Blogging Through the Gospels – Matthew 1

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S: Scripture-Write the ONE scripture that I feel God is using to speak to me in today’s reading.

Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

O: Observation-What might He be telling me with that scripture?

Jesus means “the Lord is Salvation.” There is depth in everything about God, even down to naming His Son. Jesus, the Lord is Salvation, for He will save His people from their sins.

A: Application-How can I apply it to my life?

There is so much to know about God and so much depth in the Scriptures. I need to pay attention to the details so that I can understand Jesus better. He is my Salvation.

P: Prayer-What is my prayer to ask God in helping me to make that application?

Father, I ask that You help me to focus on You during this reading time. Help me to understand You better so that I am not afraid of You.

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Blogging Through the Gospels

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Amy, over at Mom’s Toolbox, is hosting a new Bible study called Blogging Through the Gospels. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be taking a 14 week trip through the Gospels.

I’m really excited to begin this study. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot in Romans and Psalms but have felt a bit aimless without a structured study. This couldn’t have come at a better time! I’m not sure how much I’ll blog about it, if it will be every day or several times a week. But I will definitely be keeping a personal journal throughout the reading.

Week 1 reading schedule
Day 1 devotional guide

Won’t you join us? This is an excellent opportunity to know Christ better!

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Operation Overcome Kitty Carrier Fear – Part 2

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Success!

I added the kitty carrier lid. There was no other place in our living room for the end table so it went into the spare bedroom. Ah well. Our apartment looks more and more like a college pad every day!

Bruno: OOKCF (Operation Overcome Kitty Carrier Fear) – Part 1

Bruno: OOKCF – Part 2

Fiona: OOKCF – Part 1

Fiona: OOKCF – Part 2

Oddly enough, they keep fighting about who gets to sleep in the carrier. It looks like we need to buy another one! Fiona was sitting on top of the cat carrier on Sunday. Bruno stuck his head in and Fiona swatted him! Possessive cat!

I’ll let them get used to this setup for awhile and then reattach the door. I’ll have to do something to keep the door from closing on them. Bungee cord?

Hubby thinks my efforts are noble but will be in vain when the cats are forced to be inside the carrier. I’m still optimistic it won’t be so bad if they are used to the idea. We’ll see!

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Menu Plan Monday

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I have one week left of intense kanji studies. Right now I’m investing around three hours per day in study time and thus chose mostly repeat and easy to make recipes for this week. I need all of the extra time I can manage!

Monday – Spaghetti and garlic bread
Tuesday – Soba noodles and gyoza
Wednesday – Greek Delight
Thursday – Tacos
Friday – Orange chicken styled tofu
Sabbath lunch – Coconut Stir fry
Sabbath dinner – Pizza (Italian pizza crust, red onion, mushroom, fresh basil, homemade sauce, Daiya “mozzarella cheese”)

Last week’s results:
Greek Delight – This is amazing. We had enough ingredients to make it for dinner one night and two additional lunches. SO good!

Sesame Tofu Stir Fry – We didn’t like it and decided it wasn’t worthwhile to change it to suit our tastes.

Ruth asked for a photo of our pizza, so here it is! I am still trying to perfect the crust; it turns out a little doughy but tastes great. Unfortunately, the undercooked crust didn’t look as appetizing as the uncooked pizza. So…

My hubby took this photo and called it “the obligatory artsy-fartsy food photo.”

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What’s On My Nightstand?

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What's On Your Nightstand
Like last month and the month before, almost all of my free time has been spent studying Japanese. Yesterday I reached the 3/4 mark in the kanji book I’m working through. That’s over 1,500 kanji! If I keep to my schedule, I will be done with this book on April 6th. After that, my study time will drop dramatically and I’ll have more time for reading books, blogging, and quilting.

Books completed in March (links are to my reviews):
The Romanov Bride, Robert Alexander (finished in Feb. but after the Nightstand post)
The Aloha Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts, #16), Jennifer Chiaverini (finished in Feb. but forgot to add it to the last Nightstand post… oops!)
The Union Quilters (Elm Creek Quilts, #17), Jennifer Chiaverini
The Gathering Storm (Zion Diaries, #1), Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene
Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy it: Live La Bella Vita and Look Great Too!, Teresa Giudice

Currently reading
Memoir/Autobiography/Biography – Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, very slowly plugging away at it.

For fun – The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First. I actually won this book in Goodreads First Reads program. I entered the drawing in hopes of winning an advance copy for my father-in-law, who is absolutely obsessed with baseball. Since I won a copy, I have to read and review it! Surprisingly, I’m actually enjoying it.

Japanese Studies – Remembering the Kanji, Vol. 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters

Theology – Psalms and Romans (Bible) – reading several chapters a day from whichever of the two books tugs at me.

To-read in April
Memoir/Autobiography/Biography – Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America, Linda Furiya

Classics – Daniel Deronda, George Eliot

Christian life – Becoming a Woman of Excellence

For fun – Love Finds You in Lahaina, Hawaii, Bodie Thoene

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Menu Plan Monday

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I had a lot of fun picking this week’s menu. I tried picking recipes that used ingredients we already had. It was about half successful!

Monday – Greek Delight – (New recipe) This will use up the last of my basil plant.
Tuesday – Soba noodles and gyoza
Wednesday – Soft shelled tacos
Thursday – Spaghetti
Friday – Riblets and mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy (gravy is a new recipe)
Sabbath lunch – Sesame Tofu Stir Fry (new recipe, rolled over from last week)
Sabbath dinner – Pizza (Italian pizza crust, red onion, olives, fresh basil, homemade sauce)

Last week’s results:
Macaroni and Cheese – This one was a no go. I really wanted to like it, but the coconut milk didn’t really work. We didn’t buy the recommended brand so maybe that was the problem.

Italian pizza crust – Awesome! Our pizza ended up a bit differently than planned as we ended up not having all the ingredients. Whoops. I made the pizza with this crust, homemade pizza sauce, red onion, fresh basil, a smattering of olives, and Daiya mozzerella cheese. YUM! We loved it so much (in part because of the fresh basil and partly because of the crust) that we’ll be making the pizza again this week.

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This week’s memory text – Romans 8:3

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I’m really enjoying learning this passage from Romans. This week I’m going to add on verse 3.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh

As I was reading through Psalms and Romans last week, I marked down several other texts I want to memorize. Each text was either a promise or a revelation about God and His character. Is there enough time throughout one’s life to memorize significant portions of Scripture?

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Menu Plan Monday

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I had a bit of trouble coming up with meal ideas this week. For some reason, I just wasn’t inspired while working on the menu. Somehow I ended up with four pasta dishes…

Monday – Macaroni and Cheese (new recipe)
Tuesday – Tacos
Wednesday – Soba noodles and gyoza (a favorite! We love making gyoza.)
Thursday – Spaghetti
Friday – Sesame Tofu Stir Fry (new recipe)
Sabbath lunch – Coconut stir fry
Sabbath dinner – Pizza (onion, mushroom, homemade crust)

I’m still trying to figure out if there’s a way to mix this menu up a bit so we don’t have so many pasta dishes in a row. I don’t think there is! Oh, well. We probably won’t be eating any pasta next week…

Last week’s successes:
Vegan Meat Lover’s Pizza Casserole – I’m not sure how I felt about this recipe, but my husband loved it. He said it tasted even better reheated than fresh out of the oven.
Pasta in Lemon Cream Sauce – A big hit! Next time we make this, we’re going to double the greens, using half spinach and half bok choy. Yum!

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This week’s memory text

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I am slacking on my memory work and I really need to be more committed! This week I’m going to continue in Romans 8. I’ve already memorized verse 1 so I’m going to add verse 2.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Today I was reading through Romans 8 and marveling at how much is packed into just the one chapter. I’m sure there are entire books written discussing what Romans 8 contains.

Verse 15 is my favorite:

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Abba, Father. I want to know Him better.

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