Between moving, being generally busy, and sheer laziness, I've fallen embarrassingly behind on my Bible reading.  So today I finally cracked open my Bible and read Job 7-9 and Jeremiah 11.  The above verse caught my eye.  In "The Message" the consecrated meat is referred to as devising pious programs to save you from doom, and trying to become more religious.  And it reminded me of a few verses I had just read in Job:

I think everyone trusts in something, whether it's karma, or salvation by works, or the belief that there is no afterlife..  But there's only one thing that won't fall away, and that's the grace of Jesus.

I'm the type of person that wants a simple checklist.  "Homeschool your kids, cook gourmet meals, and keep the house spotless and you'll be holy."  Of course, it doesn't work that way.  And when I think about it, I thank God that it doesn't!  Because every time I burned dinner or saw my vacuum collecting dust in the corner, I'd think, "I've blown it."  No matter what was on the checklist, I'd never be able to consistently live up to it.  Unless, maybe, the checklist went something like: Eat chocolate, sleep, and daydream.

Praise God that salvation is a gift and not a list of requirements and responsibilities!

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This week has been a record Yahtzee week.  Chickpea and I played the other day, and she got two Yahtzee's (five of a kind).  Then yesterday afternoon, I got two Yahtzee's, and then when all of us played last night, I got another Yahtzee.  That's got to be some kind of a record.

I only baked one loaf of bread yesterday, but Chickpea and I baked cookies from one of her cookbooks.  They looked very pretty, and reminded me of the beach (sand, anyone?).

We ended up having breakfast for dinner last night, and I finally, finally managed to cook the potatoes correctly!  I've tried umpteen times to cook shredded hashbrowns, but I can never get it right.  I don't know; I guess I just have some sort of culinary block against them.  So I tried dicing the potatoes and cooking them in a little oil with salt and pepper, and they were quite tasty.  *does a little dance*

Today's Priorities:

* Bake for fair (and organize the freezer so everything fits).

* Defrost meat for dinner.

* Go through inter-library loan books.

* Pay some bills.

* Write out simple morning routine.

~Kate