WWJD?

What would Jesus do?

This is a question that was so overused by mainstream Christianity a few years ago that I started  to ignore it.  Everybody had their little "WWJD" plastic bracelets, it was advertized on shirts and in Christian bookstore windows.  To me, it became a sign of "non-Orthodox" Christianity.  I'm not entirely sure why, because as I think about it now, it seems that this question--what would Jesus do?--should be asked by everyone, Orthodox or no, who is seeking the Kingdom of God by leading a Christ-like life.

I have had occasion to ponder more about this lately.  I am busy raising young children, and above all, I want to turn their hearts to God.  It occured to me that this phrase might be a good way to help them think on that too.  So, when one of my kids yelled at another the other morning, "I am NOT going to help you clean that up!"  I saw a teaching opportunity.

I asked her, "What would Jesus do if he were here?"

She though for a moment, and said in a very small voice, "Help pick up the puzzle."

"Why?"  I asked.

"Because we are supposed to love each other and help each other."

Ding ding ding.  Mission accomplished.  Said child turned around to go help pick up the puzzle pieces, only to return triumphantly six seconds later.  "She already did it herself.  I don't have to help now."  Fortunately for me (unfortunately?) my house is a perpetual zone of chaos, and there was another puzzle strewn on the floor in the living room.  I sent her to pick that one up.

Now, before my hand gets too sore from patting myself on the back, let me tell you another story.

Last week, I was presented with the opportunity to be a bad parent.  Unfortunately, I rose magnificently to the occasion.  My husband--with grace and love--waited until we were alone later that evening and called me out.  My knee jerk reaction was to tell him not to boss me around.  (I beg you not to be impressed by my maturity).  Thankfully, I had the sense to bite my tongue.  However, as I am apparently allergic to criticism, I was upset for awhile.  A long while.  (As a matter of fact, I woke up the next morning still kind of hacked off.)

Then I thought about what I've been trying to teach my kids.  And it hit me like a freight train--perhaps I am the one who should be asked that question of myself.  What would Jesus do?  Well, He would probably not be mad at my husband.  So I started there.   Then I looked at the situation the night before.  As often happens in my life (insert grumbling here), my husband was right.  I had not been a good mom in that moment.  I thought about the little girl that I had wronged, and my throat did that itchy, closing-off thing it does when I'm trying to hold back tears.

Then, I looked on the kitchen table and found a note she had left for me.  It said, "Mom and Dad, I love you."

Friends, I cried.  A lot.

So, I did what Jesus would have done.  I forgave my husband, and myself.  (That was a doozy).  And I resolved not to make the same mistake again.

This morning, my two year old was told to retrieve a sippy cup from behind a recliner.  She did this by climbing over the side table (which she KNOWS she is not supposed to do), kicking the lamp over in the process.  Boom, broken lamp, shattered light bulb.  Glass everywhere.  Sippy cup still not retrieved.  I forced myself to count for a moment, and asked myself, "What would Jesus do?"  I concluded that Jesus would probably speak kindly to the errant child, then clean up the mess.  So I did, although I'm pretty sure, had Jesus been there, He probably wouldn't have thought, "Wow, this would make a good blog post."

Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.

January Meals (Part 2)

 

Here's my meal plan for the rest of the month, posted early by popular request so people have time to grocery shop on their own.

Monday--Crock-pot Italian Chicken, Noodles, Salad

Tuesday--Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Noodles, Garlic Bread, Salad

Wednesday--Christian Ed (Our church hosts a weekly Christian Ed night, which includes dinner)

Thursday--Pork Chops, Alfredo Pasta, Carrot Souffle

Friday--Potato Soup, Rolls

Saturday--Leftovers

Sunday--Tacos

Monday--Crock-pot Chicken Teriyaki (recipe here), Rice, Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday--Calzones (recipe here), Cauliflower Tots (recipe here)

Wednesday--Christian Ed

Thursday--Crispy Ritz Chicken (recipe here), Rice, Corn on Cob

Friday--Burritos, Rice, Carrots Sticks and Cucumbers

The underlined menu items are new recipes (thanks Pinterest!).  I will be making my own dough for the Calzones, not buying it.  I'm still on the lookout for a good recipe for that.

What I learned last time:

--Lettuce/Spinach will only last a week in my fridge, so any salads need to be eaten in the first week, not the second.

--I had to make a grocery run for milk halfway through.

 Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.

Spiritual Whack-a-Mole

How's that for a mental image?  Our Arch-Priest gave a homily a few weeks back, and he discussed his idea of spiritual Whack-a-Mole, just, as he said, "like the Holy Fathers used to say."  (On a completely random side note, I get the biggest kick out of the thought of St. John Chrysostom or St. Gregory Palamas using the phrase "Whack-a-mole."  But we digress.)

Of all the completely off the wall things though, THAT is what has stuck with me in recent weeks.  He went on to say about how we have to treat the thoughts that invade our mind like those pesky little moles: we take our mallet--the Jesus Prayer--and we beat the ever-living tar out of them.  The minute they rear their ugly heads, we have to smack them right back down where they came from.

Thoughts have always been a struggle for me.  I'm a day-dreamer.  I get lost in my train of thought, and I tend to stay there until rescued.  These days, there are far too many interruptions in my day to form a coherent sentence, let alone drift off in a daydream, but when the kids are all in bed, and my husband is asleep, I tend to lay in bed and think.   Of course, I never think of anything productive.  It's my typical, "What would I do if I won the lottery?" kind of musing, or--especially this time of year--"How can I convince Fr. John to take me to Hawaii?"  But, the more kids I have, the more I am finding that my thoughts and musings tend to veer into the murky swamp of fears and "what ifs?"  This is especially dangerous for me, because once that train leaves the station, I have a very hard time leaping off.

But ask any mother on earth, and I'd be willing to bet that they, too, have lain awake at night, afraid of something happening to their kids.  I have a five year old that is the living, breathing definition of a whirling dervish, and I worry about her falling out of a tree, or trying to teach herself to drive my car, or attempting to bring home a black bear cub, a la Little Arliss in Old Yeller.  (And, as we live in Alaska, I feel that this last fear is at least somewhat justified.)  My seven year old notices everything (EVERYTHING) and lately her questions have veered into the area of "things I'm not ready to talk to you about."  She heard us praying for the kidnapped Bishops, Nuns, and Orphans in Syria, and was frightened.  We had to have a very real talk about evil, and I didn't like it.  The killer questions finally came: "Is anything like that ever going to happen to me?"

Please God, no.

And then my brain wanders.  What could happen to my kids?  The world we are raising them in is scary, and actively working against us.  My children are now the children of a Priest, and I know that this causes the Evil One to work even harder against us.  My mind starts to spin, and my heart starts to beat faster, and suddenly it's midnight and I'm hyperventilating in panic.

And then I have to remember--Whack-a-Mole.  These thoughts are not of God.  Beat them down.  So I say the Jesus Prayer, and I beg the Theotokos to save me from myself.  And as my struggle continues, I find that my timing is getting oh-so-slowly better.  I might shave off a second as I remember to pray and beat the thoughts away.  Of course, then the next day I find that I have planned my husband's funeral in my brain if he should happen to die and leave me alone to raise four kids...and oh dear Lord, how in the world would I do that?  I'd have to move in with my parents again.  I'd have to get a job.  Who would babysit the little ones while I was working?  Where would we get health insurance?  How would I be able to live my life without calling Fr. John at work sixteen times a day just because I miss him, or I need an adult to talk to, or I'm about to have a complete nervous collapse and I need him to talk me out of it....and, oh wait.  That's right.  Pray.  Deep breath.  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.  Fr. John is passed out right next to me.  Not dead, but snoring.  The girls are all snug in their bedrooms.  The baby is a foot away from me in his cradle.  We are all safe, and healthy, and together.  Thank God.  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.  Panaghia, ease my heart.  You are a mother, settle my soul.

Lather, rinse, repeat.  Fortunately for me, the labor of raising four little ones causes me to pass out just about the minute my head hits the pillow, but on those rare nights when I'm awake because the baby is crying or I foolishly decided to enjoy a large glass of Dr. Pepper at 7:15 in the evening, (*ahem* like right now), I have to be proactive about not even going down that road.  I can't even pray in specifics anymore, or my train of thought and prayer derails over a cliff and I'm right back into panic mode.  All I can say is,  God, please protect my family.  Watch over them.  Guardian Angels, carry them in the shelter of your wings.  Theotokos, keep your arms around them. 

And then I let it go.  I keep whacking my moles.  I keep attempting to plot ways to get to Hawaii.  And should I ever win the lottery, I've worked out a really great plan of how to spend all of it.

Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.

Mojave Macaroni

This is my kids' favorite dinner.  I neglected to take a picture, because dinner got on the table late, as I had a two year old recovering from the stomach flu, following me around begging to be held.  My seven year old actually made this from start to finish, with very little intervention from me (mostly draining the pasta).

The homemade BBQ sauce with this recipe is quite good, but you can skip in in favor of expediency and use your favorite bottle from the store.  I make and can my own sauce, so we just pop open a jar of that and call it good.

This comes from my good friend Diana's kitchen, and can be found in our church cookbook if you own a copy.

1 package elbow macaroni
1.5 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup shredded cheese

BBQ Sauce
2 cups katsup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup mustard
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Cook macaroni as directed on package and drain water.  Brown ground beef and drain.  In a saucepan, combine all ingredients for bbq sauce and heat through.  Add macaroni and beef, mixing thoroughly.  Top with grated cheese.

 Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.

Egg and Sausage Biscuits

My kids recently fell in love with Jimmy Dean Sausage Croissants.  I like that they are fast, and easy and tasty.  I don't like, however, that I die a little inside each time I let my kids have one.  They're expensive, and are like the juvenile delinquents of nutrition.  So, as I began my crackdown on processed foods, they were the first of the packaged/pre-made foods to go.  I did, however, promise to make some from scratch.  Much, much better.

They were fairly simple, but I plan on trying some different techniques next time I give them a go.   But for today, they worked.  And they're tasty!  Huzzah.

I elected to make the egg and sausage filling in a muffin tin, attempting to have uniformity in size.  This worked well, except for the fact that they're tall and narrow, instead of short and wide.

For the filling, you need 1/2 pound of sausage and 6 eggs.  Alarmed Adorable two year old helper not needed, but highly recommended.  Fry up your sausage and let drain.  Beat the six eggs, adding milk and whatever seasonings you desire.

I found it best to put my eggs in a measuring cup, as the spout helped greatly in pouring.  Fill each muffin tin with egg, then add about a Tablespoon of sausage pieces to each one, pushing them down so the egg covers them.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.  DO NOT SKIP THIS NEXT STEP.  It is of vital importance.

Make sure to allow your two year old helper to put away the eggs, so she can drop them on the floor and break 17 of them.

Once your eggs come out of the oven, pop them out immediately.  Or, like I did, get distracted by an adorable baby cooing at you, and then take them out later.  Either method seems to work fine, as long as you greased the pans well.

Use your favorite biscuit recipe and bake as many biscuits as you have eggs.  Once they're cooked, pull the biscuits in half, and reassemble with egg and sausage in the middle.

Wrap finished biscuits in saran wrap, and freeze.

Optional--make cinnamon chip bread, oatmeal cookies, and tapioca pudding in an attempt to use up all your broken eggs. 

Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.

Crock-Pot Beef Stew

This is my absolute favorite beef stew.  Serve with biscuits or rolls.  The original recipe is found here, but I have made a few changes, and am posting my version below.

2 pounds stew meat (or any beef cut into 2 inch chunks)
5 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks
5 potatoes, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks
1 onion, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks
1 can (or 2 cups) beef broth
2 cups red wine
2/3 cup flour
1-6 oz. can tomato paste
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas

Place meat, potatoes, onion, and carrots in crock pot.  Add flour and stir to coat all meat and vegetables evenly.  Add beef broth, tomato paste, red wine, thyme, salt, and bay leaves.  Cook on low for 6 1/2 hours, or high for 4 hours.  Add peas just before serving.  Serves 4 adults easily, or my family of 2 adults and 3 (solid food eating) kids.

Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.

 

January Meals (Part 1)

  Here is my meal plan for the first half of January:

Monday: Crock-pot Beef Stew and Biscuits
Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Pockets (recipe here), Steamed Broccoli and Fresh Pineapple
Wednesday: Christian Ed (Our church hosts a weekly Christian Ed night, which includes dinner)
Thursday: Mojave Macaroni (recipe here), Carrot Sticks and Cucumbers
Friday: Bean Burritos, Mexican Rice, Salad
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Chef Salad
Monday: Crock-pot Balsamic Pot Roast (recipe here) with Carrots and Potatoes, Salad
Tuesday: Chicken Yakisoba (recipe here)
Wednesday: Christian Ed
Thursday: Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas (recipe here--scroll down for it), Rice, Corn on the Cob
Friday: Waffles and Fruit
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Fr. John doesn't know it yet, but he's taking me out to dinner. The kids will most likely have mac and cheese with a babysitter.

The underlined menu items are new recipes (thanks Pinterest!).  They looked good, and the kids helped me pick them out, so here's hoping they'll at least try them.  I will do my best to post some of the other recipes as the week goes by. 

 Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.

Living Intentionally (At Least Trying)

I have thought a lot over the past months about living intentionally.  There are goals to this life--the Kingdom of God.  Salvation.  Eternal Life.  I want to rejoice in heaven with the rest of you someday.  One of the ways that my salvation is being worked out--every day, every minute, every second--is through serving my family.  I want to be the best wife and mom that I can.  I want to do this because I love my husband and my children, and also because this is the task God has given me.  I intend to do it to the best of my abilities.  There are millions of ways to go about this, but my heart has been inspired to focus on a couple in particular.

I'm kicking off with money.  My contribution to the family finances lies solely in spending.  So, I'm going to spend less.  Easy enough, right?  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for me, this started with me having to swallow my pride (big time) and ask my husband for help.  Primarily, a budget.  I have had budgets before, but I never was very good at sticking to them for long.  Plus, the needs of our family have changed since our last budget check.  So, I had The Conversation.  It took me days to work up the courage/pride-swallowing-ability to bring it up.  I think I shocked Fr. John, but in the good way (I hope).

Number two step was to figure out ways to spend less.  My spending is strictly household/fun related.  Fr. John pays the bills, I do all the shopping.  I read a gazillion articles (thanks Pinterest!) and came up with my plan of attack.

Step one is meal planning. Every article I read praised making a plan and a corresponding grocery list as the number one way to spend less.  Fr. John encouraged me to go for a two week meal plan, instead of a full month, in hopes that I won't get in over my head.

Step two is to grocery shop tactically.  Go armed with your list (and coupons if you've got them), and stick to it.

Step three is to do as much of the prep work as you can.  This is less of a money saving thing, and more of a "don't waste what you just bought" thing.  So, I guess it is a saving thing.   Who knew?

There are other fringe benefits to this plan, that have nothing to do with money.  If I shop for what I want to make, and actually make it, we will eat healthier.  I've wanted for ages to pare down on our processed food consumption, but pregnancy and a newborn have made that a low priority.  I'm working now on slowly, SLOWLY weeding out the junk and making more from scratch.  Again attempting not to become overwhelmed.

So far, so good.  I made a menu, shopped, and have completed about 2/3 of my prep.  My major problem has been time.  I forgot what it's like to attempt to do any kind of major project with a newborn around.  My initial plan was one afternoon of meal prep.  So far, I'm on day three of trying to get it all done.  Slowly but surely it's coming together.

 Thank you for visitng Khouria's Neighborhood.  Here are links to "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.