Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Hair Donation and CCS Donation

I believe I've blogged about this before, but I'm doing it again =)

I am doing a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, and I am also growing out my hair to donate to make wigs for cancer patients. Please check out my online page here, and send in a donation! =)

PS I'm also taking pledges, so if you'd rather donate cash or write a cheque, you can! =)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Lent Continues...

So far I've been doing quite well at sticking to not using microwaves for myself. Obviously at work, I need to heat my kids' lunches in the microwave that's in our room, but as for my own food, I've used the stove and the oven, though not the toaster oven yet, it's still under my counter...

PS for those of you who have been asking, no I have not heard anything else from Creepy Boy.

PPS I've found a post about Cyber Sabbath (a friend of mine tweeted a link to it). Thinking about doing this myself... What do you think?

Left Behind Series - #11 Armageddon

I don't have much to say once again, except that I love that this book references a sermon by S. M. Lockridge about the Seven Way King. I have seen a YouTube video with excerpts of the sermon, but upon searching, I've found a fuller version, and I wanted to embed it here, but it's been disabled for that video... So you can watch it here =)

*EDIT* I've done a bit more research and found the entire sermon here!!! =D

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Left Behind Series - #10 The Remnant

There was a part in this book where Chang was watching and listening in on Carpathia watching the beheading of Christ followers who had refused to take the mark of loyalty to him (the mark of the beast as foretold in Revelation 13:16-17). These people had been in hiding, but had been found by the GC. Six were killed, but thirteen were brought to the "worship and enforcement center," where they would choose whether to take the mark or die by the loyalty enforcement facilitator (basically a guillotine).

What amazed me about this story is that these believers were singing hymns as they were in line to the guillotine. I want to directly quote from the book here, because even as I read it now, I cannot find my own words to really pull out the emotions like the way it does as is.

I can only pray that if I'm ever in a situation like this, that I will have the courage to still stand up for Jesus...


Chang recoiled when he saw a guard with a huge rifle and bayonet nudging the first person in line, a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties. She was singing, her face turned toward heaven. The guard yelled at her, but she did not acknowledge. He bumped her and she stumbled, but still she sang, eyes upward.

He jabbed her in the ribs with the butt of the rifle, and she dropped to one knee, then rose and continued singing. Now he set himself to her side, planted his feet, and drove the bayonet through her arm and into her side. She cried out as the bayonet was removed, and she reached with her other hand to press it over the wound. Her singing now came in sobs as the people behind her fell to their knees.

"What is she singing?" Carpathia demanded.

The sound was enhanced, and Chang found himself breathless as he listened to the woman's pitiful, labored singing. She could no longer hold up her head, bus she stood wobbling, clearly woozy, struggling to sing, "...did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?"

...

The guillotine was readied as the woman continued to force out the lyrics, though she had long since lost the tune. As she was grabbed by guards on each side and wrestled into place, she cried out, "...demands my soul, my life, my all!"

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Lent

I made a kind of last minute decision this year on what to give up. And the decision is....

*drum roll*

Ahaha you'll have to keep reading to find out...

Keep imagining a drum roll...

I actually read a really cool Lenten poem on my friend Tammy's blog:

A Lenten Reflection

Give up complaining — focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism — become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgments — think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry — trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement — be full of hope.
Give up bitterness — turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred — return good for evil.
Give up negativism — be positive.
Give up anger — be more patient.
Give up pettiness — become mature.
Give up gloom — enjoy the beauty that is all around you.
Give up jealousy — pray for trust.
Give up gossiping — control your tongue.
Give up sin — turn to virtue.
Give up giving up — hang in there!

These can be lifelong things to give up, not just for Lent. Buuuuuuut for these 40 days of Lent, I'll be giving up......

Ready?

*drum roll continues*

The convenience of microwaves.

Yup.

So instead of reheating stuff in the microwave, I'll either reheat it in a pot on the stove, or on a tray in the oven, depending on what it is. I'm looking forward to this actually. My friend Alison decided two years ago to give up her microwave (check out her Mind the Microwave May post), and I guess you could say she's part of my inspiration of doing this now. The main reason I've chosen to give up the microwave is for health reasons, to go along with my better eating. Microwaving food can cause the food to lose its nutritional value, and could also leak chemicals from plastic containers into the food, YUCK!

Today for dinner I made spaghetti and home-made sauce. Except I had made the sauce on Sunday, and so I reheated it in a pot as the spaghetti cooked. The sauce is AMAZING!!!!! I just used a bunch of veggies that I had kickin' around in the fridge: a red onion, red, yellow, and green peppers, some leftover roasted peppers, and a bunch of tomatoes. And of course some sea salt to bring out the flavours. Oh and some fresh oregano at the end.

Once it was all cooked up, I put it through the blender, just enough to chop everything up, but still keeping it chunky.


Once the spaghetti was cooked and drained, I put it back in the pot and mixed the sauce in. And of course, served it up with some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, delish!!!! =D


I must say, this sauce is WAYYYYYYYY better than the sauce I used to make from canned tomatoes (*shudder*). Absolutely wonderful, so full of flavour! =D

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Some More Creepy Guy...

So, an update to a previous post... I got a text from him AGAIN last night, here's the convo:

"Beers?"
"Why do I keep having to tell you no? I don't want to see you, stop texting me."
"You don't know this"

And that's it, I refuse to text him anymore. I was talking with Sherrie last night about it, and she was saying that I could take this to the police because it's harassment. I won't yet, but if he does keep texting me, I will. I've told him and made it quite clear that I don't want anything to do with him. I haven't saved the previous post's texts, and they've been erased already by my phone, but I have saved these ones from last night. He should get the picture, I hope... I stated clearly to him that I want no contact with him, and if he cannot respect that, he's got problems, and I will do something about it.

Left Behind Series - #9 Desecration

I don't really have anything to say about this one... Great book though, now on to the next one! =)