Amy J. Bennett

Top Ten Tuesday: Lexington in Pictures

April 20, 2010 by Amy 21 Comments

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is a little different. I blogged on the conference itself but we did get to do just a tad of visiting around Lexington. I thought I’d share a few pictures. It’s a good thing this is only a list of 10 because that’s just about all the pictures I took.

May I just say if you cut Lexington open, it’s blood would run blue? Everything was blue. I’d like to say it was all because of University of Kentucky but I think it’s just living up to the name Bluegrass State. But, seriously. Everything was blue.

After God showed up

at The Uprising

Scott and I headed for the highly recommended deSha’s.

Do you see that? That’s yummy blue cheese dressing and some seriously good corn bread back there.

The steak and potatoes were yummy, but uh, the beans looked just like that when we left.

Just on the other corner downtown Lexington proudly displays their fountain. I had more than one local mention them. We had a very random stranger take our picture.

Just a snippet of the fountains. Charlotte actually has a very similar set of fountains. It felt like home.

On the way back to the car I spotted this cutey, cute Prom number in a dress shop window. I’m not sure I’d let my 16 year old wear it. But it was cute.

Besides, a true Lexington girl would wear blue.

See? Even the local police officers have the blue thing down.

Horses might be the other thing Lexington bleeds but sadly, I did not get any pictures. But oh, the fences and pastures and horses and races and barns. Lexington loves their horses.

Lexington treated us well (except for the crazy traffic!)

So tell me, have you ever visited the Bluegrass State?

See other Top Ten lists over at ohamanda.com

Me Too

April 19, 2010 by Amy 9 Comments

On Thursday at The Uprising I was so moved by the stories of redemption. I don’t know how but somehow you forget that there are people whose lives are dramatically changed by Jesus. You forget that some people WANT their lives changed. And it’s moving when you listen to someone tell their story of redemption. To hear them say I was there but now I’m here.

Pete Wilson talks in his book Plan B about the importance of authentic community when you’re in Plan B – that part of your life you didn’t plan or expect and usually is unwanted. But to have authentic community you have to be authentic. And sometimes that means getting out behind the mask we put in front of ourselves and connecting to someone with the same struggle. Sometimes you just need to know you’re not alone and for someone to say “Me too.” To say I’ve been there but now I’m here. And if Jesus changed me, He can change you.

I want to put myself out there today. To say “me too” to someone who might be reading this. Offer some sort of hope if you’re in Plan B in your marriage. Because I’ve been there and now I’m here.

I know what it’s like to feel you’re not good enough
To not like who you’re becoming
I know what it’s like for every conversation with your spouse to end in an argument
To have someone else tell you you’re beautiful
To check out emotionally from your spouse
To check IN emotionally with someone else
To deceive
To wonder if you married the right person
To wonder what if
To feel guilt of your sin
To not feel guilt of your sin
To not want to change
To try to change
To not be able to change
To obey when the feelings aren’t there
To fail
To fail again
To hope
To change
I know what it’s like for your husband to change
To say goodbye
To be forgiven
To be desired and chosen by God
I know what it’s like to be restored

If you are in the midst of that with your marriage, I don’t think those statements will take much explanation. And if those resonate with you right now can I just whisper a “Me too” to you? I’ve been there. I really have. But I’m here now. But only through the power of Christ. His ways and not my ways. God can restore you and can restore your marriage. I’d love to talk to you in the comments or even through email if you’re struggling. I won’t have all the answers but I might have some. And to be perfectly honest, I need a “me too” just as much as you.

Sunday Highlights: imPOSSIBLE: Letting Go of Your Baggage

April 18, 2010 by Amy 1 Comment

Sometimes after we have moved past the bondage, we are left with the baggage of our past and feel disqualified to do anything for Christ. We feel like we have to fix ourselves. However, the Christian life is impossible without Christ.

Satan would love to give you a worthless identity but everyone has hope because of Christ. We don’t have to be who we were.

1 Timothy 1 – Paul says he is the worst of the worst sinner and if he has hope, everyone does.

4 Possibilities after Bondage:

1 – Partial Release, Partial Embrace

You may be released from bondage but have not fully made amends, returned something or taken full responsibility. All must be done to be fully released.

2- Full Releas,e No Embrace

If you let go of your bondage but do not fill it with Christ, it will return or be replaced by something else

3- Full Release Partial Embrace

You must fully rely on Christ, not willpower

4- Full Release, Full Embrace

Break through occurs when we fully release our baggage and fully embrace Christ

Questions to consider:

What is God saying to me now?
What does God want me to do?
What part of your heart does he need to have?
What could do for Him if your baggage wasn’t an issue?
How could your story help someone else?

Imitation and Flattery

April 18, 2010 by Amy 4 Comments

Sometimes it’s the little things. Like this makes me happy

because of this

It’s cute and it reminds me of a great woman in a great movie. And it was only $20. Score.

You can get the real watch Sandra Bullock wore in The Blind Side here for a cool $295.

The Uprising 2010

April 17, 2010 by Amy 12 Comments

Picture courtesy of Pete’s blog

So this is going to be a long post. It was only 9 hours of a conference, but it’s taken a few days to process. I’m still processing to be honest. In some ways, this conference was just a continuation of the changes that have been rumbling inside me, specifically surrounding the church. But in others, I was still challenged about my responsibilities as a church member and views of church in general. They say it was meant for church pastors but I say if every church member could hear it, a true Uprising could start.

How We Got There

To start off with, I wasn’t really supposed to be at this conference. Many people, even those at the conference, continued to ask what this thing was and why were we going? A few months ago, Pete Wilson gave away a few set of tickets and I blindly signed up, seeing that he and Perry Noble were speaking. That was enough to know whatever it was about it couldn’t be too bad. Come to find out it was geared for pastors and leaders. But as I expected, we didn’t walk away empty handed.

[Read more…] about The Uprising 2010

American Idol Top 9

April 13, 2010 by Amy 2 Comments

Crystal – I felt like she was hiding a little behind her guitar and didn’t seem to take any of Adam’s cues. But her vocals were still superb.

Andrew – That was a little eh for me. I think Andrew is really losing it in this competition. It wasn’t karoke but it wasn’t good.

Tim – I think that was the first time I half enjoyed Tim.

Lee – OMG, OMG, OMG, Lee is singing Chris Daughtry’s Elvis song from idol. OMG. That brings back such great memories such as these:

OK, let me concentrate here. So Lee sounds and looks different but I am really digging it. He sounds so good.

Aaron – That was karoke to me. Eh.

Siobhan – Since Paula wasn’t there, I’ll say Siobhan looks gorgeous. Did you see that skirt on her? Wowsers. She sounded great even though I thought the performance was eh.

Michael – I think Michael did this song right tonight. He really brought a new sound to it and for once, his theatrics helped the song.

Katie – Simon said loud and annoying. Yeah, really, that is not something I’d stick on my iPod.

Casey – He sounded good but I didn’t feel that he was channeling Elvis there.

Favorites: Lee, Siobhan, Michael

In trouble: Aaron, Andrew

Top Ten Tuesday : UBP10 Twitter Party

April 13, 2010 by Amy 13 Comments

Last night 5MinutesForMom hosted a Twitter party and it was CRAZEE. Over 16,000 tweets came in during an hour and a half period. You won’t be surprised to find my eyes were almost watering trying to keep up. But it was worth it! I met several new Tweeps and got some great info while I was there. I have several web sites open in my tabs to check out today and thought I’d share them.

I saw so many tweets shouting their love for Sarah Mae. Somehow she’s not on my blogroll even though I follow her on Twitter ?! I’ll fix it!!
BuildaBrand.com helps small businesses create and manage their brand.
ColourLovers.com helps designers choose color palettes when designing a site.
SayitFacetoFace.com is a web site for vlogging and vloggers to connect.
BlogFrog.com is a way to connect to other moms and a great way to get some blogging tips.
#MondayMingle is hosted here. I’m so interested in this Monday meme. Basically they post 3 questions and you answer them in a vlog. I’m going to do this next Monday!
MarketMeTweet is a new product 5minutesformom.com is going to review
KindNotes.com was a product giveaway last night that looks so cute!
Ditto for FranciePants!
And I couldn’t talk about the Twitter party without talking about the Ultimate Blog Party they are having on their site. I’ve participated before and am kicking myself for not doing it this year but I highly recommend you checking it out especially if you are new to blogging and looking to connect with some folks.

Make sure to check out more Top Ten Tues at ohamanda.com

Cooking with The Pioneer Woman: Weekly Update

April 12, 2010 by Amy 8 Comments

Thanks to a little dinner party, I have enough for a weekly update!

Huevos Hyacinth

I went into these knowing these weren’t really my thing but I figured Scott and Emma, whose taste buds tend to match up, would dig them. And they did. Scott I think would have preferred the tomatoes versus the picante sauce I used and I wish I would have had a different cheese to use than just sharp but it worked.

Maple Pecan Scones

I have been so anxious to make these but I kept holding off because Mom had pecans for me. However, I kept forgetting to get them. Finally, months later I took a bag full of them to crack open and made these scones Saturday. Before we get to that can we get to the whole cracking pecans thing? Because no one told me how to open them. I figured it was like the little peanuts at restaurants. Give them little mush and they’d fall right out. Well…as you know, you can’t do that with a pecan. So then what do I assume? Since I don’t have a nutcracker I’ll just go get Scott’s hammer! I wish I would have taken a picture of the disaster THAT made. The worse part is the girls decided they liked them so they kept eating whatever little bits I was able to salvage. I had a certified MESS. Only later did I find out I could let them soak and they’d come right out. OH WELL. I got my 1/4 cup of nuts and made the darn scones.

But the work was so worth it because the bits of pecans in the scones is my absolute favorite part of them. And I think scones get a bad rap for being dry but I found with the icing they melted in my mouth. YUMMY! The girls devoured them with the icing but no one else seemed too interested. That makes EIGHT scones for me to eat! I’ve been having one for breakfast every morning. When I complain about not losing weight, please point me back to this post, please.

Braised Beef Brisket

I was scared to death of the brisket. First off, I had no idea what to buy at the store. Only when PW posted about the Passover Brisket and mentioned NOT buying the corned beef brisket did I have a clue. Second, I’d heard that brisket was tough. Well, I think brisket has a bad rap in these parts (I understand brisket to be big in Texas) because I thoroughly enjoyed the brisket. It fell apart with a fork and had I not known, I’d simply thought it was a chuck roast someone had cooked. I do have to say it’s A LOT of preparation. Not a lot of work because really, it doesn’t get easier but you have to marinate it for 24 hours, and well, I just don’t think that far ahead most of the time! Plus, it wasn’t the cheapest thing. I think I paid $16 for a 7 lb piece. However, it could have easily fed 8-10 people. So, I guess what I’m saying is this is best when you’re planning ahead for a lot of people to come over.

Creamy Rosemary Potatoes

Oh boy, I could create a whole post on step 2 – use a mandoline to slice the potatoes. Do you know how many many people do not own a mandoline? And do you know that you have to be organized enough to keep around an extra attachment for your food processor for it to slice? And did you know that the $19.99 mandoline at WalMart really isn’t worth the time and money? Yeah, well now you do. So just plan on using your sharpest knife in the drawer to slice you a few potatoes. You don’t even have to peel them!

OK, so the sauce. MMMmmm, the sauce. Jill and I were licking the skillet of the sauce. I was SO looking forward to the potatoes. But I was a little let down. I’m not sure if I had too many potatoes or let it cook too long or WHAT. But those were not the creamy potatoes I had hoped for. The taste was great and the potatoes were nice and soft and but where’s the cream??

Olive Cheese Bread

I do not like olives. Scott likes olives. Jake doesn’t like olives. Jill likes olives. It was kind of a toss up. We made it. If you like olives, make this. If you do not like olives, don’t make this. The End.

Sloppy Joes

These are yummy. Make them. The kids loved how sloppy they were and ate every single bite of their sandwiches. I ate every single bite of both my sandwiches *cough* #theyweresmallsandwiches

PS. My cookbook is now officially falling apart.

PPS. Best I can count, I’ve made 39 of her recipes and have 21 more to go. Why? I don’t know. Why not?