Saturday, October 10, 2015
Proverbs 4:18
Here's a little something for YOU! Thought I'd try my hand at making a free printable for you all to download and print for personal use, just click on the link below the picture. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Striving for Health in Our Finances
Money, money, money...talking about such things makes us all a little uncomfortable, doesn't it? Even so, I want to be open and honest about our finances.
My husband went into the ministry right out of college and ministry in churches has almost always been our primary, if not only, source of income. The Lord has always been faithful to provide for all of our needs and even many of our wants, and we are grateful to Him. In order to make our income work, there have been sacrifices that we have made in order to live within our means and still make the choices that we believe are best for our family.
I am a stay-at-home mom, and aside from a few stints as a part-time employee I always have been. It was a decision we made early on in our marriage, because we believed it would best serve our family. However, this decision has always had a financial impact as well.
We choose to live a bit more simply - decorating is usually last on the list of things to do. At the moment, all of the furniture we own was previously owned by someone else (except our television, which we got three years ago on a Cyber Monday sale at a deep discount, and a few pieces of kids furniture which were bought as Christmas or Birthday presents). We rarely buy new clothing for the kids as we have been blessed with lots of hand-me-downs and they don't mind shopping at Goodwill. I also do most of my shopping at thrift stores and my husband will do a little shopping at thrift stores but usually sticks to clearance items as he is an unusual size.
One of the biggest ways we can 'afford' for me to stay home is that we are a one vehicle family. The one minivan that we have, we own - there are no monthly payments aside from insurance. In order to pay upfront for our van when we bought it almost two years ago, we bought an older model (2002). This means we have had to use a bit of savings this year to keep it in good running condition, and once we get the catalytic converter replaced, we hope to have all the major repairs done for a good long time!
We are currently working through a series called 'Strapped!' through lifechurch.tv (it is listed in their archives). This is a series on managing your personal finances and getting out of debt. One of the things it encourages is to do whatever it takes to squeeze out an extra $200 every month to pay extra on debts. My husband and I are debt-free aside from our student loans...and our student loans are massive, and often seem insurmountable (we have a total of 4 degrees between the two of us). So, we are trying to find that extra money to help pay down those student loans. We have gotten rid of my cell phone ($35/month) and got a magic jack phone for the house (one month of my cell phone covers a year with the magic jack). We did, however, decide to keep my cell phone for times when I travel without my husband (my cell phone was a pay as you go phone so we can reactivate it for a 30 day period at any time). We got rid of my YMCA membership, which was $42/month. We are working on getting our monthly grocery budget down to a solid $400/month (right now it ranges from $400-$500) and our miscellaneous spending (which includes toiletries, items for the house, and clothing) we are trying to get down to $40/month (currently it's around $100).
In addition to trying to whittle away at our unnecessary spending habits, this month we are trying to go above and beyond. My mom, who lives out-of-state, is going to have surgery on her wrists in the next month or so and I would like to be there to help her during the first week or two. In order to save the extra money for the trip, this month we are doing a pantry challenge. We are not going grocery shopping all month! The only things we can buy, as necessary, are bread and milk.
I've had to be much more intentional about my meal planning (usually I just check for meat in the freezer and then scour pinterest and tastespotting for main dishes that include that meat). Now, I have to take into account what veggies I have and what grains I have in order to come up with a meal plan sans internet help. It has been a fun little challenge and has also forced us to use up some of the things in our freezer that needed to be used before developing freezer burn! We did plan to cheat a little on the challenge for the sake of my son's 8th birthday, but we still did not spend anywhere near our grocery budget! It has been a challenge indeed, but we are working towards a goal now and if we just focus on a monthly goal rather than on the end goal of being 100% debt free, it seems much more achievable. Try it for yourselves, see what happens!
My husband went into the ministry right out of college and ministry in churches has almost always been our primary, if not only, source of income. The Lord has always been faithful to provide for all of our needs and even many of our wants, and we are grateful to Him. In order to make our income work, there have been sacrifices that we have made in order to live within our means and still make the choices that we believe are best for our family.
I am a stay-at-home mom, and aside from a few stints as a part-time employee I always have been. It was a decision we made early on in our marriage, because we believed it would best serve our family. However, this decision has always had a financial impact as well.
We choose to live a bit more simply - decorating is usually last on the list of things to do. At the moment, all of the furniture we own was previously owned by someone else (except our television, which we got three years ago on a Cyber Monday sale at a deep discount, and a few pieces of kids furniture which were bought as Christmas or Birthday presents). We rarely buy new clothing for the kids as we have been blessed with lots of hand-me-downs and they don't mind shopping at Goodwill. I also do most of my shopping at thrift stores and my husband will do a little shopping at thrift stores but usually sticks to clearance items as he is an unusual size.
One of the biggest ways we can 'afford' for me to stay home is that we are a one vehicle family. The one minivan that we have, we own - there are no monthly payments aside from insurance. In order to pay upfront for our van when we bought it almost two years ago, we bought an older model (2002). This means we have had to use a bit of savings this year to keep it in good running condition, and once we get the catalytic converter replaced, we hope to have all the major repairs done for a good long time!
We are currently working through a series called 'Strapped!' through lifechurch.tv (it is listed in their archives). This is a series on managing your personal finances and getting out of debt. One of the things it encourages is to do whatever it takes to squeeze out an extra $200 every month to pay extra on debts. My husband and I are debt-free aside from our student loans...and our student loans are massive, and often seem insurmountable (we have a total of 4 degrees between the two of us). So, we are trying to find that extra money to help pay down those student loans. We have gotten rid of my cell phone ($35/month) and got a magic jack phone for the house (one month of my cell phone covers a year with the magic jack). We did, however, decide to keep my cell phone for times when I travel without my husband (my cell phone was a pay as you go phone so we can reactivate it for a 30 day period at any time). We got rid of my YMCA membership, which was $42/month. We are working on getting our monthly grocery budget down to a solid $400/month (right now it ranges from $400-$500) and our miscellaneous spending (which includes toiletries, items for the house, and clothing) we are trying to get down to $40/month (currently it's around $100).
In addition to trying to whittle away at our unnecessary spending habits, this month we are trying to go above and beyond. My mom, who lives out-of-state, is going to have surgery on her wrists in the next month or so and I would like to be there to help her during the first week or two. In order to save the extra money for the trip, this month we are doing a pantry challenge. We are not going grocery shopping all month! The only things we can buy, as necessary, are bread and milk.
I've had to be much more intentional about my meal planning (usually I just check for meat in the freezer and then scour pinterest and tastespotting for main dishes that include that meat). Now, I have to take into account what veggies I have and what grains I have in order to come up with a meal plan sans internet help. It has been a fun little challenge and has also forced us to use up some of the things in our freezer that needed to be used before developing freezer burn! We did plan to cheat a little on the challenge for the sake of my son's 8th birthday, but we still did not spend anywhere near our grocery budget! It has been a challenge indeed, but we are working towards a goal now and if we just focus on a monthly goal rather than on the end goal of being 100% debt free, it seems much more achievable. Try it for yourselves, see what happens!
Monday, June 16, 2014
Back at It!
I'm really not much of a blogger, certainly not a consistent one! That being said, after a year-plus hiatus, I'm ready to share a little more on this little space of mine. It's a new year, and we are in a new home, in a new church, in a new city, and in a new state. We moved to North Carolina back in October. It was not an easy decision, we loved having family all around us and we loved being able to give back just a little in the way of service to our loved ones and to the church that helped raise my husband in the faith.
We are now fully immersed in our new church home. Bill is the Pastor of Youth & Children's Ministry, which is a little new for him (he's never been in charge of children's ministries before). He seems to be adapting to the new role quite well and enjoys his job, as is typical for him. I'm keeping busy in a variety of activities - I run the children's check-in station between our three church services, I do a one-on-one Bible study with one of the youth, I am on the Communications Team for the church, and I help Bill out whenever I can with the youth group. Life has certainly changed a lot over the past year and through it all, God has been so good to us!
Our family life has changed, too! Upon deciding to move, we also decided to begin homeschooling our 2nd grader. This has proved a huge challenge and also a huge blessing. We have already adjusted the way we 'school' in a few ways, as we learn what works best for our son and what works best for me, the teacher. We also have had to make some adjustments in order for me to gain some extra time to spend with our daughter who will be doing preschool next year.
The biggest family change right now is the fact that we are expecting baby #3 in November! This pregnancy was quite difficult during the first trimester - there were many days that we did homeschooling from the comfort of my bed! Now, the pregnancy has improved and most of my nausea is relegated to just the morning hours, although, with the heat of summer growing, I have added fatigue and headaches to my pregnancy 'pains'. I find that about 1.5 hours in the garden is about all the energy I can muster for being outside during the day, naps are a regular occurrence, and my bedtime is now around 9 p.m. I try to get as much done in the morning hours as possible, because once 2 p.m. rolls around, I'm pretty much useless the rest of the day! Bill has really stepped up these past months! During the first trimester, he did most of the cooking and almost all of the cleaning; these days he still helps out when needed and where needed and is a constant encouragement (especially when I get frustrated with not being able to finish things that I start due to fatigue!). I am such a blessed woman that he would choose to marry me! As our family transitions into summertime, I'm sure there will be lots more to talk about, but for now, this is where we stand: A family blessed by God through the many changes and the chaos that every day living brings.
We are now fully immersed in our new church home. Bill is the Pastor of Youth & Children's Ministry, which is a little new for him (he's never been in charge of children's ministries before). He seems to be adapting to the new role quite well and enjoys his job, as is typical for him. I'm keeping busy in a variety of activities - I run the children's check-in station between our three church services, I do a one-on-one Bible study with one of the youth, I am on the Communications Team for the church, and I help Bill out whenever I can with the youth group. Life has certainly changed a lot over the past year and through it all, God has been so good to us!
Our family life has changed, too! Upon deciding to move, we also decided to begin homeschooling our 2nd grader. This has proved a huge challenge and also a huge blessing. We have already adjusted the way we 'school' in a few ways, as we learn what works best for our son and what works best for me, the teacher. We also have had to make some adjustments in order for me to gain some extra time to spend with our daughter who will be doing preschool next year.
The biggest family change right now is the fact that we are expecting baby #3 in November! This pregnancy was quite difficult during the first trimester - there were many days that we did homeschooling from the comfort of my bed! Now, the pregnancy has improved and most of my nausea is relegated to just the morning hours, although, with the heat of summer growing, I have added fatigue and headaches to my pregnancy 'pains'. I find that about 1.5 hours in the garden is about all the energy I can muster for being outside during the day, naps are a regular occurrence, and my bedtime is now around 9 p.m. I try to get as much done in the morning hours as possible, because once 2 p.m. rolls around, I'm pretty much useless the rest of the day! Bill has really stepped up these past months! During the first trimester, he did most of the cooking and almost all of the cleaning; these days he still helps out when needed and where needed and is a constant encouragement (especially when I get frustrated with not being able to finish things that I start due to fatigue!). I am such a blessed woman that he would choose to marry me! As our family transitions into summertime, I'm sure there will be lots more to talk about, but for now, this is where we stand: A family blessed by God through the many changes and the chaos that every day living brings.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Greek Chicken Salad & Roti Mariam Recipes
While the guys spent last night watching the big game, some of the ladies and I spent the time thinking up ideas for our new women's ministry...and dare I say, I think I had an even better time than my husband (especially since his beloved 49ers left the game sans rings). This may have been the most productive Superbowl party I've ever been to! Although I missed the game, my dh made sure I checked out the good ads online. Here's a link to one of our favorites: Doritos Fashionista Daddy
And now, for the main event...I finally finished it! A new recipe for a new kind of chicken salad. Are you tired of the same old grapes, celery, and mayo in your chicken salad - well try this recipe on for size. It's the perfect blend of a chicken gyro and a chicken salad sandwich. Plus, it tastes even better the next day, so this is a great make-ahead meal! And when you're finished, check out Made by you Monday over at Skip To My Lou - there's lots of other great projects and recipes linked up, including the ones below!
2 c. Plain Greek Yogurt
3 Chicken Breasts (I used horomone free chicken, so they were on the smaller side)
1 tsp Dill
1 tsp Oregano
1 Lemon, juiced (I got just over 1/4 cup of juice)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 Cucumber
6 oz. Crumbled Feta Cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Put the chicken in a pot with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium and let cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the water and shred it. Put the chicken in a large bowl.
2. Cut the cucumber in half and remove the seeds. Finely chop the cucumber.
3. Add the cucumber, yogurt, dill, oregano, lemon juice, garlic powder, and feta to the chicken. Mix until well combined. Serve on flat bread with tomato, onion, and lettuce.
If you're looking for a flat bread recipe, you're in luck! I'm including one that I adapted for use with my Greek Chicken Salad recipe. When I made this recipe I was desperate to find a good flat bread that didn't use any yeast, because I didn't remember that I had to make the bread until about 4 p.m.! No time for rising bread! So, I used a recipe I found online that is, I think, a Turkish style bread. It works wonderfully with my adaptations (though, I'm sure the original is delicious as well!).
Ingredients:
4 c. Flour
5 tbsp Olive Oil
1 egg
1 tsp Salt
1.5 tsp Dill
1 tsp Garlic Powder
3/4 c. Water, warm
Directions:
1. Put the flour, oil, egg, salt, dill, and garlic powder into a mixing bowl.
2. Gradually add the warm water to form a soft pliable dough (once a soft dough is reached stop adding the water, or add a little more than called for, if necessary - in the end, I used 3/4 c.). Knead for about 10 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 8 balls. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
4. Roll each ball into round pancake about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cook the bread in a hot, dry, non-stick pan until golden spots appear. Turn the bread over and let it get golden on the other side, then removed to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
And now, for the main event...I finally finished it! A new recipe for a new kind of chicken salad. Are you tired of the same old grapes, celery, and mayo in your chicken salad - well try this recipe on for size. It's the perfect blend of a chicken gyro and a chicken salad sandwich. Plus, it tastes even better the next day, so this is a great make-ahead meal! And when you're finished, check out Made by you Monday over at Skip To My Lou - there's lots of other great projects and recipes linked up, including the ones below!
Greek Chicken Salad
Ingredients:2 c. Plain Greek Yogurt
3 Chicken Breasts (I used horomone free chicken, so they were on the smaller side)
1 tsp Dill
1 tsp Oregano
1 Lemon, juiced (I got just over 1/4 cup of juice)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 Cucumber
6 oz. Crumbled Feta Cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Put the chicken in a pot with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium and let cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the water and shred it. Put the chicken in a large bowl.
2. Cut the cucumber in half and remove the seeds. Finely chop the cucumber.
3. Add the cucumber, yogurt, dill, oregano, lemon juice, garlic powder, and feta to the chicken. Mix until well combined. Serve on flat bread with tomato, onion, and lettuce.
If you're looking for a flat bread recipe, you're in luck! I'm including one that I adapted for use with my Greek Chicken Salad recipe. When I made this recipe I was desperate to find a good flat bread that didn't use any yeast, because I didn't remember that I had to make the bread until about 4 p.m.! No time for rising bread! So, I used a recipe I found online that is, I think, a Turkish style bread. It works wonderfully with my adaptations (though, I'm sure the original is delicious as well!).
Roti Mariam
adapted from http://treatntrick.blogspot.com/2010/08/roti-mariam.htmlIngredients:
4 c. Flour
5 tbsp Olive Oil
1 egg
1 tsp Salt
1.5 tsp Dill
1 tsp Garlic Powder
3/4 c. Water, warm
Directions:
1. Put the flour, oil, egg, salt, dill, and garlic powder into a mixing bowl.
2. Gradually add the warm water to form a soft pliable dough (once a soft dough is reached stop adding the water, or add a little more than called for, if necessary - in the end, I used 3/4 c.). Knead for about 10 minutes.
3. Divide dough into 8 balls. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
4. Roll each ball into round pancake about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cook the bread in a hot, dry, non-stick pan until golden spots appear. Turn the bread over and let it get golden on the other side, then removed to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
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