Life Is Funny: Is This Forever?

By MAD21

I am going for a test procedure today that requires me to go under anesthesia. I'm not a fan of not being in control of myself. In the past I have woken up asking the same questions over and over again, or saying silly things. Once I remember telling the nurse that was helping me, "I liiike you." Ugh. As my family sits here and makes jokes at my expense, offering to video me this time (to which I emphatically said, NO WAY!), I think of this poor kid whose father decided he needed to share his son's experience after a visit to the dentist:

My friend and fellow blogger Wendy at Weight..What? has a fun carnival at her blog called "Life is Funny." Every Monday we talk about something in life that we find funny. Be sure to go visit her blog to read her post along with links to other blogs who are participating.

Tasty Bites: Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Corn

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

What? You’ve never heard of quinoa? Where have you been for the last several thousand years?

Quinoa is a grain that was a staple of the ancient Andean civilizations, and has most recently been in the nutrition news for its nutritious protein content. One serving provides 8 grams of protein, which is pretty high for a grain. The unique thing about quinoa is that is contains all the amino acids that make up a complete protein, which is highly unusual for a plant food. You can buy red or white quinoa in the bulk section of your local grocer, or boxed, usually in the health food section.

It doesn’t have a lot of flavor by itself, but face it, neither does pasta or rice. It’s all about the fresh flavors you add to enhance your dish, and still make it nutritious.

Click to read more ...

YOB: International Adventure 2010 (Part 2) Kalambaka/Delphi/Olympia

By Lara

Where was I? Yes. Kalambaka.

It had stopped raining in Kalambaka by the time we left the hotel. We drove back up into the mountains of Meteora. We visited the monastery of St. Mumblecough. I could reach over to my little pile of things to include in the eventual scrapbook to look up the name, but you won't remember in five minutes anyhow. It was beautiful no matter the name. There were more stairs to climb than I had expected, but it was worth it.

After I finished poking around in the various dark corners, running into monks, and wishing I could take pictures of the velvet-bound Bibles, I walked back down the stairs to find a place for some quiet reflection. I sat on a small stone wall where I had a view of a rose garden and two mountain peaks. I contemplated the surreality of it all. I was in Greece having a once in a lifetime experience. I tried to really take it all in. The cool mountain air. The distant birds. The sheer history of it all. The radio of the vendor behind me playing AC/DC...

Far too quickly, it was time to get on the bus. There were long periods of time on the bus. I know that we had lunch. I am fairly sure it was in Lamia. Yes! I had my first taste of genuine Grecian baklava. It was heaven.

Click to read more ...

An Attitude of Gratitude

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I must admit that sometimes I have a problem with gratitude. Often I am so consumed by the hustle and bustle of everyday life and so wrapped up in my trivial problems that I really fail to thank God for those things that I should be truly thankful for. I thought about this over the weekend and decided to make this the topic of my article. I think God was putting this on my heart with two incidents that occurred during this time period.  I had a Compassion Team meeting at my house on Saturday and several members of my team had just returned from Tanzania and had stories to share. I also started thinking about my negativity and how often my prayers are about those trivial things. I pray that the pain in my knee might be better, I pray that I might have a good sales day at work, I even pray that God will make the humidity go away. I mean really....here is God looking down on all of us and sees all the suffering that is going on through out the world and I am literally taking his time with these types of prayers. Get real! I must admit that I am really not as shallow as I am making my self sound. My prayers are often more substantial and do offer praises but how many times do we just throw those types of prayers up to Him and ask for something that really is not that important. Our attitude is too often one of wishing rather than thanking.

Click to read more ...

Are Your Roots Planted?

By Pat

In the back portion on my mother's yard was a huge weeping willow tree. For many years, it stood beautifully, but eventually it became diseased and unhealthy. Parts of it began to die, and it became weakened. Finally, a few months ago, a storm with very gusty winds toppled the tree. It lay there for a couple of months until my mother found someone who wanted the wood and agreed to cut up and haul away the tree. But in that period of time between the falling and the hauling, we watched in amazement as portions of that seemingly dead tree sprouted new growth. Although the root ball was out of the ground, evidently the tiny amount of root still in the ground helped to bring life to parts of the tree. It reminded me so much of us humans

We sometimes are toppled, blown over by the strong winds of life, and we feel at times as if God has deserted us. We appear to ourselves and others spiritually dead. But we're not! As long as our roots are planted firmly and deeply in Jesus, we never have to fear the storms of life. Jesus will continue to be at work in us, and will allow our weaknesses to build new strength, new growth. We need only to cling to our Lord. After all, if He can raise the dead to life, He can certainly see us through our storms and make us stronger than ever!

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.