Mocha Coconut

All these ingredients are approximate because I don't measure anything. Just a recipe I created in my dorm room. =)

Mocha Coconut

• 12 oz hot brewed coffee
• 1-2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 -2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp honey
• 3 - 4 TBS coconut milk

I put the ingredients in the mug in that order, because it's easier to stir the cocoa powder in after I've poured the vanilla and honey "through" it. I tap the cocoa powder out of a spices jar, because the holes in the lid prevent large chunks of cocoa being in there - thus it's easier to stir in.

Made this collage out of pictures that aren't mine.

I just found out as I searched for these pictures that Starbucks has a Mocha Coconut Frappuccino. I thought this was an original idea, at least mine's hot!

"Hold Your Ground"

Well, I think I'll start blogging about the awesome sermons I attend. They're just notes (sometimes paraphrases, sometimes quotes) from sermons I've listened to. They're not my own ideas & I don't take credit for them.

Message from Pastor Mark:

• Don't let time & distance carry lies (in friendships).
• If someone has helped you through a hard time - don't ever let that go. They're a battle buddy.
• We love God by keeping His commandments. His love language is obedience.
• If you're dating an unbeliever, and you really care about them: you'll get out of the way so God can get in there and capture their hearts.
• When you get a little full of yourself, remind yourself that you're only where you are because of the grace of God.
• You want to grow in your faith? Share your story!
• When you leave old groups of friends to pursue God instead, they'll notice that something happened to you to make you change (even if you only hear that swearing at you and talking badly about you.)
• If we don't pump worldliness out (that is active, not passive), it will fill us the way a basement gets filled with water if there is no sump pump

A Week's Worth

1-22

Man, "ugly" is expensive these days: a woman's suit & shoes

I think there is an Alvin (from chipmunks) hanging from the Sweden Walker/31 intersection lights!

1-26

Found out that Abercrombie & Fitch has supposedly paid Jersey Shore to not wear their clothing brand! Haha, that says a lot!

1-27

Wow, in my anatomy lab, we have to get >50% on the quizzes at the end of lab otherwise we won't even get marked as having been present at lab! I don't intend to get lower than 50%, that would be poor for me, but...I'd prefer to not lose in two ways if I did do poorly!


"Try not to make enemies with anyone - you might end up in a group project with them."  - Me
Ha, no, that hasn't happened to me. It was just a thought I had. Not that I try to make enemies...!


Group or Single Presentations: 6
Research papers: 3 + a lab report (whatever that entails...)


"A true friend can recognize our weaknesses and help us overcome or reduce them." Interpersonal Communications: Everyday Encounters by Julia T Wood. Sounds like that will be a good class. Those we aren't close to generally can't inoffensively address problems.


1-29

I got a birthday note from someone saying, "I figured you'd rather have more money on itunes than a fancy card so I used paper instead, lol." So cute and so me!

Tried coconut milk in my coffee (~3 tablespoons, maybe) and on my cereal yesterday! But with the cereal, I did about half coconut milk & half cow milk. Good stuff! My inspiration came from watching Food Matters, because coconut is considered to be a super food! I feel like it's one step away from hormone filled animal products. There is cellulose in this milk, which I'm told is a sweetener (because it rhymes with gross), but I'm not sure that bothers me much.
By the way, here's the recipe for that Vanilla Granola in the picture! I left the sugar out, maybe increased the honey, and used sunflower seeds because I had no sesame seeds. 


Absolutely fantastic time at church and lunch with friends this morning!



Anyone hear about the 94 year old Mexican woman who crossed the border with 10 lbs of marijuana strapped beneath her clothes?
I don't know much about TSA (I know she had nothing to do with TSA) and all their regulations and such, but I have heard comments about, "Why would you search older folks and children? They're unlikely to do such & such..." Well, this granny makes me wonder.



As I went to my first classes this week, I realized how blessed I was to have not been penalized last semester for showing up to my math final 5-10 minutes late. (I woke up when it started!) A number of my classes absolutely won't allow anyone in late during tests and finals.

Forks Over Knives

I watched another great movie tonight (Forks Over Knives), and I just wanted to share some info that stuck out to me:

***

In 1978, the chances of a woman getting breast cancer in Kenya were 82% less than the chances of an American woman getting it. [Because of animal products in the diet.]

18 prostate cancer deathes cases in Japan. 14,000 deaths in USA. [Because of animal products in the diet.]

In the 1970's, heart disease in rural China was 12x times lower than in US and heart disease was rarely encountered in Papua New Guinea. [Because of animal products in the diet.]

Norwegians were forced to eat plant based foods when the Germans confiscated their animals during WW2. Deaths were highest in 1932, the the Germans came in, then numbers of deaths plummeted. With the cessation of hostilities came the return of meat, dairy, strokes, and heart attacks.

Most of our most crippling conditions could be greatly reduced - if not completely eradicated - simply by eating a whole foods plant based diet. (Fruits, veggies, grains, legumes; and avoiding meat, dairy, eggs & refined, processed foods.)

We've removed the fiber, water, and minerals from foods so that they've become hyper concentrated and can get to a brains as fast as - and work as - drugs.

He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the time of his doctor. - Ancient Chinese Proverb

Animal products are/turn acidic in our bodies. Thus the calcium from our bones gets pulled out to neutralize this acidity. Milk has never been the good source of calcium that the dairy business has claimed.

****

(Not my picture.) forksoverknives.com

I still have some questions and some very minor disagreements with what I watched, but it was a good movie! I have changes to make, but I've started some since watching "Food Matters" last night. =) I drank 24 oz of water in one hour this morning, and didn't eat until two hours after waking up (I didn't need to.)

Now I want to find great vegetarian recipes. I'll start by looking on the sites of the two movies I just watched.

(This can be found on Netflix.)

A Week's Worth

1-12
Got my first massage. I should definitely get them more often, and more than once per year would be great because the benefits are:

• increased circulation
• increased lymphatic flow to naturally remove toxins
• aids in healing
• decreased blood pressure
• improved digestive functioning
• increased flexibility
• greater mental acuity
• lessens depression & anxiety
• reduces stress levels hereby reducing effects of stress related illness

(Not my pic.)

I like the idea of funding them by putting $1 aside for every workout, or putting aside the money I save when I decide not to buy junk food.


1-15
Spilled my whole bowl black beans and quinoa - my intended lunch - on the floor. Amusingly sad. What would I do without my moving, living, breathing vacuum cleaner?

1-16
Had a pinteresting day with friends =) where we made Maple Cinnamon Bun Quick Bread, "Upcycyled" candles, bracelets, necklaces, and more. We actually used cotton yarn for the wicks and taped them to the bottom of the jars that we filled. 

1-17

Found $10 in a pants pocket at Goodwill.

Found out I'm still considered a minor in NY state until I'm 21.

1-19
This is guy is super funny: Blimeycow
I need to laugh way more =(

1-20

Read the first chapter of one of my textbooks! I don't want to get behind this semester and I want to learn all that I can (without unhealthily losing sleep).

Stupidest advice I've read in a while: "Instead of wiping your tears, wipe away the people who created them." Oh. My. Gosh. Whoever believes that will have no friends.
These are true words: "...Only a friend can betray a friend, a stranger has nothing to gain, and only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain..." 

Food Matters!

I just watched this phenomenal movie:

Not my pic. Link to site.

I want to share what I've gleaned from it:

****

"When you cook food the immune system reacts to it as a toxin." Digestive leukocitosis "takes place(?)" (this is the generation of white cell activity against the food you eat) after eating cooked food. Therefore 50% of our food should be eaten raw.

The super foods they picture include: raw honey, wheatgrass, spirulina, noni, goji (berries?), echinacea, acai, bee pollen, turmeric, coconut, durian, kelp, ginger, maca powder, & maybe more.

Spirulina is the highest protein food in the world.

50% of protein is destroyed once you cook a food.

Vitamin E is: good for heart disease, putting on burns, and reducing seizures in (teenagers?) who are epileptic

Vitamin C: anti-toxin, anti-histamine, anti-viral, regulates blood sugar, mood elevator

Vitamins enable the body to heal itself. Vitamins do so much good because there are so many bad effects to vitamin deficiencies.

"There's no money in health. Good health makes a lot of sense, but it doesn't make a lot of dollars"

Bill Williams, the founder of AA, took around 3000 mgs of Niacin (vitamin B3) for his depression & that was the end of his depression.

Two handfuls of cashews give you the therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of
prozac.

I believe they said: All drugs are liver toxic

Mercury tooth fillings are toxic. If you have it in your mouth - you're being poisoned by it. End of story.

Drink a liter or 2 liters of **water before having, food, coffee, etc

One guy lost ~150 lbs in ~18 months by eating the way this movie proposes. (That's probably eating those superfoods, drinking water the way they recommend, and maybe a little more.) Supposedly it was all through his bowels - we're talking toxicity leaving the body - and one day he lost 15 lbs (12 bowel movements). The toxins that fill our fat cells were mentioned.

The tumors aren't the cancer. If you want to give someone cancer, give them chemotherapy, because those substances are carcinogenic themselves.

"~225,000 people died of cancer in ~1971. $39 billion went towards cancer research. In 1996, 560,000 ppl died of cancer." I don't like when people turn their noses up at nutritional methods, and I dislike hearing about tax dollars being wasted (because of it) even more.

"It's illegal in most countries around the world to treat cancer patients with nutritional therapy." Glad I know some people wise enough to create their own nutritional therapy!
"The only legal treatments in these countries are surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy."

A vitamin C IV was suggested instead of chemotherapy - I think.

Asking for nutritional therapy from your medical doctor is kind of like ordering chow mein at a frech restaurant. it's not on the menu & they don't know how to make it & you're not gonna get it

"Is the solution (to people not having health care) to give them access to a system that doesn't work very well?? Or would it be a good idea to teach them how to be healthy?"

Our health care system is a disease care system.

They mentioned early on that our soil is (obviously) depleted. Our foods get treated (?) with 3 minerals when they need about 52. They're not receiving the necessary minerals from the soil or fertilizers, so the plants aren't producing enough antioxidants to protect themselves. This is where pesticides, hericides, GMO's, etc come into play.


If you want to be a millionaire, go talk to a millionaire, not a guy down the street. If you want to be healthy & live long - go talk to someone who has lived long and try to figure out what they're doing.

"People should stop being patients and start being people."

The biggest single reason that people aren't doing this is that it requires taking responsibility. And that is the only way out.

*****

I've been thinking recently: what if children were raised on eating fruits as desserts? They'd need no restriction on desserts! Fruit would be the special sweet dish after the meal that children want.

I'm pretty happy that I eat coconut and honey...occasionally echinacea (when I'm sick), bee pollen (if that's the same as bee propolis), and ginger. I want to take their water challenge! They mentioned people's priorities being flipped, saying that people are spending money on rent and car payments instead of feeding themselves and their families the best food on the earth. (I know there are a lot of factors, ok? Don't attack me. I know people need transportation and roofs. But I definitely agree that people have their priorities (whatever those are) flipped. For instance, I bought 5 items at Goodwill for $22 the other day. Good deal? I'd say so. But I didn't need those things! "Need" would mean I'm walking around with: dirty or threadbare clothing, OR no clothing. None of those are the case. I even stood there thinking & asking God about whether I should buy the items, put them on hold and left, came back with my mom & got her opinion! SO, I'm going to make a point of buying the healthiest food I can and not buying things I don't need. No clothing looks as good as healthy feels.

 

This movie can be watched online at Netflix!

Oh my gosh!! The whole movie can be watched here on youtube!!

Steff's Shepherd Pie

Not my idea of shepherd's pie, but I like it better.
Here's the original recipe, but this is what I did:

• 99% fat free ground turkey (why pay for fat?)
• olive oil (and then I add my own healthy fat back in)
• 19-22 oz mixture of fresh & frozen green beans with some fresh broccoli & fresh mushrooms
• 1 batch of Better-than-condensed-soup (Left out the mushrooms, nbd.)
• left out the onion, nbd.
• same cheddar cheese (50% less fat jalapeno)
• 2 cups of these lame Red Garlic Mashed Potatoes (cooked with them so I wouldn't have to eat them plain.)

Cooked all the veggies with the meat in a skillet.
Add my fresh soup to the skillet.
Cooked in an 8x8

I really liked this! Totally reminds me of this Mashed Potato Hot Dish...back from the days when I used condensed soup =///

Maple Cinnamon Bun Quick Bread

This was a fantastically tasty recipe!!

Recipe

I'm pretty happy there's no sugar IN the bread - and the glaze is excludable. I feel like someone must be looking at me like: "Are you crazy? There's a cup of maple in there, hunny." I know, but I feel that pure maple must be healthier than processed (and bleached?) sugar. 

I have Log Cabin (a combination of brown rice syrup, light brown sugar (oh, that's not positive...), and maple syrup) Syrup that I would have to use if I made it again, but at my own house. Maybe I'd use some oil for some of the butter? (Ehh, it's not that much.) I'd definitely throw in a little white whole wheat flour. Ha, I wonder how much less amazing it would be. =(

NOT MY PIC - but I'll replace it with mine when I can get mine. This is about what our looked like though.





Note to self - cut hot bread in short thick slices, not long thin ones. =/

Love n' Pina Coladas

The Pina Colada Song. It's (at least) about a selfish cheater. However, a godly realization came to me after reading the lyrics. It is so important that we seek to know those we love. And how can we love someone in detail if we don't know them in detail? It's a bad call if a husband buys his wife chocolate to show his love when she hates chocolate. (Especially if she's allergic to chocolate or dairy!)

I know at least one young guy who still calls his wife his "girlfriend." I think that carries a level of respect with it. It implies that he's still pursuing her heart, pursuing knowing her, and showing the kind of love and respect that so often dissipates as marriage extends.

I can't imagine marrying a guy and reaching a point in the relationship where I would break up with him if we were still just dating. Yet I see marriages that make me think, "I'd never get married if I knew I'd have a relationship like theirs." Marriages where courtesy, manners, kindness, gentleness, and other fruits of the Spirit are lacking. 

Not my pic.

With the break up, I'm not talking about, "Oh we're having a big blow up - I would leave you right now." I'm thinking of a general relational apathy - especially not caring about what your loved one(s) care(s) about. Love cares.

I'm talking about the things one would never do when trying to win another's heart. I love what Leslie Ludy says in The Lost Art of True Beauty when referring to The First 90 Days of Marriage. "Eric and I write about a lie that many young married couples have fallen prey to - that marriage is the time when you can finally 'let it all hang out.'" (Then she goes into a few details of the sloppy ways spouses start acting and treating each other.)

Well, this has rabbit-trailed from the song, but it's all about love! There are people I love who I need to know better. Some allow themselves to be known better than others. The others...you practically have to play 50 questions (oh, wait. Is it 20?) to know a smidgen about them.

God is a great one to bring up when speaking of love. I've wondered, probably numerous times, "When does love hold on and when does love let go?" An extremely confused Lisa realized a couple days ago that that totally contradicts "love endures all things." (I won't lie, I still have questions and confusions about the love chapter, but this is my little bit of clarified insight.) God's love doesn't give up. He doesn't stop pursuing people (the way we sometimes do), though people can close Him out by hardening their hearts. His love never says, "Maybe I'm bugging this person, it's time to leave them alone." (But the difference there is that He's always right and loving.) His love endures so much junk from us humans! Those who love Him, and those who don't, mess up every day. Don't ya think it hurts? He would never ask, "When does let hold on & when does love let go?"

To make it simpler, asking "when love gives up" is like asking when love can be:

• impatient
• unkind
• envious

when it can:

• brag
• delight in evil
• be proud
• be rude
• be easily angered
• keep records of wrong

when it can stop:

• protecting
• hoping
• trusting
• enduring

and when it can start failing.

That said, I have a lot to work on. Join me? 

And I still have questions, ones I didn't include here, and a few other realizations along with those.

Be Thankful

(Not my pic.)

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, " If I could see the world, I'd marry you". One day someone donated eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her, " Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?" T...he girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at him for the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying; " Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine." This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what our life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations. Today before you say an unkind word -Think of someone who cant speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food -Think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife -Think of someone who's crying out to God for a companion. Today before you complain about life -Think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before you complain about your children -Think of someone who desires children but they are barren. Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep -Think of the people who are living in the streets. Before whining about the distance you drive -Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job -Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job. But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another -Remember that not one of us is without sin and we all answer to one Maker. And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down -Put a smile on your face and thank God you're alive.

Triple Rush Hot Chocolate + Garlic Parm Basil Crackers

Despite my tweaks and one mistake, I (surprisingly) liked my version Drew's World Famous Triple Rush Hot Chocolate.

1 serving:

• 2 TBS chopped unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 2 drops hot (chili?) sauce - WHOOPS
• 1/2 tsp instant coffee
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 spoonful honey (around a TBS)

Looked a little something like this. (Not my pic.)

No cold milk for me! I always like hot chocolate - especially after shoveling. Yes, it boiled over with 90 seconds on HI in the end, and no I didn't strain it (because why waste the chocolate when I'm the only one drinking it?), but it was definitely good. I'd rather get a mouthful of chocolate in the end than a mouthful of unsweetened cocoa powder with the "other" honey mocha I created.

I ran across an old recipe today that I (pretty much) created and totally loved. I think I got think I got the idea and then went looking for a recipe to tweak. Whatever I did, this was my base: Alabama Fire Crackers.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup + 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 TBS crushed basil
• 12.375 ounces saltine crackers

Mmm, reminds me of summer. (Not my pic.)

You can follow the directions of the AFC's. However, I used a bowl so that I wouldn't be wasting spices or oil on the inside of a bag. (Much easier to scrape a bowl than a bag with a spatula.) Maybe I even covered and shook the bowl around. They were fantastic. Maybe Triscuits would be a healthier cracker option? Throw a little whole grain in there?

Healthy & Homemade: Fudge Sauce & Condensed Soup

I found a healthy substitute for the expired, corn-syrupy Wegmans chocolate sauce I just threw out. Healthy {and Versatile} Chocolate Fudge Sauce recipe. All the recipes on that page look good to me except for the runny strawberries. I'd like to try it, but don't have a use right now. Pancakes?!

Often I search for recipes and put "condensed soup" or "cream of ____ soup" in the "Ingredients I don't want" list, but not anymore!! I found Better-than-Condensed-Soup White Sauce that can be tweaked to substitute numerous condensed soups! I actually went looking for recipes with soups in them! I decided on this Easy Mushroom Rice with that white sauce recipe (plus 1/2 TBS dried minced onion) and a random amount of fresh mushrooms. Decent dish =)

 Made and loved this Chicken Penne Italiano yesterday also. More garlic, more oil, and chicken thighs (since they cost less when you're buying Harvestland.)

Penne, Rice, plus sweet potatoes

"Why Complicate Life?"

At first...I liked this picture. It makes sense, right? But now it just sounds pretty controlling and like a surefire way to make sure you're getting all that you want out of any relationship...    It's good to initiate calls and invitations, but reciprocation is necessary; and constant initiation can quickly make you the controller. It's really nice to know that someone else cares enough to call you up, ask to hang out, or seek to understand your heart. Then you know by their actions how they feel instead of: "Have questions?.......Ask."

Like or don't like something? Sometimes the whole world doesn't need to know all our opinions...   Ya, if you don't like how someone's treating you its good to speak up so you're not creating unrealistic expectations and resentment... 

Why is it so hard to speak up when we have needs? Are we afraid of inconveniencing others? Sometimes.

"Want something?.....Ask for it." ...Sounds like that could often be demanding.

"Love someone?......Tell it." Well, that's probably appropriate the majority of the time.

Health Care Stats and Government Incompetancy

There are actually two messages here.  The first is very
interesting, but the second is absolutely astounding - and explains a lot

A recent "Investor's Business Daily" article provided very
interesting statistics from a survey by the United Nations International
Health Organization.
 
Percentage of men and women who survived a cancer five years
after diagnosis:

            U.S.                    65%
            England              46%
            Canada               42%

Percentage of patients diagnosed with diabetes who received
treatment within six months:

            U.S.                     93%
            England              15%  
            Canada               43%

Percentage of seniors needing hip replacement who received it
within six months:

            U.S.                     90%
            England              15%
            Canada               43%

Percentage referred to a medical specialist who see one within
one month:

            U.S.                     77%
            England              40%
            Canada               43%
 
Number of MRI scanners (a prime diagnostic tool) per million
people:

            U.S.                     71
            England             14
            Canada              18

 
Percentage of seniors (65+), with low income, who say they are
in "excellent health":

            U.S.                    12%
            England               2%
            Canada               6%

 
And now for the last statistic:
National Health Insurance?

            U.S.                     NO
            England            YES
            Canada             YES
 
Check this last set of statistics!!
 
The percentage of each past president's cabinet who had worked
in the private business sector prior to their appointment to the cabinet.
You know what the private business sector is a real-life business, not a
government job.  Here are the percentages.


           T. Roosevelt.................... 38%
           Taft.................................. 40%
           Wilson ........................... 52%
           Harding........................... 49%
           Coolidge......................... 48%
           Hoover............................ 42%
           F. Roosevelt................... 50%
          Truman........................... 50%
          Eisenhower................ .... 57%
          Kennedy......................... 30%
          Johnson.......................... 47%
          Nixon.............................. 53%
          Ford................................ 42%
          Carter............................. 32%
          Reagan........................... 56%
          GH Bush......................... 51%
          Clinton .......................... 39%
          GW Bush........................ 55%
          Obama..................... 8%

 
This helps to explain the incompetence of this administration:
only 8% of them have ever worked in private business!
 
That's right!  Only eight percent---the least, by far, of the
last 19 presidents!  And these people are trying to tell our big
corporations how to run their business?

How can the president of a major nation and society, the one
with the most successful economic system in world history, stand and talk
about business when he's never worked for one?  Or about jobs when he has
never really had one?  And when it's the same for 92% of his senior staff
and closest advisers?  They've spent most of their time in academia,
government and/or non-profit jobs or as "community organizers."  They should
have been in an employment line.
 
Pass this on because we'll NEVER see these facts in the main
stream media.

NYC Missions Trip

Back from my NYC missions trip with NYSUM. First missions trip & first time to NYC. Our stay started with orientation and getting to know each other, but I jumped at the chance to walk through Queens at 9pm rather than stay inside with a headache and play Mafia! I don't understand where I was...Queens, Long Island City, Astoria...  So is that the borough, city, and town?

South Tower Memorial

Tuesday we went to the 9/11 memorial, walked around in the freezing cold until we decided to stop at Trinity Wall Street Episcopal church. We joined them for their service and ate our lunches outside their building afterwards with New Yorkers who were there for their food pantry. I offered my ham sandwich to a guy who said, "Oh, no thank-you, hunny. You must be from the South, you have an accent." Haha, nope! Boy do I wish I had a Southern accent...a British one would be so much cuter! ; )

Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church

I realized Tuesday afternoon that I am so prepared to talk to someone who knows nothing about Yeshua (Jesus) no matter how unprepared or unequipped I feel for sharing the gospel.

Tuesday night was pretty awesome. It started with a ride to Brooklyn during which some of my teammates and I shared our testimonies. We arrived at Brooklyn Tabernacle for a prayer service, had a good time of worship, and prayed in little groups for the children of the place. The lyrics I loved most were: 

Brooklyn Tabernacle

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me,

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

The time of prayer there was really neat because the things God put on my heart were creating reoccurring themes because they were topics I've prayed for for others recently. I love reoccurrences - they make me stop and think, they make me wonder what God's trying to communicate to me and teach me. I read Mark 6 on Tuesday and Luke 10 & 11 on Wednesday. They have a couple similarities, but the biggest is that Mark 6:11 and Luke 10:11 are practically identical! Last week was just a week where I flipped open my Bible and read what was in front of me (since I was out of routine)! Also, I read Isaiah 58 (flipped there) one day and then one of our leaders read it to us sometime after that. That gave me chills! What better passage to read than Isaiah 58 when you're on a missions trip! (It's also a passage that was highlighted last year because it struck me.)

 Rockefeller Center

Wednesday we went to a soup kitchen in Harlem right next to Marcus Avery Park. They feed their "guests" well! Chicken, rice, pinto beans, green beans, juice, peaches, and salmon burgers once the chicken ran out! There were ~5 salvations that day and we served ~200 people.

That night we did homeless ministry. It felt really good to chat with people, pray with them, and give them blankets, food, and toiletries. What struck me that night and other times was what people didn't ask for prayer for. One or two people I prayed with wanted full time instead of part time jobs, or a place to live, but they mostly weren't asking for better provisions.! God provides it all - whether we can afford it ourselves or someone gives it to us - but could I, could you, be content enough with whatever God provides? Or would we pray for constant, dependable provision so we wouldn't have to depend on God using others as an everyday test of our faith? Many of the poor or homeless I spoke with claimed to be believers and said things like, "I talk to Him everyday. I wouldn't get by without Him. He's my only hope." Crazy thing is, most/many of the people I saw didn't look homeless, hungry, in need, etc; but that's more true of the people at the soup kitchen (POTS) I went to Saturday.

Lunch in Little Italy

Thursday was our day off. Some of us started it by going to Rockefeller Center to watch, and try to be on, the Today Show. I was on it, but I can't find a clip with us in it online =( Later I went to Chinatown, Little Italy, a couple stories in Manhattan (including FAO Schwarz), and Times Square. In Chinatown, there was a little Asian man scrunched up on the sidewalk with a sign that said, "Homeless & sober. Please help." Circumstances like that hurt my heart =( It's hard to know what to do. Money is the easiest, but a no-no; and giving the little bit of food that might have been in my purse seems like so little. Looking back...food and prayer would've been the best to give. I think it was that day that a clean, well-dressed homeless man got on the subway asking for help and I was able to give him a bag of almonds. That felt good.

Times Square, of course.

Fuse-ball table in FAO Schwarz

We went to a coffee shop/bakery in Little Italy where I got a cannoli when I really wanted cheesecake. Horrible substitute! Pay the extra dollar for the $4 cheesecake! I was actually offered a couple bites by two other girls there, that was tasty. I got my own slice in Times Square later - extremely rich! =/ Water was $2.45 in Times Square! We walked around for ~7 hours that day, I wish I hadn't left my pedometer at school!

Outside The Relief Bus

Friday we worked with a sweet crew at The Relief Bus by Chelsea Park in Manhattan. We served about 500 cups of soup, plus hot chocolate and bread. A few of my team members and I walked around blocks giving people fliers so they'd be aware of The Relief Bus. During that, we ran into a guy who talked a long time with us about his story. He was from Puerto Rico, hadn't seen his family in ~26 years, and used to be a homeless alcoholic. Now he's a believer, lives on disability because of an injury, and doesn't have anyone to talk to besides God. He said something about not leaving his place very often, but he decided to Friday and was blessed to come across people who were willing to listen to him. That was neat.

 Friday night we went to the Betel of America. We led worship, gave testimonies, some performed a little more music, and we ate cookies while chatting with the men. It's a Christian drug and alcohol rehab center. Most of the men were in their 40's, some 50's & 60's. Three residents were from South Carolina and one worker was from Britain. I adore British accents! Southern are so cute too!

Saturday morning we went to POTS (Part of the Solution) soup kitchen. The cute thing about that place is that it's set up like a diner. The people are seated and served by 3 people. This is where so many people didn't look like they were in need. I'm not condemning them for eating there - whatever floats their boat - the craziness is that I'd never know they were in need if I saw them on the street. These people wear some brand names, have phones, have music players, have jewelry, glasses, tattoos, etc. I also found out that hungry people in need waste food! Last thing I would have expected!

Saturday night we sang (accompanied by guitars and a violin) in the subway & Grand Central Station. We also talked to people, gave some testimonies, and handed out tracts. People danced, clapped, sang, videoed, joined, and just stopped to watch us. I was told that one man moved from one sub car filled with our people to another car filled with our people and said, "Aw, they're here to?!"

Good times, good times.

Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church

Today Show. Ann Curry's ridiculously tall, maybe $500, shoes.

 PS: I was surprised - but it makes sense - that most of the vehicles in NYC are only nice ones. Who's gonna expensively drive a junky vehicle when there are subways? Lots of black Escalades, Navigators, & Towncares.

Green old days

I SO wish that society still used glass milk bottles, more staircases, our legs to walk to stores more often, clothe diapers, fewer & smaller TV's, & physical labor for exercise.

 

not my pic

You really don't HAVE to be old to read this.... Checking out at the grocery store recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. I apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations." She was right about one thing -- our generation didn't have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then…? After some reflection and soul-searching on "Our" day here's what I remembered we did have.... Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day. We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day. Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day. Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right. We didn't have the green thing back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then. Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then? Please post this on your Facebook profile so another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-alec young person can add to this...

(This may have been written by Helen Mangano-Plescia.)

My "go-to" songs

not mine

I'm not alright
I'm broken inside, broken inside
And all I go through
It leads me to you, it leads me to you

Burn away the pride, bring me to my weakness
'Til everything I hide behind is gone
And when I'm open wide with nothing left to cling to

Only you are there to lead me on

******************

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender
To

Whatever You're doing inside of me...

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe...

...It feels like chaos but now I can see
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly

*****************

You fought
but you were just too weak
so you lost
all the things you try to keep
now you're on your knees, you're on your knees

But wait,
everything can change,
in a moments time you don't have to be afraid,
cause fear is just a lie
open up your eyes


And He'll break
open the skies to save
those who cry out his name
the one the winds and waves obey
He's strong enough to save you


Look
now is not too late
lift up your head
let the rain fall on your face
you're not far from grace, your not to far from grace


I know the weight of this world can take you down like
gravity and I know the current of yourself can take you
out, out to sea but hold on, hold on

**************

From wanting to be loved
From wanting to be praised by all
From needing to be first
From finding all my worth in this world
From wanting to be seen
From constant worrying about myself

Deliver me
From validating words that only seem to serve a heart that's proud
And all my self esteem, dressed up in vanity and doubt
From wondering if I am relevant and liked, so God

Deliver me, deliver me
Show me what it all looks like
Scribbled on the pages of a human life
Riddled through the ages until we see the light
Breaking all the cages wide open
Every little prison

From fear of letting go
From fear of the unknown ahead
From being overlooked
And so misunderstood again
From fear of being judged
From rumors of a love that fails

Let every man be more than I
Closer to the truth when I'm set aside
Mostly of no use, but when I fall I fly
Breaking all the cages wide open
All these little prisons...

****************

Those who wait upon the Lord
New strength He gives them
He gives them wings like the eagle
That they might soar with Him

He weaves His strength into their lives
The Spirit of Adonai
Then He gives then all of His peace
To guard their hearts and their minds
Guarding our hearts and minds

So come my soul now take your rest
Find your peace in Him
The Holy presence of the Lord
That fills you from within