Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

Tragedy – I woke early this morning to take my walk and I read the news about the horrible shooting in Colorado. I am speechless. Patrick at CreativeMinorityReport.com had a sobering commentary, but his last paragraph was the hardest. He says:

Again, the speed of things is startling. I found this unsettling story about a young woman killed in the shooting last night. We see her last tweets from the theater and even more bizarrely, we see her last blog post in which she wrote about barely escaping the gunman in that Toronto mall just six weeks ago. So sad, so bizarre, and so quick. /

I read the article about Jessica and it was eerie. She just escaped death at another tragic mall shooting just six weeks ago and now she is believed to be one of the fatally wounded victims last night.
(UPDATE: Jessica was killed. She was an intern at a Fox affiliate.)
It seems even more tragic that some of the injured were not just teens or adults. There was a 3 month old and a six year old hurt. (And I can’t help but wonder who would take a 3 mo old or 6 yr old to that movie, let alone at midnight.)
All this just breaks my heart but my kids are asking me why I am crying, I know I have to get a grip and take care of my little ones. I can mourn and cry for them in private later. But I can at least remember them throughout the day and offer up my tiny crosses for them.
In the meantime, I’ve got a house in desperate need of cleaning and kids with no clean clothes so I am not to leave the house or get back on the computer until I am done. Instead I’ll leave you with links to places I’ve visited online this week.

Prayer – This morning Fr. Jonathan Morris posted the Prayer to Put on the Armor of God on Facebook. It seems especially appropriate these days.
Prayer for Friday, July 20, 2012 (Prayer to put on the Armor of God)
Heavenly Father, I praise and worship you because you are God.
I am honored to be your servant and I take my stand.
Father, as I take up each piece of the armor, please secure it in place on me.
I take up the shield of faith and extend it over myself. It extinguishes all the fiery darts of the evil one.
I put on the helmet of salvation, which protects my mind from the enemy’s attacks. I have the mind of Christ.
I put on the breastplate of righteousness, which covers my body with the righteousness of God. In Christ, every foothold of evil has been washed away and I am clothed in righteousness.
I gird my loins with the belt of truth. Your word, O God, is truth.
Father, sanctify me according to your word and remind me through the Holy Spirit of the truth that destroys the lies of sin.
I shod my feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. I have peace with God through the blood of Jesus. I walk in my inheritance as an adopted son of God and have authority over evil in Jesus’ name.
I will use the Sword of the Spirit by speaking the Word of God as it applies to whatever situation I may face today. Father, please remind me of your Word via the Holy Spirit.
I will continue to pray in the Spirit throughout the day, and intercede for all Christians as the Holy Spirit prompts me. I believe that the Holy Spirit is interceding on my behalf according to my prayers.
Thank you, Father, for the whole armor of God. Please surround me with your hedge of protection as I move forward on the spiritual battlefield today.
I praise and worship you now and forever, Amen

Video– Fr. Morris also talked about the shooting on Fox News this morning. Here’s the link: http://video.foxnews.com/v/1744403963001/what-type-of-mark-will-theater-shooting-leave-on-society.

Making It Count – This week I discovered a number of new blogs that I started following. The first is AmongstLovelyThings.com. I first found the blog because of the series Sarah cohosts – Making it Count. Sarah says:

I spend a significant amount of time online- reading blogs, checking email, writing posts, editing photos, and sharing. While online, I seek inspiration to live this beautiful life to its very best- to squeeze every last drop out of these wild and glorious days. It’s far too easy, of course, for that time online to be counted as a waste. A click here, a click there- and suddenly the hours have gotten away from me. I shut my computer and walk away to do the very real and messy living of hours with these precious people in my life.
And what of the time online? Was it wasted? What of all the inspiring ideas and projects that I collected like berries from a bush while I was clicking away? Do they stay locked up in the computer while I live out my days with my family? Or do I bring them to life? Do I seek out inspiration and then allow that inspiration to overflow into my real world? I’d hate to think that the time I spend online hunting and gathering beauty is going to waste.
So, it won’t. I won’t let it.
Here is my chance. Here is your chance, too. Start with any one of those fabulous ideas you have found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you’re done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us. Make your time online count.
Twice each month, Pam and I are co-hosting the Making It Count Tuesday link-up. We’d love it if you would join us. Check out the rules, grab the graphic, and then get to work. Make that time you spend online count, and then show us what you’ve been up to! We’re meeting the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Everyday Snapshots, and the 4th Tuesday of each month here, at Amongst Lovely Things.

(I already have a little project that I finished that I’ll post on Tuesday.)

Binders & Recipes – Last week Pam at EverydaySnapshots.blogspot.com/ hosted Making it Count. That is where I saw Sarah’s link to these great recipes she tried out. They looked so tasty that I made two of them last night. (By the way, if you homeschool, you should especially check out Pam’s blog since she has a lot of great ideas. I don’t homeschool but I loved her binder ideas for general use!)

Yum – I tried the recipe for this Slow Cooker BBQ chicken. I think this is actually the recipe I tried to make last year but I got mad because all my pantry ingredients were gone or expired. Well, this time it all worked out and the family loved the dish.



I also made this Greek salad. It was really tasty but I think I put a little too much dressing on the salad because it was a little strong. I’ll try it again for lunch and put less dressing this time.
I think I might also try The Pioneer Woman’s version of Greek Salad next time I make this.

Keeping it in the Family – The other blog I started reading is SixSistersStuff.com. It is a blog done by six sisters. So cool! I will try and stay healthy and make their slow cooker roasted vegetables and not their cake-mix-cinnamon-rolls.

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend and don’t forget to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you because life is short!