Being Intentional and tomato tip

Through the course of the first part of this year, God reminded me of how important it is to be intentional in our lives.  Today, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The Vanilla Tulip, and Ashley was talking about how God had reminded her to be intentional in friendships. (If you've never read her blog, you are missing out on a blessing! www.thevanillatulip.com ) This is so very true!  Without my dear, sweet, "God with skin on" friends,  life would be a tragedy!  I am so thankful every day for these sweet gals who pour so much into my life and allow me to share in their joys and triumphs as well as their trials and sorrows.

Other areas I am striving to be intentional in are marriage, parenting, household management, exercise, and school with my kids.  Each one of these can so easily slip between the cracks of everyday life happening and before we know it, we have taken one step forward and two steps back.

In the household management category, the main thing I am being intentional about is making a menu and shopping accordingly.  As fall hits, this is going to be super important.  With school starting back, football and cheer beginning, practices until dark, a menu is imperative to avoid fast food, or sandwiches every night. I want my family to be well fed, therefore planning on my part is crucial!  Plus it saves me a lot of money!  I will share some ways to save money through menu planning sometime soon.

I want to share a lovely tip a dear friend shared with me.  Tomato season is upon us and the bugs and my dogs (yes, my dogs) like my tomatoes as much as I do.  My friend told me to pick them when they are just beginning to blush and bring them inside.  Wash them well.  Place a towel on the counter and lay them stem down on the towel.  Then cover with another towel.  This will encourage ripening.  What a super idea!!!  Now I get the tomatoes and not the dogs or the bugs!

Enjoy your day!

Kimber

Welcome!  I'm so excited you dropped by to spend a bit of time with me!  One of my goals for 2012 was to start a blog to chronicle events of our lives.  However, 2012 has been a year of many changes, some good, some requiring a new normal.  Mostly, through all the changes, God is teaching me to be intentional in many areas and to live life an inch at a time. Here I am, over half way through the year, and finally feeling like I can tackle a blog.  This has came after a lot of prayer and thought.  I wanted it to be done "just right" which I am learning that life does not come with a formula for "just right".  So....here goes!  

I have lots of ideas to share, but mostly my blog is for me.  I love, love, love to cook!  Mostly, I like to create and tweak recipes.  I cook from scratch and love to find ways to save money on my grocery bill.  Teenage boys eat a whole lot of food! :)   At first I wanted my blog to be about food and recipes, mostly so all my recipes would be in one spot and easy to find.  However, there are a plethora of recipe only blogs out there, so what would make mine worth reading?

  My goal has changed in content.  As I was spending my time with the Lord this morning and writing in my journal, I came across this quote from Oswald Chambers. (If you have never read Oswald Chamber's works, you are missing out!)  

"We are not meant to be seen as God's perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary lives exhibiting the miracle of His grace."

Oswald Chambers

That was it!  I had been agonizing over a name for my blog for several days, tossing around ideas with my hubby and boys and nothing had "clicked", that is until I read this quote.  I am the everyday essence of ordinary and most definitely a testimony of the miracle of His grace!  If you don't know about this grace I am referring to, I would be glad to explain it to you!  Just leave me a comment or shoot me an email.

So stop by often (or follow me) to find out the happenings in the everyday essence of ordinary around my home.  Oh, and I will be sharing recipes and ideas for saving money!  :)

May your day be blessed abundantly!

Kimber