April 29

April 28: Turkey Burgers and a Charred Soul

That's a good collage today, probably because there was a good day to go with it. I was telling my sister about these awesome turkey burgers we make, so of course I had to go home and make them for dinner tonight. They really are good! And even if you turn your nose up at the thought of a "turkey burger," this one might change your mind. Make the patty however you like--I usually add garlic powder, dried chopped onions, dried parsley, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and a little paprika to the ground turkey along with an egg and some bread crumbs. The turkey falls apart easily, and those last few things help it hold together better. Tonight I also added some pork sausage to the turkey, so really make it however you like it.

We don't eat ours with buns, which originally started because I forgot to get them at the store, every time. Now it's because they're extra carbs we don't need, and you couldn't fit all the awesome toppings on it anyways. Smear a little mayo on the top, drizzle with some mustard, add a decent helping of dill relish, and top with a pile of caramelized onions. You will never want another burger again. I promise. 

As I was getting dinner ready, I was thinking about our choice to give up red meat about 6 or 7 years ago. It was the beginning of a new year, and in an effort to "get healthy," I resolved that we were going to give up red meat and pop. My husband wasn't thrilled about the decision, as you can imagine, but he loves me and decided to go along with it, at least for a little while. 

Even though there would be no more burgers. 

Or steak. 

Many a good man would've cracked under such pressure. It was right around the time when all that pink slime stuff started coming out, which made the decision easier for me at least. We could still eat a steak at Outback Steakhouse a couple times a year, I just wasn't going to cook it at home anymore.

I lasted a month or so without pop before I caved and bought some again, but we kept up with the meat part. A few months into it, my husband mentioned that he wanted "beefy spaghetti" for dinner that week, which I hadn't made in a long time, for obvious reasons. I figured, well, he's been a great sport with the whole thing thus far, so I went ahead and got ground beef to make spaghetti with meat sauce. 

As soon as I cracked open the package to cook it on the stove, I was disgusted by the smell of the raw beef. The blood in the package was gross to look at. I gagged a little as it was browning, and the smell didn't go away as it cooked. Right about then my husband walked in the door, and immediately he said, "what is that awful smell?!?!?!" 

Naturally, I told him it was the beefy spaghetti HE wanted for dinner, to which he replied that he figured I'd make the meat sauce with turkey instead of beef. That he didn't actually want beef, just that meal. I suppose I should've clarified. I thought it was safe to assume that "beefy spaghetti" did in fact mean "beefy" spaghetti, but that's the thrill of communication folks--it's not always received how you intended. 

I think we ate it, but neither one of us liked it. We were both kind of amazed that something we thought we couldn't live without just a few months before was almost unbearable to be in the same room with now. That's desensitization for you right there. It's funny how we get in a pattern of doing life--the things we eat, the things we do, the people we hang around--and it becomes our normal. But normal isn't really the goal, is it? The goal shouldn't be to have a  "normal" life, simply surviving day to day and going through the motions. The goal should be to THRIVE! To allow the Lord to strip back what hinders us and weighs us down so that we can run the race of life set before us in freedom, with endurance and perseverance.

So what is that thing in your life that you're holding onto so desperately but might not be very good for you? In fact, it might actually be holding you back from the abundant life the Lord has called you to. And I sincerely apologize to all you steak lovers out there at this point, as I realize I'm making beef the enemy in this analogy… But the point is still a valid one, nonetheless. 

Sometimes we need to make the hard choice to let it go, whatever it is, because although the process of letting go can be very difficult and painful at times, the result is hope, freedom, and new life. Once you allow the Lord to break it's hold on your life and you've created some distance, you may be surprised that you ever liked it so much in the first place. You may even be disgusted by it. You may notice, for the first time, how desensitized you'd become. And that process happens so easily, friends. It's slow and sneaky and you don't even realize it's happening. Like a frog slowly simmering in a pot of water until it boils, our souls are charring and we can't even feel it. 

The more we allow the Lord to strip back the layers of ourselves, the more we will find Him and see His awesome power move in and through us. What might He be calling you to lay down?

If you enjoy what you read, please SHARE it with your friends!

April 27

My diet today was as follows: Basta salad for breakfast, coffee, a bite of a church pastry, ranch/hot sauce with a side of chicken tenders and fries for lunch, a handful of strawberries, more coffee, and a bowl of pasta & sauce with sausage for dinner. And then a cupcake. 

I have a feeling that I will regret this day the next time I step on the scale at Marc's. And that's not awkward at all, by the way. You know, weighing yourself in front of all the other patrons as they exit the store…. Right.

But those cupcakes are awesome. I keep making them, so it naturally follows that I eat them. Because it's definitely that one cupcake that's the problem here. 

*cheers*

April 26: The Artist Within: Jen's Birthday Abduction

To celebrate my sister Jen's Birthday, we showed up in the morning with coffee & doughnuts and took her to a painting class in the afternoon. Great food, lots of laughs, some mad painting skillz, and a really good time!! Our day in photos:

Ah, the proverbial blank canvas...

Birthday girl

"Maybe if you weren't so self-loathing you would enjoy yourself more."

BWAHAHA.

#sistersforevs

Ta-Da!! 

And what would a birthday celebration be without some shopping…

Happy Birthday Jen!! 

April 25: Don't Wait Until You're Dying to Really Live

I have this thing where I try to kill my husband every night.


I'll notice a wince, or he will mention that something has been hurting, and it will start this internal storm with the blustery winds of worry howling that he's dying, leaving me with no husband, no job and four kids to raise by myself. I rush to my WebMD app to find the worst possible scenario and confirm my fears. Because it always does, you know. Whatever symptom you look up, it will let you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have a life-threatening condition.

Jacqui Roberts, WebMD, is not an official degree, my husband reminds me {although I am RIGHT most of the time…. haha}. I've also seen Patch Adams and watched many seasons of ER and Grey's Anatomy in the past, so does that count?

This occurs so often, though, that he says "it wouldn't be a normal night at the Roberts house if you didn't try to kill me." I don't even have to say anything anymore--I must get this look in my eyes or something, because he just KNOWS when I'm thinking it.

He also says, "we are ALL dying."

And isn't that the truth? We are. In fact, you are more dead today then you were yesterday. We get older, more saggy, more baggy, and more dead with each passing day. But we don't like to think about that, do we? Facing our own mortality can be scary on many levels, but it is certain and unavoidable. So if we are all in the process of dying, why don't we live like it?


Because there's always tomorrow.


But there isn't, really. No one knows when, but at some point, tomorrow will not come like it always has in the past. Tomorrow is deceitful, and like a sleazy used car salesman, it promises time and experiences that it cannot deliver. Tomorrow, later, and not yet are thieves--they rob you of the joy, results, growth, confidence, and wisdom that come with the hard work of living intentionally TODAY. 

Living intentionally is HARD, and that's another reason we don't do it. It takes effort, hard work, planning, and sacrifice. It's so much easier to put something off…until tomorrow. Or next year. Or when the kids are in school. Or when we move. Or when we have more money...


What are you waiting for?


What if you got out of bed tomorrow morning, assuming for the sake of the question that it comes, and actually lived like you were dying? How would that affect the way you spent your time, the way you treated people? How would that change your attitude, your priorities?

What if that was the last day you saw your husband? Would that issue you're fighting about really be that important?


What if that was the last day you saw your child? Do they know beyond a doubt that they are cherished and dearly loved?


What if that was the last day you will ever speak to your parents? Your co-worker? Your neighbor?


What about that class you wanted to take? That friend you wanted to get in touch with? That apology you needed to make? That person you needed to forgive?

What if...tomorrow never comes?


Do it TODAY. 


Do it NOW.


Because tomorrow is a lie.


Living intentionally doesn't require grand gestures or world travels or big charades--it simply requires focus. Your heart and mind set on a goal, and running daily towards that goal with everything you have. It will be tiring, and hard, and scary. But it will also be wonderful, and exhilarating, and totally worth it. It will pay exponentially in a life well-lived, in no regrets, in a meaningful legacy.

Don't wait until you're dying to really live. You're already dying, so what are you waiting for??



Live today.

Love today.

With no regrets.




Sincerely,

Jacqui Roberts, Web.M.D.








SHARE the love and pass it on!!!

April 24

April 23

When we first met the neighbor kids, Clayton came running back inside and said, "Mom!! Did you know that the boy's name is Bagel?!?!" 

I responded, "no honey, his name is Vega." 

"Oh," he said, "well, Toby thinks his name is Bagel and that's what he's calling him."

We both started cracking up, and I seriously laughed for twenty minutes straight. 

I'm still laughing. 

And Toby still calls him Bagel. 

#poorkid 

#idie #laughing

April 22: Living Life through the Eyes of a Child

Toby wanted sour cream on top of his ham and cheese sandwich at lunch today.



I know. I was thinking the same thing.



This was the same sandwich he agreed to eat for lunch just moments before, only to be grossed out upon its perfectly toasted completion. So he wanted sour cream on top, because that makes it better. I tried to convince him to have it on the side, or maybe with ranch instead. But no, the verdict was in: sour cream on top. Hey, I like to choose my battles, and if that makes it edible to him, so be it.

He didn't just eat it, he LOVED IT! He was quick to say that we should have this every day for lunch. Who knew sour cream was such a stealthy negotiator in advocating the cause of the ham and cheese sandwich.

I couldn't help but smile as I sat there and watched him try to eat this sandwich without touching the sour cream. After each bite he would wipe his bright white lips clean. That never gets old, you know: the silly things that kids think and do, the funny things they say. Watching each of them develop from a tiny, helpless baby into a walking, talking, thinking personality, a unique soul with desires, passions, and strengths of their own. I could keep having more babies for that reason alone.

And I began to think, when did we start to care about what we're "allowed" to put on a sandwich? When did we lose that awesome ability to say what we think, mean what we say, and not feel bad about it? When did we start caring so much about what others think that we became ashamed of our true selves, burying them under layers upon layers of hurt, expectations, lies, doubt and fear?



He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. {Matthew 18:2-4 NIV}



For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me. {Matthew 18:2-5 MSG}



Unless you return to square one. Become simple and elemental again. Back to a time when we danced like no one's watching, sang like nobody's listening, and loved like we'd never been hurt. Back to a time when the only thing that mattered was our Father's approval, and we didn't have a worry in the world because we trusted his perfect love for us. Back to a time when we looked at the world around us with a sense of wonder and amazement. What would life look like if we lived it through the eyes of a child again?

Children have a way of looking at life that is contagious. They are enamored with the simple things, and it brings them great joy. When is the last time you went on a walk with a three-year-old? If it's been a while, please allow me to refresh your memory. On this walk, you will be shocked to find that the child will not behave in the same manner as you. The child will not move as quickly as you'd like or even stay on the sidewalk. In fact, just expect their behavior to be the opposite of yours. You will be focused on walking, and he will be running off to check out that bug or touch something in the neighbors yard or stop to pick the dandelion by the driveway. The child is truly present, soaking in every inch of that walk and the beauty of nature, while you are concerned about the fact that he trampled through your neighbors flowerbed, worried that he might run into the road, and frustrated that he cannot seem to walk like he's supposed to, on the sidewalk at a moderate pace. Like you.



But the child doesn't care about any of that. He's too busy enjoying the walk, the simple things in life.

Not that those other things are aren't important, either! You should be concerned about safety and respecting property, but so often we let those things get in the way and cloud what really matters, which is the walk itself. We need to allow the Lord to strip back all the layers of


I should...

I really need to...

Everyone expects me to...

What will they think if...

If only I...


Down to the truest form of ourselves, so that we can really live and enjoy the walk of life how it's meant to be: free from the many layers of guilt, hurt, expectations, doubt, and fear. I love how the Lord, in his amazing grace, gives us the blessing of children so that we can better see ourselves. They open our eyes to things that are more difficult to see in ourselves, and the God of redemption offers us a road back to a time when life was more simple and more joyful. A chance to change our perspective and view the world through a different lense.



So put some sour cream on your sandwich, or eat it however YOU like it, and live life through the eyes of a child today.


I won't judge. ;)






Who are you underneath all those layers? Do you find yourself able to live in child-like freedom, or has your true self been buried deep inside?



How have the children in your life taught you more about yourself? About God?








If you enjoy what you read, please SHARE it with your friends!

April 21: A Taste of Summer: Our Day in Photos

It's the last day of a nice long holiday weekend, and it's a beautiful day!! Here's the day in photos...

I can't handle all the cuteness. It's too much.

Rock on sista. #kissanyone?

Um, it's bath night.

And to all a good night.

April 20: Easter Sunday

Easter baskets, check.

Everyone ready & to church on time, check. Yes, miracles do happen. He is risen, after all!!

Family photo, check. And also, BWAHAHAHA!!

Excellent lunch, check. Eva is a cheesehead. She can't help it. It's in her blood.

Major power outage, check.

And now for some much needed rest...

April 19: Then and Now

Last year at this time--they look so little!!