A Prayer for the Everyday

A Prayer for the Everyday

By Sarah Earles

Guide me in the everyday,

I pray:

In the rising,

in the resting,

in the waking

in the doing

in the shopping

in the work

in the eating

in the cleaning

in the running

in the stretching

in the loving

in the losing

in the morning

in the evening

in the mid-afternoon

in the twilight

in the words

in the wisdom

in the speaking

in the listening

in the reading

in the prayer.

Guide me Spirit, everyday

I pray.

Eats and Empties (Week 34)

 

The Eats:

Basic cornbread (Little House Living)

Best lentil soup (Cookie and Kate)

Black bean and quinoa bowl (thrown together from black beans, cheese, leftover pickled jalapenos, leftover quinoa, and salsa; and topped with an egg!)

Chicken and vegetable risotto (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Gravy (Macrostax)

Quinoa (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Pesto (My Quiet Kitchen)-frozen for future use

Protein breakfast bowls (Two Raspberries)

Protein peanut butter (Nadia's Healthy Kitchen)

Protein sourdough pancakes (Secretly Healthy Home)

Sourdough protein pancakes with whole wheat (For the Pleasure of Eating)

Stuffed pepper soup (Meal Prep in an Instant)

The Empties:

Old apples
Arborio rice
Two boxes of fresh basil
One box of chicken broth
Creamy protein peanut butter (Cheat Day by Design)
Frozen easy sourdough muffins (Baker Bettie)
Three bags of frozen green beans
Two green pepper
Head of iceberg lettuce
Can of pickled jalapenos
Lentils
Jug of maple syrup
No cook nectarine chia jam (The Fit Cookie)
Three pound bag of onions
Peaches
Two pound bag of frozen peas

Quinoa
Frozen red bell pepper
Pound of baby portobella mushrooms
Old brown rice
Five cans of diced tomatoes
Two cans of tomato sauce

Pound of ground turkey

What went to waste:   

Some of the basil leaves were bad, but we knew that when we bought it on sale, and the rest made good pesto!

This March Called Life

This March Called Life

By Sarah Earles

Marching, marching

Will it ever, ever end?

But God said march.

God said pray.

God said stay the course,

so another round I'll go.

Marching, marching.

I'm getting tired, Lord.

But you said if I marched,

the walls would fall,

So I'm waiting,

Waiting.

Waiting, waiting,

obeying marching orders.

The seventh day hasn't come

but God said it would,

so I keep marching.

I keep walking by in faith.

Maybe these days are years.

Maybe these days are centuries.

I don't know,

'cause I haven't seen the victory yet.

But God said it would come,

and he hasn't failed me yet.

Marching, marching,

on and on I go.

God said He'd give victory

and I know He is able.

So as long as I'm able.

I'll continue, until the walls fall.

Until the walls fall,

or God me releases.

This life is my march.

Obedience is my call.

God deserves it all,

my obedience, my life, this ongoing march.

(Loosely based on the fall of Jericho depicted in Joshua 6).

Eats and Empties (Week 33)

 

The Eats:

Caesar dressing with anchovies (Cuisine with Me) 

Golden gravy (Dr. McDougall)

Homemade mozzarella cheese (Simmer and Sage)

Honey peach grilled cheese (Budget Bytes)

Lemon lentil soup (What Molly Made)

Pan de mie sandwich bread (The Perfect Loaf)

Puttanesca sauce (The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook)

Turkey spaghetti (Meal Prep in an Instant)

The Empties:

Jar of applesauce
Can of baking powder
Head of broccoli
Two pound bag of frozen broccoli

Two pound bag of carrots
Five pound bag of carrots

Box of chicken broth
Jar of corn starch
Dozen eggs
Head of garlic
Container of Greek yogurt
Bag of frozen green beans
Head of iceberg lettuce
Fresh lemon
Half gallon of milk

Gallon of milk

Rice flour
Box of spaghetti
Twenty-eight ounce can of whole tomatoes
Pound of ground turkey
Bottle of Worcestershire sauce

What went to waste:   

Some of the whey leftover from making mozzarella. I saved most of it, but goodness, a gallon of whey is a lot to even try to save!

Real Life Marriage: We Stress Each Other Out!

"Who in your life causes you the most stress? What do they do that causes it?" The couples connection questions asked. I tried to caveat my answers. I tried to add nuance. Nevertheless, my answer remained: my husband. He is the person I care most about in the world. He is the one person from I really cannot separate myself. Boundaries be had or not, he stresses me out!

I wondered what my husband would say when he answered the questions. Honestly, waiting for him to answer made me a little nervous. Eventually, he gave me a smirk and I was pretty sure I knew his answer.

"Me?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied. And he nuanced his answer a little bit too. "I think anybody who is married would answer the same way," he said (or something like that).

I know I am a lot to put up with. I am my own ball of stress and nerves, and I know that affects my husband. I don't try to be a pain in the neck, but I am. At times, I am not sure I am worth it, but at this point, my husband is committed, and he is a man of his word.

I was honestly somewhat relieved by his answer, though. The fact that I stress him out shows that he does care about me. The fact that he is not bothered by that fact is reassuring. I think I do stress him out, but on my side, it is more me stressing about him that is the stressor. My husband is low needs, and he would like me to do less (and tells me as much), but that is hard for me. I do care about his health and well-being and happiness, and I monitor it more than I do for anyone else. He is part of me. If we go with the biblical definition of one flesh, he is me. I want to take care of him. I want to take care of us. I want to take care of me.

So there you have it. My husband and I are each other's greatest stressors. I'm not proud of the sin that causes me to stress my husband, but I am thankful that he accepts that responsibility. On my side, I am thankful that I get to have a husband to be a stressor. Marriage is not a gift everyone gets. So, good or bad, for better or for worse, here's to stress, and to maybe learning to stress less as God grows and matures us in our marriage.

Eats and Empties (Week 32)

The Eats:

Blooming potatoes (Daily Yum)

Classic lasagna with ground turkey (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Easy beef stir fry (Meal Prep in an Instant)

Easy sourdough muffins (Baker Bettie)

Gravy (Lisa G Cooks)

Instant Pot golden lentil soup with spinach (Kitchen Treaty)

No cook nectarine chia jam (The Fit Cookie)

Sourdough Greek yogurt cheddar biscuits (Cooking Katie Lady)

Whole wheat Greek yogurt bagels (MPM Nutrition)

The Empties:

Frozen apples
Can of bean sprouts
A whole cantaloupe
Two pound bag of sharp cheddar cheese
Frozen chicken broth
Box of store-bought chicken broth
Carton of a dozen eggs
Ginger root
Container of Greek yogurt
Two bags of frozen green beans
Jar of mayonnaise
Box of lasagna noodles
Five pound bag of potatoes
Red onion
Bottle of crushed red pepper
Fresh red pepper (Frozen for future use)
Head of romaine lettuce
Package of frozen spinach
Frozen steak
Frozen three ingredient blueberry bagels (Calla's Clean Eats)
Can of tuna
Pound of ground turkey
Frozen turkey, chorizo, and egg breakfast burritos (Meal Prep in an Instant)
Five pound bag of whole wheat flour

What went to waste:   

Some of the red pepper was bad, but thankfully I could freeze the rest!

Afghan 87

We will call this my car blanket, not as in a blanket for the car, but a blanket made in the car. Yes, I crochet most of my afghans in the car going to and from church. I made most of this one on our summer road trips, however. It was not without some angst, not due to the pattern, but due to the skeins of yarn that kept getting matted and tangled, even after rolling into balls. (I did not do the optional borer row because I just wanted to be done.) In the end, this afghan turned out on and lean, not quite the 36 by 54 inch crib size I aimed for, but still a blanket that I hope will bless a baby.

Hook: Ergonomic crochet hook size J

Yarn: 

Mainstays white

Pattern: Simple crochet blanket (Jewels and Jones)

Size: 32 by 55 inches

Eats and Empties (Week 31)

The Eats:

Breakfast potatoes (Cooking Classy)

Creamy protein peanut butter (Cheat Day by Design)

Greek yogurt pizza (Something Nutritious)

Grilled corn on the cob (Joyful Healthy Eats)

Homemade artisan crackers (Sally's Baking Addiction)

Homemade ranch dressing (with Greek yogurt) (It Starts With Protein)

The Empties:

Jar of applesauce
Package of bacon
Bag of baby carrots
Three pound bag of whole carrots
Frozen easy overnight sourdough bagels (Daddio's Kitchen)
Candy canes-yes, left over from Christmas!
Frozen apple cider
Eight ears of fresh corn on the cob
Container of cottage cheese
Trader Joe's cinnamon graham crackers
Cream cheese
Greek yogurt cream cheese (Free Your Fork)
Bag of frozen green beans
Package of ham
Hemp seeds
Bag of mini marshmallows 
Half gallon of milk
Two pound bag of mozzarella cheese
Frozen pineapple
Frozen homemade pizza sauce (Budget Bytes)
Five pound bag of potatoes
Head of romaine lettuce
Container of sour cream
Old jar of sourdough discard
Spicy ranch dressing (The Spiffy Cookie)
Frozen tomato sauce (The Flavor of Wisconsin)
Can of tuna
Pint of whipping cream

What went to waste:   

Just a little bit of lettuce that went bad, but I just pulled it off and was thankfully able to salvage the rest.