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A good snack

A good afternoon snack can be challenging! Anything sweet, and I completely lose my appetite for supper. I usually end up grabbing a hand full of smoked almonds about 4:30 in the afternoon. They are yummy, but even I who loves salt thinks they are a bit salty. Yesterday, on a whim, after I grabbed my little portion of almonds, I also added some raisins to the mix. Yum! It is delicious! The salty almonds combined with the chewy raisins will really perk up your taste buds! After several experiments, I've determined that one smoked almond with two raisins is the perfect ratio.

What about you? What is your perfect afternoon snack?

Cars

My car hit 80000 miles yesterday. I've had it 4.5 years, and like the other cars, I already have fond memories of this car... most of them are driving back and forth to Tennessee and going on trips with my husband. (We love to travel together, and we are good travel buddies.)

It got me thinking about the 4 cars I've had since 1984 when I graduated from college. My beloved dad picked out my first car for me, and it was, you guessed it, a Ford. (Daddy loved Fords!) I came home one day, and he asked me if I knew how to drive a stick shift. What do you say? Well, I said, "Sure." (How hard could it be?) I chug chugged around for a few days in my nice used Ford Escort until I found the gears' sweet spot, and after that I didn't look back! Stick shifts are so fun to drive! I babied that car too. Daddy was such a firm believer of regular oil checks, and I drove that car until it reached almost 100,000 miles. (Not many el cheapo cars like that can make it as far.)

By the time I got my second car, Daddy was fairly sick. My brother helped me pick out a car. We got a Dodge Shadow, another stick shift. (I think this one had 5 gears!) I felt a little guilty for not getting a Ford but I knew that Daddy wouldn't really be able to help me maintain it like he had with my first car, so I moved on. Besides, the car was at a good price and I was able to pay cash for it. It lasted me about 6 years. Once again, I babied it.

Third car was a red Lexus. (Yep, you guessed it: by that time I was married to a very generous man.) It was spur of the moment. A man was checking over my car and he said that the car was literally on its last few miles. (I thought that was pretty extreme, because the car was driving fine.) My husband was a little more alarmed than I, so off we went to Carmax and it took us just a few minutes to pick out the car and drive off the lot. That red Lexus glided over the roads. I remember driving home from school the following Monday almost giddy over my magic carpet ride! We still have that car too: my husband drives it, because when his black Lexus gave out a few years ago, we bought a new car and he let me drive the new one. (My husband is pretty thoughtful too.)

My current car, the 80,000 mile white Lexus, is also a smooth ride. I'll probably still be driving it in 2015, and maybe beyond. My favorite feature is the GPS. I'm amazed at how helpful it's been. But just a warning, when the GPS lady confidently tells you "In 200 yards, turn right," just make sure there are no cars coming!

What about you: do your cars conjure up good memories for you too?

Scripture songs

I've been reading Isaiah 52 and 53 this week. Apart from the obvious sadness I felt for what Jesus went through for us sinners, it made me think about how so many praise songs are pulled straight from Scripture. Our God Reigns is a pretty good paraphrase of Isaiah 52 - 53!

A while back I made a list of some of my favorite songs and their supporting Bible verses:

You are my Hiding Place    - Psalm 32:7
Crucified with Christ - Galatians 2:20
Sacrifice of Praise - Hebrews 13:15
Create in me a Clean Heart - Psalm 51
As the Deer Panteth for the Water - Psalm 42:1
Glorify Thy Name - Psalm 86:12
His Name is Wonderful - Isaiah 9:6
Be Exalted, O God - Psalm 57
Our God Reigns - Isaiah 52-53

This has been a good way for me to learn Scripture. Does this help you identify Scripture too? Are there other songs out there that you know of?

After 13+ years

Our 1995 tv is finally going on the blink, and this may be the weekend that we get a new one. It'll obviously be flat screen; however, there are so many kinds: plasma, lcd, high def. The choices are almost overwhelming.

What will we do with the old tv? It probably takes up a cubic yard of space! It was top of the line in its day.

Do you have any tv suggestions for us?

Yummy Arugula

I'm a fan of Arugula lettuce! A medium green color and very delicate looking, it makes a delicious salad and the leaves are a good size that don't require much cutting up. Add feta cheese, some sliced almonds and it's just a perfect lunch. My preferred dressing is an olive oil / red wine vinegar dressing that I first had at my friend Virginia's.

Believe it or not, if I have them on hand, I add Bacon Bits... the artificial kind. Did you know that they are actually quite healthy, being made primarily from soy? The crunch is their best part!

Do you like salads too? What are some good "extras" that you like to add to salad?

A couple of good Rascal Flatts songs

I've just discovered Rascal Flatts. Up until just recently, the "Mayberry" song was the only song that rang any bell... but I couldn't have told you who was the artist. However, a couple of months ago, one of my friends who had a rough childhood mentioned that Rascal Flatt's "I'm Moving On" touched her and was a turning point for her healing. It made me think that I need to go to iTunes and check out Rascal Flatts!

The Rascal Flatts song that warmed my heart is "Bless the Broken Road". That song was written for me! You see, I didn't find my wonderful husband until I was 32. There had been many boyfriends, heartaches and broken roads before I met the love of my life. Some were snakes that I knew were snakes before I picked them up... but others were true soul mates and I wondered why God didn't allow the relationship to go forward. Fortunately, God's grace never let me despair. (Praise God!) After each broken road, I always had the assurance that God had someone better in mind for me. I remember even thinking at the time that I should be more distressed, but then Hope would spring eternal.

"But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through"

Looking back, it's all clear. Here I am now with my precious husband and any other relationship previous to this one has just made me appreciate him more. (And just think of all that wisdom I learned along the way!)

"This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you"

I love songs like this!

If you'd like to read entire "Bless the Broken Road" lyrics, here they are:
http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/rascal-flatts-lyrics/bless-the-broken-road-lyrics.html

And, the "I'm Moving On" lyrics are pretty powerful too:
http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/rascal-flatts-lyrics/i_m-moving-on-lyrics.html

Are there songs out there that have touched you?

The Shack

I just finished reading The Shack, a story of a broken and hurt man transformed by spending a very powerful weekend with God. The story of this man’s pain juxtaposed with God’s goodness, mercy, and empathy brought me to tears over and over. It was such a reminder that God wants us to want Him to be a part of our lives. He yearns for a relationship with us. And, God is “especially fond” of us all.

The Shack has been criticized for its non-traditional portrayal of the Trinity. (That’s all I’m saying!) Although the presentation was a little "interesting", the message I got was that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are at one with one another. They feed off each other and love each other and even have fun with each other. Is this exactly like the Bible describes the Trinity? I would have to say no, but their relationship towards each other really drew me in. The way they treated each other is a model that we on earth could learn from.

The bottom line for me is that I love books about down-and-out people who are redeemed by the redemptive powers of God. And I love books that make me cry, whether it's tears of sadness or tears of joy. So, this book is really one of my favorite "types" of books.

Does it replace reading The Bible which has dozens of stories about people who face tragedy and find redemption? No, of course not! The Bible is the divine word of God! However, if you’d like a good example of how letting God into our lives will peel away our layers of hardness, guilt, cynicism and sadness, this book will not disappoint. A bonus is that The Shack gave me a very beautiful glimpse into how glorious yet real Heaven will be. Just a reminder, though: you will need Kleenex.

A good sermon

Andy preached a good sermon last week: He's Still Got the Whole World in His Hand. With the recession and all, I'm sure people are wondering: "Where is God in all this?" Andy reminded us that people in the Bible are no strangers to bad times! Think of Moses' mother having to put Moses in a basket in the river and then just hope for the best. Think of Joseph in the well hearing his brothers debate whether to sell him or kill him. Think of David whose son turned on him. Think of Jesus knowing that one of his disciples will betray him!

In fact, Andy reminded us in his dry-humor sort of way that "the Bible is not a story of a bunch of rich people having fun."

I guess faith in God does trump material comfort!

Another good stress buster

I just remembered another stress buster: an epsom salt bath. You would not believe how relaxing it is! Your skin feels so soft afterwards, and I never sleep better than when I've just had an epsom salt bath.

This is absolutely the easiest and cheapest way to de-stress. Just pour two cups (or so) into your running water, and voila!

The only slightly stressful element of an epsom salt bath is reading the epsom salt container. There you'll learn that epsom salts can be used as a laxative and as a fertilizer. I've also read that you can pour it over the area where slugs inhabit and it wards them off! And I've also heard that it works on toenail fungus.

To keep your bath really stress-free, just don't think about the above uses for epsom salt! And by all means, invest in a $1.50 container and epsom salt and de-stress your day away...