Warning Label

You know how some medications come with the "do not operate heavy machinery or motor vehicles" warning labels? Well, I have found something else that should come with this same warning!

It is impossible to listen to this Travis Cottrell CD without throwing both hands in the air and doing some serious worshipping!!! If you ever see me flailing about in my car, odds are that I am not having some sort of medical episode but have this music blaring!

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be part of a new contemporary service that my church started doing on Sunday nights. That is how I came across this CD. The church ordered it for those of us on the Praise teams as part of the new music we wanted to introduce to the congregation. This Praise team has been such an interesting experience for me. I get sooooooo nervous when I sing solos in church!!! So, I was worried about what it would be like in the Praise team because there are only 5 of us in a group and we are all singing our own part. There isn't the comfort of having a choir to blend into. But, I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone and embrace the role of a worship leader. I think there is a tendency for those of us that have been Christians and part of a church for a long time to get a complecent, going through the motions, type attitude when it comes to worship. I don't think it's intentional, just comfortable. I am so guilty of doing that and God has definitely used this experience to open my eyes! One of my favorite songs that we are working on is on this CD and is called "The Power of the Cross." The lyrics for the chorus are:

The power of the cross is moving in my life 'cause the power of Your blood has saved me. The power of the cross still draws me to Your side 'cause the power of Your love has changed me. O let my life be lost in the power of the cross.

There is nothing comfortable about what Christ did for us on the cross!!! I don't ever want my attitude to get in the way of conveying that message. Whether I am singing in church, sitting at my desk at work, or rocking out in my car, I want to be a testimony to His love and power!

Now, head to your nearest Christian book store or to I-Tunes and get this CD! Just remember the warning label! :)

Is it Friday YET???

I cannot wait for Friday to get here and for me to be taking my seat in this beautiful place all weekend!!!!! I can almost smell the kettle corn now! I dearly love college baseball and the funny thing is that I had never even been to a baseball game until 4 years ago when I moved here. My parents always went, so I started going to a few games with them. Then, when I had the pleasure of meeting and becoming friends with Hillary she and I were very dedicated fans together. We spent many a Friday night having dinner at Charlie's Chicken and then heading the ballpark! Good times indeed!!! Now, I am totally hooked and am super excited about the great schedule the Hogs have this year. The only thing I am not excited about is that the first game starts at 3:00 on Friday. My job is seriously cramping my style here!!! I jokingly said that I needed to "get sick" around 2:30 so that I could leave. Well.....be careful what you say! I have a terrible sore throat and have felt feverish all day today. You better believe I will be chugging orange juice and taking every over-the-counter cold medicine I can get my hands on tomorrow!!!!

Desperate

When I first moved here, I spent a long time trying to find a church home. I think that is one of the hardest things to do! I spent time in churches with large singles groups and churches with none at all. The Lord finally led me to what is currently my church home and I love it! I have no doubt that this is where I need to be. This church has never really had much of a singles group and, in a way, I like that. I can teach 2 year olds during Sunday School, sing in the choir and be in the Praise Team and my time at church has nothing to do with my marital status. But, there are days when the fact that I am one of about four single people in the whole church is a bit overwhelming and extremely lonely!

A few weeks ago, I gave in to a friend who had been asking me to go with her to a singles Bible Study at another church in our area. For those of you who have spent time in singles groups before, you know the misery of going to one of these for the first time! I contemplated having my Facebook profile page printed and made into a t-shirt, because you know everyone in the room is wondering about the new girl! Ha! It ended up not being that bad and I have gone back a few times. So, today rolls around and it was a really BAD day!!! I am just being pulled in so many different directions. I'm fighting to keep my head above the water and I’m not doing a very good job at it! I had decided that I was going to have to skip out on the Bible Study tonight because of some things that came up. Then, I got an email reminder that tonight was a special worship night. I knew that I needed a break and thought that it would do me good to spend an hour in worship. I am so glad that I went because the Lord definitely spoke to me. One of the songs that we sang was “Breathe.” I have heard this song a million times and have sung it myself a million times. But tonight I saw something as if I’d never seen it before. The words were coming up on the big screen and one of the lines is “I’m desperate for You.” There it was...the “.” bigger than life! That’s when it hit me that it doesn’t say I’m desperate for You to give me the life I think I should have by now. Not I’m desperate for You to make me smarter, or better at what I do. That’s not it at all. I’m desperate for YOU, period!!! Oh, how I needed to be reminded of that! I want the cry of my heart to always be for God and God alone! HE is enough!!!

Runners take your mark...

Last night I went to the Tyson Invitational Indoor Track Meet. It is one of my favorite events to go to because the competitors are a mixture of college athletes as well as the best of the professional athletes. I'm pretty sure over half of the athletes competing were at the Bejing Olympics so it was so exciting to see them in person! There were a little over 4,300 people there last night and it was a great crowd. You'd be suprised at how intense it gets in there!!! The crowd gets really loud and caught up in the action when races are going on. I definitely recommend going to this meet if you ever get the chance! The only downside of the event is that it can be a little tough on the self-esteme. Those girls have 0% body fat!!!! My step-mom and I always say "we don't like girls like that"!!! Ha!

This year, I had the added enjoyment of watching my dad sing the National Anthem to get the meet kicked off!!! He is a member of the Singing Men of Arkansas and they did an AWESOME job!!! I had chill bumbs the whole time they were singing and the crowd went wild as they finished. I could not have been more proud! Last night's events are going to be aired on ESPN tomorrow from 4-6 so I hope they show them singing too. I'll have my DVR ready just in case!!! We were sitting pretty close to the track and I noticed a camera pointed our way a few times, so I may be making my television debute as well. I just hope I wasn't doing something embarassing!!!

A New Recipe and My New Kitchen

Tonight, I tried a new recipe that I got from The Biggest Loser. My work schedule is just nuts right now and I really wanted to be able to have good, healthy food that I could just heat up when I get home at night. The fast food has to stop!!! Plus, I have a brand new kitchen that I LOVE and haven't been able to spend nearly enough time in!

I still have had no time to decorate, so I will have to post pictures of the rest of my house at a later date! Now onto tonight's dinner.....

Baked Ziti

Olive Oil Spray

1 (14 1/2-ounce) box fiber-enriched ziti or penne rigate (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste)

1 (15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese

2 large egg whites

8 ounces (4 cups) finely shredded reduced-fat mozarella cheese

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt, ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to taste

3 1/2 cups of low-fat, low-sodium marinara

2 tablespoons grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450. Lightly mist a 13"x9" ceramic or glass baking dish with the olive oil spray. Cook the ziti according to package directions and drain. In a large mixing bowl, mix the ricotta, egg whites, and all but 1 cup of the mozzarella until well combined. Add the garlic powder and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the cooked pasta until well combined.

Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the prepared dish. Add half of the pasta in an even layer over the sauce. Top the pasta evenly with another 1 cup sauce. Layer the remaining pasta over the sauce. Spoon the remaining 1 1/2 cups sauce early over the top of the pasta, then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan over the top.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes longer, or until the mozzarella is melted.

YUMMMM!!!!! This was so good! The recipe makes 8 servings and each serving is 350 calories. I have some tasty left-overs that I won't feel guilty about eating! Now, I'm off to go watch The Biggest Loser!!!