Jealous

I don't have much time... I'm sitting here typing one-handed with a baby on my lap and bottle in the other hand. I got two other munchkins riding anything with wheels down the front walkway with a side-smirk showing through because they know it's past bedtime. But I wanted to get this down, if just for myself, before my head hits the pillow seeming to erase the day's wisdom, etch-a-sketch style, gone.

I spent a good amount of time this morning replenishing a tree I've been turning into the local gathering place for the neighborhood birds. The tree tavern serves cardinals, jays, finches, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds... it certainly brings out the dork in me. But colorful visitors, especially while washing dishes (again) or during a particularly quiet naptime, brings variety and company right to my window.
I had restocked four feeders and added some fresh water; there was already a ton of activity and a hummingbird darting around me in anticipation with the nectar still in my hand.
But later, while my littlest ones were asleep, and I had a moment to stare and enjoy, there was nothing. Not one bird. And I was given a thought, a complete, uninterrupted thought:

If they know there is constant nourishment here, why would they even bother looking anywhere else? 

Oh, I actually said aloud.
Wow, is that me God? I do that too?
You too are constant. You are sustaining. You are abundant. You are never-ending. And yet I still look elsewhere sometimes. What else is out there? Is there something better, more convenient, tastier?
I've tasted and I've seen, so why ever leave, if even for a second, that Good, Life-giving Source.

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'" ~John 6:35

In that moment, I actually found myself jealous for these birds I've come to know, come back, come back, where did you go? I'm right here and ready to constantly feed you, fill you, enjoy you... but where are you?

"Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." ~ Exodus 34:14

Oh.

Freedom on a Budget

My husband and I are budgeters. He kinda converted me to the practice of extreme budgeting, but now we're an Excel-spreadsheet kind of couple. Practically every dollar earned and spent each month is accounted for. While it seems rigid from the outside, there is actually so much freedom and peace of mind in knowing that when we simply stick to the plan, we will have absolutely everything we need that month (and more!). Groceries, bills, gas, date nights, family outings, savings, giving - all allotted and divided into their appropriate amounts. By staying in the given boundaries, and not blowing it all on a whim, we're able to know we will always have enough.

This past weekend I helped host a Faith & Fitness day at our little, local church. We had a solid hour workout class with 3 different instructors and an eye-opening, encouraging discussion on nutrition. We delved into what the Bible says about it all, and enjoyed a luncheon of salad and smoothies with a bunch of lovely, sweaty ladies afterwards. As hard as we worked out, it was such a peace-filled, satisfying morning. And even though I helped lead the event, I ended up hearing and leaving with some serious truth from my nutrition-savy friend. It was along the lines of when we live within God-given boundaries, like simplicity and self-control, we actually receive freedom in return. Obviously this can be applied to other things in life, but she focused it specifically to food. Living within boundaries provides freedom? This is not something the rest of the world will tell you. The reply might be boundaries are no fun. "Diets" suck. Rules are for breaking. Right? But I know that through other simple, controlled boundaries in life, I HAVE gained freedom. With money and marriage, with alarm clocks, with discipline in parenting, even with monitoring what my eyes see and my ears hear throughout my day - when I set up the boundary, freedom follows. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..." Galatians 5:1

So, contrary to my Hot Fudge Sundae self, I'm setting up some boundaries. With two kids and my schedule at home, I can't fit in double sessions at the gym like I did in college. I can't compensate my devout love of food with constant workouts anymore. And really, where's the boundary in that? It's almost like consistently sinning and running to confess, instead of just cutting off the sin. (Not that eating is a sin, unless it's gone to gluttony, then it might be in the running.) Anyway, I've decided to budget my food. To set the limit, to put the "don't pass this line" tape up. And in doing so, I'm expecting freedom, freedom from food. I'm only on Day 3, so I'm still in the baby stages, but this is a big step nevertheless. I'm also expecting God to meet me here, help me, and bless my self-controlled, simplified attempt of honoring Him with my body, specifically what/how much I'm putting into it. So I've got my plan, my budget is laid out, and I'm actually excited to have boundaries in place. Knowing I won't blow it all on a whim, while always having enough. Not feeling entitled to ALL of it, but instead satisfied with ENOUGH of it. Thank you friend for the encouragement; now here's to accountability!   :)

You say, 'I'm allowed to do anything' - but not everything is good for you. And even though, 'I'm allowed to do anything,' I must not become a slave to anything.  ~1 Corinthians 6:12

Extremes

I once got a C+ on a speech a wrote in college because I got so fired up about the topic that the Professor said it was more like a rant than a speech (it also may have had something to do with her being a bumper-sticker supporter of the person I was ranting against Ooops!) Anyway, I came across a seriously disturbing article in the NY Times this week and I will try my best to just share and avoid ranting, but I can't promise anything.

The article is titled Bridal Hunger Games: Losing Weight in Time for the Wedding. It's worth the click. You will be amazed at how this Style Section article seems to glorify, or at least normalize, these extreme wedding weight loss trends. The highlighted method is receiving a 10-day feeding tube through your nose which pumps you a mere 800-calories a day while you go about your everyday business (minus eating food). Is it really more of an inconvenience to go to the gym a few times a week than to walk around with a tube in your nose explaining to the sympathetic onlookers that you are not dying of cancer, but instead trying to drop a few pounds for your wedding? This isn't an obese woman looking to be mobile again; these are slightly overweight women looking to be immediately skinny. I don't understand how this is legal, really.

Leading up to my wedding, I definitely had some weight to I wanted to shed. I started teaching two classes a day, running in the mornings, and popping avocados like candy. Sure, it took more like 3 months than 10-days to get there, but I felt pretty awesome on my wedding day. I can't imagine how sickly someone would feel walking down the aisle like they just voluntarily spent a week in the hospital. Eating a little smarter and staying active may be the old-fashioned way nowadays, but it's always going to be the healthy way.

Even still, I can't help but to disagree with the saying, "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels" because I can think of at least a dozen things that taste better than anything feels and I plan on eating them occasionally :)  But as extreme as the mentioned fad procedures are, I definitely need the basic, basic reminder that there is no substitute for healthy living. No doubt this insanity is going to grow in popularity and feeding tube centers could put Weight Watchers out of business one day, but I'd rather just eat me some salad please.

There has to be a balance, a middle-ground out there somewhere. The Word says we should neither treat our bodies like crap nor obsess over them.    “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)  While our bodies may just be earthly, temporary things, my Creator gifted me with a body, and I want to honor Him simply by choosing to respect it. I really do.

Lent: A Forty-Day Fad Diet?

As a kid, Lent was super strange to me. I always had tap rehearsal on Wednesday nights, so once a year my Catholic friends came in with their black, ashy foreheads, my Jewish friends could giggle at them, and I would just be confused. There was a smeared black cross on their face and they weren't allowed to eat meat. Well actually that was just on Fridays. But fish was always OK. So no filet mignon, but lobster tail is approved? And some gave up sweets too, so no dessert for them. What was with all these 40-day no-no's? I didn't get it.

As I grew up, physically and spiritually, I slowly came to really appreciate the season of Lent. I even look forward to it. While society has seemed to make it into some sort of religious, fad diet, Lent simply comes down to sacrifice. Small, temporary, personal sacrifices in order to prepare our hearts to commemorate the Ultimate Sacrifice made through Christ. So if cutting out soda is really what it takes for you to reflect on the Cross for a few weeks, then go for it! But maybe we can actually gain something and glorify Him through this tradition of "giving up" something. Here's just a few ideas, feel free to add more in the comments



     Sacrifice       ----------------------       To Gain

 - Time on Facebook                                     - Time reading the Gospels

 - 15 Minutes of Sleeping-In                           - 15 Minutes in Prayer

 - Listening to Mainstream Radio                    - Praising God with Christian Music

                         

 - A favorite television show                           - Quiet time with your spouse

 -Your Daily Starbucks                                  - Extra cash to donate

                        

 - Going for Seconds at Dinner                      - Appreciation for our abundance

Let's remember also that Jesus said to keep these forms of  "fasting" between God and ourselves, not on display for show or merit. Matthew 6 : 16 -18 says, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

I pray we can commit to some small sacrifices over the next few weeks in order to gain intimacy and the ability to grasp (or re-grasp) what has already been sacrificed and accomplished for us.  Love to you! :)

Honeymoon  in Nicaragua -"In Jesus We Trust" Monument 

Taste and See

I have been blessed with a very non-picky eater, and as much as I'd like to take credit for my 3-year-old gladly enjoying calamari, spinach, clams, steak, etc., every kid is very different. My little boy just started eating solids, and each time he takes a spoonful of something new, he shivers with the most repulsed look on his face. Then I try again, he goes for it, but with more dramatic nasty faces. By the third bite, however, he's attacking the spoon and yearning for more. It's good! But I can't convince him of that; he doesn't know it until he tastes it and finds that out for himself.

How many times have you heard your parents say (or as a parent have said), "How do you know you don't like if you've never tried it!?"  A pretty valid point, no doubt. But still we insist that it's no good without seeing for ourselves. Or maybe we smell it or take just one tiny nibble, and declare it inedible. But did we ever actual taste and see?

When people ask me where my faith comes from or how I "know" God is real, I can only reply that I know because of what He has done for me. I've tasted the abundant life and I have seen it first-hand, and it is more than clear to me that He is who He says He is.. He is very, very good!

Psalm 34:8 suggests this very idea: "Taste and see that the Lord is good." That's the only way you can know. It follows with, "Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!" Those who have trusted in Him, and handed their life over to Him, are the only ones who have actually tasted, and I'm sure they can tell you what they saw... a whole lotta good.

Psalm 25:8-9 declares, "The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way."  Just to clarify, it says the Lord is Good, not necessarily religion and not at all Christians themselves. The church and its people can only hope to try to come close (with His help) to mirroring His goodness. But only He is truly good (Mark 10:18), the definition itself, and wants what is good for you. But if you never even try Him, you couldn't know that. So I don't blame those who question His goodness, because clearly they haven't tasted it. But it's never too late to try, especially when it comes to God.

I've tasted and I've seen, and He is so so GOOD!  Can I get a witness???  :)

YUMMO

A couple weeks ago, I went to NYC to see a taping of the Rachael Ray Show with a friend and our mothers. My friend put in for tickets almost a year ago and thought of me, a food-lover, to go with her. So after going back and forth awhile about whether I could still pull off a spontaneous day in the city as a mom of two, I decided to go for it. Of course I had to pump like a cow for a couple days to make this happen, but I'm glad I did. Every now and then it's nice to reward yourself with something you normally would say "no way" to.

Well, we managed to get front row, VIP status on the show; I think the producers knew the back of our heads would look good on camera lol. In the kitchen that day Rachael made a breakfast tower of gooey, goodness. First, toasted garlic bread soaked in ripe, tomato juice. Then a layer of cheesy, mashed potatoes on the bread. A fried egg laid over the potatoes. And that was topped with some ribbons of fancy ham. Don't worry though... she put a grapefruit on the plate too. haha  In the front row, I was practically drooling waiting for Rachael to offer her free laborers, I mean studio audience, a taste. She didn't.

The next week, the show aired while I was working at the gym. I put my client on the treadmill in front of the flatscreen so we could try to spot me in the audience. When Rach started compiling her breakfast of champions, the guy on the treadmill next to us yelled, "Heart attack!" at the TV.  Sure, he had a point... but I like I said before - every now and then it's nice to reward yourself with something you would normally say "no way" to. After all, your kids will survive one day without you and your heart will not stop with an occasional splurge.

As you know, hot fudge sundaes are among my favorite things.  But since I'm not pregnant anymore, my guilty pleasure is reduced to a small, not large dish and more like bi-weekly instead of multiple times a week  :) But I still can see the upside in treating yourself. I shared a "Guilty Pleasure Recipe" called 14 Layer Bars in the Discussion tab. It's just what it sounds like - 14 sweet layers stacked on top of each other and baked together.

Add a recipe you would 9 times out of 10 say no way to! Let's see how guilty this can get.  Lol