In Christ Alone

I did not know Owl City put out Worship music.  My Lucy LOVES Owl City.  Maybe she won't mind worship music so much if I start playing her this:

With Easter being this past Sunday, this song has been stuck on repeat in my head.  My favorite part (especially on Easter morning) is the line:

Then bursting forth, in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!

Powerful.  I still consider myself a fairly new Christian-just 6 years in, and though I know I've matured a lot in that time, some things still take my breath away, and I think that's ok.  I think it's just fine that my little human brain can't even begin to fathom the love God has for us--enough to sacrifice His Son so we may be in relationship with God the Father.  I don't mind one bit that I usually tear up while signing in church because the words are so powerful, and I know they are only paining a picture of an even more powerful God.  I like that because I have AOC I don't take those songs for granted or get annoyed that it's the millionth time I've heard them-the words continually hit me fresh and stir up desire to know Him more.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

The Excitement is Building

It's official, there will be more than one reunion happening this October!  Yes, I'll be seeing my Compassion girls again but I'll also be reunited with my girl Ashley, my roommate from my first trip in 2011.  I can actually be excited instead of being hopefully excited.  I was trying to keep calm because what if she didn't actually get signed up for the trip?  I can't imagine going without her so I'm rejoicing that it's officially official!

Ash found these at Target for 58 cents!

I've mentioned before that she was going but it wasn't a sure thing...but now, she's officially registered and already buying things to give to the kids at the Compassion sites we visit.

I'm telling you, this girl's heart is amazing.  If you haven't read about her before, check out this blogpost from earlier this month.

Ash and I are going to team up on getting things to take-I've already asked the dentist to donate some items and he said no problem...I'll be picking them up in a few weeks when I get a filling repaired (yuck.)

It's all coming together...


If you'd like to donate items or money for items to be purchased for the children at the Compassion sites, please contact me.  Items needed include toiletries, art/school supplies, bandaids, etc.

Menu 4/1-4/7

Monday: Parm Salmon, Tortellini w/Creamy Pesto, Green Beans

The girls loved this salmon when I made it the end of February.  I'll boil some store-bought tortellini and sauce it with this delicious creamy pesto that Amelia enjoys making.  Finish the plate with some green beans.

Tuesday: Dijon Chicken, Rosemary Red Potatoes, Broccoli 

Made this chicken on the fly once a few months back and it was amazing.  Girls have requested rosemary red potatoes and we'll toss some broccoli on the plate for some greenery!

Wednesday: Chicken Tacos, Peppers, Chips and Guac 

The usual chicken taco meal...using Frontera chicken sauce, and homemade guac by Lucy.

Thursday: Turkey Chili, Cornbread, Peppers 

 Turkey Chili from the freezer, cornbread from a Jiffy box and fresh peppers.

Gearing Up

Gearing up for the start of Whole30 on Monday.  Spent this week testing out some recipes, stocking up the freezer and trying to figure out how all this produce is going to fit into my fridge.

I saw a recipe for "Monkey Salad" on this blog and decided to try it.  If you don't feel like clicking the link I'll tell you what it is:  a handful of roasted unsalted cashews (I roasted my own in a pan because I only had raw in the cupboard), a handful of unsweetened coconut, and a sliced banana.  That's it.  It was pretty good.

Getting ready for enchilada sauce, simmering sauce, veggies for soup,
Mango Madness, toasted coconut...

I got bored of it though so I tried something similar and I named my invention "Mango Madness" which is just chopped mango, roasted chopped pecans (again, I roasted my own) and toasted coconut (I toasted my own and chopped it into little bits) throw it all into a bowl and you have a quick, healthy and delicious snack/dessert/addition to a meal.

Found a recipe for chicken enchilada soup I thought I'd try but it called for a small can of enchilada sauce...there is no such thing (at least to my knowledge) of canned Whole30 approved enchilada sauce so I found another recipe and made my own.  It turned out very tasty but quite thick so when I added it to the soup I got more of a stew consistency so I'm planning on adding chicken stock when I'm ready to eat it.

I'm halfway into making these salmon patties so I'll let you know how those turn out, should be good though.

I've also updated my "Paleo pancake" recipe...I've found it works best with either a quite large banana or one and a half small/medium sized ones.  Still just add one egg and toss in some of you pecan/coconut mixture along with a tiny pinch of salt and a dash or two of cinnamon.  Pour onto hot skillet coated with coconut oil.   Yum!

I plan to document (in photos and words) everything I put in my mouth during the month of April.  I don't think all my blog readers are interested in that so I'll link up each day with this new blog I started just for Whole30.

I've also started a Facebook group for anyone who wants ideas, encouragement and accountability.  Just let me know and I'll add you!

Hope everyone has a happy Easter!

Cyber-bullying: Two Tales

I'm not doing Pinterest Thursday today.  I ran across something that needs my attention.

Remember awhile back that Greenbay Packers cheerleader that was the target of rude remarks from a supposed Chicago Bears fans?  Remember how we all got riled up.  Called it cyber-bullying, couldn't believe anyone, let alone several people, would go as far as attacking someone's looks?  It gained national attention...click the links to see the story on:

ABC News
Yahoo! Sports
USA Today
Fox News

And watch her video here:

Outrage.  How could anyone call this young woman those nasty things?  She's someone's daughter, sister, friend.  She's a child of God.  We championed her for speaking up and fighting for an end to cyber-bullying, which we all agreed must stop!

Glad we're all in agreement so far.  Keep reading...

I've seen a picture of a young man on Facebook several times and the caption on the photo says "Describe him in one word."  After seeing that people I know commented on the photo I clicked the comments to see what people were saying.  Though I didn't see what the people I know said (there are almost half a million comments and close to 30,300 "likes") none of the comments I read were positive.  They ranged from "Hideous" "Loser" "Unemployed dishwasher" to "Worthless" "Ugly" and plenty more that I can't actually retype.

Child of God

How are we allowing this to happen?  Isn't this cyber bullying?  Shouldn't we be outraged?  Calling for an end to cyber-bullying?  Reminding him and those who called him names that he's a child of God?  He's someone's brother, son, friend.  Shouldn't he be treated with the same respect as the lovely cheerleader?

Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed on this point.  This argument is not new.  The Pharisees thought Jesus was out of line for surrounding himself with sinners.  For associating with the sick, needy and destitute.  They believed he should only do life with the righteous, the clean, healthy, self-sufficient, the law followers...in other words, them.  In their eyes, Jesus should only have given time to the Pharisees, as they felt they were the only ones worthy of Him.

Jesus said:

 “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17

But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Matthew 9:12

Man, I'm sure glad that Jesus came to save everyone.  Not just the social elite of the day.  Not just the cheerleaders, but everyone.

The Bible says our bodies are a temple.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

This young man has chosen to adorn his body in this way.  We might not agree, but then again, he might not think getting plastic surgery is a suitable way to adorn our bodies.  Or what about the extra 20-30 pounds that adorn lots of bodies?  Is that honoring God?  This young man might not think so.  But is he posting photos of overweight people asking for comments on what you think of them?  No.  He isn't.

Judge not, that you be not judged. Matthew 7:1

God holds the position of Judge.  You do not, neither do I, nor does anyone else on this earth.  We will all be held accountable for each action and word while we were alive.  In the meantime, we are called to love.  To serve others, to shine God's light into this dark world.

I challenge you to comment "Child of God" if you see this man's photo.  Then send a private message to the FB page hosting the photo and ask them to take it down...cyber-bullying must stop.  And not just for cheerleaders.  Everyone gets behind the cheerleader, who will stand up for this man? Send the message that Christians love others-no matter what they look like or how they choose to live.  We are commanded to love, not judge.

His law is LOVE and His gospel is PEACE.

You don't have to agree with how someone chooses to live or what they choose to do with their body, but you are called to love them.  You don't have to find them beautiful but by rejecting this man for how he looks is not much different than the Pharisees telling Jesus he shouldn't dine with tax collectors and sinners.  And remember, we're all sinners.  And all sin is equal in the eyes of the Lord.


²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:28-34

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and yougave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them,‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  Matthew 25:31-46

Mother Knows Best (and a binge story)

Moms...why are they always right?

The lovely Mama Cindy has been my tour guide through this new world of Whole30.  She's answered questions I was too lazy to Google, she's passed along tips and tricks she picked up along the way and has listened as I recounted every single thing I ate that day.

She also warned me to not under eat.  Continually asked me if I really thought that was enough food and suggested I really try eating a little more.

Oh, Mom!  I'm fine.  Eating plenty.  

Sunday night in "Asia on Argyle"

And then, the crash.  Sunday I binged like crazy.  It started with a vietnamese dinner with the bestie and her in-laws.  I'll spare you all the details, but the middle was a blizzard with oreo and peanut butter cups and I finished off hours later with a few bowls of cereal.  Lets just say I hit every single thing Whole30 tells you not to eat, and I didn't just have a bite, I ate them in large quantities...peanuts, grains, MSG, sugar, dairy...I didn't have any alcohol however-we'll call that a win in that category.

I woke up Monday feeling like crap.  Not the usual post-binge mentally defeated feeling that normally occurs the morning after a binge like that.  I actually got over it pretty quickly mentally and emotionally.  Physically though, that's a different story.

Sure, it was one of my bigger binges.  If this binge had occurred while I was still  eating "normally," I probably would have only noticed a little bloating and some slight sluggishness.  But because I'd been mostly Whole30 for a whole week, and I had already started to notice changes in energy level, decreased bloating and other amazing "side effects" of the Whole30 plan, what I witnessed on Monday when I woke up was horrifying.  I actually looked like I was 8 months pregnant.  I was SO bloated.  I have never seen anything like it.  All day I was drowsy, couldn't focus, felt antsy/unsettled and my body revolted.

Really?  After just one night of eating crappy that's what happens?  Lets not do that again, Linsey.

Back to the part about Mama Cindy being right...she emailed me a link to a woman's blog showing everything she ate while on Whole30.  Each one of her plates had considerably more food on it than mine ever do.  I also (re)found this link to this Whole30 meal template.  Though I'd seen at the beginning of my research, I'd apparently forgotten about it...

I realized that Mom was right...I hadn't been eating enough at meals.  That's why I was hungry in between and much more prone to falling off the wagon.  Further research has shown me that most people start to feel full before finishing their Whole30 meals but eating those last few bites will help to stave off hunger until the next meal.  Sure, you don't want to stuff yourself, but a few extra bites of kale aren't really going to kill you.

So, my plates are now more robust than last week's.  Here's what I've been eating:

Passover Seder at Church Saturday night...Chicken, carrot salad,
a piece of potato and some matzo ball soup

Sunday Breakfast: paleo pancakes with mango and blueberries,
sautéed mushrooms with kale and spinach and a single piece of bacon.
After my research, this is NOT enough protein or veggies.

Monday breakfast: Paleo pancakes made with toasted chopped pecans and coconut,
topped with pineapple, ugly fruit and the same pecan/coconut mix.
Chicken sausage sautéed with kale, sweet potato, zucchini and yellow squash.
I probably could have added quite a bit more kale or spinach.

Lunch Monday: Fajita chicken and veggies (peppers and onion) with a side of
avocado and roasted asparagus.
Too small for a normal lunch but I knew I was having an early dinner.

Tuesday Breakfast: Sweet Potato hash (peppers, onion, sweet pots,
Italian chicken sausage) with spinach and two eggs.  A fruit smoothie of:
Coconut water, banana, frozen strawberry and peaches and a clementine.
Probably could have used more spinach or another veggie.

Tuesday Lunch: Fajita scramble using left-over chicken and peppers from yesterday,
with mushrooms and fresh cilantro, topped with fresh salsa and guac.  A side of
kale salad (Whole Foods) and fresh fruit salad.

See...portions are much better Monday and Tuesday.  If you don't wanna click the above link for the template, I'll break it down for you:

Protein: 1-2 times the size of your palm

Veggies: the rest of your plate

Fruit: Occasionally a closed open palm (yeah, I didn't know how to better describe it...click the link)

Coconut: Heaping handful

Nuts: Closed handful

Fats (oils/butters): Up to 1-2 thumb size portions

So...truth be told, I LOVE fruits and I don't feel bad eating more than they recommend.  It makes me feel like I've had a treat because it satisfies my sweet tooth and cleanses my palate of all the savory flavors.

I'm still working on getting my full veggie intake, slowly but surely I'll get it all figured out!

Hello My Name Is

I heard the story about this song on KLOVE one day and thought...wow, what an amazing reminder.

Basically the story goes like this (sorry, I couldn't find a video or anything to explain it so I'll do my best to remember)

Matthew West asks fans to submit letters about their lives and he writes songs about them.  One letter started with "Hello, my name is (insert a male name here) and I'm an addict."  The letter goes on to explain just how far this man has fallen from Christ and then the love, mercy and grace God has given him.  He signs the letter with "Hello, my name is Child Of The One True King."

Powerful stuff.

No matter our condition when we meet Jesus, we walk away as a child of the one true king, forgiven, redeemed, set free.  There are no exceptions.