Facebook is Dehumanizing

Yep.  I said it.
Facebook is dehumanizing.

Day after day I see people posting their 2 second soundbites to the faceless Facebook army, or as we like to call them "friends".  I don't know about you, but my friends don't act the way I see these people acting.

My friends care about me.  My friends know that what they say is important.  My friends are not glib to me on a daily basis.  They don't call me names like "stupid" or "moron" when I give an opinion that is contrary to theirs.  If they see something off in me they take care to approach me with love.  They value me.


What I see is an increasing amount of demoralizing and dehumanizing comments on Facebook. Someone says something they don't like and BLAH!-- they vomit on them.They don't think about the reaction the other person will have.  They don't think about the reactions that ANYONE reading it will have (and chances are there are a ton of people reading it). I suppose they just don't care.  All THOSE people are faceless.  They are not human with feelings and lives, stresses or baggage.  Those people are inconsequential.

Please think.  PLEASE.  The comments you make are going to real people with faces and feelings.,  They could be having a bad day, or their husband left them, or they were abused, or... They could be people who need encouragement.  There are no simple issues.  Life is complex and we ARE connected.

The next time you go to answer someone on FB--before you click a single key-- ask yourself if you were standing face to face with this person would say it and how would you say it?  If you really care about what you are saying, you will want it to effect positive change.  I don't change or consider rude people.  And if you aren't into effecting positive change, you just want to be mean or cruel. Imagine if we committed to lifting people up with our words on Facebook instead of tearing them down?  What you speak to in a man rises up.  Speak joy!  Speak peace!  Speak life! There is no room in the world for poison, bigotry and hatred. Not in the world I hope to live in anyway.

I am grateful

Tasty Winter Treat

As the winter months roll along it can get a little blah.  In order to beat some of the winter blues why not use a jar of your favorite canned Jelly.  About this time I notice I have a ton of jam in the cupboard and I need to get eating it--or giving it away! I love this little winter treat.

Ingredients
1 6-8 oz jar of jam
1 baby brie
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

1. Carefully remove the top or the brie covering, leaving a lip.
2. Place brie on baking sheet with parchment if you have any.  
3. Pour jam on top or brie and press the chopped nuts in on top.
4. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Remove from baking sheet and serve with your favorite crackers or bread.  This is best when enjoyed by fire with friends.  Or if you ar a mom, eat in the dead silence with no children or anyone around!

Salt of the Earth?

Colossians 4:6  Let your speech at all times be gracious, seasoned with salt, to know how you ought to answer anyone.

Salt is really unique.  We use salt when we cook for the purpose of intensifying flavors.  That is how it functions.  It works on our tongues to help us perceive the flavors already there.  At one time salt was like gold.  Countries with salt deposits were rich.  To win wars and conquests an army marched on its stomach.  Food had to be transported long distances and was often preserved with salt.  Salt in the body, in the proper amounts helps with maintaining cell integrity. Sodium ions are used in the body for electrical signaling in the nervous system.  Salt is essential.

When Paul spoke about salt, I don’t think he was thinking of all these things.  I’m sure he was thinking of flavor.  Salt makes bland food palatable.  How palatable are you?  What flavor are your words?  Bitter, sweet, tangy…

The good news that Love has come to free us all from mind sets that bring death into our consciousness should be one that people savor.  What makes us palatable to others?  What calls folks back to us to know more?  It’s grace.  For you Christians out there who know the textbook definition of grace as" unmerited favor", I challenge you; stop looking at people as saved or “un”saved.  Remove judgment.  Give unmerited favor. THAT is the law written on our hearts which is the law of perfect love.

          Some of you may be worried about others' pasts?  Maybe you think you have the right to judge the disposition of another's soul?  Do you really think you are qualified to do that?  As long as you approach others like they are broken you are standing in judgment over them--therefore putting yourself back under the law--and you come across like a seedy used car salesmen.  It's hard to see past a shaking finger and a blatant lack of humility.  It leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

  Loving is easy when you hang out with the lover of your soul—Jesus.  When you are in love the world is rosy and everything is sweeter.  If we all lived like we were madly in love what a world this would be!

Please and thank you, PLEASE!

Lately I've noticed people saying please and thank you less.  Maybe you think, "What's the big deal?"

When we say please we acknowledge our need, our lack.  When we say please we humble ourselves before someone to acknowledge we can't or don't want to do something without them.

I notice folks neglecting please and I see our society more and more disconnected from one another.  I submit that simple courtesies are more important

than we realize!

"Get me some water?"
"Please get me some water?"

When someone says please they offer something in return for your services.  They offer the acknowledgement that they need you.  They offer their humility.  They are essentially realizing that they are not entitled to your service, but privileged that you render it. When they say please they are actually  valuing you. We need to cultivate values--especially of one another!

As the quote from Ephesians so eloquently states we are to "bear with one another, maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of love." Think about it a bit.  Try courtesy on a little more.  Say please and thank you.  Slow down and open a door for someone else or let them merge on the freeway.  Do it in the Spirit of love with a smile.  You will be amazed how good you feel, how much love you gather from others and how much peace there will be in your soul.

Raw Lemon Bars

These are amazing lemon bars.  Lemon bars are one of my favorite treats.  Although these do not have lemon curd on top as many do, you will definitely get you lemon fix on with these. Perfect with tea!

Blend the following into a "flour":
2 c dried coconut
1 c Brazil nuts
1/2 c almonds
3 tbs bee pollen

Add the following to this nut "flour":

1 tbs ashwaganda powder
3 tbs maca (this makes it creamy)
1/4 tsp stevia
2 lemons (juiced)
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 c raw honey
4 tbs coconut oil
1 lemon zested (I like mine lemony)

Directions

1. Mix ingredients well.
2. Place ingredients on teflex (non stick) sheets and spread about 1/3 in thick.
3. Dehydrate on 125 for 1 hour.
4. Score your bars at this point.  I like to do diagonals so they come out as diamonds.
5. Decrease heat to 105 for two hours.
6. Flip onto dehydrator screen and continue "cooking" until they are crunchy, yet slightly moist.
7. Carefully break apart.

Special thanks to SuperHealth for the basis of this recipe which I have slightly adapted.

Don't worry...

You are known...

Kale Chips

 Making Kale chips is easy and yummy!  It doesn't take long at all in your dehydrator to have a yummy snack.  Just follow these quick steps.

1. Rinse your kale.  I am using Red russian kale here as it is my favorite.  If you are harvesting Kale from your garden in the fall my advise is to turn the leaves over and make sure there are no insect eggs on the undersides of the leaf.

2. Cut the stems from the leaves.  Cut the leaves into 2x 2 pieces.  They really don't shrink to much, so think "chip" size.

3. In a large bowl mix our desired seasoning mixture.  See seasoning ideas at bottom of page.

4. Add the chips to the bowl and toss to cover with your seasoning.

5. Place the chips in your dehydrator on screens so that they don't touch.  If they touch to much they stick as they dry.

6. Close up your dehydrator and turn to 115 for 3-5 hours-- until crisp.  You may wish to turn the chips midway to make sure they are drying appropriately.

7.  Place the chips in a bag and enjoy at your leisure!

Seasoning Ideas:

• 2 Tbs Soy sauce or tamari, 1tbsp agave
• 1 tbs soy sauce or tamari, 1 tbs tahini
• sprinkle with salt and pepper once laid out on screens NOT TOO MUCH!
• In blender combine: 2 tbs onion, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 garlic clove, 1/8 cup water
• 1tsp curry, 1 tsp almond butter, pinch of salt
• In blender combine: 1/8 cp water, 1 clove garlic, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1 tbs honey pinch of salt

Get creative!  I love cumin.  You can use BBQ sauce and water for BBQ Kale chips.  The possibilities are endless!

Encouragement