Friday, February 26, 2010

I ♥ Beef

February is American Heart Month. During this month, thousands of volunteers have been raising funds for research and education and passing along information about heart disease and stroke.

According to the Beef Council, “A healthy diet and lifestyle are some of the best weapons for fighting heart disease. A heart-healthy diet with moderate amounts of lean protein such as lean beef can provide your body with the nutrients it needs for optimal health. In fact, lean beef has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic disease, such as heart disease, through the following:

Feel Full Longer: According to a 2007 Journal of Medicine study, protein has more staying power than carbohydrates and fat. Eating a moderately high protein diet can curb hunger and reduce the body's desire to eat. This is important because obesity is now recognized as a major risk factor for heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

Improve Muscle Strength and Metabolism: Research has shown that including high quality protein such as lean beef in the diet helps to optimize muscle strength and metabolism, thus helping to improve overall health. Eating at least 4 ounces of lean, high quality protein at each meal may help maintain muscle mass and provide energy essential to leading a healthy lifestyle.

Improve Blood Cholesterol Levels: A 3-ounce serving of lean beef is composed of 50% monounsaturated fats, the same heart-healthy fats found in olive oil. Another 20% of the fats in that same 3-ounce serving comes from stearic acid, a fatty acid shown to have a neutral response on blood cholesterol. In addition, a study published in the Archives of Medicine found that lean beef is just as effective as skinless chicken and fish at lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol and increasing HDL ("good") cholesterol.

Beyond these benefits, many people are surprised to hear that beef not only offers POWER in the protein but that many of your favorite cuts of beef are lean and fit into a heart-healthy diet. Did you know that there are actually 29 cuts of beef that are LEAN, meaning they contribute less than 200 calories, less than 10 grams of total fat, less than 4.5 grams of saturated fat and less than 90 milligrams of cholesterol per 3-ounce serving?

Choose from your favorite lean beef cuts for dinner tonight and discover a complete recipe for better heart-health with lean protein, nine essential nutrients and great taste!”

For recipe’s and a list of the 29 cuts of lean beef, visit www.txbeef.org.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. ~Proverbs 4:23

Happy Trails & God Bless! To contact Kristen with questions or comments, email her at kristen_odom@hotmail.com.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Bulls & Boys

The cattle industry has taught me a lot about life. Everything from responsibility to life and death, cattle are good teachers. In a conversation with my dad, I recently discovered that dating is a lot like finding a good herd bull.

“A systematic approach to finding and identifying the “right” bull is imperative,” according to the Systematic Approach to Buying a Bull, published by the Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Step 1- Identify Herd Goals- Herd goals serve as the foundation for sire selection and provide guidance as to traits with the most relevance.

Step 2- Assess Herd Strengths and Weaknesses- Basic performance parameters are necessary to serve as the basis for assessing areas of strength and those needing attention.

Step 3- Establish Selection Priorities- Focus on a handful of priority traits rather than attempting to change many traits simultaneously.

My dad and I agreed that it’s key for the ‘bull’ to have sound structure, a good disposition and that he stays in the home pasture.

Highly heritable traits are important. How have the sire and dam performed? In addition to these traits, recessive genes are also good to take note of through a look at the rest of the herd.

And I think it’s imperative to know when to keep ‘em and when to cull ’em.

The joy of this last part is that it doesn’t have to be solely your decision. God is a good one to listen to considering He sees the big picture.

Proverbs 16:3 says, Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.


Proverbs 3:6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.

I know without a doubt that God has an amazing plan for my life. I pray for my future husband and look forward to the day when God brings us together.

Also, I do pray that he’s tough hided and has a good sense of humor. He’s going to need it when my dad starts asking him about his EPD’s and Gene Star DNA scores.

Happy Trails & God Bless! To contact Kristen with questions or comments, email her at kristen_odom@hotmail.com.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Anna-Lisa Smile

I just love how God works! I recently attended the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association 2010 Annual Cattle Industry convention in San Antonio and met the most amazing acquaintances. After becoming friends on Facebook, I discovered that one of them has a blog (the joy of technology!).

She hit the nail on the head with her latest post-
“Perception vs. Reality is not only a battle in my attempting to weed out the bad guys, it's a battle on every field in every arena of our lives. How are we perceived?

When I was in the Word this morning I ran across a wonderful passage in James. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.~ James 1:22.

Are you perceived as a follower by every interaction that you have with others? Am I? Maybe if we do what the Word says and not only listen to it, other's perceptions of us will be our reality.

I am reminded of the song "They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love". The Word tells us to love on people, in fact he says, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 1 John 3:23.

One of my gifts from the Lord is the desire to love on people. I love to help people, care for people, guide people and really just love on others. So much so that often I fall behind on what I need to be doing for me, i.e. cleaning the house etc.

It is my hope that when I love on others they will see the Lord's light in me. They will see that He is the center of my being and that only By HIS Grace, am I me.

Do others know you are a Christian? Do they notice your behavior? How are you perceived? I would encourage you to think about this and truly seek to do what the Word says. Make the Lord the center of every conversation and a guest at every table. Exceed perception and strive to exceed expectation. Remember that it is By His Grace...”

I encourage you to check out her blog at http://anna-lisa-smile.blogspot.com.

Happy Trails & God Bless! To contact Kristen with questions or comments, email her at kristen_odom@hotmail.com.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Matthew

At the Texas Tech Wesley Foundation, we are reading the New Testament over the course of the spring semester. I always had it set in my mind that I needed to read the Bible from start to finish, but that mindset hasn’t been successful!

Some verses that really hit home with me are the following:
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. ~Matthew 5:14-16

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mone
y. ~ Matthew 6:19-24

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. ~ Matthew 7:12

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
~ Matthew 9:10-12

I’ve learned how important it is to read and study the scripture surrounding each verse. I hope you will take a few minutes and read more in Matthew. It’s pretty amazing!

Happy Trails & God Bless! To contact Kristen with questions or comments, email her at kristen_odom@hotmail.com.