Skinny Mini Greek Garden Soft Taco's

I saved a little old lady today.  Well I didn’t save her, but I ran to her rescue.  Delores, 90 years old, fell down outside the bank and broke her hip.  I prayed with her while fellow co-workers called for an ambulance.  Luckily the Ambulance was two blocks away and actually on their way to the bank to see me.  The responding EMT is my customer and he needed to come sign some papers.  She was in a lot of pain and I was very grateful that God prepared quick help for her.

I hope that Delores is OK.  I thought it was nice that my EMT customer and his co-workers all called her “Sweetie,” or “Darling.”  Like, “Does this hurt Sweetie?”  Or, “Darling, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst pain you have ever experienced, how would you rate your pain?”  Through her moans she got out a number…9.  Ouch!

She kept apologizing that we had to help her.  One of the EMT’s joked with her once they got her situated on the backboard that if she hadn’t of been so clumsy they would be at lunch already, she was able to laugh a little at this.

Pray for Delores and her family.  Our bank manager just went to the Hospital to visit her and Delores daughter confirmed that she broke her hip and was scheduled surgery for tomorrow morning.  So again, please pray…well, let’s pray right now:

Lord, thank you for Delores.  I pray that she has a relationship with you.  That is the most important thing I could ask for right now in this moment.  I pray that you will take her hip and mend it.  I pray that you take her pain and relieve it. I pray that you will bring comfort to her family, and wisdom to the doctors and nurses involved in her care.  I pray that they will treat her with respect and dignity.  In Jesus name, Amen.

I posted Brandon’s testimony yesterday about his trip to Africa, wasn’t that amazing?  I don’t dance very well; in fact, I am really, really bad at it.  I loved reading about how the Kenyan’s danced for the Lord.  King David danced before the Lord too.  I love it when I see my little boys dance.  They see me smile and they dance even more.  They clap their hands and shake their little booty’s.  Adorable!  Makes me wonder if God smiles at us and claps when we dance like I do for my little boys…maybe.

I’d probably make him spit out his heavenly coffee laughing at my dance moves.

I almost spit my coffee out the other day, all over my computer screen, when a friend from work sent me an email with a quote in it from My Big Fat Greek Wedding:

“Yes… Inside the lump was my twin.”

That movie is hilarious!  I am going to have to watch it again soon.  Maybe eat some Monkey Brains and watch MBFGW…any takers?

Ok, well, let me know!

Soooooo, I made another vegetarian dish.  I am telling you folks, it doesn’t have to have meat to be a meal.  I used to think this was the case.  I am now convinced otherwise.  I may never go back.  I think you will really like this too!  Especially if you are trying to eat healthy but not compromise taste.  Only problem with these are that you may be required to use some restraint.  But they are so healthy that you could eat a bunch of ‘em and you wouldn’t hurt yourself.

It was so easy, SO easy.  And it was so good, SO good!  Mmmmm, I would order this at a restaurant all day long.  But I don’t have to, because I invented it.  And because I invented it, I get to name it.  It shall be named: Skinny Mini Greek Garden Soft Taco’s

Yes, I think that should cover it.  Here is what you will need to serve 2 people….are you ready?

1. 1 zucchini chopped
2. 1 yellow squash chopped
3. 1 carrot sliced diagonally
4. 12 pickled asparagus spears (I forgot to take a picture of this, oops!)
5. ¼ cup feta (hence the Greek in the name)
6. 1/2 block firm tofu
7. 4 low carb soft taco tortilla (this is just what I used)
8. Salt to taste

Ha, and that is it!  My mouth told me I was a genius.  In the words of my father, “If I wasn’t already taken, I would marry myself!” –Ron Salleé.  He says this when he creates culinary genius; so he says this a lot! (Have you noticed how everyone is putting quotes on Facebook?)

In a skillet combined your zucchini, squash, and carrots with about ½ cup water and cook on medium heat until veggies are hot and kind of steamy.  When they are done, drain and transfer them to a bowl.  Place your tofu in the skillet and cube with the edge of your spatula and brown them with a pinch of salt.  When your cubes are browned on multiple sides place in bowl with veggies.

Take your flour tortilla and sprinkle with about ¼ of your 1/4^th cup feta and place 4 asparagus spears in the center.  Let it heat up a little bit in your skillet.

Just so the tortilla is heated through and the cheese is slightly warmed.  Should take about 2 minutes.  Top with ¼ of your veggie mixture and pinch shut with a clothes pin (adorable and very functional…I love these things).

I ate two, and they were amazing.  I even said out loud, “Seriously! These are amazing!”  I was amazed because it was so easy, and so quick, and SOOOOOOOOO good.  The saltiness of the feta and pickled asparagus balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the zucchini, squash, and carrots.  It was juicy and so flavorful.  I will make this, and eat this regularly from this day forward.  It is a new favorite.

Here is what I used:

Zucchini and Yellow Squash and Organic Carrots

Organic Extra Firm Tofu

Delicious Feta, YUM!

Low Carb (they taste really good!) Tortillas

I also used Pickled Asparagus, but I forgot to take their picture.  Sorry.  I hope you make this.  You can't let time be an excuse because it takes like 2.5 seconds.

xoxo,

Ronda

Monkey Brains

When I was in junior high our youth pastors were Chris and Tammy Immer.  I cherish my memories with them and I can remember spending lazy summer days with Tammy at their house 'down by the river' (SNL skit, made me laugh); a group of us girls would watch movies, "chick flicks", and we would play Wheel of Fortune on Super NES, and we would devour Monkey Brains.

Them were the days.

I think I need to start making this a little tradition for some of my youth gals out here.  I love having tea parties, and hang outs, and bread bakin' days.  Sam and I have our eye on a house and we will see if it comes to be.  If it does, Monkey Brain devouring memories are going to be made there.

And if it doesn't, that's ok, you can eat Monkey Brains anywhere.  And they are delicious.  I am sure that you have heard of this referred to as "Monkey Bread," but Monkey Brains is so much more fun to say!  Especially when you bake them in cupcake tins so that they are smaller and perfect for individual desserts.

I jazzed mine up a bit and added apples to the sauce and also threw in some mixed nuts and dried fruit.  So this is Monkey Brains, grownup style.

Ooooey gooooey cinnamon Monkey Brain goodness!  This is a delicious treat  See that pecan right there? I want to eat it right out of the picture.  Mmmm, pecans smothered in cinnamon caramel sauce.

Maybe you should make some, and invite some friends over to enjoy it with you.  Monkey Brains = Awesome Memories

Monkey Brains for 6

1, 12-16 ounce can of biscuits

1/4 cup mixed nuts and dried fruit, coarse chop

1/2 cup of white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar packed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 granny smith apple, washed, pealed, cored and cut into nickle size chunks

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut biscuits into chunks and throw them in a bag with your cinnamon and sugar and shake to cover.  Drop into greased muffin/cupcake tin and sprinkle with chopped nut mixture.

In a saucepan heat your butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and apple.  Heat to boiling and cook for 1 minute.

Pour over each cup.  I Like to make a little extra sauce to hold back and drizzle over the top after they are on the plate.  It is delicious.

Turn oven temp down to 350 and bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes, they will be very HOT. Spoon onto a plate, should hold together nicely.  You can serve it just like it is, with ice cream, with sauce; be creative, and have FUN.  This is fun to make with kids too if they can work a pair of scissors...mine are not ready for scissors.

xoxo

Ronda

Forgiveness and Mercy

Today was eventless, and thus it was eventful!  I know that doesn't seem to make sense, but because I didn't have a single thing at work to work on today I opened my Bible to wait for the chaos to begin...and you know what, it never really did.  As I read God's word my love and understanding of him grew deeper and deeper.  I am glowing in love right now.

Let me tell you about my God.  My God is the God of the Bible.  Every word was inspired by him...it was God breathed.  My God is a God of endless love, redemption and reconciliation.  He is long suffering, patient, kind, and benevolent.  He purchased my freedom with the blood of his Son, Jesus.  He gives wisdom and understanding to those who ask.   He is all these things and SO MUCH MORE!!!

If you don't have a relationship with him...please talk to me.  I want to share more about my God with you.  I think you will love him too.

I was blessed and honored this week that someone did just that.  They shared with me that they were unsure if they had a real relationship with Jesus.  They come to church every Sunday and sing the songs, and pray the prayers, but when they leave they don't feel anything.  You know what...I think this is how a lot of us feel.

Would you like to pray with me?  It is such a relief to know that we can talk to God.

Heavenly Father, THANK YOU so much for today.  Thank you for the precious time I had today to read your word.  It  came alive to me and the little blip at the end of verse 16 of 2^nd Corinthians chapter 5 that says, ‘How differently we know him now!’  The more I read your word the more I understand who you are.  You ARE God, of endless love and tremendous patience.  You are the God of redemption and reconciliation.  You are the  God that is long suffering, patient, kind, and benevolent.  You desire us to LOVE you and LOVE others, and HATE sin, and resist the devil.  You are God, the one who will give wisdom if we ask.  Your words says in Ephesians Chapter 1: 7-8 that you are rich in kindness and grace and that you purchased our freedom with the blood of your Son, Jesus, and that you forgave our sins.  You have showered your kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.  So we stand on this promise, I ask you for wisdom and understanding.  You are so…awesome.  Let us not be casual Christian’s, let us be passionate for you.  I love you so much. Amen.

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to be starting a little series on Guilt.  I don't even like that word series...sounds so serious.  I don't like the word 'Guilt' either though.  It was a word that popped into my mind while I was putting on my makeup and I thought...hmmm, maybe something for a blog for another day.  But then later in my day when I opened my Bible, there was that word again.  This is when I decided to step out and step up and figure out what the deal is with guilt.  The more I thought about this word the more I didn't want to talk about it.  Come on now, this word is HUGE!  It has so many layers and elements to it.  Guilt, you are guilty.  Guilt, you or someone else has made you 'feel' this way.  Guilt, the devil whispers accusation that separates you or distracts you from God.

The thing is we are all GUILTY.  We are so stinkin guilty we deserve life sentences in the pit of hell.  You may be thinking...'whoa Ronda, that is a little harsh...seriously, I am not really THAT bad.'  Well, actually...we are THAT bad.  To God all sin is equally weighted.  Come with me for a second and we are going to jump over to 2nd Timothy starting in Chapter 3 verse 1 going through verse 5.

But know this, that in the last days perilous time will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.  And from such people turn away!

This is where I would be saying "whoa!"  You see, we all have sin.  Romans 3:23 ~For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of the glory of God.  And 1st John 1:10 ~If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Now that we know we are all guilty, the Bible says in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death."  But {OH how I love the word BUT right now in this instance} it goes on to say..."the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Because you see, Christ died for sins once for all, so now we get to have redemption, we get to be reconciled, we get to have *relationship*.  I am so thankful for relationship.  This would be a really silly hobby if I didn't have a relationship with the true living and active God.

Here is where things get really awesome.  We are forgiven.  We are free.  We can ask God to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.  We can drop the guilt and ask God to strengthen us and stand on the promise that he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear.  God loves us and he made sure in his word that we know we are forgiven *HUGE SIGH and SKIP IN MY STEP RELIEF*

“I, yes, I alone- will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.” Isaiah 43:25

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.  He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.  He fills my life with good things. Psalms 103: 3-5

He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.  He does not punish us for all of our sins; he does not deal harshly with us; as we deserve….He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalms 103: 9-10 and 12

…I will be merciful toward their iniquities and remember their sins no more. Hebrews 8:10

You were dead because of your sins and because of your sinful nature was not yet cut away.  Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.  He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.  In this way he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities.  He shamed them publically by his victory over them on the cross. Colossians 2:13-15 {new living translation}

Do you see this?  Oh, I hope so tenderly that you see this.  Halleluiah!  Thank you GOD! I hope your heart is squealing for *joy* right now.  Mine has been pealing out in the parking lot kind of squealing all day!  You might be thinking ‘Ronda, you are a real goober right now’…and that is just fine by me.  I will be a goober for God all day long!

Now here is our responsibility..and I can tell you that to do this you will need to read the word and pray that God will come alive to you...Have fellowship with him.  Sorry if that is too "Christianese", talk to God and be his friend.  He is the best friend you will ever have.

Put on your new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:10

Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds us all together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  For as member of one body you are called to live in peace.  And always be thankful. Colossians 3: 13-15

I am going to leave it here for today.  Tomorrow, if the Lord allows, I want to write about forgiveness.  You who desire mercy...be merciful.

Oh and one more thing.  If you feel guilt, and you have already asked God to forgive you, but the guilt keeps coming up...that is contrary to the scriptures that we read above, and God's word says in John 10:3-5  "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  And in verse 10-11 it says "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

So I would encourage you to get in God's word so that you will know his voice.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

When you feel guilt that your spirit does not recognize is the voice of God, tell it to GO!  Tell that voice, the one who comes to accuse you, that he has no right, that you are a child of God, and that you are FORGIVEN!

Believe it and receive it!  I am so thankful!  I thank God, like Paul, through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pray with me once more?

*BIG SIGH*

Oh God, thank you so much for your precious forgiveness.  Thank you  for each person that will read these scriptures that you gave me today.  I pray that like they are doing a work in my heart that they will do a work in theirs.  God, you see me right now, and I do not take this lightly.  If I could type on my knees I would and I would beg your forgiveness.  I thank you so much for your unimaginable sacrifice.  It becomes so common place, but as I sit here and I contemplate the reality of it, I am so...I can't even think of the right word for it...closet thing I can think is embarrassed.  I am so sorry that without the blood of Jesus that we are detestable.  That we do wicked things.  God, please help me.  Please give me wisdom and understanding.  Let me be on fire for you!  I don't ever want to be lukewarm in my love and devotion to you ever again.  I never again want to  slip into a life of spiritual complacency.  I want to be diligent in training to know your voice.  Thank you for never giving up on us.  In Jesus name, Amen.

God is real.  Jesus is real.  The Holy Spirit is real.  And our opposition the devil, Satan, is real.  Our life is but a vapor, we have a call to LOVE.

And because I love you!!!  I wanted to share one of my favorite things...I am giggling right now because the depth of the conversation above and my goofy transition into a favorite thing.  I was thinking about it this morning though, I used to buy things to fasten bags shut...you know what I am talking about; those little clips for chip bags and stuff.  BUT, I bought a bag of 50 clothes pins for $0.99 at Walmart, talk about a bargain!

 

And now I clip them on a set place in my kitchen so I always have one, and it seems I always need one.  I clip these little beauties everything now!

xoxo

Ronda

Bakin' and Breakin' Bread

Snapdizzle, it is HOT!  It is 104 degrees out right now.

Sizzling!  My favorite time of the day is when the sun dips below the horizon and the bugs begin to chirp and their songs get louder and louder, and the lightening bugs flash as they zip about.  The air is thick, most people don’t like this, but me…I LOVE it!  So cozy and comforting.  I sit outside most evenings on my steal of a deal craigslist super find $35 porch glider and read my Bible.

You know what else I love right now?  The kind people over at King Arthur Flour who sent me a BUNCH of flour to try out for my blog!  In one of my posts I made a lemon cake that was a recipe from King Arthur Flour’s website, but I could never find any of their flour in Walmart or Dillon’s (RIP Dillon’s).  So King Arthur sent me 4 bags of flour and a box of cake flour to try out.  Whooo Hooo!  Yippie!  I like getting fun big boxes like that.

I used their bread flour and baked two loaves of bread with it.  It was stellar and made even better by the fact that the flour was a gift.  If the flour was not awesome I would have just sent them a Thank You card and never mentioned it here…but it was really good.

I guess if I were honest I have never really used bad flour, so I have nothing to really gauge good or bad flour by.  But the bread it baked was very, very good and as soon as Sam is done with his week of drinking nothing but fresh juiced veggies and fruit I will bake him some bread.  He is trying to drink nothing but freshly juiced veggies and fruit for a week, a WHOLE WEEK!  That is HUGE for him.  He is my Mountain Dew boy, and has been for years.

Here is the bread that I made and enjoyed with friends…the best way to enjoy homemade bread.  YUM!

Don’t you love the smell of bread as it bakes?  If you don’t, there may be something wrong with you, and you should probably get that checked out. "Just sayin" (famous Joplers phrase).

Tomorrow we dive back into a Time of Testimony.  God just keeps bringing me back to it, and I can tell you I am truly so grateful for the testimonies that have been shared and that will be shared, and that are currently being written in lives.  Such a blessing!

Now use this dough rising heat to your advantage and bake some bread!

Amish White Bread By Peg

2 cups warm water (roughly 110 degrees)

2/3 cup white sugar

1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¼ cup vegetable oil

6 cups bread flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in the yeast.  Allow it to proof (prove to you that your yeast isn’t dead as a doornail) until the yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Mix salt and oil into the yeast.  Mix in flour one cup at a time.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  Place in a well oiled bowl, then turn dough to coat.  Cover with a damp cloth, or oiled saran wrap.  Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough.  Knead for a few minutes, divide in half.  Shape into loaves, and place into well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans.  Allow to rise in pans for 30 more minutes.  Dough should be about 1 inch above the pan.  Bake in a preheated oven set at 350 F degrees for 30 minutes.

ENJOY!!!!  Let me tell you, your house will smell amazing, your family will sing your praises, and you will feel so accomplished that you baked bread!  Super easy, super yummy, and fun to make and eat.

Xoxo

Ronda

Big thank you to KAF for sharing your flour with me.  That was very cool.

The sweet life

Counting my blessings today and I ran out of fingers and toes, so I will just say I am very blessed.  Today has been peaceful, productive, and playful.  This morning Sam and I rocked out some laundry before he went to work.  I cleaned house while the little boys played trains.

We ran errands around town, and then stopped by the park for a few precious moments.

After much needed baths the little boys got to Skype with my parents.  They played 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', read a book, and blew kisses to "Grandma and Grandma" as Caleb calls my mom and dad.

They are napping right now...Wow, what a different day it is from last Saturday.  Whew...I would take today everyday!

Once the boys were asleep I poured myself a bowl of Kashi Go-Lean cereal, sliced up half a banana and three strawberries, grabbed a small handful of nuts and sprinkled it on top, and then poured about a half a cup of Original Silk Almond Milk over it...{Sigh}  Delightful.

I even used my Orange Leaf shovel spoon to eat it.  I love those spoons!

I don't get paid to write reviews.  But if I like something I want to share it so that you can enjoy it too!  So share I shall.  Kashi Go-Lean cereal is A) Healthy  B) Crunchy  C) It gives me Super-Mom energy  D) It keeps me fueled and full for a really long time.

So it is for these reasons I keep buying the stuff; I like enjoying the benefits of it.  It has kind of a grainy taste, it is very lightly sweetened, but boy does it satisfy.  No joke, it really does.  I like adding yogurt to it too.  YUMMERS!  The little boys LOVE it too!  I tried to give them their organic fruity cereal today and they kept trying to steal my cereal...so I let them, because I love them, I am an awesome mom like that.

Today is a pretty light little post.  This last week was so busy with work, I thought I would relax a little.  Some fun highlights from my week were that a newspaper from Chicago called me and wanted to use some of my pictures ('Absolutely!'), and Sam's uncle Carl who pastors a church up in Illinois asked if he could use some bits and pieces of my blogs for some of his sermons ('Absolutely!').  And right now Robin, my sister, is probably laughing out loud that I wrote 'Absolutely!' because she makes fun of how often I say this.  :-)  And I like to make her laugh.  Isn't she purdy...

I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited for this next week of blogs.  Why you ask?  Because I won't be writing a single one!  After I got such a wonderful response from Good Deeds, Gods Seeds, God's pleased, where I shared my testimony, I knew what I wanted to do.

I will buy something on Amazon, or try a new recipe if it gets amazing reviews.  So what better way to share Christ than to share what he has done!  That is when I got on the horn {funny saying}, otherwise known as texting and facebook, and I asked seven friends to share their testimonies with you.  Tomorrow will be the regular and always fascinating {I giggle} Sunday with Sam, but after that we are going to get to take a peek into the lives and salvation stories of seven different women.  I AM SO EXCITED!

This is going to be an awesome week.  God is so good!  Have a great day!

xoxo

Ronda

Such a happy place to be...

I don’t know where to start.  What a journey!  What a day!  What a time to be alive and to do something useful! My first order of business upon arriving home was to hug Kael.  CHECK!  He saw me and his little squishy face lit up and I got some great hugs and precious kisses.  I didn’t get to see Sam until about 4:45pm because he had to drive someplace far away for work so they could bring more cars back to the dealership.  Hugs and kisses for Sam…CHECK!  My arms fit so good around his neck, such a happy place to be.

These two weeks I have been gone feel like ages, my trip was a little longer than I expected by a week.  A week ago the tornado changed our town and our lives; I am still trying to prepare myself for how different everything will be.  I feel very nervous when I think about it…so right now I choose not to think about it.  I have only seen our house with garbage strewn about.  Insulation coats our roof, and some of the roofing is slightly blown up.  There are sheets of metal wrapped around trees in the field across the street, but other than the metal and the litter you would think everything was normal.

I loved reading Sunday with Sam yesterday.  I went through a range of emotions as I read it, a little irritation (“GET IN THE CLOSET!”), a little frustration (‘You felt like a sitting duck so you decided to drive???’), a little understanding (‘I guess you didn't know what actually just took place’).  Watching the video was hard on me, I raised my voice at Sam several times in the video and had to remind myself that he had no clue what had truly just taken place and he also had Kael with him so he was limited with what he could do.  I am grateful to both Sam and Colby for taking the time to document their experience.  Hard to read and watch, but I am sure the experience in person was a lot more intense.  I am back home now and just so grateful to have a home, and most grateful to have little squishy cheeks to kiss (Kael), and a strong neck to wrap my arms around (Sam).

Caleb and I flew into Kansas City at 5:20pm yesterday.  The blessings for me started when we arrived at the airport.  My wonderful sister Robin volunteered to drive around with Caleb while I checked my ridiculously heavy bags (filled with clothes from Shane’s closet to donate…more blessings).  Honestly I couldn’t have done it without her.  The line was 35 people long and it was moving slow.  I would have been pulling my hair out if I had to guard four bags and a carseat and corral Caleb.  When I FINALLY got up to the counter I asked if I could purchase the extended seating for more leg room.  The man from Frontier Airlines was looking at my driver’s license when I asked this and realized I was from Joplin.  He looked up and said “You have been through a lot…I can extend it at no charge and I will put you in a seat that has no one next to it, so you and baby can have some room.”  !!!  Yes those are exclamations in the middle of nowhere, because his gesture of goodwill was a HUGE blessing.

Robin came around with Caleb and the man at the counter had already told me to just bring the carseat up when I came back in, he had a tag ready for it and made it super easy on me.  Security was a breeze, they were so helpful and took the laptop out of the bag for me and then repacked it which was no easy task because I packed that thing like Jenga!  I got to board the plane early, so Caleb and I prayed as the plane filled with people.  We were sitting at the front where the higher priced seats are and I knew what people were thinking when they saw me trying to tame my toddler who was in the middle of his “I am two, who are you?” act.  So we PRAYED.  I said, “Caleb are you ready to pray?” “Okay,” he replied.

“Dear Jesus, keep us safe.  Watch over Daddy, and Kael, and Grandpa, and Grandma, and Auntie, and Uncle, and Maddie, and let Caleb sleep the whole flight. AMEN!”

And Caleb said “AMEN!” So I knew we were in agreement.  I proceeded to tell him that amen means “let it be,” and that this was now our deal.  This is a true story…His eyes closed as the engines roared and he was asleep by the time the wheels left the ground.  Three hours later I had to wake him up when the wheels touched the ground.  PRAISE GOD!  People around me were pretty impressed.  I told them that it was because we prayed about it.

It was 88 degrees in Kansas City when we landed, very different from the 55 degrees in Seattle.  Grandpa picked us up and took us back to the farm where we visited for a while and then we enjoyed some leftovers.  I like leftovers, you get to have a little of everything.  We don’t do a lot of leftovers at our house, I usually make just as much as we eat.  Caleb ate like it was going out of style.  I don’t know where he put it all!  He must have been hungry from sleeping so long; exhausting work sleeping.

After we enjoyed dinner we went outside with Grandpa and played.  Caleb is Caleb Conrad and this is his Great Grandpa Conrad who he is named after.

They swung on the swing.

They dug a hole.

They looked at Grandpa's garden.

YUM!!!

Grandma got in on the fun this morning and they had a good laugh before we said “good bye.”

Caleb said “good bye” to corky.

And he was ready to hit the road...

And off we went to pick Colby up from the airport and start the 3 hour trek home.

Today I took it easy.  I enjoyed my family.  Tomorrow I will go work and venture out into my new world.

God, I know you have a plan for me.  I believe that you are guiding me because I am doing my best to put you in control of my life.  I am trying to live a life that you would be proud of, that you can use.  I pray that you will give me all the strength and compassion I need.  I pray that you will give me many opportunities to serve the people and help heal the wounded hearts of my Joplers.  I will move my feet and open my arms.  Put me in the right place at the right time and give me eyes to see the opportunities that you are placing in front of me.  Thank you Jesus, thank you father, thank you for your love for me.  AMEN!

It’s time to get out in the field, and either plant, water, or harvest…Let’s get to it.

Xoxo

Ronda

He knows me so well!

There is a point when worshiping the Lord that the weight of the world melts away.  No longer am I thinking about files and rate locks, but I am picturing the throne room of Heaven where angels sing endless songs of praise, and the glory of the Lord fills the temple.  I smile and lift my hands high and the exhaustion and frustrations I was feeling two seconds ago trickle past my fingertips and fall to the floor.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2^nd Corinthians 3:17).

Last night we had church and before running out the door I grabbed my camera. 

Here is our church Abundant Life Christian Church, Joplin, Missouri.

Here is a shot of the santuary where Larry Platt is praying during the pre-service "Hour of Power."

Larry leading prayer.

 

Here is Nursery 2 for the toddlers.

Alex and Timothy

Here is another class where Pastor's wife Judy is wrangling the busy bunch.  She is a pro.

Here is the Core Cafe where Tina, Dakota, and Tyler chat at one of the hightops.

 

This is The Core, our youth room.

 

Lesson

Youth playing

Brie and Kenzie

Tamara

Caleb 

The Core (our youth group) praise team is made up of Nick Whitten (lead guitar), Keesha Dorsey (keys), Bryan Joslyn (Youth Pastor/leader), Sam Hickey (Drums, and my honey bunny), and Taylor Joslyn (bass), and yours truly (backup vocals).  But last night it was sans Ronda.

You see, the night before I didn’t go to practice, I was too tired.  I probably should have gone seeing as that I would have had more peace.  The little boys didn’t want to go to sleep (figure that), and Kael proceeded to wake up at the ugly crack of dawn.  *Yawn*.  Ah, man, more rhymes!  I am hoping the rhyming will go away once sleep returns. Last night at church I had the unique opportunity to worship with the youth, instead of lead from the stage.  WOW!  AMAZING!  I bet the Lord liked it too.

Yesterday was a beautiful day!  Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt set up shop right next to the bank and had their Grand Opening last week.  So, naturally I had to check it out.  Oh my, I love Orange Leaf and their delicious frozen yogurt.  The atmosphere is bright and fun.  You self-serve your yogurt and pay per ounce.  I chose the Wedding Cake and the Fudge Batter.  Let me say it one more time…Oh my!  So good!  They have adorable little orange spoons that resemble shovels, so you can really shovel it in, and shovel I did.  I brought my Bible with me because I thought I might read a little while enjoying my treat…that was a nice thought I guess.  But once I had the first bite all I could think about was how yummy it was!

Now I know what you are thinking.  You, based on my awesome review, are going to jump on your scooter and buzz over to an Orange Leaf and after having some you are going to say to yourself “eh, this is just OK.” No, False! You are going to say “oh, my. This is sooooooo good!”  Ok, they are not paying me to write this, so moving on now.

After enjoying 10.3 ounces (I know, but it was soooo good!), I decided I needed a walk.  The sun was out, the temperature was around 80, and there was a light breeze…what an awesome afternoon.  I walked down to the Good Will where I found three skirts, two shirts, and a swim tank top.  I paid $24.40.  Thank you Lord for frozen yogurt, perfect weather, and the steal of a deal I got at the Good Will.  You know me so well!

Have a wonderful blessed day!

Xoxo