It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:
Mandi's List:
I’m thankful for new life. One of my best friends had a baby on Friday…a sweet, adorable little boy, Jackson. I am so thankful for new life and the blessing of seeing a great mom and dear friend hold her new love in her arms.
I’m thankful for asparagus. I love it. A lot. It’s so yummy. We usually bake it in the oven with some spices on it, and man, they are delicious!!
I’m thankful for Roombas. We have a Roomba and it’s amazing. To have a little robot vacuuming while you are gone, working, sleeping, etc, is incredible. I love that little robot…and hearing Mckenna say, “oh, excuse me, robot."
Ronnie's List:
I'm thankful organization. I've never quite realized how much of a task based and organization freak I was until recently. As life has grown busier and busier, I've found that I need more and more structure to be successful. Thankfully, we live in a day and age that organization help is only a click away.
I'm thankful for help. Running CysticLife takes up most, if not all, of my "free-time". I'm so grateful that I've had some awesome folks in the community step-up and offer to help recently. My only goal is to do whatever is best for the CF community and put them in a position to succeed. It sure helps when I have some other peeps backing me up!
I'm thankful for Almond Milk. I decided to go dairy free a little while back and needed an alternative to milk/cream for my coffee. I bought soy, almond and rice milk because I figured it would be good to give them all a try. Truthfully, I prefer the taste of rice milk (too high of calorie) or soy (too many articles talking about too much soy being a bad thing), but landed on Almond Milk because of it's balance of taste, health benefits and low calories. Considering I only drink water and coffee, I go through quite a bit of Almond Milk each day!
What are you thankful for today?
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Tasty Tuesday: Nachos
As I mentioned in a post last week, we are going to try to share more recipes on the blog because, well, we don't have a lot to say every week, but we do eat a lot, so why not feed the blog with our food too ;-)
One thing I'll note is that many of the meals we make are "low" in calories, but I will try to primarily share recipes that have good options of how to make them higher in calories and/or fat.
Nachos
28g Mild Green Mojo Multigrain Snack Chips by Late July Organic (found at Costco)
1/2 c. bagged salad
1/3 c. Santa Fe Medley by Steam of the Crop
1/8 c. Stinkin Good Green Chile sauce with Pork
4oz Shredded Chicken by Del Ray
I put the chicken, santa fe medley, and green chile sauce in a bowl and heated it up. Put the chips on the plate, hot mixture on top, and topped the whole thing with the lettuce.
Total Calories: 295
Recipe Breakdown - Fat: 8g; Carbs: 29g; Protein: 29g
Who doesn't LOVE nachos? These are really delicious. They chips really make the meal. They are really flavorful, and I encourage you to pick up a bag next time you see them (we got ours at Costco). We tried them for the first time this weekend as a sample while we were there, and I couldn't pass up buying them. They are like those chips "with a hint of lime", but 6 times more awesome.
Some additives to make this higher in calories would be the obviously things like cheese, sour cream, guacamole, black olives, you name it.
One thing I'll note is that many of the meals we make are "low" in calories, but I will try to primarily share recipes that have good options of how to make them higher in calories and/or fat.
Nachos
28g Mild Green Mojo Multigrain Snack Chips by Late July Organic (found at Costco)
1/2 c. bagged salad
1/3 c. Santa Fe Medley by Steam of the Crop
1/8 c. Stinkin Good Green Chile sauce with Pork
4oz Shredded Chicken by Del Ray
I put the chicken, santa fe medley, and green chile sauce in a bowl and heated it up. Put the chips on the plate, hot mixture on top, and topped the whole thing with the lettuce.
Total Calories: 295
Recipe Breakdown - Fat: 8g; Carbs: 29g; Protein: 29g
Who doesn't LOVE nachos? These are really delicious. They chips really make the meal. They are really flavorful, and I encourage you to pick up a bag next time you see them (we got ours at Costco). We tried them for the first time this weekend as a sample while we were there, and I couldn't pass up buying them. They are like those chips "with a hint of lime", but 6 times more awesome.
Some additives to make this higher in calories would be the obviously things like cheese, sour cream, guacamole, black olives, you name it.
Monday, July 28, 2014
No Such Thing as Defective
There are some sermons that really resonate with me. Yesterday was one of them. The pastor was in Judges 3, and telling the story of Ehud. Long story short, Ehud was able to take down a bad ruler, Eglon, king of Moab, because he was left-handed...which was thought of as a defect in those days.
The sermon focused on "defects": things in our lives we see as bad, faulty, flaws, or challenges with how we were created. The pastor posed this question: "what if we stopped viewing our defects as bad, and instead as a uniqueness that helps us reach a different group of people for the Kingdom?"
AMEN!
This is precisely how Ronnie and I feel about his CF, and it's why I've never prayed for a cure.
Now, let me explicitly say that I'm not saying praying for a cure is bad. And I'm not saying a cure wouldn't be nice.
But I am saying that we feel that God has used CF to make Ronnie the man that he is, and Ronnie is reaching people for Christ that he never would have reached if he didn't have CF. We feel that God has placed Ronnie in the CF community. We believe that he has been uniquely gifted by CF. We know that people in the community and people who suffer from chronic illnesses will likely hear Ronnie's testimony differently than if he didn't have CF. We wouldn't know a fraction of the people we know if Ronnie didn't have CF. We wouldn't have some of the dearest friends that we have. Ronnie wouldn't be the laid back and appreciative guy that he is. He wouldn't have the perspective he has.
So then I sat there thinking. What if all he ever heard was that CF was bad. That his genes were defective. That he was flawed. That he needed to be cured. It made me sad. Really, really sad. What a terrible feeling that would have been. What a missed opportunity. What a tragedy to have a uniqueness that God could have used, buried in shame, guilt and fear. To go through life feeling like people wanted you fixed. And not that you were a flawless creation, intricately made by our creator so that you could serve Him in a way no one else could.
Fellow mommies, please hear my heart on this one. I want a cure for your kiddos. I want a cure for your kids more than for my own husband. And it's not because I love kids and hate my husband ;-) You lay awake at night fearing the unknown. But I get to sit seeing the other side. I get to see your future: the adult thriving and living precisely in God's will...working in a field, in a community, and in a job that he would never be in without CF. I know the man that is happy and confident in who he is. We have an incredible life...because of CF, not in spite of it.
But I am a mom. I know if Mckenna had any sort of health issues, I would want to "fix" them. I would want to take away any hardship she would be facing, now or in the future. That is what we do as moms. There is nothing wrong with hoping for and working towards a cure. But please fellow mommies, remember what your kids are hearing, and not hearing, a majority of the time. Remember that there is a God that wants to use your child, exactly as they are today. Remember that your family has been given a gift. He has given you the ability to reach people for the kingdom that you may not otherwise have been able to reach. Our job as Christ-followers is to know and love Jesus and to bring others to know and love Jesus. Our children will always face challenges. We all have unique challenges facing us and our families. Use yours. Cherish yours.
Teach your child that he/she is wonderfully made. They are not defective. They are created perfectly in His sight. They have been given a gift to do their job in this world uniquely; to do their job well. They are made exactly right. Tell them that. Tell them that even on days you hate CF. Tell them that when they lay in a hospital bed getting IVs. Tell them that when they miss out on things they want to do. Tell them that when they succeed beyond your wildest dreams. Tell them that on days you believe it whole-heartedly. And tell them that when you can barely muster the words because it feels like a lie. I get to share my life with a man who's mom told him that. A man who is able to do 3-4 hours of treatments a day and still be proud of who he is and how he spends his time. A man who misses birthdays and anniversaries because he's in the hospital, but still thanks God for CF. A man who feels blessed by CF, despite knowing he may never walk his daughter down the aisle because of it. A man that serves our Jesus better than anyone I have ever known. A man who can serve God better because of his CF.
The sermon focused on "defects": things in our lives we see as bad, faulty, flaws, or challenges with how we were created. The pastor posed this question: "what if we stopped viewing our defects as bad, and instead as a uniqueness that helps us reach a different group of people for the Kingdom?"
AMEN!
This is precisely how Ronnie and I feel about his CF, and it's why I've never prayed for a cure.
Now, let me explicitly say that I'm not saying praying for a cure is bad. And I'm not saying a cure wouldn't be nice.
But I am saying that we feel that God has used CF to make Ronnie the man that he is, and Ronnie is reaching people for Christ that he never would have reached if he didn't have CF. We feel that God has placed Ronnie in the CF community. We believe that he has been uniquely gifted by CF. We know that people in the community and people who suffer from chronic illnesses will likely hear Ronnie's testimony differently than if he didn't have CF. We wouldn't know a fraction of the people we know if Ronnie didn't have CF. We wouldn't have some of the dearest friends that we have. Ronnie wouldn't be the laid back and appreciative guy that he is. He wouldn't have the perspective he has.
So then I sat there thinking. What if all he ever heard was that CF was bad. That his genes were defective. That he was flawed. That he needed to be cured. It made me sad. Really, really sad. What a terrible feeling that would have been. What a missed opportunity. What a tragedy to have a uniqueness that God could have used, buried in shame, guilt and fear. To go through life feeling like people wanted you fixed. And not that you were a flawless creation, intricately made by our creator so that you could serve Him in a way no one else could.
Fellow mommies, please hear my heart on this one. I want a cure for your kiddos. I want a cure for your kids more than for my own husband. And it's not because I love kids and hate my husband ;-) You lay awake at night fearing the unknown. But I get to sit seeing the other side. I get to see your future: the adult thriving and living precisely in God's will...working in a field, in a community, and in a job that he would never be in without CF. I know the man that is happy and confident in who he is. We have an incredible life...because of CF, not in spite of it.
But I am a mom. I know if Mckenna had any sort of health issues, I would want to "fix" them. I would want to take away any hardship she would be facing, now or in the future. That is what we do as moms. There is nothing wrong with hoping for and working towards a cure. But please fellow mommies, remember what your kids are hearing, and not hearing, a majority of the time. Remember that there is a God that wants to use your child, exactly as they are today. Remember that your family has been given a gift. He has given you the ability to reach people for the kingdom that you may not otherwise have been able to reach. Our job as Christ-followers is to know and love Jesus and to bring others to know and love Jesus. Our children will always face challenges. We all have unique challenges facing us and our families. Use yours. Cherish yours.
Teach your child that he/she is wonderfully made. They are not defective. They are created perfectly in His sight. They have been given a gift to do their job in this world uniquely; to do their job well. They are made exactly right. Tell them that. Tell them that even on days you hate CF. Tell them that when they lay in a hospital bed getting IVs. Tell them that when they miss out on things they want to do. Tell them that when they succeed beyond your wildest dreams. Tell them that on days you believe it whole-heartedly. And tell them that when you can barely muster the words because it feels like a lie. I get to share my life with a man who's mom told him that. A man who is able to do 3-4 hours of treatments a day and still be proud of who he is and how he spends his time. A man who misses birthdays and anniversaries because he's in the hospital, but still thanks God for CF. A man who feels blessed by CF, despite knowing he may never walk his daughter down the aisle because of it. A man that serves our Jesus better than anyone I have ever known. A man who can serve God better because of his CF.