Ash Wednesday & Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday the first day in the season of Lent.
I think a good explanation of Lent is what my church (The Village) published in our Lent Guide: 

"Originally a preparation period for those desiring to be baptized, Lent eventually became embedded into Christian tradition as a season for the Church to symbolically follow Christ into the wilderness. It is a time for fasting and self-denial, though not for denial itself. It is a period to empty ourselves of lesser things so that we might be filled with the greater things of the gospel. Whereas Advent is a season of ever-increasing light awaiting the incarnation of Christ, Lent is a season of ever-decreasing light approaching the cross."... "Lent is a reminder that the resurrection only occurred after the crucifixion. Rather than skipping over the ministry and crucifixion of Christ, Lent is a season to prepare ourselves for the joy of Resurrection Sunday as we enter the sorrow and pain which preceded it."

The tradition of ashes being placed on the forehead can be a confusing and uncomfortable tradition in today's society.  Personally I like the outward expression and sign of mourning, sorrow and repentance of sin.  A reminder that, "From dust you were created and to dust you will return." Genesis 3:19  - And without Christ we have no hope.

So what will this season of Lent look like for me?

February 22 - April 8, 2012

As we (my husband and I along with some other friends) participate the first focus is there will be no alcoholic beverages in this time.
For me this time will also be when I stop several of my medications.  I'm not going cold turkey as that would not be responsible for some meds. but I want this Lent season to be a cleansing one.  A time to "start over" to renew not only my body but my mind and my spirit. 

As we fix our attention to the cross during this time of remembrance "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. " Hebrews 12:2-3 

Healthy Recipes... well mostly

Today is Friday and normally I would do Fill in the Blanks but this week they are all about love... which I just did a large post on a month or so ago so I thought I would take a break from the blanks and respond to my post request.

This is my first post that was a request from a reader (friend). She wanted some of my healthy recipes! So I am excited to share the history of them as well as reviews that will hopefully convince you to try them at least once. Also, I will include a few other favorite recipes that probably don't make the "healthy" cut but everyone needs a good splurge now and again. Also, I hope to introduce you to a few new items that I now consider to be a staple in my pantry.

So instead of having the longest post ever that you always have to find again I decided it would be easiest to just let you download a PDF of the recipes. So here is the link Recipes!

Here are the recipes that are included in the download:

Bottle Spray Painting

Here is the rest of the wine bottle project.  Besides cutting our wine bottles we also spray painted and decorated.  Brittany's goal was to create next year's Christmas decor by spraying the bottles white and rolling them in Epson salt for a snowy creation!  

Used spray glue on the already painted bottle.

It's Friday Already... WOW!

This week was pretty much insane, I felt as though I was living in a haze.  I was running on what little steam I could squeak out and I am so thankful it is almost the weekend and that I don't have too much planned.  Hopefully I can do some CRayDesigns work that is long overdue and actually clean my house (it is in desperate need).  
Well as many of you probably already know I was named 2011 Employee of the Year yesterday at our company Awards Assembly.  I was very surprised and honored.  I have been at the company for 3.5 years and that is a very short time compared to most of the employees who have spent most all of their careers there so it is pretty amazing to be honored in this way among so many who live and breath the company.

This is me really surprised and embarrassed.  I look like a deer in the headlights.

Blanks to be filled in ;)

So it's Wednesday and I'm just filling in the blanks from last Friday and I have so much else to post but I really just wanted to keep up with this weekly tradition so I went for it.  I will hopefully recap my past weekend soon.  I'm still doing some internal processing. And I got my first blog post request which is really exciting to me so I will be working on that post to get up soon!