Friday, October 31, 2008

Painting Woes

Today is painting day.

Just got done priming the ceiling.

Thought I was prepared. Wore a hat pulled down fairly far over my face.

I was wrong.

Just discovered paint on my contacts.

Next coat - safety glasses.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Oh my...

This makes me feel old...

"On a Whim..."

This story gives me hope in society and makes me smile.

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Gentle Reminder

I ran across this quote this morning - I think it's one of those things we tend to forget...

"Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and verb agree to serve...You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

SNL

Over the years I've had a roller coaster ride of emotion with SNL. There was a season in my life when I couldn't get enough. Then some of my favorite cast members left, and suddenly it wasn't so funny anymore. But the recent stuff with Sarah Palin is nothing short of hilarious. Check it out...

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Where You've Been

Something occurred to be last night during a conversation - how one person can vastly alter the direction of your life.

7 years ago I was done with church. I still had a faith, albeit weak, in God but I had no desire to go to church, to have anything to do with the institution of church and I just flat out didn't trust pastors anymore. Having spent my entire life in church, sunday school and church camps, this was foreign territory for my friends and family.

But one friend didn't give up on me. For months she asked me to go to GCC with her - said it was different. I kept saying no and coming up with excuses. She kept asking. She accepted the place I was at, but never gave up on me. I think she knew that my heart was yearning to be able to trust, but was afraid.

One Sunday morning I relented and agreed to get up early again. I realized that first day that something was different about this church - people greeted me and genuinely seemed happy to be there. Everyone seemed happy to be there. And when Mark Beeson spoke, it felt real - it felt authentic - it felt like what my life had been missing.

Looking back it amazes me how far I have come. How much I have changed. How much I have grown. And how much I truly trust and believe in the leadership of Granger Community Church. My life has been forever changed.

All because one person didn't give up on me.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

September - what!? It's October?!

I have no idea where September went. One day it was August. I blinked and it was October.

Amazingly easy, healthy and YUMMY dinner!

This was tonight's dinner. And it was phenominal! Easy, healthy and oh-so-good. The great thing about it is that if you likely spicy food (which I am not a fan of) you can use hotter salsa and up the cumin and you're good to go!

Black Bean & Bacon Soup
(From the Twenty-Minute Low-Fat Gourmet)

4 strips turkey bacon
1 medium-sized yellow onion
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups + reduced-sodium chicken broth or regular chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 15 or 16 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream or fat-free plain yogurt

Cut bacon crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Cook in a large saucepan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Coarsely chop onion. Add onion and garlic to bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add one can of beans and partially mash with wooden spoon or a potato masher. Add broth, salsa, cumin and, if desired, pepper. Increase heat to high. Stir in other can of beans, cover, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes. (Or you can simmer uncovered for 10 minutes) Stir in cilantro. Serve with sour cream. (We also serve it with baked Scoops tortilla chips)