It's a New Season

“Hello, autumn… I’ve been waiting for you!”

            I can’t believe today is the last day of August! I don’t remember saying “good-bye” to the past seven months? Anyway, I love this time of year. Here in Florida, it is kind of hard to believe that a season change is coming up when it’s still so hot outside. It takes a BIG imagination to forget it won’t be cold until probably December. Grrr.  (I really hope I get to wear my coat this year.)Technically, the first “official” day of fall isn’t until September 22, but I missed that memo and put up all my decorations this week. I feel so much better now. :)

            I’ve noticed a few of you are doing the same or thinking of doing away with the summer "stuff" soon too. So, as an encouragement, here are a few simple changes that I love to make  during this time of year that you can very easily do too.

            Ashley,  who is a friend of mine and fellow blogger over at Love Always, Ashley, got me hooked on one of her personal favorite sites, A Beautiful Mess. This blog has the cutest DIY ideas in several different categories. I am not much of a crafter, but I do enjoy “assisted creativity.” I found an easy DIY idea to make a wreath for the fall, so I gave it a try. I am excited that I actually started AND finished this craft. Sadly, I can't say the same about my attempt to crochet. Fortunately, my wreath turned out so much cuter than I thought it would. My neighbors now have something pretty to look at too! All you need is a wire hanger, strips of different color/texture/patterned cloth, and some ribbon to make a bow and hang. Tell me that is not easy? This is definitely a project that could be done as a group. *hint, hint* Here's mine:

I just love being a girl… and wife!

            Another easy way to jazz up your home for the fall is to get some new candles or oils to warm up for the season. Bath & Body Works is having a sale coming up this weekend, so be sure to capitalize on that. Don't forget to sign up for their e-mails too, they send great coupons. I am testing out their “Autumn” home oil scent and two mini candles: Lavender Vanilla and Cinnamon Covered Donut. My home smells delicious! As a kind reminder, be careful with the different scents you have going on at the same time. It's fun to experiment with mixing them and some combinations are perfect, but others are just a disaster! Your husband will thank me for that one. ;)

            Aside from the tangible ways to welcome a new season, we can’t forget about spiritual season changes too. While I packed away my summer décor, I meditated on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”

            When you get a chance to have some quiet time today, I encourage you to open your Bible and think on this passage as well. I know you’ve got a girly pen or pencil sitting around somewhere, so bring that to your one-on-one session with God too. As you read through it yourself be sure to highlight, circle, and jot down thoughts or even notes for the words/phrases that stick out to you most. I’m sure God won’t care if you use green or pink ink either. :)

 As I was reading through the “seasons” in the text, I could vividly recall specific examples for some of these in my life. It was a little painful to be reminded of the times where I’ve “mourned, torn down, and been silent.” But, thank the Lord that He brought me through to new seasons where I could “laugh, dance, love, and have peace.” I have gone through some crazy roller coaster changes in my young life too, and at times I felt like the winter days were never going to pass. I am so thankful that I held on to Jesus instead of running the other way because now that I am in my spring and summer times of life, I can remember His faithfulness and the joy that He brought me in the morning. (Ps. 30:5)

           What season of life are you currently in? What about your marriage? There is a book called The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman that goes into more detail about this question.

Remember what Romans 5:3-4 says? “…We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope.” In your difficult seasons while you’re waiting for the flowers and sun to come out, keep on in your perseverance. The hard times will pass. When you are in the blooming and seashore fun seasons of life, remember to thank God for those blessings. In all seasons, stay close to Him. He’ll be there with you through them all.

            I’m glad you could be renewed by thinking through this passage with me. Now, get on with making your fall crafts and treats! In my opinion, it’s not too early. :)

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:2

“For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.” Psalm 92:4 

P.s. To see my full post on my “seasonal change” thoughts, be sure to check on the Derek Janney Band blog soon!

"A spoon full of sugar helps the..."

               I rarely make desserts. My “from scratch” credentials are as follows: one successful key lime pie and a chocolate chip pie. I think part of the reason why I don’t necessarily enjoy baking sweets has to do with the fact that I didn’t grow up “needing” or having desserts after our meals at home-thanks for taking care of me, Mom! The other part of the dilemma is that I already have trouble taming my sweet tooth. I’m healthy and I love whole food eating, but I’ve got a weakness for chocolate. Forget diamonds, chocolate is my best friend! Additionally, I don’t like to clean up the gooey messes and half the time I can’t follow recipes the right way. Hmmm…

                Well, last night at our weekly “Janney family dinner,” my sister-in-law, Brooke, told me about a blog she knew of that had recipes for healthy desserts. Those two words probably don’t make sense together, but that’s definitely my kind of sweet treat! I browsed through, Chocolate Covered Katie, this morning while I was getting ready for class and glorious pictures popped up of Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Balls. Peanut butter is one of my favorite things to eat and to have it paired with chocolate- oh my! I skimmed  through the ingredients and everything I would need was already in my pantry. Double plus.

                I substituted some of the components to make it healthy to my liking, and I’m selfishly hoping to get a "thumbs up" from Derek about them later tonight… that is if I can get him to taste one! Still working on him and the health thing... If I can handle making this recipe, you definitely can. You may even get a little “sugar” from your honey tonight for going the extra mile to make these sweets. Oh la la!

              The website has tons of vegan and no-bake options too. Let's see how many of these healthy recipes I can get away with before Derek starts noticing... I hope he's not reading.

             So, while I may not have original dessert recipes to share (yet, anyways) I'll be sure to point your cute little wife self to some great places where you can find them. I mean, I've got such a cute apron, I NEED excuses to wear it more than I have to! :) Here’s how my experimentation with these healthy "yums" turned out for me:

Voila!

You can view the original recipe here. I’ve added my edited version below with the changes I made to the ingredients.

• 1/2 cup organic rolled oats (I bet muesli would taste incredible too!)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used ¼ cup of natural ground peanut butter to satisfy how I like PB and ¼ of Jiff, so Derek would give them a try)
• 3-4 drops of local honey
• Pinch of salt (I didn't have a 1/8 measuring spoon :( )
• 1 tbsp vanilla 4Life protein powder (can you imagine how delish this will be after a workout?!)
• 1 tsp of coconut oil (To add a little moisture)
• chocolate chips!

I combined all the ingredients by hand (make sure you wash them well before diving in!) and rolled the mix into tiny balls. Tiny desserts are just not fair, they make you want them even more. Right? Since I like peanut butter cold, I put them in a bowl and slid them into the fridge. It's taking everything in me to not pull them out and eat the rest of them as I write about their cuteness. Ahhh.

Send me your pictures of how your attempts turn out, and let me know what you decided to replace in the ingredients to make it uniquely yours. J

 

 

 My sister-in-law, Denille, gave me this super cute apron as a gift before I got married. 

With my new initials too.:)

 

Pew Thoughts 8.26.12 (and a little something extra!)

Romans 2:17-3:20

                This morning, my Pastor finished part two of the “Fatal Flaws of Religion” message in our series, When in Rome. It’s been convicting for me to read through Romans 2-3 and listen to Pastor Dave break down what Paul wrote about we who judge others. It breaks my heart when people assume the worst in us when we acknowledge  that we are Christians, but at the same time the majority of us tend to make it hard for the world to believe there is a God if they’re basing it on how we live out His testimony. It’s easy to turn our noses upward because we think our denomination is superior, because we use the “correct and only acceptable” Bible translation, because we are involved in too many ministries to count, or because we don’t look like them. Paul reminds us that we are no better than the ones we judge!

 

 

                Tom Schultz recently wrote an article on his blog, Holy Soup, entitled “Why People Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore.” He went to the streets and asked people why they weren’t in church and then compiled the top reasons in this article into four recurring themes. Guess what #1 was… “Church people judge me.” Ouch…

I was reminded today that I was not asked to appoint myself to the position of passing judgment on others in my church or world, nor is it my responsibility to try and be the Holy Spirit in other people's lives. I need to worry about myself and how I’m going to fix my own issues. In the last week, I can recall at least two times where I either said something that definitely was judgmental about someone else or I listened to someone make “just a comment.” It was wrong, no excuse about it. A good indication that you should stop listening if a statement is preceded by any of the following statements: "Don't repeat this," "I shouldn't say this but," "Can you believe he/she would," or "Bless her/his heart but..." I know you know of plenty more because we are all guilty of having used some. When I think about the judgments that others have passed against me in the last few years for reasons beyond my control, I cringe. But, in that same fashion when I think about how easily I can pass judgment I have to acknowledge what Paul says. I am a sinner mercifully saved by grace!

Pastor reminded us that religion and getting caught up in the “law” can encourage hypocrisy and can lead me to focus more on the offenses of the law instead of grace. “When Christians fail to practice what they preach the world says, ‘If they live that way then their God must not be real.’” Even as wives and husbands we can learn a lot from Paul's writings. I have to humble myself and ask God to reveal to me how I am judging my own husband. Could it be that I think of myself better than Derek and allow that view to dictate how I treat him? Have I judged Derek unfairly without considering that "there could be more to what I'm seeing?" Marriages aren't immue to the sin of passing unfair judgment. I'm sure you know that as well as I do.

 

One question for reflection from Pastor’s handout: would you agree that there is little difference before God between religious idolatry and worldly immorality?

**Here's the extra** I’m including a video I recently saw on YouTube of a sketch that LifeChurch.tv did, “Interview with Satan on his views about the Church.” It is humorous, but very convicting. Kind of scary to consider that what the actor in the video says speaks a lot of truth into how we as Christians act even within the church. Watch it and think.

 

 

What we worshipped to today:

"Our God"- Chris Tomlin

"How Great is Your Faithfulness"- Matt Redman

"I Want to Be Used by You"- Deluge Band

 

 

Lessons From the First Week of School...

Lessons I’ve Learned in the First Week of School that Apply to Marriage

 

                Go, Knights!

     I haven’t been a full-time student in a while because of having to work, getting married, and other life happenings. My “plan” would have already had the check box marked of graduated by now, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s OK I haven't finished yet like I thought and I can’t be competing with anyone. *Constant reminder* So, I’m back in serious action. My first week has been interesting to say the least, but I survived my first day at UCF. For you non-Floridians, the University of Central Florida is ginormous and has the second largest student population in the nation. While the campus is beautiful and there is a lot of opportunity at this research based school, this number of students and too many buildings is a recipe for disaster when I'm included. Sadly, I have to admit that I sat through an entire hour of a class that wasn’t even mine. I’ll end my first day tragedies there. Sigh, I’m not even a freshman.

    On the plus side, I ran into a few people that I haven’t seen in a few years. How that happened in the sea of people, I do not know. While I got prepped the night before and during the first day of class, I made some observations as a student that relate to me as a Young Married:

1.       Show up- Just like I have to be present in class to get necessary information, I need to “show up” in my marriage. I can’t expect to coast on cruise control and magically hope my marriage will arrive at our desired destination. Additionally, in the same fashion that the professor doesn’t carry my workload for me, I can’t expect Derek to take on the responsibilities and success of our marriage alone when this is a three person union: God, Derek, and me.

 

2.       Make time for studying and learning- I can’t give up on being a student of my husband. The day I fail to do this is the day that I have to “cram” for the test when it’s already too late. With time and applied focus, I’ll gain sound knowledge on the “subject” (Derek) and be happy with the outcome. J

3.       Prioritize- If I don’t have my priorities in order, I won’t do well in school. Likewise, it can be too easy to let my marriage fall last in importance if I don’t establish where it belongs upfront. This semester my priorities look something like this: #1 My relationship with Jesus, #2 My relationship with Derek and our marriage, #3 Focusing on school and being a student. I have my others ones and for this semester being a student got bumped up to third. The first two should never change for me.

 

4.       Plan- If I don’t have an idea or a plan of where I want to go in my academic career, I will end up spending more money on tuition than necessary and aimlessly take classes for the sake of meeting requirements. I’ve, unfortunately, had to learn some of this the hard way. In our marriages if we don’t dream together, set family goals, and have aspirations for the future we will start to find that we feel like our marriages have no purpose. If I can make the time to plan for a career then I want my and Derek’s marriage to have a mission too!

5.       I don’t know it all- Obviously, the professors I’m learning from are teaching me the material because I don’t know it. In marriage, I don’t have all the answers and never will. Experience will give me insight and knowledge to share with others, but in stages that I haven’t yet reached I need to listen and ask for help. As a student, pride can be my worst enemy. In marriage, pride will make me fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

 

      I hope that I keep these “student lessons” in mind this semester, and for a lifetime in my marriage. I probably should have added time management up there too because heaven knows I need all the time I can get to finish projects and get work done. I hope to balance being a wife and student better this year than I have in the past. I would love Derek’s report card to have straight A’s for me in the subject of WIFE… A girl can dream can’t she!?

                         P.S. Can I raid your closet to look this cute for school?!