Persevere

Just wanted to check in quickly about my NaNoWriMo project!  Roughly halfway through the month, I am far less than halfway through my novel.  But to share a word from Beth Moore and Hebrews 10:36, we need to persevere!  So, I have about 35,000 words to go.  Feels insurmountable, but I am 15,000 words in and my story is rolling.  Thank goodness for creative juices and a husband that doesn't mind babysitting occasionally.  Regardless of whether I finish by November 30th, this process is teaching me that I can be a writer, if I'm serious about it.  So here goes--persevering!!

He's "Up There"

So, God is real, y'all.  Let that sink in a minute.  There is a living, breathing, all-powerful, all-loving holy God and he is REAL.  I've believed it for a long time.  I've pledged my life by it.  And then sometimes, despite knowledge of that fact, I drift out of my passion for Him and fall back in love with the world.  I stick God in the closet and relegate Him to "up there."  Maybe looking down on us fondly like a loved one that has passed away, perhaps occasionally angrily.  But God doesn't like to be contained in His heavenly dwelling--He prefers to be all up in our business here on earth, stirring things up. 
Today I had a conversation with my sister-in-law.  God is doing AMAZING things in her life and has infused her with a spirit of truth, do yourself a favor and check out her blog.  Today.  
The thing is, in spite of the minuscule portion of time and energy I give to Him, God decided to let me share a portion of His blessing with her.  Lately, He's been telling me to pray for her.  I didn't have a huge revelation, or specific details on what to pray about, and I wasn't even sure why.  In fact, sometimes I felt like it was something I'd just made up in my head and decided was from God.  But today I talked with her and she confirmed that He's been doing something great, and it's been my privilege to be a tiny part of it.  
So, in conclusion--I'm not feeling eloquent and I don't really have the time to be, but--God is real.  He's doing things, and He wants to do things in YOUR life.  Hit your knees today, listen for Him, and check out Redeemingthedays.  You're welcome.

Almost...

I almost lost him.  The whole experience was only about 2 minutes long, possibly only a minute, and yet its now a defining moment in my 2 years as a parent, in my roughly 10 years as an adult!
The day was going as it normally does.  Ezra being his typical 2 year old self, banging, throwing, singing, etc.  We were running late and came through the door in a whirlwind, gotta get baby in bed was the only thought on my brain.  So I left him to play while I put her down for her nap.  She was mostly asleep, in that pivotal moment where eyes were heavy and she was ready to drift off, as long as nothing distracted her.  I heard a double-bang, loud enough to make the eyes widen slightly, but go back to closing. 
I don't know about you, but around here, a bang really doesn't mean a whole lot.  But something about this particular bang, kicked my mommasense into gear.  I'm gonna say it was God, moreso than the noise.  I just needed to see what it was!  So I dropped baby into crib and believe me she let me hear about it.  But I went to track down big brother and when I first glanced into the living room, rather than seeing him playing my eyes went straight to the source of the bang--our back door. 
I've seldom felt a spike of adrenaline that pure.  I ran to the back door while my mind blazed a mile a minute--did I leave the door open when I came in and am now overreacting?  No, I DEFINITELY remember locking it.  He's never tried to go out before, or managed the bottom lock!  Even as I stuck my head out into our huge yard, yelling his name I was thinking, there hasn't even been enough time for him to disappear; he's probably busy flushing toilet paper down the toilet.  So I popped inside yelling his name, using my "game voice," the one most likely to elicit a response because it means something fun.  Nothing.  I ran outside, this time frantic.  Barely even scanning the yard I curved the side of our house down the driveway and-there.he.was.  Squatting by the hose, in perfect focus, wondering how he could get it to work completely ignoring screaming mother closing the ground between us faster than he's ever seen me move.
Still in panic mode I had him around the waist sprinting into the house at which point I went completely non-PC on his rear end.  Then he was bawling.  Then it was my turn.  We hugged.  I explained thoroughly why we don't EVER go outside by ourselves.  When Daddy came home Ezra told him all about it.  "Daddy, I scared Mommy!"  And then he was over it.  I'm still not.
The thing is, in that 60 second space, about a million different things happened in my mind, and I have NEVER been so scared in my life!  My chubby-cheeked toddler has no idea how many horrible fates his mother was able to conjure during her panicky search.  And he never will, unless he one day becomes a parent and experiences that same feeling.

I think this is probably a rite of passage.  Last week over the intercom at Ultra Foods they called for "______'s Mommy to the floral department."  I think most parents have that shaky, terrified moment when they realize their child, their charge, has wandered off or otherwise disappeared.  I mean, this isn't just me, right?  Maybe parents of only children won't agree, but after I had my second child a significant portion of my brain just dissolved, so I really don't think this is my fault!! 

New rule.  First step in the door we take off shoes, coat, hat, and socks, no matter the crying baby.  Hopefully lack of dexterity and freezing temperatures will be a strong enough deterrent for now.  Until my recent purchase arrives.  Who knew it was so hard to kidproof lever door handles!?

Second Wind

Its been awhile, I know.  And I harbor no pretensions that anyone will actually stumble across this blog accidentally after over a year of no posts.  But before you get all judgy, don't forget I've been a little busy chasing toddlers and having babies and moving across the country! 

Anyway, my main reason for this post is that I've decided to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this November, and what better way to get creative energies going than take 5 minutes to revive my good old blog?  Ok, yes, the main reason is actually to procrastinate.  I'm already 6,000 words behind for the month!  Plus, I still harbor the hope that one day I could become a pinning sensation that is so out of control blogspot crashes and I have to add one of those little "pin it" buttons at the bottom of my blog.  A girl can dream, right? 

Even if that never happens, tonight I have a REAL treat just for you, that random person that stumbled across this blog accidentally while googling a CS Lewis book.  Hopefully you like food, at times like to cook, and often don't have time to do it, because this recipe is the easiest one I have ever made, and had my husband raving and 2 year old popping chicken pieces like they were animal crackers.  It took 4 ingredients and about 10 minutes of prep time and no ingredients of questionable integrity.

 

 

That's right, Swiss cheese, Balsamic vinegar, Italian style breadcrumbs, and chicken tenderloins (I used frozen from Trader Joes).  Pull the chicken out of the freezer the night before and defrost in the fridge.  About 40 minutes before dinner, I put 8 in a gallon sized zip lock bag and pounded them flat (I guess about 1/4 an inch?).  I added 1/4 cup of balsamic (that's a lie, I usually eyeball, but I made sure all the chicken was coated but not drowning in it) and let it sit in the plastic bag for about 5 minutes while I chopped the swiss cheese into small, 1 oz-ish chunks.  Wrap the chicken around a chunk of swiss and roll it in the bread crumbs.  Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until the juices run clear.  That's it!  (And if you don't like it--not like you wasted too much time!)

 

My husband graciously sat there while I grabbed my camera.  Seriously?  You are taking a picture of my plate?  But considering the relatively short wait for a delicious dinner, I don't think he minded too much.  Try it out!  I hope you like it!  The bitterness of swiss cheese was really well balanced by the sweet and tangy balsamic, but if you can't handle that, a provolone cheese would probably work really well too.  Enjoy your dinner -- and the extra time to write!

 

PS--this post was 466 words...can that count?