E-Mealz Dinner #4-6

Whew so crazy week at work doesn't leave much time for blogging. Anywho time for an update on our E-Mealz adventure!

Meal #4 - Guess what - chicken.

To be fair we've been mixing and matching previous week recipes that we didn't make to replace meals we didn't want each week. So I think that's the cause of the sudden influx of nothing but chicken meals, they do a good job of variety in the menu. Anyway this chicken called for cream of chicken soup, cheese (win), and Stove Top (EPIC WIN - I flipping love stuffing!) It was also our first time using an actual steamer on our vegetables and they rocked! Courtney even ate them the next day! And we swapped white rice for some cheddar broccoli rice we had on hand.

I really liked this meal. Put cheese and stuffing together and I'll pretty much like whatever you put in front of me. I couldn't quite finish mine because the pieces were just TOO HUGE! Every time we've bought chicken breast we've always made too much because them suckers are huge. So from now on we've opted to only get chicken tenders to make it a little more manageable.

Meal #5 - Beef Stew.

This was another recipe of theirs we adapted to fit our needs. They pretty much had a beef soup recipe but we swapped out some veggies for others and instead of soup mix used a stew mix and made our own. Of course it was awesome - beef + potatoes = win. And thanks to our new rockin cast iron skillet we made THE BEST cornbread I've ever had.

Meal #6 - Another chicken.

And to be honest this one scared me. Apricot chicken. They had me spread apricot preservers and onion soup mix over the chicken. I wasn't excited. But then end result was surprisingly good! The apricot preservers kind of added a sweet glaze (not too sweet) to the chicken and the onion soup just gave us some nice onion flakes like you find on fancy hamburgers buns (and Arby's...) Again very surprising - Courtney liked it! Another win!

I am really loving E-Mealz. Like I said, even if every meal isn't a homerun, the fact that I didn't have to think about what to make for dinner each night, and I didn't have to waste time going down every single grocery aisle makes this the best thing to happen to dinner! And budget wise we're pretty close to our usual budget. We may go a little over because of lunch/snack items but I think it's been worth it!

Seriously check them out!

Crazy Love - Chapter Eight

Another chapter of conviction...

Actually this chapter really just reinforces the last chapter about giving. This chapter is all about being obsessed. Being obsessed with God means He is all you think about EVERYTHING you do ties back to Him in some way.

"The idea of holding back certainly didn’t come from Scripture. The Bible teaches us to be consumed with Christ and to faithfully live out His words."

It's so easy for us to give to those we love. Give to those we know. But it takes being obsessed with God to see that we need to give to those who don't have, those we don't know, those we avoid.

Frederick Buechner wrote in The Magnificent Defeat:

"The love for equals is a human thing—of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.

The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing—the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.

The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing—to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints.

And then there is the love for the enemy—love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured’s love for the torturer. This is God’s love. It conquers the world."

Ugh it's that ugly conviction again. What am I doing with my life? A crazy love for God requires crazy action!

Crazy Love - Chapter Seven

Ah the chapter of guilt. If only we didn't NEED IT

"By now you've probably realized that you have a distinct choice to make: just let life happen, which is tantamount to serving God your leftovers, or actively running to Christ"

This whole chapter is about taking all these good feelings and ideas we've learned in previous chapters -AND ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING WITH IT!!

Why do we need the guilt!?!? We've seen over and over how insanely crazy (in a good way) God's love is to us. And we've seen how insanely crazy our love should be in return. And that's always where it ends. A great idea, but I just don't put it into action. This is every Sunday, Wednesday, class, sermon, book I've ever had in my life. Great ideas that should spring us into action and yet...there I sit making no difference.

What is it that stops us? Fear? Worried about what others may think?

"Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy. Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers." (ouch)

Why are we so worried about what others think!?!? They SHOULD think we're crazy! Everything we believe in goes completely against EVERYTHING the world believes. It only makes sense that we would appear crazy to the world.

Look I am the king of "who cares what other people think about me". But when it comes to doing something crazy for God I become the king of "well...never mind...maybe next time"

I don't think my personal problem is fear of what others may think. My problem is just fear. I don't even have a comfort bubble I have a comfort universe. I'm good where I am let's not shake things up.

"Christians today like to play it safe. We want to put ourselves in situations where we are safe 'even if there is no God.' But if we truly desire to please God, we cannot live that way."

"But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through"

I don't have a good answer, I don't even have a good excuse. Truly loving God the same way He loves me requires me to do crazy things. There is literally no excuse not to.

Isn't it amazing how you can read a verse a billion times and yet there is always something new to learn each and every time. How many times have we heard John 3:16. We've had to have picked that verse clean by now. Nothing new there. Wrong:

"One of the most memorized verses in the whole Bible says, For God so loved the world that he gave (John 3:16). Right there we see the connection between loving and giving evidently established."

What did God do when He loved - He gave. What should we do if we love - give.

I wish it didn't take guilt. I wish it didn't take conviction. I just wish I did it.

E-Mealz Dinner #3

So someone more interesting/funny than me is doing the exact same thing I'm doing with E-Mealz. Read Jon's blog here

But one thing Jon said that I agree 100% with was:

"My marriage is better, when my wife and I spend lots of time together."

That is EXACTLY what this dining adventure is doing. Usually I cook everything. Not out of requirement but because I like to. I like to feel needed. I like being able to successfully make something. And normally it's not an issue. It doesn't take much to successfully make a frozen pizza, so I've never needed much help.

Well these e-Mealz require a little more work than 1) preheat over 2) insert frozen entrée 3) kind of enjoy. So I've needed help in the kitchen. And it's been a blast to just spend time with my wife. I love it. We even sat at the dinner table for like a half hour after eating. True we were just watching TV like we normally would do while eating on the couch, but there we sat at the dinner table.

Who knew!?

On a side note - I hate chicken. Chicken is barely a meat to me. It should count itself lucky to be called meat. Chicken has no flavor whatsoever unless it's deep fried or smothered in Sweet Baby Ray's.

So on Friday our meal was Cheesy Chicken and Spinach. Cheese = win. So we cut up the chicken into bite size pieces, sautee it in some Worcestershire (thank you God for spell check) and olive oil, add the spinach, melt the cheese, serve over rice, done.

THERE WAS SO MUCH FREAKING CHICKEN! These were without a doubt the biggest pieces of chicken I've ever seen, which means once cut up into bite size pieces I felt like I was literally eating the entire chicken.

It certainly wasn't a bad meal, didn't have a whole lot of taste (bland chicken + white rice), but again 1) I didn't have to think about what to make 2) It was all fresh 3) It was food we normally wouldn't eat. Every meal you make even if you weren't on e-Mealz wouldn't be a flavor explosion. I must say I HATE throwing away food. Not even in a holier than thou children are starving way. I hate it in a I'm a freaking cheap skate and chicken is one of the most expensive meats out there for some unknown reason and there goes money in the trash.

THERE WAS SO MUCH CHICKEN!!! Could we have done left-overs? Absolutely. But after that meal I didn't even want to see a cartoon chicken for at least a week...

Today is the first night of a new week. They had a "Quick and Easy" meal schedule of hot subs and chips. Well I have a turkey or ham or chicken sandwich every single day at work for the past 4 years. I don't want them for dinner. So lo and behold meatballs are BOGO at Winn Dixie + Sweet Baby Ray's = Meatball subs substitution!

Crazy Love - Chapter Six

Ah to be in love. Whether your married, dating, or even single. You know what it means to be in love. Those feelings. Those crazy things we do because we're in love - either out of compulsion (walking in the rain) or because you'd do anything for the other person (watching The Man From Snowy River). All because you're love's got me looking so crazy right now...

If those feelings and actions are so natural when you're in love...why aren't they natural when we're in love with God...

There's a quote from John Piper:

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?"

And that bring me to a question my pastor once asked, kind of the inverse of this question. If you lost everyone, absolutely everyone you knew or loved, if they all just disappeared and it was just you and Jesus - would you be content? I've asked this question before and got a myriad of answers. But I was surprised at how many people have said - no. God made us social beings, He gave us people to love and be with it, so of course we wouldn't be happy if He took that away.

I think people hear that questions and say "that's crazy! Of course you wouldn't be happy!" But think about it! This whole thing is called crazy love. We've been talking about how crazy it is that God actually loves us and how that love demands a love from us that's just as crazy! So yes it is crazy to think that you would be happy if it was just you and God. That's the point! He IS that amazing! (ask Job)

If we truly loved God why aren't we running around saying:

"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you." - Psalm 63:1-5

I know we all sit here and say yeah that would be awesome if I did that, and then we see someone post that on Facebook or tweet a verse like that and we think - give it a rest guy we get it. You love Jesus. So do I but I don't have to shout it every 5 seconds on the internet.

YES WE DO! If we REALLY loved God like that we would be shouting this every time every where. And then we feel guilty...

"But the solution isn't to try harder, fail, and then make bigger promises, only to fail again. It does no good to muster up more love for God to will yourself to love Him more. When loving Him becomes obligation, one of many things we have to do, we end up focusing even more on ourselves. No wonder so few people want to hear from us about what we ourselves feel is a boring, guilt-ridden chore." (ouch)

Just do it! And this is the part where anything I say pales in comparison to how Francis puts it so I'm just going to paste a bunch of quotes. "But Craig if you're going to do that why don't I just read the book myself?" Exactly! Go do it! Now!

"When you are running toward Christ, you are freed up to serve, love, and give thanks without guilt, worry, or fear. As long as you are running you are safe."

"God wants to change us; He died so that we could change. The answer lies in letting Him change you. The fact is, I need God to help me love God. And if I need His help to love Him, a perfect being, I definitely need His help to love other, fault-filled humans. Something mysterious, even supernatural must happen in order for genuine love for God to grow in our hearts. The Holy Spirit needs to move in our lives. It is a remarkable cycle: Our prayers for more love result in love, which naturally causes us to pray more, which results in more love….”

"God tells the priests that if they don’t want to give Him excellence, others will. [Malachi 1:11] God says His name will be great among the nations. Right now a hundred million angels are praising God’s name; He certainly doesn’t need to beg or plead with us. We should be the ones begging to worship in His presence."

E-Mealz Dinner #2

So Wednesday is fast food night because of church so no E-Mealz that night. But last night was Enchiladas!

Now I'm a huge Mexican food fan. Courtney...not so much. Her version of a taco is a shell, meat, and...the end. So this recipe was a little challenging because not only did it have salsa but it also had spinach...and cream cheese?

I was all for the salsa and the spinach (you can't really taste it anyways) but cream cheese...what is that doing in my Mexican food. The filling was beef, cream cheese, salsa, spinach, and cumin (now I know where taco flavor comes from - cumin!)

I must say it felt really weird stirring ground beef with a big brick of cream cheese...but once it all came together it was DELICIOUS!

I didn't get to take many pictures as this one kind of took all my attention but here is the final result

It made 6 of them and I could only eat 2 (leftovers FTW)! They just had a side of chips/salsa so I added some Mexican rice we love to get this!

Yes I realize it doesn't LOOK great (but when does Mexican food ever look good) but trust me it was!

Courtney had issues with the salsa (doesn't like crunchy vegetables...I know) so I think if I ever made it again I would just make/buy some enchilada sauce...or queso...oh man

Tonight - Cheesy Chicken and Spinach

*Courtney's note: I am a texture gal...what can I say? If I'm eating a creamy, deliciously smooth enchilada, my mouth just kind of freaks out when I crunch into a pepper from the salsa. I'm sorry! The crunch aside, the meal was really good and I'm looking forward to my leftovers today (after I scrape off the salsa on top :)

Crazy Love - Chapter Five

This chapter is how you know Francis Chan is a pastor. It's about giving. Now I'm not being fair, it's a lot more than just giving, it's about loving God so much you'd be willing to give up anything. It's just funny that a bulk of it is about giving/tithing and we had the same sermon this past week (a great sermon by the way which can be found...HERE)

Anyways, this chapter is basically backing up the previous chapter - God doesn't want lukewarm Christians. You look at all of these passage where people claim to want to follow Jesus but first they have to _____, or the book of Revelation that shows all of these great churches who still think they're great but they lost their way. "Jesus’ call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a ‘Christian’ without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd"

Like I said this chapter just emphasized a lot that I heard last Sunday. Especially this example. Malachi 1:8 says "When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty."

"The priests of Malachi’s day thought their sacrifices were sufficient. They had spotless animals, but chose to keep those for themselves and give their less desirable animals to God. They assumed God was pleased because they had sacrificed something.

God described this practice as evil.

Leftovers are not merely inadequate; from God’s point of view (and lest we forget, His is the only one that matters), they’re evil. Let’s stop calling it “a busy schedule” or “bills” or “forgetfulness.” It’s called evil. (ouch)

God is holy. In heaven exists a Being who decides whether or not I take another breath. This holy God deserves excellence, the very best I have. “But something is better than nothing!” some protest. Really, is it? Does anyone enjoy token praise? I sure don’t. I’d rather you not say anything than compliment me out of obligation or guilt. Why would we think God is any different?"

But Craig you sound like a preacher, I thought this whole study was about love, what does giving have to do with love? Did you not see it!? Do you love your spouse? Would you eat the best food you could find and give your spouse whatever money is left over to go eat at McDonalds? Of course not! But we do that with God. We fill ourselves up first and then give God what's left over once we're comfortable. That's not crazy love that's just crazy!

But if you want to talk about love check this out:

"But Paul writes that even if “I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2-3 ESV). Wow. Those are strong and unmistakable words. According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters."

I LOVE this exercise Francis describes when it comes to the most famous passage about love (that we often skip over because we've heard it so many times)

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.... faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

-1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13

"I was challenged to do a little exercise with these verses, one that was profoundly convicting. Take the phrase Love is patient and substitute your name for the word love (For me, ‘Francis is patient…”). Do it for every phrase in the passage.

By the end, don’t you feel like a liar? If I am meant to represent what love is, then I often fail to love people well.

Following Christ isn’t something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. It is not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we do and are.

If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream. When we stop swimming, or actively following Him, we automatically begin to be swept downstream."

Great closing thoughts:

"But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it's about eternity, and nothing compares with that. God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives"

"Like the parable of the sower, don't assume you are the good soil; don't assume you are one of the few on the narrow way."