Food Inc.

Ok. I have never been a big fan of vegetarianism. I feel like God gave us animals to benefit from rather than simply to look at. And I know there are a ton of documentaries out there that could probably discourage me from ever eating another animal again due to the gruesome slaughter they undergo. It is very easy for me to put this out of my mind when I bite in to a burger or a great grilled chicken breast. Sometimes (like once a season) I go to the 1$ menu at a fast food restaurant and purchase chicken or a burger due to the great value.

until now.

For one reason or another I decided that watching the documentary, Food inc. would be a good idea. One of my friends mentioned this film to me while we were at coffee and it sounded intriguing. And I realize several documentaries are filled with propaganda and persuasive speech which causes the viewer to make irrational, emotional decisions or snap judgments. But this film opened my eyes (*they got me).

This was not a film seeking to dissuade its audience from ever biting in to another burger or drink a glass of milk by showing gruesome hidden video clips from slaughterhouses. It simply encouraged the consumer to trace down the origin of the food we eat. I know it is personally changing my perspective on meats or products I choose to purchase.

recommendations:

• eat free range chicken, eggs, etc.
• drink milk from cows not treated with rBST or rBGH
• buy meat from cows fed with grass, NOT corn (trust me)
• look at labels before you purchase random food
• purchase food not processed with GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms)
• if possible, purchase organic options (this gives consumers the power to send a message to the grocery store that we prefer healthy options) 
• if you have 93 spare minutes, watch the documentary

This film made me conscious of the food that I am serving both myself and my husband. I am the decision-maker of what goes in Matt's body & that is very important to me. This has also caused me to research restaurants I decide to patron. Chipotle is a great option for fast food with integrity. If you have any additional comments or restaurants or products that you know of please let me know!

ps...anyone wanna go in with Matt & me and buy a cow?

on my mind...

"gosh it's hot"

"are there any crickets left outside or have they all broken in to our home"

"watching Food Inc. sure changed my view on eating meat"

"my throat is really scratchy"

"small group was amazing on wednesday night. cannot wait to know these girls more deeply"

"fooooootballlll"

"still hot..."

"pinterest is a fun new hobby...might need a support group for it soon"

"i like listening to matt chandler better than watching any television show or movie"

"t-minus 11 days until apu re-commences and i really feel like a non-student" :( 

"i miss kaylyn."

"i hope it thunderstorms tonight"

"so happy to have a low-key weekend with matt"

"we have been married for 440 days :) "

"pumpkin spiceeeeeee" (partners only! one time it pays to be a starbucks partner)

"it's still hot but at least we don't have hurricanes or earthquakes here"

"i love otterpops"

"sneeze #20482 today"

"i love Jesus."

Be blessed.

Before you read this. Please take a moment to pray. Selah.

There I looked upon the hill and saw the skeleton of a tree. It was dead, barren, lifeless. Full only of sorrow and shame. Where leaves were meant to rustle, silence swallowed hard. In place of fruit, scars ran deep along its hollowed bones. Alive as merely a shadow, it stood abandoned. It had no gardener, no one to tend these scars. No one to speak life into the echoing silence of shame. Its roots searched for life, but found none. Strained and ruined, they too withered and dried. Upon the hill stood a carcass, a remnant of life once tasted, an empty reminder of what was once upon a time.

And so I turned and asked the LORD, “Lord, what good is this tree? Long has it been dead – even longer has its leaves covered the ground rather than its branches. Lord, it stands worthless. It stands without fruit. It stands, forsaken of beauty and withering in shame. It provides no shade, Lord. Its branches shrink with the coming sun. Lord, it has no life. What good are its roots? What good is its seed? It does not satisfy the weary with respite nor fruit.” And again I turned to the LORD and said, “Lord, it has no life.”

And the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, the SAVIOR AND REDEEMER OF ALL THE WORLD, answered me. “Do not be deceived. You behold no leaves, yet. You see no fruit, yet. It satisfies not now, but too eager are you to call my creation worthless. Oh, how long will you look on with eyes of flesh? How long will you look and still fail to see? How long will you strain to listen and continue not to hear? How long will you call out questions and refuse in your heart to understand? Forget what you have seen, Beloved, and hear the truth. All of creation is rooted in me. From my breath, life is restored. It is not dead, O Loved One. Its roots run deep into Living Water. For I have chosen to bring life into this tree, not for the work or effort it has put forth. No, not for any effort on its own, but because I am GOD. I am the LIVING AND BREATHING GOD. And so this tree shall be living and breathing according to My Name. It shall shade the weary. It shall satisfy the hungry with sweet fruit. It shall satisfy for I satisfy – and not only so, but also shall it bring glory to My Name. Beloved, turn your gaze toward the hilltop and see. It is no longer without life, but sustained with life to full.”

And so I looked. Upon that hill, bathed in the warmth and grace of the LORD MY GOD, once dead, broken, without life, full of shame and guilt, choking on rage and withering with bitterness, now stands a tree with life. Sweet and satisfying fruit hangs from its branches. Syrup like honey drips from its bark. What all scorned, considered wasted, dead, without value, hopeless and weak and forgotten, GOD THE FATHER looked upon with love. By grace, the tree stands lacking no good thing. By grace, what once was dead, now is alive. By grace, what was nothing now becomes new. By grace, the broken are redeemed. By grace, the orphaned are made heirs.  By grace, we know GOD.

Praise the LORD, the LORD GOD WHO REIGNS forever and ever, Amen

by Meg Burton

From http://theburtonblog.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/by-grace-made-alive/

I love...

1. Starbucks iced coffee (took me 7 years but finally...i'm hooked)

2. this recipe. (on the menu for tonight!)

3. my newest nephew, Graham Lewis Unterkofler (coming, December '11!)

4. outback steakhouse. i'm sorry. but it's true.

5. the body of Christ.

6. our small group. such a blessing. 

7. trader joe's garlic & herb pizza crust AND their pizza sauce. AH you must try.

8. my new scarf

9. the documentary, "Fat, sick & nearly dead" if you have netflix, watch it instantly!

10. saturday night service at our church. yes please.

11. slushies. gelato. froyo. ice. freezers. any sort of thing that has any possibility of cooling my body temperature down in this god-forsaken desert :)

the. hunger. games.

ok people.

if you are like me you love a good book. scratch that. you become obsessed, neigh, consumed with a good book. note my fave book list on the bottom of my page.

and a series of books?! forget about it.

I am very passionate about the written word and seriously would prefer reading over watching tv or a movie...IF the author captivates me. A well-written book is like a beautiful piece of art. I so respect authors who can use the computer as their paint brush.

insert Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games here.

Oh my word i may be late to catch this wave but I am forever indebted to my co-worker, Aymee Shank Roberts for forcing these books in to my hands.

If you have not read them and even more if you have never heard of them, I urge you to purchase them or race to your local library and check them out.

but...

do not read the summary or ask anyone what they are about.

that's how I went in to reading them. the first 30 or so pages were a mass confusion as to what in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks was going on. but I would have it no other way. i mean. if you couldn't imagine reading a book prior to knowing what it was about then i guess it is ultimately your decision. but I was so pleasantly surprised going in to it having NO idea what these alleged "hunger games" were about...

***warning...you will become addicted. you will not be able to put them down. so please. make sure you have time to devote to the reading of these 3 books. don't say i didn't warn you.***

the half.

if you are like me, running does not come easily. i am not one of those girls who could lace up my sneakers and run for miles. in a cutesy tight tank top & running skirt. with zero sweat running down my face. oh no. i am the girl in my husband's over-sized shirt. red as a tomato (*mallorie analogy)...you get the picture.

twice i have claimed i was going to run a real. live. race.

the first was a full marathon. i missed the first day of training. (in my defense, it was also my first semester of seminary, which was a bit harder to adjust to than i was thinking) 

the second was a half marathon. which is four weeks away and i never signed up. (which, if you read the post above, i have been pre-occupied not only with traveling everywhere but i have been emotionally occupied)


i am proud to say i am part of a running club, though. we are called the Bean Stalkers due to the fact that we are all starbucks partners. :) we update one another on our progress and are even running the Rugged Maniac in November...if i can embrace getting all muddy and dirty...


one fantastic thing that happened during my summer was the formation of a missional community (90's term would be small group) that matt & i are in. i seriously feel so blessed to be apart of this community. there are 14 of us total. new friendships have been formed, for sure. and God has been so good. remember how i mentioned going to vegas? well, i was fully equipped with the most gorgeous clothes thanks to one of my new friends in my mc letting my have full reign of her closet. another friend of mine, Mallorie, who is owner to the tomato analogy, is about to embark on a pretty intense journey with me.


it is called the half marathon. 


that's right.


my third attempt at running a race. and this time, i have every reason to believe we will find success. because we are going to keep each other accountable. and run our long runs together. our race is not until january 15th so we have plenty of time to train and prepare. i'm sure i will keep you posted on how things are going. and maybe, just maybe, i will buy a cutesy tank for the race.


ps today i read a running magazine, which claimed that drinking a slushie or eating a popsicle prior to running can lower your body temperature, thus increasing your endurance & lengthening your run time by up to 20%! I am gonna try it! (mainly because I LOVE slushies!...and it's like a sauna outside)


run on.

710

hi friends.

i realize it has been a long time. there are several reasons for this:

• california to see matt's brother play baseball
• california for our one year anniversary :)
• matt & i went to junior high summer camp (did i mention that was in california, too?)
• the vegas
• matt & i have spent a ton of time trying to buy our first home

 but alas. we are finally. home.

although there have been alot of trips i would be lying if i attributed my lack of blogging simply to being out of town. i have actually been drafting several posts for a few days but keep coming up empty-handed. because this summer has, ultimately, been...hard.

i just recently read my "lessons" post and, as easy as it is to read those lessons it is ten thousand times harder to live them out. if you are close to me you have probably received a frantic text (i would say phone call but if you know me even more you know i hate the phone.) from me begging your prayers as I wade through some really difficult stuff. 

while vacations are always refreshing and fun. they can also really mess up a girl's routine. and when my routine is messed up, it means self loathing is not far behind. because, when left to my own devices, i am lazy. i like to sit on the couch and read a book for an entire weekend. i could sleep in until 11am (as i realized several times the past few weeks). and the list of laziness goes on and on. but along with that laziness comes a deep hatred for myself. which leads to vulnerability. which leads to spiritual attack.  and none of those things add up to much inspiration to write a blog.


because, when you think of blogs, they are polished. manicured. inspiring. pretty. and, lately, i have felt none of those things.


there have been a choice few people who have spoken in to this vulnerable place in my heart. and i am so thankful for them. in one particularly scary time, in a moment of desperation, i texted a woman i work with, who is a prayer warrior. i told her i was feeling a ridiculous amount of spiritual attack and she so wisely reminded me that i am a child of God most High. and that, most importantly, Satan is the father of lies.


and then, monday night my sister-in-law reminded me that i cannot allow the enemy to second guess myself. more truth.


even while i write this, satan is speaking in my ear that no one wants to read more of my dramatic posts that always follow this same trend of fear to freedom. only to slip back to fear.


but i think, more than entering a season where i finally am out of this valley i am looking forward to being strong enough to stand up right here. in this season. and warning satan that i have God most High in my corner.


when i stray from God, i begin to talk myself in to believing God could never love me. so, on tuesday, before i closed at my store, i decided to dust off an old book of mine called the furious longing of God (by brennan manning). mind you, i was at the end of my rope. i genuinely thought God simply washed his hands of me. and then my eyes fell on this first page of the book which held this verse.

i am my beloved's, 

and his desire is for

me. 

Song of Solomon 7:10

 i shut the book, knowing that was all i needed to read that day.

so i stand, somewhat feebly, on this truth. in fact, i wrote 710 on my hand in permanent marker. because i know that my mind wanders but i want to be tethered to this truth. that i belong to God. and better yet, his desire is for me.