The Complaining Challenge

I am a complainer. No excuses. No way around it (no matter how hard I try to think of a way).  When things don't go exactly the way I want, I make it known through my words.

"Do everything without complaining or arguing," -Philippians 2:14

Ouch. How often to I do anything without complaining or arguing? Especially with my family. They are the ones I should be loving the most here on this earth yet they are the ones that get the brunt of my bad attitude day after day.

I love being a stay at home mom but how many times a day do I find myself complaining about the mess, the cleaning, the fighting, the cooking, etc? You would think I didn't want to be here the way I go on!

I was reading about Mandy's challenge she proposed to herself over at Biblical Homemaking and knew this was something I not only wanted but needed to do.

So, introducing Thankful Thursday's!

Every Thursday I will be listing 5 different things I am thankful for that week and I will be posting them around my house to remind me everyday that I have nothing to complain about.

1. My beautiful, healthy family. I have always been so thankful to the Lord for the health He has blessed us with. This is something I will definitely be including regularly in my praise this week. (I love this picture! It is at the end of a long Christmas day and I think everybody's faces display that quite well! I think we qualify for awkward family photos for sure! :P)

2. My Bible. First and foremost I am thankful for my bible because it is the Word of God. The riches contained within these pages are so great that nobody will ever know all there is to know. There is always more to learn and grow in relationship with our Lord and Savior. Secondly, I am thankful for the freedom to own a bible without fear of persecution. The kids have been learning about different countries in their Sunday School class and how so many of them risk death just for proclaiming they are a Christian, let alone owning a bible! This has just helped me to see just how great of a treasure this book truly is. (And as you can see Ephesians is probably one of my favorite books!)

3. Food. We have never had to know what it truly means to be starving. God has always provided us with more than enough. And although I think that we could definitely use a lesson around here in being a little more thankful for the food we are given (I'm talking to you picky eaters of the house, a.k.a. children :) we never need to worry about going hungry. In fact, we could stand to be more generous with what we have by hosting meals here or by blessing another family with a meal. (Hmm stay tuned...)

4. Ahh sunsets. Some of you may think this is silly but I think God  paints these beautiful pictures in the sky just for me. There is nothing quite like a prairie sunset where you can watch it fall completely over the horizon with nothing blocking your view. You just watch and watch until there is just a sliver of sun left and then it is just gone. Breathtaking. But I have come to discover that around here, although you can't watch it completely disappear with the different landscape, there is still a beauty about it when you watch all the colors reflecting on the lake. Gorgeous.

5. And finally, this man right here. (You don't have to tell me how handsome he looks in his hunter orange duds!) This man treats me like royalty. He provides for our family in so many ways and is such a loving husband and father. He encourages me daily and loves me through all the complaining. This relationship has truly revealed the worst parts of me and has shown me just how much I need the grace of our Savior. (By no fault of his own! This is in a good, God-revealing way! Ha ha oh dear I could get in trouble for this so I sure hope you understand what I'm trying to say here!) He makes me want to be a better woman! (Phew...good save?!)

I know this sounds like it is such a simple thing for many of you but this is really life-changing for me! Please pray for me as I learn to control my tongue this week (and from now on!) and change the attitude of my heart.

What are you thankful for? Please share...I love comments!

Have a great week!

Beer for Breakfast

Kind of makes you shudder a little, doesn't it? But you did read correctly. Today's final post on cooking with beer does indeed feature a breakfast recipe.

Bud-cakes.

Yup. That would be pancakes made with beer. But don't leave yet! These were the fluffiest, moist-est (???), most delicious pancakes I have ever made before. Seriously.

The recipe: (Adapted from this recipe.)

3 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 can Alexander Keith's beer (I think any light beer would be fine)
2 - 2 1/2 cups milk (enough to make the batter a little bit thin)*
1/2 cup melted butter

*I found that a bit extra milk was necessary to counteract the beer. If there isn't enough there might still be that slight beer taste to the pancakes (never good...unless you like that...then don't add extra!).

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

Mix eggs, beer, milk and butter together. Add to dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Drop batter by spoonfuls onto a hot, (greased if not a non-stick) griddle. Turn when batter rises and entire surface is dotted with holes.

Makes 18 - 24 pancakes, depending on size.

                               See how thick and fluffy these are?!

                               Seriously, at least an inch thick!

So good. I forgot to count exactly how many we got but as you can tell it was at least a plate full. Definitely enough to feed our family of five (with three little kids that can pack away at least 3 or 4 pancakes til we cut them off!)

Let me know if you give these a try and what you think of them.

Have a nice weekend everybody!