Cooking for Two

In a recent comment from Mary I was asked for tips for cooking for two. Since that's almost all I ever do, I'm just about an expert! Here are a few ideas. Any of you other cooks, feel free to comment.

Cooking for Two boils down to this:

Leftovers, Leftovers!


First, you have to ask yourself - will I eat leftovers? If the answer is "NO Way, Not in a Million Years!" then you've got to learn to cut recipes down. All recipes on the Tasty Kitchen have a box for the number of servings. Change that to "2" and you'll be good. Of course you'll get measurements like "6 tablespoons, 1 teaspoon, 3-¼ pinches" but you won't have any leftovers.


If you are willing to eat leftovers you'll have more fun cooking. You'll still only want 4-6 servings of most dishes, but that's more doable. Just cut your recipe in half. I find that many things taste better the second time around. Flavors have more time to blend, sauce thickens, meat is more tender.


In my opinion grilled asparagus is NOT good leftover! Actually, most vegetables are best cooked once, so only cook what you think you'll eat that meal. If you think you'll eat the same vegetables a couple nights later with whatever main dish you've prepared, just cook more vegetables then. Mushy vegetables = grossness! Unless we're talking mashed potatoes...

I usually cook a meal on Monday, then something else on Tuesday. We'll have Monday's leftovers on Wednesday and Tuesday's leftovers on Thursday. We eat leftovers, but not the same thing two nights in a row if I can help it.

I do make a full recipe of marinara sauce, because it can be used in so many things - spaghetti, pizza, fried ravioli, lasagna, stuffed peppers, etc. Soups are great leftover as well. It's also a matter of trial and error - some things just won't taste good to you the second time.


Cook a roast with potatoes and carrots and you've got a great meal. It's even good a second time. You may still have some meat - so make beef and noodles or shred the meat, cook it with barbecue sauce and have sandwiches.


A great way to save money is to buy your meat in bulk. As soon as you get home - separate it into smaller packages. Ziplock Freezer bags are the ticket! I will buy a large package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then put each one in its own bag. One chicken breast is about perfect when you cut any recipe calling for chicken in half. I also portion hamburger meat into half pound baggies. I used a half pound this week for Sloppy Joes (Manwich, anyone?) and it made four sandwiches.

One more thing - there's no such thing as too many sweets!

Change of Plans

We had a big ride planned for this morning. A ride that started about 30 miles from our house. That meant putting our bikes on our bike rack. Les worked on it for a while last night, only to find out that we couldn't get both bikes on the rack!

I was so bummed. I was ready for a new adventure, but it was not to be. For Today. We've already figured out another way to transport our bikes and we'll try again on Friday.

I'm actually a little relieved after running this morning - my legs are sore! We road Las Llayas Canyon on Monday, going a little bit further than before, and I'm not fully recovered yet.

Have you seen a dream of yours be put on hold lately? Is there a seed in your heart, a desire for adventures in God that just seems to be delayed day after day? Don't give up! You just may need this time to gather strength for what lies ahead!

Dressing for His Glory

In my continual quest to be fit, I find that clothing can often be a problem. Modest clothing that is. It's not easy to stay modest while going downhill on a bike at 25 mph! I've tried a variety of skirts and finally found something that works! I ordered a skort from "Dressing for His Glory."


This statement is found on their website:

We believe it is important for the Christian woman to be a good example to the world by the way she dresses. Dressing for His Glory is a website that features modest clothing for girls and ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes.

I was extremely pleased with my experience with this company. It was easy to place my order. They communicated with me about when to expect my item and a follow-up email arrived the day it was shipped.

I'll try to post a picture after our ride tomorrow - we've got a fun one planned!

Godly Sorrow

I was reading in 2 Corinthians yesterday. Chapter 7, verses 10 and 11 says, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter."

That is quite a list! Godly sorrow at work isn't crocodile tears. It isn't sorry for being caught. Godly sorrow causes actions:

Carefulness - a: marked by attentive concern and solicitude b : marked by wary caution or prudence c : marked by painstaking effort to avoid errors or omissions

Clearing - to free from accusation or blame

Indignation - anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean

Fear - to have a reverential awe of

Vehement - a : intensely emotional : impassioned, fervid b (1) : deeply felt (2) : forcibly expressed

Desire - to long or hope for

Zeal - eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something

Revenge - to avenge (as oneself) usually by retaliating in kind or degree

It's no wonder that when a person truly repents the change is obvious!

Friday Foodie

I made several favorites this week and one new recipe. Les wanted spaghetti, so I made some of Rosalie's Marinara sauce, which we also had with Fried Ravioli. Another night we had Chicken and Dumplings, I personally thought the leftovers were even better. But the crowning piece was Peach Cobbler! We had 3 peaches that were overly ripe, so I HAD to do something. I got the recipe from Tasty Kitchen. Here it is, easy as pie (err, cobbler!)

Peach Cobbler

• 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) Butter
• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• 1-½ cup Sugar, Plus 2 Tablespoons
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1-½ cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Almond Extract, Divided
• 2 pounds Peaches, Peeled And Sliced (about 4 Cups)

Preparation Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in a 13- by 9-inch baking pan; set in the oven to melt.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Whisk in milk and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract until smooth. Toss peaches with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. When butter has melted, remove pan from oven. Pour batter into pan; arrange fruit over batter.

Bake until batter turns golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This was DE-LISH!! Les only had one question, "Why didn't you make this sooner?"

Since I was too lazy the weigh my peaches, I peeled and sliced them to see how many cups I had. Three peaches ended up being 2 cups, so I cut the recipe in half and used an 8" x 8" pan. I didn't have almond extract, so I used vanilla. I also used "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Light" instead of real butter.

Nutritional info: 203 calories / 3.8 g fat / 1.2 g fiber / 4.2 WW points. That's a bargain on the points, so add some vanilla ice cream! Makes 6 servings.

Sticking to the Old Path

As you know, we've been riding our mountain bikes on one of the local trails. I always follow Les - he's a very capable, experienced rider, knows how to stay upright, and is willing to lead the way. As I was following him through the sand last week, I reminded myself "Les is not going to lead me into a dangerous situation - he's going to stay on the trail and make sure I'm okay." If I follow his tire tracks, I may not be as swift, but I will make it up the next hill.

Jeremiah 6:16 says, "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."

I wonder what makes people think going down a new path is the way to go. I'm not talking about music or hair or clothing styles, those things change with the years (although holiness never does!) I'm talking about revival, renewal, restoration, healing, miracles - we want it all, but are we willing to go down the old path to get it? We read about great outpourings in foreign lands, but that did not come over night.

Jesus said, "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:21) and "And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29). Many capable men and women have gone down the path before us, tears have been shed, plates have been pushed away for the sake of sticking with the old paths and reaching the goal. If we'll follow there is victory ahead!

No Post Today?

I received the following comment from Mary:

OMW Sis. Kathy!!! No post today?!?! :,(

She's so observant! I didn't post anything yesterday! How could that happen? Well, I'll tell you. My brain looks like this:


I've been a little busy and a lot tired that past few days. I've got several posts bouncing around in my head, but I can't seem to get any of them finished!

There's one called, "Samson, Where Does Your Strength Lie?" that I've been working on for a couple of weeks.

I started one yesterday called, "I Have Refused Him."

There's one still in my brain that I can't even figure out how to title! It will be "Sticking to the Trail" or "Staying on the Right Path" or something like that!

So, Mary, I'll do my best to twist the knob today. Hopefully something interesting will drop out for tomorrow!

In the meantime would you all please go over to The Kendrick Clan's Scrapbook and sign up to pray and fast for Elder Randy Kendrick. This is a great man of God, a pastor, husband, father, and grandfather, who is in need of a miracle.

When Sister White Became Mimi D

A little over two years ago I wrote "When Mom Became Grandma." It was about the transformation that took place in Mom's life when her grandchildren arrived. We've seen that same transformation this week in Victory Tabernacle - Pastor and Sister White now have a grandson! Max Alexander White, son of P.J. and Megan, was born last week.

I believe we will be seeing "Mimi D" with this pose most of time...


That was her last night before church with her latest picture of Max! "I just got a new picture!" she gleefully exclaimed!

I love seeing Sister White in this role. She is such a loving person - she loves our church family, she loves the visitors who come, she loves her friends, she loves her family, and she is very much in love with this new little guy!

There are so many quotes about grandparents, but I think this one is my favorite:

When a child is born, so are grandmothers. ~Judith Levy

Congratulations, PJ and Megan! Welcome, Baby Max! And welcome, Mimi D!

Purple...

has always been my favorite color.


As I kid, I thought grape candy or gum was the best.


I loved grape soda, too.



I have lots of purple shoes, purses, clothes, you name it.


Our master bedroom and bath are purple.

The Pioneer Woman was having a giveaway of Fiestaware. To enter you needed to choose your favorite color of Fiestaware. Of course I chose Plum.


So it is only fitting that I now have a purple knee...

Friday Foodie

I didn't try any new recipes this week, but I did get a high compliment from Les. "This is the BEST pizza you have ever made." Pizza? How hard can it be and what made it so great? I racked my brain trying to figure out how I earned such a compliment! Here's all I did:

Ingredients:
Rosalie's Marinara Sauce
1 refrigerated pizza crust
Sliced tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, turkey pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese

1. Make Rosalie's Marinara Sauce, per instructions found here.
2. Roll out crust, sprinkle Italian seasonings and garlic salt on crust. Bake approximately 7 minutes, using temperature on package instructions (350, I think.)
3. Take crust from oven, top with warm marinara sauce, vegetables and pepperoni. Bake another 7-8 minutes.
4. Take crust from oven, top with cheese. Bake 3-4 minutes, until cheese is slightly brown.

So what made this so special? I think it was two things - the seasonings on the crust before it was baked and the fresh, warm marinara sauce. I'm guessing warm sauce on warm crust is much better than pulling sauce from the frig and slapping it on cold crust! I've never worked at a pizza parlor, so I don't know how it's done professionally, but this really worked for us!

NAJBQT Update

I am sad to report that Hannah's team just lost their second quiz, which means they have been eliminated from the tournament. They lost their first quiz on Tuesday, then won one yesterday and two more today. They placed in a eight way tie for 17th, with three wins, two losses.

I know this has been an unforgettable experience for Hannah. No time is wasted when it is spent memorizing His Word.

An Epic Climb and a Mighty Fall

After our bike ride on Tuesday morning I told Les, "I want to go up Santa Su on Thursday." Santa Su is short for Santa Susana Pass Road. This is a steep, 2+ mile climb about 3 miles from our house. Les looked at me in surprise, but once it was out of my mouth there was no turning back!

I wavered in my commitment quite a bit yesterday. I was trying to figure out how to get myself out of that little promise. I knew the challenge was only to me, Les has ridden it hundreds of times. I went to bed last night thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?"

We were up early this morning and I was getting more nervous by the minute. Just before we left, I reread yesterday's post and made a few promises to myself. "I promise to trust myself." "I promise to try something new."

And I Did It!! I made it to the top of Santa Su without stopping. I was in my lowest gear, but I did it!! I was so happy, surprised, and relived!! Yeah for my first Epic Climb!


At the top of Santa Su, we crossed over the 118 freeway. At that point we had a decision to make - turn around and go home or go up a dirt trail called "Rocky Peak." This is where my "Mighty Fall" took place. We started up an extremely steep dirt trail and I just toppled over! Right into the bushes!! I have the scraped knee to prove it, but I'm not hurt too severely since I was barely moving at the time. Les says I am now initiated - I've fallen off my bike!

The final result: The Epic Climb outweighed the Mighty Fall!

Promises to Make or Break

I read an interesting article in the latest edition of Endurance News which is published by Hammer Nutrition. Although the focus of the article is geared toward athletes, it was easy to relate it to other areas of life as well. What goal would you like to accomplish and what is holding you back? Have you made promises to yourself that you need to break?

Promises to Make

Resolve that you will do this for fun
The pain = gain crowd eventually loses interest, because in the end it is impossible to keep up something you don’t enjoy.

Promise not to focus on beating someone else in a competition
Why should you let someone else decide for you whether you are successful? Your true competition is yourself.

Promise to trust yourself.
You are not lazy, you are not inept, and you will improve. So many athletes negate their success by telling themselves they cannot succeed. They are right.

Promise to do what you are doing.
I often see people who want to be fit trying to read a book while they stair climb or listen to music while they ride. They never seem to make any progress. All the best athletes I know
pay full attention to what they are doing.

Promise to keep other life goals intact.
A friend of mine let his business languish while he put everything into qualifying for the Hawaii ironman, and almost did. It cost him five years to put his business affairs back together. He became overweight and stopped his athletics. But there is a happy outcome. I now see him running and riding and since he has aged up, maybe he will achieve his objective.

Promise to try something new.
If you find the long distance cycling training for triathlon pleasant, maybe a double century is the direction you should go. How about unconventional multi-sports events involving kayaking
and mountain bike legs?

Promise to finish.
A finish in a challenging event is always more satisfying than having gone fast at some point, only to fail and DNF.


Promises to Break

Limits to ambition.
If you vow you will never do an event longer than an Olympic triathlon, you may later find that a half iron distance event is actually more fun. I once told myself I would never do an event I
couldn’t complete in one day, only to find I really enjoyed multi-day bike races.

Promises to slow down.
So many athletes reach a point where they stop trying to go faster and from there they begin a slide towards giving up entirely. The essence of these sports is that they are a challenge, so a promise to participate half-heartedly is to miss the main point.

Keeping to a preordained race plan, no matter what.
You can sometimes save a race by abandoning intended pacing in favor of one that that feels right and matches the conditions you experience on the course. Last fall in a very hot 12-hour time trial, I slowed after hour 9 when the temperature became an issue. Several of my age group competitors then passed me as they kept hammering onward. But they all dropped out by hour 11 and I won the age group.

Promises to maintain a set schedule of goal paces and times.
You might be observing these standards, when they are beyond your ability or current level of fitness. If you blindly persist it will likely lead to injury or sickness. If your plan is going south as you approach race day you may well find that a somewhat more freeform approach will work better. Once in a while forget about pacing and do some runs and rides just for pleasure. Often your fitness will improve and your goals become obtainable as you find your own natural pace.

Promises to quit.
Some athletes do this at some arbitrary age or when they can no longer maintain some previously obtainable pace. I once promised to reach my athletic peak at age 55 and indeed I did finally do an ironman when I attained that age. Then I realized that I could still get better, so I broke that promise and went an hour faster the following year.

Thus, I have found that many promises I have made were unworthy of me and I have benefited greatly from abandoning them. Do you have commitments that are not working for you and holding you back? If so, by all means break those promises.

- by Bill Nicolai

Win Free Shoes

MoMoMod blog is having a giveaway. What is MoMoMod you ask? It's short for More Modern Modesty and you really should check it out.

They are giving away a $25 gift card to DSW. Perfect timing after yesterday's post! Now who wouldn't want to win that?


Run on over there and tell 'em I sent you! Click right HERE!

NAJBQT Online

This is it! The final week of Bible Quizzing for Hannah and her teammates. They are at the North American Junior Bible Quizzing Tournament (NAJBQT) in Saint Louis. There are forty beginner junior teams and sixty five junior teams in attendance.

The tournament started yesterday afternoon, but Hannah's team will not quiz until sometime today (Quiz 14, against North Dakota). We will be following the tournament online. This is a link to the matrix. When a quiz is going on, there is a "LIVE" button that you can click on and watch the score as it progresses.

Update at 9:00 a.m. - they lost their first quiz! Bummer! Here is a link to the score sheet - whoever is in charge of this is doing a great job!

Quote of the Day

"Cinderella is Proof that
Shoes Can Change Your Life!"



All the Ladies say, "Amen!"


All the men just shake their heads...

I believe Dorothy would have agreed...


But a good pumice stone is often necessary!!!

Friday Foodie

I usually do my grocery shopping on Mondays. That means I'm trying to figure out what we will eat for the week on Sunday. It had been HOT around here (like everywhere else!) so I was trying to think of meals that wouldn't take much effort in the kitchen and still be nutritious and tasty. On our way to church Sunday morning I said to Les, "What can I make that is a good Summer dish?" His response, "Lemonade Pie." Okay, not exactly what I was thinking about, but I made it this week anyway!

Lemonade Pie


This recipe came from Grandma Luella and I have made it many times through this years. This time I used all reduced fat items to bring the calories down, it tasted just as good.

6 oz. frozen Lemonade (bring to room temperature)
4 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened
7 oz. fat free sweet condensed milk
8 oz. lite Cool Whip
1 graham cracker crust

Mix lemonade and cream cheese well
Add sweet condensed milk, whip until foamy
Fold in Cool Whip until smooth - do not over-stir or your pie will be runny and not set
Add to pie crust and freeze for 1 hour or until set.

This is a favorite summer dessert! It's tart and sweet, but not too heavy. You can also top this with fresh berries.

Nutritional info: 317.5 calories / 9.6 g fat / 0 g fiber / 7 WW points per slice, makes 8 slices. Not as low as I hoped, but not too bad for a yummy dessert!

We did eat some "real" food this week, too. I tried two recipes from Rosalie Serving Italian (my Favorite cookbook!)

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil


4 oz. Whole grain Linguine, angel hair, or vermicelli pasta
1/2 Tbsp. salt

2 large tomatoes, cored and chopped, about 2 cups
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed and shredded
1 tsp. salt, or more for taste
1/4 tsp. pepper, or more for taste

freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
crushed red pepper flakes for garnish (optional)

1. Cut tomatoes in small chunks and place with juice in large pasta bowl. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, fresh basil leaves, and salt and pepper. Mix together lightly.

(Doesn't this look yummy? I think I could have eaten it without the pasta!
Or made bruschetta...)

2. Boil pasta in an 4-quart pot of boiling water with 1/2 tablespoon of salt added. Using spaghetti spoon, remove pasta right out of water into pasta bowl with tomato mixture.

3. Toss together, adding reserved pasta water if pasta gets too dry. Serve immediately garnished with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes, if desired. Serves 4.

This was really good - light with lots of flavor. The original recipe called for one pound of pasta - I knew we'd never eat that much, so I reduced it but left all other ingredients the same. I'm glad I did - it would have been too dry for my taste otherwise.

Nutritional info: 183.5 calories / 4 g fiber / 6.25 g fat / 3.4 WW points per serving


Stuffed Zucchini with Couscous

2 medium zucchini, stems removed and halved lengthwise
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small zucchini, cut into 1" pieces
1 medium onion, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cooked couscous

12 cherry tomatoes
8 fresh basil leaves, shredded
1 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts or chopped walnuts
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375. Rinse zucchini under cool water. Pat dry and remove ends. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Place halved-size down on lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and cool.

2. Scoop out centers of the zucchini leaving 1/4" thickness in shells. Place scooped out zucchini in large frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the small chopped zucchini, onion, and garlic. Saute altogether until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the chicken broth, couscous and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bring to boil and cook together about 3 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, basil leaves, pine nuts, or walnuts and salt and pepper. Then stir together.

4. Fill zucchini shells with couscous mixture and place in 13" x 9" baking dish, lightly coated with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until set.

5. Remove from oven and garnish with freshly grated cheese. Cut stuffed zucchini into halves. Serves 8.

This was another winner! Tomatoes and basil are a wonderful summer combo. I had to do a little improvising because the store didn't have any medium zucchini - they were all little guys! I used 3 little ones but still ended up with some leftover couscous mixture. I just poured it on top of everthing in the baking dish. I either needed to reduce the chicken broth or cook it longer so it would evaporate because there was a lot of liquid even after baking for about 30 minutes. I'm assuming larger zucchini would have been the solution!

This is not a good picture - this was before I put it in the oven. As you can see, too much liquid, although some did evaporate during cooking.

I didn't cut the stuffed zucchini in half, so we had a total of 6 servings. Nutritional info: 85 calories / 2.2 g fat / 2.2 g fiber / 1.4 WW points

I paired the zucchini with leftover pasta and it was a great meal!

Happy Birthday M&M!

Not the candy, y'all! McMoments and Memories, my little blog, turns two today! Thank you to everyone who has joined me the past two years. Blogging is a lot of fun. More than once I've said to Les, "Who knew I had so much to say?" He gives me the same knowing look each time, so I guess he did!
Upon Les' advice, I started using Google Analytics in February 2009 and here are some of the stats:

I've had 22,531 visitors from:
6 continents (hello, Antarctica??)
35 countries/territories,
including 46 states (come on Montana, South Dakota, Maine, and Vermont!)
The highest number of visits comes from:
my home state of California with 16,524 visitors
followed by Tennesse with 1,905.
Thank you Fresno for being the city with the most visits - 4,832!

I thought I'd share a few of MY favorite posts. If you're new around here, you might enjoy going back for a while. Feel free to tell me any favorite of yours.

My second post was titled "Memories," followed the next day by "Mom's Bible." These definitely set the stage for much of what I have written. Mom, and the memories she left, continue to influence me today. A couple of lighthearted "Mom" posts were "When Mom Became Grandma" and "Good Cake, Mom!" If you know our family at all, "Fultz's Funny Farm" will bring back a host of memories. I am not the animal collector that Mom was, but we do have "McElhaney's Menagerie."

There is a very special guest post by Les, "Her Price is Far Above Rubies," written after he spent eight days in the hospital. There are posts about when Les and I met, his proposal, our wedding, and so many adventures!

And finally, my most popular post with more hits than any other (per Google Analytics) is "My Hero." My first post about Rod. I've thought recently about how much fun Rod would have had with a blog. If you ever heard his answering machine, you know his blog would have been hilarious! But he also would have continue to be the encourager he was known for.

Thanks again for reading. Your friendship and comments make this blog a blessing to me!

I Am Specialized

I haven't written much about Myka lately, but we've been having a blast! I didn't ride much after I first got her because Les was in major Death Ride training mode. With that behind us, we've been riding a couple times a week. We've ridden Las Llayas Canyon a few times and it's been quite a ride. A few weeks ago equipment of some sort was brought in and the trail is a mess! It went from hard packed dirt to sand. Riding uphill in that is challenging every running muscle I have and then some.

Last week I had to walk my bike at least two times because of the sand. I just couldn't gear down enough. Yesterday I made it about a mile farther than before, which included a part that had a 12% incline, and didn't have to walk her a single time! Although I did get my heart rate up to 169 beats per minutes! Here are before and after pictures.

Nice and clean:



A "little" dusty:


And you should have seen my shoes and ankles!

We have lots of cycling magazines around our house and they always have ads for Specialized bikes, which is what Myka is. The ads say, "I Am Specialized." While riding on the trail yesterday, the spirit of Dr. Seuss came upon me and I wrote this verse:

I do not like riding in the sand
I do not like it, Specialized I Am!

I do not like this soft-packed dirt
I do not like it on my skirt

I do not like this granny gear
but falling over is what I fear

I do not like this cloud of dust
I do not like it, but ride I must

I do not like riding in the sand
I do not like it, Specialized I Am!

I'm actually having the time of my life! There's nothing like it when my speed gets over 20 mph and I'm literally screaming down the hill!

This is Good!

I received the following in an email from Dad:

An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."

"No," his friend replied, "This is good!" "What do you mean,'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?" "If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."

- Author Unknown

Sunday night we had in service with us Bro. Robert Dansby, pastor in Grants Pass, Oregon. The title of his message was, "That Happened to Me." He shared many things that have happened in his life, starting with a treed bear, joyful times, and difficult times. But through it all, he has clung to Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Just like the story above, even when we don't think it's good, God is working it for our good. It's not what happens to us in life, but how we react that makes the difference.

On the way home, Les asked, "Do you ever question God about what you've been through with Rod and your Mom?" I thought about it, it's a hard question. I definitely miss Mom and Rod, many times I'll think "I wish Rod could see or hear this..." or "I wish I could talk to Mom about that..." but questioning God doesn't do me any good. I choose to trust and say "This is Good" even when it doesn't feel like it or I don't understand. Somehow, I have to trust that God has worked it for my good. So I'll trust His heart...

Trust His Heart

All things work for the good
Though sometimes we can't
See how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth
Our Father knows what's best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just can't see Him,
Remember He's still on the throne

Chorus:

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart

He sees the master plan
He holds the future in His hand,
Don't live as those who have no hope,
While our hope is found in Him.
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and last
And like a tapestry He's weaving you and me,
To someday be just like Him

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart

He alone is faithful and true
He alone knows what is best for you

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart

Written by: Babbie Mason and Eddie Carswell