How To Live At Peace With One Another

How To Live At Peace With One Another

This morning our home was not even close to peaceful.  I see habits forming in myself and my children that make me uncomfortable.  It is just too easy to complain, to snip and snark at each other, and to speak negative.  We have not been counting the gifts together and it shows.  When the heart is not thankful, there is room for complaining and lots of other junk!  

I searched the Scriptures and I am amazed how just one chunk of the Word can ground me, lead me and instruct me so I in turn can instruct my little ones. I will be sharing this with them tonight, all the while letting them know that it is just as much for me, their imperfect Momma, as it is for them.

I Thessalonians 5:14-18 NAS

We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.  Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

~admonish the unruly

~encourage the fainthearted

~help the weak

~be patient with everyone

~see to it that no one repays evil for evil

~seek after that which is good for one another

~rejoice always

~pray without ceasing

~in everything give thanks

I Thessalonians 5:14-18 The Message


Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

~get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part.

I love this.  We are a family and we each contribute to the atmosphere and reality of our home life.  We all play a very important part.

~gently admonish the freeloaders
Ha. Love that word, freeloaders.  We all are guilty of this once in a while.  Wanting others to do our part.

~gently encourage stragglers and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet.
This was perfect for me today.  My middle girl had bad dreams last night and could not get back to sleep.  She woke up REALLY needing more sleep.  Here is the perfect example to where I need to be fore-bearing and reach out to comfort her in her exhaustion.  I am glad to say I did this.  Just having her Mom acknowledge that she must be tired from all those yucky dreams was enough to get her on her feet.

~be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.
Oh boy.  This one is for me.  I  know my family well.  But, being attentive is much more than just knowing.  It is serving based on the knowledge of individual need, and yes, this takes thought and patience.

~...and be careful that when you get on each others nerves that you don't snap at each other.
It is so easy to snap and snark at family members.  Ugh...why is this?  There has been a lot of that going on among siblings lately.  Oh how we need these reminders from the Word of Truth!

~look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
As a mom and wife, this one is key.  It is so easy to look at the negative.  To see peoples faults.  Love looks past, and sees the best and works to bring it out!

~be cheerful no matter what
REALLY?  No matter what?  Yes, it is there.  It is a command.  To rejoice always. When I was sick I really had a taste of this, and it IS possible, but only with the Lords help.  He is the one that gives that peace that passes all understanding, that inner joy.  It is Him in me.

~thank God no matter what happens.
again, REALLY?  Yes, really.  Finding contentment in all circumstances is another supernatural thing only found in the power of God.

~pray all the time
A constant awareness of Him.  A continual communion throughout the day. Whispers between friends.  Thoughts to the One who knows me, loves me, and promises to be with me always.  He is the Peace giver and the Peace maker...

...and OH how I need Him in my family's pursuit of peace!

Muffin Tin Baked Eggs No Recipe Recipe

I have a friend named Thomas who is responsible for the above picture and for introducing me to the concept of Muffin Tin Baked Eggs.  We have a mutual friend, Jill Micheals of "The 411 at 488: Healthy Recipes & Cooking Suggestions:" who introduced him to it.

  These are the best kind of recipes, ones passed and eaten among friends.  

This recipe is perfect for entertaining and eating among friends as they can choose what they want in their eggs from a buffet of fillings.  These would be great served with fruit salad, croissants, juice and coffee.  Maybe some skillet herbed potatoes?  MMmm. 

I made these for brunch last Sunday and they were a hit with my kids and so simple!  Basically, you grease the muffin tin, put whatever fillings at the bottom of the tin, then crack an egg over the top.  You can use any ingredient to flavor, really anything you would put in an omelet could be used here. 

Here are some suggestions

cheese, {swiss, cheddar, feta, etc}

onions or green onions

bell peppers

mushrooms

meat {ham, bacon, sausage, chicken, turkey}

asparagus

spinach

tomato

fresh herbs

feta cheese

peas

carrots

broccoli

avocados

salsa

Muffin Tin Baked Eggs No Recipe Recipe

Spray with cooking spray or oil thoroughly a muffin tin.  Put a spoonful of salsa, or some finely diced mushrooms & onions (or your choice of whatever above ingredient) in the bottom of each tin.  Crack the egg on top, being careful not to bust the yolk.  Sprinkle with some lime juice, cumin, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce--whatever flavors you would like.  Bake for 10 to 14 minutes (or until firm, but yolk is still soft) at 400 degrees.  Easy!

To get the BEST experience of eating these eggs, eat them with this tune mixed by my friend Thomas aka Felonious Crunk.  Perfect egg eating song in my humble opinion!  Someday I will have to tell you how we met--it was through an angel.

Anti-Procrastination Tuesday #88

My Goals For This Coming Week

Zone:

Computer

Garden

Pinterest

Goals:

~Get Daughters Etsy Shop Going Live (can't wait to show you all what she has been up to!)

~Write a new "about" page for the blog

~Get seedlings started using inspiration from my Garden Board at Pinterest

Seedling Starters in Loo Rolls

Time:

15 minutes a day or

1 hour & 15 minutes in one day or

35 minutes twice in the week

Last Week's Pin Accomplished:

(Goal was 3, only did 1)

How To Make Product Pictures Look Like They Were Taken With Expensive Lighting Equipment

I used this to take pictures of my daughters soon-to-be Etsy Shop product!  I already had a dresser under a window, and a sheer in the window to filter the light, so this process was very easy for me!

<a href="http://www.amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p32/Amysb1975/3032373667_7c7e803b43-3.jpg" border="0" alt="New Nostalgia" /></a>

Last Week's Most Clicked On Posts:

Homemade Cuticle Cream @ Frugally Sustainable

How A Neat Freak Tackles Pet Hair @ Double The Decor

Homemade Organic Dishwasher Detergent @ Potholes and Pantyhose

Juice Fast & A Orange Veggie Juice Recipe @ Let Birds Fly

Living Room Update @ Budget Design Girl

Family Room Before and After @ At Home In The Northwest


<center><a href="http://amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p32/Amysb1975/7393129504_TCNCj.jpg" /></a></center>

Be Inspired, Be Encouraged, and Get Something Done!

Shop Sale At She Makes Hats

See this beauty peeking at you?  That is my Robyn.  She has been an amazing friend and help to me on this blog.  See those wonderful "Sponsor" ads in my sidebar?  She is responsible for getting those all up and running, and when you contact New Nostalgia with anything ad related, Robyn is the one who you will be communicating with.  I thought I was pretty good at administrative type work, until I met Robyn.  She rocks it.

Robyn is small in stature, and I sometimes wonder how such a big heart fits in such a small body.  When I was sick and venting in this post, she responded with  such a great gift...but that is for another, future post.  She is author of the "She Makes Hats" and she does, many many hats, to which many go toward charity.  She has already knitted hundreds of hats for charity and is moving toward her lifetime goal of 10,000!

"I aim to knit and give away 10,000 hats in my lifetime for friends, family, and charity." --Robyn

{that is her little guy. how cute is he?}

Robyn not only gives her hats to charity, but also sells her homemades as a way to support her charity and her family.

Robyn is having an amazing sale THROUGH Friday until 4:00 p.m.

Her stuff is amazing, (love her cowls especially) and her prices are INSANE today!

I will let Robyn tell you about it in her words:

"As a way to clear out some space in my life (and hopefully bring a bit of extra cash into our home) I'm having a shop sale today!

I love to knit and crochet items for others, and recently I've found a growing pile of finished items laying around, waiting for good homes. I thought I'd pass that goodness on to folks around the world by putting them up for sale in my Etsy shop! For each item purchased $1 is donated to charity: water to help bring clean water to folks with the most need as well!
I've got a number of items to list in the shop, and starting today everything that's READY TO SHIP will cost you just $10 for baby and kid's items and just $15 for adult items! That's mittens, cowls, hats!"

"The shop sale is now live!

All kids and baby items are just $10!

All adult items are just $15!

The shop sale will run from today until Friday at around 4pm, so grab what you can while the getting is good!

I'll be adding items to the shop throughout the week at sale prices as well, as time permits. Look for one to five items to show up around Wednesday!"

He Is Jealous For Me

{source}

Psalm 45:11

The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord.

Oh How He Loves Us, and oh, how I love this song!

Hey Girl Hilarity

So I find myself home alone on Saturday morning.  My oldest girl is at a sleepover with her cousins at Grandma's house, and my Todd took the younger 2 to piano lessons, as he does EVERY Saturday for me. Love that man.

I made a great cup of coffee and sat down at the computer, feeling in a super thankful mood and thinking deep thoughts about how great it is to be alive and have the life I do.  I decided I wanted to share those deep thoughts with you, but then...Pinterest.

{wanna follow me?}

I got very distracted with Pinterest, and my deep mood turned to silly delight as I got stuck on reading "Hey Girl/Ryan Gosling" pins.  Have you seen these?  I had to share some of my favs..

{all photos from here}

Cracks. Me. Up.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas - A Healthy Fix and Forget It Recipe

I have been on a hunt for some easy, healthy crockpot recipes.  Here is the catch--the recipe has to contain lots of veggies.  I've been on a 90% plant based diet since healing from cancer, so I need our dinners to contain lots of plants for my sake.  I refuse to make 2 different meals, and my family is still eating meat about 2-3 times a week for dinner, so my hunt has been for meals that I could fix and forget, and that would feed all of us, meat and non-meat eaters.  

This recipe was perfect.  I knew if I added beans to the veggies and skipped the cheese or used vegan cheese, that I would be able to enjoy dinner along with my family.  It worked out perfectly.  I got all the flavor of the chicken without the chicken, and my family got to enjoy some bird!

Such pretty peppers, huh?

I used a white onion, even though the recipe calls for yellow.  Use what you have.

This was super easy to throw together.  Slice your veggies, throw on the chicken, and let it cook away all day

The seasoning on this was just right.  It seems like a lot, but it was perfect.

You end up with super juicy chicken and veggies, which make for some messy fajitas, but messy is GOOD!  I really enjoyed the leftover veggies and beans over rice the next day for lunch.  Delish!!

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
{inspired by this recipe at Stacy Makes Cents}

1 yellow onion, sliced
3 bell pepper, any color, sliced
11/2 lbs chicken breasts or thighs
1/2 cup broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 tsp salt
11/2 tbls cumin
1tbls chili powder
1 lime or lemon, juiced

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed (optional)
Tortillas
Fajita Fixins

Combine peppers and onion slices and place in the bottom of a crockpot.  Lay chicken right on top.  Pour broth over.  Sprinkle with seasonings.  Squirt with lemon or lime juice.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Remove meat from crockpot and shred.  Add beans (if desired) to crockpot to heat through.  Serve veggies, beans and chicken in tortillas, with your choice of toppings!

My Must-Do Pins From Pinterest

Source: countryliving.com via Amy on Pinterest

A solution to washing boatloads of towels each week.  I plan on getting each family member 2 towels each, then washing towels just once a week!  I also love the hooks.  No more towel bars.

Source: patinastores.com via Amy on Pinterest

I'd love this sign in my bathroom.  How is it my kids are all above age 9 and I still need the "Flush" reminder?  Ugh.

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

Goodbye carpet!  A little paint and gel stain. I'm a bit concerned with how noisy it may be hearing my girls stomp up and down the stairs without the barrier of carpet, but this is very pretty!

Source: makingitfeellikehome.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

This is just contact paper! Would love to do this to my upstairs windows for extra privacy.  It still lets in the light, which is great!

Source: houzz.com via Amy on Pinterest

Chalk board paint on a bathroom door. This would be so fun to leave messages for my girls, or a new Scripture verse each week.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Amy on Pinterest

Christmas lights poked through a canvas.  A great way to add atmosphere to any room.  This would be quite romantic in a bedroom at night!

Source: cottageandvine.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

Burlap and A Sharpie!  Easy.  Love how casual this is.  I think it would look great on my black table.  I personally would exchange those glasses for mason jars!  :)

Source: virginiaandcharlie.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

Elmers glue on canvas, then paint the whole thing!  Easy Peesy.

Source: savingslifestyle.com via Amy on Pinterest

Toilet paper roll seedling holders. I knew there was a reason I was saving these!

Source: myocg.blogspot.com via Amy on Pinterest

Last but not least, Red Wine Chocolate Cake.  Yes, a must-do!

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