Book Club Tomorrow! The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

You're invited to join us at the Regency Panera Bread located at 9301 Atlantic Boulevard Jacksonville, FL for Book Club at 9:30 AM. We're reading The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
(This event is through Arlington Assembly of God).
Here's more information about the book:
The Great Divorce: A Dream is a work of fantasy by C. S. Lewis. Although less renowned than Narnia and the Space Trilogy, it is considered one of his finest works of fiction by many Lewis fans. Every chapter builds into an introspective story, which guides readers into thoughts of heavenly rumination. In provoking one into thoughts of heaven, Lewis raises all the questions that have ever come into man’s mind about paradise. With his imagination and descriptive language, Lewis begins to enthrall and invite us into this volume.


To RSVP leave a comment or go follow this link: Facebook Event


You can also get more information by watching this video: Video explanation of the book

White Chili--Yum!

I found some ground chicken at Publix the other day. I've always wanted to make white chili and thought the ground chicken would be a good choice. I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen's...she called for pieces of chicken and soaking beans. I didn't want to hassle with soaking the beans so I used canned instead. It cut the time down from 1 1/2 hours to 30 minutes. This version could easily be made after work. It was easy and tasted great. I forgot to take a picture but might tomorrow with my leftovers. I put a dollop of table cream on each serving with some monterey jack cheese. You can find the table cream in the mexican food aisle. It comes in a small can. Hope you enjoy the chili!

White Chili
4 16 oz cans of white beans
2 T. butter
½ of a medium onion, diced
1 small can green chilies
1 T. minced garlic
1-pound ground chicken
1-2 T. ground cumin (add one and see if you want more then add the second)
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. ground white pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried cilantro (or use ½ bunch fresh)

In a Dutch oven or big pot, melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes until soft (may need to turn down to medium heat. Do not let the onion brown). Add garlic and green chilies; cook for 1-2 minutes more. Add the ground chicken plus the spices and cook until there is no more pink in the chicken. Add the beans and cook for 30 minutes at a low simmer.

Serve with shredded monterey jack cheese, table cream (or sour cream) and corn muffins.

Are you a perfectionist? Don't answer too quickly...

Have you ever thought of yourself as a perfectionist? According Paul Hewitt, a Psychologist from Vancouver, BC, there are three kinds of perfectionists (CNN, 2000):

·      Self-oriented perfectionists, who believe they must be perfect.

·      Other-oriented perfectionists, who want others to be flawless.

·      Socially prescribed perfectionists, who feel they must be perfect because someone might be watching.

Hewitt and Flett (1993) explain that self-oriented “perfectionists tend to equate self-worth with performance, any interruptions in meeting the standards may be interpreted as a failure with implications for the self-concept” (p. 62).

From my experience, since many people equate worth with performance they tell themselves one of two things: “I must perform to a certain standard to have worth and value” or “I must be liked and have approval to have self worth.” So, as a result, the perfectionist keeps on working and meeting everyone else’s needs until he or she is bitter and resentful or just burned out and tired. “The emotional distress that is experienced by the perfectionist may be magnified by distorted thinking, ruminations with perfectionist themes, and active processing of information about the ideal self” (Hewitt & Flett, 1993, p. 62).

To “recover” from perfectionism, first you need to recognize there is a problem! I know it sounds like a 12 step-program…but seriously, many people don’t think their perfectionist ways are a problem or they don’t think they are perfectionists. So, let me stop and give you a list of some “symptoms”:

·      thinks it is all or nothing (I’m all in or won’t even try if I can’t do it right)

·      sets unrealistic goals

·      breaks promises

·      forgets about past success

·      lives by “I should or must”

·      worries about losing control

Do you identify with any of these symptoms?

If you said yes to any of these, keep reading…

Now, that you are ready to say, “Hi! My name is_______and I’m a perfectionist” we can move on to the next step, which is acknowledging the cause. Usually there are one of two roots, a fear of failure or a fear of rejection. To try to reduce the fear, there is desire to stay in control. The problem is that the more you try to control the more tied up you get. Instead, you need to develop an accurate picture of God’s love and acceptance of yourself and develop a relationship with him. Romans 5:1 & 2 says, since by faith we’ve been made right in God’s eyes, we should have peace with God because of Christ’s work on the cross. Our faith in Christ has brought us into a place where we can stand confidently and look forward joyfully to sharing God’s glory. We should now find our self worth in a quiet acceptance of ourselves in Christ. Acts 17:25 says, Christ gives life and breath to everything, and He will satisfy all of our needs.

So, now that you know the cause, take the next step and challenge those beliefs! Once you are able to recognize your perfectionist thoughts, you can move to refusing them. When you hear yourself start to say, “I should…” say “NO! Stop it!” ( Click here to learn more about stopping) Then, take a deep breath, relax, and start telling yourself the truth. Look at the chart below. It gives you a great example of pursuing excellence vs. perfectionism. You can use the excellence side as the truth you want to live by! 

CNN. (2000). What price perfection? Study aims to find out. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from http://www.cnn.com/TECH/science/9901/21/t_t/perfectionists/.

Hewitt, P. L. & Flett, G. L. (1993). Dimensions of perfectionism, daily stress, and depression: A test of the specific vulnerability hypothesis. Journal of abnormal psychology, 102(1), 58-65.