Our Daily Bread
I was watching the Winter Olympics with some friends several years ago. While watching the speed skating we were amused by the way one of the starters said "Reeeaaadddyyy" the same odd way every time. A few months later, I found speed skating while surfing channels and heard the familiar chant "Reeeaaadddyyy" once again! I called my friends immediately and had a good laugh with them!
The devotional is much more serious than my silly little story. The point is that while it is important to prepare for the future in our lives, the most important thing is to prepare and maintain our relationship with God! That is Job One! Our primary goal!
Are you prepared to meet our Lord?
Lord, help us make our relationship with you our primary goal!
Simply Saturday
I had a better week, though I am still a little sick. I dragged my tired body out of bed this morning to attend my first cross fit workout. I have no idea how that will go. Yikes! Mi tigre goes to his cross fit gym five or six times per week with amazing results. I am not sure that is what I want. I will see how it goes.
I plan to see the movie Wrath of the Titans after the workout. The rest of the day will be spent reading and watching ball games. Go Cats! Go Cards! Go Bucks! Yes, my three favorite teams are in the Final Four. I hate the fact that at least two of them have to lose this weekend. There can be only one winner! I am excited that a few friends of mine are in New Orleans for the games. Congratulations!
I ran a lot of errands last night after work, like three hours worth of errands! I dropped off a dozen shirts at the laundry. Picked up cards at the Hallmark store. Stopped by Costco to use the last of the coupons before they expired on Sunday. Went to Giant Eagle to get some more gift cards for my trip next week and fill up with gas. With my three five-gallon gas cans, I used up almost my entire 30 gallon allotment at $1.69 per gallone! Woohooo! I have those to fill up before my trip to St Louis next weekend. I did laundry. Processed the cards for mailing. I still managed to do a little reading before dozing off.
I had a good week of talks with mi tigre. I really like this man. We will see where it goes. I think I have a different attitude towards the relationship after our "break" week before last. I am thinking about that a lot as I interact with him now.
I had a run in with an acquaintance. I don't know if we will ever talk about it or not. I am praying for him. I am praying for me. I hate these kinds of interactions. We have had several ups and downs in our friendship over the years.
Time to go. Wish me luck with the workout!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
A wee little man
Our Daily Bread
There is a children's song about Zacchaeus telling his story of his interaction with Jesus. "Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today" says the song! It sounds so sweet and innocent coming from children!
In fact, Jesus visiting his home was a huge deal! Zacchaeus was a tax collector. who like other tax collectors, were despised by the Jewish community. The "good" Jews didn't associate with them in public, much less go to their homes to eat! Jesus was breaking down barriers so all could enter the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, help us break down barriers so more folks can enter the kingdom of heaven!
Foodie Friday
I am not sure what I am going to make this weekend. I have some leftovers in the fridge. I haven't been terribly hungry this week. I will probably make some snacks to watch the Buckeyes game on Saturday night (and more to watch their game on Monday night! hehehe).
One of the things I like to make for ball games is a cheese dip with chorizo sausage. I take a large jar of Frito Lay cheese dip and warm it in a pot. I fry about a half pound of chorizo per large jar of cheese dip. I am sure to pat the sausage dry on paper towels before mixing it in with the cheese dip. I put the concoction in a crock pot on warm. Hmmmm! Great served with tortilla chips, Scoops or blue corn chips.
I also like making meatballs in the crock pot. The original recipe calls for a few pounds of meatballs, a jar of chili sauce and a jar of grape jelly. I substitute a can of cranberry sauce instead of the grape jelly. Hmmmmm! Cook for a few hours depending on whether or not the meatballs are frozen or not. Still occasionally. Turn the heat down to warm close to serving time so they are not too hot to eat. Enjoy!
Other Stuff
I was tired after work yesterday! Whew! I drove to my counselor's office and sat outside in my Escape to rest and make a few phone calls. I called my Mom to let her know that I will be visiting St Louis for Easter. We usually spend Easter together if I am in town. We talked for a while. I got a short nap before mi tigre called. We had a nice talk. I talked to my counselor, then drove to church for choir practice. I was pretty tired at rehearsal, but managed to get through my solo pretty well. I went home and jumped into bed as soon as I could.
I didn't make it up for my workout today. I will walk at lunch today. I plan to go to the cross fit gym tomorrow. I will see how that goes. I want to see the Wrath of the Titans movie this weekend. I also want to borrow the last Hunger Games book on Sunday. ;-)
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
There is a children's song about Zacchaeus telling his story of his interaction with Jesus. "Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today" says the song! It sounds so sweet and innocent coming from children!
In fact, Jesus visiting his home was a huge deal! Zacchaeus was a tax collector. who like other tax collectors, were despised by the Jewish community. The "good" Jews didn't associate with them in public, much less go to their homes to eat! Jesus was breaking down barriers so all could enter the kingdom of heaven.
Lord, help us break down barriers so more folks can enter the kingdom of heaven!
Foodie Friday
I am not sure what I am going to make this weekend. I have some leftovers in the fridge. I haven't been terribly hungry this week. I will probably make some snacks to watch the Buckeyes game on Saturday night (and more to watch their game on Monday night! hehehe).
One of the things I like to make for ball games is a cheese dip with chorizo sausage. I take a large jar of Frito Lay cheese dip and warm it in a pot. I fry about a half pound of chorizo per large jar of cheese dip. I am sure to pat the sausage dry on paper towels before mixing it in with the cheese dip. I put the concoction in a crock pot on warm. Hmmmm! Great served with tortilla chips, Scoops or blue corn chips.
I also like making meatballs in the crock pot. The original recipe calls for a few pounds of meatballs, a jar of chili sauce and a jar of grape jelly. I substitute a can of cranberry sauce instead of the grape jelly. Hmmmmm! Cook for a few hours depending on whether or not the meatballs are frozen or not. Still occasionally. Turn the heat down to warm close to serving time so they are not too hot to eat. Enjoy!
Other Stuff
I was tired after work yesterday! Whew! I drove to my counselor's office and sat outside in my Escape to rest and make a few phone calls. I called my Mom to let her know that I will be visiting St Louis for Easter. We usually spend Easter together if I am in town. We talked for a while. I got a short nap before mi tigre called. We had a nice talk. I talked to my counselor, then drove to church for choir practice. I was pretty tired at rehearsal, but managed to get through my solo pretty well. I went home and jumped into bed as soon as I could.
I didn't make it up for my workout today. I will walk at lunch today. I plan to go to the cross fit gym tomorrow. I will see how that goes. I want to see the Wrath of the Titans movie this weekend. I also want to borrow the last Hunger Games book on Sunday. ;-)
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Do you trust me?
Our Daily Bread
In the business world, there are team outings that emphasis team unity and trust. One of the exercises is for a team member to fall backwards into the arms of the team. The team is supposed to catch the team member as a symbol of how the team supports each other. No, it is not like the way Charlie Brown trusts Lucy to not pull away the football each time! Yikes!
The devotional talks about trust -- not just trusting your uncle to keep you safe in deep water. Trusting God to be with you each and every day in your life! How do we do that? I have no clue! Just kidding! Well, it is partially true. I had a professor in seminary that said we should trust God for every breath. His wife and I looked at him incredulously. How do you do that? For me, I started small. I started trusting God will small things as he revealed small promises to me. I prayed for more faith and more understanding of how to do this. I still have a very long way to go. Very long way. I will let go, like the last line in my blog entry each day!
Lord, help us trust you in every situation in our lives...
Technology Thursday
The other side of the coin
I have to admit that I love the Apple devices such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. I want to provide balanced coverage of the new iPad. Here are some things folks are reporting online.
It runs hot
There have been documented cases where users playing games can feel the bottom left hand corner of the new iPad get 10 - 20 degrees hotter than the rest of the device. Experts confirmed the phenomenon, but it is not consistent on all devices. It is attributed to the quad-core GPU working too hard on high impact games.
Not all apps are optimized for the retina display
The retina display is amazing. It has higher resolution than a 1080p bluray movie. Very cool! Not all apps are optimized for this display yet. These apps can look worse on the new device than on the iPad 2. The apps that are optimized for the new iPad have a tendency to be much larger than the iPad 2 version.
The battery indicator isn't accurate
There were some reports that 100% doesn't necessarily mean 100% on the new iPad batter indicator light. Further tests indicated that the initial reports were not accurate.
It chews through data on my data plan
DOH! The new iPad is an LTE device with download speeds many times the speed of the 3G iPad 2. The other LTE tablets have the same issues. Users notice it the most when streaming a 1080p movie over their LTE connection. Get a larger data plan or use a wireless network if you are going to stream large files!
Other Stuff
I had a busier evening than what I planned. I walked over to OSU for the mens basketball team sendoff. It was very exciting. My hero was on one of the buses heading to the airport. She texted me later than she arrived in New Orleans safe and sound. Have a great time!
I had a long conversation with mi tigre. It was a good thing.
I got to church early to audition/rehearse a solo in the Spring music program. I am excited about it.
I have to admit that I was agitated in D1 class. My reason was from my blood sugar being too high and I didn't realize it. I should have kept quiet, but didn't. Oh well. The agitation continued afterwards in conversations with someone. It is odd. I am moving on from the friendship.
I have a busy day ahead. I hope your day is great!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
In the business world, there are team outings that emphasis team unity and trust. One of the exercises is for a team member to fall backwards into the arms of the team. The team is supposed to catch the team member as a symbol of how the team supports each other. No, it is not like the way Charlie Brown trusts Lucy to not pull away the football each time! Yikes!
The devotional talks about trust -- not just trusting your uncle to keep you safe in deep water. Trusting God to be with you each and every day in your life! How do we do that? I have no clue! Just kidding! Well, it is partially true. I had a professor in seminary that said we should trust God for every breath. His wife and I looked at him incredulously. How do you do that? For me, I started small. I started trusting God will small things as he revealed small promises to me. I prayed for more faith and more understanding of how to do this. I still have a very long way to go. Very long way. I will let go, like the last line in my blog entry each day!
Lord, help us trust you in every situation in our lives...
Technology Thursday
The other side of the coin
I have to admit that I love the Apple devices such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. I want to provide balanced coverage of the new iPad. Here are some things folks are reporting online.
It runs hot
There have been documented cases where users playing games can feel the bottom left hand corner of the new iPad get 10 - 20 degrees hotter than the rest of the device. Experts confirmed the phenomenon, but it is not consistent on all devices. It is attributed to the quad-core GPU working too hard on high impact games.
Not all apps are optimized for the retina display
The retina display is amazing. It has higher resolution than a 1080p bluray movie. Very cool! Not all apps are optimized for this display yet. These apps can look worse on the new device than on the iPad 2. The apps that are optimized for the new iPad have a tendency to be much larger than the iPad 2 version.
The battery indicator isn't accurate
There were some reports that 100% doesn't necessarily mean 100% on the new iPad batter indicator light. Further tests indicated that the initial reports were not accurate.
It chews through data on my data plan
DOH! The new iPad is an LTE device with download speeds many times the speed of the 3G iPad 2. The other LTE tablets have the same issues. Users notice it the most when streaming a 1080p movie over their LTE connection. Get a larger data plan or use a wireless network if you are going to stream large files!
Other Stuff
I had a busier evening than what I planned. I walked over to OSU for the mens basketball team sendoff. It was very exciting. My hero was on one of the buses heading to the airport. She texted me later than she arrived in New Orleans safe and sound. Have a great time!
I had a long conversation with mi tigre. It was a good thing.
I got to church early to audition/rehearse a solo in the Spring music program. I am excited about it.
I have to admit that I was agitated in D1 class. My reason was from my blood sugar being too high and I didn't realize it. I should have kept quiet, but didn't. Oh well. The agitation continued afterwards in conversations with someone. It is odd. I am moving on from the friendship.
I have a busy day ahead. I hope your day is great!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Life is art
Our Daily Bread
The devotional was beautiful this morning. The capturing of beautiful things and moments made me think of my best friend, an more than amateur photographer. He captures things with his cameras that I have shake my head at in amazement. I have a few brief moments captured on digital pictures and the old-fashioned photographs as well. Some are very beautiful. Some are hilarious!
The devotional made the link from the beautiful photograph to our lives. Short moments, seen by few that sometimes are missed by the masses. We keep living though. Making our lives beautiful to God and those around us the best we can!
Lord, thank you for making this beautiful world that we enjoy. Help us make our lives something beautiful that can praise you!
Witness Wednesday
It was another weird week for me. I am still a little sick. I finish up the antibiotics early next week. When I cough, it is usually not as violent. I am trying to workout as I can. The weirdest thing is how I feel right now. I don't feel like myself. I am working through it slowly. Slowly. Feelings, nothing more than feelings... hehehe I got a call from mi tigre the other night. We are talking again. Talking. Feelings, nothing more than feelings.
I also made a new friend Friday night. We got to talk for a long time after the social at my house. He will be a good friend. I am excited about that. We are comparing notes about different things in our lives. Very cool. He shared the saying on his refrigerator magnet. He reminded me about it in an email last. Good words....
I will keep moving along in my life. That is the only way I know how to be.
Other Stuff
I started the lawn mowing season last night. It took me a while to hack through the heavy growth. I should have done it last week, but didn't feel up to it with the bad cold/allergies. I should have done the trimming as well, but didn't. Oh well. I picked up sticks. Bagged the grass. Sprayed the weeds. Done. The yard waste will be picked up today. I need to pot my new perennials for my hanging planters. I am trying to move away from annuals for my planters. We will see how that works out. ;-p It is working out for two of my planters so far!
A friend sent me a PDF of the third Hunger Games book. The PDF didn't read well on my portable devices so I tried the text-to-voice feature on my Kindle Touch. It works pretty well. I am not used to listening to a book. I have to focus on the listening! hehehe I will see how this works out.
I have D1 class tonight. My hero also leaves with the OSU team for the Final Four! How exciting!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
The devotional was beautiful this morning. The capturing of beautiful things and moments made me think of my best friend, an more than amateur photographer. He captures things with his cameras that I have shake my head at in amazement. I have a few brief moments captured on digital pictures and the old-fashioned photographs as well. Some are very beautiful. Some are hilarious!
The devotional made the link from the beautiful photograph to our lives. Short moments, seen by few that sometimes are missed by the masses. We keep living though. Making our lives beautiful to God and those around us the best we can!
Lord, thank you for making this beautiful world that we enjoy. Help us make our lives something beautiful that can praise you!
Witness Wednesday
It was another weird week for me. I am still a little sick. I finish up the antibiotics early next week. When I cough, it is usually not as violent. I am trying to workout as I can. The weirdest thing is how I feel right now. I don't feel like myself. I am working through it slowly. Slowly. Feelings, nothing more than feelings... hehehe I got a call from mi tigre the other night. We are talking again. Talking. Feelings, nothing more than feelings.
I also made a new friend Friday night. We got to talk for a long time after the social at my house. He will be a good friend. I am excited about that. We are comparing notes about different things in our lives. Very cool. He shared the saying on his refrigerator magnet. He reminded me about it in an email last. Good words....
I will keep moving along in my life. That is the only way I know how to be.
Other Stuff
I started the lawn mowing season last night. It took me a while to hack through the heavy growth. I should have done it last week, but didn't feel up to it with the bad cold/allergies. I should have done the trimming as well, but didn't. Oh well. I picked up sticks. Bagged the grass. Sprayed the weeds. Done. The yard waste will be picked up today. I need to pot my new perennials for my hanging planters. I am trying to move away from annuals for my planters. We will see how that works out. ;-p It is working out for two of my planters so far!
A friend sent me a PDF of the third Hunger Games book. The PDF didn't read well on my portable devices so I tried the text-to-voice feature on my Kindle Touch. It works pretty well. I am not used to listening to a book. I have to focus on the listening! hehehe I will see how this works out.
I have D1 class tonight. My hero also leaves with the OSU team for the Final Four! How exciting!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The real thing
Our Daily Bread
How can they really tell? How can the folks in this world really tell that we are the children of God when they read about the problems in churches, the way fellow church members treat each other, and the way we treat people who are different than us church folks! How could they possibly know?
There is always a glimmer of hope when we have the love of Jesus in our hearts. That love cannot help but shine out even from the most imperfect vessel. Story after story in the Bible tell us about this. Don't we see ourselves in these stories? I know I do!
Let's be doers of the Word of God. Show-ers of the love of God!
Lord, help us to be your light in this dark world!
Teaching Tuesday
The D1 lesson is about the second half of Acts this week. These chapters talk about the ministry of Paul and how, along with his brothers in Christ, took the show on the road! ;-p The spread the word of God all over the region to both Jew and Gentile. How amazing! He suffered so much, and counted it gain for the cause of Christ! Take a quick read of chapters 16 to the end of Acts. Very cool stuff!
Other Stuff
I had a quiet day at work yesterday. I came home after stopping at Meijer to pick up a few things. I needed to work out since I didn't make it up this morning. I hope I can sleep better tonight! I don't think I have built up stress or anything. Very odd.
I had a few phone conversations, watched a little TV and went to bed. Relaxing night after being pretty busy over the weekend.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Monday, March 26, 2012
weak = strong What?
Our Daily Bread
I was very good at math in high school. I could usually work things out and make both sides of the equal sign "equal". Math has nothing to do with the topic today! They don't equal out in my simple mind!
Jesus introduces the concepts of "think of things differently when you think of the kingdom of Heaven" during his ministry. Paul takes it much further in his writings, seeming to contradict himself over and over when he talks about weakness and strength. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. Does this make sense if you do a quick read? Not to me! Read it again slowly. This passage is just one of the passages I based the closing of my daily blog entry on. Don't "hang on". "Let go". The same with our conventional wisdom of "be strong". In the kingdom of God, being weak enables us to rely on the strength that only God can give! Wow!
Lord, help us to let go. Help us to realize that we can rely on your strength!
Movie Monday
I saw the movie The Hunger Games on Saturday night. I didn't know much about the series of three books until recently. I read the first book on Friday! It was a very quick read. I finished the second of three books on Sunday. Here is what I thought of the movie.
The Hunger Games
I saw the movie the day after I finished the book. I was impressed with the movie, though I liked the book much better. They had to change a few things in the movie to fit it into a two hour, twenty-two minute movie. The time flew by because the story was so engaging. I thought the actors fit the characters I had assembled in my mind, though it took a few minutes for me to adjust to the actors they selected for Haymitch and Peeta. I liked them after I saw them in the roles for a while. I am not sure that kids under 14 should see this movie. It is a little violent for that age, even though they took out out a lot of the visual stuff from the book.
I give this movie three bear paws. See it wherever even if you haven't read the book!
Other Stuff
I helped some friends with an open house yesterday afternoon, then went home for a quiet evening. I made a baked sweet potato and ground turkey/quinoa meatloaf for supper (recipe this Friday) and finished the second Hunger Games book (Catching Fire). I am debating whether or not to buy the third book or to wait until April 1 when I can borrow it for free from the Amazon Lending library!
I had a couple of phone calls with my best friend. We planned our vacation flights. I found a hotel for us. Very cool. Dallas, here we come! I am also looking forward to spending Easter with him and his friends.
I was a little disappointed this weekend. I found a projector for my basement on the Costco site. I decided to buy it and found that they were out of it! Darn it! It is not meant to be right now. I can wait for a little while I guess.
Going to work out tonight and take it easy. Maybe work in the yard some. The weather has cooled down a lot!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I was very good at math in high school. I could usually work things out and make both sides of the equal sign "equal". Math has nothing to do with the topic today! They don't equal out in my simple mind!
Jesus introduces the concepts of "think of things differently when you think of the kingdom of Heaven" during his ministry. Paul takes it much further in his writings, seeming to contradict himself over and over when he talks about weakness and strength. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. Does this make sense if you do a quick read? Not to me! Read it again slowly. This passage is just one of the passages I based the closing of my daily blog entry on. Don't "hang on". "Let go". The same with our conventional wisdom of "be strong". In the kingdom of God, being weak enables us to rely on the strength that only God can give! Wow!
Lord, help us to let go. Help us to realize that we can rely on your strength!
Movie Monday
I saw the movie The Hunger Games on Saturday night. I didn't know much about the series of three books until recently. I read the first book on Friday! It was a very quick read. I finished the second of three books on Sunday. Here is what I thought of the movie.
The Hunger Games
I saw the movie the day after I finished the book. I was impressed with the movie, though I liked the book much better. They had to change a few things in the movie to fit it into a two hour, twenty-two minute movie. The time flew by because the story was so engaging. I thought the actors fit the characters I had assembled in my mind, though it took a few minutes for me to adjust to the actors they selected for Haymitch and Peeta. I liked them after I saw them in the roles for a while. I am not sure that kids under 14 should see this movie. It is a little violent for that age, even though they took out out a lot of the visual stuff from the book.
I give this movie three bear paws. See it wherever even if you haven't read the book!
Other Stuff
I helped some friends with an open house yesterday afternoon, then went home for a quiet evening. I made a baked sweet potato and ground turkey/quinoa meatloaf for supper (recipe this Friday) and finished the second Hunger Games book (Catching Fire). I am debating whether or not to buy the third book or to wait until April 1 when I can borrow it for free from the Amazon Lending library!
I had a couple of phone calls with my best friend. We planned our vacation flights. I found a hotel for us. Very cool. Dallas, here we come! I am also looking forward to spending Easter with him and his friends.
I was a little disappointed this weekend. I found a projector for my basement on the Costco site. I decided to buy it and found that they were out of it! Darn it! It is not meant to be right now. I can wait for a little while I guess.
Going to work out tonight and take it easy. Maybe work in the yard some. The weather has cooled down a lot!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sleep!
Our Daily Bread
I cook a little bit. I enjoy it, but I am not that good at it nor do I like cleaning up! ;-p The thing I find interesting in almost every recipe is a "binding agent". There is usually something that binds the recipe together so it can cook or bake and come out the way it is supposed to taste. Many times it is egg. Sometimes it is a dry ingredient like sugar that makes things happen in the oven to make the cookies taste good. That is why it is so hard to make cookies with artificial sweeteners!
The church is what binds the children of God together. Just like we don't make chocolate chip cookies with just flour, we need the other folks in the church to complement the recipe. To make the recipe come out the way it is supposed to. Yes, I know we can sometimes get bad ingredients. You know what I mean. We just keep working at it until we get it right!
Lord, help us always realize our place in our world and our church!
Psalm Sunday
Psalm 41 is the psalm for this week. It is one of the "tyipical" have mercy, protect me from my enemies and praise God psalms! ;-p It is still beautiful. Read it out loud with feeling!
Psalm 41
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers them in times of trouble.
2 The LORD protects and preserves them—
they are counted among the blessed in the land—
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
3 The LORD sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.
4 I said, “Have mercy on me, LORD;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it around.
7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has afflicted him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend,
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
has turned against me.
10 But may you have mercy on me, LORD;
raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 Because of my integrity you uphold me
and set me in your presence forever.
13 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Other Stuff
I was feeling better yesterday. I decided to work out and then read (to rest). Sleep has eluded me the past few nights, which is very odd for me. I couldn't nap Saturday afternoon, so I read instead. I am 70% through the Catching Fire book (the second book in the Hunger Games series). Very cool! I saw The Hunger Games movie last night. I will review it tomorrow.
I ate dinner with the Bears group, but I wasn't very sociable I am afraid. I wasn't feeling well and I don't know why. I think the multigrain Scoops I ate as a snack Saturday afternoon disagreed with me. Ewww! I read before the movie.
Go Bucks! Congratulations on beating Syracuse! I was nervous about the game and didn't watch it. They played a great game I am very proud of them!
I am helping my walking buddy with a house showing this afternoon. I would rather read! ;-p
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I cook a little bit. I enjoy it, but I am not that good at it nor do I like cleaning up! ;-p The thing I find interesting in almost every recipe is a "binding agent". There is usually something that binds the recipe together so it can cook or bake and come out the way it is supposed to taste. Many times it is egg. Sometimes it is a dry ingredient like sugar that makes things happen in the oven to make the cookies taste good. That is why it is so hard to make cookies with artificial sweeteners!
The church is what binds the children of God together. Just like we don't make chocolate chip cookies with just flour, we need the other folks in the church to complement the recipe. To make the recipe come out the way it is supposed to. Yes, I know we can sometimes get bad ingredients. You know what I mean. We just keep working at it until we get it right!
Lord, help us always realize our place in our world and our church!
Psalm Sunday
Psalm 41 is the psalm for this week. It is one of the "tyipical" have mercy, protect me from my enemies and praise God psalms! ;-p It is still beautiful. Read it out loud with feeling!
Psalm 41
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers them in times of trouble.
2 The LORD protects and preserves them—
they are counted among the blessed in the land—
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
3 The LORD sustains them on their sickbed
and restores them from their bed of illness.
4 I said, “Have mercy on me, LORD;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it around.
7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has afflicted him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend,
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
has turned against me.
10 But may you have mercy on me, LORD;
raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 Because of my integrity you uphold me
and set me in your presence forever.
13 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Other Stuff
I was feeling better yesterday. I decided to work out and then read (to rest). Sleep has eluded me the past few nights, which is very odd for me. I couldn't nap Saturday afternoon, so I read instead. I am 70% through the Catching Fire book (the second book in the Hunger Games series). Very cool! I saw The Hunger Games movie last night. I will review it tomorrow.
I ate dinner with the Bears group, but I wasn't very sociable I am afraid. I wasn't feeling well and I don't know why. I think the multigrain Scoops I ate as a snack Saturday afternoon disagreed with me. Ewww! I read before the movie.
Go Bucks! Congratulations on beating Syracuse! I was nervous about the game and didn't watch it. They played a great game I am very proud of them!
I am helping my walking buddy with a house showing this afternoon. I would rather read! ;-p
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Sleepless in Sharon Woods
Our Daily Bread
Well, the title for today's entry has nothing to do with the devotional! I have been sick all week. As I started to feel better on Thursday night, my body decided it didn't want to sleep at night any longer. Whew... I finally got to sleep between 2 - 3 am night before last. I am writing this entry at 3:10 am. Whew... I slept for about an hour then was wide awake. Whew... I read the remaining 24% of The Hunger Games before getting out of bed to write this entry.
But I digress. The devotional is very moving today. It reminded me about all the lost children and lost parents there are around the world. So many have children and act like they don't want them. So many people want children and can't have them. It seems so unfair at times. I am glad I am not a breeder. It simplifies life a little bit in my mind!
But I digress! The point of the devotional is that God is there for us regardless if everyone else has pushed aside or ignored us. He is there even if our family deserts us. The passage is Psalm 27 is a favorite, using the symbol of "light" for our God. That symbol repeats over and over in the writings about Jesus!
God, thank you for being my light and my rock!
Simply Saturday
I had a hard week. I am feeling better, but having trouble sleeping now. That is unusual for me. Maybe I will sleep better when I start working out again. I think I feel strong enough to do that on Saturday. I did my Bowflex routine on Monday and walked on Tuesday. I haven't felt strong enough to exercise since. Just getting through my work day was taxing enough. I gained a couple of pounds. I am not going to worry about that. I will work them off when I feel better.
As I wrote above, I read the book The Hunger Games yesterday. It was amazing. I was riveted from the beginning. I have a ticket to see the movie tonight at the CUB dinner and movie night. Should be cool. I also borrowed the second book in the series from the Kindle library tonight. I will start on that soon. The third book is also in the lending library. Woohoooo!
I have to admit that I miss talking to mi tigre. We shared a lot the past few months. It is normal to miss someone that you talked to so much even though you didn't get to spend that my time with in person. I have to remember that all of it wasn't real. I threw myself in the relationship, like I usually do. That is the only way I know how to be. I worked through the process better this time. I am happy about that. I still miss the man who made me feel very special and also made me feel like I didn't know him at all. It is hard to reconcile the two. Like I said last week, I am excited about the future. I know God's promise to me. I will do my best to trust and follow his leading. That is the only way I know how to be as well. ;-)
I had a good time with my church friends last night. About ten guys showed up for the social at my house. We talked for a while and then watched a movie. Good times. I had a talk with a new friend afterwards. He is very sweet and engaging. I am sure we will be big friends.
The top seeds won in the NCAA mens tournament last night. Ohio University played a great game against North Carolina, taking the top seed into overtime before falling. Great game! Xavier also lost, so Ohio State is the only Ohio team to survive the Sweet 16 (we knocked out Cincy). Go Bucks! Beat Syracuse! This region also has Louisville and Kentucky still making some noise as well!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Well, the title for today's entry has nothing to do with the devotional! I have been sick all week. As I started to feel better on Thursday night, my body decided it didn't want to sleep at night any longer. Whew... I finally got to sleep between 2 - 3 am night before last. I am writing this entry at 3:10 am. Whew... I slept for about an hour then was wide awake. Whew... I read the remaining 24% of The Hunger Games before getting out of bed to write this entry.
But I digress. The devotional is very moving today. It reminded me about all the lost children and lost parents there are around the world. So many have children and act like they don't want them. So many people want children and can't have them. It seems so unfair at times. I am glad I am not a breeder. It simplifies life a little bit in my mind!
But I digress! The point of the devotional is that God is there for us regardless if everyone else has pushed aside or ignored us. He is there even if our family deserts us. The passage is Psalm 27 is a favorite, using the symbol of "light" for our God. That symbol repeats over and over in the writings about Jesus!
God, thank you for being my light and my rock!
Simply Saturday
I had a hard week. I am feeling better, but having trouble sleeping now. That is unusual for me. Maybe I will sleep better when I start working out again. I think I feel strong enough to do that on Saturday. I did my Bowflex routine on Monday and walked on Tuesday. I haven't felt strong enough to exercise since. Just getting through my work day was taxing enough. I gained a couple of pounds. I am not going to worry about that. I will work them off when I feel better.
As I wrote above, I read the book The Hunger Games yesterday. It was amazing. I was riveted from the beginning. I have a ticket to see the movie tonight at the CUB dinner and movie night. Should be cool. I also borrowed the second book in the series from the Kindle library tonight. I will start on that soon. The third book is also in the lending library. Woohoooo!
I have to admit that I miss talking to mi tigre. We shared a lot the past few months. It is normal to miss someone that you talked to so much even though you didn't get to spend that my time with in person. I have to remember that all of it wasn't real. I threw myself in the relationship, like I usually do. That is the only way I know how to be. I worked through the process better this time. I am happy about that. I still miss the man who made me feel very special and also made me feel like I didn't know him at all. It is hard to reconcile the two. Like I said last week, I am excited about the future. I know God's promise to me. I will do my best to trust and follow his leading. That is the only way I know how to be as well. ;-)
I had a good time with my church friends last night. About ten guys showed up for the social at my house. We talked for a while and then watched a movie. Good times. I had a talk with a new friend afterwards. He is very sweet and engaging. I am sure we will be big friends.
The top seeds won in the NCAA mens tournament last night. Ohio University played a great game against North Carolina, taking the top seed into overtime before falling. Great game! Xavier also lost, so Ohio State is the only Ohio team to survive the Sweet 16 (we knocked out Cincy). Go Bucks! Beat Syracuse! This region also has Louisville and Kentucky still making some noise as well!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Friday, March 23, 2012
High salt diet...
Our Daily Bread
I love going to Costco! The problem is that I live by myself. I sometimes waste stuff because I can't use the large package of whatever before it expires or goes bad. To go along with today's lesson, I have a large bottle of Lawry's Seasoned Salt that needs to go in the garbage. It lost its flavor (and sort of lost its color too!). Yikes! What a waste!
The devotional talks about how Christians are the salt of the earth. We are to be seasoning the world with God's love and mercy through our words and deeds. What happens with salt (or seasoned salt) when it loses it "saltiness"? It gets thrown out! Don't be thrown out! hehehe
Lord, help us recognize our responsibility to be salt and a witness on this earth.
Foodie Friday
I have been looking for other ways to incorporate quinoa into my diet. I had an idea to use it in meatloaf with ground turkey. I did a Google search and found this recipe. I plan to try it this weekend.
Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon water
DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
4. Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Other Stuff
I filled the antibiotic prescription yesterday afternoon since I wasn't feeling much better the past few days. I could feel it working on me by early evening. That is the good news. The bad news is that it made me hyper and I couldn't go to sleep until 2:00 am. I didn't sleep very after that either. I am staying home from work today. I didn't want to take the antibiotic unless I had to because of the gastric side effects. Ewwww.... I do feel a little better this morning, but very tired from not getting enough sleep. I don't feel as week in the legs as I did this week. I miss working out. I haven't felt like doing any physical activity since Tuesday. I will take it easy today and workout tomorrow morning.
Go, Bucks! My team lost its way the beginning of the second half, but decided to play the last ten minutes of the game to win! We play Syracuse in the Regional final on Saturday. It will be an interesting game!
I am having a FOGG (Fabulous older gay guys) social at my house tonight from 6 - 9. Should be fun. Not sure how many folks will show up.
Going to the dinner and movie night with the Bears group tomorrow night. I bought my ticket to see The Hunger Games. Should be interesting.
I am helping a friend show a house on Sunday. I helped her a couple of times before.
Back to bed now. I will try to get laundry done today if I can.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I love going to Costco! The problem is that I live by myself. I sometimes waste stuff because I can't use the large package of whatever before it expires or goes bad. To go along with today's lesson, I have a large bottle of Lawry's Seasoned Salt that needs to go in the garbage. It lost its flavor (and sort of lost its color too!). Yikes! What a waste!
The devotional talks about how Christians are the salt of the earth. We are to be seasoning the world with God's love and mercy through our words and deeds. What happens with salt (or seasoned salt) when it loses it "saltiness"? It gets thrown out! Don't be thrown out! hehehe
Lord, help us recognize our responsibility to be salt and a witness on this earth.
Foodie Friday
I have been looking for other ways to incorporate quinoa into my diet. I had an idea to use it in meatloaf with ground turkey. I did a Google search and found this recipe. I plan to try it this weekend.
Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon water
DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
4. Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Other Stuff
I filled the antibiotic prescription yesterday afternoon since I wasn't feeling much better the past few days. I could feel it working on me by early evening. That is the good news. The bad news is that it made me hyper and I couldn't go to sleep until 2:00 am. I didn't sleep very after that either. I am staying home from work today. I didn't want to take the antibiotic unless I had to because of the gastric side effects. Ewwww.... I do feel a little better this morning, but very tired from not getting enough sleep. I don't feel as week in the legs as I did this week. I miss working out. I haven't felt like doing any physical activity since Tuesday. I will take it easy today and workout tomorrow morning.
Go, Bucks! My team lost its way the beginning of the second half, but decided to play the last ten minutes of the game to win! We play Syracuse in the Regional final on Saturday. It will be an interesting game!
I am having a FOGG (Fabulous older gay guys) social at my house tonight from 6 - 9. Should be fun. Not sure how many folks will show up.
Going to the dinner and movie night with the Bears group tomorrow night. I bought my ticket to see The Hunger Games. Should be interesting.
I am helping a friend show a house on Sunday. I helped her a couple of times before.
Back to bed now. I will try to get laundry done today if I can.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Me, me, me!
Our Daily Bread
Remember when you were a kid and the teacher asked a question that you knew the answer to? Or, someone wanted to pick someone for a special treat or honor? We would raise our hand, squirm in our seats, and yell "me, me, me'! Some of us never grow out of that! hehehe
A couple of things stood out for me in the devotional. First, look at James 4:7. Do we always realize that we have power over the devil if we just ask for it? Submit ourselves to God. The devil will flee! How cool is that?!? The second point is James 4:10. Humble yourself before God. He will lift you up. There is no need for the me,me,me when we need attention. God will lift us up!
Yes, I struggle with these things. To be frank, I can do stuff. I forget to humble myself. I forget to let God lift me up in the eyes of others if needed at all.
Lord, thank you for being our strength and shield. Help us humble ourselves in our service to you.
Technology Thursday
I like my new iPad! I received it about 2:20 pm last Friday. I had to open the box and load it as soon as I got it! ;-p Here is what I think so far:
Graphics
The graphics are amazing! Very smooth and amazing detail. Books are very, very clear in my ereader apps. Movies are very nice.
Speed
It seems to be faster than my first iPad. It is hard to tell sometimes because the apps for the new iPad are bigger than the old iPad because of the improved graphics. Hmmm. Tradeoff there.
Weight and thickness
The new iPad is a little lighter and thinner than my original iPad (but thicker and heavier than the iPad 2). I think I still prefer my Kindle Touch for reading most of the time, though the iPad can handle almost any book reader app on the market. Very cool!
Apps
There are some new apps for the iPad with the version. I bought Garageband for the iPad! I haven't played with it yet. I will let you know how it works out. There are a lot of other apps that have been optimized for the new iPad. The iMessage app is also available on the iPad now. I will probably turn this off since I have an iPhone as well. I get all iMessages on both devices right now! Yikes!
Complaints
I don't have any major complaints. Others find the lower left hand corner to get too hot when playing graphics intensive games. I play Hearts. Not a big deal to me. Some folks have some weird screen issues. Probably just a bad unit. I haven't tried out the LTE stuff yet. I will probably do that when I visit St Louis next month.
Other Stuff
Whew! Still feeling sick and weak! I took a short nap after work last night in hopes of going to D1 class. I didn't feel like going. I got up for a little while, had some supper, then went back to bed. I didn't make it up for my workout this morning. I will see how I feel tonight.
I have to stop by my walking buddy's house to fix something on her computer. That shouldn't take long. I will see if I feel good enough to attend choir rehearsal after that. Whew...
I had the antibiotic prescription filled this morning. It is very strong. I hate to take it because it messes up my system a lot. I will work through it to get over this infection crap. Whew... My blood sugar levels are all over the board as well. I don't feel well at all. Heavy sigh...
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Remember when you were a kid and the teacher asked a question that you knew the answer to? Or, someone wanted to pick someone for a special treat or honor? We would raise our hand, squirm in our seats, and yell "me, me, me'! Some of us never grow out of that! hehehe
A couple of things stood out for me in the devotional. First, look at James 4:7. Do we always realize that we have power over the devil if we just ask for it? Submit ourselves to God. The devil will flee! How cool is that?!? The second point is James 4:10. Humble yourself before God. He will lift you up. There is no need for the me,me,me when we need attention. God will lift us up!
Yes, I struggle with these things. To be frank, I can do stuff. I forget to humble myself. I forget to let God lift me up in the eyes of others if needed at all.
Lord, thank you for being our strength and shield. Help us humble ourselves in our service to you.
Technology Thursday
I like my new iPad! I received it about 2:20 pm last Friday. I had to open the box and load it as soon as I got it! ;-p Here is what I think so far:
Graphics
The graphics are amazing! Very smooth and amazing detail. Books are very, very clear in my ereader apps. Movies are very nice.
Speed
It seems to be faster than my first iPad. It is hard to tell sometimes because the apps for the new iPad are bigger than the old iPad because of the improved graphics. Hmmm. Tradeoff there.
Weight and thickness
The new iPad is a little lighter and thinner than my original iPad (but thicker and heavier than the iPad 2). I think I still prefer my Kindle Touch for reading most of the time, though the iPad can handle almost any book reader app on the market. Very cool!
Apps
There are some new apps for the iPad with the version. I bought Garageband for the iPad! I haven't played with it yet. I will let you know how it works out. There are a lot of other apps that have been optimized for the new iPad. The iMessage app is also available on the iPad now. I will probably turn this off since I have an iPhone as well. I get all iMessages on both devices right now! Yikes!
Complaints
I don't have any major complaints. Others find the lower left hand corner to get too hot when playing graphics intensive games. I play Hearts. Not a big deal to me. Some folks have some weird screen issues. Probably just a bad unit. I haven't tried out the LTE stuff yet. I will probably do that when I visit St Louis next month.
Other Stuff
Whew! Still feeling sick and weak! I took a short nap after work last night in hopes of going to D1 class. I didn't feel like going. I got up for a little while, had some supper, then went back to bed. I didn't make it up for my workout this morning. I will see how I feel tonight.
I have to stop by my walking buddy's house to fix something on her computer. That shouldn't take long. I will see if I feel good enough to attend choir rehearsal after that. Whew...
I had the antibiotic prescription filled this morning. It is very strong. I hate to take it because it messes up my system a lot. I will work through it to get over this infection crap. Whew... My blood sugar levels are all over the board as well. I don't feel well at all. Heavy sigh...
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Six word biography
Our Daily Bread
I thought the exercise of creating a six work biography (or autobiography) from today's devotional was pretty cool. I came up with a couple for myself:
Thinking of the six word bios for the Bible characters he listed, I thought might pick out my favorite Bible characters and create the six word bios for them. Could be fun.
What would you write about yourself? What would others write about you? I hope the two match up some day for me!
Lord, thank you for this wonderful life. Six words just aren't enough to describe it!
Witness Wednesday
If you have been reading, I have had a hard couple of weeks. I think the cold/allergy thing the past week hit me the hardest. I am still trying to overcome it. Whew... I am trying to keep up my normal routine of workouts and being an overall nice guy. I am not doing so great. I will take it easy on myself (for once). Life is too good and too short to focus on these lesser things!
I will repeat something I told a friend and wrote about the other day: God is so good! How can I keep from singing!?! The only thing that may slow down my singing is my darn cold/allergies! ;-p
I hope you are truly feeling the peace that only God can give in your life, regardless of the circumstances that you face!
Other Stuff
I went home and took a short nap last night. I finished cleaning up from my dinner group on Sunday. I made some supper and watched the Bluray of Happy Feet 2. I love the soundtrack! Very cute. I forgot how much I liked the last big song "Under Pressure". I watched a few episodes of Sanctuary on my DVR, then called it a night. I slept well (compared to the night before...).
I didn't make it up for my workout this morning. I plan to go to the gym after work tonight if I feel like it. I have D1 class at 7:00.
So what is next for me? I will be patient. I will trust in the Lord. He is the Everlasting God. Strength will rise for those who wait on the Lord!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I thought the exercise of creating a six work biography (or autobiography) from today's devotional was pretty cool. I came up with a couple for myself:
A crotchety old bear needing love
Loving caring man seeking God's will
Thinking of the six word bios for the Bible characters he listed, I thought might pick out my favorite Bible characters and create the six word bios for them. Could be fun.
What would you write about yourself? What would others write about you? I hope the two match up some day for me!
Lord, thank you for this wonderful life. Six words just aren't enough to describe it!
Witness Wednesday
If you have been reading, I have had a hard couple of weeks. I think the cold/allergy thing the past week hit me the hardest. I am still trying to overcome it. Whew... I am trying to keep up my normal routine of workouts and being an overall nice guy. I am not doing so great. I will take it easy on myself (for once). Life is too good and too short to focus on these lesser things!
I will repeat something I told a friend and wrote about the other day: God is so good! How can I keep from singing!?! The only thing that may slow down my singing is my darn cold/allergies! ;-p
I hope you are truly feeling the peace that only God can give in your life, regardless of the circumstances that you face!
Other Stuff
I went home and took a short nap last night. I finished cleaning up from my dinner group on Sunday. I made some supper and watched the Bluray of Happy Feet 2. I love the soundtrack! Very cute. I forgot how much I liked the last big song "Under Pressure". I watched a few episodes of Sanctuary on my DVR, then called it a night. I slept well (compared to the night before...).
I didn't make it up for my workout this morning. I plan to go to the gym after work tonight if I feel like it. I have D1 class at 7:00.
So what is next for me? I will be patient. I will trust in the Lord. He is the Everlasting God. Strength will rise for those who wait on the Lord!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
We will meet again...
Our Daily Bread
If you have ever read my Monday blog entry, you can tell that I like movies. I mean I really like movies! One of the recurring story lines in movies is where the bad guy says to the good guy "Ha, ha, ha! We will meet again!" before he slips into the night! Yikes! We are talking sequel here!
Christians will have a sequel of our own -- being reunited with our loved ones who died before us! I look at this as a good thing. I miss my grandparents and my uncles and my friends who died during my lifetime. I look forward to seeing them again!
Exactly how is this all supposed to work? I have no clue. The Bible sort of conflicts itself with how things work after we die. All I know is that I trust God to make it all work!
Lord, thank you for the promise of a "sequel" after this life is over!
Teaching Tuesday
The D1 lesson this week is on the first half of Acts, chapters 1 - 15. Our book says that Acts is split up into two logical parts -- the first part talks about the acts of the apostles (or the acts of the Holy Spirit) and the second half talks about the missionary journeys of Paul and company.
From the initial coming of the Holy Spirit to the church at Pentecost throughout the first fifteen chapters, the acts of the apostles through the power of the Holy Spirit were amazing! People being healed. Raising people from the dead. The Holy Spirit transporting Philip away from the eunuch. Thousands saved. It is amazing stuff! Read it and believe today!
Other Stuff
Whew... I am still sick. My cough got worse yesterday, so I went to the doctor. There wasn't a lot he could do. He gave me some meds and had me keep up my rest and nasal flushes. The cough is better this morning. I still feel weak. I didn't make it out of bed for my 5:00 am workout. I will try to take it easy today even though I still have some clean up to do from Sunday night. Whew...
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
If you have ever read my Monday blog entry, you can tell that I like movies. I mean I really like movies! One of the recurring story lines in movies is where the bad guy says to the good guy "Ha, ha, ha! We will meet again!" before he slips into the night! Yikes! We are talking sequel here!
Christians will have a sequel of our own -- being reunited with our loved ones who died before us! I look at this as a good thing. I miss my grandparents and my uncles and my friends who died during my lifetime. I look forward to seeing them again!
Exactly how is this all supposed to work? I have no clue. The Bible sort of conflicts itself with how things work after we die. All I know is that I trust God to make it all work!
Lord, thank you for the promise of a "sequel" after this life is over!
Teaching Tuesday
The D1 lesson this week is on the first half of Acts, chapters 1 - 15. Our book says that Acts is split up into two logical parts -- the first part talks about the acts of the apostles (or the acts of the Holy Spirit) and the second half talks about the missionary journeys of Paul and company.
From the initial coming of the Holy Spirit to the church at Pentecost throughout the first fifteen chapters, the acts of the apostles through the power of the Holy Spirit were amazing! People being healed. Raising people from the dead. The Holy Spirit transporting Philip away from the eunuch. Thousands saved. It is amazing stuff! Read it and believe today!
Other Stuff
Whew... I am still sick. My cough got worse yesterday, so I went to the doctor. There wasn't a lot he could do. He gave me some meds and had me keep up my rest and nasal flushes. The cough is better this morning. I still feel weak. I didn't make it out of bed for my 5:00 am workout. I will try to take it easy today even though I still have some clean up to do from Sunday night. Whew...
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Monday, March 19, 2012
The rocks will cry out...
Our Daily Bread
One of my favorite sayings in the Bible goes something like "if we don 't praise God, then the rocks will cry out!". That gives me such a vivid image of how incredible our God is! Even inanimate objects will find a voice to praise him!
For many of us, God uses nature to prove his existence. It is both awe inspiring and overwhelming! Such intricate details that the folks of our age may never understand! A supreme being thought of all of this? There is NO WAY it just happened by itself!
If God speaks to you through nature, then be sure to take the time to spend with him outside. Go to one of the many parks in Columbus or whatever city you reside.
Lord, thank you for giving us this wonderful world!
Movie Monday
Didn't see any movies this week. ;-( I was very busy during the week, and then was sick over the weekend. I bought Happy Feet 2 on Bluray this week. I am looking forward to watching it again. I love the soundtrack.
Other Stuff
How can I keep from singing? I cannot! I gotta keep up with the rocks! ;-) I thank God being with me in such a strong way the past few days. I have not felt well at all. I guess God used my "slowdown" to speak his comforting peace to me. I felt his presence reassuring me that I am on the right track. Things are moving along the way they are supposed to. God is so good to me. How can I do anything else but sing his praises?
I am feeling much better today. Still a little groggy and coughy and snotty. I will take some more meds after my workout and be on my way to work. I will take it easy tonight. I will finish my clean up from the dinner group last night and work on my D1 reading.
Dinner group went very well. The chicken roulades turned out great. They were a big hit. I thought of an easier way to make the sauce after dinner. Sauces appear to be my nemesis. The one last night tasted great even though I had to add some corn starch to thicken it up. Next time, I think I will saute come shallots, add a can of store bought chicken gravy, and then add some sherry vinegar. That should work! hehehe I got most of the clean up done last night.
We also had some excitement. A tornado warning sounded about the time folks were arriving at my house! It was only til 6:30, but there was a nasty storm rolling through northern Columbus! I couldn't see the next door neighbors house at one point! There was some heavy rain damage to my plants, but everything else looked OK. No tornado. We ended up in my messy basement for a while!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
One of my favorite sayings in the Bible goes something like "if we don 't praise God, then the rocks will cry out!". That gives me such a vivid image of how incredible our God is! Even inanimate objects will find a voice to praise him!
For many of us, God uses nature to prove his existence. It is both awe inspiring and overwhelming! Such intricate details that the folks of our age may never understand! A supreme being thought of all of this? There is NO WAY it just happened by itself!
If God speaks to you through nature, then be sure to take the time to spend with him outside. Go to one of the many parks in Columbus or whatever city you reside.
Lord, thank you for giving us this wonderful world!
Movie Monday
Didn't see any movies this week. ;-( I was very busy during the week, and then was sick over the weekend. I bought Happy Feet 2 on Bluray this week. I am looking forward to watching it again. I love the soundtrack.
Other Stuff
How can I keep from singing? I cannot! I gotta keep up with the rocks! ;-) I thank God being with me in such a strong way the past few days. I have not felt well at all. I guess God used my "slowdown" to speak his comforting peace to me. I felt his presence reassuring me that I am on the right track. Things are moving along the way they are supposed to. God is so good to me. How can I do anything else but sing his praises?
I am feeling much better today. Still a little groggy and coughy and snotty. I will take some more meds after my workout and be on my way to work. I will take it easy tonight. I will finish my clean up from the dinner group last night and work on my D1 reading.
Dinner group went very well. The chicken roulades turned out great. They were a big hit. I thought of an easier way to make the sauce after dinner. Sauces appear to be my nemesis. The one last night tasted great even though I had to add some corn starch to thicken it up. Next time, I think I will saute come shallots, add a can of store bought chicken gravy, and then add some sherry vinegar. That should work! hehehe I got most of the clean up done last night.
We also had some excitement. A tornado warning sounded about the time folks were arriving at my house! It was only til 6:30, but there was a nasty storm rolling through northern Columbus! I couldn't see the next door neighbors house at one point! There was some heavy rain damage to my plants, but everything else looked OK. No tornado. We ended up in my messy basement for a while!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Downward spiral...
Our Daily Bread
We see people around us and read about people in the news that have "fallen". It is not a pretty thing to watch! We hate it when we realize that our heroes our only human. Sometimes is appears accidental. Sometimes you can see it coming -- pride cometh before the fall!
The devotional talks about the fall of Saul, the first king of Israel. He started out as a humble warrior from the smallest tribe in Israel. After a few years of being named king, he started erecting monuments to himself! He lifted up himself and left God out of the picture. How often we do that in our own lives! Oh wait, I guess that is just me! ;-p
Lord, help us to always know our foundation of humble service and love for you.
Psalm Sunday
Psalm 40 is the psalm for this week. Read it out loud. Psalms should always be read out loud or sung! ;-) How much praise and comfort in the same passage!
Psalm 40
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
but my ears you have opened —
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, LORD,
as you know.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, LORD;
come quickly, LORD, to help me.
14 May all who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The LORD is great!”
17 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay.
Other Stuff
Whew! I feel a little better today, but I have a nasty cold. I have been enjoying the warm weather too much. My body is not. Whew! I got a lot done yesterday even thought I slept as much as I could. I found a BUNCH of stuff on sale at Meijer. Very cool. The store on Polaris Parkway had everything I needed for my dinner tonight. They also had my protein powder drink on sale. Woohooo! I also decided to buy something to wash my Escape with instead of going to the car wash.
I cleaned up around the portico area of my house and cleaned up the water hose issue in front as well. I bought some lights for my track lighting. I need to purchase two more to fill out the light pattern. Very cool. I also bought the trim guard I need to finish the trim painting. I want to finish my art wall this week and clean up the basement before the social at my house on Friday. I may have to put all of those plans on hold until I feel better. ;-p
Been watching the NCAA tournament? It has been exciting! Go Bucks! Sweet 16! Woohooo! My other two teams, Kentucky and Louisville, also won.
Time for a nap. I will get up about noon or so to work on stuff for dinner.
And yes, except for the cold, I am fine with what happened Friday night. It was odd not getting a phone call from mi tigre yesterday since we had talked every day for almost four months. Like I told one friend, it wasn't as real as what I thought. I am glad we figured things out before we got too emotionally or physically involved.
I told the same friend -- God is so good! How can I keep from singing? OH yeah, this COLD may slow me down! Maybe not! ;-)
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
We see people around us and read about people in the news that have "fallen". It is not a pretty thing to watch! We hate it when we realize that our heroes our only human. Sometimes is appears accidental. Sometimes you can see it coming -- pride cometh before the fall!
The devotional talks about the fall of Saul, the first king of Israel. He started out as a humble warrior from the smallest tribe in Israel. After a few years of being named king, he started erecting monuments to himself! He lifted up himself and left God out of the picture. How often we do that in our own lives! Oh wait, I guess that is just me! ;-p
Lord, help us to always know our foundation of humble service and love for you.
Psalm Sunday
Psalm 40 is the psalm for this week. Read it out loud. Psalms should always be read out loud or sung! ;-) How much praise and comfort in the same passage!
Psalm 40
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
but my ears you have opened —
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, LORD,
as you know.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, LORD;
come quickly, LORD, to help me.
14 May all who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The LORD is great!”
17 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay.
Other Stuff
Whew! I feel a little better today, but I have a nasty cold. I have been enjoying the warm weather too much. My body is not. Whew! I got a lot done yesterday even thought I slept as much as I could. I found a BUNCH of stuff on sale at Meijer. Very cool. The store on Polaris Parkway had everything I needed for my dinner tonight. They also had my protein powder drink on sale. Woohooo! I also decided to buy something to wash my Escape with instead of going to the car wash.
I cleaned up around the portico area of my house and cleaned up the water hose issue in front as well. I bought some lights for my track lighting. I need to purchase two more to fill out the light pattern. Very cool. I also bought the trim guard I need to finish the trim painting. I want to finish my art wall this week and clean up the basement before the social at my house on Friday. I may have to put all of those plans on hold until I feel better. ;-p
Been watching the NCAA tournament? It has been exciting! Go Bucks! Sweet 16! Woohooo! My other two teams, Kentucky and Louisville, also won.
Time for a nap. I will get up about noon or so to work on stuff for dinner.
And yes, except for the cold, I am fine with what happened Friday night. It was odd not getting a phone call from mi tigre yesterday since we had talked every day for almost four months. Like I told one friend, it wasn't as real as what I thought. I am glad we figured things out before we got too emotionally or physically involved.
I told the same friend -- God is so good! How can I keep from singing? OH yeah, this COLD may slow me down! Maybe not! ;-)
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Weary indeed...
Our Daily Bread
It ALWAYS amazes me the timeliness of these devotions! I keep telling friends that is the main reason I read this devotional instead of the one they read! Oh well. The one today hit me right between the eyes.
Actually, it comforted me. Thinking of the comforting words that Isaiah told the people of Israel -- a Messiah is coming! How comforting that must have been! Things will get better! Want to know an even more comforting thought? Jesus, our Messiah, sent us a Comforter! The Holy Spirit! God is so good to us!
Lord, sometimes we only let you in when we are feeling weary. Please help us feel your presence every day!
Simply Saturday
Talk about weary! Oy, vey! I had a difficult week. Weird stuff at work. Weird stuff at church. Not feeling well. Last night topped it all off. It looks like mi tigre and I won't be talking any more. Oh well. While I really liked the man a lot, there were some odd things going on that I haven't written about. To respect our privacy, I will leave it at that. God is so good. He will keep his promise of a relationship. It doesn't appear to be mi tigre. The important things are: I didn't get in over my head, I recognized some things early in the friendship that weren't right to me, and I am letting it go.
On the bright side, which is the side I prefer to walk on, I had some good things happen as well! My workouts and weight loss are going well! Woohooo! I will keep it up. I also received my new iPad yesterday. I like it a lot! I also scheduled two trips with my best friend. That will be fun.
I am so blessed to have a life that is not ordinary. Jesus said his words of comfort all week in so many different ways. Praise God!
I worked on getting things ready for my dinner group last night. I am going grocery shopping this morning. I need to rest today. I am not feeling that great. Whew...
Please know that God is with you. Look around. Listen. See God in your life.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
It ALWAYS amazes me the timeliness of these devotions! I keep telling friends that is the main reason I read this devotional instead of the one they read! Oh well. The one today hit me right between the eyes.
Actually, it comforted me. Thinking of the comforting words that Isaiah told the people of Israel -- a Messiah is coming! How comforting that must have been! Things will get better! Want to know an even more comforting thought? Jesus, our Messiah, sent us a Comforter! The Holy Spirit! God is so good to us!
Lord, sometimes we only let you in when we are feeling weary. Please help us feel your presence every day!
Simply Saturday
Talk about weary! Oy, vey! I had a difficult week. Weird stuff at work. Weird stuff at church. Not feeling well. Last night topped it all off. It looks like mi tigre and I won't be talking any more. Oh well. While I really liked the man a lot, there were some odd things going on that I haven't written about. To respect our privacy, I will leave it at that. God is so good. He will keep his promise of a relationship. It doesn't appear to be mi tigre. The important things are: I didn't get in over my head, I recognized some things early in the friendship that weren't right to me, and I am letting it go.
On the bright side, which is the side I prefer to walk on, I had some good things happen as well! My workouts and weight loss are going well! Woohooo! I will keep it up. I also received my new iPad yesterday. I like it a lot! I also scheduled two trips with my best friend. That will be fun.
I am so blessed to have a life that is not ordinary. Jesus said his words of comfort all week in so many different ways. Praise God!
I worked on getting things ready for my dinner group last night. I am going grocery shopping this morning. I need to rest today. I am not feeling that great. Whew...
Please know that God is with you. Look around. Listen. See God in your life.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Planning ahead
Our Daily Bread
As I have mentioned in this blog several times, I am a planner. I plan things. I like to have goals and plans so I have direction and can accomplish things. It is what I do!
The parable from today's devotional sounds at first reading that planning is not good. I didn't like that! hehehe The man had an abundant crop, so he planned ahead by building bigger store houses to store the surplus so he could live a comfortable life. God demanded his life that night and his planning was for naught. That is a planner's nightmare -- planning being for naught!
I finally started to understand from the devotional, and in my own life, that the planning part of the parable is not the root cause of the issue. The man left God out of the equation. I find sometimes that planning and being sensitive to God's leading can sometimes be in conflict. That is frustrating for me at times. What do I do? I try to plan the things that I know God wants me to do like attending church, participating in a Bible study, singing in the choir, etc. I can also plan to leave time open for God's leadership and listening to God. That is a good thing!
Lord, help us making planning a way to serve you better, not shut you out!
Foodie Friday
I like eating quinoa since I discovered it a few weeks ago. I enjoyed the quinoa breakfast recipe and ate it a few times this week. I also made the quinoa bites. Very tasty. I mentioned to a friend at work about it and we talked about recipes. I found this one for a very low fat chili made with quinoa. You can make it in a crock pot or on the stove top.Enjoy!
Easy Healthy Vegetarian Recipe: Vegan Quinoa Chili
Our quinoa chili is so good, maybe you should double the recipe, or you'll be sad there isn't any leftover. If you're cooking for one, then this chili recipe might be enough.
Total Prep And Cook Time: 60 Minutes
6 Servings
Nutrition Data, 194g Serving: 227 cal, 39g carb, 4g fat, 183mg sodium, 8g fiber, 11 g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Vit C, Folate. Estimated Glycemic Load 17
Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
3 cups water or bean cooking liquid
1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 cup unsalted tomato sauce OR: 1/4 cup unsalted tomato paste + 3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 celery stalk, diced
1 Tbsp (2 - 3 cloves) minced garlic
2 Tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp gr coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried basil leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaf
1/8 - 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp light molasses
1 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos, or soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
More Heat: Add more chile powder
Stovetop Directions:
Optional: Add a dollop of dairy or non-dairy sour cream to each bowl
Crockpot Directions:
Cooking Tips:
You can use any combination of beans you like in quinoa chili, although we thought it was perfect with a mixture of kidney beans and black beans. One or the other would be good too.
We used canned tomato sauce, but tomato paste and-or fresh tomatoes would also work. We like the Amore brand that comes in a tube - we got tired of throwing out almost-full cans of tomato paste.
This chili recipe only takes about 1/2 hour to cook on the stove, or 5 - 6 hours in a crockpot or slow cooker. If you need to be away longer, a digital timer is handy & inexpensive. Then your chili can be ready to eat when you are.
Serve with fresh cilantro as garnish. Add a dollop of dairy or non-dairy sour cream if you like.
Other Stuff
I ran a few errands last night and then went to my walking buddy's house for supper. She needed some help with her computer. I did a few things on it to help speed it up. I think she is comparing it to her new laptop that is much faster. She also has much faster access to the Internet at work. Oh well.
Choir practice was OK. I was feeling well last night and was in a bad mood. Whew....
I heard from the Groupon gym contact. I plan to attend a workout class tomorrow.
I am redeeming another Groupon today as The Ohio Door Guys will service my garage door this evening.
AND, there is that little thing about my new iPad arriving today! Woohooo! ;-)
I also got to talk to mi tigre for a few minutes yesterday. We were both busy most of the day.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
As I have mentioned in this blog several times, I am a planner. I plan things. I like to have goals and plans so I have direction and can accomplish things. It is what I do!
The parable from today's devotional sounds at first reading that planning is not good. I didn't like that! hehehe The man had an abundant crop, so he planned ahead by building bigger store houses to store the surplus so he could live a comfortable life. God demanded his life that night and his planning was for naught. That is a planner's nightmare -- planning being for naught!
I finally started to understand from the devotional, and in my own life, that the planning part of the parable is not the root cause of the issue. The man left God out of the equation. I find sometimes that planning and being sensitive to God's leading can sometimes be in conflict. That is frustrating for me at times. What do I do? I try to plan the things that I know God wants me to do like attending church, participating in a Bible study, singing in the choir, etc. I can also plan to leave time open for God's leadership and listening to God. That is a good thing!
Lord, help us making planning a way to serve you better, not shut you out!
Foodie Friday
I like eating quinoa since I discovered it a few weeks ago. I enjoyed the quinoa breakfast recipe and ate it a few times this week. I also made the quinoa bites. Very tasty. I mentioned to a friend at work about it and we talked about recipes. I found this one for a very low fat chili made with quinoa. You can make it in a crock pot or on the stove top.Enjoy!
Easy Healthy Vegetarian Recipe: Vegan Quinoa Chili
Our quinoa chili is so good, maybe you should double the recipe, or you'll be sad there isn't any leftover. If you're cooking for one, then this chili recipe might be enough.
Total Prep And Cook Time: 60 Minutes
6 Servings
Nutrition Data, 194g Serving: 227 cal, 39g carb, 4g fat, 183mg sodium, 8g fiber, 11 g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Vit C, Folate. Estimated Glycemic Load 17
Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
3 cups water or bean cooking liquid
1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 cup unsalted tomato sauce OR: 1/4 cup unsalted tomato paste + 3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 celery stalk, diced
1 Tbsp (2 - 3 cloves) minced garlic
2 Tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp gr coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried basil leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaf
1/8 - 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper powder
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp light molasses
1 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos, or soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
More Heat: Add more chile powder
Stovetop Directions:
- Soak the quinoa 5 minutes
- Rinse, then drain into a colander
- If using canned beans, drain into a colander and rinse well
- Peel & mince the garlic and jalapeño pepper
- Dice the onion
- Wash and trim the celery, slice lengthwise, then crosswise to dice
- Seed and dice the red and green pepper
- Heat the oil on medium-high in a dutch oven or large sauce pan
- Fry the garlic, jalapeno, onion and celery until soft (about 5 minutes)
- Add the peppers and fry 5 minutes
- Add the spices and herbs, stir 2 minutes
- Add the beans, water or bean liquid, molasses, tomato sauce, and quinoa
- Bring to boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked
- Stir in Braggs or soy sauce, and pepper. Adjust seasonings
- Serve garnished with cilantro
Optional: Add a dollop of dairy or non-dairy sour cream to each bowl
Crockpot Directions:
- Sauté jalapeno, garlic, celery, and peppers in oil for 5 minutes on med-high
- Add spices and herbs, stir 2 minutes
- Combine with water, tomato sauce, salt, quinoa and beans in a 6 qt crockpot
- Cover and cook on low for 5 - 6 hours
- Add Braggs or soy sauce, molasses, pepper
- Serve garnished with chopped clilantro and sour cream (optional)
Cooking Tips:
You can use any combination of beans you like in quinoa chili, although we thought it was perfect with a mixture of kidney beans and black beans. One or the other would be good too.
We used canned tomato sauce, but tomato paste and-or fresh tomatoes would also work. We like the Amore brand that comes in a tube - we got tired of throwing out almost-full cans of tomato paste.
This chili recipe only takes about 1/2 hour to cook on the stove, or 5 - 6 hours in a crockpot or slow cooker. If you need to be away longer, a digital timer is handy & inexpensive. Then your chili can be ready to eat when you are.
Serve with fresh cilantro as garnish. Add a dollop of dairy or non-dairy sour cream if you like.
Other Stuff
I ran a few errands last night and then went to my walking buddy's house for supper. She needed some help with her computer. I did a few things on it to help speed it up. I think she is comparing it to her new laptop that is much faster. She also has much faster access to the Internet at work. Oh well.
Choir practice was OK. I was feeling well last night and was in a bad mood. Whew....
I heard from the Groupon gym contact. I plan to attend a workout class tomorrow.
I am redeeming another Groupon today as The Ohio Door Guys will service my garage door this evening.
AND, there is that little thing about my new iPad arriving today! Woohooo! ;-)
I also got to talk to mi tigre for a few minutes yesterday. We were both busy most of the day.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Sweeter than homey
Our Daily Bread
I forgot that Psalm 119 is the longest book in the Bible! I used to know all those little tidbits of trivia! Oh well.
The verses for today's devotional are 97-104. They talk about how God's Word is sweeter than honey in the psalmist's mouth! What an amazing visual and play on the senses! How can something you read be sweeter than honey?
In the little amount of Bible study I have done in my life (I am ashamed to say that I should have done much more study in my 52 years), I can understand a little bit. Just a little. There have been times in my life that scripture passages spoke to me in unbelievable ways. They gave me comfort when I was down, encouragement to keep going when I was on a high, and every day reminders to keep believing in God's promises. Wow!
Lord, thank you for your Word! There is no sweetener substitute!
Technology Thursday
I have a few random pieces of technology stuff today.
My new iPad is on its way! It will be delivered tomorrow! Woohooo! I bought the 64 gig ATT 4G LTE version. I won't activate the ATT service right away. ATT doesn't have LTE in Columbus yet. I will probably activate it when I travel to St Louis and Kansas City.
ATT 4G LTE is in Ohio! I don't really understand how ATT selects cities for its new technology rollouts. The first two cities in Ohio to get LTE are Cleveland and Akron. Akron? Seriously? What about the capitol city of Columbus? ;-p Soon, Duanebear, soon.
Lawsuits are still the game of choice for large technology companies. I guess the lawyers have to make their money somehow. I wish they would focus those resources on making better products.
The British company that makes the ARM computer chip had a breakthrough recently. Their new chip uses much less power and has greater computing capabilities. Very cool. It is important because this kind of chip is used and can be used in everything from cell phones to refrigerators!
Other Stuff
I was very tired after work last night. I rested in Goodale Park for a little while to enjoy the beautiful day. I also had a nice conversation with mi tigre. I ran some errands and got to church in time to relax a little more. I didn't sleep well Tuesday night. Whew... D1 class was fine, though I just wasn't into it last night. Oh well. I had a long talk with my best friend after class. We had stuff to catch up on.
I have choir practice tonight. Not sure if I will come home after work or go to a movie or what. I will figure that out.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I forgot that Psalm 119 is the longest book in the Bible! I used to know all those little tidbits of trivia! Oh well.
The verses for today's devotional are 97-104. They talk about how God's Word is sweeter than honey in the psalmist's mouth! What an amazing visual and play on the senses! How can something you read be sweeter than honey?
In the little amount of Bible study I have done in my life (I am ashamed to say that I should have done much more study in my 52 years), I can understand a little bit. Just a little. There have been times in my life that scripture passages spoke to me in unbelievable ways. They gave me comfort when I was down, encouragement to keep going when I was on a high, and every day reminders to keep believing in God's promises. Wow!
Lord, thank you for your Word! There is no sweetener substitute!
Technology Thursday
I have a few random pieces of technology stuff today.
My new iPad is on its way! It will be delivered tomorrow! Woohooo! I bought the 64 gig ATT 4G LTE version. I won't activate the ATT service right away. ATT doesn't have LTE in Columbus yet. I will probably activate it when I travel to St Louis and Kansas City.
ATT 4G LTE is in Ohio! I don't really understand how ATT selects cities for its new technology rollouts. The first two cities in Ohio to get LTE are Cleveland and Akron. Akron? Seriously? What about the capitol city of Columbus? ;-p Soon, Duanebear, soon.
Lawsuits are still the game of choice for large technology companies. I guess the lawyers have to make their money somehow. I wish they would focus those resources on making better products.
The British company that makes the ARM computer chip had a breakthrough recently. Their new chip uses much less power and has greater computing capabilities. Very cool. It is important because this kind of chip is used and can be used in everything from cell phones to refrigerators!
Other Stuff
I was very tired after work last night. I rested in Goodale Park for a little while to enjoy the beautiful day. I also had a nice conversation with mi tigre. I ran some errands and got to church in time to relax a little more. I didn't sleep well Tuesday night. Whew... D1 class was fine, though I just wasn't into it last night. Oh well. I had a long talk with my best friend after class. We had stuff to catch up on.
I have choir practice tonight. Not sure if I will come home after work or go to a movie or what. I will figure that out.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Catch me...I know you can!
Our Daily Bread
Did you ever race the other kids when you were young? It may have been running or riding a bike or rowing a boat. We might say "Catch me if you can!".
I like the comforting thoughts of today's devotional -- God will be there to catch us and take us home when we die. Most Christians believe this and look forward to it.
I want to take this further. Look at the last line of my blog entry -- "Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!" Trusting God for our next life seems easy most of the time. Trusting God through this life? Not so much at times! For my personality, trusting God through the big things, like the end of this life, is OK because it is a one-time deal. I find the day-to-day discipline of trusting God for every breath is very difficult. Like the children of Israel from the Old Testament days, I forget my way at times. I try to make things happen and deal with things on my own. I pretty much suck at that!
Lord, help me to trust everything over to you -- in this life and the next!
Witness Wednesday
Well, the last two weeks has felt like the last paragraph above. I feel out of sorts. Trying to deal with things and handle things on my own. I know that when I feel this way, I am the one who moved away from God. He didn't move away from me! I am not sure what is going on with my exactly. I will keep praying and trusting and trying to listen to God's voice.
Other Stuff
I had a nice evening with my walking buddy. We enjoyed finding bargains at Costco and having dinner at Mimis Cafe. I came home after that and talked to mi tigre for a little while.
I have D1 class tonight. Should be a nice lesson.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!"
Did you ever race the other kids when you were young? It may have been running or riding a bike or rowing a boat. We might say "Catch me if you can!".
I like the comforting thoughts of today's devotional -- God will be there to catch us and take us home when we die. Most Christians believe this and look forward to it.
I want to take this further. Look at the last line of my blog entry -- "Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!" Trusting God for our next life seems easy most of the time. Trusting God through this life? Not so much at times! For my personality, trusting God through the big things, like the end of this life, is OK because it is a one-time deal. I find the day-to-day discipline of trusting God for every breath is very difficult. Like the children of Israel from the Old Testament days, I forget my way at times. I try to make things happen and deal with things on my own. I pretty much suck at that!
Lord, help me to trust everything over to you -- in this life and the next!
Witness Wednesday
Well, the last two weeks has felt like the last paragraph above. I feel out of sorts. Trying to deal with things and handle things on my own. I know that when I feel this way, I am the one who moved away from God. He didn't move away from me! I am not sure what is going on with my exactly. I will keep praying and trusting and trying to listen to God's voice.
Other Stuff
I had a nice evening with my walking buddy. We enjoyed finding bargains at Costco and having dinner at Mimis Cafe. I came home after that and talked to mi tigre for a little while.
I have D1 class tonight. Should be a nice lesson.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!"
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Balance
Our Daily Bread
Sometimes God puts folks in our lives so we can mentor them or so they can mentor us. Sometimes it is a two way street!
I know that I appreciate both correction and encouragement in a mentoring relationship. I also realize that I sometimes forget the encouragement part and focus too much on the correction part when I mentor someone! I am working on it!
Lord, help us give and receive correction and encouragement in proper balance.
Teaching Tuesday
We read the second half of the book of John this week. It is interesting to me how different the account is in John compared to the other three gospels. Take a look at chapters 13 to the end. Make some notes on what appears in John differently than in the other gospels.
Other Stuff
Not much to write about last night. I got home and ate some supper. I made a batch of cheesy quinoa bites. Very tasty. I went to sleep. I didn't feel well for some reason. I didn't make it up for my workout this morning. I will walk at lunch. I might do some more stuff tonight.
I am supposed to meet my walking buddy at Costco and then go to Mimi's Cafe for supper afterwards. I have a BOGO coupon this week. Woohooo!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Sometimes God puts folks in our lives so we can mentor them or so they can mentor us. Sometimes it is a two way street!
I know that I appreciate both correction and encouragement in a mentoring relationship. I also realize that I sometimes forget the encouragement part and focus too much on the correction part when I mentor someone! I am working on it!
Lord, help us give and receive correction and encouragement in proper balance.
Teaching Tuesday
We read the second half of the book of John this week. It is interesting to me how different the account is in John compared to the other three gospels. Take a look at chapters 13 to the end. Make some notes on what appears in John differently than in the other gospels.
Other Stuff
Not much to write about last night. I got home and ate some supper. I made a batch of cheesy quinoa bites. Very tasty. I went to sleep. I didn't feel well for some reason. I didn't make it up for my workout this morning. I will walk at lunch. I might do some more stuff tonight.
I am supposed to meet my walking buddy at Costco and then go to Mimi's Cafe for supper afterwards. I have a BOGO coupon this week. Woohooo!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Monday, March 12, 2012
If you love me...
Our Daily Bread
One of the silly things you might see on a TV sitcom or a romantic movie is this interaction between a couple: "Honey, if you love me, please bring me a beer..." or "Baby, if you love me, don't go out with the boys tonight...". How funny we are to always challenge or test the love that others have for us! Even funnier that we do it in the oddest ways!
Well, God has a more poignant request of us: "Duane, if you love me, keep my commandments." Wow! Or, in New Testament language: "Duane, if you love me, love others as you love yourself." The KISS principle for being a child is this (in my opinion): Love God with all your being. Love others as you love yourself. Simple, but oh so difficult to do!
Lord, thank you for your love. I want to show my love for you each and every day!
Movie Monday
I got to see one more this week -- John Carter.
John Carter
What an interesting fantasy sci-fi flick! If you let yourself believe the possibilities in the movie and not think about it too much, it was a fun movie to watch. There was romance, a ton of action, and super hero type person that was very likable. My only problem with the movie is that it was a little too long. At 2 hours 12 minutes, I was a little over it towards the end. It kept my interest, however, and I was very surprised by the twists at the end. I won't spoil it for you! I think I may go back and see it in 3D. The effects are supposed to be great. I got my movie times mixed up and saw the regular version.
I give this movie two bear paws. Very cool effects, humor and creative story line. Definitely see it in the theater!
Other Stuff
I had a nice Sunday even though my Buckeyes lost their Big Ten championship game and the chance for a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. ;-( It was an interesting afternoon of basketball stuff as there were several surprised in the finals. I thought the Bucks got a decent draw in the tournament. We will see if they decide to show up this year. A little luck helps as well!
I did a little clean up work in my landscaping and picked up branches in my yard. It was so pretty yesterday! My landscaping is trying to come up. I hope we don't get another nasty frost that will kill everything! Yikes! I tried to wash my Escape, but there was something wrong with the Mr Clean car washing thingy I have. I threw it away. Not sure if I will buy another one or not. I also got to talk with mi tigre a few times. I really miss him.
The prayer service at church last night was nice. We had a few people show up. I needed the prayer time if no one else got much out of it!
I am going to cook a little bit tonight. Make some quinoa bites and maybe some chili.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
One of the silly things you might see on a TV sitcom or a romantic movie is this interaction between a couple: "Honey, if you love me, please bring me a beer..." or "Baby, if you love me, don't go out with the boys tonight...". How funny we are to always challenge or test the love that others have for us! Even funnier that we do it in the oddest ways!
Well, God has a more poignant request of us: "Duane, if you love me, keep my commandments." Wow! Or, in New Testament language: "Duane, if you love me, love others as you love yourself." The KISS principle for being a child is this (in my opinion): Love God with all your being. Love others as you love yourself. Simple, but oh so difficult to do!
Lord, thank you for your love. I want to show my love for you each and every day!
Movie Monday
I got to see one more this week -- John Carter.
John Carter
What an interesting fantasy sci-fi flick! If you let yourself believe the possibilities in the movie and not think about it too much, it was a fun movie to watch. There was romance, a ton of action, and super hero type person that was very likable. My only problem with the movie is that it was a little too long. At 2 hours 12 minutes, I was a little over it towards the end. It kept my interest, however, and I was very surprised by the twists at the end. I won't spoil it for you! I think I may go back and see it in 3D. The effects are supposed to be great. I got my movie times mixed up and saw the regular version.
I give this movie two bear paws. Very cool effects, humor and creative story line. Definitely see it in the theater!
Other Stuff
I had a nice Sunday even though my Buckeyes lost their Big Ten championship game and the chance for a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. ;-( It was an interesting afternoon of basketball stuff as there were several surprised in the finals. I thought the Bucks got a decent draw in the tournament. We will see if they decide to show up this year. A little luck helps as well!
I did a little clean up work in my landscaping and picked up branches in my yard. It was so pretty yesterday! My landscaping is trying to come up. I hope we don't get another nasty frost that will kill everything! Yikes! I tried to wash my Escape, but there was something wrong with the Mr Clean car washing thingy I have. I threw it away. Not sure if I will buy another one or not. I also got to talk with mi tigre a few times. I really miss him.
The prayer service at church last night was nice. We had a few people show up. I needed the prayer time if no one else got much out of it!
I am going to cook a little bit tonight. Make some quinoa bites and maybe some chili.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Two lessons...
Our Daily Bread
There were two lessons for me in the devotional today. The main one, of course, was about the importance of beauty in the church, both the building and the content! Our worship and service to God should be beautiful as well as the building! I like the way God used "skilled persons" to make the stuff in the original temple. Very cool!
The second lesson was at the end of the scripture passage - Exodus 31:6-7. Have you ever been to a church where the members were told "Oh, we aren't going to pass the offering plate today. We have enough resources to do everything we want to do!" I sure haven't!
Lord, help us give of our time, money and skills to show the beauty of worshiping you!
Psalm Sunday
The psalm for this week is Psalm 39. Ever feel this way? Try reading it out loud like you mean it!
Psalm 39
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while in the presence of the wicked.”
2 So I remained utterly silent,
not even saying anything good.
But my anguish increased;
3 my heart grew hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.
9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.
10 Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,
you consume their wealth like a moth—
surely everyone is but a breath.
12 “Hear my prayer, LORD,
listen to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
I dwell with you as a foreigner,
a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
before I depart and am no more.”
Other Stuff
I was busier yesterday than what I planned, but I had a good day. I got to talk to mi tigre a few times. I saw the movie John Carter. I did some stuff around the house that needed to get done. I exercised. I watched some of the OSU game. Go Bucks in the Big Ten championship game today at 3:30!
I am eating my breakfast quinoa dish this morning. It is an earthy taste with cinnamon, pecans, dried cranberries and agave syrup. Mmmmmm!
Don't forget to turn your clocks up today! It is later than what you think!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in is loving arms!
There were two lessons for me in the devotional today. The main one, of course, was about the importance of beauty in the church, both the building and the content! Our worship and service to God should be beautiful as well as the building! I like the way God used "skilled persons" to make the stuff in the original temple. Very cool!
The second lesson was at the end of the scripture passage - Exodus 31:6-7. Have you ever been to a church where the members were told "Oh, we aren't going to pass the offering plate today. We have enough resources to do everything we want to do!" I sure haven't!
Lord, help us give of our time, money and skills to show the beauty of worshiping you!
Psalm Sunday
The psalm for this week is Psalm 39. Ever feel this way? Try reading it out loud like you mean it!
Psalm 39
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while in the presence of the wicked.”
2 So I remained utterly silent,
not even saying anything good.
But my anguish increased;
3 my heart grew hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.
9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.
10 Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,
you consume their wealth like a moth—
surely everyone is but a breath.
12 “Hear my prayer, LORD,
listen to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
I dwell with you as a foreigner,
a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
before I depart and am no more.”
Other Stuff
I was busier yesterday than what I planned, but I had a good day. I got to talk to mi tigre a few times. I saw the movie John Carter. I did some stuff around the house that needed to get done. I exercised. I watched some of the OSU game. Go Bucks in the Big Ten championship game today at 3:30!
I am eating my breakfast quinoa dish this morning. It is an earthy taste with cinnamon, pecans, dried cranberries and agave syrup. Mmmmmm!
Don't forget to turn your clocks up today! It is later than what you think!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in is loving arms!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Children of light
Our Daily Bread
I mentioned on this blog about my joke with my minister about wearing our church t-shirt at different public events. When I am wearing the t-shirt, thus representing the church, I feel like I have to be nicer to people so they don't think poorly of our church! Yikes!
I finally realized after that joke that as a child of God, I am wearing God's "t-shirt" every day! Double yikes! That means I have to be even nicer than when I am wearing the church t-shirt so I properly represent God! What a tremendous responsibility! The coolest part is that God gives us the power through his Holy Spirit to live like we are supposed to -- living as "children of light".
Lord, help us shine your light through our lives!
Simply Saturday
I had an interesting week. I don't know how to describe it. I was in a little bit of a funk in that I didn't get some things done that I needed/wanted to get done. On the flip side, I got a LOT of things done! Very weird week.
For example, last night I ran errands looking for some stuff for my new eating and exercise habits. It took a lot longer than what I planned, so I didn't get home until almost 7:00. I found the grapeseed oil I was looking for at Meijer. It was even on sale! I found a good deal on two small pieces of exercise equipment at Sears (who knew?). I also picked up some other groceries while at Meijer for the weekend.
I plan to exercise at home, maybe see a movie and then go to the CMTO tennis social tonight. I want to play in the league this year as another form of exercise to keep my big butt moving! hehehe I played a tennis a lot in my 20's and early 30's. I miss playing.
I am wondering about my commitment to my diet/life style change. Yes, I am doing sooooo much more than I ever have. I am proud of myself for doing that. I keep telling myself that it is not good enough. I am not being a perfectionist about this stuff. I still eat a lot of crap. I have been eating it for most of my life. This very healthy eating habit is very hard for me to grasp all the time. On the bright side, I am not binging as bad as I used to. The bad days aren't as bad. The good days are pretty good in general. I will keep working on it. I guess I am a little disappointed that I am not losing weight faster than what I am. I realized this week that I was (and still am) in poor physical condition even though I have been exercising more. I am and will be toning muscles for a while before stabilizing enough to lose the weight. I am trimming up, though, as I am losing inches around my waist and torso. I can almost wear my 38" waist paints again. Woohooo! I can also wear most of the shirts in my closet now. Woohoooo! I will keep plugging away at it.
I made some quinoa last night. One batch is for a breakfast dish I will have after my workout this morning. The other batch is for the quinoa bites I plan to make today or tomorrow. Should be cool. Mi tigre also found quinoa at his local store and is eating it. Very cool. I also discovered shiratake noodles this week. I tried them with Carfagnas pasta sauce and turkey Italian sausage. Very, very tasty! I will use them in other recipes this week.
Friendships and relationships have been weighing on my mind a lot the past few weeks. I am trying to release them over to God. I pretty much suck at this right now. I will focus harder on this. ;-p
Lastly, I am enjoying the March Madness again! I love college basketball. There were several upsets last night that will make the selection committee show on Sunday very interesting!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I mentioned on this blog about my joke with my minister about wearing our church t-shirt at different public events. When I am wearing the t-shirt, thus representing the church, I feel like I have to be nicer to people so they don't think poorly of our church! Yikes!
I finally realized after that joke that as a child of God, I am wearing God's "t-shirt" every day! Double yikes! That means I have to be even nicer than when I am wearing the church t-shirt so I properly represent God! What a tremendous responsibility! The coolest part is that God gives us the power through his Holy Spirit to live like we are supposed to -- living as "children of light".
Lord, help us shine your light through our lives!
Simply Saturday
I had an interesting week. I don't know how to describe it. I was in a little bit of a funk in that I didn't get some things done that I needed/wanted to get done. On the flip side, I got a LOT of things done! Very weird week.
For example, last night I ran errands looking for some stuff for my new eating and exercise habits. It took a lot longer than what I planned, so I didn't get home until almost 7:00. I found the grapeseed oil I was looking for at Meijer. It was even on sale! I found a good deal on two small pieces of exercise equipment at Sears (who knew?). I also picked up some other groceries while at Meijer for the weekend.
I plan to exercise at home, maybe see a movie and then go to the CMTO tennis social tonight. I want to play in the league this year as another form of exercise to keep my big butt moving! hehehe I played a tennis a lot in my 20's and early 30's. I miss playing.
I am wondering about my commitment to my diet/life style change. Yes, I am doing sooooo much more than I ever have. I am proud of myself for doing that. I keep telling myself that it is not good enough. I am not being a perfectionist about this stuff. I still eat a lot of crap. I have been eating it for most of my life. This very healthy eating habit is very hard for me to grasp all the time. On the bright side, I am not binging as bad as I used to. The bad days aren't as bad. The good days are pretty good in general. I will keep working on it. I guess I am a little disappointed that I am not losing weight faster than what I am. I realized this week that I was (and still am) in poor physical condition even though I have been exercising more. I am and will be toning muscles for a while before stabilizing enough to lose the weight. I am trimming up, though, as I am losing inches around my waist and torso. I can almost wear my 38" waist paints again. Woohooo! I can also wear most of the shirts in my closet now. Woohoooo! I will keep plugging away at it.
I made some quinoa last night. One batch is for a breakfast dish I will have after my workout this morning. The other batch is for the quinoa bites I plan to make today or tomorrow. Should be cool. Mi tigre also found quinoa at his local store and is eating it. Very cool. I also discovered shiratake noodles this week. I tried them with Carfagnas pasta sauce and turkey Italian sausage. Very, very tasty! I will use them in other recipes this week.
Friendships and relationships have been weighing on my mind a lot the past few weeks. I am trying to release them over to God. I pretty much suck at this right now. I will focus harder on this. ;-p
Lastly, I am enjoying the March Madness again! I love college basketball. There were several upsets last night that will make the selection committee show on Sunday very interesting!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Friday, March 9, 2012
It is simple enough
Our Daily Bread
I have to admit it. I over analyze stuff way too much at times. I analyze computer things for a living. I have a tendency to bring that skill into my everyday life where it does not really "fit". I am working on it! The reason I say this is that many folks do this with the Bible. What does it mean? How should I live?
The scripture passage from Micah 6:8 has my favorite KISS (keep is simple, stupid) principle from the Bible. Here it is. It is short so don't miss it!
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Wow! Isn't that just an Old Testament version of the Jesus' statements to love God and love others as yourself? How cool is that! ;-) Keep it simple!
Lord, help us keep things simple when living our lives!
Foodie Friday
A new friend introduced me to a grain called quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) a few weeks ago. I have been researching it and how to incorporate it into my diet. She made the mini-muffin thingys with it that I shared recently. I found a recipe for a breakfast dish with it. Here it is:
Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe
I used a red quinoa here, but you can use whatever kind you like, white/buff colored seems to be the most common. Also, a few notes and tips from the book: low-fat soy milk may replace the low fat milk, blueberries may replace the blackberries, dark honey may replace the agave nectar, and walnuts may replace the pecans.
1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup organic quinoa, (hs note: rinse quinoa)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons organic agave nectar, such as Madhava brand
Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.
Serves 4.
*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
Other Stuff
I ran some errands after work last night. I returned some stuff to Microcenter. I went to Trader Joes and Whole Foods to look for some stuff. I found the quinoa I was looking for, but could not find the Grapeola grapeseed oil that mi tigre told me about. The grapeseed oils I found locally weren't nearly as healthy as that brand. Mi tigre and I also had a couple of conversations. I really enjoy talking to him. ;-p
Choir practice was OK even though I was very tired. I got home and fell into bed! Going to take it easy tonight and finish some stuff around the house.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I have to admit it. I over analyze stuff way too much at times. I analyze computer things for a living. I have a tendency to bring that skill into my everyday life where it does not really "fit". I am working on it! The reason I say this is that many folks do this with the Bible. What does it mean? How should I live?
The scripture passage from Micah 6:8 has my favorite KISS (keep is simple, stupid) principle from the Bible. Here it is. It is short so don't miss it!
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Wow! Isn't that just an Old Testament version of the Jesus' statements to love God and love others as yourself? How cool is that! ;-) Keep it simple!
Lord, help us keep things simple when living our lives!
Foodie Friday
A new friend introduced me to a grain called quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) a few weeks ago. I have been researching it and how to incorporate it into my diet. She made the mini-muffin thingys with it that I shared recently. I found a recipe for a breakfast dish with it. Here it is:
Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe
I used a red quinoa here, but you can use whatever kind you like, white/buff colored seems to be the most common. Also, a few notes and tips from the book: low-fat soy milk may replace the low fat milk, blueberries may replace the blackberries, dark honey may replace the agave nectar, and walnuts may replace the pecans.
1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup organic quinoa, (hs note: rinse quinoa)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons organic agave nectar, such as Madhava brand
Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.
Serves 4.
*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
Quinoa is available at health food stores. I found the best prices at the bulk food section at Whole Foods.
Other Stuff
I ran some errands after work last night. I returned some stuff to Microcenter. I went to Trader Joes and Whole Foods to look for some stuff. I found the quinoa I was looking for, but could not find the Grapeola grapeseed oil that mi tigre told me about. The grapeseed oils I found locally weren't nearly as healthy as that brand. Mi tigre and I also had a couple of conversations. I really enjoy talking to him. ;-p
Choir practice was OK even though I was very tired. I got home and fell into bed! Going to take it easy tonight and finish some stuff around the house.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
We got a lapper!
Our Daily Bread
Some of these stories in the Old Testament are so hilarious to me! The story of how God told Gideon to select his army for the battle against the Midianites is a perfect example. God told Gideon:
“Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Judges 7:5 I could just hear some character from Friends saying something like "we got a lapper!" ha!
What did the devotional say to me? Well, it was about taking us out of our comfort zone so we can rely more fully on God! Whether it is war or our daily lives, we need to let go and let God. I know that is much easier said than done. That is why I keep reminding you about it every day at the end of my blog entries! hehehe
What are you holding on to that God wants you to let go of? Let's pray for each other that we can identify those things and let go!
Thank you, Lord, for being there for us. Please help us to let go so you can make us stronger and win the victory!
Technology Thursday
The new iPad is here! The new iPad is here! Woohoooo! ;-) I fought through delays on the busy Apple web site to order the new iPad yesterday afternoon. It should arrive on March 16. Woohoo! Here is a breakdown of the Apple announcement yesterday:
New iPad
Here are the new features on the iPad. I am not sure if they are calling it the iPad3 or iPad HD or just the 3rd generation iPad.
My recommendation? If you do not have an iPad or have the original iPad, I recommend buying this device. I don't think there is a big enough difference between the new iPad and the iPad2 to justify the expense. Also, if you don't really need the new features, the iPad2 is still a great device and it is cheaper now!
Apple TV
Apple upgraded their TV device to handle HD video streaming, especially from iTunes. Interesting.
Other Stuff
I had a busy day on Wednesday and got flustered from the start. I forgot my medicine at home. Not a good thing. I got to work and my training class late. Not a good thing. I had a miscommunication with mi tigre about our phone call. Definitely not a good thing. I was late to D1 class due to traffic. Whew... The good news is I ordered my new iPad! Woohooo!
I will probably run home after work tonight to get a few things done. Or, I might just run a few errands and finish putting laundry away Friday night.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Some of these stories in the Old Testament are so hilarious to me! The story of how God told Gideon to select his army for the battle against the Midianites is a perfect example. God told Gideon:
“Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Judges 7:5 I could just hear some character from Friends saying something like "we got a lapper!" ha!
What did the devotional say to me? Well, it was about taking us out of our comfort zone so we can rely more fully on God! Whether it is war or our daily lives, we need to let go and let God. I know that is much easier said than done. That is why I keep reminding you about it every day at the end of my blog entries! hehehe
What are you holding on to that God wants you to let go of? Let's pray for each other that we can identify those things and let go!
Thank you, Lord, for being there for us. Please help us to let go so you can make us stronger and win the victory!
Technology Thursday
The new iPad is here! The new iPad is here! Woohoooo! ;-) I fought through delays on the busy Apple web site to order the new iPad yesterday afternoon. It should arrive on March 16. Woohoo! Here is a breakdown of the Apple announcement yesterday:
New iPad
Here are the new features on the iPad. I am not sure if they are calling it the iPad3 or iPad HD or just the 3rd generation iPad.
- retina display (like the iPhone 4S, which is stunning...)
- upgraded camera (5MP)
- new apps, like iLife and iWork
- faster Internet access via 4G LTE
- faster dual-core processor with quad core graphics
- Same pricing as the iPad2 was when it came out
- They are keeping the iPad2 and lowered the price! The 16 gig iPad2 is now $399.
My recommendation? If you do not have an iPad or have the original iPad, I recommend buying this device. I don't think there is a big enough difference between the new iPad and the iPad2 to justify the expense. Also, if you don't really need the new features, the iPad2 is still a great device and it is cheaper now!
Apple TV
Apple upgraded their TV device to handle HD video streaming, especially from iTunes. Interesting.
Other Stuff
I had a busy day on Wednesday and got flustered from the start. I forgot my medicine at home. Not a good thing. I got to work and my training class late. Not a good thing. I had a miscommunication with mi tigre about our phone call. Definitely not a good thing. I was late to D1 class due to traffic. Whew... The good news is I ordered my new iPad! Woohooo!
I will probably run home after work tonight to get a few things done. Or, I might just run a few errands and finish putting laundry away Friday night.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The end of my days...
Our Daily Bread
The devotional today could be a "downer" at first read because it talks about each day could be our last on this earth! Being a "glass is half full" kind of person, I read it in a positive manner -- make each day count!
We have all met those kind of people that make each day an ordeal that they have to survive... Heavy sigh! They suck the life energy right out of you when they walk into the room! I nickname them "cactus people". They are folks that I may admire and sometimes appreciate having them in your life, but you do NOT want to hold them close! They will cause you pain!
So follow the simple suggestion in the devotional, even on those days when things might try to overwhelm you. Remember to make the most of each moment we have on this earth. Life is precious!
Lord, thank you for the gift of life. Help us not to "regift" it or put it in a closet like other gifts we might receive!
Witness Wednesday
I have been busy the last week, but had time to do some thinking about some stuff. Mi tigre says I analyze things too much sometimes. Yes, I do. He figured that our about me pretty quickly! He has a keen sense of the obvious! hehehe I sometimes beat myself up for mistakes I made in the past. I mention this today for two reasons: the devotional and the epiphany.
The devotional says that tomorrow is gone! Yes, it is gone! We can move on. We can forgive ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes! Life is too precious to let it dwell in the past!
The epiphany is the fact that I am using all the things I learned the past few years. Wow! It is so amazing when I think about the big picture. Yes, it was difficult for me. God used those experiences to purify some parts of my personality. Praise God! He used those experiences to prepare me for the rest of my life. Praise God again!
I hope you will look at this day as a blessing. Trust God. Move forward with your life.
Other Stuff
I had a busy evening. I worked on laundry. I made some changes to the extra PC in my office. I am reusing some of the parts in other devices. Very cool. I installed the SSD (solid state drive) in my laptop and installed Windows 7 64bit. I am finishing the configuration on both machines today. I gathered the info for the two rebates I earned on Monday. I took some time to relax and watch a DVR recording or two. Whew! I also got to talk to mi tigre at the end of the evening. What a good night!
I am excited about the Apple announcement today. I will write about it tomorrow.
I have a training session today at work. It could be interesting!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
The devotional today could be a "downer" at first read because it talks about each day could be our last on this earth! Being a "glass is half full" kind of person, I read it in a positive manner -- make each day count!
We have all met those kind of people that make each day an ordeal that they have to survive... Heavy sigh! They suck the life energy right out of you when they walk into the room! I nickname them "cactus people". They are folks that I may admire and sometimes appreciate having them in your life, but you do NOT want to hold them close! They will cause you pain!
So follow the simple suggestion in the devotional, even on those days when things might try to overwhelm you. Remember to make the most of each moment we have on this earth. Life is precious!
Lord, thank you for the gift of life. Help us not to "regift" it or put it in a closet like other gifts we might receive!
Witness Wednesday
I have been busy the last week, but had time to do some thinking about some stuff. Mi tigre says I analyze things too much sometimes. Yes, I do. He figured that our about me pretty quickly! He has a keen sense of the obvious! hehehe I sometimes beat myself up for mistakes I made in the past. I mention this today for two reasons: the devotional and the epiphany.
The devotional says that tomorrow is gone! Yes, it is gone! We can move on. We can forgive ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes! Life is too precious to let it dwell in the past!
The epiphany is the fact that I am using all the things I learned the past few years. Wow! It is so amazing when I think about the big picture. Yes, it was difficult for me. God used those experiences to purify some parts of my personality. Praise God! He used those experiences to prepare me for the rest of my life. Praise God again!
I hope you will look at this day as a blessing. Trust God. Move forward with your life.
Other Stuff
I had a busy evening. I worked on laundry. I made some changes to the extra PC in my office. I am reusing some of the parts in other devices. Very cool. I installed the SSD (solid state drive) in my laptop and installed Windows 7 64bit. I am finishing the configuration on both machines today. I gathered the info for the two rebates I earned on Monday. I took some time to relax and watch a DVR recording or two. Whew! I also got to talk to mi tigre at the end of the evening. What a good night!
I am excited about the Apple announcement today. I will write about it tomorrow.
I have a training session today at work. It could be interesting!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
How u doin?
Our Daily Bread
After working with some folks in New York City for a while and also seeing some characters on TV use the phrase, I started saying "How u doin?" when I greet friends. Yes, I am a silly bear sometimes! I like to think that I am just following the scripture passage for today! hehehe
The passage from Philippians talks about showing God's love by taking a greater interest in others than we show in ourselves. It appears to be part of God's plan to help us take our eyes off ourselves and think more about others. It is so easy to be self-centered and not care about others. In fact, the world we live in encourages us to be that way! As children of God, we cannot be that way!
Lord, we want to be like Christ, the one who thought of others when he sacrificed himself on the cross!
Teaching Tuesday
We read the first twelve chapters of John for this week's lesson. The main emphasis of the lesson was to identify all the symbols that John used to help folks understand who Jesus was. Some examples are light, bread, water, life, shepherd, and gate. Read the first 12 chapters and see for yourself. What do you think of the symbols? Which one(s) speak to you?
Other Stuff
I stopped by Microcenter after work last night to pick up some computer parts. I got out of there with only one "treat". I stuck to my shopping list except for the 32 gig USB drive I just had to buy! ;-p It was a good deal. I needed another one since my 8 gig stick died last week. Yeah, right... hehehe I will install the other parts on my laptop and spare computer tonight. Laundry and geek night coming up!
I also stopped by the gym that offered a Groupon deal last week. It is near Microcenter, though very out of the way. I will start there this week or next. I bought a one month deal. Their workout style is similar to the gym that mi tigre goes in his city. I got to talk to mi tigre for a while later. I really miss him.
I had dinner with my walking buddy and her husband. We had a nice meal and some nice conversation. I did a few things around the house after I got home and fell into bed. 5:00 am came pretty early today!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
After working with some folks in New York City for a while and also seeing some characters on TV use the phrase, I started saying "How u doin?" when I greet friends. Yes, I am a silly bear sometimes! I like to think that I am just following the scripture passage for today! hehehe
The passage from Philippians talks about showing God's love by taking a greater interest in others than we show in ourselves. It appears to be part of God's plan to help us take our eyes off ourselves and think more about others. It is so easy to be self-centered and not care about others. In fact, the world we live in encourages us to be that way! As children of God, we cannot be that way!
Lord, we want to be like Christ, the one who thought of others when he sacrificed himself on the cross!
Teaching Tuesday
We read the first twelve chapters of John for this week's lesson. The main emphasis of the lesson was to identify all the symbols that John used to help folks understand who Jesus was. Some examples are light, bread, water, life, shepherd, and gate. Read the first 12 chapters and see for yourself. What do you think of the symbols? Which one(s) speak to you?
Other Stuff
I stopped by Microcenter after work last night to pick up some computer parts. I got out of there with only one "treat". I stuck to my shopping list except for the 32 gig USB drive I just had to buy! ;-p It was a good deal. I needed another one since my 8 gig stick died last week. Yeah, right... hehehe I will install the other parts on my laptop and spare computer tonight. Laundry and geek night coming up!
I also stopped by the gym that offered a Groupon deal last week. It is near Microcenter, though very out of the way. I will start there this week or next. I bought a one month deal. Their workout style is similar to the gym that mi tigre goes in his city. I got to talk to mi tigre for a while later. I really miss him.
I had dinner with my walking buddy and her husband. We had a nice meal and some nice conversation. I did a few things around the house after I got home and fell into bed. 5:00 am came pretty early today!
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Listen and learn
Our Daily Bread
I don't have any children, but I have many friends that do. One of the common arguments they have with their teenagers is "well, you did it when you were a teenager!". Parents try to help children learn from the mistakes they made in their teenage years. Teenagers don't always listen. They want to "experience life" for themselves. That is not always a good thing!
The devotional today talks about a criminal that tried to deter others from entering a life of crime, to learn from the mistakes he made. It references Proverbs 4:10-19 as the scripture passage. Verse 10 builds on the commandment to honor thy father and mother:
"Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many."
How many times did our parents (are our parents) trying to teach us something? Do we always listen? Even more important, how many times has God tried to teach us something, either through his Word or through a friend or minister, that we may or may not listen?
Lord, help us to always listen to your words, regardless of the sources, so that we may live life abundantly in you!
Movie Monday
I got to see two movies last week: Act of Valor and Journey 2 the Incredible Island.
Act of Valor
This movie is billed as some realistic reenactments of actual Navy SEAL missions and activities around the world. The action scenes are as cool as any I have seen on a movie screen because of that reason. They are based on history, not fiction.
I was a little confused about whether or not the characters were actors or real SEALs. I heard both things. Considering one of the SEALs dies, I assumed that one was an actor! I recommend seeing this movie to get a better understanding of the incredible things our soldiers do for us!
I give this movie two bear paws, mainly for the real story lines.
Journey 2 the Incredible Island 3D
Seeing this movie with my mother and sister was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. They hadn't been to a 3D movie in a while, so they were surprised by the stuff flying out of the screen at them! It was a hoot! The movie itself was OK. Very predictable, but nice. Fun, fantasy stuff. The 3D effects were pretty cool.
I give this movie two bear paws. See it in 3D at the theater while you can.
Other Stuff
I had a nice Sunday. Church was great. I met up with a church buddy to buy an old laptop off of him. I don't need to buy a new one now! That saved me several hundred dollars! Woohooo! I rested and did some things around the house when I got home. I watched the OSU-MSU game with some friends. It was a wild game! We yelled and hollered like college students! OSU won with a last second shot in an exciting finish.
I figured out what the problem was with my extra PC. I had an extra video card, so I replaced it to get the PC up and running again. Whew! I will probably get a real video card for it that fits right. I rigged one up that didn't really fit right. It is just an extra PC for guests and some testing. No need to max out the machine. I plan to stop by Microcenter (or check online) for the best deal I can find on an SSD (solid state drive) for the laptop. That will dramatically improve the performance to an acceptable level so I can use the laptop for a few years. I can live with that. ;-)
I also installed the Windows 8 beta on a virtual desktop on my computer. It is weird. Not sure I like it at all. I will read more about it and play with it as I have time.
I had some nice conversations with mi tigre. I like that man. ;-p
I ate too much last night. I will do better today. I am eating dinner with my walking buddy and her husband tonight. That will be fun.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
I don't have any children, but I have many friends that do. One of the common arguments they have with their teenagers is "well, you did it when you were a teenager!". Parents try to help children learn from the mistakes they made in their teenage years. Teenagers don't always listen. They want to "experience life" for themselves. That is not always a good thing!
The devotional today talks about a criminal that tried to deter others from entering a life of crime, to learn from the mistakes he made. It references Proverbs 4:10-19 as the scripture passage. Verse 10 builds on the commandment to honor thy father and mother:
"Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many."
How many times did our parents (are our parents) trying to teach us something? Do we always listen? Even more important, how many times has God tried to teach us something, either through his Word or through a friend or minister, that we may or may not listen?
Lord, help us to always listen to your words, regardless of the sources, so that we may live life abundantly in you!
Movie Monday
I got to see two movies last week: Act of Valor and Journey 2 the Incredible Island.
Act of Valor
This movie is billed as some realistic reenactments of actual Navy SEAL missions and activities around the world. The action scenes are as cool as any I have seen on a movie screen because of that reason. They are based on history, not fiction.
I was a little confused about whether or not the characters were actors or real SEALs. I heard both things. Considering one of the SEALs dies, I assumed that one was an actor! I recommend seeing this movie to get a better understanding of the incredible things our soldiers do for us!
I give this movie two bear paws, mainly for the real story lines.
Journey 2 the Incredible Island 3D
Seeing this movie with my mother and sister was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. They hadn't been to a 3D movie in a while, so they were surprised by the stuff flying out of the screen at them! It was a hoot! The movie itself was OK. Very predictable, but nice. Fun, fantasy stuff. The 3D effects were pretty cool.
I give this movie two bear paws. See it in 3D at the theater while you can.
Other Stuff
I had a nice Sunday. Church was great. I met up with a church buddy to buy an old laptop off of him. I don't need to buy a new one now! That saved me several hundred dollars! Woohooo! I rested and did some things around the house when I got home. I watched the OSU-MSU game with some friends. It was a wild game! We yelled and hollered like college students! OSU won with a last second shot in an exciting finish.
I figured out what the problem was with my extra PC. I had an extra video card, so I replaced it to get the PC up and running again. Whew! I will probably get a real video card for it that fits right. I rigged one up that didn't really fit right. It is just an extra PC for guests and some testing. No need to max out the machine. I plan to stop by Microcenter (or check online) for the best deal I can find on an SSD (solid state drive) for the laptop. That will dramatically improve the performance to an acceptable level so I can use the laptop for a few years. I can live with that. ;-)
I also installed the Windows 8 beta on a virtual desktop on my computer. It is weird. Not sure I like it at all. I will read more about it and play with it as I have time.
I had some nice conversations with mi tigre. I like that man. ;-p
I ate too much last night. I will do better today. I am eating dinner with my walking buddy and her husband tonight. That will be fun.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Was Thomas from Missouri?
Our Daily Bread
The scripture lesson for today talks about Jesus being with us each and every "place" in our lives, not just at church. I chuckled to myself when I read the passage when Thomas insisted on touching the scars in Jesus' hands. Was Thomas from Missouri, the "show me" state? ;-)
We as human beings are usually like that. We have a "what have you done for me lately" type of attitude about our relationships, especially with God. Do you notice that in your life? I sure do in mine! God tries and tries to remind me and console me if I will just turn things over to him. These lessons make reading the Old Testament even more rewarding and timely for me as I see how stiff-necked the nation of Israel was in their history!
Lord, help us to realize that you are with us everywhere we go!
Psalm Sunday
Psalm 38 is the passage for today. Doesn't it go nicely with the devotional for today!
Psalm 38
A psalm of David. A petition.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.
7 My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.
9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbors stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they scheme and lie.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 LORD, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause;
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil
lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.
21 LORD, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my Savior.
Other Stuff
I had a nice visit with my family yesterday. I talked with my aunt and uncle for a couple of hours, then spent the afternoon with my mother and oldest sister. One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time was watching those two at the 3D movie. OMG! Mom kept ducking away from the 3D effects! ;-p We enjoyed the afternoon.
I had a few conversations with mi tigre throughout the day. I really miss him.
I did some of my reading for D1 after I got home.
I have church and then plan to go to a friend's house to watch the OSU-MSU basketball game later this afternoon.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
The scripture lesson for today talks about Jesus being with us each and every "place" in our lives, not just at church. I chuckled to myself when I read the passage when Thomas insisted on touching the scars in Jesus' hands. Was Thomas from Missouri, the "show me" state? ;-)
We as human beings are usually like that. We have a "what have you done for me lately" type of attitude about our relationships, especially with God. Do you notice that in your life? I sure do in mine! God tries and tries to remind me and console me if I will just turn things over to him. These lessons make reading the Old Testament even more rewarding and timely for me as I see how stiff-necked the nation of Israel was in their history!
Lord, help us to realize that you are with us everywhere we go!
Psalm Sunday
Psalm 38 is the passage for today. Doesn't it go nicely with the devotional for today!
Psalm 38
A psalm of David. A petition.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.
7 My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.
9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbors stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they scheme and lie.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 LORD, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause;
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil
lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.
21 LORD, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my Savior.
Other Stuff
I had a nice visit with my family yesterday. I talked with my aunt and uncle for a couple of hours, then spent the afternoon with my mother and oldest sister. One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time was watching those two at the 3D movie. OMG! Mom kept ducking away from the 3D effects! ;-p We enjoyed the afternoon.
I had a few conversations with mi tigre throughout the day. I really miss him.
I did some of my reading for D1 after I got home.
I have church and then plan to go to a friend's house to watch the OSU-MSU basketball game later this afternoon.
Let go, my friends! God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!
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