What I know

So, I'm about to burst! (Just bare with me as I just write everything that is coming into my head right now. No matter how much sense it is or is not making!) I've been going crazy with thinking and dreaming and praying and then back again and again. Asking God, what in the world do you want me to do next? He keeps telling me that He has a greater purpose for me. He's pulling me hard that's for sure!

Do you get that pulling on your heart? That tugging and the urge, the feeling that there's so much more? It's like that anticipation of what I think brides feel like before they open the doors to the church and they walk down that aisle. That anticipation of the one of the best days of your life is about to begin!

I feel that right now! I feel the excitement and the anticipation of something great! I don't know what it is. I know that God is in it! I know that He's paving the way for it and preparing me to be a part of it.

I'm excited! I can't get enough of Him!

Another thing I know...I am a daughter of the King! What better news than that! That pretty much sums it up for today.

It pays

Did you know that Christians still have a voice? Sounds like an obvious answer to an easy question. And the answer is obvious, but do we really believe that it’s true? Or do we care enough to use the voice?

 

Recently Gap came out with a “Holiday” commercial saying “Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Happy Solstice, etc.” It then went into saying something about doing what you please, think what you want, we’re all free or what not.  It’s kind of a depressing commercial instead of one that is supposed to be joyful for the Christmas season.

 

Many of the stores we shop at and the companies we support do not support Christmas, but rather support the idea that we should all be politically correct and the idea that “all roads lead to Truth” (saying that there is no absolute Truth).

 

Anyway, my mother wrote Gap Inc. stating that she would no longer be shopping at any of their stores because they no longer support Christmas and what it means. This includes: The Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piperline. There were a couple of emails exchanged between Gap Inc. and my mom over the last week. 

 

Through a poll taken from customers also stating that they would not be shopping at the above stores for the same reason, The Gap is said to be coming out with a new commercial that is more “Christmas friendly”. We are taking this in good faith that they will stand by their word and do what they say they’re going to do. But should they not, shame on them. We’ll see what they mean by “Christmas friendly”.

 

It’s obvious, the people in this country are not as on board with the whole “no Christmas” thing as the media seems to think.

 

Stand up. Use your voice. Use it for good.

 

Minneapolis-Goof Friends

I went up to Minneapolis, MN this past weekend to visit two friends of mine, Julie and Ty Stafford. I had never been to MN before and I hadn't seen either one of them in over a year. Bought the ticket and went! And what a great time we had! It was an encouraging time with both of them. We ate at a delicious Somolian restaurant where we ate goat. Had great conversations of catching up and talking about what God is doing in our lives. We cooked dinner at home each night and went to the Mall of America! And my goodness that place is big! Oh and the Pioneer Woman was there signing her new cookbook!

Thankful Thursday

Time to be thankful!

 

1.       Makeup (whoever invented that stuff was brilliant!)

2.       Coffeemate Peppermint Mocha powdered creamer

3.       A God who speaks to me in new ways and who is always speaking

4.       A phone call from my dad this morning where I got to share about what God is doing in my life

5.       A community group that is truly acting/being like Biblical community

6.       MS Office Suite and what I’ve learned so far

7.       Staying busy at work

8.       That I have a job

9.       Water

10.   The heart God has given me for the nations

11.   That I have enough to subside my hunger each day

12.   The grace of others

13.   Clearance granted!

14.   God’s confirmation

 

 

Blind

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.  These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”   -Isaiah 42:16

 

God is changing some things up in my life.  He’s speaking to me in ways He’s never spoken to me before.  He’s working in my life differently than before-definitely in ways that I have not known and along unfamiliar paths.

 

If you know me well, you know that in the past when God called me to do something He called me very clearly and very quickly.  I knew where He wanted me, no doubt.  These days I feel like a blind person. Ever since returning from China I have made some pretty important decisions in my life without that clarity that God has given me before.  I am still following Him.  But it’s different. God is still there; He’s never left. And He hasn’t stopped guiding me and speaking to me, but it’s in a different way. These are ways I have not known. Growth? I hope so. The promise in this verse? HE WILL NOT FORSAKE ME.  Boy am I glad of that!

 

Hankering

I have a hankering for some adventure.  I also have a hankering for a deeper life. There are no coincidences for those who know God.

outlook

Fixed the computer problem!  All is well!

Advice

I had a dream last night that an old lady told me I cut my toenails too short.  Random.

 

 

A bit of help

I need some help from any of you who are computer savvy and I mean really computer savvy.  Here's the deal.  I have/had a hidden hard drive on my computer.  It had to be mounted by a piece of software called TrueCrypt. Passwords and everything. I accidentally uninstalled the TrueCrypt software and now cannot use it to mount my hidden hard drive.  Therefore half of my computer's space is somewhere in computer space not able to be used and my MS Outlook is out there as well.  Does anyone know how I can get this part of my hard drive back?

Grey's Anatomy

Propaganda.

 

China is not the only country that has it.  In fact, it’s right here in our very own good ol’ U.S. of A.  And it’s all over the television.

 

Last Thursday I was watching Grey’s Anatomy.  One of the doctor’s on the show is a homosexuality (per the story line).  Her father is very against it.

 

There was a scene with the father and daughter confronting the issue together in the presence of a priest.  The father is quoting scripture to the daughter about how homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord and a sin and what not.  The daughter counteracts with quoting scripture at him about how the Lord loves no matter what she does.  Also quoting that her father shouldn’t judge.  There were others but my memory escapes me.

 

From my view here it seems that this is some right out propaganda.

 

There is a continuing discussion about how the Bible says that homosexuality is not okay and is, in fact, a sin.  Other people say that it is okay and cannot be helped and, in fact, should be completely accepted.  I felt like the show’s whole point was to put Christians in the light of looking like they are judgmental and off-base.

 

I need to watch out with these shows.  They have underlying messages to them and they sneak their way in there and then before you know, we’ve wandered a bit from Biblical Truth.

 

 

Would You Rather

You know that game that middle and high school boys (and sometimes girls) play, often times on a bus or when they’re just sitting around? It’s called “Would you Rather?”  Often times it is usually a question of would you rather see this something gross or that something gross.  So you’re getting the point that it’s pretty much just gross.  Anyway, today’s question is kind of along those lines, except not gross.

 

My roommate read a story to me last night after dinner about a school in Boston that is apparently distributing a little black book as part of the school curriculum to teach on same-sex relationships.  It’s advocating this and teaching that it’s completely acceptable and right.  And not only that but it lists ideas for these kids (and yes, they are still kids) to do if they are experimenting with homosexuality.  It goes into detail about how to do certain things. 

 

Listen carefully, this book is being distributed in the schools as a part of the curriculum.  Granted, while it promotes homosexuality and all of its acts it DOES discourage smoking because smoking is not good for you.  Thank you for that Boston.

 

So here’s the question-Would you rather have your child’s school teaching that smoking is okay or that homosexuality is okay and how to go about being involved in that?

Cavier and Bananas-restaurant review

Julia and I headed downtown Charleston tonight to try out a restaurant called Cavier and Bananas. She and I had seen the place a few weeks ago and thought it sounded interesting.

It's got a very European feel to it and it's broken into sections of hot food, salads, sandwiches and bakery/coffee. We walked right up to the hot food section and saw a lot of choices there before us.

Here's the scoop: this food is already prepared and then put into bowls or onto plates and put into a cooler that you can view from where you are. Everything is priced by the pound. So you tell the little man behind the counter what you want and how much you want of it. He puts it on the plate, weighs it and then, get this, he microwaves it. He heats it up in the microwave! And...everything is served on plastic plates that you would buy from the grocery store.

Here's what we got and how it tasted:
Chicken Satay with peanut dipping sauce-not as sweet as it really is in Thailand and the chicken was tough after being put in the microwave.
Plantain encrusted chicken breast-tough after being reheated
Roasted duck breast spring roll with plum dipping sauce-this was delicious! The spring roll itself was not crispy like it's intended to be because of the reheating, but the flavors were right on and everything about it was great!

The rest of this food was served cold, therefore no turn in the microwave:
Zucchini ribbons with goat cheese, pecans and dried cranberries-subtle flavor and very good
Apple and Fennel salad-heavenly! Julia and I both could not get enough
Greek Pasta Salad-the same that any restaurant would make

She and I then headed on over to Paulo's Gelato. Julia has been to Italy and so she was set on finding a place here that she could get gelato. She found it and apparently it's right on with the real thing. This was my first time having gelato and I really enjoyed it! So smooth!

And right now I'm going to tell you a lovely secret about gelato. The difference between gelato and ice cream is that ice cream is made with full-fat milk and heavy cream, but gelato is made from skim milk, there making it not as bad for you and allowing the flavors to come through more because they're not being overpowered by the fat of the milk. :)

All-in-all: I don't know that I'll go back to Cavier and Bananas. I might go back to get the salads to take home, but definitely not something that needs to be heated.

Something that would happen in China

Last night/early this morning I was awakened from such a wonderful time of sleep by this ringing in my ear.  At first I ignored it, thinking it was a dream or something.  But it wouldn’t go away.  So, in quite a bit of a daze, I went out into the hall to find both of roommates standing there in what seemed to be a similar daze.  “What in the world is going on?”, I asked.  Elisabeth told me that the fire alarm was going off in our building.  Simultaneously I’m thinking, what?! Fire alarm?!  OMG!  But I’m also thinking, this thing isn’t that loud.  I could have slept through it and burned to death.  And the three of us just stand around a chat for a bit before it hits us that we should probably leave the apartment and go outside.  For a split second I thought about using the restroom really quick, but instead I was encouraged to leave ASAP.  I grabbed some flip flops and a fleece and my earrings (I feel naked without them. J ) and headed out into the cold and the rain. 

 

We get outside to realize that it’s only our building, not the whole complex.  A bit jealous that others don’t have to be out here, but glad for them at the same time.  We wait….

 

The fire trucks show up about 15 minutes later.  (There are two firehouses less than a mile from my place.  And so I thought that 15 minutes was kind of a long time to wait.  Am I wrong?) Meanwhile, the fire alarm is still going off and is practically making us deaf.  We watch the little firemen in their outfits walk around the complex making sure everything is okay.  Come to find out, someone pulled the alarm and left.  Ugh!

 

Two good things: funny story that I now I have in my back pocket, and I got to meet more of my neighbors!  We had a nice little chat and they’re most enjoyable to be around. J

 

Doesn’t this sound like something that would have happened in China?  Oh the similarities….

 

Get some

The difference between nominal Christianity and the real thing is ABUNDANT LIFE! So what do you want? You want to just live a life like everyone around is living or you want abundant life? You want it? Go get it! Jesus says if you seek Him you will find Him. Go find Him!

Hominy Grill-restaurant review

I had dinner with a friend tonight at the Hominy Grill on Rutledge Ave. in Charleston, SC. I have been there once before for brunch.

The Hominy Grill is known for their breakfast/brunch and they should be! It's delicious!

But dinner...a bit different.

It's southern food for sure, so go in there expecting that. But what I wasn't expecting were the high prices and kind of small portions. My meal cost $13.95 and it was not a dinner's plate full of food. And really, nothing expensive on there at all!

I ordered the "Southern Steak with Gravy". It was a pot roast. Now don't get me wrong, the roast was good and very tender. But it was a little misleading when called "Southern steak". I also ordered my two vegetables-Crowder Peas and Lima Beans. The Crowder Peas? Very flavorful. The lima beans? Bland, bland, bland. I don't believe I've ever put so much salt on lima beans in my life!

My friend ordered the sesame-crusted catfish to which she said it was dry and "chalky" to quote her. :) And the deep-fried grits that were underneath the catfish were bland as well (I tasted them myself).

The service at Hominy Grill is very good and our food came out rather quickly, which was nice. The atmosphere is quaint. But make sure you really like being close to people. :)

To sum it all up, the food is not worth the price. Not when there are places like Poogan's Porch and 82 Queen out there in downtown Charleston that serve mouthwatering southern style food. And let's never forget Cracker Barrel, which is equally as good for a much cheaper price!

Oh and I have I ever mentioned that to find the best Shrimp and Grits in Charleston you have to go to the Francis Marion hotel on the corner of King St. and Calhoun St. Really, the best!

Faith

You know, I like to think that I do have great faith in my God.  But when the rubber meets the road, it comes down to acting  on that faith.  Faith without deeds is DEAD.

 

It’s easy for me to say that I’ll step out on faith and follow.  But what if I’m not absolutely positive that it’s Him who’s calling me?  There have been a couple of times in my life when I was absolutely positive that what I was hearing was God’s voice in my life.  And both of those times He has confirmed it through scripture for me.  There have been other times in my life where I thought it was Him speaking to me.  In answer to that voice, there have been times that I have been obedient and times that I haven’t (out of fear and uncertainty).

 

What do I do; how do I respond when I’m not absolutely sure that it’s God speaking? I feel like there are two aspects of faith to be played here.  Like, one of them is to have faith that when I am obedient He will provide or protect or teach.  But the other is to respond to Him in faith, when I’m not sure it’s Him.  That’s the faith I’m not so sure about.  That’s the one that I go back and forth about on whether I’m walking in faith and trusting Him or whether I’m taking risks and flying around wherever the wind takes me.

 

Maybe I over analyze.  I am a female.  We tend to do this.  And I am no exception.

 

But what are your thoughts on faith-both sides of the response/question?

 

Not one.

In regards to missions and all these lost people groups out there…

 

If our thought is, let the local people reach their own people.  THERE ARE NO LOCAL CHRISTIANS! So how are they to reach their own?

 

Did you know that there are many people groups that do not have one person who believes in Christ?  Not one.

 

Did you know that Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim?  They are the only country in the world that is 100%! 

 

Check out the message I am listening to today from John Piper, “Proclaiming the Excellencies of Christ, Not Prosperity, Among the Nations”.  I downloaded it from iTunes.  My second listen through this morning.  Listen for yourself!

 

On the Move

Currently reading "The Road to Reality" by K.P. Yohannan. I'm on page 34 (not far at all). Wow! Here is an Indian Christian and pastor who came to the West (being America) expecting Christians to be what any person would expect of people who are in easy reach of anything "Christian". Easy reach to Bibles, Bible studies, brothers and sisters in Christ, etc. But he was disappointed. I have been brought to sadness while reading how disappointed he's been in our churches here and how we believers are representing our Savior. It's shaking me for sure!

Rather, God is shaking me because as I write this I'm realizing that I said the same thing about the other two books I just finished reading. Therefore, one conclusion-it is not the books that I'm reading that are shaking but rather, the God speaking through them. He's saying,

"Kathryn, get off your tail and look around you! Do something about it!"

I'm on the move...

The Ugly Truth-movie review

My roommate, Julia, and I went to the new IMAX theater in Charleston tonight. It was kind of a grand re-opening so all of the admission tickets as well as ANYTHING in the concessions (no matter the size) were $1!!!! So, yes, we took advantage of that!

We went to see "The Ugly Truth" with Katherine Hiegl and that Irish fellow that was in "P.S. I Love You" with Hillary Swank. Anyway, this movie is about a girl who is very controlling and this guy who says he knows what guys are really thinking. The guy is helping the girl to relax a bit and get the guy she wants. Yes, a chick flick or a romantic comedy. Of course Julia and I would want to see it! :)

For those of you out there who like to be entertained by the talk of genitals and very crass references to those, this is the movie for you! For those of you who like the degrading of both sexes, definitely see this one!

For Julia and I, this was not the movie for us. In fact, after 45 minutes, we left. I leaned over to Julia at one point and said how thankful I was to not be on a date seeing this movie. I would have been mortified to be sitting next to a guy watching this. In fact, I was embarassed to be sitting there at all.

In my humble opinion, not a good movie.

Accept it in thankfulness

I’m sitting at my desk listening to a sermon from my church, East Cooper Baptist Church, and Buster is sharing a story about a woman who has physical deformities and she’s telling him that it grieves her that she’ll never get married.

 

I felt compassion for her.  And in a small, very small, way I understand her grief.  Definitely not in the physical deformity way, but rather in the desire to be married.  It is a desire of mine.

 

I read a something a friend mine shared.  And bear with me here as I can’t remember the exact quote but I’ll do my best to convey the gist of it. 

 

It said something to the point of:

 

If we truly  understood how much God loved us we would gladly accept the blessing, burdens and trials that come into our life because we know that it’s out of love that He gives them.

 

That struck me and when I listened to this woman’s story and then thought about my own life my thoughts began to do a little turnover.  I was just thinking that it’s not so much something that is being withheld from me or that is not being given to me, but rather, God loves me sooo much that this is a reflection of His love.  Kathryn, try and not frown upon something given in love.  And now am praying that I would more truly understand just how much He really does love me so that I can accept EVEYRTHING He gives me as a gift and as a reflection of His love me.  To accept it with thankfulness and praise.   

 

Thought process

Last night as I was driving home from Pop-Pop's house I was thinking about discipline and reading the Bible.  A friend of mine asked me the other day how I keep my relationship with God going.  I think she was hoping to hear more than she did because I didn't offer much.  Here it is…I'm not really good at the discipline of reading my Bible everyday.  So last night I'm thinking back through this conversation with my friend and I'm rationalizing why I don't read my Bible everyday. 

 

ra⋅tion⋅al⋅ize

   /ˈræʃənlˌaɪz, ˈræʃnlˌaɪz/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [rash-uh-nl-ahyz, rash-nl-ahyz] Show IPA verb, -ized, -iz⋅ing.

Use rationalize in a Sentence

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See images of rationalize

–verb (used with object)

1.	to ascribe (one's acts, opinions, etc.) to causes that superficially seem reasonable and valid but that actually are unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less creditable or agreeable causes.

 

As you can see from the definition, maybe not so good.

 

In the rationalizing my thought process says that I will read my Bible when I feel like it.  Like I should only read it because it's in my heart to do so, otherwise it's a waste of time and it never really speaks to me.  What?! This is clearly a lie that I've been believing.  One, it makes light of the power of the Word and of our God.  Two, it's a copout and an excuse for laziness. 

 

I got to thinking about a scenario where I gain 10 lbs.  I want to lose weight.  Do I wait until I feel like not eating ice cream to stop?  Do I wait until I feel like running a few miles?  No.  Goal: to lose 10 lbs., therefore what must happen?  I must stop eating ice cream and I must go running, even when I don't want to.  Because (and here is the big "ah hah!") I want to be thinner more than I want to eat the ice cream and sit on my couch and do nothing.

 

This, then, led to me asking myself what my spiritual goal was.  My goal?  To know Christ intimately and have my entire life be centered around Him and for Him; nothing else.  So…I ask myself, "Kathryn, does it, then, make sense to be waiting to feel like diving into your Bible?"  No, I'm thinking not.  So I'm thinking, there's my goal out in front, what do I do to get to my goal.  Just like the weight-loss goal, only way more important! J

 

 

Panel of judges

I had an idea while driving back from Nashville on Sunday.  Or maybe it was driving to Nashville on Friday.  Doesn’t matter.  Anyway…

 

I had this idea to create a panel of judges to test products.  It’s this thing that I like to do anyway, find the best that’s out there and then never go back to other options.  I mean, why buy something that’s not the best?  If it’s too expensive that’s one thing, but if the prices are comparable, why go for less?  Well, then you have the “experts”.  Who are these people?  I don’t know them.  And who knows if they really have good taste.  I mean, I know people that tell me that a certain restaurant is out of this world.  I go there.  It’s awful.  Now I know not to trust their opinion on food.  It’s not that good. 

 

So…I’m putting together a panel of judges that I know have a great taste in food and we’re going to test products/restaurants/recipes.  I don’t know how often we’re going to do this yet.  I’m still figuring out the details.  But I’m excited!  It will be fun for me and fun for them and hopefully interesting for all of you! 

 

Now, I would like to ask the question to all of you out there who are reading this…What products/restaurant food/recipes would you like me to compare?  Anyone have any ideas?  We will be judging primarily on taste, but if it’s a restaurant, also on service and price.  You know, the basic judging on things that apply.  I’m super excited!  Maybe my calling! ;)

 

The fast is almost over!

So…remember the whole “No ice cream for the month of September?”  It’s almost the end of September!  But I must confess I had ice cream twice this month.  And please allow me to explain.

 

A couple of weeks ago my stomach was hurting awfully bad.  For some reason ice cream usually helps it feel better.  I had had the stomach issues for three days and I just couldn’t handle it any longer.  So, with the permission of my fasting buddy, I had some ice cream.  But it was strictly  medicinal!  The second time was last Monday night.  I went to a friend’s house for dinner.  They served blackberry cobbler for dessert.  It’s rude to refuse food when offered it at someone’s house.  So I HAD to eat it!  But, and everyone knows this, you cannot eat cobbler without ice cream.  So, again, with the permission of my fasting buddy, I had ice cream.  But those were the only two times.

 

There have been so many other times where I’ve wanted nothing but ice cream and I’ve thought to myself “Hmmm…I can stop by DQ on the way home from work and get me a little somethin’ and Julia will never know!”  But, alas, I did not.  Good job Kathryn.

 

Anyway, Thursday marks the first day of October and Julia and I are celebrating with some ice cream!  We are not purchasing any that will stay in our freezer, but rather, we are going out.  So…hopefully some self-control can be attained as we embark upon a new season of eating ice cream!!!!

Dunkin' Donuts

Have you had their coffee?  You should! It’s better than Starbucks!  Made a special trip to Dunkin’ Donuts this morning just to get a cup.  And it is everything I hoped it would be! J  And better yet, the people who work at the one by my house are the nicest people!  They’re always chipper and friendly and never rude! We have conversations at the window.  I think we could be friends here shortly. J

 

Publix

Had a most enjoyable experience at Publix grocery store this afternoon. I walked in with coupons in hand, ready to conquer the sales! What should have taken 15 minutes took me about 30 minutes! Mainly because I love the grocery store! Anyway, I go to check out line and get behind a woman that everyone is clearly trying to avoid. Then I see why. The cashier has messed something up and they're trying to figure it out and go and get the right thing and what not. I hop in line. I don't mind the wait. Where do I have to be?

I'm waiting...waiting...waiting. The lady checks out and leaves.

The manager of the store comes up to me and apologizes. "No problem" I tell him. But I take the opportunity to ask him about the sale he has going on Cheerios. Because the sign is not clear I ask, "Is it just on plain Cheerios or on all Cheerios." Sadly enough, just plain. But he's going to make me happy and let me get my Whole Grain Cheerios for the sale price and I can even use my coupon! Therefore, one large box of Cheerios-$1! And because I had to wait they gave me the senior discount! I think it's like 1% off or something, but I'll take whatever I can get!

You can also request that they order something if they don't normally carry it. I would like Bittersweet Baking Chocolate please! Done! It's on order! :)

Oh and did you know that at Publix you will get your item for free if the store messes up your transaction or doesn't give you the sale price when it's actually on sale? Pay attention to your receipts people!

And...Publix takes manufacturer coupons, Publix coupons and competitors coupons all at the same time on any item, even if the coupon says that you can only use one coupon at a time. Just FYI.

Hmm...

I was reading through some status updates on Facebook last night and came across a friend who was talking about dreams. They, themselves, were talking about a conversation that they had had with someone else, asking them that popular question, “If you could accomplish anything for God without risk of failure, what would it be?” In fact, I have posed this question to others before myself.



I think it warrants bringing up again and asking myself…and you. In fact, it’s probably a good question to ask every now and again. Keeps me on my toes you know. Sometimes I get so caught up in my “routine” of life that I can get a bit sidetracked from the dream.



So today, as I sit here at my computer, I’m asking myself what I would attempt for God if there were no risk of failure. What would it be? I think there are a few. But which one is the BIG one? Which one is the one to go after? That’s the question now.



Do you feel, as I do, that there are just too many things, people, opportunities out in the world to help with, to help change, to make a difference in, to work towards? And just now, typing this, as I was going to go into what those things are that I want to change and make a difference in, etc, the idea struck me that there is one thing to work towards: holiness; there is one thing to devote my life towards: God.



Maybe I’m too focused on the details, if you will. Maybe, just maybe, the focus could be on Holiness in Christ, love of God, worship of Him, love for Him, devotion to Him. I think maybe the rest will fall into place. I’m thinking right now that maybe the one dream that I could go after would be to be “all in” for God! And the great thing about that is, there is no risk of failure!



“Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”

Sojourn

Found a song in my iTunes the other day. Yes, I downloaded it, but I don’t remember when or how, being that I’ve never heard of this artist. But nevertheless, there it was. I happened upon it by mistake and now I just can’t stop listening to it. The song is called “Before the Throne of God Above” by Sojourn. And I cannot express just how much it is grabbing my heart. Here’s the last verse. Take a listen sometime when you get a chance.



Because the sinless savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free

For God, the judge, is satisfied

To look on him and pardon me

To look on him and pardon me

My column

So I’m sitting here at work doing, well, nothing really. So…what am I doing since I have nothing to do? I’m listening to a new playlist I made on my iPod called “Hymns”, which I love and I’m reading “Christianity Today” online. I usually read www.foxnews.com and catch up on what’s happening in the US and around the world. Which, I must say, makes my mouth drop open most of the time. I digress…



I was reading an article pertaining to the Lutheran church and how they’ve walked away from the “classic” Biblical teachings they’ve adhered to over the last centuries (or however long they’ve been around. Not a church scholar here.) and have headed into the more liberal direction, now accepting homosexuality as a practice and as acceptable for their clergy.



Note: As I sit here typing this I am thinking off all the lessons/ideas that God is teaching me and pouring into me right now in my life and I smile because looking at them separately you would think how different they all are. But I can see and understand as I sit here that in actuality they can all come together and can affect the thinking on another. Is our God not truly magnificent? I think so.



Back to my little column. J



The author said something in this article that shook me to my core. He said, and I quote [this in regards to how the Lutheran church and some other denominations are viewing the Truth of the Bible] “The Truth of the Bible has been reduced to sincerely-held opinion.” Does this not just make you shudder?



Truth:

-honesty; integrity; truthfulness

-a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle or the like

-accuracy

-ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience



Yes, it has been reduced. Today’s society is trying and, might I add, is appearing successful in making the Bible a matter of opinion and one that can be chopped up and chewed up and spit out to make it look like whatever they want it to look like. Although I believe God’s power to be bigger and greater than any little schemes we can come up with in our minds. For I know His purpose will prevail on this earth.



I’m currently reading Keith Green’s life story, “No Compromise” by Melody Green (his wife). For those of you out there who have not read this book or don’t really know anything about Keith Green (and I didn’t before reading this book, other than he wrote worship music and well, he was dead), the title of the book is PERFECT in describing Keith Green’s life and devotion to Christ. Be careful in picking up this book. God’s going to do something in your life and if you’re not ready for that, don’t read it.



Anyway, here is a man who read the Bible; took what he read and then lived it out. Simple as that. There was no compromising in the world. For goodness sake, Christians are supposed to look different than non-Christians. So why is the church (generality here, obviously does not apply across the board completely) trying so hard to fit in with the world? I have done it. I have made excuses why I do certain things, or say certain things or wear certain things because I’m using it as ministry to reach these people. I’m living among them and like them so that they’ll accept me and I can share Christ with them. Enough! I make myself sick thinking about it. In fact, the truth of the matter is that by doing that, I am downplaying the power of the Gospel and downplaying the power of my God. I am not being light in the darkness. I am adding to the darkness. I appear no different from the people I’m trying to love on, while telling them that my life is different. How? They’re confused. I’m confused. What to do?



At the risk of being misunderstood here, I’m going to be transparent and share what God has been convicting me of in my life and how I can be that light in the darkness rather than adding to the darkness.



How is God calling me to be “different”; to be light in the darkness? To not ignore the men and women each day who clean our cubicles, acting like they aren’t there. To keep my mouth shut when those around me are talking poorly about a co-worker. To share whatever I have (meaning anything), realizing that they just may need it more than me; and it’s not really mine anyway. To speak Truth when given the opportunity and to speak up when Truth is being degraded or slandered. To keep myself modestly dressed to protect the minds and hearts of brothers in Christ. To look for ways to physically help and serve the people around me. There are so many others. What are yours?



With every “Truth” that I speak to someone, it is being weighed by other factors. The whole time this person is listening to me they are making judgments about me. They are remembering past experiences with me. They are comparing me with their other friends. They are looking for a reason to call me a hypocrite. They’re also looking for these things that I’m telling them to be true in my life. And how can I speak of a life that’s different and wonderful; a life in God, when I don’t show them that it’s any different.



I’m encouraged by, again, Keith Green’s life story. Reading about what he and Melody did in their lives shortly after becoming believers. They took the scripture for what it said. Take care of the widows and orphans. What did they do? Made room for them in their own home and let those women and children live with them, free of charge. And when they had 14 people living in their 3-bedroom house and ran out of room for more, what did they do? They got another house. That’s being different!



Sincerely-held opinion. Everyone has opinions. Some are good; some are bad. Personally, there’s only one opinion I want to hear and that’s God’s. Other people can deliberate over their opinions all they want. I’m not listening.

Name Above All Names

In church this morning we sang a song that had a verse, or maybe it was the chorus, that said "Your name is above all names". As I was singing this out loud and at the top of my lungs (those poor, poor people in front of me), I thought to myself "What does it really mean that Jesus' name is above all names?

Meaning, what does it mean to me? What does it mean in my life? What does that look like? Should my my life look different if I am to be saying, shouting rather, that Jesus name is above all names? How can I reflect this?

Thinking on this one...

The Shack

Okay, real quick-I went out with the guy in the Blue Corvette, Mike. Great guy. Super nice, good looking and a perfect gentleman, but not perfect for me. So friends, maybe. Anything more? Nope.

Onto the title of the post.

Have you read the book, "The Shack"? I read it about 3.5 months ago. I really enjoyed it. So much, in fact, that I read it in four days. There seems to be a bit of controversy about it, but I liked it. I thought it was a very creative way to write about God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. Made me think.

Anyway, I went to the hair dresser yesterday afternoon. And yes, I feel like a new woman! You ladies out there know exactly what I'm talking about. :) And can I just say that that was the least amount of time I've ever spent in a salon getting my hair cut and colored. This girl was a genius!

Back to the hairdresser, Janelle. She initiated the conversation by asking if I had read "The Shack". I told her I had and then asked what she thought about the book. This led into a conversation about how interesting the analogies were and then somehow onto China and what I was doing there. Why did I build relationships with people? What did that look like? What happened when there was trust built? She was very interested in all of that.

In that moment I saw opportunity standing in front me. And looking back I see God standing there handing it to me. Did I share the Good News with Janelle yesterday? No I didn't. But she knows what I'm about and what my life represents and she still wants to talk to me and ask questions. That's progress. And I truly believe that (1) God has been working in her heart to put a desire in her to know more about Him and (2) that there was a believer or believers who had gone before me and paved the way.

Looking forward to my next hair appointment and now for another reason other than the glow of highlights that follow! :)

Down the road

So...something that only seems to happen in movies happened to me this evening on my way home.

There I am driving down the road on my way home from James Island and a blue corvette is riding my tail. (This is where I come in, not acting completely sane or appropriate, but just go with the story!) I started tapping my breaks to get him off of my tail. He's waving his arms in the air at me. I wave mine back. He then pulls up next to me at the light. I think, "Oh gosh! What in the world?! He's going to chew me out or something." He goes on to ask me if I'm seriously getting upset at him for riding my tail when I'm the one who (he says) is driving crazy. Oh, and I have a tail light out. Whoops! One thing leads to another and we start a conversation. I know!

So driving down Hwy. 176 we're chatting side by side while we hold up traffic behind us. With horns honking and people screaming he and I are sharing about what we do for a living and why we moved here. He then tells me that he would like to take me to dinner.

"Are you asking me out while we drive down the road?!" Yes he is.

So...in a completely non-Kathryn fashion, I gave him my phone number.

See, I told you. This would only happen in a movie. And yet it happened to me, tonight!

I know all of us have listened to songs and are reminded of a specific time in our life, a memory, a place, a person, etc. Tonight on the drive home from a low-country boil in Mt. Pleasant, I was listening to "Unto You" by Shane and Shane. This is a song I don't listen to often, but tonight, there it was!

Every time I listen to this song I am reminded of my time in Cambodia, and tonight was no exception. It reminds me of the my morning in my hotel room. I was waking up early to read my Bible before going downstairs to eat breakfast with the group. And each morning I would listen to the "Psalms" CD by Shane and Shane, read my Bible and write my prayers in my prayer journal.

It also makes me laugh when I hear the song because I now realize what the song was saying, while at that time (2001) I apparently didn't. The song sings to "Yeshua", another name for God. At that time, I thought the song was saying "Yes, you are". :) I know, it doesn't make any sense. But I didn't know any better. Now I have to laugh! :)

Neighbors

Tonight went so well! Let me tell you what happened...

I was prayer walking the other day and was thinking about how I could reach out to the people in my apartment complex. That task seemed huge! So I thought about my immediate neighbors. There are two of them. I talked to my roommates about it on Sunday and we decided to invite them over for dessert and coffee tonight. So we knocked on each door on Sunday afternoon and invited them over. They seemed very surprised that we were doing this and thrilled at the same time.

The menu: homemade peach ice cream and vanilla pound cake with decaf coffee.

We all gathered in the apartment after work today and were busy vacuuming, straightening up, washing dishes, putting things away that should have been put away ages ago and finding a jazzy music station on the TV. Julia got to making the ice cream. It was going perfectly! Fresh peaches pureed in there as well as chunks of peaches. Oh so delicious!

Well...the ice cream maker had a mind of it's own. It kept stopping on us. Or it would turn the lid without actually turning the ice cream itself. Then we ran out of rock salt. So after trying to get it started again and again with our fingers, Julia had to make the difficult decision to run to the store and buy ice cream.

Elisabeth and I continued churning the ice cream but nothing came of it. Still mush. Julia returned from Bi-Lo with two half-gallons of Blue Bell ice cream (her favorite) 15 min. before our guests were to arrive.

Coffee ready-check
Pound cake sliced and in bowls-check
Ice cream ready-check

We prayed for God's Spirit to be with us and to lead us tonight. And then we waited.

Guests arrive-check

The pound cake and ice cream was great and the coffee was scrumptious! It was great to all be sitting around in the den just talking and getting to know each other better. We are neighbors afterall. And I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time.

Next time we're thinking dinner.

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship! :)

They all came! We were so thrille

Something I'm thinking about; stewing on...

What does it mean/look to love my enemies? What does scripture say about doing this? What does scripture show as an example of this?

What are your thougths?

The Truth Hurts

God's lesson that He's teaching me has been coming week after week; each time going a bit deeper. It's been the lesson of Truth. Truth winning out. Truth being the standard that I live by. Truth being what I saturate my life in. Truth being what I speak to others. Truth being what I hear from others.

This weekend was one of those times...

Yesterday I was having a conversation with one of my relatives and somehow we got on the topic of homosexuality. He said whether homosexuality was wrong or not was a matter of opinion. I said that I disagreed. It is not a matter of opinion when the Bible clearly says that it's a sin. Another conversation was brought up about it later and this other person said that it's not for us to judge these people and that maybe they can't help it.

You know, I feel bad for them. They're caught in a stronghold of sin. We all sin. I'm no better. But I'm not going to condone it because others think it's okay.

This is where Truth is winning out.

This morning I left the house way late for church, but made it just in time for the message and I'm so glad I did. I have begun attending East Cooper Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant. Wonderful church! Buster Brown is the pastor. Great preacher! Anyway, his message (which you can listen to from iTunes) today was talking about Truth winning out. About being saturated in it. And about how Satan wants to silence the Word of God in our lives. Let me just write down a few of my notes from the message.

Beware of anything that downgrades the Word of God. Beware of anything that has man-made religion all over it.

There are Truths that we must be dead on about.

Am I being mastered by scripture or by something else?

Satan always uses love of self and love of what is good to lead us astray.

Soak and marinate in the things that encourage me in the Lord.

Don't go beyond what is written in the Word.

It was a lot to chew on. In fact, I'm still chewing. But it's so good! The Sunday School lesson this morning was also had to do with Truth winning out. The teacher shared about how many, but not all, Protestant denominations are beginning to or already have started to accept homosexuals as clergy for their churches. And they're beginning to accept it by performing the weddings.

I love these people. I have friends that are gay. Do I love them and care for them and pray for them? Yes. Do I agree with their lifestyle? No. Just as I don't agree with any sin, even and especially mine.

The big thing that God has been teaching me and showing over the last few months is that Truth MUST win out. I MUST live my life by it. I have to saturate myself in Truth. If I don't, what will happen? I will gradually and ever so slowly walk away from it, not seeing the damage that's been done. Not seeing that I am gradually moving more and more towards looking like the world rather than looking like Christ. And I will start believing the world. I too, could very easily be led astray into one day thinking that sins that are clearly spoken of in His Word as wrong are okay as long as you are a good person.

Back to the conversations yesterday. After telling my relative that they were wrong and it is NOT a matter of opinion because the Word says it's not and I live my life by the Word. And after talking with the second person. I kind of felt bad. You know how most disagreements are a about a difference in opinion? And you just kind of accept that and move on? This wasn't like that. This was a blatant disagreement. It was hard. I didn't like speaking up that strongly in opposition to someone older than me.

But I was encouraged today. With the message and the class both teaching on how Truth must win out, I was glad I said something. In the class we referred to Titus 1:10-16

For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach-and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, eveil brutes, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

I no longer felt bad for what I said. The Truth must win out. It must be spoken. I don't want to cause dissension or be disrespectful to people. But I will not sit by and let the Word of God be lessened and made small and made out to be something that can be changed or thought be some guide. It's the Word of the living God! And it's Truth! I say it again, Truth must win out! And I must speak it.

Friday at work I had another good opportunity with my co-worker. She and I were chatting in my cube whens he asked my opinion on suing someone. I listened to the story and then simply put the idea of forgiveness out there. She looked at me kind of odd. I asked her if suing this person would really be worth it. Would it be worth the time and effort and the heartache? She agreed that, no, it may not be worth it. So why not forgive? Otherwise she's carrying around the anger and this other person has no idea it's there or even cares. The revenge is the Lord's and it's far worse than anything she could come up in her mind to do to this person.

I was thankful to be able to talk with her just a few minutes about an idea that was so was so foreign to her. So thankful!

People-person

Over the last few days I've been thinking about one of the changes in me over the last two years. Most of my life (at least as far as I can tell) I've been a very task-oriented person. I've been very focused on that check list and getting it done. And not only that, but I've defined myself by how much I can get done, how well I do it, how I can do it better than others, how other people praise for me doing it, etc. I put my worth in those tasks.

Leaving the 9-5 working job and moving to China was a challenge in this area. I jumped into a "job" that was completely relational and not task-oriented by any stretch of the imagination. I knew it would be a struggle going into it. In fact, when Pioneers asked me what my greatest struggle would be in going to China I told that having to switch from being task-oriented to a relational job would be the biggest struggle. And it was!

But it hasn't been until recently, while working at my new job (which is very task-oriented), that I'm come to see that I've changed. I feel like I've switched sides. I've come to love people and love being relational-looking for ways to get to know people and ways to start up conversations. I would much rather stand in the break room and talk to a stranger or listen to a co-workers problems than doing any of the things that I'm supposed to be doing for my job.

I look at this job as my ministry and therefore, want to spend all of my time with my co-workers just talking and getting to know them. Now I do realize that if I don't do my actual job, I won't have it much longer and then lose my ministry there!

It's just funny that I've kind switched over to the other side! Makes me smile...

Walking

I went prayer walking this evening after returning from Pop-Pops house for dinner. I actually had just meant to go for a walk multiple times around my apartment complex. Usually I bring my iPod, but tonight I decided silence would be better. As I started walking the Lord brought so many people to mind and it turned into a major prayer session. I prayed for my neighbors and opportunities to love and care for them and for opportunities to share Christ with them. I prayed for dear friends living overseas and I prayed for those serving here as well. I prayed for family and people I don't know. I prayed for me. I was so caught up in it that I didn't realize that I had walked around my apartment complex as many times as I had and that it was dark outside by the time I had finished.

And...I really enjoyed it. I think it's something that should/could/will continue...

Grape Fanta!!!!!!

Here's the story...

Left work early.
Went for a 2.5 mile run.
Went to Big Lots looking for wrapping paper and a frame to put that pic that I posted yesterday in.
At the checkout I saw...Grape Fanta.

Now, for weeks, or rather, months I've been wanting a grape soda. I have not given into my temptation because there is no diet version. I have been good. But today...today when I'm hot and the soda is cold and my strength is gone, I give in and buy that grape Fanta.

There I sit in my Subaru Forester outside the entrance to Big Lots listening to the soundtrack to the Broadway musical, Rent. I turn up the volume, open the cap, hear the fizz and the air seeping out of the bottle and smell the freshness of grape!

I take one sip and aahhhhhhh! Sooooooo good. So incredibly good. It was everything I remembered it and everything I hoped it would be. Those two sips of grape Fanta that I allowed myself to have were worth the wait.

Now the rest sits in my fridge waiting for tomorrow when I will take another two sips.

Another good conversation with my co-worker today. I was able to share a ever so tiny bit of my testimony over lunch. We were talking about doing things that are sometimes physically dangerous or scary, but that sometimes I do them anyway. It's not that I don't value my life or that I enjoy doing stupid things, but rather that I don't live my live in fear. One, because I know where I'm going when I die, but also that I just don't live in fear.

This only touches the surface of my testimony! When I said that, she sat there kind of thinking "huh, interesting". And then we went on. But my prayer is that she continues to think on this and that at some earlier date either she or I will bring the topic up again and I can naturally go into sharing what Jesus has done for me.

[Some other things I'm pondering]

Do I value convenience over what is best/needed/most desired for my good?

There are people in Kenya who walk hours and many, many miles to get to church on Sunday. Yes, it is the closest one to them. But they could easily say, "It's too far. No one would expect to go that far, much less, walk that far."

Do I settle for a church that's close by because I don't want to spend the gas? I don't want to wake up earlier to get there? Do I value convenience over what is best? Thinking on this...

Pictures

I just got back from Walgreens. Love that store! You know, those great little coupons that come out every Sunday and are only good for a week? Yeah, that gave me the excuse to go buy two pints of Haagan Daaz ice cream. And...I printed off pictures from my trip to Laos and from life in China. Now, I only printed 63 off or so. I do have well over 1000 pictures so I'm no where close to getting them all but at least I've started.

My current room in my new apartment has kind of an international theme. It's pretty basic as far as colors, which I like, but it has pictures and knick-knacks, art work, gifts from all over the world. And I love that! I've started to print these pictures off in the hope to showcase some of it in my room and throughout the apartment (if the roomies agree!).

With one of the coupons from Walgreens, I got a free 8x10 with the purchase of a certain amount of 4x6s. So I printed an 8x10 of one of my favorite photos ever. It's one all of you have seen many times, but I'll show it again. I want to frame this one to keep forever and ever.

This picture reminds me of so many great moments in China, just me and with with my parents. It displays my parent's playfulness and love towards each other and their sense of adventure and excitement for life. I think of the future and what it could hold for me. I have no idea. Just as my parents never thought they would be standing on the Great Wall of China early one morning gives kisses and receiving them.

Sadness

Two days after a conversation with a co-worker I'm still thinking about it and am still sad over what I heard and saw that day.

Thursday I was having a conversation with a co-worker during lunch time. She and I were discussing ex-boyfriends, relationships, children, etc. The conversation really ended up going in so many directions! She shared her opinions or feelings, if you will, about marriage and children.

I had mentioned that my parents really want grand-children. As we all know, I'm not married so I won't be having children anytime soon. Rather, they should be talking to Jennifer! I was kind of laughing about it, but my co-worker looked at me with seriousness written all over her face and actually a bit of concern for me saying, "You can have children without being married"! She then went on about how great it was for her to be a single mom and how much stronger she is because of it. That she is a better person after raising her son as a single mother.

I have no doubt she is a stronger person and she's probably a better person, having to rise up to that challenge.

I walked away from our conversation that day quite sad for her and the way she viewed life and what she deserved or even how she viewed herself as a person. Kind of taking that "whatever is left will have to do" mentality.

I then went from work to the mall to try and get my cell phone fixed. While standing at the Verizon Wireless kiosk in Northwoods Mall I was doing some people watching. I saw a real diverse group of people, most of which were out shopping for back-to-school clothes.

As I'm standing there I realize that I'm seeing a lot of babies being pushed in strollers by teenage girls. These girls were around 15 or 16 and they're walking around the mall with their girlfriends or their boyfriends and their babies.

Again, I felt sadness for them. High school is supposed to be an exciting time of first dates and proms and free summers of the beach and the pool and whatever else. (Realizing that my interests are not the same as everyone else's!) But instead, these girl's summers were changing diapers and pushing babies around and not at all what it's supposed to be.

To make it even sadder, I believe that I lot of these girls are thrilled to be mothers at this age and have no idea what they're missing: their childhood and possibly their future.

I was thinking back to when I was in high school. I knew no one who was having sex at my age. No one! Even in college, I knew no one that was having sex. And let me just put this into perspective. High school was 9 years ago for me. College was only 5 years ago for me. Not that long ago. Things have changed so much in the few years; I'm amazed...and sad.

Humidity

I know it's hot here in Charleston. Believe me, I know this. It registers around 97 every afternoon when I leave work. But yet, in the morning when the temperature is around 77 or 80 I am cold. I turn the heat on in my car. It's so bazaar. I'm thinking it's because of the humidity and the moisture.

Olive Garden

I'm usually not a big fan of Olive Garden. Probably my least favorite Italian chain. But I went there last night with friends and it was really good! Breadsticks...normal. Salad...normal. But my entree was Braised Shortribs with Asiago Tortellini in a Basil Marsala sauce. And yes, it was delicious! So next time you're at Olive Garden go for something different and get that dish!

Yearning

My heart is yearning for something greater...

Comments

Just an FYI...due to a friend's asking, I have allowed comments to be posted on here again! Thanks Amy! I had forgotten that I still had that setting. :)

Charleston

I'm living in Charleston, SC. Have I already said that? Not sure. I've moved into an apartment with two friends and am really enjoying it. I'm finding that's it's kind of difficult to know what to write. But if I were to tell you what's on my mind these days, I would tell you that I'm reading Hebrews VERY slowly and am really enjoying it. I'm, of course, trying new recipes. I made my first completely homemade Thai dish-Pad Thai and it was pretty good. I'm itching to get out of the US and go somewhere exciting and see something new. I'm in prayer over what I'm doing and what I'll do next. That's a constant one. :)

Oh, I'm living down the street from so many international markets: Brazilian, Asian, Mexican, etc. It's so exciting! And cheap!

One that made Pop-Pop smile!

And this is hard to do!

Try this, it's amazing!!!

Prosciutto And Fontina-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Cooking spray
1 oz. chopped prosciutto
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c (1 oz.) shredded fontina cheese (I used Mozzarella because I couldn't find Fontina
4 (6 oz.) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 c flour
2 egg whites
1 T Dijon Mustard
2 T olive oil

heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add prosciutto to pan; saute 2 min. or until browned. add rosemary and garlic to pan; saute 1 min. Spoon prosciutto mixture into a bowl; cool to room temp. Stir in fontina cheese; set aside.

Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 2 T prosciutto mixture into each pocket; press lightly to flatten. Sprinkle chicken evenly with pepper.

Place bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Place flour in another shallow dish. Combine egg whites and Dijon mustard in another shallow dish, stirring mixture with a whisk.

Working with one chicken breast half at at ime, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Dip chicken into egg white mixture, allowing excess ti drip off. Coat chicken completely with bread crumbs. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.

Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add hcicken to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 10 min. on each side or until browned and done.

*And the thing I love the most is that this is a recipe from Cooking Light and each stuffed chicken breast is only 381 calories.

When all was said and done the chicken breast was too large for Pop-Pop and I to each have one, so we split it. Can't wait to have leftovers!

Don't Try

Pop-Pop took me to Applebee's for dinner tonight. The only time I ever go there is when he wants to take me to dinner. It's his favorite place and he always gets the same thing-Smothered Chicken. He loves it! I, on the other hand, get something different every time. Tonight I got the Grilled Chili-Lime Chicken Salad. My advice-don't try it. It's not good. There's just no flavor to it. And the dressing is actually too strong in the chili flavoring and not enough in the lime flavoring. They claim it's a vinaigrette, but it's more like a salsa. Really not worth it. Just FYI.

It has a Q

(I'm at Pop-Pop's house.)

Pop-Pop: My license plate is ugly.
Me: Why do you say that?
Pop-Pop: It has a Q.

Speechless and yet laughing...

Who knows...

I wanted to take pictures of all my little "creations" lately, but I seem to have lost my camera. Where could it be? Hmmm....

I made a cheesecake on Sunday. It was a request of my brother, Chris. He's been asking me for about two months and I just got around to it on Sunday. I used the recipe for Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake. I got the recipe from some food blog that I look at. Sorry, I can't remember which one. But it's on multiple sites. Delicious cheesecake! The liqueur I used was Amaretto and it was wonderful!

Tonight I had my first turkey burger. I went to Fresh Market today to buy some spice jars and I thought I would pick up something special for dinner for my me and my mom. I bought my mom and a chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and cilantro and the lady behind the counter convinced me to try a Garden Fresh Turkey Burger. I was pleasantly surprised! It was really tasty and I didn't feel gross after eating it like I normally do after eating a burger. But now I have that sleepy/tired feeling after eating turkey. So maybe I'm off to bed soon, who knows...

Another move

So here it is the Sunday night of the week that I'm moving. I really thought I would be farther along in the packing process. But alas, I am not. I've been getting a little side-tracked. Well, with movies like "Young Frankenstein" (fabulous, btw), shopping trips, house-sitting, and cooking and baking like crazy the last few days-just for fun of course! My room kind of looks the same that it did two weeks ago, just a bit messier. And quite frankly, I don't see it getting any better until Tuesday at the earliest. It's 9:00pm here and that's reason enough to call it quits on cleaning and packing for the day. It's movie or book time and then sleep! Tomorrow I'm headed out to a nursery to buy plants for my mom. And I'll be grocery shopping and cooking for our Memorial Day dinner in honor of my sister's husband who served in the military until recently. Busy day! No time for packing!

Oh, this is interesting. My mom demonstrated her baton twirling skills to us this morning. My mom was a baton twirler in the band when she was in high school. We all knew this. But we've NEVER seen her do it! We're in the nursery this morning watching the little babies and she picks up the baton and starts to twirl it. I was so impressed! She really has great skills at the baton. And she hasn't picked up one of those things in 30 years! Imagine what she must have been like 30 years ago! Quite impressive!!!

Go out and rent "Young Frankenstein". You won't be sorry!

I saw this list over on Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity and thought might as well!

If it’s bold, I have…

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby’s diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31 hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read – and understood – your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon! ;-)
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103 Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Prepared a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz and polka.
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

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Up and going

I'm moving in a week. Last Thursday morning I had an interview with a contracting company called Eagan-McCallister and Assoc. I got the job! So I start on the Tuesday of Memorial Day week. I'm packing up my stuff in a frenzy and a hurry. I can't believe I start this soon. Oh and by the way, the job is in Charleston, SC!!!! I'm excited to start a new life there. And I'll be living close to the beach just in time for summer!!!!! Whoo! Hoo!

Magnolia Bakery

I was in the Big Apple last week with some fourth graders from North Carolina. They were on the hunt for their heritage and I was on the hunt for a bakery! I found one! Magnolia Bakery right behind Rockafeller Plaza. I found this bakery on a food blog I was looking at a couple of weeks ago. It listed the top 15 cupcake bakeries in Manhattan. I made it my job to find at least one and try these delicious cupcakes.

On Friday afternoon my mother, Ms. Ginger and myself went hunting and found Magnolia Bakery. We tried the vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting and the chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. We found out with one bite that the frosting was homemade butter-cream frosting and oh my goodness was it delicious! Yes, Magnolia Bakery was a hit and a place you should hit up next time you're in NYC!

Ice Cream

So here's the scoop. Heh! Heh! I have discovered a new ice cream on my hunt for less fat ice cream that still tastes good. Yesterday I bought a half gallon of Breyer's FREE Double-Churned Strawberry Ice Cream. It tastes like the real thing. Really! Breyer's Smooth Ice Cream is actually not so smooth. It's icy and not very flavorful. But the FREE on the other hand is quite creamy and has lots of flavor. It has no fat and only 90 calories per 1/2 cup. Check it out! It's worth it. And this week it's $2.75 a half gallon at Wal-Mart!

Out for a test run

Jenn and I went out tonight to try the new Mexican restaurant in Burlington, Mar Y Sol. We can both tell you from experience that it's not good and you should go. You know how you can judge a southern food restaurant by the sweet tea? Well, I also believe you can judge a Mexican restaurant by it's chips and salsa. Here's where the "no recommendation" comes in. The chips were from a bag and they were stale. The salsa was from a bottle and had little to no cilantro in it. After ordering waters, eating a couple chips, we left a dollar on the table for their troubles and left. Good Mexican food is what we wanted and we knew we weren't going to get it there. So we headed down the street to La Fiesta~proven to be one of the best Mexican restaurants I've ever been in. Aahh! La Fiesta; where the salsa is homemade and the chips come warm to the table!

Learning the Ropes

I like to think that I'm an amateur cook. I mean, I like to try new recipes all the time! And the more difficult the better because I like a challenge! Well in the midst of learning to cook Thai food and Indian food and Moroccan food I have not learned to cook the food of my ancestors-Southern food. I know, sad, right? Honestly, it kind of scares me. When I cook these foods from all over the world my family has no idea if I botched it or not. They've never tasted it. I'm the only one who knows "um...this isn't supposed to taste like this". But Southern food? That's a whole 'nother story. My mother is a pro. Her mother was a pro. And my dad grew up on it. And well, so did we. So if I botch that everyone knows!!! There's pressure there you know? My first instinct is to just pass the responsibility onto my mother. I prep things for her and she does the rest.

This past Sunday was a bit different. I don't know how it happened exactly but I became responsible for our family dinner. (This means lunch in Southern language.) So yeah, I made the big pot roast with carrots and potatoes and onions. The house is getting ready for church and I'm in the kitchen doing what I think is enough browning of the meat. Perfect example: I didn't brown the meat enough. But mom was gracious. Stick that meat in the pot with the fixin's and let it cook.

Went to church and came home and finished the meal.

Oh yeah I made homemade macaroni and cheese, which I must admit, was DELICIOUS! The Eye Round Roast was soooo tender, the collard greens were wonderful as well as the baby lima beans. And I made a Waldorf Salad with just the perfect amount of mayo so that the fruit isn't swimming in it. Mom made the sweet tea because frankly, I haven't perfected that yet. And you don't want to ruin a perfect Sunday dinner with bad tea.

To finish up our meal I made a homemade Chocolate Meringue Pie that was out of this world! Dad had two pieces! There was a walk in between lunch and dessert, don't worry!

One meal down on the Southern front-many, many more to go. Thanks for teaching mom!