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Based on a South Beach Phase 1 Recipe, tastes like a Mexican/Latin dish Makes 4-6 servings in 30-40 minutes Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ large red onion, chopped ½ tsp crushed red pepper ½ tsp chili powder 2 tsp minced garlic 2 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp salt, black pepper 4 cups chicken broth 1-2 boneless, skinless, raw chicken breasts 2-3 zucchini, sliced, halved 1 lb frozen chopped kale 1 cup salsa 1 cup V8 (or use more salsa) 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped ¼ cup lime juice (optional) Directions Prep all fresh vegetables. Defrost the chicken. Slice the raw chicken across the narrowRead More →

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In: Bible and Theology, Faith, God's Character, God's love, Suffering

Once a little girl lived with a cult that kept her locked inside, chained to her computer all day, hungry and naked. She couldn’t do any serious study. In fact, she couldn’t do anything but play games online. In her favorite game, she got to be a farmer and grow beautiful fruit trees. She figured out how to work the game so at least some trees were in bloom or ready to harvest at all times. Finally, the police came and freed her from the cult’s hands. After many scary, confusing days, one morning, her greatest dream came true. A farmer took her home toRead More →

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In: Abuse

This question is being asked mostly in related to sexual assault victims coming forward. I won’t get into any of those cases. Politics and current events are not in my realm of expertise and this blog isn’t about current events or politics. However, I do have an interest in abuse culture, otherwise known as the dynamics of a dysfunctional tribe. I would like to answer this question for those who sincerely want to know. And the church is made up of flawed humans, from many backgrounds, so it could help make peace in church disputes to offer up my understanding of how dysfunctional tribes operate.Read More →

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In: Children, Faith

The season upon us is a good time to reflect on the journey of this last year. For my husband and I, it’s been one mostly of seeking to adopt our first child. One thing we have learned over this last year is how much the enemy truly hates and despises adoption. The enemy has gone after every vulnerability he can trying to stop us. None have prevailed because God has our back along with praying friends and family, like many of you are. The biggest hindrance has been a failed home inspection that almost cost us our child. I take full responsibility for that.Read More →

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In: Bible and Theology, God's Character, God's love, Grace, Suffering

Part One I have little patience for debates over inconsequential matters. Too many debates on the Internet come down to questions with all the relevance of, “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” At first blush, the question of whether we need to thank God for everything or in everything seems to be nitpicking about a single word. As I wrote in the previous article, we are called to thank God in every circumstance but not necessarily to thank him for literally everything that happens to us. The difference between the two is far from trivial. There are four pastoral and/orRead More →