as Jules is going - Page 110 of 154 - make disciples of all nations

Ham & Cheese Sliders {Thoughtful Thursday}

April 19, 2012 by Jules 2 Comments

Do you have anything thoughtful you ‘d like to share this Thursday? Some little helpful hint? A fun recipe? A tool you love? Please share by linking up below {linky messed up so add them in the comment section} and then posting the “Thoughtful Thursday” button to your post so other ladies can get lots of thoughtful helps! Consider visiting the link above yours and encouraging them through comments!

Here’s my thoughtfulness for the week:

I love simple meals. My kids love being with me...everywhere. The kitchen is no exception. Some times meals are too time consuming to add the child chief to the mix if we want to eat before bed. But, because I enjoy teaching my kids through making meals, I like finding healthy simple things where they can easily help!

Today I wanna give you the "recipe" for

Ham and Cheese Sliders

1 pkg frozen rolls {we used Sister Schubert}
8 oz mozzarella cheese
8-10 slices of deli ham
Butter, salt, and pepper {optional}

Gather all ingredients. Pre-heat oven to according to roll pkg. Make sure children have chairs or step stools near the counter to stand on but away from the oven.

Shred cheese with a grater over a small bowl {my 2 and 3-year-old were capable of doing this}.
Rip ham into small pieces {almost any age could do this}.
Slice rolls in 1/2 {for older children or parent} and place on a cookie sheet.

Layer ham and cheese on one side of the roll and stack the other 1/2 on top.
Try to keep the shredded cheese and ham on the rolls as much as possible {HARD with littles helping layer but they love this part}
Bake rolls according to pkg.
{if you like your rolls a little more moist, I like to add a tiny bit of butter on the tops before baking and sprinkle a little of salt and pepper}

Add a side of fruit and the kids will eat it up because it's yummy and They Helped! You'll enjoy it because you got to spend time with your kids in the kitchen, made a simple meal with them, and it was healthy!

Sorry, my link-up is messed up and I haven't had time to fix it yet but I'd LOVE to have links to your thoughfulness!
Add a link in the comment section below. Thanks!!!

How to Handle a Lifestyle in Limbo

April 17, 2012 by Jules Leave a Comment

As many of you know, the Rothacher “lifestyle” has been in a world wind of changes!

{you can read just some past posts about our "household" to get an idea of what I'm talking about}

I'm sharing over at The Homemaker's Challenge today. I'll be talking briefly about how God used 2 David's in our life over the past couple years to prepare us for the most recent season we're in: limbo. Dave Ramsay and David Platt have been huge influences in our families life.

Go check out how at homemakerschallenge.com!

Filed Under: Being a Help-Meet, Homemaker, Parenting, The Ones about Homemaker's Challenge, The ones about the Rothacher Home Tagged With: dave ramsay, David Platt, Financial Peace University, God's preparation, life in limbo

Life in Limbo

April 16, 2012 by Jules 4 Comments

God began working in my husband’s life around last Easter. Not in the simple realization of God’s plan of salvation but this inner turmoil of a man who already knew Christ and wanted to know what the heart of God really looks like.

I journeyed through this with him. Watching him read book after book alongside his Bible and commentaries. I waited patiently to see where God was leading our family through my fresh new husband. Radical was of course one of those many books. Life Changing! Another was Kisses from Katie. This is a story of a high school prom queen turned adopted mom of 14 and counting Ugandan children. My heart began to stir. I surrendered to foreign missions years ago. Months before I’d even met Matt {my amazing husband}. To me, that meant I was surrendered to serve wherever God would have me, whether that be in the States or abroad. I thought maybe this is why God had laid that on my heart so many years before now. Where we going to move somewhere like Uganda to love one the masses there who had never heard of Jesus Christ?

With that question lingering in the back of my mind we, as a couple, went to our first Catalyst Conference in October. We listened to strong men and women of faith talk about what it looked like to be leaders in the body of Christ. Katie Davis, the author of Kisses from Katie was there. Her interview gave a brief insight into the normalcy of ministering over in Uganda. Her nervous laugh and passion that came out as she talked stirred my heart even more to step out and do something more than what I was doing now.

In November, Matt came to be and said, “…I think God wants me to be a Pastor.” You have to know what a surprise this was for me to hear {and not erupt into laughter}. I married a YOUTH pastor. The man who hated watching guys with no passion for students use youth pastor possessions as a stepping stone to become “real pastors” one day. The guys who need to have some experience on their résumé but had no real intention of staying in the student ministry for any longer than they had to. Nope, he was a self-proclaimed “Lifer”! Now he thinks God wants him to go be a “real pastor”…

Another few days passed and he came to me again and started asking my option on Church Planting. I, of course, gave him my good ole, “We should be fixing the churches that already exist. We can’t leave them to die. All these tiny churches need to unite, get over tradition, and become kingdom minded and not territory minded!” He didn’t seem to affirm my rants…we’re normally on the same page. I was confused. He didn’t argue any of my points but wasn’t condensed either. I began praying really hard. I assumed he was interested in church planting as an easy alternative to pastoring an existing church. I didn’t want my husband to jump ship into what seemed like no-man’s-land because he was bored, depressed, or tired of fighting the same old stuff. God’s not going to lead a couple in two different directions.

Matt did lots more reading, studying, researching. He came back to me with stats. My heart had been melted and remolded by Christ. Here are just some of the staggering results about church planting.

embedded by Embedded Video

vimeo Direkt

I honestly feel like a missionary stepping out into the deep dark regions of…Arkansas. Bahaha
This is the most unsure we’ve ever been about the possession we are about to step into. We’ve never done anything like this. The failure rate is high. We will have to rely on sporadic funds to live on. We need to sell our current home and find a reasonably surprised home there that will fit our growing family. There are so many unknowns yet God has given us an unexplainable peace that seems to bother most people we speak with.

What is God asking you to step out and do? This new adventure isn’t just for those of us God called to “work” in full-time ministry. As Christians we are all called to minister full-time, with all we have, in everything.

Read more about our journey in these posts:

The New Adventure

The New Adventure {video announcement}

How to Handle a Lifestyle in Limbo

Also linked up at The Better Mom and Graceful.

Filed Under: Being a Help-Meet, Homemaker, Parenting, The ones about the Rothacher Home

Sometimes You Have to Rock a Crying Baby

April 9, 2012 by Jules 13 Comments

We’ve long since parted ways with the nursing world. At fifteen months, Samuel no longer takes his sustenance from me, not physically at least. However, I’m learning he still needs his mama in a deep, comforting way.

When he’s hurt, he reaches for me.
When he’s scared, he reaches for his mama.
When he’s tired, he lays his head on my shoulder.

Even though Daddy gives Samuel his bath and often, holds the dropper for him to take his nightly herbs, baby boy still longs for me to put him to bed. Mama is his comforter.

Recently, I have seen an increase in baby boy's need to be cuddled at bedtime, especially since our cross country move. Tonight, I lugged a rocking chair into his bedroom and sat him in my lap. He curled right into me and nuzzled deep. This was a first, and I embraced it.

As Samuel lay burrowed tight, he stared at the cross that hangs daily around my neck. He gazed at it curiously as if he was seeing it for the very first time. He ran his fingers down and across the silver edges, as his eyes drooped heavily, and the lyrics of Amazing Grace slipped through my lips.

As I stroked Sam’s cheek, I wondered if this boy would ever come to know and fear the Lord. This thought was quickly followed by the sobering remembrance of my harsh words and impatient huffs shared often throughout the day, as if Samuel was the absolute biggest inconvenience ever known to man. Gospel-centered living the farthest thing from my mind.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

Tears flowed freely and heavily as I choked out the rest of the hymn. I repented of my selfishness, impatience, and pride. I repented of my unkind words, for the slamming of my spatula, and for yelling at my baby to just leave the toilet seat alone for once! I asked God to forgive me and create in me a new heart! Please, God, renew a right spirit within me!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

I held my boy tight. I kissed his little head over and over while singing the words my chains are gone, I’ve been set free. At that moment, Samuel looked up at me with searching, knowing eyes and smiled. He reached his little hand up to my mouth and stroked my wet cheek as if he knew his mama was rocking a crying baby who needed comforting.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Leigh Ann’s life goal is to create a home where it is impossible to not think about God. At Intentional By Grace, she blogs about her journey of intentional living in order to make this goal a reality.

She is the wife of almost four years to the man of her prayers, Mark, and mama to a loveable little boy, Samuel. She takes joy in spending her days creating memorable moments with her husband, conducting kitchen experiments, researching every natural alternative known to man, and making her little boy laugh. She does it all by the grace of God.

You can follow her on twitter @n10tionalgrace or by liking Intentional By Grace on Facebook.

Filed Under: The ones about the Rothacher Home

Guess What

April 8, 2012 by Jules 3 Comments

This pat weekend we continued out crazy month of travel and had an amazing trip to Birmingham!!!! We built deeper relationships with students, learned big truths at "Secret Church" {radical.com or secret church.org}, and even got a chance to practice living in Christ when 'suffering'.

Insert blank

where you return readers would expect a picture

We we're headed home and stopped at a gas station. We all headed in to use the restroom and failed to lock all the doors to the church van. Someone stole 2 laptops, an iPod, and my purse which had the added bonus of carrying my iPhone and beloved camera {as well as all the other random stuff one carries in a purse: drivers license, sunglasses,a medicine, Chapstick, etc}?

If someone could come into my home and steal 3 of my most important Things, those would have been it: the phone I talk to people one and take pictures, the camera you obviously know I document our entire life on, and the laptop where I store all of those pictures and the other things/documents that keep our family running smoothly.

I am not being sarcastic facetious when I say that this Entire trip brought me Peace! Peace about how He has called us to minister her through building relationships and discipline students. Peace about His truth and where He is leading us next. And Peace about His sovereignty over everything! He was not surprised when I found my laptop bag and purse missing. he gave me an odd peace deep down in my gut. There was never a moment of panic, uneasiness, or fear. He peace she'd over me through the entire {very new experience} of filing a police report.?

Just wanted to let everyone know that updates, pictures, and blogging may be down for a bit while I enjoy the technology FREE life.

Thanks for your prayers. But i would like to ask, Please don't pray for my Stuff though. It's just stuff. Please pray for those who took it. We are commanded to love each other! Love our "enemies" and Pray for them. Not necessarily that they would bring junk back. Pray those thing bring as much joy to them as they did me. Pray that God would protect them. Pray for soften hearts to His gospel! This is an amazing story of Gods sovereignty and I'm blessed to be a tiny part in it.

Side note: I hope to open up the fire hose of Biblical truth I've learned this weekend SoOn! Get ready- I will be borrowing Matt book since my was divinely left in my laptop bag ;0)

sorry there are not more fun details and I'm sure there are LOTS of type-os...it's super hard trying to type one m hubby's iPad ;0)

Filed Under: The Ones about Jules Life {Randomness}