Intolerance?

I am so tired of being accused of being intolerant and discriminatory as a Christian. I can't say that I personally have heard those exact phrases coming from people I am around on a regular basis because they know me. I am speaking in general terms here.

Why are we the only ones labeled as intolerant of others beliefs? What about the freedom we have to choose our beliefs. Last time I checked that right was still protected by the Constitution. I don't agree with the values of many people, and businesses in this world, but I don't expect them to change just because I say so. They are entitled to their opinions and beliefs.

I was "just a little" frustrated this morning reading about the controversy surrounding Chik fil a. They want to put one up in a Chicago neighborhood and from what I can gather, there were protests by gay rights groups and the Mayor actually stated that he doesn't want it because it doesn't promote the values of Chicago. Really? Do you speak for the entire city? Arggghh. What bothers me the most is the gay rights groups. I have no problem with you if you choose a different sexual orientation. Do I think it's wrong? Yes. Because God says so. I also think pride is wrong, and adultery and divorce, and so many things. Why? Because God says so. The bible is pretty clear on some things!

However, because I think it's wrong does that mean I hate people or discriminate against people who choose to sin, of course not. But I won't endorse it either. I don't think it's fair for these gay rights activists to expect that every person and every business (run by people and with certain values) will just embrace their mission just because they say so. It seems to me that what they are touting now is that by not endorsing them you are discriminating against them. How ludicrous! I've been to Chik fil a several times and I can tell you that they don't have anti-gay messages on the wall. They really do nothing to address the issue other than to adhere to biblical values. And aren't they entitled to do that?

People boast of tolerance and how intolerant us Christians are of people different then us, but they are intolerant of our beliefs and I honestly don't see what the difference is. Why can't they just accept that our views are different and that's not gonna change. I don't think they should expect it to.

It worries me for our future when we have mayors of cities making comments like that as well! Satan is at work my friends and he's working hard. I pray that as more of our freedoms come under attack that we will stand strong and not back down. Know your bible and use it to combat the lies of the evil one. We are commanded to love our neighbor, whether they are right or wrong, but we are not commanded to tell to them their sin is ok and embrace it. That is not love.

How to Relate

This past Friday my company had an outing at a place called Cybersport. It's kinda like whirlyball if anyone has done that. But basically you drive these bumper cards (the steering is a little joystick). Then you have a lacrosse type scoop that you use to catch, throw and scoop up this foam ball. There are two teams and you want to get your ball in the "basket". Needless to say, everyone is on the same playing field, mostly not very good. John and I had a fun time playing. He even scored a goal. I did well but no goals.

However, I guess company outings for me seem to be just more than a little awkward. They usually have open bars, which is no big deal, but it usually leads to at least one if not more conversations about alcohol consumption, which I have nothing to add. On the whole, I just feel like I have nothing to add to any conversation and mostly I find myself wondering how I can relate to these people who I seem to have so little in common with. Granted, some of the people who I have developed some better relationships with at work were not there, but still.

I know we are supposed to be in the world, but not of it. However, I am finding it difficult to relate to the world. I know that I am no better and without Christ I would probably be them. But I've been a Christian for so long that it's difficult to think of myself that way. I praise God that he spared me from many things in life. I just want to figure out how to relate to my co-workers more so I can love them well. Any suggestions?

Ice Cream Fun

This summer has been a hot one as I think I've mentioned a few times already. So we have been giving our ice cream maker quite the workout. Right now we have 4 different kinds of ice cream in our freezer. 1 of them is store bought and I'm afraid might be there awhile. What with all the delicious homemade options, why would we want to eat the store bought stuff?

Here are two of my favorites from this summer:

Richer than Rich German Chocolate

Easy Strawberry

What I love most about ice cream we make is that I know exactly what all the ingredients are. Most of what we make has simple ingredients. The German chocolate was a little more complex and pricey but that was as a gift to my dad and I can tell you that it's worth the splurge. I don't even like chocolate ice cream, but I loved that ice cream! And it's so rich that a little goes a long way, which is great because then it lasts longer.

I also love that you can use any dairy, non-dairy milk product. You can use milk and cream, whole milk, skim milk, half and half, soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc. Obviously the product combo you use will change the consistency, but from my experience, it doesn't really matter. It's still "ice cream" like and tastes good.

So that is my plug for homemade ice cream. I love it! Be sure to tell me if you come across any great recipes or flavor combos. I think I want to do mint oreo next.

Taste of Chicago

John and I decided to take off a day this summer and spend in it on the town. We headed downtown to do the Taste of Chicago and hang out at the beach. The beach didn't quite work out due to a storm that decided to hang out with us, but we still managed to have a nice time and we did get in some good grub at the taste.

Mustard Fried Catfish

Steak Jibrato (probably spelled wrong)

Coconut Ice (This definitely hit the spot on this 90 degree day)

We had to stand in line and get our picture taken to get this free ice cream. 

A tamale and a tilapia crusted taco.

The storm approaches

The storm lets loose.

Even though it wasn't exactly as we planned it, we had a nice time at the taste and got in some good exercise. We were still able to put our feet in the lake when the first storm passed and that was nice. I am just extremely thankful that we made it to Navy Pier before the sky let loose. And we also missed the second rain while eating dinner and on the train. So at least we weren't soaked. I was very, very thankful for that!

Love is Tough

I Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection, as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

How many times have I have heard this passage? Probably at just about every wedding I’ve been to. Of course usually the part repeated most often are the “love is” verses. Somehow I feel like I haven’t heard the first 3 verses quite as often. But as I set out to memorize this chapter those are the 3 verses that struck me the most.

According to those verses you could potentially be a really smart person, have wisdom and knowledge and even a huge faith and still miss the point. You could be generous and even offer yourself as a martyr and still miss the most important thing in life: love. Without love, all our efforts and achievements are useless.

Yikes! I don’t want to be that person. I know that I can fall into thinking that I need to do more and be more for God. And yes, I do, but the doing I need to be doing is loving God and others. I don’t need to serve in more places at church or kill myself trying to do it all. I simply need to practice loving those around me. It seems so simple but there is one big thing standing in the way of me actually putting it into practice. ME! I’m constantly thinking about my needs and my schedule and my desires. And while I do need to take care of some things I spend way too much time inward. I know that I am selfish and left on my own that is how I will always be. Thankfully I have God’s Spirit in me to guide me and work in me to rid me of myself. It’s a process.

So I guess the Beatles had it right when they sang “All you need is love…” Unfortunately they missed the part that without Christ it is impossible to even understand what true love is or have any power to love like He does. Thankfully God’s word adds that for us.

Here’s to love, may it grow in us and reflect God’s glory to those around us!

I love Mashed Potatoes!

Sunday we had some dear friends over to our place and decided to have a mashed potato bar for dinner.  I don't have any pictures so I will just have to paint some word pictures. Everyone brought a few toppings and we had ourselves a nice spread. First there were the potatoes: 2 pans full of hot, steamy, creamy, mashed potatoes. Then there were the toppings: chili, green onions, sour cream, cheese, salsa, olives, roasted garlic, broccoli, and a vegan "cheese" sauce (which was actually really delicious). It was quite the sight. As I filled my plate for round one it was hard to decide on what combination to start with. Eventually I did figure it out and sat down to eat and chat. It was good. And it was then that I thought, "I really love mashed potatoes!"

And for as much as I love them, we rarely eat them. I think this is something that I should be able to remedy since I am in charge of food prep in our house. Who knows maybe instead of pizza night we'll have to start having mashed potato night. Guess we'll see how that works out.

Frontier Days Fun

I love John's facebook status update from Friday night when we went to Frontier Day so I think I will start out by sharing that to sum up our night.

Festival at a park in Arlington Heights, free. Concert that night, free. Strawberry shortcake slushy, $5. Watching the Charlie Daniel's Band play Devil went down to Georgia live, priceless.

It was a hot night, but we ventured out, secured our seats near the back and settled in for some fancy fiddlin' at the park. As the night wore on my eyes became much more droopy, but he saved the best for last and capped off our evening with the most well known of his songs. 

We really did have a nice time. We didn't make it back to any of the other events, but maybe next year. It's nice to be able to enjoy something free in this state. I feel like heading into the city you have to pay to breathe. 

On that note, I thought I would leave you with one favorite moment from the concert that I got on video. This isn't the big one, but I thought it was a really cool version of the William Tell Overature like I had never heard before.  Enjoy! 

Staying Cool on the 4th

It has been a HOT summer. Muy Caliente mi amigos! So hot that my mind thinks I must've crossed the border. Ok, not really, but it has been hot. This is the hottest June/ July that I can ever remember! I can't say that I am sad by this. It means swimming is a definite option more often, but I do feel bad for those who have lost power with the storms and who have to work outside. It's brutal!

This 4th of July as John said more than a dozen times was actually, "hotter than the 4th of July." So how did we stay cool?

The kids pool has multiple uses and once they moved on to something else, we moved in. Ahhhhh

I think they got a little carried away.

We did have a few water balloon tosses and then there was an all out war. I watched and managed not to get hurt. I did get water dumped on me from a bucket though. It was cold and refreshing at the same time. Of course we played volleyball after the water fight to dry off and my arms are still recovering from that. A wonderful 4th of July, despite the heat, maybe even because of it.

Why I love my "old people" cart, part 2

This was me before the cart. Enough said.

Why I love my "old people" cart

I know it does look like much, but this cart is a life saver. That's a little overstated I guess. But it is definitely a time and energy saver.

Since we moved we now live on the 4th floor. It's a quite a long walk from our garage space to the building, to the elevator, to the 4th floor. It's no big deal when it's just me, but when I have groceries, it becomes somewhat of a challenge.

I have been managing ok. Using lots of big reusable bags and a book bag to somehow transport everything in one trip, but it hasn't been easy. I finally caved in and bought an "old people" cart.

I call it that because that's what I've thought of it as since I was little and my grandma or other "older" people I knew would use to cart groceries back and forth. We walked alot in those days and I didn't know that it's not just old people that have them.

So anyway, as I was saying. I love the cart. I was able to use it for the first time last weekend and everything fit. It was packed too so I know there is no way I would have made it in 1 trip. Just in time....

More Kitchen Fun

I do realize that I have missed a few days but any successful person will tell you that is no time to quit. That's the time to get back up and keep going. So here I go again.

As I have been working on my cookbook I have been trying out new recipes and trying to cook new things. I've even been a little inventive in trying to stretch out our meals or not follow a recipe exactly. One that ended up working out nicely was our pita pizzas. After our Chicken pita flop last weekend we used the leftover pitas for some tomato, basil, pita pizzas and they were really good. And I just have to say that I think I love pesto. You know how some people could say ketchup makes everything better. Well, I think pesto does!

I tried a peach pork chop recipe as well. The picture didn't turn out well and neither did the recipe so I threw that one out. However the couscous I made with it was really good and I will definitely have to make that again. So simple to make as well.

This Sunday I tried my hand at a good ole' comfort food: Fried chicken, mac n cheese, potato salad and apple pie. I cheated. The potato salad and apple pie were store bought mainly because they were on sale and way less work. However, I did make homemade mac and cheese for the first time and fried my first chicken. Again, I wimped out a little because I have this thing with splattering oil. The thing is, I really don't like it. I don't like anything that burns just deciding to jump out at me whenever it gets the inkling. It's a fear I know I will have to conquer in order to further expand my culinary horizons, but Sunday wasn't the day for me to do it, apparently. So I made fried chicken in the oven.

However, I will say that for a first attempt it was rather good. The chicken was rather bland and it definitely needed more coating and seasoning but it was very tender. The mac and cheese came out well and there was plenty enough for leftovers. So I'd say it was a mild success. Maybe next time I'll do it the right way. Do they make pot holders that are like gloves that cover your hands and arms to your shoulders? If I had that and maybe one of those helmet mask combos like torch workers wear I think I'd be all set.