Finally something different

Ok so you get creative when you are starving and just want to change it up a bit. I made corn tortilla chips... They taste oh so awful but are going down. I also bought brown eggs from someone at work yesterday for 1 dollar. 1 dollar!! All organic, can't beat that. And they were probably the best eggs I have ever eaten. I'm thinking a chicken coop is in the Hogan's future. :)

Here we go day four...

I'm up early and have my lunch all packed, all two bananas, an egg and a rice and bean goulash. I'm starving I want something sweet, I want orange juice!!! I know that my lord will never forsake me and that he is seeing me through this fast, but man oh man is this the hardest thing I have ever done. And three days ago I was all like "this will be so easy"... Blah blah blah. Well off to work I go. Draw me closer oh lord.

10 more 10 strong

A quote on the Book of Eli
"Tell me about the world before. What was is like?" "We didn't even know what was precious. W lived in a world whee people threw away things that people would kill for today"

Days two and three and rice and beans.....

Gotta say, I think it is starting to hit (not the beans) a breaking point for me. I found myself in my spin class today praying for God to give me strength to get through and letting my half of a banana snack keep me from passing out in the middle of the class. Today, like yesterday I ate a banana for breakfast and a hard boiled egg. I completely cut the corn tortillas out of my menu unless they are being used in the heuvos rancheros. So for lunch I am eating three grilled chicken strips, rice, and beans. Avocados are starting to taste pretty crappy as well. I am only three days in!!!! Pat and I have gone through 25 eggs, 2 cups of rice, half a bag of beans, 2 avocados, maybe 15 tortillas, 11 1/2 bananas, and half a jar of salsa. I have been going to grocery store every day after work and spending most nights in the kitchen cooking until about 8:30. I have learned that preparing my food is so much healthier not only for me but for my family as well. Cooking has never been my forte, so to get in the kitchen and get a little dirty has been kinda fun. For dinner I had huevos rancheros again ( picture below, I did add a scoop of salsa after the pic was taken).

A friend at work mentioned the word humble today after I shared my banana with her ( talk about letting go) and it made me think of how I am humbling myself before our Lord in this whole thing. I am giving up so many things that I have taken for granted for so long. I am humbling myself by showing god that I know what he is given to me and for that I am forever grateful. When I sit down and really think about all that God has given me it makes me so sad knowing that I can never repay him for all that he has blessed me with. But one thing I can do is love.

Just as Jesus said to his disciples,"love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you..." Luke 6: 27-36

10 more 10 strong!!!

Day 1... Not so bad

So day one has been pretty good. I ate a banana for breakfast and a hard boiled egg. For lunch I ate 3 chicken strips, refried beans (not from the can) and half of an avocado. I brought tortillas to make tacos with and noticed real quick that corn tortillas are just awful!! No flavor and basically taste like a piece of cardboard (whatever that taste like). But I made it through lunch and then had another banana for a snack this afternoon. I came home and went for a three mile run and felt great.

Then it hit me....I'm hungry!!! I want a cookie, some chips....something. So Pat whipped up some huevos rancheros for dinner, and I even got a scoop of salsa with this meal. Oh how I am craving a glass of milk. It was a good dinner and I can honestly say, I don't think this will be too bad. I have noticed the hard part has just been remembering that my choices are limited and when you are hungry you will eat whatever is placed in front of you and you will be thankful for it. We take so much for granted and forget all of the options that we have been given, not only with food but with so much more in life. It's time to stop and look around you. Are you collecting treasures to glorify you or God. Are you prepared to justify why you pay $100 a month on cable tv but are unable to sponsor a child? These are tough questions that I have been asking myself lately? Am I glorifying God in all that I do and all that I have (as I type this from my iPad)? The answer is no, but it could easily be yes.

Tomorrow I have to make another run to the local mercado, we are eating bananas like they are going out of style. I hope I can pick up some ideas from the store owners while I am there.

For now, it's lights out. See you tomorrow rice and beans.

Eat like a Honduran for ten days

For ten days I will eat like a Honduran...but only off seven items of food (well 8, but we will get to that later).

So I am sure you are like what? Why? Are you absolutely crazy? Well yes, kinda. Lol. A very good friend of mine has recently started a North Georgia chapter of Women of Vision and while only five of us are meeting currently we have big hopes for more to come and be a part of what God is calling each of us to do.... love and serve. So our hopes for the next ten days will be to fast something that we each have personally chosen as well as to pray for ten more team members. Our prayer: ten more, ten strong.

I have chosen this particular challenge, because Pat and I are leading a team to Honduras in June and I think it is important to prepare not only mentally but spiritually as well. The food items that I have chosen are rice, pinto beans, avocado, bananas, tortillas, eggs and chicken. I will only drink water. My intentions were to choose ten items and I could only think of seven...until I realized that salsa is pretty key. I know it seems like a cheating thing, but I will limit this as well. My goal is not really to see if I can eat this and survive because let's face it... I think I will due just fine. But my goal is to remember those with less and draw closer to Christ. To remember that everything I consume is because he has given it to me.

I have attached a picture of Pat helping me prepare my meals for tomorrow. He is actually doing this with me. So much preparation....ugh. I do not prepare anything ahead of time...ever!!!

Three Years and One Day

Seems like just yesterday I was walking down the isle to marry my best friend. Well, it was yesterday, just three years ago yesterday. I remember the smell of my perfume that I put on especially for Pat, the look on my daddys' face and watching my mom cry when she helped me put my dress on, I remember every detail of the day. I really do. I remember waking up and being so scared and so excited at the same time. I had all of my family and friends there to share this special day with me and then we would be off to Jamaica!!

So yeah this year it wasn't quite Jamaica, but every detail of our anniversary was so special to me this year. Pat came home (with flowers and a card) and we shared a bottle of wine with each other on the back porch and talked about God's plan for us, the weather was perfect. Then we made dinner together (anniversary chicken) and sat on the couch snuggled up to one another. It was the best night ever. I told Pat I am so grateful for all the awesome things he does for me and how I know we could be on some Caribbean island enjoying this night, but it meant so much more to me, that we weren't! We were just content with the company of each other and didn't need beaches and sand to remind each other how in love we truly are.

This has been a tough year for both of us, but we have pushed forward and have found an unbelievable amount of support from our family and friends. Our faith in Jesus Christ is indescribable. We are growing so much in our walk of faith, while once we used to sit on the couch and stare at the TV until bedtime, now we sit and read the bible to each other at night. Melts my heart that my God has sent me this godly husband that I have forever prayed for. Pat is my rock and I am so thankful for his support for me in my hard times this year and his faith in our lord that we will have a family one day. This faith that he has been so blessed with is spreading like wildfire. My momma always told me to marry a Godly man, and I sure did.

I am so anxious to see what doors will be opened for us this next year.

Waiting Game

Seems like forever since I last wrote, I guess I have my moments like most people, when everything is going great, I want to share, then life throws you a curve ball and keeping everything bottled up inside just seems so much easier.

Today at work I came in, sat at my desk with my free McDonald's coffee that I got this morning and started working. It wasn't 10 minutes and I could hear the hospital come alive, the hustle and bustle of the nurses getting their patients ready for the day and the glorious (lol) sound of IV pumps going off began to ring aloud.

I sat at my desk and began working, when I heard a lady outside of my office crying, not sure what about but it broke my heart. Made me think about how much of my good times I take for granted and how much I focus on all the crappy things going on in my world. I closed my door and I began talking to God, praying that he would send healing to this woman and that he would watch after her and get her through this day, that I was taking for granted. As I was praying I began to realize, life can be so much better if we just give it to God. He knows the desires of our hearts. "May He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose

(Psalm 20:4)."

So that is exactly what I am doing! I truly believe that God knows the desires of my heart and he knows the desires of my husband and I to have a family, a child of our very own. Heck, we have already named them and pray for them every night. Sometimes I giggle wondering what they are doing in Heaven while we are waiting on them to come to us. Are the up there laughing and singing praise with our Lord. Are they running through fields of glory with him playing and talking to God about how they can't wait to meet us too! I know this may seem so silly, but it is getting me through each day and helping me learn patience with my Lord because I know God knows the desires of my heart.

Waiting is the hardest part of life, I think. I mean we wait everyday on something and how selfish of us not to enjoy that very moment that God has given us. I have a good friend at church who I look up to so much because of her patience. She is never the first person at church but still gets a good seat, never the first person in line for Wednesday night supper but always eats, and never the first person to speak her mind about anyone or anything but still her voice is heard and when it is, the sound is so joyful!

I think we should all slow down a little, if it is Gods will, it will be done!

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait