Gluten Free Krums

A Delightful Daughter & A Date With Daddy

2012-01-28T19:20:00.001-05:00

Another sweet sabbatical gift has been a bit more time to focus on our kids and spend some one-on-one time with them ~ especially for Robert. He has gotten to play some basketball with Cooper at our neighborhood recreation center and been on a couple of lunch and breakfast dates with Kory. Last night he planned a special dinner date with Kayla. When he insisted on "dressing up", she expressed some concern. She kept pleading for a casual outing to Jamba Juice or Barnes and Noble, but he insisted on a fancier dinner date.

Note: These photos have not been edited. That is the REAL color of her hair, and she gets stopped by complete strangers who marvel at its beauty on a regular basis. (Mostly women who say they pay BIG money to have hair that color!) Recently, while we were out and about it happened twice in the course of less than an hour! It's just a given now when we go out in public. Oh my!

Before they left, I wanted to capture her cuteness by taking a few photos. She's going to change so much in the next few years, but right now she is still a tree climbing, tree swinging, tree hugging little girl. (She would be a vegetarian with a houseful of animals if I let her!) So glad I got a several sweet shots of her before the special night out!

The plan was Olive Garden (they have a gluten free menu now!) and The Yogurt Experience ~ you know, her favorite type of dessert ~ "healthy."

And we even got her handsome Daddy in on the photo shoot! I had to give him a little bit of smile and posture coaching...

...but then they just decided to be their usual selves:

Yes, this is one of their favorite things to do ~ make weird faces and take pictures of each other. Can't tell you how many of these I have on my phone and computer!

After they left last night and then again this morning, I prayed...

Thank you, Lord, for Kayla's date with Robert. I pray that you would please use the time to speak deeply to her soul your love for her and her complete loveliness and acceptance in Your eyes and those of her Daddy's. Fill her with joy and confidence because of Your love being demonstrated by Robert. Give her a godly view of herself ~ a healthy and positive one based on Truth, and let no lie that enters her heart or mind remain there to bring about doubt or despair. May she thrive and become the woman You've designed and called her to be. May she be filled with a feminine strength and be free to know and love You more deeply with each passing day. Guard her heart and protect her from all harm. Deepen her faith in You and may she know Your nearness each day of her life. Free her from fear and anxiety and grow her in peace, wisdom, and trust ~ all in abundance from You. Knit her heart tightly to her Daddy's and even more to Yours. Amen.

Then, I though of this verse:

Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants,

and our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace.

Psalm 144:12

And found this commentary:

"When we see our daughters well established, and stayed with wisdom and discretion, as cornerstones are fashioned in the building; when we see them by faith united to Christ as the chief cornerstone, adorned with the graces of God's Spirit, which are the polishing of that which is naturally rough, and become 'women professing godliness'; when we see them purified and consecrated to God as living temples, we think ourselves happy in them."

~Matthew Henry

Yes Lord, may she be adorned with Your Spirit's graces, and purified and consecrated to You. May she be stayed with wisdom and discretion. May she be well-established in the grace of the gospel. Thank you for my delightful daughter. Thank you for her humble and sacrificial Daddy. Amen.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Ginger Orange Chicken

2012-01-27T15:26:00.001-05:00

We've been enjoying our local Pei Wei restaurant here in Austin. (Sort of the fast food version of P.F. Chang's) They have a limited gluten free menu, but there are several very tasty items on it. My kids usually go for the Sweet and Sour Chicken, and I typically get their Vietnamese Rolls, which are good, but so much better with the forbidden peanut dipping sauce. I may have to start bringing my own! Eating out can get a little old, though, so last night we decided to made our own Asian-ish dinner. ("-ish" because I'm not convinced true Asian food ever involves orange juice!?!)

Breaded chicken, a sweet sauce, and white rice are almost always a perfect combination for happy teenagers at mealtimes here, so this dish was a definite score, and we even had leftover gluten free chocolate chip cookies that Kayla had made the day before to look forward to for dessert. Yep, everyone was fat and happy with these comfort foods before bed last night. We were missing Kory, though, who we had just put on a plane back to Massachusetts for a weekend conference, so we weren't completely content, especially when we found that his flight from Orlando to Hartford had been delayed three hours! He did not arrive in Hartford until after midnight, but he is safe and sound now and doing just fine.

Ginger Orange Chicken

4 chicken breasts (or 3-4 lbs)
2/3 cup GF flour mixture (I used 1/3 cornstarch, 1/3 rice flour, and 1/3 tapioca starch)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 tsp ginger, peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic, pressed
3 Tbsp agave nectar (or brown sugar)
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
3 cups orange juice
3 tsp orange peel, grated
1 bunch green onions
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
*2 Tbsp GF soy sauce

Cut chicken up into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes and place in large bowl. Sprinkle the chicken with flours, salt, and pepper and toss until chicken is thoroughly coated. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add chicken. Cook the chicken, stirring and turning, for 20 minutes or more and until golden brown. (I like cooking it longer than the usual recommended time of a few minutes per side. It gets more tender the longer it cooks.) Grate the orange peel, mince the ginger, and chop the green onions while chicken is cooking. When chicken is done, remove it by slotted spoon to a separate dish, leaving the drippings/oil in skillet. Add minced ginger, and green onions to the drippings, and press the garlic into skillet. Sauté for just a minute or two on medium heat. Next, add agave nectar (or brown sugar), soy sauce, and mustard and stir. Then, add the orange juice and peel. Stir over medium heat. Add water to 1tsp of cornstarch and stir briskly. Pour this mixture into the orange juice mixture and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Return chicken to the skillet and cook 5-10 more minutes. Serve over rice.

*I did not use the soy sauce in our meal last night, but I think it would add something nice to this dish. The sauce would then look darker than my photos, of course!

W.A.L.K.I.N.G. with Beth

2012-01-25T13:36:00.000-05:00

A much anticipated and worked-for weekend finally arrived last Friday. A year ago, my sweet friend, Karla, invited me to join her in participating in Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Challenge. The goal was to hide the Word in our hearts by memorizing 24 Bible verses over the course of the year. The accountability was having to enter your verse in the comments of Beth's blog post on the 1st and 15th of each month. Anyone who did this 20 out of 24 times was eligible for this very special conference at no charge. All you had to do was get yourself to Houston, show your memory spiral upon entry to First Baptist Church, and be prepared to say at least 10 of your verses to another woman at some point during the conference

Friday evening and Saturday morning were filled with the wonderful worship music of Travis Cottrell and Beth's passionate teaching, not to mention a free tote bag, a notebook and pen, cookies and hot chocolate, and the opportunity to be around a lot of beautiful women who love the Lord and His Word, who came from 48 of 50 states, Canada. and the UK! As you can see, Beth is quite animated and NEVER without great excitement about her Lord and Savior. Her enthusiasm might be off-putting to those who don't realize that she has great integrity. Really. She is never NOT animated and excited. She is also never without a humble, yet vitally fresh teaching from God's Word. This time she spoke on 2 John. She had memorized its 13 verses, and "spoke" the book to us twice. She then exhorted us through its words with this acrostic:

W ~ We're all starved for some "face-to-face."

(We need each other in real time and real community)

A ~ All we've worked for can be lost.

(Not our salvation, though, because that's not "worked for")

L ~ Listen with the ears of a chosen lady.

(Eklekte Kuria = "The Chosen Lady" = the Church and me!)

K ~ Keep the pace of true abiding.

(Not running ahead with "innovation", and not sitting still either)

I ~ Invest your whole life into love.

(The whole Law summed up. Not a new commandment!)

N ~ Never forget the ploy to infiltrate.

("Many deceivers will go forth...")

G ~ Go out into the world walking in what you know.

(Walking, abiding in Truth, loving God and others)

Go read 2 John if you want to find out what all of this means! I found her personal testimony of losing and then choosing to "take back ground" she felt she had lost in recent years especially meaningful. She encouraged us to take some dirt home from Houston, TX to remind ourselves that we're taking back ground the enemy may have stolen or deceived us into letting go of.

On Saturday during a break, we were to get with a partner and recite our 24 verses ~ special prizes for those who could do all 24. Grace was abounding in all of this, of course. It was a beautiful sight to see pairs of women all over the sanctuary and in the hallways speaking their Scriptures from memory, and oh what a privilege to be with women who treasure His Word so deeply ~ kindred spirits all around!

(I memorized Hebrews 11:24 - 12:3 & Psalm 71:5-6 & 17-19. Karla memorized all of Romans 6)

Kindred fashion spirits, too, evidently...

Yes, imagine my surprise to see this top that I ordered from Ruche, an online catalog company, last year for my birthday, come walking down the hall toward me on another sweet, Scripture-loving sister. What else could we do but laugh and take a photo together?!? So funny...

As we entered First Baptist Church each day, we walked through a really amazing missions display. It was like a missions museum with creative presentations of the many missions the church is involved with ranging from building water wells in third world countries, to volunteer work with Crisis Pregnancy Centers, to human trafficking rescue missions across the globe as well as right there in Houston, which, unfortunately, is a major hub for human trafficking in the U.S.A.

I was also so excited to see their involvement in reaching the "unreached people group" of New England through the North American Mission Board's church planting efforts. The North American Mission Board is the organization we were sent by to New England 13 years ago, and who continues to support our newer church plants in Massachusetts.

I'm just kicking myself for not getting a picture of the three of us ladies who were sitting at this vantage point on Saturday night after the conference! Laura W., who was my first Bible study leader through Campus Crusade at the University of Texas hosted Karla and me for the weekend. She took us out to City Centre for some delicious gluten free and gourmet pizza, and we all enjoyed sitting outside listening to music, watching the fires and lights and the kids playing. We didn't come to any earth shattering conclusions, but discussed the future of Israel, replacement theology, dispensationalism, and other weighty topics like our hopes and goals for the new year as well as our love for butternut squash. Then we took in the new movie, Iron Lady, about Margaret Thatcher, which was excellently performed, but a bit unsettling. I have lots of questions now!

Before I left Robert was reminding me of Henri Nouwen's writing about guests and hospitality ~ that guests have a gift to give, and that we as hosts do also. He challenged me to look for the gifts from the weekend, and I'm so thankful for his reminder. The gift that stood out to me the most was that I have a life FULL of people ~ and really special people at that. Not only is Karla's friendship a gift, but I kept being amazed over and over again at the people I was able to share with her from my own family, to Laura, to a dear college friend, Yvette, to "Miss Riggs" my middle school Spanish teacher, to my 87 year-old grandmother, to my 73 year old dad. So, there were many gifts from a weekend of conferencing and hosting, as you can see, but the realization (again) that the Lord has filled my life to the brim ~ overflowing, really ~ with loving people, encouraging people, joyful people, faithful people, people who've surrendered their whole lives to Him was the best gift of all.

Truly, I am blessed.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Totally Awesome Tilapia

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Getting to shop for groceries at H.E.B. again here in Texas has been an interesting adventure. I enjoyed grocery shopping, in general, much more about 20 years ago when it was only for two people, didn't require regular weekly trips, multiple stores, a very extensive list, and a $250+ bill, but even today I still love to check out the local stores wherever we are. H.E.B. is a great store, has decent prices, and usually a really nice selection of gluten free breads, crackers, flours, and prepared mixes and other items.

Last week, I walked into our local H.E.B. and immediately saw a display offering a deal on a package of frozen tilapia fillets. For buying one package of about 20 fillets for $13, you were then able to get four more items for "free" ~ a package of fresh baby spinach, a package of brown rice, a bottle of canola oil, and a box of rice crackers ~ gluten free rice crackers! I couldn't pass it up, especially after coming to really like tilapia after eating it on my birthday a couple of years ago at a famous Texas landmark and restaurant ~ yum!

On Monday, we decided to try and grill it. Robert did a little research on how to season it and we came up with this recipe. I couldn't believe how tender and tasty it turned out. Really, it was the best fish I've ever eaten and kept praising the "Recipe Researcher and Grill-master" for a meal I would not stop thinking about for days. Yes, that good!

Totally Awesome Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets

4 cloves garlic, pressed

6-8 cherry or grape tomatoes, diced

4 Tbsp butter

1/3-1/2 cup Chardonnay

salt and pepper

You'll also need heavy duty foil.

Tear off large piece of heavy duty foil and arrange tilapia fillets in a row in the middle of the foil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on each fillet, and place one tablespoon of butter on top of each fillet. Press one clove of garlic onto each fillet, and sprinkle diced cherry or grape tomatoes on top of each fillet. Lastly, pour the Chardonnay over the fillets, and then loosely gather and seal the foil making a "packet." (I know some of you may not want to use the wine, but I think it really does add to the smooth and delicious taste.) Place on the grill for 15-20 minutes, let rest 5-10 minutes, and then serve.

We served ours with brown rice and green beans.

My kids did not really appreciate this meal as much as Robert and I did, but they managed to eat most of what was on their plate. Tonight, though, we planned to have salmon, so I bought some chicken tenderloins to throw on the grill as well, so my poor children wouldn't have to suffer through TWO fish meals this week! The grown-ups (my friend, Karla, from Massachusetts is here visiting!) didn't complain at all.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

A Party, Party Weekend = Flan, Fine Art, and Fish Tacos

2012-01-17T22:26:00.000-05:00

What is NOT unusual is that I celebrated my birthday in Texas. I've done that every year since we moved to Massachusetts, except for one. The one I didn't celebrate here in the Great State was my 30th, and that was because it took place right after Y2K. We had booked our tickets for later that year, since we weren't sure if we'd be able to travel ~ or drink fresh water, or have electricity, or phone service.

What IS unusual is that, since my birthday (and Elvis's, of course) took place on a Sunday (and a very busy Sunday at that), Robert made sure that we celebrated almost all weekend starting with a wonderful meal on Friday night that was planned and prepared by the kids. (and I'm talking Friday the 6th ~ I'm behind with my blogging!) We had grilled chicken (marinade made a day ahead by Kory), red potatoes (Cooper and Dad), and salad (by Kayla). There was even champagne and special gluten free bread sticks! But the most amazing part of it all was the birthday dessert that Cooper made for me ~ Mexican flan! It is one of my all time favorite desserts, and he truly sacrificed to do a GREAT job ~ has the burn blisters from the caramel sauce to prove it!

Saturday the 7th, we visited a museum on the campus of the University of Texas. It's located right next to the dorm in which Robert lived his freshman year there. We love being on the campus of our alma mater and revisiting all of the memories we made individually and together there. The museum was beautiful, too. Loved the painting of Eliezer and finding Rebekah at the well, and there was another interesting one of David holding up the giant head of Goliath after he'd been killed. Kayla sketched her way through each new room, and even the boys "appreciated" the art for Mom's special day. (It probably helped that they knew they would be walking up the hill to the Frank Erwin Center in a few short hours to watch UT play OSU in basketball!)

Sunday the 8th was spent at Manchaca Baptist church where Robert preached in the morning service, and then we took turns giving reports on our ministries in the evening service. We love visiting our old church ~ the one where Robert served his first 4 years in ministry. We were married and had Kory during those years, and so many of those who loved and supported us way back then are still there ~ very special. There was Mexican food for lunch and a visit to my dad's house in between. Dear friends Jack and Kelly (a.k.a. Miss Riggs) came up for the evening service, and then treated us all to dinner at Jason's Deli = gluten free bread and menu! We got to see photos of Jack's beautiful hand crafted kayak on its maiden voyage and hear about Kelly's birthday gift ~ a Porsche Boxster! That's right, she likes to cruise 410 and take it to Blossom Athletic Center for her early morning lap swims. Just kidding ~ Jack doesn't let it out of the garage much, I don't think! (And anyone who really knows her will know who the "gift" was really for ~ although she does think they're very "cute" which is the comment that got her the gift in the first place!) Can't wait to take a spin! ☺

And the fun continued with a trip to San Antonio on Monday to meet up with Robert's family for MORE Mexican food. (I had to declare a Mexican food fast after this meal ~ for a few days anyway.) The cousins all sat at one end of the table and there was no lull in the laughter and lively conversation. My fish tacos were absolutely amazing ~ best I've had so far, I think! I received handmade birthday cards on the backs of kids' menus, and was even treated to a bowl of ice cream delivered by waiters singing "Feliz Cumpleanos."

Flan, Fine Art, Fish Tacos, and FAMILY (both biological and spiritual) ~ WHAT could be a better birthday combination than THAT???

Does Anyone Remember Punky?

2012-01-12T15:28:00.000-05:00

Punky Brewster? The cute and spunky little orphan from the 80's sitcom? Well, sometimes I look at my daughter and think I'm currently living with my own little Spunky Punky!

Do you see the resemblance? And I think they even have a shared love for colorful socks and Converse sneakers. Kayla now owns three pair of very bright colored sneakers and countless crazy socks that she usually wears mismatched ~ more color that way. And did you know that you can even BUY them that way? Yes, we now own a package of 12 socks which are all a different pattern, and whose package states how many possible combinations there are within. I could never do that. I must be symmetrical at all times, but I'm so happy my girl is able to pull it off!

We visited a new art museum on the campus of my alma mater, and Kayla was quick to take the offered sketch kit for our tour. She loves drawing, and produces WAY more pieces of art than our refrigerator or magnets can sustain. We have no magnets at our sabbatical "home" here in Texas, so the artwork is piling up in various locations around the house ~ including my purse!

Sweet little thing. It dawned on her only after she had sketched Saint Agatha, just exactly what that "bread" on the platter was. We had to do a close reading of the semi-cryptic description of the painting to discover that St. Agatha was a Christian martyr and that this painting depicted only one of the tortures she endured. (And now I can only imagine who will land on this blog post that mentions both Punky Brewster AND St. Agatha, and I would be willing to bet they've never been mentioned in the same posting before now.)

Even two different colored ponytail holders! (Again, such a thing would never even dawn on me.) Bright. Colorful. Joyful. Spunky. Persistent. Creative. Thoughtful. That's my girl, and I'm so thankful she's mine!

Sweet Sabbatical Gifts: Sewing!

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Preparing to make the 2000 mile journey...

Oh sewing machine, how we've missed you! Surely you were so cold and lonely (and dusty!) sitting there on our basement floor, oftentimes covered with dirty laundry. Oh, how we enjoyed the trips to the fabric store you required and completing the beautiful and original projects you made possible! You are such a delight with your patterns and threads and possibilities! But alas, you also require so much time and space, and those things have simply not fit into our crazy weeks at home in Massachusetts with their potlucks and coffee dates and Bible studies and schoolwork and piano practice and guitar lessons and houseguests and....well, you know...life!

We thought Texas might be more kind to you, though, so we packed you up and hauled you 2000 miles south. Did you notice the sunshine? The warmer weather? The little lull in our usual flurry of activity? Maybe you even heard Kayla pleading to take you out of your case, so that she could start creating something?

Did you get excited when you heard us leave for our shopping trip and return with bright fabrics, pink thread, velcro, a rotary cutter, a mat, and LEFT HANDED SCISSORS? Kayla thought she had died and gone to heaven when she was able to glide through paper and cotton like NEVER before! You know, it really is a right-handed world, Little Miss Sewing Machine, and you are just another contribution to the discrimination of our left-handed friends. Kayla was undeterred by your challenges, though, especially after having been equipped with those very special scissors.

That's right. She cut and she ironed, she threaded your bobbins and needles, she pinned and she stitched, and she only had to rip out a couple of seams. (Which is really a good thing, seeing as we did NOT haul our seam-ripper 2000 miles south, nor did we remember to buy one at the fabric store. Sigh.)

She fused interfacing, basted polyester batting, and even cut out squares for two nine-block quilt squares that served as side pockets for the very cute lunch tote project she chose.

Oh wonderful sewing machine, how you helped her make linings and leave openings, but the challenging foresight you sometimes required....oh my! There was also the fragile and tedious turning inside-out of inner and outer, wrong and right, sides and pieces, but oh how much we remembered and learned!

And how thrilled we were today with our finished project ~ just in time for packing a lunch for our first day of the Texas version of Classical Conversations we'll start on Monday! It will surely boost our spirits and confidence, as well as give us something to talk about with our new classmates.

So thank you to our lovely and lonely-no-more sewing machine, for the blessing of mommy-daughter time and for delightful accomplishments! We hope there will be at least a few more. And thank you, church, for the time, freedom, and gifts you've so generously provided for moments like this!

Not Resolutions, But Requests: Part 3

2012-01-04T15:32:00.001-05:00

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad the spirit is broken.

Psalm 15:13

All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Psalm 15:15

Lord, why do I always see the problems, dwell on the disappointments, get bogged down in the details? Why is it easier to complain and be blind to the "bright side" or the many ways you are at work? Why do I overlook the hundreds of little (and big!) graces you are bestowing day by day? Why is it a struggle to surrender and just have fun?

I know I've prayed about this so often ~ been praying about this for at least 20 years when I first discovered the tendency of my heart toward discouragement and sadness. You have answered and are so actively teaching me how to have joy ~ daily joy in my salvation ~ which is joy in all things, really. It's an encouragement that verses like this are sprinkled all throughout your Word, and that I am not alone in my struggle to rise above the despair of a fallen world. I do desire the "continual feast" of a cheerful heart still, Lord, and pray that You would not cease to transform me and complete me in this work of joy. Thank you for the book One Thousand Gifts that I can relate to so well, and for Ann Voskamp's honesty regarding her own struggle to choose joy and the little glimpses into her heart and mind that gets enraged by sibling rivalry and bogged down with getting dinner on the table, and yet wants to run after the beauty of You in the low hanging harvest moon. It is also the case with me ~ that I can be moved to joy and gratitude in worship of you so easily in one moment, and then in the next be crushed to despair by criticism, the attitude of a child, or the perceived slight of a friend. Please keep moving my heart, and the thoughts of my mind to Your graces, Your mercies, Your goodness all around me, and let holy hope prevail in my heart over despair. Amen.

Those are my requests for the new year ~ continued passion for building up my HOME, a wise and soothing TONGUE, apt and encouraging WORDS, and the continual feast of a JOYFUL HEART. I can only resolve to cooperate with the Holy Spirit's work in me in these areas, and trust Him for the transformation.

Not Resolutions, But Requests: Part 2

2012-01-03T10:26:00.001-05:00

A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 15:4

Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.

Proverbs 25:11

Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and he who speaks right is loved.

Proverbs 16: 13

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Proverbs 16:24

Please continue to transform me in the area of my mouth and tongue. This is also a part of either building or tearing down my house, and I desire to have a tongue that soothes and heals ~ even when it needs to speak hard truth. Give me WORDS, Lord ~ words that show interest in others, words of joyful, meaningful conversation, and the ability to articulate needs and desires in a loving way. I know that I have hurt Robert, my kids, and probably others ~ even with few words, because I withhold words and store up frustrations, unable to think of how to positively communicate them, and then they come often come out wrong or totally unexpected by the receiver. Also, I desire to converse effectively, joyfully, and meaningfully with friends, family, and even strangers, but often find it difficult to find words, questions, and topics. Please make me a wise "talker" and a blessing to others in that.

I have always admired those who have a way with words, have stood in awe of those who so naturally set others at ease even while teaching and correcting, have studied those who seem to easily draw others out by conversation with genuine interest and warmth. Truthfully, Texas if FULL of folks with this gift, ☺ so maybe the Lord will use their grace-filled examples in the next couple of months to continue to mold me in this area! I also hope to make time to read a book on the subject, and not because I want to "win friends and influence people" (unless it is for Christ!) but because I want to lovingly relate to and enjoy them, to bless them with both truth and grace.

Tomorrow...requests for a melancholy heart. ♥

Not Resolutions, But Requests: Part 1

2012-01-02T23:24:00.000-05:00

Today felt like the REAL first day of our sabbatical. Christmas festivities are over, family have all returned home, gifts have been exchanged, money burning holes in pockets has been spent, and there are no more meals of complete indulgence in sight ~ to prepare OR to eat. I even took a nap today, which if you know me at all, is a rare and not-too-easy feat for this gal. Before I took a nap, I took a walk and thought about the new year. I prayed about what the Lord would have me work on, focus on, resolve to do...but nothing really came to me. Then I came home, opened my Bible, and just read the next chapters of the books I'm currently reading, which today were Judges 11 and 12 (Jephthah's victories and tragic vows ~ wow!) and then Proverbs 14 and 15. It was shortly after this that I fell asleep, and then two hours later that I wrote these things in my prayer journal...

It's a new year, Lord, and I'm not sure it matters all that much to you as you are so high above and outside of time, and yet I know that you at least consider it, as your children live in it ~ in time. I haven't really felt you leading me to make resolutions or even goals for this new year, but I do desire transformation and renewed strength for the ongoing, the not-yet-accomplished journey of being a mom ~ and a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom at that. Also, I pray that you will transform me and strengthen me to be a more loving, affectionate, and understanding wife, which is an even more ongoing, never-ending journey! I read these verses today, Lord, and they really seemed to apply to these desires and my current struggles within my current callings:

"The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands."

Proverbs 14:1

I know it is within me to "tear down" my house with negativity, discouragement, discontentedness, and a demanding of my own way. Also, refusing to trust you and a refusal to see all of your grace and mercy around me leads to "tearing my house down." But I also refuse to see how I've built my house up and loved and served my family well. And so, give me perspective and encouragement in this as well and yes ~ strength, passion, vision, and endurance to continue in this "housebuilding" area.

This was the first of three things that I prayed and hoped for the coming year. I think it stemmed from a realization that there are SO MANY things I'd like to try, like to pursue, like to spend my time doing ~ starting new Bible studies, taking seminary courses, traveling to see friends, decorating my home, sewing, reading new books, educating myself more on nutrition and exercise, sitting in a quiet house, writing, teaching, earning money for college tuition, and more, but....BUT, the call to homeschool, the call to be available to my kids and my husband on a very consistent basis, the call to create a nurturing home and learning environment there, the call to nourish them with healthy, gluten free food, and even more healthy spiritual food is not over yet. (It's a LONG-term call, y'all.) I need His provision of strength and renewed passion to keep faithful to this mothering-teaching-training-feeding call when the desire that keeps creeping up is to serve my own needs and pursue my own interests and desires. I mean, isn't 16+ years long enough? Well, no. No, it's not. It requires much more than that. And marriage? It IS more a blessing than a challenge, but a challenge still ~ and an even longer call than motherhood (in a way) that requires lots of effort, failure, strained communication, and temptations to be selfish. These callings require a strength that even I ~ the stubborn, tireless perfectionist, hopeless idealist am NOT capable of, and so this was the first of three requests for the new year.

The other two prayers involve my tongue and my heart. I'll share those soon...

Gluten Free Friday ~ White Bean & Pesto Dip with "Pitas"

2011-12-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

I miss pita bread. Right about the time the four of us were being diagnosed with Celiac disease, I had been buying pita bread for sandwiches and snacks for my crew. And what a perfect accompaniment for my beloved hummus! Nowadays, if I order the hummus plate at a restaurant it requires a substitution of tortilla chips, which is fine, but recently I "made" my own "pitas" out of gluten free brown rice wraps or "tortillas." They turned out fine; even better once I discovered that the wraps should be cut into triangles FIRST and then baked. The first round I tried it, I just stuck the whole wrap on a rack in the oven and then tried to cut it into triangles once it was crispy. Needless to say, they just broke into pieces, and did not resemble triangle pita bread at all!

The dip is just a version of hummus I wanted to try. This recipe uses white beans and pesto, and is really delicious. I used a basil-arugula pesto that I had made a frozen this summer from our farm share. Ready made jarred pesto will work just as well.

White Bean & Pesto Dip

2 small cans of white beans, partly drained ~ I used cannelini (save the liquid)
1/2 cup pesto
2 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp tahini (this can be omitted, but I think it smoothes the taste a bit)
salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend thoroughly. Add liquid from the beans if the dip needs to be thinned. Serve with raw veggies, GF crackers, or homemade "pitas."

Easy Gluten Free Pita Bread

1 package of GF brown rice wraps
olive oil or cook spray, optional

Cut brown rice wraps into 8 triangles or however many you'd like depending on the size you want. Brush with a very thin layer of olive oil or spray with cook spray if you like. (Neither of these options are necessary. I don't use any oil at all, but just bake them "dry.") Bake at 375° for about 10 minutes until slightly brown and crispy. Serve with your favorite dip!

CupFUL of Christmas!

2011-12-29T00:15:00.000-05:00

Cute and crazy cousins that my kiddos look forward to being with,

healthy parents and grandparents to enjoy ~ shopping, basketball, you name it,

siblings gathered from the corners of the country,

a sweet, new, Christ-loving fianceé for a brother, son, and uncle,

Kerbey Lane Cafe gluten free gingerbread pancakes...

picking up with old friends right where we left off,

games that bring tears from laughter,

Christmas light displays in nostalgic neighborhoods,

Texas tamales, fajitas, and way too much queso,

provision for blessing kids with gifts that will thrill them...

Color-coordinated (without trying!) family photos,

lots of new Nike gear to sport,

gift cards for coffee and books,

Joyfully gathered together around the tree,

Upscale wrapping paper and Grandad's immaculate bows and tape...

hysterical, contagious laughter over old photos of adults who were kids in the 70's,

Roast beef, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, and rolls,

Cut-out Christmas cookies, pecan, pumpkin, and chocolate pies with coffee,

Grandad and teen boys vs. Uncle, future Aunt, and cute girl basketball game,

Lots 'o longhorn paraphernalia and visits to campus...

Searching for the missing baby in the manger,

Reading the Christmas story while wearing new Christmas pjs,

Visiting old stomping grounds,

Sunshine and trust falls ~ forward and back with strong men,

Courtship stories, and wedding plans,

Mariachis, margaritas, and more Mexican food,

Billions of lights lining trees, reflecting on the city river,

shared sarapes for evening shivers,

tourists and townies taking it all in,

joyful, gentle togetherness for days on end,

new dresses, new books, and stockings stuffed with chocolate,

hot tea, late nights, refreshing morning runs in new neighborhoods,

movies and read alouds while snuggled on couch or in car,

growing kids, maturing styles, and emerging personalities,

cards filled with photos and news from far and wide,

high fives, hugs, and family prayers to know the

God Veiled In Flesh,

carols, candlelight Silent Night, "snow" falling on worshipers,

fireplaces burning in 50 degree weather,

date nights, sleepovers, girl talk on phone and porch,

new friends, new adventures, refreshment, rejoicing, and rest.

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.' "

Luke 2:10

Good news and great joy, indeed!

Hope your cup has been overflowing this week as well!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T13:42:00.000-05:00

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail! The Incarnate Deity!

Pleased as man with men to dwell

Jesus ~ our Emmanuel!

Here's hoping that you know and experience Emmanuel, the God Who is with us, this day and in the coming year.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Butter Cookies and Bevo (& Beiber?)

2011-12-23T18:52:00.000-05:00

Before driving to Hondo, TX and after a morning run with Robert, Kayla and I made a quick batch of Christmas sugar cookies. Robert's parents live in Hondo and his sister and family were also headed there for us all to celebrate an early Christmas together by eating lots of fajitas, which is a Texas Christmas tradition second only to tamales. The tamales will happen tomorrow night on Christmas Eve, of course. Tomorrow night, I will also have a houseful of gluten free family members, so I wanted to get these made. Cookies for Christmas Eve and pies for Christmas Day ~ that is the plan.

I used to make these all of the time with regular flour, and I have to admit they are a bit more difficult to achieve without the gluten, but this time I added some xanthan gum in hopes of them holding together a bit better. I also used more rice flour than tapioca and potato, thinking that would also prevent them from spreading out and losing shape. They worked pretty well, and this year we made some plain round ones along with the cut ones. We plan to dip the round ones in chocolate and then sprinkle the chocolate with crushed candy canes.

The recipe is adapted from a recipe out of one of my favorite Susan Branch cookbooks: Christmas From the Heart of the Home.

Sugar & Butter Cookies

2 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

5 egg yolks

4 cups GF flour (rice, potato, tapioca)

1/2 tsp salt

3 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix well. Beat in flour, xanthan gum, and salt until well blended. Add more flour if dough is too sticky. Letting dough chill in the refrigerator for a while will also help.

Roll dough out on a floured surface and cut into shapes. Sprinkle with colored sugars before baking if desired or coat them with icing after baking and add sprinkles on top of the icing. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. They do not need to brown, and will be fragile when done. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Yesterday, we had the privilege of meeting my brother's fiance. Stu and Rachel (she's so great!) flew to Austin from California and we met them at Kerbey Lane Cafe on Guadelupe. Kerbey Lane Cafe is famous for being open 24 hours and having amazing pancakes. I may have eaten a few of them as a college student in need of a study break at 2am! Now, they even have gluten free pancakes, and we sampled both kinds ~ apple cinnamon and gingerbread. They were sooooooo good!

Guadelupe street is also known as "The Drag" on the University of Texas campus, and so we also made a pilgrimage to the co-op, which is a bookstore, but also a souvenir shop for ALL things Longhorn and Burnt Orange. We HAD to stop and get a Christmas photo with Bevo. (And Beiber, it seems)

And Kory enjoyed posing by the poster of the UT baseball stadium.

Christmas Cookies, fajitas and tamales, pancakes, new fiances, and LOTS of burnt orange. Could it get any better?

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas weekend!

A Merry Theological & Doctrinal Christmas to YOU, too!

2011-12-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

(Just sharing an email that I sent to my Doctrine Bible study ladies with you here today. Been enjoying thinking on these lyrics this season!)

Hi Ladies ~

I hope you all are well, and that this email finds you finished with papers, exams, etc.

I heard this familiar Christmas carol playing recently and thought of you all. It is full of references to the theological and doctrinal truths that we studied this semester. The lyrics I've included for you here are the original ones written by Charles Wesley ~ founder of the Methodist Church along with his brother, John. The ones we have today are the ones that George Whitfield altered a few years later ~ ones Wesley was not happy about. It's kind of funny to me that Whitfield was much more of a Calvinist than Wesley, who was an Arminian (unlimited atonement ~ remember the chart on page 267??), but Wesley seems to have the more accurate interpretation of Scripture here.

Here's an old article from Christianity Today that gives a few more details about this song:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/decemberweb-only/150-52.0.html

This is Charles. ☺

And this is George. ☺

And here are the original lyrics...

Hark! how all the welkin rings

"Glory to the King of Kings;

Peace on Earth and mercy mild;

God and sinners reconciled!"

(Reference to peace and reconciliation ~ the justification that comes only through Jesus!)

Joyful, all ye nations rise,

Join the triumph of the skies

Universal nature say,

"Christ the Lord is born to-day!"

(Reference to the joy of finally receiving the long awaited and prophesied Messiah.)

Christ, by highest heaven ador'd;

Christ, the everlasting Lord:

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of the Virgin's womb!

(Reference to the truth that Jesus is God, because He is eternal ~ He has no beginning and no end. He is "The Ancient of Days." Also, reference to the all-important virgin birth!)

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see

Hail! The incarnate deity!

Pleased as man with men to appear

Jesus! Our Immanuel here!

(Woo Hoo! Accurate reference to the Trinity ~ the "God who is Three." Jesus is the deity. He is divine. He is fully God, and now fully man!)

Hail, the heavenly Prince of Peace!

Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Risen with healing in His wings.

(Reference to the prophecy in Isaiah about His coming. Reference to the Resurrection and the true healing that ONLY it can bring!)

Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die;

Born to raise the son's of earth;

Born to give them second birth.

( "Jesus in any way cease to be fully God, but rather He chose not to continually avail Himself of His divine rights and attributes while on Earth." p. 231 Doctrine. Also, reference to the truth that Jesus came for the purpose of dying, and that His death was necessary for our salvation ~ or second birth.)

Come, desire of nations, come

Fix in us Thy humble home;

Rise, the woman's conquering seed;

Bruise in us the serpent's head.

(Hurray! This is the protoevangelium! Remember?? The first mention of the gospel in all of Scripture? It's in Genesis 3 ~ the chapter on the fall and the curse.

Now display Thy saving power,

Ruined nature now restore;

Now in mystic union join

Thine to ours and ours to Thine.

( "...By His glory and excellence...you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world." 2 Peter 1: 3-4 Also, Romans 6: 5 ~ "For we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection..." )

Adam's likeness, Lord, efface;

Stamp Thy image in its place.

Second Adam from above,

Reinstate us in Thy love.

(Sin entered the world through one man. Salvation comes through One Man ~ Jesus, the second Adam; the last Adam. 1 Corinthians 15 says, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. Yes ~ conform us to Your image, Lord ~ stamp it upon us!)

Let us, Thee, though lost, regain,

Thee, the life, the inner man:

O! To all Thyself impart,

Formed in each believing heart.

(Yes! The WHOLE POINT of studying doctrine and theology ~ to understand what we have lost, but regained through Christ ~ to have Him formed in our hearts!)

Isn't that a great reminder of so many of the things we learned this semester??? I miss studying and learning alongside each of you ladies each week. I pray that this old hymn is only among many treasures that lift your eyes and your heart to Him in worship in this Christmas season.

Much love,
Melanie

P.S. Suzanne ~ thank you for treating us ALL out to breakfast! So fun. And Amherst ladies ~ I made it to Goberry once before we came to Texas, and plan on many returns in the spring! Thank you!

Second Half of the 2000 Mile Journey

2011-12-17T16:48:00.001-05:00

Well, we've been in Texas almost a week now, but I promised to share the second half of our journey, so here goes... (I'm sure you're dying to know the details!)

The first half was to Altoona, PA, and Loisville, KY. Well, soon after we left our friends' home in Louisville, we stopped at a Starbucks for drinks. When we got back into our vehicles, Robert's truck wouldn't start. The jumper cables we borrowed from the AT&T store guy did not do the job, so we called AAA. (Had purchased a membership JUST before leaving MA!) The AAA guy's cables DID work, but he suggested getting a new battery, so we did. It put us back a couple of hours, and so we drove to Memphis, TN that day instead of all the way to Little Rock, AR.

Even though two of us were interested in visiting Graceland, we refrained. I do share a birthday with The King, so I thought it would be appropriate to make the pilgrimage. Maybe on the way back north?! Skipping Graceland did allow us to reach the home of dear friends, Matt and Allyson and kids, by lunchtime. We've known Allyson since she was about 16 years old and in the youth group at the church we served at in Austin, TX 20 years ago! (WE are OLD!) Allyson had visited a new and local bakery specializing in all things gluten free. She had loaves of GF sandwich bread and GF corn chowder for lunch, and even sweet breads for breakfast the next day. All of it was such a treat and very delicious.

After lunch, we all went downtown and visited the Bill Clinton Presidential library. Presidential libraries are ALWAYS fascinating, and this makes the third one we've been privileged to go to ~ LBJ's (Austin) and JFK's (Boston) being the other two. (Maybe we'll make the George Bush one while we're here in Texas!) They also tend to have other interesting exhibits going on, and Mr. Clinton's had "The Art of the Brick" exhibit there at the time. It was an incredible display of artwork done solely with Lego bricks ~ both one and three dimensional pieces.

Guess who took this one?

Kory enjoyed looking up what President Clinton did on the day he was born ~ June 29, 1995, as there were binders of agendas for every day of his presidency.

And then he decided to hold a family cabinet meeting.

Anyone surprised?

The next morning, after an amazing breakfast, we had the pleasure of attending church with Matt and Allyson and their kids. Matt is the pastor of Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, and so it was fun to see him in action ~and fun to just visit a church!

Don't be fooled by this smile. The kids were NOT very enthusiastic about doing their schoolwork in the car each day of the long journey, but they did it, and have kept up with all assignments for Classical Conversations, etc. Actually, Cooper really did enjoy The Phantom Tollbooth very much, as well as the assignment to write one more chapter of the book. He LOVES creative writing, and is quite good at it.

We got keys to our temporary rent house on Monday, and got to work with as much Christmas decorating as we could. I only packed our stockings, the tree skirt, the Nativity set, and Kayla chose only three of our MANY Christmas books to bring to Texas. (Painful.) Oh ~ and we packed the Advent bags that the kids are used to opening each day of December in anticipation of Christmas day ~ filled them, and put them on the stairs, since I forgot the twine and clothespins we usually use. They've been opening two per day to catch up!

Not quite as sturdy and well built as our 1947 home in Massachusetts, but perfect for what we need for now. They just don't make 'em like they used to...

Tuesday called for Coop's first basketball practice with a homeschool league. At practice, they told us there was also a game that night, so we split up and the guys went to Coop's game....

...while the girls went to see cousin Madeline's orchestra concert. Maddie did a GREAT job, and we all enjoyed some frozen yogurt to celebrate after the concert.

Thursday, we dropped the kids off at Grandad's (my dad) house (for FOUR days) and Robert and I headed back to Austin for a little getaway ~ the first of two we have planned for the sabbatical. We've been enjoying our time in a lovely downtown hotel. Our room is technically in the attic of this old building and is called "The Hideaway." We've bumped our heads on the ceiling walls (rafters?) that angle down above our bed several times, and our private bathroom is located next door, because there is no room for anything but our bed in the actual room! It is really beautiful, though, and in a great location for getting to the countless restaurants and shops here. The Snack Bar, with its adorable vintage atmosphere is only one of the MANY fantastic restaurants offering a gluten free menu in this fun city. Just take a look at this sandwich...

Toasted homemade millet sandwich bread (they make their French toast on this, too!), fried eggs, melted cheddar, avocado slices, lettuce, tomato, and onion ~ and we shared a side of the fries perfectly packaged in their greasy, retro paper sack. Sooooooo good!

We shopped till we dropped yesterday and last night, getting much of our Christmas list accomplished, so today we're taking it a bit slower ~ sipping tea and coffee at Starbucks, reading our Bibles, journaling, and reading other books. Well, and blogging about it all...

Again, we're so thankful for this gift of rest, unplugging, and being present with each other ~ thankful to the Lord and our church for providing for all of it. Blessed....

Leaving Whole Foods Richer Than You Were Before: Only In Texas!

2011-12-14T13:49:00.001-05:00

When I saw her standing in front of the frozen gluten free breads' case, I assumed she was buying for her grandchildren. As I stood next to her trying to decide what to buy, she spoke...

Sandy: So, you do gluten free, too?

Me: Oh. Yes. Actually, my three children and I all eat gluten free because of Celiac disease.

Sandy: (in a very animated 70 year old Texas lady sort of way) Well, good for you. My husband was recently in the hospital 8 times in 9 months, and the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him. He lost 55 pounds and was just so sick. They were about to open him up for surgery when I decided to take him home and figure out what was wrong with him myself. I got on the internet and looked up his symptoms. I took him to get tested for Celiac, and that's exactly what it was!

Me: Wow. That's great.

Robert and kids are standing nearby watching this exchange in a very congested lane intersection of the store. Sandy and I kept having to re-adjust our positions in order to continue our conversation.

Sandy: He's been back in the hospital twice because of cross-contamination. He's very sensitive to gluten, and we have to be so careful. It's difficult. You know this gluten and Celiac thing is so prevalent and the doctors just don't want to believe it. And it can cause so many different problems, and so many people just don't want to hear it.

Me: Well, at least it's an issue that can be resolved without surgery and drugs. I think of that as a blessing. And isn't it great that you were finally able to figure out what was wrong with him!

Sandy: Oh yes, so glad he doesn't need surgery and medication. And honey, it wasn't me that discovered it. It was all GRACE. Those who have eyes to see will see, and those who have ears to hear will hear.

Me: YES ~ grace! I know. That's how I discovered it in my son, too. The Lord showed me and led me to the answer. I was so thankful.

Mid-stream in this response, Sandy reached up with her right hand and pulled my face close to her as if she needed to tell me a secret. Then ~ she kissed me on the cheek! I was shocked, but so blessed. All at the same time, I giggled at her gregariousness, and fought tears over her kindness, her friendliness. I hoped she didn't think I was mocking her, because I wasn't. I was just SO tickled over this spontaneous friendship with a complete stranger that was happening in this birthplace of Whole Foods ~ Austin, TX, that I couldn't control the giggles.

She chatted a while longer, and then said a quick goodbye before heading off to do more shopping. I made my way to the checkout line with Robert, Kory, and Kayla. (Cooper was at his first basketball practice.) We all marveled together at what had just happened, and it was during those moments in the checkout line that I felt a strong nudge to go and find her again and ask her if I could send her a book. While my family checked out and waited in the store's cafe, I went to find Sandy. (I didn't even know her name at the time.) I found her easily...

Me: Hi again. I just wanted to find you and tell you thank you. Thank you for talking to me and for being so kind. I am from Texas, but I live in Massachusetts, and people just don't usually do that there.

Sandy: WHY????? Oh honey, why would you want to live THERE????

Me: (laughing) Well, my husband is a pastor there. We moved there about 13 years ago to plant the church.

Sandy: Well, then it ought to be planted by now and you can come HOME! You are coming back home now aren't you?

Me: No, we're just on a 3 month sabbatical. The Lord is doing great things at our church in Massachusetts. The church is full of college students and twenty/thirty-somethings, and He is really at work among them. It was just time for us to take a little break.

Sandy: Oh, I know. I understand. Obedience is better than sacrifice. You've got to obey.

Then she kissed me on the cheek again! I told her that I had written a book for children about Celiac disease, and asked if she would mind giving a complete stranger her home address, so that I could send her a copy. She gladly wrote it down for me, and asked to have my address as well. It was at this point that we finally exchanged names. It was also at that point that she asked me to pray for her son, who had been in ministry at a large church in Tennessee, but was now living back at home and feeling a bit lost and disillusioned.

Sandy: I want you to know that this is the first time in two years that I have asked anyone to pray for him, but I'm asking you. OK?

Me: OK. Yes, I will pray for him. And thank you again for your kindness. I will send you a book soon.

In parting, she reminded me about a gluten free store nearby who's owner is also a mom who wrote about her son's struggle with and then healing from ADHD/Autism Spectrum through a gluten free diet. She encouraged me to take my book by there also. Sandy said a sweet goodbye, and then I caught up with Robert and kids in the cafe. A few seconds later, Sandy walked through the cafe on the way to the bathroom and waved to all of us.

Kayla wanted to take a quick look in the Old Navy store nearby, so we headed in that direction while Kory and Robert took our grocery bags to the van. At one point, I glanced behind me and saw Robert not too far behind us on the sidewalk on the way to Old Navy. I didn't see him in the store right away, but simply assumed he was looking in the men's section and out of our sight. A while later, he found me in the store...

Robert: The woman you were talking to in Whole Foods tracked me down on the way over here and gave me this.

He passed some folded money into my hand. I slowly unfolded it to discover a $100 bill.

Me: What???? What did she say??? This is crazy.

Robert: She said she wanted to give me something....for Christmas. Then she changed her mind and said that she and her husband had recently felt there was too much paganism in our Christmas celebrations, so she adjusted her wording to say she just wanted to give me something.....for me, for us.

Me: Oh. My. Goodness. That is just crazy. Did she say anything else?

Robert: No. She just grabbed my arm and said goodbye and walked away.

Me: Wow.

"The natives (hee hee) showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in, and because of the cold, they kindled a fire, and received us all."

Acts 28: 2

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Galations 5: 22-23

"Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"

Romans 11:33

It was Sandy's kindness that made me richer than I was before. Her generosity of spirit superseded her generosity of resources. What a Christlike generosity ~ kindness and abundant provision all wrapped up in one person. Feeling very rich to have had this encounter ~ even after spending a small fortune at Whole Foods. Only in Texas?!?!

You Know You're In Texas When...

2011-12-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

The sunset is visible every evening...

...the Christmas tree farm looks suspiciously like a big box store...

...and your next door neighbor brings you a gift just hours after you've moved in!

We're here, and we're somewhat settled. So nice to wake up slowly this morning, read my Bible, journal, and have an Advent devotion with the kids ~ things that haven't been happening in the last crazy week or two! Robert and I are also looking forward to a three night getaway starting Thursday. Looking forward to time together, a little silence, and probably some Christmas shopping, which I've not even begun. Now I'm off to take Cooper to his first basketball practice. I'll post again soon with some other adventures from our 2000 mile journey which include Legos, Bill Clinton, old friends, very friendly strangers, and teenage drivers!

P.S. To be fair, our next door neighbor is also our realtor for our sabbatical rent home, but I'm telling you ~ the FRIENDLINESS abounds around here. Actually, it began abounding somewhere between Maryland and West Virginia, and kept getting more excessive through Kentucky and Tennessee. Wow.

Halfway There...

2011-12-09T08:06:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Louisville, Kentucky! We are about halfway through our journey to Austin, TX. It, of course, took us longer to leave our house than we thought, but finally, around 11am we said goodbye to our little red brick house and hit the road.

Our first night was spent in Altoona, PA rather than in Niagra Falls, since we had accidentally booked a hotel on the Canadian side of Niagra. Not only do we not all have passports, but we weren't sure how kindly the border crossing would look upon all of the Rubbermaid containers and suitcases with which we are loaded down! Anyway, we changed our route, and it may or may not have been a good choice since ALL of the journey to and through Pennsylvania was through pouring rain and driving snow. It was quite brutal, and much of the trip had to be at about 45 miles per hour. But we made it safely to our hotel by about 11pm.

Yesterday's drive was much easier ~ clear and sunny, and really beautiful country through West Virginia and Kentucky. Kory even drove for about 2.5 hours of the 8 hour trip. The vehicle arrangement has been ~ Mom and boys in the van, and Kayla and her dad in the truck. Kayla and Robert listened to all of Island of the Blue Dolphins on CD, and the boys and I have started To Kill a Mockingbird. The kids are also doing some schoolwork in the car which they are convinced in pure torture! Below is a small sample of my view from the van. Robert has the GPS in the truck, and I follow closely behind in the van!

We spent the night with sweet friends Keith and Carole Inman last night, and really enjoyed wonderful conversation and fellowship before bed last night. Right now, Keith is in the kitchen scrambling eggs for my whole family and talking "ministry" with Robert ~ perfect.

Robert and I have even gotten in our regular morning runs this week. We ran around the UMass campus on Wednesday before packing up and closing down the house, and this morning we ran together in Keith and Carole's beautiful neighborhood. On our Wednesday run, we kept talking about what a special GIFT this sabbatical is to us. We are looking forward to the time and to being more PRESENT with each other and more PRESENT with our kids. And what a crucial time it is for those things with two teens and a tween. So, we are extremely blessed by this gift of time, of finances, and of rest. Thanks again, Mercyhouse, for making this possible for us.

Now, off to Little Rock, Arkansas!

Submerged Saints, Sabbatical Send-Off & Starbucks

2011-12-04T21:43:00.001-05:00

It was the PERFECT way to spend our last Sunday at church before heading off to Texas for a while ~ Baptisms! I know I've told you this before, but it is such a privilege to have a front row seat in the lives of so many people. Hearing their testimonies, and watching their surrender to Christ, and their obedience in baptism is nothing but a faith builder in my own life! Jesus is ABLE. He is able to pierce hearts with His grace. He is able to conquer sin, darkness, and death. He is able to strengthen individuals to forsake destructive life patterns. These are always the stories. It would be enough that He has accomplished (is accomplishing) this in my life, but He also allows me to watch it OVER and OVER in the lives of countless others. What a privilege. What an honor.

So, yes ~ it was our last Sunday at church until the end of March, and what a beautiful way to spend it ~ hearing the stories of Erica, Mike, and Chelsea and watching them make their faith known, to their friends, families, and church body. It was so wonderful.

There was also a special prayer time for the Krum family ~ a sabbatical send-off prayer by Dan, Lois, and Steve ~ and complete with a gift for the road ~ Starbucks gift cards for mom and dad, Target gift cards for the kids. All this on top of the generous funds they had already raised to cover all expenses while we are gone. Did I already mention that we are privileged and blessed? Yes. Very. A couple of the sermons from Leviticus in the last few weeks have been about the "partying" and "resting" we are able to indulge in, all because of the payment by Jesus on the Cross. He purchases true rest for us ~ real sabbatical rest, but we have also been humbled by the lavish way our church is demonstrating to us what Jesus has already done on our behalf. They have truly "paid" for us to have 3 months of rest by their giving of money, and by their leading of the church while we are away, and by their "relay-prayer" that will happen every single day that we are gone. What a gift.

Last week was a mixture of sadness and sweetness for me. Sadness over some things out of my control, but balanced by such sweetness of fellowship with friends and sisters in Christ. The Lord gave my the idea that it would be fun to wrap up my two women's Bible studies on Doctrine by discussing our chapter on the Resurrection over a meal together. The Amherst College girls and I discussed the Resurrection over "Asian Fusion" at one of my favorite restaurants in town...

Such a fun evening with a group of amazing ladies! Thanks Paula, Cecilia, Akosua, Sophie and Nifemi!

And then today, my Sunday morning class met early for breakfast at The Lone Wolf (yum!) before church.

Erica's mom was in town for her baptism, and so she joined us for more discussion on the Resurrection over eggs, and crepes, bacon, home fries, and coffee!

Love these ladies and their hearts and minds for Christ. I will miss my double-dose-of-doctrine every week with these women who sharpen me and challenge me to know and love my Lord and his Word more and more intimately.

Would you believe that a Starbucks iced-coffee was delivered to me DURING the church service? Talk about spoiled. Robert happened to be giving an announcement about the internship program at our church when one of our current interns (who also works at Starbucks!) came in with my usual ~ Venti iced coffee, 2 pumps classic, light cream. It was not planned, but turned out to be a funny advertisement about what the interns actually DO in the ministry.

You know...like, bring the pastor's wife iced coffee, of course! Thanks, Josh ~ such a treat!

We're off on Wednesday, and I can't tell you just how loved and supported we feel in going. Thank you Mercyhouse ~ we'll see you in the spring! May Jesus show you, as Robert suggested, that HE is the Lord of our church, and means this time of sabbatical to grow ALL of us in that knowledge. You are loved and will be missed.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Creamy Chicken Stew & Popovers

2011-12-02T18:22:00.001-05:00

Popovers and apple butter. That is the specialty at Judie's, my favorite restaurant in town, but I haven't been able to eat one there for 8 years now. Popovers are also the specialty at Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park in Maine, where Robert and I ate to celebrate our 19th anniversary this summer. I had to sit and watch him eat his warm, crusty popover that night, but he kept assuring me that it tasted terrible. This is the little game we play every time the hot, yeasty rolls arrive at our table. He devours them while saying things like, "You're not missing a thing. These are really awful!"

Mmmm Hmmm..... I know better. My memory is not that bad. ☺

Well, this week I decided to try and replicate the elusive popover. They turned out.....okay, and I think I learned some things that will help make the next batch more successful. I served them alongside a creamy chicken stew for lunch after church last Sunday. The popovers were both buttered and dipped in the soup, which helped this less-than-airy-and-crusty first batch!

Here are the improved recipes:

Popovers

1 cup GF flour blend (I would use lighter flours. Maybe 1/3 brown rice, 1/3 tapioca, 1/3 potato)

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs (room temp)

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 1/2 cup milk (room temp)

Set out milk and eggs in order to bring them to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425°. (<----- I FINALLY learned how to make the ° sign ~ hurray!) When the milk and eggs are no longer cold, place them in a blender along with the melted butter and blend well. Add the GF flour, xanthan gum and salt to the blender and liquid ingredients. Blend for 1-2 minutes. (If you don't have a blender, try to use a hand mixer, at least. Grease muffin tin or popover pan and set in the oven for 1-2 minutes to warm. Be sure you don't leave it in too long, or you'll have a kitchen full of smoke because of the grease and heat. The grease in the pan will also brown and color the bottom of your popovers. (Guess how I know this?) When pan is warmed, remove it from oven and fill each cup 2/3 full with the popover batter. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes at 425°. Try to resist to desire to open the oven door and "check" on the popovers. Reduce the oven temperature to 350° and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the popovers are "popped" (hopefully!) and slightly browned. Serve warm. Set out some butter, apple butter, and honey with them, too, if you want to make everyone especially happy. ☺(<----Might as well learn to make a happy face, too!)

Creamy Chicken Stew

2 lbs chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 package baby carrots, sliced in half diagonally

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 garlic cloves, diced

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1/3 cup GF flour or 1/4 cup cornstarch

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water (or 1 cup water and 1 cup white cooking wine)

1 small package frozen peas

1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half

salt and pepper to taste

Melt olive oil and butter together in large skillet. Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. Sauté 3 minutes. Add potato and sauté 3 more minutes until everything crisp-tender. Sprinkle flour over veggies in the pan and stir to coat. Scrape all skillet ingredients as well as the thyme into a stock pot and add chicken broth. Bring to a strong simmer and then add water. The soup should thicken a bit as you stir. Reduce heat. Add cream, salt, and pepper. Remove thyme stalks before serving.

I also like to press fresh garlic in just before serving. Mainly because it tastes wonderful, but also because fresh garlic is a great way to fend off the cold virus!

More Love To Thee, O Christ

2011-12-01T12:50:00.001-05:00

A first time visitor to our church approached my husband after the service this past Sunday. Having already been introduced before the service began, the man felt free to come and make a comment on Robert's sermon after the service was over.

"The way I've come to judge a good sermon recently is to ask myself if the sermon caused me to love Jesus more than I did before. Your sermon today did just that. I love Jesus more now because of what you taught today, man. Thank you."

Later that evening, Robert told me about this interaction with tears in his eyes. Giving all credit to Christ for the sermon, he was overwhelmed by the honor of being used by Him in that way. I was in tears as well. The sermon made me love Jesus more, too, but it wasn't the only thing this week that served to bring about about more love for my Savior.

The other thing wasn't powerful, expositional teaching. It wasn't a beautiful worship song, or faith exhorting book. Honestly, it wasn't even the written Word of God which always lifts my eyes and soul to Him. It was sorrow. It is grief. A pained and breaking heart. Rejection and loss.

"It hurts so much," I say to my pastor husband. "Like, my heart literally hurts. I sat in church listening to your sermon that, like the man said, truly was making me love Jesus more, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't fight the tears. I don't think I've ever truly suffered a broken heart until now."

A couple of days pass. Surely, I'll feel better after some sleep, some daily distractions, some food, I think to myself. But I don't.

"How are you doing," the husband asks me during our usual 6.7 mile run along the secluded bike trail early one morning.

"It's not better. It is so painful. The sadness is so present. All that was invested. All that I believed. The tears come unexpectedly. When will I feel better? How will I move forward?" I cry.

"I don't know, but I think you know and love Jesus more now because of the sorrow, don't you," he gently suggests.

"But I feel foolish for believing and giving so much," I say.

"You did those things unto Christ. Nothing has been lost. Much has been gained. You love Christ more now," the prophet husband speaks.

And he's right. And I do.

It made me think of Mrs. Campbell from my favorite book...

"I was bound to my God and Savior before I knew a sorrow, it is true. But it was by a chain of many links; and every link that dropped away brought me to Him till at last, having nothing left, I was shut up to Him and learned fully what I had only learned partially, how soul-satisfying He is."

Mrs. Campbell is a fictional character dreamed up by the same godly woman who wrote this hymn:

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee

Hear now the prayer I make, on bended knee

This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee

More love to Thee, more love to Thee

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest

Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best

This all my prayer shall be: More love to Christ, to Thee

More love to Thee, more love to Thee

Let sorrow do its work, come grief and pain

Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet Their refrain

When they can sing with me, More love, O Christ, to Thee

More love to Thee, more love to Thee

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise

This be the parting cry my heart shall raise

This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to Thee

More love to Thee, more love to Thee

by Elizabeth Prentiss 1818-1878

And then I came home and opened up His Word, and this is what it said:

"Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For the sake of Your name, O Lord, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble."

Psalm 143: 10-11

"For the Lord takes pleasure in His people. He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation."

Psalm 149:4

For His sake He beautifies me with salvation ~ with a depth of understanding regarding exactly what my salvation is. Freedom from sin. Freedom to love Him more. (And He will even bring my soul out of its troubled state, as well.)

I think Mrs. Campbell says it perfectly:

"Love to Christ becomes the abiding, inmost principle of his (the mature Christian's) life; he loves Him rather for what He is than for what He has done or will do for him individually, and God's honor becomes so dear to him that he feels personally wounded when that is called in question. And the will of God becomes so dear to him that he loves it best when it 'triumphs at his cost.' "

So yes, let sorrow do its work: More Love to Thee, O Christ.

Running On Empty ~ Filling Station Ahead

2011-11-28T08:43:00.000-05:00

"Hey, Babe ~ the gas light is on," I casually mention from the passenger seat.

"What? OK, well, I think there's an exit coming up," he replies.

He NEVER lets the gas light come on. That's more my style. ;-)

I push the mode button on the digital screen that will give us our DTE ~ Distance-To-Empty.

8 miles.

We are hurrying home from an annual denominational meeting, in order to see our friend and fellow church member, Lynda, who has just tragically lost her son, Josh ~ another friend and sister-church member. She called us the day before to let us know he was gone. It was a bitter shock, but not totally unexpected. It had been hoped against, prayed against, but now was painful reality. The church had already rallied in our absence, but we wanted to be there, needed to lend a hand in the details.

"I think there is an exit just around this bend," Robert spoke confidently.

DTE ~ 6 miles.

We are on the Massachusetts Turnpike, and it is not known for its frequent exits. In fact, you are hard pressed to see anything that resembles civilization on this turnpike, because of the trees and mountains. Twice I've had to drive almost all the way to the New York border, because I missed the Westfield exit and all the warning signs that there would not be another exit for 30 miles. It's not like driving on I-35 in Texas where you can SEE the gas station signs and billboards shooting up from their locations, where you can just glance to the left or the right and easily observe all of your restaurant options and count the number of Starbucks'. No, no visual reassurance that we are anywhere near fuel, just trees with the rusty fall colors that occur right before they are gone for the winter. And no exit around this bend, just a big hill to climb looming in front of us.

DTE ~ 4 miles.

"Lord, please have mercy on us. Don't let us run out of gas on the Masspike," Robert prays as he begins to experience more anxiety, because at this point we can SEE nearly 4 miles straight ahead of us on the highway lined with its hedge and barrier trees. (Not that I'm complaining. I'd rather have fall rusty colored trees and evergreens than billboards any day. Well, except for today.)

DTE ~ 2 miles

Our hearts begin skipping beats, and Robert laments aloud, "Why didn't I sign up for AAA last week when their invitation came in the mail? What do you do when you run out of gas on the turnpike? Is there an emergency number to call or something? We are NOT going to make it."

DTE ~ 0 miles

The approaching green exit sign says that the next exit is 2 miles away. We hold our breath and brace for the sensation of a sputtering engine, as we climb yet another hill. This is looking ominous, but at least 2 miles is a walk-able distance.

DTE ~ 0 miles

The monitor continues to read 0 miles for at least 2 more miles as we approach the exit. We swirl around the exit loop and coast effortlessly into the Shell station and right up to the pump, our bundled nerves beginning to unwind.

"This is just like our life," I breathe out in frustrated relief, and almost in tears now that relief has been provided. "We live like this ALL of the time ~ from one drama or trial or burden to another ~ never having time to refuel ~ fearing that we're 'not going to make it' because we're out of time, money, energy, compassion...."

"I know," he replies, "but this is going to be a wonderful illustration for the Leviticus sermon tomorrow."

Ugh.

And in spite of my not wanting to have stress for the sake of sermons, it was indeed a perfect illustration. The sermon was about having an abundance mentality and not a scarcity mentality. And we're not talking about the "name it-claim it ~ my-God-wants-me-to-drive-a-Lexus" mentality, but rather an outlook that doesn't fear being generous with what you may view as very limited resources. "God doesn't give us a big pile of money, and a big pile of time, and a big pile of energy, and then ask us to go and serve and give generously," Robert explained to the congregation the next day, "He asks us to be generous by trusting in His abundance."

"Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord Your God."

Leviticus 19: 9-10

We were obviously out of gas, but we were still able to drive the amount of miles it took to get to the Shell station and fill up again. It was a picture of His provision for us when, by all appearances, it seemed like we had nothing left.

It is a fact that we have, indeed, been living this way for quite some time now, and we have come, several times, to the point where we did not think we were going to make it ~ emotionally, financially, physically. I have thought often of the words of Paul...

"For even when we came to Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within..."

2 Corinthians 7:5

Oh, it has not been so terrible! There have been SO many joys, but it has also been constant and intense, and we've felt the effects of this rather acutely in the last 3 years ~ no rest for our flesh, conflicts, fears, and afflictions.

So.....we're going take some time for intentional rest and refueling soon. Our church has really come together on our behalf, and is sending us off on a 3 month sabbatical. We are so overwhelmed with gratitude, and SO ready to "unplug" for a time. And it seems to have come at just in time, as the last 2 months have been fraught with griefs and burdens we did not see coming and wondered how we would have the stamina to walk through, especially in our anticipation of rest. I hope I don't sound too whiny when I tell you that we are just plain weary.

We leave in 10 days ~ hurray!

So eager, so grateful for yet another abundant provision by a generous God.

Eucharisteo ~ He Gave Thanks

2011-11-27T17:08:00.001-05:00

Gregory and Kory share a laugh over a Trivial Pursuit question.

I've been following Ann Voskamp's blog for a little while now ~ beautiful photos, kind and gracious tone, homeschool mom of six, farmer's wife, Compassion International blogger and traveler. When I learned she was writing a book about gratitude I was so intrigued, as I have been on my own gratitude-is-the-key-to-joy-in-Jesus journey. I put the book on my Amazon wishlist several months ago, and then two weeks ago it appeared in my mailbox, and not because I ordered it, but because a friend in Pennsylvania was compelled to send it to me. She had no idea it was on my wishlist. We aren't even in regular contact. Hmmmmm....

The GIRLS' table!

I had already been reading verses like this, and taking heart in the wording. Thanksgiving is being offered as a sacrifice. It is a choice. It is not usually easy ~ sacrifices are typically painful ~ to give thanks in all things, but it is a good thing to do.

Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

Psalm 54:6

It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.

Psalm 92:1

To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord.

Psalm 116:17

The dining room crew.

I was also praying things like this in my journal:

June 2, 2011

Lord, forgive my grumblings ~ all of which your Word says are against You and You only. As I pray and ask You to speak to me in my times with You and and in Your Word, this is the theme I see lately: Be thankful. Even if it must be offered as a painful sacrifice. Food and water seem like very legitimate things for the Israelites to be grumbling about when they once lived in plenty and then lived in the desert. Still you called what they did grumbling ~ and not against Moses, but against You....Sometimes it feels like meaningless restrictions You've placed on me, and yet I know You are good and I take heart in the fact that Your Word calls the giving of thanks a sacrifice. You acknowledge that it is not always easy or natural, but that it is good for me and it honors You. Strengthen me to be obedient and let my giving of thanks not always feel like a painful sacrifice, but rather a natural response.

Time to feast!

The living room crew.

And this:

June 3, 2011

"I will render thank offerings to You. For You have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living." Psalm 56: 12-13

Lord, the above is more teaching from you on being thankful. Help me to do this, to be this. Open my eyes to your many gifts and blessings. Move my heart to gratitude. Help me move quickly to having this perspective: the fact that you have "delivered my soul from death" is ALWAYS something to be thankful for when I can't seem to see anything else, and really, that fact alone should always suffice. It should overwhelm me, actually.

Coffee, pie, and games.

So, I open Ann's book, One Thousand Gifts, which begins with the story of the tragic, childhood death of her little sister, and the adult musings of whether or not her heart will ever have full joy...

"And my life knew how elusive that that slippery three-letter word, joy, can be....I longed for more life, for more holy joy." p. 32

So do I, Ann. Tell me how to have this holy joy, my kindred sister. And I turn the pages as fast as I can, but still slow enough to follow her story.

Some special ladies and sweet friends ~ Kristina & Christie.

Then, just four pages later, I read this:

" 'On the night when Jesus was betrayed, the Lord took some bread and gave thanks (eucharisteo) to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces...' (1 Corinthians 11: 23-24) Jesus, on the night before the driving hammer and iron piercing through ligament and sinew, receives what God offers as grace (charis), the germ of His thanksgiving (eucharistia)? Oh. Facing the abandonment of God Himself (does it get any worse than this?), Jesus offers thanksgiving for even that which will break Him and crush Him and wound him and yield a bounty of joy (chara). The mystery always contains more mysteries. Do I really want this way?" p. 36

Letting the food digest.

Do I really want this way? This choosing to offer thanks in ALL circumstances? Even in betrayal? Even in physical pain? In weary despair?

Yes, because there is really no other path to joy. The Lord has been faithful to teach me the exact same things He taught Ann. There is no other avenue to intimacy with and joy in Christ than this offering of thanks.

"Eucharisteo, the Greek word with the hard meaning and the harder meaning to live ~ this is the only way from empty to full." p. 41

So yes, Lord, I will strive to quiet my grumblings and instead offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to You. I want to know you in the fullness of your joy.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Super Easy Sausage Stew

2011-11-25T20:56:00.001-05:00

It's not exactly Thanksgiving leftovers, but I suppose you could substitute turkey for the sausage! And it's not original, but just another naturally gluten free dish I discovered in Real Simple magazine. (Have I mentioned that I like that magazine a little bit?) Anyway, this is a really easy recipe ~ very little prep, and a slow cooker dish at that. I threw all of the ingredients in the crock pot last Sunday morning before church, and the house smelled wonderful once we got back home. I made some corn bread in a hot, buttered cast-iron skillet to go with it, and everyone loved it.

It's actually called....

White Bean and Kielbasa Stew

1 pound dry white dry beans (I used navy beans)
1lb kielbasa, halved lengthwise & sliced (or any favorite sausage OR turkey!)
4 cups GF chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
5 oz baby spinach (I used frozen)

In your crockpot (4-6qt sized) add all ingredients. Stir to combine, and cook on high for 5-6 hours or low 7 to 8 hours.

That's it! Super easy, super scrumptious!

My Thanksgiving Elves & Menu

2011-11-23T12:42:00.001-05:00

One thing I'm thankful for these days is having BIG kids who can do BIG chores around here! I really don't know what I would have done without them the last couple of weeks. Last week we hosted a reception here after the burial of a dear one, Josh. I don't think there have EVER been that many people in my tiny house. Robert was out of town, and so I depended on my kiddos to do a lot of the cleaning and preparing. They were SO helpful. Katie and Taylor, two sweet friends, also came over for the morning and helped me pull off all of the food.
Could. Not. Have. Done. It. Without. Them. Whew!

Well, my helpers are back at it today in preparation for another houseful of guests tomorrow for Thanksgiving. They don't even really mind working, because Thanksgiving is one of their favorite holidays. When, in a moment of weariness, I suggested that we go to someone else's house for Thanksgiving this year, they all but staged a revolt!

So, they've been working all morning. Cooper cleaned 2 bathrooms, vacuumed the stairway, and cleaned the windows on our mudroom doors. Kayla made 2 pumpkin pies all by herself, peeled several bags of carrots, made the cider glaze for the turkey, cornbread for dressing, and ran loads of laundry in between! (Oh ~ and she also had a piano lesson somewhere in there!) Kayla invited Cooper to join her in peeling bags of carrots, and a few moments into the job he declared, "This is so satisfying!" And no, he wasn't joking, so guess what his new all-time kitchen chore will be? Kory set up our second dining room table in the living room, arranged chairs, and brought extras up from the basement. He also dusted some of the wood blinds, and helped Robert get the window unit air conditioners back up to the attic for the winter.

And Robert's annual Thanksgiving chore is to iron all of the tablecloths and cloth napkins. (We get out the white tablecloths and use the real china on this special day.) He actually likes to iron, so this gives him a little bliss for a good hour or more ~ in the basement with his iTunes cranked up.

I'm sure I've mentioned my love for Real Simple magazine before. Well, the November issue had a full Thanksgiving menu, recipes, shopping list, and timeline for preparation. It looked like things we typically serve with a few new things that looked delicious, and nothing that seemed too complicated, so I basically did almost everything that they suggested. Here's our almost exclusively Real Simple inspired menu, and it's all gluten free, of course:

Appetizers:

Crudités & Roasted Onion Dip

Cheese & Apple Platter ~ Brie, Goat, and Gouda

Rice & Lentil Crackers

Olive Plate

Main Course:

Cider Glazed Turkey & Gravy

Scalloped Potatoes

Buttery Garlic & Parmesan Brussels' Sprouts

Carrots with Rosemary & Brown Sugar

Cornbread Stuffing

(Don't tell my dad, but I'm trying a new cornbread dressing recipe from Eating Well magazine!)

Praline Sweet Potatoes

Popovers

My dear friend Christie is also bringing:

Brisket

Ham

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Cornbread Dressing

Drinks:

Sparkling Cider ~ Apple, Blueberry, Cranberry

Iced Tea

Apple Cider

Mineral Water & Assorted Juices

Champagne

(for the grownups!)

Desserts:

Pecan Pie
(Ruth Rowland's famous!)

Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Fudge Pie

Cherry Pie

Popsicles

(Requested by Christie's daughter, 6 year old Mikiah)

Coffee & Tea

Well, there you have it! What about you? What are you making this year?

OK ~ Time to go help Kayla finish peeling potatoes! Hope you and your have a wonderful time celebrating all of your good gifts and blessings together tomorrow...

What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord...

To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving...

Psalm 116: 12-17

Celebrations & Sadnesses

2011-11-13T21:27:00.001-05:00

Been lots of ups and downs here lately. One of the "ups" was the chance to celebrate not only Robert's birthday at the end of October, but also the end of his 20th year in ministry. In September of 1991, he took a youth minister position at Manchaca Baptist Church near Austin, TX, began seminary, and was ordained shortly afterward. We spent 4 years at that church, were married during that time, and had our first child ~ a very special time with lots of milestones and memories. Now lots of those teenagers we ~~were driven crazy by~~ worked with have been married for nearly 10 years and have multiple children! A couple of them have even joined us in Massachusetts at one point or another. (Lois! Austin! Chad! Steve! Josh!) Love keeping up with them via Facebook and through yearly visits to the church.

In 1995 he was asked to take a University minister position at University Heights Baptist Church in Stillwater, OK. There, Robert was able to work alongside his former college minister, Tom Westbrook, who had become the pastor of that church after his ministry to college students at the University of Texas. We spent another 4 years there, bought our first home, made special, lifelong friends, and had baby #2. Some of those students and friends are also now with us here in Massachusetts or have come to serve at various times over the years. (Ryan, Christie, Curtis, Brandy!) It was a trip to Student Week in Glorietta, NM in those Oklahoma years during which Robert heard a church planter speak, and was moved to tears. He knew that the Lord was showing him in that moment that church planting was a possibility for the future.

Well, that possibility came WAY sooner than either of us expected it would (thanks to Curtis C. and John R.), and so in 1999 we loaded up our little white Stanza with a four year old Kory, and a 2 year old Cooper and headed to New England. (The blue truck and our other worldly belongings followed 2 weeks behind.)

We've been here twelve and a half years now.

Baby #3 was born in that first year here, (that makes one Texan, one Okie, and one Yankee!) and she is a definite highlight of those years, but the other highlight for me has been the twice-a-year baptism services we've had every year since we arrived to start our church here. What a privilege and honor to hear so many stories, see so many lives changed by the gospel of Christ ~ "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."

And so it was time to celebrate this honor and privilege ~ and this man whom I have watched passionately serve, teach, preach, pastor, and lead with humility and with the Spirit-enabled pure motive of seeing people come to know Christ and churches planted in a part of our country where The Great Awakenings happened, but have have long since been put to sleep.

So we had a BIG party in my LITTLE house! Thankfully, it was a lovely fall day and not too cold. The house was full and so was the yard. There were lots of faces, pulled pork sandwiches by Bill C. topping the day's menu, notes of encouragement written to the pastor, hugs, and laughter ~ ALL of the exact things I prayed for. I also LOVED having everyone at my house. That was a big part of how we started the church, and it was so wonderful to have old and new faces all together here again.

The down side, though, of having a front row seat in the individual and personal lives of so many, of being so intimately involved with countless people is watching them suffer, and saying goodbyes ~ goodbyes that are temporary (summers, graduations, moves...) and goodbyes that are forever.

Forever in the here and now, anyway.

We were devastated to hear about Josh's (with the knit cap) death last week. He's been a dear one almost ever since we arrived in Massachusetts. An incredibly gifted musician, a chef extraordinaire, and a faithful servant in and outside of the church, Josh was loved by all. My favorite personal memories of Josh are watching him teach my boys to cook a delicious salmon dinner in my kitchen (aprons and fingers curled away from the knife!) and the amazing gourmet meals he used to cook for our spring church banquets. (Butter, anyone?) I'll also miss passing his smiling face walking to work on my early morning runs through town.

Josh left our church to be a part of the first church our church planted. He ministered there for the last three years and was also ministered to in his struggles. If you skip to the 9 minute mark in this video made by fellow church member, Tommy, you can hear it in Josh's own words...

Oh, it is the end we sometimes feared, but not the end any of us were hoping and praying for, and so we look forward to our reunion with Josh in the not yet. He was buried yesterday. We will celebrate his life in a special service tomorrow morning. It will be a celebration amidst the sadness.

Praising the Lord for 20 years of the joys and even the heartaches of walking with and serving Him and His church ~ an honor and a privilege. Thanking the Lord for a husband who never wavers in his devotion to this call.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Cross Country, Coconut & Red Lentil Curry

2011-11-11T09:53:00.001-05:00

Cooper completed his final cross country race by earning himself a new personal record. He ran his 5K in 22:46 which is great for him! His team swept the championship by taking 1st place in JV girls and boys, as well as Varsity boys and girls. Coop had sort of a love-hate relationship with cross country, but he did it. He completed the season and persevered through the daily practices, which were anything from a 2 mile run and track work to a 6-mile run all over town.

Way to go, COOPER!

He never went to practice without his basketball in his backpack, though. Before and after cross country practice, he could be found in the high school gym or on the outdoor court shooting hoops ~ his true passion. He can hardly wait for basketball season, which we will be in Texas for. He's been allowed a spot on the Austin, TX homeschool team which we hope will work out well for him.

In other news, have I mentioned that I really love coconut milk? And lentils? And Indian food? Well, I do, and here's a really easy vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free recipe that encompasses all of those loves. It reminds me of something they serve on the hot prepared food bar at Whole Foods ~ so delicious.

Coconut & Red Lentil Curry

1 onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp ginger root, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp salt
1 jalepeno or serrano pepper, finely chopped
2 cups water
1 1/2 cup dried red lentils
1 can coconut milk
1 zucchini
cilantro

Saute onion in olive oil about 6 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and saute 2 or 3 more minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, tumeric, salt, jalepeno, and saute 2 more minutes.

Stir in the water, lentils, and coconut milk. Simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini and simmer until just tender.

Serve over rice.

The Race THAT IS set before us...

2011-11-04T12:43:00.000-04:00

We completed another half-marathon about 3 weeks ago! It was Robert's second and my third. He had to miss last year's because of foot and knee injuries, but thankfully, he has recovered almost completely, and was able to run again this year. It was definitely an answered prayer, and we were so grateful, as it is something we have really enjoyed doing together in recent years.

Last year, my friend Jess, ran in Robert's place. As we ran, Jess asked me how I was doing. She knew that I had been through sort of a dark time of despair and weariness. I shared with her how the Lord had been using Hebrews 12: 1-3 to encourage me. That was almost exactly one year ago. Well, this year is no different in that those verses are still teaching and encouraging me.

I think I mentioned a while back that I have been participating in Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Challenge this year. For it, you are required to memorize two verses per month and post them on her blog on the 1st and 15th. Completion of the challenge allows you to go to a conference in January (in Houston, TX) just for those who participated ~ for free! I'm already registered, and can hardly wait. My friend Karla is even coming down to Texas from Massachusetts to go with me! (Since I will be there for our sabbatical already.)

The verses I decided to memorize are Hebrews 11: 24 - Hebrews 12:3 and Psalm 71: 5-6 & 17-19. As our half-marathon approached, the verses I was memorizing were Hebrews 12: 1-3...

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race THAT IS set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

A few days before the race, it had struck me that the words were not "the race set before us," (which I had always thought) but rather "the race THAT IS set before us." I'm sure it doesn't sound like that big of a difference to you, and it probably has no "hermeneutical" bearing on the meaning, but to me it sounded more personal. When I noticed the
"THAT IS" as I was memorizing, it seemed like a more intentional setting of the race. It sounded as if the race that was set before me was purposefully individual, and as if Jesus had specifically set THIS race before ME. More like a calling; less like a cookie cutter.

Of course, Christians are all on "the race" of life and faith, being sanctified as we go. It's just that the "THAT IS" helped me to understand that my sanctification is meant to come through the race that Christ has chosen for me, because to be honest, I'm not always thrilled with the race that He has set before me. Sometimes, I wish I had someone else's race. The "THAT IS" revelation helped me embrace my own.

Running a half-marathon together just always seems a great reminder and re-enactment of this race of life and faith "THAT IS" set before us. There is usually an eager start, and a victorious finish. There are many good miles, and then there may be some painful, agonizing ones. There is a crowd (or a cloud!) of those who have already finished the race cheering you on, and even those who are non-running spectators will smile and cheer at your passing by.

There were protesters along our route this year, too.

The "joy set before me" at the Hartford half-marathon was a big lunch at P.F. Chang's, a hot bubble bath, and a bowl of frozen yogurt with dark chocolate and raspberries on top!

I'm learning to be thankful for and surrender to the race that has been purposefully set before me as an avenue of sanctification. It amazes me that the Lord knows me this intimately and arranges for a specific path that will be according to my personal need and to His ultimate glory.

It reminds me of a couple of scenes from my favorite book, Stepping Heavenward ~ especially one in which Katy is having a conversation (or possibly receiving a gentle rebuke!) about sanctification with one of her husband's older, godly patients:

"But if God chooses quite another lot for you, you may be sure that He sees that you need something totally different from what you want. You said just now that you would gladly go through any trial in order to attain a personal love for Christ that should become the ruling principle of your life. Now, as soon as God sees this desire in you, is He not King, is He not wise in appointing such trials as He knows will lead to this end?"

and another in which she (an older, wiser Katy) is talking about submission to Christ with her sister-in-law:

"...but to receive every tiresome visitor as sent expressly and directly

to weary me by the Master Himself;

to meet every negligence on the part of the servants as His choice for me at the moment; to be satisfied and patient when Ernest gets particularly absorbed in his books, because my Father sees that little discipline suitable for me at the time; all this I have not fully learned."

I have not fully learned this immediate submission to His chosen circumstances for me either, but I take heart in the truth that they were set before me by my Lord and lovingly intended to grow our relationship in intimacy.

P.S. We beat our best times by about 10 minutes this year!

You Can Blame Your October Snowstorm & Power Outages on Kayla!

2011-11-03T17:58:00.000-04:00

Look at that smile. She has been the happiest girl in the world, because her current two biggest desires and prayer requests came true all in one weekend:

1. That we would get a lot of snow before we leave for our sabbatical in Texas. ("I love snow, Mom. I don't want to be in a place where's there's no snow in winter!!!")

2. That our whole family would all watch a movie together in front of the fire, and then all sleep together in the living room. (Mom never wants to do the sleeping-together-in-the-living-room-thing. She likes her bed too much.)

Kayla had some special friends over for Saturday afternoon and evening!

Well, on Saturday, October 29 it started raining, and eventually snowing BIG, HUGE FLAKES. And it did not stop until the next morning. And did I mention that it was October?

Robert was out of town (his flight home from a funeral in Texas was canceled), so the kids and I made some preparations in case of a power outage, which we kept being warned of via news shows, automated calls from our town manager, and flashing signs on the major highways. Kory split some wood for kindling, we brought in a stack of logs to keep by the fireplace, rounded up all of our candles, matches, and flashlights, and then hunkered down while watching Elf. Even though it was October, it certainly felt like Christmas with the winter wonderland being created outside our window!

That small tree had already snapped and fallen down over our backyard swing.

After the movie was over, the power finally went out. We lit candles, stoked the fire, and gathered bedding so that we could all sleep in front of the fireplace that night, as it was expected to get to as low as 22 degrees. There was over 6 inches of snow on the ground at this point ~ in OCTOBER.

After our beds were made the kids (well, two of them) asked for story time, so I read a little of Where the Red Fern Grows, which is Cooper's novel for school this week, and a little of a Max Lucado storybook. It was after midnight when we stopped reading and tried to sleep. Kory is certain he did not sleep at all, but was tending the fire all night. I, on the other hand, am sure I witnessed some heavy breathing on his part,as I got up to put logs on the fire several times throughout the night!

This is what our street looked like the next morning after about a foot of snow had fallen. Can you see all of those power lines sagging under the weight of the snow that lines them as well as the branches that hang on them? Well, today is Thursday and there are still power lines and branches and entire trees down everywhere!

The town declared a state of emergency. The public schools have been closed all week. Radio stations are broadcasting which gas stations are open, and the Red Cross and National Guard have been called in. It still looks like a war zone almost one week later. We were fortunate to receive power back about 24 hours after it went out, but we also live on the main highway through town, and I think the streetlamps, stoplights, and businesses were a priority.

The kids have enjoyed the new scenery and adventures that were created in our backyard because of the storm. A large tree in our yard that was literally uprooted has now become a fun bridge and fort for airsoft gun battles. Unfortunately, it has also been impetus for manly adventures with knives, and Kory landed in the emergency room yesterday after he lacerated a tendon while whittling a fallen branch. He's doing all right today, but will have to have a minor surgery to repair the tendon on Friday. Sigh. Yesterday contained FAR more drama than I was prepared for, to say the least!

The morning after we lost power and were roasting bagels and muffins in the fireplace for breakfast, Kayla said joyfully, "God answered my prayer! I prayed that we would get a lot of snow before we left for Texas, and that our whole family could sleep together in the living room ~ and we did!" (Well, Robert was missing, but she was still satisfied.)

So, there you have it. It's all Kayla's fault, and she's loved every minute of it. The prayers of a righteous 11 year old availeth MUCH!

It WAS October, remember?

Gluten Free Friday ~ Chicken Tenders & Creamy Cider Sauce

2011-10-28T11:14:00.000-04:00

It snowed here last night! After a summer of cold and rain, it was not exactly a pleasant sight either. As I drove home from a Bible study at Amherst College in the evening, it felt and looked like a blizzard. The lights were shining brightly down on the school's playing fields which only highlighted the amount of snow that was falling and blowing around in the air, as well as the blanket that had already accumulated on the field. Knowing the temperatures were going to drop into the low 20's, I wondered how my recently planted mums would endure and whether or not the pumpkins decorating my front porch would survive until Thanksgiving, which is the date after which I might expect a little of the white stuff ~ not October 27! On my solitary run this morning, I had to carefully tiptoe over the bridges on our bike trail because they were covered with frozen snow.

I ran alone, because Robert got up at 3 a.m. this morning in order to catch a 6 a.m. flight to Texas where he will be speaking at the funeral of a dear friend of his and his family's tomorrow ~ a beloved coach and teacher of Robert's who had struggled off and on with health problems most of his life probably all stemming from a battle with Hodgkin's disease as a 19 year old boy. He was 61 when he passed away on Tuesday. We were enjoying a bit of a "fall break" on Cape Cod when we got the news. Praying today that the Lord will speak words of comfort through Robert as well as extend an invitation to receive Christ to all of Coach's friends, family, and fishing buddies ~ which is what Coach requested and what his wife has asked of Robert.

Came across a recipe a few weeks ago that inspired this one. It seemed such a perfect autumn dinner with its apples and apple cider, and my family raved about it. So, even though we've had a bit of a winter wonderland here, I'm trying to hang on to the last few golden days of fall! The leaves have turned from bright colors to a rusty version of each, which is almost as beautiful, but signifies the coming of the end of the season. I suppose the snow is an indicator of that, too! (boo hoo!)

Chicken Tenders & Creamy Cider Sauce

10-12 chicken tenderloins
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup GF flour (I used my rice, tapioca, potato mixture.)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 onion, finely chopped (I used a red one, as you can see ~ not necessary, just all I had!)
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, sliced thin
1 tsp thyme (I used dried, not fresh)
1 1/2 cup apple cider (the real stuff, not juice)
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

For Chicken: Combine GF flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Dredge each tenderloin in flour mixture and then place in skillet. Cook tenderloins in the butter/olive oil on each side until golden ~ about 7-10 minutes. Place cooked chicken in a baking dish and keep warm in a low temp oven until sauce is ready. Keep skillet drippings.

For Sauce: Heat skillet drippings and add onion, apple slices, and thyme. Saute for 3-5 minutes until apple and onion are softened. Add cider and bring to a boil. Keep boiling until there is a reduction of liquid of about one half. Now stir in cream, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce is thickened a bit. Spoon sauce over chicken on each plate to serve. (You could also puree this sauce in your blender if you don't want chunks of apple and onion!)

We had roasted potatoes, broccoli, and acorn squash with ours!

Gluten Free Friday ~ Pumpkin Love Smoothie

2011-10-21T11:40:00.002-04:00

It is just so beautiful here now! The leaves are at peak colors, it's breezy today, the sky is blue, and it's a perfect 65 degrees. (Perfect for SOME people, that is. My perfect is more like 85 degrees, but Robert simply loves to pull on his fleece jackets.) We went for a 6 mile run this morning and marveled that we live in such a gorgeous place. It really is a blessing to be surrounded by so much beauty.

This is a big weekend for us. Newcomer's Night at church tonight, and Robert's birthday on Sunday. We're having an open house on Sunday to celebrate several things ~ his birthday, his 20-year ministry anniversary, and also our upcoming sabbatical. We'll be taking the months of December, January, February and part of March off, and spending that time in Texas, so the party will also be a way to let our church know and say some temporary goodbyes. I'm starting to get a little nervous with the realization that there could be over 100 people at my house on Sunday afternoon ~ and praying for good weather, because they will definitely not all fit inside!

In my menu planning for the party, I've been flipping through some old magazines for inspiration, and last night I came across a recipe for a pumpkin smoothie. (It was Better Homes, not Real Simple as shown here.) I'm not sure how I developed such a love for all things pumpkin, but growing them, eating them, and decorating with them while living in New England just seems so right ~ so full of integrity in this post-card perfect place with its quintessential harvest season. So, as soon as we returned from our run, I knew what my breakfast would be! I made a few changes to the original recipe, and it was absolutely delicious! Kayla tried a spoonful, and gave it an

"Mmmmmmmm...that's good!"

As soon as I finish giving you the recipe here, I'm off to chop up some other squash varieties as well as lots of cheeses, veggies, chicken, potatoes, and more in an attempt to feed my party guests on Sunday! Pray that it is an encouragement to Robert and sweet time of fellowship with our wonderful and even extended church family.

Pumpkin Love Smoothie

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup plain yogurt (or vanilla, but I don't like all the added sugar.)

1 frozen banana

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp honey or agave

1/4 tsp vanilla

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Top with a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream and sprinkle with more cinnamon. Drink while gazing out your kitchen window and watching the reds, yellows, oranges, and greens blow gently off the trees. Send hubby out to purchase mums in similar colors to plant in front yard and eventually greet party guests. Help with an occasional algebra problem, grammar conundrum, or essay on Julius Caesar. Add milk to thin if needed. Yum!

Cold, Rainy, Fall Day = Pumpkin Tartlets

2011-10-19T15:27:00.000-04:00

Here's another recipe re-post! It's cold and rainy here today ~ can't seem to get warm in my own house, even with lots of layers! Thankful that our field trip to the Apple Barn for apple-picking, a hay ride, and pumpkin-picking was canceled this morning, but getting a little weary of the rain up in these parts. How I wish I could send it to my friends and family in Texas and Oklahoma ~ they need it much more than we do! The weather does make me want to bake, though, and so this is what I'm thinking on this dreary fall day... (though I think I will hold off until the weekend and Robert's birthday party!)

(photo from Fine Cooking website ~ not exactly what this recipe will look like, but close!)

Pumpkin Tartlets

Crust:
1 cup rice squares cereal, finely crushed (Rice Chex is gluten free!)
1/2 cup brown rice flour (or GF flour blend)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, or dairy free alternative
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling:
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk (rice or soy will work also)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup brown rice flour (or whatever flour blend you like)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

For crust: Mix rice flour, crushed cereal, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Grease muffin tin, or use muffin liners, and spoon crust mixture into each. Set aside some of the crust mixture to sprinkle on top of each tartlet before baking. Press crust down with spoon or fingers.

For filling: Mix together the pumpkin, oil, GF flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Fill each muffin liner with the pumpkin mixture and sprinkle remaining crust on top of each.

Bake at 350* for 15 minutes. Let cool in muffin tin for about 15 minutes before removing.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Pumpkin Souffle

2011-10-14T13:39:00.000-04:00

The beautiful colors that have arrived this week have made me want to start cooking all-things-pumpkin-and-squash. This is a recipe re-run from 2007 ~ but with pictures this time. This re-run is partly because Robert and I are running the Hartford Half-Marathon in the morning, and I've got a million things to do before I pick him up from the Hartford airport tonight. He's been at a leadership conference in Dallas, TX all week. The half-marathon sounded like a great idea a few months back when we registered, but this has turned out to be one crazy weekend! I had to recruit my friend Lois to be my stunt double in the morning and take my kiddos to all kinds of early morning activities ~ 6 a.m. departure for a cross country meet for Cooper (it's in Rhode Island!), 7:45 a.m. PSAT for Kory ,and a 9am swim lesson for Kayla! Whew. I'm so thankful for her willingness to help us out!

This is an easy souffle, that works great as a side dish alongside roasted chicken or even beef. My kids absolutely love it when I make this. (Pretty sure it's the brown sugar and cinnamon that draws them!) Don't be disturbed when your souffle "deflates" though. This photo was taken right after it came out of the oven. I can almost guarantee it's flattening out and caving in ~ even if you are very quiet and don't make any sudden movements! ;-)

Folding the egg whites with the pumpkin mixture...

Just out of the oven...

Pumpkin Souffle

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Place a baking dish with an inch or so of water in it in the oven to heat. The souffle will bake in this pan of water later.

Mix together pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and salt. Beat egg whites until stiff. Add egg whites to pumpkin mixture, and gently but thoroughly combine. Pour into a 1 quart baking dish and set in the pan of hot water. Bake 30-40 minutes.

This recipe can be doubled, but I've tried tripling, and it doesn't work very well. Better to use several 1 or 2 quart dishes if you're feeding a crowd. One recipe only serves 4-6 people.

Happy Fall!

Old and Ugly or Wonderful and Good?

2011-10-10T13:39:00.000-04:00

Ugh. This hair. It looks terrible! And the gray...goodness, it's even more visible since I got that trim last week. Natural highlights? Ha! And why can't I be like all those other women who can leave the house with their hair wet, and only look more gorgeous as it dries naturally?

This is what I think as I wrangle with my hair dryer, flat iron, and wide-barreled curling iron....

It's no use. Just brush it, spray it a bit, and surrender to the bad hair day. It's 8:55a.m. and there's no time for what would be required to fix it. Who would believe that the lady about to teach the Doctrine for Women Sunday School class is having fits over her hair 20 minutes before class?

Reluctantly, I lay the brush down on the dresser, and begin to walk out of my bedroom, where I catch a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror...

Ugh. This outfit. It's just awful! I like this sweater, but it doesn't really go with anything ~ definitely not this skirt. It just feels frumpy and unfashionable. Why can't I be like all those other women who have such a natural sense of style ~ simple and casual, yet elegant?

OK. Get over it. Today you are just going to have to be old and ugly. It's 9a.m. now and your class starts in 15 minutes. There is no time for a wardrobe change. Get in the car and drive to church. Fashion sense is not a godly virtue anyway. Today you will only be spiritual which goes much better with ugly than stylish does. Right?

(I was the OLD lady with the BIG nose and chin. Which lady do you see?)

Class is over and we're all walking out together...

"I love your sweater!" says Erica. "Where did you get that? It is so pretty."

"Oh....thanks....ummm....I found it at a little boutique in an artsy Texas town," I try to be gracious.

"Well, it's really pretty. You always look so nice and perfectly put together." continues Erica.

"Thank you," I reply, but at the same time I tell myself that Erica is a theater major and just uniquely able to verbalize encouragement to EVERYONE she sees.

The worship service is over now, and I have managed to get my mind on the music, and the sermon, and Jesus ~ thank goodness. I may have had a few anxious thoughts about my hair and outfit, though. I get up from my seat on the second row and head toward the back of the sanctuary thinking to myself...Just get home, feed your family, and your lunch guests, and then you're home free ~ a ponytail will fix everything. Then, I spot Vicky who is headed in my direction...

"Did you get your hair cut?" she asks with a smile and gentle pat on my arm.

"Yes," I reply, " about a week ago."

"Well, it looks great....so pretty," she says.

"Really?" I ask in sincere disbelief.

"Yes, really. I love it." Vicky reaffirms.

Oh. Okay, Lord. I get it. I hear you. You don't view me through my critical lens and neither do the people around me.

"Thanks. Vicky, I know the Lord sent you over here to encourage me, because I left my house feeling very old and ugly today ~ like I had aged 20 years, and should finally just admit the obvious and surrender to the inevitable."

"No, no, no. That is not true. You look beautiful," my sweet friend replied.

And guess what the topic of my Doctrine class was that morning?

Creation and Our Creator God.

Shouldn't the teacher know better?

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

Gen 1:31

For we are His workmanship...

Ephesians 2:10

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth...

...Search me, O God, and know my heart;

try me and know my anxious thoughts

And see if there be any hurtful way in me

and lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 139

Thank you, Lord, for truth ~ and for grace in the way of encouragement rather than further condemnation. Taking a little break from the glass mirror today, and looking into the mirror of truth.

You're Still Homeschooling Your High-School-er?

2011-10-09T19:19:00.000-04:00

Seems like we are getting this question a lot lately. Yes, we are the crazy people still homeschooling our high school aged kids. Even us ~ the two parents who absolutely loved our high schools, excelled there, enjoyed probably too many extra-curricular activities and clubs, stayed out of trouble for the most part, went to dances and football games, and made dear, life-long friends. So why would we keep our own children from this supposedly wonderful experience? And how in the world does a mom and elementary education major teach trigonometry and chemistry?

The answers to the "why" question are really no different from the ones that compelled us to begin homeschooling in the first place:

1. We want to be the primary influence in the lives of our children, and have the freedom to impart our faith to them on a daily and even moment-by-moment basis.

2. Both the one-on-one tutorial teaching method as well as the independent study method are ideal educational atmospheres.

3. We want freedom to choose a classical approach, as well as quality literature and textbooks from which to educate and influence the hearts and minds of our children.

4. We prayed about it individually and together, and as best we could tell, it was what the Lord was leading us to do. (He sent all kinds of key people and specific encouragement our way, especially as we prayed about whether or not to keep homeschooling through the high school years. It just seemed like a VERY clear answer.)

The answer to the "how" question is, first of all, by the strength and grace of the Lord. Really. I could not do it otherwise. This is not an easy road, and there are many days on which the yellow school bus and eight hours to myself are VERY appealing. But second of all, having a schedule and good resources are key. Here is a peek into what Kory (age 16) does during his high school homeschool week:

We started making charts like this for Kory when he was in the Challenge I program of Classical Conversations. Actually, I started making ALL of my Challenge I students a chart like this, filled in with all of their assignments for the week, because they had a LOT of work to do, and as it was their first year of high school, they were having trouble keeping up. We kept up the tradition last year for Challenge II, and are using the same method this year ~ his junior year ~ even though Kory is not in a Classical Conversations program with other students this year. He and I sit down on Sunday nights and fill in all that needs to be accomplished in each subject for the week. Monday through Friday he works almost completely independent of me.

I stopped teaching Kory math after he completed Algebra I in 8th grade. Surprisingly, I made A's in Algebra I in high school, but then cried my way through Algebra II. It was not pretty. So, for the last two years, Kory has used CD-Roms that accompany the level of math on which he is currently working. He is able to hear an instructor teach through each lesson, and see the sample problems being worked out on the computer screen. If he gets stumped by a problem in his daily problem set, he is able to click on that particular problem, and see how it is solved. His Spanish course is taught in a similar way.

Chemistry (or any science, really) is also not a strength for this English minor mama, so Kory is taking a Chemistry course via M.I.T.'s Open Courseware program. You may be able to tell from these photos that this course is quite a challenge, but Kory does enjoy watching the lectures by a real M.I.T. professor. It's fast paced, though, and assumes some background in high school chemistry, so we may need to re-think his chemistry credit for the second semester. Angstroms, nanometers, and moles ~ oh my! Robert is trying to give him a bit of chemistry coaching during breakfast here.

Oh ~ and creating a high school transcript and student resume is made easy over at AcademicRecords.net. Plug in the course, the grade, and the extra curriculas and ~ voilá!

But what about socialization? This is the inevitable second, if not first question asked in regards to homeschooling ~ especially when you are homeschooling teens. Won't they be weird and socially awkward? And our family supposedly has two strikes against us in the socialization department, because not only do we homeschool our children, they are also "pastor's kids." Talk about a recipe for being a social misfit! It's almost a given, huh?

Actually, the "pastor's kid" thing has afforded my kids the opportunity for real service and full, meaningful participation in the church and community. Kory runs the PowerPoint slides for our worship band and his dad's sermon almost every Sunday. He participates in a weekly small group men's Bible study, has helped on occasion at a local homeless shelter, and even as I type, he is away at a retreat with other high school juniors who will be traveling to various overseas locations this coming February. His destination? Turkey. I am so thrilled that he has this opportunity.

Our local high school also allows homeschoolers to participate in their athletics program, so Kory has played both football and baseball over the last two years. Daily after-school practices, and away games that require hours on a school bus with other teenage boys is PLENTY of socialization in my mind. Once, upon discovering that Kory was a homeschooler, a baseball teammate commented, "Wait. You're homeschooled? Aren't you supposed to be socially awkward???"

Here's to breaking the stereotype!

Kory also attends a youth camp on a college campus every summer, where he usually manages to escape the "pastor's kid" label by failing to mention to his peers that it is his dad that is up there on stage every night. ;-)

He is required to earn a portion of the cost of his overseas trip, so he has been doing yard work all summer for a couple of local families, and he recently got a job working with the "non-Essential" (hee hee) kids of our local Classical Conversations program. They are the younger siblings of the kids in the Essentials program that happens from 1-3pm every Tuesday afternoon, and since moms are required to be in class with their students, Kory gets paid to assist another mom who teaches nature observation and physical fitness to these little guys for those two hours. Can you tell they are a handful? The great thing is that they absolutely LOVE having this "big boy" around.

Academics? Check. And he's mostly on his own ~ perfect college prep!

Socialization? Check. And that with peers, adults, young children, and a even a community in need.

The praise for all of this belongs to the Lord. The One who called us to this homeschool journey is also the One who leads and sustains us in it. He provides the wisdom. He provides the opportunities. He provides the strength. Even on the difficult days, of which there are many, I am grateful for the opportunity to be home with my kids in this capacity ~ now especially with my high-schoolers.

Homeschool Prep: Antiques and Nostalgia

2011-10-08T16:42:00.002-04:00

The temperatures are hovering in the 60's (almost freezing overnight), the apples in the orchards are a ripened red, and the traffic has dramatically increased in this multi-college town. All the signs of back-to-school-time are present, and we even got an early start this year. This blog post is about two months late, but our school year did start fairly early ~ mid-August, I believe.

I think I already mentioned that there were chocolate waffles for the back-to-school breakfast. Everyone also got a few new school supplies on their plate. Kayla and I spent a few days prior cleaning up the school shelves and drawers from the last couple of years, and I learned that two years is too long to let that go! I spent about three days choosing what books needed to go to the attic and which ones needed to stay. There was artwork to sort into each kid's container, markers to test for dryness, pencils to toss or sharpen, and lots of paper to recycle. These were the before and during shots...

We also found a few homeschool "antiques" , which means that some items had been on the shelf or in the drawers for MUCH longer than two years! Does anyone still have bags or containers holding 100 pennies as Saxon Math directed for their 1st or 2nd grade curriculum? Or the dollar and quarters and other change that was used in the daily "coin cup" in the early years? Yep, we had them all, so now I'm about $7.32 richer.

(Starbucks, anyone?)

What about stacks of those pastel math flash cards from the same years? And not just math flash cards, but we found millions of Latin flash cards as well!

These are Kory's old Latina Christiana I & II and Henle Latin flash cards. As heartbreaking as it was (look at ALL of that work!) I recycled every one of them, since they are in his not-super-legible handwriting (he's better at cursive), and because the younger two are using different Latin curricula.

We also discovered that the glue bottles and big scissors had all found spouses and had gotten busy having babies. Good thing! Now I don't have to go out and buy any more. We found these families lovely homes in our freshly cleaned out school drawers.

Oh, it felt so good to get this project done. Now our school year is in full swing ~we're about 7 weeks in. Stay tuned for what the kids are doing this year, especially my high school boys. I get lots of questions about homeschooling in upper grade those years.

So far, so good!

Gluten Free Friday ~ Lazy Puffy Pancakes

2011-10-07T12:10:00.000-04:00

Sunday nights are greatly anticipated around here because of our traditional dinner of pancakes, eggs, and sausage, but last Sunday I just didn't want to go to the trouble of individual grilling and taking orders for chocolate chip, blueberry, strawberry, banana, or some combination of the three. I had a vague recollection of hearing about a puffed pancake that is baked in the oven, so I pulled out a few cookbooks and quickly researched this giant oven pancake.

It was SO easy, and it uses more eggs than flour, which is great, because making gluten free pancakes for a crowd can be costly. You can still add toppings after you cut it into squares, but we just used syrup and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Lazy Puffy Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup GF flour (I used rice, tapioca, potato ~ I think less rice flour would be better, as it is a bit heavy for this batter)

1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Place the 3 tbsp of butter in a 9x13 baking pan and let melt in oven. Whisk together remaining ingredients. Remove the hot, buttered baking pan from oven and pour pancake batter into it. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.

So easy when you're feeling lazy!

Sisterhood and Sanctification in Slick

2011-10-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

What a gift this past weekend was! It's so consistent with the character of Christ that when you are called upon by Him to teach or serve or lead, the joy is not so much found in what you were able to give by His grace, but in what you received because of that grace. A few months ago, my friend, Shemaiah (far right), called and asked if I would be willing to speak at her church's women's conference on October 1. Shemaiah was a student in our student ministry when Robert was a University Minister in Stillwater, OK, and we became close friends during that time.

I flew out last Thursday, and first thing Friday morning we met up with two other sweet friends from that same Oklahoma college ministry ~ Jenny and Neena. We spent two hours eating a delicious breakfast at a cool Tulsa,OK cafe (gluten free waffles for me!), catching each other up on our lives and marveling at the glory and majesty of our Lord. I walked away with a full heart from this sweet sisterhood and fellowship, and could not help but exclaim to Shemaiah on the way to her car, "THAT was such a blessing! It is so special to be in the company of those who are following Jesus with all their hearts!"

Oh how I wish I could write for pages about HOW that is playing out in each of their lives, but here's a little summary: Neena's (far left) father, a recent convert to Christianity from Islam, passed away two weeks ago. The funeral was a testimony to his brief, one and a half year, life in Christ, as well as to his Muslim brother who he had been reluctant to tell about his new faith. Neena's brothers had numerous occasion to share the gospel with him. Also, she recently had some long term prayer requests answered in the way of deep fellowship and mentorship with other women. Jenny (second from left) and her husband have been in foster care ministry for a while now, and are helping to bring adoption to the forefront of their church and other area churches. They have rocked and held and loved on many little ones in the past few years and will never know the full impact of their care, but their own little boys will ~ and are already understanding the gospel in new ways because of watching them. And Shemaiah and her husband have been entrusted with many deep griefs and burdens since they got married in the way of illnesses and deaths. They have been caregivers to many, even while Aaron has struggled for years with an ever escalating case of Crohn's disease. Even now they continue to serve the families of the school where Shemaiah teaches as well as those of their church as part time children and youth ministers.

Oh ~ there's so much more to tell about the ways these ladies inspire me, but I'll leave you with just those small nuggets.

I also got to catch up with another dear friend ~ Karla. Karla and I were both married to ministers and in the "having babies" stage of life when I lived in Oklahoma. We became fast friends, but have been out of touch for the last couple of years. I was so happy when she responded to an email I sent letting her know I would be in Oklahoma for the weekend. Not only did she attend the women's conference at which I spoke, but she met Shemaiah and me at Starbucks for coffee beforehand. We had over an hour to do some catching up before the event. Not enough time, but I don't think the time ever really would have been sufficient. Another sister who inspires me by the way she perseveres in Christ in the midst of her own heartbreak and pain.

Saturday evening took us to Slick, OK! That's right ~ Slick. It is just north of Gypsy, OK (thanks, Aaron), and if you are picturing the middle of nowhere, you would be absolutely correct. After a lovely dinner, there was some old-hymn-congregational singing with Teresa, a mini contemporary Christian concert by Stephanie, and a lastly, my talk on surrender to the sanctification process as demonstrated in the life of the Shunammite woman of 2 Kings 4 & 8. I love reading her story and being exhorted by the godly way she responds in each season of her life. I have been able to share this talk to groups of women two other times, and it is a privilege each time.

The pulpit was about ten times as big as me! Fortunately, there was a small platform on which to stand behind it, so that you could at least see my face. There were several sweet, smiling, nodding faces in the crowd of 50 or more ladies, which encouraged me as I spoke.

Sunday morning was time to say goodbye to Shemaiah. I forgot to mention that Friday after the lovely breakfast with friends, Shemaiah treated me to a shopping trip to Mardel (homeschool and classroom supplies galore, Christian books and music in abundance, gifts and cards ~ oh my!) AND a trip to the spa where she got a facial and I got a massage!

Was I spoiled by God's abundant provision and blessing or what? Truly blessed, and reminded that I am not alone in the sanctification process, but rather in the company of many godly sisters ~ even in places like Slick, OK! :)

Fussing Over Fish and Fuzzy Beans

2011-09-28T21:18:00.000-04:00

Dinnertime kitchen conversation tonight with Kayla ~ the eve of Mommy leaving for Oklahoma for a few days...

Kayla: What are you making making for dinner, Mom?

Me: Fish! Aren't you excited!?!

Kayla: (groan) Why can't we have the chili?

Me: The chili is for tomorrow night while I'm gone to Oklahoma. I also made pizza crusts for you guys for Friday's movie night.

Kayla: I wish we could have the chili tonight.

Me: Nope. It's your favorite tonight ~ fish! (sarcasm) The chili is for Thursday and the pizza is for Friday.

Kayla: Ooooooookkkaaaaaaaaaayyyy. (more groans)

Me: That's right. We're having the yucky meal tonight with mom ~ fish, but at least it's not salmon. It's cod. And the fun meals with Dad when I'm gone. Oh, and for Saturday I got the ingredients for spaghetti ~ one of Dad's when-mom-is-away specialties!

Kayla: Yeah, but Dad will probably still pick out a bad movie for movie night on Friday.

(Last week's movie was The Mission, and he's also been known to bring home

Joshua or Luther. In his defense, this happens mostly when the three young Krums can not agree on a movie ~ and even still they haven't yet learned to cooperate!)

Me: Well, at least you'll be eating pizza with your bad movie instead of fish!

Kayla: Yeah, or kale or kombucha or those fuzzy beans....edam? edamam? edamame?

Me: Exactly!

And this whole conversation reminded me of a video that we've watched multiple times, since a friend of mine posted it on Facebook. We've laughed till we've cried each time, because it is eerily similar to some things that go on in our house.

This mom is singing the Carpenter's "On Top of the World" WHILE making green smoothies, AND has kombucha fermenting in her pantry. I've been searching for the hidden cameras in my kitchen, but to no avail. All I have to say is that I'm very comforted by the fact that there are other kindred kombucha spirits out there.

At least once a day, someone in our house uses the sing-song phrase...

"I made you guys a smoothie!"

Sweet Sabbath ~ A New, but Weekly Highlight

2011-09-26T18:01:00.000-04:00

Last week the fall semester schedule moved into full swing for me. Already back to homeschooling for the year, off to a great start with our Classical Conversations program, dance, piano, guitar, baseball, and cross country begun, last week brought the addition of my final weekly commitments ~ helping Robert lead a mid week small group for freshmen in college, leading a Bible/book study for young women at Amherst College, and teaching a Sunday school class for women on the same book at church on Sunday mornings.

Since it was the first of these weekly group commitments, introductions and ice-breakers were typical fare. When it was my turn to share where I go to school (I don't; I teach school at my dining room table.), what my major is (plate spinning, i.e. time management and food prep), and what a highlight from my week was with the women from Amherst College, I thought my "highlight" might sound too spiritual, but it was truly my highlight, so I shared it anyway.

"Well, it was Monday," I explained, "when I got to spend two hours sitting at the picnic table in my backyard, reading, praying, and journaling."

I explained briefly my struggle to STOP in life, my fear that the world (or plates) might stop spinning if I did. I shared my guilt over leaving anything undone or incomplete whether it be housecleaning, my email inbox, thank you notes, remembering birthdays, returned phone calls, or organizing the linen closet. I explained that wrapped up in all of that is the ungodly perspective that I can earn favor with people and God by always being on top of everything, and that that's why I've been trying to honor and obey the Lord by truly observing the Sabbath, but on Mondays, because Saturdays and Sundays are simply not conducive to Sabbath. (Our whole family worked at Cooper's cross country meet on Saturday from 7am to 3pm, and Sunday....well, it's more non-stop than Saturdays!)

That particular Monday, I was only able to observe the Sabbath for two hours. This was a definite disappointment to me, because it was not my goal or ideal of "stopping" for an entire day, but for two hours, I did stop. I walked away from the kitchen and the school/dining room table, and I sat down. And it was wonderful. Now, I have made a practice of spending time reading the Word and praying on an almost-daily basis, but taking a whole day affords an extended time for this and other restful activities.

He met me there in those two hours ~ of course. He used His Word to perfectly intersect with another book I am currently reading. He answered theological questions that I had, just days before, asked Robert about. He encouraged me, and it was pretty clear that He was not displeased with my two hour Sabbath.

It was my highlight of last week.

It's Monday again today, and I think it will be another highlight of my week. (Well, except that I'm going out of town later in the week and will get to see wonderful friends!) Today was a full day Sabbath. Yes, even the blogging that I am doing right now is a part of it, because it's for Him and it's enjoyable to me. It's not "laborious work" as the books of Leviticus and Numbers often urge/command the Israelites (and us) to refrain from. (I know it's a "Law", but one that encourages trusting in Grace.)

It did require laborious work to get here, though. Yesterday, after teaching Sunday school, attending worship service, cooking lunch (this requires getting up before 6a.m.), and hosting people for lunch, I got busy cleaning and preparing for the week. All dishes were done, all rooms put back in order, kitchen table de-cluttered, thank you notes written, email inbox nearly emptied, and menu planning and grocery shopping were done. I sat down with Kory and helped him make his school schedule for the entire week, because then he's on his own and doesn't require further direction from me. I checked in with Kayla and Cooper to make sure they were well on their way to being prepared for Classical Conversations on Tuesday, and knew what schoolwork to do on Monday. Appointments for the week were made, a fresh batch of granola was made, and I even baked everyone puffed pancakes for dinner.

Then I headed upstairs around 9:30pm and snuggled into bed with Robert who had "Friday Night Lights" queued up on his laptop. We watched one episode (because we have self-restraint unlike some other church planters from big football states that we know), and the Sabbath began by unwinding with Coach and Tami Taylor, Tim Riggins, Landry, and a full night's sleep. (May sound silly, but we don't really watch any TV, and almost never in bed, so it's pure luxury to us.)

Want to know what I did on this Sabbath Monday?

Slept in till 7:30
Went for a 5 mile run (yes, it's laborious, but also mood-boosting for me!)
Worked out at the gym (see above)
Got some preaching tips from my hubby over a yummy breakfast at Whole Foods (kids at home doing pre-planned work)
Sat at my picnic table reading my Bible and praying and journaling for two hours (He was so present.)
Showered and dressed....slowly
Got a haircut (which always includes a scalp massage)
Went to GoBerry for local dairy frozen yogurt topped with raspberries (frozen yogurt for lunch ~ woohoo!)
Ate frozen yogurt and raspberries with homemade granola on a bench in the sun
Read my current book ~ The Holiness of God ~ on the same bench in the sun (found out that Jacob's Ladder was an OT reference to Jesus)
Came home to tell you all about it...

And now Kayla is in the kitchen "cooking" the very simple dinner I planned for tonight ~ packaged chicken pesto sausages from Trader Joe's, brown rice, and frozen peas.

Much was left undone, but I'm learning that much will always be undone. Much was also accomplished yesterday affording a bit more freedom in the resting today. I really think this is the life rhythm that the Lord was requiring ~ work hard, and then trust Me with the rest ~ both the tasks remaining and the actual ceasing of work. I've never really trusted Him with those things before.

At the picnic table, I spent time reading and praying through Psalm 116. I'm not totally sure what the specific meaning of "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones" is, but I'm fairly certain that the fleshly death to sin is a part of what He holds precious. Only He can accomplish this in us, and when He does, it is beautiful to Him. Today I thanked Him for "loosing my bonds" to perfectionism and pride, and I "offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving" to Him by not doing much at all.

It's a highlight because it reminds me of the gospel, and my salvation, for which I did nothing at all.

Gluten Free Friday ~ Roasted Snacks (Chickpeas! Almonds!)

2011-09-23T12:23:00.000-04:00

I'm not even sure where I first heard mention of "roasted chick peas", but the thought has not left my mind since. Hummus has been a beloved staple in my diet for years now. Chickpeas found on a salad bar always make it to the top of my heaping greens. So, this next level of chickpea infatuation seemed obvious. I've seen recipes for sweet ones and savory ones, but after trying a few at home, I think the savory ones are best. Even my kiddos liked the savory ones best, especially fresh out of the oven.

Roasted Chickpeas

1 large can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (loose outer layer/skins removed if you like)

(Or use a dried and then cooked-at-home bag of chickpeas ~ I did!)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp garlic powder and other desired herbs, or a garlic and herb sprinkle (I used a McCormick version)

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic and herbs, salt and pepper. Place drained/rinsed chickpeas in a bowl and pour liquid mixture over, tossing to coat. Let sit 5-10 minutes and toss to coat again. Pour chickpeas out onto a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees, turning occasionally so they do not burn on one side. Serve fresh out of the oven or store in an airtight container for future snacking.

Another roasted snack I made this week involved some almonds that I have had stored in my frig for probably way too long. I figured that soaking and then roasting them might get them eaten much faster than I could make almond milk and raw cheesecakes out of them. These are definitely sweet and reminiscent of those roasted nuts whose smell compels you to turn in their direction and promptly pay $4 for a tiny bag of them on the streets of New York City. I can never resist a buying a bag of nuts while visiting Manhattan, and I've noticed vendors popping up on the streets of Boston as well. This homemade version turned out to be just as addictive, and then I found this recipe that sounds even better and doesn't use white sugar. I can not wait to try the chocolate version!

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

4 cups raw almonds
1 egg white
1 tsp water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a small bowl combine cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Add water and continue beating for one minute. Pour almonds into the egg white mixture and toss to coat. Pour cinnamon sugar mixture over and stir until all almonds are coated. Spread almonds onto a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent burning. Cool before serving ~ if you are able to wait that long!