Saving Time and Money

I'm not Martha Stewart and I don't claim to be anything other than a Domestic Diva Wannabe, but last night I was having a conversation with a friend on facebook about ways to save time and money, when it comes to making dinner.

My friend works fulll time and has a 2 year old.  By the time she gets home from work she has about 90 minutes to make dinner, eat dinner and then get her daughter in bed. My position in life is a bit different because I stay at home with my two kids, but I still don't want to spend any more time doing prep work than I have to since I have two "helpers" underfoot and nobody to keep them busy while I'm cooking.  Also, I'm just lazy.

During our brainstorming session here are a few of the things we discussed:

Doing prep work once

*Does your recipe call for only half of an onion? Cut up the entire onion, stick the unused half in the freezer and save for later. 

*Are you marinating meat to put on the grill tonight? Make a double batch of marinade.  Use one batch tonight and fill a ziploc with the other half, stick the meat in it and freeze.  When you go to defrost the meat later it'll already be marinated and ready to cook. This is one of my favorite marinades and I almost always have it in my freezer.

Freeze fruits and veggies when they're on sale

*This goes along with only doing prep work once.  My kids LOVE to snack on red bell peppers.  This year I have been able to buy them in season for 3 for $1. Out of season the same peppers cost at least $1.50/each.  When they're in season, and on sale, I buy about 10-15 peppers and then slice them.  I spread the sliced peppers onto a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once solid I transfer the peppers into a ziploc bag.  Later I can reach in and grab my kids a couple to snack on or throw them into a recipe like fajitas or soup.

*I use this same method with berries.  I wash the berries and spread them on a cookie sheet to freeze.  I slice strawberries before freezing, but leave blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries whole.  Once frozen I put them in a ziploc.  Later I use the frozen berries to make smoothies for my kids or to add to hot oatmeal.

Cook in bulk

*I cook 5-6 chicken breasts at a time. We'll eat two for dinner that night and then I dice the others and freeze them in single serve portions so I can add the meat later to soups, chilis, enchilladas, salads, pasta, etc. In addition to the time savings of having pre-cooked chicken on hand, I'm saving money because I'm able to buy when meat is on sale and I'm only using the electricity to heat my oven once. I am also saving time because I'm only having to do dishes once.

*As one of the original members of the Funky Freezer Girls I am a huge fan of freezer cooking.  You don't have to do Once A Month Cooking or be part of an exchange group in order to make your life easier using your freezer.  If you make your own pasta sauce, make a double batch and freeze half by putting it in a ziploc bag and lying it flat in your freezer until frozen.  If you make enchilladas, lasagna, or another casserole that goes in an 9x13 pan place the recipe in 2 8x8 pans.  Stick one pan in the oven for dinner that night and the other in the freezer for later.  The night before you're going to have your freezer meal, put it in the fridge to defrost and pop it in the oven after work. 


This is, in no way, a comprehensive list, but I pray it'll help you get the creative juices flowing in ways that you can save yourself time, stress and money.  Just because you don't have time to cook doesn't mean you have to eat out or eat processed food!

Jesus chose HIM!?!?

This summer my church issued a "100 Day Challenge" where they challenged everyone to read one chapter of the Bible a day and journal using the SOAP method.  The SOAP method consists of journaling a key Scripture that God used to speak to you, writing an Observation about that passage, writing an Application of that Scripture and concluding with a Prayer about it.   I was very excited about this because, without knowing it, I developed a similar method over the years for myself when doing my quiet time.  Unfortunately, I fell behind early in the game and have yet to catch up.  Because God is who He is, He has used my laziness and spoke to me exactly at the right time, even though it's not on the "schedule" the church suggests.  

Last month I had a very rough night where some friendship issues I'd been dealing with for awhile got the best of me and I ended up in the bathroom crying over a stranger/sister in Christ.  The next morning I read Matthew 10 and was wondering, "What verse am I going to journal about because none are 'popping out' at me?"  (I am very task oriented and I WAS going to write about something doggoneit).   I decided I would write about the calling of the disciples where Matthew writes "These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him"

What sticks out of me is that description of Judas.  Matthew wrote, "Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him"  I thought about that for a minute and wondered, "Why would Jesus intentionally choose Judas as an apostle when He knew that Judas was going to betray Him?  That's weird.  Why would He invest himself in someone like that and allow that person to be in his inner circle? "  I was completely stumped and confused.  I guarantee if I were choosing people to invest my life in and teach I wouldn't pick someone I knew was going to hand me over to those who wanted me killed.

Coming off the hurt I'd recently been experiencing (and less than 12 hours after I was crying all over a stranger in the ladies room) I realized, "Jesus knows what it's like to be betrayed by a friend!"  I immediately remembered Hebrews 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin."  Before I could fully process that, God continued to speak to me through this passage and I realized that Jesus knows that, as a mere human, I will betray him in my lifetime and He still loves me, has chosen me (Not the time to discuss Calvinism and predestination) and has invested in me.  Wow.  I'm really not that much different than Judas, am I?

The more I thought about this passage, and this new lesson God is teaching me, the more I realized I need to approach my relationships the same way Jesus did: Even though Jesus knew Judas was going to fail Him Jesus loved him anyway. Even though I may fail my friends, and they may fail me (we're all human, after all) we need to love each other anyway . . .

You Think You Know Someone

It's been nearly 9 years since I first met my husband, and over 7 years since the March evening we got married.  I like to think I know my husband pretty well and that I'm no longer surprised or impressed by anything he says does.  I've always admired and respected his loyalty to his friends.  I've known he is a man of amazing character and strength.  I've known that there is nothing my husband wouldn't do for someone he loves. As his wife, and the mother of his children, I have seen my husband be our family's fiercest protector and our biggest champion.  This week I saw how far he would go to help a friend . . .

Since I met my husband I've known he's had a friend since 3rd grade.  Though they have lived in separate states their entire adult lives, these two men have remained close and have "done life" together for nearly 40 years.  These friends, whose friendship was formed on an elementary school playground, are now 45 and have seen each other through girlfriends, breakups, marriages, a divorce, re-marriage, the birth of their children, sick siblings, etc. 

Tuesday morning we got word that this friend's mom had passed away in their hometown, 200 miles from where we live.  Upon hearing the news of Mrs. M's passing, my husband called his boss and took the rest of the week off to be available to his friend.  Over the past few days I have seen just how far my husband will go to do whatever he can to help his hurting friend and I am incredibly proud to be his wife.  While his friend began the grieving process my husband was by his side, just as he has been for years, and like he will be for the rest of their lives.

I got home last night to find this posted on my facebook wall from our friend's wife : "The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. "  ~ Elisabeth Foley

The truth is my husband doesn't see his actions over the past few days as anything special, but I think that's what makes him even more remarkable. In this day and age it's rare to find friends and friendships that last decades and remain strong.  Have I mentioned how proud I am to be married to this man?

What Love Looks Like

In my younger (single) days I believed love looked like a romantic comedy.  My love would be captivated by me at first sight, would sweep me off my feet, bring me flowers, rub my feet and listen intently to all my stories.  My love and I would never fight and would laugh at how petty our disagreements were (because, really, we didn't have any . . . )

At 35 I've been married for over 7 years and my view of love looks quite different from the Hollywood fantasy I was fed as young woman.

What love looks like to me these days:

Love looks like a husband taking a sick day to help with the kids because the 9mo old was regularly waking 2-3x/night and the 2.5yr old was regularly waking 1-2x/night leaving a tired Mommy curled up in the fetal position crying on the couch.

Love looks like a husband trading cars for the day to get the emissions test done on his lunch hour so that his wife didn't have to try to get it inspected while trying to wrangle a 2yr old and 4yr old in a glass cube with only about 4 square feet of floor space.

Love looks like a Daddy who tucks the kids into bed at night while Mommy collapses on the couch

Love looks like a husband who surprises his wife with tickets to a woman's conference she wanted to go to, but didn't think they could afford for her to attend

Love looks like a friend who drops everything, takes 3 days of vacation time, and drives several hundred miles across the desert to support a friend whose mom has just passed away

Love looks like a friend who drives over 60 miles round trip, with her two kids, to bring you your favorite Starbucks coffee and helps wrangle your kids and your nephew for an afternoon after your sister is in a car accident so you can clean house for family members who are arriving for your son's birthday party the same week.

Love looks like a nice home cooked meal and "date night in" so you don't have to find room in the budget to pay a baby-sitter and an expensive restaurant meal

Love looks like a freezer full of food made by friends so that you don't have to cook for the first few days after having a baby

Love looks like a perfect Man who paid a debt He did not owe for those who could never repay Him . . .

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him sall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him"  John 3:16,17

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"  Romans 5:8

The love I've come to know won't make millions at the box office, but it's more romantic than anything Hollywood could ever dream up . . .

What does love look like to you?

Living to the Hilt!

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1



Last night I came home from church and wrote about what is most valuable and promised I'd continue to write about what I heard last night and what God has been teaching me this summer about the importance of "little things" in our life

The pastor has daughters who are in elementary school and, during the sermon, he mentioned a conversation he'd had with this admin about the importance of being at his daughters' first day of school this year, even though they weren't entering Kindergarten.  Essentially the pastor's assistant reminded him that the first day of school is important to his daughters and isn't something he should miss.

The pastor also told of how some of the most meaningful conversations he's had with his daughters have been during another activity and when he hadn't "planned on them".  He said that if he'd been too busy to spend that time with them, he would've missed out on those conversations and opportunities.  I thought about my own life and the times I've said "Not right now" or "I'm busy" to my own kids when they've asked to read a book, play a game, or even watch TV with them.  I confess there are countless times that I've begged off of these activities because Candy Land and Special Agent Oso aren't high on my list of entertainment sources.

I've been trying to be better about doing things my kids enjoy, even when it's not something I enjoy or I'm "busy", but last night reminded me again how important that is.  I switched the tables and started thinking about how I'd feel if my husband continually refused to do activities I enjoy, just because they're not his favorites.  I'm 35 years old and have enough experience to know that there are other things "more important" than just sitting on the couch with me watching HGTV, but I still get disappointed when he's doing other activities and not just being with me.  I realized that for my young kids it's even MORE important to them that they know I'm willing to drop everything and show them how important they are to me by doing the "little things" with them.

During the sermon the pastor showed the following quote from Jim Elliot: "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God".  This is another area where I confess my failure because when I do "give in" and play Candy Land I'm often thinking about the laundry I need to do, wondering if anybody has responded to my facebook status, etc. I think I'm doing a "good job" because I take my kids to the park to play with their friends, while I'm sitting on the bench talking to my girlfriends. The more I think about it, those activities are things they enjoy, but I'm not doing it with them we're spending more time interacting with our friends than we are with each other. I'm learning that I'm not always "all there" and the truth is that, during this season of my life, the will of God is for me to be a wife and a mom.

Instead of planning "quality time" and thinking that's all I need to do for my kids to know their importance in my life I'm going to focus more on the "little things" every day that show them they are important to me.  Outings and family trips are great, but they're less meaningful if the message most other days is "I'm too busy for you . . . "

This week I have challenged myself to make it a priority to do the activities my kids ask me to do, when they ask me to do it AND to be fully present during those activities.

What's Most Valuable?

"Time is the most valuable thing that we have, because it is the most irrevocable"--Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Letters and Papers from Prison)

I just returned from a church service where the pastor taught on the small things in life and how important they are.  God really spoke to me in the message, and I'm anticipating writing several blogs just on what I heard tonight because the sermon spoke exactly to where I am and some of the things God has been working on me with for the past several months. 

My son just turned 5 and my daughter will be 3 this month.  The wallpaper on our computer rotates through all of our pictures and lately there have been  A LOT from my childrens' infancy. I get a bit wistful when I look at pictures from they day they were born and their baby days because I know they are days I'll never get back.  These pictures are a daily reminder of how quickly the time has already gone, and how fast it will continue to go.  Several years ago I heard a quote that has become my mantra, "The days are long, but the years are short."

I have caught myself wishing the days away and looking forward to when the kids are off at school all day and I'm able to accomplish tasks (like going to the bathroom!) by myself, but then I remember the words of friends whose children are older that tell me to enjoy these years.  I confess I'm not a perfect parent and I yell too much.  There are definitely days with my strong-willed first born that I am not enjoying him and am looking forward to the time when I have a break from the constant battles we face.  That same little boy has an incredibly tender spirit that melts my heart (when he's not having a meltdown).  My son is definitely a lot like me and he's a cuddler, so the moments when we're not fighting and he's curled up in my lap are the times I just wish I could stop time.  In those moments I ask him, "Can you just stay this age forever?"

Because my son's birthday is less than 2 weeks before the school cut-off date for our district my husband and I decided while I was pregnant with him that we would start him in Kindergarten when he was 6, instead of having him barely make the cut-off and start school when he's 5.   This is the last year I have at home with my son before he goes off to Kindergarten all day and I'm trying to savor every moment knowing that once he starts school our days spent building forts, taking trips to the zoo, cuddling under a blanket watching movies, etc. are going to change.

I confess I've "given away" a lot of time during these precious years I won't get back.  I've been busy at church, I've spent too much time on the computer, I've run errands until I dropped, I've scheduled play dates on days we don't have anything else going, etc.  Recently a friend brought to my attention that kids spell love T-I-M-E and that it's not about the "quality" as much as it's about the "quantity" of time I spend with them.  As a result, I have cut way back on my commitments at church and my other activities because right now my most important ministry is that of Mom to my little ones.   In 20 years my kids won't know or care that I was on 5 committees or that I was on "leadership" at church, but they'll (hopefully) remember that I tucked them in every night, I played silly games with them, etc.   Even if my kids don't remember I know I will . . .

(to be continued . . . )

A Facebook Food Explosion!

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog on the healing power of food.  At the time I wrote it I thought God had taught me what I needed to know in that area.  (You can stop laughing now).  As with all things, the minute I think I have it figured out God shows me how much more I have to learn.   While I've been continuing to process this new found passion and lesson, He has continued to show me how great of a need there is for the power of a home cooked meal.

The day I wrote my last blog I saw a recipe on the Food Tidings facebook page where they said, "This would make a great freezer meal".  I posted a comment about our group, as well as links to our group and my blog.  I am familiar with Food Tidings because our MOPS group has used them for use to coordinate meals for families after the birth of a baby.

A few days after I posted my comment I got a message from Lisa, the co-founder of Food Tidings, asking more about our group.  The e-mail conversation I had with Lisa became a story Food Tidings blog.  The Funky Freezer Girls facebook page added several new friends as a result of that post and Jackie and I were left saying "Wow, God!"   I was energized by those events and was convinced that we'd just seen a glimpse of what God was going to do with Jackie's "crazy little idea".

On Friday, August 26 I saw on my Facebook news feed that a friend "liked" a group called Crock Pot Girls.  The "girls" had about 25,000 "likes" at that time and I was amazed they'd only been on Facebook since Friday, August 19!

After I liked the group I wrote on their wall telling them how excited I was about the idea because some of the most loved meals in our group are crock pot meals.  I shared the FFG Facebook page and by Saturday afternoon we had 1000 likes!  We're up over 2200 likes and my little dream is becoming a reality as groups are starting to form in several cities!

The Crock Pot Girls are seriously exploding on the internet and these 3 MOPS moms who started the site for their family and friends are having their world rocked.  In the time it's taken me to write this they're up over 25k "likes" and, at this rate, will pass 500k within the hour! WOW! ONLY GOD could do something this amazing and this incredible.

As I've been cheering on Crock Pot Girls, and have been watching a friend help them with marketing and media relations, I've been thinking about what has made them such a phenomenon.   I think it comes back to the fact that there is healing power in food and, at the end of the day, we all want to feed our families good, healthy food.  Sitting around the table and sharing a meal with our families is about so much more than filling our stomachs--it's about feeding our souls, strengthening relationships and taking the time to slow down.  Ok, I'm sure part of the popularity of Crock Pot Girls might have to do with the fact there are thousands of crock pots collecting dust in kitchens across America because everyone's got one, but not all of us know what to do with it, but I prefer to think of the Crock Pot Girls as a ministry that is being used to bring families together.

The Crock Pot Girls, Funky Freezer Girls and Food Tidings are all groups started by women and are about helping others provide home cooked meals. Three different groups, but at their root all these groups are grounded in the power of food.  (I've also noticed these groups are all born out of churches and/or mom's groups . . . I don't think that's a coincidence, either).

Instead of thinking I've got this whole "power of food" thing down I'm realizing that I'm just beginning to glimpse the power of food for the nourishment of our souls.  Judging by what's happening on Facebook this week I think the world is starting to realize it, too . .