When Life Gets Broken

"Despite better technology, 2011 set to be deadliest tornado year" - CNN.com

"Texas Fires 2011: Over 1 Million Acres Burned In Wildfires" - Huffington Post

"Mississippi governor's office estimates agriculture losses at more than $250 million from floods" - AP

The headlines lately are crazy. Most times when we see the pictures of destruction on TV, it doesn't actually touch us personally. But this year, most of the people I've talked to know someone directly affected by one of these many disasters. It can get overwhelming. How do we deal with it all?

My friend Matt Hybarger produced an album called "When Life Gets Broken." He and Michael O'Brien wrote the title track - a duet with Michael and Russ Lee. Beautiful harmonies, powerful lyrics.

When life gets broken

  When you're in despair

    He'll carry your burdens

      When it's too much to bear

  Down in the valley where He'll give you strength

    There is nothing you have lost that He can't replace

      He'll help you start all over again

When life gets broken.

Jesus said in John 16:33 (NLT), “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” 

This whole album is fantastic!! 

Other artists on the album - wow! It's an all-star cast!! Steve Archer, Clay Crosse, Allen Asbury, David and the Giants, Kellye Huff, The Katinas, and, of course, Matt Hybarger. 

Here's a link for you to take a listen...

**  When Life Gets Broken **

Let me know what you think.

Smooth Snack!

I don't know about you, but during the summer I have a hard time finding cool, filling snacks without just defaulting to the freezer for my favorite - Blue Bell Light Homemade Vanilla ice cream! Usually topped with Hershey's Syrup. (I was double-checking the nutrition facts - I knew it had 0 g fat and cholesterol, but unfortunately it has high fructose corn syrup as the first ingredient! Maybe switch to Hershey's Cocoa?) I try to make it healthy by adding a banana. :b

Smoothies always sound like a good idea, but when I've gotten them at different restaurants, I've always been disappointed. So I decided to get out the blender and do a little experimenting. This is probably old hat for a lot of folks, but I have to tell you, the blender and I have never actually become real good friends. I probably could count on one hand the number of times it's been used. (I can't believe I just said that out loud!) 

I had some organic vanilla yogurt in the fridge, got some frozen blackberries out, and blended away. It was a bit thick and the blackberries were a little sour so I added a splash of milk and a touch of organic sugar. Got some fun parfait glasses out, and voilà!

Very tasty and popular with the whole family! Except I won't be using blackberries again - too many seeds! Trying blueberries next - put some antioxidants in the diet! And bananas can't go wrong. Yum!

For the record...

Equal amounts yogurt and fruit - I used about a cup

about 2 T. milk

about 1 t. sugar

This served 3 of us a refreshing snack after dinner! 

Records, Mine and Otherwise

Summer has arrived in west Texas - a full 25 days early. Yesterday we broke a record set in 1927 (107) for the high - 110 degrees! I grew up in Phoenix, so the next phrase is a reflex - "But it's a dry heat." The humidity was about 10%, which does help, along with the constant winds in this area.

The point of this is, with the extra time I've had on my hands recently, I decided to start walking again. I forgot how much I actually enjoy it! The spring weather has been so nice, and I've explored our new neighborhood. I wanted to get a pedometer (because I'm a little geeky and wanted to measure and compare), and guess what - there's an app for that! The downside is that it tells me I really need to put more into this. :)

Now that it's hot, I think I'm walking at the mall beginning tomorrow. Summer is usually my hibernation time, but I really want to improve those stats! Ignoring Chick-Fil-A may be a challenge though.

Just Jump In

"For a kid, summer is like a weekend that lasts 2 months." 

Yeah, that's how my 9-year-old just started our summer vacation. This will be the first summer for her (and me!) to stay home instead of going to childcare. We're pretty excited about that!! We're making a list of all the fun things to do - swimming lessons, VBS, library, learning to sew, and lots more. 

The Kids' Section in the New Library

It'll be a great summer! 

It's an interesting time because I lost my job (like lots of others too) about six months ago. It turned out to be a huge blessing! It looks like it's time for a new career, after 17 years in radio. A couple of PT teaching jobs showed up for me (literally!), and I'm really enjoying that. So I think I'm turning some kind of corner - ready for the next adventure!