Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

I Am Second

I am second...and liking it.

It's so easy to have God as #1 on a Sunday, but Monday comes and guess who takes over that position? I jump in and say my life is numero uno.

We all have things going on in our life. Family, health, and job issues plague us every single day. If we let those take over our thought process, God gets pushed out of the way.

God loves each and every one of us with a fierce love. He wants the best for us, and He is able to do anything for us. His only request is for us to put Him as the first thing in our lives.

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of Heaven. His love endures forever.

Do you know how hard that is?

I don't know about you, but I have control issues. I want to keep my hands in everything. My head knows the phrase "let go and let God", but my heart doesn't always follow. My kids, my husband, my finances, my job...all these things I try to control by my actions. One way I have been convicted of this in the past few months has been with this blog. A year and a half ago my husband left a great paying job to become a full time pastor at our church. Scary? Yes. Exciting? Yes. Fearful? Yes. Challenged? Yes. In my heart I knew I could turn my hobby blog into something more substantial to help out with our finances. So over the past 1 and a ½ years I have put my heart and soul into this "job". And I absolutely love it!!!!

There have been so many awesome opportunities, and God has blessed our family in so many ways.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The problem...

I have slowly pushed God into that second place. Somedays He was even in fifth place.

Oh, it didn't start out that way. I mean to take a step of faith like leaving a good paying job to go into ministry requires a lot of faith and trust in our God. A faith in our loving God that He will provide.

I didn't ever doubt that! But...slowly in a year's time I started to rely on myself to earn and get those job opportunities. And those jobs did keep coming. But I wasn't happy.

One thing I realized is that I needed to take a step back in blog areas.

One of my biggest traffic days as a blogger is Sunday. I have always tried to capitalize on that by posting a new recipe Sunday mornings. My goal was to have this post written by Saturday night, but that goal slowly evaporated. I am perpetually late to everything, so come Sunday morning I was still trying to finish writing a blog post and trying to get ready for church.

Talk about a conflict of interest!!!!

My heart attitude was wrong, and the focus had become all about me and what I could do. I wasn't focused on worship or listening to the Word those days. All my mind was consumed with was making sure things were shared, so I could see a good page view day.

It was a very good day when I realized I needed to put God back on that throne of #1. I knew God was speaking to my heart about NOT posting on Sundays. So, I changed up my posting schedule. For the past few months Saturday has been my new recipe day. No, it isn't as good as posting on a Sunday, but I know that I obeyed the tug in my heart to change things. I believe that God will honor that. It might not be how I would choose, but you know what, I'm ok with that.

If you get my email newsletter, it does come out a day late, so hopefully everyone looks at the date and realizes it isn't a Sunday post. I know it isn't something that anyone probably even noticed, but for some reason I felt that familiar tug to share my thought process with you.

Giving God back control has been a game changer for me. I feel happier! I know God is able to fulfill my heart desires to provide for my family. So traffic, shmaffic!!! I can honestly say I don't care if it tanks over a Sunday because there is no new recipe. I Am Second!!!! And putting God as #1 in my heart and life is how I want to live.

Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."

Allowing God to work in our lives can be scary. But He is able, and He won't fail. Sometimes it isn't how we would do it or how we think it should look, but when we let go, God can do amazing things with us. Serving God with your whole heart, mind, and soul will bring peace and joy. Just remember to lean on Him during those times of weakness and ask for His guidance and forgiveness when we mess up.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Philippians 2:13 For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him.

Veggie Supreme Pasta Bake

This Veggie Supreme Pasta Bake is easy to make and loaded with cheese and veggies. An easy dinner recipe for busy nights gets two thumbs up every time.

I don't know about your school year, but ours is always extremely busy the first month and a half. Our two boys are playing soccer, and our daughter is playing volleyball and learning tap dance.

Talk about a crazy schedule trying to juggle all those practices and games with our work and life schedule. I'm still trying to figure out where homework is going to fit in.

Even with the craziness of the sports schedule, we still try to sit down for dinner as a family as much as possible. That family time is very important to us.

Obviously, there are going to be some nights where we just grab something quick like these Buffalo Chicken Wraps or Raspberry Chipotle Turkey Thins as we drop off the school bags and head back out the door for a game.

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Oreo Banana Split Ice Box Cake

Layers of Chocolate and Berry Oreos and a no bake banana cheesecake makes this Oreo Banana Split Ice Box Cake an impressive dessert to cut in to.

So, a couple weeks ago I bombarded you with lots of Banana Split treats like this Banana Split Popcorn and this Banana Split Bundt Cake.

You would think that after a week of Banana Split everything, I would want to take a break from that flavor combo for a while. But no, I had one more fun dessert swirling in my head that I couldn't wait to make.

I had one pack of the Berry Oreos and the Chocolate Oreos that I managed to keep hidden from the cookie monster that lives with us. This cookie monster just looks like a normal hungry teen boy...but I'm on to him. [Read more...]

Spicy Chicken Panini

This Spicy Chicken Panini recipe is a great dinner or lunch idea when you are running short on time. The gourmet sandwich can be made using leftovers from a previous dinner.

A few months ago we bought a panini press. Now sometimes when we buy an appliance or item, the novelty of it wears off with in a month or so, and then we wonder why we ever needed it.

We used the Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler to make this Cheesy Beef Panini, and a few other sandwiches in the first week. And I am happy to report the sandwich maker is still going strong. Our oldest son loves using this little machine. I love that the plates can come off and are easily washed. It's a win win for everyone.

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Blackberry Diet Dr. Pepper

Blackberry Diet Dr. Pepper: Adding blackberry syrup to your favorite drink is refreshing on a hot summer day.

Diet Dr. Pepper has been my favorite drink for the longest time. Yes, I know the diet part of any drink isn't the healthiest for you, but I have made my peace with it.

This particular drink was all I drank while I was pregnant with our youngest. Who knows if that is why he ended up the smallest baby I had. All I know is that I craved Diet Dr. Pepper the entire pregnancy.

And I haven't stopped drinking it. 11 years later it is my choice of pop. I even used it in these Cherry Dr. Pepper Jello Squares earlier this year. What else can I make with it???

Ok, quick question...do you call it pop or soda??? I grew up calling it soda in the East, then I moved to the Midwest and became a pop convert. [Read more...]

Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes

Hiding an Oreo cookie inside a cupcake is a fun way to surprise everyone when you serve cupcakes for dessert. These Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes have plenty of peanut butter and chocolate to satisfy anyone's sweet tooth.

Usually I am totally a box mix kind of girl when it comes to cupcakes, but lately I have been playing around with some homemade versions in my kitchen. It all started with these Vanilla Cherry Pie Cupcakes, and now I am slightly hooked on trying to come up with some new versions based on that recipe.

Now for all you fans of boxed cake mixes...do not worry!!! I have not given up on my favorite box mixes. There will be plenty of cupcake and cookie love from those boxes around here. I have not completely gone all homemade on you. Believe me, I still believe in the art of semi-homemade baking. [Read more...]

Frosted Animal Cookie Muddy Buddies

Frosted Animal Cookie Muddy Buddies: White chocolate covered Chex cereal coated in crushed animal cookie crumbs and lots of sprinkles. You might want to make a double batch of this. One for you and one for everyone else.

Crushed animal cookies and chocolate coat this easy muddy buddies snack mix. It will disappear in a hurry!

So, I found out a piece of interesting information. If you let your driver's license expire more than 6 months, they make you take a written test again.

How do I know this? Well...let's just say mine has been expired for a while. And by a while, I really mean more than a year. Now before you give me grief, I honestly didn't know it was expired for about a year. I know, I know. I should keep up on these things more. But in my defense I haven't been stopped for any driving offenses, so I'm thinking this is good track record.

Now the last few months...yeah, I might have known, but I didn't do any thing . But last week we bought a new (to us) vehicle. The guys in the auto dealer might have given me a hard time about it. Plus, with our loan I now have to get it updated.

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White Chocolate Peanut Butter Oreo Bars

Pour a glass of milk and grab a few of these Peanut Butter Oreo Bars to snack on. White chocolate chips, Oreo cookies, and a smooth peanut butter glaze are just three of the reasons you need to bake a pan of these oatmeal bars today.

This summer I realized that I am not a convertible car kind of girl. My husband has an old Saab convertible that he absolutely loves to drive around on nice days. And I'm all for a cool car that looks good...

The problem is that I absolutely cannot stand to have my hair blowing in my face. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. Even in regular vehicles I will not roll down the window next to me, even if I am blazing hot. It's one of these strange quirks about me. You understand, right? I mean there have to be funny or strange quirks about you too.

One of these days I will remember to stock the glove box with pony tail holders and headbands. You would think that since I know how much the blowing hair will bother me, that the glove box would be stuffed with these items already. But no, I'm not that prepared.

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Banana Pizza

This Banana Pizza is a fun dessert to surprise your family with on pizza night. Oreo cookies, banana slices, and pudding take this dessert pizza to a whole new level.

Oreo Banana Cream Pie Pizza - layers of pizza crust, bananas, and Oreos makes this a fun dessert pizza to enjoy

Friday nights are almost always pizza and movie night in our house. My husband and his brothers used to own a pizza place years ago. And they grew up eating homemade pizza from their parents. So most of our pizza nights start with us making homemade pizzas too. It is such a fun tradition to continue with our kids.

We aren't complete pizza snobs though...there are those buy days where it is just easier to pick up a hot one from a pizza place in town.

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Brownie Whoopie Pies

These easy Brownie Whoopie Pies can be filled with any flavor of frosting or candy. Chocolate on chocolate is definitely a good way to satisfy any chocolate craving you might be having.

Do you find yourself getting obsessed over certain things?

My current clothing "must haves" include ruffles, stripes and flowers, cuff bracelets, and tank tops. And the colors pink and coral...seriously I can not get enough of those two colors. It's kind of bad because every time I go shopping, every other color gets ignored. My wardrobe is starting to turn into a one color fest. But I'm sure that will change once my "favorite" color changes. [Read more...]

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