Author: Chrisy

Food and Fitness Friday: YUM!

One of the best things that I have come across is the produce co-op that we have in Greenville. For $21.50 every two weeks, we get a huge bag of seasonal fruits and veggies, as many as possible from local farms, and it is amazing. I am constantly trying new things that I haven’t tried before because it has shown up in my produce bag. Kale, leeks, parsnips, eggplant, pomegranate, star fruit, and the like are just a few of the new flavors that have been added to our lives.

My favorite part of getting new produce is looking through new recipes to find something I can try using what is available in my kitchen. I have found TONS of ideas, and liked most of them. If nothing else, looking for recipes and subsequently cooking them gives me another form of “therapy” besides running. Not to mention how fun it is to cook from scratch and make delicious vegan fare.

So far, besides eggplant, kale has been my biggest challenge. I have added it to soups and stove-top dishes and it worked, but it hadn’t yet made me super excited to eat it.

This week, I found two ways to eat it that were amazing, so I thought I would share them with you.

The first one is Better Than Trader Joe’s Kale and Edamame Salad. I made it for lunch one day and ate it along with a handful of roasted almonds and was in love. The dressing was fabulous, as was the combination of Craisins, edamame, and chickpeas. I ate it for the next couple of days as part of my supper and as lunch.

The second one is a combination. We had tacos last night and I had some of  my favorite vegan taco filling that I pulled out of the freezer. I mixed up a batch of fresh guacamole (1 small onion, chopped; 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped; 4 avocados, mashed; juice of 1 lime, kosher salt to taste, handful of fresh cilantro, chopped), put some crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, tore up some kale, topped it with the taco filling, guacamole, vegan sour cream, and a touch of taco sauce, and it was pretty much the most amazing taco salad that I have ever eaten. Something about the stronger flavor of the kale mixed with the Mexican flavors was so much better than when I have used other types of lettuce.

If you have the opportunity to join a produce co-op in your area, do it. If nothing else, you are helping local farmers and helping yourself as you eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, then you, too, can find new and delicious ways to add to your weekly menu!

Giving Up

Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent, or the season leading up to Easter. This 40-day season (the Sundays are not counted) are supposed to be a reminder of the 40 days that Jesus was in the desert at the beginning of his ministry. It is typically a time when people of many Christian traditions “give up” something to prepare themselves for Easter.

For some, it is rote. It is something they are supposed to do every year and rather than being a spiritual issue, it is simply traditional to do so.

For some, it is a time of deep spiritual longing, during which they truly are relating to the suffering of Christ.

For some, it isn’t even on their radar.

It depends on how they were raised. It depends on where they are in their faith journey.

Typically we hear about people giving up all kinds of things:

  • Chocolate
  • Coffee
  • Facebook
  • Alcohol
  • Soda
  • Meat
  • Television
  • Sugar/Sweets

Everything on this list (and most of the things that you would add to it) involves something which we become addicted to in some way or another. We become dependent on these things to get through our day, rather than depending on the Lord.

But the real issue I see is when we “give up” the things on which we are dependent, with what do we replace them? Do we give up coffee and replace it with hot tea? Do we give up chocolate and replace it with Skittles? Do we give up television and replace it with playing games on our iPad?

The whole point of “giving up” something, is to replace it with that which is more important – dependence on Christ.

I’m not sure what Lent looks like for me yet, I am still thinking through it. But if and when I decide what I need to “give up,” I want to make sure that I am filling that space with extra time with the Lord.

If you are considering what to “give up” today, I encourage you to also consider how you will replace it. How will you handle moments of temptation? Where will you turn?

Monday Musings – Thankful!

I want to start the week out with some reminders of the many reasons I am thankful.

  • I am thankful for a worshiping community where I can come and worship with both children and adults.
  • I am thankful for a wonderful afternoon cleaning my daughter’s room with her. (Yes, we both survived and I didn’t get angry AT ALL! And considering the state of her room, THAT is a HUGE thing!) We listened to music, worked together, and had a good afternoon.
  • I am thankful for my parents and their commitment to those that they love. They drove 12 hours yesterday so they could see Dad’s brother who is in failing health. The timing and the extra travel costs are not the best, but they did it anyway.
  • I am thankful for the ability to knit and crochet and the ways that I can use it to help others.
  • I am thankful for my husband and for the way that he loves me and spoils me. Especially things like a ticket to all nine country shows in St. Louis this summer. 🙂
  • I am thankful for friends and for the effort it takes to maintain friendships. It’s hard, but worth it.

What are some of the things that you need to remember to be thankful for today?

Impossible? No Way!

In the last couple of weeks, I keep coming back to these scriptures over and over:

  • Philippians 4:13 – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 – But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
  • Matthew 19:26 – Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

These are the things that went through my head during the Goofy race. I have been teaching these ideas in Kids Church. I have had to lean on them as I am trying to be obedient to do hard things. I am using these ideas with my kids constantly – even last night as Anne was struggling in tumbling and using the words, “I can’t,” I was reminding her that with the strength of Christ, she can.

Why is it that our first response to something hard is that it is impossible? Why is it that we immediately look at the situation and at ourselves and say, “I can’t do this?”

Why is it so hard for us to acknowledge that we can’t do things on our own, much less ask for help?

Is it pride? Is it fear of being vulnerable? Is it arrogance?

When those tough things are standing in front of us, our first response should be, “Lord, you are strong when I am weak.  I cannot do this on my own. Please help me. I know with your help I can accomplish even that which seems impossible to me.” Our second response should be to give our best so that God can then use it for His glory.

This is the clip that I showed in Kids Church this week. I love it. If you haven’t watched this movie, I highly recommend it. It is a great example of how God can use those who look weak in the eyes of the world and make them strong.

I encourage you to lean on Christ and His strength today as you face the giants in your way.

Too Short

I couldn’t blog at the end of last week. I didn’t know what to say. On Monday, we lost a friend. My husband’s longest friend, to be exact. Mike knew Mark since birth. Mark was the best man in our wedding. He was quiet and soft-spoken, a good friend, a hard worker, and had a great smile. When I picture him in my mind, he is standing with his hands in his pockets, smiling, and saying, “well…”

He was 38. His life was taken by a fast-growing brain tumor.

I hate cancer.

We are sad. We are grieving. As we drove to the graveside service, we drove past Mike’s grandparent’s graves, where his mom’s ashes were sprinkled five and a half years ago.

Life is too short.

As I talked to Anne on Saturday evening, I reminded her that we never know what tomorrow holds, so we need to make sure we are living in right relationship with Christ and with others. I told her that we need to make sure that we are always telling those we love that we love them, even if it feels like we say it all the time.

Because life is too short.

Life is too short to get mixed up in drama. Life is too short to hold grudges. Life is too short to throw it away on some mid-life crisis. Life is too short to give up on your wife, husband, kids, or friends. Life is too short to spend it wishing that something was different. Life is too short to spend it holed up on your couch in front of the TV instead of with the people who you love. Life is too short to spend it obsessed with making a dollar instead of building relationships.

Life is too short.

In John 10:10b Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

I want to have that life. I want to make sure that I am living in a way that is pleasing to my Father in Heaven, and that means living for Him, and loving those around me – family, friends, neighbors, enemies.

Because life is too short to live any other way.

More Devoted: Bar Patrons or Christ-Followers?

My dad is reading a book called Crossing Over: Getting to the Best Life Yet, by Paul Scanlon and this morning as he was reading, he was struck enough by the following passage that he called to share it with me:

I had a defining moment during this period of our crossing over when I met an ex-Baptist pastor who, after twenty years in ministry, had resigned and was now a barkeeper. He told me what had led him to this radical change was twenty years of soul-destroying ministry that put him and his wife on prescription medication. He described a church where he felt completely responsible to persuade people to get involved, but they refused. He became worn out from the huge effort required to convince, persuade, remind, and sometimes beg people to get behind his vision, but they wouldn’t.

I asked him what he enjoyed about being a barkeeper, and his reply hit me like a hammer. He said, “I love this job because my drinkers are devoted all by themselves.” He explained how he never had to persuade or remind his customers to come back. He never had to call his absent drinkers to assure them they were missed, nor did he have to inspire them to part with their money. Finally, he said, “my drinkers come early and stay late, but in twenty years of ministry, the church did neither.”

As my dad read it to me on the phone, I, too was struck by this statement. Wow. It’s so true.

I work for a church, and we talk about these things often. Now it seems that a “regular” attender is no longer someone who is here every Sunday, but someone who comes once or twice a month and considers this their church home. These “regulars” may or may not give financially to the church, even if they are a member and have committed to that as part of the membership covenant. Every month we look at a list of people who haven’t been counted present for the previous month and discuss how to follow-up with them to let them know they are missed. We are consistently looking for new volunteers in all areas of ministry and are just as consistently coming up short.

Why is this? Why are people, who say that they are devoted Christ-followers, not as devoted as they could be?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but that is what I am thinking about this Monday morning.

What do you think?

That’s Done. Now What?

It happens every time.

I train and train for a race, I look forward to being able to run and workout on whatever schedule I choose because I am tired of being tied down to a training schedule, I finish the race, and then I need to get back on a schedule to stay consistent.

It is a never-ending cycle.

And it is happening again.

I don’t have a schedule, and subsequently, I don’t have much motivation.

That’s normal after a long race. I need a couple of weeks to recover and remember that I really do love to run.

But in this cold weather, I can’t seem to remember that. My bed is so warm and outside is so cold. And I hate treadmills, especially since I don’t have one at home and would have to go out in the cold to get to one.

And it is okay. For now. It won’t last too much longer and I will soon be hitting the pavement again. Know why? I want to run. I miss it. I can feel my body aching for it. And going a week between runs isn’t going to keep me satisfied.

Not to mention I have a plan. Not a training schedule per se (yet), but a plan.

  • I have set my next weight loss goal (with a time-frame).
  • I have decided I want to add walking back into my workout schedule.
  • I have set a time in which I would like to finish the Mini Indy (1/2 Marathon) when I run it in May.

I can’t reach any of those goals by staying in my warm bed. I can’t reach any of those goals without some kind of schedule.

So for today, I stayed in my bed. And I may do it tomorrow, too. But soon, very, very soon, You’ll see me back on the road. Even if it means I am wearing 4 layers of clothing so I don’t freeze to death.

What are your goals and how are you going to reach them?

Sweet Silver Lining

Two verses that I held onto during my Goofy run last weekend were:

  • Philippians 4:13 (NIV) – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) – But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power (strength in the KJV) is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Without these verses and the promises that go along with them, I would have been hopeless.

And really, that is true about most of life. I am constantly holding on to the promises of God that say He is my strength, He is my provider, He is my protector, and so much more.

I have loved this song since the first time I heard it, but I listened to it a little differently this week. It is spot on about me, about my life. I have many people who are looking to me to be their strength, to be their support, and I often feel inadequate for that – whether it be my kids, husband, other family, or friends. But thanks to the strength of God, I won’t give up. I will keep pressing on and doing my best with His help.

Officially Goofy

After months of training – long runs, hills, 800 repeats, strength training, yoga – it all came down to last weekend.

A Saturday half marathon – 13.1 miles, followed by a full marathon, 26.2 miles on Sunday.

I was excited and nervous all at the same time.

The Expo at Disney’s Wide World of Sports was fun. We found good things to buy, we heard from some renowned runners, and we got our race packets.

We hung out at the pool on Friday, ate a good pre-race dinner, laid out our clothes and other items we needed for day 1.

Bright and early Friday (2:30 a.m.) we got up, got dressed, and headed out for part 1.

The half was hot, but there was excitement. I hadn’t been to Disney World since high school. It was all new and exciting. Magic Kingdom. Seeing characters. Stopping for pictures. I felt good and the 13.1 miles went by quickly.

We recovered with yoga and some pool time, even a short nap before heading out for pre-race dinner #2 (the same food at the same restaurant as the previous night).

We got to bed earlier and slept pretty well. Morning came early (another 2:30 a.m. wake-up). We were more subdued on day 2. I think we were all tired and wondering how the race would go. The temperature was high. We trained in 20 degrees and we were looking at 80 degrees (or more) by the time we were finishing. But we had hydrated and fueled well.

The first part of the race was a re-run of the previous day. It went fairly quickly and without any problems. The further along the way we got, it got hotter and harder. I was struggling, on the verge of dehydration just over half-way. I had to re-think my hydration strategy so I could continue to run. By that point it was back to everything being new again. I hadn’t seen these areas before. Animal Kingdom. Universal Studios. I was still struggling. It was so hot. But I kept ticking off the miles. And then there it was. In the distance I could see the Epcot ball. I knew I was close. Then the 26 mile marker. I started to lose it, but reminded myself I had .2 miles left. As I crossed the line and then got both my marathon and goofy medal, with my friends standing nearby, I lost it. I cried with joy. I cried with relief. It was over. I had done it. I was officially “Goofy.” It was one of the best feelings of my life.

I set a goal, worked toward it, and accomplished it. It wasn’t easy. There were many struggles with health, exhaustion, minor injuries, and lack of motivation. There were good runs and bad ones. But I finished my training, and finished the races.

It took lots of hard work, encouragement from my running partners, support of my family, prayers offered by me, my family and friends, and the strength of God.

And now I have another sticker on the back of my van.

39.3

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Questions and Answers

I don’t know about you, but the older I get, I seem to have more questions than answers when it comes to just about everything.

Faith.

Politics.

Love.

Parenting.

Relationships.

Marriage.

I do my best to have faith, show love, be a good mom, wife, and friend, but the big questions in life seem to have fewer and fewer black and white answers.

We ask for answers to our questions all the time. I find myself asking God for answers and direction on certain issues often. In fact, just yesterday some friends and I were asking for a specific answer to a specific question. And we had no idea what the “right” answer was.

As we prayed, I was prompted to pray that any personal bias or stubbornness or preconceived ideas of what the answer should be would be removed from the picture so that it would be clear what His answer was.

I think that is a huge reason that we sometimes don’t have answers to our questions. We think we know what those answers should be, and by coming in with our own answers, we can’t hear or see what His answer is.

And it is hard not to do this. All our lives we are answering questions for ourselves. Do we want cereal or eggs for breakfast? Do we want to wear this or that? Do we want to go to this church,  that church or no church? Do we want to believe that God answers prayers or not?

Yes, God has given us the mind of Christ and yes, some answers are easy because they are obvious. But for those that are less obvious, sometimes we need to take ourselves out of the equation so we can hear the answer.

And when we hear the answer, it is our responsibility to trust that we have heard it and to follow through, without questioning.

What answers are you looking for today?