Do we give ourselves permission to come away and rest awhile? Dinner guests last night with accompanying cleanup, a funeral this morning, an important email to send, an art show to attend in an hour….all in the name of love, God’s love; and our love for one another. Also, I need to go outside and pay the man working in ...READ MORE »

“It’s a whole lot easier to ‘eat now and pray later’; and more fun too! ” the enemy in my mind whispers to me.  I am already dreaming about the large bag of popcorn I hope to eat at the movie this afternoon.  The Lord has been helping me to see if I pray first for help rather than ...READ MORE »

Have you taken any good looks at the clouds lately?  If I were a poet I would be able to express this beauty in similes and analogies, but unfortunately my practical prosaic mind does not think that way.  In other words, watching clouds and meditating on them is not on my “to do” list.  But perhaps it should be. ...READ MORE »

In the state of Tennessee in which I live,  obesity rates have ranked among the highest in the nation, spurring state and local efforts to encourage people to eat better and move more as we see the effects of obesity in every area of life. Tennesseans with Obesity 30.8 percent of adults are obese.67 percent of adults are overweight. 15.8 percent of adolescents ...READ MORE »

I am “learning” to eat fruit.  Oh, I don’t mean just a banana on cereal though that is delicious too but I mean learning to like fruit as much as I like chocolate!  When I think of a tasty treat, I tend to think of chocolate-anything chocolate from a luscious brownie to a handful of chocolate chips eaten straight ...READ MORE »

Our son-in-law told me: “Mimi, for Elizabeth (his wife), price and saving money trumps healthy and nutritious.’’ She got that from me I told him (which he already knew).   In earlier meat eating days it was finding the cheapest hot dogs, buying two sausage biscuits for a dollar and then making white gravy to top them .  My mother used to ...READ MORE »

My mouth—my mouth feels full of sickness and disease from our eating in France.  Though we ordered vegan through our tour director, the extra breads, double dip gelato , olive oil, coffee, pastries, has caught up with us and taken its toll.  We want to go home.   Nevertheless, in spite of the unhealthy eating, the Lord gave me two ...READ MORE »

“Lord, I want to change” I prayed as I attempted to remove my wedding ring from my swollen  fingers.    Yesterday’s snack of 2 bags of salted nuts left my fingers stiff and swollen.  Those 2 bags of  nuts  contained 300 mg of sodium, 55 fat grams, and were meant to provide 5 servings. The battle between the spirit and ...READ MORE »

Here in Nebraska, where I’m from, it’s that time of the year when the weather acts like an overtired two year old — it wants milk, it doesn’t want milk; it wants a blanket, it doesn’t want a  blanket; it’s 75 degrees one day, it’s 32 degrees the next. It’s also that time of the year when many people give ...READ MORE »

Crawling under the ping pong table for a tea party with a 4 year old  (make that “4 1/2”) was not easy for a 74 year old.  In fact even climbing the stairs to get to the table was painful.  Still we long to do these things and doing them can be so much fun!  How can we prolong and ...READ MORE »

As Jackie said New Year’s resolutions can be helpful even though we break them, kind of like needing God’s grace every time we fall which is often.  We go to Him in prayers with our sins and areas of weakness, receive His grace and then, though determined not to, succumb to the flesh again.  We bring them ...READ MORE »

As we model our lives after the life of Jesus, we care for those close to us. We cook for our friends and share life with them as did our Savior and Lord.  I want to share two cake recipes received many years ago from two of my friends.  I have made these cakes healthier by eliminating the oil and ...READ MORE »

Salads are a source of raw nutrients, full of enzymes undestroyed by cooking.  Eating a raw salad each day is a good practice and kale is one of the healthiest greens.  This salad mixture can be kept a week in the refrigerator.  Add different fresh seasonal fruits like peaches or strawberries, pears or apples.  You may want to add a dried ...READ MORE »

Is it worth it to feel this way when I wake up?  Was the cake, ice cream and French fries and cheeseburgers or cheese-laden pizza worth it?  I do tire of creaking out of bed, following a night filled with many treks to the bathroom and the in the morning looking into the mirror and seeing a puffy face with ...READ MORE »

 Here is a soup that can be prepared with most any vegetable like broccoli, asparagus, squash, and  cauliflower. The potato acts as a thickener.  The onion and garlic can be sautéed in a small amount of water  rather than oil. This soup is both dairy free and oil free and contains no flour so is also gluten free. In a stock ...READ MORE »

 “Do all things  without murmuring and complaining that you may be as stars in the midst of a crooked  and perverse generation. ” We humans can complain about anything.  The bountiful garden I have been working in this morning   has  led me to murmur:  “What am I going to do with all of this stuff?” “The lettuce Is getting too tall ...READ MORE »

 “Lord, I want to change” I prayed as I attempted to remove my wedding ring from my swollen  fingers.    Yesterday’s snack of 2 bags of salted nuts left my fingers stiff and swollen.  Those 2 bags of  nuts  contained 300 mg of sodium, 55 fat grams, and were meant to provide 5 servings. The battle between the spirit and the ...READ MORE »