Here.

It's Chili Weather.

I've been making this chili for a long time.  It's absolutely great.  I like to serve it as chili with cornbread on the day I make it, then save some for taco salads later in the week.  Nothing like a two fer, right?

I know there are a lot of ingredients, but it does come together quickly and the crock pot does the rest. 

2 pounds ground beef
1 (29 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (29 oz) can kidney beans with liquid
1 (29 oz) can pinto beans with liquid
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green chili's (I used canned)
1/4 cup diced celery
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp. cumin
3 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1 /2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 cups water

Brown and drain the ground beef.  In your large crock pot, add the remaining ingredients.  Cook on low 8-10 hours. 

You can also make this on the stove, simmering for 3 hours and stirring every 15 minutes (that's just too much work for me).

I like to serve this with cornbread or top it with sour cream, cheese and green onion.

Delish!

Quit Comparing!

In the past few weeks in Bible study, we’ve been talking about worry and comparison and condemnation, as well as a few other topics. And driving home tonight, it made me realize that sometimes, when I read other blogs, I feel like everyone else has it all together. Like I’m faux Monet. From far away, everything looks great but up close it’s a big ol’ mess.

So I’d like to tell myself - and all of you - stop it. Just stop it. We all need to quit comparing ourselves to what we see on Facebook or Pinterest or other blogs. We need to quit comparing ourselves to the families that we see on Sunday morning at church who "have it all together". There’s only one person who should be our yardstick for how to live and that’s Christ.

So in the interest of being completely transparent and making sure you understand that just because I home school and garden and can and whatever else I choose to show you on this blog - understand that I do not have it all together. I don’t think that I ever will.

There are many Sunday’s that by the time I get to church, I really need to be in church because my whole family has made me stark raving loony trying to get ready and bad words have run through my head. There are days when I feed my family eggs and toast for dinner (again) despite my menu plans and Pinterest boards full of great meal ideas. There are days when the boys run around the house in their underwear all day (I don’t mind those days - it’s less laundry for me). I even once gave my boys Slimfast and a Fiber One bar for breakfast because I was running late for work and had no time. There are days when, by the time Ronnie gets home, I feel like I have been water boarded for the past eight hours and I just want to run away.

It’s OK. There are no perfect moms. It’s OK to admit this. We don’t need to be perfect. We don’t need to push our ideals on others or tout our accomplishments for the purpose of making ourselves feel better (and sometimes making others feel worse). What works for me won’t necessarily work for you and vice versa.

We need to understand that there is grace, not just for the big stuff, but for the small stuff too. Quit beating yourself up over your failures. Just stop. Take a big breath and realize that God’s grace is enough to see each of us through this crazy life we live. Quit comparing yourself to someone else’s ideal and just be the girl God has called you to be.

There’s really nothing better.



This post was originally published at wvurbanhippie.blogspot.com

W.W.J.D.

I remember in my teen years, there was a popular saying, "What would Jesus do?" All of my Christian friends wore bracelets, t-shirts, etc., as reminders on how to react like Jesus on any decision or situation in their daily lives. Like with every other trend, they come and go, and soon are forgotten. 

Recently, I have started reading the book, "In His Steps," by Charles M. Sheldon. In the first few chapters it talks about a particular pastor that was forever changed by a homeless man who spontaneously spoke at his church. Without giving too much of the story away, the pastor decided to ask the congregation if anyone would like to take a pledge with him for one entire year not to do anything without asking the question, "What would Jesus do?" There was a small group of people who stayed and took the pledge. Over time, the group had come to the general consent that the "application of the Christ spirit and practice to the everyday life required a knowledge of Him and an insight into His motives that most of them did not yet possess." Basically, the people found it difficult to put Jesus into all of their decisions and tasks throughout the day. In the past, they felt they were making sound, Christ-like choices, until they made the pledge and after that, it seemed that most of their judgment calls did not satisfy the question, "What would Jesus do?


This had me thinking how many times in my day do I ask, "What would Jesus do?" Do you ask that question in your life? What would Jesus do with an annoying neighbor? What would Jesus do with a cranky husband? What would Jesus do with an over-filled schedule? What would Jesus do with a difficult co-worker? What would Jesus do with a sick loved one? What would Jesus do with the empty spaces in our day? What would Jesus do in your ministry? The questions could go on and on…. but the truth of the matter is how well do we know Christ to properly answer the question, "What would Jesus do?"

I hope this encourages and pushes all of you to search those moments in your day where you can go to God and have him make the decisions for YOU. Let us bring back the trend W.W.J.D. in a whole new way!

Blessings,

Jennifer Campbell

Scripture Memory Team for September.....and a big ol' bucket of grace.

Last night in class, we were talking about how we struggle with being tired. So very tired. Anyone else with me on that one? Of course you are! I’m sure I’m not the only one with an overwhelming to do list. 

Confession: Sometimes I write drink coffee on my to do list so I have at least one thing crossed off by the end of the day.

We focus so hard on what we think we should be..... what we think others expect from us...... looking around at other people who seem to have it all together. .

My verse this time is Psalm 121:1-4

I look up to the mountains - does my help come from here?
My help comes from the Lord who made Heaven and Earth.
He will not let you stumble and fall.
The one who watched over you will not sleep.

Don’t you see? He’s not going to leave us in our tiredness. Even when we’re tired, God is not. It’s not up to us to keep ourselves from stumbling and falling. He says it’s His job.

And that ladies, is the essence of grace. Big buckets full of grace. His hand on our life, working in us and through us, never leaving us in our tiredness. God’s grace is about transformation. He sees us for who we are but He doesn’t leave us there. He sees your possibility and is moving you forward daily toward the person He designed you to be.

How about we focus less on our to do lists and tiredness from trying to keep up with unrealistic expectations and more on just being who God wants us to be?

I’m pretty sure His to do list for me is better than mine.