Epworth Church Sign - 5Points

Epworth Church Sign - 5Points

28 January 2010

Ruminations of Others - 28 Jan '10

From this posting.
by Julia Sweeney:
I don't know how full-time moms do it. I can't get anything done when Mulan is around. It's a miracle if I get to read e-mail and keep the house from turning into a dump. I have no idea how someone takes care of more than one kid and does things like... oh, make dinner. OHMYGOD. I am so glad I became a mother because I think I would feel uppity about at-home mothers. Now I know it's the hardest job in the world.

also:
How can anyone think pornography is inherently bad when we involuntarily write, direct and star in it for ourselves while we sleep?

Sometimes I think life is too fragile for me to go through it without anesthetizing myself. I used to do it with God, and then I did it with sugar, and fried food. But now I just feel it, and it feels pretty damn bad sometimes.

27 January 2010

Do Be Do Be Doooo

Left the office for once today. Got coffee, walked around the block, and sat in the sunshine on an old bus bench. Watched two policemen checking out an apartment, a man playing w/ his son & a woman w/ her dog in the park, and another woman in a red car sit w/ her turn signal on at the edge of the parking lot for 5 min.

I sat looking at that parking lot, which was a fenced-up wasteland for 2 of the 3 years I've been looking down at it out my work window. I reflected on how little I actually leave the building during the day to just sit, although I could easily do so. And I thought about the great urge to DO vs. BE.

I would say that the compulsion to do is greater, but there is a fair amount of guilt about not taking the time to be. Every day, with the vast amount of media at my fingertips, I spend plenty of time thinking about how I should work on this, or craft that, or read those books & articles & tech tips, etc. etc. - all the do urges.

But to be would mean standing back from all this input and making sense of it. Connecting the dots and forming an internal vision of how events/people/histories tie together; or alternately, taking the time to understand something in great depth, research and all. Maybe a class, or maybe just personal, insatiable knowledge, to set an example for my son.

Which leads back to the need to do...and instead, the other night I sat in bed and watched an awful movie on instant Netflix.

One walk outside at a time?

21 January 2010

Ruminations of Others - 21 Jan '10

From this Ameritrade article.

Posted today by my friend Jacque:
Our time is up, says Scottish historian Alexander Tytler, recently quoted by economist Marc Faber: "The average life span of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years." Then "once a society becomes successful it becomes arrogant, righteous, overconfident, corrupt, and decadent ... overspends ... costly wars ... wealth inequity and social tensions increase; and society enters a secular decline."

Ruminations of Others - 20 Jan '10

Posted on this Denver Post article.

by Susan E:
While I love your post and Gandhi's quote, I see things quite differently. The churches and people who call themselves "Christian" often aren't. It's just a label they like to use. It's their public relations effort to convince themselves and others that they are good and the more troubled they are, the more they need to use this label.

"Christian" simply means Christlike. True Christians often don't bother with the label. I've noticed many Buddhists and Unitarians are more Christian than those who think of themselves as Christian. Christians are out in the world doing God's work; their fannies are not warming pew benches. Pew benches are for those who would like to be Christian, but will probably never get there.

Christians are followers of Christ. Those who are extremely familiar with the Bible, but are judgmental and full of hatred for others are not followers of Christ. They are simply doing their own thing. They are incapable. Meanwhile people like Gandhi, who are aware of Christ's teachings and follow them are Christians. I believe that there are great people in the world who may not be all that familiar with Christ and his teachings who are natural followers of Christ and don't even know it.

17 January 2010

Chicken Noodle Soup - made 1/17/10

(modified from original Cooking Light recipe)

2 cups water
1 (32-oz) carton fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup onion
1/2 c celery
1/2 c carrot
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
6 oz. leftover egg noodles (with some broccoli thrown in)
2 1/2 cups shredded skinless, boneless chicken breast (poached)
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
garlic salt

1. Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat, swirling to coat. Add onion, celery, carrot, salt & pepper, and saute until almost tender.

2. Pour in broth and water and bring to a boil. Stir in noodles & chicken breast - cook 1 min. or until thoroughly heated. Stir in parsley.

6 servings (Serving size ~ 1 cup)

Bison & Mushroom Lasagna - made 1/16/10

1 can cream of mushroom soup (not condensed)
1 lb. ground bison
2 1/4 cups spaghetti sauce w/ mushrooms (used Blue Parrot from Louisville, CO)
6 large mushrooms, sliced
9 no-boil lasagna noodles
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 400F.

2. Cook bison in skillet until well-browned. Drain, and add to mushroom soup. Stir until well combined.

3. Cover bottom of shallow baking dish (I used a 9x13) lightly with 1/4 cup sauce. Layer:
  • 3 noodles
  • 1/2 bison mixture
  • 3 sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup sauce
  • 3 noodles
  • rest of bison mixture
  • rest of mushroom slices
  • 3 noodles
  • rest of sauce
  • mozzarella, then Parmesan cheese
4. Cover, and bake 30 min. or until hot.

5. Heat broiler. Broil 4" from heat for 2 min. or until cheese is golden brown. Let stand 10 min.