Healthy Yum!

It doesn't happen often, but at some point each our weather dips low enough to call for some hearty, cold weather comfort food. 
Today is one of those days & this is a go-to recipe for sure!
Now, I can't take full credit for this recipe - it's based off our friend, Christy Cutler's  award winning recipe, but we like to cram as much nutrients into our soups & stews as possible, so we tweaked it just a bit.

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Fabulous Forty!

 
"You're old!" That's what my sista friend - and my husband for that matter - had to say. 
But that statement isn't offensive and here is why:
I've always had an interest in spiritual things (ignited early in life by a “visit” from a deceased relative), and was raised in a Christian family. In full rebellion, however, my teens years were spent constructing my own belief system. I read and searched and selected what sounded best to me, primarily pulling from new age and eastern mystic beliefs, peppered with several forms of fortune telling, topped with a sprinkling of “Jesus Loves Me”.

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A closer look

  Easter has come and gone, and I'm still stuck on this. I just can't shake the realness of it.
I'm not a "deep" thinker ~ not very analytically prone. I tend to glaze over facts with a surface understanding, but for the past week I've returned again & again to this thought. 
Jesus is ALIVE.
 It can kinda flip your lid, if you allow it to... which, I suppose is a good thing.

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Beauty and Advertising

Somewhere along the merry path of life I adopted the belief that the “beauty industry” existed to teach women the finer arts of accentuating their most beautiful features; thereby producing confident women.
This belief has provided me with an interesting perspective as the beauty industry has become so powerfully influenced and impacted by the advertising industry.
North Americans are exposed to an estimated 3000 –that’s no typo, three THOUSAND – advertisements per day. With the majority of advertisers believing firmly in the old adage, “sex sells”, this constant barrage creates a subconscious tension, as the portrayal of beauty is so far removed from what the majority of humanity experiences.

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My Dad

Handsome, isn't he?
On April 20, 2011, my dad stepped into eternity. Just 3 short weeks after he had called me to let me know that his time was running short.
I’m still processing the loss of him.
When I got back home one of my pastors asked me if dad & I had been close.

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He Loves ME

I did not grow up knowing the love & acceptance of a father.
My mom married the only man brave enough to venture into the arena of “Dad” - just as I was nearing my teen years (poor man!). By that time my little girl heart was mostly closed off to receiving love from anyone who dared to attempt the "father" role.

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Gifts with Impact - Photos that bring life to children

Between now and Christmas week I plan to highlight businesses that will certainly put your gift giving dollars to good use! Remember – the goal here is philanthropic giving with a twist – supporting a worthy cause through purchasing a lovely treasure.
We all know, on some level, that there are kids out there who are desperate for the stability and love their biological parents are not able to provide. In America alone there are hundreds of thousands of kids just waiting for a forever family.

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