Admire women.

How do you pay tribute to someone who refuses to be recognized? How do you say "thank you" to someone who denies giving you a gift? How do you honor the humble? You don't tell them you're doing it.

I know a woman who I greatly admire, a woman I love with all my heart. When I'm anxious or afraid I can close my eyes and feel the rumble and heat of her lawn mower as we rode around the yard or recall the precious scent of yellowing books in a wood paneled hallway where she read to me. I can hear her singing folk songs so old that they cannot be googled, researched, or located anywhere other than certain treasured memories from her childhood, and now mine. There is so much more I could say about this woman I adore, but mostly all I need to express is - I love my Grandma.

My mother's mother

She rose obediently before the dawn

with aching back

bruised feet

and no complaint

So that she might raise four skinny kids

without dishwasher

daycare

or charity. 

Her eyes were on God

and her hands were busy.

My Nineveh

The neighbor I despise, a cruel child, the woman who flirts with my husband, the parent who abandoned you, a thug in the streets of my neighborhood. 

This is who makes up the population of my Nineveh. This is where God has put me but I spend all of my time on the shore outside the city, searching the horizon for my whale. If I stay here much longer with my feet in the sand, I know Satan will send me that whale. But Lord give me courage, I'm going back in, through you I know I'll never fail. 

The Skinny Chef

One of the worst pieces of weight loss advice I've ever read, received, or gave has definitely been: "Cook! Don't eat out!" Obviously this sounds like a winner, but have you ever eaten at MY table? I learned to cook at the elbow of my grandma, stirring pots for mama, and cracking eggs for Daddy. These people were raised on more than a little pork fat with a side of corn bread and biscuits. Having the knowledge I have, knowing how to make their savory repertoire of dishes, becoming the living embodiment of the most fabulous family cook book ever, is almost too much to bear. The temptation to add a little butter, mix up some corn bread, and forever abandon the battle for my waist line is a mighty one. 

So I'd officially like to add one very important word to the above advice and forever redeem it of its sabotaging nature. "Cook skinny! Don't eat out!" Honestly, this is not something which came naturally to me. But after almost three years in the kitchen with my wonderfully heath conscious husband, I realize that not every meal has to be incredible, sometimes it just needs to be healthy! With that in mind, I give you this:

We do our "major" shopping about once a week at the Commissary,
but several times a week we fill a buggy with fresh produce.

This recipe makes great leftovers in mass and for that reason I qualify it as "Sunday Night Cooking." That is when I make way too much of something only moderately delicious and put it away to warm up all week long! Be careful though, not everything qualifies as SNC (Sunday Night Cooking). Items such as savory, creamy, Sausage and Potato soup are much too delicious to make with the intentions of "freezing the leftovers." There's nothing to freeze when you lick the pot clean! So trust me and make this extremely healthy, tasty but not overly impressive crock pot recipe and you'll have a yummy, balanced meal on hand for days to come. 

*Crockpot Chicken Fajitas*

INGREDIENTS
2 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
2 cans diced tomatoes with liquid
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
10 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

NUTRITIONAL INFO
Calories: 109
Fat: 1g
Carbohydrates: 13g
Protein: 13g

INSTRUCTIONS
Cut chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Prepare all vegetables. Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours. Serve over rice or noodles. I suggest Basmati rice or whole wheat penne pasta!

Number of Servings: 10


(If this is too easy or if you're not crazy about the natural delicious flavor of veggies try adding some fresh cilantro and/or parsley leaves in the last hour of cooking. You might also want to add some tomato sauce later in the week to change it up a bit. Grate some cheese over it, go crazy!)

Dear Mom, You reading this?

Who knew there was a mountain down here? I've been having a fantastic string of days which included:

1) dates with my exceptionally charming husband

2) visits from our two brilliantly entertaining nephews, my husband's lovely sister and her husband, and two of the most beautiful women I know who just happen to be my cousins

3) delicious cook outs with family

4) birthday celebrations with wonderful friends

5) extra time to test new recipes, open new books, hear new songs, and write on new paper

*Potato, turkey sausage, onion, and mushroom soup*
These left overs never make it past midnight.

But the bad? Bleh, I do not wish to share. There are days when I am tempted to start a new blog, create an alias, and write anonymously about "How this really is my mother's fault." That way my namesake wouldn't be angry and you wouldn't know that I am grossly human, ordinarily flawed, financially broke, overweight, under-educated, quick to anger, sluggish to forgive, hard to love. Hopefully you know this already, but if not I apologize, from one sinner to another. Begrudgingly and against my will I am becoming more aware of the truth that I am imperfect through no fault of my parentage, but through divine design. What use would I have for the name of Jesus if I did not require a savior? Would I have sought out my creator if I had no malfunctions to report, no flaws to perfect in His creation? Probably not.

*Fresh from our balcony garden*

I am still fighting my weight! But 43 pounds lost since I first threw down the Snickers and picked up my sneakers seems like a success story thus far. (Just to recap, this is all "Happy Fat" gained in the first 2 years of an incredibly joyful marriage.) To celebrate, I'd like to share a few things that work for me.

{WARNING: Skinny people need not continue. But please leave a comment before you go!}

1.) YOGA - I go in sore and cranky and tired. I come out feeling my age, which is 22. I go to Nabucco's class at the Fitness Center on Tyndall Air Force Base. She is a fantastic teacher as well as a wonderful person!
2.) I've recently started using SparkPeople.com which is now getting free advertisement through me simply because this website is MASSIVE and yet detail oriented. I track my water intake, work outs, and nutrient intake(because it's not all about the calories!). They also have lots of recipe and workout ideas for the days when I'm fresh out. 
3.) I eat delicious food.

Post work out snack. Strawberries are sweetly in season right now!

Lots of GREEN and never canned or frozen. 

Some days I feel like THIS...

...so I try to keep THESE in the freezer!
My sweet husband brought these home as a
surprise and they are delicious! The nasty
coconut bucket in the background is all his.

I'm always searching for new ideas, new recipes, new work outs, new MOTIVATION. So please share if there's anything that really gets you going or feeds your cravings without busting a seam!  

There's no such thing as "Smarter Sheep"

Lately I've been hearing a lot from people in my life about what is "right." The "right" church to go to. The "right" food to eat. The "right" clothing and apparel to wear. We share these things with each other out of loving hearts, thinking that God has revealed to us something special that needs to be spread and preached upon. But I have to tell you the truth friend, the only person I can count on to be right in my life, is Jesus Christ. He is the only authority to which I subscribe and I refuse to be swept up by religion and carried away from Jesus.

My Bible says:

"For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."

(John 3:16)

As a Christian however we sometimes lean towards our own private translations which go something like this:

"For God so loved the BAPTISTS..." or

"For God so loved the HETEROSEXUALS..." or

"For God so loved the WHITE PEOPLE..."

And we play with that last bit to fit into the mold we're most comfortable with:

"whoever comes to church on Saturday, eats no meat, and wears no jewelry will not perish..." or

"whoever comes to church on Sunday, never gets a divorce, and sings the right songs will not perish..."

What a shameful thing we've done as a church. Mocking our neighbors and attempting to lesson the value of a soul saved under a different sign than our own. I went to a Baptist church this morning and I praised my Savior. While I was there that SAME SAVIOR who died for me was also at another service just down the road at the Methodist church where a lost soul came home and all of Heaven rejoiced!

Christian, you do NOT have a monopoly on Jesus Christ,

no matter how "right" you think you are.

Jesus cautioned us against our own judgmental nature by saying:

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"

(Matthew 7:3)

Is this not plain? God loves us ALL. God sees all, knows all, and has power over ALL. Why then are we condemning each other in the name of denomination? Why are we excluding one another on the grounds of being different? Why are we judging our brothers and sisters in Christ on their day to day walk when it is none of our business and all of Gods. We are supposed to be reaching the lost, carrying the light into a dark world, not bickering amongst ourselves over translations, denominations, and interpretations.

God spoke to this very topic in the book of Romans chapter 14.

What a freeing passage this is:

^"1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. ²One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."

(Romans 14:1-6)

What ever you do to please God, pleases Him.

But be wary of self righteous feelings which make

you believe that all other Christians should do as you do,

worship as you do, look as you do, believe as you do.

"²²So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves."

(Romans 14:22)