Frogs in the Oven

What would it have been like to be one of the Egyptian wives during the time of the plagues? As part of our E-100 challenge at church, I m in the book of Exodus reading through the plagues and the escape of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt. It got me thinking. Especially the line about frogs in the oven. Not very sanitary. And just down-right gross. What would it have been like to be an Egyptian wife trying to feed her family with frogs in her oven or complete darkness or flies everywhere? I can only imagine how she felt. Did she blame the Israelites their God or did she blame her Pharaoh? Would she have run next door to use an Israelite kitchen? Was that even allowable? Probably not. And yes, I use the term kitchen lightly. I'm sure it was more of a pot over fire type setting. What about losing her first born son? That should have been enough to get anyone's attention. Why wasn't there a huge revival by the Egyptians? I guess Im still wondering that. God has used so many different things over the years to get our attention and maybe we aren't open to seeing it. It's time to wake up! Makes me glad to be on God's side! No frog legs for me. What random thoughts come to you when reading Scripture or am I the only one?

Menu Plan Monday (on Tuesday)

The menu was created and the shopping was done. The plan just wasn't posted.

Until now.

As a reminder for our crazy schedule. We shop on Friday, so our plan usually goes Friday night to Thursday night. Plus, with our dieting we are trying to eat healthy Sunday thru Friday and then pig out on Saturday. That way we don't feel like we are depriving ourselves. At least not too much.

Friday: Pizza and salad-- Long day and pizza was necessary

Saturday: Ham and Cheese Sliders Now the recipe is actually titled Ham and Cheese Sliders on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. This is what originally caught my attention. However, it calls for regular dinner rolls and you make this sauce to put over top. While incredibly good and amazingly tasty, they did not taste like Hawaiian sweet rolls.

Sunday: Eagle Scout Ceremony Dinner--Not only did we get to be a part of an amazing ceremony for one of our favorite Eagle Scouts, but I didn't have to cook. And we still managed to go healthy by eating bunless pork bbq.

Monday: Avocado Grilled Cheese on Wheat We used FF Mozzarella cheese and turkey pepperoni. I am remembering how much I love avacado--even if it's not always by children's favorite.

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers This recipe will give you the basics of what I did. I used ground turkey instead of pork and we made brown rice on the side. But they were yummy and only one kiddo didn't eat the pepper. Probably not something I will make all the time, but it was nice to have variety.

Wednesday: Balsamic Chicken with Spring Vegetables Since we've been dieting, I've been trying to avoid eating at the youth group snack bar and make slow cooker meals so we can have them before or after church. This sounds so yummy and we love balsamic vinegar.

Thursday: Taco Cupcakes Cannot wait to try this. Hubby is in charge since I will be rushing from work to youth band practice at church. I'm just hoping he doesn't rip the wonton wrappers.

For more menu ideas, visit Orgjunkie.com

Impact Year

Post family meeting run. Who's idea was that? Not gonna lie. It's been a while since I have walked/run a mile. Boy, am I ever out of shape. My heart was racing, but at least my legs don't feel like jello yet.

As part of our impact year, we are trying to eat healthier as a family (hubby is winning the weight loss race), to exercise more (taking care of our temples), and to be healthier relationally and spiritually--all this after a family meeting (or soliloquy by my husband as my oldest likes to call family meetings). These are our goals as a family for this year. 

Part of that means changing our eating habits--which we've done. Taking part of our churches challenge to read thru the main points of the Bible in 100 days. Getting up at 5 am or going out at 9 pm to run/walk a mile. And treating each other carefully--showing that we love each other and the people around us more than our things.

One of my personal goals is to blog our way thru this impact year sharing stories of the impact we are making. That's not to brag about accomplishments, but to share and challenge others to do the same. We may not get to Honduras this year to change the lives of children living on a trash dump, but we are hoping to change our lives and the lives of people around us.

All in all, a good family meeting. We even shared a few jokes and ended up discussing rear-ends. After all, I do have two boys.