(In) RL conference

So what exactly does my title mean?  It's about a conference sponsored by (in)courage.me.  (In)courage is a blog for Christian women and they are hosting a webcast conference from April 27-28.  You can find out all the details here. 

This conference does not require to travel, pack any bags, find a sitter for a weekend, or spend lots of money!  The cost is $10 plus $1.54 service fee.  But you'll recieve a t-shirt and a 10 pack of cards from Dayspring for signing up.  So in a nutshell, the conference pays for itself. 

The purpose of the conference is to incourage community among Christian women.  You will watch a webcast by yourself on Friday and then on Saturday you can meet up with a group of girlfriends or new friends for that matter and spend 3 hours together watching a webcast on the topic of community.  (In)courage has some great bloggers including Ann Voskamp, author of 1000 Gifts, Lysa Tyrkeurst, and The Nester.  I believe some of these women will be part of the webcast so you'll surely be blessed.

If you live in the Montgomery area, you can attend my meet up!  I'll have a 3 wk old child by then (unless the baby comes before April 5), so I'm hosting the Saturday meet up at my house.  I would love for you to come.  If you are outside of Montgomery, you can sign up for  a different meet up or even host your own. 

So what are you waiting for?  Sign up for the (in)RL conference!!

Booking It 2012

I set a goal to read 2 books a month in addition to my Bible reading.  I'm a bit of an overachiever, so I'm reading 3 books right now. 

Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham is a book full of wisdom.  I'm only on chapter 2, but I have already gleaned some great things.  The premise of the book is to pour into your family as the family is a great means God uses to pass on the faith from generation to generation.  

I love the author's use of the Scriptures and his view on marriage.  "Our marriage serves as a strategic command where we plan and oversee the discipleship of each of our children;  it functions as a counseling center where our children come to feel safe in the midst of a frightening world;  and it functions as a laboratory where our children watch and learn what marriage is about." (p. 47) 

What I find interesting is that Voddie did not grow up in a Christian home.   He had a teenage Buddhist mother.  However, God stepped in and taught him how to walk with him and raise a godly family.  There is hope in the midst of unideal circumstances for anyone to know God and follow his ways. 

Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy has been sooo good for me.  I struggle greatly with procrastination, so this book is lighting the fire under me that I need to get things done.  Crystal from moneysavingmom.com said it was one of the top 7 books she read in 2011 (and she read 60 books).  Eating a frog means doing the thing(s) that you least want to do at the start of your day.  In so doing, you will be motivated to do other tasks throughout the day because your worst task is already done.

I'm working on putting a new habit in my life every month.  My habit for January is to Eat a Frog everyday.  So far, so good.  I completed our newsletters, edited my husband's paper, did my hair, emptied the laundry baskets, written out our budget, and many other tasks as a result of eating a frog everyday. 

I'm taking notes as I work through this book.  Rules of frog eating: 
     1.  If you have to eat 2 frogs, eat the ugliest one first. 
     2.  If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn't pay to sit and look at it very long.

I have shared lots of principles from this book with friends and I think the author is spot on.  If you struggle with procrastination, I highly recommend this book. 

Another book along the same lines as Eat that Frog is One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider.   I printed out this e-book and I'm slowly making my way through it.  The tasks don't build on each other, so you can start on whatever task would serve you best.  You can see a list of the projects here.

I'm working on Project #1- Eat your Frog, #2 Make a debt-free plan, and #3 Establish a morning routine, #19 Dump your brain.   Three of these four projects really go together for me.  As part of my morning routine, I dump my brain using this to-do list and write out my frog for the day.  I know it's important not to bite off too much at one time, or else I'll burnout and get nothing done.  I think the key here is for me to pick just a few things and get them going really well and then start on others.  After all, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. 

I'm looking forward to finishing these books this month.  In February I want to read Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.  Eddie picked up a copy of The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller for us to read together.   I'm glad he did that because one of my goals for the year was for he and I to read 2 books together. 

I'm linking up this post to lifeasmom.com.   Go here to see what other's are reading. 


Have you read anything good lately?
 




    

Happy New Year!!!

I always love the new year.  Turning the calendar from December to January feels like cleaning a slate, a virtual do-over.  I love setting goals.  Though I don't always accomplish them, setting them certainly gives me something to shoot for.  I am a firm believer that small changes practiced over time make a big impact! 

One of the greatest things I accomplished in 2011 was memorizing almost all of Colossians.  I started in February and as of today, I have memorized through Ch. 4, verse 8.  Only 10 more verses to go.  Woohoo.  And get this...I kept up with my spiral index card holder for the entire year.  Now that's certainly something to be proud of.   It's tattered and worn, but I love it just like that.   The crimps and wrinkles are signs that I have hidden His word in my heart.  

I found the plan on Ann Voskamp's site here.  By memorizing 2 verses a week, I have come this far.  See?  Small changes over time make a big impact!!  Slow and steady wins the race.  How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  I'm a firm believer that this stuff works. 

The other day, I sat down and wrote my goals for this year.  Then I printed them out and laminated the page.  By looking at them daily, I'll stay motivated to keep eating that elephant. 

I divided the goals ito 6 different categories based on my roles.  Eddie and I still have to talk through the details of some of them, so that's why there are blanks.  But believe you me, I do plan to fill them in.





Personal
1.  Finish memorizing Colossians.  Pick another BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) by February.
2.  Finish reading through the Bible.  (I have attempted this goal many times, but never succeeded).  In November, I decided to start by reading the NT first.  After all, I've read Genesis many times!  So far I have read all the Gospels and Acts.  I start Romans tomorrow!  You can find a plan like mine here.
3.   Read 2 books a month.  I'm currently reading Family Driven Faith and Eat That Frog.
4.  Focus on one habit a month.  For January I want to eat a a frog everyday.  That means I want to do the thing I least want to do 1st everyday.  In so doing, I won't procrastinate and will be better able to enjoy my day because I will know I have already done the worst thing...eaten a frog!!
4.  Crochet a blanket for Mason and the new baby.  I plan to get help from a lady at church to complete this goal.  I taught myself how to crochet when I was pregnant with Halley, and now I want to expand my skills.

Marriage
1.  Date night ____ times per month.
2.  Read 2 books together (marriage/parenting).
3.  Overnight trip without kids ___ times per year.
4.  Talk time 4 days a week.  (I would like to work up to doing this everyday.  We'll see!)




Mother
1.  Memorize 2 Scriptures a month.  I'm pretty sure they can do more than this, but 2 is a great start.
2.  Do 2 1 crafts per week  month.  (This will take some planning on my part, but it's certainly doable).
3.  Read to kids 3 days per week and increase as it becomes a habit.
4.  Mark chore charts M-F and pay on Saturday using Give/Save/Spend canisters.

Ministry
1.  Share my faith once a month.
2.  Write 2 cards per month.
3.  Write a newsletter by the 5th of every month.  (We completed January's letter and plan to mail them by Monday).
4.  Meet with ASU girls every Saturday while school is in.



Financial
1.  Monthly budget meeting with Eddie.
2.  Keep up with our spending using mint.com.
3.  Pay off $_____ towards our debt.

Blogging
1.  Blog once a week.
2.  Take pictures 3 days per week.

Crystal from moneysavingmom.com really inspired me to write my goals down and break them down into small bites.  I'm so encouraged by her life and blog.   Her first book is coming out this Tues, Jan. 10.   It's called The Money Saving Mom's Budget:  Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year.   Her blog has encouraged me in so many ways.  Her series called 21 Days to a more Disciplined Life really put me on track to achieve great things at the end of 2011. 

Photo Credit

Discipling Myself for Godliness

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value both for this life and the life to come.  -1 Tim. 4:8

I left this comment on moneysavingmom.com and I thought I'd post it here, as well.

I am reading a book with some college girls called Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary Kassian. It has been a real blessing to me. Last week the chapter was on habits. The author says that our habits really show what our priorities are. We like to think that things that sound good are our priorities, but our habits really show what takes precedence in our lives. I want being a woman of God’s word and an excellent wife and mother to be my priorities, but my habits don’t show that I’m working towards those goals. So this week, I implemented a new discipline…No Bible, No Blogs (meaning that if I haven’t read the Bible I can’t read any blogs). This has helped me so far. Also, if my kitchen isn’t clean, I don’t function well or get other cleaning done because I just can’t seem to get a move on. So the same rule applies for cleaning the kithchen. I like to say, "No clean kitchen, No Pinterest" (kinda works lol), but the point is not to get on the computer until I have a clean kitchen. I hope to build these disciplines in my life. Thanks for this series. As for a goal to complete in the next 24 hours it will be to organize our master closet. This has been on my to do list for far too long.

I am addicted to love reading blogs.  However, like Facebook they take up too much of my time.  I had a friend change my Facebook password to something I don't know, so that I could not get back into my account.  This helped my immensely.

I just implemented these rules on Monday, but already I see some changes.  I found a great Bible reading plan and have started it.  And today, I got the kitchen clean which helped me to move on to other chores.  I'm sure that putting these disciplines in my life will continue to benefit me.

How about you?  What habits do you need to put in your life to lead a more disciplined life?

photo credit

November Meal Plan

Meal planning is something I really enjoy doing.  Call me quirky if you like...doesn't bother me one bit.  I learned lots about freezer cooking and meal planning from Jessica at lifeasmom.com and Crystal aka moneysavingmom.com.  Having a meal plan helps me not to look in the fridge at 5 and think, "What in the world are we going to eat."

With four little ones, cooking dinner can be quite the fiasco, but thanks to having a plan and already cooked chicken, processed veggies, shredded cheese, cooked ground beef, and some casseroles sitting in the freezer our meals come together quite quickly and with minimal effort.  Cooking dinner is more like assembling a meal than really cooking.

Just the other night I made homemade chicken pockets (adapted from here) and rice with veggies in a jiffy.  For the chicken pockets, the chicken was already made (in the crockpot and frozen) and the cheese was shredded.  All I had to do was combine the filling and steam the corn and broccoli to add to this delicious entree.

Once it was the oven, I thought we needed rice or something to make the meal more filling.  I cooked white rice and in the meantime sauteed onion, mushrooms (pre sauteed and frozen), and broccoli.  When the rice was done, I added it to the veggies along with some cheese.  It was delicious and simple!   What made this meal even better was that I tripled the recipe and made extra chicken pockets to put in the freezer for a quick snack or meal.  

Freezer cooking saves me time, energy, and brain cells!  Also, I love family traditions so every Wednesday we have leftovers, Friday we have fried fish and every Saturday homemade pizza makes its' way to our table.   That only leaves me 4 other meals to plan for the week.  See...meal planning isn't that hard at all.  Also, I don't necessarily cook what's on the menu for that day.  Sometimes, I cook something else planned for later in the month if I would prefer it.

With all that said, here's our menu plan for November (minus Wed, Fri, and Sat).  I still have a few more days to fill in with meals or I may just make it a day that we eat what's already cooked in the freezer.

Chicken Enchiladas, rice, corn
Shepherd's Pie
Marinated chicken, rice and gravy, corn, salad
BBQ Chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, corn
Tacos, beans, rice
Penne Rustica
Sweet and Sour Chicken, rice, vegetable stir-fry
Chicken Parmesan Bake, noodles, green beans, bread
Baked Ziti, Red Lobster Biscuits
Baked chicken nuggets, broccoli, tater tots
Chicken Taquitos, rice, beans
Thanksgiving meal (traditional)
Chicken and Broccoli casserole, rice
Bourbon chicken, rice, green beans

I have adapted many of these recipes over time to our liking.  I hope you enjoy them too.