Checking Off My List

Gumbo - Check!

Puppy Chow - Check!

Taco Meat for Cheese Dip - Check!

Celery Cut for Pineapple Cream Cheese Appetizer - Check!

Gingerbread for Church tonight - Check!

Dry ingredients measured for Corn Casserole - Check!

Ding-dong cake - In the oven!

Next step...Clean my kitchen!!!

What's Cooking?

I love Christmas time. My mom always made it very special for my family by keeping Jesus at the center and filling the holidays with good food and good company. Since I am grown, I now enjoy helping to share some of that burden of cooking up Christmas.

So that's what I am planning on doing all day tomorrow. I am going to start out with cooking gumbo, which we will enjoy for lunch on Friday at my house with my parents, sister & family, and aunt & uncle. Then I am going to make puppy chow to bring to Laurie and Micah's on Christmas Eve night. I am also going to brown meat to add to the cheese dip that I will make on Friday night and start the Ding-Dong Cake for Christmas Day. That has to be frozen so that I can cut it into four pieces so I need to get an early start.

I am also making celery with pineapple cream cheese, a fruit salad that my family calls pink salad, and corn casserole. Good thing I have been going to Zumba! I better keep exercising or I will be rolling in to church on Sunday. :)

I also have a goal. My goal is to not enter another store until after Christmas. I have done my Christmas shopping and my grocery shopping so I am hoping that I do not have to get in one more line or swipe my credit card one more time. Can I do it? I guess we shall see!

Zumba

Zumba is so fun!

I have been going to Zumba about 3 times a week for almost 2 months, and it has become one of my favorite things to do. It is great exercise and the best thing about it is that it is so fun you don't even realize how hard you are working out.

I go to Jennifer Simpson's classes at Taylor Dance Studio on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30am to 10:30am. She loves the Lord, and many of our workout songs are Christian songs. They also have classes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at 6:30. I try to go at least one evening a week.

The class is free the first time then you can choose to pay $25 a month for unlimited classes or $5 per class.

Lance told me the other day that it looked like my gut was getting smaller. I said thank you but was unsure if it was really a compliment since it included the word "gut" ha ha!

I figure the only thing that could make it more fun would be if I had some friends to share it with. So come if you can and join me in some calorie-burning fun :)

Back to School

That's right...I'm going back to school. January 26th I start my first seminary class. Don't get any ideas though, I am not hoping to be a preacher. I'm Baptist, remember, I could not do that if I wanted to :)

I am taking Hermeneutics, a class that teaches you deeper Bible Study Methods from a language and cultural perspective, from Grace School of Theology. They have a satellite campus at First Baptist Beaumont, and the preacher there will be facilitating the class.

For a while now I have been really interested in learning more about the Greek and Hebrew languages because I think some of the fullness of God's Word can be masked in translation if we do not carefully study it and meditate on it. I think this class will teach me some helpful tools to appreciate the full complexity of Scripture as the Living Word.

This class is another way that God is bringing good out of a bad situation. I found out about the school's satellite campus and the course offerings shortly after my miscarriage. I knew that this was an opportunity that God was providing for me because like I said in my profile, I am promised to the King of Kings and while I am awaiting His return, I will not be idle. I want to make every moment count. So for now, I'm back to school.