God the Spirit

From "The Valley of Vision"...

I pray not so much for graces as for the Spirit himself, because I feel his absence, and act by my own spirit in everything.
Give me not weak desires but the power of his presence, for this is the surest way to have all his graces, and when I have the seal I have the impression also;
He can heal, help, quicken, humble suddenly and easily; can work grace and life effectually, and being eternal he can give grace eternally.
Save me from great hindrances, from being content with a little measure of the Spirit, from thinking thou wilt not give me more.
When I feel my lack of him, light up life and faith, for when I lose thee I am either in the dark and cannot see thee, or Satan and my natural abilities content me with a little light, so that I seek no further for the Spirit of life.
Teach me then what to do.
Should I merely humble myself and not stir up my heart?
Should I meditate and use all means to bring him near, not being contented by one means, but trust him to give me a blessing by the use of all, depending only upon, and waiting always for, thy light, by use of means?
Is it a duty or an error to pray and look for the fullness of the Spirit in me?
Am I mistaken in feeling I am empty of the Spirit because I do not sense his presence within, when all the time I am most empty and could be more full by faith in Christ?
Was the fullness of the Spirit in the apostles chiefly a power, giving the subsistence outside themselves in Christ, in whom was their life and joy?
Teach me to find and know fullness of the Spirit only in Jesus.

Hangin out

While I was working tonight, Shea & Jonathan were hanging out at home together. Here's some cute pics of Shea trying to be like his Da-Da:

wondering

Psalm 8:3-4

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

Five Years!

Today is me & Jonathan's 5th anniversary! We had fun yesterday spending the day together. Our original plans were to go to disney but that was cancelled due to tropical storm Fay. Hopefully we'll be able to still go in the coming weeks.

We had lunch together at Longhorn's, I gave Jonathan a new wedding band (actually he got this a month or two ago because I just couldn't wait anymore to give it to him! His old ring was badly scratched so I wanted him to have a new one) and yesterday we bought a Wii! I am so excited! We have been wanting one for a long time.

The time has flown by - 5 years. We talked a lot yesterday about our many many memories we have made together and now with our son Shea too. Jonathan & I have known each other for 15 years so we have a ton of memories!

I am so grateful to God that He made me for Jonathan! He is such a godly man, he works very hard to provide for us, he makes me laugh, he is my best friend, he is such a great dad and loves Shea soooo much!

I pray that we have many many more anniversaries together. Love you babe!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I love trying out new recipes! Over at Today's Housewife blog, they are doing a series of recipe swaps called "Please pass the..." This week the main ingredient is chicken. I have a chicken recipe that my family just loves! It is a little bit time consuming but it's worth it! I double it because we really really like it.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnut
2/3 cup mushroom
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard
2 teaspoons water
1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions
1. Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
2. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
3. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.
4. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.
5. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.
6. Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
7. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.
8. Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
9. Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.
10. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
11. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
12. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.
13. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.
14. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
15. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups".
16. Top with"Special Sauce".

Thank You!

Thanks for the new shoes, Grandaddy & Grammy!!!!!!

Busy, busy

It was a busy day at our house yesterday.

I was cleaning out my pantry and Shea was playing in the kitchen when he slipped and fell. He has his first busted lip now. After a few tears he was up and playing again but his lip is swollen. I know it's probably the first of many bumps and bruises my active little boy will have in his life.

Then we made more freezer meals. Lena came over and she made lasagna while I made chicken stuffing casserole & baked spaghetti.

We ate some of the Chicken Stuffing Casserole last night and it was yummy! Here's the recipe:

2 packages (6oz each) chicken stuffing mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups frozen corn

2 cans mushroom stems & pieces
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Prepare stuffing mixes.
2. In a large bowl, combine soup and milk. Set aside.
3. Spread the stuffing into a greased 9x13 pan.
4. Layer with chicken, corn, mushrooms, soup mixture & cheese.
5. Cover and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

After that we ran some errands and then Shea & I came home and played for a bit before I went to work. I thought this was a really cute pic & wanted to share it. :)