Menu Planning in the New Year!

It's Menu Plan Monday, and of course this is rather late in going up, but hey...at least it is still Monday :) As noted in previous posts, the closeout of our year was hectic, emotional, crazy busy, frenzied, and bittersweet. But even though all of this newly learned "organization" went out the window, there were definitely good things, too.

Somehow, every single Advent devotional we did tied in directly with what is going on in our hearts and minds as we grapple with grief, feelings, and faith post-miscarriage, post-layoff, and - even more recently - post car accident. That was amazing. To think that devotionals about prophets, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, angels, and the like would all hit some important nerve (and I do mean all) is just astounding. Christians today often talk about how to make the Gospel more accessible, more relevant to people's every day lives, how to tie it all in. Well I can tell you that grieving from the loss of our first child and reeling from an unexpected layoff, something in the Christmas story met me right where I was. Our devotional was not, "Advent Devotions for Recently Bereaved Families," and the writer did not try to manipulate the prayers included to fit our circumstances. But the Word of the Lord did not return void, and even though I cannot tell you what in the story spoke to me, I can tell you that I cried nearly every evening as the Word laid bare the broken pieces of my heart and poured out His grace on it.

I am truly grateful that - even though I could have done so much more to dive into His presence in this time - God took the time to use a familiar (and because of that often discounted) story to minister His grace and mercy to us.

I do have some "resolutions" as I move into the New Year. We'll go from most shallow to least shallow:
1) Lose about 20 lbs (unless, of course, we find ourselves pregnant again, which we hope to)
2) Be more consistent in getting to the gym in the mornings (which of course ties into the first)
3) Be more consistent in meal planning
4) Be more consistent (are we sensing a theme, here?) in housework
5) Be more consistent in daily time with the Lord.

Not so much a resolution, but definitely a goal: With the garden we'll be planting this spring, and opportunities to join in with others for certain other farmed food , I hope that we'll find ourselves GMO free well before 2011

Onto the meal plan:

Monday - Dinner with friends

Tuesday - Rice & Beans, Salad

Wednesday - Lime & Cilantro Chicken, Black Beans, Rice, Guacamole
Dessert: Epiphany cake! I'm going to just have a simple cake. All that makes it an Epiphany cake is a nut or a bean hidden in a piece for the "King for the Day" to find.

Thursday - Crockpot day - Venison Stew

Friday - Night out with my home-group ladies, potluck savory apps and desserts

Saturday - @ Jeff's mom's to pick up our new (to us) car!

Sunday - Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom Crepes

I have family coming to town this week, so any of these meals are really subject to change if we all head over to my brothers, or all go out, or anything like that. But here is the bare bones plan. I am finding I need that to be able to stick with this more consistently.

Find other great Menu Plans at Org Junkie!