First Week of Fake Fall
I call it “Fake Fall” because they are back to school and the schedule is completely flipped on it’s head. AND We had football on Friday! It was 2 hours away, but there was a game. So, game one… weekly recap here we go…
TIMELINE DOTS
Football season #16 has begun in our house. We did the math and discovered Nathan began his time on the sidelines in 2010. We had big plans when we were first married to have all boys to play ball with him. God is good, because RUTHIE is actually out there with him this year as one of the managers. It’s pretty cool.
Shopped for our first homecoming dress! WHAT?! No pictures, sorry. Ruthie’s Rules.
BEST/WORST PHOTO(Moral of the story: I need to take more pictures.)
Best: My breakfast at Ardor. OMG, it was divine. Breakfast Potato Bowl & Vanilla Latte. *sigh
Worst: Pressure Canner on clearance at Farm & Fleet… I had to show Nathan it was real life.
HOLY SPIRIT MOMENTS
Something I need to work on: Understanding the roles of the Trinity. So often I lump them into One, but they are mentioned separately and do specific things that I need to do better about learning each of them.
What is in our hearts comes out of our mouth. I’ve told this to my girls numerous times… I need to listen to my own advice.
(My big one!) Matthew 15- Jesus told the disciples to pay no mind to the Pharisees. God doesn’t need us to defend Him. “Leave them alone. They are blind guides.” When Jesus went up against them, He was debunking their made up traditions. When it came to God’s law, He obeyed. That’s something I never really paid attention to before.
SHOPPING CART
Rue & Tess both got new comforters. Last weekend we did some rearranging, and it was time for both of them to refresh a little. Here’s the amazon pics… I’ll give you an update once they FINALLY clean their rooms. No one wants to see their dirty clothes.
Tessa is sticking with the cow theme because of her wall, so the set works perfectly. I want to add some other color pillows for the bed. (Here’s the link)
Ruthie is growing up (and it’s weird), so we are painting a green accent wall and transitioning her stuff to earth tones. That’s why we chose this color bedding. I kinda wish we would have gotten an oversize queen set, b/c now I feel like I need to get a bed skirt. Nathan would say, “Naaah.” *eye roll (Here’s the link)
I got me some new kicks! I’m succumbing to the fact that I MIGHT be getting older and I probably shouldn’t wear sandals all the time… maybe. And, MAYBE I should wear tennis shoes when I exercise and not be barefoot… for the sake of impact when jumping or lots of walking. Maybe. They’re still so WHITE & BRIGHT! (Here’s a link, but I bought them at Farm & Fleet on sale! Look there first!)
TOP RECIPES
ONE major winner this week is my Crockpot Ribs. 4-6 hours in the crockpot & POOF! Done. I usually find my ribs at Aldi, but this rack was from Walmart.
My crockpot broke, so I use the slow cooker on my instant pot. Drop in the ribs, some pork seasoning (Wineinger Farms Cluckin’ Good), BBQ sauce of your choice, and some kind of liquid for the bottom.
My first choice is apple juice, 2nd is OJ, 3rd is chicken stock, 4th water. With the right seasoning though, it doesn’t matter.
Set it for 4-6 hours on high, set it & forget it….until your entire house smells like it & and you’re constantly hungry.
Take it out of the crockpot about 10 min before it’s time to eat, and coat it with another layer of BBQ. I add more seasoning also, but not necessary. Pop it in the oven on BROIL, so that it caramelizes the sugar in the BBQ sauce.
We serve this with cornbread, roasted potatoes, salads, stuff like that…Think BBQ joint and make your favorite sides. I’m posting a video on IG later this week… be on the lookout!
FINAL BRAIN DUMP
Do you ever eat something so good, that you dance a little!? I ate food THAT good this week. I was all by myself, too, at the table and I still did the “tasty wiggle.” It was at a bakery & restaurant downtown & it was quiet and the atmosphere was just right. Other times that I’ve “tasty wiggled” was eating the BEST fish & chips of my life in Sitka, Alaska, and eating lamb chops & polenta in Chicago. Ask Nathan… yes, it is weird, but I own it.
Last thing & it’s kind of deep so bear with me…
A dear friend of mine shared something I’ve been catching myself pondering over and over. God is omnipresent. Everywhere all the time. God is omnipotent. All powerful. God is omniscient. All knowing. <- This one. He knows all things…what we are thinking, and what we are doing, what we’ve done and what we plan to do. The devil is NONE of those things. The devil CANNOT read our minds. He is not all knowing. The devil’s weapon is that he understands the human sinful nature. When I’m tired, I have a short fuse. My insecurities flare up when…(fill in the blank). My external circumstances have the potential to throw me off. But, take heart. God calls us to take our thoughts captive. 2 Corinthians 10:5
I find myself giving the devil WAY more credit than he deserves, and naturally, he’s going to feed off my insecurities like that. He is not creative and his tactics are not new. We cannot let these thoughts and insecurities and bouts of false control lead us to isolation (“Nobody would understand what I’m going through…”) or shame (“I am a terrible parent,” or “If people knew this about me…”) or a poker hand of other negative emotions. We have a Redeemer. This means God doesn't just eliminate those emotions, but He uses them for GOOD!
Yeah, I still need to chew on this more… Wowza. It’s like I’ve heard all of this before, but it’s fresh. It’s alive. God has a tendency to do that with His Word.
*🚨 Public Service Announcement: Some of these links are affiliate links, which means I might make a few pennies if you buy something. So basically… your shopping habit could support mine. 😂