Whole foods

Last week a good friend told me she'd met with a nutritionist. I asked her what the main thing was she'd learned.

"Whole Foods," she said.

Okay. I can do that.

It's easier with breakfast and lunch. For instance today I ate an apple, almonds and carrots for lunch.

So for supper I decided to try something new. Stuffed peppers. They always look pretty in magazines. So I went online and found a recipe.

I stuffed my pepper with whole grain rice, yes I cooked it first, tomatoes, spinach and sprinkled cheddar cheese on it at the end.

It looked pretty and smelled nice. But that's where the beauty ended. I don't know where I went wrong, but next time I'll make a salad.

Goodbye Andy Roddick

This week the tennis world said goodbye to Andy Roddick. His professional career began and ended at the US Open.

I've watched both of my sons play tennis competitively since 1996, and I'm still watching them play.

In December 2003, we all went to see Andy play at Rupp Arena in Lexington when he was here to help raise money for UK's tennis team. I've cheered for him the last ten years and will miss him.

So last night was Andy's last professional match. He played against Del Potro, who was a real gentleman. By the last set, I was crying. And when Andy made his final speech, I had a box of tissues in my lap.

I've got about three more years to watch Scott play tennis, and then I hope I hold it together better than I did last night.

Isaac

Hurricane Isaac has caused death and destruction for many.

The damage has been extensive and many have been forced to evacuate.

One family in Louisiana left for the hurricane and returned home when they thought it was safe. Soon a tornado hit their house. They survived, but they'll have to rebuild.

But for those of us in Wilmore, Kentucky, we're hoping for some blessed relief from the dry summer.

Many times in life I look at a situation by how it affects me. One lesson I'll take from Ike is there's more than one way to view a situation.

Cosmos

From my back deck you can see the park, and a sidewalk follows our property line. Every day somebody is walking or riding their bikes on this sidewalk.

Yesterday I glanced up and saw a neighbor stop and look at my pink Cosmos. I love to grow Cosmos, but I usually have pink, purple and white. This year I only have soft pink. I started them from seeds in the spring and was surprised to see their light color. I was touched to see somebody stop and appreciate their beauty.

Later that night I ran into this same neighbor as we walked our dog. She stopped and asked me about my garden.

Such a simple thing connected us. It makes me wonder how many simple ways we can reach out and connect with others.

Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...

Jesus told us to go out and make disciples. Maybe it's as easy as sharing an appreciation of a flower.

Lady Antebellum working on new album - Webisode Wednesday - Episode 213

Check this out. They are great and seem like such real people too.
Hope you all are having a great day!

The Law, Books, and Life: Mackinac Island: Now & Then + Giveaway

The Law, Books, and Life: Mackinac Island: Now & Then + Giveaway:

Mackinac Island. It’s a magical place that allows you to step back in time from the moment you first step off the ferry. Authors Cara Putman and Melanie Dobson have teamed up for a tour of the island, now and then. Comment at each stop for a chance to win a copy of one of their books set on Mackinac Island. You’ll find the list of stops here. Share the tour on twitter, Facebook, pinterest and other places, and you’ll gain extra entries for the grand prize of a copy of each of their books and a 5 slice box of Murdick’s Fudge, straight from Mackinac Island. Just be sure to email Cara at cara@caraputman.com, so she can record your entries.


Melanie Dobson: Love Finds You on Mackinac Island

Growing up in Ohio, I always wanted to visit Mackinac Island where there are no cars, where I could freely walk and bike and explore. Researching and then writing Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan was truly a dream come true for me. From the moment I stepped off the ferry and heard the clip-clopping of horses’ hooves along the island’s historic Main Street, I was transported back a good hundred years. Pronounced “Mackinaw” like Mackinaw City (but spelled differently so the post office could differentiate between the island and town), Mackinac Island is a place that time seemed to forget. The diverse history on this island goes back hundreds of years, when Native Americans considered the island the home of their Great Spirit and local tribes gathered there each summer to fish. In the 1700s, lucrative French and American fur companies made their homes and millions of dollars on Mackinac until the British took over during the War of 1812 and held the island for three years before returning it to the United States. Then, in 1819, the first steamship of tourists arrived. The tourists have never stopped coming.

Cara Putman: A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island
I didn't grow up aware of Mackinac Island. I wasn't even sure what I was getting into the first time we drove the ten hours from Lafayette, Indiana to the tip of Michigan's mitten. I knew is it took a long time to reach this tiny dot on the map. It didn't take me long to learn the island had worked hard to preserve a feel of days long ago. It took even less time to fall in love with this retreat. We've stayed at the Grand, in B&Bs and in Mackinaw City. Each time, I couldn't wait to reach the island and explore its roads, shops, and Fort. It was only natural that it became the perfect place to set a contemporary romance.

A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island: Join attorney Alanna Stone as she returns home despite her determination to never set foot on Mackinac Island again. Once again in close proximity to Jonathan Covington, her first love, she vows to protect her privacy and her heart from the man who still makes her pulse race. But when her worst fears are realized and history repeats itself—landing her in the midst of a murder investigation—Jonathan may be her only hope. Will they be able to lay aside the past and let God heal their hearts, or will reconciliation come too late? Read the first chapter here.

Love Finds You on Mackinac Island: It’s the height of the Gilded Age, but Elena Bissette’s family has lost most of its fortune. The Bissettes still own a home on fashionable Mackinac Island, and they spend summers there in hopes of introducing Elena to a wealthy suitor. Quickly tiring of the extravagant balls at the Grand Hotel, she spends her days walking along the island’s rugged coastline. There she meets Chase, a young fisherman who invites her to watch the ships from an abandoned lighthouse. The two begin to meet there in secret, hoping to solve a decades-old mystery. Meanwhile, Elena’s mother contrives introductions between Elena and the island’s most eligible bachelor, an elusive millionaire named Chester Darrington. When Elena’s two worlds unexpectedly collide, she will be in for the surprise of her life.

Follow the link above to enter the contest.

It's between you and God

Recently I found this on Facebook and thought I'd share it with you:

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” ― Kent M. Keith


Who is Kent M. Keith?


Kent M. Keith wrote this when he was 19 and a sophomore at Harvard College. They became know as the Paradoxical Commandments. He wrote them as part of a book for student leaders entitled The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council which was published in 1968.


Mother Teresa put the Paradoxical Commandments up on the wall of her children's home in Calcutta.

If it was important to Mother Teresa, I thought it was worth considering.