OK, I finally gave in. After two years of hearing Hungry Girl pledge her devotion to House Foods' Tofu Shirataki noodles on her website and in her e-newsletters, and after seeing them grace the pages of several health mags recently, I tried tofu noodles. We had them for dinner last week and we were pleasantly surprised by how noodle-ish (as opposed to tofu-ish) they tasted. Here's the deal:

Tofu Shirataki noodles are extremely low-calorie compared to noodles made from wheat or rice. Tofu Shirataki noodles contain 40 calories per 4 oz., while a similar-size portion of cooked, regular white spaghetti contains somewhere in the range of 150-180 calories. Tofu Shiritaki is also sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free, and quite low in carbohydrates at only 3 grams per serving. As for the taste, they were delish. As for the texture, they were just slightly chewier than noodles we're used to eating. 

We tried them in this Noodles with Shrimp & Peanut Sauce, my adaptation of a recipe from a fairly recent issue of Cuisine. So I guess Hungry Girl was right. Mr. Shafer and I both agreed we would try Tofu Shirataki again.

For the final post in my Inspiration Series, I want to share a story with you. My dad is a church building consultant for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. He covers a large territory of the U.S., from Minnesota to Texas, Nebraska to Indiana. When he finds a rare moment of spare time between church meetings and plane connections, he likes to send us little updates and stories from the road. He calls them the Church Guy reports. Just two weeks ago, my dad had his third corneal transplant. With his permission I wanted to share his most recent Church Guy report. He wrote it the night before his surgery. I hope you can find inspiration in his words.

Church Guy #25

1/13/2010                                                          Driftwood

 

By this time tomorrow night I will see the world differently. This will be the third time tissue from another human being has been transplanted into my eye. I apparently wore out my last corneal transplant. Maybe I’ve seen too much. Maybe I’ve been to too many meetings. Maybe it’s a strange combination of DNA, or simply God’s ways of saying, don’t take anything for granted.

 

A new year has always been a time of reflection for me. It is a time to consider the past year and how time was spent, and a time to consider the new year and what God might have in store. This past year I took 53 flights, drove thousands of miles, attended 178 meetings, and spent 68 nights in a hotel room. I will try not to spend too much time wondering if that was time well spent. I choose to leave that up to God. It does however give one pause (as it should from time to time) as you consider your life and what it will ultimately add up to. Did you come anywhere close to what God had in mind or did you just drift by?

 

On one of my last trips in December, I found myself in Blue Springs, Missouri, with an hour or so to kill between meetings when I wandered into an antique store in an older part of the city. It was an old drug store turned into a collectable shop so packed with stuff that there was barely a path to walk or a place to sit. The lady that owned the place greeted me. She kept the old soda fountain in working order and, before long, talked me into a bowl of hand-dipped vanilla ice cream. I sat in an antique barber chair, ate my ice cream, and visited with her. When she greeted another customer, I took the time to study my surroundings. There was so much in the place that I couldn’t see anything when I first walked in, but given time, things emerged. My eye caught a life-size zebra that I’d somehow missed. I learned it was an old merry-go-round animal that had been refurbished and the stripes were made of individual white and black beans (48,000 of them) glued in place to recreate a genuine zebra pattern. I will not wonder if that was time well spent. I choose to leave that up to God.

 

Next my eye wandered to a piece of driftwood. It was amazing. It stood almost five foot high and was an intricately carved sculpture with intersecting veins of wood. It was like a human leg where each individual artery and vein could be seen with the muscle and tissue stripped away. I’ve always been fascinated by driftwood. I imagine a tree limb or branch separated because of storm, strife, or death, finding its way to the water for a journey that takes years or even decades as sand and water slowly shape and form it until someone happens by and claims it as a work of art.

 

It occurs to me that life can be a lot like driftwood. Someone falls off, disconnected from their source of life or love, and through storms or death they drift, shaped by what flows around them, wondering or hoping if anyone will claim them as a work of art. Years and decades may pass and they wonder if it was time well spent. Did anyone notice?

 

On my last call of the year, I pulled out of a church in St. Louis onto a four-lane highway and headed north, stopping at the first light. When it turned green no one moved. As is usual, I became impatient and tried to see ahead and figure out what the hold up was. As the line began to move, I realized that a funeral procession was leaving a church and turning onto the highway. I counted 50 some cars. “Big funeral,” I muttered. The procession moved through several light changes as I waited. It was then I noticed something unusual out of the corner of my eye. As the procession made its way onto the highway, it turned in front of a group of pre-school aged children lined up at the edge of the road. They stood there about 40 in number, five or six in a row separated by adults with their heads bowed quietly and still. I realized then that they were paying tribute to the person who died. 

 

I began to wonder who the person was. Was she a pre-school teacher? Was he a long-time volunteer at the church school? Obviously they had some kind of connection to these little kids. They weren’t jumping around as pre-school kids do. They were still with their heads bowed. They seemed sad. They were going to miss whoever it was.

 

I decided that this person’s time was well spent. They weren’t driftwood. God had shaped them not by the flow of some disconnected source but by purpose and meaning. I decided whoever was in that coffin had chosen well. They had been faithful. Someone would miss them. They left something behind. They counted. I imagined them being held tightly in heaven hearing, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

 

And I now wonder about the person whose cornea I will receive tomorrow. Did they spend their time well? I choose to leave that up to God. I choose to think they weren’t driftwood. I choose to think that they will go on seeing.

Whether you're musical or not, I don't think you can deny the powerful affect a good song can have on your emotions. Inspirational songs are the third topic in my January Inspiration Series. I'm listening to one of my favorites [Defying Gravity from the Wicked soundtrack] as I type this. It makes me want to get up and run 10 miles, to be a better wife, and to write a novel that will change the world. In other words, it fills me with hope and energy!

Feel free to borrow these for your play list. I dare to guarantee that a little inspiration will creep in through your ears.

My #1 Song for Inspiration: Defying Gravity. You must listen through 1:52 - that's where it gets really good!

This is Chris' top pick. It has the potential to bring tears to his eyes - now that's powerful! Sorry about the AutoPlay - just press the pause button to stop the song.

Beautiful Day – U2 Music Code

Careful, this one may cause you to strip down to your black leotard (and who doesn't have one of those), tape up your feet, and dance in your office chair!

What can I say? This one's a classic. We used it in our wedding video, it's been way overplayed in recent years, and yet it still gets me. I won't stop believin!

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey Music Code

I could go on and on with this list, but I'll stop with these four. Please leave your favorite inspirational songs in the comments, and then listen to them whenever you need to remember that you're great, you're worth it, and you can take one step closer to goals you've set for yourself in 2010!

Welcome back to the second week of my Inspiration Series! Today I'm featuring a list of movies that can give you that inspirational boost you may be looking for during these cold days of January. Whether you need an inspiring story of love, or a tale about overcoming the odds, these are the movies that have touched my heart in one way or another. Please feel free to add your own.

Rudy - a true story about pursuing your dreams

Vision Quest - a good example of setting goals, and how to look for strength within when others don't believe in you

Tin Cup - a story that shows it's never too late in life to do big things

A League of Their Own - a story of how sisterhood and teamwork can win against the odds

Field of Dreams - an example of honoring the past for a better future (if you build it, they will come)

The Blind Side - a true story of personal strength to overcome hardships in life 

Remember the Titans - a tale about the amazing things a functioning team can do (the whole is greater than the parts)

Pursuit of Happiness - an inspiring story that shows what can happen if you never give up

Invictus - a true story that shows you must be the change you wish to see in the world

Sea Biscuit - a story that shows you can be hurt and discouraged, but you'll never be broken

300 - an amazing story about standing up (and fighting) for what you believe in

Gladiator - this tale proves it's not easy to do what is right, but good will always be stronger than evil

The Notebook - an inspiring story of love and the undying connection is creates between two souls

Good Will Hunting - a story about living up to your potential and not becoming a product of your environment

The Story of Us - a tale that shows love is not easy, but love is what makes up the substance of our lives

Where are you when you feel most alive? What are you doing when your dreams seem more realistic than ever? What did you just hear or see or taste right before you started something big, something small, or something different?

Chances are you were in a place (or doing, hearing, seeing, or tasting) something that inspired you.

Inspiration means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to you, too. It's inspiration that will get us started on every positive and healthy change we make in 2010, and it's inspiration that will get us through those challenges we'll undoubtedly face in the new year.
In my life, I aim to be inspired, and I aim to be an inspiration.

This year, inspiration will come to you in many forms — through people, through things you hear and witness, through books and stories you read, in God-made things and in man-made things, in songs you listen to, through movies you see, and even in the things you dream and accomplish yourself.

Join me every Monday in January as I post about *things* that inspire. I start today with the quotes that inspire me. I like to write them on post-its and stick them to my computer, I like to jot them in the margins of my notebooks, and I like to recite them in my head when I need a boost to get through the day. Let's face it: Life is not easy or fair or always good, but it's an inspired individual who can make it a little easier, a little fairer, and a lot better.

............................................................

It is never too late to be what you might have been. ~ George Eliot

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count; It’s the life in your years. ~ Abraham Lincoln

Consider gain and loss, but never be greedy and everything will be all right. ~ Fortune Cookie

It's a wonderful life. ~ George Bailey

The first wealth is health. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can't. ~ Jack Dempsey

To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life. ~ William Londen

 There's only us, there's only this ... forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way, no day but today. ~ Mimi, Rent

You can do anything, but not everything. ~ David Allen

Well-behaved women seldom make history. ~ Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

 You must be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Gandhi

Begin to weave and God will give you the thread. ~ German Proverb

If you are going through hell, keep going. ~ Winston Churchill

Faith is the conviction that God knows
more than we do about this life
and He will get us through it. ~ Max Lucado 

Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries. ~ James A. Michener

Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it.
Establish your priorities and go to work. ~ H.L. Hungt