Four Things

I am loving this weather!! I love the sunshine and warm temperatures! This weather makes me want to get out my red Toms, skirts, and bright colored finger nail polishes! I should be doing homework, but instead I decided to change up my blog. Bad. Idea. I have now wasted like two hours. But now I have a pretty signature at the end of my posts!

Yesterday we went to the horse races, it was my first time and I loved it! I only have one picture to share with you. I wish I had taken more, but I didn't. Mollie and I decided to wear hats, I thought they were cute!

Here are four things that made me happy this week!

1. Mollie and I and our cute hats

2. First time to wear my red Toms

3. New scripture memory verse

4. New magazines in the mail

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post a new recipe for Tasty Tuesday the past couple of weeks! I honestly haven't cooked anything interesting or new. Mainly spaghetti, tacos, that sort of thing. Tonight, we did try a new recipe, Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts and they were amazing! I couldn't wait until Tuesday to post! Jonathan found the original recipe at Allrecipes.com. Here is the link:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Stuffed-Chicken-Breasts/Detail.aspx

We didn't have all of the ingredients, so we made our own version!

Ingredients:

- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

- 5 slices of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

- 5 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

- 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese

- 1/3 cup Colby jack cheese

- 4 squares Laughing Cow swiss cheese (softened)

- 1 lemon

- approx. 2 tablespoons EVOO

- approx. 1 teaspoon oregano

- salt and pepper

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees

2. In a medium bowl, mix cheeses, spinach, garlic, and bacon until well blended. Set aside.

3. Carefully butterfly chicken breasts, making sure not to cut all the way through. Spoon spinach mixture into chicken breasts and fold over securing with a toothpick. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. In another bowl, squeeze lemon juice from your lemon and combine with EVOO and oregano. Pour mixture over chicken.

6. Cover and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour until thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Serve with some yummy veggies and a good glass of wine! Enjoy!

A Life Worthy of the Gospel of Christ

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." Phil. 1:27

This morning I was reading Philippians, and learned so many new things. I have read this book of the Bible so many times, but I guess God really spoke to me this morning! God's word tells me that "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." This personally says to me, "Brooke, no matter what happens, good or bad, always conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." This is a huge challenge! I am fearful of failure. But I know with the strength of God, I can do this.

I have the Women of Faith study Bible and it says:

"Following Christ means accepting a new set of standards that is far beyond our reach. We could never hope to reach the pinnacle of God's calling without His power and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are called to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ."

Paul's prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 shows us what this would look like in the life of a follower of Christ.

- A heart full of love

- A mind filled with God's knowledge and deep insight

- A discerning spirit that leads to purity and blamelessness

- A life overflowing with the fruit of righteousness

Philippians 2:5 also says, "Your attitude should be the same as of Christ Jesus." I fail at this every day. This verse is so short and simple, yet has so much meaning. This is a verse I have planted in my heart. God made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. He humbled himself and became obedient to death. I ask myself, is this is the attitude I am supposed to have? There is no way I can do this! But I can. We can gain none of these things on our own. "Only as we pray passionately and seek the power that ONLY God can offer, as he fills us with himself, will we inherit these attributes through Jesus Christ."

"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I might gain Christ." Philippians 3:8 This is another powerful verse! Am I willing to give up everything if that is the price of knowing Jesus like Paul did? I must remember that all things on earth are temporary, my life on earth is temporary. James 4:14 tells me that "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." I am here for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to bring glory to God!

With that being said. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

{So happy for this handy dandy chalkboard! Now I am reminded every day of this important verse!}

Snow Days

Hey guys! I must admit I am tired of the snow, and there is more to come! But I did get a four day weekend, which is nice! I do miss my Kindergarteners though! I am student teaching this semester at Guy-Perkins Elementary, and I loooove it! I love going to "work" everyday! I am so thankful to have such an amazing mentor teacher who loves God and loves teaching, it doesn't get much better than that. I have already learned so much from the three weeks I have been there. The kids are amazing too! I instantly fell in love with them! They say the funniest things. It is so hard not to laugh! I can already tell I am going to love teaching and I am looking forward to having my own classroom next year. Hmm, wish I could teach first grade at Guy next year, that way I can teach these kids again! There is nothing better than listening to a child learn how to read. It is amazing when they figure out how to put sounds together and form words! They get so excited and then want to read to you all the time! I also love it when they make me things; their artwork instantly goes on my refrigerator! I can already tell it's going to be covered by the end of the semester!

I have gotten a lot done over my long weekend! The house is clean, laundry done, dishes cleaned, homework finished, and I finished some of the projects I have been wanting to do for a long time now. Last weekend, I went to my parents house. Our new thing to do when I go up there is to go to flea markets. They have some awesome flea markets! I love to look at old books and try to find stuff for my future classroom. I bought The Great Gatsby, which was one of my favorite books I read in high school! I also went to a used book store to look for children's books. Jackpot! The books were anywhere from 25 cents to a $1. So I made a huge stack of books and my total was going to be around $14. Well, when I got to the cash register, the lady asked if I was a teacher or in school to be a teacher. I said yes, that I was trying to build my classroom library. She then informed me that they give teachers and students in school to be a teacher a 50% discount! So, I got all of those books for $7!!!! I will definitely go back!

As you saw from my last post, I had been wanting to find an old window to hang in my house along with a wreath. Well I found one! Here are some pictures below of my new window!

I left my camera at school, not knowing I wouldn't be back for a while, so these are taken with my phone. Pretty bad pics! Anyways, I love the white window, but it doesn't look so great on our beautiful white walls! Did you hear the sarcasm? I thought about painting the window, but I figured we won't be in our little rent house much longer and when we buy a house, I will not have white walls. So, I will have to live with white on white for a little while longer.

My next project was to make a chalkboard out of an old picture frame. I have had the frame for several months but I just didn't quite know what to do with it. I had been wanting a chalkboard for our kitchen, so I made one! I wish I had taken a before picture, but I forgot. The frame was brown, so I spray painted it red to match our kitchen. I then bought chalkboard spray paint from Hobby Lobby and painted the glass and now you have a chalkboard! (Again sorry for the horrible picture, but you get the point!)

I am now going to enjoy the rest of my snow day!!

Small Update

I have so much I want to talk about right now, but it will have to wait! I can't wait to tell you all about my experience so far as a student teacher (I know I have the best mentor teacher ever!), my experience on the Women's Ministry team at church, and our marriage mentors. I promise to update soon, but my bed time is precious to me now that I have to get up super early every morning!

(These are some future projects I have in mind!)

{via this blog}

{via this blog}

{via this blog}

Sweet Dreams!

Tasty Tuesday

Last week, it snowed here in Conway, so I knew I had to cook something warm for dinner. I cooked White Bean Chicken Chili and it was the perfect match to a cold snowy day! I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com. If you haven't ever checked out that website, you must! Below I have the original recipe I found on the website along with some changes I made.

Ingredients:

- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil {I used EVOO}

- 1 onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 {14.5 ounce} can chicken broth

- 1 {18.75 ounce} can tomatillos, drained and chopped {I used a jar of salsa verde}

- 1 {16 ounce} can diced green chilies {I used three 4.5 cans}

- 1 {15 ounce} can peeled tomatoes

- 1 {10 ounce} can diced tomatoes with green chilies

- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed

- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

- 2 {15 ounce} cans of corn

- 2 {15 ounce} cans of white beans

- 1 pound diced, cooked chicken

- salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil and cook onion and garlic until soft.

2. Stir in broth, tomatillos {salsa verde}, chilies, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Great meal to eat with cornbread!!

Hope you enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday!

Today I want to share two recipes with you: a roast and whole wheat chocolate chip cookies!

This is my mom's roast recipe! I used to love coming home from school and having the smell of roast cooking in the crock pot! It is super easy and you cook it in the crock pot so it makes your whole house smell delicious!

Ingredients:

- Roast

- Onion soup mix

- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup

- Carrots

- Potatoes

- Non-stick cooking spray

- Crock pot

Spray your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray and place your roast in the crock pot. Mix together the onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. {I usually add a little water so its not so thick, mom's suggestion} Pour it over the roast.

Then you add your carrots and potatoes and set your cook time to your preference! So easy and so yummy!

Now for the whole wheat chocolate chip cookies! Don't let the whole wheat fool you, that doesn't mean they are good for you! But maybe a little better! I got this recipe off the back of Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour bag.

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup granulated sugar

- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

- 1 cup butter or margarine, softened

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1 egg

- 2 cups Gold Medal whole wheat flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips {I used half chocolate chips and half butterscotch chips}

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir sugars, butter, vanilla, and egg until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoons about two inches apart.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown