My Modern Miracles

I wasn't going to blog today. It's no secret that blogging isn't really a high priority in my life....especially lately. Today, however, I couldn't get blogging off my mind.

There is just something I need to write about.

I believe in God. 

If you follow my blog, or know me personally, that is not a surprise.

Not only do I believe in a higher power, a Heavenly Father, but I am a firm believer in miracles. As I went about my lovely Saturday, I couldn't help but count the miracles I've seen in the past few months, and I couldn't think of a better time to share them than Easter weekend, the time we celebrate the greatest of all miracles in the history of the world!

I believe each of these miracles is a tender mercy, or precious blessing, from my Savior Jesus Christ. His love for mankind enables us to do incredible things. It gives us power. I have seen, especially lately, that He can make so much more of our lives than we can. 

Let me explain.

For almost 8 months last year (and 1 month this year), we haven't had any income. My husband was finishing school, and although I illustrate as much as I can, we feel strongly that I need to be a stay at home mom. While this may seem like a dire situation to some, we have not only been generously blessed to have enough, but to make better use of what we have.

I can't really explain adequately how life changing these months were for us. I have felt my Heavenly Father's love stronger than I ever have, and I know more than I have in the past that He has a plan for me.

Here are a few of the specific miracles we've seen:

1) The most obvious is that we were blessed with enough financially, and still had a saving account when my husband got a job. We were (and are) nearly debt-free (our only debt--including car, medical..etc, is a small student load that will be payed off this year) This is a HUGE blessing!!

2) I was blessed with peace. This is not a small miracle, and I do not want to look over it's significance. In a time when it might be easy to loose hope, or feel abandoned, or to feel angry at my spouse, I felt great peace. I knew things would workout, and, in an incredibly powerful way, I knew God was watching over me.

3) I learned how to cut my own hair. This is totally a miracle! I decided our money would be better spent in other ways than by me getting haircuts every 6-8 weeks (in order to prevent the lovely mullet that loves to pop up when you have short hair), so after a quick Youtube tutorial, I began to snip, snip. The first few times I cut my knuckles, but after that I got much more coordinated, and it got easier. I learned to thin my hair with a shaving razor or scissors, and, I liked it just as well as when I got it done professionally. Do not be mistaken and think I am an expert self-haircutter...but my hair, and the style I cut, are really forgiving. (Let me add here that I am growing out my pixie cut, and due to an incredible awkward stage, plan on treating myself to a *real* haircut soon. So, I'm not saying this self-cut stage will last forever, but it was a wonderful blessing and penny saver when I figured it out.)

4) Learned to make many things from scratch. This has really been one of the largest blessings. I feel like the Lord was saying "Let me help you learn how to be more self-reliant so you can use your precious funds in other ways." Some of the things I learned to make are:

-Headbands from old t-shirts (I'll never buy them again! Look it up on Pinterest, but I just cut a strip off the t-shirt and loop it around my head twice. Works great, especially for awkward hair days or weeks. I also had some running compression shorts I cut a strip off near at the leg, and it made a perfect band for working out, that won't slip.)

(Max looks so happy to be a model:) )

-Yogurt (Seriously! It turned out perfectly the first time!)

-Hummus

-Granola (I don't buy cold cereal for myself anymore, and I make refined sugar-free granola with flax seed! Yum!)

-*Wonderful* cookies with few ingredients (based on the husband's, and the neighbor's cookie standards :) )

-Household cleaner (I just use vinegar for disinfectant and baking soda for a gritty cleanser! Another thing I will never buy)

-Facial cleanser (I have always had really oily skin that is prone to breakouts. Whoever said acne is just for teens is WRONG! Anyway, I have been washing my face with honey and using a gently baking soda paste exfoliator, and my skin is better than it has been in a long time!)

-Decor. This is partly because I am artistic, but I just have never been able to justify spending a lot of money (or any money) on interior decor. I am also really into the "country eclectic" look, which is really fun for me to experiment with. For example, I reuse glass jars and dry goods canisters, and made all my christmas decorations from paper and old cards.

(DIY table decor. Q actually made me the paper flowers when we were dating in college)

(Part of my kitchen counter)

(Behold, my lovely granola)

5) My cooking has improved, and I have developed a passion for cooking, baking and healthy eating. This may not seem like a big deal, but trying to be more frugal forced me to start making everything from scratch. I really made almost everything from scratch before, but in the past few months I got much better, and I was literally able to make more with less. Sometimes I would feel a specific inspiration to know what to make for dinner with very few ingredients, and it ended up being one of our new favorites. I got more efficient, and also learned to plan better. I plan all my meals for 2 weeks to a month, and then try to shop less often, buying more when I go. I buy a lot of what is on sale and freeze it (sounds simple, but it really never occurred to me before), and, as a result, I have really chiseled down our grocery bill.

(Max enjoying a 'green drink')

6) FITNESSBLENDER.COM! This might seem like a little unconventional miracle, but it is a very real act of divine intervention to me. I am an avid runner. I love running, like really love running. I've mentioned in past posts that since we moved to a more metropolitan area that isn't safe to run in (unless I drive somewhere first), it has been hard to run more than once a week. However, I discovered fitnessblender.com, which is an amazing exercise site/program founded by a husband and wife. The videos range from extreme "I want to cry", to light yoga-inspired stretching. This is such a blessing because I am able to get in an intense workout during Max's nap. I've also really improved! The workouts range from level 1-5, and at first, I would do mostly level 3, and some 4s. Now I pretty much exclusively do level 5, with an occasional 4. And the most amazing thing is that my running hasn't suffered! I am still able to run 6-8 miles on a Saturday with out a problem, and I've noticed my 'kick' and turnover have improved as well.

7) Wonderful friends and neighbors. We've been blessed to meet amazing people while we've been here, that have really blessed our lives. We feel like we needed to be here for specific people, both to touch their lives, and to be influenced and blessed by them!

8) I could write about miracles we've seen all day! Here are a few others:
-Before we moved we went to the dentist. My hub was told he had 7 (!) cavities, but we moved the next day and then didn't have insurance for 8 months, so he never made it back to the dentist until last week. He came home reporting that he has 2 cavities, not 7! Wow! That is a miracle!!

- We rented a modem for our internet before we moved, and they were supposed to send us a label to send it back. They never did, so 8 months later we got a rather large bill. Miraculously, after explaining everything they waived all charges and we didn't have to pay a cent!

-Our marriage has grown stronger than ever. I am so grateful for my sweet husband! It would be so easy to blame him, but we decided to be grateful, and I am so happy we made that decision. I don't know what trials lay in store for us in the future, but I am certain they will only weld us closer and closer as a couple.

(My incredible, hardworking husband, and adorable little boy!)

- I could really go on and on. Some are too personal to share, but they are all so real to me. This period of our lives has been such a blessing, I hope in some way, this has helped you in your life, whatever your personal situation.

I believe in miracles. I know that God is aware of us and our circumstances! He is anxious to help. I know that the more we look for miracles in our lives, the more we see. What miracles have you seen lately?