for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:5b

If I put my hope in my own desires and abilities, I simply set myself up for failure. My only hope for joy and fulfillment comes from Christ alone. Hope can only be found in Him, not people, careers, husbands, children, church, financial success, a carefree life, or dreams that come true.

Disappointments will always happen. With God, however, we can turn those disappointments into God's appointments to trust Him. The first step is exercise our faith over our feelings.

Dear Lord, You know the hurt in my heart and the sting of disappointments I have experienced. Please help me trust You, instead of being consumed by feelings. Empower me with a faith that is stronger than my emotions. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

AMEN!

Powerful Jesus, that is what I need You to be today. Powerful Jesus. I see the shadow on my life and often I fear that it will overtake me. You have promised that in You, with You, all things are possible. Show me where to move today Jesus, so that I position myself in Your Sonlight. Give me the discipline to study Your words so that my life will be for Your renown and an everlasting sign to others of life in You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

First Day of School

Today our kids went back to school! Skyla is an eighth grader at OLPH, Garrett is a seventh grader at NHMS, and Bella is almost 16 months old! Since I didn't have to get up and rush to get Garrett, Bella, and me ready this morning I made Garrett some pancakes (which he was too nervous to eat). Then it was time to take the traditional first day of school pic. He really wishes that I would stop this tradition, but it's been in our family a long time and we are not about to break it now! SO, here is Garrett on his first day of school!
I must admit that it is quite strange being home with just Bella knowing that the kids are at school and I am not there teaching a class of my own. It is nice...just different. Bella and I will be in our routine SOON! We start Kindermusik classes on Fridays beginning in September! We can't wait! :-)

Yummy!

Well, so far we have done really well on our 28 Day Challenge. I don't expect our kids to do that great when they are with their other parents. Although it was nice to hear Garrett say that the PopTarts didn't taste very good. =)
So far we have liked everything we have eaten! Portabella mushroom burgers, pancakes, gnochii with sp. sauce, peanut butter and banana toast, wraps, salads, and more! On Monday we are going to start our training. I am trying to talk the family into doing a 5k with me. Why in the world would I do that when I hate to run? Who knows! It's something I've decided I want to do! We will see how well I like running after week 1. At least it's not all running...there is cardio and strength training as well.
The good news about eating healthy is that Aaron and I both have dropped about 3 lbs this week! WOO HOO!!!! =)

Lunch

For lunch we were supposed to have stuffed pitas with hummus, but I forgot to buy pitas at the store! I did make the hummus and it is YUM-O! I also made the salsa and it is delish! Remember to check out the engine2academy.com for the recipes!
SO, instead we had black bean tacos with salsa. YUMMY! I think Garrett ate almost the whole pan of beans himself. Then I had a Fuji apple with Almond Butter.
For dinner we are having E2 Spinach Starter Salad & Gnocchi with E2 Basics Red Sauce. So far I have liked everything I've eaten. It was rather strange not to have cheese or sour cream on my tacos, but they were still very good.
Day 1 is going well so far! Let's hope the other 27 days will be this easy! =)

Breakfast...what did you think?

Anyone following along? Did you try Rip's Big Bowl? I thought it was good! It was REALLY big! I only ate half of a big bowl and I don't like grapefruit so next time I will leave that off. My goal is to try everything he has planned for us and see if my tastebuds have changed at all. Although, I didn't like grapefruit as a kid and I still don't like it as an adult. We will see how the rest of the challenge goes.

Garrett did about hurl when he took the first bite of his bowl of cereal. He used to eating sugary sweet cereal like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Reese's Puffs so I'm sure this was a big change for him.

Now, it's time to make the hummus for lunch.

Healthy Homemade Hummus

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Bragg Liquid Aminos (I have no idea what this is...if you know please tell me!) OR low-sodium Tamari (in with the soy sauce)
3 TBSP water or vegetable broth

You could also add sesame seeds, roasted red pepper (my fave!), jalapeno, Kalamata olives, mint, spinach, or eggplant.

Happy hummus making!

Day 1 Breakfast

I just finished making Rip's Big Bowl for Aaron to take to work with him. I don't know that either one of us could eat that much food so I cut the banana and grapefruit in half for us to share. As he says,"Let your appetite be your guide as to the size of your bowl."

1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup Grape-Nuts
1/4 cup bite-size Shredded Wheat
1/4 cup Uncle Sam cereal
1 TBSP ground flaxseed meal
2 TBSP raisins
1/2 handful walnuts
1 banana, sliced
1 grapefruit
3/4 milk substitute
*Toss all ingredients except grapefruit and milk substitute into a bowl. Cut grapefruit segments and add to top of bowl. Squeeze in the juice of the grapefruit and then add milk substitute.

I haven't made mine yet, but it sure did smell good! I think Garrett and I will share a bowl when he wakes up. =)