When You're Over the Target...

...you're catching flack.

Ever heard that saying? Our pastor has used it more than once in the last few months and it seems to resonate in our lives lately. The Coach has experienced some struggles in his school over the last month or so and the stress of it weighs on him heavily. As his helpmeet I really desire to help him. I hate seeing him wade through the waters of discontent and discouragement. Although I know God's plans for our lives may include a little refining fire it is still hard.

Beth Moore posted about this topic today and I love love love the way she broke it down. "We don't understand that the pressures we face getting to our places of full-throttle effectiveness in Christ are crucial for developing the muscle to sustain ministry there. He's developing the character the calling requires...Satan will never oppose us more than when he thinks we're onto our callings. Bet on that."

I need to release the anxiety, trust in God's plans and provisions for our family and press on because, when you're over the target...

Menu Planning

Stranger-Friends: "Two weeks in a row? What? "

Me: "I know. It seems a bit out of character. I'm doing something - dare I say it? - consistently."

Monday - Chicken & Rice w/Green Beans
Tuesday - Spicy Beans & cornbread
Wednesday -Chicken Quesdadillas
Thursday - BBQ Baked Potatoes
Friday - Homemade Pizza

Be sure you check out the other great menus at Org Junkie!

I would encourage you all to watch the premiere of "A Raisin In The Sun" tonight on ABC. We will be firmly planted on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and our fuzzy blankies.

from the ABC website...

The title "Raisin in the Sun" comes from the opening lines of "Harlem", a poem by Langston Hughes: "What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?".

"A Raisin in the Sun" tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s. A fiercely moving portrait of people whose hopes and dreams are constantly deferred, Ms. Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. It premiered in 1959 with a cast that included Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Ruby Dee and Louis Gossett Jr. The critically acclaimed work was honored with the 1959 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best American play. A Columbia Pictures feature with the same cast followed in 1961. The classic, still-relevant story now will be showcased in this totally new television movie adaptation.

Sean Combs, who reprises the role of Walter Lee, Jr. which brought him acclaim, stars in the highly anticipated, special three-hour television movie adaptation from Sony Pictures Television of "A Raisin in the Sun," along with the cast of the award-winning Broadway revival who recreate their roles for the new film, including Emmy and Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad, four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Tony Award nominee Sanaa Lathan, plus "ER" star John Stamos.

Phylicia Rashad won the Best Actress Tony Award for her role in "Raisin" -- becoming the first African American actress to ever win the Tony in this category. Audra McDonald won the Best Featured Actress Tony Award for her role in the play, and Sanaa Lathan was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress for her performance.

Stranger-Friends, don't miss this! Take this opportunity to soak in a great story. More than a civil rights story - it's a story about personal integrity, family, and love. It's a human story.

GERMS!

Stranger-Friends,

What's going on with all the germs? Seems like everyone we know is sick, trying to get sick, or just got over being sick. Including me. I can't quite shake the congestion & coughing.

I subbed at the elementary school last Monday and I was one of about 5 or 6 subs in the building!! Then a good friend subbed Thursday and Friday and now, guess what?? Yep! She's sick. Taking "tami-germ" and trying to get as much rest as possible when you have 4 kids (ages 2-9) and a sick hubby! Ouch!!

Well, I pray this post finds you all feeling well. I hope no germies have come to live in your house or, worse yet, your body!

Love to you all,
Christie

No Child Left Behind??

This football version of "No Child Left Behind" is hilarious.

Teaching with the belief that all children can learn is a necessity, but extending it to a required level of excellence for all results in mediocrity for most.

1. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If after two years they have not won the championship their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!

3. Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instruction.. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th game. This will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals.


Kinda puts it in perspective, huh?

Makin' My Menu

I've not participated in Menu Plan Monday in quite a while. I'd love to say that it had nothing to do with the fact that I wasn't actually menu planning, but.....Here's to gettin' back on track!

Here's what The Coach & kiddos will be munching on this week.

MONDAY

Breakfast...Blueberry Pancakes

Dinner...Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce, salad & garlic bread sticks

TUESDAY

Breakfast...Banana Bread

Dinner...Hamburger Pinwheels, green beans & steamed carrots

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast...Oatmeal Muffins

Dinner...Red Beans & Rice and corn muffins

THURSDAY

Breakfast...French Toast

Dinner...Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, edamame & corn

FRIDAY

Breakfast...Cereal

Dinner...Homemade Pizza

Be sure to stop by I'm An Organizing Junkie for other great menus.

Stuff

I have not always been the minimalist that I am today. The Coach sorta forced me into that role when, shortly after we married, he inadvertantly threw away several boxes of keepsake things (old piano awards, an entire box of piano music, yearbooks, etc) and even broke my mom's childhood piggy bank. I know it sounds really bad, but I must admit that nearly 10 yrs later I really haven't missed that stuff at all. Mainly, because that is what it was...stuff.


I was quite pleased with the fact that we are minimalists (by my definition anyway) everytime we've had to move and again last night. We needed a new couch for the living room since our IKEA futon/couch thingy was showing it's age and, frankly, horribly uncomfortable. The Coach was to bring home a new 45-degree sectional and I had to empty the living room all. by. myself. I've never been so happy to only have one cabinet full of stuff. Ok, there's that word again! Stuff.


Inspired by Megan's conviction (I'm still in denial regarding my stuff...because did I tell you? I'm a minimalist!) and Meredith's cheerful frugality, I searched Craig's List for days and found several pieces I'd love to have in my home, but not for the low-low price of 2K! But look what a couple of coaches brought to my house last night!



I was so excited about this piece for many reasons...1) it cost us $150 + $30 for the coach's gas and 2) it was re-upholstered in the last year and steamed cleaned before we picked it up.


Alright, stranger-friends I must admit that I'm feeling pretty good about buying a secondhand sofa. :) I didn't contribute to the consumerism conspiracy and I've kept a very large item from a landfill near you!


From The Story of Stuff...


"Buying used items keeps them out of the trash and avoids the upstream waste created during extraction and production."


"The more we visibly engage in re-use over wasting, the more we cultivate a new cultural norm, or actually, reclaim an old one! "