I've been TRYING to be more conscious about what I'm feeding my body....going for food that fuels, rather than mindless consumption. So when I found a delicious recipe that made me gain five pounds just reading the ingredients, I began to tweak away to have the yummy food my tongue desires, with the benefits that my body needs.
The particular food I was looking at (which I of course found on Pinterest) called for a cream cheese glaze. I was going to just bypass the glaze for myself, but still feed the deliciousness to my kids. Until, that is, I realized I was out of cream cheese. WHAT?!?! Say it isn't so. (I must confess to using cream cheese in many a-recipes.) So to Google I went, searching for an emergency substitution (as if you can really substitute such deliciousness.) You'll never guess what I found. There were actually two solutions. One was plain yogurt strained through a cheese cloth. Right...like I just have a cheese cloth laying around, or plain yogurt - gross! However, the second option, I actually DID have out of my earlier said desire of food that fuels. Cottage Cheese. Now I don't love cottage cheese, but I can tolerate it. The texture is what gets to me the most, but I can deal. I digress. I found out that if you put cottage cheese in a food processor to get rid of that nasty texture, you can substitute equal parts cottage cheese and cream cheese. WHAT?!?!? You've got to be kidding me! Skeptical, I tried it. And guess what?!?!? It worked! Yummy cream cheese drizzle that the kids loved and I didn't feel guilty eating! I see many of my favorite recipes working their way back into my life. :) (I know, I know, low fat cream cheese has even less calories...but the protein difference?!?! Whoa! Besides, I didn't have low fat cream cheese either.)
1/2 Cup Cream Cheese: 400 calories, 3g of protein
1/2 Cup of Low fat Cottage Cheese: 100 calories, 14g of protein
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Two Sparrows
Some of you know this story. Some of you don't. It's an epic love story that continues still today.
There was once a boy at the young age of 17. There was also a 16 year old girl. She was a bold and fiery young lady who put it out there to this young boy that she thought he was kinda cute. She passed along her phone number and one day he actually called her. The two began to talk more and more frequent, and eventually began to "go out". It all started at Schlotzky's Deli and a walk around the mall. Dreamy. Sadly, some hard times came, and the two broke up. But it didn't last long as they were pulled back to one other - she to him because of those big 'ol eyes, handsome complexion and mysterious goodness, and he to her wild and free spirit that he just couldn't get enough of....and she was pretty cute herself. Now, this sad part of their history repeated itself 4 more times over the course of 4 years. (Yes, you counted right, 5 break-ups.) Many people said they wouldn't make it. They said it was all wrong, there was too much working against them.
They were wrong.
Finally the young boy and young girl were growing older, and had been together (and apart) long enough that they decided they were better off together. The two polar opposites complimented each other in a way so unique and so magnificent that the two young en's decided to get married. So at the ripe old age of 20 and 21 they did just that. The wedding was unlike any history had ever seen, and has not been topped ever since. It was a day filled with 400 of their closest family and friends (okay, so maybe 300 of those people, neither one actually knew...but their parents did). The party ran into all hours of the night. The couple was long gone (with her driving in her grand wedding dress because the sweet young boy did not know how to drive the stick shift car that was now their main vehicle) as their friends and family kept dancing and celebrating long into the evening. The two were in love, and their day couldn't have been more wonderful.
Four months later, the girl tells the boy that she has just found out he is going to be a father. The boy and girl were panicked and excited all at the same time. The boy decided he should finish school fast and find a job to provide for his young bride and their babe. He moved her to a far away land, far from anyone they knew. New Jersey. There the two settled down and became a family of three. He would move her again just 18 months later to the promised land...I mean, Colorado.
Well, during the first five years that the two were married, they experienced the top 5 hardships that bring many marriages to their ruin. Death in the family, major move, financial hardship (to say the least), children, and a job lay-off. (And maybe the 6th...living with the in-laws....but there's no such documentation to prove this.) The world said they shouldn't make it. There is proof that these things kill a marriage.
They were wrong.
The young boy and young girl are going strong 13 years later. (Technically 17.) There are now five beautiful babes, and one in Glory. Life is hard. The struggles are still many. There is also much joy, and their love is built on a foundation that is bigger than they are. Sadly, the world still says they probably won't make it. Their life still doesn't makes much sense. There's still too much stacked against them. Some will even tell them they don't know how they do it. Many around them are giving up.
They are still wrong.
And so the epic tale continues........
I love you, babe. We're still strong....right????
(This was "their" song. They danced to it at their wedding.)
There was once a boy at the young age of 17. There was also a 16 year old girl. She was a bold and fiery young lady who put it out there to this young boy that she thought he was kinda cute. She passed along her phone number and one day he actually called her. The two began to talk more and more frequent, and eventually began to "go out". It all started at Schlotzky's Deli and a walk around the mall. Dreamy. Sadly, some hard times came, and the two broke up. But it didn't last long as they were pulled back to one other - she to him because of those big 'ol eyes, handsome complexion and mysterious goodness, and he to her wild and free spirit that he just couldn't get enough of....and she was pretty cute herself. Now, this sad part of their history repeated itself 4 more times over the course of 4 years. (Yes, you counted right, 5 break-ups.) Many people said they wouldn't make it. They said it was all wrong, there was too much working against them.
They were wrong.
Finally the young boy and young girl were growing older, and had been together (and apart) long enough that they decided they were better off together. The two polar opposites complimented each other in a way so unique and so magnificent that the two young en's decided to get married. So at the ripe old age of 20 and 21 they did just that. The wedding was unlike any history had ever seen, and has not been topped ever since. It was a day filled with 400 of their closest family and friends (okay, so maybe 300 of those people, neither one actually knew...but their parents did). The party ran into all hours of the night. The couple was long gone (with her driving in her grand wedding dress because the sweet young boy did not know how to drive the stick shift car that was now their main vehicle) as their friends and family kept dancing and celebrating long into the evening. The two were in love, and their day couldn't have been more wonderful.
Four months later, the girl tells the boy that she has just found out he is going to be a father. The boy and girl were panicked and excited all at the same time. The boy decided he should finish school fast and find a job to provide for his young bride and their babe. He moved her to a far away land, far from anyone they knew. New Jersey. There the two settled down and became a family of three. He would move her again just 18 months later to the promised land...I mean, Colorado.
Well, during the first five years that the two were married, they experienced the top 5 hardships that bring many marriages to their ruin. Death in the family, major move, financial hardship (to say the least), children, and a job lay-off. (And maybe the 6th...living with the in-laws....but there's no such documentation to prove this.) The world said they shouldn't make it. There is proof that these things kill a marriage.
They were wrong.
The young boy and young girl are going strong 13 years later. (Technically 17.) There are now five beautiful babes, and one in Glory. Life is hard. The struggles are still many. There is also much joy, and their love is built on a foundation that is bigger than they are. Sadly, the world still says they probably won't make it. Their life still doesn't makes much sense. There's still too much stacked against them. Some will even tell them they don't know how they do it. Many around them are giving up.
They are still wrong.
And so the epic tale continues........
I love you, babe. We're still strong....right????
(This was "their" song. They danced to it at their wedding.)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thank you
To all my "readers" who played a part in God's provision this week.... thank you. :) Keep up the good work.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Aaron's mad skillz.
Friday nights are "dinner and a movie night" at our house. The dinner is generally homemade pizza. You all know how talented my husband is.... but I bet you didn't know he could do this.....
Monday, January 16, 2012
The weight of it all
The sermon at our church this past Sunday was a heavy, mixed bag full of technical, theological, and emotional. That's a good sermon right there! It was on Genesis 1. When it came time to talk about Adam and Eve, and the fall in particular, they showed the following video. I can't encourage you enough to take 6 minutes and 42 seconds out of your life to watch this amazingly gripping piece of artwork. I'm not sure I've ever heard the story of the Creation and the Fall done is such a moving way. (It does take a minute or two to fully load, FYI.)
When the clip was over, my heart was left with an incredible sadness and this weight that I've felt has been trying to consume me lately. All at once, it came flooding to my mind that I've been wrestling with everything that accompanies the Fall..... a lot. It seems that it's been a growing pain - feeling this weight of man's curse, the weight of women's curse (I even flat out admitted to Aaron last week amidst an (ahem) argument that my desire was to rule over him, darn it!), the weight of brokeness, and strife; the weight of lack of whole community (that the Trinity IS and models), the lack of joy, peace, contentment, love and wholeness. I hear that "if God is for us, what can be against us" .... and in all honesty, it has felt lately like A LOT is against us .... against me. There is a line in the video where the poet states, "...born to know, born to rule, born to control" .... this is the LIE Eve first believed. This is the LIE we are all still tempted to believe.
And the Enemy has his way of making all that is untrue ring louder in my heart and mind than what is true.
Truth?
For as in Adam, all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:22
Amen.
Following such a heavy message were songs of hope, of truth, and of the reminder that I do not bear this weight BECAUSE of what Jesus did for me. It is THIS truth that keeps me going on days when the weight seems too much to bear. It is the truth that the weight has already been lifted that makes my heart able to sing. I'm so thankful that this weight is not mine to bear. It is indeed too much.
So if you actually watched that video and you are feeling the heaviness that accompanies this world as I did after watching it (or just have been in general)..... do yourself a favor, sing a new song ... your soul is counted free!
"When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me"
When the clip was over, my heart was left with an incredible sadness and this weight that I've felt has been trying to consume me lately. All at once, it came flooding to my mind that I've been wrestling with everything that accompanies the Fall..... a lot. It seems that it's been a growing pain - feeling this weight of man's curse, the weight of women's curse (I even flat out admitted to Aaron last week amidst an (ahem) argument that my desire was to rule over him, darn it!), the weight of brokeness, and strife; the weight of lack of whole community (that the Trinity IS and models), the lack of joy, peace, contentment, love and wholeness. I hear that "if God is for us, what can be against us" .... and in all honesty, it has felt lately like A LOT is against us .... against me. There is a line in the video where the poet states, "...born to know, born to rule, born to control" .... this is the LIE Eve first believed. This is the LIE we are all still tempted to believe.
And the Enemy has his way of making all that is untrue ring louder in my heart and mind than what is true.
Truth?
For as in Adam, all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:22
Amen.
Following such a heavy message were songs of hope, of truth, and of the reminder that I do not bear this weight BECAUSE of what Jesus did for me. It is THIS truth that keeps me going on days when the weight seems too much to bear. It is the truth that the weight has already been lifted that makes my heart able to sing. I'm so thankful that this weight is not mine to bear. It is indeed too much.
So if you actually watched that video and you are feeling the heaviness that accompanies this world as I did after watching it (or just have been in general)..... do yourself a favor, sing a new song ... your soul is counted free!
"When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me"
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Modern Day Slave
Did you know that there are more slaves today than there were during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade? Did you know that many people contribute to this slavery without even knowing it?
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness month. Today is the "day". I actually didn't know this until today. The funny thing is, I had a dream last night that Aaron and I worked for International Justice Mission. What a dream. So it's been on my mind a lot today. I kept seeing the Facebook posts and the blog links .... and well, this sad reality has just been on my mind and heart a lot today. Actually, there is one aspect that has been on my mind and heart a lot lately regarding the modern day human trafficking reality.
PORN.
Yup, you read that right. I read an article a few weeks back that smacked me upside the head in the truth that one cannot be anti-human trafficking and "okay" with porn all at the same time. The two go hand in hand, and if you are going to be against one, you have to take a stand against both. This is the article that I read.
"Pornography is not a ‘harmless pastime,’ but the fuel that drives prostitution, sex shops and human slavery."
by Bob DeMoss
In case you don't plan on reading that entire article....allow me to cut and paste....
"The U.S. Department of State estimates 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked internationally every year for purposes of entering the sex trade (stripping, prostitution, pornography, and live-sex shows), and labor exploitation (sweatshops and domestic servitude). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports, “After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today.”"
"While the horrors of human trafficking stir many hearts to action, there is far less anger directed toward mainstream commercial sex businesses, such as strip clubs and pornography that act as feeder industries for trafficking operations."
"In the business of commercial sex, pornography serves as the marketing vehicle."
So there you have it. It's a sad, disgusting reality that is rapidly becoming the "norm" in our society. Another fantastic article sums it disgustingly well.... "In terms of money, porn is a $10 to $14 billion dollar industry. This makes it a bigger business than professional football, basketball, and baseball—combined."
So today, 1.11.12, on Human Trafficking Awareness Day, I chose to talk about how a large population, people you know - people I know ... are adding to the problem, not helping. This makes me sick. This makes me sad.
I have 3 daughters. One from Africa where not too long ago, her family could have/may have been a part of some of our text books most tragic events. I have 3 daughters who I can't ever imagine being a sad statistic for the pleasure of a disgusting "pastime". I can't help but think about our current day that hoists the largest numbers of "slaves" ever known without a gnawing pit in my stomach. A large portion of these slaves are not plowing our fields or cooking our food .... but posing on screen. Nameless. Detached. For the pleasure of ......
For more information about today's Human Trafficking crisis and how you can be a part of the solution, my top 3 favorite organizations are, Not For Sale, International Justice Mission, and my local favorite.... iEmpathize.
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness month. Today is the "day". I actually didn't know this until today. The funny thing is, I had a dream last night that Aaron and I worked for International Justice Mission. What a dream. So it's been on my mind a lot today. I kept seeing the Facebook posts and the blog links .... and well, this sad reality has just been on my mind and heart a lot today. Actually, there is one aspect that has been on my mind and heart a lot lately regarding the modern day human trafficking reality.
PORN.
Yup, you read that right. I read an article a few weeks back that smacked me upside the head in the truth that one cannot be anti-human trafficking and "okay" with porn all at the same time. The two go hand in hand, and if you are going to be against one, you have to take a stand against both. This is the article that I read.
"Pornography is not a ‘harmless pastime,’ but the fuel that drives prostitution, sex shops and human slavery."
by Bob DeMoss
In case you don't plan on reading that entire article....allow me to cut and paste....
"The U.S. Department of State estimates 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked internationally every year for purposes of entering the sex trade (stripping, prostitution, pornography, and live-sex shows), and labor exploitation (sweatshops and domestic servitude). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports, “After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today.”"
"While the horrors of human trafficking stir many hearts to action, there is far less anger directed toward mainstream commercial sex businesses, such as strip clubs and pornography that act as feeder industries for trafficking operations."
"In the business of commercial sex, pornography serves as the marketing vehicle."
So there you have it. It's a sad, disgusting reality that is rapidly becoming the "norm" in our society. Another fantastic article sums it disgustingly well.... "In terms of money, porn is a $10 to $14 billion dollar industry. This makes it a bigger business than professional football, basketball, and baseball—combined."
So today, 1.11.12, on Human Trafficking Awareness Day, I chose to talk about how a large population, people you know - people I know ... are adding to the problem, not helping. This makes me sick. This makes me sad.
I have 3 daughters. One from Africa where not too long ago, her family could have/may have been a part of some of our text books most tragic events. I have 3 daughters who I can't ever imagine being a sad statistic for the pleasure of a disgusting "pastime". I can't help but think about our current day that hoists the largest numbers of "slaves" ever known without a gnawing pit in my stomach. A large portion of these slaves are not plowing our fields or cooking our food .... but posing on screen. Nameless. Detached. For the pleasure of ......
For more information about today's Human Trafficking crisis and how you can be a part of the solution, my top 3 favorite organizations are, Not For Sale, International Justice Mission, and my local favorite.... iEmpathize.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
And they were 'sore' afraid....
So proud of my Sam. Another boy was supposed to do the scripture reading at today's Christmas Eve Services. He wasn't able to make it, so last minute - Sam got the gig. He did so good. Afterwards, he said, "That was scary!" The kid fooled me! He's a natural, that one.
Merry Christmas. May you remember in 2012 that Jesus came FOR YOU. God, my friends, is FOR YOU.
Merry Christmas!
Love,
The Jackson 5. I mean....the Britton 7 !
Merry Christmas. May you remember in 2012 that Jesus came FOR YOU. God, my friends, is FOR YOU.
Love,
The Jackson 5. I mean....the Britton 7 !
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