It is difficult for me these days to write an actual blog post on one topic or idea. I think depression has interfered some in that. That is the main reason I do so many posts that have multiple topics in. If I am reading a blog post, I am not sure which kind I would prefer. I guess both have their advantages. It may be easier to get bored and lose interest when it is one continual post on one subject.
This, however, is going to be a Chex Mix kind of blog post. I wonder how many carbs are in Chex Mix.....
1) Winter
Winter has arrived in Ohio....and in PA. I had to work Saturday, and stepped outside around 5 am to see if the car needed warmed up. That was definitely an affirmative. The grass and my car were covered with snow, and the wind was gusting which made the 29 degrees feel much colder.
I had a lot of slick roads, and when I reached PA, saw two accidents. The second involved two vehicles, and both were flipped upside down. That side of the 4 lane was shut down. I did make it safely to work, but was quickly reminded of why I don't like winter.
And I'll admit I get frustrated with people who cheer on the snow. I am one who worries a lot about bad roads, and am scared to drive on bad roads. I miss summer already
Unfortunately, this was a day at the other hospital, which is another 25 minutes or so. The one perk: it has a parking garage. Beaver hospital does not.
2) Make up
I have always disliked make up on women. None of the women in my family wear it, and I know many women who do not. Maybe it is partly because I am not attracted to women, but I see so many women who just bring out the yuk factor. Lips unnaturally bright and red. Eyelids colored, which leaves the raccoon look. Cheeks an unnatural pink color. Fake eyelashes.
Women are supposedly the fairer sex....so why do so many of them think they need make up to improve on how God made them? Meanwhile, we who are not the fairer sex do not need make up to make us look better. Maybe WE are the fairer sex. :)
3) Losing the House
Republicans are just as good at spin as Democrats are. Losing the House is a really bad thing, and having Nancy Pelosi in charge is even worse. I have seen many people try to paint it as good thing, and many are posting a meme pointing out how many more House seats were lost under other presidents. It doesn't matter. We lost the House in this election, and it is not a good thing no matter who tries to downplay it or spin it.
And that is all I am saying about the evils of politics. Well, kind of. Up next:
4) Politics and the Gospel
I posted this on Facebook yesterday, and it did not get much response. I assume most people thought it was a dig at a certain politician and his supporters, but it was not:
What if we were as quick to share the Gospel as we are to share our political opinions? What if we tried as hard to win people to Jesus as we do to our politician and political views?
I have been just as guilty in the past, so I am not setting myself up as some paragon of virtue in this area. It is alarming how much politics has taken over the church and Christians. I am not saying we shouldn't be involved at all. I am not saying not to vote. I am saying we need to shape up.
When it is more important to try to convince someone to vote like you, than how you might be making that person feel, you have a problem. When it is more important to win a political argument than to win souls to Jesus, you have a problem.
It is important to elect politicians who share our values and who are not going to destroy the morality of our country more than has already happened, or destroy the freedoms we still possess. But when that becomes so important that we cease to love people and treat them as Jesus would, we have lost sight of what we should be. Hint: Jesus would not badger people to vote a certain way, or for someone they feel they cannot vote for.
Jesus spent His earthly ministry doing just that: ministry. From what we read in the Gospels, He seems to have avoided politics. The Jews were under the rather cruel rule of Rome, but when asked if the Jews should pay taxes to their oppressors, Jesus replied to give to Caeser what belongs to him, but to give to God what belongs to God.
We are giving too much to Caeser. No, not money....though yeah, we are. It is depressing to see how much comes out of my paycheck and goes to the government. More importantly, we are giving too much time, effort, anger, and importance to Caeser. And most likely other things that didn't come to my mind.
Think of how much time we spend on politics. We read news stories about it. We watch news about it. We post on social media about it. Some people post endlessly about it. We pray about it. We argue about it. We pressure people to vote for "our guy." We try to shame and guilt people into voting how we want them to vote. On, and on, and on and on, and......it is politics, politics, politics.
By the time this election came, I was totally sick of politics. And I thought it was over for a while. How wrong I was. People are still going on and on about it. It is like a drug that we are overdosing on and have no desire to get free from.
Whether we want to admit it or not, we have made politics into an idol. What if we did do what I asked at the beginning of this post?
The 2016 election has truly affected me in ways no one truly knows or would understand. It has changed my views on politics and voting, and it has awakened me to the fact that it has been too important to me. We need to be informed, but what if we spent as much time in the Bible and in prayer as we do on politics? Imagine what we could accomplish for God.
5) Loving people
I John 4:7-8 says this:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (8) Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love.
Do we truly love? If we do, we don't do it well or enough. It is easy to love likable people. It is usually easy to like people like us. But what about those who are not like us? What about:
Muslims
Gay people
ISIS
Nancy Pelosi :)
People of the opposite political party as you
Channing Tatum (OK, not so difficult. I am kidding. Kind of.)
People from other religions as us
Dan Savage (very vicious dude who is gay and hates Christians) (and I do mean vicious)
It isn't so easy to love some people. We let our prejudices, our ideals, and our fears rule who we love and how much we love. Is it easy to love some ISIS guy? No. It seems impossible. Yet when Jesus was hanging on the cross, He asked His Father to forgive those who were involved in His crucifixion. He loved them.
There is something certain people like to tell me and others they feel the Bible tells us to do. I haven't done it, but I have been tempted to tell them when they truly love me like Jesus, and do everything else we have stopped doing, then I will listen to them. Those are things like being kind to one another, being peacemakers, being humble, truly denying ourselves, etc.
If we truly loved people, it would make an immense difference in how we treat them 365 days a year, and 366 days in leap year. Nothing would stop us.
6) Temptation
I have been doing very well in watching what I eat lately. I have dropped 13 pounds in 4 weeks, and got my sugar levels down. When I saw my doctor 3 weeks ago, he said my A1C numbers meant my sugar was up around 180. I tested it the other night, and it was 107.....which is really good at the end of the day. It is one thing to have a low read at the beginning of the day before you have eaten anything. It is another thing when you have had your 2 or 3 meals for the day.
It isn't easy though. There is a Mennonite Sub and deli shop I drive by coming and going to work. Their subs are amazing. I doubt I will ever eat Subway again after having their subs. However, there is a ton of bread in their subs, and bread is terrible for diabetics. A nurse told me that I could eat a couple of Snickers bars, and my sugar would go up and come back down fairly fast. Eating very much bread causes it to go up and stay up. And that is an actual picture above of one of their subs.
I was on my way home from work one night this week, and man did I want a sub. Badly. I did something one should not do when so tempted. I stopped and got some cheese and beef sticks, which I really enjoyed. But man, did I want a sub.
And then I was on my way to work Saturday, and passed a Burger King near the hospital. I love their breakfast sandwiches, and they were on sale 2 for $4. I was again very tempted, but managed to keep driving. And drooling.
Since I hit 13 pounds lost today, I rewarded myself with General Tso's chicken and fried rice for supper. And man, was it good.
I was up around 240 at one point. I had dropped some, gained some, lost some.....and wasn't keepign track. I had a doctor's appointment in May, and another in October. I lost 4 pounds in that time period without trying. I weighed 228 four weeks ago at that appointment. Today the scale said 215. Well, 215.4. I don't count the number after the decimal.
My goal is 190, maybe 185. We will see. So that is 20 or 25 pounds to go.
7) How to judge carbs
I have discovered the easiest way to know what is high in carbs: just figure if I really like something.....it is high in carbs. If I don't like something, it is really low....such as asparagus, brussels sprouts, fungus.....
Seriously, it is almost like that. There are a few exceptions. I was pleasantly surprised to discover cheese isn't too bad for diabetics. And I love cheese.
Mashed potatoes and gravy: bad
Stuffing: really bad
Rice: pretty bad
Pasta: really bad
Pizza: bad
See where I am going with that? I used to naively think diabetics had to just avoid sweets. How wrong I was. And surprisingly, sweets are easier to cut back on and avoid than the things mentioned above.
8) My low carb pizza
There are a lot of recipes for low carb pizza crusts on line. I decided to try one. It called for almond flour, so I headed to Walmart to buy it and the other ingredients. The flour was over $13, and it was not even 5 pounds. Coconut flour was $3-something for the same amount. I Googled low carb pizza crusts with coconut flour, and found one that was supposedly good.
I had also found a low carb pizza sauce recipe, and bought what I needed for it. The next day, I made the sauce, carefully following the directions: saute the onion and garlic in 2 Tb of olive oil. (I kind of followed directions. I added green pepper and sauted it also) (is sauted even a word??). After the sauteing was done, I added the spices and tomato paste. I then put that in a slow cooker with the crushed tomatoes.
Verdict: the crust was different. I only had about 4 bites, and threw it away..after rescuing the pepperoni on top. It called for 1 1/2 cups of Mozzarella cheese, and what a waste. I'll never make it again. And now I have a bag of coconut flour I have no idea what I will do with.
The sauce: it was very good. I am used to smooth sauce, but this was chunky, probably because I didn't dice the peppers, onion, and garlic well enough. There was some left over, which I plan to use, and I may make it again.
I decided instead of trying another low-carb pizza crust made from weird flour, I will just eat regular pizza. The key is to not cut carbs out of my diet completely, but to cut back. If I am really good the rest of the day, a couple pieces of normal pizza is not going to hurt me.
To help with the portion size for now, I bought a 2 pack of pizza crusts tonight that are 8 inches in diameter. I may have one for lunch tomorrow with a salad, and be good for supper...roast a chicken and have it with some veggies.
9) Eating right
Here is how I have been eating the last few weeks:
Breakfast: I am not much of a breakfast eater, but it is recommended to eat breakfast. On work mornings, I don't want to spend much time making it either. I have been eating boiled eggs for the last couple of weeks, broken up by bananas a few mornings. I obviously need to find more than boiled eggs and bananas. I may even eat some pop-tarts. The dietitian I saw said I should have some carbs in the morning for some reason I don't remember.
Lunch: I usually go low carb. If I am working, it has been nuts and popcorn. If I am home, it is usually a salad or some leftovers that are low carb, such as my turkey vegetable soup I made. And yeah, I know the salt isn't so good in the nuts and popcorn.....though I did just buy some unsalted mixed nuts.
Supper: I still don't go overboard, but supper is the meal when I am not as good. That is the time I would have pasta or pizza, chicken and rice, and other things higher in carbs.
There are exceptions. Occasionally I get my carbs at lunch and go lighter at supper. Example: When I work Fridays at Beaver Hospital, I like to get the coffee shop special of the day, which is a walking taco and a drink, though I break taco rules and eat it sitting down. :) Since it has Doritos in it, it isn't very low in carbs. So for supper Friday night, I had a salad and leftover turkey vegetable soup.
Fortunately, I really like salads. And I can change it up some by adding chicken.
And also fortunately, meat is low in carbs. I love meat. Chicken is pretty much the best or one of the best for you, and I do love chicken. If I had to become a vegetarian, I think I'd want to die.
It is a bit depressing to realize this is not a temporary thing. This has to be my normal. I do remind myself it could be worse. There are a lot of people with cancer or other worse diseases who would gladly trade it in for diabetes.
But I still don't have to like it.
10) Trusting God
OK, a bit more about politics, though this applies to other things too. There is something I have had on my mind since seeing all the political posts telling people to vote for this person, how bad that person is, reminding people to vote, etc. Are we really trusting God? If we trusted God in everything, would be be doing all that? Sure, it may not hurt to remind people.......but daily, and in multiple posts a day? It would seem we American Christians put too much faith and hope in politicians, and not enough in God.
In my opinion, and I believe it is Biblical to say this: if we truly trusted God, we would pray, and leave it in His hands....maybe mention what politician stands for, then shut up and trust God.
11) Earrings
OK ladies - and some guys - don't hate me for this. I have always found earrings to be rather silly. Why would anyone want to get holes punched in their ears to wear silly bangles and other fancy things?
That aside, there is something that really bugs me. I hate to see earrings in small child. At least wait until the kid is old enough to decide if they want them. A coworker was in yesterday with her baby who will be 4 months old next week......and they already pierced her ears. 4 months! That should be considered child abuse. Seriously. It seems cruel and heartless to poke holes in the ears of a child too young to know what is going on.
And what if they don't want their ears pierced when they are older?
12) Christmas decorating
I am leaning towards decorating for Christmas soon. Last year, I had already decorated by early November...but it had been so long since I had been able to use my own decorations and been on my own, that I put them up early. I may do it on my next day off.
I was thinking about not doing it at all, but that was when my depression was really bad. That has improved, most likely because of a new pill I am on.... so now I am getting in the mood to decorate.
Last year, I put colored lights around the ceiling in my living room. I loved sitting in there with just those lights and the tree. I missed that after Christmas, so I got a couple strings of clear lights and put them up and usually just use those when I am in the living room, unless I am reading.
I am a colored lights guy. You will never see white/clear ones on my tree. However.....I am not crazy about the idea of taking down the clear lights from my ceiling, putting up colored, then taking down the colored lights and putting up clear ones again. It sounds like a pain in the neck. It is a bother to do it, as there are some areas difficult to get to.... so I think I shall leave t he clear ones up for Christmas. The rest of the house will be in colored lights, the way God intended it to be. :)
13) Singles advantage
Being single has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage comes in at holidays. If you are married, you have two sets of family to make happy.
But guess what....I have only had to make one family happy at holidays all of my life. It is simpler... and I don't have a mother-in-law. :)
14) Thanksgiving
Speaking of making 2 families happy, my sis that has my 3 nieces has to go to her in-laws every other year. This this the other year. I miss them when they can't be with us, but at least my nephews will be there. Oh, and their parents also. ;)
And no....no carb counting on Thanksgiving. My mom makes the best home made stuffing, and I'd have to be unable to eat solid foods to skip that. It is my favorite thing at Thanksgiving.
It is actually pathetic we need a special day to be thankful. I am sure many of us are thankful every day, but we so rarely express it. It is all too easy to focus on what is wrong in our lives than what is good....diabetes, high blood pressure, no hair (OK, that doesn't bother me anymore), same sex attractions, weight issues, depression, loneliness, high auto insurance, winter, snow, mice, no kids.... and I could go on.
But yet there are so many good things in life that we take for granted and overlook daily.
I have a good job
I have a great family who all gets along.....as long as I keep my mouth shut about Mr Trump....
I have 6 nieces and nephews I love a ton
I may have health issues, but I don't have cancer or some other horrible disease or disability
I don't have a mother-in-law. Kidding. Kind of.
There are 3 great seasons out of 4. Guess which one isn't great......
My best friend
And there are many more.If we took the time to write them down, our blessings would far outnumber what is bad.
It is also pathetic that the day after we spend being thankful, greed rules people on Black Friday.
15) The other healthy
I do some deep thinking occasionally. I am not just made up of joking and having fun. I have been thinking about this eating healthy. I love...really love the foods that are high in carbs. It isn't easy cutting way back on those things, but I have to. If I don't want my sugar and triglycerides to get out of control, I must cut way back......and stay there.
I mentioned earlier how tempted I was to chow down on a sub loaded with carbs, and breakfast sandwiches swimming in carbs. It isn't easy, but the benefits are already showing. I am losing weight, my sugar has dropped to levels that are not too bad. My clothes are fitting better, and I'll have clothes fit me again soon that haven't fit me in several years. Yeah, I kept a lot. I feel better about myself, and I feel better physically. But that all wouldn't be happening if I continued on like I had been doing.
But what about the other healthy? The spiritual one. Being a Christian isn't an easy road, and there are many temptations and hindrances to trip us up and draw us away from God. There are things that are like carbs to diabetics that can be as damaging to us spiritually as carbs are to me physically.
I'll give a couple of examples:
Game of Thrones. There seems to be a lot of Christians who love the show. I have never watched it, but have read a few articles by people on why Christians shouldn't. There is a lot of nudity and bad language mainly...yet I have seen Christians defend it. The show is so good, the plot and setting are so good, etc.
But is it a show that will dull people spiritually and cause them to get more used to immorality, bad language, and other things we should try to avoid?
Queer Eye
I mentioned this in a blog post a few months ago. There is a blog I used to follow that is written by several mostly young guys who all deal with same-sex attractions. They started posting some things I and others considered problematic, and several expressed concerns which were shot down. The guy in charge even did a post blasting concerns and criticisms. I was blocked from commenting, and I think others were also.
The main post that caused the most concern and criticism was one by one of the youngest and newest guys. He discussed a show called Queer Eye and how funny and wonderful it is. Most - and I think all - of the other writers chimed in and agreed and disagreed with and shot down any concerns and criticisms.
Here's the deal. Same sex attraction is a very heavy cross to bear. I won't go into all of the why's, or belabor the point......just trust me, it is more difficult than any heterosexual person can imagine. If I am wanting to live for God and not give into the temptations and desires that assail me, is it going to help me to watch a gay show? A friend of mine watched a trailer for the show on YouTube and told me that it was full of sexual innuendos and several jokes about male anatomy. And here you have these Christian guys who are SSA talking about how wonderful the show is.....on a blog being read by countless people with SSA.....some weaker than others.
But no matter how strong a person is that is SSA, there is no way watching a gay TV show is not going to harm them in some way. My friend, also someone with SSA, said he would not be surprised to see those guys back living the gay lifestyle in a few years because of that, and some other stuff they post.
How serious are we about this Christian walk? What are we doing, seeing, listening to, wearing, saying that is dulling our spiritual senses and causing us to be more accepting of the wickedness and immorality around us? It can be TV shows and movies, some kinds of books, music, politics, Facebook, sports....and it can be different for everyone.
Physical health is important, but spiritual health is way more important, but not focused on as much as it should be.
16) Catching Christmas
Yeah, this is kind of a book review...but I am highly recommending this new Christmas read.
Terri Blackstock is one of my favorite Christian suspense authors. She is one of the earliest Christian suspense authors when that genre' was just starting up. She came out with her first Christmas novel, and I missed the chance to review it. I bought it, and read it today.....and what an awesome book.
Here is the book description:
As a first-year law associate, Sydney Batson knows she will be updating her resume by New Year’s if she loses her current court case. So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.
The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.
When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do whatever he can to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.
As soon as I read the first paragraph, I knew I was going to like this book, and that it was going to be an amusing read. The book is first person, but switches between Sidney, the gorgeous granddaughter of the elderly lady..... and Finn, former gourmet chef turned cab driver.
The first paragraph:
"I'm not a violent man, but I have a dozen reasons for pulling my cab over and throwing the chattering man in the backseat onto the curb. His cheesy Christmas outfit is one. His love affair with Uber is another."
And no, he doesn't throw the guy out. This book was a hilarious and awesome read. I was reading it on my break at work and was laughing out loud...slightly to my embarrassment.
So if you like a good Christmas story, read this one. Warning....you will laugh, cry, and laugh more.
17) Thanksgiving 2
I didn't realize next week was Thanksgiving until this morning. I was wondering what my schedule was for next week, and it hit me that next Thursday is Thanksgiving. Yikes.
My Thanksgiving schedule is awesome this year. I am not sure how it happened, but I am thankful. I am off this weekend, work Monday at Beaver (my favorite hospital), Tuesday and Wednesday at the other hospital (groan), off Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, and the weekend....4 glorious days off in a row. Yeah, I am looking forward to it.
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