Menu Plan Monday

Good Morning!

It's been awhile since I've posted my weekly menu so I thought I would join OrgJunkie again and post what we're planning to have for dinner this week.

As I type this, it is Sunday morning and I'm planning to make Strawberry Crumb Bars today and Strawberry Shortcakes since we have an abundance of strawberries that I picked up from the store.  Strawberry Shortcake is easy in this house.  I simply slice purchased pound cake and top it with lightly sweetened sliced strawberries and whipped cream.  Easy and Delicious!








Monday:  BLT's, Chips and Veggies with Ranch Dip


Tuesday:  Country Corn Casserole and Garden Salad


Wednesday:  Taco Salad


Thursday:  Baked Garlic & Herb Chicken (using a bottled marinade) and Corn on the Cob


Friday:  Bubble Up Pizza


Saturday:  Grilled Burgers and Pasta Salad


Sunday: Roast Chicken and Slow Cooker Potatoes


Yum!

Jackie

 

I'm just Second Hand Rose From Second Avenue...

Early this morning I ventured out to my deck in PJ's with coffee and journal.  It was quiet except for the waking Cicadas who would soon be singing their very loud mating chorus and continue all day long. It was a nice cool morning.  Earlier this week I started working through a personal study of  Following God With All Your Heart (Believing and Living Gods Plan For You).  I'm learning about the challenges Joshua faced and how he became successful.  The books I read by Elizabeth George speak to me and I find myself agreeing with so much of what she has to say.  One of the questions in today's study was:

Every Christian woman has many roles and responsibilities along with nurturing her relationship with the Lord. What are your daily responsibilities at this stage of your life?  And what does God expect you to take care of, regardless of the challenges?  List your job assignments from God?

Oh, I have no problem listing everything I'm responsible for. I have a lot on my plate just like most other women out there.  We have a lot to take care of each and every day.  You know the drill....housework, laundry, meal planning, meal preparation, grocery shopping, nurturing our families...and all this before I even leave the house for work each day.  You see, if I follow down this path, my frame of mind can turn negative very quickly.  Sometimes I feel like I'm everyone's Assistant or Support Person.  I feel like Second Hand Rose (from Funny Girl).  At work...I plan the events for our department.  I oversee the details of the venue, catering, speakers, advertising, payments, etc.  I'm behind the scenes...the support for the Stars of the Show.  At work and at home...I'm helping everyone else achieve what they are supposed to be doing in their lives.  Sometimes this is discouraging to me. When am I going to be the Star of the Show?  However, when I answer the question Elizabeth posed to me above, I realize that the support I'm providing to everyone in my life is exactly where I'm supposed to be right now.  My Season right now is one of Support and Encouragement.

Now about Joshua...the more I read about him the more I'm intrigued.  Here are a few things I've learned about him today:

• He was the Assistant to Moses
• He was given huge responsibilities
• He wanted to be successful
• Moses sent him out ahead to explore Canaan
• He Shepherded Gods People

Joshua wasn't the Star of the Show!  He was the Assistant!

Joshua was given great responsibilities and God told him that he would always be there for him to not be discouraged!  

I have exciting opportunities in my life.  We all do...if we just know where to look and sometimes that means seeing what we already have.  I'm encouraged.  I know God has my back and He has a plan for me. 


Uplifted.

Jackie



**Note** Funny Girl is one of my all-time favorite classic movies.  Cute, Funny and Quirky.  Perfect movie for a Girls Night In.

I'm Blog Hopping Today!

The last few weeks I've been joining a couple of Blog Hops and I've had so much fun visiting other blogs and meeting the new folks who visit me.  Did ya notice the cute new social media bar at the top of my blog?  Will you hop on over to my new Facebook page and click Like?  I'm hoping to get above 20 folks over there so I can customize my page name...much appreciated!!  Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!


This week I'm joining...

A Helicopter Mom on the...

3 Four and Under on the...

Fun.

Jackie

Book Review: Beautiful Things Happen When A Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh

About The Book:

Do you ever question God's ability to catch you when you fall?

Do shame, fear, and brokenness keep you from fully trusting God?

Do you secretly believe your dreams are unreachable?

You are not alone.

Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God is all about trust. How we fight it. How we learn to do it. How it transforms us.

Life is not safe. That reality slips over us as we grow. Our response to the Father in that reality allows us either to swing higher and higher with the trust of a child . . . or fearfully shrink back from the swing set altogether.

As we weigh that choice, God whispers: Trust me.

In a remarkably transparent account, author and speaker Shelia Walsh opens wide her lifelong battle with trust and the moment-by-moment choices she made to follow where God led.

Shelia has lived a life ruled by "hidden places" of insecurity and brokenness and knows the overwhelming beauty of a life wholly handed over to Christ. As you encounter her struggles and triumphs, you also meet ten of the Bible's transformed-Tabitha, David, Paul, and others-who teach us that in spite of overwhelming circumstances, just one trusting encounter with Christ sets beautiful things in motion.

It can resurrect dreams, instill purpose, and ignite hope.

Discover what beautiful things can happen when you trust God.

My Thoughts: 

You know, the bible promises in so many places that if we trust God beautiful things will happen.  The trusting part is hard sometimes though.  We think we can do everything on our own and we don't need help from anyone or even God sometimes.  This book will help you to let go of your anxieties and worry and learn to trust God in everything.  Reading about Sheila's personal struggles and how she has overcome them was inspiring and encouraging.  Anyone who has struggled with depression will find Sheila's story real and familiar.  Her level of trust in God is something for me to aspire to reach.  I recommend this book to anyone looking for inspiration for any kind of struggle in their life and how to find God in the middle of those struggles.

Inspiring.

Jackie

I received this book free from BookSneeze.com as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Baseball...As In Life...

Find your team...ask questions...seek guidance...

Be ready for what comes your way...

Just know there will be setbacks...failures...disappointments...

Seek out personal coaching...counseling...wisdom...when you need it...

Throw a little help...assistance...advice...to others when they need it...

Most of all...do your best... and try to hit it out of the park!

 

Hey Batta Batta..SuuWiinngg!

Jackie

*reposted from 2009

Book Review: A Deeper Kind of Calm by Linda Dillow

About The Book:

How Do We Walk Boldly When Our World Seems to Be Crumbling Beneath Our Feet? Join celebrated author and speaker Linda Dillow on the journey to contentment with this follow-up to the best-selling Calm My Anxious Heart. Learn how to positively handle the disappointments of life and discern the comforting truth found in God’s Word. Be encouraged and learn to deal with the waves of trials, depression, and discouragement that threaten to flood our souls. Hidden in the psalms are portraits of what faith looks like in times of trial. Through them, author Linda Dillow will help you discover how to: -remember what God has done (Psalm 77) -hide in His presence (Psalm 46) -cling to Him (Psalm 63) - praise Him for all we cannot see (Psalm 84) The glorious promise from Psalm 84 is that as we walk through the “valley of weeping,” it can be turned into a place of blessing. Includes a four-week Bible study to help you further unpack the comforting truth of God’s Word.

My Thoughts:

This book arrived in my mailbox at the time I needed to read it. My Grandfather and our friend Blake had just died within a few weeks of each other.  I needed some help dealing with all of my emotions and this book helped me so much.  From the very first page of Chapter 1 named, My Valley of Weeping, I knew this book was going to serve me well.  Dillow guides us through the Psalms to help us deal with the Valleys of Weeping in our lives.  Even though I had a lot of "why" questions during this time in our life (still do) this book helped me to find my way to God instead of turning away from Him. 

I have always turned to Psalms when I need help in some area of my life.  Since the book breaks down into four different chapters from Psalms, as stated above, I now have more specific Psalms to turn to in my times of need.  There is also a 4-week bible study included at the end of the book to do on your own or with a group.

Final Thoughts:

I recommend that if you are facing any trials in your life and you're wondering how you can find God in the midst of those trials you should read this book.  It was a wonderful guide for me during a difficult time.  I also recommend another book I have read by Linda Dillow called Calm My Anxious Heart:  A Woman's Guide To Finding Contentment.

Highly Recommended.

Jackie

I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

And Now About The Wrinkles...

Ladies...some of you may remember when I wrote this sweet little post a year or so ago.  It was all sweetness and honey about how I'm embracing my 40's and how I look so much different now than I did in my 20's and how I'm so OKAY with it all.  

Well...this morning as I'm putting on my makeup for 2nd time...I'm saying to myself..."Are you kidding me?  What is up with this makeup?".  

It's the WRINKLES I tell you!  

Powders.  Liquids.  Matte.  Dewy.  Primers.  Serums. 

Doesn't seem to matter the formulation...things just don't glide on my face like they used to. 

It's okay...really.  It is.  I'm Embracing My Wrinkles...Really...

But Still...There Are Those Days...

Okay...Enough about my vanity for today.

Thank You and Amen!

Jackie