Real Food and Special Days

Thursday was Valentine's Day. My sweet hubby knows I am trying to be processed sugar -free so he bought me flowers but no chocolate, and I am OK with that! :)
I have been Wheat Free for a week and a half and processed sugar free for 2 days. I am trying. I have to admit we went to Cheesecake Factory last night....I had the Godiva Chocolate cheesecake which is NOT made with unprocessed sugar, but I DID keep wheat free, which I am proud of.

I love to shower my family with a special meal on Valentine's Day but everyone was going there separate ways in the afternoon so I made a breakfast instead. I found a recipe  Flour free cheese souffle and tweaked it just a bit with Greek yogurt instead of full fat sour cream and my choice of cheeses. Yummy! I added 2 "bacon roses", hashbrowns, fruit and Blueberry Almond Flour Muffins for a great wheat free, sugar free breakfast. Hubby who likes traditional foods and slightly picky mom who is diabetic all loved it!
                               
It CAN be done! I thought it was success. Now, I like reading the comments under recipes because I can get a feel for the recipe. The muffins did not have any but her picture was too good not to try them! I thought I would tell you we really liked them, served warm, with REAL butter. They were a tad heavy vs. traditional ones and definitely not as sweet. The only thing I would change is try to figure a way to use less almond flour so they are not as heavy. Really good for REAL food when you are used to prepackaged "cake" as breakfast fare.

I love learning to eat healthier but it can be a challenge when we are bombarded with unhealthy foods at every turn.
Eat REAL. :)

For the love of FEAR

     I always find it fascinating how many different fears we, as people, have.  Am I afraid of anything? Absolutely!!  Heights for one.  But I still go on a roller coaster.  I strongly believe that in order to get over our fears, we have to go through them.  

     It amazes me, how some people will allow "little" things to stop them from doing things.  Take business for example, so many people say they are sicking of working the job they are in, and yet do nothing to change it.  It makes me realize that it will never change if we keep doing the same thing!!  Do something! Apply for that position you always wanted.  Or start that business you always thought you would do. What is the worse that can happen?  You don't get it?   Or is the worse that happens, you DO get it and now you don't like it?  OR, you do it and you LOVE it!! That would be terrible!  ;D

     My point is...try!  You might be surprised.  And isn't that the way with everything?

     Fears, are LARGELY unjustified. Sure there are legitimate fears out there, like scorpions, but we aren't talking of those! I mean like giving a speech, or just going out of your comfort zone.  Once you face your fear head on, you will find that you may not LIKE what you did, but you did it.  And that is more than half the battle.  If you never try, you will never succeed.

So go ahead, fall in love with FEAR.

No One Said Raising Kids Was Easy....But God DID Say It Was a Blessing

I am a mom to 3! teenage daughters. Maybe that explains a bit why I haven't been on here. ;)

Wow! I love how being a parent stretches you and makes you realize how strong you can be.  That is not always a comfortable thing.  Right now, my oldest daughter has a wonderful young man interested in her.  But, as you probably have guessed we do not always do things like everyone else.  To that end, we have prepared our girls to not pursue light-hearted dating. We believe dating is just practice for divorce, and we want them in life-long, happy, God -blessed marriages!  Is this where this is going for our daughter and young man? We don't know, but we are happy to see he is willing to get to know us and abide by our rules to find out!  Which reminds me and amazes me to see what you can learn and be blessed with if only we are willing to learn and be taught.

How many parents do you know that put their head in the proverbial "sand" and think that once their kids are teenagers, they are done raising them?  INSTEAD...why don't we do the hard work and continue to speak INTO our kids lives?  I say, hard work, because we, as parents can get lackadaisical, and think "Well! What can you do? They are pretty good kids." I say, "NO!" We need to CONTINUE to pour into them and keep an open dialogue with our children.... Teenagers are like two-year olds, they need to know their boundaries.  Sure, they will fight and push the rules, but ultimately, they get confidence and security knowing those boundaries.
THEN!  We will have children who honor their parents, and THAT is a blessing!   -Ephesians 6:1

Thought for the Day

WHAT would you ACCOMPLISH, if you knew you could not FAIL? - Author Unknown

Certainly something to ponder. Hmmmmmmm.

The Uncommon Marriage

This blog is about NOT becoming the 97% of Americans....the average, the norm, the EXPECTED.

So today, I want to talk marriage.  What is the norm? What is the expected American marriage? Well, let's see.  Life  expectancy of a marriage is less than 50%.  Those that are still married might not actually be doing so well, and they might be on a second or third marriage.  Its not just statistics, its real people.  Look around you. Look at 10 people close to you.  How many are HAPPILY married? Shocking, huh?

An uncommon marriage, therefore, HAS to be different.  I know when I set out to be married, I joked with my husband that he was stuck with me forever. Divorce was not an option. I SET out to have an uncommon marriage. I believe GOD blessed us for this.  I am not trying to boast or brag, but to point out that it takes TWO people striving for something different to actually even have a chance at accomplishing it.  I know too many friends and acquaintances that ALLOW their kids or careers to come BEFORE their marriage.  That is a recipe for disaster!  Yes, sometimes they make it. But at what cost? Are they close with their spouse? Are they best friends? What happens when the kids are grown or they retire? Is there anything in common anymore?

It is HARD work to stay IN love! Too many people allow their hearts to LEAD them to love, and every little fancy to turn their eye.  Or they allow their head to lead, thinking that is what is needed.  I am not perfect, but I say, LEAD with PRAYER!  Ask GOD to show you. Do you pray for your spouse? What do the Psalms say? Delight in the wife of your youth! Remember WHY you fell in love in the first place.  Women, we have all heard it, and it is true, men are visual. So give them something to LOOK at! Men, we women are emotional creatures; you know it, so give us what we want...time, a hug, a CONNECTION, eye to eye contact. These are basic suggestions, but in order for your marriage to be fruitful and happy, you need to work at it. Do you ACTIVELY seek forgiveness for offenses and offer it too? Do you KNOW what your spouse's love language is? Too many of us "speak" with our love language, with what makes US tick, instead of finding what makes them tick. There are so many good books on this stuff! The Five Love Languages are excellent books, along with The Power of a Praying WIfe and 101 Great Nights of Romance. Hey! Don't knock it till you try it!  101 Great Nights of Romance is an excellent book because it creates action!  Some of the stuff in the book might be a little too risque for you. That is fine, don't do those. The point is DO something.

I believe there is a real battle for our men. Satan would have us believe that it is just the world we live in.  I do not fall for his LIE! Women, we need to fight for our men, and our marriages.  Men, you too.  If you are not fighting, then you have already lost. FIGHT for what you want. Inaction and indecision really IS a decision and an action. Think about it. Do you have what it takes for an UNCOMMON marriage?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Think Outside the Box

How much thought have you put in your present job? Career?

Now that Network Marketing is pretty mainstream, I guess it is not really "out of the box"... However, it seems that it has gotten an unnecessary bad rap here in the USA. There are plenty of great products and companies to consider. For me, personally, it comes down to a GREAT company with leaders with impeccable integrity, and product(s) that everyone uses regardless of the economy. In other words, something they TRULY cannot be without!

I can honestly say I have found that with ACN. Almost everyone you and I know use a cell phone. They more than likely have TV, and unless they live under a rock, they have internet as well. For those of us, that like the latest in technology, they offer a VIDEO phone as well, that is far superior than "skyping". Go ahead, check it out....You know you want to!


I hope to see you "Outside the Box"!
www.whatisacn.com

What I am Reading Right Now

                                                       Do you see a theme here?  :)