Time Well Wasted

I've been on vacation this week.

Every single day. No work. Staying in bed past 6 am. Starting my day off with a cup of coffee. Not being in my usual crazed rush to get ready for work. Filling my days with fun things to pass the time.

Oh it's been lovely. Please don't end.

The Final Countdown

Raise your hand if you're ready for a vacation!

Oh boy, am i ready. 5 more days! Holla.

Oh Happy Day.

I will be going here in approximately 6 month.

Bliss.

I need to get my act together and start working out.

Bahamas here I come!

Bon Appetite!

One of my favorite things to do during the week or weekend is to look through my cookbooks and other recipe websites and blogs to figure out the next week's meals. It's okay. You can think it's silly. But I love planning ahead and preparing our menu, looking for new recipes to try and returning to older tried and true comfort foods. Then I make my grocery list and head to the store to get food for the next week.

Many people probably cringe with the thought of going to the grocery store, dealing with long lines and carts. It can be a chore.

I look forward to the grocery store, especially Costco, Publix, and my favorite Whole Foods. Love. Filling up my cart and then bringing everything home and putting it away in its designated spot. It's almost calming to me. Do I sound crazy yet?

So for this week's dinner, we are mostly sticking with delicious, fall-flavored comfort foods.

Pork tenderloin flavored with cinnamon and all-spice with goat-cheese mashed potatoes. Creamy and warm mushroom soup with carrots, celery and parmesan cheese. And the not fall-themed dinner, sunken burritos. Chicken with bell peppers, rice, and black beans. All rolled up into a burrito shell and topped with enchilada sauce, monteray jack cheese, and one of my most-beloved seasonings, cilantro. Oh snap. Deliciousness all-around.

I'm missing my grandparents today.

I like

The smell of fresh-baked goods in my house.

Yesterday was honey-walnut scones.

Today it is rosemary bread. Currently rising and waiting to be baked in the oven.

You should come over and enjoy the goodness.

A New Covenant

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." ~Genesis 17:1-8

Many nights during the week, after dinner, Adam and I read a passage of the Bible aloud together and then talk about it for a few minutes. I have to confess that many nights, I come to this part of our evening with an attitude of selfishness and laziness. Or I just completely zone out. I'm usually tired after a long day at work, and I all I can think about is how I just want to sit on the couch and watch television, or read a book/magazine.

Reading the passage above last night was different. Hearing my own voice speak these words from God aloud almost brought me to tears. It is so beautiful and encouraging to hear these words that God speaks to Abraham, beginning this covenant with Abraham and his people. And these words weren't just meant for Abraham. They are meant for anyone who would believe in the one true God. And because of Jesus, we can be part of this covenant that God has promised. We can rest in the knowledge that God has promised to be our God.

I want to always rest in that promise.