Freedom and Taquitos

Most of the truth I've learned about God through the years has been surprising to me. Perhaps that observation is surprising but it shouldn't be. His thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are His ways my ways. Pretty much, if I think it's going to go down a certain way, it's not.

This line of thinking brings to mind taquitos. I was eating at a really good, authentic Mexican food restaurant the other day and one of the girls with me ordered Taquitos. When our order came out, however, the food on her plate was not taquitos.

You know what I'm talking about, the little yellow sticks filled with some kind of mystery meat concoction that you buy in the freezer section and serve at parties to to dip in fake cheese and salsa. Yeah, those.

But that's not what was on her plate.

She politely pushed her food around for a while until the waitress came by and noticed she wasn't eating. I heard some of their exchange...long story short the waitress said that in fact those were taquitos. They were just real-deal taquitos. But you see, my friend likes impostor taquitos. She's so used to the fake thing that when the real deal came along she didn't even recognize it, much less want it. What can I say? The girl craves fake, frozen taquitos.

I couldn't really empathize with her. That plate of food looked dang good to me. But while I would gladly gobble up a big plate of authentically prepared taquitos, I'm thinking that all this time I've been looking for freedom and its been right in front of me...I just haven't recognized it because it's not what I though it would be. I've been looking for the worldly idea of what freedom is. The all-about-me kind of freedom. Feel-good freedom. Indulgent freedom. Overnight freedom. Fake, frozen, impostor freedom.

His ways are not the same as mine. His freedom is not going to be the way I envision it. Authentic freedom has never come without a fight. It's never come without pain or payment of a high price. Never without sacrifice. And surprisingly, but truly, never without boundaries.

It may be time to put my big-girl panties on and go with authenticity. I think I'm ready to sacrifice my expectations and put faith in a plan that is not going to be 100% pleasant for me. Commitment. Drastic Measures. Relentlessness. Obedience. Complete dependence on Another Way...

Real-deal freedom is going to be surprising, right? It's going to be nothing I thought it would be. But I believe it will be everything I never knew I wanted it to be and more.

Invitation to the Thirsty

All that said, I'm about to fire up the blog again. My goal is 2 to 3 times per week so be on the look-out.

Fixer-Upper

(Country Living photos)

Several years ago we sold our house. We had lived there for a while; long enough to put a few holes in the walls, break a faucet, see some wear and tear on doors, walls, carpets, etc. So when it came time to sell we had to "fix it up." Little things here and there were taken care of over the course of a week or so and by the time we were ready to go on the market I felt like I was living a new home! It was wonderful. The walls and floors looked so nice! There were no squeaks...the water came out of the kitchen faucet in a nice steady stream...the carpet was back to it's original color. I was asking myself (and my husband) why had we not done all of these things sooner! It wasn't too difficult, it didn't cost that much and the results were terrific.

What the HECK!?

I think this is a good analogy for the way we are with our bodies--the home God has given us to live in for the time being. He made us in an awesome and wonderful way. But the things that we have put into our bodies, the neglect that happens over time can make it a not-so-fun place to be. It can almost feel like we're trapped in a terrible place.

But we have the power to change that! Small repairs make a huge difference. Breaking one habit and replacing it with another. Getting out for a few minutes each day to move. Spending some extra time at the grocery store to pick out items that will benefit the body rather than harm it. It only takes a few small changes to begin to see that if we care for our bodies the way they were made to be cared for we will be happy to live inside them!

I don't want to wait for depression to set in again or a dire health diagnosis to decide to change. That's just like waiting until we were about to sell the house to make the improvements. We could have had the fixed-up version all those years if we'd just taken the time for repairs and up-keep. Like I said, it really wasn't that big a deal. It always seems more difficult in our minds to fix something than it really is.

This body is the only "home" we will ever have as long as we are here on earth. It's never too late to make changes. And doesn't everyone just love a good "fixer-upper"!?

Weigh-In: 1.3 lb. Loss

197 lbs.

Another week moving in the right direction...progress.

80 Calorie Cupcakes

This recipe is easy as a piece of cake. Or cupcake in this instance.

Cake:
Box cake mix (I used strawberry)
Can of soda (I used regular Sprite, use caramel colored drinks for chocolate cake)
Beat together. Pour in cupcake pan. Bake according to box directions.

Frosting:
Box of jello pudding (I used strawberries and cream)
Carton Cool Whip Free
Splash of milk
Beat together. Let sit in bowl in fridge until grittiness from pudding mix is gone. About 5 minutes.
Frost cupcakes. Optional: Top with sprinkles  (adds 15 calories)

These were gobbled up by my hubby, children and some students at church tonight. No one was complaining about taste and hubby said they were good. (He is usually honest about this type of thing). Of course you could reduce the calories even more by using a sugar-free"Splenda" Cake mix, a diet drink and sugar free-fat free pudding mix. But I thought 80 calories was pretty good. :)

The flavor combos with the cake, pudding and sodas are endless. Have fun and let me know what you come up with!

Weigh-In: 1.5 lb Loss