I recommend

Here are some things that I recommend.  Some big, some small, some silly.  Enjoy.

Learning Fighter Verses

At my church, Bethlehem Baptist, we make it a practice to memorize verses each week together.  It has been very beneficial to me and our whole family.  

My husband has also helped with a project that turns the fighter verses into fighter verse songs.  The most recent “Fighter Verse Songs”  cd recording was given to BBCers at the January all-church Fighter Verse kick-off.  

God’s Word is powerful.  When we put it in our mind, it can make its way to our heart.  There’s a whole blog devoted to fighter verses.  You should check it out.

You definitely don’t need to be part of BBC to take advantage of fighter verses.  They’re online at the aforementioned blog and at desiring God store.  Also, if you want verses that are a little shorter for young children, there is also the Foundations Verses set.  That’s what Eliza and Seth memorize and they do very well.      

the only organizational tip you’ll ever need!

Of course, that’s not entirely true, but it sure makes a good headline!

I got this tip at my MOMS group.  A lady was giving an introduction (she wasn’t even the main speaker) and happened to mention a tip she’d heard from someone else that had always stuck with her.  Well, now it’s stuck with me, too.

So brace yourselves, here is The Only Organizational Tip You’ll Ever Need! (or TOOTYEN! for short):

“Put things away in the hard place.”

 You might be thinking?  What?  That’s it?  What does that even mean?  All it means is that when your picking up your house or re-organizing a closet, or whatever, that you put everything away in its hardest and final destination.  

So, let’s say I just folded a load of laundry.  Instead of setting the basket of folded clothes on the bed to be put away later, just go ahead and immediately put it in its hardest place (i.e. the actual drawers).

Or, I need to take some bills down to Tom’s office.  Instead of moving them from the desk to the counter (because the counter is closer to his office than the desk), just take them all the way down to his office.

Putting things in the hard place right away eliminates clutter and chaos.  Of course, we all know that one of the reasons things don’t get put all the way away is because we’re busy, we get interrupted, etc.  

But I’ve found that even when I’m not being interrupted I sometimes still will only do half of a job.  So this little phrase helps remind me to put things all the way away. 

Read the rest.

Horton Hears a Who!

I just read Dr. Suess’s Horton Hears a Who! for the first time last week.  The kids got it for Christmas and it’s one of the Dr. Suess books that I’ve never read.  I was really missing out!  

This now replaces Green Eggs and Ham as my favorite Dr. Suess book.

Most surprising of all, was the amazing pro-life message it offers.  Horton, a large elephant, discovers a voice coming from a speck of dust.  He comes to find out that it’s not just a voice, but a whole town called Whoville that lives on the speck.

So Horton, lovingly and protectively, guards the speck, now lodged on a clover.  Carrying the clover everywhere he goes, his motto repeats, “Because, after all, a person’s  a person, no matter how small.”  

Legacy bracelets.

Husbands, best friends, moms, anyone with a beloved mom in their life, listen up!  Here’s a great gift idea.  I got one for Christmas this year from my mom, who got the idea from the Bethlehem Ladies’ Christmas Boutique.  

The pictures don’t do them justice, so check out their site.  They have some verses you can choose from for one of the blocks, or you can select your own verse.  I picked this one, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”  1 Timothy 1:15.  

I like the verse because if I’m feeling proud or complacent about the state of my or my kids’ souls or behavior, it reminds me that we are sinners, sinners everyone.  Sinners so bad that God’s Son’s blood was spilt for it.  

On the other hand, if I am in the depths of despair, in a mire of sin and can’t see a way of escape, it reminds me that Christ Jesus came especially for me: a sinner.  What a hopeful remembrance!  He didn’t come for perfect people, but for me, a sinner.  He is my Righteousness!

And the pictures on the bracelet are so wonderful!  I love wearing it… if I’m feeling trendy then the trendy side, if sentimental, then the picture side.  And with the verse on there, it is a great conversation piece to begin a conversation about Christ with an unbeliever.

Chicken Salsa Chili

Here’s a great recipe. It works well for big groups. I get great reviews with it and it is one of my personal favorites. The kids will even eat it. It’s also healthy (esp if you forgo the chips, which I never do).

1 lb. chicken cut up in bite-size pieces

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1 can kidney beans

2 cans Ro-tel tomatoes and green chilies (this is too spicy for kids, try using the mild version or just use plain diced tomatoes)

1 cup salsa (I use more than a cup)

1 tsp ground cumin (this is the secret ingredient, shhh don’t tell)

Saute the chicken, pepper and onion. Add the rest of ingredients and simmer for at least 15 min. Serve with Fritos Scoops, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives (I often skip the chives).

We eat with chips as though it is salsa. It’s also great to make a double or triple batch and freeze a bunch. It’s a perfect meal for cold MN.