Rescue me from this eternal confusion of belongings (mine and other people's) that just won't stay orderly. This suffocation of phone calls, clubs, and committees. This choke of bills and papers and magazines and junk mail. I buy too many things, subscribe to too many things, belong to too many things. The result is such confusion I can't really enjoy or do justice to anything!
Deliver me from some of this Lord. Help me to stop bewailing this clutter and work out some plan for cutting it down.
Give me the will power to stop buying things we don't really need ...and give, oh give me the will power to get rid of a lot of things we already have...And while I'm at it Lord, help me to unclutter my mind. Of regrets and resentments and anxieties, of idiotic dialogues and foolish broodings.
Sweep it clean and free.
Make it calm and quiet.
Make it orderly.
-Marjorie Holmes in Lord, Let Me Love
Here is a super yummy recipe for anyone that likes Mexican food and it can be converted to a Vegan recipe by using non-dairy sour cream and vegan cheddar cheese...if you're so inclined...
Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
3 large avocados
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 containers (8 ounces) sour cream
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup diced mild green chiles , drained
1/2 cup sliced black olives, or more if you like
5 tomatoes , chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread a layer of refried beans in the bottom of an 8x8 quart glass baking dish. Pit and peel the avocados, and place in a bowl. Mash the avocados together with the lime juice, and spread on top of the refried beans. Stir together the sour cream and taco seasoning, and spread over the avocado.
Sprinkle the chiles over the sour cream, and top with a layer of black olives. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle with the cheese. Heat the dip for 15 to 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is a bit melted.
Serve warm or at room temperature with tortilla chips.
Recipe courtesy of The Kind Diet
Since this book is a Pulitzer Prize winner, I should've known that it would have elements of strangeness, be very heavy, and multi-layered...much like other Pulitzer Prize winners I've read. The story covers the lifetime of one Mrs. Olive Kitteridge and the many people connected to her. Some are connected to her rather thinly and you may wonder, "why am I reading about this person?" There were points in the book when I thought "why am I reading this book?" and I thought I would abandon it altogether but I persevered because it's very hard for me to leave a book half-read! I give it 3 stars...really strong character development and actually some very good writing...I just don't know if I really cared about the story that much.
You will get some insights into her life and how she deals with tragedy as well as moments of happiness. Her reactions and her approach to life are all secular so it makes for an interesting analysis and made me think if Olive were written from a Christian perspective, this would've been a totally different book and probably much better.
A few month's ago, my friend, Heather took on a rather monumental task. She decided she would write a book in a month! She had started several books along the way and always knew there was a novel inside her just waiting to come out but as the busy mom of three children, time was definitely a factor. So spurred on by the challenge of writing a book in a month and some other Facebook friends who were attempting to do the same, she embarked on her writing adventure. One month later she had successfully completed her book!
Now she's started a blog to share the beginning chapters of her book with the rest of the world and hopefully garner some interest from publishers and us, the reading public. Check out her new blog...
http://bookinamonthmom.blogspot.com/
I got an awesome deal last week before we headed out for our mini-vacation to Disney World and I thought I'd share it with you! I was looking for some good walking shoes as I knew I would be doing a lot of walking around Disney. It's usually hard for me to find a shoe that doesn't make my feet hurt at some point but this time I think I happened onto some really good shoes at an even better price. I went to Walmart to get a few last minute items for our trip and decided to check out their shoe department. I found these Danskin sneakers and decided to try them on. They were definitely comfortable in the store but would they stand up to hours of walking? Well, at a price of only $20 I figured it wouldn't be too bad if they didn't work out. I got them in the charcoal gray color with some small dark purple accents so they actually blend in well with dark-washed jeans. You won't have that "mommy" look with the bright white sneakers and dark, bootcut jeans. Anyway, we walked and walked and walked for 5 days and I can honestly say my feet never hurt once! This is an amazing "feet" for me! haha...
When I started reading "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah I had no idea that it would draw me in the way it did and cause me to neglect my usual household chores to steal a few minutes here and there reading it. The book explores the lifelong friendship between the 2 main characters, Tully and Kate. They couldn't be more opposite in their backgrounds or personality but the circumstances of life that draw them together make the reader cling to the story line to find out what happens to them next. At moments the reader might identify more with Katie and then you'll waver and think maybe you are really more like Tully in some way. You get to follow these two from adolescence well into their later life. The author covers a lot of ground...after all you've got 479 pages to read in the paperback edition, but somehow when it all ends you will find yourself wanting just a few more pages to tell you a little more.
In the interest of full disclosure, there are definitely some adult themes in the book but it's not gratuitous or frequent. There are aspects of their lives that you would not emulate nor would you condone but these aspects are part of the story and help to build the main characters. The book is well-written and if you want something that's a little heavier than say a "beach read" or a romance tale then this is a book you'll enjoy.
Have you ever walked out of church on Sunday morning and felt like the sermon had hit you like a hammer right between the eyes? Well, that’s what happened to me last week. It was as if the Holy Spirit was saying, rather loudly, “Are you listening? Are you listening? I’ve been trying to tell you this for a while now…”
Our pastor spoke on the importance and I mean the life and death kind of praying for those in your family, circle of friends, acquaintances etc. who are not Christians. He spoke of the role we have of rescuing people who are lost. The aspect of the sermon that spoke to me the most was when he said that many of us have people in our immediate family who are not saved and yet we rarely petition God to save them. He said we should be so concerned for their salvation that we would get on our knees and beg God to save them. Wow…that hit a little close to home. Sure I’ve offered up prayers for the salvation of my unsaved loved ones but it’s more or less when I remember and it’s not every consistent and I wouldn’t classify it as “begging” either.
The eternal destiny of my loved ones and friends and really anyone I come in contact with should be of utmost importance to me yet how often is it just that lingering thought that comes up every so often when I hear a sermon about salvation.
You see the Holy Spirit has been talking to me about this for a while. He’s been asking me to not only pray a little more fervently but to maybe take some steps and these require ACTION to bring some people to Him. Hmmm…this sounds a little scary and hey, these people have heard it all before. Some of them even grew up in church…gasp! What could I possibly have to offer that’s different? Well, there’s this little thing called my testimony and there are some really great things happening in my life that have come directly from God. Maybe I could tell someone about it and it might just be the thing that brings them back to God.
And then there’s the matter of prayer…this one really jumped all over me because I have a tendency to do a lot of things in my so-called busy life but my prayer time can be relatively small in comparison to other things…say like watching TV, or reading, or answering emails. Not really bad things in and of themselves but just things that take up time.
So here I am and I’m going to really try to dedicate A LOT more time in 2010 to asking dare I say even begging God to save some people. How could I do any less?
