A Little Good News

I'm going to date myself, but back when I was in high school, Anne Murray (a country singer my mom listened to) had a song out about "a little good news." It hypothesized what it would be like to wake up and find that the only thing the papers had to report was good news. It was idyllic.

There are so many things going on around the world with Haiti being at the forefront right now.

Then there is the economy. Are we recovering or not?

And there is politics. Every politician blames his opponent.

I talked to a friend last night. Her mom died in November. While she is managing that, she shared with me that a friend had passed 3 weeks later leaving 19 and 17 year old daughters without extended family. Another one of her friends had a child try to commit suicide over Christmas. Thankfully, she wasn't successful.

I feel weighted down with things. I could add to the list my own bad news items. But, I want to try something different. Let's list a few good news items. I'll start and if you want to participate, leave a little good news (big or small) along with your email address so I can contact you. Sunday, I'll use the random number generator to pick someone to win a $10 gift certificate. It doesn't have to be big -- just something that you feel is good news!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! A Little Good News!

• I spent a good 15 minutes to half hour laughing today.
• It's cold outside but I am warm inside.
• My cats have yet to figure out how to tip the new water bowl system. (Click here)
  
• Hadley had her vet check up recently. She is happy and healthy and I'm teaching her to rollover.
  
• Everyone was at work today! People have been in and out a lot -- sick, weather, whatever. Today, everyone was there!
  

The Winner Is . . . .

Thanks to everyone who entered to win the book A Tale of Three Trees. I wish I could give it to everyone! It is really good, so be on the look out for it in the library or at a bookstore. It is a traditional folktale retold by Angela Elwell Hunt. It is a good book for children of all ages and spans Jesus birth to the cross.

I wasn't sure when we were suppose to pick our winners. I decided to do it tonight using the random number generator

Here are your random numbers:

28 

Timestamp: 2008-12-08 01:41:28 UTC

The winner is Caroline at happy four. I hope your family enjoys this book! Merry Christmas!

Contest

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to remind you that the contest is still going on. Every comment through the last day of September is an entry. I'll select the winner That night and announce it October 1!

For those of you who don't know, the contest is to win a book by Gary Haugen called "Just Courage: God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian." It's a life changing little book.

Click the picture to go to the original post!

What God Has Done

I officially do not know how many books I have going at the moment. I think there is one in every room. My community group (what my church calls small groups) just started reading John Ortberg' The life You've Always Wanted. I've only read the first chapter and need to read the second before Friday.

The first chapter is titled "We Shall Morph Indeed." It's basically about God's transforming power in our lives. Did you get that? It's about God's power -- not my puny attempts. Having just read Lisa Whittle's chapter on authenticity, the two melded in my mind.

Lisa wrote that we want to be fully known but that we put up a charade to hide our true selves. Yes, we are insecure. But God knows us fully. Really. Part way through, Ortberg writes, "The possibility of transformation is the essence of hope." Since I'm all about hope this year, it caught my heart. He outlines different words that are used in scripture in talking about tranformation. There meanings include:

• the real formation of the essential nature of a person
• In Galatians, Paul says, "until Christ is formed in you"
• To be conformed to the image of the Son
• It denotes change -- ugly caterpillar to a butterfly

Essential to the changed nature is wanting to do the things that God would have us do rather than just doing them because.

He really caught my attention with Mabel. She was blind and had hearing loss. She lived in a nursing home. Half her face was being eaten by cancer. She had been getting progressively sicker for 25 years. At one point Ortberg asks her how she can lie in her bed and sing hymns. Her answer was "I think about how good he's been to me. He's been awfully good to me in my life, you know . . . ."

If I were Mabel I would be sunken and shriveled emotionally. I do not know if I could sing hymns. Sometimes my depression steals my ability to think of all that God has done for me. If a woman in Mabel's condition can be thankful, can I learn that thankfulness as well? When I am at my worst, can I still see God? That is the question to ponder.

I've also recently read Just Courage. Ortber's book reminded me of that when he said that we no longer do something out of habit or a have to mindset. We do it because it is on God's heart. Interesting how the two books overlap! What is God trying to tell me?

Don't forget about the contest. Every comment from now until Sept 30 gets a chance to win. Click the graphic if you want to know more.

Does It Matter To Me?

It's a small unassuming little book with a big message: Just Courage by Gary Haugen. The subtitle is "God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian."

I'll probably be reflecting on this book for a long time and hope to share some of it over the next couple of weeks. But I don't just want to share it here, I want to give a copy of the book away. To enter, leave a comment below with some aspect of God's concern for the world and maybe how you are responding to that. You see, I need ideas on how God may want me to respond!

About half way through the book is this quote:

We must seek to rescue our neighbors with dedication and urgency with which we would go about trying to rescue our own family or even ourself. In a world of injustice, loving intervention on behalf of the oppressed is simple obedience to Jesus' must fundamental command to love our neighbor.

Do I have the same urgency to help those around me -- particularly the oppressed that I would have if it were happening to someone I knew and loved?

I think I have in the past. I think of my time as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). I spent 3 years representing two children in the foster care system. It was a demanding volunteer position. I averaged about 40 hours a month on my case over that time. I had that sense of urgency for those children.

But what about now? I have a couple children through Compassion International. That's a good thing. I pray for them daily. But what am I doing on a more active level to advocate/love someone who cannot do it for themselves?

Ideas please!

If there is some way you are showing that what matters to HIM matters to you please let me know. Or maybe you know someone who is taking action for God. I'd love to hear about them as well.

The contest will go until September 30. Every comment will be an entry. Oh, and I'm adding some quotes from the book to the quote section of my blog. Just click the word quote in the navigation bar and scroll down until you see "Gary Haugen: Just Courage."




ps: I'd love to have you promote the contest on your sites. If you want to, you can add the graphic by right clicking on it and down loading it to your site. Then click the paper clip/world icon and enter the address of this post or my general address of http//amylbrooke.blogspot.com Thanks!

Hope Contest Winners!

First, let me tell you how much I appreciate all of you participating! That was such an encouragement to me. I wish I had a little something for everyone! But I'm trying to live on a budget. Still, I got caught up in the moment and when I ordered the prizes I decided on 3. (Luckily, I get a discount at the bookstore I ordered from.)

The winners are (by the casting of lots) -- drum roll --

Ann at http://morequestionsthana.blogspot.com/

Melissa at http://beautifulp31.blogspot.com/

Becky at http://everydaybecky.blogspot.com/

Congratulations. I couldn't decide between two books. So, Ann and Melissa are getting (by luck of the draw) Exquisite Hope by Ann Barnhill. A friend gave me a copy for Christmas and I've enjoyed it. Becky will be getting Hope Has It's Reasons by Becky Pippert. I read this book a number of years ago and recently discovered that a couple of years ago it was revised and updated. Some of the ideas in it have always stuck with me.

Both are excellent reads.

I recommend them to anyone thinking about hope!

Also, be sure to read all the insightful comments left here. There were some good ones and they have spurred my thinking about hope. I plan to share my thoughts on your sweet thoughts soon. So, check back regularly or if you want you can subscribe. I'd love it either way!

Thanks for giving me hope and encouragement.

(Ann, Melissa, and Becky -- please email me at abrooke2002@gmail.com with your addresses so I can send you your prize!)

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Lastly, Jody left me a comment and I tried to get to her blog so I could email her the recipes. Jody, if you read this, please email me at the above address so I can send them to you!

Something Yummy and Healthy and Something Just Plain Yummy

Hello to all who have linked over from Lysa's Thanks for visiting. I can't wait to visit your sites and see your recipes. First, let me tell you that both of these recipes get A+ in great taste and A+ in simple which is a necessity since I'm relatively new to the whole cooking thing.

In January I decided I needed to work on saving money and losing some weight. To do this, I've been cooking and have cut out eating out by about 85%. I've lost 16lbs! The first recipe is a healthy soup that you can make in a slow cooker. The second is a recipe I found on line at Hershey's and made and gave away. (Definitely not diet friendly but apparently extremely tasteful. I believe I had the person I made if for say it was "sinfully good.")


OH, yeah, and I'm hosting a contest this weekend. Click here or the candle picture at the right to go to the contest. I'm focusing on hope this year and have been writing posts I call "Hope Chronicles." The contest involves leaving your favorite quote about hope. You'll win a book about -- hope!

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Chorizo Soup (I got this off the Weight Watcher's site and have tweaked it a bit. It's called black bean soup there but that doesn't seem like the main thing in it to me or anyone else I've fed it to, so I'm calling it Chorizo Soup. Chorizo is a Mexican sausage. A serving of soup is about 3 points if you are into Weight Watchers.)

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp ground cumin


• 1/4 tsp black pepper


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1lb chorizo (Check the meat section. I had to ask because I had no idea what it was! I can get it without the skin otherwise you'll discard that.)


• 2 medium garlic clove


• 2 small onion


• 2 small sweet red peppers


• 2 small green peppers


• 30 oz canned black beans


• 30 oz fat free chicken broth


• 15 oz canned corn

Chop up peppers and onion and mince garlic.

Discard chorizo skin and brown in a nonstick skillet. Add onion, garlic, and peppers and saute over medium heat 5 minutes.

Add to slow cooker along with beans, broth, corn, and spices. Cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours.

I've really enjoyed taking this for lunch along with an apple. It is slightly spicy but even my friends who don't like spicy stuff have really enjoyed it.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie -- adapted from the Hershey's site

Ingredients

• 1 cup Peanut Butter


• 8oz package cream cheese


• 1/2 tsp vanilla


• 1 cup powdered sugar


• 1/2 cup milk


• 1 8oz tub frozen, non-dairy whipped topping, thawed


• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


• 2 chocolate graham cracker crusts, pre-made or 1 9oz graham cracker crust

Soften the cream cheese. (Hershey's says to beat it until fluffy, but I've never had luck with that -- but knock yourself out. It just gets stuck in the blender for me!) Beat with peanut butter, milk, and vanilla on medium speed.

Stir in powdered sugar.

Mix in the whipped topping.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave and mix into the other mixture. Spread into the two pie crusts, cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours.

Enjoy!

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Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope to get to know you.