Project: Food Budget (Week 6)

Thursdays seem to come much faster now that I am participating in the Project: Food Budget challenge.  This week was super easy... We have not purchased much groceries and were eating up what was left in the house.  However, I feel like we've also done quite a bit of eating out too so it's probably balancing itself out.

Fun Find: Last night hubby and I were walking through the local farmers' market and... long story short... signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share. Ours is a smaller size share and it only costs us $15/week.  Today's share consisted of a bunch of radishes, a head of lettuce, 2 herbs of choice (mine were basil and flat leaf parsley), garlic scapes... and some other green stuff I can't remember right now without looking in my fridge ;)  I am excited about learning new dishes that will help me use up all our stuff.  The big plan for this weekend is basil garlic pesto (pesto freezes well so I can keep it until I need it). The fun challenge for the week is to find recipes to use up all the radishes. 

What is your fun find of the week?

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Other Participating Blogs: 

• Emily Levenson
• Veggie Converter
• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Veggie Burgher
• The Happy Cactus
• Test Kitchen Tuesday
• Newly Vegan
• Veggie on the Cheap
• MeloMeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day
• The Veggie Life
• Caroline Cain Holistic Health
• Going Veggie
• Under The Apple Tree
• Be the Change

My Home

"Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting.  And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp."  

(Exodus 33:7)

Moses loved the Lord so much that his own house became a place where people would come and seek God.  I want my home to be a place where God speaks.  I want my home to be a place that encourages others to worship.

What would it take from me?

SEPARATION

Moses pitched his tent far from the camp.  How often do I get so caught up in my daily life that I make no time to spend with God?  Life happens.  Our families have needs and we are there to meet them.  Our social life is also important.  We have engagements and responsibilities.  We have ministry commitments.  And as important as any of those are, they have a tendency to drag us away from the One who can give us strength to deal with them, wisdom and understanding of how to do them faster and more efficiently, from the One who can bless the work of our hands.  Separating myself would require for me to rethink my priorities, to give up convenience, to drop my to do list until I've talked to Him, to cancel out things that make me feel important, like I am doing something worthwhile, but leave me no time for anything else.  Separating myself would mean laying down the social expectations aside and rearranging my schedule to make room for the One who is the most important.

I'm in.  I will strive for it.

Will you?

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I am linking up here

A Heart of Jonah

As I ponder on the Word of God this week, one thing comes to mind.

Jonah was a prophet of God, His servant, His messenger.

But he was human too.

When the Lord asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, he did not want to go.

How often do I refuse to step into God's plan, to follow His desires?

How often do I think I know better?

Do you ever find yourself there... on a boat to Tarshish?

Sometimes I do.

And yet...

He is merciful

... and He uses me again ...

... and again ...

... and again ...

Today I am grateful for HIS MERCY

Project: Food Budget (Week 5)

It is week 5 of me participating in the Project: Food Budget Challenge... or week 2 if you consider the fact that I have not posted for like a month ;)

... but hey - I am back and hopefully I'll be able to be more faithful over the summer...

This week presented an interesting challenge for me.  I have ventured out to the Russian area of NYC called Brighton Beach.  It is not very close to where I live which is why I do not go there often.  But I seemed to remember that fruit and vegetables were much cheaper there than in my local grocery store. 

I was quite disappointed :(

We did manage to stick to our budget (mainly because we still had all the basic staples from the previous weeks) but we definitely failed to save money on our grocery bill.

Fun Find: buckwheat ;)

Have you ever used buckwheat in your cooking?  Buckwheat made into a porridge or a side dish is very common in the former Soviet Union.  It is rich in proteins and minerals and is a great tasting healthy food.  I slowly introduced my husband to it and he loves it now.  His favorite way of eating buckwheat is in the morning topped with fried eggs.  He finds this breakfast very filling and it lasts him for a long time.  I prefer buckwheat as a side dish to some meat.  You boil buckwheat like you would any grain but the secret is making sure you spice it up.  You may want to flavor it with a bouillon cube, maybe some Mrs. Dash.  I normally use Vegeta or Kucharek but these are not always easy to find in regular American grocery stores but a bouillon cube would do the trick as well.  You should try it out :)

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You're welcome to hop over to the other participating blogs: 

• Emily Levenson
• Veggie Converter
• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Veggie Burgher
• The Happy Cactus
• Test Kitchen Tuesday
• Newly Vegan
• Veggie on the Cheap
• MeloMeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day
• The Veggie Life
• Caroline Cain Holistic Health
• Going Veggie
• Under The Apple Tree
• Be the Change

Intentional

INTENTION - an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.

I choose to be intentional today.

I choose to be intentional with my relationships.  No amount of time spent on facebook or watching movies or playing games on my computer or reading other people's blogs will ever justify not investing in the lives of my dear friends and family.

I choose to be intentional in my marriage.  I will focus my efforts on making our home a place where all my husband's fears subside and where he wants to be above any other place on earth (including vacation spots). 

I choose to be intentional in my parenting.  I will teach my children to walk in the ways of the Lord.

I choose to be intentional in my ministry.  I refuse to give up until I see fruit.

I choose to be intentional with my own personal growth.  I know that I am not where I want to be yet... but I am on my way to get there.

I choose to be intentional.  How about you?

I am grateful for:
158. my real life friends
159. pizza delivery
160. the joy of watching the last minutes of basketball game shared with those who really care about the game
161. heat subsiding
162. a morning of shopping for Russian food
163. husband's days off matching mine this week
164. super soakers and water balloons
165. the joy of bringing joy to children
166. phone conversations with my mom
167. that distance erases pettiness
168. that parents' love is sacrificial
169. that I have great examples to learn sacrificial love from

Time to Blog vs. Time to Live

I haven't done much blogging lately... and it's a good thing.  Things have been busy and slightly hectic around here.  With the Sunday School spring semester winding down (last week starts tomorrow) and the ever-present pregnancy issues it has been very hard to keep up on all of my favorite things (including this blog).

But do you know what that really means?...

That means that our lives have been full of...

... laughing ...
  ... loving ...
    ... walking ...
      ... talking ...
        ... working ...
          ... playing ...
            ... serving ...


We'll be working on our newsletter this weekend.  If you're not receiving it yet but would like to - leave a comment with your email address and I'll get it out to you soon.

In the meanwhile I hope you enjoy some pictures of our ministry from the past few weeks.

May your summer be filled with smiles!

History of Belarus in 5 minutes

I have stumbled across this animated feature from one of my former classmate's facebook.  She is the one who did the animation for this cartoon.  I waited a while to share this but now that there are finally English subtitles I am sure many of you will enjoy learning a bit of Belarusian history in only 5 minutes.  At the time when everyone is disillusioned in the proper future for Belarus it is crucial to raise awareness about the country's rich history and culture, encourage young people to feel patriotic for their country.

So?... What do you think?  (let's chat in comments)