Life With Purpose

Like I have mentioned before, I am great at starting things, but not so good at finishing them. I don't do this on purpose, despite what you may think. I have the full intention on seeing my new adventures through.

I love the idea of living a life of purpose. However, I have a problem being able to do that every single day. I get caught up in the everyday activities. I have a hard time finding the time to do everything that I want and need to do everyday.

I definitely believe in goals per se. I think it is great to write down what you want out of life, and how you plan on getting it. To have a life with a purpose, you definitely HAVE to write down what you are wanting to achieve. As much fun as being spontaneous sounds, spontaneity is not the best characteristic for a purposeful life.

What kind of dreams do you have? What would you like to achieve? Don't be afraid to dream BIG, for God gives you the desires of your heart, and He wants you to have them. Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.

For instance, I want to learn French. Why? Because I want to, that's why.

I also want to make sure I am an active participant in Aiden's education. I don't think I am equipped at the moment to home school. Quite frankly, I don't think my patience is where it needs to be for such a task. I can make sure that when he comes home that I am completely available for him, and I think it's important for him to do hands-on activities as well.

While I was pregnant with Ava I was taking Physics I at a state college. It was hard no doubt, but I loved it. I mean I LOVED it! So much that I want to continue to learn physics whether I continue with my degree or not.

If you love and have a passion for something, that is a sign. Take note! I definitely believe in living my life for the Lord, but I do know that God wants us happy as well. He delights in our prosperity. Psalms 35:27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; and let them say continually, "The Lord be magnified, who delights in the prosperity of His servant."

I think that being a stay-at-home mom you need to approach your day like you would an office job. First, prioritize what is the most important task to the least important task. If you are like me, do the most important things first thing in the morning. My brain has a great tendency to procrastinate and find excuses for important tasks. Next, I plan out my days. I have a cleaning list so that I clean what needs to be cleaned, so I won't overwhelm myself with it. For some reason I am less stressed, more patient, and  just an overall better person if I have a clean house. Don't judge.

My cleaning list looks like this:

Monday: Dust, Vacuum

Tuesday: Yard work/ wash car, vacuum

Wednesday: Master bathroom, sheets every other week, vacuum

Thursday: Guest bathroom, vacuum

Friday: Extra to-dos, grocery store

Saturday: Yard work/ wash car

Now let me just say that I hardly adhere completely to this list. It is rather more of a suggestion, but it really helps me keep an idea of what I did, and what needs to be done. On another note, I realize it says that I vacuum six days out of the week. With a crawling baby, and a Golden Retriever, it has to be done.

My son goes to school so I make sure and get these tasks done before he comes home, remember, I want to be available for him and his learning after school.

When Hubby is home it is a little harder to get done what I want to get done. He likes to go, go, go, so we are not home nearly as much.

Once I have everything mapped out, I give it to God. I know the Holy Spirit will help me manage my time and my resources. If I can't get something done, then it's no big deal. God will help me take care of it.

Last, start living a purposeful life! Make sure you put time away for yourself to do those things that you want, like learn French, or physics! Don't be hard on yourself for not going right along with what you had planned, because you know what? Life happens!

We have to  make time for ourselves. Life will be over before we know it.

Seeing Faith

My faith is a big/special part of my life. I have always believed in God (father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). It wasn't until I had my first child that I really started to hunger for a better relationship with God.

Before my Hubby worked in the oil industry, he was an entrepreneur. He had a small floor laying business. Any of you who know anything about construction work know that when it's good it's good, but when it's bad it's bad. When money would get tight I would pray to God and ask for provision. He would provide. Then when things would get better I would stop praying. It was a cycle that went on and on for years. I finally realized that I wanted to keep my commitment with God, and stop turning to Him when life was not so good. I was like the Israelites. I forgot the works of the Lord.

I grew up Catholic. I was at every church function. I used to practice having mass in my room. Seriously.  I thought I wanted to be a nun. The God I know now is the same I knew then, but my relationship with him now is so different.

Now I don't consider myself of a certain faith. I believe in the bible and what it says. I don't believe in condemning others, so don't expect to see kind of stuff here. God made everyone. He loves everyone, so why should I treat others  with disdain when they don't believe exactly as I do. I don't have all the answers, nor do I act like I do. I believe we should encourage each other in faith.

I used to believe that faith was something that you had, which is true, but it goes deeper than that. Faith is in your actions, words, and thoughts. There are so many verses on faith in the bible. Faith is believing in something without seeing it.  Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. God's word is true. It can never fail. Knowing that and knowing His word can give us the courage, strength, and hope for our future. It is something we can bank on.

I am still growing in faith everyday. I want people to see my faith, not just hear me talk about it. I actually used to roll my eyes way back when others would try to witness to me. It would turn me away from God because it seemed like they were condescending to me. I am very careful now about how I talk about God to others. I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me and if I need to mention Jesus and His salvation I will. The last thing I want to do is to make others feel like I did.

I hope y'all have a great day!

Peace out :)

Taco Soup

Hubby and Aiden love soup. I mean love it. I am not as much of a fan as they are. When Hubby is home I try to make sure and make some soups to please his palate. Taco soup is one of them.

I received a taco soup recipe years ago from a coworker. I lost it somehow, but I remembered the gist of it. Now I've got it down. Besides gumbo (which I haven't perfected yet), taco soup is his favorite.

Ok, for some reason I had a brain fart and forgot to take pictures before this moment.

1.Turn the stove on medium to medium-high. 

2. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a dutch oven. 

3. Dice a whole onion and two cloves of garlic. Toss them into the pot and let them cook for a minute or two. Throw a pinch of salt and let the onions sweat. 

4. Season one pound of ground chuck with some salt and pepper. Put it in the pot as well. Get it all good and mixed. Let the garlic, onion, and ground beef get to know each other. 

5. Once you brown the beef, you will need to get most of the yucky fat out of that pot. I just used a ladle, but however you do it is fine. 

6. Drain and rinse the beans, and pour them in. Open up a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes and pour them in as well. 

7. Pour two cups of beef broth and three cups of water into the pot. You can adjust the amount of liquid, but I wanted it to be well... soupy. 

8. Now it's time to make it all taco-y! Add one teaspoon of cumin, chili powder, and black pepper. Add two teaspoons of salt. I season as I cook. Taste as you go so that you can get exactly what flavor you want. 

9. Get the soup up to a boil and then put it on low and let it simmer for about forty-five minutes. While the soup is simmering, grate up yo fave cheese. In this instance I used Monterrey Jack cheese. Cheddar would be super fabulous as well!  

10. After the forty-five minute mark add the drained corn. Let it sit about fifteen minutes or so.  Corn chips make this soup over-the-top!

You can customize this in so many ways. Adding a can of Rotel, or dicing up some jalapeno would be great. Just throw in what you like, or what you have on hand. I love versatile recipes!!

I hope y'all enjoy this as much as we do!

Here are the ingredients at a glance:

1 tblspn butter

1 whole onion diced

2 garlic cloves diced

1 lb ground chuck

Pinch or two of salt

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

2 cans of black beans drained

1 can of corn drained

2 cups of beef broth

3 cups of  water

2 tspns of salt

1 tspn black pepper

1 tspn cumin

1 tspn chili powder

CHEESE!!