Mick's up with Horses

You can lead a horse to water...

I am enjoying time with my parents, away from the every-day chores and monotony.

The expectations I had of these couple of weeks included journaling, catching up on reading, relaxing, exercising, and starting back up on blogging.

Well, what I did not expect was to have so many horses around to love.

My parents are boarding horses for the summer, in order to have animals around for the grandchildren during their visit.  Along with these horses came a pony and her 3-month-old baby.  Who can ignore a baby?!  We have been working at teaching this baby to enjoy being around humans and to trust them to handle her.  We've made progress!  I'm going to hate to leave her.

During this wonderful time in horse heaven, I was reminded of a popular cliche.  Because of the hot temperatures we've experienced, several times I witnessed someone leading a horse to water, thinking they're being helpful.  You know the rest, "but you can't make it drink."  It's true!  Those horses won't drink just because you take them to water!

It's the same with health and lifestyle information.

I can take people to the information, but I can't make them live it.

It's that way for all of us.  We have a wealth of information we want to share with others, but it's up to others to do something with it.

Those of you who have information to share, hang in there!  Be faithful.  Keep up the good work.  I know you're out there!  I've had several heartfelt conversations this summer with people wanting this healthy lifestyle stuff to "click" for their loved ones.  I also know of hearts heavy with the burden of bringing friends and loved ones into the Kingdom of God.  It hurts to know they don't want to be saved from an eternity of torture.  It would be so easy for them to escape that.  We can't make them accept that gift that is at their fingertips.  It has to be their choice.

To those of you at the other end of the information (the lead rope, so to speak), nobody can make you (drink) understand or want to do something with that "water."  Please know it's all in love.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 

  that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.  

Whoever believes in him is not condemned,  

but whoever does not believe stands condemned already

because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

John 3:16-18 (NIV)

~

Mick’s in Some Valentines

What did you end up doing on Valentine’s Day?  Go to my Facebook page to tell me about it.

I got a call from a very tall, dark, and handsome guy, asking me to go on a date!  We enjoyed a splurge dinner out.  It was such a great surprise to run into friends at the restaurant!  The best part, though, was some time alone with my honey.

What did we do during the other hours of that day?  I woke up early to make Grain-free Cinnamon Rolls, Fluffy Gluten-free Pancakes, and Strawberry Sauce.  I wrapped up pictures of my hubby and me, for him to take to his new office, and I presented the kidderz with gifts from their grandparents.  (The grandparents are awesome!  They know we are keeping sugar away from our house, so they made sure not to get sweets for gifts.  Instead, they bought little strawberry planting kits for the kidderz.  How cute!)  Also, I did actually make the Chicken Salad with Cranberries for everyone’s lunches, as well as the Strawberry Cheesecake Bites for the evening’s dessert.  Yummy!

My daughter had fun giving away all our xylitol candies with Valentines for her classmates, but when we ran out, she was creative in her choice of Valentines for our neighbor boys.  She made paper airplanes out of Valentine paper, and wrote their names on them.  The boys seemed to love them!

Oh!  I forgot to mention: My Valentine gave me 2 potted miniature rose plants.  They are beautiful!  Not only that, but we also watched a movie at home:  Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility
adapted for the 1995 film.  I love it, every time I watch it!  Even though it was a very mild night outside, we had a fire in the fireplace to enjoy while we snuggled up for the movie.

So, I write this only to encourage you in knowing there are alternatives.  You don’t have to celebrate Valentine’s Day (or any special day) the same old way.  Make life interesting.  Mix it up!  Better yet, Mick’s up Life, and be inspired into wellness!

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children

and walk in the way of love,

just as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us

as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2

~

Mick’s in Love

I love my sweetheart!  I really do have the best guy in the world as my husband… MY VERY OWN HUSBAND!  Since our dating days, I have referred to him as my Knight in Shining Armor.  God knows, better than I, what I need… and I am THANKFUL!  It makes Valentine’s Day a necessary celebration.

I dedicate this post to my Valentine… Jay.       

So, with Valentine’s Day less than a week away, it’s time to plan ahead for special treats to share with your Valentine.  If we don’t plan ahead, do you know what happens?  We end up buying that $14.99 heart-shaped box of chocolates or that $65 bouquet of long-stemmed red roses.  Those are wonderful splurges, but if your sinuses and wallet are anything like mine, you prefer to have an alternative choice or two that are healthier and cheaper.

What are some of the fun things you plan to do for your Valentine on Tuesday?

I’m thinking our house might be filled with a breakfast menu of Strawberry Smoothies and/or Strawberry Sauce on Fluffy Pancakes (depending on how much time I have in my Tuesday morning schedule)… a lunch menu of Chicken Salad with cranberries mixed in (see below) and Almond Power Bars (for the chocolate)… a dinner out for a splurge with my sweetheart, or a menu something like Chicken Cacciatorre and peas (family’s favorite veggie)… and finish it off with a dessert, such as Strawberry Cheesecake Bites and Chocolate Chip Cookies or Coconut Macaroons or Strawberry Gelato… and heart-shaped Almond Bark (not the peppermint version like this link is for).  (Do you see my pattern of hints of pink and red and chocolate?)  We’ll see how well I actually do with that!

Even with all the fun festivities, especially if you have young children still doing the school party thing (or teenagers newly discovering puppy love), let us not forget the truest, purest, biggest Valentine gift ever:  Christ laid down His life for YOU!  Here is a great song about that very thing.  Enjoy!

Someone Worth Dying For

by

MIKESCHAIR

You might be the wife waiting up at night.
You might be the man struggling to provide,
feeling like it's hopeless.
Maybe you're the son who chose a broken road.
Maybe you're the girl thinking you'll end up alone,
praying, “God, can you hear me?
Oh, God, are you listening?”

“Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah, I wanna believe.  I wanna believe that
I'm not just some wandering soul
that you don't see and you don't know.
Yeah, I wanna believe.  Jesus, help me believe that I
am someone worth dying for.

I know you've heard the truth that God has set you free,
but you think you're the one that grace could never reach.
So you just keep asking what everybody's asking,

“Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah, I wanna believe.  I wanna believe that
I'm not just some wandering soul
that you don't see and you don't know
Yeah, I wanna believe.  Jesus, help me believe that I
am someone worth dying for.

You're worth it!  You can't earn it.
Yeah, the Cross has proven  that you're sacred and blameless.
Your life has purpose.

You are more than flesh and bone.
Can't you see you're something beautiful?
Yeah, you gotta believe.  You gotta believe.
He wants you to see.  He wants you to see
that you're not just some wandering soul
that can't be seen and can't be known.
Yeah, you gotta believe.  You gotta believe that you are someone worth dying for.
You're someone worth dying for!
You're someone worth dying for!

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

 

 ~

Chicken Salad

Mix desired amount of shredded or cubed cooked chicken with desired amount of cottage cheese.  Add extras, such as salt and pepper, sliced almonds, raisins, or dried cranberries (if the ingredients say they are sweetened with apple sauce, that's best, rather than the cranberries dried with sugar) and/or diced cucumbers, etc.

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