On conferences and company Topic: Crickl's Recipes
It's been a fly by week for me. Things to blog about go through my head during the day but when I sit down here to write, nuttin....
We had our denomination's state women's conference today and last night, so it was a good couple of days. Mary Kassian was the main speaker and is a really great Bible teacher. I was a little comfuddled this year about the schedule of the conference. It was changed all around, so I only go to go to 3 break out sessions, instead of 5. This morning I went to a lovely breakfast for the state pastor's wives, then to one on party ideas, and finally to one on writing. I don't know what I wanted or will use from that class on writing, but I am tucking it away for future reference and gathered some good ideas.
I wish I could have stayed for the last main session, but I had things at home to catch up on. We have company coming tomorrow, so I stopped by the store. When I walked in the door, the smell of floor cleaner in the air put a smile on my face and as I looked around at my clean house, I felt a heavy load release from my shoulders. My husband and kids had the house all ready for company. All I have to do is cook.
I got a brisket from Smart and Final which I will put in the electric roaster in the morning with some Claude's Texas Brisket Marinade over it. (it makes it taste like it was cooked in a wood smoker) And I'm making a salad, oven roasted zucchini, mashed potato casserole, rolls and a pomegrante/cranberry coffee cake (from Smart and Final) with fruit salad for dessert.
Oven roasted Zucchini Here is my 'how-to', but it is not a precise recipe. Wash zucchini squash and cut off the ends. Slice in diagonal chunks or slice lengthwise. Cut an onion (your choice, I use a sweet onion) into wedges. In large bowl, toss squash and onions with enough olive oil to coat, but not enough to leave a puddle in the bowl. Dump it all onto a baking sheet (or baking stone if you have one) and sprinkle with kosher salt or sea salt, grated parmessan cheese and coarse ground black pepper. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, then stir and bake another 5 minutes.
Mashed Potato Casserole Cook enough potatoes for your family or company, then mash, using half a stick of butter and a little bit of milk. (go easy on the milk) Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add a half a block (4 oz) of cream cheese, about 1/4 cup of pureed onion (slice fresh onion and put in food processor or blender for a few seconds...you may need to add a few drops of water to get a good puree), and enough sour cream to make it the right consistency....good and creamy. You can make this ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator or freeze an extra casserole of it for another day. You can also top it with Durkee French Fried Onions. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350.
Oh and ps to MJ....please send me your new email address! crickandchas@yahoo.com
New fangled things Topic: Humor/memes
I got this video clip over at Amy's blog, With Purpose. It is hilarious and it makes me dread teaching my mom how to use a new laptop. She is threatening planning on getting one in the Fall, but has never used a computer....ever...before. *oiy with the poodles already!*
This poor monk is learning to use a new invention, the 'book', after only using scrolls. Watch it:
The A-list Topic: Blogging To the 20 people who read my blog each day.....5 of whom come here as the result of googling topics that I have on my blog....you may or may not be surprised to know the I am an A-lister bloglebrity. (Bloglebrity=blog+celebrity)
Heehee...the criteria for being a celebrity blogger is based solely on how many blogs link to yours. And since I joined several blog rolls, my blog is linked on a lot of different womens' and Christian blogs who are on those same blog rolls. Oh well....a little "pink bling" as Iris, at Sing My Heart called it is good for a girl's soul. =) So I went to Kneda's blog to find out how my blog was rated. Here is my rating:
***The Very High Authority Group [A-List Bloggers] (500 or more blogs linking in the last 6 months) In the final group we see what might be considered the blogging elite. This group, which represents more than 4,000 blogs, exhibits a radical shift in post frequency as well as blog age. Bloggers of this type have been at it longer – a year and a half on average – and post nearly twice a day, an increase in posting volume of over 100% from the previous group. Many of the blogs in this category, in fact, are about as old as Technorati and we’ve grown up together. Some of these are full-fledge professional enterprises that post many, many times per day and behave increasingly like our friends in the mainstream media. As has been widely reported, the impact of these bloggers on our cultures and democracies is increasingly dramatic.***
I might begin to get a big head if it weren't for my actual sitemeter counts that show my faithful 15. ;)
Friday's Feast #139 Topic: Humor/memes Appetizer When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite? We didn't have very interesting color names in the ...er, generation I grew up in....but Sky blue was pretty cool. Burnt orange was thought provoking, but not a very useful color.
Soup On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move? I like changes, but we just made a huge one, so I'm not quite ready for that again! Besides, interstate negotiating of playground monitor jobs is a little silly to think about.
Yep, I began a job at a local school here helping with an after school program...your basic playground monitor really.
Salad Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total? 67, unless you're calling long distance, then add one. Is this how you find your 'sleep number'?
Main Course Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to? Almost every knick knack I've ever received has been regifted and passed on. And if you know me, you may have received one. heehee
Dessert Name something you need from the store. Are you going? Please....if you're going by Sam's Club, pick me up some Naked Juice=Blue Machine, a bag of gala apples and a big barrel of sourdough pretzels....oh, and Emma's pictures from the film processing department and her new contacts from optical. Thanks!
B.C. Topic: People/Family stories
One of my favorite cartoonists passed away Saturday. Johnny Hart, creator of B.C.comic strip was a thought provoking and honest cartoonist. Sometimes political and always true to his faith in Christ, his comics were sometimes controversial in the mainstream. I remember having talks with my dad about some of the comics he wrote.
I chose one of his latest comics, from last Palm Sunday to share here. It is so timely for me because our Bible study group just finished our in depth study of the book of Daniel, a dvd equipped study from Beth Moore
Letting God use your life Topic: God things
There is a little, tiny village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. After an 8 mile hike down and through the Canyon, you come upon some wooden rail fencing, you begin to see animals like dogs, a cow, a horse, then a very humble home or two. As you pass, you notice somber Native American faces watching you. These are the Supai people and they have always lived in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, west of where most of the tourists go. I have been on this hike once and it is etched in my memory. It is beautiful there. They live where springs come gushing out of the walls of the canyon, pouring into streams and rivers, then off a sheer cliff, forming a waterfall.
The waterfalls (there are 3 of them I think....maybe 4) carve a pool at their base, which is the destination most hikers are seeking who come to Havasupai Canyon. The pools are a beautiful greenish blue color as they are carved from limestone. From the pool, the limestone forms terraced mini pools and then into a stream again, until it jets off of another cliff, into another pool. This finally concludes at the Colorado River and makes a spectacular place to visit. The Supai Indians run the campgrounds, a store and sell things to hikers. (Hiking is the only way there) They depend on the tourism, but they distance themselves from the toursists as well. They are used to and love their simple way of life there. This was the destination of a group of college kids on a spring break mission trip. My daughter Hannah knew a lot of the people who went on it from a Christian organization on campus.
She called from college last week, a week after spring break was over and seemed out of sorts. She told me that a friend of hers from school had died over the break while on the mission trip. She couldn't wrap her head around that and frankly, neither could I. Looking at this young man's myspace page, it was obvious that he loved the Lord and wanted with all his being to make a difference in the world. Why would God allow this seemingly senseless thing to happen? A young man jumps into a pool by a waterfall and never resurfaces alive. It's tragic and confusing. It's been on my mind and in my prayers all week.
Then she called again and I asked about how her friends were doing. The sudden death of a young person can cause such confusion and pain. She told me that some of the people who were with him on the trip were feeling so overwelmed with guilt about the incident. Please pray for these young adults.
When I read Hannah's blog today, my heart swelled and in a moment, all the details made sense. The Supai people have seen many drownings in their years of letting tourists come onto their land. It is a wild and rugged place. There are no emergency resources to call upon there. If you have an emergency, you have to wait for a helicopter to come. They have seen many groups handle the death of a loved one who drown in the rivers. But they had never seen a group handle a death with such hope and peace and unity as this college group did. As a result, the people listened more closely to what the mission group was teaching them.....and 15 of them gave their lives to Jesus. One of the women even made the journey out of the canyon to attend the young man's funeral.
Don't you know that young man who wanted to make a difference probably prayed with a sincere heart. "God use me in that village to bring people to know You."
And God did....
....and I have to ask myself, am I willing to let God make a difference with my life?
I don't know what to think! Topic: Blogging I have been seeing a little award going around the blogosphere lately in which bloggers honor other bloggers who make them think. Who woulda thunk I would get one! Thank you to e-mom. She is the owner of Chrysalis, one of my favorite blogs.....which is really more of an e-zine, with interesting articles and ideas on a huge variety of topics, all centered around the Christian world view. I appreciate e-mom and her work there so much. In fact she will surely be one of the five bloggers that I nominate.
As a cyber prize, e-mom sent me a white phaelenopsis orchid. Here it is:
Chrysalis has a wonderful article on Jerusalem in Jesus' time. I've been remembering and thinking about Israel a lot lately, this being Passover week and all. We're doing a seder meal at church on Thursday. (I'm making matzo ball soup.)
Here are the 5 blogs I would like to honor for making me think on a regular basis:
1. Chrysalis, a fine e-zine spot on the net. e-mom regularly posts articles by herself and others on really interesting and relevent topics in regards to Christianity. She asked me to choose someone else since she has already been honored with this by several others. But she deserves it and I want to honor her.
2. Here are 3 blogs from women who are currently serving on the foreign mission field. I learn so much about the culture they are living in, life as a missionary family and ways I can support them in prayer!
.....Following an Unkown Path is written by Amanda, who is a single American woman teaching at a college in Taiwan, China. She talks about her students, living in China, and working in a church there. She seems to have great joy in serving the Lord there.
.....Joy in the Journey is a beautiful blog about a young mother and her husband who are missionaries in Indonesia. She just had twins and they are in the U.S. until later this year for the babies' sake (they were premature). But I hope she reappears to blog more regularly some day. I love to read about their life and work there.
.....Blackpurl's Knitpickings is my friend, Alida's, blog. She and her husband work with the substance abuse epidemic in Russia. They are currently home on leave, getting their son settled in to live in the U. S. and go to college here. I got to meet her and one of her sons as they came through Phoenix. It was wonderful to meet her and I know they will appreciate your prayers as they continue their travels here, then go back 'home' to Russia to continue the work.
(heehee, I cheated by putting 3 in one catagory so I could show you more than 5 blogs....don't tell!)
3. Veritas is a blog my husband writes. Veritas means 'truth' and he loves to teach/preach and live for truth as he serves God as a pastor here.
4. Seek Joy and Live Love is currently the name of my daughter, Hannah's, blog. She likes to shake things up and ponder deep thoughts and social trends and change that needs to take place. It is fascinating to read what goes on inside the mind of a fervent Christian college student as she makes her way and is deciding how to respond to today's culture and church.
5. Adventures in Mercy is a blog written by Molly, a truly thinking woman I met on a stay at home mom's forum. She is making her way out of some very legalistic and extreme fundamentalism. It is amazing to see her thoughts and transformation as she worked through this change in her life. She is currently beginning college courses to further her education, so she is (sadly for us) closing down her blog soon. But I encourage you to take a look at her sight and glean what you can while it is still there.
Wow, I did it! I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do.
You do not have to be nominated to nominate others for the Thinking Blogger awards. Go here to see the rules.
A very good thing Topic: Humor/memes
For Palm Sunday we were to dress in black, so I needed some black panty hose. At Walmart the night before, I was reading all the boxes of the different brands and not very speedily either. Buying new panty hose is confusing because they all have different 'purposes'. All I really thought I needed was black ones, but then I got sucked into reading all the packages. I finally settle on a new kind by L'eggs brand that claims it is 'anti-cellulite'. At first I wondered if they were for me. (was my wearing anti-cellulite panty hose like making an anti-war person shoot a machine gun?) but then I realized it meant that it makes your legs anti-cellulite-looking! As an anti gravity machine makes gravity 'disappear'....yes, that was the hook. The light bulb went on! I snatched it up and gave them a good home.
And they work! I felt very smooth and secure all morning. And they didn't gradually roll down at the waist as time wore on, like control top hose. They are sturdy too! No runs, whereas, I usually can wear hose only once before they are ruined. (I usually buy the cheap ones) It got me thinking on what else they could make out of this wonder material! (I still don't know what it's called and the box is gone) I wish they could just go ahead and make all clothing out of it .....shorts, swimsuits, capris, sweat pants. Why waste a good thing? =)
Then at practice early on Sunday morning this was the conversation between me and a very thin teenage girl sitting next to me : (I so need to learn to just keep my mouth shut)
Me: I got new panty hose Jeana: Ah....cool. Me: ....they’re anti-cellulite! Jeana: What does that mean? Me: (suddenly realizing that she may not even know what cellulite IS and not wanting to explain it) It means they're TIGHT. Jeana: (chuckling) Ooooh.
Good Sunday Topic: People/Family stories Today’s service was very different for me. The service was very moody and somber. We did more of a Good Friday service instead of Palm Sunday because we're having a busy week there. We have regular Wed night service, the on Thursday we're having a Passover Seder. There is someone coming from Jews for Jesus to present it. Then Saturday we're doing a huge community outreach egg hunt and spring carnival. We get hundreds of people from the community for this....as well as one on halloween night, a fall carnival, not an egg hunt, silly. People want a fun, wholesome event to take their kids to, so we offer it and are getting to know our community...and they're getting to know us. Hopefully they see that we care about them and that they feel welcome there.
So anyway, in the service today I helped in the dramatic readings. I was a theater major in college and have done quite a bit of ministry type dramatic stuff in the past. But I had not done it in YEARS and especially not in this church. It was the first time anyone there had even seen me up on the platform. So that was fun and growth-ish for me. We had a big cross at the front that 3 men held up and stared at for the entire service!! (i think they had the hardest job) We were all dressed in black and most of the songs we sang were accompanied by iWorship dvd's up on the screen. Those are so inspiring! We also had communion, spread out in parts during the service.
Just before I had to go up on stage to read the dramatic prayer parts, Dianna was beautifully singing Via Delorosa, while scenes from the Jesus movie presented Jesus walking the Via Delorosa, then being put on a cross. And just before I had to head up on stage, the little girl behind me got hit with the impact of those scenes from the movie, that she started sobbing, grievously. I found out later that she had just given her life to Christ the previous Wednesday! So I was fumbling up the steps, trying to choke back the lump in my throat.
At the end, pastor hubby asked people to come and pray at the cross if they wanted to (the 3 men had laid it down in front of the Lord's supper table) or to come talk to him about decisions they wanted to make if they needed to. The drama team lead the way to kneel and pray there.
So I was there praying, when I felt my 9 year old Maggie sidle up to me and laid her head on my lap. When I was finished, I went to take a seat and she stayed there. My sight was blocked from seeing her because of the piano's positioning. My sister leaned over when Charles started to end the prayer time and told me Maggie was still there and she was crying hard. Another lady (the pianist actually) had gone to sit by her. My sister told me that Maggie had really taken hard the scenes of The Passion that were played during a few of the readings or songs. So it really got her grieving. I had forgotten about those scenes…I had to put my eyes down during them so I wouldn’t be too choked up to say my lines. I told her afterward that we hadn't let her go see The Passion a couple years ago because it was so realistic and hard to see. But she told me she really wanted to see it this week, before Easter. I guess that will be our Friday thing. This will be a memorable/meaning-full Easter for her.
It is interesting how adults can prepare a moving service, carefully rehearsed and appointed, but what moves you the most is seeing someone else, especially a child, experience the gut-churning grief of realizing for the first time what Jesus actually went through....for us.
The Triumphal Entry and the Ultimate Triumph Topic: Holidays/Vacations
John 12:12-16 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"
Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.
Revelation 7:9-12 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"