Sweet Potato Fries

So my man & I are on a quest for the best sweet potato fries.  We're still in the experimental phase of store bought.  Results will be published upon completion.  This post will be about restaurant fries.  Culver's HAD pretty decent sweet potato fries being a fast food chain.  I think we were the only ones ordering them.  Sadly, the Culver's in Holland no longer has them on the menu.  Red Robin serves theirs with some freakish cocktail sauce, which did NOT taste good on the fries.  The fries themselves left something to be desired as well.  They were a bit smushy.  Brann's sweet potato fries were okay.  I personally am not a fan of dipping the fries in a seasoned butter.  How about just season the fries?  Our overall Brann's experience wasn't the greatest.  That may have contributed to us not being partial to the fries.  TGIFridays was good sweet potato fries, seasoned with salt & pepper.  Speaking of which Salt & Pepper has really good fries too.  Could be seasoned a touch more, but still good.  Logan's is king of the sweet potato fries market.  Here are the rankings to date:


1)  Logan's
2)  TGIFriday's
3)  Salt & Pepper
4)  Culver's
5)  Brann's
6)  Red Robin


Friday's and Salt & Pepper could easy be interchangeable depending on where we ate the most recent.  :)


If you know of a place that has sweet potato fries on the menu, let me know.  We would be more than happy to try them out.  


Love ya!!!!

"REMAIN IN ME"

“I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (emphasis mine).  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.”  John 15:5-9 (NIV)

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.  ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty.  ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty.  ‘And in this place I will grant peace (emphasis mine),’ declares the LORD Almighty.”  Haggai 2:6-9 (NIV)

I knew God had a blog for me Sunday during church.  Saturday morning, He brought me to the verses in Haggai.  I wasn’t quite sure what it all meant and thought about it quite a bit.  Sunday, my pastor was preaching on Acts 8:26-40.  As it seems at our church, the message ends up on being obedient to the Spirit.  When Pastor B veered off the scheduled text and onto John 15, the Holy Spirit revealed the connection between the two segments of Scripture.  The basis of both is obedience, following the lead of the Holy Spirit.  It’s all about God and His timing.  Nothing is random.  There are no coincidences.  I used to think that praying at all times, (Ephesians 6:18 & Philippians 4:6) was not achievable for us “regular” Jesus followers.  As usual, that thought is completely wrong.  It’s certainly not God telling me I don’t or can’t measure up.  Jesus Himself gives us the key to this kingdom treasure.  “Remain in me”.  Yes, it’s that simple.  Maintaining a prayerful attitude or approach to each day is not difficult.  At its base level it is nothing more than focusing on God, being patient, and waiting on Him.  “I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait on Him.’” Lamentations 3:24 

God pulled me from a pit.  He washed me clean.  He carried me.  When He set me down, all He said was “wait.”  When He tells me to take a step, I do; otherwise, here I stand, watching my Daddy God prepare the way.  My way is not His way.  If I’ve done nothing else, I’ve proven my way is all kinds of wrong.  I messed up my life.  God is restoring and redeeming it.  His way is best.  He truly has given me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  Mind you, I am far from perfect at being patient or waiting on God.  However, it’s beautiful how God blesses obedience.  My life is so rich with laughter, love, and peace.  The call to remain in Christ is not hard or overwhelming, especially when I know it is absolute truth.  I can do nothing apart from my Jesus who saved me.  Yet, in Him, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13).  “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.  Amen.”  1 Timothy 1:17

Metal Bench

Metal Bench

September 10, 2011

So there I sat, another school year started, another sports season started.  It’s Cross Country season.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  I was literally baking sitting on a metal bleachers while the XC invitational went on.  No shade in sight.  Just completely shocked & awed by God.  The previous night, my mom & I went to my brother’s house.  I had been tasked with teaching my 6 year old nephew how to tie his shoes.  He did great, even though he didn’t think so.  He & mom went out to play.  I was left in the house with my brother & sister-in-law.  We were joking about how exciting our lives are when my brother suddenly became light headed and couldn’t breathe.  We called 9-1-1.  He was taken to the ER where he was admitted & stayed in the hospital for a few a days.  Blood clots were found in his lungs from the knee surgery he had a couple weeks before.  He could have died.  He should have died.  After contacting my family, my boyfriend & best friend, we hung out at the hospital for several hours.  My best friend contacted another friend, who agreed to pray, but also had a prayer request.  My sister contacted her prayer team, as did my sister-in-law & her family.  At the XC invite I ran into another friend who had a prayer request.  Between all the praying for my brother and two other women, I was lead to start the book for the next Monday night Bible study.  I sat there, not only baking on a metal bench, but in a bucket of tears, praying, reading, just taking in the past few hours, days, weeks.  I’m so awe-struck at how God has placed all kinds of beautiful people around me.  He is being so obviously intentional about making sure our paths not only meet but are interwoven.  Oh how He loves me, loves us all.  I may not know the whole plan or see the whole picture.  But that doesn’t really matter.  He does.  He’s in control & knows what He’s doing.  At that beautiful moment, another perfect moment, I didn’t even care, still don’t.  That’s a rarity for me.  God’s got me in the palm of His hand.  That’s all that matters.  That’s all I need to know.  Praise Jesus for His healing hands, His comfort & His peace.

Amazing Grace

I finally had opportunity to spend time with the fine woman I will be mentoring.  She’s quite something.  She loves Jesus and is resolved to change her life for the better, to glorify Him.  We grabbed some coffee and spent about an hour and a half together, sharing life experiences and talking about what God has done for us.  I left her feeling pretty good about what God would do with this, confident that He would accomplish what He set out to do, and still humbled that He would use me for His purpose.  I woke up in the wee small hours of Thursday morning struck by the differences in our situations, but not just between me and her.  When Pastor B first approached me about being a mentor, I remembered the quote “There but for the grace of God go I” John Bradford.  The same quote is in the paperwork I received at the end of the approval process mentors go through.  I got to thinking about how true that quote really is.  But for the grace of God, I have a job, a home, a roof over my head, get to see and spend time with my son every day, have food in my pantry, a car, etc.  My family and friends are great and supportive.  I have access to church, the Bible, technology, and access to much information.  While I have not been in the same situation as many, I am by no means “better” than anyone. 

But for the grace of God…..I received a gift set of Philosophy for my birthday.  (I’m not bashing the company.  I like these products very much).  The shower gel is called Amazing Grace.  This is what the bottle says:  “Philosophy:  Life is a classroom. We are both student and teacher.  Each day is a test.  And each day we receive a passing or failing grade in one particular subject:  grace.”  This is NOT my philosophy.  This is NOT correct.  Every day I fall short.   Scripture is pretty clear on that.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23 It’s only through Christ that I make it through each day.  He is the reason I pass.  I pass because He is truly the Only One who ever passed.  God gave us His own Son for this very purpose that we can have live and have it to the full. (John 10:10).  Jesus is the only means by which we pass.  None of us have grace on our own.  Certainly we were not born with it.  It is not earned.  It is given to us freely by our loving Father.  “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”  That’s our truth every day.  This, my loves, may be our reality but this should be our philosophy:  “But he said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” 2 Corinthians 12:9 Only God’s grace is amazing.  Only God’s grace passes every test every day.  With my Savior’s help, I pray I will let His perfection be seen in my weakness.  “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10b

“There but for the grace of God go I” indeed.

Road Trip

Sunday, July 10, 2011:  Today I’m taking a road trip with Von, my boyfriend of four months.  Personally, I do so love a good road trip, and to have his company, please, this is going to be a good one.  I love having his attention.  He’s an amazing man.  He’s adorable, so sweet, interesting, funny, and his kind heart shines through and makes him completely beautiful to me.  It’s weird at 40 years old to feel this way.  I thought I had been in love before, but now know that I never have.  The love I feel for him is so complete.  I want to tell him everything.  My walls are gone.  With him, I don’t guard myself or my heart.  I have nothing to hide nor do I want to keep anything from him.  No secrets, nothing that is just mine.  I can’t stand being away from him.  My heart leaps for joy when I get to spend time with him.  We laugh together; we share; I’ve cried in his arms.  Silence isn’t uncomfortable.  It seems perfectly natural to be vulnerable with him.  He and I have been acquainted for the majority of our lives.  It shocks me that he loves me.  Sometimes I’m tempted to look behind me to see if someone like Jennifer Love-Hewitt is standing there.  He can’t possibly be looking at me that way.  I’m humbled and awed that God has included him in my life.  Part of me feels like he can do better, like I don’t deserve him.  Yet, for whatever crazy they have, neither God nor my boyfriend seem to think that, so I’m going to just go with it.  I’m taking every second I can with him.  I’m taking every laugh, every smile, and every sweet kiss that comes my way.  I’m taking any attention he rains down on me.  I know I am blessed.  I am truly blessed.

The road trip was a blast, by the way.  I think I’d ride shot gun with him anywhere.  :)

Happy Birthday To Me

Counting down to my 40th birthday.  I'm excited.  With the exception of the last year, the past decade has not been a good one.  I'm spending the next few days reflecting on all that God has done and all the ways He has changed my life in the past year.  "'At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home.  I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,' says the Lord."  Zephaniah 3:20  Truly He gathered me.  He has brought me home.  He is restoring my fortunes.  He is redeeming the years I lost.  All praise and glory to my God and King for that and so much much.  Good bye 30's.  You won't be missed.  Hello 40's.  Can't wait for what's next.  :)

Mentoring - Step 1

Wednesday, June 22, 2011:  I went through the application process, which included a background check and references.  And I was able to meet the fine young lady I will be mentoring.  She seemed a little put off that I have not been a mentor before, but to me it’s just one more thing that will help make me reliant on God.  I won’t be able to do this without His help for sure.  This is so far outside my personality.  I wouldn’t call myself shy.  I just don’t trust people, generally speaking.  I’m a skeptic, been burned before.  Plus, new people and situations freak me out and overall make me nervous.  I always wanted to be a wall flower, not someone who was noticed, not someone memorable. 

Today, I had a meeting with the volunteer coordinator at the organization.  She was great, very friendly and outgoing.  She explained the history, volunteer and donation opportunities, took me on a tour, introduced me to some staff, and explained a little what is expected.  I will have another meeting with a director and case worker sometime soon.  They will explain all that is expected of both me and what I hope will be a new life-long friend.

Oddly, I am super excited.  It’s just a total God thing.  I can’t explain it any other way.  I know He has been preparing me for this for a long time.  I don’t know if I’ll ever understand why people are interested in my life, or why some people want to bare their souls to me without knowing me.  I also don’t know why God would have me document what’s going on in my life.  All I know is here we are.   Again, it’s all in God’s perfect timing, all for His perfect purpose.  And it’s all for “such a time as this”. (Esther 4:14)