Sunday Thoughts: Jesus & A Dear Friend

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This is an especially touching event in the life of Jesus and one of his dear friends.   It warms my heart to read about how Jesus (God’s only Son) lived on this earth in a human body just like ours and experienced the same things we experience such as love and grief.   He had a dear friend named Lazarus who had two sisters, Mary and Martha.  Jesus loved this family very much, like we love good friends who are like family to us.  Well,  Lazarus died and the Bible tells us that Jesus cried with Mary and others.

When a friend of mine died from cancer leaving behind a three year old daughter and two sons, the oldest son being 13 and the age of our daughter at the time, it was really sad.   She and I would have our best visits during swimming lessons for our kids, and I really missed her.   Jesus understood my grief and sadness because he lost a friend, as told to us in the Bible in the book of  John, chapter 11:

2Mary went to where Jesus was. Then as soon as she saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33When Jesus saw that Mary and the people with her were crying, he was terribly upset 34and asked, “Where have you put his body?”

They replied, “Lord, come and you will see.”

35Jesus started crying, 36and the people said, “See how much he loved Lazarus.

Note:  Scripture from BibleGateway.com using the Contemporary English Version  (usually I use the NIV Version)

This is not the end of the story!    When Jesus went to the place where Lazarus was buried, Martha told Jesus that Lazarus had been dead for four days and his body had started to smell.   Jesus told Martha, “Didn’t I tell you that if you had faith, you would see the glory of God?”  And so Jesus called to Lazarus, and Lazarus walked out of the burial cave with the burial strips of cloth still on his body.  Maybe some of the people there were freaking out, we don’t know.  But those who had faith knew the power of God.

The people at that event in history definitely saw the glory of God!  And what does this mean for us today?  Jesus sympathizes with us when someone we love dies.  He’s been there!  He knows the sorrow and the pain of losing someone dear.  It also means that we live in a world where God is in control.  And even though he is the creator of the world and whole universe and everything in existence, He is also the God who loves us and cares about each one of us when we experience sorrow or sadness.  Jesus told Martha, “…if you have faith,”  and if we have faith then we will see God working in our lives!


Four Foods On Friday 113

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From Val's Kitchen

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Val says, “What can you make with eggs, meat or poultry, vegetables and a starch?   Her answer:  This is a lame one but the only one that is coming to mind.  I’m thinking casseroles but only coming up with breakfast. So my answer is an omelet with meat and veggies in it, with hash browns on the side.

My answer would be Turkey Meatballs & Pasta Sauce:

  • 16 ounce package of ground turkey
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/3 cup crushed Wheaties or Grape Nuts (or cracker crumbs)
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 jar Chunky Ragu Sauce with veggies
  • Pasta

Mix well.  Form 12 meatballs.  Preheat large skillet on medium with olive oil, place meatballs in skillet and cook COVERED for 12-15 minutes, turn and cook 5 more minutes.  Serve over pasta with Ragu Sauce.
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Vacations & Cruises

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This past winter passed by quickly, and now it’s already spring.  Soon it will be summer and time to plan vacations.  Some people might be planning european river cruises, but for us it will be a simple vacation driving somewhere.  Years ago, we took some nice vacations  flying to Disney World and another year flying to Hawaii when our daughter graduated from high school.  But with the economy the way it is, I will be happy just to get away for a weekend.

Exercising

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Now that it’s warmer weather, I see a lot of people out exercising in this awesome spring weather.  Some people may be trying to muscle up by exercising and reading muscle supplement reviews to find the best supplements to take.  Others may simply be taking a nice walk to get some form of aerobic exercise while enjoying the beauty of springtime.  That would be me.  I’m not big on exercising a whole lot, but I love to take a walk outside by a nice meadow and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Things I Love Thursday: “Antique Broom Closet” Pantry

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One thing that my kitchen didn’t have that I really wanted was a pantry or an abundance of storage space.  I looked several different places such as Pier One, Target, Walmart, and other places.  All of the cabinets I found were too wide for the space.  I was so excited when I found this antique broom closet at an antique mall.  It was just the right width, was unique because it was an actual broom closet, and caught my attention as soon as I saw it. I knew that it was what I wanted! It was the perfect fit for what we needed.

It had small ledges on the inside walls, and I discovered that a cookie sheet turned upside down would fit on those small ledges to make a strong shelve that would easily support the weight put on top of  it.  I bought two more cookie sheets so that my “pantry” would have three shelves.  And if I ever decide to actually use this as a broom closet, I can easily take out the cookie sheets in just a few seconds.  It has quite an assortment of things in it as you can tell and ended up being a place to put things I didn’t have room for instead of being an actual pantry.  Someday I plan to reorganize (and update our kitchen but I still want to keep the broom closet).

Here’s another picture that I like that shows the authenticity of the broom closet.  It’s the actual company plate at the top of the cabinet.

Like I mentioned, someday I want to update our kitchen but still keep the broom closet.  So far, all we’ve done is to replace our microwave.  At least that’s one step in redoing our kitchen.  And you know what?  At this point in my life, that is at the bottom of my priority list.  With all of the poor people suffering in Haiti and other places, I’m  thankful to have a kitchen that has everything I need.  What a blessing!

Here’s one more picture from a couple of years ago showing the entire broom closet from top to bottom. I took down the wallpaper border soon after that.  (You can barely see the microwave, our only update so far.)



Acne!

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It’s so hard being a teenager or young adult and not knowing which acne products work and which do not.  And just because a person thinks they outgrow acne doesn’t mean they won’t get an occasional pimple (or zit) from time to time.  As women’s hormones change, they are particularly susceptible to getting one of those unwanted pimples on their face.  I guess acne is something we just have to live with!

UBP10 After-Party!

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For those of you who are not familiar with UBP10, that stands for the “Ultimate Blog Party 2010” which is hosted yearly by 5MinutesForMom.com and involves hundreds of people.  It’s a great way to meet new bloggers, discover a lot of great blogs, and also have a chance to win some awesome prizes.  I’ve discovered several new blogs that I’ll enjoy visiting again, and here are three of them:

Homemade Sugar-Free Mint Lemonade

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lemon (riper lemons are juicier) for each large glass of lemonade
  • Stevia – we use KAL brand Stevia (natural sugar-free herb which is considered by many to be the best choice for sugar replacement)
  • Water
  • Ice
  • Mint leaves, fresh off the plant (I used leaves from a Peppermint Plant)

DIRECTIONS:

Juice the lemons.  First, roll the lemons on the kitchen counter, mashing them as you roll.  This helps make juicing easier.   Cut the lemons in half and take out all the seeds you can.  Here are a few suggestions on how to juice a lemon:

  • The old fashioned way:  squeeze, squeeze, squeeze each lemon half
  • Use an inexpensive juicer as pictured below.  (I bought mine in a resale shop years ago, and it’s probably considered an antique now.)
  • Use a Le Creuset Citrus Juicer (Christi, I listed this one for you)
  • Use a more expensive juicer (they range anywhere up to $549.00 – I don’t recommend this)

After you juice the lemons, add sweetener to taste (Stevia is what we use).  Pour over ice with mint leaves.

NOTE:  The Peppermint Plant is the very beginning of our garden this year.  I’m excited to finally start one because we had a huge garden during all of my childhood.  Our garden this year will start small.  I will be posting the progress with it under “Gardening.”

Get a Second Opinion

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There are a lot of new procedures and surgeries available today that I don’t know much about, for example bariatric surgery.   Any type of health procedure or surgery should be researched to some degree by the patient or their family so they have some knowledge about what is going to happen.  That is what our family does.  And it’s always an excellent idea to get a second opinion which is also something we have done.  On one occasion, the second opinion revealed that the procedure was not even necessary, and the professional who gave the first decision agreed with the second opinion.  So my advice, try to always get a second opinion!

Four Foods on Friday 112

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From Val's Kitchen

Val says, “Hi everyone.  What can you make with meat or poultry, rice, cheese and a vegetable?   Val’s answer:  Cook rice. Add in cooked boneless chicken, cream of chicken soup, broccoli and cheddar cheese. Season to taste. Heat in oven to set or serve as it is.
Here’s my answer, and it’s almost like Val’s.  This is a quick & easy meal that is very satisfying, and it’s called:

Chicken & Brown Rice with Broccoli & Cheese
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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups cooked chicken, bite-size
  • 1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
  • frozen broccoli
  • freshly ground salt & pepper
  • 1/2 cup sharp shredded cheese, reduced-fat

DIRECTIONS:

Cook brown rice in water and olive oil according to package directions.  As soon as it’s done, add the chicken and soup.  Stir.  Add just a little more water if necessary.  Place the frozen broccoli on top (break it apart), place the lid back on top of the pan, and cook on medium low for 10-15 minutes until broccoli is tender.  Add shredded cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

FREE Mr. Jim’s Pizza on April 15th with Code

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Go to Mr. Jim’s Pizza on Facebook, to “Pizza Offers” at the top and then to “Get My Code.”  You will be given a code to write down.  Then on April 15th, go to mrjims.com to place an online order.  Just type your code in the coupon box.  It’s that simple…& it’s FREE!  Yay!