Yes, I know, that is what happened to this blog.
2 master's level classes & every waking minute is devoted to research, reading, studying & trying to stay awake!!!
So, until further notice, this blog is on hiatus :( I miss you already blogworld.
Peace, love & happiness . . .
Friday, February 10, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
No-Lack Person
This morning I turned on a Joel Osteen episode recorded a few weeks ago, and what do you know, it was titled a No-Lack Person. He was referring to the verse in my previous post & the entire sermon was a message of hope & inspiration, living your life with this mentality.
I encourage you to watch for yourself. Click on the Jan. 8th episode...... http://www.joelosteen.com/Broadcast/Pages/ThisWeeksMessage.aspx
I encourage you to watch for yourself. Click on the Jan. 8th episode...... http://www.joelosteen.com/Broadcast/Pages/ThisWeeksMessage.aspx
Friday, January 27, 2012
To making it count. . . .
My dear friend's blog this week was focused on one of those things everyone needs to know. Her poetic way of saying it, is a great read. Check it out here. I love it so much, I feel the need to give my parallel take on it.
The message is about making it count. Everyday. Don't let life get the best of you. Don't allow negative things to pull you down & leave you broken.
Instead, have a little faith. Find the part of you that has the ability to hope for something better & cling to it! When your mind wanders off into PityParty Land, yell STOP on the inside. Redirect your thoughts & refocus your mind on the positive side of things. Personally, I draw from my faith in God. One of my favorite verses, I silently recite to myself on a regular basis is....
Psalm 34:10 ..... those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
When you truly believe that with your heart, you begin to believe positive things will happen, because you have God's favor. He will direct your paths & you will find open doors. When I was young, I thought people that talked like this were crazy. They thought some magic in the universe was listening to their thoughts and it affected their lives. It seemed like hocus pocus. However, slowly but surely I have a found a rich, pure faith in a higher power, and I now KNOW this is true. How do you know something? Well, you know, once you've experienced it. You begin believing when you hear stories from others. Then, it begins happening to you, again, and again, and again. Until the time comes, when there is no other explanation, it is a higher power that is directing you and bringing you this favor.
However, when you allow your mind to succumb to thoughts of inadequacy, sadness, pity & depression, then you are revealing that you don't have faith in God. You don't believe in anything besides yourself and this carnal world. You don't have faith that the God who created the universe can fix your small problems. No matter how big your problems, ask yourself, How big is your God?
He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. ~ Psalm 147:3, NLT
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. ~ Psalm 84:11, NLT
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ~ Philippians 4:6, NLT
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18, NLT
Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right. ~ Psalm 97:11, NLT
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. ~ Psalms 73:26, NLT
“For I know the plans I have for you” says the Lord, "they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11, NLT
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. ~ Romans 12:2, NLT
It wasn't until I started looking to God in every aspect of my life, consulting Him before I make decisions and praying for His hand in everything I do, then believing that He would come through, that I realized the power we hold. When you change your attitude and start praising the Lord because you know He will make a way out of no way, then change will come. Once you start being thankful for all of the many ways you are Blessed and trust that He will guide you into the future, then peace and happiness overcomes you. No matter what may be happening on the outside, you are at peace on the inside, because you know you have God on your side. There is no greater Blessing. There is no greater power.
No matter what life throws at us, we should see the glass half-full, always finding something in every situation to be thankful for. If your partner left you, that means God has somebody better in your future. When you meet him/her you will appreciate him even more. If you lost your job, this is an opportunity to pursue something which you're truly passionate about. Once you find it, you'll live with a fervor you've never experienced. If you've had health problems, praise God for alleviating the pain and consider how He may use you to inspire others. If you were down on your luck and things have turned around, praise God for allowing you to see the worst. You'll never again take the smallest thing for granted and may you never look down on someone in that situation. Sometimes, God doesn't bring us out of the muck immediately and sometimes it may be about finding a way to live life with the changes that have transpired. Tomorrow is a new day. We can remain sad and depressed over the circumstances in our lives, or we can hold our heads high & say, I don't know what He has in store for me, but I know I have a purpose and His word says "they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
The message is about making it count. Everyday. Don't let life get the best of you. Don't allow negative things to pull you down & leave you broken.
Instead, have a little faith. Find the part of you that has the ability to hope for something better & cling to it! When your mind wanders off into PityParty Land, yell STOP on the inside. Redirect your thoughts & refocus your mind on the positive side of things. Personally, I draw from my faith in God. One of my favorite verses, I silently recite to myself on a regular basis is....
Psalm 34:10 ..... those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
When you truly believe that with your heart, you begin to believe positive things will happen, because you have God's favor. He will direct your paths & you will find open doors. When I was young, I thought people that talked like this were crazy. They thought some magic in the universe was listening to their thoughts and it affected their lives. It seemed like hocus pocus. However, slowly but surely I have a found a rich, pure faith in a higher power, and I now KNOW this is true. How do you know something? Well, you know, once you've experienced it. You begin believing when you hear stories from others. Then, it begins happening to you, again, and again, and again. Until the time comes, when there is no other explanation, it is a higher power that is directing you and bringing you this favor.
However, when you allow your mind to succumb to thoughts of inadequacy, sadness, pity & depression, then you are revealing that you don't have faith in God. You don't believe in anything besides yourself and this carnal world. You don't have faith that the God who created the universe can fix your small problems. No matter how big your problems, ask yourself, How big is your God?
He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. ~ Psalm 147:3, NLT
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. ~ Psalm 84:11, NLT
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ~ Philippians 4:6, NLT
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18, NLT
Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right. ~ Psalm 97:11, NLT
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. ~ Psalms 73:26, NLT
“For I know the plans I have for you” says the Lord, "they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11, NLT
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. ~ Romans 12:2, NLT
It wasn't until I started looking to God in every aspect of my life, consulting Him before I make decisions and praying for His hand in everything I do, then believing that He would come through, that I realized the power we hold. When you change your attitude and start praising the Lord because you know He will make a way out of no way, then change will come. Once you start being thankful for all of the many ways you are Blessed and trust that He will guide you into the future, then peace and happiness overcomes you. No matter what may be happening on the outside, you are at peace on the inside, because you know you have God on your side. There is no greater Blessing. There is no greater power.
No matter what life throws at us, we should see the glass half-full, always finding something in every situation to be thankful for. If your partner left you, that means God has somebody better in your future. When you meet him/her you will appreciate him even more. If you lost your job, this is an opportunity to pursue something which you're truly passionate about. Once you find it, you'll live with a fervor you've never experienced. If you've had health problems, praise God for alleviating the pain and consider how He may use you to inspire others. If you were down on your luck and things have turned around, praise God for allowing you to see the worst. You'll never again take the smallest thing for granted and may you never look down on someone in that situation. Sometimes, God doesn't bring us out of the muck immediately and sometimes it may be about finding a way to live life with the changes that have transpired. Tomorrow is a new day. We can remain sad and depressed over the circumstances in our lives, or we can hold our heads high & say, I don't know what He has in store for me, but I know I have a purpose and His word says "they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
It doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Something fishy . . .
Something's fishy......... & it's my hair! Haha
Recently, I've seen the cutest braids, but didn't know what they were called or how to do them. Well, I found out.
Fishtail Braids
A coworker was using youtube for cute hairstyles, & I couldn't believe I'd never thought of it before. All kinds of people,with too much time on their hands, have made videos for any & everything you can think of.
We found some really cute & easy one's & this one wasn't hard to do at all. However, I will say, doing this style with any regularity may induce arthritis. It takes some time & some lengthy hair, but it doesn't take much skill.
Not sure why the somewhat scared look on my face (lol), but this is how it turned out. I was pleasantly surprised for the first try. . .
This cute, little girl has some great videos. So, if you're feeling fishy too, here you go...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkV4ptjPf3M
I recently discovered she has one on cutting bangs. I may try that next!
Recently, I've seen the cutest braids, but didn't know what they were called or how to do them. Well, I found out.
Fishtail Braids
A coworker was using youtube for cute hairstyles, & I couldn't believe I'd never thought of it before. All kinds of people,
We found some really cute & easy one's & this one wasn't hard to do at all. However, I will say, doing this style with any regularity may induce arthritis. It takes some time & some lengthy hair, but it doesn't take much skill.
Not sure why the somewhat scared look on my face (lol), but this is how it turned out. I was pleasantly surprised for the first try. . .
This cute, little girl has some great videos. So, if you're feeling fishy too, here you go...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkV4ptjPf3M
I recently discovered she has one on cutting bangs. I may try that next!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Life...... Isn't it beautiful!
I'm not sure what tripped my trigger this morning. (Hahaha, I just like saying that!) ... Seriously though, I'm really not sure what made me start thinking about it. . .
This morning, I was obviously not focusing on work & my mind began to wander. My mind began to wander, thinking of all the sacrifices made by my parents & their parents & I'm sure their parents............ & why were those sacrifices made? More than likely in hopes of providing better lives for their children.
I remember my great-grandmother telling me how she was widowed in her 20's with a brood of young children. She had to figure out how to provide for them & keep the family afloat, while she was trying to run the farm. (As God would have it, my pretty amazing great-grandfather walked into her life & the rest was history.) I think of how my grandfather fought under General Patton in WWII and nearly lost his life when a jeep toppled onto him. It's hard-telling how many other close calls he had. My paternal grandfather came to the U.S. as a toddler; how hard must his parents have worked to make that happen! My father worked tirelessly my entire life, sun-up to sun-down to provide for our family. I recall my mother working the night shift when we were young, all in the name of providing for her children.
Numerous, infinite sacrifices made by my loved one's and ancestors, each and every one striving to be better and to make the lives of their families better.
Who are we not to be thankful for those sacrifices & utilize the opportunities afforded to us because of them. Education is a good start, but I'm also referring to every other facet of our lives. There should be an innate sense of motivation, fueled by that gratitude to live our lives to the fullest in every way, in some meager attempt to repay them for all they've done. We should try to be the best human beings we can be, helping & doing for others as much as possible, always sharing a kind smile and a kind word. We should instill strength & confidence into our children, by standing up & showing them what it means to be an honest, strong person, making difficult decisions when necessary. We should nurture & encourage our children, trying to open as many doors of opportunity as possible. We should take care of our bodies, out of respect for the amazing being God has created us to be & because we need to be as healthy as He deems possible in order to carry out His purpose in our lives.
How can we have the audacity to take any of this for granted & not give this life our all?! We should always keep pushing, always trying to be more.
I don't know where this is coming from, but I am overwhelmed and humbled by the absolutely amazing people in my life. I know everyone isn't so fortunate. I can proudly say I have a family full of good character & integrity, who have always had my best interests at heart. It is my duty to make them & God proud of the woman I come to be. I cherish this life & plan to make the most of it.
~Amen
This morning, I was obviously not focusing on work & my mind began to wander. My mind began to wander, thinking of all the sacrifices made by my parents & their parents & I'm sure their parents............ & why were those sacrifices made? More than likely in hopes of providing better lives for their children.
I remember my great-grandmother telling me how she was widowed in her 20's with a brood of young children. She had to figure out how to provide for them & keep the family afloat, while she was trying to run the farm. (As God would have it, my pretty amazing great-grandfather walked into her life & the rest was history.) I think of how my grandfather fought under General Patton in WWII and nearly lost his life when a jeep toppled onto him. It's hard-telling how many other close calls he had. My paternal grandfather came to the U.S. as a toddler; how hard must his parents have worked to make that happen! My father worked tirelessly my entire life, sun-up to sun-down to provide for our family. I recall my mother working the night shift when we were young, all in the name of providing for her children.
Numerous, infinite sacrifices made by my loved one's and ancestors, each and every one striving to be better and to make the lives of their families better.
Who are we not to be thankful for those sacrifices & utilize the opportunities afforded to us because of them. Education is a good start, but I'm also referring to every other facet of our lives. There should be an innate sense of motivation, fueled by that gratitude to live our lives to the fullest in every way, in some meager attempt to repay them for all they've done. We should try to be the best human beings we can be, helping & doing for others as much as possible, always sharing a kind smile and a kind word. We should instill strength & confidence into our children, by standing up & showing them what it means to be an honest, strong person, making difficult decisions when necessary. We should nurture & encourage our children, trying to open as many doors of opportunity as possible. We should take care of our bodies, out of respect for the amazing being God has created us to be & because we need to be as healthy as He deems possible in order to carry out His purpose in our lives.
How can we have the audacity to take any of this for granted & not give this life our all?! We should always keep pushing, always trying to be more.
I don't know where this is coming from, but I am overwhelmed and humbled by the absolutely amazing people in my life. I know everyone isn't so fortunate. I can proudly say I have a family full of good character & integrity, who have always had my best interests at heart. It is my duty to make them & God proud of the woman I come to be. I cherish this life & plan to make the most of it.
~Amen
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Day 1 Down
So, after the first night of classes, I'm feeling:
EXCITED
anxious
Intrigued
nervous
Slightly Overwhelmed
INTIMIDATED
Motivated
Ready to take the plunge! It's not going to be easy. It's going to be challenging, but I'm in this 110%.
It's totally worth it.
Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be. ~ George Sheehan
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Dim Sum
Yes, my friends, dim sum.
Per the all-knowing, Wikipedia, it is defined as: a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum is also well known for the unique way it is served in some restaurants, wherein fully cooked and ready-to-serve. Dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables.
Per Jaime, it is defined as: yummmmmmmy!
As with many things I've discovered in Chicago, this was completely new to me. I had never heard of dim sum & once I did, I can't say I was that interested in trying it out. However, hubs, who believes himself to be an honorary China-man, insisted we go. (Which, if you saw this man wield a pair of chop sticks you'd know why.) Once again,. . . as with many things, after I take his advice, I'm usually quite pleased ;)
Dim sum is something we eat for breakfast. They usually serve it until about 3pm, so I assume it's a customary breakfast/early day menu worldwide. At first, it didn't strike me as breakfast food. There are many meat dishes, veggie, rice, etc. However, this is food from another culture. After I acquired the taste for it, now it's something I crave...
We order several different small dishes & share them all. Some of our favorites are:
Shaomai (燒賣 siu maai): Small steamed dumplings with either pork, prawns or both inside a thin wheat flour wrapper. Usually topped off with crab roe and mushroom.
Spare ribs: In the west, it is mostly known as spare ribs collectively. In the east, it is Char siu when roasted red, or (排骨 paai4 gwat1, páigǔ) when roasted black. It is typically steamed with douchi or fermented black beans and sometimes sliced chilli.
Chiu-chao style dumplings (潮州粉果 chiu-chau fan guo): A dumpling said to have originated from the Chaozhou prefecture of eastern Guangdong province, it contains peanuts, garlic, chives, pork, dried shrimp, Chinese mushrooms in a thick dumpling wrapper made from glutinous rice flour or Tang flour. It is usually served with a small dish of chili oil.
These are just a few of the hundreds of options to choose from! Also, you have to enjoy it with some jasmine tea :)
I know it's a stretch from biscuits & gravy or eggs & bacon, but it has become a staple breakfast food in our household, & I'm on my way to mastering chop sticks!
Per the all-knowing, Wikipedia, it is defined as: a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum is also well known for the unique way it is served in some restaurants, wherein fully cooked and ready-to-serve. Dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables.
 |
| (No, I did not take a pic of the lady. I stole this off the web!) |
As with many things I've discovered in Chicago, this was completely new to me. I had never heard of dim sum & once I did, I can't say I was that interested in trying it out. However, hubs, who believes himself to be an honorary China-man, insisted we go. (Which, if you saw this man wield a pair of chop sticks you'd know why.) Once again,. . . as with many things, after I take his advice, I'm usually quite pleased ;)
Dim sum is something we eat for breakfast. They usually serve it until about 3pm, so I assume it's a customary breakfast/early day menu worldwide. At first, it didn't strike me as breakfast food. There are many meat dishes, veggie, rice, etc. However, this is food from another culture. After I acquired the taste for it, now it's something I crave...
We order several different small dishes & share them all. Some of our favorites are:
Shaomai (燒賣 siu maai): Small steamed dumplings with either pork, prawns or both inside a thin wheat flour wrapper. Usually topped off with crab roe and mushroom.
Spare ribs: In the west, it is mostly known as spare ribs collectively. In the east, it is Char siu when roasted red, or (排骨 paai4 gwat1, páigǔ) when roasted black. It is typically steamed with douchi or fermented black beans and sometimes sliced chilli.
Chiu-chao style dumplings (潮州粉果 chiu-chau fan guo): A dumpling said to have originated from the Chaozhou prefecture of eastern Guangdong province, it contains peanuts, garlic, chives, pork, dried shrimp, Chinese mushrooms in a thick dumpling wrapper made from glutinous rice flour or Tang flour. It is usually served with a small dish of chili oil.
These are just a few of the hundreds of options to choose from! Also, you have to enjoy it with some jasmine tea :)
I know it's a stretch from biscuits & gravy or eggs & bacon, but it has become a staple breakfast food in our household, & I'm on my way to mastering chop sticks!
享受 (Xiǎngshòu)
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