Waffles and Neighbors and Entitlement and Drafty Windows

First off, I am so incredibly encouraged and moved by the response to my last post regarding our family deciding to be missionaries here in the U-District. Being able to hear from so many people who read it and are now praying for us and supporting us still completely blows me away. God is so good, and so faithful and He knows that this is a tough journey and I must cling to Him and His goodness alone.

Because, to be honest, it's hard to conjure up encouragement when deliveries are stolen.

And it's hard to have a desire for lives to be transformed by the Gospel when bedroom windows can't shut fully and it's cold tonight.

And in that moment, the moment right after I lay on our bed and stare at the ceiling and wonder aloud to the walls and my husband and my Savior "this sucks, why again?", God oh so sweetly reminds me that it's not about those fish oil supplements. Or being toasty warm without the comforter on. It's about Him. His glory. His Son dying on the cross for me and my sins that are no less offensive and vile in His sight than theft or negligence or mold.

God reminds me of yesterday as I sit and stew about my frustrations and entitlements.

Yesterday we hosted our first (Lord willing annual) "Thanksgiving Waffle Bar Breakfast" for our neighbors. We made little invitations and went around to the neighbors on our block and invited them last week and bought a 10 pound bag of waffle mix at Costco. I feared that no one would show. That it would have been all for not, and that it was just wishful thinking.

And then there was a knock at the door.

By the end of the morning, a family from church, the neighbors downstairs and two neighbors from across the street had stopped by. One even brought a sweet card and poinsettia from another neighbor who wanted to come but was out of town. These were neighbors we had been living within rock throwing distance of for over a year and had never seen. These were neighbors that now we know the names of and are a part of a desire to build community right where we are, right across the street.

The heavens didn't open up and doves didn't descend but food was shared and smiles were exchanged and I pray that God is beginning something in this neighborhood that will bring Him glory in ways I cannot even imagine.

God brings this all to mind as I cry out to him about why I deserve something more. Ha. I cry out to the God who "has has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14)". Oh how quickly does my sinful heart chase after more than my beloved Savior. My eyes are called to be fixed on Him and instead they wander off to whether or not there is dirt and plaster on my bathroom floor and, dude, if I find whoever you are who stole my son's spill mat from our front porch I will totally...

"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24)" Once again, Paul puts to words the crushing weight of realizing my sin and knowing in a few minutes I will most likely travel that path again. I feel like the constant refrain the Lord is pressing upon my weary heart is to hold fast. To be all-in even when it feels like the more I desire to be all-in and actually start living it the more our house falls apart and our finances plummet. To trust Him that even when one more thing goes wrong and I laugh because if I didn't I would burst into tears, that my present circumstance is by no means indicative of His love for me. That I could lose absolutely everything, even my own breath, and He would still, still be good.

So tonight I will sweep my bathroom floor, snuggle under my comforter and pray Colossians 1:11-12 for my easily distracted heart.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:11-12)"

Until next post,
Sola Dei Gloria

Becoming Missionaries

The Titus family has decided to become missionaries. 

It is not as though God spoke audibly "your family will be missionaries" but rather this has been something on our hearts for quite some time. God has brought us to a point where we are no longer satisfied with just saying that we want to be missionaries. We actually want to be missionaries. To live as missionaries. To (if God so wills) die as missionaries. 

We want to see people reached for Jesus. We want to see the neighborhood where we are on mission be changed, and the city radically transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit. We want to build relationships with the people in the area, work with those who are already serving through providing meals and clothing to the homeless for example, and build friendships with those around us. Honestly, we want to see a Gospel explosion - something like Ephesus when Paul preached and the Holy Spirit moved and the city was transformed 180 degrees (Acts 19). 

So, yeah. We are going to begin missions work. 

The place where we feel we want to be missionaries to is quite diverse. It's a place that has a high turnover of people throughout the year, and yet there are also residents who have called it home for decades. During the summer and warmer months, it has quite a large homeless population, even though it is also home to incredibly wealthy pockets of homes and schools. To say that it is economically diverse is an understatement. 

It also is undergoing massive changes. There is new infrastructure being built and planning to be built soon that is changing the landscape of the area greatly. Although some of the people want the changes, others are fighting it fiercely and there is a hotbed of bitterness and anger towards each other building rapidly. We long to see the various sides come together for the betterment of the area, but honestly, that will have to be a work of the Holy Spirit at this point. Tensions run deep, and run passionately.

There is a local church about 6 blocks from our home that we are partnering with. In fact, there are several people on mission to this area already and we are excited to join with them. One family lives within walking distance and has a son close to Owen's age - little buddies!! Their hearts are for the area as well, and Andrew and I are so encouraged by their obedience to God, even when it means inconvenience and a life far from where they thought they would be living and raising their family. To know that others have a heart for the same area and are this close to us is incredible. Truly and honestly a Godsend.

We know that this is not going to be easy. In fact, it's already been met with resistance, both by our sinful self-seeking, prideful natures, and others who think we are totally nuts. It is far from the safest area, but compared to most other places around the world is totally safe. Many bus routes come in and out of the area, which is awesome because we are likely to not have a car for too much longer. There are grocery stores nearby that we can walk to, as well as doctors offices and other necessities that are quite easy to get to, even with a stroller.

The living situation is both comfortable and rough. The house doesn't heat incredibly well and has a couple other issues, but it's big enough to host meals (which we are praying will include many neighbors and non-Christians) as well as playdates and prayer nights to build community and focus our eyes on Jesus - there's no other way this is going to work at all. We are super blessed to have been able to find it, as there are not too many like it within the price range we can afford.

Andrew will still be working full-time as an accountant, and I will still be staying at home full-time. While from the outside world it seems more profitable to have me working also, God has and will provide, there's no question in our minds about that. Many things will be the same about our family, but we are praying that many more will be radically different.

What can you do? Pray! Please pray for God to continue to change our hearts and place within us a deeper desire than even now to serve and love and reach the area we feel drawn to. Please pray for financial provision - with medical bills from earlier this year and other things it is going to continue to be a struggle. Like I said before though, there has never been a time in which God has not provided our daily bread though, both spiritually and literally. God has used our financial issues to draw us to him in the past and through this all we know he will continue to do so. Please also partner with us in prayer for the area - that God would move mightily and many would meet Jesus. That we would be bold in our actions and not fear persecution in any form. That we would raise Owen to love the people around him and not be in a Christian bubble, but rather in the world but not of it. Also prayer that Andrew and I would continue to be united would be amazing - that through this next season of our lives that God would grow us closer to him and each other and keep our marriage strong.

We are super excited. Incredibly nervous. And without a doubt certain we can no longer sit in our house and think about how much we want to partner with the Lord to reach people. We are all-in. It will be a fight to stay all-in every day, I know it. It already has been. My mind doubts that this is really that big of a deal, and that perhaps I am being too out there in my thinking. But then I read Acts and I realize God invites us into such a deeper relationship with him, such a more radical life than morning quiet times and Sunday services. I'm so looking forward to it.

I'll be updating frequently with prayer requests and evidences of God's grace in this journey. We will post pictures of the area and hopefully events that we can use to build community and open doors to relationships with those around us, particularly our neighbors. I will label this all under a new tab on this blog so that it will be easier to find.

The tab will be: "U-District Mission".

Our heart is to be all-in in the U-District. To see the place where we live be reached for Jesus. To live without reservation, without fear, and with our eyes on Jesus. Whether that be India or exactly where we currently are.

:)

Until next post,
Sola Dei Gloria 

Monthly Meal Planning: Part 3

This is the final post in the Monthly Meal Planning series (read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here). 

In the past two posts, I shared my heart and reasonings for monthly meal planning. In this post, I want to be super practical. Thinking about what would be the most beneficial tools to begin meal planning, on any scale, I have included some recipes, best prices, and questions I've been asked during the time I've meal planned. Enjoy! 

Make-at-Home Recipe Favorites

I used to think that buying everything pre-made was easier and saved time and money. Now that I am more budget-conscious and actually have started to enjoy making things from scratch, I have found that there are many things that are cheaper (and most of the time healthier, since you know what you put in it...) when you make them yourself. While this isn't possible all of the time, there are a few recipes that I go back to time and time again.

Here are a few of my favorites (thanks to my friend Shanna for the starter ideas!):

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce 

1/4 cup broth (I use chicken)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (there are several options for GF soy sauces, Whole Foods carries several)
2 tablespoons balsamic or rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (you can add more or less depending on preference)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 clove garlic, minced

*Combine all ingredients and pour over stir fry veggies once they are nearly done. Let simmer for remainder of cooking time and pour excess sauce onto rice/quinoa when dishing up.

Tomato Pasta Sauce 

1/2 cup olive oil
6-10 cloves of garlic, minced
6 28oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
Seasoning of choice (Italian Seasoning is what I've used but you could use whatever you'd like)

*Puree tomatoes with immersion blender until they have reached your desired consistency (I like some tomato chunks in my sauce, so I pureed 5 of the cans and left one can diced). Head large pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When oil becomes hot, add garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato puree to the pot and cook 1 minute. Add remainder of puree and simmer on medium-low for 4+ hours, the longer you simmer this, the thicker the sauce will get. This makes at least 7 dinners, so freezing this is ideal. If you find you want the sauce to be thicker when you defrost the sauce later, you can either simmer it longer or add a bit of arrowroot powder to thicken it up.

Crockpot Pinto Beans

2 1/2 cups dry pinto (or black) beans, rinsed
3 garlic cloves, minced
4-6 cups of water
1 bouillon cube (or equivalent broth)

*Combine all ingredients into crockpot and cook on low all day. Check occasionally and add more water if needed.

Best Prices

There are many places to find best prices around the Seattle area for the foods that my family uses frequently. About a year ago, I started taking a small notebook along with me when I grocery shop to write down prices of foods we typically purchase and compare prices among the stores we frequent the most. One thing to note though, especially at Costco, items that are on this best price list may not stay in stock for long, and products will cycle through sales and availability more often than not. If you find a better deal, post a comment and I will add it/edit my list! Also, this website has a bigger list of Costco items, but I am not sure if they are still available/priced the same. 

Costco:

Organic Short Grain Brown Rice - 12 pounds for $13.49
Organic Coconut Oil - 78 ounces for $21.99
Organic Pure Maple Syrup - 1 liter for $13.59
Organic Raisins - 4 pounds for $8.49
Organic Quinoa (Pre-washed) - 4 pounds for $11.69
Organic Applesauce - 4 jars of 47 ounces for $9.69 
Frozen Stir Fry - 5.5 pounds for $7.49
Eggs - 2 dozen for $3.19
Kerrygold Butter - 3 8oz sticks for $6.99 
Salsa - 2 38 ounce jars for $5.39
Almonds - 5 pounds for $12.99
Gluten Free Bread - 2 loaves for $7.99
Gluten Free Flour -  5 pounds for $12.69

Whole Foods (Winco is actually a bit cheaper, but I have noticed the quality of Whole Foods is worth the extra few cents, as well as the convenience of being able to walk there):

Pumpkin Seeds - $4.99 a pound
Dried Black Beans - $1.89 a pound
Dried Pinto Beans - $1.99 a pound
Dried Kidney Beans - $1.99 a pound 
Split Peas - $1.39 a pound
Sunrise Red lentils - $1.99 a pound

Meal Planning FAQ

How do you know what to get at Costco if you only go one time a month?

I have actually just started going to Costco once a month recently, and before that have been going twice a month. I decided to go once because I tend to buy more things when I go twice - 'great sale' items that we really don't need but I feel compelled to buy because it's such a good price. It has taken me about three months to solidify what we go through a month on average from Costco, and this allows me to buy what we go through, rather than what I think we may use. I started writing down what we buy from Costco in a notebook, and then putting dates by each item whenever I bought it again. Over the past several months, I began to notice trends such as we buy brown rice every other month and stir fry once a month. Now, I can have a pretty good idea of what we need each month and just buy those items. It really does sound like a lot of work, but honestly it takes just a minute or two to check off when I've bought items in the notebook and knowing how much of an effort it takes to go to Costco with a small kiddo, it's worth that to me! 

What happens if plans change during the week and dinners you planned won't work?

This is something that so many people have asked me since I have been meal planning. They see the calendar up and menu written out for the week and it seems far too rigid for the average family, especially with crazy and unpredictable schedules. The best answer for this is that within the week, and month actually, there is much flexibility. For me, planning out monthly (or even weekly) allows me to spread out the more costly/time consuming meals, but it doesn't mean that I know exactly what we are having November 20th for dinner. I have a plan for the 22nd (chicken with loaded avocados actually)  but that is mainly for me to have a better strategy for grocery shopping. Without knowing what I will be making through the week I will spend more time and more money at the grocery store (there is a trend of this apparently...) than I really want to. I have all of the ingredients for a week's worth of dinners each Monday, and then can change things up if I need or want to throughout the week. For example, if I was planning a more time intensive meal on Tuesday, but had a rough day and didn't feel up to it, I would swap that meal for another one. I also have a couple of quick meals on hand for weeks when everything hits the fan and we really have no time/ability to cook the meals that were planned. Some of these are rice and Indian Fare (from Trader Joe's), stir fry, and pasta with marinara sauce. Basically, the biggest thing is to make it work for your family. If that means you plan out three days a week worth of meals, then great! It's not a comparison or perfect plan by any means. 

How long did it take to move from weekly to monthly meal planning?


I did weekly meal planning for about a year and a half before I switched over to monthly. Like I've said before, I initially scoffed at monthly meal planning, and actually remember rolling my eyes when I had seen monthly meal planning calendars on Pinterest a while back. I thought it was overkill to plan a whole month, but I think this was because I really didn't know the flexibility and ease that it can bring to meal planning. One of the other things that had to happen before I made the switch to monthly meal planning was having a base of good recipes that were tried and approved of in my family. If you start monthly meal planning and create new recipes every other night, it will likely be overwhelming and costly at best. Having that go-to base of meals allows me to spread out different types of meals (rice based, ones that include meat, soups, etc) and not feel as though I need to buy all new spices and ingredients for every meal. For me, it also makes trying new recipes more enjoyable, knowing if it's a flop, tomorrow's dinner will be something we know we like. 

                                               _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

It's been great to be able to think and write through the processes that, until now, have been just in my head about meal planning and food budgeting. Being able to actually see what I typically do each month has allowed me to see things that are in definite need of change, and gives me fresh motivation to keep going! One of the things that I am learning though is that meal planning is so far from law. I tend to think that I can only be a "good" wife/mama/homemaker if I do certain things and do them in particular ways. This causes so much stress and needless anxiety. God is teaching me through monthly meal planning not only to trust Him alone with my family, but also that I am invited to hold my schedule and plans with an open hand (I say invited because ultimately He has control over it all, but fighting that leads to such a different relationship than willingly trusting and opening my hands) and He loves me enough to know what's best for me. That may be that my meal plan works out well and we come under budget, or that could mean everything goes sideways and I have to pray for my daily bread more literally than the month before. I do want to love and serve my family through meal planning, but more importantly I want to worship and glorify my Savior through it. 


Until next post, 
Sola Dei Gloria

Monthly Meal Planning: Part 2

This is part two of a three part series on Monthly Meal Planning.

In the previous post, I talked about why I have chosen to do meal planning on a monthly scale for my family, and the ways in which it has helped not only our budget but also routines. The other part of monthly meal planning that has been exciting for me is the flexibility to try new recipes as well as keep staples a consistent part of our meals. 

As Andrew and Owen are both sensitive to gluten, most of our meals and staples are gluten free. When this first transitioned at the beginning of this year I was overwhelmed and thought that we would never be able to eat 'normally' again. I was greatly mistaken! Not only has cooking GF been much easier than anticipated, it's opened me up to trying much more variety in our foods. This being said, many of our staples both in foods we always keep on hand, as well as the dinners we have as our 'go-to' meals are GF. 

Bulk Items

One of the benefits of monthly meal planning is being able to see at a quick glance all that I will need for the entire month (granted, there is definitely still need to be flexible!). To not only be able to stock our cupboard but stay within our food budget, I have started to shop for a lot of bulk items. As with the switch to GF, initially I was not looking forward to how much time I would have to spend cooking with dried beans versus canned. Wonderfully, I have once again been pleasantly surprised with how easy the transition has been. Oh, how I do love my crockpot!

Here are items I buy in bulk:

Black, pinto and kidney beans

Brown rice

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds (for an easy trail mix)

Green and yellow split peas

Red lentils

Cornmeal

Coconut oil

Frozen chicken breasts 

Raisins

Frozen stir-fry veggies

GF rolled oats 

GF all purpose flour 

Chicken broth

Garlic

Salsa

Not all grocery stores have bulk food sections, but some of the best places I've found are Whole Foods, Fred Meyer and Winco. I also buy bulk size at Costco. Whole Foods is actually not too bad for prices in their bulk section, especially given that they are almost all organic and sometimes on great sales (in fact, they just had a 25% all bulk items recently). I reuse glass jars from applesauce, baby food, and other foods to store our bulk items. Goodwill sometimes has great glass containers, and PCC carries extra large containers for $5, which can hold quite a bit of bulk food - I use them for our rolled oats and GF flour.

Staple Meals

Since I buy the above items in bulk, it allows me to maintain some consistency in our meals throughout the month. I typically will try several new meals a month (about once in a week or two), but stick to a lot of our favorites and rotate through them so we don't get sick of any one thing. I also scatter the more expensive meals throughout the month so no one week is overwhelming budget-wise. Here are some of the meals we make sure to plan for, weekly and monthly (click on the highlighted names for the original recipes).

Weekly

Black or pinto beans and rice

GF pasta with (homemade - super easy!) marinara sauce

Stir-fry with quinoa

Monthly

Curry red lentil stew 

Split pea soup

Coconut curry red lentils and rice

Thai fried quinoa

Kale and broccoli quinoa

Crockpot chicken tacos

Balsamic chicken with red potatoes and carrots

Spiced split pea dal with rice

Black bean and pumpkin soup

Corn chili 

Stuffed green peppers 

Cauliflower and bacon soup

I tend to find most of my recipes through Pinterest (follow me on Pinterest: ruth311), and through friends who have shown me great time and money-saving recipes. I keep updating my recipe box quite frequently, and love finding new meals! 

I would love to answer any questions you may have regarding monthly meal planning, bulk items, etc. Feel free to comment below and I will make sure to answer all in the final installment post of this series! 

Look soon for Part 3 of Monthly Meal Planning - time and money-saving recipes, best prices, and meal planning FAQ! 

Monthly Meal Planning: Part 1

This is part one of a three part series on Monthly Meal Planning. 

I'm sure it doesn't come as a shock to anyone who knows me that I meal plan. I love the organization of it, the creativity in balancing the meals with the budget, and the simplicity of not having to run to the grocery store every other day (although Owen has been trekked along in his stroller many a time to Trader Joe's right before dinner-time...). I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination on meal planning, or keeping a budget, but this has been something the Lord has put on my heart to do in order to love and serve my family. So, before I even begin, take what works for you from this (if anything) and expect that in months ahead I will be editing these posts as I rework things myself!

To start off with, I was never the girl growing up who everyone thought would be a cook. Or a homemaker. Or a meal planner. Well, perhaps the meal planner as it fit with my need for organization, but other than that I was completely disinterested in anything to do with the kitchen. I remember one occasion in which I burned rice so badly it had to be thrown out. If it wasn't microwavable, Ashley didn't even attempt it.

Once I got married, I was excited to now cook for my little family of two. We received a "What to eat?"  magnet pad for a wedding gift, and I put it up the first week back from our honeymoon. Those first few weeks, or months, were an interesting trial period as I transitioned into making more than prepared freezer meals for my new husband, and tried to stay within a budget for the first time in my life. I honestly feel as though the new wife of nearly two years ago and the wife and mama of today are completely different women. I love to cook now, and meal planning has gone from an annoying must to ensure I didn't only buy cheese at the store to something I look forward to doing each month.

Why monthly?

For the majority of the past two years I have done weekly meal planning. This has been great, but I found over the past several months that I tend to spend a lot more money the first half of the month on food, and scramble trying to stay in budget the second half - typically having to resort to many nights of beans and rice and other staples which are always stocked in our house. I decided to try out monthly meal planning (something I initially scoffed at in all honesty) and last month was the first time since Owen was born that I was actually able to stay within budget without playing money Tetris on Mint too much.

Actually, monthly meal planning has seemed to be much easier than weekly for me in several ways so far. The first of which is that it takes the guess work out of deciding each Saturday what to eat for dinners (Andrew and I go through our weekly schedule each Saturday so we can sync up and know what's up ahead for each of us individually and as a family, something that has proven massively beneficial and we can really tell when we've neglected this routine). I use a monthly calendar and also have a list of meals that Andrew and I have tried and liked and basically just fill in the boxes!

Another massive benefit of planning monthly is that I can allocate dinners and budget far better when I can see the entire month in view. I have a rough estimate of how much each of the meals cost, and which typically include items that we keep on hand, and this allows me to spread out the more costly meals throughout the month rather than only at the beginning. Additionally, monthly meal planning allows me to have more of a routine in when and where we buy our groceries which has been so helpful in building relationships with the employees at the grocery stores we shop at weekly. In fact, at the grocery store a few blocks away from our house where we do our weekly shopping, we have gotten to know one of the employees fairly well and are excited to continue to build that relationship.

So far my routines have been:
Trader Joe's  - once a week
Whole Foods - once a week (trying to make this twice a month)
Costco - twice a month (trying to make this once a month)

Check back for Part 2 of Monthly Meal Planning - some of our weekly meals, staple recipes, and must have's for our house!