Sunday, March 30, 2008

My Joy, True Love

I wish others could experience it. The great joy I feel.

It fills me and makes me want to sing. It leads me to close my eyes as the music plays and feel my eyes fill up with tears.

It's unexplainable.

It's the amazing comfort and peace that overcomes me knowing that Christ died for me and that I can now spend eternity in a one-on-one relationship with God. No matter what happens in the days to come, no matter when my life ends, I have God by my side forever. And all I had to do was let Christ in and accept God's forgiveness. I don't know how I made it through the other 23 years of my life.

If you want to know what love is, look no further. God put all the weight of your sins on His Son's shoulders and let Him die with it so that you wouldn't have to. It was the greatest example of love ever given. True love.

Friday, March 28, 2008

What is Everything?

Have you ever thought about the fact that God knows everything?
I mean seriously....He knows EVERYTHING.



How many hairs are on your head. How many freckles are on your nose.


How many dust particles are in the air within a 5 foot radius of your head.

How many leaves are on each tree, how many bugs are climbing on those leaves, and whether or not each of those bugs will be alive tomorrow.

What's going to happen one second, one minute, one week, one year, and one decade from this moment.


What would happen as a result of every possible choice you could ever make at every possible moment.

He knows every thought in your head...every time you feel anger, every time you feel compassion, every time you feel sadness, every time you feel joy.




He knows EVERYTHING.
It's just amazing.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Office Plants



So...I was reading website information about how to care for my two peace lilies I have in my office at work, and I discovered that plants in any home room or office actually provide health benefits.


Supposedly, the air systems used in most office buildings and homes (instead of natural air ventilation through windows) lead to a buildup of air pollutants. Plants remove these air pollutants and clean the air for you, helping to prevent you from becoming sick. How great is that?? It's so good to know that my great affinity for plants is also improving my health. :)

If you'd like to see the full webpage, check it out here: http://www.plant-care.com/indoor-plants-clean-air-1.html.

Drop the Gas Prices

I received this email describing a way to drop the gas prices, and I found it interesting and theoretically possible. However, the probablility of enough people participating is slim to none. Nonetheless, I thought I'd suggest it to all my friends.

(I've cut out quite a bit of the email because it was rediculously long and could have gotten its point across much more quickly.)



THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON.

I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00+ a gallon by this summer! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..not sellers.


Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

Also, under no circumstances buy from CITCO. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

Conoco/Phillips, Sunoco, Flying J, and only a couple others import no oil, so if possible buy your gas from them.



I really doubt this will work, and I feel slightly bad for discouraging people to buy gas from one of my friends' companies of employment, but gas prices are crazy high.

And life goes on. :)

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A Good Recipe

I found this recipe on the Better Homes & Gardens website (www.bhg.com). Dave and I had it for dinner last night and it was pretty tasty...as long as you like light- and healthy-tasting items. :)

Chicken Pineapple Fajitas
8 6-inch flour tortillas
4 1-inch slices of peeled fresh pineapple
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 small red or orange sweet peppers, seeded and cut in strips
2 tsp. Jamaican jerk seasoning (we used Caribbean jerk seasoning)
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tbsp cooking oil
fresh cilantro and lime wedges (we skipped this part for money and time's sake)

Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat.
Add pineapple slices; cook 4 to 6 minutes, until browned, turning once.
Remove.

Cut chicken in strips; toss with sweet peppers, jerk seasoning, and pepper.
Heat oil in skillet; add chicken and peppers.
Cook and stir over medium-high 4 to 6 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink.
Core and chop pineapple, and add to chicken and peppers.

Serve with heated tortillas, cilantro, and lime.

Wedding Planning - My Thoughts

So...I had no idea went into a wedding until I had to plan one on my own. Absolutely no idea. From an outsider's point of view, it looks easy. Pick a church, pick a reception hall, select your favorite foods, find the perfect dress, and you're done, right?? No. Soooooo wrong.

Things you don't think about:
How are you going to find the addresses for all your guests?
What veil will you wear? Shoes? Makeup? Jewelry?
And what about your bridesmaids? Their dresses, jewelry, hair, shoes.
How about the vows...your own or the traditional?
There's the photographer, caterer, videographer, pastor, baker. Don't forget about the selection process, meetings, decision making, contracts to fill out, checks to write, and schedules for all of them.
Where are your wedding bands coming from, and what will they look like?
What scripture verses do you want to use?
What order will people walk down the aisle, and to what music?
What are your flowers going to be and where are you getting them? And don't forget...you need them for pews, the altar, bouquets, corsages, centerpieces, and miscellaneous other things.
Don't forget gifts for the following people: bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents, any other people who help with the wedding, and friends who throw you showers.
Speaking of showers, when are they going to be? Don't forget to make your guest list and give the shower planner all the addresses. And be prepared to write about 20 thank you notes soon after.
You need to reserve hotels for all your guests and find your own for your wedding night.
The honeymoon is obviously important...so it needs planned and reserved, and plane tickets need bought.
Pick your food for the reception, select a dj, and give him all the songs you want played.

Oh my goodness the list goes on and on. I could write for four more hours.

So I want to take this opportunity to apologize to all my friends who have gotten married before me and I've shown little compassion for their wedding planning process. I had no idea. And I want to now tell you that if I'd known, I would have offered to help more. :)

And also, this is not a plea for help. I have many friends offering their hands, and it is MUCH appreciated. Thanks so much. You are all a blessing.

Don't get me wrong...planning a wedding is fun. It really is. But it's also a full-time job on top of your regular full-time job. I'm just looking forward to less than 3 months from now when I'll be a married woman and down to just 40 hours/week. :)

For ideas on planning a wedding, check out the following sites:
www.theknot.com
www.brides.com
www.weddingchannel.com

New blog

So I came across this blog site viewing the blog of my wonderful friends Mike and Amy Williams. I thought their blog looked neat, so I decided to start my own. :) I think I'll do this instead of MySpace or Facebook, which really limit what you can do and don't look near as sweet.

So anyways, to all my friends...check in here instead of on MySpace or Facebook, although I'll probably try to mention my updates on those sites.

The first official blog will be coming soon. :)

God bless,
Kara

Monday, March 24, 2008

Faith Blog

Copied from MySpace...

Faith cannot be taught. It is learned along the way.

It’s an idea that I’ve heard over and over in one of my favorite songs. And it’s so true. If you open your eyes, you can see the hand of God all around you.

Just yesterday I was thinking about my faith, and how it’s so easy to sometimes falter and forget all the little miracles God has performed in your life. I was also thinking about how I would love to be able to share my faith with others and either encourage them along their own journeys or maybe bring them one step closer to understanding what it is like to see through the eyes of a believer.

Therefore, I’ve decided to start a faith blog. Every once in a while, I am going to share my most recent thoughts on God, his grace through Jesus, and how I’ve been touched or seen God in my own life. Feel free to read or skip over it, but I just want to know that I’m doing the most I can to reach out to others around me.
My first real entry will be coming soon. :)
God bless,
Kara