Question

"What kind of excitement are you sensing right now as the Spirit "hovers over" (Genesis 1:2) your study of His Word?"

(From BSF notes)

Does your Bible study time ever get you excited? I will be honest and say that a lot of the time, for me, it doesn't. I am so excited right now, though, as I have begun this systematic study through BSF.

"Are you now aware of a life-giving movement of God's Holy Spirit drawing you toward God and preparing your heart to receive God's spiritual light?"

A good study is life-giving and invigorating to my soul!

Do you have a way of studying that makes you wanna shout? Please share!!!

On a much less serious note, look at this cute notebook I found for my BSF materials! I LOVE school supplies and this is first time I have gotten to buy any since 2004.

I am hoping that we can get a post from Ben soon... who's with me?!

September Freezer Recipes

Chicken Artichoke Bake (from Taste of Home)

• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
• 1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 package (6 ounces) long grain and wild rice mix
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 jar (2 ounces) diced pimientos, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup seasoned stuffing cubes

In a large bowl, combine soup and mayonnaise. Stir in the chicken, artichokes, water chestnuts, rice mix with contents of seasoning packet, mushrooms, onion, pimientos and pepper.

Spoon into a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish.

Freeze if desired.

Thaw for 24 hours in refrigerator.

Sprinkle with stuffing cubes. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until edges are bubbly and rice is tender.

Vegetable Beef Soup ( quick, yummy & budget-friendly!)

• 1 lb. lean ground beef (you could make this with ground turkey or go vegetarian by omitting the meat all together)
• 16 oz. frozen mixed veggies
• large can of seasoned diced tomatoes
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 pkg. onion soup mix
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup water

Brown the ground beef. Transfer to a freezer bag or container with all remaining ingredients and freeze (if desired).

For slow cooker: Thaw slightly (or completely) and cook on high for 4 hours or low 6-8 hours.

For stove top: thaw completely and transfer to a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer (covered but vented) for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

We are having this tonight! Perfect way to end a rainy day!

Changing Seasons

It seems like people in East Tennessee get the most excited about fall of all the seasons. I know there are lots of reasons for this, but here are some of my own:

• Perfect temperatures: more pleasant outside playtime, hiking, camping, eating dinner on the back deck, windows open in the morning and at night. 
• The food: I love using my slow-cooker and fixing all the yummy comfort foods that I associate with cooler weather.  
• The beauty: I feel like God gave me an extra little blessing by placing me in the Smokies. Wow! The leaves changing is an incredible sight to see! I love the colors of fall... if you have been in my house, you know this. I love all things brown & orange & red! Fall even has a certain scent that I love. [side note: speaking of scents, I went to Bath and Body Works to get some refills for my wallflower plug-in and I discovered a new one that I am loving: Plum Wine Amber... heavenly! ]
• Rush's birthday: this year is his 3rd! It seems like yesterday I woke up to my water breaking. I have fun planning his party, and this year will be extra fun since he actually has little "friends" that will be coming. He has asked for a "Choo Choo" theme. :)

Speaking of all things fall, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I would like to make some homemade granola. I pinned a recipe for pumpkin granola a month or so ago and I have been waiting for the right time to make it. I gave it my own little twist...

5 cups rolled oats (I reduced by 1/4 cup & added 1/4 cup ground flax seed)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup brown sugar ( I reduced to 1/2 cup.)
½ cup pumpkin puree (I think it needed just a bit extra (maybe a TBsp) to add moisture where it is lost in reducing the agave.)
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup (I used maple flavored agave and reduced to about 1/5 cup.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pepitas

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt. Mix well.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour wet ingredients into oat mixture and stir until the oats are evenly coated. They will be moist. Evenly spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and stir. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the granola is golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and stir in dried cranberries and pepitas. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

it turned out to be very yummy! I took a picture of it next to one of the pumpkins from my dad & papaw's garden. :)

Nicole Nordeman has a song called "Every Season" that is one of my favorites. This is the verse about fall. I love how she captures the beauty of each season, but, of course, fall is my favorite!

And even when the trees

Have just surrendered

To the harvest time

Forfeiting their leaves

In mid-September

And sending us inside

Still I notice you when change begins

And I am braced for colder winds

I will offer thanks for what has been and what's to come

You are autumn

We memorized Jeremiah 17:5, 7-10 quite a while ago, and just this week we added verse 6. It is not the nicest verse, but a great reminder of how much we need to depend on the Lord.

"He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.  He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives."

On another note...in true East Tennessee fashion, and as the wife of proud UT grad (I went there too), I will be spending this Saturday in a sea of orange watching the Vols take on the Gators. It will be my first time spending a day away from Lottie. I am looking forward to a fun time with Ben!

It's Not Good For Woman to be Alone

Ben was gone most of last week... I really hate it when he's gone... have I mentioned that?

 

He left on Wednesday morning and came home on Saturday evening. Not only was this a longer-than-usual work trip, but it came after a long weekend; I had been spoiled with his presence (one of the dialects of my love language) so it was extra hard to have him gone for 4 days! Did I say that I hate when he is gone?

 

By Thursday night, I was convicted (through the Holy Spirit and through a phone conversation with Ben) that I was relying too much on Ben's presence for my sense of security. (I almost don't know what to do with myself when he is away... does that ever happen to you?) So, after reading my bedtime devotional from "Utmost," I decided to journal out a prayer to the Lord to forgive me for not calling on him and to have a word that I could call on when I feel insecure. Here is an excerpt from my journal:

 

While I was writing this prayer, the Lord brought to my mind a line from one of my favorite memory passages: 2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness..." I am trying to grab on to this verse whenever I catch myself not relying on Him. It is not good for me to be alone, but I must remember who I need to rely on more! Thankfully, I have the Holy Spirit and a husband who remind me of these things!

 

DISCIPLINE

On another note, we memorized Proverbs 1:7 a couple of weeks ago and the word discipline was really laying heavy on my heart. I realized (it was being affirmed everywhere around me: pastor, Bible study leader, friend conversations, books- does God talk to you that way???!!!) that I need more spiritual discipline. So, I feel compelled to do two things:

1. get up early to have some quiet time

2. start attending Bible Study Fellowship

My first class was just this morning. I am very excited/intimidated by this in-depth Bible study.

 

I will only be able to do these two things through the power of the Holy Spirit. Boy, am I a weak little woman! But, "when I am weak, then I am strong!" 2 Corinthians 12:10 (emphasis added) I just want to be "fruitful!"

Pantry in a bind?

We try to eat a good variety of non-to-minimally-processed foods. I try not to worry too much about "organic," although I would love to be able to buy all organic- it's just not feasible/reasonable for us (for foods that we eat on a regular or daily basis, I will try to buy organic.) More than anything, I try to offer our family a good variety of "whole" foods while allowing small "indulgences" here & there.

Here are some of our main staples:

Refrigerator:
milk (whole & 1%)
yogurt (either vanilla greek or Stoneyfield organic vanilla) I buy vanilla because it has the lowest sugar other thank plain yogurt, and you can add whatever fruit, nuts, granola, etc. to make it the flavor that you want.
REAL butter
shredded mozzarella, sharp cheddar & parmesan cheeses (We LOVE cheese!)
chopped walnuts & sliced almonds (They stay good longer in the refrigerator.) for yogurt, oatmeal & baking
salsa (Frontera is our favorite. We also like Garden Fresh Gourmet)
whole Wheat tortillas (for quesadillas, tacos, burritos, etc.)
apples (I rotate in pears & grapes some too.)
matchstick carrots
organic baby spinach (My MAIN staple- I put it in everything!)
broccoli
celery
red bell pepper (I cook a lot of Rachael Ray recipes, and this is a popular ingredient with her.)
eggs
whatever meat I may cook in a week
variety of salad dressings (I try to make a hearty & healthy salad to go with my lunch every day.)

Freezer (other than my freezer meals):
Alexia brand sweet potato fries
Alexia mixed vegetable varieties
32 oz. bags freshly frozen vegetables (mainly corn & mixed veggies for soups)
frozen chopped spinach (the cheapest health food out there, in my opinion)
Perdue lightly breaded chicken tenders for lunch in a pinch
any variety of soup for lunch in a pinch
some kind of ice cream
fresh no sugar-added berries

Pantry:
whole wheat pastas
instant brown rice
dried beans (mainly red)
ground flax seed (I refrigerate it once it's opened.)
whole wheat noodles
organic chicken broth for sauces, soups, casseroles, etc.
canned black beans (One of our MAIN staples.)
variety of canned, no salt added tomatoes (diced, sauce, crushed)
canned tuna
extra virgin olive oil
peanut butter
old fashioned oats or steel cut oats (one of our MAIN staples)
whole wheat or grainy variety bread (one of our MAIN staples)
wheat English muffins or waffles
variety of cereals (usually a granola-type... we don't eat much cereal, but we always keep it for  breakfast in a pinch.)
bananas (one of our MAIN staples)
raisins (one of our MAIN staples)
avocado
Blue Diamond almonds (we buy the BIG bags) (one of our MAIN staples)
coffee


I have found it hard to completely eliminate processed foods when it comes to snacks. Some of our favorite processed (guilty-pleasure) snacks are:

Whole Wheat Ritz Crackers
Cheese-Its Crackers
"Granola"/ Cereal Bars (I want to start making ours and freezing them, but haven't made the time yet... I'm thinking that will be a good winter project. I've been pinning some homemade recipes on Pinterest.)
Dole fruit cups (oranges, pears & pineapple are Rush's favorites) packed in 100% fruit juice,
applesauce of many varieties but always with no sugar added (Rush's favorite is Materne squeezable apple-cinnamon
Pirate's Booty Cheese Puffs (we like the white cheddar)
pretzels
tortilla chips
Nesquik Chocolate Syrup (no HCS, unlike Hershey)



I would like to share some of our quick/staple-ingredient meals about once a month in hopes that some of you will share yours with me. Here is one of my new creations from my staple ingredients:

Super Simple & Satisfying Southwest Salad

desired amount of baby spinach
1/4-1/2 cup black beans (always drained & rinsed)
1/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1.4 cup matchstick carrots
chopped red bell pepper (if you have the time) optional
chopped broccoli (if you have the time) optional
sprinkling of shredded sharp (or mild) cheddar
drizzle of your favorite salsa (I like Herdez Green Tomatillo.)
1-2 crushed tortilla chips
fresh sliced avocado (if you have time) optional
fresh tomato (if you have it on hand)

Build your salad as you like.
Drizzle on the salsa & top with the tortilla chips.
Oh my- it's AMAZING!

We want to start juicing to add in some "zing!" to our diets. We are watching Craigslist closely for a really good quality juicer. Do you have a favorite machine or recipe that you could share with us?

Stirring Up!

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near," Hebrews 10:24-25.

This was our memory passage a couple of weeks ago, chosen by me for a reason. Earlier this summer I shared some of my thoughts on community and how much we need each other as Christians. My inspiration was sparked after being in close contact with a group of people that belong to a Care Group (as their church calls it) and after reading a chapter in How People Change called "Change is a Community Project" (chapter 5). So here are my thoughts:

We are saved; we thank God for all our blessings; we go to church (and maybe even Bible Study); we listen to Christian music; we serve in a ministry; we pray before we eat; we tell others that we are Christians. But how do we grow? How are we sanctified? How can we be motivated to stay on track in our Christian walk? Besides our personal relationship with God, I believe that real, intentional, intimate relationships with other believers is the way we can do all of this and thus produce more "love and good works."

Wouldn't it be awesome to have a group of people to share your thoughts and questions with about what you study? (This could be an entire other post, but I feel that Bible-talk should be in our everyday language and conversations SO much more than it is!) I would love to be able to share my sin struggles with a small group of ladies that I admire & trust. James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." This is just one of many verses about the benefits of "community" that motivates/convicts me to be more intentional in my friendships.

So, Ben & I have been inspired to, with the help of the Lord, foster some REAL relationships with other Christian families. It is SO hard to do this when you have little ones! (And our weak minds keep coming up with these and other excuses.) Please pray for us as we attempt to do something that we feel very ill-equipped for. More on the specifics later...

I have recently added Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to my library thanks to my brother-in-law. I was talking to him about small groups and community within the body, and he bought the book for us as a gift. I can't wait to read it with Ben! My favorite line on the back description says, "Life Together is bread for all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship."

Here is a picture of Ben and Lottie with Jared, our brother-in-law.

Recently, someone told me that their purpose for being in a small group was to live out all of the "one-anothers" from Scripture, so I looked them up. (This is not a comprehensive list.):

Love one another John 13:34
show mercy and compassion to one another Zechariah 7:9
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10
Live in harmony with one another.  12:16
Accept one another Romans 15:7
encourage one another 2 Corinthians 13:11
serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Ephesians 5:19
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus Philippians 2:5
Bear with each other and forgive one another Colossians 3:13
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:16
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Hebrews 13:1
we have fellowship with one another 1 John 1:7


I am pretty far behind on updating our family happenings...

Some of you know that Rush had walking pneumonia last week right before our annual trip to Hilton Head, SC. He is doing MUCH better now, and we did get to take our vacation. (More on that later...)

Ben had been traveling A LOT, but he has been home for a couple of weeks now. :)

We are reading The Five Love Languages together. I had read it a long time ago and then again about a year ago. It is a great marriage-builder. I HIGHLY recommend it! My love language is Receiving Gifts (it's a mixture of the gift of your presence & acts of service/gifts). Do you know your love language???

Freezer Group is next week already!!! I have got to get cooking! I will post my recipes soon.

RECIPES!

Here are two recipes that we have tried and LOVED recently:

from Melissa D'Arabian: Steak & Potato Salad.

Delicious! This one would be a fun at-home date night meal.

buffalo chicken sliders

My own recipe. Ben & Rush approved.

Here are my two freezer recipes for August:

Ham & Swiss Croissant Casserole
Once the dish is prepped, cover tightly with foil and lid (if your dish has one) and freeze. When you're ready to bake it refrigerate for 24 hours to thaw completely, then bake as directed.

Rachael Ray's Mini Chicken Sausage Meatballs
This is a Mills Family favorite! Before baking, freeze the meatballs on a tray to keep them from sticking together, then store in a freezer bag/container. Before baking, put back on a cookie sheet, covered, in the refrigerator to thaw for 24 hours (I think these could be cooked frozen, but I haven't tested it, so I don't know how long/what temperature is best). Then cook as directed.
 Ingredient note: The gnocchi is amazing, but if you have picky eaters, this recipe can be done with any type of pasta. Also, this marinara sauce is great on any pasta. You could make the sauce and freeze it in batches to be used when you need it.