Christianity Defined... by Lewis

I'd like to share an amazing book with you. This is my second summer to try and finish Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The book requires a lot of thought, so I am working slowly through the chapters, taking time to underline particularly good pieces and reflect on all of it. Lewis writes the book as a definition of Christianity without diving into theologies that are particular to any one denomination. Instead, he does his best to explain Christianity in its simplest form - the tenants of the faith, morals and principles, what all Christians believe about Jesus and God, etc. It's a wonderful book for someone who is not a Christian but interested in what Christianity is all about. For any person who has heard only the basic plot of Jesus' tale and might be curious about the rest of it, I'd highly recommend Mere Christianity.

For those of us who have already committed our lives to Christ, Lewis has some fantastic reminders and wonderful ways to explain our dearest held beliefs. He will re-affirm your faith and leave you looking forward to the next life with a renewed sense of purpose in the present life. He might even answer some questions you forgot you had. If you haven't already read it, it should be added to your list ASAP.

If you have already read it, you'll enjoy these favorite snippets I've underlined so far:

"God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot giveus a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. That is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended - civilizations are built up - excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes wrong. Some fatal flaw always brings the selfish and cruel people to the top and it all slides back into misery and ruin. In fact, the machine conks. It seems to start up all right and runsa few yards, and then it breaks down. They are trying to run it on the wrong juice. That is what Satan has done to us humans." (50).

"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. . . Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us? We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another." (56-57).

"The Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or - if they think there is not - at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks that any good hi does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us..." (63).

Good night and God bless you!

The Humidity is at 76%... That is all.

Thank God it's Friday! I almost didn't get out of bed for my run today, but I found the willpower and I'm so glad I did! It was a beautiful 77 degrees and cloudy, with the humidity at a whopping 76%. All of nature was out and rejoicing in the dampness. After almost a week of 100-degree, sunny weather, the rain and clouds were welcomed yesterday and the continued dampness felt really good this morning. I went for my longest run/walk, yet - 25 minutes in my neighborhood, working in 1-1.5 minute runs and 1-minute walks. I tried not to allow myself to walk for more than a minute.

Summary of my thoughts, in list form:

1. I didn't even need my Vibrams for the first 10 minutes or so! This means two things (oh boy, a list within a list?!)
a) My feet and skin are toughening up.
b) My form has improved, so I am not damaging my feet as much (this is probably it, since I listened and found that my barefoot steps were nearly silent today!)
c) The very-slightly-damp ground provided just enough slip to prevent excess friction (yeah, this one's a little far-fetched).
Post-run assessment reveals no blisters, only hot spots. I am so excited!

2. Maybe it was just the humidity, but today's run was hard. I was out of breath more quickly than I normally am, and my muscles would start to burn sooner than normal. Maybe I'm just a pansy, but at the end of a minute of jogging, my legs felt like lead and I was gasping. I think it's all mental. Maybe taking an iPod would help keep me going a bit more next time?

3. I'm beginning to grasp the importance of frequency. I need to run frequently to stay where I want to be and keep making progress. I need to work out frequently to perform better on my runs. Sounds like common sense, right? Since I can't go for a run Sunday, I might as well get out there again tomorrow morning.

4. Other odd aches and pains included a cramped right calf, strange ache up nearly the top of my left leg, my left ankle still popping all the time. I think there's something wrong with it. It doesn't hurt. Just pops and messes up my "run silent" goal. Stretching has taken care of most of this. Not the ankle, though. Stretching doesn't improve Snap-Crackle-Pop Lefty, though.

5. Perhaps my other runs were better because I had my coffee before the run.

Thursday is All About Food

Today, I'll make this:

Summer Stir Fry by the Pioneer Woman! I love, love, love her website. I visit it daily for inspiration, laughter and hope. Substituting tofu for the shrimp. Serving it over rice.

And these:


Vegan Mint Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. We have two of the Cookies'n'Cream cupcakes left... Wonder who I can give them to? I bought my first foray into cake decorating yesterday at Hobby Lobby. Just a set of disposable icing bags and the parts that go on the end of it. Hopefully I can post some pictures tonight!

My little brother is at Scout Camp this week, so it's just us women around the house, chit-chatting all day. We went shopping yesterday, met Dad for lunch, and I worked the closing shift at Bruster's Ice Cream. Today the subjects we keep circling around seem to be our favorites: relationships, relationships, relationships! (not just the romantic kind, either).

Another great event has happened this week...
Mom and Dad ate veggie burgers for dinner Tuesday night. Willingly. Of their own accord. No encouragement from me! Boogie ate a regular burger, since she is blood type O and the Blood Type Diet encourages her to eat a whole lot of meat - all the time. Both Mom and Dad are A's like me and the Blood Type Diet says that we should strive to be vegetarians since our bodies and blood respond well to organic, simple vegetables. With time, my family will hopefully switch to organic meat, since I've continually reminded them of the terrible hormones, antibiotics, etc. that are present in non-organic meat. I refuse to be a nag or a bother, however, and mostly let them do what they want. Thankfully, my family has always been interested in doing what is healthy. I told them that I just want us all to live to be really, really old together.

I also washed my hair with vinegar and baking soda today, trying to get all the conditioner and shampoo buildup out. I'd like a fresh start with my hair. Curls can be fussy. NaturallyCurly.com has been such an inspiration to me, and I've been very encouraged to just enjoy my hair for what it is - wild and sexy! More on that later.

POST-DINNER UPDATE:
The stir fry was FANTASTIC! Boogie and I both had second helpings and it is truly worth it to shuck the corn and cut it from the cob, rather than use frozen or canned corn. It just tastes better!

The cupcakes were a little more complicated. Well, they were fine, but the icing was complicated. Perhaps the trouble came from the fact that we used coconut oil instead of shortening. It took almost five cups of powdered sugar, instead of the prescribed three, to get it to piping consistency. Needless to say, it's too sweet. The cupcakes themselves turned out beautifully! I used cake flour instead of plain ole all-purpose. It was a great move! We put the too-sweet mint icing on half of the cupcakes and the leftover cookies'n'cream icing on the rest. Looking forward to more deliciousness this week!

Dessert, Anyone?

My book arrived today! Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World! It took me a long while to choose a recipe, because they all looked so delicious! The book is full of fabulous pictures and the cupcakes I made actually look as fantastic as they taste! After a lot of debate (and mostly a lot of rummaging to figure out what ingredients we had on hand), I settled on the basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe with Oreos mixed into the buttercream frosting on top. The actual cupcakes were very simple and took hardly any time. I spent a lot more time cleaning up the kitchen than baking. The frosting took a little longer. It needs to stay in the mixer, just beating and beating, until it reaches a certain consistency. Even after I felt like the icing was spreadable, it was still a little soft for my taste. However, it will likely harden up a bit overnight and the creamy frosting/moist cupcake combination was a winner. Mom and Boogie both had one and both approved! Mom is quite the baker and can be picky when it comes to dessert, so her "I like them!" counts for ten people. I can't wait to try the banana split cupcake recipe and Dad is stoked about the Lychee cupcakes! Happy baking days are ahead! I believe I'll invest in a cupcake tote and display stand...

Tuesday

Barefoot runnin' time! I headed out this morning around 8AM and it was already nearly 80 degrees outside. Today the high is 98 and it will be sunny, not a cloud in the sky! Definitely the kind of heat that makes you want to stay in.

I wasn't pleased with my performance this morning. I ran for about 2 minutes at a time and walked for a minute or two at a time, but I was hoping to be up to 3 or 4 minutes of jogging for every minute of walking by now. The good news is that I took my Vibrams and went barefoot for the first eight minutes, then put on my Five Fingers before any major damage was done. I'm excited about this! The Vibrams will allow me to retain my running form while letting my skin toughen slowly. Still have some tender spots under my toes, but they're doing well and not turning into blisters.

My new cookbook - Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World - arrives sometime today! I am very, very excited! My Dad added me to his Amazon Prime membership only four days ago and I've already taken advantage of it twice! Yesterday I ordered a Burt's Bees skincare kit from Amazon. With the free shipping, most items are actually cheaper through Amazon than at my local bookstore or grocery!

My skin has dramatically improved since I made some changes last week. For four days, I didn't eat dessert and I cut back on dairy. Then I bought a supplement formulated for skin, hair and nails at the Vitamin Shoppe a week ago. It's probably too early to really tell if there will be lasting difference, but my skin has certainly improved over the past week. It's increasing my confidence in a major way, as well.

On the recipe to-do list this week:
Thrive Homemade Sports Drink
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Rice
Homemade Granola Bars

Father's Day Hike

It's Father's Day, and Dad and I celebrated accordingly by going on a long hike at Radnor Lake in our Vibram Five Fingers. The lake is about 15 minutes from our condo in the Gulch, Nashville.

We had a lovely, 30-or-40-minute walk/jog in mind... We got a 90-minute climb/hike, instead. By the end, we were both exhausted but pleased with ourselves for working so hard. The trails were dirt with mulch on top and some stretches of gravel. The park was damaged during the floods and one of the trails is still closed. We took the route around the lake and Ganier Ridge Trail, which was mostly an uphill climb with downhill switchbacks. It was beautiful and hot. Most of the trails are shaded by woods, so the sun wasn't beating down on us too much (thank goodness).

We were able to jog a bit, but mostly we just walked at a brisk pace through the beautiful woods. Being on a trail in Vibrams was a new experience (all experiences in my Vibrams are new, I suppose) and Dad got some blisters. There was a lot of gravel and many rocky stretches that required more concentration to navigate. I stubbed a few different toes when I wasn't watching carefully enough. No lasting damage, I have no blisters or scrapes. My feet feel like they've been squished, wrung out and left to hang dry. Sort of like jelly. The fact that it was 90 degrees by the time we finished contributed to the jelly-feel of my legs. In the coming weeks, I will be renewing my Pilates workouts. Side stitches and back aches are signals that your core is weak and not pulling its weight during the workout. I suffered multiple aches like that during the hike and even felt nauseous quite a bit. Perhaps more reading on RunnersWorld.com will answer my questions.

For Father's Day, I gave Dad a Vibram Five Fingers T-shirt. It's beautiful, dark red, organic fabric and it looks great on him! He was also given a pair of Injini socks to wear with his Five Fingers and some snacks. Not much in the way of gifts this year, but he's very difficult to buy for and he's already bought so much for himself lately. He is one very loved man!

Three Lists in One

Summer is usually my time to finally do all the awesome things I've been wanting to do all year. Since I am hopelessly addicted to lists, here are two:

Summer Shopping List

• More photo boxes for bedroom storage needs
• Vibram 5-Finger Socks
• Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
• A big jewelry box
  
• The Vegan Table
• A new cord that connects my camera to the computer, allowing me to upload photos
  
• More workout shorts (with pockets) or a skirt like this

Summer To Do List

• Organize my Recipe Binder
• Make Ketchup
• Finish reading Woman Defined
• Finish reading Mere Christianity
• Make this coffee cake
• Reach the point where I run 40 minutes at a time
  
• Try homemade vegan ranch dressing
• Make veggie burgers from scratch
• Make homemade hummus
  
• Take Josie and Popo to the dog park
• Finish reading Eat Right 4 Your Type
• Go see: Toy Story 3, Prince of Persia, Eclipse
• Find our old bread machine and all it's parts
• Drink more hot tea
  

These lists are always works-in-progress. We'll see where they go!

A note about the vegan stuff...
Eat Right 4 Your Type says that blood type A's do not digest dairy very well. It's not that we're allergic or lactose intolerant (though some of us might be), simply that our bodies reject it. When I became a vegetarian in January, I increased the amount of soy milk I drank and switched from regular cheeses to soy cheeses. Then, I returned to regular cheeses and went back to using half-and-half in my coffee. Right now, I tend to go back and forth. One week, I'm all about the soy milk in my coffee. The next, I'm dumping cheese on everything and downing ice cream like it's my job (wait, eating ice cream is part of my job...) Now I'm back on my no-dairy kick. Don't get me wrong, I'm no stickler about this. I love sunny-side up eggs and cheddar cheese. I put loads of Smart Balance butter on my toast and no matter how hard I try, I just can't enjoy a bagel without the cream cheese. Cutting back, however, can only be a good thing. The fact that Mom bought Almond Milk - one of God's greatest gifts to man - has aided the process. Thanks to Eat Right 4 Your Type, I've made these changes:

• Drinking hot tea more often
• Eating more nuts and grains
• Drinking soy milk more regularly
• Taking my multivitamin every day
• Drinking more fruit juice and adding fruit juice to my water

More rants/rambles/updates later. Have a wonderful day!