Bday Bash - 2009

My 2009 birthday was a very memorable one with all my Omaha friends. It brought back memories of college days where birthdays used to be a big 'Hungama' with eggs, cake facials etc etc.

The birthday morn started with a line of phone calls from my parents, in laws and freinds all wishing me. Its such a nice feeling to have so many people remember you on your birthday and make you feel special. I would have answered atleast 20 phone calls and replied to atleast 60 scraps and emails. I had to actually run away from the phone to take a shower that day.
The family meal was in TGI friday. I ordered my favorite baby ribs. The taste was good but somehow I was not very satisfied with the meal. After that it was time to prepare for the evening party.

I made pepper chicken and a pulav for my friends. My hubby had got some french toast sticks, frozen parotta, drinks, chips etc for the party. My friends got many more stuff like Chicken curry, chilly egg idli, vegetable pasta, onion pakoda etc. Though it was a working day, my friends took the effort to make my day special for me.

The highlight of the day was the birthday cake which was made by my close friend Elizabeth. A homemade birthday cake is always special to me because it is much more than just a birthday cake. Unlike a store bought one, the effort involved in making a cake makes the value of the cake priceless. The cake on top is the picture of the special cake that was made for me.

After the cake cutting which was a formal one it was time for the hungama part. Every one was deciding where and how to start the egg breaking. It was the first time the ladies decided to have a egg game. Finally after lot of discussion, Eliza decided she'll take the first move. I had got 2 eggs in my hand in the meantime for self protection. After 2-3 minutes, egg fight was in full swing. The whole kitchen was in eggs. HaHaHa....... No more explanation needed!!!!!

Finally after the cake fight, egg fight, several facials......... all the ladies went to clean up.... The poor men had to clean up the mess that we had made....... The kids were getting a good lesson of how to celebrate birthdays in future.....

The grand finale was a sumptious table spread with so many items...... On the whole it was an unforgettable birthday. I really thank my hubby for organizing the whole party and my friends who made it on a working day to make my day special...

GM Diet

GM diet is the diet program developed for the employees of General Motors. This program is designed for a approximate weight loss of 10-17 lbs per week and to cleanse all the internal systems. The diet can be taken as often as needed.

Conditions of diet
1. You must abstain from all alcohol.
2. You must drink 10 glasses of water each day.
3. You can have unlimited amount of clean vegetable soup with cabbage, onions, celery, garlic, capsicum, asparagus, cauliflower and tomatoes during the diet period. Do not include dry beans (lima beans, chik peas etc) in your soup.
4. You could have beverages like black coffee without sugar, black tea without sugar, club soda during the diet period.

Diet Program
Day One : All fruits except bananas. You can eat any fruits in any quantity you want but restricting to melons will be very effective.
Day Two : All vegetables. You have to start the day with a baked potato and eat any vegetables for the rest of the day. You can eat the vegetables raw or cook them with spices and less than 1 tsp of oil.
Day Three : A mixture of fruits and vegetables. Any quantity of any fruits or vegetables except bananas and potatoes.
Day Four : Bananas and milk. This day you can eat a maximum of 8 bananas and drink 3 cups of milk.
Day Five : Beef and tomatoes. You can eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef along with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing. For vegetarians, you can eat mushrooms, greens, dhal or soya.
Day Six : Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables.
Day Seven : Brown rice, fruit juices and vegetables.

How and Why It Works
Day One : You are preparing your system for the upcoming program. Your only source of nutrition is fresh or canned fruits. Fruits are nature's perfect food that provide everything you want to sustain life except total balance and variety.
Day Two : starts with a fix of complex carbohydrates. This is taken in the morning for energy and balance. The rest of day two consists of vegetables which are virtually calorie free and provide essential nutrients and fibre.
Day Three : eliminates the potato because you get your carbohydrates from the fruits. You system is now prepared to start burning excess pounds. You will still have cravings which should start to diminish by day four.
Day Four : bananas, milk and soup sound the strangest and least desirable. You're in for a surprise. You probably will not eat all the bananas allowed. But they are there for the potassium you have lost and the sodium you may have missed the past three days. You will notice a definite loss of desire for sweets. You will be surprised how easy this day will go.
Day Five : Beef and tomatoes. The beef is for iron and proteins, the tomatoes are for digestion and fibre. Lots and lots of water purifies your system. You should notice colourless urine today. . You must eat the six tomatoes.
Day Six : is similar to day five, Iron and proteins from beef, Vitamins and fibre from vegetables. By now your system is in a total weight loss inclination. There should be a noticeable difference in the way you look today, compared to day one.
Day Seven : You have a healthier and cleaner system.

STRESS - What the Bible says about Stress??

Definition :-
Pressure by situation/circumstances in life and the mental/emotional reactions to such pressures.
It is the way a body reacts to an actual or perceived danger.

Why and when do we have stress???

• Due to multitasking – too many responsibilities to handle
• Physically tired
• Sick
• Want to show our independence – we take too much tasks than we can handle
• Move our eyes away from the LORD like Peter
• Due to guilt feeling over our sins
• Sometimes it comes even without any reason

Stress has 2 parts to it.
Circumstance (Cause) – Every stress starts with this – This may or may not be in our hands.
Reaction (Effect) – How we respond to stress/ How we handle it.

Possible reactions to stress
1. Negative Reaction – This is the reaction of most human beings. It includes getting angry and brittle, full of doubt and unbelief, grumbling and crying, blaming the situations, self-pity, falling sick or even commit suicide.
Eg :- Sauls reaction- 1 Sam 18 :6-11
2. Neutral Reaction Hiker reaction - continue carrying the stress like a burden - become part of burden
3. Positive Reaction- Submit to God - full of faith in God
What the Bible wants us to do???
that we trust in Him, put Him first, and do the best we can
1. Accept and DO Gods will
- Think of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) in any situation
eg :- (a) Esther
- Who we are under pressure reveals who we really are.
In Esther 4:6-17, Haman was plotting to destroy the Jews and managed to get the order from the King. Mordecai (Esthers uncle) explained the situation to Esther and asked her to talk to the king. In those days whoever approaches the king without being summoned were put to death. But she decided to do the will of God even under that stressful situation. She fasted and prayed and approached the king. She was determined to do the will of God under any circumstance. Her determination can be seen in her words “If I perish, I perish”
(b) Mary
When the angel of the Lord told her that she would be pregnant out of wedlock, it would definetely have been a stressful situation for her. But she decided to accept the Lord will.
How do we know the will of God??
(a) Romans 12:1-2 says "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will."
(b) Constant meditation on His word. Build your life on the rock of Jesus, and the rock of putting His words into practice. If you do not put to practise, the word of God will be like a dormant seed that fell on the rock. Luke 6:47, 48 says "I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them in to practice. He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came the torrents struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built.". Jesus didn't say that once we built our house on the rock everything would be perfect. He said that the flood will come but the house will be firm.

2. GO to God
Mt. 11:28-30 says "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Psalms 55:22 says “ Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.”
If you cannot solve a problem, it is no longer your problem. Turn it over to God.
Eg :- (a) If your manager or any higher authority is the reason for your stress, there is probably nothing that you can do. In such cases just submit the situation to God.
(b) Daniel – When the king threw him in the lions den, he had nothing that he could do. But he did what the Lord expects all of us to do in such a situation. He submitted himself and his problem to God and prayed fervently.

3. Do not fear. Fear is opposite to faith
- Beleive that God can answer and He will answer.
- Look at the eyes of the problems and do not let the problem dominate over you. This will mean victory for the devil whose main aim is to pose a threat to the beleivers with problems.
Matthew 13:22 says "The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful."
Some verses from the Bible to motivate us and encourage us to be fruitful :
-Romans 8:31 "If God is for us, who can be against us?" .
-John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
-1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love but perfect love drives out fear, for fear has a torment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

4. Solitary time with God
At times of trouble, stop thinking about the circumstances and have a time of fellowship with God. This will renew your strength. The Bible says “Be still and know that I am God”
eg : - Jesus – was often in stressful situations but was never stressed out.

5.Praise
eg :Paul and Silas (Acts 16:22-40)
When they were put in the dark prison, instead of being stressed out with fear, they started praising and singing.
- count your blessings
Psalms 103 :1 says “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits”
- the joy of the Lord is our strength.

6. Take one day at a time.
Finally I want to conclude by saying 'If God is the reason behind your success and life, you wont be stressed out'. Even a violin wouldnt produce music without some strain.