1 Peter 1:13

"Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:13

This is the first scripture I memorized for the year. 1 Peter has got to be one of my favorite epistles, mostly because I studied it quite a bit when I took Exegeses. Also because it's short. The greatest thing I like about 1 Peter is that it talks a lot about how Christians should be set apart from the world.

This year I want to memorize scripture so well that in times of struggle, scripture will come to me. When I feel a bit negative I can think of my scripture instead and it makes me feel more positive.

I picked this verse because it reminds me of the 3 simple goals I've made for the year. By memorizing scriptures this year I will be preparing my mind for action, by trying to meet a fitness goal I will be exercising self-control. Setting my hope on Jesus rather than on myself or the world will bring me peace.

This is an exciting challenge for me, and I look forward to learning from God this year.

Ministry Notes: My Call

For one of my classes at OC we have to occasionally make a "ministry notes" post on our blogs. This is my first. Feel free to leave all the comments you want!

My Call

When I was little I learned about God speaking to Moses through a burning bush. God needed Moses to save the Hebrews, but Moses didn’t want to. Moses didn’t have much of a choice though it seemed. Moses was called to work for God and that’s what he was going to do. How does Moses’ calling for God’s service relate to my call for God’s service? Does God actually call us today? No doubt, God doesn’t call us up on our cell or hit us with e-mail. If God doesn’t directly speak to us today how can we be sure He is calling us? These are just some of the questions faced when I think about how I was called.

It’s a funny thing to say, “I’ve been called into ministry”. My reality is that I haven’t been called. God never directly told me to get involved with children’s ministry. So how can I know if it’s really what God wants me to do? I don’t know the answer to that. Do I depend on intuition and feelings? Goodness knows my feelings have led me to do things that are wrong too. As “post modern” as it might be to say this, I don’t believe there is one answer to the question, “Does God still call us and if so how”.

As most of the people reading this know, I grew up in ministry. When I came to college I had a very difficult time getting plugged into a congregation the way I had been in the past. I felt empty. When I changed my major to children’s ministry, and immersed myself in ideas and plans for church involvement I felt alive again.

To know if you are being “called” or not I think you have to picture yourself down the road. What would it feel like if you hadn’t done the task you feel compelled to do? Would you have deep regret? Would you feel empty? I think that’s one of the many ways to examine your personal callings.

So I’d like to know, have you ever been called by God to do something? If so, how did you know?

Beef Skillet

This is a great meal for when you are in a hurry. Takes about 20 min to prep and cook!

1 lb ground beef or turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can pinto beans- drained and rinsed

1/4- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a large skillet cook beef and onion until beef is no longer pink.

2. Wipe folded paper towels around the pan with a utensil to absorb extra fat.

3. Stir in the beans and BBQ sauce and top with cheese.

4. Cover and cook on low until cheese in melted.

Serve with tortilla chips, baked potato, corn bread or any other hearty bread.

Salad or green beans make a good veggie side dish.

Serves 4-6 people

Nutrition Information:

4 servings, beef:

281 calories

6 servings, beef:

187 calories

4 servings, turkey:

274 calories

6 servings, turkey:

183 calories

*You may also used reduced fat or fat free cheese for less calorie/ fat intake.

3 simple goals for 2011

Greetings to all! I hope that your new year has gotten off to a great start. Today's post is about goals. I know it might seem a little bit late to be making resolutions for 2011, but it wasn't until recently that I decided to make resolutions. Usually I make a very long list of ambitious goals that I never come close to following through. Last year was my first year to not make any goals but "it's a new dawn, it's a new day" - you know the drill.

Anyways this year I've made 3 short and specific goals for myself and I'd like to share them with you and ask for your prayers that I might use the discipline it will take to accomplish them. I'll first give them and then I'll explain them a little bit.

1. Maintain a minimum of 500 fitness points per week.

2. Memorize 21 versus from the Bible.

3. Peaceful.

1. Blake gave me a heart rate monitor for Christmas. Heart rate monitors help you to track what percentage you are spending your work outs in. There is a formula you can do to find out how many fitness points you earn each work out. For different goals you achieve different amounts of points. To start a fitness program they recommend achieving 300-500 points per week. So with my goal of 500 a week, I'm hoping to have successfully started a challenging work out program for myself by the end of the year. Part of my goal is to maintain this. I'm hoping to keep up what I start.

2. My cousin Jenny told me about a challenge Beth Moore does on her blog. You memorize 2 verses a month and submit what your learn to her blog. If you hold up to the challenge and have her spiral filled out, then you can attend (for free) her conference for it next January. Her conference in conveniently in Houston. I'll write a blog next week about my first verse I chose to memorize.

3. I've been listing to one of the local Christian radio stations and they have been encouraging listeners to pick one word that they want to focus on for the year. My word in peaceful. I want to be peaceful not only with others but within myself. Insecurity is a battle everyone faces at some point in their life and I want to focus on being at peace with myself. Rather than beating myself down for my failures I want to find peace with Christ for loving me regardless of those failures.

It's just 3 little goals that might not seem like much. I feel that they will help me become a better Christian, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and servant. If you haven't made any goals for 2011 I encourage you to make at least one. Make it short and simple, yet specific. Don't give up on it either!

Praying for blessings your way!

Another success thanks to Pioneer Woman

I made something that was pretty delicious last night. I can't credit myself to the delicious things I make... I must credit the recipe. That's why when I rave on how amazing something tastes... I'm not raving myself... I'm raving the recipe.

Pioneer Woman continues to amaze me. I've got a stack of her recipes I printed out just before Christmas and I'm slowly working my way through them. Last night was meatballs with peppers and pineapple. It was very very tasty.

I didn't take a picture but I'm giving you a link to this wonderful recipe. So you can see for yourself because frankly, pioneer women has a much better camera than mine and takes better pictures than me and so I think her pictures do more justice. Make it yourself if your into this sort of thing!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/meatballs-with-peppers-and-pineapple/