Murphy Who?

We've all heard of the saying "It's Murphy's Law", but who is Murphy anyway and why does this phenomenon seem to be true?  Well, I looked it up on wisegeek.com and the short of it is; he was an Air Force engineer who was doing experiments and realized all the sensors he was testing had been installed wrong, thus birthed the comment about whatever can go wrong will.  I am no stranger to the idea of this theory but have certainly found it to be truer now as a new mom.

She did that all by herself!

For example:

1. Whenever I try to take a nap the baby wakes up right as I am drifting off to dreamland. That always puts me in a worse mood than if I hadn't attempted to nap in the first place.

2. Whenever I take a shower my baby wakes up crying cutting my alone time short once again.

3. My cooking record is taking a serious hit as inevitably the baby needs something that distracts me and I burn whatever was cooking. It is not uncommon that I have to make toast 2-3 times before I can eat or feed it to the baby.

4. My latest one happened just a couple days ago, baby woke up from her nap a little early (no surprise there) so I decided to make a quick trip to the grocery before company came, loaded the baby in the car, texted my friend to shift plans 15 min., got to the store and realized I forgot my wallet, what a bummer!

My best laid plans and intentions often get thwarted, is it Murphy's Law or just the consequence of living in an imperfect world and trying to be in control?  Sometimes I think we can get too focused on what isn't going our way instead of noticing the blessings and good stuff that comes our way.  When I ask God to be the center of my day I have way less "Murphy's Law" moments and more "Divine Appointments."

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Wasted Fruit

Much time has gone by since my last blog update.  I have composed several posts in my head over the last month but didn't make time to write them down, so here it goes, better late than never. Here is what has been on my mind lately.

This past fall I was on a walk around the neighborhood and passed a house with a beautiful tree covered in bright green apples. I had wished I knew the owners so I could pick some apples and perhaps make a pie. Last month I walked by it again, but this time the tree was in a very sad state; there were many rotten apples hanging lifeless on the bare tree.

I stopped and stared for a moment thinking, "What a shame, how could they have let all those apples go to waste?"  Then the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear, "What fruit are you letting go to waste?" He wasn't necessarily talking about literal fruit (although perhaps that too), but rather spiritual fruit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and, Self-Control (Gal. 5:22). This picture has stayed on the forefront of my mind and is giving me something to seriously think about.  I know there have been missed opportunities to share the love of Christ with others and I am in process of asking God to give me what I lack to remedy the situation.  God doesn't give us blessings to just keep and enjoy for ourselves, he wants us to bless others too. Just as those apples had the ability to meet the need of nourishment if eaten, in Christ we have the ability to meet all sorts of needs as the Spirit equips & sends us. So, I am left with the question, "Am I living by the Spirit?"

"Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the spirit's leading in every part of our lives." Galatians 5:25

Back to Real Life

It is officially 2014 and the holidays are over, so its back to real life.  I don't know about you, but it always takes me about 3-4 days after we get back from traveling to reorientate myself to life at home.  There's the unpacking, laundry, putting away Christmas decorations, reestablishing a routine, and the grocery shopping.  I always to try to eat our cupboards empty before we leave because I hate to waste food, but this means we are out of EVERYTHING when we come home. In the last week I have been to Costco, Trader Joe's, Albertsons, Vons, and in the last two days I have come up with another list that will take two stores to complete!  I ask myself, "When will it end?"  Then I remember it doesn't really end, I just have been out of practice in organizing my life.  In an effort to stay "caught" up with house stuff I am implementing a simple change of doing one load of laundry everyday or every other day, instead of waiting until my husband desperately needs something clean or until the laundry basket is overflowing.  I think this change is doable but will take time to make a habit.  As far as the shopping, the only way to curb that is to not forget to write anything down, this is not realistic for me (maybe not anyone) especially when I have what my friend affectionately calls "mama brain".  So for now I'm content to have enough food in the house to make easy lunches and cook about 3 dinners, knowing I will have left overs. Here is one of my favorite things.

Roasted Chicken Go To Meal Plan:
Buy a roasted chicken (I like Costco's it is a great value).
Pull meat off the bone while it's still warm and refrigerate or freeze until ready to eat.
Depending on how big your family is you can do any number of the following:
chicken tacos (chop season with s&p, cumin & chili powder; heat in skillet with a little oil)
chicken salad sandwhiches (try adding cranberries and little dill weed)
chicken with tortillas or flat bread and hummus, saute zucchini or make a salad
chicken noodle soup
enchiladas

Just remember life isn't about trying to be perfectly organized, but rather we can use planning and organization to help us live more enjoyable lives.  So, let's not compare ourselves to one another nobody can do it all, even if you think you know someone who does they don't.  Please only take my tips if they seem helpful to you.  Welcome back to real life let's make it a great one.