Our plans or his plans? (Prayer devotional for the week of Feb. 29, 2012)

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Spontaneity is not a trait that has always come easily to me. I like to have an agenda. I like to have reservations. And yet, if we are so goal-oriented that every task is a means to an end, then we risk losing sight of the scenery along the way. I have gotten better, over the years, about being a little more spontaneous. Every few months, my BFF and I “run away” from home together for a girls’ weekend, and we seldom have an agenda. Come to think of it, we hardly do anything at all but gab, rest and recoup from the hectic pace of our lives. (As a side note, we have determined that if you laugh so hard that you get a stitch in your side, then it totally counts as exercise. Just FYI.) I believe that a little unstructured time can be healthy—mentally, physically and spiritually.

The Bible even warns us not to hold too tightly to our plans and aspirations. God has an agenda, and Psalm 33:11 reminds us that his plans—the purposes of his own heart—do not fail. Not only is he is the Beginning and the End of the whole universe (Revelation 22:13), but he also has personal plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), so why are we stressed out about our decisions in life?

Do you have plans that seem so important in your life right now that you are putting God off from things he’d like to do with you or decisions that he’d like you to make? Are you willing to turn over the agenda to him and let him have some input on your next steps? We don’t want to take things to the other extreme and become lazy (Hebrews 6:12), but we would be wise to commit our goals to the Lord and seek his direction.

During this week’s prayer time, let’s meditate on Proverbs 16 as we make a concerted effort to offer our plans to the Lord. After all, he’s in control, in the first place!

Foodie Friday: Falafel

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I guess I’ve been on a Mediterranean kick lately. After my successful experiments with making hummus at home, I’ve been craving falafel. If you’ve never had falafel, the best way I know to describe it is as a vegetarian meatball. It is dense and hearty with an earthy flavor.

Falafel is often served in a pita pocket or wrap with a side of dill-yogurt sauce.

Now this looks like a yummy falafel!

I tried making it a long, long time ago, and it turned out badly, so I need to try again. Unfortunately, many falafel recipes call for flour or breadcrumbs. However, check out this flourless, breadcrumbless recipe that I found! I can’t wait to try it.

In the meantime, I can get my falafel fix at a dive restaurant in town called D’s Mediterranean Grill. I know, I know … it’s hard to tell if the falafel is carb-friendly when you get it at a restaurant, but OMG, it’s so good!

Now, if only I knew how to make a low-carb pita …

Wednesday Words: Distractions

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Because every student needs a break from textbooks now & then, I thought that I would share some of my favorite distractions with you today: web comics!

PHD Comics (“Piled Higher & Deeper”) is a hysterically accurate portrayal of life as a graduate student. The university newspaper runs the comic, and it brings me truly laugh-out-loud moments each week.

xkcd is the penultimate comic for geeks. If you never thought math could be funny, then you might be surprised. (I must admit that some of the punchlines are over my journalism-turned-poli-sci-major head, but it’s still one of my faves.)

Bo’s Cafe Life is a tongue-in-cheek look at the lives of a group of friends who are aspiring writers. I’ve had the privilege of conversing with the author a time or two, and he’s a hoot.

Doghouse Diaries puts a spin on relationships, and some of the funniest quips are the comments by the authors/artists below the comic.

Now that you know some of my favorite distractions, I’m going to go skim my RSS feed for the latest! 🙂

First Valentines

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via Flickr

This is a milestone year. No. 1 is giving a Valentine to a girl, and not because she happens to be in his homeroom & you have to give a card to everyone. (In fact, the 6th grade classes don’t exchange Valentines in homeroom — that was a bittersweet coming-of-age realization.) No, he is hand-delivering a Valentine to a girl ON PURPOSE. To top it all off, he also asked if he could make cookies tonight … so that he could take one to her at lunch tomorrow.

I can feel the apron strings loosening as we speak.

In other Valentine-related news, there was a bottle of 2006 Viridian Pinot Noir waiting for me when I got home from work today. So, someone does pay attention to what I like! 😉  I poured it into a decanter to let it breathe for a while … Wow, is it good! It has a brandy-like color and aroma, with a rich fruit flavor and a zing on the palate.