Nellisms & Life

So, since I’ve been up since 5:30 ( see earlier post), I’m STARVING and we don’t really have a lot of money to go out to eat and eat extravagant food. So I was thinking hmmm what can I make that would be good?? But not boring…. This is what I came up with. DON”T KNOCK IT TILL YOU TRIED IT!!!! It’s SO GOOD.  I looked online for recipes like mango pork chops… along those lines. But I didn’t have all the ingredients for ONE recipe, so  I tried combining the two.  I didn’t even have an onion!!! Can you believe that??? I always have onions!! I put onion in EVERYTHING from tacos to burgers, to chicken enchiladas!!! Crazy.

But I had a bell pepper. yay!!And garlic. So, I sauteed the bell pepper and garlic in a little bit of oil. I didn’t have much so I used a itty bitty bit of Worcestershire (?).  It was starting to smell good!! Then I browned my porkchops. They are the thin boneless ones. When they were done I set them aside and with the leftover juice I made a sauce out of just a pinch of lime juice, 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/4 cup white wine.  I know it sounds WEIRD!!! Then I peeled and diced a mango, and put that in the sauce. Then put it all in a pan and baked it for 30 minutes… OMW>>…. I CANNOT describe to you how incredible the flavors ARE!!! The cinnamon make the mango POP!!! The bell pepper is awesome with the pork chops! The flavors are SO good together… The lime tones down the cinnamon!!! Who would’ve “thunked” it ???? If you aren’t doing low carb like me you could put it over rice or pasta… However I DID NOT!!! =)

I want ALL your comments! Whether you think it would be good or not! Or any suggestions for the future!!! Its amazing what you can come up with, with just what you have in your kitchen!! I NEVER would have put those ingrediants together!! Brownie points for experimenting in the kitchen and getting a new, great, taste bud popping meal!! AND I saved money. Hah.

Good Morning Beautiful World!!!!!  I have already had a wonderful morning, starting at like 5:30. You know how you never WANT to get out of bed but you do and then your ok? So, I fixed a breakfast of oatmeal, bacon and coffee. YUM!!!  And it’s all worth it because Matthew flashed that gorgeous smile!!! The one he does when he’s REALLY happy.   =) =) =) =) =)  So now I’m sitting here drinking the rest of my coffee, planning out my day, dishes already washed and put away…

I actually am feeling HUMAN again. I feel really good today… I hope it lasts.  This allergy stuff is horrible!  I’m going to try to make a homemade chili tonight. It’s not something I’ve ever made but I”m going to try it out. I know if it does work out the leftovers will be good, cus’ the flavors mesh..

I”m sitting here on my couch listening to the cars go by on the street, listening to the birds sing, and my cat is wanting to get outside SO badly and catch them!! Hah!!! I LOVE this time of year. Not the allergies so much, but the weather is absolutely perfect! Perfect for taking hour long walks around the neighborhood, with your ipod, or going to play tennis at the little park on the corner, or taking a walk at dusk with your “honey”.  Aaaaah…. I’m in love!   I know What a Wonderful World is generally used during the Christmas Season. BUT, it’s what popped into my head when the sun started to come up this morning. The sunrise was so pretty, I never am not amazed by it.

Ok, well time to get to work! Clothes to be washed, and folded and hung up, and taken to the cleaners. To figure out how to make chili. To try and make some money, to exercise, to clean house, to vaccuum (ugh), to wash my truck with a hose and a bucket!!!  To try and find someone to witness to, to ask God to send me to honest hearted people that would like a Bible Study, to meet my neighbors, to be kind and cheerful to everyone!!!  Hope ya’ll have a great wonderful day!

I don’t know why I’m suprised!!! I get it like every year around this time!!! But I thought that it may just be  little cold or something. BUT when I couldn’t sleep ALL NIGHT last night because I was coughing SO much I thought ” hm, maybe I should go to the Doctor”!   Well I’m glad I did !!! I got some really AWESOME medicine. hah. I can’t wait to go to sleep tonight! I think maybe it’s just going around??? I know a lot of people that are sick right now. I told the doctor, Nyquil doesn’t even touch the cough. I need something to help me sleep. So I hope he listened. The thing is he gave me antibiotics and cough syrup for the night time… But what exactly am I supposed to do during the day??????  argh!!!  I am coughing my head off!!!  I asked Nathaniel because I was sure he would have an answer because he is like the bronchitis king!! But he didn’t have any idea. SO if any of you know SOMETHING that will help me during the day PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON MY POOR THROAT AND TELL ME!!! Dayquil is a no go. But I’ll definitley take your suggestions. I hope all you guys are feeling well! I sound like a bull frog! ribbit!  But as yucky as I feel, I’m in good spirits, so thats good!!! yay.

Well!! Now that we are home and have had church today I am REALLY about to  crash!!!!! Western District Ladies Conference was AWESOME!!!!   I have to say THANK YOU to all the people that prayed and fasted for us. I of course prayed and fasted also. There is NO WAY I could get up in front of all those people without sacrifice, prayer, and fasting. I am so glad I did. And that WE did. I felt the Holy Ghost from the very first note! As soon as I stepped foot in the auditorium I felt God.  I think the ladies of the Western District came looking for a blessing!  I hope they recieved it because I got what I came for and more!!!  I enjoy singing and ushering in the presence of God SO much!!! I love to watch the faces of people. You can tell when they are beginning to feel God.  I have to give MAJOR KUDOS to all our praise team and muscians!!!! You guys did INCREDIBLE!!! I was so proud!! And to my beautiful mother. WOW!! You seriously amaze me!! 

SO I had been praying for a loooong time before WDLC. I thought maybe God didn’t hear me, because it was friday night and I still hadn’t gotten what I came for.  But then this lady that I have the utmost respect for came and prayed for me. I’m not going to get into everything on my blog since it’s kind of personal, but all I have to say is…. HOW DID SHE KNOW ALL THAT!!!  I felt like she was a spy and had been watching me or living in my brain! She said things that I’ve only thought about!!!  But God confirmed SO MANY THINGS!!  I’m guessing it’s time for me to get out of my comfort zone. hah.  In a big way.  I have to say that things she told me would happen are already happening. It’s amazing. I think it’s awesome that God would use someone that has no clue whats going on in my life, would speak to me like that. It amazes me how much God loves us.  How I’ve been wondering if it’s just me? IS it really God?  And God sends someone from 8 hours away to speak to me. WOW!!!!  Thank you Jesus. 

So – I don’t want to brag on all my ” peoples” too much. hah. But I’m so thankful for a prayful group of ladies that’s not afraid to go the extra mile. I thoroughly enjoyed the speakers. Sis. Linville was flippn’ hilarious!!!!  OMYWORD I laughed SO hard!!!  On top of being funny, I loved how she preached about common sense stuff, with humor, it made it seem new and like I’d never heard it before.  And Sis. Saiz, WOW.  She always has something good to say! I always enjoy the story about the wimicks.  There was so much that was for me that I’m not even going to tell it all. But over all was such a incredible conference. I’m so thankful that God used me. There is nothing that feels SO good.

Church was AWESOME today. Dad preached The Vow of a Nazarite.  One of my all time favorites!!  All I’m saying is you just had to be there. Dad had that prophetic laying on of hands going one!! It used to scare me when I was a little kid because I thought he was mad. But I realized it’s just the Holy Ghost that gets on him!!!  I love it when he’s like that. God is doing such great things!!!! 

Ok. I”m done for like one whole day. No high heels for FOREVER!!!

Although I’m not entirely sure why !!! I think I’m really excited about W.D. Ladies Conference. I know that our ladies have pracitced a lot and so I know the music will be good! lol. Yea, I know thats conceited. Sorry. =(  Second on the agenda, what to wear?? what to wear?? what to wear??  TOO many choices, not enough nights ! LOL.  Ok well I”m going to be going to the gym in like an hour. I do like working out in the morning! It really makes me hyper for the rest of the day. BUT I also like going at night.. hmm.

We had AWESOME church yesterday. Nathaniel is such a good preacher. I”m so proud of him. He is SO much like dad in his mannerisms. lol. Of course they have their own styles but for some STRANGE reason they remind me of eachother. The choir did so good. I love singing that song.. Jesus the most beautiful name that I know…. The Holy Ghost really moved in practice!!! That’s when you know your going to have good church!!!

And I’m SOO SOO SOO excited that Shawn, Gwen, Ryan, and Ryley are here!!! I don’t know how I”m going to get ANYTHING out of the services while they are here. That baby is SO adorable.   At the same time she curbs my ” should I get pregnant” question. Right now the answer is a resounding NO!  I like them as long as they don’t cry or puke on me. lol. Buuuuut,  she is soooo cute. hrm. I know my dad sure wants grandkids. I suppose I could take them over to his house whenever they got fussy!! YEA RIGHT!!!

Well, I”m off to the wonderful world of working out. I pod is fully charged, work out clothes are freshly washed, time to go sweat, er glisten.  Hope ya’ll ALL have a wonderful day!

Right now I’m listening to some OLD singing!!! It’s several old records that were burned onto a cd.  The first part is Grandma Layne, Grandpa Layne and Aunt Bobbi ( Sis. Shoemake).  Then Grandma and Grandpa alone. Then Grandma, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Keith. The last part is Uncle Keith and Aunt Ginger.  I guess I listen to these when I miss my grandparents and uncle… It helps me feel closer to them. And I love listening to them sing about Heaven. Almost every song is about Heaven. I think thats something we’ve lost over the years. We sing a lot of feel good songs. We praise and worship God a lot, we lift Him up. Lol. I”m not too sure how much higher He can go.   I really do love listening to this cd.  Aunt Ginger has a neat voice, I think. She sings this one song,  Lord I”m yours. Use me I pray. I love it!!!  I think my favorite one Uncle Keith sings in Jesus takes good care of me..  IF I ever make a album of my own I would like to blend it.I also like the one about prayer. I know prayer changes things… cus I’ve been way out on the stormy raging sea!!  Whew!!! Talk about an AMAZING VOICE !!!!!  I love it!

I think thats one reason I also like listening to this. I can hear how I would make it sound newer AND you know that NOONE knows these!!!!! They would ALL think it was new.

I love hearing my grandparents sing. Grandpa had such a rich voice!  I love hearing him sing inside those pearly gates! I know that one day I will see them again. That helps. And I know I probaly shouldn’t listen to these old songs if it’s gonna make me cry. But sometimes I like to cry.  I like listening to Aunt Bobbi, grandma and grandpa sing Theres a Longing in my Heart for Heaven….  I think Aunt Bobbi still sounds the same. Of course she’s better now. But her voice is so noticeable.

I don’t remember my grandparents singing that much in my memories except at Christmases and Thanksgiving. It seemed like the whole family always gathered around the piano and sang. Those are memories I cherish. I always have wanted to play that old time style. BECAUSE it’s a lost art. Noone plays that way these days. And I probably would never play that way in church but I would LOVE to be able to in my home, singing these old songs!!   Sometimes I think I bug my family to sing around the piano like that, but I don’t ever want to lose that. I want to make a book of all the old songs my family used to sing. All the ones my mom has written, and the ones on this cd. I think it would be cool to have it. Anyways, I ‘m going to bed. Goodnight

The coolest thing JUST happened!!! I know that it’s happened to many people because I’ve heard story after story..  I’ve been working on typing some stuff and I looked at the paper and THOUGHT it said Psalms 13:7. I looked and I was like, hmmm this CAN NOT be right!!!  It didn’t fit at all!  So I read the passage before and the passage after… Still nothing!!  But something caught my eye, because I know people that are REALLY going through hard times right now and they have been on my mind and in my prayers a LOT lately. Things that have NOT been brought on by their own doings, but by people they love and some even family members!!!

So I’m reading along.. Not really thinking that God would show me anything, it late and Gods probably asleep. hehe.  THEN all the sudden my brain realizes what I’m reading !!!

The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

²⁰He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

²²The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

WOW!!! This really touched me!! Sometimes it seems like God has given up, and He is not there and no matter how much we pray it’s NEVER going to end!!! But this passage of scripture says otherwise.  NOT that I want anyone to be desolate. I’m sure that my idea of desolate and Gods idea of desolate are 2 COMPLETELY different things!! But isn’t that what you get when you mess with the people of God????  At times I’ve wanted this particular person to suffer GREATLY!!! But I have to pray it through and leave it to Gods hands.  I HOPE that he makes it right with God and his family.  You can’t accuse, demean, talk about, hurt, take great measures so people have nothing and have to struggle for every thing and expect to get away with it!!! Not when it’s a child of God. SO this passage of scripture really kind of put things into a greater perspective for me.  It’s found in Psalms 34:15-22.  I’m not entirely sure what the bones part meant??? lol. But I put it in there anyway.

THEN after I was so thrilled that I read that passage I looked back at my paper and I was supposed to be in PROVERBS!!! But HONESTLY I looked like 8 times and I thought it said PSALMS!!! So maybe God just really wanted me to read that passage. I believe that can happen.

So to all of you that are going through hard times, don’t give up!!  The righteous are not desolate! Isn’t it amazing even in our horrible economy.. if you pay your tithes and offering and give God all the firsts and what is His that your money just seems to last longer??  That you find the really good deals when you go grocery shopping?? That people that owe you money all the sudden start repaying you??  No matter how much I WANT, I may not get ALL I want. But EVERY need is met! I have food, a roof over my head, clothes, family…  I think we all have more than we really think we do. And sometimes, just sometimes God gives us what we want!!!  I think it’s a added blessing of being faithful.  Ok, I’m all out of steam now.

Last night I finished reading The Long Road Home by Lori Wick. She is one of my favorite christian authors!!  Some of her books are more simple but the stories are so good you feel like your a part of the story!!  I started another favorite by Francine Rivers (another favorite author) Redeeming Love!!! I cry everytime I read this book!!!  I think it’s amazing how she portrays the characters. How we are like Angel and Hosea is like God.  How many times have we left God for other pleasures???  And He is always still there for us!  I just bawled my way through the whole book.   Francine Rivers wrote an AMAZING trilogy called The Mark of the Lion trilogy. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ THESE BOOKS. I think I’ve read them like 3 times. But it never ceases to amaze me how incredibly written they are. I always find myself in awe of how GOOD we have it now, compared to back then!!!  We don’t know the meaning of persecution! NOT like them.  Being thrown in a ring with lions…. ugh. Makes me shudder.  This trilogy is an amazing read.   History, church history, facts, fiction, the hard lives that people led, the way God provided. It will make you bawl!   SO. Next on my list is to go back and read Sophies Heart by Lori Wick. An amazing story.  I think I have almost all of her collections. I also like Karen Kingbury….  All these ladies are incredible writers.  If your looking for a good book to read try any of theres.  Make sure you get a novel though, or you will be lost.  I can’t wait till it’s bed time so I can keep on reading!!   When we were evangilizing up in Cananda one of the ladies in the church had this great idea!! She had a TON of books and she provided them to the younger girls in the church. Books that are romantic, and fulfilling, full of mystery, yet safe for a young teenager.  It was like a library. I think that is a wonderful idea and I would like to incorporate that here. I just don’t know of anyone who would like the books.  I think some of the older ladies would like it more.  I have a lot already if any of you want to borrow one.

P.S. I made beef enchiladas today and they were SO SO SO GOOD!!