My Word for 2017

At the end of every year, instead of making a list of resolutions, I pray and ask God for a word for the upcoming year.  For 2017, He gave me a small word with BIG meaning.....

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I wasn't quite sure what this meant at first.  

"Be what?" I wondered.  

"Be present"  

"Be consistent"

"Be true to who God created me to be"

"Be still"

As I prayed, I realized that just "Be"ing was so much more than another 2 letter word that runs rampant in my mind...."D-O".  It reminds me of the story of Jesus visiting Mary & Martha as told in Luke chapter 10:

³⁸ As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹ Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

⁴¹ But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! ⁴² There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”


God could have totally replaced Martha's name with my own in those scriptures because I have always been a "do-er".  I'm a list lover and thrive on checking things off a list, in fact lists are written ALL the time in my mind.  I don't feel like God is telling me to throw my lists out the window (because I truly feel that is how He wired my brain), yet He's encouraging me to embrace each day with an open heart and mind to BE in the moment. 

2017 isn't going to be a year of "Do"ing more yet a time of "Be"ing!  

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  What about you?  Do you have a word, theme or resolution for 2017??  Whatever it is, I pray that God gives you peace, grace and most of all LOVE in the new year! 

 

A Meal Planning Tool That Actually Works

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Over the years I have tried numerous meal planning tools and strategies.  I tend to cook more when I can plan ahead for my meals and shopping lists but it never fails SOMEONE would complain about what we were having for dinner.  Well, that would leave me irritated and at the point of saying I'm never going to cook again. :)  I know I'm not alone here.....right?  We've all threatened it, I know.

I decided there HAD to be a better way so after some brainstorming, I implemented our new meal planning tool:  it is so simple, I didn't even need to draw you a picture.

Each week, one person decides what we will be having for dinner for that particular week.  This means one week out of every month, each person will get to have their favorite foods.  Plus, they have to do the leg work of coming up with the dinner ideas once a month; sometimes I feel like that is the hardest part.

So far, this method has been wonderful for our family!  It gets everyone involved with dinnertime (at least once a week) and takes a load off of my hands.

What about you?  Do you meal plan?  Do you wing it?  What works for you??