Building Muscles of Faith

You've probably heard this before, but it bears repeating:

I've been a Christian since I was very young.  I grew up in the church.  Heard every Bible story more than a hundred times.  I've sung all the songs, and memorized Bible verses. Although there is significant value to the ground work laid in my life, nothing compares to actually living out my faith over the course of this life.

Doug and I just became aware today of some potential challenges in our near future.  Now this information could have rocked my world, but today it didn't.  I pondered on that a lot tonight and all that I've come up with is one of two things:  

1) The possible enormity of it hasn't truly hit me OR (this is the one I'm going with)

2) After experiencing more than 2 decades of God's faithfulness in our lives I am choosing to trust Him, and not worry. 

He's got us in His hands.  He has never let us down, so for tonight I will go to sleep resting in that promise.

How strong is your faith muscle?  Exercise it by trusting His plan over yours.  He is part of your waking, working, playing, planning, and resting. Let Him be your everything.

Movin' On Up

If you follow me on Facebook you may have seen this picture recently.  Our company, Hull's Construction, has always operated out of our home.  The house we live in now is great, but does not have much room for office space.  Truthfully it has none.  I work out from a computer cabinet in our living room and my husband is set up at the kitchen counter.

Over the past few months we have been discussing the possibility of leasing office space here in town.  Well, it has finally come to pass! I'm excited and nervous at the same time. To increase our overhead is a little scary to me, but it's what I've been praying for all year.  Not just space, but someone to help take over a lot of the bookkeeping that I do.  It is not my gift, nor my passion.  I've come to realize that I'm a better person doing what it is that I'm good at and brings me joy.  A friend of mine posted this saying today, and it fits the season I'm in, and hope to stay in regarding why I do what I do.

While doing my devotions this morning I read some "blessed are those" statements in Psalm 84.

"Blessed are those who dwell in your house/ they are ever praising You".

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You".

"Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in You."

I feel reassured about stepping out with this dream.  Doug and I have always trusted God to lead us, and in the ups AND downs we have ever praised Him.  Our strength in God is built most when our faith has been tested.  What I know is that we will never grow and experience all that He has for us if we don't DREAM BIG and trust His leading.

I'm truly excited and feel blessed to be moving towards new goals, dreams, and possibilities.  Do you have a BIG DREAM? Have you even dared to wish for doing more of what makes you happy? I encourage you to find what that is.  Check out Jon Acuff's book START: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters to learn how....and of course always DWELL with God, find your STRENGTH in Him, and TRUST the Lord Almighty!

Domestic Goddess

Last Monday I posted this picture on my Facebook page stating that I was going to declare Mondays my "Domesic Goddess" day.  Too bad I'm such a squirrel and have yet to do anything domestic other than throwing a load of laundry in.

Here it is 10:45 a.m. and I've got kids and hubby off to start their day, had my Strawberry/Oatmeal  Shakeology for breakfast, and ran 4 miles and got my Focus T25 with Shaun T workout done for the day.

My house is a mess and the laundry overflows.  On top of that there is a lot of paperwork/billing and such to do for our business.  Seriously.  Guess I best log off now.  Happy Monday!

Soup's On!

On of the things I love about the leaves turing and temperatures dropping is making comfort food.  My daughter has picked up on this and has been asking for soup for the past few days, so today I happily obliged.

Chicken Apple Sausage Soup:

2-4 cups of butternut squash (I get the kind that are cubed in bags at Trader Joe's and use 2 bags)
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper

2 TB Butter
2 TB Olive Oil
1/2 of an onion diced
4 sausage links, chopped
1 TB diced/minced garlic

1 Cup of barley
1/2 cup white wine
4-6 cups of chicken broth (Reserve about 2 cups for squash puree)
1 Tsp. of Thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste

Roast squash according to directions on the bag. While those are roasting:

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet.  Add onion and cook until translucent.  Add chopped sausage and garlic.  Cook until sausage is browned.

Once sausage is browned add uncooked barley, 1/2 cup of wine, and about 2 cups of broth. Stir and add more broth 1 cup at a time as it is absorbed. Add Thyme, and salt & pepper.  Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Once squash is roasted, add to a blender with reserved chicken broth and puree.  Add this to the skillet along with the rest of the broth to desired consistency.