“Stare into the pantry.” I ought to just go ahead and write that on my to-do list. You’ve probably heard me whine about it before. I hate it when I realize I’ve been standing, staring and pondering for 15 minutes and still have no idea what could possibly come together for a dinner. I recently found myself gawking at the pitiful assortment in there, drumming my fingers on the pantry door, trying to figure out what I could get from half a bag of macaroni, the creams from a box of assorted … [Read more...]
Never surrender to flesh, ever-surrender to Jesus
Eating on the healthier side of the food pyramid is a battle for me. My pyramid is much more … shall we say … prismatic. And probably at least a heptagonal prism at that. I hear I’m not the only one. For those of us who struggle with food geometry, some days “diet victory” means we chewed the donut before swallowing it. (I would mention the “ring torus” here, but I’m really not that good at geometry.) That battle to eat well? That’s on the front lines. But related skirmishes break out … [Read more...]
The total package is giving and receiving
Big things come in small packages. I think the person who said that sat beside me in my high school geometry class. And even though I was really bad at geometry, I would never copy off that guy’s paper. Because that would be very wrong, yes. But also because the answer would also likely be very wrong. Let’s be real. As much as I tried, I could never make myself care what “Y” equaled. Congruently (see what I did there?), I don’t care what size the package is. Just as long as the package is … [Read more...]
Smiling at the future – with or without cavities
I hear if you put a Whitman’s Sampler under your pillow, the cavity fairy will bring you … a $200 invoice from your dentist. If you try it, you should know that while the midnight snacking is awesome, there most likely will be some time in the chair in your future. On the other hand, you’ll probably be smiling all the way to the dentist. Personally, I’ve been trying to come up with new ways to fight tooth decay while also utilizing my time more efficiently. Like this morning I’m putting … [Read more...]
When my purse runneth over
A woman’s purse. It’s the basic essentials of life … on a shoulder strap. Personally, I never know what surprises mine might hold. Not long ago I was searching for a receipt and – surprise, surprise – I found a candy bar. Well, sort of a candy bar. It had dwelt deep in the depths of that purse so long that even though it was still inside its wrapper, it was completely smooshed. And by “smooshed,” I actually mean something closer to “liquefied.” I was still looking for the receipt when it … [Read more...]
Fight for what is good and precious, like life
I always thought I would age gracefully. Nope. One glimpse at the first few wrinkles in the mirror and I knew I was going fighting, kicking and screaming all the way. It’s not exactly aging gracefully, is it, when you find yourself going through the mile-long counter of miracle wrinkle creams at the department store and you come home with one of each? Sadly, it’s not been the most successful battle. Several vats of creams later, there are places on this face that don’t care that it was … [Read more...]
Rhonda Rhea: Keeping a tight lid on our hungers
I know I’ve complained about the state of my refrigerator before, but I’ve found a way to have a better attitude about it. When I get ready to put something in there, I just psych myself up for a challenging game of food Jenga. It’s amazing to me that as soon as the Tupperware tower is so impressive that I’m afraid to even nudge it, that’s when I need the container that’s two from the bottom. This is the stuff of an improved prayer life. If you’re playing food Jenga and you’ve been using … [Read more...]
I want an eyes-wide-open faith
I confess, my closet is not the tidiest. But all five of my kids were teenagers at about the same time. Nobody knows the closets I’ve seen. I remember deciding at one point that if any of the teens’ closets were going to get straightened out, I was going to have to be in on it. Then I think I probably went and got a tetanus shot. We started with Kaley’s. She was around 15. Being the word-minded person I am, I thought about the origin of the word “closet.” Isn’t it from the Greek, … [Read more...]
Rhonda Rhea: How do we get these words to fit?
I’m not sure I ever work as hard as I do when I’m trying to get rid of that extra little quarter-inch of poof from the last corner of a fitted sheet. That last little bitty poof! It’s called a “fitted” sheet, but seriously, how do you get this thing to actually fit? I’ve found myself checking the queen tag more than once to make sure it’s not a twin. The corners on big beds that are tight against a wall are the worst. I can wallow and wrestle for 20 minutes and still not get it … [Read more...]
Actively erupting good thinking
A lot of my friends have adopted a more active lifestyle and started new workout routines of late. When they all do it at once like that I’m usually shamed into joining them. This time, I’ve decided to do resistance training. Because nobody resists training like I do. People are always talking about how important it is to have a strong core. And even though I’ve heard from all different directions that I should exercise my core, I’m having a hard time getting past the fact that it sounds … [Read more...]
Season’s meatings and selfish fleshiness
You know how I can tell we’re approaching the Christmas season? I find myself thumbing through a catalog. A catalog. Of. Meat. Potted meat. Pickled meat. Fried and dried and – maybe even poached meat. That just takes us to about page five. Then there’s meat by the log. Meat in a bar. Meat on a stick. Meat in a jar. And okay, that might sound a little Dr. Seuess-y-cutesy, but I get halfway through the catalog and I have to tell you, I’m pretty much meated out. So here we are, heading … [Read more...]
Sometimes chocolate comes with the ‘Great Comforter’
Think chocolate is not the answer? Maybe you’re not asking the right questions. Okay, I do know chocolate is not really the answer to all the world’s problems. But it does sort of make a challenge a bit more palatable. Chocolate-coating our discomforts – couldn’t hurt, right? Sometimes chocolate is not only in my comfort zone, but chocolate is my comfort zone. Did you hear about the recent scientific study that determined 10 out of 9 people appreciate chocolate? It doesn’t matter so … [Read more...]