What Are You Chasing? Mr. Right? Perfect Job? Money?

We all chase after something. What are you chasing? Mr. Right?

The perfect job? Money? An incredible bargain at the 12-hour sale of the century? Or are you chasing the things God calls you to pursue - righteousness, faith, love and peace?

There's only one way to "catch" them - by calling on the Lord out of a pure heart, by running from evil and seeking God wholeheartedly.

The more you get to know and love him, the more your life will reflect the righteousness, faith, love and peace that are an integral part of who He is.

LOADED POTATO & BUFFALO CHICKEN CASSEROLE

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 8-10 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I left the skin on)

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 TBS. freshly ground pepper

• 1 TBS. paprika

• 2 TBS. garlic powder

• 6 TBS. hot sauce

Topping:

• 2 c. Fiesta Blend Cheese or a mix of Cheddar & Monterey Jack

• 1 c. crumbled bacon

• 1 c diced green onion

* I added 1 cup of sour cream*

Preheat oven to 500F. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into a cooking spray coated 9 x 13 inch baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mix as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon & green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious. Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

This was absolutely delicious. Jason said it was in the top 3 of all that I've ever cooked (that's quite a bit).

THE ASHE FAMILY UPDATES

I have been SO busy I haven't had time to write a blog in awhile, but I have great things to report back to you. For one, Jason, Gracie & I welcomed a new addition to the family - SOPHIE!

She is just too cute.. right? The rescue said she is a Corgi & Chihuahua mix. Jason & I rescued her from SQ Rescue in Columbia, SC. She was part of my birthday present from Jason.

If you are wondering how our other precious angel, Gracie, is coping this next picture describes it perfectly.

Sophie just wants to play with Gracie, but Ms. Priss isn't having it. Luckily, the situation has improved. Gracie has given in to playing with Sophie for at least a few minutes. It's all on her time. Typical woman right? This is a picture of us yesterday morning while doing our daily devotion.

Jason gave me the BEST present he could ever give me for my birthday - Granny came to visit!!

We had a great time while she was here. Of course, her first request was that we make a stop at a fabric store. LOL She just can't get enough. I got to make her lots of dinners & desserts. Jason & I were able to take her to our church, Shandon Baptist! We took her to all the great malls & Roundabouts Consignment! Granny also made Sophie & Gracie new Blankies.

She took me shopping for my birthday! She bought "our first antique".

It is so beautiful! We are recovering the chair. Hopefully, we will finish that project this weekend! She also bought me the Canon Rebel T3. It's actually for Jason & I both :) We are LOVING it!

(this pic was taken with my phone, so it's not wonderful)

For my actual birthday, Jason took Granny, Jessica & I to Ruth Chris Steakhouse.

The following night, we had a 2nd birthday dinner. Jason got me a delicious Marble Slab Cookie Dough Birthday Cake Ice Cream Cake. It was heavenly!

Notice it says 25. No, I am not really 25. LOL I jokingly told Jason I wasn't going to age over 25, and he ran with it. That's completely fine with me.

Another gift from Jason was that he had one of my very best friends, Amy, edit our honeymoon pictures from Jamaica & he put our album together. It was one of the sweetest gifts because it really came from the heart.

Here are a some of our honeymoon pictures. They turned out beautiful & they reflect our love & commitment perfectly.

One of my last gifts from Jason was tickets to go to a Gary Chapman "The Marriage You've Always Wanted" conference! I can not even explain how incredibly excited I was and I was not let down. It was amazing.

I would strongly recommend every married or engaged couple to attend any marriage seminar, but especially one that Gary Chapman Presents. He is an amazing speaker who presents his message in such a way that everyone can relate & understand. You can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in his voice & through his words. I feel blessed for being given an opportunity to attend such a conference.

If you have not read any of Gary Chapman's books, I would HIGHLY recommend you pick up one if not all of them, but the first I fully support is The Five Love Languages. It will change the way your view & perceive love & also how other are interpreting your love. It is not only good for relationships of love, but also the workplace. He even has versions of the book specifically for children, men, the workplace etc.

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by the most awesome loving Christian husband, supportive family & the best friends in the world. God truly has blessed me and I could never be more thankful. I give God all the glory & praise!!

Here are a couple random pictures.

These are the beautiful flower pots Jason & I made together. We finally planted our flowers! I am very proud of the finished project. What do you think?