TSMS- Secret Ambition

I heard this song this week for the first time so I wanted to share it with you. I have been so behind on posting because I haven't felt very well lately. I am hoping as my iron levels rise I will start to feel better.

36 CHRISTIAN WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS

I saw this on a blog and it really hit me. I have been getting sicker and sicker lately it seems. I think a lot of it is stress and not letting God be God in my life. I am going to put some of these in to practice right away. I googled trying to find the source but every one has the list but not the author we are going with source unknown


36 CHRISTIAN WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS:

Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow, and it doesn’t happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.

1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day without feeling rushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Every night before bed, think of one thing you are grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.
6. Simplify to keep your life uncluttered.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. 'Cast your cares upon the Lord for He cares for you.' (I Peter5:7)
12. Make every effort to live within your budget.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. KMS (Keep Mouth Shut); this single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the 'kid' in you everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that is uplifting,i.e. music, etc.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with people who love Jesus.(Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 6:14)
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus." (I think this relates to the idea in all things give thanks)
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe
36. Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you'll have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you'll have worried twice.

Coca Cola Cake from Southern Plate

Since I finally got moved to a new place, all the guys at work have been after me to make some baked goodies again. Last week I made this cake and it was a huge hit. Even the woman who works with me in the office and doesn't like chocolate cake loved it and took the leftovers home. She said it wasn't like cake at all it was so fluffy. I think it was so airy because of the extra marshmallows or maybe I whipped it extra, not sure. I was afraid she was going to go into a diabetic coma she loved it so much :). I wish I had taken some pictures of the cake though.


Coca Cola Cake from Southern Plate

Ingredients

1 package plain white cake mix
4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 cup coca cola
½ cup buttermilk (Or substitute 1/2 C whole milk with a T of lemon juice stirred in)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups of marshmallows ( I added an extra handful)
Icing:
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter or margarine
4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 Cup coca cola
4 Cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 Cup chopped pecans (I actually used the whole pack small size, I have no clue what size it was but it covered the top of the cake :)!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 13x9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.
Place the cake mix, cocoa powder, melted butter, cola, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides with a spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes.
The batter should be well blended. Fold in the marshmallows. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan it the oven.
Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 40 to 42 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, prepare frosting while cake is still hot.
Place the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. As the butter melts, stir in the cocoa powder and cola. Let the mixture come to just a boil, stirring constantly, and then remove it from the heat. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar until the frosting is thick and smooth. Fold in the pecans.
Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, spreading it out with a rubber spatula so that it reaches the edges of the cake. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before serving.

Offended

I am getting ready for bed but have some thoughts I wanted to post first. I subscribe to a lot of email blog postings and as I was looking over my emails this morning, I saw one and the heading was words to the effect of Another Famous Person dead, Who Cares? Basically her rant was that Whitney was a bad person and how it was a tragedy that all these wonderful church people died but who really cares that Whitney died and what a bad role model she was. Now the biggest thing that bothers me is that this woman apparently thinks she is right with God and I think she needs to fall on her knees and ask for forgiveness. First off I can say that Jesus cares that this beautiful young woman pass from this earth most likely in an unsaved condition, second Jesus says in John 8:7 "So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.". If you are without sin in your life than please let me shake your hand because I want to fall down and worship at your feet since you must be Jesus Christ since Romans says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Yes, Whitney made some bad choices in her life but we are supposed to be compassionate and have love one for another. 1 John 3:14 says "we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." How much love is there in the statement who cares? If you are saved and haven't made really bad mistakes in your life than you need to thank God for His mercy and if you think that its all your doing than I suggest you search yourself. Except for the Grace of God, there goes I. Sorry for the long post but I get so upset with people who have no compassion or are so judgemental and think they are so above other people. I don't know about you but I know that I am a sinner saved only by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ and that he thought my sins were so bad that they required Him to be tortured and to die that I might have forgiveness for them. Ok I am done ranting now.

R.I.P Whitney Houston

This has been a horrible weekend for me personally and then I saw where Whitney Houston died yesterday on my 's 3rd birthday. She had so much talent and was so spectacular but got off track for a while. I feel so bad for her family and friends. Bless her daughter's broken heart today.

Here are some of my favorite videos of her's.
I think she will always be remembered best for this one.



I love this song and have spent many hours listening over the years.



My all time favorite. I love love love this song.




She was so young and absolutely beautiful in this earlier hit.

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Your entire life can change in the blink of an eye. You wake up and have no clue whats coming your way but God is still on His throne and in control. My only worry yesterday was going to the doctor about my sinus infection and I come home to find out that my ex-fiancés stands accused of a horrible crime. I know this man and I have loved this man. I can not and will not believe anything less than his innocence. I know this trial has meaning in Heaven and I am trusting that it will serve to bring salvation and joy. I am reminded of how often I have heard something on the news and immediately jumped to a conclusion without knowing the people involved or the facts. I remember when my uncle was killed in a mining accident years ago, I thought than that when you read or hear of another mine fatality, you don't know the depth of pain involved. You hear it and go on with your world. I will learn to not be so judgemental if nothing else from this. Please pray that God's will shall be done and the truth shall set us free.

A little win

I got a call yesterday while I was sleeping that was from the Frito Lay Superbowl Sweepstakes saying I had won a prize. I immediately envisioned tickets to the next superbowl :) but after calling and waiting for them to call me back turns out I had won a $50 gift certificate to Food Lion. Not a bad prize at all just not tickets to the superbowl in New Orleans :). I don't remember entering this contest but I think it must have been on the Food Lion web site since the only choices were for stores that Food Lion owned liked FL, Bottom Dollar or Blooms.

Friday when I get paid I am going to the dr first thing. I feel so bad and just completely drained of energy. I have just been getting worse and worse and just didn't make the effort to save enough for my copay but something has to change. I can't hardly stand to be out of bed now because of my head hurting, and having no energy.

New Trailer

Well we bought the trailer but its a total dump. It needs completely redone, new wiring, walls, floors and ceilings. It needs new siding on the outside and we would like to build a v shaped roof on it if thats not against the rules. We are going to cut the wall from the living room to the kitchen in half and make like a bar and the wall opposite we are going to move into the living room a bit more and make the second bedroom bigger. It can be fixed and at least once its done then it will be a place to live. Right now I cant see me ever living there because I dont want to live in WV without Junior so until I am over it or God brings a miracle into my life, I am just staying in NC. I will edit this post later to add some pictures but haven't downloaded any from the camera yet.

Tax Time

Well I finally got my W2s from work and filled out my taxes. I pay the bare minimum in federal because due to my work situation I fell behind on my student loans so they sometimes keep my return. If I get it back I am getting just over $600 and will use it to pay the trailer off sooner. I won't know until they keep it though. I applied for a deferrment on my student loans but never got anything in the mail nor have I gotten any bills from them so who knows. As soon as I get the trailer paid for I am going to set up a payment plan with them though so that monkey will be off my back. I sometimes hate the financial aid people. I never got any loans the first 3 years of school but they kept after me to take out a loan. Turns out they get more funding if more students are in financial aid. They went on and on about how easy it would be to pay the loans back. I ended up borrowing about $11000 total but with fees and all its around $25000 now. I don't see that as low interest. Nor is there any way to get out from under it. I highly encourage everyone to never take out loans. Its about the only debt that you cant get relief from. Yet another thing I would change if I could live my life over. I know I am not very good at the whole paperwork thing. After my breakdown in 1997 paperwork completely confuses me and I have trouble dealing with it all.


Here is the song I am feeling today. I am patiently waiting on the Lord but not sure if I am still right because I am still clinging to Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And the thing I most desire is to spend the rest of my life with Junior. I just feel that if that wasn't God's plan for me, all those times I prayed and cried out asking Him to help me stop caring would have worked. So I am quietly trusting and waiting.

Happy Sunday

Well life keeps going on. After much prayer and not being able to work up my nerve to tell the guy I was dating that it needed to end, I am glad to say that he followed my lead and we have agreed to just be friends. So God took care of my Abraham issue. Now my next biggest issue is my feelings for Junior. I realize that I made him the center of my life and not God. I can't manage to love Junior less but I need to love God more. I need to focus and draw closer to God and trust Him with my life. I need to depend on Him and know that He will always be there for me. Pray for me as I work out this problem in my life and work to get closer to God.

I have cooked all morning. I boiled a dozen eggs, baked a pan of chicken strips and made a huge pan of lasagna. I want to start eating healthier so am going to start taking salads to work and I like chicken and eggs in my salads so now I am set for lunches this week. Tonight though I am taking lasagna for me and a coworker. I feel pretty good about where God has led my life right now. I am hoping to buy a used trailer next week from an old friend. That way if I should move back to WV I will have a home and Amanda will always have a place to live. Its not my dream home but it will be mine.

Check out this video from an amazing young man.

An Abraham issue

Friends I need your prayers that I would make the right decisions in my life. I find myself acting like Abraham. Not the up on the mountain trusting God to provide Abraham but the down in the valley thinking God needs my help to fulfill His promise to me. Looking at all the trouble in the Middle East that is a direct result of the conflicts between Ishmeal and Isreal, I see what happens when we don't wait on God's timing. But I am tired and discouraged. Every day someone is on my case about moving on and when I tell them that I feel and believe in my soul that God is going to work a miracle, I get more grief. Then I start to think maybe I am fooling myself and God really does want me to move on. I need help.
On that note here is a favorite song of mine that is about Abraham and choosing God.

Building 429- "Where I belong"

Sometimes it feels like I have no clue where I belong, its nice to be reminded where I belong and Who I belong to. I try to always only listen to christian music in the car and in my life. I figure if you only dwell on good thoughts it has to help you get closer to God. One of the 2 stations I listen to is KLove. I love that they offer free song downloads. Here is this week's offering song by one a my new favorite groups. Its called Where I belong by Building 429.




Sometimes it feels like I'm watching
From the outside
Sometimes it feels like I'm breathing
But am I alive?
I will keep searching for answers
That aren't here to find

(Chorus)
All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong

So when the walls come falling down on me
And when I'm lost in the current of a raging sea
I have this blessed assurance holding me.

Chorus

When the earth shakes
I wanna be found in You
When the lights fade
I wanna be found in You

Chorus (X2)

Where I belong (X4)

Then Sings my Soul- Nothing Greater than Grace

So far this is a wonderful year for me. I made my last car payment yesterday so thats $240 a month I can start saving, I now live 8.5 miles from work so my fuel costs have been cut by 3/4 and my rent is lower. I am so loving having a dishwasher, my frig got fixed finally yesterday. I just feel that my life is going so well now and want to give God all the praise for that. I really feel this is the best my life has been in a long time. I can't honestly say I am happy but things are on an even keel. I miss seeing my daughters and grandchildren. I still am in love with someone who no longer wants to be with me but I am working on getting over that. More importantly, I feel closer to God every day and am so blessed. Here is one of my favorite songs right now that I keep hearing on the radio. I bought the mp3 from Amazon yesterday because I love it so much. Sometimes when you are in the midst of the storms its hard to remember that nothing that comes against us is greater than the grace of God but I am so glad when Jesus reminds me of that and holds me in His arms to shield me from the blows.

Back in the saddle

Well I am finally living in a new apartment in Winston Salem. I actually have internet for the first time in almost 2 months. I really like this apartment. Now I would to start getting my act together in 2012. Sadly I feel that God isn't calling me home to WV any time soon so for whatever reason He want me here in NC, I am going to do my best here. I think part of it is He is wanting me to get over Junior. I guess when the thought of not being with him stops bringing me to my knees sobbing hysterically I might get to go home. So on that note here are some goals for the years.

1. Lose weight (always on the list but I would like this to be the last year its on here)

2. save some money to buy a place of my own

3. get more fiscally stable.

4. Draw closer to God and spend more time with Him.

5. Be happy




This is my wonderful porch. Its huge and I love sitting at the table watching the birds. I am going to buy some feeders.



Love the alcove above my stove and I seriously love the dishwasher.


cute little woodstove sitting in its own alcove. I dont use it but its cute. I think I might get some wood and keep on hand just in case since I heat with electricity.


This place was meant for me. It has built in bookcases on both sides of the living room and over my bed.



I just like this fan and the wood ceilings.

Soul Searching Questions for the New Year

Soul Searching Questions for the New Year
Last year while blog surfing I found this on a blog. The owner's pastor had posed these questions to the church and I found them very inspiring so I wanted to share them with you this year. I am posting a couple days early to give you time to think of your answers and see how you can work them out.

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. What one Biblical doctrine do you most want to understand this year and what will you do about it?

5. What's the single biggest time-waster in your life and what will you do about it?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church this year?

7. For whose salvation will you most fervently pray this year?

8. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

9. What single thing do you plan to do this year that will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

10. What area of your life needs simplifying and what can you do to simplify it?

11. What habit would you most like to establish this year? What will you do about it?

12. Which person would you most like to encourage this year? How will you do it?

13. What is your most important financial goal this year and what specific steps will you take to work toward it?

14. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

15. What one thing could you do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children or grandchildren?

24 Songs of Christmas- Going Home for Christmas

I heard this song while I was driving from home to NC and just loved it. I know its talking about going to Heaven but I would love to be home for Christmas. I so want to move back to WV.

24 Songs of Christmas- Forgotten Christmas

This isn't a song so much as a video about not forgetting what Christmas is all about and why we celebrate our Savior's birth.

24 Songs of Christmas- It's about the Cross

Today is day 19 in 24 songs of Christmas. Sometimes when thinking about Christmas and the coming of the new baby, we don't consider the whole purpose of His coming was to go to the Cross. Imagine being born just for the purpose of dying. How much He loves us that He not only thought about it but actually did it for each and every one of us.

24 Songs of Christmas- When Love Was Born

This is day 18 in the 24 songs of Christmas. I just found this song and its just so sweet and wonderful I had to share with you.

24 Songs of Christmas- While you were sleeping

This is day 17 in my songs of Christmas postings.