Monday Messages-Ocean

The ocean is vast and can be scary and daunting and dangerous.  But safe on the shore, I find it relaxing.  I love the feel of the sand on my feet.   The cool breeze.  The sound of gulls in the distance.  The children playing.  But the sound of the waves is my favorite thing.  It reminds me of deep, slow, rhythmical  breathing.  The following youtube video is great for focusing and relaxing and matching your own breathing to the rhythm of the waves to help wash away worries and problems of the day.

The ocean reminds me of peace because when you are on the beach, the loudest thing is the ocean.  It drowns out all other sounds unless someone is speaking right near you, especially if you are looking at the ocean and focusing on the waves.  Similarly, when we focus our lives on Jesus Christ, the sounds of the world are muffled and we can enjoy the peace the gospel brings. One of my favorite church hymns is called Master the Tempest is Raging and it says:

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons or men or whatever it be,

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean and earth and skies.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will:

Peace, be still. ¹⁴

Sunday Blessings-sleep

I have often said that I love my sleep and I put it right up there with breathing and eating.  Ideally, I like about 8 and a half to 9 hours a night.  I am so grateful for the regenerative power of sleep, both physically and mentally.  I know that a loving Father provided the night time as a time of rest because He knew our bodies and spirit needed this.  Studies also show that a deeper sleep is better for healing, and I know that if I have had more dreams, my sleep has been deeper.  At times in our lives, sleep is sacrificed for a greater cause-new babies, girls camp, sick children, or early morning seminary.  Luckily, those times don't last forever and it's possible to catch up on sleep.  On the other hand, like many things, sleep can be taken to an extreme and then it is not beneficial.  Sleeping longer than is needed can encourage laziness and also causes one to not be able to sleep deeply when it is time to sleep.  I've noticed that the best thing to help me with a deep and profitable sleep is exercise.   A good sleep will invigorate us and encourage activity.  This is the fruit that will help us recognize if we are using sleep as it was intended.

Saturday quotes-Good Thoughts

Friday Favorites-local bargains

Here's my list of favorite spot for great bargains in my area of Parker, Colorado.

1.  My Best Friend's Closet-located at Southlands Mall.  They will pay cash for clothes or you can double your cash in store credit.  They are somewhat picky but pay pretty well.  I love to shop here for clothes and they also have nice purses, shoes and jewelry.

2.  Cotton Kloset Consignment-located in Parker on Lincoln Ave behind Sonic.  They will take clothes and home decor on consignment and you can come back and get the stuff that doesn't sell.  I like to browse here periodically.  I have found great sweaters and shirts that were like new and they are always getting great home decor stuff in.

3.  2nd and Charles-located on Arapahoe and Parker Road.  This is your media bargain dream store.  It looks like a Barnes and Noble, it's so big and nice inside.  They also give cash or credit for anything they sell, which is everything from books, DVDs, records, CDs, games, electronics, T shirts and quirky stuff from your favorite TV shows and movies.  I've never browsed so long that I was ready to leave.  A great place to find gifts for Christmas and copies of books the kids need to read for school.

4. Goodwill-located on Parker Rd and Mainstreet is the best thrift store for baskets and cheap home decor to upsize.  But baskets is what I think of most.

5.  Saver's on Quebec and C-470 is another good place to check out every once in a while.  Sometimes you have to look through a lot to find something good, but books and videos are a great price here.

6.  Plato's Closet has a couple locations in the area and sells a great selection of clothes for teenagers.  I have found a couple thing here for me too.

Check out your local thrift and consignment stores to find your favorite bargain stops.

Thursday September 26-Happy Birthday to me!

Yes.  Today I am 45 years old.  People don't ask me my age as much any more, but it is what it is and I don't mind telling anyone.  Birthdays are milestones and today I am thinking that I am at a good place in my life and am so blessed.  Life is pretty good.  I think I will take myself to lunch today.  Oh, and I get to open my Birthday Box from me.  (See Happy Birthday Box )

Wacky Wednesday-Fudge in a bag (surprisingly good!)

FUDGE IN A BAG  (For Camping, Car trips or Family Night) 

Ingredients

• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons hot cocoa mix or 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 gallon ziploc bag

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in the Ziploc bag. Close bag well. (You may choose to place inside an additional bag so it doesn't leak).
2. Squish all ingredients in the bag by hand to mix. Mix until smooth (at least 10 to 15 min) -Let the kids take turns, they'll love it and not only does it pass the time, they'll have a sweet reward for their efforts.

Tuesday miTunes-Arise and Shine

This song has a good message, but my personal favorite thing about it is that he sounds like Donny Osmond to me, one of my favorite voices and his uncle.

Monday Messages-Jane Clayson Johnson.....a mother

What impresses me most about this former anchor of Good Morning America is not her credentials or her sacrifice in giving up a successful career to be a stay-at-home mom.  What impresses me is that she seems to know who she is and made a decision that she says was good for her, but also that she doesn't judge those who choose differently or who don't have the luxury of that choice to stay home.  That luxury is becoming available to fewer women all the time.  I am so grateful to be home with my children and to have a husband support me in this.  I worked for a time and in some ways staying home is more difficult, but like Jane, I wouldn't trade it.

Sunday Blessings-Peace and safety

There are increasing threats to our personal safety and peace, from political unrest to natural calamities, but I am grateful to be able to wake up without the fear of bombs going off or rebels attacking or terrorists threatening my community.  Natural disasters can strike anywhere at any time, and usually end up drawing communities closer together.  But wars and rumors of wars are even more real to those in war zones of the world.  We are one world with many different people and ideas and laws, but we cannot seem to get along without wars.  No matter my political views, I am sorry for the children who live in fear and who suffer at the hands of others.  I am so grateful to live in relative peace and prosperity in a country where I am safe from attack.  As the world continues to become more unsettled, I know that eventually the wars may reach our own soil.  I am also grateful for my faith that it will all be alright in the end.  We are approaching the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and it will get more wicked, war-torn and corrupt.  But when He comes again, it will be a most glorious day.  Until then, my prayers go out to those who long for hope and peace, especially the children.

Saturday Quotes-Move forward

Friday Favorites-Children's Book-Runny Babbit

This is my favorite new book to read to the kids.  If you like reading Dr. Suess, this one will be fun for you.  It's a bit challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be surprised how much funnier it is to the kids to hear the transposing letters.

Thursday Tips & Tricks-easy peeling

To make the shell of a hard-boiled egg come off easier, add 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda to water.

Wacky Wednesday-Words With Friends Irony

Love this game, but it's frustrating when it doesn't think certain words are acceptable.  If you want to play me, my username is Lisa P. 926.

Tuesday miTunes-The Pursuit of Happyness

This song is from the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness"  and if you think I spelled it wrong, you need to watch the movie.  This is an outstanding movie based on a real story of a man who became homeless while trying to make it as a stockbroker.  It is all about Hope.  Even this song starts out somewhat ominous and in lower keys but immediately a few higher and I would say hopeful notes start to play and to me it gets more hopeful as it continues.  This is a metaphor for hope, which can start with only a few happier thoughts that we can magnify until it fills our mind with positiveness.

The other 2 songs I like from the album are called "Happyness" and "Possibly" and they always remind me of when my husband was unemployed for 8 months and we thought we were hanging on by a thread.  When we are down in the pits of life, we are desperate for threads of hope.  But if we will grab them and hold on and try to make them bigger, I think they can pull us out of those dark places.

Monday Messages-A Mother's Hope

It is true that faith can conquer fear and that hope can conquer despair.  But how exactly is it done?  I would say that some people are more inclined to look on the bright side, but I would also say that one can learn these things.  We need to cultivate hope and faith, even if it seems that fear and despair seem to creep into daily life.  In this video, the mother demonstrates that fear and despair can happen in an instant.  For every mother, losing her children is one of those things that instantly causes both.  But she also shows her faith-faith is an action word.  She prayed even amidst her fear.  She had hope that praying would help (or else she would not have done it).  Together, faith and hope can produce miracles.  I can testify that prayer is the best way I know to conquer fear and despair.

Sunday Blessings-Hope

Hope is such an interesting thing.  It is the opposite of despair.  There is always hope because if we believe Jesus Christ, we can believe that it will be all right in the end.  No matter what hard things we face in this world, there is a better world after this one.  A place where no evil can go.  A place where we can be with God and our loved ones.  A place of peace and happiness.  Hope to me is thinking good of the future.  Just having a brand new day every 24 hours hours brings me hope.  Knowing that the sun will rise brings me hope.  Knowing that after a barren and desolate winter, the spring always comes again brings me hope.  These things are not coincidences in nature, they are a constant reminder that there are good things coming.

Saturday Quotes-Joy

Friday Favorites-Carlsbad Beach

This is part of Carlsbad beach.  We lived not far from here and frequented Carlsbad beaches.  I have many great memories of camping on the bluffs, bonfires with friends, collecting rocks and shells, watching the sun set on the water, walking on the Carlsbad boardwalk, but mostly just watching the waves and hearing their constant rhythm.  When I am weary and trying to calm my busy mind, I think of sitting on the beach with all the sights and sounds and smells that remind me of a beautiful summer beach day.  

Thursday Tips & Tricks-no drip ice packs

Wacky Wednesday-instant speakers

Tuesday miTunes-Seize The Day

I guess the song is really called "If only."   I like the lyrics that say "If you really want to you can seize the day, if you really want to you can fly away."  If you ask me the title should be Seize the Day.  It's by Enya and I have several songs of hers on my iTunes.  Plus I love all the waterfalls and ocean videos on this.

Monday Messages-The Mirror

When asked, "What is the meaning of Life?" Alexander Papaderos, a renowned Greek Philospher took a small quarter-sized mirror from his pocket and answered with the following story:

“When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place.

I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine — in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find.

I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light. But light — truth, understanding, knowledge — is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it.

I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world — into the black places in the hearts of men — and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life.”

To read the full story click here: The Mirror

Sunday Blessings-Spirit

I am grateful for the spirit of God that I know is the Holy Ghost.  When my life is in harmony with God, I feel good.  I feel happy.  Sometimes I have a troubled heart or stress in my life, but when I draw closer to God through prayer and reading His Word in the scriptures, He draws nearer to me with His spirit.  The Holy Ghost is that spirit.  He is REAL and because the Holy Ghost is a spirit, he can be anywhere and the influence of the spirit can be felt by many people at once.  His role as a member of the Godhead is to testify of God the Father and testify of His son Jesus Christ.  They are one in purpose and when the Holy Ghost can be with you constantly, you know you are right with God. I have felt the spirit today and most days I feel it easily.  When I am not feeling it as a presence in my life it is because I have become lazy in my prayers and scripture reading and drawing closer to my Father in Heaven.  Recently, I was very stressed about some church assignments I needed to fulfill and some other good things that made me very busy.  When I needed some peace, I found it in reading writings of Isaiah.  They are sometimes hard to understand, but bring the spirit easily if we try earnestly.  The spirit can bring peace and that is one thing the devil cannot duplicate or imitate.  Only the spirit of God can bring peace to a troubled heart.

Saturday Quotes-one of your smiles

Friday Favorites-5 Easy Dinners

Anyone who knows me, knows I don't like to cook, but seeing as I'm a stay-at-home mom it's one of the things I feel obligated to do.  But if I had a choice, I would just go out all the time.  Anyway, since I have to cook I will share my easiest dinners and the ones my family just loves.  They love chicken.

1.  Grandma's Chicken Bake-pan fried chicken that has been dusted with flour on top of prepared rice with butter and soy sauce.  Then bake for 20 minutes or so.  My family loves the way the rice tastes after the soy sauce is baked a bit.

2.  Chicken Ranch Pasta-found this on on Pinterest and it is our new favorite.  It's so easy, I don't even need the recipe any more and have adjusted it to be creamier by adding a bit more milk and cheese.

3.  Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole-Basically, it's layered enchiladas ( or you can roll individually) and I think the ingredient that makes it so good is Coriander, so I add extra of that.

4.  Cheeseburger Soup-a favorite in winter.  Lots of great recipes.  Here's the one I use.

5.  Pepperoni Bread-pizza alternative.  Use Pillsbury French Bread in refrigerator section and unwrap carefully so you can put pepperonis and cheese on it, then roll back up and bake.  You cold use another type of bread but Pillsbury's unrolls easily and it tastes great.

Thursday Tips & Tricks-12 Things Happy People do differently

Wacky Wednesday-Love is......funny, but true

Tuesday miTunes-Dancing in the Rain

I admit I'm not very cheerful on gloomy days-I don't like them unless it's a swift moving storm and the sun will come out later the same day.  Some people love the rain-this song is to help us who hate rainy days learn to deal with them and perhaps try to make being out in the rain fun.  It's got a catchy beat and Hilary Weeks is a great singer.

Monday Messages-We lived with God

Building on the things I spoke about yesterday, I found this great interview with a renowned scientist who believes that science and religion are both witnesses of God.  The video also contains some incredible images from the Hubble Deep Space telescope.  It confirms what I believe about the many worlds created by our Father in Heaven and the truth that all things are a part of His plan, including ME.

Sunday Blessings-Inner peace

In knowing and understanding myself better as I have gotten older, I realize that being true to myself and to my beliefs is what brings me inner peace.  No matter what is happening around me, I can reach inward to my core for the strength that comes from knowing I am a daughter of God...of the all-powerful, all knowing, perfect being who is the Father of my spirit.  Part of Him is in me.  If I can learn to trust Him and be trustworthy, He won't let me down.  He'll help me get through anything and everything.  I am so grateful to know Him, I should say remember Him because I know I lived with Him before earth.  I was a spirit there and wanted so much to become like Him.  I am also so grateful for my brother-Jesus Christ for paying the price for me to come back to them and be perfect too.