100 More Years

I can't explain to you the emotion that this songs brings out of me. Have you heard it?

I begin to tear up when this song plays because it brings out the real raw emotions of how marriage really does feel. Love can't be replaced by anything else in the world. The best line in the whole song to me is "...and today is sweeter than we know."

I LOVE you Jonathan Meisner, forever and ever, but at least for 100 more years.

Chicken & Rice

Need a quick, cheap, tasty recipe? Look no further! I tried this out the other day in a crunch and let me tell ya, it's a winner if you like the classic chicken & rice!

You'll Need:

1 cup uncooked rice (white or brown)

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 7/8 cup water

1 (1 ounce) package onion soup mix

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

(I added 1 package steamed broccoli from the freezer section, which was AWE-SOME and I've also tried it with 1 can peas. Really, just add what you like!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spread the rice in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish and arrange chicken breast halves on the rice.

3. Mix soup and water together and pour evenly over chicken and rice. Pour mixed vegetables or peas on top and sprinkle entire dish with onion soup mix.

4. Cover and seal tightly with foil and bake for 1.5 hours!

A message from Colossians

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6 NLT

How true that really is. I've found this verse to be particularly sweet to me lately. It seems that no matter how hard I try to do good, or to achieve anything on my own, I still fail without the help of God. I'm not sure why I ever resort to wanting to do anything on my own, but sometimes, being the figure-it-out-and-suck-it-up girl that I am, I figure I should take matters into my own hands. It takes only a matter of moments to realize when I'm wrong, and I never regret admitting my fault. Without moments like that, I would never have the opportunity to realize my need for the Lord's strength.

It's a cycle, isn't it?

I spend time with God, and my faith grows.

When my faith grows, I want to talk about God and I want to please him.

When I want to please him, I end up doing good.

When I am in the middle of God's will, my heart overflows with thankfulness and I want to spend more time with God.

Start small, and trust God with the rest. Maybe all you need to do is start reading your Bible and praying. It's just as simple as that isn't it? Trust God, and let him do the rest.

He'll never fail you. What are you waiting for?

Inspiring Quotes

What is your favorite quote? My, how I'd love to know. I have this thing for great quotes. The amount of wisdom that can be found in just one sentence amazes me. So, you can imagine the tough time I had picking just a couple of quotes to put in Truett's room. Here is one of them that my husband, Jonathan whipped up a couple of days ago for me. I. LOVE. IT.

And...this next thing you're going to see is what happens when Jonathan gets excited. His creativity starts busting out, and this time, it was in the form of a logo for our son. Hey, what kid doesn't have a logo, right?

Ham, Egg, and Cheese Rollups

I've never been great at making quiche, but wanted to make something for our brunch at home this morning that was easy, fairly quick, and tasty. So, I came up with this.

What you'll need:

1 can reduced fat crescent rolls (8)

low-fat ham lunchmeat (I prefer the all natural, no hormones added stuff)

shredded mozzarella cheese (I used 2% reduced fat)

4 eggs (we used 3 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk instead)

Do this:

1. Preheat your oven to 375.

2. On a low heat, scramble your eggs in a nonstick pan.

3. On a baking sheet or baking stone, roll out your crescent rolls and fill with one piece of ham, a pinch of cheese, and a large spoon full of cooked egg and roll it up.

4. Bake for 12 minutes!

Easy! You're done!

Bitterness or Joy

Today I am reminded of one of my favorite verses in the Bible: 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18. It says, "See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

I feel like I need to say this more like a chant today, just over and over to myself. "Be joyful, Michelle. Pray. Be thankful. Be good. Be joyful. Pray. Be thankful." God has to remind me sometimes to let go of my own feelings and think of others. Regardless of how I feel, I have every opportunity to show grace, love, and kindness. I have the opportunity to be bitter, or joyful. How sad of me to ever miss that opportunity. I'm thankful for second chances, because today, I sadly chose a little bit of bitterness. Forgive me, God.

I'm ready to be thankful. I'm ready to do good to all people.

Vaca has begun

So vacation started out as all do, just a plan to go camping in this crazy heat. Of course, being pregnant, that would not include Oklahoma, so we were thinking cool Colorado. However, life one-uped us and now we are going to Pagosa Springs, CO to a little cabin in the woods with my mom and dad. This is going to be fun, no?!

Today we visited Jonathan's parents in Nebraska, before heading out to Colorado, and started the morning off right with some devotions and some chai tea at a local coffee house called The Mill.

Next was pedicures.

Shopping at a local photography store.

Lunch at a quaint little brunch place.

A walk at the mall.

A drink.

A nap.

Reading some blogs.

All is right in the world.