A View into My Life

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... rainy and dreary.  But it did get above freezing! 

I am thinking...of the Passion of Jesus.  I experienced an overwhelming feeling of being scandalously loved and forgiven during communion and then through the entire service.  It really messed me up for the better.  I haven't been able to shake that overwhelming grip today - hope I never do...

I am thankful for...my life.  Simple? Yes.  Boring?  Never!

From the kitchen... Tomorrow I am hoping to bake some banana muffins and apple muffins.  If I can, I will post the recipes tomorrow.  Will start marinating the roast for Sauerbraten for Small Group dinner Wednesday.

I am wearing... what I wore to church this morning - black cords, white tank top and black and white fleck sweater.

I am creating... a message God is burning in my heart.

I am going... to finish the laundry tomorrow.  Also, I need to go through my closet again.  I'm running out of clothes and I hate to shop.

I am reading... a new Lenten devotional - Reliving the Passion by Walter Wangerin, Jr.  and the norm - The One Year NLT Chronological Bible, Beth Moore's newest, So Long Insecurity (You've Been a Bad Friend to Us), and several books to prepare a message God has laid on my heart for a ladies retreat/conference. 

Pondering these words... "Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in Heaven but few who bear His Cross.  Many follow Jesus to the Breaking of the Bread, but few to the drinking of the Cup of His Passion.  They who love Jesus for His own sake, and not for the sake of comfort for themselves, bless Him in every trial and anguish of heart, no less than in the greatest joy."  Thomas a` Kempis The Imitation of Christ

I am hoping...that spring comes soon.  The kids have cabin fever and need fresh air.  We need sunshine desperately!  It's been a long winter and it doesn't seem to want to end.

I am hearing... ice dancing on TV, dog snoring on the floor, Chris snoring on the other couch. A content woman's Sunday evening.

Around the house... cleaning, laundry, cooking...life as normal

One of my favorite things...hearing my kids pray to Jesus. 

A few plans for the rest of the week... another dentist appt, Bible study Monday night, finalizing the tile order for kitchen and bath, preschool, ChristCare (small group) Wed night.

The Story of Love Within the Pages of the Story of Death

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me"." Matthew 16:24 NLT

Next time you are sitting in a coffee shop, look around and see if you can find one. It won't take long to spot, I can assure you. It could be gold or silver, jeweled and delicate or metallic and rugged.

It musters up different emotions. For some, it is a piece of jewelry that is worn without a thought. After all, it was bought just for that outfit. The perfect accessory to finish off the look just right.

For others, it is something to be shied away from. They remember the picture of the man hanging on it. They shiver thinking that someone died on one. Why would anyone want to focus on something that speaks of pain and torture?

But for some, it is the symbol of all that is. It symbolizes all they were, all they are and all they will be. It tells the greatest story ever told. The story of Love within the pages of the story of death.

His death so I may live.

My death so He may live.

How odd. The logical sequence is life then death, not death then life.

But that is exactly how it is.

In order to live, there must be death.

We celebrate life with "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" and then we wait for the sound that, since the beginning of time, a mother holds her breath to hear. The cry of life. 

But death.

His death.

His death not warranted nor deserved. His death so life could be born. His death so victory could be won. His death so a Creator could be reunited with His creation. His death so a Father could be reunited with His child.

Another death.

My death.

My death is the only way I know how to even start to say thank you. My death so the Spirit can fully have His way. My death so that same stubborn sin finally dies. My death so the gripping temptations lose their hold.

His death began with surrender. “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Luke 22:42 NLT 

Mine begins in much the same way.

Starting with the bending of my knee and the bowing of my heart to the King of kings.  Praying "Your will, not mine. Your desires, not mine. Your control, not mine.  All to you and for you Jesus, I surrender."

Today starts a forty day journey to the Cross which will end at an open and empty tomb. A journey from death to life, from defeat to victory. Let’s not journey through this Lenten season unchanged. Let’s die to ourselves so that we may live and experience abundant life. Let’s let the Light of Jesus shine on what needs to die. Let’s let the Word penetrate into our hearts so we can be transformed and our minds be renewed. Let’s take up our cross and follow him.

Each of us is shaped to serve the living God. We come together for one common goal, total health. Some of us are on a journey to weight loss. Some of us are on a journey to wholeness and healing. Some of us are on a journey to living life above the rubble. Whatever your journey, our destination is the same - a life of fullness of health through Jesus.

I want to hear from you. Where do you want to be forty days from now? Are you willing to walk the path to the Cross with us? To let God have his way to transform us - ordinary women with ordinary challenges as we seek to serve our extraordinary God.

A Glimpse of the Simple Yet Crazy Life

This Week's Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... it is now dark but there is still snow on the ground and hearing we are supposed to get more tomorrow and Tuesday.

I am thinking... about all that needs to be done.  House needs to get a thorough cleaning so construction can begin.  Katie needs to be moved back into her room.  Kids clothes need to be donated.  Bible study notes need to be prepared. 

I am thankful for... the great conversation Chris and I had today about John 16:33.  To be married to a man who loves Jesus.  To have kids whose hearts are tender to Jesus.  It gives me goosebumps to know that they really believe Jesus can do anything and everything. 

From the kitchen... homemade chicken noodle soup (my version of a Paula Deen recipe) and biscuits.  (Recipe follows - low cal and low fat and simply delicious!)

I am wearing... my favorite Coldwater Creek jeans and my Yellowstone sweatshirt with a white turtleneck.  My sweatshirts makes me long for WY - my favorite place in the world!  My favorite jeans need to go to Goodwill - they are just too big.  It will be like saying goodbye to a good friend.  Bittersweet!

I am creating... a message to be delivered in April on John 16:33.  Once the date and venue is confirmed I will tell you when and where!  Very exciting!

I am going... to clean the house tomorrow top to bottom.  Too much stuff and clutter stresses me out!

I am reading... The One Year NLT Chronological Bible (I am behind - again), Beth Moore's newest, So Long Insecurity (You've Been a Bad Friend to Us), and several books to prepare a message God has laid on my heart for a ladies retreat/conference.

Pondering these words... "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" John 16:33.  Do we believe that Jesus has overcome?  What has He overcome?  Are we trusting Him and believing Him for more than just our eternal home?

I am hoping... To get the house orgnaized so it is easier to function when construction begins.

I am hearing... couples figure skating on TV, dog snoring on the floor, Chris snoring on the other couch.  A married and content woman's Valentine's Day.  We are home, happy and content.

Around the house... have I mentioned my goals of cleaning tomorrow?  Need to work on our menu for the week (maybe tomorrow night), kitchen and bath "stuff" is accumulating in the dining room.  New fridge, new range, new wine cooler, new trash compactor, new dishwasher, new jacuzzi tub, 2 toilets, 7 new doors, new wall oven, new microwave.  I could open up my own Lowes!  Where oh where will the cabinets and tile go when it gets delievered? 

One of my favorite things...homemade chicken noodle soup.

A few plans for the rest of the week... dentist appts, Bible Study, finalizing the tile order for kitchen and bath, preschool, (Hopefully - with all the snow days and the stomach bug I think Benjamin has only been 2 or 3 times since Christmas!)
 
My [Healthy] Version of Paula Deen's Chicken Noodle Soup
Note: This makes a large recipe but freezes very well. If you need a smaller amount, just halve all the ingredients.

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
5 quarts water
2 onions peeled and left whole
4 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 bay leaves
5 chicken bouillion cubes
Salt and Pepper to taste
 
Add all ingredients to stock pot.  Bring to a boil and cook until chicken is tender, aout 35 to 40 minutes.  Remove chicken from pot and shred and set aside.  Remove and discard onion and bay leaves. 
 
3-4 cups sliced carrots
3-4 cups sliced celery
3-1/2 to 4 cups whole wheat egg noodles, uncooked (look for whole wheat, no yolk, low fat noodles)
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
 
Bring stock back to boil.  Add carrots and cook for 3 minutes.  Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes.  Add noodles and cook according to directions on package.  When noodles are done, add shredded chicken breast and parsley.  Cook for another 2 minutes.  Adjust seasoning if needed.
 
Low Cal/Low Fat, Delicious Old Fashioned Drop Biscuits
 
1-1/2 cups Bisquick Heart Health
1/2 cup skim milk
 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Mix together until soft dough forms.  Drop by tablespoons on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10 mins or until slightly golden brown.
 
Have a Soup-er Day of Warm Blessings!
~ O'Nealya
 
 
 
 
 

Foolish and Weak

***To my first four friends to follow Shaped to Serve - you all win!  April and Angel - email me your home addresses here and I will mail them ASAP.  I have your address, Joy and Christy, I will bring your coupon to church on Sunday!  (I know I said 3 but I just couldn't leave one of you out!) 

Today was Benjamin's preschool Valentine's Day party.  This was a first for this mom - seeing just how much sugar one child can consume between the hours of 9 am and noon!  Cupcakes, cookies, ice cream AND candy!  His teachers USED TO BE two of my favorite ladies in the whole world! 

When I saw the remnants of the party in the classroom, and the smell of all things sweet turned my stomach, it reminded me that I am no longer bound to food.  And that, girlfriends is a good thing! 

I have to share with you something that only God could have orchastrated. 

If you were to go through my prayer journals you would see that the same prayer pops up over and over.  "Lord teach me to be the mom you desire me to be!" 

I long to be organized - but find days when the kids and I never get out of our PJs. 

I long for a structured day - but find my kids finally falling asleep for their afternoon nap at 3:30 instead of at 2:00 when I laid them down. 

I long to make fun memories with my kids - but find that Play Doh stresses me out. 

I long to be an example to my kids of the love and grace of Jesus - but find myself in a battle of between being too hard on the kids (and expecting more out of them than an almost two year old and a three and a half year old is capable of doing) and being too leaniant on them (and having them think they can overrun mom and dad). 

Enter God....

Chris and I are new to our church.  Exactly one year ago this month we started attending and just became members in November.  At our previous church we were the epitome of active.  I taught multiple bible studies, spoke at women's retreats and conferences, created the children's church program, directed VBS and did anything and everything in between.  (I had a very hard time learning the word 'no').  Chris served on council and did anything and everything his schedule allowed and still holds the prize for being the most patient and understanding husband as his wife ran in a million different directions. 

That life came to a screaching halt when we were directed by God to leave our church.  We came to Messiah and God had us sit and listen and be fed.  A great time of refreshment that was so needed in both our lives.

This fall I became antsy looking for a ministry to get involved in.  My passion is women.  The thing that makes my heart sing is to see women break free from the chains that their past, their 'religion', their family dysfunction and ultimately the enemy has them bound to.  God has called me to minister to women and I sat for many months waiting for God to lead.

About a month ago our pastor stopped me in the hall at church during preschool pick-up and asked me to set up a time to meet with him.  He had a ministry idea he wanted to talk to me about.  I bit my tongue and stopped myself from just yelling "yes, I'll do whatever you want.  Just give me something to do."  (I have grown a lot this last year!)

As I sat in his office a week or so later he asked me if I would coordinate the outreach to our preschool families.  Starting with a newsletter addressing parenting topics (How to get dressed before 4pm?), resources (James Dobson's The Strong Willed Child...Otherwise Known as Katherine Gronstal?), and activities (How to embrace Play Doh as your friend?).  And do this with the ultimate goal of ministering to those who are not churched. 

While the idea and ministry opportunity intrigued me I have to admit, I felt completely unqualified.  Me help people raise their kids and not lose their minds?  I had already lost mine so there wasn't much I could offer.

But God. 

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." I Corinthians 1:27 NIV

Foolish?  Um, I pay to be blonde and get my money's worth all the time!

Weak?  I had to get married so I could open pickle jars!

Ok, Paul thinks I am qualified...

The more I pondered and prayed about the opportunity, the more the Holy Spirit kept bringing ideas to mind.

Ideas like:

How can a mom, who can't get her kids dressed during the day, still tuck them in at night with tears of joy for these unbelievable, totally undeserved miracles from God?

Who do you talk to when you think you have completely failed as a parent and your kids will end up as permanent fixtures in a counselor's office? 

Where can a parent find a safe place other than Facebook to share their struggles and joys and find someone, anyone who has walked a mile in their shoes?

It was ideas like those that convinced me this is something God has called me to.  By reaching out to others and helping them navigate the sometimes rough, somethings calm, and sometimes downright hilarious waters of this crazy thing called parenthood, my prayer of "Lord, teach me to be the mom you desire me to be!" would be answered.

Isn't that so God?  By putting our focus on being a blessing to others and pointing people to a Savior who can turn their biggest mess into something beautiful, we in turn are the ones who are truly blessed.  We don't have to have all the answers - in fact we shouldn't have all the answers - for this broken, lost world.  We just need to offer ourselves as a living, breathing, available vessel to the One who holds it all together and let Him do the work.

Here I am.  Lord, send me....
 

A Few Steps Over the Treshold

Four months. Forty pounds. 400 lessons learned.

A year ago I would have never thought I would be developing a blog about, of all things, successful weight loss. But here we are forty pounds later and I am on the laptop while the kids are napping (sort of) clicking away. I may not be Valerie Bertinelli or Marie Osmond and have the benefit of being a household name (to at least those of us raised in the late 70's and early 80's) but I do have a heart to cheer others on to victory.

All cliches aside - If I can do it - you can do it...with Jesus!

I started my journey out of pure conviction. My sweet friend Lysa TerKeurst asked me and 600 other Jesus loving gals, "What do you crave more than Jesus?" during her key note at She Speaks on July 31, 2009. I will never forget her words. They haunted me for two months until I fell on the floor and asked for the strength and grace to do the thing I needed to do.

I guess you could say I put the grace of Jesus to a test. Didn't really mean to - not really a lay your fleece out to God kind of gal - but looking back I have to admit that's kind of what I did. Salt and crunch are were my biggest temptation and I knew if I was going to experience freedom from this stronghold then that temptation had to be overcome. So I asked God to remove the temptation from my life. I was tired of trying and tired of failing so I asked Someone to remove it who I have read has the ability to do so.

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."  I Corinthians 10:13 NIV

And on Sunday Jesus proved Himself strong!

My beloved Colts may have lost Sunday's Superbowl in the second half but Jesus and I had a winning touchdown moment in my girlfriend's kitchen during the third quarter. Smack dab in the middle of her kitchen island was a BIG bowl of Lay's potato chips and a BIG bowl of french onion dip. Four months ago I would have stood in front of that island and watched the entire game while eating the entire bowl.

I am not kidding. I am the gal they were thinking of when Lay's proclaimed "No One Can Eat Just One."

Sunday I ate TWO. Chips not bowls. Two chips with the ends just barely dipped in french onion dip. Those two chips were absolutely delicious. Then I was done. I didn't have to tell myself to stop eating them. I didn't even give myself a lecture on how hard I had worked and it wasn't worth gaining all 40 pounds back in one evening with one bag of chips. I ate two and was satisfied. No temptation. In fact, when I went back for a couple more Hungry Girl H-O-T Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings, I didn't think twice about the potato chips. Victory!

The Saints may have been marching on in Miami but I had my own saints cheering for me on streets paved with gold.

So welcome to Shaped to Serve. It is my hope that this blog becomes a place of encouragement, motivation and most of all fun. I know what it is like to struggle. I know what it is like to be so stinking mad at yourself you could scream. I know what it is like to feel like you can't serve our Lord to your fullest because you are bound to the lie of defeat and failure.

I also know what it is like to experience answered prayer, victory and being living proof of God's faithfulness!

I am not following a diet plan. The only thing I am doing is counting calories. I eat real food and cook normal meals. Along the way I have found some great, inexpensive products that even my husband and two toddlers will eat. I will share what I have discovered and look forward to hearing what you love. I also cook differently than before. You could say I am Paula Deen turned Cook Yourself Thin. I have made some great healthy substitutions, have tweaked and retweaked recipes and am now doing my part to manage my husband's Type II Diabetes through what he eats (when I am in control have influence of the food he eats). Anything I find, create, tweak or steal I will share with you.

In fact, today I will tell you about one of my favorite late night, I-need-chocolate-or-I-am-going-to-hurt-someone treats. This has replaced ice cream in our house. And we love us some ice cream.

Jello has created decadent, rich Mousse Temptations that come in three oh so good flavors - Dark Chocolate Decadence (my favorite), Chocolate Indulgence and Caramel Creme. We have had all three and love them all. Here's the best part - each serving is only 60 calories! Add a little squirt of Fat Free Reddi-Whip and you've got yourself a late night affair for only 65 calories! And for those of you wondering - the serving size is enough to make my husband smile :)

And as an extra special treat to welcome you to our little corner of the blogging world I have three coupons to try Mousse Temptations for FREE! Leave a comment and I will randomly pick 3 winner on Thursday. The coupons are from Jello and expire on February 28th. You will receive them in the mail with time to spare.

Now doesn't that sound like fun? Tell your girlfriends and blogging buddies to grab a cup of coffee and join our little group of ordinary women struggling with ordinary challenges who long to serve our Extraordinary God! Some days the posts will be recipes, some days it will be a new or newly discovered product and some days it will be something Jesus is teaching me that is just too good to keep to myself! Heck, some days it may be to just a mix of all three!  Be sure to subscribe so you will know when we have a new post and let's do this thing!

I am so glad you stopped by and I can't wait to see what our great God is going to do through this little blog.

Sweet, dark chocolate blessings!

~ O'Nealya