…of my special 30 days of seeking and expecting to hear from God.  I’d like to think that (almost) every single day I pray and expect, but I felt it was time for a tune-up in this area of my life, or should I say a ‘tune in’?! ha.  I decided to journal each day, in bright red ink, the special things God said or did;  the key moments and little breakthroughs (always hoping and trusting for the BIG stuff too!) 

I gotta say, it’s very sweet to thumb through the pages of my dated entries and observe what I took note of as tangible blessings for our family or for those others I’ve been praying for:

• significant phone calls and emails
• key coffee appointments and relational connections
• high test scores on unusual tests
• job interviews
• scholarship opportunities presented themselves
• greater faith entered my heart
• key scriptures anchored and strengthened me
• healing tears
• special house guests
• revelation, bringing freedom
• new doors of opportunity opened
• HOPE!
• good news from a far land
• happy surprises for my children
• evangelistic opportunities
• godly wisdom for practical matters
• gifts and increase
• success

I intended to fast for a few days during my 30 notable days, but found myself battling some sort of virus, compiled with some other bug and was never feeling strong enough to do so.  If I’m so miserable I can’t ‘enjoy’ (I use this word carefully ) the fast, I don’t do it.  Otherwise I’m irritable and short.  Not an effective way to fast!  I’m healthy and strong now.

I’ve come to the realization that God is working, working, working, and we are often ‘checked out’, preoccupied with all our wishes and druthers, MISSING the miraculous.  If we’ll take note, He is faithfully weaving His tapestry, one thread at a time, to work His great plan in our lives and the lives of those we love.  His process is painfully slow and we want to fast forward everything because we have such little minds and finite understanding.  Journaling intentionally has enriched my simple, daily life and revealed to me this past month that in the dailies dwells the divine if only we will take the time to notice.  God’s fingerprints are all over my 30 days.  May I maintain this mindset of being aware of His grace, sprinkled throughout every 24-hour period.  We are truly blessed my friends, to know and love the living God!

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Cindy, my assistant, phoned to say we’ve received a shipment of books that must be declared ’seconds’.  The inside pages and structure are perfectly intact, but the books had apparently been jostled about during shipping, leaving the covers looking rough. Some of the color is missing as you can see above.  I know me and I know I’m always looking for a good deal.  So, here’s the deal.  Until we run out, we’ll sell these seconds at a super-cheap discounted rate of 2 for $10.00 plus $2.00 shipping(that’s like, $5.00 each with $1.00 shipping per book in the USA, my bargain-hunting friends!).  If you’d like to order 10 or more, we’ll discount the shipping for you.  Simply email us at orders@denisemira.com and let us know how many you’d like, or inquire about a bulk price. Then, we’ll invoice you by email and you can complete your transaction through PayPal, the secure way to pay on the internet.  Don’t put off ordering, as we have a very limited inventory of these ’seconds’…   

Today I’m feeling just a bit overwhelmed as I’m looking at a mountain of stuff that suddenly appeared (or perhaps all the deadlines just caught up with me!  Oops.  ) It’s as if the imaginary dump truck just unloaded at my front door.  I’m working down my list of priorities at the moment and trying to move this mountain one brick at a time…..

Here’s the Ezekiel Bread avocado/tomato/onion/cheese melt I was telling you about - it is absolutely delicious!  Mmmm….

is that although we insist upon cleanliness in the kitchen, my home could not pass the white-glove test on most days.  I home school my kids, so who has time or energy to keep a perfect house?!  Clutter is my constant enemy.  Books, papers, folders, pens, pencils, calculators, computers, teacher manuals, file boxes….decorate my living space.  I do wrestle constantly with these things and often overcome them, but real life for me is that I need stuff to accomplish my goals and if I put it all away, something goes amiss.  I’ve tried to be perfect , but I can’t function practically if everything’s always put away in drawers and file boxes.  Sometimes if I can’t see it, I forget about it and then I’m sunk.  I’ve been taming the paper tiger for as long as I can remember.  It’s good to invite folks for dinner because then I hide everything!  Someday my poor husband will live in a perfectly orderly, dust-free home.  But for now I’m doing the best I can.  Can anyone relate???MY LIFE. 

…I forgot to mention.  Call me anal, obsessive-compulsive, whatever, but we also use hairnets in our kitchen-yes, I said HAIR NETS.  It’s one more habit we follow in the Mira Kitchen Code of Ethics.  Hee haw.  You can buy them in bulk and whenever we’re preparing a huge meal for guests or a meal to give to neighbors or sick friends, our rule is “wear a hair net”.  What can ruin a meal more quickly and certainly than finding a long, terrible hair in your food?!?!?!?  Arghghghgh…..SHREIK!  Here’s my girl with her hair net on at Christmas.  We were making a feast and couldn’t risk her beautiful brunette tresses falling into the sauce! I’m laughing out loud right now….(she’s gonna hate me for putting this picture on the blog, but I’ll put an ‘after shot’ too!)  Oooh, I just found one of me and my boy (below) with our matching nets - YES, EVEN BOYS MUST COMPLY IF THEY HAVE LONG HAIRS!  Let’s start a kitchen trend. 

  Here are my beautiful girls without their nasty hair nets!  OH how I miss my precious ones and wish they were here in my kitchen today cooking up a batch of yummy stuff!

My second-born son is a true foodie.  He’s the kind of guy who can’t just throw a slice of lunchmeat on bread and wolf it down.  When he wants a sandwich, he wants it all!  He painstakingly slices the onion, cheese, tomato, avocado; washes the lettuce and puts it all together beautifully before consuming it.  He’s an artist.  Most guys eat the pizza cold out of the fridge or from the box that sat on the kitchen counter all night.  Not him.  He appreciates good food and is willing to work for it.  His older brother isn’t so demanding about what he eats, although he loves a great meal and appreciates any gourmet item offered to him, he’s not as willing to do the work of preparing it.  Personalities are fun to observe.  One clear distinction of our brood is this: our boys appreciate an antiseptic environment in the kitchen - washing hands is a must before cooking and before eating - no licking fingers, drinking from their glass, breathing on their stuff or double-dipping with spoons or chips.  These are all ways to kill a great feast.  Some families could eat off the floor it seems!  But the Miras are more like city health inspectors.   My firstborn just informed all of us about an article he recently read proclaiming the dangers of double dipping as it increases bacterial exposure to the consumer by huge percentages.  They were ecstatic to have the facts to back up their suspicions.  You should see them at potlucks.  Very cautious.

is the bread of champions Some of you have been asking what it is, since I mentioned it here on the blog.  I came across ‘Ezekiel 4:9 the original 100% flourless sprouted grain bread’ many years ago when I was investigating ways to improve my family’s diet - and when I found it, I was hooked.  It’s not only delicious but completely healthy to eat.  I love the kind that’s rolled in sesame seeds (see package here in the photo) and I always toast it because it enhances the flavor and texture.  You’ll feel healthier just reading the label! Ingredients: organic sprouted 100% whole wheat, barley, millet, lentils, soybeans, spelt…my family jokingly calls it cardboard loaf because it’s quite firm, but they never complain when I toast it, spread a bit of mayo and mustard on it, load it up with avocado, tomato, onion, top it all with grated cheese and broil until the cheese  melts nicely.  Mmmm….a perfect lunchtime treat.  Here it is with all the stuff I mentioned last week -almond butter, honey and sliced banana for breakfast or afternoon snacks.  Check it out online to get the whole scoop.  Nowadays you can buy it almost everywhere since the whole country is trying to eat better.   (Sidenote:  I also buy other brands of sprouted grain bread, and I buy a softer whole grain bread for non-toasted sandwiches for the family because it’s a good compromise.  Smile.)  

…cats and dogs here today in Sacramento!  Reminiscent of a Seattle downpour as in days gone by when I would stand by the window and watch the gutters overflow…FOR DAYS.  It’s not nearly so common here of course, so I must say I’m really enjoying it.  My Seth Daniel loves to take photos of outdoor life.  I probably have 60 different photos of wet leaves to choose from.  I think they’re beautiful so I thought I’d share a few…