Five Minute Friday: "Willing"

Thanks to Lisa-Jo Baker at Five Minute Friday for the prompts.

 

 

 

 

GO!

 

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Isaiah 1:19

 

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I'm willing to do to get and stay healthy.  What things am I willing to embrace about my character or about my situation?  What am I not willing to embrace? 

 

One thing I know I have to embrace is this:  My self worth is based on what God says about me in His Word.  No question there.  However, my worth to others is based on what I do, not who I am.  So I better get busy doing. 

 

I have fought this for years; trying to reverse the trend, but I have not succeeded.  So, I will have to embrace that part of my life, and be willing to suffer the consequences if I say no, or do things that don't please everyone.  It's insane to be willing to continue to live a life where everyone else is happy, but neither God nor I am pleased.  So, what to do to battle such a conundrum?  I'm not sure, but I have to be willing to suck it up and suffer the consequences of it.

 

Another thought that came to mind was the song "Ready, Willing, and Able" by Petra (see link below).

 

There are still things about my life and my character that I am not willing to embrace or be open about.  I think that is for the best.

 

TIME'S UP!

 

Awesome Sauce: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Want to join the party?  Go on over to From This Side of the Pond  for the Hodgepodge questions.

The expression 'mad as a March hare' originated with a fictional character who is distracted and frantic. When were you last 'mad as a March hare' and what was it that made you that way?

In the South, the expression is "mad as a wet hen."  The last time I was that angry was Valentine's Day.  It was my grandniece Raven's 3rd birthday and I couldn't do anything for her, random keys on my laptop keyboard stopped working, plus, it was Valentine's Day--or as some of us call it "Singles Awareness Day."  That's enough to hack anyone off.  I stayed off the net and didn't leave the house that day until it was time for Celebrate Recovery.

Mardi Gras this year falls on Tuesday, March 4th. Have you ever been to Mardi Gras, and if so what did you think? If not, do you have any interest in going?  Purple, green, and gold are the colors of Mardi Gras. Which one is most prevalent in your wardrobe? How about in your home?

Nope, never been, but it sounds like so much fun.  Of the three colors, purple is the most prevalent in my wardrobe.  I have yellow/bronze tones in my skin, so I don't look good in most yellows or greens.  I don't really have a decorative style or color scheme for my living quarters, so there's no dominant color or anything like that.

Are you old fashioned?

Most definitely.  I like hanging out my laundry in the warm weather, sending/receiving letters in snail mail, manners, those papery-blog things called books, and handwritten notes...among other things.

Do you carefully plan your vacations, or do you prefer the days to be more spontaneous?

As I've said here and here, I've not travelled much, and when I did, it wasn't really a vacation.  When I am able to take real vacations, I would like them to be "planned spontaneity."  In other words, I'd have specific plans for where I will be on what day, but also be willing to have a spontaneous adventure when I get there.

March is National Sauce Month...what's your favorite sauce, and what do you most often top with this sauce?

Salsa.  I put salsa on my eggs or omelets, on chicken, mix it with sour cream for a dip, and mix it with mashed avocado for the easiest guacamole ever.  Runner ups are gravy, marinara sauce, and ketchup.

What's something that easily brings a tear to your eye?

Cutting onions.  Just kidding...well, actually it does.  Births, deaths, baptisms, glorious unbridled worship, surprises, and good movies with happy endings.  I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of right now.

If you could own any sports team, which one would it be and why?

Well, you technically can't "own" a college team, but if I could, I'd own the University of Alabama football team.  Why?  I like to win and I like to make money.  If I could own a baseball team, I think I'd own the Atlanta Braves so I could fire everybody and start over again.  I watched the Braves go from "worst to first" and back to worst again.  We haven't been first since 1995.  They need to get it together.

Insert your own random thought here.

I am still reeling from my vegan experiment.  I've been eating and taking vitamins like crazy, but I am still not up to full strength yet.  I was going to go walking today, and my body still wasn't going for it.  Hopefully tomorrow will be the day my body remembers how to act.  I've apologized to it over and over for nearly starving it to death.  By the way, I didn't lose any weight during that week, I actually gained because my body went into starvation mode and held on to everything it could.  I have made a royal mess of myself.  I was supposed to run a 5k this weekend, but it's not going to happen.  I couldn't train from by bed.  Never again...NEVER!

#97 - Eat Mor Chikin'...PLEASE! [101 in 1001]

I've heard a lot about vegan diets and how beneficial they are supposed to be to the body.  In all honesty, I'd probably make a better vegetarian than vegan.  I can go without meat a lot longer than I can go without eggs, dairy, or other animal products.  But, I thought I'd try it for a week and see how it goes.

The Good

For starters, eating fruits, vegetables, and nuts isn't new to me.  They are already an integral part of my diet.  The first couple of days were tough, but good.  Do you know how hard it is for a Southern girl not to put butter on her grits or not eat any chicken?  Eating cleaner is always a good thing.

The Bad

"What do we want?  VEGETABLES!
When do we want them?  ALL THE
'OOH LA-LA' TIME!"

I spent most the week on the couch or in bed.  I had absolutely no energy and started getting dizzy, cold, and achy.  I only got in one workout, and it wasn't pretty.  I don't mean just a little lethargic; I was as weak as lukewarm dishwater.  Now, I need to insert a caveat here.  My system can't tolerate much soy.  For example, soy milk does to me what regular milk does to the lactose intolerant.  Therefore, I couldn't incorporate any tofu, soy cheese or other such products into this experiment.  I'm not sure if soy products would have made any difference, but my body was screaming for iron and my muscles were protesting for lack of significant protein by the end of the week.  Also, my doctor made some changes to my medication and that didn't help matters either.

The Ugly

I find it funny that people will take vegetables and form them into the shape of meat, but no one's ever taken meat and tried to market it in the shape of a vegetable. "Hey, look at this carnivorous broccoli! It's made out of bacon!" - Auntie's Musings

 

When I went shopping for my vegan week, I noticed that my local Wal-Mart had a tiny section of vegetarian products in the freezer section.  I like hamburgers, so I thought I'd try a veggie burger.  To be fair, they didn't taste too bad.  However, the ingredients left a lot to be desired.  Things like textured vegetable protein, modified tapioca starch, disodium glutamate, cellulose, soy lectin, egg whites (egg whites?  I thought this was a veggie burger.) were listed.  OK, maybe I'm a simpleton, but shouldn't a veggie burger have veggies in it?   Even the "textured vegetable protein's" ingredients didn't contain a single vegetable (wheat gluten, soy protein, and water).  This isn't a complete listing.  These veggie burgers had more chemicals listed than a Coca Cola.  I think the vegans and vegetarians are being duped into buying this crap. 

 

The Conclusion

 

If you can/must eat vegan, I say God bless you, but it is definitely not for me.  It's going to take days for me to recover from this experiment.  Pass the chicken, please.