New Recipes!

So I have been playing around in the kitchen lately. These recipes came out of desperation for something new. I didn't think about taking pictures and such until after, but I have fallen in love with this chicken salad!

Chicken Salad...Mer style:

The only thing I have ever had against Chicken Salad was celery. I don't care for the taste of celery...never have....so I really wanted chicken salad today and I'm too cheap to go buy some from golden chick (which it's very good there). So I scoped out what we had left in the fridge and I believe I've stumbled upon a great lunch staple!


What you need:
approx 2 cups Chicken ( I had some left over from a rotisserie) cut into chunks **it's good if you have SOME dark meat in there
1/2 granny smith apple cut into chunks (serve the rest on the side of your plate for good garnish)
10 grapes cut in half
pecans or walnuts
badia seasoning
mayo with olive oil
Grands* Wheat biscuits

Mix together your chicken chunks and apple. Add a couple of teaspoons of mayo to mix together well. Mix in your grapes and pecans. Add mayo to the consistency of you liking. Sprinkle with seasoning and stir together. Serve on Grands wheat biscuits and voila!

The second recipe I didn't get a picture of, but it was really good as well!

Fajita Pasta Salad

I had bought some fajita meat, but realized too late that I didnt have enough to make for everyone, so I had to think fast.

What you need:
Lettuce (i used iceburg)
fajita meat (about 3/4 of a pound or more)
macaroni noodles- shell shaped
1 granny smith apple
cheese
Kroger's avacado ranch dressing (this totally makes it)
Badia Seasoning
lemon or lime
whole wheat tortillas

Wash and shred your lettuce while the pasta cooks. Brown and season your fajita meat with the badia. Cut up your apple into small chunks. Put your lettuce in a large bowl and add the fajita meat. Drain and cool (a little bit) your pasta and add it to the bowl. You may add bell peppers if you like...we don't. Add in your apples and cheese. Squeeze about half a lemon or lime over the mixture and toss. Season a little more with the Badia and serve with dressing and tortilla chips (see below). The lemon keeps the lettuce from browning.

Whole wheat tortilla chips. Take a few tortillas out of the package and cut into quarters with a pizza cutter. Lay on a baking sheet and either spray with olive oil or spread some butter/margarine on top. Sprinkle with salt or seasoning of your choice and toast in the oven @ 350. Once edges are light brown take out of the oven and serve with your salad.



Hope you like!!!

Jubilation and Grace

As I sit to write this post. The word jubilation just rolls around in my head and heart. Two friends have learned that they will be parents. One of a 15 year old girl who leaped into their hearts after seeing her picture and one of an infant half a world away. I can remember all three times I found out I was going to be a mommy again. I was overjoyed! For these women and men, though, my heart sings because they have waited so long! Adoption is such a special way of becoming a parent. In both instances...a life has been saved! Way to be superhero parents from the get go! My heart is so excited for these families. I know they will both be who God wants them to be for their children! What a legacy!

James and I have been in the desert for what seems like a long time now. We have been discussing that lately it seems like we are entering a season of grace. How exciting to know that our Father watches over us and moves us through the seasons. Thank you Lord for friends and family that love you!

For the things I have, am and will be

I am grateful, Lord, for the things that I have, for the person I am, for the person I will be. I am grateful for my family and my friends. I am grateful for a husband that thinks outside of the box. I am grateful that my children are happy and healthy and smart. I am grateful for the smiles on their faces. Most of all, Lord, I am grateful for you. I am grateful for your sacrifice...for your blood...for your tears. So, here I am, Lord, arms wide open, releasing to you...gratefully....wholly....yours.

Used

use

/v. yuz or, for past tense form of 9, yust; n. yus/ Show Spelled Pronunciation v. yooz or, for past tense form of 9, yoost; n. yoos] verb, used, us⋅ing, noun
to take unfair advantage of; exploit: to use people to gain one's own ends.


We have been attending a new church recently. It's a really neat place and my kids absolutely love it. Today's service was one of the most unique I have ever attended. It was a great family service!
Anyway, I have really been kinda blah towards the whole 'church shopping' idea. I just couldn't get my mind around why that was. I have been asking the Lord for the past couple of weeks to reveal my heart and strip away the pain of the past. Slowly, (thank you, Lord) God has been showing me why I feel the way I do right now. He hasn't really taken it away, but has helped me to understand the pain. When the Journey didn't pan out, I was a little disappointed ,but not hurt. The churches before are really the source of my pain. I am sure there is a little from here and there, but the last few have really developed an attitude in me towards the church. I think I now know why.
The word has been USED. It's been floating around in my mind for two days now and I keep asking the Lord to show me more. Flashes of this person and that...this situation and that...keep showing up in my head. So I kept praying. I asked Him this morning to let me worship again. To help me feel His presence. I did...and I got some more understanding.

No where have I found in the Word (in my brief study) an instance where Jesus used anyone. Before I get a firestorm of theological rigamarow...I mean in the definition above. Jesus did not use people and throw them aside. He does not use people now and throw them aside. I don't know about some of you, but my heart feels USED. I feel like in the past few churches we have been in , people could see me coming. I want the gifts and talents that God has given me to be an offering of service to Him. Pastors and leaders see that and say...oooohhhh someone who wants to work. So I did. Work that is. Then when the job was done or when we moved on...nothing...on to the next sorry sap who wants to be "used" for the Kingdom.
Used for the agenda of some man (or woman)....not so much for advancing the kingdom. The language we use these days set us up for that...we do say that we want to be used for God's work. I want to look at it differently. I have been reading Psalm this afternoon searching for anywhere where David would have said...USE ME, Lord. It doesn't, that I have found...it does use terms such as, offering and service. I really think those words give such a negative connotation, like I said before, of use and toss. I don't want to be tossed aside. I want to give my gift to the Lord with a grateful heart, not a guarded one.
How do we get passed that? I don't know...I'm still working on that one, but I do have an understanding and a new vision of what I want my service to be.....a living sacrifice...wholly His!

Growing so fast!

Yesterday evening I get a call from James asking if I knew someone named Brianna from Caleb's class. I thought that was an odd question, but he runs into so many people at work that I thought her mom and dad maybe came into the bank or something like that. I said that the name sounded familiar, but I didn't KNOW her. That is when he tells me that he had received TWO voice mail messages from this little girl for Caleb. I was a little shocked, so I asked Caleb if he knew a girl named Brianna. He runs into the kitchen and says that he does and that she is one of his BEST friends (first I ever heard about that one). I asked him if he gave her James' cell phone number and he said, "yes". At this point I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all of this and I look at my son and he is BLUSHING! I guess he 'likes' this girl, but we don't allow 'girlfriend/boyfriend' stuff at this point and he knows that so she is just a "friend". So he goes off and plays his playstation a little more and we wait for daddy to get home.
James gets home and plays the messages for Caleb and we are trying so hard not to laugh, but this little girl is telling James that she is a "nice little girl" and would he please have Caleb call her "as soon as you get this message". WHAT? They are in the first grade! I guess I was just caught way off guard. I told James....yeah, nice little girls don't call boys. HA HA! Really, it was very sweet and innocent. I'm just not ready for him to grow up just yet!