Okra! Must be summer…

One of the fabulous things about living on Okinawa is that if I choose to shop at the local markets, I'm almost guaranteed to be eating local and IN season items (no asparagus or strawberries in November or apples in June).  Fresh In Oki started a little over a year ago, which is when I first started visiting the local markets.  So it's fun now to see things come back into season.  It makes me so excited.  I know.  I'm easy.

So last week on the way back from our night away, we stopped in Onna and for the first time this year, we were able to buy okra!!!!  YIPEE!!!  I love okra — and so do the boys.  Not that it's the most healthy since I make it like my Aunt Bessie did back in North Carolina, but it's TASTY.

We'll know it's REALLY summer when the mangos arrive… hoping ANY DAY.  :)

Read and post comments |
Send to a friend

TWO WEEKS?

Oh my goodness.  It's been 2 weeks since I last wrote.  Can't believe it!  Actually, I can.  Melody left exactly two weeks ago for a vacation in the States and I've been handling the Veggie Biz since then.  That has just about put me over the edge — but it's fun to get my hands on all those veggies and fruit a couple times a week.  AND of course, I've allowed myself the pleasure of a bowl of soba noodles before I head off to deliver on those days!

But the other thing I've been doing is sitting glued to the TV for as many hours as possible watching my beloved Olympics.  I just LOVE it.  ALLLL of it.  And I cry a lot which led me to write the following for Gracenotes:

The Olympics
make me cry.  I cry during the
opening ceremonies.  I cry during
the team events, during the individual events and during the medal ceremonies –
whether my country is represented or not. 
My eyes are red and throat is tight during much of August.
 
Are they
tears of joy or tears of sadness? 
Both.
 
It started during
the Opening Ceremonies.  Yes, it
was beautiful, inspiring and heart-moving.  But that’s not why I cried.  It’s the unity. 
It's the sense that for these few moments, the whole world has set aside
their disagreements and hurt feelings and political frustrations and has come
together to celebrate our humanity. 
 
To me, it is
a glimpse of what heaven might feel like. 
All of us from every edge of the earth with our different stories and
lives will come together before the throne of God to celebrate His saving grace.  Awesome.
 
The tears of
sadness come when I watch an athlete who has been training since their
childhood for this chance.  They
will display their skill for mere seconds in the hopes of being the best in the
world.  I cry because of what they
have given up for this honor.  The
time away from families, the childhood freedom and play that they often
forfeit, the school experiences they live without and the early exposure to the
world of rejection that they learn to suffer through.
 
And if they fail?  There is disappointment, regret and
grief.
 
However, for
the few who succeed, the expressions of overwhelming joy on their faces and
their families and those of us watching makes one think maybe it’s all worth
it.
 
What I am so
thankful for is that our ability to receive the greatest honor and award in the
universe is not contingent on how much we practice, on how we perform during
one moment in time.  It’s based on
how He already performed.
 
And just
like the Olympians, many of us gave up a lot to follow Christ.  Around the world in areas where there
is no freedom of religion, things are harder than for those of us who live in
the West.  But even here, devotion
to God can come between friends and family members, it can affect career
aspirations, it can keep you from many things the world paints as “fun.”
 
But
wonderfully, anything we have given up pales in comparison with the final
reward.  Because no matter how we
perform – whether we fall off the beam, trip during a sprint, miss the shot, or
create a huge splash upon entry – we will win.
 
We win.  There is no real tension, no held
breath, no pounding heart, because we already know.  We win.  Because
He won first.

 

Read and post comments |
Send to a friend

The big granola cruchy hippie news!

Veg Bag Goodies

The veg bags were delivered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend Melody and I spent Tuesday afternoon delivering the first bags for her new business:  Fresh In Oki

This has been a loooooong time in coming for me, having searched and looked for this sort of produce since we got here a year ago… It's like she's my new Riverford!!  :)

With very little word of mouth we had 15 orders for this week and everyone seemed happy with their pretty bag.  Can't wait to see what's going to happen next week when we actually TRY to tell everyone we know!

Oddly, we felt a bit like we were changing the world.  We helped fifteen families eat better and be healthier this week.  If you wanna check it out, here's the website/blog we put together for the business today:  www.FreshInOki.com

From the bag I roasted eggplant and tri-colored peppers the first night.  Had a HUGE salad and roasted carrots and mashed potatoes last night.  Was supposed to make lentil soup tonight, but ran out of time and so surprised Brent by suggesting our FIRST trip to the Wendy's that opened outside of Gate 2 nearly a YEAR ago.  I made him happy.  

Not that he didn't like the carrots and potatoes.

Read and post comments |
Send to a friend