Inspirational Sunday - Religious Beliefs

I saw this quote today and immediately started investigating on its truth. Although I know Pope Francis to be more 'in tune' with today's Roman Catholics, I found it a bit interesting to hear a Roman Catholic Pope to actually state that one does not have to believe in God to be a good person. It just didn't sound like something he would say.

I was right in some ways and not in others. The above quote does not match anything Pope Francis has ever said. The above quote was instead a twisting of what Pope Francis did say. Even a Vatican spokesman (Thomas Rosica) who specializes in translating the Pope's remarks for English speaking Catholics and the media, issued a clarification:

....those who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ and his Church but sincerely seek God and, moved by grace, try to do his will as it is known through the dictates of conscience can attain eternal salvation.

I don't know about you but that statement still left me confused. I was baptized and raised Roman Catholic. I attended Catholic grade school, high school, and graduate school. Today I still attend the Roman Catholic Church but I can attend any church and still find God. I firmly believe that yes, you do need to believe in God in order to be saved. But I do not believe that a person has to believe in the God I believe in to be a good person.

So what does being a good person or not good person have to do with believing in God, believing in a religion, or believing in eternal salvation? I know quite a few people who believe in multiple Gods, a few that do not believe in any God, and the rest who believe the same as I do. I don't think they have anything to do with each other. I am not the one who is standing up at the end of days in judgement of others. I am standing there at the end of days for myself, for what I have done with my life and not anyone else's.

I also believe that my 2 babies who never got to experience life let alone God, are a part of God's family and I will know them when I get to see them again. But I also believe that people who kill or do not follow God have to meet Him on judgement day. I do not stand in judgement in this world.

I believe in God. I, however, have a real problem with organized religion as it is today. That organized religion gets between what I believe in and in what I believe is the difference between good and bad. I do not have to go to church to find or talk to God. I find Him in every person I meet, in everything I do, and in the world around me. He is the one who created it.

This week also brought a person in Kentucky into the spotlight for her beliefs. In her case though, she brought her beliefs into the separation of church and state. She has a full right to believe what she believes. But she does not have a legal right to force that belief onto another. Personally that is one reason I do not think I could ever be an elected official because I cannot separate church and state.

Why? Because I believe in God.

Recipe Thursday - Grilled Peaches

One of my favorite end of summer desserts is grilled peaches. I actually just got 5 bushels of peaches from Michigan this past week so I will be spending the next few weeks getting those peaches canned and put up for the winter. But I just can't resist this recipe which I usually make for Labor Day Weekend!

The recipe is pretty simple. I allow a full peach per person. Cut the peach along its seam all the way around and twist the halves off the put. If the pit did not remove itself this way, then remove the pit. I brush the top of each peach with coconut oil then place the cut side down on a hot greased grill, turning every few minutes until you see good grill marks - takes anywhere from 3-5 minutes. I then brush them with butter and flip them over and grill again until you see good grill marks (another 3-4 minutes). I take them off the grill and place them in a baking dish. I brush butter again over the top then sprinkle them with brown sugar and place the dish in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. This will completely cook the peach and allow the brown sugar to caramelize on top. I put them under a broiler for 1-2 minutes being careful not to burn the sugar. I sprinkle a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg on top and serve with grilled pork chops! YUM!!!!

Inspirational Sunday - Accept, Let Go, Have Faith

I think this stands on its own. It spoke to me today as I struggle with another bout of Meniere's Disease.

Recipe Thursday - Butternut Squash Lasagna Rolls

Sorry this is a day late - family wake and funeral to attend! Butternut Squash Filled Lasagna Rolls Ingredients: 2 pounds butternut squash 8 lasagna noodles ( make my own so they are gluten free but you can store buy them too) 1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese 1 large egg 1/4 cup natural (unblanched) almonds, finely ground 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs (there is a gluten free brand at Whole Foods or Mariano's) 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons light brown sugar 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup heavy cream Directions: Preheat the oven to 400F. Halve the squash crosswise, separating the narrow neck from the bulbous bottom. Cut them both in half lengthwise; scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the squash on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side down, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender. (Leave the oven on.) Scoop out the flesh of the squash and mash. Measure out 11/2 cups and freeze the remainder for another use. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water. In a medium bowl, stir together the squash puree, 2/3 cup of the Parmesan, the egg, almonds, panko, mustard, brown sugar, sage, salt, and pepper. Place the lasagna noodles on a work surface with the short ends facing you. Spread the squash mixture over each noodle. Roll the noodles up into compact bundles and place them, seam side down, in the baking dish. Pour the cream over the noodles and sprinkle the remaining 2/3 cup Parmesan over the top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cream is bubbling and the top of the dish is lightly browned. The above picture shows this same recipe but I added chopped spinach to the filling.

Former Toxic Employees

A good friend of mine blogged on employee issues for her practice management business. In it, she states that an employer should not put off an employee issue and they should be addressed in a timely fashion or take the risk of having them create a mountain out of a molehill.

I do believe in the above. HOWEVER, I also believe the employee has an obligation to do their job and not 'take their misplaced anger out on their employer'. I also know there are toxic employees. I sure wish I had foresight.

I have been doing an audit of our business. I have found so many many many mistakes that correspond to the date another toxic employee was fired. I actually didn't fire her but was blamed for it. I will admit that I didn't want anything to do with it because the year was 2010. I had just lost my mother suddenly and was coping with that. I had fallen and tore my meniscus and had to have knee surgery to repair that. I had 3 other ankle surgeries that year where I was non-weight bearing for up to 3 months at a time. My husband had purchased another office from a friend who we had learned had 6 months to live. We based our purchase price of said office on the information the sick friend's employee gave us. That said employee was also my employee but part time. We grossly overpaid for the office. We purchased the office within 2 weeks at the beginning of the summer. By the end of the summer we knew the figures given to us were grossly wrong and the business never warranted the price we paid. We hired that employee because she had a track record with me. How wrong we were. She was a cold bitter toxic woman who was no longer a doctor's wife and angry. She lied about the income of the business we purchased. She lied about her salary. She wasn't worth it. She started doing anything she could to work overtime to make more money. The other buyer had enough and fired her. I actually didn't want anything to do with that office purchase so I was the last one told this girl was being fired.

So this girl was terminated which caused a ripple effect in my own offices plus I was non-weight bearing and was brought into this 4th office to run it. I knew about the ripple effect but didn't believe it was that bad, after all the other employees had worked for me for over 8 years and thought they knew me by then and knew I would never have done what I was accused of my the toxic employee. And I thought I had convinced everyone I didn't have anything to do with the other girl being fired. No one believed me - they believed her. So the ripple effect was not doing anything they were supposed to do for me. Nothing was balanced. Nothing was checked. All accounts are wrong.

I have been doing nothing but going painstakingly through the years back to 2007 and doing an audit on the practice. Things were written off that should never have been. Things were not done that should have been. If those employees were still working for me, they would have been told to hit the door. Unfortunately I don't get to have that satisfaction. I believe in karma. They will pay for what they did to me.

So when I read about how I am supposed to suck it up and listen to my employee's whining. I refuse to. This is also why I will never hire another employee again. It is much easier to just do it myself. No drama.

Inspirational Sunday - Gratitude

I thought I would let the above saying stand on its own today. I know every night before I start the rosary, I give thanks for everything I am grateful for, but especially to our Lord for what blessings he has bestowed on me. My life is not perfect in any way shape or form but it doesn't matter. I am just grateful for all He has given me. And that is enough.

Recipe Thursday - Paleo Almond Chicken

I ran across this recipe over 3 years ago and wrote it down but didn't keep the website it came from so if this is your recipe, please let me know and I will give you credit for it.

Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins
3 eggs
1 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste (I use Kosher salt)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil. Grease the foil (I use a spritzer and spritz olive oil all over the foil).

Mix all dry ingredients on a large platter/plate. Beat eggs in a shallow bowl or dish. Dip the chicken in egg then dredge in the dry ingredients. Place coated chicken into the baking dish. Bake for 12 minutes then turn over and bake another 12 minutes.


I usually serve with either green beans with almond slivers or steamed broccoli and a salad. The chicken is great cold the next day too so I always make sure I make enough for leftovers!