Try It Tuesday

I definitely got my love of cooking/baking from my granny. I certainly don't cook like her or cook as often as she does, but I enjoy it when I do.

One of D's favorite desserts is banana pudding. For one of our wedding gifts, my grandmother hand wrote a ton of her recipes and put them in a recipe book for me. What a treasure this has been! One of the recipes she included was this banana pudding recipe.

Granny's Banana Pudding



Ingredients:

1 box vanilla wafers
6-8 bananas
2 (3 oz.) boxes instant vanilla pudding
3 c. milk
2 cans Eagle Brand milk
8 oz. Cool Whip

Directions:

Line bottom of bowl with with half of the vanilla wafers. Then slice the bananas and distribute evenly over vanilla wafers. Mix well the pudding mix, milk, eagle brand milk and cool chip. Pour half of mixture over bananas. Repeat. Decorate the top with whatever you have left over. Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving.

Granny

My sweet granny was diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago. Thankfully it was a small spot on her lung so they were able to remove it easily. She did a few rounds of chemo pills and soon was told she was cancer free. Every 6 months she goes in for a scan to make sure the cancer hasn't returned. She went for a scan last week and they did find a spot on the other lung. The biopsy confirmed that the cancer had returned. The doctor is very optimistic though. They will do outpatient surgery and start chemo in 2 weeks.

Of course, we don't want to hear cancer, but a small spot is better than a big one! So with that said here's how you can pray: Please pray for peace for my family... especially my grandmother. She is a worrier. Pray that the Lord would cover her fears with his peace and presence. Pray also for my mom, aunt, and uncle...her kids. They are some of the toughest people I've ever met. However, they will run themselves ragged helping others. Pray that these next few months would be as smooth as possible for my grandmother. Pray that she will draw close to the great physician. And ultimately pray that the Lord will be glorified through this whole situation.

Weight Watchers Update 15

Last week: 147.8

This week: 146.8

Total Loss: 17 lbs.

Yay... a whole pound this week! Who'd have thought that would be so exciting?! (And retarded sounding!) 3 lbs to go!!!!

This was taken in Ringgold, Georgia. Holy. Cow.

What I Needed

I read this on one of the blogs I stalk. :) It was such an encourgament to me that I thought I would share. She does a ministry Monday and encourages ministry wives. This was her post this Monday.

"Years ago, there was a woman--a ministry wife--that I admired. She didn't know who I was, but I knew who she was. And I watched her. I watched what she did that I liked, marveling at her knowledge and abilities. But sometimes I watched her at what she did not do that I thought she should. How could she disappoint me so? After all, she was a ministry wife. Shouldn't she do, say, and be perfect?

Obviously, I was immature then, looking for this woman to do something for me and not once considering that my expectations might be a teensy bit unrealistic. Not to mention selfish and ungracious.

I now know these things about my former immature self because now I am the pastor's wife. People sometimes harbor or even voice the unrealistic expectations they have for me.

But mostly I harbor and voice them to myself.

Honestly, after 12 years in ministry, I thought I was done with worrying about what people expect from me. I also thought I had been released from holding this false standard of perfection for myself. But yesterday, Easter Sunday for pete's sake, those great expectations walloped me out of nowhere. I offended a friend, I said something dumb, I couldn't focus during the message, I had half conversations with people, I ran around frazzled at lunch, I was offended too easily over something silly, and just all around felt like a failure. And I couldn't let it go.

God said, "Grace, child! Remember, it's Easter. It's about Me and that I resurrected so that this very thing could be done with, once and for all."


But I couldn't stop fixating on my failures. And worrying about the pot roast.

My husband said, "It's probably PMS." And he's right because he has an app for that. (And he also said some really sweet, comforting things...just so you don't get the wrong idea about my husband!)

But darned if those great expectations didn't follow me around all through the day and into the night, infiltrating my dreams.

This morning, God drew me in with the first verse I read: "He is our refuge..." (Ps 46:1)

A deep sigh escaped as I inhaled a fresh breath of peace. A refuge: a retreat, a place to relax and unwind (and boy am I wound tight!), a place where I'm wanted and loved, a place where I don't have to be perfect.

There aren't many points or people of refuge in the life of a ministry wife. But there is One, an always and forever refuge. Where He sees our need, knows our heart, and offers us peace. Where the volume of the shrill human voices gets turned way down. He doesn't expect us to come to Him there as perfect pastor's wives, ready to serve. The God of the universe patiently and diligently and graciously serves us.

Reason number five trillion that spending time in the Word is essential. He turns off the faucet of negative, irrational, and sinful thoughts and replaces them with truth.

He reminds me not to resolve to try harder, but just to depend harder."

The Angels are Rejoicing... and so are we!

Our sweet Mags prayed to receive Christ last night!!!!

Maggie Ann, we are so proud of you! Its the best decision you will ever make!

Try It Tuesday:Rotel Chicken Pasta

This is a favorite around the Jerkins' house:

Rotel Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

1 red pepper or pimentos
4-5 chicken breasts
1 lb Velveeta
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 can of mushrooms-or fresh
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
1 lb spaghetti

Broil chicken breast. Cut into chunks. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti. Saute onion and bell pepper in a little butter. Combine chicken, cheese, Rotel, and soup in a microwavable bowl. Heating until cheese is melted. Add onion and pepper mix. Add mixture to spaghetti. Bake in casserole dish at 325* for 30 minutes. Enjoy!