Slice Of Life

Connie’s Picks:

Connie Cavanaugh — 2011-10-31T11:55:16-06:00

Connie’s Picks: To Watch and Read

TO WATCH:

Soul Surfer is a 2011 American drama film about the life of professional surfer

, Bethany Hamilton. At the age of thirteen, Hamilton lost her arm to a shark attack. The film details the events surrounding this attack and her struggle during the aftermath. The title refers to a term coined in the 1960s to denote someone who surfs purely for pleasure, but the word soul has a double meaning as a reference to Hamilton's Christian faith, which helped her recover her surfing career after the attack.
The day after watching the movie Soul Surfer for the first time, I had the pleasure of meeting Bethany Hamilton in Atlanta GA at the 2011 International Christian Retail Show.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

Connie Cavanaugh — 2011-10-31T11:54:16-06:00

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

So many people are discovering later in life, as I did, that milk products disagree with their digestion. If you have lactose intolerant or dairy allergic guests coming for Thanksgiving or a fall dinner party you can serve this traditional old harvest time standby – good old punkin pie – that everyone will love and no one will get a tummy ache!
Simple, Fast, Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie: easy to make and the best you’ll ever eat

Grammy's Goodies

Connie Cavanaugh — 2011-10-31T11:49:03-06:00

Grammy’s Goodies:
(I have three grandkids. Here are their latest gems)
Madi, age 2: Her Sunday School teacher pointed to a poster of Ezra reading from a scroll and said, “Look, Madi, Ezra is reading the Bible.”
She’s nobody’s fool: “Dass not a Bible. Dass a MAP!”

Your Kitchen Island – God’s Altar

Connie Cavanaugh — 2011-06-22T15:11:56-06:00

If you like to eat – who doesn’t? -- you probably spend a good portion of every day at your island or cupboard. That is where you prepare your meals and those of your family. Many of us even eat there. A couple of year’s ago I gave my kitchen a facelift by painting my countertops. The kitchen cupboard and island has been my home altar for decades.

Excerpt from New Book

Connie Cavanaugh — 2010-10-07T11:50:13-06:00

In my brief season as a runner, a running partner who had completed marathons prior to our association suggested we enter and run in some five- and ten-kilometer races (5k: approximately three miles; 10k: approximately six miles). Cindy convinced me I could do it, so we began to train. With incredible patience she high-stepped along beside me, chatting while I gasped. She encouraged me every step of the way when we headed out in the early morning hours before my kids awoke. Cindy rode her bike across town to my house at six, and then rode home again because she knew that she wouldn't get enough of a workout by running with me. I managed to stagger one kilometer the first day and thought I would die. I didn't, unfortunately, which meant I had to run with Cindy again in two days.

Top Ten Things I Love about Summer

Connie Cavanaugh — 2010-05-24T14:56:46-06:00

“Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singinghas come.” Song of Solomon 2:12

In this northern land where it feels like winter lasts forever and summer is over in a flash, we Canadian women need to “seize the summer” and get the most out of it. Here are the Top Ten Things I Love about Summer. Maybe you will relate to some of them, or replace a few with some of your own, or add one of them to your own repertoire

Don’t live in a small town if you can’t behave

Connie Cavanaugh — 2010-02-07T06:15:23-07:00

I never thought I’d say this but living in a small town has its disadvantages. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little community; there’s no better place to raise kids. But the very thing that makes you feel safe – that people know each other – can also come back to bite you if you misbehave.

Mr Opposite

Connie Cavanaugh — 2009-10-03T10:09:01-06:00

Our first snowfall brought more than the promise of a white Christmas. It gave me a chance to thank God for my most valuable earthly gift – my husband, Mr. Opposite. We discovered soon after our marriage that while opposites attract, they can also repel! We got along like two cats in a sack that first year. Fortunately, my husband learned and then taught me that when our differences threatened to blow the lid off our relationship, tipping the steam vent with spurts of laughter born of grace could change everything.

The Great Cochin Fire

Connie Cavanaugh — 2009-05-18T15:41:11-06:00

When my 24-year-old husband assumed his first pastorate in a north-Saskatchewan village, he thought he’d ignite some spiritual fire in the community. He did much more than that. He became known as the preacher who put the word arson in parson.

The church and parsonage where we lived was a two-acre parcel of land on a hilltop overlooking a lake. My husband kept the grass watered and cut all around the buildings but the rocky slope below our bay window was impossible to mow. The grass grew tall and untended all summer then faded and lay dormant under winter’s snow to reappear, an unsightly tangled mess in the spring. I thought it marred the beauty of our lake view so I suggested to my husband that he clean it up.

Men Have Not Changed

Connie Cavanaugh — 2009-01-13T11:00:58-07:00

Men have not changed since the dawn of creation. Although we have morphed from the Stone Age to the Space Age, men have simply exchanged their crude clubs for credit cards -- they are still hunters and gatherers.
In Canada, the busiest shopping day of the year is December 26. It’s called Boxing Day.
In 2000, Boxing Day dawned clear and cold. Long before the sun peeked over the horizon my husband Gerry was in his car heading for Future Shop. There wasn't a soul there when he skidded into the dimly lit parking lot at 5:30 a.m.
“I’ll be first in line!” he chortled

JUST OPEN THE DOOR!

Connie Cavanaugh — 2008-09-08T21:49:12-06:00

I know a beautiful young Christian woman who is spiritually dry right now. She hates going to church. She says Sunday is the worst day of her week. She is frustrated when other believers talk about hearing God because she feels abandoned. She can’t sense His presence. Heaven is silent.

Boy was I in for a Big Surprise.

Connie Cavanaugh — 2008-05-02T08:08:53-06:00

The women were excited but the men were tentative in the weeks leading up to the “Love and Respect” marriage conference at our church. Women buzzed around the registration table, eager to sign up, hoping we’d get our money’s worth once our husbands heard all the things they were doing wrong, smartened up, and became more like us. We had been to marriage conferences before and, typically, it was the men who needed to do most of the changing. I was smugly convinced this was going to be more-of-same. Boy was I in for a Big Surprise.

Everybody Wants to Walk on Water

Connie Cavanaugh — 2008-04-06T13:18:33-06:00

Everybody wants to walk on water, but nobody wants to get out of the boat. Have you ever noticed that? Most of us want to experience the “wow!” with God but when He calls us to step out in faith we say “whoa!” Too risky! Can I really trust Him?

BANK CARD BLUES

Connie Cavanaugh — 2008-03-07T07:24:20-07:00

We’ve all heard the excuse; the dog ate my homework, right? Well how about this one? Our son incurred a rather hefty personal debt between the end of Grade 12 in June 2006 and the first paycheck from his summer job. Most of his days were spent a-straddle a riding mower on the 160-acre campus of the local Baptist seminary. Well, his ship finally came in and he crowed about how rich he was as he arrived home, paycheck waving. Always ready to rain on the parade, I reminded him of the chunk of change he owed us.
“I’ll get it to you,” he promised.

HEALTHY NEGLECT

Connie Cavanaugh — 2008-02-26T11:38:18-07:00

Hearing the door close roughly and footsteps in the foyer, I looked up from my desk to see my 20-year-old son. He had the look of defeat written all over him – shoulders slouched, head drooped, arms slack. Every mother knows that look from years of sitting in hockey arenas or on soccer bleachers at the end of a big blowout. Your first thought is always, “How can I cheer him up? How can I explain that sometimes we win and sometimes we lose and losing makes us stronger…?” You know the drill.

Dad is Parliament; Mom is RCMP

Connie Cavanaugh — 2007-11-24T18:52:32-07:00

I never knew that a couple of my law-enforcement friends were celebrities until some women visiting from Texas clued me in.

As a Canadian, I grew up thinking our national police force – the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – were just like cops everywhere. Dressed in their regular blue uniforms with a tool belt full of weapons on their hips, they chase bad guys in their white squad cars and almost always get their man.

You've Got Mail

Connie Cavanaugh — 2007-11-24T18:44:27-07:00

My husband is a morning person. Years ago we discovered the best way to guarantee he remained happy was for me to stay in bed until after he left for work. That way there was no chance I could ruin his good mood.

However, when we have houseguests, I feel compelled to get up early and make breakfast because I don't want people to know I don't do that every morning. I dutifully stumble around the kitchen making coffee, buttering toast and setting out cereal. I try to say as little as possible because I don't trust my tongue until after I've had caffeine in massive doses. That usually takes about an hour.