Resting in Grace

Our church is doing a series on "People of the Second Chance," focusing on God's grace and how everyone needs a second chance.  Last week's service was about resting in grace and realizing that God's grace is sufficient for us.  No matter how weak we may feel at times, we gain strength in our tribulations.  God reminds us that His power is made perfect in our weakness.  I've been loving this series because it's yet another reminder of how thankful I am to have God's grace.  Pastor Drew also touched on how we are so busy these days that we forget to rest in general.  I really needed to hear that because I find myself making myself busy for no reason at all.  Listen to the services online here.

To parallel that message, Heath and I are finishing up the study of Galatians with our community group.  I have to admit that the latter part of Galatians is much easier for me to understand!  Anyways, last night's message was about doing good for the community of believers - by keeping each other accountable and bearing each others burdens.  When was the last time you truly carried another person's burdens?  

We talked about different ways people need help in times of need.  It really hit home for me because I'm thankful I have friends and family who often help me carry my burden.  I'm carrying a heavy heart right now as I think about some of my friends and family who are going through such difficult times in their life - coming at a crossroads, a sudden heartbreak, a young death in the family, making difficult life decisions and financial hardship.  

I'm challenging myself to share my burdens more with those that want to help carry my burden.  I struggle with trying to keep it together all the time that it's hard for me to admit when I'm struggling.  There's that pride issue again!  But then we also talked about how people deal with "help"… is it bringing them dinner, just physically being there for them to hang out with, is it mowing their lawn, is it praying for them or is it something simple like a hug?

Whatever you may be going through, know that there is help and a willing burden-bearer here :)

Now onto the "life in pictures" part of each post…. Enjoy!

Made Turkey meatballs for the first time… Amazing what you can do by just throwing spices over some meat.  SO yummy. 

We tried zoodles for the first time, and liked it a lot.  It's basically just zucchini strings in replace of noodles.  I used a julienne peeler then I microwaved it in a covered dish for 7 minutes - that's it!

So so so good.

I also tried something different with shredded chicken.  I'm always trying to serve chicken in different ways and this recipe is perfect.  I subbed the sour cream with nonfat Greek yogurt.  The picture above is only 1 cup of shredded chicken over a small avocado. 

I wish everyone had an Albertson's next to them.  I'm not a big couponer, but I always look through the newspaper for deals and this place has the best deals on meat, poultry and fish. Everything you're seeing in this picture was only $35! (Chicken wings, ground breast of turkey, chicken breasts and petite sirloin steak)

Heath and I had our own chicken burrito bowl night for dinner  :)

I had to exchange my bowl for a plate because I had so many toppings.   We love Chipotle's hot sauce, so I convinced the manager to let me buy a huge bowl of it.

Here is a peek of my weekly meal planner sheet.  I fill this out every week so Heath and I can keep ourselves accountable in our meals.  Sometimes when I don't already have something planned for dinner, we end up getting lazy and go out to eat.  This helps us not only save money, but eat healthy.

My sweet mother in law also had a birthday!  I love technology for times like this.

We hosted community group at our place two weeks ago.  I was so excited that I already had the dishes set out the night before.  I love hosting!

Together foreverrrrr

We had a double date night with another close couple friends of ours in Southlake.  It was our first time here and we will definitely be coming back.  I loved their pizza and the atmosphere!

Rooftop patio with live music.  Not much of a view, but the weather was perfect. 

After we got done bowling!  Girls beat the guys - who cares if we had bumpers? :) 

My set-up for Mother's Day dinner at our place.  This was taken 3 or 4 hours before the actual dinner time, but I'm telling ya… I just get so excited to host! 

I found this vase last minute at Burlington Coat Factory out of all places.  I didn't even realize that design looked like an M until I took the picture.

Love my mom! 

I LOVE grocery shopping every week, but what I get even more excited about are good deals.  I was waiting to get off work all day today just so I could rush to Albertson's before they sold out of chicken.  Unfortunately, the eggs ran out but a sweet manager wrote me a rain check.  He even increased my limit to 4 :) 

Not only did I get chicken for $1.48 a lb., lean ground beef for $2.88 lb. and 3 tilapia bags for the price of 1 but I  also got 4 extra lean pork tenderloin tips for the price of 1!!  You can't beat that.

Grapevine's annual Main St. Days is this weekend, so I'm excited to go and show Heath what it's all about!  A lot of our close friends are coming in town for Memorial Day Weekend so we are counting down the days for a reunion.  I hope everyone has a great weekend - May you also learn to rest in grace!

Until next time,