From Loneliness To Marriage

There is nothing more painful than loneliness. Even with a good network of friends, I can still experience it. I bring this up, because recently I have discovered that loneliness is not just triggered by the absence of something or someone, but is more importantly prolonged by our own thoughts. Loneliness is a state of mind - for me it has been a fight against myself. The best way to explain it is that I am my worst enemy, my side-kick is Hudson (my boyfriend), and God is my lover. That is the only way I have been able to successfully rise above my negative thoughts. Why is Hudson not my lover if I am dating him? Because Christ is both our lovers. Let me explain.

First, Christ sees our loneliness. His eyes are ever open to our suffering. How does He respond, how does he take action? Well, God has exactly four roles: God is our king, father, friend, and lover. He knows that there is nothing more humanizing, more life-giving than friendship. He is first our Friend. God wants our friendship, for us to share our secrets and our lives with him. With God as our King, he is all authority, we understand that he controls the world as it is and defines what is right and wrong. I don't have to worry about guiding my whole life, I don't have to be in complete control, because God is my King. He also asks to be our Father, a guide, a provider, a care-taker. Do you see how he keeps moving closer? Now, he wants me to consider him family...a relation. The family is an anchor from which we outstretch into society. That's a significant role. He loves us more than that though, he asks to be our Lover. Our lover! A lover is a best friend, a life partner, the most intimate relationship that we as humans can relate to. It is hard at first to consider Christ as a lover. I almost felt like exploring that idea was taboo. But I think that is perhaps that I had the wrong idea of what love is between a husband and wife. Marriage, being united as one, is more than just sex, joint bank accounts, or a shared toothbrush holder. It is living in sync with someone so closely that the only way to describe these two people is to call them "one." It is loving someone past the fullest point. I was thrown off to discover that being God's bride isn't just a metaphor. It is literal. God's goal is to be so close to me, for us to love and enjoy each other so much, that we could be called "one." God is my lover and Hudson's lover.

Hudson wrote a song about this concept and I would like to share the lyrics with you today. This is from the first verse, and I think it visually captures God's roles perfectly:

"You're the friend in the time of need

You're the Father with a bouncing knee

You're the lover who lies next to me

You're the king upon a noble steed."

A Diet Update- This Is Completely Possible

We have found a sweet fix for a no-sugar diet: sugar-free pudding! Here we mixed chocolate and vanilla, and surprisingly it tastes no different than the regular stuff. Not to mention it was under our $2 fast.

We've also discovered that Jamba Juice has a small menu of smoothies sweetened with splenda. Hudson and I usually order a shot of wheat grass at Jamba Juice too to help us get our vegetable quota in. Apparently wheat grass is worth a couple days of your vegetables. Not the best tasting thing, but it's over fast, and Jamba Juice provides a slice of orange to get rid of the aftertaste.

Chick-fil-A is still an option for us if we pick the unbreaded chicken and switch to a whole wheat bun. I'm so glad I don't have to say goodbye to Chick-fil-A! It's nice to have an on-the-go option when we don't have time to prepare our meals.

Russell Stover is another new friend of ours, a brand that makes sugar-free chocolates. It made facing Valentine's and Easter candies a little easier. All in all this diet is not so hard. It's not really a "diet," as Hudson would say, because we're still eating normal portions of food, we're just taking out the sugar and a lot of processed things. Hudson has lost a lot of weight since we started this diet, and I'm just happy to have my energy back.

Besides just feeling better and having more energy, this diet has been a great way to make us more conscious of what we're eating. It's also been a great opportunity to be creative and to force us to experiment. I would suggest that everyone try this diet, or at the very least cut out the added sugar in your life. It's really more freeing than restricting.

I'll leave you with one of our favorite new recipes. It was a collaborative effort and fairly easy because it's only partially from scratch:

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Fried Bananas and Blueberry Syrup

1 Box Hodgson Mill Multi-grain Buttermilk Pancake Mix (with flax seed and soy)

1 carton of blueberries

2-3 Tbsp of Splenda

1-2 very ripe bananas

1-2 Tbsp of butter

Mix and cook the pancakes as directed on the box (feel free to add chopped pecans or blueberries to the mix).

To make blueberry syrup, bring water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. Add fresh blueberries and reduce to a simmer, cooking for 5-10 minutes, or until softened. Boiling the blueberries will allow you to smash them easily. Drain the water from the pan and pour the blueberries into a bowl. Using the underside of a ladle, smash the blueberries until most of the juice has released. Add Splenda and mix well with a fork. Set syrup aside.

Set your stove top to medium heat and use a skillet or small pan to melt the butter. Cut banana into small round slices about a 1/2" thick. Fry the bananas in the melted butter until the outsides show signs of slit browning. Top your pancakes with the bananas and fresh syrup and enjoy!

$2 Fast

"More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 dollars a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day." - globalissues.org

Hudson and I are joining our church on a $2 fast. We are only allowed two dollars a day to feed ourselves for the next week. This is going to be a huge adjustment to our lives. We'll have to be smarter with our money - it involves planning. One strategy was suggested: that the church gathers one night for a community meal, with each person contributing their two dollars. The goal of this fast is to slow down enough to see and understand the issue of poverty and how the rest of the world lives. It's going to be a bit difficult with our current diet of no sugar and only whole grains (because processed things we can't have usually run cheaper), but we're up to the challenge. I'll let you know how it goes!

Isaiah 58:6-7
"...the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke...

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and to not ignore your own flesh and blood?"

Sambuca

Hudson and I went on a date at Sambuca in Houston, which is fancy restaurant with live music! They were featuring a band called Fried Ice-cream with a splendid vocalist. This was quiet an experience. Picture a round booth, just for two, encompassed with red-velvet lined walls that reach the ceiling. There was soft lighting from our personal chandelier, a single flickering candle on a small, wooden round table. Beautiful and very romantic.

Hudson tried the Blackened Red Snapper Etouffee with shrimp and crab over a bed of spinach and dirty rice. I tried the Crab-Stuffed Salmon with lobster veloute, served over asparagus. It was ridiculously delicious.

This might throw you for a loop though - for an appetizer, we ordered the Escargot En Croute. Yup, escargot. I was happily chowing through the dish until I realized that in my mind, I had confused escargot (snails) with caviar (fish eggs), which explained why I didn't taste any fishiness. But, I will admit I had no problem eating three snails before I was aware of this fact. It was prepared with lemon and garlic butter, wrapped in spinach and smoked gouda, and finally topped with these yummy puff pastries. While I was trying to figure out why what i thought were fish eggs looked oddly like a mushroom, it finally all clicked that I was eating snail. After poking my food so much, I don't think I could mentally conquer a second helping. So I guess I liked it cause I managed it each

three...though I wouldn't be able to eat it again.

It was certainly a night I will never forget.

A Pleasant Surprise

So this mold is kind of pretty. I love photographers like this man, Martin Scott-Jupp, who explore designs in unexpected places. Here are some of my favorites that he's done.








see more:
http://www.photographyserved.com/Gallery/colony/335921

The Screwtape Letters On Stage

For all my friends in Texas and New York: The Screwtape Letters reaches the stage! Student tickets are $20, and group discounts are available. CALL AHEAD FOR TICKETS. The shows have sold out quickly, and I missed the one in Houston, but thankfully they have a few shows in Austin too. See the website: http://www.fpatheatre.com/screwtape

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Location: Paramount Theatre 713 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701

Dates: Sat, Feb 6, 4PM & 8PM

NEW YORK, NY

LOCATION: Westside Theatre, Upstairs, 407 West 43rd St. (at 9th Ave), New York City

DATES & TIMES: April 15 - July 4. Mon. & Tue. 7PM, Wed. 2PM, Fri. 8PM, Sat. 4PM & 8PM, Sun. at 3PM.

Saying Goodbye

Last night, Hudson and I shed a brief tear as we said goodbye to one of our favorite sodas, Vernor's Ginger Ale. We're giving up all soda and anything with heavy amounts of sugar (desserts, juices, etc) for a trial of one month. We believe that Christ calls us to take care of our bodies so that we can provide our best service to others. We hope that by omitting these food items, along with adding some more exercise, we'll be one step closer to a healthier body, which in turn affects our mind and soul. So I am officially marking our first day in this blog.