Thank God for a clogged sink!

You know those situations where things are bad...like really bad? I mean so bad and frustrating that you just want to give up so you do. You throw your hands up and give up for the rest of the day and think "It will be better tomorrow" and then you get some horrible Ground Hog Day rerun of the terrible day you had before.
That's the kind of week I've had. It seemed like everything that could go wrong, would go wrong. It was a frustrating work week, things were breaking, I forgot important things, I basically gave up on housework, the sleep just wasn't feeling me and my husband was having his own frustrations.
One of my biggest complaints from this week was the leaking/clogging of my kitchen sink. I finally stored enough effort to do housework and I'm playing superwoman trying to get everything done at the same time...much later in the evening than I probably should have. The mounds of dishes that have piled themselves in and around the sink are still there due to my lack of maid or magical wand and I begin to wash. It doesn't take too long before I notice that the water is failing to go down the drain. Add another 30 seconds to my story and we suddenly have water gushing underneath the sink. Mind you, this is the dirty water that has exploded onto everything under my sink. So now, not only do I have mounds of dirty dishes, but I have various bottles of cleaning supplies that are disgusting and no sink to wash any of this in.
At this point, you may be thinking "How does this post have anything to do with thanking God?" Fortunately for me, I have a very loving and self-sacrificing husband who not only tried to repair my sink, but spent late night hours crawling under the house to fix it. While trying to fix this clog, my husband discovered that we were one toilet flush away from backing our whole septic system into our house. Well, basically it was already backing up into the pipes, it just hadn't made it to our bathrooms and such. So, praise the Lord for a clogged sink! If not for a clogged sink that my husband investigated, we would have had an even bigger mess on our hands. Pardon the pun.
I'm not going to lie. I truly believe that it is only by God's mercy that this didn't end up worse. The man who came to pump our tank said he was amazed that we hadn't had some sort of problem much earlier.
While we are talking about God's mercy in a very small way, we also have His amazing mercy in the giant things of life, like not giving us what we deserve: permanent spiritual death. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." ~Lamentations 3:22-23  I am so thankful for God's tender mercy towards me as a sinful and useless human being. In spite of myself, He still decided to send His son to suffer and die for me even though I have done everything to NOT deserve it. It's hilarious how you realize that bad weeks aren't really as bad as they seem to be in the moment and God shows Himself evident and working in our lives even through backed up pipes!

P.S. The reason for the system backing up isn't due to our lack of attentiveness as homeowners. We had bigger problems than just a full tank. Again, pardon the pun!

A Pinterest recipe & expectations...

So I successfully completed my first Pinterest recipe on my own without any sort of damage done to the kitchen. Yay! If you know me, this is a super achievement! :D
For those of you who have asked, the recipes for my now-famous pumpkin muffins and the two icings (cream cheese & cinnamon) are below. Pictures shall be coming soon!
 

Pumpkin Muffins:
- 1 Box of cake mix (I used a basic yellow cake mix)
- 1 15oz can of 100% Pure Pumpkin
Notes:
Yes it truly is that simple! Mix the two ingredients together, dish into muffin tins, then bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes
P.S.
The batter is probably thick enough that you don't have to put them in muffin tins. You could place them on cookie sheets if you are in a hurry or don't feel like washing difficult dishes. :)
It's supposed to make 2 dozen but I liked mine slightly larger so I came out with 22.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Notes:
Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla. Gradually stir in c-sugar.
P.S.
Mine turned out to be the perfect consistency but add more c-sugar if you want it thicker.
Also, my recipe was supposed to be for 12 servings but I ended up with a lot leftover.

Cinnamon Frosting:
- 1/4 stick of butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- milk
- cinnamon
Notes:
Press butter with fork until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and milk. Add cinnamon until you have reached your preferred potency ;)
 P.S.
Don't panic! I didn't put measurements for either milk or cinnamon because it depends on how thin/thick and strong you want the icing. When I did it, I mistakenly put too much milk in (about 1/4 cup) and had to add around another cup of c-sugar to balance it out and mine was still a little too runny. I also added about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon once I got the consistency under control. Just fiddle with it and have fun!

P.P.S.
For both icings, the measurements are not crucial. As long as you get them to the consistencies you want, they should be fine. Just guestimate it! That's what I did and people still loved them. Who would have thought?
Oh and an added note, I made both icings and did about 11 muffins in each flavor. If you want to do all one icing, go for it!


So now you are probably wondering what "expectations" have to do with a Pumpkin muffin Pinterest recipe. Well, to be honest, I didn't like the muffins at first. I was excited to bite into my muffin expecting a pronounced pumpkiny taste when all of a sudden I tasted....cake. Yuk! Talk about a let down. Please don't let this review deter you from trying this recipe. They are actually quite good! Have you ever bitten into something expecting one thing and had your taste buds metaphorically punched in the gut? Instead, I felt as though they were repeatedly kicked. Ok, I'll admit it wasn't that bad. ;)
Anyway, I just started contemplating this idea of expectations. We have this specific perception of something/someone. We expect things to be or happen a certain way. We expect people to walk a certain walk and talk a certain talk,  but how many times do they actually do what we expect. How many times are we disappointed, saddened or angered by our expectations not being met? My thoughts go back to the Aurora, Colorado shooting early Friday morning. The last thing I expected to hear was about a psychotic man going on a shooting rampage in a theater crammed with people. Some emotions I experienced? Anger, sadness, disappointment, despair, disbelief, depressed. I will never understand people who have the desire to willfully take an innocent life.
I consider my expectations of people and I could dwell on the disappointments or anger that is cause by their lack of responsibility/consideration. This could spur me to be a very depressed person who holds no expectations; therefore, not trusting anyone. I would be living a very lonely and sad life, but there is always hope!
I turn in my Bible to Matthew 11:28 where I find one of God's most wonderful promises. He has promised me rest and comfort even in the midst of my most terrible trials. I can find hope and peace in Him because He has promised to direct me and lead me (Jeremiah 29:11).
The even better apart about these promises is that I am not obligated to meet any sort of requirement in order to receive God's promise of comfort and peace. My expectations of God are flawless because He will never fail them but God will not remove Himself from me if I fail to meet His expectations. That is what makes Him so amazing! Not that we don't have any responsibility, but that if we fail (which we will as humans) He will not discard us. While He does not ignore our mistakes and sin, He does not cast us aside because we err (1 John 1:9).
I love that I can be assured of my expectations of God!

Freedom!

Due to school, work and lack of time, I have not been able to write. Part of me wants to write but I feel like I'm cheating if I only write one or two paragraphs. We'll just have to see how long this one gets:
This week's theme for me has been "freedom" and how I view it. How do you view freedom?
I went to a dictionary (albeit an online one) to properly define freedom. Here is what I found:
-the quality or state of being free
-the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
-a political right
-The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint
-exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

Above are just a few of the definitions I found throughout dictionaries. Now I want to look at the Bible for freedom:
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Yes, we were in bondage to sin. We were captured and held by our lusts, but no because of God's sacrifice, Jesus Christ, we can be free!
1Co 7:22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
Now wait a second, I was just told that I was set free, but now you're telling me I'm in bondage again? Seems like a lose, lose...from slavery to servitude.
It is...and it's not.
God's freedom is a bondage of love, commitment, sacrifice. It's a "want to be" bondage. When you realize the ultimate sacrifice he's made to you then you can't help but want to be a servant for Him because you are SO indebted.

Unfortunately the world's view of freedom is my own right, my own choice, what I want to do, how I want to do it, who I want to be with, and so much more. We confused personal demands with freedom, and yes, I truly believe there is a difference. We had no "right" to anything good. In fact, the only thing we ever had a right to was hell. There was a place for us reserved right along with Satan and his henchmen. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23. But somehow God was merciful and spared us from this "right", he was gracious and gave us a "right" we never deserved.
We need to step back and examine our outlook on freedom. How do you view it? Do you view it as an indebtedness to the Savior? Or are you one who would think that it is your right to be happy, healthy, wealthy? Woe to you Believer if you have forgotten the true meaning of freedom. Step back, examine, and act on what you've read.

"Freedom," Jesus says, "You're doing it wrong."