I often find myself wondering why some feel the need to make everything a competition. I feel no need to keep up with the Jones'. I love my husband, our home, and my job. I have a wonderful family that can be a bit crazy at times, but whose isn't? I love the people I call my true friends. And above all else I love God and Jesus Christ.
People want to talk about other people. It's just how it is. When I talk about what may be going on in someone's life it's out of curiosity. But there is a fine line between curiosity and gossip. We should never pretend to understand the issues someone else is dealing with. If I'm willing to say something about someone without them being present know that I'm willing to say it to their face. It's a respect we all deserve and something people should try to do more of. A little honesty never hurt anyone.
No one has the right to judge another's life and how they live it. Judgement should be left to someone who is infinitely more qualified. God. He alone has the right to judge how I live my life. He can judge how I do or don't spend my time. Because I know that when good things happen to me, all glory goes to him.
I may not go to church every weekend but that doesn't mean I don't have a personal relationship with God. I try to live by the values that he sets for us in his word. Remember, he said, 'Where two or more are gathered in my name there will I(God) be also.' Mark18:20 My goals in life are to bring joy to those around me, help those who are in need, and to let others know that I believe if we give control to God he is the only one who can steer us in the right direction.
So please forgive me if I don't understand people who sit in judgement on others. People who walk through life casting stones when they themselves live in a glass house. I know that I am not prefect. I've yet to meet anyone who is. I think that everyone would benefit from taking a good look at themselves in the mirror before judging the life of someone else.
A bit of a ramble but it's what I have running through my head today.
hy⋅poc⋅ri⋅sy
1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that
one does not really possess.
2. a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Our reasons for visiting Vegas again!
Dave Matthews Band
and opening for them.......Jason Mraz!!!!
After the first time Ryan and I visited Vegas I said I would never go there again. To me it's not a very pretty place on the inside or the out. The only time I looked at the city and thought "Wow. This is really beautiful." was from our room at night. But it's like looking at someone with beer tinted goggles...when the sun comes up in the morning they don't look so pretty anymore.
When DMB announced that they would be playing Vegas this year I thought been there, done that. Then they anounced that Jason would be opening for them. I was sold. I can't imagine a better live show then DMB and Mraz.
The only sad thing about the trip will be listening to the music and knowing I will never get to hear LeRoi Moore live again. I love being surrounded by people who love the music as much as I do. We will all be feeling the loss but pushing through it together.
RIP Groogrux King!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
That Groundhog Was Wrong!
The trees are waking, the sun is shining, and the flowers are starting to show.
What a beautiful time of year. And to think that groundhog said we should have 6 extra weeks of winter. Well no one can be right all of the time.
What a beautiful time of year. And to think that groundhog said we should have 6 extra weeks of winter. Well no one can be right all of the time.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
My cookie recipes for this year's family exchange.
Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Cups of Peanut Butter
4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla
2 Cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 Slab of paraffin wax.
Directions:
1. Combine the butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until well blended.
2. Put the mix in the fridge to set.
3. Melt chocolate chips together with the paraffin wax in a double boiler.
4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and dip in the melted chocolate.
5. Place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and chill until set.
Rice Crispie Treats
Ingredients:
6 Cups of Crispies
1 10oz. bag of marshmallows
1/4 Cup of Butter
Half a bag of Mini Reese's pieces
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a deep pan on the stove top.
2. Add marshmallows and stir until melted into the butter.
3. Add Crispies and stir until well blended.
4. Take of the stove top and mix in Mini Reese's.
5. Press mixture into a 9x13 cake pan.
6. Cover and let set.
Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Cups of Peanut Butter
4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla
2 Cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 Slab of paraffin wax.
Directions:
1. Combine the butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until well blended.
2. Put the mix in the fridge to set.
3. Melt chocolate chips together with the paraffin wax in a double boiler.
4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and dip in the melted chocolate.
5. Place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and chill until set.
Rice Crispie Treats
Ingredients:
6 Cups of Crispies
1 10oz. bag of marshmallows
1/4 Cup of Butter
Half a bag of Mini Reese's pieces
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a deep pan on the stove top.
2. Add marshmallows and stir until melted into the butter.
3. Add Crispies and stir until well blended.
4. Take of the stove top and mix in Mini Reese's.
5. Press mixture into a 9x13 cake pan.
6. Cover and let set.
It's time to tree hunt!
Every year my Dad's side of our family gets together on the first Saturday of December. Our purpose? Tree hunting, a cookie exchange, and my Bampa's amazing chili.
We meet at the tree farm, collect a candy cane from Bampa, and then head to the fields, where each family searches to find their perfect tree. I love seeing each family's pick, everybody has their own prefrence. Our family has always gone with a douglas fir. Now that Ryan and I are a family of our own we tend to lean toward a Grand Fir. It is a tree native to the northwest. It looks a lot like a douglas fir but it's needles are a darker shade of green with silvery undersides.
When everyone has their trees loaded and secure we head to Mamma and Bampa's. There waiting on the stove for us is my Bampa's chili that has been cooking for 3 days. I only get to have it once a year, so I eat until I'm full.
7 women bake two types of sweets for the cookie exchange. So when everything is said and done each family goes home with 14 dozen cookies and some of Bampa's fudge.
I can't wait to decorate our tree. I'll post pictures of the finished product.
This is how my family kicks off the Christmas season. Feel free to share stories of your own with me. My two recipes for this year's exchange are posted above.
~Jazi
We meet at the tree farm, collect a candy cane from Bampa, and then head to the fields, where each family searches to find their perfect tree. I love seeing each family's pick, everybody has their own prefrence. Our family has always gone with a douglas fir. Now that Ryan and I are a family of our own we tend to lean toward a Grand Fir. It is a tree native to the northwest. It looks a lot like a douglas fir but it's needles are a darker shade of green with silvery undersides.
When everyone has their trees loaded and secure we head to Mamma and Bampa's. There waiting on the stove for us is my Bampa's chili that has been cooking for 3 days. I only get to have it once a year, so I eat until I'm full.
7 women bake two types of sweets for the cookie exchange. So when everything is said and done each family goes home with 14 dozen cookies and some of Bampa's fudge.
I can't wait to decorate our tree. I'll post pictures of the finished product.
This is how my family kicks off the Christmas season. Feel free to share stories of your own with me. My two recipes for this year's exchange are posted above.
~Jazi
Monday, December 1, 2008
The Concept of Unconditional Love
What does Unconditional Love mean?
Dictionary.com defines it as: affection with no limit or conditions.
To me unconditional love means forgiveness. God sent his only son to die for our sins, so that we could be forgiven. To me that is the ultimate act of love.
I went to a 'Wind of the Spirit' retreat when I was a teenager and learned the best lesson of my life to date: Forgiveness is an action not a feeling.
This was another one of those light bulb moments for me. It was hard to grasp the fact that I could forgive without having to like it. I mean, what good is it to forgive if you really don't feel it in your heart?
The speaker, Mrs. Audrey Eddings, went on to explain that forgiving those that hurt us is the ultimate act of letting go. Without forgiveness you can never truly get passed the hurt that other's have caused you. That weekend I let go of baggage I had been holding on to for most of my life. And in doing so I felt a freedom I can't put into words. I would never again worry about passed moments of pain and sorrow. By forgiving I was able to find closure and move forward, instead of looking back.
God calls us to forgive others. And who are we to question that? Does holding on to that old grudge ever affect the person who hurt us? By forgiving you take the power back, instead of allowing that person to poison your spirit.
Here's another way I look at it: If we are unable to forgive, how can we ask God to forgive us?
So we should all try to put aside past hurt & petty differences. We should forgive and enjoy this time of year with a lighter heart.
'tis the season ~ Jazi
Dictionary.com defines it as: affection with no limit or conditions.
To me unconditional love means forgiveness. God sent his only son to die for our sins, so that we could be forgiven. To me that is the ultimate act of love.
I went to a 'Wind of the Spirit' retreat when I was a teenager and learned the best lesson of my life to date: Forgiveness is an action not a feeling.
This was another one of those light bulb moments for me. It was hard to grasp the fact that I could forgive without having to like it. I mean, what good is it to forgive if you really don't feel it in your heart?
The speaker, Mrs. Audrey Eddings, went on to explain that forgiving those that hurt us is the ultimate act of letting go. Without forgiveness you can never truly get passed the hurt that other's have caused you. That weekend I let go of baggage I had been holding on to for most of my life. And in doing so I felt a freedom I can't put into words. I would never again worry about passed moments of pain and sorrow. By forgiving I was able to find closure and move forward, instead of looking back.
God calls us to forgive others. And who are we to question that? Does holding on to that old grudge ever affect the person who hurt us? By forgiving you take the power back, instead of allowing that person to poison your spirit.
Here's another way I look at it: If we are unable to forgive, how can we ask God to forgive us?
So we should all try to put aside past hurt & petty differences. We should forgive and enjoy this time of year with a lighter heart.
'tis the season ~ Jazi
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving Traditions.
Every year before Thankgiving I go to my Mamma's house to help her bake pies. And I'm not talking just a couple, we bake about 30 pies total. Maybe more.
When I was younger it was something I would count down the days til. When I was a teen I would go there wondering how much of my day would be wasted covered in flour. As an adult it has come full circle, I can't wait to get baking.
This year, my Mamma informed me, would be the last. It takes so much effort and many don't appreciate the hours spent or the love put into it. I'm so sad to have to let go of a tradition that has been happening my whole life.
I have to remind myself that everything changes. And it doesn't have to be a bad thing. We'll just have to replace the old tradition with a new one. So in honor of our last pie baking year I would like to share a pie recipe.
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese room temp.
2 cups canned pumpkin (mashed)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 egg plus 2 yokes beaten
1/2 stick melted butter (1/4 cup)
1 cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
and a premade dough. I prefer to make my own but that recipe is a family secret.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Place one piece of premade pie dough into a 9 in. pie pan.
Put plate into the freezer for one hour to firm up.
Bake the crust for 10-15 mintutes. (until it just starts to color)
For the filling, in a large bowl beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer.
Add the pumpkin and beat until well mixed.
Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined.
Add the vanilla and cinnamon until combined.
Add the filling to your warm pie crust and bake for 50 minutes.
Or until the center is firm.
Cool on a wire rack.
Topped with whipped cream or ice cream this is a great pie.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
~Jazi
When I was younger it was something I would count down the days til. When I was a teen I would go there wondering how much of my day would be wasted covered in flour. As an adult it has come full circle, I can't wait to get baking.
This year, my Mamma informed me, would be the last. It takes so much effort and many don't appreciate the hours spent or the love put into it. I'm so sad to have to let go of a tradition that has been happening my whole life.
I have to remind myself that everything changes. And it doesn't have to be a bad thing. We'll just have to replace the old tradition with a new one. So in honor of our last pie baking year I would like to share a pie recipe.
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese room temp.
2 cups canned pumpkin (mashed)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 egg plus 2 yokes beaten
1/2 stick melted butter (1/4 cup)
1 cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
and a premade dough. I prefer to make my own but that recipe is a family secret.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Place one piece of premade pie dough into a 9 in. pie pan.
Put plate into the freezer for one hour to firm up.
Bake the crust for 10-15 mintutes. (until it just starts to color)
For the filling, in a large bowl beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer.
Add the pumpkin and beat until well mixed.
Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined.
Add the vanilla and cinnamon until combined.
Add the filling to your warm pie crust and bake for 50 minutes.
Or until the center is firm.
Cool on a wire rack.
Topped with whipped cream or ice cream this is a great pie.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
~Jazi
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