either because I was not even hungry the first couple hours of the day yet I let every little negative explode into something much bigger in my head. I did manage to accomplish my shopping trip with all five kids and got everything I set out to buy except dryer bars. They were completely sold out. Guess those coupon classes are...

Day two! I really miss cheese, a lot. It is worth it though, giving it up for just a little while to watch my family grow in God. Brent is missing meat but I heard him pray out loud today I will take that swap. I am concerned about how he will do as he returns to work. Working with a bunch of men food is bound to come up. I will be praying for him a lot over the next couple of days. We are eating hard boiled eggs this week for one to help us transition into the fast and for another because I had two dozen eggs that needed to be eaten! Oatmeal, vegetables, fruit, rice and beans round out our meals along with a lot and I mean a lot of water. We are satisfied. Today we read from the book of Mark chapter 4. I love reading the parables! Today what stood out is the story of sowing the seed and how the seed grows depending on where it lands and what is harvested as a result. It makes you think about what you are sowing into your own life and into the lives of others....

Last week Brent and I made the decision to join our church family in a 21 day fast. We needed to do this as a family. I knew it would not be easy but it would be beneficial. We need to focus more on time spent as a family in prayer, reading the Bible and getting closer to God. The week since making that decision has been extremely high stress, exhaustion filled and down right discouraging. Satan took up a stomping ground in my head and my home. It was the perfect example of just why our family needs to do what we are getting ready to do. Choosing the type of fast was easy. The Daniel Fast for Brent and I and a modified version for our five kids. I am not so hung up on what we can not have but what we will gain by doing this. I really hope that mindset pays off as we press forward. My biggest concern is my own endurance. I love to eat! Meat, cheese, ice cream, cake, sour cream oh yes to me it is all good so giving it up will take will power. Brent while concerned about what he can...

 My list was a gallon of milk and three packs of Keeblers cookies. I had coupons I needed to use from my last shopping trip when stuff was out of stock and I was hoping to find more coupons while I shopped so I left my list open to add on items. In the end I left with 2 Gallons of milk @ $3.46 each 6 packs of Keeblers cookies @ $1.99 each 1 pack of Nabisco cookies @ $1.70 4 DiGiorno Pizza with Bread sticks @ $5.50 each Coupons I used: I had 2 coupons for free milk with the purchase of three packs of Keeblers cookies, a coupon for $1 off Nabisco cookies with a milk purchase and 2 coupons for $4 off with the purchase of 2 DiGiorno Pizza with Bread Sticks. So my after coupons the total was $28.77 I saved $15.92 with my five coupons that equaled a 37% savings!!One package of cookies included $4 worth of coupons that I will be able to use in the future for even more savings! I must say God was watching out for my family this month. Last month I missed my WIC re-certification b...