Seriously Good Sandwich & a Frappuccino

I was browsing some of my favorite food blogs recently and saw this recipe for Chicken Caesar Sandwiches that looked and sounded delicious.  Today, I remembered these sandwiches and decided to attempt to make them for lunch only I didn't have the recipe in front of me at the time nor did I have all of these ingredients.  So, I made up my own with what I had on hand. It was so good that I thought I would share,

Yummy Chicken Sandwich

2 chicken breasts

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Lemon

Garlic, 1 clove minced

Sandwich Rolls or Bread (I had some small sour dough sandwich rolls)

Caesar Dressing (bottled or homemade)

Lettuce

Sliced Tomato

Feta Cheese

I mixed up a few tablespoons of olive oil with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and juice of one lemon.  Rub each chicken breasts down with this mixture.  Heat a grill pan.  Cook chicken breasts in grill pan until good and brown on both sides.  Push chicken to one side to finish cooking through.  While chicken is cooking, brush your bread or rolls with a mixture of olive oil and fresh garlic.  Put bread cut-side-down in the grill pan to toast.

Once chicken is cooked through and bread is toasted, slice your chicken breasts. Then, make your sandwich with sliced chicken breasts, romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, feta cheese, and Caesar dressing. This made 3 sandwiches. So yummy!

With the sandwich, I made a homemade frappuccino.  My friend Lisa posted the recipe for these Starbucks clones on her blog last week. I bought some of the syrups she mentioned and made a caramel one today.  It was so good and great for summer!  The only problem was I only had enough coffee to make one and I was nice enough to share with Jason.

Going to Church Versus Going to Worship

Early this past week, I started reading a book entitled Parenting in the Pew by Robbie Castleman. I'm about halfway through the book and so far it's absolutely fantastic. I am so glad some wonderful friends recommended this to me.

What has really stuck with more than any parenting issue from this book is something the author brought up early on.  The author asks "Are you going to church or are you going to worship?" I've been involved in church my entire life.  On Sundays, I know where I am going to be (of course, being married to a minister leaves even less wiggle room here ;) ), and I can honestly say that there are many times where I simply "go to church."  See going to church means it's something we are checking off our list for the week.  We go because it's the right thing to do or it's what we've always done.  We may enjoy going, enjoy the break from life, but if we are simply going to church most likely it's about us.  But worship is not about us.  It's about God.

Mrs. Castleman says it better than I ever can.

Worship is not a refueling to get us through another week. Worship is not a system of traditions built up over many years of congregational life until everyone feels comfortable.  Worship is not a time to unwind, relax, tune out or take a mental vacation.

Worship is not an hour of Christian entertainment.  It is not what makes us good people, faithful  Christians or successful parents.Worship is a surrender of our souls to God who is jealous for our attention, time, and love.  Worship is a challenge. (p.24)

The challenge of worship is to sense yourself more fully in God's presence, to sit at the feet of Jesus with the people of God, to anoint His head with the "oil of joy" (Hebrews 1:9), to bring Him a"sacrifice of praise" (Hebrews 13:15).  Worship means that for a time all else is set aside to be with Jesus, the Bridegroom of the church -- to be together with Him.  To be alive in His presence! (p.29)

Well, if that's the difference between going to church and going to worship, I want to go to worship. I know we use the two terms interchangeably most of the time and don't necessarily mean anything about it, but I think I might just start using "going to worship" for our Sunday mornings. It's so easy to get into the habit of Sundays mornings and to go through the motions.  As I type this early on a Sunday myself, I pray that I am more intentional about this day. We have the privilege to worship God every day of the week and are called to do so, but there's something special about Sundays when we can worship together with our brothers and sisters in Christ to give glory to our Almighty, Righteous, Glorious, Awesome, Risen King!