What Love Really Means

Growing up,  my mother was notorious for telling stories-some went in one ear and out the others, while others left a lasting mark. One day, I remember my mother telling me a story of a young man, who's wife died shortly after their marriage. HE was young at the time, but firmly believed that was the woman God chose for him, and would save himself until he saw her again in Heaven. He vowed to never love nor be with a woman, until he saw his wife. Today, this man is a pastor, and has stuck firmly to his vow he made years ago. During the time my mother was telling me this story, I didn't understand his logic. How is it possible to wait for the one you love your entire life? "You'll get lonely, you need to love again" I thought to myself.
18 months ago, I lost my boyfriend and best friend of five years. I remembered the story my mother told me, and have pondered it often since. I use to think what he did was crazy and unreasonable, but now, I fully understand what he did and see, it's not unreasonable in the least. He stayed committed to his wife, even though she was gone, and saved himself until he was with her again. What that man did is the true definition of love.  I by no means am planning  on doing the same thing that man did, but I often spend time wondering if I could.

Thought for the day:

Today I was speaking anonymously  to a customer, and friend about a woman who was sexually assaulted. He said, "She wasn't assaulted, she consented. She asked for it." Would the man say the same thing if he knew the victim was me? 

Thought for the day

I've come to the conclusion that its because people base their relationship off of worldly things such as status, the future, physical contact, etc. All of which are changing things. If you want a stable and growing relationship then the basis of it should be something unchanging.. CHRIST.

-Happy Sunday to You All 

A sin is still a sin.

It's been about a month since I've sat down to write and man, do I miss it.  I've officially started my freshman year of college at Chemeketa Community College and am also working full time;with that said, finding time to write is nearly impossible. Before I sit down to write I like to have a methodical plan as to how I'm going to get my thoughts on a page. Let's face it, I'd rather blog less with more insightful things rather than blog often with mindless thoughts on a page.

Yesterday I taking an advantage of a few free moments I had and scrolled down my Facebook news feed. I found pictures of a close friend of mine friend at a party. ( To ensure their privacy let's call my close friend, Margo and her friend, Ashley)I wasn't judging in least ( God only knows I've been there too) but merely caught off guard. I texted Margo and asked her if her friend Ashley went to parties. She replied with, "Yes but only like two a month." There were two things that I found very interesting about her response which is what I want to share with you today. One; Margo's need to justify Ashley's actions and two; a sin is a sin regardless how many times you do it.

It's human nature for us to excuse the ones the we love. If someone we care about does something wrong we want to justify to make them look better. We don't want the ones we love to look bad which to some extent is admirable. On the other hand, if we excuse the actions of only those whom we love, but view the same actions as negative and a sin towards someone we don't know then we're being bias. Where does our personal opinions come in when we're excusing some but not others? There comes a point when we need not to excuse the person but rather hold them accountable-love the sinner, hate the sin.

Another detail I found intriguing with her response is, "...but only twice." if someone commits murder and it goes to trial the jurors aren't going to say, " well.. he only murdered someone once so he can get off scott free." They're going to acknowledge the fact that the man is a murder and sentence him to prison. I realize this example is a bit extreme but is the concept not the same? A sin is a sin regardless how many times it's done. It's just as bad the first or second time as it is the fifth or sixth? This goes back to what I said above; we excuse the ones we love to ensure their integrity.  

Orzo Salad with Spinach Pesto, Olives & Feta

I believe food is an art. I love everything about it-from making it to eating it. I'm a major food lover, plain and simple. I just find such beauty in taking random ingredients and turning them into something beautiful and delicious!

As a child I was never a picky eater but I loved my candy and fats and hated my fruits and vegetables. As an adult, I know longer eat meat but I still have a craving for fatty foods. I strive each day to find healthier alternatives to yummy foods... and for a food lover like myself, it's A LOT of fun. When I find a new recipe I get so excited!! Naturally, I have to share it with you so everyone can partake in the scrumptiousness of healthy eating.

I've recently started cooking with Orzo which is Italian pasta that resembles rice only easier to cook and it doesn’t burn. Can't get much better than that! Tonight I made, Orzo Salad with Spinach Pesto, Olives & Feta! It was a healthy alternative to rich pasta! Recipe follows.




Orzo Salad with Spinach Pesto, Olives & Feta

For the pesto:
6-8 ounces baby spinach
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan, lightly packed
1-2 garlic cloves, depending on your love of raw garlic
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons good olive oil
For the salad:
1 pound orzo pasta
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 clove shallot, diced small
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper


Because olives and feta are both high in sodium I would recomond not adding any additional salt as the recipe calls for. It's plenty salty with out it!

Enjoy!

Courtesy of www.thekitchn.com/ for sharing this recipe!



The power of giving

My mother is one of the most incredible woman I've met for many reasons but one in particular is her big heart and desire to give. My mother is an insurance agent in a rural area. Each day she sees clients with heart-breaking stories who are unable to pay their insurance. Instead of turning them away, she pays it for them expecting nothing in return. Now my mother is in no position to pay for these people's insurance.. Our family counts our pennies and relies on miracles for the rest. But time and time again my mother is paying insurance for other people when they can't afford it. Today, kindness was bestowed upon her for a change.

A few weeks ago my mother's phone had broken. She managed to get by until this evening when it had it's last straw. We went into the Verizon store and unfortunately she wasn't due for an upgrade, she had no insurance on her phone and was going to have to shovel out a couple hundred dollars for a new phone.. With a tight budget, that wasn't something my mother was jumping for joy over. The sales associate went in the back room and came out with a much nicer phone that my mother had had before and said to us, " This is my old phone.. I was planning on giving it to my sister but you need it more. I'll sell it to you for 40$" Unfortunately, my mother only had credit card and the woman needed cash. I happened to have a twenty on me so I gave it to her and she said, " forget the rest. I've had a food day and want to give back"  My mouth dropped when I heard this. A woman that barely knew us was making an under the table sale at a corporate store and sold us her used cell phone for more than half of what she could have gotten for it. After this happened I was reminded of the good deeds my mother does for people each and every day and how she gets nothing out of it other than happiness of knowing she helped someone. It was a nice change to see someone giving back to my mom...to see someone helping her and expecting nothing out it.

It's a good reminder to all of us that no good deed goes unnoticed. Good things happen to those who walk in faith and give with out expecting anything in return.

Being vegetarian.

Cabbage rolls

Growing up my mother was vegetarian and my father was a meat eater.. I grew up eating tofu steak for lunch and real steak for lunch.. It was very balanced. As I grew up, I clinged more to eating vegetarian than meat and I LOVE it. There is something so fresh and cleansing about eating healthy! The best part is, you don't have to compromise any of the flavor. Eating vegetarian is just as good if not better than meat. You just have to know what to use. For many of us, that can be a challenge so let me show you how easy and delicious it is to remove meat!

Veggie Crumbles

This evening I made cabbage rolls for dinner. The filling called for rice, sausage and ground beef! To put a healthier twist on it I removed the sausage, doubled the rice, used brown rice, and used imitation meat for the ground beef! I know what you're thinking.. that sounds disgusting! But believe me, it's much more scrumptious than it sounds! Our family uses Morning Star veggie crumbles which can be found at your local grocery store or online. Costco also sells their own brand found in specialty section.  All you have to do is add beef flavoring ( typically bullion cubes) and voila! A healthier substitution for meat.

For the next few posts, I'll be sharing with you healthier variations to your average meal!  Below are links to these two items

1. Cabbage Rolls: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Classic-Cabbage-Rolls
2. Morning Star: http://www.morningstarfarms.com/morningstar-farms-meal-starters-grillers-recipe-crumbles.html