Return to your first love

I would like to think that I am a morning person...and maybe some days I am, but I usually require about 5 minutes just to wake up. I don't drink coffee or anything; I just need 5 minutes to get going before I have a normal conversation.

I am blessed with my husband's early wake up time because he often gets Mataya in the mornings around 6:30ish and keeps her occupied until about 7:15 or 7:30 when she decides she needs her breakfast. After I feed her I usually play with her and eat my breakfast and so on. When she goes down for her first nap around 9ish my mind begins to go full speed with everything that I need to do! Most mornings I really try to get a quiet time/time in the Bible before I start checking off everything that needs to be done off my mental list that is already accumulating; however, today was one of those tough but good days.

Instead of taking time to read my bible or devotional (Jesus Calling - you need to read it if you haven't done so!), I started in on the tasks of the day and some fun projects I had waiting. Micah was home for the morning lifting weights in the garage. Around 10 he came in and Mataya woke up from her nap. I had felt a little guilty about not spending good time with the Lord, but I kept telling myself that one day didn't really matter...

Well, I started noticing that my heart/attitude was starting to get very grumpy and negative. When Micah came inside I snapped at him, and I just couldn't seem to get my joyful attitude back. All of the sudden I felt the Lord whisper to my soul, "Adrienne, don't I deserve your first fruits?"

I was taken aback because I was trying to make excuses in my brain..."well God I always give you my first fruits of the day, and I want to get stuff done during this nap because I need time for my projects"

Wow...

I realized how selfish that sounded...I felt God reply, "Adrienne, you are having the same attitude that Cain had."

Sigh...I was, wasn't I? I thought my time was more important than spending time with God, and it wasn't helping me at all anyways. I was getting grumpy and upset without God's peaceful presence starting my day.

I quickly asked Micah if I could take just 15 minutes to get right before I let the day go on, and he of course readily agreed to watch Mataya because he is an awesome husband.

I went to the other room and sat quietly before the Lord. What do you have to say to me Lord today?

"Return to your first love...Me"

Return to you? But I never left Lord...

"Come to me before you start going on all your activities and receive my love to fill you up for the day...you need my presence"

My heart ached with the realization once again that I need to return to my first love everyday, not just when I am in trouble or extremely happy. Thank you Lord for your gentle reminder that I need to return to you everyday.

God warns us in Revelation that we must not abandon the love we had for Him at first in Revelations 2:4-5: 

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Oh Lord, I repent that I did not give you the first fruits of my love this morning...thank you for your grace and forgiveness.

God Bless,

Adrienne Barclay

Taco Pizza

So yesterday I woke up with a sick hubby...fever, chills, and all of those fun symptoms. I asked him what he would like for dinner, and he promptly replied: taco pizza. I was puzzled at first because I don't normally make this meal, only probably twice in our whole marriage, plus he is the general manager at taco bell so he eats Mexican food ALL the time. However, I wanted to please my sick husband, so I decided to make taco pizza.

My mom always made the best taco pizza, in my humble opinion, but I decided I needed to branch out and try other options. I needed to find an easy and fast option for the crust. Now, I am usually a stickler on making homemade crust for pizza and such because it is so much cheaper, and I like the taste much better, but I was crunched for time so I ran to the store to get my groceries and picked up a refrigerated crust. I was pleasantly surprised with the results and more importantly the time it took to make the pizza. It probably only took me about 25 minutes to make the whole thing!

I will definitely be adding this recipe to my arsenal in the future, especially because I was told that it needed to be repeated in the future by Micah :) The recipe is tweaked a little from one I found on the internet from another blogger, but you can add or tweak it however you would like! (I may even make my own crust next time, but I was a little spoiled by just rolling out an already made one!)

Taco Pizza

1 pound lean ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza dough
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used taco because it was what I had on hand)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced black olives
4 green onions, chopped

Roll out the crust on a cookie sheet at bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes then spread the refried beans on top followed by the meat, cheese, and toppings. While it is baking I cooked the ground beef (or deer in my case) then added the taco seasoning. Then bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

That's it! Pretty easy, and a quick fast meal for the weeknights. I have plenty of leftovers in the fridge (something I do quite often), and I'm looking forward to eating them for lunch today. Next time I will try to get a photo of my creation, but I admit I'm usually to excited to eat that I forget :)

God Bless,

Adrienne