Might I Suggest....Grilling

 My Mom was recently blessed with a new house.  We had been living in a small turn-of-the-century house, that needed MUCH love and care that we just could not give.  So after a little over decade and a lot of growing up, we were able to move out.   Mom now lives in a beautiful clean home that she can really relax in and I feel good about her living in.  

Along with the new house, came other "little luxuries" that we were not able to get in the old house.  Other then having floors, my favorite has been having...a grill.  I love grilled food.  It is the best way to cook food.  Don't you think?   Though I have never been able to grill anything myself.

Grilling is slightly intimidating to me.  I don't know if it's the fire or the grill itself but for whatever reason I was hesitant to make anything by myself on the grill.  So after thinking on it I decided to start simple...hot dogs.  They are cheap, delicious when grilled, and most importantly, already cooked.  I didn't have to worry about ruined or under-cooked food while I was learning my way around the grill.  After trying out the grill the first time, I realized it was not and hard as I had made it out in my mind. So I decided to step it up and try hamburgers.  I figured this was slightly harder yet still safe choice since hamburgers are pretty hard to mess up any way.  The hamburgers turned out slightly over-cooked but none the less I really feeling confident about grilling and decided to step it up again.  This time I went for real meat.  My meat of choice:  Pork Chops.  Mainly because that is what we had in the fridge.

For this new endeavor I wanted to try a new flavor but still keep it simple just in case it did not go well.  I went to the Food Network and searched for a marinade and stumbled upon Sunny Anderson's (love her) Easy Grilled Pork Chops.  

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 8 (1/2-inch) bone-in pork chops (about 3 ounces each)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Begin by making the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, vinegar, cumin and red pepper flakes.
Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper and place in a re-sealable plastic bag with the marinade. Let rest on the counter for 1 hour.
Heat a grill or grill pan over medium heat. Remove the pork chops from the bag and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on the grill and cook until the pork chop releases from the grill, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes.

The marinade it sweet, spicy, and smoky.   Can't go wrong with cumin.

Make and leave.  Real Easy.

I pretty much followed this recipe to the T.

-

The only thing I had to tweak was the cook time since Anderon did not give a grill temperature.

These smelled so good on the grill. 

And then they were done....I hoped at least.  I resisted the urge to cut them open to make sure they were done.  That is a big "no-no" with meat because all that work you took in keeping the juices in is spoiled when you cut that meat before it is ready.  Don't cut the meat!  Be confident that you know what you are doing.

In the end, I had a beautiful plate that at least smelled good.

I would like to point out those awesome grill marks.

Served with a sweet potato

Now I know the suspense is killing you.   So I will just say these pork chops were delicious.

So grilling, like many things, was not as hard as I thought it would be.  For those of you who don't grill or are afraid to try...TRY IT!  It is so easy to get started, just start small with safe foods.  My next grilling adventure will be chicken.  I'll let you know how it goes.  (Though my next post may be about protecting yourself against salmonella.  haha)

Thank you God for the house the food and ALL Your MANY blessings!

Happy Grilling!

Might I suggest...

Common Sense Media

This is a site that I found a couple month ago and I have come to really rely on it.  It is a site that reviews everything media including movies, games, website, etc.  The site reviews media specifically for parents that want to make sure they know what their kids are seeing.

The reason I have some to trust this site over many others, is the detail with which the site writes its reviews.  Common Sense includes in their reviews what the movie is about and the age appropriateness like many others.  Though it also rates the degree of educational value, positive messages, positive role models, violence & scariness, sexy stuff, language, consumerism, and drugs & drinking.  Then with each individual rating it gives detailed explanations for those ratings.  Such as with language, they tell each of the words that were used in the movie.

I know that I don't have kids yet but I have found this site to be a great resource to steering clear of some questionable movies.  Ones that I would rather not see.

Common Sense Media, check it out!

Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Stuffed pepper served with mashed sweet potatoes

Created this Stuffed Peppers recipe tonight.  These  can be made vegetarian, with all kinds of veggies and the pepper stuffing can be frozen used later.  This does require a good bit of prep time with all the chopping and pre-cooking but all of it can be done as far in advance as you want.  Like I said it "freezes beautifully." It has lots of color and a variety of veggies that make for a healthy meal!

Stuffed Peppers

serves: 6-8   Cook Time: 1hr 15min

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped (about a 1/2 cup)
• 1 Tbs. ground cumin (mmmm)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, drained
• 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, but KEEP the liquid
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup Brown Rice (cooked) 
• 1 lb ground beef (browned) (can be any meet you want to use but it should be pre-cooked))
• 3 large carrots, grated (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cups pepper Jack cheese
• 1 red bell pepper (I used red to add color.  Yellow would be great too. Presentation!)
• 6-8 large bell peppers (cored and de-ribbed)

Directions

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and red pepper, and cook 5 minutes, or veggies begin to get soft. Add cumin and garlic, and saute for 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
2. Stir in black beans, rice, carrots, and beef.  You can also add cheese to the stuffing, optional (this is not the 1/2 cup). Season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.
4. Fill each bell pepper with heaping veggie mix, and place in baking dish. Cover tightly with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned (Broiling is good too). Let stand 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

 Any of the veggies can be taken out or substituted as desired.

PB&J Roll-ups

This is a really awesome snack or light lunch!

PB&J Roll-ups

1. Start with a flatbread of some sort.  I used whole wheat tortillas.

2. Spread Peanut Butter.  (I used a spatula)

3. Spread your preferred flavor of preserve.

4. Peel Banana and place it in the center or the wrap.  I split mine to make the straiter

5. ROLL!

One note is that it does not take as much preserves and I thought.

Just a little TWIST to a classic!

I love to read comics.  Especially the ones that have been around for a while like Peanuts and Garfeild.  One of my favorites in Calvin and Hobbes.  It is such a simple humor that never gets old.  Though I think that one thing that makes Calvin and Hobbes so funny is that it is so easy to forget that Calvin is the only one that can see Hobbes!  The strips are funny just with the jokes but when you remember Hobbes is imaginary....it is even more funny.

This edition from the sunday paper is a classic example:



Love

Review: Tithing By Douglas Leblanc

I recently the book Tithing by Douglas Leblanc.  It is a book that has multiple stories in it about how tithing has effecting different people.  I started this book to see what the author had to say about a subject that is so fundamental to my christian faith.
Unfortunately I found the book to be a bit dull.  I did not see how many of the stories connected to each other.  Even grater disappointment though was the lack of ties to biblical and theological truths about tithing.  In my opinion these are imperative when writing about any such subject.
I did like the narrative approach that Leblanc took with the book but I think that the follow through was a bit lacking.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Check out Book Sneeze

Might I suggest.....

A little "contraption" that was introduced to be a couple years ago called....

Neti Pot

I found that the Neti Pot is gaining popularity but there are many that still don't know about it.

This was first introduced to me by my friends Anthony and Patti when I had a sinus infection that would not go away. The first time I used it was really weird but now when my nose starts to feel stuffy at all I always go straight for my Neti pot. 

The Neti pot uses a saline solution (salt & water) poured through the nose (I know) and cleans out any mucus and bacteria that can be lurking in those dark places.

The great thing about a Neti pot is that it can be used daily or sporatically, and is completely natural!   It's awesome for helping to control allergies and clearing out your nose when you have a cold.  Or, It can simply help you to beathe better and that is always a good thing.

Like I saidbefore,  the Neti pot has been gaining in popularity so, it can be bought almost anywhere. The initial cost varies and can be a little high depending on the material of your Neti pot, but after that, the up-keep is really inexpensive.

I have posted the video below so that you can see how it works.  It is a cartoon so it is not as gross as a live actor.  Plus this video has all the warnings and legal jargon so I don't "mislead" anyone.

Might I suggest....

I have been trying to think of ways to get myself blogging on a regular basis. I really like to do it, but I want to be able to blog about more than just my "feelings". So I was pondering this the other day and I know I am always thinking of things that I want to share with people. Cool gadgets or altruistic organizations that I think might be of interest to others that just me. I figure these blogs could be short and sweet without being super heavy. So once a week I will be sharing these things with you in "Might I Suggest?"


Might I suggest.....

"Revolution in World Missions" By K.P. Yohannan

This is a book that is put out by Gospel for Asia(GFA). The organization's mission is to reach the "unreachables" of the Asian cities and villages. They do this primarily by raising up what they call "Native Missionaries". These missionaries are indigenous people that know the language, the culture, the complete way of life of the area. They are trained for about 3 years in the bible and then are sent to reach villages and cities that may have NEVER heard the gospel. GFA also works through child sponsorship to some of the most beautiful and precious children. It is a powerful ministry.

I have actually had this book for a number of years. It was suggested to me by my friend Brendon one day and I ordered the book immediately with every intention of reading it then. Though for one reason or another it did not get read. Not until about the last 3 weeks. I am telling you it came at the perfect time. Thank you Lord.

In this book K.P. talks about the mission of GFA and why it is their ministry is so vital to the lost people of the world. He also talks about missions in general and how our view of it should change. He talks about struggles that so many of the missionaries face. The dangers and sacrifices that they are so proud to make for our Lord and the lost around them. He also talks about what could be a sore subject: our shallowness as western Christians. Plus how we are ALL "native missionaries". This book packed a big punch and if you are up for the challenge that it brings I highly recommend it.


Order a Copy of Revolution in World Missions by giving a donation to GFA
or
Request a free copy
(if you can make a donation please do so)

Till only LOVE remains...

My favorite thing about our amazing God is His amazing LOVE.
He loves us more than anything.

Though he not only loves us more....He loves us without conditions. God never says "I love you because..."
He just ....Loves.
It was pointed out to me a few years back, by a certain camp program director, that humans always have qualify their love. "I love her because she is my mom...because he is kind...because she is talented...because he is cool...because she gracious...because he loves me...because......." There is always a cause for our love.
God, He has no cause for his love He just does it. 
There is no reason, other than God's love for us, that Christ died on the cross.  God no longer wanted to be separated from His children because He loves us so much.
I have received this love time and time again. Sometimes I was aware of it, sometimes I wasn't.
God has given it to me freely.
No strings attached. No expectations.

Then one day while listening to the radio I heard this song.



After listening to this song I found myself broken.  I was broken because after all the love that God has shown me.  After his endless pouring out.  I have withheld love from the people around me.  I have withheld love for many reasons.  Because I was scared, proud, indifferent.  Because they were annoying, prejudice, sinful. Because I had the right to use the love, given to me so graciously, as I saw fit.
Why should I have that right?  Why have I made it my responsibility to choose who is and is not worth my love?  If He loves us the way that is expressed in this song, who am I to do any differently?
I don't have that right, it is not my responsibility, and I should learn to love just as He does. 
If I have given my life completely and totally to Him and I believe in the sacrifice that He made, then I must give up that right.
Then, once again I am shown love.  I am shown love in His forgiveness of my imperfections and His love in the willingness to help me to change.
Thank you Father for your faithful unchanging unconditional LOVE.

The End

Day 30: Goals for the next 30 days.

DAY 30!  Yay, it is finished.  I have to say that this was a lot of fun.

With the new year, come many high expectaions of doing better with what you may have not done so well in the past. The excitement of the new experiences that the year will hold. Everyone starts to make their proverbial new year's resolutions in hopes that this year, yes, this year will be changed. I too have certain things that I would like to see get done, though I am not a huge fan of new years resolution. Personally, I think that if you wan't to change something you should change it now. If you are willing to wait then you may not want it bad enough. Now, this is not to say that I good at following this principle. I, like many, put off for tomorrow what should be done today. So for now I will make a list for this blog, as a sort accountability for myself, somethings that I want to accomplish. Most of these are silly things, just a few ideas to tie up some loose ends.

• Read the The bible
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Dueteronomy
• Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• 1 Samuel
• 2 Samuel
• 1 Kings
•  2 Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chonicles
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job
• Psalm
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of Solomon
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephariah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malacahi
• Mathew
• Mark
• Luke
• John
• Acts
• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Finish reading the following books that have already been started:
• Love, Lucy
• It Happened in Italy
• A Lineage of Grace 
• Dancing Under the Red Star
• Little Women
• Revolution in World Missions
• Another Man's War
• Living Sacrifice
• Organize Jewelry box
• Clean Jewelry
• Finish crocheting two more blankets

P.S. This is more that 30 days worth of work

-- created @ yadayadayo.blogspot.com --

"Saturday, in the park..."

Day 29:  If you could have a luncheon with any three people (real or fictitious from any time period, dead or alive) , which three people would you choose and why?

This was supposed to be don 2 days ago but God had different plans.  It was awesome though.
This is the second to last day.

I think that this is my favorite question thus far.   First I wasn't sure if the question meant having lunch with 3 people at the same time or if it was 3 seperate lunches.  There is not a whole lot of difference except you don't want to get three people together that would not have good conversation or clash with each other.  So I decided, this is my blog, so I will have lunch with three people together.

The first person would absolutley be God.  I think this is pretty obvoius.  I love Him, He loves me.  Why wouldn't I want to have lunch with him? 
The next would be Maya Angelou.  I think there is a lot that I could learn from her about teaching, God, and life in general.  Actually imagine Maya Angelou teaching me about God while God is there.  Maybe?
The third will be Elizabeth Bennet.  She is one of my favorite fictional charachters.  We would have the most in common and I think that we would be able to talk some great girl talk.






-- created @ yadayadayo.blogspot.com --

compromising

Day 28:  What are some things that you won't compromise on?

• Doing what God wants me to do
• The bible is true
• God can overcome and forgive ANYTHING
• JIF peanut butter
• Puff's tissues

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"If you learn....Teach."

Day 27: Why have you chosen the career you are in?

"What I think it really means is: I'm a teacher. I am a teacher. I teach all the time, as you do and as all of you do—whether we know it or not, whether we take responsibility for it or not. I hold nothing back because I want to see that light go off. I like to see the children say, 'I never thought of that before.' And I think, 'I've got them!'" — Dr. Maya Angelou

There is something about teaching someone something that puts a fire inside of me.  Especially when you can visually see that moment on a persons face when they get something.  When they see something in a new light or realize something they thought what not necessarily true.  I chose kids because when they learn something, they want to share it with the whole world.  At camp, during the summer, it happens endlessly every week.  Kids come up to me and want to recite the summer's memory verse that they finally learned, or the nature fact that their cabin director thought them.  Learning is such a beautiful process that NEVER ends.  There is always something else to learn.



-- created @ yadayadayo.blogspot.com --

"In my heart is where I'll keep you friend"

Day 26: Something that you miss.

I miss being a kid at my Grandmaw's house.  Me and my cousins would have so much fun there.  Haning out on the stairs, playing on the old swing set, swimming in the lake.  It was a house that I knew I belonged in.
I had so many great memories in that house. I do miss it.






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Fascination

Day 25: Someone who fascinates you and why.

I recently watched Maya Angelou on OWN's Master Class (really great show by the way) and it is really easy to see why people love her.  There is a certain peace about her that makes everyone around her stop and listen.  I was completely enthralled in everything that she had to say.

I also started reading her biography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  I have to say her writing is so intriguing.  It is like she is sitting there telling you a story.  You can hear her voice in the words and imagine her inflection. There are so many talented authors in the world of words.  Though there are few, in my opinion that can capture you as Maya Angelou does. She does this not only in her books but in her speach.  She speaks with both grace and authority,  humility and courage, understanding and strength  If you have a chance to read it you should definitely take the time.

Maya Angelou fascinates me.

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"This I how we overcome"

Day 24: A problem you have had.


A problem that comes to mind right now is a problem with not finishing things that I start.
A craft project here or a book there. It all adds up to a pile of unfinished junk.

I have a whole list of books that I have started and not finished. Not because the books are not interesting, but because there are so many books that do look interesting that I can't help but start it. So I end up with a pile of books that I can't finish in any reasonable amount of time.
The same thing used to go for my crocheting. I would get about a quarter of the way through a blanket and then for some unknown reason it would just get forgotten about.
Little things like this have built up a fear of failure with bigger things. There are many things that I have avoided starting because I was afraid that I would not be able to finish them. A prime example is getting a teaching degree. I could have been done with this probably a couple years ago if I had gotten my butt in gear. Instead I sat on my hands and worried that i was not good enough and able to do the work that it took. There are still times that i beat myself up about all the time that I wasted.
Through it all, God has worked. Through my shortcomings he has come through and made something beautiful.
The truth is I am not good enough. I can't do the work. I never could, and will never be able to.
There is nothing that I can do without God. He gives me the wisdom, he gives me the drive, he gives me the grace and mercy to finish all that I start.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
This is a promise that God has given everyone.  No matter who you are.  Draw your strength from God and you will be amazed at the things that you can do.

Are you attractive?

Day 23: What kind of person attracts you?

I think that we all have qualities that we are naturally drawn to in our friends and to the new people that we meet. 
The thing about these qualities are that they can be different in each person.  Plus even if a person has the same quality they it can manifest itself in different ways.  Qualities are judged from person to person.  Ultimately it is about the heart. 

Some of the qualities that I find myself naturally drawn to.....

to people that love life
people that go with the flow
people that I can laugh with because I do it so much
to people that love to dance
to people that love God
to sarcastic people
the underdog
people that don't mind a little bit of weird in their life
open-minded people
level-headed people



-- created @ yadayadayo.blogspot.com --

"Let's go see the show!"

Day 22: Name 5 movies that you could watch over and over and not get tired of.

I decided that instead of putting the same movies that I always put for this question like The Little Mermaid and Tombstone I would put some movies down that are a little less known.  I like to expose people to new things.  I have also linked each movie with the trailer on youtube if you want to check it out.

Meet Me in St. Louis



The Desk Set
This movie is hilarious

The Maltese Falcon

Murder on the Orient Express
This movie has a load of amazing talent.  It is a classic murder mystery.

Places in the Heart
The title may not be the most original but the movie is really good.

-- created @ yadayadayo.blogspot.com --

"What ya got cookin'?"

Day 21: Give picture of 5 famous men that you think are attractive.

Four is enough.







Dennis Quaid



Paul Newman



Gary Cooper



Robert Redford



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2 years

Day 20:  How have you changed in the past 2 years?

I go to Converse and I am actively pursuing a teaching degree!

I have matured a lot over the past two years.  I am on the road to being more humble and less selfish.  I have become more and more outgoing.  Most importantly,  I am starting to see fruit being produced in my life.  It is not just empty claims and ugly masks.  There is actual evidence of these changes.
I have become much more realistic about how my life will be, or maybe I should say that God has changed my perspective on how my life will be.  He has shined a light on something that I thought that I wanted and now realize why I don't.  I am working on my hypocrisies.  Major thought renovations have taken place. There has been so much spiritual warfare, but I will FEAR NOT because I know that God has already overcome everything that I am battling.

I have felt God's love like never before.  Like I never thought I would.  I can't wait to see what God still has for me.  This is only the beginning!



-- created @ yadayadayo.blogspot.com --