For The Love of Chicken & Values

July 27th, 2012

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard the news about Chick-fil-A being the place to boycott.  I've spent the last few days trying to understand all the crazy.  The fact that this is a Christian company has been a long standing given.  The Cathy family started their company on Christian values and have always chosen to honor God with their business practices.  The controversy going on this week is almost laughable, if it weren't so sad.  The statement given by company president Dan Cathy brought out the claws on same-sex supporters.  Which brings to question–who is really intolerant here?  

 

Cathy told Baptist Press that the company was unapologetically in favor of traditional marriage.

“Guilty as charged,” he said. “We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”

The controversy spiraled from there.  The company has been accused of being hate-filled bigots because they stand firm on God's word.  No matter where you turn, you've surely run into someone voicing their opinion (which I'm finding is ok, unless you're a Christian).  Facebook has been inundated with pro Chick-fil-A supporters and counter-attacks alike.  It's even gone so far as big city mayor's speaking out against Chick-fil-A.  

RIDICULOUS!

I'm not a resident of Chicago (but I live nearby) and I am offended by the mayor, who is known for helping 2 Presidents achieve the Oval Office by opposing gay marriage.  My how the times have changed, Mr. Emanuel.  Uhhm, hello…First Amendment?  Since when did local mayors stop giving out business licenses to companies they disagree with politically?  In America?  The land of opportunity & free enterprise?

The mayor of Boston, challenging his city to not lease out property to anyone affiliated with Chick-fil-A…..really?  I sincerely hope you're not serious.  People of Boston, stand firm.  My prayer is that this mayor isn't the voice of all Bostonians and you can bet your sweet biffy…I'll be praying for your city.

If you're a supporter of same-sex marriage, that's your choice.  Why is it called hate for me (or other's who follow Christian values) to not agree?  As a Christian, I choose to never use hate against anyone because they believe differently than me.  But that seems to be the first response from the homosexual community.  Viciousness, mean-spiritedness, ridicule and all-out attack.

I am grateful for the Cathy family and what they've done for community after community.  Chick-fil-A has stood the test of time and proven they are more than just a Christian company.  The WinShape program within the company is responsible for 11 foster care homes in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.  This, just one of the many ways the Cathy's give back.  

For those who want to lump Chick-fil-A into something meant for harm by standing up for "Christian values"  they seem to be missing something very important.  This is a free country (for now) and each of us have a choice….whether it be to eat meals at a restaurant that loves Jesus or to drive a foreign car.  We get to pick.  And for me….I choose to do both!

GOD BLESS CHICK-FIL-A!!

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

 

For more info on S. Truett Cathy.  Go here.

For info on Chick-fil-A.  Go here.http://www.chick-fil-a.com/

Also, be sure to stop in and buy a yummy chicken sandwich on August 1st.  Don't miss out on their lemonade or icecream either.  Both are the best you'll find anywhere!

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Challenge Accepted, Dude

July 26th, 2012

You know I'm always up for a good challenge.  I pick the biggest & meanest ones too.  Like the one I inadvertantly picked on Tuesday of this week.

"NO GROCERY SHOPPING BEFORE VACATION", declared I…all over the Facebook world!  Then, I sealed the deal, by posting pictures.  Real genuine proof that there's plenty o' food here at the Gway house to keep us nourished and fed.

Note:  The bulging pantry

 

 

I even crossed the threshold of "not a secret anymore"  and shared for the world to see…the inside of my fridge!  Gasp!

Of course, you've probably figured out by now — that every little thing I decided to cook had one or two ingredients missing.  Challenge accepted, pantry war.  Onward I marched!  When I found myself out of mayo for the tartar sauce, I sucked it up and cooked the fish anyway.  Who's going to notice?

Oh yea, them—>

Oh, don't let all those happy grins fool ya.  They like what they like and when it comes to eating fish, they like it with tartar!  Snobs!

My next hurdle, was milk.  Who doesn't replace the dang milk?  My family doesn't drink tons of it, but when we need it or want it….it better be there!  Nope, out!  I realized this after I'd already started homemade macaroni-n-cheese to go with the fish. Oops! Luckily for me, I had a carton of lactose-free milk in the fridge. I've been using it all summer and I love it. But I hadn't cooked anything with it, just poured it over my morning cereal. No problem, it worked fine.

Guess who went on and on about my mac-n-cheese?  Ally, the pickiest eater in my family.  She ate 3 big servings and packed a to-go bowl for work the next day.  She asked me what did I to the mac-n-cheese?  It's the best you've ever made!  Zing!

The dinner was looking a little weak for hubby. He doesn't eat cheese and I was out of potato's. I needed a starch of some sort to go with the green lima beans & fish. Rice maybe? The only snafu?  I had fed him rice the night before. I needed a switch up, like….Rice-a-roni.  You know, the fancy stuff. But I was out of that too.

So, I got all THIS IS WAR Suzie Homemaker and made my own and don't act like that's not impressive. How many of you are cracking up Angel Hair pasta into a pan of rice and butter?  Huh? I thought so.

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It turns out, you can make meals out of what you have on hand.  Who knew?  I'm proud of my determination and stick-to-it-ness.  I'm weak when it comes to meals and I pay dearly because of it.  My grocery bill is higher than it needs to be and I hope to change that very soon.  I mentioned yesterday my new grocery obsession, Aldi.  When I return from vacation and need to do my shopping….it's there that I plan to go.

Now, I just have to make it until Tuesday night.  I don't know if I'll go without milk until then….but I PROMISE, I'm not going to the store for G R O C E R I E S!!

Money in the bank, right?  Challenge, accepted!

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Favorite Things Summer 2012 Edition

July 25th, 2012

It's funny how we grow and change.  If you stop and think about it….each new day holds the promise of something new and wonderful.  Whether it be a food or product….or even a person.  God has lavishly arranged for you and me to find blessings, everyday.

My summer has almost reached its glorious end.  I realized today that I've spent an enormous amount of time…wasting time.  Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed it.  I have hung out with my dogs, cooked leisurely meals (and not cooked when I didn't want to), bought new appliances, blogged about my prayer life and taken a few naps.

Along the way, I've found a few things to spruce up my life and what kind of friend would I be if I didn't share with you…my fancy finds?  I mean, that's what friends are for, right?  We share.

 

Look at this little beauty.  This is an ottoman that I've been searching for high and low.  I wanted something "just the right size" for my main bathroom.  It just so happens to be the place my girls and I spend the most time.  Usually together.  Since I have a good amount of space, I knew having one of these would be perfect for community hanging out–painting nails, talking about funny shows, listening to favorite music while someone else is in the shower etc…

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Cute huh?  Found it at Walmart.  $19.99  It's the perfect size and I can recover it anytime I get tired of the hot pink paisely!  Score!

 

If you have frizzy hair and have tried finding the best product to help you tame your frizzies.  This stuff just might help.  I bought it on my way down south last month.  I'm not saying this is the best thing out there, I'm simply recommending it for those of you who shop at stores like Walgreens and need some friz rescue.  It worked and it smells great too!  It's a bit more pricey than regular drug store shampoo (around $10) a bottle.  Walgreens had it on sale, buy one get one @ 1/2 price.  Totally worth it!

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I have old lady legs.  They're dry and well, old.  I try to lather up everyday with a creamy lotion to fight off the scaly legs but within an hour or so….dry legs again. I heard about this product on a local tv show and immediately put in a search of where to buy it (TARGET) and get the best price.  I'll be honest, I didn't think it was going to do anything special.  WRONG!  It is magic!  I lather on a thin layer of this after I shower and it lasts all day long.  No more icky scaly legs.  $9.95 at Target.

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I bought the tummy fix while I was at Target too.  I've been using it on my jelly-belly and while it doesn't do any sit-ups for me…I do notice a nicer toned tummy.  It's a bit more costly.  I think I paid $18.95  Go HERE and see all the choices of NipFab product they sell.

I'm mad in love with the Biscoff cookie.  Now, you can buy this Biscoff Spread.  I cannot wait to make some of the delicious recipes I've found on the internet.  This stuff is lifechanging good!  Trust me.

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I'm a pan hoarder.  I hold onto old junked up pans for way too long.  Last week I decided that I was not coming home without a new fryer.  A good one.  (ok, the best one I could find at Target…don't judge!)  I love Paula Deen and her pans "appeared" to be great quality compared to the other brands at Target.  So, I grabbed this one.  I. AM. IN. LOVE.

I'm planning to buy more.  Just pacing myself, ya know?  I'm happy with the price too.  Can't beat $34.99 for a pan that pretty much cooks all my family's meals during a week.

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Another favorite thing I love is free books.  It feels awesome to find freebies for my Kindle Fire.  A great site that I use is Inspired Reads.  It's a Christian site so the books are geared towards anything faith based.  Often they find goodies that I don't have time to go searching for, both fiction & non-fiction.  Thanks, dudes!

Aldi.  I'm a grocery shop-a-holic.  I also like a good deal.  I stopped in the new store in my area the other day (just to check it out) and man, it's full of great deals!  I had pictured this store as a low income dirty kind of store (shame on me!).  The fruits/veggies were sparkling fresh and cheeeeeep!  The frozen foods selection nearly blew me away.  Wow!  It's not a secret that the prices are very competitive….it just took me too long to cross over to shopping at Aldi.  Now, I will surely stop there first before hitting the big supercenter (that I loathe).

Who doesn't love shopping at Hobby Lobby?  That's like saying no to icecream.  Recently, I found that they have a HL phone app.  Not kidding.  So, all the great coupons are right there on your smart phone.  All you do is pull up your HL app and flash it at the store clerk next time you're shopping for craft stuff.  Voila, discount right there.  No digging around in your purse for the coupon you forgot on the kitchen table anymore!  Click on the HL link above and scroll down to the bottom of the page–there you'll find choices for connecting with HL including the APP Store.  You're welcome!

What's your favorite find this summer?  I'm always looking for something new and wonderful to make my life easier.  Let me know if you have found the mother load of awesome!  That's what friends are for…remember?  Sharing.

 

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Don’t Flush

July 24th, 2012

Ever have one of those days where you feel everything is falling apart?  Like, nothing is solid?  Me too.  Somedays are just like that.  Shaky, wobbly….nerve-wracking!  Then add on top of all that, physical sickness.

It can overwhelm you!

There isn't a person out there that hasn't experienced what I'm talking about.  Stress happens, sickness happens….worry creeps in.  Our bodies fight to hang on but just can't last in a war with emotions.  Heart attacks, stroke, ulcers…tons of illnesses are related to what happens inside the physical body because of stress.

Not too long ago, I came across the most encouraging blogger.  Her story is pretty incredible.  She's a widowed mom with 4 great kids, one of which has some special needs.  Her writing is beautiful.  It's real, raw and inspiring!  She's living day to day just like the rest of us but she's figured out some important truths–>We SERVE a GOOD GOD!  I love her attitude!

I woke up feeling cruddy this morning.  I had a headache on Sunday and a stomach ache since that won't go away.  My pipes are stopped up (my house..not my body) and I can't use my water or it fills up my garage and storage room floor.  I paid several big bills last week and so did my hubby (we should communicate) and we both forgot another big payment was scheduled to come out automatically ALL IN THE SAME WEEK!  You know, the one where we took money out to replace someone's cellphone?  Yea.  I'm mad at myself!

All of this tumbling down on me at once.  Did I mention we are supposed to leave for a mini vacay in a week?  Geez, all of the hulla-bulloo!  So, instead of burying my head in the sand…I decided to go read what Amy's doing over at her blog.  Her post today is titled, One Good Reason To Keep On Truckin' (even when your trucks about to fall apart).  I'm convinced, that girl knows my life.  surprise

Thanks Amy.  You reminded me, it could be worse.  I too, still have air-conditioning!  Rejoicing, I will do!  And finding many more reasons to be grateful!

#1  smart daughter who works at the same bank that I'm a customer

#2  that she willingly transfers loans

#3  for God's gentle reminder that He is in control

#4  a great life

#5  potstickers  (yum-o)

No matter how crazy life can be….you and I can trust Him.  We can be bent and twisted….and still, we will be okay.

Ps- Did you happen to catch The View today?  It was gospel music overload.  This up & coming sweetheart played this great song.  Beautiful job, Jamie!

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISgr8SgCYbY]

 

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27 Hours

July 23rd, 2012

I've done a lot of stupid things in my life.  Some might be of the opinion…that I'm a natural at it.  This weekend, I jumped off the deep end of dummy and took my beloved iphone with me out on a boat.  On a lake, with deep water and rockin waves.  Now, before you get all…..ooooh, bad idea lady.  Don't.  

For I am a responsible phone owner.

Matter of fact, I get teased constantly about all the layers of cell phone protection I have on my phone.  God bless the makers of the Ballistic case!  It's not just one case…it's like, three!  It literally has three different pieces of protection.  Perfect for people like me.  I'm clumsy and forgetful.  Sometimes I set it down in strange places, like my lap while I'm driving.  Then, I get out of my car and out on the parking lot it falls.  Nothing can penetrate three layers of hard bouncy rubber Ballistic beauty.

Except, falling off of a rocking boat and into 45 foot deep water.  That triple layered safety case?  It's heavy and sinks like a lead bowling ball.  Yep, straight to the bottom of Lake Monroe not too far from John Mellancamp's cute little home on the water.  I saw it all happen.  It fell right in front of me.  I don't think I'll ever get that KAPLOOK! sound out of my memory.  It was sickening!

What's even sadder, is that it was my friend's hubby who knocked it in.  He was pretty upset and I couldn't even think about the phone because I knew he was probably fighting a bit of turmoil in his own heart.  Accidents happen.  He didn't do it on purpose.  It was in the wrong place (my fault) at the wrong time!

Boo, for both of us.  Time kind of stood still.  Who knew what to say?  It was just one of those things.  Sad, regretful…awful moments that you wish never happened.  But it did.

The big question….did I have insurance?  Absolutely not!  That would be way too intelligent of me.  I enjoy living on the edge of danger and that's the price you pay for doing so.   I mean why insure a phone?  Nothing's gonna happen!!?  Uhh, no comment!

For the rest of that night, I tossed and turned.  I prayed.  I scoured the internet.  I knew what Verizon was going to say and even sent a Verizon employee friend an email asking for advice.  Replacing it with them was around $850.  Be still my heart!  She suggested I get busy and watch Craigslist.  Really?  I'm a little wary of scams on Craigslist.  I have some sort of radar that directs me to all the loonies!  But, I HAD NO DANG PHONE!!

I went through all the listings for Verizon phones nearby (when I say, nearby…that means within a couple hours drive from my house).  I must have clicked on 30 iphone ads.  Most of them were busted, broken and had words like locked or clean ESN.  My favorite, TRADE ONLY!!  Whaaaa?

Depressing…

I couldn't help but fall into a pit of despair.  My mind started playing tricks on me and all I could think about was how perfect my iphone was.  It didn't have a scratch.  Every touch that it had ever felt came from my own little grubby fingers.  It was the best phone in the world.  Now, it was dead on the bottom of a dirty muddy lake.  Who deserved that fate?  See, how the crazy was starting to set in?

I sent two different sellers a message.  Both were offering to sell NEW iphones still in the box for $300.  If they weren't cheating lying scammers, anyway.  Within a few minutes, one of them responded.  We emailed back and forth, me asking questions and then trying my best to read between the lines of all his answers.  I'll call it my SCAM MONITOR!  Listen, the way I see it…I've already stepped off into a costly mistake with this "phone in the water" incident.  I cannot afford to get ripped off!

I'm leaving for a mini vacay in less than 2 weeks, dangit!  I want to be able to eat out or something while I'm gone!

So, very long story short.  I agree to meet the Craigslist killer seller an hour away from home and make the purchase.  Pending all was cool with Verizon!  He agreed and off we went.  We met at a Sams Club parking lot (you know, busy with shoppers) and they were legit normal people.  Thank you Jesus!   Hubby took the perfect looking iphone to the car and called Verizon….I talked to the nice young couple who were selling it for her best friend and within minutes hubby handed me my new cellphone.  

So, 27 hours after I'd witnessed my hot pink darlin' fly through the air and land in the lake of no return and $300 dollars later….I was back among the world of communication.  The lesson?

Ballistic needs to make a flotation device to go with all those layers of protection on their cases!   No, just kidding.  Don't take your precious prized iphone on a boat without some sort of waterproof protection.  EVER!

The End!

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Madness In Movie 9

July 20th, 2012

Mornings like this are staggering to wake up to.  During the night while most of us were sleeping soundly…a gunman wreaked havoc on innocent movie-goers in Aurora Colorado killing 12 and injuring over 50 people.  The news came like a punch in the stomach.  My own 3 kids and their friends were sitting front and center of the big premier of The Dark Knight Rises Batman movie.  I fell asleep trusting they were safely tucked inside of the AMC Theater 25 minutes from my house.  Granted, we live in Indiana and Colorado is thousands of miles away….it still sent sickening shock all through my body.

Why would a person do something like this?  We may never know.  Was there no clues to the darkness of this young man's soul?  No one noticed he was in any way disturbed?  All we can do now is pray for those affected by this horrible act of violence.  Families are hurting and need the support and compassion that each of us can offer.  Don't miss an opportunity to pray for strangers.  God is sure to hear every whispered word.

As I write this post, I'm listening to the story of Jessica Ghawli (Redfield) who was killed during the movie mayhem early this morning.  She was an aspiring sportscaster who worked for the sports website Busted Coverage.  She also was a near miss victim of the deadly mall shooting in Toronto just last month (June 2).  Thanks to a strange feeling, she felt compelled to go outside.  Because of this, she missed the shooting that took the life of one and injured 7 others.  Jessica had written about the experience and described how she couldn't grasp the fact that she escaped such a close call with death.

Jessica's story is mindnumbing.  Her family is left with questions and the never ending ache of her loss.  Only God can heal the broken hearts reeling from this tragedy.  May He blanket each of them and hold them up as they walk through what may be the darkest period of their lives.

On this late July summertime Friday….with all the expectations of family fun this weekend, don't forget to hold the ones you love a little longer and to cherish the time you have with them.  Death is like a thief in the night, it strikes when we least expect it.

Holy God In Heaven,

Our hearts are breaking watching the news unfold from Colorado.  Please work in the lives of the victims struggling to survive and those left with the tragic loss of loved ones.  Nothing about this event makes sense but we trust that YOU are in control.  Help us to understand…and fill us with compassion.  Surround these families with love and support and let your glory shine bright.

Amen

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