Olive Garden Recipes

Wow! Did you know that Olive Garden has recipes on their website? Check it out: http://www.olivegarden.com/recipes/recipe_search/

I’ve never known of a restaurant giving away their tasty secrets before. Now, if only I could persuade India Palace in Lawrence, Kansas to give me their Chicken Tikka Masala recipe. (The letter I sent them, begging for the recipe didn’t work….) 🙂

Teach….repeat…repeat…

An interview at SharperIron the other day caught my eye. Hebrew scholar Phillip Brown explains how digging into the meaning of the Hebrew words helped him to understand Deuteronomy 6:7 better. The verse reads:

“You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

Dr. Brown explains that the Hebrew word for “teach” can be translated as “repeat.” So, in essence, you need to teach your children principles from the Word of God over…and over…and over again for them to actually sink in and take root. I wish I would’ve comprehended this idea a little earlier. You see, I was an “expert” parent before I actually had kids. I figured it took about three times of repetition to teach a young child to say please, obey right away, share toys, etc. When I saw others’ children disobeying or being unkind, I haughtily thought that my future children would do better, thanks to my amazing grasp on child training. (Ugh. Please pass the barf bag….)

And then I had children.

I was discouraged and figured I must’ve been doing something wrong. I had repeatedly taught my daughter how to pick up her toys, and she still was getting distracted easily without help. I had repeatedly followed all the potty-training advice I could find, and my daughter was still not getting it. A wise friend told me to just keep at it. It wasn’t that I was doing anything wrong; it just takes time–more time than I had realized.

She’s four-years-old now. She’s potty-trained, she cleans her room, and she’s the sweetest daughter I’ve ever seen. There are still lots of things we’re working on, but I now know that teaching her and her brother important truths and life skills is more than a 3-steps process. So, when it seems like they’ll never learn, I just remember: teach….repeat….repeat….etc.

It’ll come.

C Grace At Work

I’ve just GOT to share this:

http://www.charlotte.com/arts/story/578710.html

Janet is a member of our church and is a huge blessing to me. (She’s one of those “Secret Service Agents” who serves others with her life.) We’ve been to the C Grace house, and I can’t explain how spiritually uplifting the place is.

Grab the tissues!

The Thankfulness Game

Several years ago, on a day when I was feeling particularly grumpy, my husband (who wasn’t my husband yet) suggested we take turns naming things we’re thankful for. We went back and forth dozens of times, and the only rule to what we later dubbed “The Thankfulness Game” was that we couldn’t name something that had already been named by someone else.

We started out naming the big things: God’s love, family, housing, food, etc. But after several rounds we started thinking about some of the things in life that we usually take for granted: silly stuff like toothpaste and pillows, and awesome things like seasons, wonders of the world, and the ability to see and hear. Before long, we were not only smiling, but we were laughing at some of the silly yet wonderful ways God has blessed us—from the smallest things in life that we take for granted, to the greatest blessing of our salvation through Jesus Christ. Our God is a generous God. He doesn’t give His children just a few pleasures in life. He loads us with benefits every day.

So, when you’re feeling grumpy and full of complaints, take out a piece of paper and start writing a list of one hundred things you’re thankful for. It won’t be long before you realize that God has LOADED you with benefits.

“Psalm 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.”

Swim Season!

I received my Lands End catalog yesterday and was, once again, happy to see that they are offering some great swim suit options for people, like me, who LOVE swimming and the ocean but prefer a little more coverage in public. I bought a cute suit from Lands End a few years ago that has both a high neck and comfy swim shorts. It was the most expensive bathing suit I’ve ever bought, but the high-quality suit has the promise of lasting through several summers, and, regardless, I’ve never regretted the purchase. When the decision is between spending more than I’d care to spend and baring more than I’d care to bare, for me, the choice is obvious.