I gotta stop making these!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are all the rage at my house right now. John has amazing will power for anything... except these. And while I can't make them anymore, YOU should.





1 Cup butter, melted


2 Cups graham cracker crumbs


2 Cups confectioners sugar


1 Cup peanut butter


1 1/2 Cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


4 Tbs peanut butter


While your butter melts, mix together your graham cracker crumbs and confectioners sugar in a large bowl. Put in your peanut butter and then pour your melted butter over the top, the warm butter will help soften the peanut butter making the whole thing easier to mix. After thoroughly combining, spread into a non-greased 9x13 pan and pop in the fridge for a bit.

Melt your chocolate and peanut butter on low in the microwave (slowly) or over a double boiler. Stir until smooth.

Spread over your slightly chilled crust and refrigerate for about an hour before serving.

Yeah. We eat ours before they've chilled for an hour too. You're not alone.

For Granted

Sickness settled on our house the last couple weeks. Everyone is pumped full of antibiotics now and on the mend; which leaves us all feeling much more positive than in recent days.

It makes you thankful though. For uninterrupted nights of sleep. For being able to smell. For a 17 month old who is content to play on the floor by herself again, instead of following you around whining to be held all day. For energy. For being able to sing (hard to do when your voice is cracking and hoarse). For yoga. For everyone just feeling GOOD.

I know the statement "I took it for granted" always comes after having lost something, such as health. But part of the beauty of having something, sometimes is taking it for granted I think. Just going along, believing it will always be there, causes you not to worry.

Inevitably, I get a taste of it being gone, and it makes me grateful again. And it makes me sympathetic again too. I never get sick, and that had made me rather callous when others were.

I guess that leaves me thankful for my sinus infection- a little attitude check. And now, if you'll excuse me, I need a cup of tea.

Thursdays

Thursday mornings are the worst- I wake up with 'cleaning day' ahead of me.

Thursday afternoons on the other hand... are the best! Clean house, yoga to look forward to, and tomorrow is Friday.

The tea kettle is humming away on the stove, baby is playing in her crib, Holl is content with playdough, and I am caught up for the moment.

This is what life should always feel like. Love it.

Nope, not good there either.

Anything that crowds out time for God is an idol. That isn't my quote, it's Nancy Leigh DeMoss'.

In the recent past when I had heard talk of idols in the Christian life I immediately thought to myself- "Okay, I'm good there. I don't love anything more than Jesus."

But then she elaborated. And elaborated. And elaborated.

Sleep, family, housework, friends, facebook, books, television. All these things that I never even considered looking at as idols, until I realized how busy they keep me. I make time for them first and then I squeeze in God.

It's amazing how when I sit down for some Bible study how all of a sudden I have a burden for cleaning up the house some more. I lack focus and discipline when it comes to studying God's word, but I can really work my butt off all day keeping my house in order, cooking, doing laundry, and taking care of my kids. It's not right to give my leftover moments. Ugh, but I am not a morning person. Like, at all. I know it's coming down to that I just need to be, because it's wrong for me not to give Him that time. But oh, I love bed.

I'm finding out how incredibly bad I am at this whole "Christian Walk" thing. I don't think there is a single area of my life that I can check off as 'good.' Right now "He's still workin' on me" is playing in my head. I remind myself that I am not the same as ten years ago, five years ago, or even a year ago. So that is progress, but most of the time I'm really looking forward to heaven. No more worries about past failures, current missteps, and future ball dropping.

Doesn't that sound like such a cop out? Oh, I'm too lazy to work harder- just hurry up and get me to heaven where being good won't even be a thought it will just be, well, me. I really do long for it though. It disturbs John I think. I'm all "Won't heaven be great? I can't wait to be there. The smells, the colors, the sounds!" He's all "Yeah, I'm not that excited."

Anyway, one area of the aforementioned change that I have noticed is: decreased sin in my life has led to increased sensitivity to sin. My sense of what is right and wrong is heightened. This saves a lot of heartache for me now. I loathe the thought of hurting someone and also having to apologize.

I've actually had checkout ladies chuckle at me and say "You're the only one that listens" when I put something back in the checkout line and say "that's over my approved budget." This may seem like a silly area to call attention to, but in my home it: A. Shows John I respect him and B. Kills fights over money. I call that a win win.


Some people do it now and ask for forgiveness later, and I used to live that way too, but now I'm big on avoiding the easily avoidable sins. I don't know if this is good theology, it's probably not, but some things are so clearly not right for me to do (IE spending $30 more than what my hubby told me to spend) so I avoid doing it. When I KNOW it's not right and I'm aware of that-it's easier not to do that thing.

All this to say that I'm working on it. I don't have any of it checked off... but I'm gonna keep running the race.