Eats and Empties (Week 14)

The Eats:

Chipotle black beans (She Likes Food)

Funfetti cupcakes (The Sweet Occassion)

Lentil potato soup (Running on Real Food)

Teriyaki meatball bowls (Meal Prep in an Instant)

The Empties:

Pound of black beans
Old brown rice

Head of cabbage

Bunch of celery
Carton of 18 eggs
Old garlic
Two pound bag of medium cheddar cheese
Carton of Greek yogurt

Two pound bag of mozzarella cheese
Pasta shells
Can of crushed pineapple
Powdered sugar

Container of sprinkles
Tuna

What went to waste: 

A bag of freezer burned peas (composted, though)

Grace for the Martha's and for the Mary's

Martha toiled. Martha was "distracted" (New International Version, 2011, Luke 10:40). Martha got "worried and upset" (Luke 10:41). Martha ratted on her sister Mary to Jesus.

Mary was better. Mary "[chose]...better" (Luke 10:42). She sat at Jesus' feet, ostensibly to learn from him and be with him.

But both sisters struggled with unbelief. Both separately told Jesus that if he would have been there when their brother Lazarus was sick, Lazarus would not have died (John 11:21, 32). Both believed Jesus could heal living people, but they didn't seem to believe he could heal living people. 

Martha believed...somewhat. Mary believed...somewhat. Neither believed fully. Martha's distraction didn't take from her belief, or lack thereof (at least in this instance. Mary's sitting at Jesus' feet didn't make her believe better (in this instance). Both needed the grace and mercy of God, BOTH.

There is grace for the Martha's, 

and grace for the Mary's. 

Grace for the go-getters, 

grace for the sitters. 

Grace for the believers, 

grace for the halfways, 

and even grace 

for the not-there-yets.

Jesus gives it all.

Jesus is it all.

Jesus is grace personified;

for all he died.

So whether you think

you're better or worse

Jesus came to break sin's curse.

There is grace for the Martha's.

There is grace for the Mary's.

Whether we tend to be distracted

or whether we tend to sit,

there is grace for all who believe

even if it is just a little bit.

Reference:

New International Version. (2011). BibleGateway.com. http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist

Strong(er) in March

What's going well? We've gotten into the swing of having more regular dates. We've had some epic and some everyday ones (exploration of new places and commonplace errand running). Regular dates definitely strengthens our marriage and helps me feel more positive about life overall. Praise the Lord!

What's about the same? I am still reading my Bible and doing the Bible recap. I am fasting for Lent (from a food and a few activities). The goal of Lent is to focus more on Jesus and grow stronger in my faith. I hope it is doing that, but I am not sure right now.

What might not be getting stronger? Although my pull-up program reps are increasing, I am not sure I am getting stronger (Bomgren, 2023). I am getting tired of them and without seeing progress, I am tempted to quit the program. Shall I? Is it serving me? I have yet to decide.

I am still running. I am thankful for that. I have been having a few weird health things, which makes me worry that I will not be able to run like I want to run. I also caught a cold this past week. Boo!

I did buy more collagen and running fuel. I do not like the new running fuel brand, but if I have a hope of getting stronger, I have to fuel! We will see how things work out for my race in a few weeks.

Overall, this month, I feel like I am getting hard, not strong. Truth strength is not hardness. Hard things snap and break. Strong things handle the load. They are flexible (to an extent). I want to be that kind of strong.

The thing is that I am not strong on my own. I can only be strong with the strength that Christ gives me. As Tara-Leigh Cobble (2025) says in The Bible Recap “True strength and courage is established by being mindful of God's presence in our lives.” May I grow in my awareness of the Lord, even as I seek to grow stronger in the every day of this life.

References:

Bomgren, L. (2023, October 4). How to get better at pull-ups (12 week guide). Nourish move https://www.nourishmovelove.com/how-to-get-better-at-pull-ups/

Cobble, T. (2025, March 23). Day 082 (Joshua 1-4) -- Year 7. [Audio podcast episode]. In The Bible recap. https://thebiblerecap.podbean.com/e/day082-year7/

What I've Been Listening To and Watching This Month

I am taking a little break from reading, so for this month's wrap-up, I'll share some of what I've been listening to and watching this month. Instead of everything, though, I'll just share the good stuff:

Listening:

The Bible Recap (the companion to my daily Bible reading)

Lent and Fasting with Dr. Darren Whitehead on That Sounds Fun (a helpful discussion about the value of fasting)

Time Management for Real Life: How to Plan Your Week Without Overwhelm with Megan Sumrall on Make Fit Simple (an interesting take on time management for women and budgeting for "unexpected" tasks)

Equinox Trainer Amanda Katz on Nailing the Basics (Fuel!), Eating Disorders, and "Looking" Fit on Lane 9 (I appreciated Katz' take on what "balance" looks like as a fitness professional and marathon runner.)

Why Ozempic Isn't a Miracle Weight-Loss Drug with Amanda Martinez Beck on Rethinking Wellness (Skip over the Ozempic talk and consider the discussion about gluttony as a sin because it takes from others-an interesting thought)

Big Sister Pep Talk: You're Not Selfish on The Lazy Genius (Kendra Adachi has some important things to say here. I can be selfish, but I can also fail to take care of myself, which has negative consequences for the people around me.)

Coach K: Love in Winning, Love in Losing on Everything Happens  (Watch out for one swear word at the end, but otherwise, this is a great talk on character and leadership.)

Watching:

Although I have watched a few videos and TV shows this month, the only thing I can really recommend is Levi Kelly's house tours. We found Kelly via the Tiny BnB TV show, and then discovered his YouTube channel which includes tours of not just tiny Air BnBs, but a variety of homes. We enjoy viewing and discussing what we do and do not like about each home. It is good relationship building and also helps us think about what me might like in a future home, should we leave where we are.

--

Anyone want to share what media they've been into this month? Please drop your best podcast listens and movies or TV shows in the comments!

Eats and Empties (Week 13)

The Eats:

Greek yogurt chicken salad (All Recipes)

Honey BBQ chicken with citrus slaw (How Sweet Eats)-Made by my husband

Mexican meatloaf with potatoes and vegetables (Meal Prep in an Instant)-Frozen for the future

Sourdough discard bagels (Acts of Sourdough)-our first batch of this calendar year

Tuna pasta salad (Tastes Better from Scratch)

Turkey and cornmeal dumplings (Eating Well)

The Empties:

Five pound bag of carrots

Frozen chicken broth
Chipotle pepers in adobo sauce
Container of cottage cheese
One pound bag of frozen corn
Bottle of cumin
Frozen full-of-veggies white chili (Oatrageous Oatmeals)
Container of Greek yogurt

Fresh green beans
Three 12 ounce packages of frozen green beans
Old honey
Head of iceberg lettuce
Frozen jalapeno
Bunch of kale
Frozen light and fluffy egg casserole (Meal Prep in an Instant)
Half gallon of milk
Grape Nuun tablets
Old onions
Old peanut butter
Five pound bag of potatoes

Head of romaine lettuce

Frozen simple French lentil soup (The Full Helping)
Frozen slow cooker vegetarian lentil chili (Budget Bytes)
Frozen half-loaf of sourdough bread

Frozen loaf of sourdough sandwich bread
Can of diced tomatoes

Can of tomatoes and green chiles
Frozen tomato paste
Two cans of tuna
Pound of ground turkey
Frozen leftover turkey from Thanksgiving

What went to waste: 

An entire bag of onions molded! 

What I Learned from the Ideal Week Exercise (And I Didn't Even Do that Much of It)

I got intrigued about the "ideal week" when I heard Jess Connolly (2025) talk about it on her podcast. What was this ideal week, and was there any way to craft such a week for myself? My time sure felt out of my control, and if I could do anything to infuse some joy back into my life, I wanted to do it!

After some Google searching and blank template finding, I finally discovered an article on this so called "ideal week." I am not sure who coined the idea, but I skimmed the article at Full Focus and printed out the template (Hyatt, 2024). The idea I took away was to block out my week and then try to make myself more efficient. Well, I only got so far as to block out my work days and commute time. On a 5 am to 9 pm schedule, that left very little margin. (I get up at 4:30 or 5 am and got to bed between 9 and 9:30 pm.) What stood out to me, though, was that commute time. If I had to commute, what could I do with the time?

The first thing I discovered was that I could use the drive home to call my parents. I am a routine girl, but after my parents moved out of state, I had not found a new regular time to connect with them. Enter the commute: not the best time for a call, but better than nothing. 

I also realized that some days, I have power about how long that commute is, at least in terms of minutes. I like to get to the office at 8 am, and sometimes I have to do so. Traffic is thick at those times, which makes the commute longer. Some days, however, I have choices: I can go in late and make up the time later, or I can work from home and commute at an off-peak hour to save time. A few days of less fighting traffic reduces at least some of my stress.

Besides that commute, I don't really have a lot of other things to move around right now. Sure, I could probably optimize my work day a little bit, but overall, my life is just one of wake up and attack the day, except where I create my own margin. That is what the ideal week exercise showed me: that I have a little more control and power over my time than I exercise. Time is not the master, I am (and hopefully, Christ in me).

The optimal time to do things rarely comes along. The second best time is the time I have. I can play. I can rest. I can work. Rarely can I do all of these at the same time. I can make the best of the time I have, though. It's not ideal, but it's the deal I have, and I have to make or break it.

References:

Connolly, J. (Host). (2025, February 2). Episode 67: Hobby girls. [Audio podcast episode]. In The Jess Connolly Podcast. https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/jessconnolly/episodes/Episode-67-Hobby-Girls-e2u8frg

Hyatt, M. (2024, December 12). How to better control your time by designing your ideal week. Full Focus. https://fullfocus.co/ideal-week/

Eats and Empties (Week 12)

The Eats:

Colcannon (Budget Bytes)

Corned beef (The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook)

Instant pot split pea soup (Healthier Steps)-Our favorite split pea soup recipe!

Hawaiian pork (The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook)

The Empties:

Head of cabbage
Corned beef brisket
Green onions
Head of iceberg lettuce
Lemon
Half gallon of milk
Onion powder
Five pound bag of potatoes
Radishes
One pound bag of split peas

What went to waste: 

Nothing that I know of !