What Goes In, Must Come Out

Okay it's confession time. I"m going to be blunt for a moment. Daily reading of my bible just hasn't been happening and I don't have an excuse. I check my facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram, and email daily. Yes I use all of those.

 Now why on earth would I spend countless minutes each day skimming through celebrity posts, email coupons, and cute garden ideas instead of spending time in the Word? 

The same reason I eat fast food french fries instead of broccoli. It's tastes delicious, it's easily accessible, and cheap. But I don't think about the harm it causes my body, the cholesterol, the heart disease, the long term expense. And even good things can stop our spiritual growth if they are put in priority over what we truly need.  Broccoli may be hard to swallow unless seasoned just right and in the same way sometimes the bible is hard to understand and it pushes me to dig too deep. But does that mean it isn't necessary for my health? Since I"m not touching leafy greens, I'm thinking it is necessary. 

"Jesus answered, 'It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'. " Matthew 4:4

Now, I"m going to group us all together from here on out, because you are human too and I can guess in some small way you can relate, if not in daily reading, maybe in prayer time, or in serving others. We all know our physical health is important, but how much more should be be concerned about our spiritual health? And why do we put it aside for such meaningless things? We can be as healthy physically as a marathon runner until the day we die, but if we do not care for our spiritual health our one and only life has been in vain. 

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales, rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4: 7-8

I often think about things as an input/output. For instance, if I hear a catchy song on the radio, it's stuck in my head all day. Now depending on what station you listen to that could be a positive thing or a negative thing for the day. But you are meditating on that song all day, whether you realize it or not. Meditation is simply reflecting on something, mulling it over in your head, and contemplating it. If the words I'm putting in my head are condescending or degrading then sooner or later I'm going to show that outwardly. But if I am thinking of godly righteous things, than that will allow God's truth to shine through me. After all, isn't that what I truly want and pray for my life to be? 

So where do we begin, how do we get back on track and find that study time, the growth, the health? 

 I'm going to work on my input. For me, it's a matter of lack of discipline and distractions. So taking some of the trash I put in and replacing it with reading the Word and prayer time. Maybe for you it's an all or nothing, maybe it's just starting with 10 minutes a day, maybe it is connecting with someone to help you stay on track.  Something I do from time to time is put notes on my bathroom mirror so I can think on them throughout the day. So since we're studying Romans I posted some verses and prayers up for the week. What is something you can do to keep distractions out and godly words in? 

Catch-up with the Campbells

I've missed a lot of blogging opportunities lately so I'm going to call this a catch-up blog.....

Lately, I've found that it is easy to get caught up in comparison. In your 20's there are naturally a lot of life changes that you and your friends go through. It seems that  "Everyone else has a great career" "Everyone else is getting married." "Everyone else is having kids." "Everyone else is buying a house." (Of course for a girl, it doesn't stop there-comparison can be an evil thing, but we won't get into all that. )We seem to always be looking to move our status forward in life, achieving that next step-career, marriage, house, kids...whatever that may be. I would venture to say that as you get older, it doesn't really change. There's always going to be something or someone you are envious of, something ahead that you just haven't quite got to yet, plans that you haven't achieved and others around you have. Sometimes, especially for us "planners" it's easy to get too caught up in hitting your next goal, and dreaming towards what it next. This is necessary and healthy to some extent, but you can't let that stop you from enjoying the place you are at right now.I'm not saying you shouldn't have drive or dreams or passion for the future. You should. But when you line your dreams and goals up to what others have and become fixated on reaching this status, it becomes unhealthy.  So I've made a new goal  to "live in the moment" more. To spend time enjoying my journey and God's timing in my life. With doing that, I can be truly happy for others and let go of the jealousy that clings to us so easily and causes destruction in our lives.

"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." James 3:16

Going along with that, Kyle and I have talked a lot about when to start our family and what we would like our family to look like. For now we have decided to take every one's advice and enjoy being married for a while before we have kids. So we are trying to make the most out of that by sleeping in, catching movies, saving money, going on dates, spending time with our friends, and hopefully more vacations and camping adventures within the next year or two!

To continue catching everyone up to speed on the Evansville Campbells, I"ll just post a few pictures of our summer so far......

Kyle graduated from Police Academy

He received the Top Gun Award of his class .
(Does this mean I need to start a wall of police
plaques next to his army wall?)

Lola and Marshall finally became friends.
Hopefully they can play more this summer. 

We spent the night in STL, caught a game, and went
shopping with the Vaughans. This was our mini-vacation 
before Kyle started his shifts with the EPD.
Note: Dollar General Kids Spray
Sunblock 50 is the best! I was sitting in the sun
for hours and did not get burnt at all.
I don't think that has ever happened.

Our cat, Frankie had four kittens. We have three left after Lola
mistook one for a chew toy.
They are still up for grabs if anyone would like a kitten.

Our yard may look dead, but my little garden is growing.
I have been trying to keep it watered.
My broccoli did great, and my zucchini
is just now starting to go crazy.
Can't wait for the rest of my veggies to be ready!

House projects have been at a stand still until we get the shop built which should start next month sometime. Work has been busy and exhausting for both of us, but I have to say I am enjoying this time in our life, and being married now more than ever.

Mother's Day and Prayers

Tonight as I am planning out my Mother's Day weekend with our moms, I can't help but sit down and write. I am so very blessed to have a mother and mother-in-law who are both just truly amazing. My mom has a saying she loved to say to us, "Boys may come and go, but mom's are forever." It was always said as a joke. But really, it was meant to put things in perspective. My mother is a steady rock in my life and always will be.
 When I got married she said to me "Boyfriends have came and gone, but husbands are forever."
I wasn't sure what to think about having a "forever mother in law". Typically I hear people complaining about theirs.  But instead I find myself missing my mother in law, like I miss my own family and looking to her for advice and support. I continually thank God that He has placed us into such loving and awesome families.

But as I think about our blessings, my thoughts drift to something that I cannot turn away from. My heart hurts for those who do not have this kind of love given by a mother and a family. There are children who do not understand what a real love means. They are treated as unimportant, abused, neglected, and alone. 

 Children are important. Children are meant to be seen and heard. Children have gifts and talents and love to give. But they need someone to guide them, teach them, and show them they are important. We are called to this. I am called to this.

God has given me awesome motherly examples, not just to give me warm fuzzy feelings, but to see a small glimpse of how much God cares and loves for us-His children. I know most of you would do anything for your child. Just thinking about their safety, their future, their dreams. I know it brings tears to your eyes. How much more does our perfect Father care about our safety, our future, and our dreams? So for those children who do not know the love of a family, or the love of a Heavenly Father, I will pray.  Pray that they are safe, that they find the love of a family, that they are shown God's love, that someone sees them. Not for just another kid or a nuisance, but as a human being with purpose, created in God's image, to love and be loved.

My attempt at Freezer Meals

Well I finally did something productive with my Pinterest addiction.

One of the goals I"m working on is healthier eating, nothing crazy, just more emphasis on nutrition and less eating out for financial and health reasons.
My main issue is getting home after work. The last thing I want to do is take time to make an actual meal or something other than a frozen pizza or grilled cheese. So with more veggies in mind I decided to attempt making some freezer meals for the crock pot.

I decided to start small so I picked 4 meals (7 bags that should equal at least 14 meals for the two of us)
I searched through blogs and came up with a shopping list. Kyle, the most awesome husband ever, went to the store yesterday and brought back EVERYTHING on my list with no complaints.


So today I got everything ready. Labeled my gallon bags and started chopping.


Then I got the meat trimmed and ready and loaded the bags with the meat, veggies, and all the seasonings according to each recipe.

Sealed the bags, shook the seasonings around, and loaded them in my freezer.

Just throw a bag in the crock pot in the morning and you're good to go. Easy! And it only took half of one of my freezer drawer space.

The whole process was 1 hr for Kyle to get the groceries (and other items I sent him for) and about 2 1/2 hours to chop, trim, load the bags and full kitchen clean up. (Including a 20 minute break from chopping when the onions made me cry so hard I couldn't see anything until the swelling and burning stopped.)
I figured it up to be approximately $5-$6 per meal which is much better than going out.
I could have done this cheaper with coupons and watching sales and done them healthier, using organic ingredients, but hey, I'm starting small right? I imagine doing this in the summer with garden veggies will be so much better!

I made 2 bags of Teriyaki Chicken
2 bags of Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
2 bags of Healthy BBQ Chicken
1 bag of Pot Roast
I even had quite a bit of unused ingredients too:


Here are the awesome blogs I used to get the information and recipes:

http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html
http://amandathevirtuouswife.blogspot.com/2012/02/pot-roast-freezer-meal.html
http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/freezer-cooking-slow-cooker-meals.html

My Protection

Sometimes people say "Jill,you must really like a man in uniform." With Kyle serving 9 years in the military and now being a police officer. He once trained some in jujitsu and always insists on carrying a gun. Needless to say, I have always thought of myself as well protected.
But yesterday, as Kyle was leading Onelife Church in worship, I found a new feeling of protection. As his voice filled the room with praise, his arms lifted high in surrender and complete worship, I saw another gift of protection God has given me, undeserving. He has given me a man to lead and protect our family, who I can lean on for support, who will teach our children how sinners can be redeemed. God spared my husband's life in war so that His purpose will be fulfilled and His kingdom may expand. I'm so grateful that God chose us, though we fall short, to live out our lives for him each day.

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalms 116:5-9

Smelly Boots and Love

Kyle comes home tomorrow from his last drill weekend (or week-as they so often turn into). This is the last weekend the army will stomp through my weekend plans, make my husband cuss like a sailor (funny phrase considering), laugh at crude jokes, and force me to do man-type things around the house in his absence. Okay so I don't really do the man-type things, I just call my Dad and brother. Same thing.

My part of the National Guard journey started when I wrote letters to Kyle during his first deployment. Of course at that time, I had no idea that God had such an amazing plan for us. We were really just acquaintances, not even friends. My church sent him cards each month. One day as we were talking about encouragement, I had some verses come to mind and I sent them to Kyle thinking maybe I could brighten his day. I assumed he'd read it and add them to the pile of cards and well wishes. He wrote back. After a few letters we started emailing and messaging. We became close friends during those months and as he returned home.

We eventually started dating and that's when I really learned what this "army thing" was all about. He talked in code so I had to google half of the things he said after our conversation. At first it was an adventure, it was "guy in a uniform" alluring. As time went on I found that drill weekends will always be on a weekend you have plans. You will often not have a date to a wedding or family event. PTSD is very real. Army boots, clothes, and equipment are gross, smelly, and everywhere. Not so glamorous.

A few years later, I had moved to Evansville, Kyle was still in Carbondale so we were living 2 hours apart. We talked often about getting married, but Kyle still had school to finish and talk of another deployment was stirring. Sometimes I think of this deployment as the black hole in my life. I got no sleep, I stayed up as much as humanly possible, sometimes sleeping on my couch to be close to the computer, in case I heard from him. Other times I think it wasn't so bad, I drove home and spent most of my time with my family. I had some of the best times with my girlfriends. We were always jetting off on some weekend road trip or meeting for Grey's night every week. I made it anyway. Kyle came home. Then we adjusted. Looking back, I can see how God used that time to grow each of us in our own way.

There were a lot of ups and downs between then and where we are now. God used Kyle's gifts of leadership, protection, and a level head and my gift of encouragement, understanding, and compassion to balance and weave our lives together in so many ways to bring us to where we are.

I"m not sure if I really believed Kyle the first time he mentioned getting out of the army. It was something we always talked about being in our life forever. Initially, I wasn't completely on board with it. We have a family there, Kyle is very good in his position, there's money and insurance. But at the same time, there is a new police career ahead for him, a family to start in a few years, and money is just a side note. I told Kyle it was his decision, although now, I'm glad he chose to leave.

So as we finish up our last weekend I can look back and say I'm so glad to be part of the National Guard. It has been an interesting ride, full of lessons and leaning on God's love. I'm so excited to get to start our next adventure and see what is ahead.

The Kitchen Table

It sat in the middle of our kitchen. I guess middle is relative when you have a very small kitchen. The glorious round oak table of my childhood was so large that we had it resting against the back wall of the kitchen. There was a chair in the back, against the wood paneled wall, that only a very skinny child could slide into and sit. Sometimes when we didn’t think mom was looking we would push the table against the person in the back and smash our sibling against the wall so they had to wiggle themselves free. This seat was adventurous and I liked to sit there often.

The table and chairs were beautiful, made of a medium grainy oak. The table sat on a wide pedestal with legs that extended out for your feet to kick during dinner. The chairs had intricate designs carved in them that sometimes we had to clean with q-tips. I can still picture my finger tracing the design while mom quizzed me on my spelling words.

Like many families, this table was more than just a piece of furniture. It caught all the mail we threw at it, helped us color smooth lines on our coloring pages, gave us a platform for amazing play dough creations, and provided us a fort to play under. Our table was often counted on as extra counter space for mom’s cooking lessons. It’s where I learned how to make chocolate chip cookies that magically fix a bad day. Often times Dad would come home late from farming and we were sitting at the table finishing supper. He would walk in with a big smile and toss his Pioneer hat on one of our little heads. We loved being the lucky one. Remembering the look on his face, I'd say he was probably thinking he was the lucky one.

Over the years the table has lost its shiny varnish and a few of the chairs have broken. But that big Sam’s Club table has gained beauty in memories from all the knife scratches, marker stains, and worn spots. It was a table that lived with us through bee stings, long division, and our many family conversations. It still sits in my mom’s dining room soaking up our busy lives and catching everything we throw at it.