How to Make Sugar Free Crock Pot Persimmon Applesauce

The other day, I got a call from some friendly acquaintances, asking me if I wanted some persimmon. They have a rental property in CA that has two different kinds of persimmon trees. At the time I had never heard of persimmon, but what the heck, it is fruit and it’s free. Awesome!!

On my way over to pick up the fruit, I got the idea to invite them to church. My church is finally, after several months of work, moving from a school to a dedicated building and I thought it the perfect occasion to ask them to join me.

            So, for me, to actually do this is a really big deal. Don’t ask me why, but the idea of asking people I don’t know very well to church terrifies me. Honestly, I really don’t even like to talk to too many people I don’t already know. I only know three people in the Reno area, outside of the people I know from church or BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), and this couple qualified as two of them. I suppose I am afraid of offending someone or overstepping. As I tell you this, I want to clarify, this is NOT OK. It is not OK to be more concerned with offending other people than offending God. Your relationship with your Heavenly Father is the most important relationship you will ever have, don’t take it for granted!! However, the only way to overcome a fear like this is to ask for His help and guidance.

            Well, with a strong conviction, I invited them to church. I originally asked the husband, as he was the one I was talking to at the time. He declined politely, then his wife spoke up and told me she wanted go. She told me she had been thinking of going back to church all of last week. Excited to see that it really was the Holy Spirit telling me to invite them, I offered to pick her up and take her this Sunday.

            Tomorrow is Sunday. I called her today to confirm and she sounded excited to go!! I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I don’t know if she will ever come back after tomorrow. But I feel completely blessed and excited that God helped me get past my fear and I get to be apart of my friend’s journey. The idea that God could use me to fulfill any part of his purpose in this woman’s life is simply incredible!! So, when you feel called to spread the word of the Gospel, or invite someone to lunch or breakfast, in conjunction with going to church, know that the blessing you receive for doing his will is completely worth the possibility of an uncomfortable decline.

            While that was the excitement of the day in my world, I still had a lot of free fruit to use. After a bit of research, I have come up with a few uses for this fruit, persimmon.

            First of all, there are two types of persimmon trees, Hachiya and Fuyu. My friends gave me some of both. The Hachiya Persimmon fruit has a lot of tannins and needs to ripen fully before using. If they are not fully ripe, they have an astringent/bitter taste. So my Hachiya Persimmon fruit are in a box on my front porch as they finish ripening.

            The Fuyu Persimmon I was given is fully ripe, ready to use and really sweet. Almost a little too sweet for me, however, my two year old loved it!!

            I played around with it a little and came up with a really good applesauce recipe, using the Fuyu Persimmon. I used 6 (very small) organic apples and 3 persimmons. It is completely toddler and husband approved, and it is sugar free!!

 

• 6 apples
• 3 persimmons
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ¾ cup of water

 

1. Peel and chop all apples and persimmons.
2. Add to crock Pot with cinnamon stick and water
3. Cook in crock pot on high for 5 hours.
4. Remove the cinnamon stick, strain, blend and put in storage containers.

Easy Peasy!!

Check out the really cool reusable fruit pouches I use for my little one!! This saves me so much money on our grocery bill. Refilling these things is much less expensive than buying the organic applesauce pouches from the store!!! Here is the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Yummi-Pouch-Set-of-6/dp/B00AJFHG8A/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1383453208&sr=8-11&keywords=reusable+pouches

 

 

Has God been calling you to do something you are afraid of doing? Do you care more about the opinion of your friends than of God’s? Will you “put yourself out there” to be apart of God’s plan?

 

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 

1 Thessalonians 2:4 (ESV)

4 t just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

 

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My Calling as a Wife and Mother: Why I Do What I Do

It’s been awhile…….

My household has been through a very busy season. Between moving into a new house and potty training, I haven’t been able to devote a lot of time to this blog. Hopefully, now that we are all moved in, I will be able to free up some time to write.

I love writing this blog!! I love the idea that I may be able to use my experience to help people; whether it be sharing a wonderful recipe or cleaning tip, or giving perspective on body image or any other trials many of us Mommies go through. I love the fact that I can write about how wonderful God is and how he is constantly changing my heart and my life!!!!

But as much as I love to write this blog, I am a wife and a mommy first. My family’s needs must be my top priority. This is not only because I love them more than anything (other than God) but because this is my true calling. God has called me to be a wife and mother, and to give it everything I’ve got.

 Am I a perfect mom? Nope!! Is my home always impeccably clean? I wish!! In fact, I am a mom who gets exasperated at times!! Sometimes, I just sit here and pray for God to help my two year old because I have no idea how to handle him. Sometimes I feel like praying that all the dishes in my sink would be divinely clean….and put away!!

The only hope I have in this mission is that I know I can ask God for help when I feel like I’m not up to par. Sometimes a simple prayer is all I need to get my crying child to finally go to sleep. So far, God hasn’t cleaned my dishes for me, but he has changed my heart and given me the energy and motivation to do so myself.

Titus 2:4 says that older women are to “train the young women to love their husbands and children.” That is something I am hoping to do through this blog. My main purpose is not to train anyone to be an excellent cook or keep a perfect home. My purpose is to remind you why you do it. Because we love our husbands and children!! Taking good care of them is how we best show them our love. Taking good care of them is how we Glorify God!!! He loves them more than we do and he gave us the honor of extending that love to them!!

But in order to tell you, my readers, how to love your husbands and children, I have to be sure my priorities are right. And sometimes, that means you may not hear from me in a while.

Will I fall immeasurably short sometimes?  Absolutely!! Will my child make me cry? You can bet on it!! Will I go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink? More times than I would like to admit. Will it be worth all of the tears, self-doubt and complete dependency on God? Most definitely!! If I have learned nothing else in my thirty-something years of life, I have learned that God’s will is perfect and the joy I get from perusing his call is worth far more than a lifetime of my former salary. Sometimes he has to remind me of how joyful these days can be, but when he does, my heart sings!!

This makes my Heart Sing!!

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 

Titus 2:3-5 (ESV)

3Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the work of God may not be reviled.

 

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Banana Berry Trifle : Guilt Free, Gluten/Grain Free, Dairy Free and Refined Sugar Free

 

“All my life I live to follow

You alone as you change my desires

Liberated by the blood of Jesus

I’ve found life in the sweetness of freedom”

 

Tonight, as I stood in my kitchen, slicing strawberries for a yummy fruity dessert, I listened to this Citizen’s song, Sweetness Of Freedom. It made me think about how sweet our freedom in Christ really is.

 

I am so far from perfect. I sin every day. I sin thousands of times a day. It may be in an act, it may be in a thought or even in the absence of some sort of action. I usually don’t even realize when I’m doing it. Sometimes, I don’t even realize when I’ve already done it.

 

Sin can be tricky. What exactly is sin? When you Google sin, this is what you get: An immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. What constitutes an immoral act? What exactly is divine law? Divine Law is defined as a law that is believed to come directly from God. So I’m thinking 10 commandments. The 10 Commandments are laws that come directly from God. If we can follow all of the 10 commandments we can be free from sin? Don’t steal, don’t lie and don’t cheat on your spouse. That shouldn’t be too hard, at least you wouldn't think so.

 

So, with an easy set of rules, how do I find myself sinning all the time? There are too many answers to that question to put into one blog post. I can start with the first commandment and I’m already done before breakfast. “You shall have no other God’s before me.” Every morning, when I step on the scale, and I let it define the start of my day, I make my body image a god. I make that number a god. If I’m up a pound, I messed up and it’s going to be a bad day, if I’m down a pound, I feel proud and good all morning. The correct way to start my day would be to ditch the scale and start with a prayer, asking God to define my day; asking God to give me a great day. But generally, I turn to the scale to give me a good day. How do you know if you are making something a God? What pulls your focus from God? What do you esteem higher than God? It could be your job or your spouse; it could even be your kids. These are all good and important things. If you make God your God, he will help you to love and serve all of these better than you could without him.

 

That is one example of one of my common sins. It’s not something I purposely do; it’s just the direction my heart tends to follow. My heart is selfish and I will always, without the help of God, work to glorify myself.

 

You may be wondering how I can find my sin sweet. My sin is not sweet. My sin is pretty awful. Where I find the sweetness is in Jesus. Jesus took my heart and changed it. He took my desires and gave me his desires. I don’t have to feel defeated because of my sin because Jesus defeated my sin. He paid for all of the sins I have ever committed. He paid for all of the sins I have yet to commit. What do I have to give for this sweet freedom? Nothing!! All I have to do is believe and trust him. He does all of the work. I don’t try not to sin because I am afraid of going to Hell or that I fear I will make God mad at me. I try not to sin because Jesus changed my heart and made me not want to sin. I try to not sin because I love Jesus and want to do things that make him happy. I’m kind of like my two year old that way. When he does something we like, he tries to do it over and over because he likes making us happy with him; because he loves us. That's pretty sweet!! What is sweeter is that we love him whether he does things to please us or not. Our love is unconditional, as God’s love for us is unconditional. We are his adopted children and he loves us, even though we sin thousands of times a day!!

 

Speaking of sweetness, here is the recipe for the so very yummy and sweet Banana Berry Trifle I was working on when listening to this song. It is gluten/grain free, dairy free and refined sugar free!! And completely Guilt Free!!

 

Banana Berry Trifle

Here’s what you need:

·         1 or 2 Cans of Full Fat Coconut Milk (refrigerated overnight)

·         2 Lbs. of Strawberries (give or take, it depends on how many layers and how thick you layer them)

·         5 Bananas (give or take a banana, I had extra and froze them for future banana/peanut butter ice cream)

·         About ¼ cup of Real Maple Syrup (check the label for any other ingredients, there shouldn’t be any)

·         About 2 tsp. of Cinnamon (to taste)

·         About 1 tsp. of Nutmeg(to taste)

·         Extra Berries for Topping (I had blueberries and raspberries)

·         Glass bowl or Large Glass Measuring Bowl or a Trifle Bowl (something glass and deep)

 

 

 

1.      Core and slice the strawberries. I use an egg slicer to do the slicing. This makes the strawberries a uniform size and takes a tenth of the time. Set the bowl of strawberries aside.

2.      Peel and slice the bananas, set aside.

3.      Remove thick fatty portion of Coconut milk. I strain mine. Save and refrigerate the thin portion for something else. I have been using the leftover milk for a DIY all natural shampoo I’m working on. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

4.      Whip the coconut cream with a mixer until it starts to form peaks, like whipped cream. I use my stand mixer but I’m sure you can use a hand mixer.

5.      Add Maple Syrup, preferably while still mixing the cream. This could take a little more or a little less, depending on how sweet you want it. Keep in mind the strawberries and bananas are already pretty sweet, so a little does a lot.

6.      Add cinnamon and nutmeg while still mixing. As with the syrup, I do this to taste, too, measurments aren't exact.

7.      Mix until you get medium peaks. I have never got this cream to make stiff peaks, but it will make medium peaks. It’s done if it stands up when you lift the mixer out of the cream.

8.      Put Cream in the freezer and continue to do this between layers. (You may not need to do this if your house is pretty cool, it was upwards of 90 degrees here)

I filled in bananas after the picture!!

9.      Layer the bottom of the glass bowl with strawberries. I try to make my strawberry layer somewhat thick so you can see the layers through the cream. Start with strawberries, not bananas, because the bananas change color after being out of the peel too long.

10.  Layer the bananas then cover with cream.

11.  Repeat the layering process until you are out of strawberries, bananas or cream, or until you run out of room in your bowl.

12.  Top with whatever berries you have on hand. Do not top with bananas. I also usually make the top cream layer a little thicker than the other layers.

Put in the freezer until ready to serve.

These measurements are what I used to make this in my trifle bowl, which is a fairly large size. If making for yourself or your family only, you can make this much smaller with only half of the ingredients.

 

Leftovers are wonderful for breakfast!!!

 

I hope you enjoy the sweetness of this dessert and the sweetness of Christ!!

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 

 

                                        





                 

Sweetness of Freedom

By the Citizens

Verse 1

Within my heart’s a rebellious side

Conflicting with the Spirit’s desire

To keep my heart in step with you

So I do not do what I want to do

Verse 2

Only you have the power to break

Every chain I placed around my neck

I heard your call from the pit of death

To surrender all and nothing less

Verse 3

Through the Spirit I have righteousness

Sweet victory over the flesh

I can walk with confidence in you

As you gratify my soul with truth

Chorus

All my life I live to follow

You alone as you change my desires

Liberated by the blood of Jesus

I’ve found life in the sweetness of freedom

 

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How I Washed My Pillows With Homemade Bleach

I feel like I haven’t written a post in a very long time!! Now that my energy is up, at least for now, I’m trying to get more accomplished around my house. I love writing this blog, but in order to tell you how I try and glorify God by serving my family, I have to make my family my priority. So this week, I have been scrubbing and dubbing my apartment (It’s a really large apartment). I’m preparing to move in a couple of months and the cleaner it is now, the easier it will be when we move out.

Lately, I’ve seen several pins on Pinterest about washing pillows. Really, I didn’t even know I was supposed to wash pillows. Well, these pins caused me to look at my uncased pillows. They definitely needed cleaning. I think one of our pillows actually came from my husband’s barracks room from 15 years ago (it was stuffed in the guest room closet).

I decided it was time to wash my pillows. Some of them had come back from a recent camping trip and were in desperate need of washing, some of them were just old.

So to Pinterest I went. I found several post on washing pillows, but I wasn’t really sure I wanted to do it as most suggested. One post seemed great, but would require making a detergent that used laundry soap, borax and dishwasher detergent. That seems like a lot of materials and time. Other articles suggested using chlorine bleach. I don’t even have chlorine bleach in my house. So I decided to wash my pillows using my own homemade laundry detergent (I will share in a future post, I’m still working on making it more green) and my homemade bleach alternative.

After a little research, I learned that bleach can be controversial. Some people love it, some people despise it. I could not find a real valid reason why we shouldn’t use bleach. Personally, I don’t like the smell and I don’t want my son exposed to it any more than necessary. I also have an issue with getting it on my cloths every single time I wash a load of whites. I have ruined so many shirts and my favorite (Lucky Brand) sweat pants. My homemade bleach works really well; it is inexpensive and does not damage my clothes. I can wash my son’s multicolored/white t-shirts and not fade the colors. I also don’t have to worry about chemical reactions from mixing it with other chemicals.

·         One gallon jug (empty, I used an old vinegar jug)

·         1 cup of peroxide

·         1 cup of vinegar or lemon juice

·         Water

·         Lemon essential oil (optional)

Mix peroxide and vinegar in jug. Add water to fill. Add about 10 drops of essential oil.

This mixture will last up to a month in a regular, semi clear bottle. If you put it in a dark bottle, like the kind peroxide comes in, it will last three months. Peroxide turns to water after prolonged exposure to light. I spray painted a couple of old vinegar bottles black and covered with a little mod podge (it’s what I had on hand) to keep it from scratching off. You can make it cute or just functional, it’s up to you!!

As for the pillows, I put them in the washing machine on a normal cycle, with hot water. My washing machine has a soak option, so I let them soak in the washing machine for 30 minutes before the wash cycle started. You could easily do that by not starting the machine for 30 minutes if your machine doesn’t have that option.

Before: Nasty Camping pillow

 I used laundry soap and about 1 cup of my bleach alternative.

I washed two at a time, one on each side of washing tub to even the load.

After!! Clean, white pillow!! 

When the cycle was done, I used two dryer balls in the dryer with them to fluff them back up. You can also use tennis balls to do this.

I only lost two pillows (obviously very cheap pillows) and have more than 10 clean-like new pillows.

I feel so much better knowing my family is laying their heads on clean, like new pillows. And my husband is happy to have his old pillow back!! I don’t think he will get too much more time out of it, but I’m glad he’s happy and sleeping better for now.

The top pillow is a in a white pillow case to compare

         

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

24 If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:24 (ESV)

 

 

 

 

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14 Years and Finally Going Strong

Almost fifteen years ago I met a boy. I knew right away that this boy was different than the other boys. He dressed a little different, and didn’t really care what anyone thought of him. The chains on his wallet weighed more than a small child. He also had more tattoos than anyone I had ever met in person.

This boy seemed hard and distant to those who didn’t know him, but warmed up quickly after spending a little time with him. The first time we hung out, he told me repeatedly how much Jesus loves us. As we sat in his barracks room, drinking Miller Highlife and wine coolers, he introduced me to MXPX and the Dropkick Murphy’s. I remember thinking to myself, “maybe I should listen to my Mom for once and date a Christian.” I was a Christian, but my relationship with God was at best strained. I didn’t like people to tell me what to do, and that included God.

Fourteen years ago, today, August 2, I married that boy. I would love to say that we loved each other well for the last fourteen years, but that would be untruthful. We did love each other, probably the best we could at that time, but it wasn’t a lasting love. We both needed to learn to love better. Many years and many mistakes went by, while neither of us kept a real relationship with God. It seems year after year, we got further and further from him, making us drift further and further from each other. If we hadn’t been so complacent and lazy, we would have probably divorced somewhere around year seven.

We tried going to church several times in our early marriage, but got discouraged because we felt people judged us because of our tattoos or the way we dressed. Somewhere around our tenth year of marriage, my coworker and friend made me listen to his pastor on our lunch break. It was a sermon about humor in a series called Religion Saves and Nine other Misconceptions. The sermon was really funny and interesting. That night, I played it back to my husband. He was impressed and started listening to this Pastor’s sermons online. A few months later, we made the trip into Seattle to see this church for ourselves. The next week, we went to our most local service and kept going for several years until we moved out of state. This was not a church that judged people, it was a church that loved and taught people.

For the next year, God used this Preacher and Church to break us. Week after week it felt as though every sermon was specifically for us in our own way. By the end of our first year, we both had repented a lot to God and each other. We had not loved each other well. The problems in our marriage wasn’t his fault or my fault, they were our fault.

It took a lot of repentance and forgiveness, but God healed our marriage. I love my husband more now than I ever thought possible. God changed us, and is still changing us. He is teaching us to love like he does. Until we learned his love, we couldn’t love. I put my husband on a pedestal. Most people would say that is very loving, but they would be wrong. It is not love to hold someone to a standard that they cannot possibly live up to. To love him well means to love him with his imperfections and accept that he will disappoint me sometimes. Then I have to be ready to forgive him. To love him well means to realize I am not always right and may need to apologize sometimes. To love my husband well means to respect him. He is the head of our household. God put him in that position and who am I to argue with God? Does it mean I am his servant? Absolutely not!! But I am his helper, and I’m really good at helping. I also get real joy from taking care of my family.

Is my husband perfect? Nope! But he’s perfect for me!!

My husband is a strong and loving leader. He loves God and loves his family. He is generous and a really hard worker. He supports his family with everything he has. He is a wonderful father and a hero to our little boy. I could not imagine spending any part of my life without him. Outside of my salvation through Jesus Christ, my husband is my greatest blessing!! I thank God for giving me my husband and for making my marriage what it is today. I thank my husband for trying to love us like Jesus loves the church. I thank him for leading and supporting our family well. I thank him for loving us well. I can say with a confident heart, though not always perfect, my marriage has exceeded any expectation I may have ever had!!!

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Colossians 3:18,19

 

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When I Feel Like My Body is Attacking Me

Today I have a Doctor’s appointment. Today is the day I will hopefully start to find some answers. I probably will not find all the answers today, but I am happy to be headed in the right direction.

Almost two years ago, shortly after my son was born, I started to notice some physical differences. I gained a lot of weight (more than in my pregnancy), my hair started to fall out and I noticed I was always tired and fatigued. I was pretty worried, but wouldn’t take enough time off of work to go to the doctor.

At that time, we lived in western Washington. I consider Washington to be very progressive as far as natural health and green living are concerned. Some of my friends were dealing with their own health issues at the same time and their doctors recommended they stop eating gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat. It made a big difference with some of their symptoms, so I decided I would try it for a few days and see how I felt.

Three days after cutting out gluten, I felt a difference. My steps were lighter!! I specifically remember walking from my work car to the job site and realizing that I felt better. After work I was able to cook and clean with ease. It was a revelation to realize I wasn’t lazy, I was just really tired. A few days later, I stopped losing hair. One month later, I started eating gluten again, to see if there was a change, and I started losing hair in about five days.

Since then, I have lived mostly gluten free. As time progressed, though, I found my symptoms to get much worse if I was accidently exposed to gluten. It started with three days of fatigue. One day, I went to Subway for lunch to get a salad. I explained my gluten situation and watched the young lady at the counter change her gloves. As she dipped her gluten free gloves in the veggies, I realized, everytime they make a sandwich, they touch those veggies with gloves that have gluten on them. That evening, after work, I had to take a nap before dinner.

After moving to Nevada, I asked my doctor to test me for celiac disease. Celiac disease is a disease in which chronic failure to digest food is triggered by hypersensitivity of the small intestine to gluten. My doctor told me to put gluten back in my diet for several days and then take a blood test. My test came back negative; I did not have celiac disease. At that point, I wondered if all of my gluten symptoms were my imagination. Was I making it up? Was it an excuse to be lazy?

As time progressed, my “gluten symptoms” got worse. If I even opened a bag of wheat flour, I would be incredibly sick the next day with “the trots,” severe fatigue and sometimes horrible joint pain.  After one gluten exposure, I wanted to cry every time my son touched me.

Eventually, as I started to learn where gluten usually hides (thanks to a good friend whose husband is celiac) I got contaminated less often.

After not getting contaminated for a month or so I thought the worst of it was over. It was under control. Then I started to get sick when I hadn’t been exposed to gluten. The symptoms were different, but I could tell something I was eating was making me sick. After a few weeks, I narrowed it down to eggs and maybe coffee.

At this point, I went to an allergy specialist and had a skin test done. After the test, the allergy doctor told me I had no allergies. He made me feel like everything I was experiencing was not real and only in my head. He told me there was nothing wrong with me. I felt so bad, I cried in his office. I really just wanted to know what was going on with my body!!

After the discussion with the allergy doctor, I decided I didn't want to spend any more money on copays to these doctors who weren't going to help me. It was getting expensive and emotionally exhausting.

My new plan was to juice fast and do an elimination diet coming off of it. The juice fast was great!! I lost about 35 pounds in about a month. I felt wonderful and started feeling better about my appearance. I was 4 pounds away from a normal BMI!!!

I broke my juice fast on a date night baseball game. My husband and I were long overdue for a date night and naturally, a baseball game is better with beer!! One of my true food loves is dark, hoppy beer!! Giving up good beer was the saddest part about being gluten free. Strangely enough, the beer and the other glutinous treats I had that night had no effect on me. I was shocked!! Did my juice fast heal me?  Was I going to be a normal, beer drinking member of society again? Would I be able to share mac n cheese with my two year old son?

After a couple of weeks of eating whatever I wanted, I noticed that I still felt better when I cut out gluten. So I removed gluten from my diet once again. It wasn’t too bad, at least I can eat eggs and coffee!!

All of this takes me to where I am now. I ended my juice fast near the end of April and have gained all 35 pounds back. If you have never juice fasted, this may seem normal, but I have had other juice fast success and putting on 35 pounds in three months is not normal for me, no matter how poorly I eat. Fast weight gain, ok, I can deal with that. I need to exercise and diet. No problem. But that doesn’t explain everything else. Now my hair is falling out by the handfuls, worse than ever, even without gluten in my diet!! My girly cycles have been irregular and I have started getting so fatigued I would get nauseas. All of this came to a point I couldn’t function a few days before leaving for Washington. So to make it through the trip, before I could see a doctor, I increased my thyroid medication (I know, bad move, but I had to do something and all of these symptoms fit with hypothyroid). It helped, I had a great time, I was only a little fatigued but I didn’t to do much but spend time with friends and loved ones.  I do not recommend anyone changing their medication without the consent of a doctor; I was in a desperate place.

I have many theories about what has been happening to me in the last couple of years and I am excited to talk to my doctor, with new information and a new blood test, to find out what is going on with me. I hope my doctor gets excited to help me find out, if not, I may have to find a new doctor. This time, I am not taking no for an answer!! We will get to the bottom of this!!

Thank You for allowing me to go through this and put it down in writing. My goal in writing this is to help me organize my thoughts so I can talk to my doctor about everything that has been going on. I think she needs to see the whole picture to help me effectively.

I also want to give encouragement or incite to anyone going through similar issues, especially as I start to get answers. And to let anyone else who feels their body is attacking them know they are not alone. God did not design our bodies to function like this!! It has to get better!!  So follow me as I try and find out what exactly is causing my poor health and how I try and correct it. I can’t promise that I will get these answers right away, or every effort I make to reverse this damage will help in any way, but hopefully this information will help someone else who feels like their body and their doctors have let them down.

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

1 Peter 4:12 (ESV)

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How I Fed My Family for Under $10 on a 12 Hour Road Trip

Today is my first day back from my vacation to Washington State. I feel as if I need a vacation from my vacation. Let’s face it, I’m a mom, I don’t really get a vacation. The twelve hour drive home has my whole family dragging their feet today.

It was a really great trip. I am very thankful for our friends and family, who made time for us during our visit and for the hospitality of my mother in law, who let us stay at her house for more than a week. I feel loved and blessed!!

It’s hard to believe that one year ago we still lived there. One year ago, the desert was one of the last places we ever thought we would live.  Time goes by so quickly!! When we moved last September, it was with the intention we would return to Washington as soon as my husband could get relocated. Now that we have started a life, here in Nevada, we both feel this is where God wants to use us. We love our city and the people in it!!

Was it hard to move to a new state, with no friends and family? Absolutely!! Did I feel loss after quitting my job and leaving my church?? You Bet!! Was every tear and doubt worth it?? For Sure!!

I realize now, as long as I am trying to follow the will of God and let him lead the way, I am generally much happier. He has given me new goals and a purpose. He has stretched me personally and spiritually. He has led me to a church I love and given me a wonderful community of friends. I get to spend every day caring for my son and teaching him important lessons at such an early age. I love taking care of my family!!

God is good!! He has blessed me beyond my anything I could have imagined!! All I had to do was leave everything I knew and follow him!!

As happy as I am here, I did really enjoy visiting all of my friends and family in Washington. However, since quitting my job, our budget has gotten much tighter and the trip almost didn’t happen. I drive a hybrid car, so gas wasn’t really an issue. My biggest concern was feeding my family on the road. Restaurant food can be really expensive and really unhealthy!! The cost of drinks, such as sodas coffee and juice, add up quickly.

That is where a little planning came into the picture………

I fed my family on a 12 hour road trip on less the $10 and the food I had in my refrigerator. We stopped for nothing but bathroom breaks and gas!! It was wonderful.

We had many eggs to use before leaving, as well as a lot of fruits and veggies. I hardboiled eggs and cut up fruits and veggies for my toddler to eat on the road trip. I put honey and mustard (he has a thing for mustard) in travel shampoo bottles for dipping sauce. I froze leftover lemonade in sports bottles for ice and he drank it as it melted. I filled Sippy cups with the milk that would not be drinkable when we returned. I also gave him a handful of nuts, because he loves them and I love the added protein. I put all of this in a few cute caricature covered meal containers. He felt very special to have his own Spiderman and Lightning McQueen meals on the go!!  



The marshmellows are potty treats!!

For my me and my husband, I made an egg scramble with leftover eggs that needed to be used and canned black beans and diced tomatoes, staples in my pantry. I bought corn tortillas to make egg scramble burritos. I also bought a Costco size of hummus (one of my favorites and a craving that day) to dip veggies. I brought along some sriracha and spicy mustard in travel size shampoo bottles for dipping and burrito sauce. I froze more lemonade and water to keep it all cool in my cooler bag; we drank it as it melted. I also filled an empty gallon sized water bottle with coffee to refill our iced coffee throughout the road trip.

When we got there at about 1AM we were tired but we were healthy and not hungry!!

If you are wondering how I got my toddler to sit in a car seat for 12 hours without any tantrums, I loaded Veggie Tale movies I had previously bought on I-tunes on an old I-Phone with a cracked screen. I put the broken phone in a toddler case and let him watch the movies on the way.

Our trip home was a little more expensive, because we didn’t have a refrigerator to empty (I’m sure my mother in law wanted to keep most of her groceries) but we did pack food for less than $30. I made sandwich wraps and brought cheese sticks. I froze more lemonade and refilled our coffee/water jug.

I had a wonderful time but am so happy to get back to my life. I love my life!! I am looking forward to see how God calls and challenges me in the future!! Is God calling you to make some life changes? Do you question his plan for you, or even fight it sometimes? How is God challenging you or helping you grow? Do you trust that his plan is perfect and he wants good things for his children?

May Your Joy Be Full,

Rachel

 
 

 

      3 and said to him, “Go out from your land and from you kindred and go into the land that I will show you.”

Acts 7:3 (ESV)

 

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