Monday, June 20, 2011
Sparknotes Got Me Through College. Now There's....
So I found this great new website I wanted to share! It's http://www.sparkrecipes.com/ and all the recipes listed are low calorie and healthy. The calorie content is listed for all them, and for those of you doing the sugar-free diet with me, I've only found one recipe so far that calls for sugar (brown sugar to be exact!). Most of the recipes that require sugar call for splenda. Of course you have to make up your own mind about artificial sweeteners. A good friend of mine who is a 4th year med student said there is no research to support a link between artificial sweeteners and cancer. He is a diabetic and guzzles Diet Coke like it's water. I have my own less educated opinions - it just doesn't seem right to ingest something that isn't food into your body. Aren't artificial sweeteners just chemicals? And yet all too often I find myself ordering that Diet Coke with my lunch at Subway, and feasting on sugar free fro-yo at Sweet Cece's. Anyway, I've found some great recipes on this site and there are hundreds listed. You can browse by meal, ethnic cuisine, dietary restrictions, and, my personal favorite, "time to make." There's no feeling in the world like throwing a bunch of stuff in a crockpot and knowing you'll have a healthy, low-cal dinner when you get home. Unless I have a day off work, minimal prep is my favorite phrase. :)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Just Let Go...It's So Easy!
Time and time again I hear people talking about submitting their wills to Christ and letting Him take over their day to day lives. This is wonderful, if I may understate it, but the wording makes it sound so easy. It's as if one can simply say "here you go, God, I'm all yours!" and instantly those selfish "But I WANT" thoughts leave one's mind forever. I have not found this to be my experience. Whenever I get fed up of making poor decisions and tell God I'd rather do it His way, no sooner have the words left my lips than the "but I wants" start creeping into the picture.
I had to sit back and ask myself how I really think God wants me to spend my time. Not in a faraway, one-day-I'll-be-a-missionary sense, but in a practical, within-the-next-24-hours sense. Based on the example of Jesus in Scripture, I figured God would probably like it if I kept Him in mind in everything I do. How can I do that practically? Also based on the example of Jesus, I thought the easiest way would be to start the morning off reading the Word and getting in some prayer time. Somehow I always talk myself out of this because there are other things I think I need to be doing. I spent some time with a college friend of mine and his wife this month, and he made a challenging statement, "I'd rather have a wife that has had her quiet time than a wife that has cleaned the house." A bold statement, and one that really made me question my priorities. Why exactly do I think the dishes need to be washed when their is an eternal Creator that would like to be acknowledged by His creation? So I started taking the time out to read the Word and spend a few moments in prayer with my Abba.
What surprised me about taking the time to do this every morning, even when I'm tired and I want to get to work on time and I need to thaw out the chicken, is that my thoughts really were more full of the Lord throughout the daytime. It made it so much easier to make the right decisions because God was at the forefront of my mind. How incredible to have eternity at the top of my priority list!
And for the record, no, I didn't get as much done this week as I would have liked to. My complicated seared chicken recipe did not get made. I didn't hit the snooze button for 15 extra minutes of sleep in the morning. It was hard work committing to my time in the Word in the morning and at night. But the cats still got fed, the apartment stayed relatively clean, I didn't lose sleep and I was productive at work. My relationships were better and I was much less tempted to take part in the gossip at work. James knew what he was talking about when he wrote "“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). Take the extra effort today to commune with God!
"Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity." -John Piper
I had to sit back and ask myself how I really think God wants me to spend my time. Not in a faraway, one-day-I'll-be-a-missionary sense, but in a practical, within-the-next-24-hours sense. Based on the example of Jesus in Scripture, I figured God would probably like it if I kept Him in mind in everything I do. How can I do that practically? Also based on the example of Jesus, I thought the easiest way would be to start the morning off reading the Word and getting in some prayer time. Somehow I always talk myself out of this because there are other things I think I need to be doing. I spent some time with a college friend of mine and his wife this month, and he made a challenging statement, "I'd rather have a wife that has had her quiet time than a wife that has cleaned the house." A bold statement, and one that really made me question my priorities. Why exactly do I think the dishes need to be washed when their is an eternal Creator that would like to be acknowledged by His creation? So I started taking the time out to read the Word and spend a few moments in prayer with my Abba.
What surprised me about taking the time to do this every morning, even when I'm tired and I want to get to work on time and I need to thaw out the chicken, is that my thoughts really were more full of the Lord throughout the daytime. It made it so much easier to make the right decisions because God was at the forefront of my mind. How incredible to have eternity at the top of my priority list!
And for the record, no, I didn't get as much done this week as I would have liked to. My complicated seared chicken recipe did not get made. I didn't hit the snooze button for 15 extra minutes of sleep in the morning. It was hard work committing to my time in the Word in the morning and at night. But the cats still got fed, the apartment stayed relatively clean, I didn't lose sleep and I was productive at work. My relationships were better and I was much less tempted to take part in the gossip at work. James knew what he was talking about when he wrote "“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). Take the extra effort today to commune with God!
"Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity." -John Piper
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Announcing the New Blog Title!
Finally picked an original title I can google and nothing else comes up! :) I gathered this title (with a little help) from words and images I have used in past poetry. I hope you enjoy! :)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards
I was privileged to attend this year's award luncheon in Cool Springs. The dining room was filled with many inspiring men and women from across Tennessee. From an 11 year old who raised over $2000 for the food bank, to an 80 year old woman who continues to wash and mend clothing for the poor after over 30 years, to an organization who produces bike riding events for the blind, I am honored to have heard your stories today. And thanks to the Youth Villages Mentor Liaisons, you all work round the clock to keep me sane!!
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