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,...

Yes we made it!  21 days in prayers, 21 days of reading the Bible, 21 days of fasting (for the most part)! It was not easy no not at all. It was nothing like I thought it would be. It was an experience that I do want to try again sooner rather then later! Reading the Bible and praying as a family on a daily basis is still happening. We did miss one day and honestly I felt it, like a missed conversation with your best friend. Today we only got in a couple minutes of Bible reading and prayer but the point is we did it. Maybe even more so the point is the kids asked for it. I liked that! I like that  they are in this with us holding us adults accountable. I too had started to carve out time to pray and read by myself each day during the committed 21 days. On the days I don't get to I feel like I am barely getting through the day. I hate myself and everyone else within hours of waking up and it pretty much sets my day up for complete destruction. So I need that time....

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...

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....