Yet another hand popped up and protested. This may be part of my eating disordered brain that I have to capture and challenge yet - and then a logical thought occrus to me that if I were healthy this would be perfectly acceptable... but what I prefer and reason when it comes to Sundays, is that an extravagant breakfast and lunch (or often, an out-to-eat restaurant lunch) on a Sunday is actually the worst day to do this. Sure, there's time and happiness as it's the Lord's day adn we're resting and dedicating the day to God - but my health conciousness tells me that I'd rather not over-indulge, or indulge liberally when I am about to go sit very still for three hours.
I welcome your thoughts on my thoughts on this matter :)
What I desire to do, as it feels best to me, and perhaps I should pray more on the matter - I admittedly haven't on this particular subject - is have a delicious fully creamed coffee on my way to church in my very adorable Starbucks travel mug, then leisurely cook up a full bellied meal when I finally get round to it after the service... perhaps dine ala cafe... perhaps grab some fresh produce from the grosh on the way home...
Usually this makes brunchish happen around 2PM... I take a full hour to eat and read at the same time. Then I like to scrapbook the rest of the afternoon and head off to the evening church service... bringing me home later to prepare for the workweek, I cap the day with popcorn - a treat I adore (I prefer Orville's All Natural Garlic Butter) - and some baked goodies and milk (Stonyfield reduced).
So ... perhaps Sunday's need ot be reigned in, but this is what feels best to me. Maybe I shouldn't be feeling best at this season in life but need to live through the discomfort of a bulged belly. I don't have the wisdom - maybe I've shown myself throughout this post that this is a question to raise to God. I'll update you next Sunday.
As for this past Sunday - I concocted a lovely little meal!
This frittata was adjusted to what I had on hand from a cookbook recipe. It was cheesy and eggy, two of my favorite combinations and rose and bubbled up perfectly. IMO, it's not a FABULOUS dish as it needs some sort of really intersting seasoning or ingredient to make it more invigorating for the tastebuds, but the leftovers should do well for lunches and breakfasts this week.
Veggie Cheese Frittata
Serves 5, cut into pie pieces
Half an onion, chopped
Garlic, 3 bulbs
Broccoli - as much as desired
Cucumber - "
Oil - I used EVOO
5 Eggs
1/4 cup Milk
Two handfuls of shredded Cheddar cheese or cheese of your choice (I used Cheddar Flavored Rice Cheese, I think it's pretty good as dairy imitations go)
Salt and Pepper To Taste
Preheat Oven to 425
Saute* Onion, garlic, broccoli and cucumber until the veggies are bright - careful not to burn - in EVOO (enough to saute with)
*Use oven proof pan as the egg mixture will be added
Whisk eggs, milk, add handful of cheese to mix, salt and pepper to taste
Pour egg mixture over Saute spreading ingredients evenly amongst the eggs, add second handful of cheese
Transfer to oven and bake until bubbly, melty, and browning
I will add a picture when I heat up the leftovers! Bear with me as I get new batteries for the digi cam and get used to photogging the food... share your cooking and baking wisdom with me! Hold out hope for me yet!
As for the church service - it was our church (http://www.winklerbaptist.org/) Homecoming so it was a bit of a to-do. The message was from Mark Chapter 5. I hardly ever question what my pastor preaaches - and I am a gal who likes to take people to task and do my research ... I considered journalism as a career for a season and still have this idea that I will incorporate a theatre reviewing gig into my livelihood someday - I digress... as I was saying - our pastor seems to me to be one of the best Pastors in the world. I'm biased, I guess.
I gave pause to consider these specific points: When we choose to "quit" at something that God has ordained for our lives, we not only suffer consequence for ourselves, but those who are influenced by our presence also bear consequence.
I was challenged to consider some of the decisions that I now regret and the effect they've had on some of hte people in my life - specifically thinking of the example I always have on my sister. I'm so thankful that God stirred me to remember this...
I am also working through a devotional right now and it has made a wonderful impact on my life. It is Kay Arthur's "Lord, Only You Can Change Me" and she is working through the Beatitudes, which coincidentally, my Pastor is as well (with the exception for this Homecoming week). Currently we are on blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
She considers what meekness is and what it means that God is sovereign. Her points are sobering and humbling - God allows a lot of of pain and death and suffering into our lives, doesn't he? So so so so many people use these circumstances to say "I don't believe in a God who let's this happen." All it takes is even just a small amount of delving into God's word to know that only a great and almighty and Sovereign God WOULD allow such chastening into our lives!! Meekness - bowing the knee, trusting in God, resting in God, commiting to God, confidence in God.
Even in the most unimaginable circumstances - the meek will trust that God's plan, though perhaps even impossible to undestand in this lifetime, is not cruel. The meek have hope - this life is temporal; God is eternal.
I think my favorite beatitude is:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see the face of God.
I only had a lazy, glazed over understanding of what this particular verse meant until my pastor preaached on it next Sunday. He made a plethora, a real slam dunk of awesome points that I scribbled away in my pale pink notebook - but what has rung in my ears ever since he exposed it to me was that when God says "they shall see the face of God", he is (also) saying that the pure in heart - the righteous, who are walking wiht God and have cleansed their heart of sin, WILL see God in everything...
I thought of my class of three year olds (I teach 3-K at a Baptist Preschool). Sometimes I look at my children and think (ashamedly) "hope I NEVER have a kid like that" or other totally un-compassionate thoughts of such ... but what IS that? What kind of a thought is that at all? They are God's precious children... with the fact in my mind that I should be looking to see God in others, that they might see him in me, I find it so much easier to look at children with snot and horrible temper tantrums and perhaps even ugly behavior and see that they are a little gift from God and I am someone who can expose many wonders for them...
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see the face of God..... in everything.
I was challenged by a post over on "http://solofemininity.blogs.com/posts/. The post talks about the power of confession of sin in our lives. I have always thought, I guess stupidly, that I was protecting (for example) my singles-class-teachers and classmates from feeling the need to feel burdened and/or embaressed if I were to expose my past and current struggle with eating disorders to them. I've never asked for their prayer. I believe they have their own knowledge of my struggles because an eating disorder obviously manifests itself physically and throughout my ordeal I went through drastic physical alterations (including a lot of hair cutting as eating disorders are bad for the hair :( ). Yet I have been enlightened to believe that I am prideful and self righteous... I COULD use their prayer. I should be honest.
Lastly - in preschool news - today I got through everything on my TO DO list with the kids. Usually I am laid back and demand a degree of non-chaos in my room and get through several activities rather than ALL of the planned activities. Yet we recently had our Teach of hte Month ceremony and not only was that not me (ahem) but I was also not one of five runner ups. I felt pretty challenged. Not because I expect that I'll ever be teacher of hte month - I've tried to plant seeds with the kids and those were literally very stinky after a few days... like poop to be honest... heh... and I've attempted artwork that is not spectucular and I feel that I am not resourceful for whatever reason in the creative ways these other teachers with more experienes, age, and education are... yet I believe God has trusted me with this job and my supervisors have belief that I am approrpiate for this job... so there's no reason that I can't try harder and harder, and this IS a subject I pray and pray hard about.
So while we did have a more chaotic room today which I am starting to believe is looked upon as a better room environment than my preferred calm-ish one (the kids seemed ot have fun and all the teacher winners are known for their err...crazy rooms). However there has GOt to be some sort of fine tuning to sort the experience out a bit because I really suffered some stress today - head and chest pains. I never lost my temper though! Hallelujah! When I say "lost my temper" I don't mean went nutso on a 3yr old, I just mean didn't go "OKAY EVERYONE SIT DOWN FOR THREE MINUTES".
I will say this again and again but here it is for the firs time - God has blessed with a job where my character is challenged and worked and strengthened daily. I have truly discovered my downfalls and have come to know what kind of person God would have me be while working this job. The Christian influences and resources that are available to me daily because of htis job are invaluable. It is even a blessing to watch a little child in her innosence, eat a meal, or stick out her filled belly and poke at her belly button. I am reminded that God didn't make me to be scared of eating or appearing physically as he intended me to - round, soft, curved or whatever. That fear came of my own choices and my invitation of sin into my life.
But now - to God be the glory, great things he hath done.
Photo of Sis and I several years ago
No comments:
Post a Comment