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....