The last couple of days have been, well, "crappy" in the best sense of the word. As in, the days really weren't bad days, I just feel like if there was a dirty bottom, I was cleaning it. Talk about humbling experience.
But each of my "subjects" of cleaning were truly beautiful children, inside and out. These are little boys and girls whose parents are seeking to rear them in the knowledge of the One who loves them more than even their huge imaginations could ever dream. And I'm challenged by that thought--that I am helping to take care of the little ones that Jesus said we must be like in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
So what does it look like to be a child? Let me put it through the eyes of my firstborn: she takes it for granted that she is loved; she trusts that she will have her needs met, or asks without guile or fear or doubt for her father/mother to meet them; she dances and plays and smiles with joy unfettered by worry....
...she allows herself to be cleaned up by one who has the power to cleanse her every nook and cranny---even to the most intimate places.
That is the perspective I need to have when I'm tackling dirty diapers.
October 30, 2007
October 16, 2007
A brilliant autumn soup`
2 butternut squash, halved and seeded
1-2 onions, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic
6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or a piece of whole ginger, thrown in like the bay leaf)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2 Place squash halves and onion onto the prepared baking sheet. Wrap garlic in foil and set with other vegetables.
3 Roast in the center of the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough
to handle.
4 Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin like paste into a food processor. Scrape the flesh from the squash and place into the food processor along with the roasted onion. Puree until smooth. Add vegetable broth if necessary. Transfer the pureed mixture to a stockpot and stir broth. Season with the bay leaf, brown sugar, curry powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream.
5 Remove bay leaf and serve hot. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
We made this when our dear friends came for a visit. I forgot the cream, but it was still fabulous. I hope everyone is getting fall weather now, but if not, maybe this soup will bring it on for you. Serve with a nice salad and some bread. Delicious.
1-2 onions, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic
6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or a piece of whole ginger, thrown in like the bay leaf)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2 Place squash halves and onion onto the prepared baking sheet. Wrap garlic in foil and set with other vegetables.
3 Roast in the center of the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough
to handle.
4 Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin like paste into a food processor. Scrape the flesh from the squash and place into the food processor along with the roasted onion. Puree until smooth. Add vegetable broth if necessary. Transfer the pureed mixture to a stockpot and stir broth. Season with the bay leaf, brown sugar, curry powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream.
5 Remove bay leaf and serve hot. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
We made this when our dear friends came for a visit. I forgot the cream, but it was still fabulous. I hope everyone is getting fall weather now, but if not, maybe this soup will bring it on for you. Serve with a nice salad and some bread. Delicious.
October 05, 2007
to blog or not to blog--my protectionist tendencies come out
You know, I am very up-in-the-air about this blogging thing. I mean, it is a nice, easy way of keeping in touch with people. I can muse on things that I don't mind receiving feedback about, or about people seeing. But I realize that on the whole, I really disagree with the entire concept.
Some friends of mine and I were talking this evening, and it was said that there are two people at the seminary that are criticized in the blogging world more than any others in the PCA (I believe I'm quoting this correctly). These are two people that I feel certain if truly known in an interpersonal, face-to-face manner would not incite such a reaction. They are mild in manner, with nothing attention-grabbing about their looks--in all ways individuals that don't stand out on your radar screen.
And yet, because their words are known, because that which they express externally is easily accessible to a wide audience, they have come under attack. Sure, they are in the "public eye", and are aware that there are certain consequences that come with that. But what does it mean to be the "public"? What is our responsibility?
I guess we have forgotten the lessons we once learned in school about reading objectively and for tone...about not taking offense at the drop of a hat, or making assumptions that are unfounded...about disagreeing impassionately and without seeking to destroy our fellow students/man. Are we so desperate to bump into one another in this technological world of busy-ness (where we don't get much "face time" before moving on to the next item on our agenda) that when given the opportunity we must make it personal? Do we have the right to make it personal when we have no personal knowledge of one another? Can we really read one another and assume that we have the right to speak to one another or about one another? When does it become gossip or slander?
My friend has been studying Bioethics, and it horrifies me to think of the advances we are making in technology with (apparantly) no thought to the outcome. What are the consequences of this age of accessibility, where our thoughts are made available to one another, and where we share a piece of our minds with whomever we feel? Are there any consequences, as we hide behind the indifferent screen of our information-gathering machine and shoot off at the mouth? When do we put on the brakes?
Some friends of mine and I were talking this evening, and it was said that there are two people at the seminary that are criticized in the blogging world more than any others in the PCA (I believe I'm quoting this correctly). These are two people that I feel certain if truly known in an interpersonal, face-to-face manner would not incite such a reaction. They are mild in manner, with nothing attention-grabbing about their looks--in all ways individuals that don't stand out on your radar screen.
And yet, because their words are known, because that which they express externally is easily accessible to a wide audience, they have come under attack. Sure, they are in the "public eye", and are aware that there are certain consequences that come with that. But what does it mean to be the "public"? What is our responsibility?
I guess we have forgotten the lessons we once learned in school about reading objectively and for tone...about not taking offense at the drop of a hat, or making assumptions that are unfounded...about disagreeing impassionately and without seeking to destroy our fellow students/man. Are we so desperate to bump into one another in this technological world of busy-ness (where we don't get much "face time" before moving on to the next item on our agenda) that when given the opportunity we must make it personal? Do we have the right to make it personal when we have no personal knowledge of one another? Can we really read one another and assume that we have the right to speak to one another or about one another? When does it become gossip or slander?
My friend has been studying Bioethics, and it horrifies me to think of the advances we are making in technology with (apparantly) no thought to the outcome. What are the consequences of this age of accessibility, where our thoughts are made available to one another, and where we share a piece of our minds with whomever we feel? Are there any consequences, as we hide behind the indifferent screen of our information-gathering machine and shoot off at the mouth? When do we put on the brakes?
October 01, 2007
"When it rains or it shines...I will lift up my hands to the sky!"
"Why so downcast, oh my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, my Savior and my King."
The words of the psalmist once more reflect where my spirit has been of late, brought to me on the wings of the song by Jennifer Knapp. I have started listening to "Christian" music again, after a long dry spell where I have avoided it, believing that no artist could truly capture the feelings hidden in the deep recesses of my mind. I have been heavy-hearted and disbelieving, and instead of running to His word and to fellowship as means of grace, I have dragged my feet and slunk away or hidden behind a face that tries to show that all is right.
I have found out, however, that too much alone time is as detrimental to those of my personality type (because we spiral downward and crash inward) as is too much time with people. How to find balance, I am not quite sure yet. So often I am thrust into situations with many people with whom I am merely acquaintances, and I cannot bare my soul. Or, I arrive home with my head and heart full, and continue to buzz in my brain, with no positive outlet, and therefore buzz myself to discouraged distraction. My family needs me to be in touch with Christ when I am alone (at home), in touch with fellowship that is nurturing and encouraging when I am out.
This need of fellowship has driven me to pursue getting together the seminary women. I know I'm not the only one who needs this, but I admit this has been so much due to selfish need. I desire, as Dr. Douglass says, to "get into" others' lives, and have others really "get into" mine. I need this depth, this honesty in relationship, and the ability to show this ugly heart of mine to those who can help reflect His beauty into it. I am scared to death of people seeing the mess that is me, but I need to believe that Jesus is my identity, and that even if they see my sin, He only sees His daughter. Oh, to act with the confidence and grace of a daughter, and not with the slinking, approval-seeking demeanor of one who knows no identity but that which she constructs on her own.
But I am not on my own. And I need to stop thinking that I am.
"When nothing satisfies You: hold my hand."
The words of the psalmist once more reflect where my spirit has been of late, brought to me on the wings of the song by Jennifer Knapp. I have started listening to "Christian" music again, after a long dry spell where I have avoided it, believing that no artist could truly capture the feelings hidden in the deep recesses of my mind. I have been heavy-hearted and disbelieving, and instead of running to His word and to fellowship as means of grace, I have dragged my feet and slunk away or hidden behind a face that tries to show that all is right.
I have found out, however, that too much alone time is as detrimental to those of my personality type (because we spiral downward and crash inward) as is too much time with people. How to find balance, I am not quite sure yet. So often I am thrust into situations with many people with whom I am merely acquaintances, and I cannot bare my soul. Or, I arrive home with my head and heart full, and continue to buzz in my brain, with no positive outlet, and therefore buzz myself to discouraged distraction. My family needs me to be in touch with Christ when I am alone (at home), in touch with fellowship that is nurturing and encouraging when I am out.
This need of fellowship has driven me to pursue getting together the seminary women. I know I'm not the only one who needs this, but I admit this has been so much due to selfish need. I desire, as Dr. Douglass says, to "get into" others' lives, and have others really "get into" mine. I need this depth, this honesty in relationship, and the ability to show this ugly heart of mine to those who can help reflect His beauty into it. I am scared to death of people seeing the mess that is me, but I need to believe that Jesus is my identity, and that even if they see my sin, He only sees His daughter. Oh, to act with the confidence and grace of a daughter, and not with the slinking, approval-seeking demeanor of one who knows no identity but that which she constructs on her own.
But I am not on my own. And I need to stop thinking that I am.
"When nothing satisfies You: hold my hand."
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