We are all bowls of Chili





A little known secret of me is that I love to cook and bake.  Cooking and baking is so relaxing to me.  I didn't the opportunity to do it much at my old place.  Since I have moved into my new place I now have a kitchen and more of an opportunity to cook and bake.  My first experiment was to make some Vegetarian/Vegan Chili.   It actually turned out really good and if you want some you can come on over.  I have extra.  :)

Besides being relaxing, cooking really makes me think.  It is like all my brain waves are firing on all cylinders and thoughts flood my mind.   As I was prepping the meal, I kept stressing about everything being perfect.  Whether it was cutting the veggies or trying to master the combination of spices.  I wanted this chili to be the best chili anyone has ever had.  

Well two minutes into prepping it I realized that the veggies were not cut perfectly, the chili was a bit too spicy for my liking, and I forgot to buy a few things for the meal.  It was far from perfect yet, after it was done and I scooped some in my bowl I couldn't believe I made it.  I was so proud regardless how it tastes, and that's when it hit me.  God sees us as bowls of chili.  He created us to be perfect, but we are far from it and even though we are not perfect, God still is proud of us.  We are HIS!  He created us!   Just as I took delight in my chili, God is delighted in us.

It is comforting that we all bowls of Chili.   haha... wow I am weird... gosh I need to get to bed. 

In case you are wondering this is my own recipe.  I was reading some other recipes online and changed some things up to make it my own.  :)

Pictures below... if you want the recipe me, contact me.  I'd love to give it to you. 

All the ingredients for Antho's Vegetarian/Vegan Chili

Smells good eh!

Finished product!!





This time every year many cultures celebrate a new year.  All of mankind is at it's best.  Everyone is trying to change their lives around, kick old habits, take over the world, or whatever crazy "new year resolution" people think of.   We all do it because we want to better our lives.  We identify areas of improvement and work on "fixing" them.   I do, you do it, we all do it!  Problem is, most of us, after a few months realize our resolutions were a thing of the past.  

As I was thinking about this, I realize that everyone has stuff we can work on in our lives.  Whether it is January 1st or June 1st  we will always have stuff that we will want to work on and areas of our lives we want to improve.  As a fallen people we carry our baggage with us everywhere we go.  We start collecting stuff in our bags... sin... insecurity...results of our actions...our past... our upbringing...etc.  As life happens we try to either hide our bags or learn how to carry them in a healthy way.  

This is what this blog is going to be about.   Doing life and doing life with others.  Trying to figure out how to grab my bags and carry them along with me and to show others a better way to hold their bags.   I hope this blog makes you laugh, makes you think, and encourages you to become a better person and a better follower of Christ.  This blog is as much for me than anyone else.  I have so many thoughts in my head... all the time... and I thought this would be a great place to dump all them.  Get ready to see into the mind of Antho...(cue scary music here)

I need to give quick shout out to one of my best friends, Kara.  She has been one person who has helped me process a lot of these thoughts you are going to read and she has been able to show me different views that I would have never thought of and challenge me everyday to be a better man.  Thanks for all you do! 

I hope you all have a blessed 2012 and thanks for reading this far.  I pray you can accept you bags, carry your bags in a Christ honoring way, and help others carry theirs when they need it!