Adventures in Being

Fresh Fruit Yogurt Salad

2 c plain yogurt
2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean, optional
1/2 orange, juiced
1 banana, sliced
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 bunch seedless green grapes, halved

Mix yogurt, honey, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds in a bowl
Mix orange juice and banana slices
Add the berries and grapes and mix the fruit mixture together
Spoon the fruit into serving bowls and top with the yogurt.

Healthy and Yummy Turkey Wraps for Lunch!


2 pkgs. nonfat cream cheese, softened
3 whole green onions, finely chopped
1 oz. pkg. dry nonfat ranch salad dressing mix
6 low-fat flour tortillas
1/2 lb. low-fat turkey breast, roast beef, chicken or ham slices
6 whole romaine lettuce leaves

Mix cream cheese, green onions and ranch
Divide cream cheese mixture among tortillas, spreading an even layer on each
Place a lettuce leaf on each tortilla and top with 3 or 4 slices turkey breast.
Roll tortilla tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days.

When you judge someone, you don't define them, you define yourself.

-Wayne Dyer

Observation:
So often we put limitations and conditions on our love or as we say the "fruits" of our love. AND YET, Jesus loved unconditionally, even unto death. IF, we are to be like Christ is indeed literal, then what excuse do we have to not literally open our arms and love as Jesus loved?

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure

ecstasy.

When it is the right thing to do, practice obedience.

Let others know when they've invaded your territory.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and allow people to love you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back in the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and
pout run right back and make friends.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.

Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle
them gently.

Ice Cube Painting for all ages!

-Cover your work area with plastic, (or do this outside so you can use a hose for clean up-and a little water play!
-put dry tempera paint of varying colors in salt shakers for sprinkling.
-Shake the paint on a piece of paper or paper plate (brown paper bags cut wide open work really well)
-If hands are a concern, then put on an old pair of mittens or an old pair of dads socks
-Use ice cubes to swirl through the paint and create your own master piece.

Tons of fun for everyone!

When Paul Potts stepped onstage for his competition on Britain's Got Talent (U.K. Version of America's Got Talent) he was met with open scorn by the judges. When he told them that he planned to sing opera, he practically sealed his coffin before he opened his mouth.

Moments later, however, the story changed completely. Paul's voice was so powerful, touching, and inspiring, that within seconds the judges' jaws dropped and one even came to tears. The eclectic audience was spellbound and quickly rose to their feet. By the time Paul finished his selection, the applause was deafening and the judges were as impressed by the audience reaction as Paul's performance.

Paul returned for semi-finals, blew the judges and audience away again, and went on to win the overall competition. Copy and paste to see Paul Potts' video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

Paul was a humble cell phone warehouse manager, shy and boylike. His appearance, slightly paunchy and with a crooked tooth, was not one of a celebrity. Yet he did have two things going for him that netted him the grand prize: real talent and a huge heart.

I found it compelling that while most of the people in the audience were not opera fans (and, who knows, maybe didn't even like opera) and the judges were actively resistant, something in all of these people recognized the greatness before them. They were won over by the truth.

You, too, bear and embody greatness that will win over those you touch, and yield the success you desire. (Overnight Paul Potts became an international celebrity and received major tour and recording contracts.) But you must trust your greatness, stand behind it, and express it. How sad if Paul stayed in his cell phone warehouse because most people don't like opera and he might have made a fool of himself on national TV? Instead, he found the courage to step forward and let the universe take care of the details.

You don't have to fight to get people's attention or to get them to acknowledge you. If you are struggling with these issues, you have taken a detour from the thoroughfare already paved for you. You simply have to (as Emerson described) "release the imprisoned splendor." Everyone in the world holds imprisoned splendor -- no exceptions. Just a small portion recognize it in themselves or others. If you are reading this email, you are in that small or portion or close to it.

One more piece: It's never worth arguing over your talents. Those who do not recognize them cannot be convinced, and those who do recognize them do not need to be convinced. Just let it rip. The more you have to prove to anyone how good you are at anything, the more you are wasting your time. Henry J. Kaiser noted, "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."

I have been fantasizing about what kind of world it would be if everyone unleashed their true gifts. Perhaps if those you who read this email began to do just that, the world would be much closer to heaven.
*Thank you My Love for sharing and always encouraging our family to Embrace the Greatness our Abba Daddy gave us as well as to encourage and love others with it. I love you.

Crust:
1 c graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c sugar (or splenda)
1 TBS butter, melted

Filling:
2 eggs
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c peach jam, plus 1 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Combine graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and butter
-Mix well and place in the bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan
-For the filling, beat eggs,cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together
-Add 1/4 c peach jam and mix really well
-Pour mixture into prepared crust and bake for 35 to 40 min
-Add 1 c of peach jam cool and refrigerate

At 86, great-grandmother Morjorie Newlin keeps pumping iron.
by Tasha Ho-Sang
Fourteen years ago, when Morjorie Newlin was 72, her neighborhood supermarket had 50-pound bags of kitty litter on sale. Without anyone to help her carry the bags back to her house, she struggled mightily under the load. Never a particularly athletic woman, but staunchly independent, she decided that she had to do something about her deteriorating physical capabilities.
Though osteoporosis was also on her mind, the septuagenarian began lifting weights — for her cat.



"I want to be as independent as I can be, for as long as I can," says Newlin, a great-grandmother and retired nurse who turns 86 tomorrow. "I just want to do things for myself."
After 13 years of weight training, Newlin is more than taking care of herself. At her two-story home in Mt. Airy, Newlin, who runs up the stairs with the sprightliness of a 10-year-old, has a room dedicated entirely to plaques, certificates and trophies (some almost as tall as her) from bodybuilding competitions that have taken her as far away as Italy, France and Germany. She's won more than 40 trophies in her late-blooming career. "There are so many, I don't know what to do with all of them," she says.
"I chuckled when I saw this little old lady walk inside the gym," says Richard Brown, a personal trainer at Rivers Gym in Mt. Airy, where Newlin began her training. "I was a little leery. I was just training young athletes at the time."
The little old lady quickly showed him what an older athlete could do.
"She kept coming in day after day, week after week, and month after month," Brown remembers. "She didn't want to do 'girly' workouts. She wanted to train with us fellows."
"After a few months of training, I looked at her physique and knew she was ready for a [bodybuilding] show," he continues. "She definitely had something to show."
Newlin was bench-pressing 65 pounds when she was 73 years old. A year later she was throwing up 85.
The bodybuilding competitions are broken into two divisions. Newlin's first competition was in the Amateur Athletic Union, which is open to the public.
"I knew the contest meant a lot to my trainer so I went along with it," she says. To everyone's surprise, Newlin won. The crowd went crazy on hearing she was 74 years old.
Newlin began her competition career in that AAU's Master's Division, which splits contestants into two categories: under and over a certain age limit, usually 35 or 45 years old. Newlin obviously fell way over the dividing line, wherever it was set, but was competing and winning against women half her age.
"I was always the oldest in all my competitions," says Newlin.
The daughter of very active Barbadian immigrants, Newlin admits that athleticism is in her genes: "My family is used to walking and running long distances."
Although she's taking a break from bodybuilding competitions for now, Newlin is still training at least three days a week, now at Bally Total Fitness in Cedarbrook, and can still throw down with the best of them. "I could bench-press 90 pounds with a spotter. I can dead lift 95 pounds. I can squat 135 pounds," says Newlin.
She's been featured on Oprah and The View, and has appeared in commercials in Barbados. She spends her time out of the gym as a motivational speaker at schools and banquets, discussing the importance of exercise, weight training and dieting. "A lady called me earlier this week from Hawaii," Newlin says. "She asked questions about how to use weights."
Though some in her position might wonder how much longer they can keep it up — or how far they might have come if they'd started earlier — those questions never cross Newlin's mind. "Every day is different. The next day will take care of itself," she says with calm.
"Age is only a number," says Brown. "There is only one Morjorie Newlin. ... She could do this for as long as she wants."
-----------
Stereotypic Question? If, you believe that your body is the TEMPLE of the HOLY SPIRIT, then what are you doing to maintain it?
Personal Opinion- If, you truly want to maintain His temple, then you will ask Him how He wants it maintained and you will begin your "maintenance love journey." As with everything else in God's Word, He leads and guides with principles as an unquestionable foundation together with a personal love relationship that is as unique to each of us as we are to Him. In foundation, every journey is the same and yet as beautifully varied and unique as the Creation we live in. Only you and your Abba Daddy can truly determine the details of your journey, He began it but it is up to you to seek His hand in continuing it.
To not take any part of your God designed journey is to miss out on HIS perfect will for you life.
Enjoy the journey WITH your Abba Daddy, whether by leap and bounds, steps or half steps, it is your journey with your Daddy and "He delights in you..."

My friend sent me an email with these pictures and info, please read, share, and be safe.


24 hours after being burned by a magic eraser sponge - it was much worse yesterday.

One of my five year old's favorite chores around the house is cleaning scuff marks off the walls, doors, and baseboards with either an Easy Eraser pad, or the real deal, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I purchased a package of Magic Erasers and I remember reading the box, wondering what the "Magic" component was that cleaned crayon off my walls with ease. No ingredients were listed and absolutely no warnings were on the box, other than "Do not ingest."
My package of the Scotchbrite Easy Erasers didn't have a warning either and since my child knew not to eat the sponges and keep them o ut of reach of his little brother and sister, it was a chore I happily let him do.
If I had known that both brands (and others like them) contain a harmful alkaline or "base" chemical (opposite of acid on the pH scale) that can burn your skin, I never would have let my little boy handle them. When the Scotchbrite Easy Eraser was rubbed against his face and chin, he received severe chemical burns. At first, I thought he was being dramatic. I picked him up, put him on the counter top and washed his face with soap and water. He was screaming in pain. I put some lotion on his face - more agony. Almost immediately, the large, shiny, blistering red marks started to spread across his cheeks and chin.
To make a long story short, I called the Hospital and spoke to an Emergency Room nurse. She told me to call Poison Control. The woman at Poison Control said she was surprised nobody had sued these companies yet and walked me through the process of neutralizing the alkaline to stop my son's face from continually burning more every second.
After a rough night, I took the above photo in the morning. He was swollen and wouldn't move his lips very much to avoid moving the skin on his taut cheeks.
Today he is doing much better. The burns have started to scab over, and in place of red, raw, angry, skin we have a deeper red, rough healing layer. I can touch his skin now, without it stinging.

Zucchini Bisque:

3c chopped zucchini
11/2c water
2c tomato juice
1 small chopped onion
2 bouillon cube
1 tsp basil or several fresh leaves
8 ounces cream cheese

In a saucepan combine zucchini, water, tomato juice, onion, bouillon cube and basil. Cover; simmer for 20 minutes.
Pour into blender container. Add cream cheese cut into cubes. Process until smooth, return to saucepan to heat thoroughly to serve hot. Alternately, chill thoroughly to serve as a cold soup.

*Absolutely delicious!