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Documentaries

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 5 February, 2014 No comment

My husband and I have Netflix and have been into documentaries lately. We have watched many documentaries on 9/11, history, crime, food, sports and drugs. Today was on meth and the deadly poison in which this drug is. While watching this documentary I got sick to my stomach with how incredibly sad this drug has become and how popular it is. What takes place in our society is actually fascinating to me, but also scary how we truly don’t have a clue what goes on in our own cities; the cries for help are on our street corners. The search for something greater. Sometimes we live in our own little bubble and are naïve to what’s actually taking place down the street from us.

Some interesting facts: This drug actually keeps you high up to 12 hours for one single hit. Portland, OR is the number one capitol in the US. Bangkok actually fuels sex trafficking as the more meth consumed the more women allow their bodies to be used to gain more money enabling this vicious cycle. Gas and lithium from batteries are just a couple ingredients that are clearly poison to the average person. Meth tricks your brain and gives an illusion of power that is unstoppable and hallucinations begin; this is where crime rates rocket. In Portland alone 85% of crime comes from meth addicts. 1 in 4 inmates in our local jails are meth addicts. 90% of users relapse as it is beyond addictive and almost impossible to maintain a ‘normal’ life after rehab. These are only a couple statistics that I encountered while watching this documentary.

What kept running through my mind while watching this terrifying video was how evil drugs and alcohol truly are. Unfortunately we don’t see all the tell tale signs when interacting with someone currently on a high, the longer they use it the clearer the signs become. Dispatch calls showed that conversations simply don’t make sense when under the influence. My mind cannot wrap itself around the evil that prevails by taking drugs and alcohol to help ‘escape reality.’ My frustration is how people want to live in a euphoric state and escape their life simply by partaking in this act for social acceptance. Most cases begin in teen parties being told there is a power you will gain by taking this drug and how exciting it is and 99% of them end up addicts later on in life.

Evil seeps in and wins through many of these tragedies. Drugs and alcohol are the new norm. Alcohol especially seems to sneak in in so many hidden ways. Happy hours become a usual basis after work, a glass of wine at night to relax from the stressful day, smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes or simply feeling good and so on and so forth. Growing marijuana is entirely acceptable; these conversations about drugs are portrayed entirely nonchalant and 100% acceptable but why? These are all incredibly dangerous and the very essence of all of them are to relax which leads to escaping life and the power within them is beyond captivating. Lives destroyed, families broken and ultimately death knocking at your door.

Evil is everywhere and I know I’ve talked about this many times but it seeps in in subtle ways as alcohol seeming to be an innocent drink for casual fun that leads into wanting more and ends with poor decisions and often becoming an addict. Satan literally knows how to distract us from living a fulfilling life. Believing that a simple drink or drug will change your life for the better and move you to the top of the food chain becoming independently wealthy and having all the material possessions you could possibly desire is the lie of meth. The logic simply doesn’t make sense. If you believe in God and the devil, do you honestly think that Satan wont interfere with your decisions when consuming one of these drugs? How many times do you hear people mention the good decisions they made while under the influence? Yes, there is the casual drink that many people can have without crossing that line but where is that line drawn? Whose to say that limits aren’t crossed more often than not? Why wouldn’t they be, realistically the point is to feel better, so what gives the motivation to stop drinking or doing drugs as you feel good. Maybe the line should never have been started. I believe that there are a lot of things in life that are not meant to harm us that end up doing that exact thing.

As you’ve seen many times my passion come out within these so called pleasures of life. I will not and do not agree with escaping life and calling this pleasure. I’ve seen too much damage come from these ‘evil escapes’ and it’s not worth losing your life over them. I’ve seen the damage occur within the lives around me and it simply isn’t worth it. The reality is social acceptance has warped our perspective and opinion on what used to be less talked about to now being looked down upon if you aren’t partaking in them. More so alcohol depending on who and where you walk.

This video showed multiple stories of first time meth users that ended their lives the very first night partaking in this dangerous drug. This simply states the power these drugs have over our body. When this occurs we are allowing the enemy to enter in without choice, taking us to lengths that even meth users would say never thought was possible. I used to think a glass of wine wasn’t wrong, but now I simply do not agree with it for many reasons. One of them being the simple fact that the only point of alcohol is for no purpose other than to take an edge off. Call it what you want, but alcohol is a drink that people drink so that they can be more relaxed, social, talkative and bold. For some reason tea and soda wont suffice. I found justification comes a lot with this drink. Every commercial promotes alcohol and sex. The legal fight to get liquor in grocery stores. Marijuana now being justified for health purposes, people who grow the drug for an income, the fight to get marijuana legalized, so on and so forth. Justification reigns so prevalently. Now let me say I live in Oregon which is the drug capital of the US so maybe I see it more prevalently then most people. Either way, our hippie city is losing the professional aspect and becoming overly complacent with far too many things. Don’t we have more things of concern than the routine fights for legalizing these drugs? How do we become so blind that disagreeing with this topic is beyond shocking to some of you!

Moment of Truth: We have one shot at life, don’t waste it. I’m not suggesting that everyone out there shouldn’t touch alcohol but I challenge each and every one of you to search truthfully deep within yourself what having that glass of alcohol does for you. What is the point if you believe you are not escaping something or trying to relax? Ponder the thought that tea, water, soda and juice don’t replace this drink and ask yourself why? Ask yourself the questions and truly search for what the ultimate benefit is for you to partake in this socially acceptable drink. Reach out and talk to people who have struggled with substance abuse and put the shoe on the other foot. There are so many laws in place to try and prevent us from crossing the line but it’s such a fine line that laws have to be in place. If it wasn’t harmful we wouldn’t have these laws. If you feel justification coming on, pick up your Bible and ask God to search your heart and give you the answers for you individually before the Lord. Don’t let the little lies become a life waster.

Fun at the park

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 4 February, 2014 No comment

The other day we met some friends at a park we had yet to encounter. There are so many nice parks in West Linn/Lake Oswego area. We love going to parks as Cooper could spend all day outside if I let him. He loves the fresh air and the toys that are so different than home. :)

It was such a beautiful day we played for almost two hours and little man was so exhausted by the time we got home. I love watching him race around finding fun things to do as I ponder what’s going through that little brain of his. If only I knew. :)

Even at the park when there are so many options to choose from he still gravitates towards the trucks…

Playing and playing with trucks and so content doing so…

After the park we headed home to the bathroom that is getting remodeled while Cooper insists on helping daddy and doing a very maticulous job at it I must say.

“Mommy please let daddy and I have some guy time with our tools,” was the hint I felt he was trying to tell me. I must say this was my little rag-a-muffin the night prior to getting those little bangs chopped off. :)

Why Can’t We See God

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 February, 2014 No comment

I had a conversation with my mom this afternoon and she kept asking me in the midst of trial where God is? We believe God is with us, we believe God is guiding and protecting us, but where is God shining down revealing himself to us giving us that hope?

Thank you to thebooktart.com for the picture

As I was listening to her it became very clear to me that God has been continually revealing himself to us through our circumstances. It can often be in the little things that God is showing a mighty work. The reality is that our trials wouldn’t seem so catastrophic if we didn’t believe in Christ. Evil wouldn’t be so prevalent if we weren’t fighting for good to overcome and win. Christ meets us in the pit of sin and is reaching down with an outstretched hand asking for us to grab on. We often look for God’s revealing in miracles and drastic change in lifestyle rather than the physical outreach trying to simply help us stand back up on our own two feet. When we live in sin we are still responsible and accountable to our choices, God wont simply take them away because we must deal with them and learn from them but in all reality those mighty changes in life is God’s revealing of himself even through our freewill to choose life or death.

So beloved, you are chosen, adopted, accepted and loved! God is revealing himself to you in the midst of the trial. Look for him in practical ways rather then in miracle form. I’m not suggesting that Christ wont perform miracles over your life as he does often but when life sinks deep, remember Christ is there revealing His precious self to you through ways that wouldn’t keep you believing still.

The simple question, “Where is God, why can’t I see him?” Seems to me to be the essence of Christ trying to get you to take your eyes off yourself and the longing for tragedy to dissipate, but to stay Christ focused so that you can see his hand in the daily routine of what we call life. We need to go deeper still in our faith, trials bring perseverance and Christ says we need to consider them pure joy. The definition of pure is: not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material, free from contamination, containing nothing else. The definition of joy is: Great pleasure and happiness. The two combined seem to be a happiness filled without anything else, free of any other material or substance distracting the essence of our joy. Consider it pure joy my friends, when you are faced with trials of many kind (James 1:2-4).

Reveal means to make known; previously unknown or kept secret. Christ isn’t a secret to us, he is constantly showing himself through divine or supernatural means. When we ask Christ to reveal himself, I think we ought to ask for us to see the supernatural realm taking place at that present moment. If we feel Christ is hiding Himself from us our perspective needs to get back in tact. Whose hiding, Christ or us? Christ has revealed himself. Let’s not hide in the midst of pain and tragedy and question God’s presense. Instead lets open our eyes and grab on to Christ as He walks with us through our day. Our prayer should be: “let me see You as You are continually revealing Yourself to me. Let my doubt, fear and trepidation not hinder my sight from your glory as You embark this journey hand in hand with me. You have and will continue to reveal Yourself to me, help me from hiding from you glory and keep my eyes pure, uncontaminated by anything other than Yourself so that I may proceed with faith and not let evil conquer me.”

My friends, the reality is we all go through dark times in our life where we can’t find which way is up. Unfortunately we need close brothers and sister in Christ to stand by our side pointing us in the direction of the finish line. I’ve wondered myself many times why God hasn’t preformed that miracle on our family, when I need to remember we all have our own choices and no matter which road we choose God will be faithful to us as we continually choose Him. This doesn’t mean our ‘miracle’ is that the tragedy or hardships get taken away, it simply means resting under His wing for refuge while we continue to endure the path that’s narrow and difficult rather than the worn, wide path.

We think that Christ revealing himself to us is some unknown experience that rarely happens. My friends, Christ is daily revealing himself to you, are you receiving this great gift you have been given? You may question God as at times He can be silent, but when you seek him for guidance He will not fail you and is waiting to unveil the many layers covering your eyes. We tend to let our insecurities, doubts and fears become the essence of how we think God is working. This is all wrong my friends and I’m guilty of this as well. We need to remind ourselves what God’s promises are so that when standing in the midst of the fire you are pure before the Lord, knowing you can and will endure the fire and come out even more refined on the other side.

Moment of Truth: Reveal yourself to Christ, don’t keep yourself a secret from Him as he is reaching down into the pit with His hand outstretched longing to wash away your pride and selfishness and renew your eyes with peace and glory. There is a hope!

Everyday Chicken

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 February, 2014 No comment

The other night I was unsure what to make for dinner as this thought often comes across my head. I am trying to cater our eating to more basics and hoping to be a titch more healthy.

While making dinner I allowed Cooper to play on the counter top in our glass cupboard as he loves to organize his cups and put straws in each and every glass. He could play here for hours and often does when I allow it. :)

Lately, as you all know I have been addicted to salads with all the yummy toppings my mama had got me hooked on at Christmas. This has been beneficial for us to get our veggies for the day as well as our green smoothies. Trying to get back to the basics as we don’t eat unhealthfully but not enough veggies and fruit. Tonights dinner was back to the basics, salad, quinoa rice blend and chicken.

I made two types of chicken dishes, here’s the first method:

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken thighs (breasts work great too)
¾ cup mustard (I used hot and sweet mustard and Dijon mixed)
1 tbsp red vinegar
Dash of salt and pepper
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Lay chicken in a 8×8 greased pan. Season with 1 tsp of each: parsely, garlic salt and Italian seasining. In a small bowl mix everything together except parmesan cheese and spread atop chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Mustard mixture

Ready to bake!

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Second Method:

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken thighs or breasts
¾ cup mayo
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic salt
4 tsp parsley
1 tsp Itallian seasoning
Fresh Parmesan cheese

In another 8×8 greased pan lay the chicken. Season chicken with 1 tsp of each: parsley, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. In a small bowl mix together mayo along with remaining seasonigns except parmesan cheese. Spread on top of the chicken and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Ready to bake!

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Serve with quinoa rice blend and salad. I used the sauce in the pan from the chicken on top of the rice to add a consistent flavor.

Enjoy!

A day at the salon

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 2 February, 2014 No comment

A day at the salon or shall I say the playground. My son absolutely loves airplanes, cars and truck as I know you’ve heard me mention plenty of times. The salon we went to was Little Clippers catered for the little kiddos. They had a whole playground for the kids to hang out at before and after their haircut. Cooper fell in love the moment he say the giant car to climb all over. Their chair was either a car, truck or airplane for the haircut itself.

Let me preface the salon experience with the fact that my son has an extremely full head of hair and has had one since the moment be entered this world. My little boy received his first haircut when he was 6 months old. I chopped the mullet and the combover as that was all I could do without more experience. Between 6-19 months I’ve cut his hair 12 times. It has finally got to the point that as many times that I had hacked the hair the mullet wouldn’t fully disappear. He has the thickest head of hair and a LOT of it. Little did I really know how much hair he had until he sat in the car and the hair kept falling to the ground. I wasn’ the mom to cry about his first haircut as it is the norm in our family but was in awe of the piles of hair that had fallen to the ground.

The gal who cut his hair was very quick and effecient. His little face pops out now that you can see it without the little hair trapping him inside like cousin it. He looks so much older and is a little toddler now!

He hated the cape…

We took the cape off and he was content

Lots of hair

New hair do!

Stylin’ little 19 month old!

Valentines Day is Coming

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 30 January, 2014 No comment

Valentines Day is coming. Place your order today!

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You are beautiful

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 January, 2014 No comment

My husband has been home for a couple days as he is in transition from his old position to a new position with a new company. We are very excited about this. Since he has been home for a few days it allowed me yesterday to attend bible study without little Cooper man and go grocery shopping. While I was on my way home the song by Mercy Me “Beautiful” came on. I’ve heard this song a pletheroa of times but never really been hit by the deep need of the human race to be loved and accepted, simply to be told you are beautiful.

To all the men and women out there, you are beautiful. “…when all you hear is you’re not worth anything. Wondering if you could just be loved. If they truly saw your heart than they would see too much.” You are beautiful! God created you just the way you are. You are more than what’s driving you and hurting you. All the lies about yourself that you believe are nothing compared to what Christ has done for us on the cross. When you were first thought of before the foundation of this world God knew your name and the hairs atop your head. This is powerful. He knew the depths of your soul and created you just the way you are. You are beautiful in His eyes.

We get so bogged down my the media and what beauty is in the eye of man rather than the eye of the beholder. Beauty is not something man created. Christ created us all individually so that we could be beautiful and confident with our love from Him. It doesn’t matter what the world says, our beauty goes beyond the depths of our appearance to the inner part of our core. We become insecure because we see billboards and magazines that portray a life unworthy of anything that matters. Beauty isn’t the heart of a person, the heart of the person is where beauty lies.

God created us all for something so much more. Have you reached the depths of who you are in Christ? Don’t walk around ashamed hanging your head low; stand tall, be bold portraying a heart of confidence and search your soul oh precious one and ask the Lord to shine His beauty upon you. You are beautiful, repeat that to yourself all day long; you are beautiful. Christ made you, how could you be anything less than beautiful when everything about Christ is beauty. He is the essence of beauty and you are the essence of Christ. Hold on to that sword of truth and walk boldly through your day knowing you are beautiful no matter what the world says. Words can bring you down, but they don’t have to, harsh words come from those who are insecure with themselves.

Black, brown, red, blonde or grey hair, this is how Christ designed you and exactly how HE wanted you my friend to look. He created you with such thought and made your eyes to shine for Him, not the worldly pleasures we call beauty.

Men and women do not know how to love one another with the glory Christ holds. We long to be loved by our spouses, family, friends and children. Though that love exists it will fail, “…for now we only see a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully know.” (1 cor. 13:12) We can’t receive that full acceptance of love while here on earth and as much as we strive to feel that love from our spouse and only by the grace of God can we feel a portion of His love from them. We will only see a glimpse of the true love Christ holds but the glorious piece to this puzzle is, we can’t feel fully loved until we let Christ love us. We can search our whole lives to fill this void when Christ is longing for us to place our love in Him to be fulfilled.

You are beautiful no matter what arises in life and the strife you feel in your heart, no matter the words you hear from those attempting to beat your soul leaving you to feel inadequate and worthless. We will all have days when our strength is simply weak and vulnerable; you are beautiful. You are made for so much more than all of this; treasured, sacred and His. Beloved you are beautiful, receive this joyous gift! Pray that God will give you the eyes of Christ to see yourself through His eyes; beautiful.

Moment of Truth: Come to me all who are weary and laden and I will give you rest~ Jesus

The Depth of Our Choices

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 January, 2014 No comment

The Depth Of Our Choices

Our sins carry a weight we think we can manage, yet we can’t. This is when depression, anxiety, insecurity, worthlessness, doubt and much more seep in.

This song talks about washing our burdens away. Placing them in the river and laying down our sin that we weren’t meant to carry. In the water we allow Christ to wash us clean and watch our sins float down yonder, never to live under that yolk again. Christ has given us this joyous opportunity to meet us in the midst of our sin, not having to do anything but surrender.

We’ve all been at that point where life literally weighs us down, feeling we can’t get up and carry our burdens for the day. I always picture Christ carrying the cross on the path to His crucifixion; beaten along the way, weighed down, barely able to move yet still given the strength to carry the cross for us. For me, this is the greatest picture when I feel my burdens are strangling me; if Christ can do it, I know I have the strength to push through.

Lately I’ve continually talked about our sins and the deep impact they have not only on us, but everyone around us. I have been in the midst of the trial for awhile and I feel this is when I grow closer to the Lord. If that’s all that comes from the hurt and pain in this world, than I can rest assured I am living the life that is refining my soul and allowing eternity to be changed rather than seeking material possessions that will pass away.

As mentioned many times, just over two years ago I gave my life to Christ. I promised I would live a life that Christ has called for me, going where He asks, keeping my feet planted in the Word and allowing my life to shine for Him and Him alone. With this commitment I asked God to please make my life extraordinary as living the ordinary life wasn’t something I wanted to partake in day in and day out. I know if I seek Christ for direction, He is longing to meet me at those crossroads giving me that extraordinary life. Through these past two years God has had to bring me to my face in humility; shedding my pride and control to prepare me for that extraordinary life. I like to think I am in boot camp. I wish I was done with boot camp as it has been very exhausting to keep my eyes on the prize when giving up seems to be the easier way out. Two years ago when I was pregnant with my son Cooper, I knew taking the path of truth wasn’t going to be easy but I did now it would be the best path for our family and for my son. His little innocence was more important to me than my pride and my own selfish ways. I knew I had to take up my cross and follow Him no matter the cost. It was my only hope.

They say having kids changes you; boy is that true. I’ve become a woman I never knew existed and could become as quickly as I have. My husband and I battle that quite often as my motives in life are firmly grounded in Christ. Most my decisions are black and white. There is no middle ground, no room for negotiation. If the decision is clearly laid out in the Bible than I have no hesitation. As it says in the Psalms Seek my heart and see if there is any evil way within me. I want to grow and grow beyond my own strength. I want to be that mother and wife that lives a life that only Christ could have done. I will not settle. Sometimes I allow my own ‘problems’ to cloud my perspective and I can quickly believe that everything is a waste. Sometimes it takes moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day to remind myself of this as I will never fully get there while on this earth. But Christ will prevail, evil was already conquered. So when I continually make mistakes and say dumb comments, I know there is still hope and grace to be received.

Even though our sin has great pain and depth to it, the great news is you do not need to sit in it. Pick up the pieces and move ahead learning from them rather than continuing the small choices that seem innocent; they will ruin your life at some point leaving you unfulfilled and unaccomplished. I’m very passionate and living proof that this is possible. Have some faith, truly believe it is possible.

Moment of Truth: Don’t live in the midst of your sin making excuses for your continual patterns and habits. Repent and let go, watch them float down the river. Break through the concrete holding your feet in the muck rather then becoming free and running to glory and peace. Ask God to take you deeper still. He will take us if we ask and are willing to move.

Taco Bake

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 January, 2014 No comment

I love Mexican and along with this tasty dinner, I’ve also made Twice Baked Tacos and Lime Chicken Avocado Enchiladas, all in which are pretty heavenly. I made this one for the first time the other night. Pretty simple but not necessarily the healthiest. It does call for Con Queso but you don’t have to use this. You could substitute for refried beans and extra cheese. So don’t exit this recipe just yet. There are other options.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 12 oz jar salsa
1 cup con queso*
1 6 oz can diced green chilis
1 can olives, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese
2 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp paprika OR sub Taco Seasoning packet for all seasonings
1-2 tsp garlic salt
3 tortillas

*Substitution: 1 16 oz can Refried beans OR pureed black beans and 1-1 ½ cup Shredded cheese

In a large skillet cook meat thoroughly. Add taco seasoning or above spices to create your own taco seasoning and add 1/4 cup water, let simmer.

Once heated through add con queso, chilies and olives

In a greased pie plate layer one tortilla and 1/3 meat mixture and repeat leaving meat mixture on top reserving 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Add cheese and cook until melted.

Steak and Egg Burritos

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 26 January, 2014 No comment

We made steak the other night and had leftovers. I was able to get 2 leftover meals after all we ate the first night. The first left over meal was Steak sandwiches on Ciabatta rolls with a delicious spread. Yesterday I decided I would make steak and egg breakfast burritos as steak goes insanely great with eggs.

This simple yet delicious meal was a great way to end my leftovers of steak.

Ingredients: