No one there

Our Daily Bread
I have a buddy that I tease constantly about his "imaginary boyfriend".  Apparently, only his sister has met this guy he has been seeing for over five years!   Imaginary boyfriend, I say!  ha!  Hey, whatever relationship style works for you, I guess!

An imaginary friend is NOT what God is to me!  How about you?  Do you know God the Father, the creator of this world?  Do you know this Jesus, the Son of God who gave his life for us?  Do you know the Holy Spirit, the giver of strength and mover of hearts?  I pray that you. do.

Lord, thank you for being real.  The Almighty God.  A real friend.  We praise you!

Foodie Friday
I made a new side dish for my dinner group last week.  I tossed the ingredients in a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.  I included that recipe as well.

Roasted Mushroom and Green Bean Farro Salad
A roasted mushroom and green bean farro salad with balsamic vinaigrette and feta.

Servings: makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
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Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 cup farro
8 ounces mushrooms, quartered
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup feta, goat or blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 teaspoon thyme (chopped)

Directions

1. Bring the water and farro to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the farro is al dente. about 20 minutes.
2. Toss the mushrooms and green beans in the oil, thyme, salt and pepper and place them on a baking sheet in a single layer.
3. Roast the mushrooms and green beans in a preheated 400F oven until they start to caramelize, about 20 minutes, flipping them half way through.
4. Mix everything and enjoy.

Balsamic Vinaigrette
(makes 1/2 cup of dressing)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 large clove garlic (grated)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
1. Mix everything.

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Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God - William Carey

Not for me

Our Daily Bread
I was fortunate enough to go to Hawaii in 2009.  I took a special side trip to the Big Island to see the Volcano National Park.  While driving around the island on the tour bus, folks kept ooooing and ahhhing at the remote resorts we saw.  One of them asked me if I would like to spend a few weeks at one to which I said "If it doesn't have fast Internet access, then I am not interested!"  ha!

I can relate to the author's experience of being without his Internet access.  Please understand that with electricity and fast Internet access, I can work from any where.  The two are my lifelines to work (and the rest of the world).  Like the devotional, I see the analogy to my spiritual life.  The electricity is the power I receive from the Holy Spirit.  Plain and simple to me.  The main difference between electricity and the Holy Spirit is that you never have an outage of the Holy Spirit!  ha!  The Internet connection represents my connection to God and all He has for me (for us). Pretty amazing!

Lord, thank you for connecting with us if we let you and for giving us power through your Holy Spirit!

Technology Thursday
Apple had some big announcements on Monday at their WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) in California.  Here is a summary of their announcements:

iOS7:  It was time for a new vision for iOS.  I think they did a great job simplifying it and cleaning up the interface.  It should be a joy to use.  We will see when it is released this Fall.  It is also supposed to use less battery and memory and handle multi-tasking better than previous iOS versions.

iRadio:  They are releasing a new streaming radio service called iRadio.  We will see how it competes with the market leaders Slacker and Pandora.

New Hardware: No, not the hardware I wanted!  The new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro.  The story is the same: more for the same amount of money.  Faster processors and more memory with better battery life.  I would love a MacBook Air, but I am too frugal!

I really want an iPad Mini.  I am thinking about getting a refurbished first generation one, then buying a new one when the second or third generation one comes out.  I have the money saved up.  I will think about this some more...

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Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!

Never too late

Our Daily Bread
A commercial for an inexpensive hotel chain used to have the slogan "We'll keep the light on for you". It is comforting to know that a cozy room is always available.  Or is it?  Ever stopped at one late at night only to find they are full?  Yikes!

We don't have to worry about that with our Lord and Savior.  While some folks have an issue with the "fire insurance" approach to salvation where a sinner (and we are all sinners) accepts Christ as his or her Savior on the death bed, I personally believe it is never too late.  Who are we to judge?  Yes, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.  God offers salvation to all.  Think about this.  Pray about this.  I know my life has been better because I know and serve God.  Not everyone has had that honor and privilege!

Lord, thank you for everything to are and everything you do for us.  We praise you!

Wellness Wednesday
Ten Ways to Burn Fat Faster
Read the full article for all the details. Here is the list of ten ways:

1. Stock up on green tea
2. Pump iron
3. Eat Iron
4. Order water - and ask for a refill
5. Get your thyroid checked
6. Avoid alcohol
7. Rev up workouts
8. Do more dairy
9. Take up a new sport
10. Go fish

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I pray the weight of my sins doth not crush me back to dust from where I came. I pray that God create in me a new, clean heart and place a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Praise the Almighty God from whom all blessings flow.

Recipe for a Godly life

Our Daily Bread
I like to cook. Sometimes I use a recipe.  Sometimes I "modify" a recipe as I go a long.  I sometimes follow my grandmother's approach to "a pinch of this and a smidgen of that".  ha!  The end result is usually edible, but not always!

There is one recipe that is guar-an-teed to be successful!  Incorporating the Word of God into your mind and heart is the recipe for a Godly life!  Praise God!  The devotional does a great job of walking through scripture passages talking about this thought.  What did I learn?  I need to take my time while eating my meals AND I need to take my time while reading and studying God's Word! 

Lord, thank you for your Word.  Please help us savor the concepts in our  minds and hearts so we can live a Godly life!

Teaching Tuesday
More Notes and Insights into  A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough by Wayne Muller
This book is slowly changing my mind about some things.  I am on page 100 out of 240.  It is very repetitive, however, I find that stubborn old bears like me need that!  ha!

Think about the title of the book:  Do we really think we are adequate in the "being enough" department?  I know I don't always feel that way.

Do we really think we are adequate in the "having enough" department?  We live in a society where more and more is still not "enough". 

Do we really think we are adequate in the "doing enough" department?  I struggle with this one, too, because God gave me a lot of things I can do.  How much should we do?  For whom?  How often?

The bottom line so far for me has been the discussion about changing our attitudes and beliefs about enough.  Don't change.  Don't even try. Why?  Because if we allow God to enter our minds and hearts the change will come supernaturally!  Trying to change ourselves only leads to frustration and burnout.

Think about it.  Pray about it.  There is still 140 pages to go.  ;-)  D

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We too can know this God and be assured of His presence. He has revealed Himself in His creation and in His Word. As we ask Him to make Himself known to us, we’ll learn that He is even more than the owner and creator of everything! - Our Daily Bread web site

Pick yourself up

Our Daily Bread
I remembered a song from my childhood while reading the devotional (yes, another song), so I Googled it.  The song is "Pick yourself up" most notably by Frank Sinatra.  Interpreted VERY loosely, you can get a religious message out of the song! 

The devotional takes the "pick yourself up" approach in a little different direction in the quote from C.S. Lewis "but always to pick yourself up again and ask forgiveness.”  Keep on!  Did you hear that, Duanebear?  Keep on!  Did you hear that my friends?  Keep on!  As usual, I needed to hear this message today.  Thank God for the timeliness.  I hope it means as much to you!  Keep on!

Lord, thank you for encouragement and forgiveness.  Please help us keep on for you!

Movie Monday
There weren't any new movies that I wanted to see last week, so I watched some in my home theater -- Stealth and Riddick.

Stealth
I streamed Stealth over the Crackle free service.  It has commercials every fifteen minutes or so, but the movies are free.  They don't have a great selection, but there were some good ones out there.  Stealth is one that I didn't see at the movies.  It is about three stealth fighter pilots that deal with an unmanned plane.  I found it very cool.  See it if you can.

Riddick
I admit it.  I only watched this movie because Vin Diesel is in it!  They are finally releasing the third movie in this trilogy later this year.  I wanted to remember all the details.  The first movie was Pitch Black.  This movie had lots of action and interesting characters.  Vin is super in this action role and saves the day!

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Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!

Do what I say...and what I did

Our Daily Bread
Did you ever have this conversation with your parents when you were a teen? "Why do I have to do that?"  "Because I said so!"  Yup, me too!  And I was  good boy!  ha!

One of the things I like the best about being a Christian is that we know there is a very good reason for each thing God tells us to do -- because it is the best thing for us!  AND, we know that Jesus gave us the perfect example of doing God's will when he was on earth -- he did everything he was supposed to do because he knew it was the best thing for us!  Leading my example.  It is not just "Because I said so!".  Praise God!

Lord, thank you for being our example and friend and guide!  We thank you and praise you!

Psalm Sunday
This is a "good one" as we think of the psalms!  Being a singer, I especially like it!  If you can't sing, then shout to the Lord or play the harp or blast a ram's horn -- do something to praise the Lord!

Psalm 98

A psalm.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
    and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
    shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
    let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples with equity.

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Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40

All the same

Our Daily Bread
You never know what to believe when you older.  By older I mean like ten years old!  ha!  I remember my family telling me that my belly button was where God poked me to see if I was "done"!  ha!  One thing that I always remembered from my early days in Sunday School -- God created us all for a purpose!

Yes, we are all created by God.  Each person created for a specific reason and purpose.  It is up to us to determine that purpose!  I know I often wonder what mine is!

I pray that each of us find our purpose under God and live it out to our fullest!

Simply Saturday
Finding balance
As I mentioned on Tuesday, I started reading a new book about "enough".  I have been thinking about balance this week.  Specifically, I mean having balance in my life when it comes to doing stuff for others and doing stuff for myself.  Here are some examples.

Movies:  Some friends wonder why I go to the movies so much.  I am not "justifying" my choice, just saying how I feel here.  I rarely watch TV.  I don't go out much.  Movies are my relaxation.  I can see a movie by myself or with others.  I intend to spend more time in prayer and Bible study each week than watching movies.  I don't always accomplish this goal.  ;-(

Exercise: I like to exercise, especially since I wasn't allowed to exercise for almost four years due to health issues.  I find exercising relaxes me (though I get more tired than energetic afterwards).  I also find the health benefits very good for me.  I will continue balancing too much with enough...

Doing things for others: This is my biggest struggle right now.  I know how to do stuff.  I can make time to do things for others.  I have a tendency to do too much for others and not meet my own needs.  I am praying about this to find balance.  There are so many needs.  I know one person can't fill them all.  I need to figure out what is "enough".

As I write this, I realize how much I need to finish this book.  I need/want to change my life from a "all in" type of bet to a "long-term" relationship type of approach.  Being "all in" often leaves me burnt out and feeling alone.  The long-term approach is healthier and reduces the chance of burn out.

What are you feeling?  What is enough?  What is God saying to you? I pray you listen and continue your walk.

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You are a success in God’s kingdom if you are faithful where He has placed you. - Our Daily Bread