Acres of Hope – Shane & Shane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

–This song was inspired by Hosea 2:14-16–

Acres of Hope (click to listen)

He will allure her
He will pursue her
And call her out
To wilderness with flowers in His hand
She is responding
Beat up and hurting
Deserving death
But offerings of life are found instead

She will sing
She will sing
Oh, to You
She will sing as in the days of youth
As You lead her away
To valleys low
To acres of hope
Acres of hope

Here in the valley
Walk close beside me
Don’t look back
For love is growing vineyards up ahead
You have called me master
And though you’re in the dark here
Call me friend
And call me lover and marry me for good

She will sing
She will sing
Oh, to You
She will sing as in the days of youth
As You lead her away
To valleys low
To acres of hope
Acres of hope

How the story ends is
Love and tenderness in Him
Not safe, but worth it
So the valley’s up ahead
Or the ones we live
We’ll sing together
We’ll sing together

We will sing
We will sing
Oh, to You
We will sing as in the days of youth
As You lead us away
To valleys low
To acres of hope
Acres of hope 

February 21 – February 27

1.  Carrots and chocolate are surprisingly good together.

2.  “I Think I Love My Wife” is one of the worst movies I have ever seen.  I don’t recommend it to anyone.

3.  I am like a dolphin because “dolphins are fun, friendly, save people, fight, do tricks, socialize well, and are free-spirited.”

4.  I know it’s a good hair day when I walk into a room and the first four things said are: “Ooo can I touch it?”  “Wow, what all products did you use?” “You’re braver than I could ever be.” and “Heh (with a long stare).”

5.  No matter how many times I watch “Diary of a Mad Black Woman“, I will always love it!!  It’s sooooo good!

6.  If an individual is taking Lovastatin, they need to consume fiber, pectin, and oat bran separately by several hours as these things will decrease the absorption of Lovastatin in the body.

7.  $1.63 at a thrift store goes further than $30.00 ever could at a regular store.

8.  I now know what a mom feels like to be proud of her baby.  Thank you, wrestling.

9.  Disney movies make more and more sense every time I watch them.  For instance, I just realized that when Mary Poppins says “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” she does not literally mean we should eat spoonfuls of sugar.  She means that even the hardest situations in life can be brightened with a smile and a positive attitude.
          9.5  As it turns out, “spoonful” only has one “l” in it.  Who knew?

… and that’s my week 9 Points Past Sunday

You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile

I absolutely love this song from “Annie“!  These little girls’ situation was hardly anything to smile about, but they knew that it mattered! 

One of my favorite things is to smile at a stranger.  It instantly changes their countenance.  Granted, I can sometimes get a look returned that says “you’re crazy”, but nearly always it’s a smile I receive in return.  At any rate, I’ve given them something to think about.  “Why is that girl smiling?”  “What does she have to be so happy about?”  I love what Mother Teresa has to say about it:

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

I can still remember a smile I received from over 9 years ago.  I wasn’t having such a great day, and a woman smiled at me and offered a cheerful “Hi!”  Not only did this catch me way off guard, but it changed my attitude completely!  I walked around smiling the rest of the day.  I’m not sure why this one particular smile impacted me quite the way that it did, but I won’t ever forget it.  Have you ever had a moment like that?

I challenge you today to smile at someone you don’t know.  I don’t care if they’ve got the meanest look on their face – smile at them.  Make a difference in their day and see what happens.

What I Do

Here’s a picture my sister took of me while I was working on a case study for my Medical & Nutritional Therapy class. 

What’s the first thing you feel when you look at this picture?  I’m going to make the assumption that this picture would make a lot of people want to cry.  In fact, it kind of stresses me out to even look at it.  Having said that… and despite all of the stress, I love it.  I absolutely love working on case studies.  Yes, they’re hard and can at times be rather tedious and time-consuming (7+ hours?!), but in some twisted way I enjoy it.  (Insert a ”Shut up, Sydney!” here.)  I love assessing all of a patient’s information and setting goals for them to become a healthier and happier them.

Even though it’s in the form of a case study, how wonderful it is to get to be doing what I love!  I have completed several case studies in my time, and I have countless more to go, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.  This is what being a dietician is all about, and I love it.  This is what I do, and it’s what I love.

What do YOU do?  What do YOU love?

Roasted Vegetables

Serves 1 – However many you like

Ingredients:
The amount of each ingredient depends on how many you are serving.  This dish is very versatile, because many different vegetables can be used.  Along with the seasonings, I will list out just the vegetables that I use, but don’t let this list stop you from experimenting!
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to coat vegetables)
*Basil (enough to season vegetables)
*Oregano (enough to season vegetables)
*New Potatoes (or Regular Potatoes)
*Carrots
*Squash
*Zucchini
*Onion
*Bell Pepper
*Green Beans
*Broccoli
*Asparagus
*Garlic

Heat oven to 425°. 

Pour olive oil into a bowl and mix in seasonings.

After washing, cut carrots and potatoes into bite size pieces.  Toss in oil and seasoning mixture until coated.  Bake for 25 min at 425°.

In the meantime, wash and cut up other vegetables into bite size pieces.  Toss in remaining oil and seasoning mixture (more oil and seasonings can be added if needed) to coat.  Add other vegetables to carrots and potatoes after they have cooked for the 25 min and stir. 

Bake for an additional 25 min at 425°. 

If you like, when vegetables are finished cooking, you can top with shredded Colby Jack (or other kind) of cheese!

ENJOY!