Author Archives: Jordan

The Ones Worth Suffering For

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“If she’s amazing, she won’t be easy. If she’s easy, she won’t be amazing.
If she’s worth it, you won’t give up. If you give up, you’re not worthy.
… Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.”
– Bob Marley

Epic (John Eldredge) – Book Review

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I originally purchased this book, because much like today’s society I wanted to know what else there was to know about this life that I am living. I wanted, as the title of the book says, know “The Story God is Telling”. This book is also a pretty easy read. It is a mere 100 odd pages and can easily be read in one sitting. This book touches on not the stories of our lives, but the stories of this world; the stories of this universe.

I don’t plan on sharing every detail about this book, as I hope this may inspire you to go out and get the book to read (it’s VERY cheap and VERY worth it) but I will give my opinions on a few points.

Eldredge separates the book (and story) into 6 parts; a prologue, Acts 1-4 and an epilogue.

The idea of our lives simply being a story within a greater epic is introduced and Eldredge uses the story of Frodo from the Lord of the Rings (another reason I loved this book), as well as many other modern-day movies/stories to show how we as a human race know and acknowledge this. There is no formula for life. Sure we can predict a life event happening, and sure it may come true, but are we ever 100 percent sure that it will happen? Life unfolds itself as the best drama book ever written. You never know what is going to come next. That is what hints us to the fact that we are only playing a role in a much larger story. The story that God is telling, with each one of us as the characters.

In each of the Acts Eldredge talks about the different parts of a story and ties them to the different parts of our own personal stories. In Act one he talks about Eternal Love, and the beginning before the beginning of our lives. What was before you were. The beginning to God’s story. Act two is about The Entrance of Evil. Instantly we all think to Satan as the serpent in the garden of Eden, but Eldredge reminds us that there was more than just this. There is the story of the battle for heaven between Lucifer, the (ex-captain of the angels, but driven evil by pride) and Micheal (the archangel). This is when evil entered the world. Act three then goes to talk about The Battle For the Heart and this is when we as human finally enter the picture. Eldredge shares his thoughts on our role in God’s great epic and what each of our stories entail for us. This is the Act (chapter) that most closely pertained and related to me (as it probably will for you). The end of our human story is in Act four, the “happily ever after” of our story; The Kingdom Restored. “God has set eternity in our hearts.” Much like the endings to the stories in our culture (Cinderella, Lord of the Rings, Batman, etc.) the good guy always win. And in this situation G

od always wins.

If you are looking for a short, cheap, but very good book to read I would definitely recommend this book. There is a role for everyone in this beautiful epic that God is telling, and I pray that each and everyone finds that role. I am still searching.You’re not alone. But, in reality, are we ever done searching?

God Bless.

 

Article Review – Starbucks Product Recalled for Possible Salmonella

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On October 15th, 2012 the Barrington Patch posted an online article about Starbucks. The article brings up the issue that Starbucks product, including Honey Peanut Butter, and Protein Bistro Boxes, are being recalled from their stores in varies states around the United States. The recall, as the title states is because of a possibility of salmonella contaminating the food. The article quotes an article directly from the FDA that talks about the exact details of the recall and give background to what salmonella is and the risks that come with food having salmonella. Surely this has an effect on the market value of Starbucks as a whole because it will do two main things: reduce the net revenue that the store will gain as well as increase their expenses. Their net revenue will be down because while the products are off the shelves waiting to be restocked. Their expenses will increase because they now have to pay for a whole new shipment of the recalled products to all of the stores that were included in the article.

http://barrington.patch.com/articles/starbucks-product-recalled-for-possible-salmonella-2230381e

Article Review – Starbucks Tea Deal Develops Aftertaste

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This article, publicized in the Wall Street Journal on December 9th, 2012 is about Starbucks and it’s move to acquire the small business Teavana Holdings Inc. Starbucks had already acquired the Tazo Tea brand from this same company back in 1999 for $9 million. This new reported deal would be worth $620 million which would be the largest ever acquisition by Starbucks. There has been a lot of speculation by analysts to whether or not this is a smart move for Starbucks. Most analysts think that Starbucks has better options within the global tea market. Starbucks’s CEO Howard Schultz is staying with the stance that “the two brands can help drive customers to one another by uniting their customer loyalty programs, social-media efforts and mobile applications.” Starbucks also believes that “Teavana’s moneymaking potential from its current form is a big plus.” In the long run I think this deal will have a positive effect on Starbucks as a company as well as the market value of the company.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324640104578165202798136008.html

Our Deepest Fear

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“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. You playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”. – from the movie Coach Carter

I Can

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I can learn
I can listen
I can love
I can communicate
I can speak
I can be caring
I can be content
I can be secure
I can support
I can nourish
I can be healthy
I can enjoy
I can be kind
I can guide
I can smile
I can know
I can change
I can help
I can make a difference
I can be grateful

Written by Anonymous

This is a poem all about the things to be grateful for in our lives. It was written by someone in a workshop I attended and thought that it was a subtle masterpiece that gives us a simple view at the blessings in our lives that we should be thankful for.

Don’t Fear : Make Your Own Twinkies at Home

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Article/Recipe Link

RS_Twinkies.jpg

With the news of Hostess shutting down this past week I have heard a lot of people talking about stocking up as many Twinkies as possible. And honestly I don’t blame them, because they are awesome. Although Twinkies weren’t a huge part in my life, as I know they may have been for others, I still understand the importance that they may have played in someone’s life.
But don’t worry because I am here to say have no fear! I am not sure if any of you have already come across this but as I was browsing the web today I came across this article that outlines how to make HOMEMADE

TWINKIES. Yes, they are probably a bit different (I have yet to make them as I just found the article today). But regardless they will be a phenomenal substitute. The only initial bad part about them (in my opinion) is that there are a lot of ingredients that you will need to make both the cream and twinkies.

The recipe is this (as stated in article):

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white spelt or all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground millet or cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1/3 cup cane sugar

2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons safflower oil
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 batch (about 1 cup) Snack Cake Creme (recipe online here)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a canoe-style snack cake pan. If you don’t have a snack cake pan, you can use 4-ounce loaf pans. Alternatively, create your own molds out of foil by shaping double thicknesses of aluminum foil around a spice bottle and setting the individual foil pieces next to each other in a cake pan.

Sift the spelt flour, ground millet flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

In a dry mixer bowl with dry beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff, about 2 minutes.
Transfer the beaten egg whites to a clean bowl and set aside.

In the same mixer bowl, add the sugar, honey, water, oil, egg yolks, and vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Fold in half of the beaten egg whites; once the first half is fully incorporated, fold in the second half.

Pour the batter into the prepared molds, filling them 2/3 of the way full. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Cool the cakes in the pan for at least 20 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely before filling with the Snack Cake Creme.

To fill the cakes, use a skewer or chopstick to poke 2 holes partially through the snack cake from the bottom, and wiggle around to hollow out some space. Use a piping bag fitted with a Bismarck (#230) tip or a very small star-shaped tip to fill the cake with the Snack Cake Creme.

— Recipe and photo from “Real Snacks” by Lara Ferroni

Related articles

Comparing Canadian and U.S. Banking Systems

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Article Link

This is an article that I found very interesting to read when I first came across it. The article looks at the Canadian economy, more specifically the Canadian banking system, and compares it to the banking system we have here in the United States.
I personally found it very interesting especially with the state of our economic state of our country. This article gives a good example that I believe our government should look at and try to take idea from to strengthen and stabilize our banking system.

Here are a few key quotes:

the Canadian dollar — the “loonie” — which is up more than 55 percent against the U.S. dollar in the last ten years.

you can’t have a healthy economy if you have a sick financial system. The fact is that the Canadian banking system has not suffered a serious crisis since the 1930s. Compare that to the pattern of rapidly recurring crises that have rocked the U.S. banking system since the 1980s.

Canada ranked a lowly 18th out of 21 industrialized nations in the share of its banking market held by foreign banks.