Blowing in the Wind

“The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: ‘Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.’ Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.” Mark 10:13-16 (The Message)

A craft Chelsea made in Sunday School class.

We’ve Gone Green

I’ve never been a coffee drinker. Can’t stand the taste. I’ve tried all different kinds of coffee and added all kinds of stuff to it–even cocoa. Just don’t like it. Give me coffee cake or coffee ice cream any day, but you can keep the drink. I’ve never been a tea drinker either–cold or hot–until now.

For the last few years, the media has hyped up green tea. I would listen and think, “I should probably drink that. It sounds like it is really good for you.” The only thing that kept me from trying it was the color. It’s green. I honestly thought it would taste like asparagus, green beans, broccoli, and brussel sprout juice. I love green veggies, but the thought of drinking green vegetable juice made me avoid green tea.

But recently, I read an article from my chiro about the boatload of benefits from green tea. It can fight cancer, boost your immune system, increase resistance to stress, and help maintain a healthy metabolism and cholesterol levels. (That’s just a few of its super powers.) Isn’t it funny how you can hear something ten times and you don’t believe it until someone you trust tells you it’s true?

So I tried it. And I was very surprised it doesn’t taste like green juice. It just tastes like…tea. Go figure. I actually like the taste of it. So now Kevin and I are big tea drinkers. When the kids go to bed, we’re like two old people sitting at the kitchen table chatting and sipping our hot tea. My grandmother would be proud. She drank tea every day. I can still hear the sound of her spoon clanging against her cup as she stirred milk into her tea.

Bubble Time!

Man, what a beautiful day. Sunny and 67 degrees. You can smell Spring in the air. I hope this weather stays for a long time. Chelsea and I played hide and seek and then our favorite outdoor activity–bubbles!

Chasing…

Popping…

Kicking…

Thank you, God, for the gorgeous day!

Caleb and The Bee

I told Kevin I wouldn’t blog on Friday and Saturday nights. By this morning I was itching to write again. I have enjoyed blogging (nearly) every day. It’s much more fun than housework! I could get used to this gig.

Friday was a big day for Caleb (and us!). A few months ago, Caleb competed against his fellow first graders and was one of the top four spellers in his grade. He and his three friends went to the ACSI Spelling Bee at another local Christian school on Friday. There were nine schools represented, and 29 first graders competed. Caleb finished fifth for his grade! We are so proud of him.

Of Pigs and Pancakes

Thursday was “Pancakes for Parents Day” in Chelsea’s K-3 class. I expected to see her teacher making the breakfast, but I was surprised to see the superintendent and the principal flipping pancakes when I arrived. Now that is true service to the teacher!

After eating our delicious pancakes, the children said the pledge of allegiance and prayed with their teacher, Mrs. F. Kevin and I had tears in our eyes when Mrs. F said a little poem to prepare the children for prayer.  The last line of the poem was ”Let me talk to God for you.” Then Mrs. F prayed for the assistant teacher who was out sick and praised God for the substitute teacher who was helping.

I pray I will never take that school or its staff for granted. Caleb and Chelsea’s teachers (and the whole staff) have blessed me beyond measure for the past two years. One day last year, Caleb’s teacher saw me walking past her class. She stopped her teaching and stepped out into the hall to tell me that she had prayed for me that morning–at home, before school. What!?! There was nothing major going on in my life, and yet, she took time out of her busy morning (she had a two-year-old at the time) to lift me up to God. That blew me away. Forever grateful.

Okay, back to pigs and pancakes. After the sweet prayer time, the children put on a “Three Little Pigs” skit except they modified it to include many pigs and many wolves. It was precious. I love how the teachers give the children many opportunities to become comfortable speaking, singing, and acting in front of an audience–great preparation for school, work, performing, and serving in church.

Have a great weekend, friends!

The Dirty Dozen

I’m a big fan of organic food. I believe organically grown food is better for us because it has more nutrients, no pesticides, and no genetic modification. Organic farming is better for the environment, and organic food just tastes better!

But there are times when the organic produce I want is not available. So how do I choose when to buy organic and when to buy conventional? I have the Dirty Dozen posted in my kitchen. The Dirty Dozen is a list, published by Consumer Reports, of the produce with the highest levels of pesticides. Some of the pesticide residue remains on the produce even after washing.

When I buy anything on this list, I buy organic:

Apples
Bell peppers
Celery
Cherries
Grapes (imported)
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Red raspberries
Spinach
Strawberries

The Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list is slightly different from Consumer Reports. Also, EWG has a Clean Fifteen list–produce with the lowest pesticides.

Check out this great article I read about the benefits of organic food in O, The Oprah Magazine this month.

Catching Snowflakes

on your tongue…one of the happy moments of childhood.

I don’t mind the snow, but I do hope this was our last storm of the season. I’m ready for Spring now.

Water, Water, and More Water!

How much water do you drink a day?

Before I started chiropractic, I drank 30-40 ounces of water a day. I knew that wasn’t nearly enough, but I thought it wasn’t too bad since water is basically all I drink. When I started chiro, I weighed 148 (I’m 5′ 11″). My doctor said I needed to drink half my body weight in ounces every day, which would be 74 ounces. Yeah, right. I knew that would be nearly impossible.

Then, about a week into treatment I overheard one of my doctor’s assistants talking to another patient. She explained how toxins are released into your body when the doctor adjusts your spine. That’s why it is so important to drink lots of water–to flush out the toxins to prevent infection. Also, your body needs that much water to replenish fluids and function optimally. That got my attention! I started drinking 74 ounces of water every day.

An interesting thing happened. I started losing weight–one pound each week for ten weeks. I didn’t change my diet or exercise routine. I was eating a little less–not because I was trying to eat less–but because I wasn’t hungry all the time like I used to be. I read an article a long time ago that stated most Americans are dehydrated. When we feel hungry, we are actually thirsty, but our bodies can’t tell the difference. So, we are munching all the time when we should be drinking more water. Check out this article for more details.

After 7 months, I have kept those ten pounds off, I’m still drinking lots of water, and I feel great!

Spring Is Coming!

It doesn’t feel like Spring is coming (we might get more snow on Tuesday), but apparently it has been warm enough to convince our trees it is time to sprout beautiful buds.

I love all things Spring: colorful flowers, fresh new leaves, sweet songbirds, warm air, and green grass.

I’m also thankful God uses Spring to remind us He is all about new beginnings.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23

Good-bye Photo Friday?

I think some changes are in order here. For you newbies, I started Becky Higgins’ Project Life back in December and posted pictures every Friday.

I’m trying to get into the habit of writing everyday and blogging more consistently, so I’m going to *try* to post a picture everyday. Becky calls it POTD (Picture Of The Day), so I’m going to use her wording.

So here is the POTD:

I think our family gets stuck in time warps. We are still in Valentine mode. And, Christmas is still not gone. I’m tempted to take a picture of all the Christmas decorations that are on my bedroom floor, but I’m sure you don’t care to see my mess. Although, I do get a lot of comments and messages about my messes! One of these days I will put Christmas away.

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I would love to hear from you! You can reach me at lisakellywrites at gmail dot com.

2009

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Fulfilling My Purpose Blog by Lisa Kelly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. Please do not use text or photos without permission.

Since Sept 2009

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