Just Be Good

I met one last time with a group 4th and 5th graders this past week. We were supposed to be discussing our fears and how to turn them over to God. But one of the boys told me he was afraid he was going to hell. So I asked for volunteers to share with him what you needed to go to Heaven. The overwhelming answer (one out of 9 children) answered: "Be Good!"

Garhhh! Even the little girl who's grown up in the church, been baptized, and has a  grandfather who's a pastor answered incorrectly. We stopped the whole lesson and went back to the same basic that I've probably covered 10 times this year.

No one is good enough but Jesus. You have to be perfect in order to go to Heaven... and that leaves everyone out but Him. That's why He died. Our sins mean a debt of death. But when He died as us on the cross, He took our sins upon Him so that we can receive His free gift of grace (unmerited forgiveness). Then, when God looks at us, He sees Jesus' righteousness upon us. How do we receive his grace? Repent of our sins. And believe in Jesus as God's son and that He died on the cross for your sins and confess that He is Lord.

After that evening I was struck with how easy it is for them to believe that they have to do something to get to heaven. After most of the room responded that they need to be good, I asked them to dig deeper and try to remember what the Bible told us to do to become a Christian. They came up with a plethora of things to do: Worship, Obey the Ten Commandments, Go to Church, Read your Bible, etc. But again, these are good things you do. The world is constantly telling us that we need to earn our way to Heaven. All other religions give you a list of things to do to get into Heaven: Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, the list goes on... but that is what sets Christianity apart. It gets to the core of the matter. We can never attain a way to be sinless on our own... it's a futile endeavor.  But that's what the world tells us we must do and that's why it's so easy for those kids to believe it even though they've heard otherwise numerous times.

Even if you've been a Christian for years, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut of being good for all the wrong reasons. We have a list of things we must do because they are right and then we struggle to do them. That's because we're trying to live under Legal Mortification... instead we need to live under Gospel Mortification-- obedience to God out of response to our thankfulness for His grace. When we're doing good because that's what Christians do, then we're trying to do it on our own. (And we're going to fail... and be frustrated that we're failing in self-righteousness!) When we are obedient in response to God's love and grace, we may still fail. But we won't be as frustrated because it will be an opportunity to once again preach the Gospel to ourselves! Thank you, Jesus, for Your grace again and again.

(Just a random photo I've never shared... aren't they cute? I'm looking forward to not leaving them for 8 hours straight every Wed.)

One more Wednesday (tomorrow) until the Wednesday night ministry I've been directing wraps up. It'll be bitter-sweet. I'm looking forward to being a full-time SAHM and focusing my energy on my own kiddos but will miss the kiddos I've had a chance to love on this year. We'll have a pool party if the weather agrees... I do know how desperately everyone here needs rain, but if God would allow for a couple of hours of decent weather so the kids can splash in the pool, it'd sure be swell! Please pray for a few hours of calm weather if you remember. Thanks and love!

I'll Take the Man with the Hat

I can never remember the brand name... just the picture. I had to pick up another bottle this week because we were out. Again. Jesse uses this stuff like crazy. Douses almost everything in it. (Sometimes hurting my feelings in the process... that he won't eat the food I made without it. I know it's a cultural thing and so I try to let go of my insecurities about the whole thing, but still.)

My babies brought me Starbucks and flowers in bed yesterday morning. Coffee is my breakfast most mornings, so... that was pretty awesome.

Diego had decided the day before that he needed to make me a Mother's Day cake, but first I would need to pick up a few items for him. Some of the items on his list were: bananas, nuts, and butter. Sounds like it might have been good, but I'm not into going to the grocery store to fetch ingredients for my Mother's Day cake and Jesse's not one for cooking from scratch. I politely pointed to a cookie mix we had in our pantry and told him he could make it after nap on Sunday.

The kids were so proud of the cookies they Jesse made. They were pretty yummy... the entire 18 cookies may or may not already be gone. Um, yeah. At least I have proof here that I didn't finish them all by myself.

Back to the guy on the bottle. Tapatio's salsa is not something I ever use. I'm more of a Pace girl if it has to be outta a bottle... otherwise, I'll take some fresh tomato based salsa. But there is one exception to that:

Duros. The hat guy is crazy good sprinkled over these things. Occasionally, the duros guy comes through our neighborhood with his cart. But these ones were picked up at the Farmer's Market in Nomar. They should be there again next week. Check em out... and don't forget the hat guy when you get 'em. Have a Marvelous Monday!

Our Super Busy Saturday

This little guy decided to sleep from 9:30-5:30! Woo-hoo! It only took him 6 months... something my other kids were doing at 6 weeks. Whatever, I'll take it. I felt so refreshed from having uninterrupted sleep that when he did wake up for a feeding, I just got up! A.Maz.Ing. It gives me hope that one day I might be able to actually regularly wake up before my kids!

Speaking of the little guy, his passport is here! Now, he's all set to go to Mexico City next month. Well, not quite. I still need to buy his ticket. Who knew babies don't ride free on international flights? I'd leave the little guy at home with his siblings if he wasn't still attached at the... well, you know. Oh well, such is life!

This little boy had his last soccer game of the school year. So sad! He's had such a good time, but he's all registered for next year... we're looking forward to more fun and more laughs next fall!

After Diego's game, my momma, Elisabeth, Eliana, Finley and I headed out to get pedicures. Eliana was too excited about sitting in this seat! She had a blast... I was bummed because they wouldn't paint goldfish on her toes. Boo! Anyone know of a salon in town that will do this?

Our toes turned out cute anyway.

After we pick-up tacos from here, we went home. The girl went down for a nap and I broke out the heat gun and attacked the window seat in our vestibule. Still not done.

One day soon, it's going to be rid of all it's forest green paint and ugly stencils and it's going to match the fireplace mantle.

Have I ever told you of my thorn in the flesh? It's a 1977 Jeep Cherokee.  She's older than me, and uglier than me, and it's the one thing in our home that Jesse's had longer than me. It's been parked for 5 years now. But that's about to change. We finally shelled out the big bucks for a transmission to be refurbished. And Jesse spent a good part of his afternoon installing it. Yes, it was 97 degrees today and yes, Jesse did wear coveralls over his clothes. Cra-zy! What a man will do for his true love is amazing. *sigh*

After nap, the girl came down stairs and asked me if she could play outside with Diego. I told her she could after she changed out of her pull-up. She went upstairs, and I got back to stripping paint. A few minutes later, Jesse came in and asked me if I knew Eliana was in the sandpile only wearing underwear--no shorts. Oh my! (Apparently, I am that mommy!)

What a lovely day it has been with my beautiful momma, my beautiful sister--getting ready to celebrate her first mother's day, and my husband and kids who've made me a mama! God is wonderful!

What have you been up to today?

Cornflakes

This guy came down the stairs telling me he had a hole in his foot.

Me: You mean your sock?

Diego: No, I mean my foot. I took off a red thing and now I have a hole in my foot. *fighting back tears*

Me: Oh! You pulled off your scab? Don't do that... the scab is there to keep germs out of an ouchy. Okay?

Diego: Okay.

Me: You didn't eat it did you?

Diego: No.

Me: Good. Don't ever do that.

Ever seen this? They don't make cartoons like they used to, do they?

Have a Fabulous Friday!

Sticktoitiveness

The world is full of remarkable people. It really is! But some of the ones I most admire are the ones who give of themselves week after week sacrificially.

Take BSF teachers for example. Sometimes, I think I'm making such a sacrifice for my children by coming to BSF once a week on a day where I seem to have too much on my plate. But then I remember that there's these awesome women who come on Tuesday morning so that they can go through the lesson a day before they teach me... or my kids. Those women there are the ones who are really showing sacrificial love. So how do I think so many incredible women on such a tiny budget? Two words: Sticky Buns

My aunt, Nine, has an awesome recipe that I've been using for years. It's lengthy, so I'll share it another day soon. But just so you get an idea of what I'm talking about... a recipe makes about 30... and you need about a pound of butter. Yep, they're good... for a reason.

I talked my sister into making them with me. We had a good time chatting between dealing with kiddos and rolling out dough. And of course, my graphic design sister could not let the project go with out custom labels!

She's incredible. I've told you before and I'll tell you again! And the rolls? Well, they rival in awesomeness! They really do make an awesome gift and so, I'll share soon! 

But for now, Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Mexican Pescetarianism

Jesse and I decided a couple of days into Lent that we ought to try a pescetarian diet. This was kind of an odd thing  for us because although we know that it's a fairly common thing for Catholics to do, it's a fairly unfamiliar concept to both of us. It started after a couple of conversations we'd had. One in which Jesse was saying that he'd like to start eating healthier and incorporating more veggies into his diet. (He's really not a veggie lover.) And another in which my momma said she'd dropped several pounds in week one of dropping meat from her diet. (Which encouraged me to give it a try.)

Let me say that this was a huge thing for Jesse. There have been times in the past when I didn't have some sort of meat on the plate and heard quite a bit of grumbling. Bean burritos by themselves have been a no-no around our house in the past. "That's what I grew up having every day, and we can afford to not live like that anymore" sort-of-a-thing. I understood--my dad loathes rice to this day (something he had far too often as a child and I think associates with poverty). So, on days when I didn't cook with red meat (which was often), I incorporated chicken most of the time. So, we decided to give it a go eating vegetarian... with the exception of fish, which Jesse incorporated into his diet often. And I ate about once or twice a week.

We had made the rule that we would be gracious guests and wouldn't impose our eating choices on our hosts- something we try to do anyway. We really try to eat anything offered to us-- which will explain why I've had menudo and fried bamboo maggots. Anywho, halfway into our eating adventure, we both realized it wasn't so bad. I really didn't feel like I was missing anything most days, and Jesse, although craving chicken on occasion, really didn't feel the need for red meat.

Enter: A new eating life-style. The reasons for Jesse are pretty straight-forward, a healthier diet. I add to that the idea that if everyone would eat like this that there would not be a need for grain-fed cattle... which would free up more food resources for the hungry. So, there you have it. I've been reluctant to tell anyone for fear that I'd flub up royally if I told anyone before Lent was over. Plus,I don't want anyone to feel the need to accommodate us... we really don't want that (and meat on occasion will be a treat)!

Through this experience, we've come up with a fish taco that's become a new favorite for us-- even the kids eat it!

Here's the list of what you need: a bit of oil, a yellow onion, half a bag of frozen corn, a can of black beans, fish fillets (we've used frozen tilapia, but will use fresh fish soon now that my daddy's started fishing again), Adobo seasoning, a couple keylimes, an avocado, corn tortillas, cooking spray, and some salt.

Start by cutting your onion into thin slices and frying them in a small amount of oil. Brown them well... the better they're cooked the sweeter they are!

Add the corn- blacken a bit (you want to make it taste like it's been roasted... then add a can of drained and rinsed black beans. Add a pinch of salt and your done-- I'm dreaming of fresh tomatos from a summer garden to add to this soon!

The fish, I throw onto the George Foreman grill, liberally sprinkle Adobo and add lime juice! Close and let cook til done. It really couldn't be much easier.

Corn tortillas have just recently become something I've come to appreciate. There's a saying in Spanish: "Las de harina ni me las calienten." It basically means flour tortillas are so much better you don't even have to warm them. And I agree. But corn tortillas are a lot better for you... if you don't fry them. Recently, I've learned that if I spray them with 0 calorie cooking spray on each side and fry them till they're crispy, they're about as good as a tortilla chip- especially if you add a bit of salt to them. 

Place a piece of fish in a tortilla, with the beans and corn and top with some avocado slices and you've got a quick and simple (and pretty healthy) meal on your hands... Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, so give it a try! 

The Choco Taco and a Book

These ingredients have been calling my name. Well, actually, I realized that Jesse had bought cinnamon tortillas from our local Kroger... and I wondered what on earth I was going to do with them.

Not much later, a plan evolved. You'll need a grill, cooking spray for your grill to keep things from sticking, marshmallows, milk chocolate chips, banana slices and a tortilla. (I'm fairly certain it would be yummy even if you don't have cinnamon tortillas on hand. And really, how many of us do? Unless you have a husband like mine.)

Diego's discovered he can read books... well, he's been reading his little curriculum books for several weeks now, but he realized with a bit of help, he could read other books... about topics near and dear to his heart. Like Thomas the Tank Engine.



It is definitely a work in progress and it takes a long time, but he's so determined! He's read this book 3 times and then I bought him a new Thomas book to read. (Too be honest, it's not my favorite type of book. But it's what he knows and likes right now. So, while I don't consider it high quality literature, I do consider it high in motivation for this 4-year-old.)

I'm looking forward to this summer and the lack of curriculum so we can just read whatever he wants and get really good at it! It made me think of the Wichita Public Library's summer reading program when I was a child.  Does anyone else remember it? Taco Tico kid's meals as reward for reading books.  I remember piles and piles of books at our home... especially in the summer.  And what a treat! A meal out at Taco Tico every week-- pretty special to kids who rarely ate out!

They don't do that anymore. And I think their Choco Taco's are frozen and full of ice cream, too. But it doesn't really matter to us too much because Jesse, doesn't like Taco Tico. (Apparently Mexican food made by Indians turns him into a food critic. Who knew?) But this home made Choco Taco is going to be a favorite around here. And honestly, it is the perfect reward for reading a book for 30 minutes. (Or getting to listen to it.)