This is my new favorite song

I heard this song on KLTY this morning. It so speaks to my life and where I am right now, and it's my new favorite. It's called "This is the Stuff", by Francesca Battistelli.



Here are the lyrics, in case you couldn't quite make them out in the song:

I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35
Sirens and fines while I'm running behind
Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world
Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
And I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

Oh Oh Oh Oh
This is the stuff You use

Since I last posted, I've lost my job. Talk about the stuff that drives me crazy and things getting under my skin. I'm having to really trust that God knows exactly what He's doing, and that this is not, in fact, the end of the world. It's going to be a learning and growing experience, for sure. And somehow, I think I'll be listening to this song quite a lot.

Finally!

Good grief. It's been forever since I posted. The computer went down yet again, and had to be in the shop yet again. Chock full of viruses, it was. I've got new antivirus software now, so we'll see if that helps.

So much to write about - work, kids, Christmas, life in general. But it's late, and I've got to get up for work tomorrow. I'll try to take time to do a proper blog this weekend.

And you know, I've been thinking - new year, maybe time for a new blog? We'll see. If that happens, I'll post a link to the new place here.

Just a quick note

Rhys, get your head out of the toilet.

Well. That ranks right up there on the list of things I never thought I'd hear myself say. What things have you said to your kids that you never would have thought would come out of your mouth?

I can't believe it's been a month since I've written. Seems like I'm either too busy, or too tired to write, or I just don't feel like I have anything worth preserving for posterity. I guess things have happened that might be worth mentioning, I just can't think of them right now.

What are they teaching our kids at school?!

At Julian's school, I know they talk a lot about nutrition and healthy food choices. They talk about go foods (things you can eat pretty much all the time), slow foods (things you can eat in moderation), and whoa foods (things you should eat very occasionally or sparingly). In theory, I'm good with this. I try to teach my kids how to choose wisely when they're eating, that fruits and vegetables are good and important for us to eat, and that it's not good for them to live on junk food or drink soda every single day. I want them to be strong and healthy, and I know a good diet is an important part of that. (I use the word "diet" here in the sense of what they eat, not in the sense of a restricted calorie eating plan. You shouldn't have to worry about that kind of diet when your oldest is just 8.)

But I wonder if perhaps this message isn't being taken a little bit too far at too young of an age. Julian has gotten very interested with looking at labels to see how much fat and sugar and calories something has, almost to the point of obsession. He seems to equate "sugar-free" and "zero calories" and "fat-free" with "healthy", not realizing that artificial sweeteners and whatever's put into the food to add flavor when the fat is taken out aren't necessarily any better for you than sugars and fats in moderation. (And not realizing that your body needs a certain amount of good fats to function properly.)

Take today, for instance. We went to the grocery store to get prescriptions filled, and while we waited, we picked up a few odds and ends. We were looking at the canned fruit, and I went to get a can of pears (something Julian normally likes, and something we're introducing to Rhys). Julian latched onto the can that said "made with Splenda" on the label, saying that he liked that one. I said no, let's get one made with pear juice, one that doesn't use artificial sweeteners. He just about threw a tantrum over those pears, insisting that the ones with Splenda were better because they had less sugar. I said, so you'd rather have one that uses fake sugar over one that uses the actual juice from the pear? He persisted in saying he would, because it has less calories. Later on, he saw a "sugar-free" label on something else and made a comment that that means it's healthy. Um, no, that doesn't necessarily follow. I'm trying to teach him that it's OK to eat things made with real sugar and real butter, just in moderation. If you want a cookie, have one made with real sugar instead of six that are sugar-free. If you want butter on your toast, have a little. I don't want him obsessing over calories and body image - not ever, and certainly not at 8 years old.

I know there are probably kids who hear the same things he hears at school and don't get the least bit hung up on it, and don't take to reading labels fanatically, but he's mine, and he is hung up on it, and he's the one I have to worry about. I may have to check to see just exactly what they're learning on this topic. Promoting good nutrition and offering healthier school lunches is one thing. Pushing some kind of agenda in the guise of good nutrition, if that's what's happening, would be something else entirely.

Living in God's will

We're having a revival at church this week. The evangelist speaking is Rick Coram. Let me tell you, when he brings the Word of God, it is BROUGHT. I've been there working in the a/v booth the past two nights, and God can definitely use him to get someone's attention.

Sunday night's sermon was great - the topic was "Do You Live In A Strong House?" I may talk more about that later, but tonight, I want to talk a little bit about tonight's message.

Brother Rick preached on Jonah 1:1-3. Y'all may remember the story of Jonah from Sunday school, how he didn't do what God asked and ended up being swallowed by a fish and staying there for 3 days and 3 nights. The point of tonight's message was that if you aren't living in God's will, it's going to be a rough go for you.

I thought about this particularly in relation to my job. I've done a whole bunch of whining about not liking my job, wanting a new job, and so on and so forth. Last week God really smacked me upside the head about it. I whined and complained and wondered why God hadn't opened any doors for me to get out of this place where I've been so miserable, and He hit me right between the eyes: Lisa, you're there because that's where I want you right now. So I had to apologize to God for being such a whiny pants, and for letting the fact that I didn't like where I was and didn't want to be there keep me from doing my absolute best (because if I'm completely honest with myself, I haven't been doing my best). So, hearing tonight's message confirmed for me that things have been miserable for so long there because I've been doing what Jonah did - running from God, telling Him, "no, I don't want to do this, give me something else to do instead". It also confirmed for me that right now, yes, here IS exactly where He wants me, and when He's ready for me to be somewhere else, He'll make it so. Until then, it's up to me to do the best job I can and to be thankful that I know I'm in good hands, even if it's not where I'd choose to be if it were left totally up to me.

As our associate pastor says, "All the time God is good, and God is good all the time." He is, for a fact. I may still grumble about my job from time to time (don't we all?), but the whining will be reduced to a bare minimum. I'm thankful that, in this at least, I'm living right where God wants me to be - in His will.

Cooking with kefir!

We decided a little while ago to get some kefir grains and make our own kefir at home. It's got probiotic benefits, and we figured making it would be more cost-effective than continuing to buy it, or yogurt, at the store. Apparently our little grains like their environment, because they're thriving! Our kefir runneth over, more than we can reasonably drink (Brian and I like it, but we haven't yet convinced Julian that kefir is good and he should give it a try). So Brian thought he'd look for some recipes.

Tonight we had kefir flat bread. The kefir is the only leavening agent in the bread. It turned out wonderfully! It had a very slight tang to it as compared to regular yeast bread. But the dough rose nicely, and our little flat breads baked up hot and slightly puffy and oh, so good. We made pizzas out of a couple of them for Julian since he wasn't crazy about the sausage, onions and peppers we were having. Tasty good bread, and we can experiment with all sorts of different herbs in it, too!

We've also found recipes for kefir pancakes (they're supposed to freeze well) and kefir cornbread. Pretty much any recipe that calls for buttermilk, you can substitute kefir, or so I understand. I'll post more about the different recipes as we give them a try.

We started our grains with a cup of milk, and the first batch or two was thin and very tangy. As we've gone on, our grains have grown, and we're now using three cups of milk a day to make the kefir, and could probably use four. Pretty soon, we may have grains enough to share!

Home, for once

It's a Monday morning, and I'm enjoying the quiet of my little house. I took today off. J has an appointment, and it made more sense logistically for me to stay home than to try to go in to work and then leave and pick him up for that. So we slept a little later this morning - Brian and I got up around 6:45, the boys got up around 7:00. I took Julian to school and Rhys to daycare, and now I'm home for a bit. I wish every morning could be like this. I wish I had known before I committed myself to the rat race how much it would mean to me to be able to stay home with my children and be there for them like my mom was for me.

Anyway, I've now got some time on my hands. Things on the agenda: work out, finish baking that batch of breakfast monster cookies, pick up the disaster that is our living room floor (I'll be so glad when Rhys is past the "path of destruction" phase!), boil some eggs for tuna salad (today's lunch), figure out what to make for dinner. Things I really want to do: take a nice long nap. But if I do that, nothing else will get done. Decisions, decisions....