My husband Mark and I enjoy hosting family members and others for meals. We don't get fancy in the kitchen, but we don't go hungry. Mark likes to grill chicken, burgers, brats, fish and anything else we get a hankering for. He uses the grill year round, and in spite of the brutal Wisconsin winter we are still living through, Mark grilled chicken just a few weeks ago. We enjoy entertaining as a way to touch base, catch up, and maintain relationships.
But it occurred to me recently that we rarely serve dessert. We offer snacks, salads, vegies, fruits, potatoes, soup, and meat. But it seems that unless we are celebrating a birthday, we don't offer chocolate, pie, cake or cookies. Ice cream is about the only sweet you might find in our freezer. That isn't to say I don't like dessert. Heck, if I have cookies in the cookie jar, I tend to eat them after every meal until they are gone. And if I happen to have M & M's in my cupboard, I'll eat those, too. So why not serve dessert? Here are my top three reasons for not offering dessert after a delicious meal:
~Empty calories. Chocolate, cake, pie and cookies are full of sugar, fat, and calories. Who needs all of that?
~Time saver. Mixing and baking dessert takes extra time. Time is something we don't have a lot of, so getting the meal on the table is a priority...dessert might have a chance if I happen to have extra time.
~I'm full. If dinner is tasty and there is enough of it, I don't have room for dessert anyway, so why bother?
“Some people prefer eating dessert to the main course. These people have never been really hungry.”
―
Vera Nazarian
Friday, March 28, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Repent and be Faithful to the Gospel
I am a marked woman...my forehead bears a cross of ashes...it boldly says, "I am a sinner."
I fall short of the glory of God; there are areas in my life that need less me and more Jesus--times and circumstances where I think I can do it better and handle it without relying on God's grace. Inevitably, I stumble, fall, and sin.
The Church, in her infinite wisdom, sets aside this time of fasting, prayer and alms-giving as an opportunity to look deep inside, turn away from the things that keep us apart from our loving God, and turn toward a stronger relationship with Jesus.
My local church encouraged us to take a stone as we left church today. It is to be a reminder during this Lenten season of the ways in which we hold on to a hard or 'stoney' heart; it gives us a chance to ask what are the obstacles in my life that keep me from a deeper relationship with Jesus? What are the changes I need to make? How can I be more like Jesus in a world desperate for love?
When I was younger, I really didn't like Lent. It meant I had to give up something for almost six weeks (usually that was candy or ice cream), it meant we didn't eat meat on Fridays, it meant I attended daily mass with my dad, and it meant the church was bare and sparsely decorated. All in all I saw Lent as kind of a downer.
As I've grown in my faith and love for Jesus and as my understanding of the church year has deepened, I see Lent as a holy, special time. There are many opportunities for prayer and growth; for silence and simplicity; for change and renewal. It is a chance to say, yes I am a sinner, but it doesn't end there. I have a savior who loves me like no other, accepts me where I am and calls me, ever so gently, to be more of who He wants me to be.
That's what Lent is all about.
I fall short of the glory of God; there are areas in my life that need less me and more Jesus--times and circumstances where I think I can do it better and handle it without relying on God's grace. Inevitably, I stumble, fall, and sin.
The Church, in her infinite wisdom, sets aside this time of fasting, prayer and alms-giving as an opportunity to look deep inside, turn away from the things that keep us apart from our loving God, and turn toward a stronger relationship with Jesus.
My local church encouraged us to take a stone as we left church today. It is to be a reminder during this Lenten season of the ways in which we hold on to a hard or 'stoney' heart; it gives us a chance to ask what are the obstacles in my life that keep me from a deeper relationship with Jesus? What are the changes I need to make? How can I be more like Jesus in a world desperate for love?
When I was younger, I really didn't like Lent. It meant I had to give up something for almost six weeks (usually that was candy or ice cream), it meant we didn't eat meat on Fridays, it meant I attended daily mass with my dad, and it meant the church was bare and sparsely decorated. All in all I saw Lent as kind of a downer.
As I've grown in my faith and love for Jesus and as my understanding of the church year has deepened, I see Lent as a holy, special time. There are many opportunities for prayer and growth; for silence and simplicity; for change and renewal. It is a chance to say, yes I am a sinner, but it doesn't end there. I have a savior who loves me like no other, accepts me where I am and calls me, ever so gently, to be more of who He wants me to be.
That's what Lent is all about.
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