recipe:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/83/Allisons_Broccoli_Salad13086.shtml
challenge:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/83/Allisons_Broccoli_Salad13086.shtml
*note, the two have nothing to do with eachother, unless you invite someone over for dinner.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
think about such things
last week i had a conversation with a dear friend, who reminded me that in order to overcome challenges, you can't just focus on the problem - you have to celebrate small victories. i heard something similar at church this morning. so often we focus on trying not to do bad things, instead of learning to love what is good. but God's desire is not just for us to follow the rules, he wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
maybe that's why paul says "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Phillipians 4:8
maybe that's why paul says "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Phillipians 4:8
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Elijah was afraid, and ran for his life... and the word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
The Lord said "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. when Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him "What are you doing here, Elijah?
He replied "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 1 Kings 19:9-14
i started reading this story a couple of days ago and it was very frustrating to me. i couldn't understand how elijah could give God exactly the same answer, after all that had happened. he was afraid, so he ran. and God took care of him, even "passed by him" (which seems to happen only to special people on special occaisions in the old testament) and still, elijah was afraid.
or at least that's what i got out of it. determined to find an explanation, i read commentaries and different translations, hoping a different perspective might help me understand why elijah didn't fall down and worship, or put on sackcloth and ashes, or something. the more i pondered, the more i realized that maybe it wasn't elijah's response that was troubling me, but my own. after all that God has done for me, how can i ever stand before him with the same fears, the same dispassionate attitude? what's wrong with me? yesterday i read in james "mercy triumphs over judgement." i can judge elijah - and myself, but God has a plan for us that can't be foiled by our weaknesses. somehow, he loves us anyway.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
who
i heard something today that made me think. ( i love it when that happens, because so often i don't think about what i hear - not enough to make a difference, anyway) anyway... someone said "it's not WHAT you are, it's WHO you are." a WHAT can be anything, but a WHO is very specific. God made me WHO i am. and no matter WHAT i may be, (an employee, a fiance, a friend, a daughter, or a "christian") it is who i am that matters.
"who" is also a process. i've been thinking a lot about consistancy lately, and how (in some cases) it is important to focus on the bigger picture instead of overanalyzing the details. for instance, if i want to know God better, i have to spend time with him on a consistant basis. if i don't do that, knowing him will never be part of "who" i am. (see the post entitled "just do it"). this goes for a lot of other things too. practice takes time, willingness, humility, and it eventually makes perfect (or close to it).
"Not that I have already obtained all this [knowing God], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philipians 3:12-16
"who" is also a process. i've been thinking a lot about consistancy lately, and how (in some cases) it is important to focus on the bigger picture instead of overanalyzing the details. for instance, if i want to know God better, i have to spend time with him on a consistant basis. if i don't do that, knowing him will never be part of "who" i am. (see the post entitled "just do it"). this goes for a lot of other things too. practice takes time, willingness, humility, and it eventually makes perfect (or close to it).
"Not that I have already obtained all this [knowing God], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philipians 3:12-16
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
memory verse
"a wife of noble character who can find?
she is worth far more than rubies.
her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
she brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life."
(proverbs 31:10-12)
it's really strange to think of myself as a wife, but that's what i am becoming... and i'm slowly learning what it really means. before i met my fiance, i have to admit that i didn't care much for wives. not the wives themselves, but the idea of being one. it seemed selfish and unambitious, because i had watched so many wives set aside their potential to live (what i deemed to be) painfully mediocre lives, serving only the interests of the family they created while the whole world went without the (whatever) they could have provided (inspiration, ingenuity, etc.) and on top of that, some of them weren't even happy.
it seems harsh, but that's really how i felt.
so where am i now? well... i know i was wrong. i still don't know exactly what being a wife is all about, but i'm ready to learn, and i figure the Bible is a good place to start (since this whole "marriage" thing was God's idea in the first place, right?)
she is worth far more than rubies.
her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
she brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life."
(proverbs 31:10-12)
it's really strange to think of myself as a wife, but that's what i am becoming... and i'm slowly learning what it really means. before i met my fiance, i have to admit that i didn't care much for wives. not the wives themselves, but the idea of being one. it seemed selfish and unambitious, because i had watched so many wives set aside their potential to live (what i deemed to be) painfully mediocre lives, serving only the interests of the family they created while the whole world went without the (whatever) they could have provided (inspiration, ingenuity, etc.) and on top of that, some of them weren't even happy.
it seems harsh, but that's really how i felt.
so where am i now? well... i know i was wrong. i still don't know exactly what being a wife is all about, but i'm ready to learn, and i figure the Bible is a good place to start (since this whole "marriage" thing was God's idea in the first place, right?)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
exhortation of the month (AKA: proverbs by nike).
my latest discovery is that it's no good fighting with yourself about legalistic, yet overall beneficial things. i used to fight with myself a lot about getting up and reading my Bible in the morning, and sometimes i wouldn't do it just to spite myself - but then i realized that in the long run, it doesn't really matter how i feel about it on a particular morning, because there is so much good to be gained from doing it consistantly. after about a week, waking up at 6 wasn't even so bad. now it's just something i do, and i can tell a difference. so for all those struggling with habits, i'm sayin' JUST DO IT. (and stop analyzing).
Thursday, April 2, 2009
"chasing cars" or "the illusion of control"
it occurred to me today, as i was driving home and listening to my ipod on "shuffle", that i don't really want that much control over my life.
i'm kind of a control freak. it's like this anxious, pulsating undertone to most of my days. i think i do it because there are certain things i know that i can't control, so i kind of hone in on what i can.
anyway, i was listening to my ipod and a song came on that i didn't particularly want to listen to just then, so i reached over to change it... and then i realized how stressful it is to have such control. i thought about the people i work with who are mentally ill and have come to a place where they have basically no control over anything anymore, and they call it REHAB. a place of healing. a place of accepting your weaknesses and the cards you've been dealt, and working with instead of against them. i think that's the way it's supposed to be, for everybody everywhere. some of the happiest people i've ever seen are those with the least amount of control over their lives. kids in third world countries, kids in general... they don't worry, they just take what comes.
while those of us who do have some control try and use it to do impossible things. like dogs chasing cars, only we're not even enjoying it. what would a dog do with a car if he actually caught it? what would i do with myself if everything was just the way i wanted it? life would be pretty predictable, and i probably wouldn't grow at all as a person. what do you call a kid who gets everything he wants? spoiled. (litterally).
so i let the song play, and enjoyed the sunshine instead...
i'm kind of a control freak. it's like this anxious, pulsating undertone to most of my days. i think i do it because there are certain things i know that i can't control, so i kind of hone in on what i can.
anyway, i was listening to my ipod and a song came on that i didn't particularly want to listen to just then, so i reached over to change it... and then i realized how stressful it is to have such control. i thought about the people i work with who are mentally ill and have come to a place where they have basically no control over anything anymore, and they call it REHAB. a place of healing. a place of accepting your weaknesses and the cards you've been dealt, and working with instead of against them. i think that's the way it's supposed to be, for everybody everywhere. some of the happiest people i've ever seen are those with the least amount of control over their lives. kids in third world countries, kids in general... they don't worry, they just take what comes.
while those of us who do have some control try and use it to do impossible things. like dogs chasing cars, only we're not even enjoying it. what would a dog do with a car if he actually caught it? what would i do with myself if everything was just the way i wanted it? life would be pretty predictable, and i probably wouldn't grow at all as a person. what do you call a kid who gets everything he wants? spoiled. (litterally).
so i let the song play, and enjoyed the sunshine instead...
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