Teach Me Tuesday~ Banana Bread

Today I am going to share a new (to me) recipe for Banana Bread that I have used way too much over the last few months!! I hope you like it as much as I do.  If you are a health nut or don't eat white flour you can substitute  whole wheat flour and it still is delicious!

Here ya go:

Quick Banana Bread

3-4 bananas
1 c. sugar
1 egg
 1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. melted butter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Mash bananas. Stir in other ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour in preheated oven at 325-350 degrees.  Makes 1 loaf.  The kids love it!!!

Motivation Monday~ The Donkey Lesson

Hormuzd J Dadinath's Photos

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less from people but more from God.

You have two choices... smile and close this page,
or pass this along to someone else to share the lesson .
God bless us all!

By: Hormuzd J Dadinath

I copied this post/lesson from something I found on Facebook!  It seemed perfect for this Monday morning.  Let's all just shake it off and step up onto higher ground!!  

Be Blessed,

Jamie

Fun Friday Project: Re-do of Boys Bedroom

Once we found out that our foster son's case was definitely going to be moving to adoption we decided to update his room to make it more personal.  We have two extra rooms, one was bright bubble gum pink and the other a minty green.  Our daughter Hailey decided that she was sick of pink and wanted the minty green room (which coincidentally and thankfully matched her bed's comforter perfectly).  But that left Bryson, our son, in a bright pink room.  Definitely not appropriate for a boy that LOVES sports and all things boyish.

I scoured the web for boys sports room ideas and found some things I loved and some things that I did not.  First off was the paint!  I would have loved to do a chair rail but it wasn't in the budget so we improvised.  We did navy blue on the bottom, a stripe of red around the middle and a sandy tan on the top half.  It felt so good to get rid of that pink color!!

Next up, I went to Home Goods and got some decorations.  I found a weathered mail slot.  I decided to turn it upside down so I could use it to display bobble heads and baseballs.  Eventually I will add hooks so he can hang baseball hats on it.  I also found a picture board which I placed pics from his first baseball game.  I found a cute navy blue Games box for all of his toys there too.

At Target on the clearance rack I found a great sports themed rug for $17!  It looks so cute and really defines the play area of the room.  We found a Full size bed on Craigslist (my parents got a comfy mattress topper for it since they'll be visiting most often).  I found the bedding at Target, the whole set with sheets, comforter, pillowcases, and bed skirt was only $20!!  I got a couple decorative pillow case covers and throw pillows at Home Goods to complete the bed.

At Home Goods I found this awesome star for the wall in a deep hunter green.  It was perfect in that it pulled out the small green detail in the pillows.  It really completes the All-Star sports theme.

Lastly, I went to Michaels and got some wooden letters that spell Bryson's name.  At home I painted the letters the same color as the Navy blue we painted the bottom of the room. (Hailey helped!) I place them around the star above the bed.  The final product of the room turned out so great!  This room screams "Bryson!"  He loves it!  He deserves it!  Every kid deserves to have a room that is special, just for them. 

What do you think? 

Thankful Thursday~ Laundry day

Today I was trying to think of something I am initially not thankful for and spin it around in my mind to find a way to be thankful for it.  Generally laundry day is not my favorite day.  Lots of bending, sorting, loading, unloading, folding, and putting away it all is not something I enjoy.  It's typically a stay home all day type of day because it takes a whole day for me to get 5 loads done. 

BUT God says that we are to be thankful in ALL circumstances so I'm assuming He means laundry day as well.  So I have been thinking about it.  What are some things I can be thankful for about laundry day. This is what I came up with:

1. More time at home means more time for the kids to have free play.  I am blessed that (so far) my two kiddos love to spend time together.  They copy each other, chase after each other, and love on each other.  It is pretty adorable to watch I must say.  A day at home is a great day to them.

2. Let's face it, laundry day can be a workout! Lots of standing on your feet and bending over!  More exercise is always a good thing! (this picture is not me but maybe I would look like that if I did laundry seven days a week... ) :)

3. Warm, clean smelling clothes!  I love the way clothes feel when they come out of the dryer.  There is about 10 seconds before they cool down and they are so soft and cozy.  It's a short lived pleasure but it's still nice.

4. The last thing I love, and I mean absolutely LOVE about laundry day is...that I have 6 days to enjoy before I get to, ahem..enjoy it all over again :)

 Be Blessed,

Jamie

Word-Filled Wednesday!

Here are a few quotes to ponder that I found on Pinterest!  Enjoy!

Teach Me Tuesday~ Drifting

Hi Friends!
Welcome to another "Teach Me Tuesday" post!  God has been teaching me a lot of little lessons lately but at church on Sunday there were some things that Pastor Mike said that have really stuck with me.  Our church is doing a "How to Wreck Your Life" series and this week's sermon was on Drifting.

2 Corinthians 11:3 "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

Let's face it, Satan wants to destroy our faith.  He doesn't want us to follow God, listen to Him, or live a life that pleases Him. He wants to "steal, kill, and destroy."  He's a bad, bad dude.  Yet he's subtle and he can get us to fall away in the most deceptive ways.

These are the 5 steps that you are drifting away from God:
1.  You are disregarding your time with God.
2.  You are blaming God for your poor circumstances.
3.  You are indulging in bad company.
4.  You are falling into temptation regularly.
5.  You are treasuring the world more than you are treasuring God.

I will admit that I am guilty of struggling with all of these at one time or another.  But lately number 1 has been a serious struggle.  I have two kids, one of which I homeschool and to find quiet time to spend with God is hard to find.  That is, unless I am willing to wake up before the kids and let's be honest, that is really tough to do.  I have a million excuses but all of them are lame because I know that I need that time with God.  It's like exercise, it takes some motivation to sit down and do it but once you do, you NEVER regret it!  So, tomorrow I am going to do it.  I am going to wake up at (EEK) 6:30 am and spend a half hour with God.  I'll probably spend the first five minutes praying that I can stay awake but I definitely know it is worth it.  God is always worth it.  Always.

The pastor asked everyone, Are you closer to God today than you have ever been?  If not, why?  You know God hasn't moved.  That means you have.  And more than likely one of the five is causing you to drift away from Him. (ouch, the truth hurts!)

If you are willing to share, which one of the five do you struggle with, and how can you take the steps to move closer to God, instead of drifting away?

Motivational Mondays~ Forgiveness

The word forgiveness is used a lot in sunday schools and church sermons and is the cornerstone of what it means to be "saved by grace" through Jesus Christ.  We all know how important it is, we wouldn't be Christians without it.  If God hadn't forgiven us for our sins, we wouldn't be able to have a new life with a relationship with Him.  God doesn't just forgive us on the day that we accept Him into our hearts, He also forgives us every day, every second after that until we die and go to heaven to live with Him.  Forgiveness. It's a big deal.

God isn't the only one who is supposed to forgive.  We are too.  In our life there will be many people who hurt us, disappoint us, treat us poorly, hurt our friends and family, demean us, curse at us, and humiliate us.  God wants us to forgive them.  The dictionary defines forgiveness as "to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offense or debt."  Forgiveness is not earned, it is given as a free gift.  We forgive otheres because God forgave us and we are so thankful that we want to follow in His footsteps.

Forgiveness is NOT easy.  In some cases you can just say to yourself that you forgive someone and it's truly over.  In other cases it make take months or even  years to fully forgive.  But it's God's will so He will help you if you need/want Him to!   Ephesians 4:32 says "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

The other side of the coin is forgiving yourself.  Let's face it, we have all made mistakes in our life that we are not proud of.  We have all been the one who hurt someone else at some point, the one who wanted the forgiveness.  Sometimes we recieve that forgivness and sometimes we don't but we also have to pray and forgive ourselves.  If we don't, it can eat up at you for years and years.  In order to let it go you have to talk to God and ask Him to forgive you and then forgive yourself and move on.  When the offense comes up in your mind (and it will) just remind yourself that God is GOOD and you are forgiven!! 

This week, my Motivational encouragement for you is to find forgiveness.  Forgive someone or finally forgive yourself.  You will be so much lighter and free-er to hear what God wants to say to you. 

Be Blessed,
Jamie