Oh That's so Un-Christlike!

Alright so this isn't going to be like my other posts. This one is going to have some serious over tones. With a touch of mad rant. Just bare with me and I'll try to get back to normal for the next one.......

So the other week I was driving with a good friend of mine. It was a long drive so we were pretty much just blathering on about random things. We talked about everything from our kids to how complex men are etc. About an hour into the drive  I told her about how my mother (whom she's never met) was concerned about my brother in law (also whom she's never met) putting off finishing something that was almost done and very very important and so she's been kind of nagging him to get it completed.
My friend's response was not the casual. "Wow, I can't believe he would wait so long.." Instead she sounded almost angry and indignant about how horrible and "Un-Christ like" my mother was for being so hard on him.
Um...wait, What!?
Her reaction was so confusing and hurtful that it made me angry. I decide that was a good time to look out the window and try to stop myself from crying.(that's what happens when I get too upset) While doing so though I tried to defend my mom. My friend seemed to back pedal a bit and calmed down. But the comment still stuck with me even though we moved on to better topics like the tattoos we wanted when we were twelve.
But it's not the first time I've heard it used in that trivial a matter. And it seems to be growing in popularity as some sort of knee jerk/go to reaction to things people deem "not kind enough".

Hmmmm......Let's break it down shall we?....

It has a few forms but I've been hearing it more and more from my friends and family and their friends.
"What do you mean we have to start on time and be rushed? That is so un-Christlike!"
"You told someone my secret who is in no way connected to me. That's so un-Christian and un-Christlike.

Give me a break!

 I wonder if those who use phrases like this in their everyday life are aware of just how Puritanical and Self Righteous they sound? Not to mention plain Judgmental! (was that judgmental of me to call them judgmental?)
It's like these people have no other way of saying "Your response was not as nice or as understanding as I feel it should have been." Or "This upsets me and I don't like it." Or even "Hey, that's kind of mean." They feel they have to go straight for the "guilt". This is a very powerful trump card. And to use it as a reprimand is not only insulting but  is even worse because, really, they are then responding in a way that is by itself, not Christlike. Because I doubt Christ is watching our conversations and saying "Boy,(or Girl) I wish you would step in and tell them that I wouldn't do that." :(

In my opinion (because this is my blog and it's all my opinion), calling another Christian's actions Un-Christ like is like a slap in the face, Especially when no malice was intended.(I'm sure non-Christians wouldn't care so much.) Because, for Christians, what's a better way to make us feel guilty than to tell us that we are not behaving in the way our Lord and Savior would like? And in essence making us feel that we are a horrible person for doing or saying what we did.

The thing though, is that more and more people are using it for the most benign things.  Someone I know posted their opinion (on their own wall) about how sad it was that the media was giving so much attention to a celebrity death (who had a history of drug abuse) when there are soldiers dying everyday. The first person agreed with him. The second ripped him a new one for not being sympathetic enough to the celebrity, "such Christian attitudes.." was their first line. And they didn't stop there. Oh no, they went on and on....
Now, if the person who posted started calling the celebrity nasty names and called for violence against anyone who so ever dared posted a condolence post. Then I would consider that to be on the extreme side.Go ahead and make them see the error of their ways.... But not for just sharing their opinion about the hypocrisy about someone who seemed to waste their life compared to someone who died in the service of their country.

Do you see the difference people?

Can you see where this is could get annoying and out of hand?

I mean really, Christ's name is already used so much in inappropriate ways. Why must we use it as a form of reprimand or insult and hurt even more people?

Did someone say Smoothies?!!!

Oh yeah! It was me! Because on a semi dank and dreary day like today and it being close to Valentines day,who wouldn't want to cuddle up next to their Honey (aka a good book) and a large cup of frozen yumminess?

As I'm sure you are all aware, there are thousand of smoothie recipes out there but for some reason when I go into a smoothie place I always try to find one that does not contain Banana...

Now,some would ask, "But why not Banana?! All smoothies must have Banana!" And I would say to them "NOO, you are mistaken my friend. For my smoothies shalt not contain Banana because Banana is the bully of all fruit kind. The flavor takes over everything!" Not that I have anything against Banana, I just have to really be in the mood for it and when I find that it was slipped in without my knowledge it's like an angry assault to my taste buds. ...so moving on.

Some people think that smoothies are expensive but being the frugal and forward thinking person that I am, I've found a way around that. I buy fresh fruit like strawberries and blueberries when they are on sale and in mass quantities and then I freeze them. If you aren't quite as enterprising (paranoid some may say) as I am, you can just as easily buy the frozen stuff in the store. If it's out of season it's usually way cheaper to buy than the fresh stuff anyway.

And now for a little background story....
When I was in college, I used to go to Jamba Juice when I wanted to treat myself. I thought they were the BEST EVER. That is until a few years ago I stumbled across a small coffee/smoothie chain called Jolt and Juice in Ontario, OR. (Jamba, I still like you like a friend)


It was there that I weighed my options and ordered their "Cruisin Todd" (apple juice, blueberries, strawberries and heavy cream) with a shot of Mango syrup....and then, of course whip cream on top. It was like Manna from Heaven. And due to it's yumminess I craved it often. Unfortunately at the time the closest Jolt and Juice was about 45 minutes away and even then I could rarely convince my husband that stopping was truely necessary. So I had no other choice but to make my own...but in a not quite so "heavy whip cream" way. And this is what I came up with.

Here are my Ingredients:

(most of these measurement are approximate so you just have to go with it and hope it turns out close to mine)
1-2 handfuld of Frozen Blueberries
1 handful Frozen Apple slices (peeled, the skins do not blend well)
1 handful or 3-4 large Frozen Strawberries
1 inch piece of Frozen Mango (they are behind the blueberries)
about 1/4 cup of Plain Greek yogurt ( you could use Vanilla if you want)
about 1/4 cup of Apple sauce
1/2- 1 scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein powder
I also add about half a dropper of Grape flavored Stevia extract. it helps with the tartness of the yogurt.


Put all that in a food processor or blender and pulse once or twice to get it mixed a bit before putting it on high speed for about 20 seconds. Make sure to stop every few seconds and scrap the sides to ensure there are no giant bits.

The longer you blend it, the smoother and less thick it will become.

From there you just poor it into a cup and start popping a vein...or you could get a spoon until it melts a bit. Either way, Enjoy!