I am thinking of relationships (the joy, the laughter, even the sorrow) after I spent the most wonderful weekend with my family celebrating extended family being in town, a 1st birthday for my niece and Mother's Day. These times cause you to pause and reflect...my family is amazing and I feel fortunate to count them as my closest friends as well. Right now, these relationships may seem easy but they come with work. Also, these relationships would not be as strong as they are if we could not all be ourselves and be real with eachother.
My number one purpose in life is to serve and glorify my Lord. He has called me to do this as his child and his follower. My relationship with HIM is priority numero uno but what comes in second? I think this is where even many "strong" believers falter. We can choose Christ has our first priority and devote our time and energy to him but what comes next? Many choose their job, their spouse, their kids, themselves... thinking this way is too specific. I believe that God has called us to live in community with one another, as the body, and therefore our next priority is our relationships. Relationships with our family, friends, co-workers, and even those that we may not know personally but come in to contact with in one way or another every day.
Are these relationships fruitful? Are they pleasing to the Lord? Do we only take from our relationships or do we give as well? It is so important to have strong, healthy relationships in our life to help us grow, for people to be real with, to tell the truth even if it isn't what we want to hear, to laugh with, to share in blessings AND sorrows, and to be a part of the bigger picture. Our lives are not about working all the time, striking it rich, having a nice house or car, staying up on trends and fashions...when you really think about it: what good are these things if you are all alone?
I think of this often and it helps me to remember to WORK at my relationships. Relationships, even with family, do not come easy. There are some that will feel like you are down-right pulling teeth in some seasons of life and other times that same relationship with flow with ease.
The other aspect of this is knowing when a relationship is pulling you down or detrimental to your NUMBER ONE priority. Remember, it is easier to be pulled down than for you to pull someone up. Place your relationship with the Lord above all else and then the relationships that matter and that will last will weed themselves out.
Finally, these are just findings from my own experiences and the word of God. I am by no means a pro at relationships or even an amateur- I fail every day. But through God's leading and his word I can start each day new and work on these relationships that bring so much joy to my life! And hopefully I, in turn, can bring joy to others.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Yummy, Healthy and SUPER easy Breakfast!
I am sharing my FAVORITE healthy and delicious breakfast with you. As you read on, this dish might seem familiar to you and if it does you are not crazy. I got the idea from the "Chilled Swiss Oats" bowl at The Corner Bakery while living in California. However, we do not have this restaurant in Oregon so I had to improvise!
Chilled Oats- Tiffany Style
Ingredients:
Old Fashioned Oats (1/2 cup per person)
Water
Plain Yogurt (1/4 per person)
Banana (1/2 per person)
Green Apple (1/4 per person)
Dried Cranberries (small handful per person)
Brown Sugar (tsp. per person)
**(These amounts are all based on my liking, if you want more of something just make it YOUR WAY! :) )
Instructions:
In a container (that has a lid) pour in your desired amount of oats. Pour cold water over the oats until the oats are just covered. Put the lid on the container. Place this in the fridge overnight to soak the oats (you will not be cooking these). The next morning, take oats from fridge. Combine 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 sliced pieces of banana, 1/4 cup cut up apple, small handful of dried cranberries and tsp of brown sugar. Stir it all together and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea!
Chilled Oats- Tiffany Style
Ingredients:
Old Fashioned Oats (1/2 cup per person)
Water
Plain Yogurt (1/4 per person)
Banana (1/2 per person)
Green Apple (1/4 per person)
Dried Cranberries (small handful per person)
Brown Sugar (tsp. per person)
**(These amounts are all based on my liking, if you want more of something just make it YOUR WAY! :) )
Instructions:
In a container (that has a lid) pour in your desired amount of oats. Pour cold water over the oats until the oats are just covered. Put the lid on the container. Place this in the fridge overnight to soak the oats (you will not be cooking these). The next morning, take oats from fridge. Combine 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 sliced pieces of banana, 1/4 cup cut up apple, small handful of dried cranberries and tsp of brown sugar. Stir it all together and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Community
It has been nearly 2 years since I last posted on our blog! Last we posted, we were finishing school and heading back for Oregon. Let me give a few updates, most of you know, but for others it will keep you up to date with the Anders' life!
We moved to Damascus, OR in May 2010. Four days after we arrived I (Tiffany) started a new job with Adventist Health. Braden was injured shortly after our move and spent the next nine months going through surgery and physical therapy to repair his ACL. Braden applied and got into the Boring (East Clackamas County) Fire Recruit Program and spent all of 2011 and the first part of 2012 in their program. He received his Fire Certification and EMT Certification during this time. After almost two years with Adventist Health, a job opportunity presented itself and I took the position of Marketing Coordinator at Hope Village (a Non-Profit, Retirement Community in Canby, OR). I am now settling in to this job and making connections quickly. Braden is in the process of searching for First Responder positions.
Other highlights:
- Traveling to Southern Uganda last summer to work with children in an orphanage. We built five classrooms and did "bible school" lessons (5 day club style) with children ages 3-15.
- Celebrating our 3 year Anniversary (2010) by going on a surprise (to me anyway) hot air balloon ride over the Willamette River and vineyards in Newberg, OR
- Celebrating our 4 year Anniversary with a weekend trip to Skamania Lodge, kayaking on the Columbia River and spending a day in Hood River.
- The births of 4! new additions to the Maddox family: Lauren Ann to Kevin & Emilie, Titus Giles to Ben & Brandy, Kennedy Elizabeth to Jason & Ranae, and Tessah Fay to Sam & Laura.
- We adopted a 4 month old dog in Sept. 2011. He is a Smooth Coat Fox Terrier and his name is Oakley.
Well that is the update for us! We just celebrated a wonderful Easter with our families and I thinking that I would like to work at being intentional about blogging every so often for people keep up to date with us, even if we haven't seen you in awhile. With work and everyone having kids, life becomes busy and hectic but we we still like to stay connected and in community with one another.
My sister Brandy has started a new website, Purposeful Living, and after reading her posts it inspired me to get back on here and at least give it a try to post what is going on with us to stay in community with one another. It is so important to me to have family and friends in our life to share moments with, speak truth, and to learn from. Our family, friends and church make up our "community". To us, these people are invalueble and really help to shape who we are. It is my goal be intentional about maintaining these relationships and cultivating new ones to really help us grow!!
We moved to Damascus, OR in May 2010. Four days after we arrived I (Tiffany) started a new job with Adventist Health. Braden was injured shortly after our move and spent the next nine months going through surgery and physical therapy to repair his ACL. Braden applied and got into the Boring (East Clackamas County) Fire Recruit Program and spent all of 2011 and the first part of 2012 in their program. He received his Fire Certification and EMT Certification during this time. After almost two years with Adventist Health, a job opportunity presented itself and I took the position of Marketing Coordinator at Hope Village (a Non-Profit, Retirement Community in Canby, OR). I am now settling in to this job and making connections quickly. Braden is in the process of searching for First Responder positions.
Other highlights:
- Traveling to Southern Uganda last summer to work with children in an orphanage. We built five classrooms and did "bible school" lessons (5 day club style) with children ages 3-15.
- Celebrating our 3 year Anniversary (2010) by going on a surprise (to me anyway) hot air balloon ride over the Willamette River and vineyards in Newberg, OR
- Celebrating our 4 year Anniversary with a weekend trip to Skamania Lodge, kayaking on the Columbia River and spending a day in Hood River.
- The births of 4! new additions to the Maddox family: Lauren Ann to Kevin & Emilie, Titus Giles to Ben & Brandy, Kennedy Elizabeth to Jason & Ranae, and Tessah Fay to Sam & Laura.
- We adopted a 4 month old dog in Sept. 2011. He is a Smooth Coat Fox Terrier and his name is Oakley.
Well that is the update for us! We just celebrated a wonderful Easter with our families and I thinking that I would like to work at being intentional about blogging every so often for people keep up to date with us, even if we haven't seen you in awhile. With work and everyone having kids, life becomes busy and hectic but we we still like to stay connected and in community with one another.
My sister Brandy has started a new website, Purposeful Living, and after reading her posts it inspired me to get back on here and at least give it a try to post what is going on with us to stay in community with one another. It is so important to me to have family and friends in our life to share moments with, speak truth, and to learn from. Our family, friends and church make up our "community". To us, these people are invalueble and really help to shape who we are. It is my goal be intentional about maintaining these relationships and cultivating new ones to really help us grow!!
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