Looking at life

King Solomon in Ecclesiastes gives us a great image of how life can be so meaningless without God.

The last few days around here have been rough to say the least.  I live 2 hours away from family who I can call if I am in dire need of some help.  I have plenty of friends who I know I could call, but they all have children too and I don't want to get any of them sick.  So I don't call.  Both of my kids are sick.  It wouldn't be so bad if we weren't sick every 2-3 weeks this winter.  Specifically, Carter.  The boy is full of so much joy and happiness when he is feeling well, but when he is sick that is another story.  He becomes me when I am sick.  I have to tell you.  I am not the best sick person.  I get tired, angry, whiny, and become a pile of mush with all the tears.  It is exhausting taking care of that.  Yes, I should apologize to anyone who has had to take care of me in the past.  If it was you I am sorry.  Today I decide it is time to go to the doctor.  We get there and one has a major ear infection and the other shows all signs of a sinus infection.  Praise be to the lord for negative strep and flu results.  We've already had the flu once this winter.  Out the door we go and we just get to the car when Dexter falls on the ground in pain because his stomach is hurting.  Yes, my child falls on the pavement in the middle of the parking lot because of his stomach hurting so bad.  I finally get to the car try to open the door and my car key battery is dead so I have to fish the keys out of my huge bag.  Open the door manually and I hit the unlock button.  At this point all I can think of is just getting us home.  Well, the unlock button for some reason will not unlock the back doors.  All the while Dexter is still on the pavement crying.  I crank the car and it lets me unlock the back doors.  No sooner than I get both boys in their car seats Dexter starts dry heaving.  At this point I am racing to the other side of the car saying please don't puke in my car, please!  I grab him out of his seat and bend him over so he can puke in the parking lot.  Which he does.  I tell him to hang on and run back into the doctors office to grab a puke bucket from them for the car ride home.  Thankfully we didn't need it and he fell asleep on the way home.  All of this to say we have had a very hard morning.  I was up all through the night with sick babies too.  I myself do not feel good and I am worn so thin.  I can't even see my thin line anymore.  On the way home I am throwing myself a big pity party so I stop by sonic and order me a combo plus an onion ring for good measure.  The caffeine is helping.  Plus, both boys are napping so I am able to refill my energy a bit without a constant need of something.  I sit down to read my bible because I am feeling so worn down.  To the point where I am questioning everything.  Why is it so hard?  Why is it this?  Why is it that?  I am fussing in my mind because I have a million things to do and no time already to do it and now I have 2 sick boys and a not feeling good momma.  I am thinking maybe there's something I am missing.  Maybe it isn't supposed to be this hard.  Maybe God will reveal something to me in his word and it will make things instantly better.  Well, he does come through.  Just not always in the way you are expecting.  Today I am reading in Ecclesiastes and reading what King Solomon is saying.  This was a great king who had everything he could have ever wanted.  He had riches, smarts, respect, etc.  Yet, at the end of his life he is saying non of this matters without God.  Life isn't about all the things.  It is about glorifying God and being within God's will.  I was reading the commentary to Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 and it said, "Many people feel restless and dissatisfied.  They wonder: (1) if I am in God's will, why am I so tired and unfulfilled? (2) What is the meaning of life? (3) When I look back on it all, will I be happy with my accomplishments? (4) Why do I feel burned out, disillusioned, dry? (5) What is to become of me?  Solomon tests our faith, challenging us to find true and lasting meaning in God alone.  As you take a hard look at your life, as Solomon did his, you will see how important serving God is over all other options.  Perhaps God is asking you to rethink your purpose and direction in life, just as Solomon did in Ecclesiastes."  Wow!  How spot on was that?  I have all these questions about why is it so hard, etc. and there it is in front of me.  It doesn't have to be that hard.  My eyes are just focused in the wrong areas.  I think that I am pleasing God by putting on all the extra work load when all he is asking is for me to look to him for the purpose and meaning.  Not to all the stuff.  I should not be living to please man.  It should be to please God.  I just have to figure out the difference between what God really is asking me to do and what man is asking me to do.  Because all the things I do are not bad in and of themselves, but just maybe by me saying yes to all these "extra" things I am saying no to the possibility of letting God allow someone else to step up and fulfill that potential that they have.  It is about balance.  My prayer for today is about balance and seeking after God's will alone.  No one else.

I hope you all have had a wonderful day.  I am going to let the words of King Solomon penetrate my heart today.  I am going to meditate on what the Lord is trying to tell me.  Will you search for his will in your life today?

With love,
Felicia.

Kitchen tools I can't live without

Hi, friends.

Today I come to you after fixing my little family a pot of delicious chili.  While I was prepping to fix this amazing dinner the thought came to me that I should share some kitchen gadgets that is worth investing your money into. 

This weekend I went to my aunt Debra's house to play a game of phase 10 and hang out with the people I so rarely get to see anymore.  When I got over there she wanted to make her some lemonade and use up the lemons that she had before they went bad.  I saw that she was hand squeezing these lemons.  Now, friends, you may want to go and work those hand muscles out and squeeze lemons my aunt Debra's way.  However, I promise with a few tools your life will move a little quicker.  Unless of course you prefer to relax and slow down and do without these products.  Below you will find a picture of some of my favorite kitchen tools that I use pretty much everyday.  They save me time and energy and are so helpful in the kitchen. 

Let me tell you a little about each thing in this picture. 
 - Wood cutting board - They are so much better to cut on.  I don't understand why I just know that my knife works better at cutting on a solid wood cutting board.  It also helps if it is cute.  I do not like cleaning it though.  If you get one make sure you wash it off immediately after use and do not let water sit on it.  You can also scrub it with half a lemon with salt on it.  I saw one person add a drop of Olive oil to hers after thoroughly cleaning to help it not to dry out. 
 - The little white thing on the board is a rubber tube that I put garlic in and roll around.  It takes the papery shell right off of the garlic.  No more using your fingers to peel or smashing your garlic.  You can easily find these on Amazon.  Mine came from pampered chef at someone's party, but any rubber tube will work. 
 - Chef's knife - do I need to say more?  This knife has been a time saver in my kitchen.  I taught myself how to chop vegetables with this and it saves me so much time chopping. 
 - Sharp pairing knife - Key word here, SHARP.  A good sharp pairing knife will be your best friend for any type of quick cutting.  I mainly use mine for cutting up fruit or vegetables that don't require lots of chopping.
 - whisk - I don't necessarily use this small one all that often, but I can't live without my larger whisk.  Everyone needs a whisk in their kitchen.  I used to go old school and just use a fork, but once I got a whisk I haven't looked back.  My favorite thing to use my whisk with is pancake batter.  It helps get the clumps out so good. 
 - lemon squeezer - Need I say more after my aunt Debra story.  I could live without this, but the best thing about this is it keeps the seeds out of my juice.  It also helps me with the hand squeezing.
 - Garlic press - If you use garlic on anything you need one of these.  Your welcome.  Dustin is always joking around about me saying "what does she not put garlic on".  Trust me, use garlic, and use the press. 
 - Tongs - I don't use these metal ones much because I use my non stick pan more often, but I have a pair that has the silicone end that you are able to use on non stick pans.  I am pretty sure I use it for more than I ever thought I would use it for. 

So, there you go.  A list of my top kitchen gadgets.  I did not include my kitchen shears, but they are up there too.  If you want a quick way to cut up pancakes for kids.  USE the kitchen scissors.  OR, use a pizza cutter.  I hope you enjoyed this post.  What are your favorite kitchen gadgets?

~Enjoy