Two Talent Living

Please come to my new home (if you don't mind the boxes!)

2005-05-14T22:51:00.000-04:00

My blog has moved! Please come visit me at www.twotalentliving.com

Just stopping by

2005-05-13T20:51:00.000-04:00

I haven't written much this week because we've just had a full week. This is the busy time of year for our business so we are spending many long hours working. We are thankful though to have lots of work because we know there are many people who do not have jobs or enough work.

We've been hoping to get my blog switched over to the new location. I've had the domain name registered for quite a while, but we haven't used it. Unfortunately/fortunately David has been so busy with work that he just hasn't had time to work on it and I'm technically-challenged so the chances of me doing it alone are nil.

But I am looking forward to getting the new site up. There are a lot of things I want to do that the Blogger system doesn't let me do.

So now you know where I have been. Thanks for the comments people have left recently. I receive all the comments in my mailbox and I read all of them even if I don't respond to them.

Hopefully I will be able to get back here again this weekend!

Bonnie's Baked Beans

2005-05-13T20:49:00.000-04:00

These are my mom's baked beans and my favorite. This recipe can be cooked either in the oven or in the crockpot.

4 strips of bacon, cut into pieces
1 large minced onion
2 large cans baked beans with pork
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 drizzle of molasses

Saute bacon and onion until bacon is crisp and onion is yellow. Stir in all other ingredients. Pour into a greased 3 quart baking dish. Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for 2-3 hours.

Of birds, butterflies and summer weather…

2005-05-10T21:56:00.000-04:00

Random thoughts from our yard...

If you think birds are eating the buds off the Japanese maple in your front yard, think about what that means and try to stop them. It’s a funny thing. If they eat the buds, your tree ends up with a lot less leaves. Go figure.

We had our first baby birds of the season yesterday. Lots of fluttering and squeaking and begging mom for food by a little sparrow.

Is it fall yet? Yesterday it was 81 degrees with a heat index of 86. That’s enough summer for me. I don’t know how people live in the deep south. Five or more months in the 80’s and 90’s with humidity is simply beyond my comprehension.

If someone came to our house, they wouldn’t know what we are talking about when discussing birds. We have our own names for some of the birds (and other creatures) we get at our feeders.

tweeters = goldfinches

chippies = cardinals (Unless it is a couple; then they are Mr. and Mrs. Chippy)

deedees = chickadees

little guy = red breasted nuthatch (so as not to be confused with the bigger white-breasted nuthatch)

dorky bath birds = I don’t actually know what they are. They are larger dark birds and we’ve never taken the time to get out the bird book and find out what they are. They are just so funny to watch in the bird bath that this is the name that David came up with.

Hoover = David gave this name to the chipmunk because he cleans up the ground under the bird feeders just like a vacuum cleaner.

weasels = squirrels

Robbie and Roberta = robins who come as couples

We put in four more butterfly bushes this past weekend. We had three last year and really enjoyed seeing the butterflies. This picture is one I took last year. I am looking forward to taking a lot more pictures this year. We loved the butterfly bushes because they were easy to care for and gave us lots of color throughout the summer and into the fall.

I'm still standing (and learning some good lessons in the process)

2005-05-10T21:32:00.000-04:00

I wrote a few weeks ago about my adventures in not sitting. Well, here we are three weeks later and I'm still not sitting much. Thankfully I can sit a bit more, but as David said the other day when we were in the car coming home from physical therapy - I'm good for about three miles and that's it.

This has actually been a good exercise. We talk about moving into a country setting and moving to northern Michigan. We don't know for sure yet if that is God's will for us, but it has been an interesting experience for me to get a feel for what it would be like to be home a lot more than I usually am. Before this bout with back problems, I usually went somewhere most days, mostly to just get out of the house for a few minutes. Since we work at home and are home 24/7, sometimes a trip to the neighborhood grocery store is just good for morale. I was never sure how I would handle moving out of the city and not being able to go do things whenever I wanted to. I've discovered I would probably do better than I thought. Partially because I’ve learned there really isn’t all that much I care to do when it comes right down to it and partially because I’ve discovered the joy of internet shopping, catalog shopping and home delivery. I’ve started doing more of it out of necessity and I think I will continue to utilize these options more and more. With the price of gas so high and my time being valuable, spending a few dollars on shipping actually is a great deal.

So I'm learning some good lessons in the midst of all this. But I am looking forward to the week when I can sit down every day for long stretches of time. I've missed my glider rocker these past five months.

Microwave Frittata for Two

2005-05-10T21:27:00.000-04:00

I tried out this recipe today. I think I cut it out of one of those Kraft Food Magazines they send me every few months. It was good and quick. I used red peppers and green onions instead of green pepper. I also added some salt and pepper. I used a 9-inch glass pie plate since that’s what I had and it only took about 4 and ½ minutes to cook rather than 6.

4 eggs
1 Tbsp water
½ cup shredded cheddar
½ cup chopped green pepper

Spray 8-inch microwaveable pie plate with cooking spray. Wisk eggs and water in bowl and pour into pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese and green pepper.

Microwave on high approximately 6 minutes or until eggs are set and cheese is melted.

Follow-up regarding women blogging

2005-05-10T21:11:00.000-04:00

I wanted to provide the link to a post R.C. Sproul Jr. put up yesterday. I think his clarification of his intentions is helpful.

So where was I the last few days?

2005-05-08T21:51:00.000-04:00

I have to admit that I didn’t do a whole lot of writing here the past few days because I was spending a lot of time reading other blogs. There has been a controversy of sorts in the Christian blogging world regarding a blog entry written by R.C. Sproul Jr. about women bloggers. (My summary of his entry – he thinks they can be dangerously unbiblical and should not “teach” theology.)

In an effort to stick to my original intent with my own little spot in cyberspace, I’m not going to spend a lot of time commenting on it. I would rather post pictures of God’s creation and encourage people to walk more closely with their Creator. I’m not sure if R.C. would approve, but my husband does and that’s about all that matters to me. (That should give you an idea of whether or not I agree with what R.C. wrote.) I've had enough debating/discussion/attempted blackmailing with various people about women's role in ministry and the church over the past few years to last me a lifetime. (Gee, I wonder if that's partially why this blog is not going to go to those kinds of places on a regular basis and we stick to butterflies, pinecones, Spurgeon quotes and chicken marinades?)

However, if you find controversy interesting, here are a few places you can go and read some comments and discussion.

Reflections of the Times (Not specifically about the R.C. incident, but a good explanation of why women blogging is biblically ok)

Reflections of the Times (A follow-up to the previous article and about the R.C. incident)

From The Prairie (I love her Spurgeon quote!)

Threefold Cord (Lots of comments and discussion on this one)

Walking Circumspectly (Lots of links)

Trusting the Creator

2005-05-08T21:18:00.000-04:00

All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
Emerson

If I can't believe that the spacecraft I fly assembled itself, how can I believe that the universe assembled itself? I'm convinced only an intelligent God could have built a universe like this.
Jack Lousma, astronaut

The man who cannot wonder…is but a pair of spectacles behind which there is no eye.
Thomas Carlyle

Lemon Herb Honey Marinade

2005-05-08T20:54:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite marinade for grilling boneless chicken. I often have David grill up a whole bunch and then freeze the extras for eating later or putting on Chicken Caesar Salad.

½ cup ReaLemon Juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp dried sweet basil
¼ tsp oregano

Mix all ingredients in a ziploc bag. Add chicken breasts. Marinade chicken in refrigerator 4 to 24 hours. Grill.

Freeing Up Cash

2005-05-05T09:29:00.000-04:00

As I wrote before, several of the ways we have simplified our lives have had to do with money. I thought today I would share some simple ways we have freed up additional cash.

Notice I didn’t say “ways that we save money”. In order to “save money” at the grocery store, for example, you actually have to take the money you would have spent and save it. Most people don’t save their savings from when they buy things on sale. The money never sees the savings account. I think a more accurate way to describe it is “freeing up cash”.

Here is a list of ways that we have freed up cash for other things that are more important. Most of them aren’t really all that significant on their own, but over a year they add up. In order to show the profound impact these choices can make, I’m also going to show how much these choices add up to over ten years and twenty years.

Cutting David’s hair myself:
$299/year, $2,990/ten years, $5,980/twenty years

Changing our car insurance to a flat payment rather than installments:
$10/year, $100/ten years, $200/twenty years

Canceling long distance service and using long distance phone cards from Costco (3 cents/minute):
$300/year, $3,000/ten years, $6,000/twenty years

Adding a little extra water to our grape juice when I make it:
$9/year, $90/ten years, $180/twenty years

Only getting the Sunday paper rather than every day:
$50/year, $500/ten years, $1,000/twenty years

Basic cable rather than full cable:
$432/year, $4,320/ten years, $8,640/twenty years

Not buying new cars and keeping the cars we do have a lot longer. This results in lower insurance payments, not paying depreciation on a new car when we drive it off the lot, not paying for all of the fees we would incur every time we purchase a different car (new or not), not making monthly payments, etc. (This is a rough estimate since this is a lot harder to calculate and I’m doing this off the top of my head with just a calculator.):
$6,000/year, $60,000/ten years, $120,000/twenty years

Using two printers for our business. We use one with high quality ink for important things (photo restoration projects, business letters, invoices, etc.). During our busy season we can be printing hundreds of pages of drafts a day and we use an inexpensive printer and cheap ink cartridges for that:
$400/year, $4,000/ten years, $8,000/twenty years

Those are just a few things that came to me off the top of my head. I didn’t write anything about grocery shopping, clothes, etc. There are lots of other ways that we cut costs. But just the ones above add up to these totals:

$7,500/year
$75,000/ten years
$150,000/twenty years

I think most people can make similar changes in their own lifestyle without a lot of extra effort and I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to free up $150,000 over the next twenty years.

Here’s to freeing up cash for the most important things!

Fascinated by the Weather

2005-05-04T13:48:00.000-04:00

Among the many things my husband and I have in common is the fact that when we were younger we both wanted to be TV weather people. We are fascinated by weather, clouds, storms, and the like. Fortunately our basic cable does NOT come with The Weather Channel.

Here are two sites we access regularly for the forecast, storm information and radars. You can click on your area for specific information.

NOAA

Intellicast National Radar Loop

Enjoy!

Cyber Hymnal

2005-05-03T07:44:00.000-04:00

The Cyber Hymnal is a great resource for finding hymns. The tunes are MIDI files so it is not like listening to a CD, but they allow you to hear the tune and find the words.

If you aren't familiar with Day by Day, the hymn I just posted in my other blog entry today, you can listen to it here.

Day by Day

2005-05-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

My husband and I grew up in different denominations but we grew up with the same hymnal. We have copies of those hymnals in our home and we enjoy singing from them. My hymnal is a little different in that it has an additional section of Swedish hymns in the back. The denomination was started by Swedes and there was a strong Swedish influence for many decades.

One of my favorite hymns is one of those Swedish hymns.

Day by Day

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best.
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow’r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As they days, they strength shall be in measure,” –
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Happily Ever After

2005-05-02T09:10:00.000-04:00

I am a paper and pen kind of gal. While I know there are people who live and die by their Palm Pilots and Blackberries, I am not one of them. I still use a classic size Franklin Planner with a tapestry cover and flowery pages. It must be the writer in me and the artist in my husband but we can’t imagine switching to something that we can’t write on, doodle on and otherwise use our artistic side.

Anyhoo, this morning I was going through my April pages to make sure I didn’t lose any important information before I recycled them. I was reading through the various quotes and found a few that were worth adding to my collection of quotes I’ve had since college.

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis.
Margaret Bonnano

I’ve written before about how I met my husband and how blessed I am to be married to David. We’ve been married about eight and a half years so in a way we are no longer newlyweds (although sometimes we still feel like it!). Yet we both know that just because God brought us together doesn’t mean our marriage is fail-proof. We are both fallible humans, redeemed by the blood of Christ, but we will still struggle with sin until the Lord calls us home. There are no guarantees that any marriage, a Christian marriage included, will endure. It is only by the grace of God that any Christian marriage doesn’t end up in destruction and divorce. For us to live “happily ever after” we have to make wise, biblical choices that protect and nurture our marriage each day.

I remember one time someone I knew (who was single) made a comment about adultery. The comment was to the effect that this person could never do that and it was said in a somewhat prideful way. I immediately had a check in my spirit. My thought was that if you think you are above doing that you don’t know the potential depths of sin that exists in each of our lives. I believe a healthy fear of falling (or walking) into sin is one of the best defenses against that very sin.

So I’m going to keep working on my marriage each day because I do want the “happily ever after”. God gave us a wonderful start to our story and we want to be good stewards so the whole story will be a happy, God-honoring one.

Herb Roasted Tenderloin with Oven Roasted Potatoes

2005-05-02T09:07:00.000-04:00

I made this yesterday for Sunday dinner. It is so easy to put together, but tastes like it took a lot more work. When I make it for the two of us, I just use one tenderloin and adjust the amount of potatoes so I have the right amount for two meals. I served it with a French Style Bean Salad.

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp rosemary, crushed
2 tsp thyme, crushed
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 and ½ lbs red potatoes, quartered
2 whole pork tenderloins (3/4 – 1 lb each)

Stir oil, garlic and seasonings. Coat meat with 3 Tbsp of seasoning mixture. Place meat in large roasting pan. Toss potatoes with remaining seasoning mixture and arrange potatoes around meat in pan.

Roast at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 155 degrees and juices run clear, stirring potatoes after 20 minutes. Broil on top rack of oven 5 minutes to brown. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

French Style Bean Salad

2005-05-02T09:05:00.000-04:00

David really likes green beans so I try to make them in various forms - steamed, in recipes, etc. This is a great cool side item for the hot summer months.

1 can French style green beans, drained
2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
2 and 1/3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 and 1/3 Tbsp chopped onion

Mix lemon juice, salt, mayonnaise and onion. Pour over beans; toss well. Refrigerate and serve.

Advice or Counsel?

2005-05-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

I heard a pastor speak today about knowing God’s will and something he said struck me as being significant.

Should we seek advice or counsel? Should we give advice or counsel?

As I said before, I think words are really important and carry significant meaning. Just ask my husband who is often the recipient of my questioning – “Do you mean xxx or did you mean xxx?” Precise words matter to me because they carry different nuances. So when the pastor talked about the difference between advice and counsel, I noticed.

His idea was that we should not ask other Christians for advice when we are seeking to know God’s will. Instead, we should ask them for counsel by asking, “What do you think the Bible teaches about my situation/choice?”

That got me to thinking… Do I offer advice or counsel? Do I point people to my own wisdom or do I point them to the wisdom and principles of God’s Word? Ouch. It is easier to rattle off our own “wisdom” than pull out the Scriptures and help someone think biblically through a choice.

So this was a helpful sermon for me. I’ll be trying to put this into practice and ask God to help me be a better counselor when opportunities arise.

How Great is Our God – Thoughts from the Psalms

2005-04-30T14:16:00.000-04:00

Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth…For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
~ Psalm 48

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens…When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
~ Psalm 8

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
~ Psalm 5

My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.
~ Psalm 7

The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
~ Psalm 9

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
~ Psalm 19

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
~ Psalm 18

Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
~ Psalm 40

Thoughts by Spurgeon

2005-04-29T14:41:00.000-04:00

Charles Haddon Spurgeon is one of my "heroes" of the faith. He was a Baptist minister in England during the last half of the nineteenth century. He was a passionate preacher of the Gospel and the Scriptures.

If you aren't familiar with Spurgeon, here is a link to a website I found with lots of information about him.

And if you would like to know Spurgeon's thoughts on the seeker sensitive church growth movement, click here for "Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats".

Do not look to your hope, but to Christ, the source of your hope.

No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God.

Out of every difficulty Omnipotence can bring us, only let us in childlike confidence cast our burden upon the Lord.

"Speech" any man may attain to, but "act" is difficult.

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.

A sacred regard to the authority of God ought to lead us to reject an error, however old, sanctioned by whatever authority, or however generally practiced.

If the people do not like the doctrine of grace, give them all the more of it.

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.

No one knows who is listening, say nothing you would not wish put in the newspapers.

Hold everything earthly with a loose hand.

If we would learn from our prosperity, we would not need so much adversity.

East and West, home is best.

He who made the promise will find a way to keep it.

Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.

No one is so miserable as the poor person who maintains the appearance of wealth.

The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.

Of two evils, choose neither.

If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all.

Come Out, Come Out Whoever You Are! (aka Leaving Comments)

2005-04-28T22:38:00.000-04:00

I would love to know who is visiting my blog each day! If you would even just leave your first name, maybe the state where you live and how you found my blog I would love to hear from you. If you don't want to give your name, you could just leave an anonymous post and tell me where you live and how you found the blog.

I've had a couple of different people ask me in the last few days how to leave comments. It is super easy! At the end of each entry is a little thing that says "0 comments" or "4 comments" or something like that. If you click on that, a new little window will open where you will be able to read any comments that have been left. You will also be able to leave a comment. Anyone can leave a comment, even if you don't have your own blog.

There is also a little envelope with an arrow. If you click on that, you are able to send the entry to a friend.

I hope that helps. If it doesn't, feel free to let me know and I would be happy to help some more!

Shredded Chicken from the Crockpot

2005-04-28T08:44:00.000-04:00

After sharing my basic meatball recipe, I thought I should also share my shredded chicken “recipe”. It isn’t really a recipe but more like a timesaving shortcut.

My motto in the kitchen is cook once, eat at least twice and preferably three or four times!

When boneless, skinless chicken breasts are on sale I buy several packages to make shredded chicken. I clean them and cut them in half. I then layer them with salsa in my crockpot (i.e. put down a layer of chicken pieces, pour salsa on them, put down another layer of chicken pieces, pour salsa on them, etc. until you use up all the chicken and salsa). I then cook it on low for several hours until the chicken is done. I pull all the chicken pieces out and put them on a jelly roll pan so they cool enough to touch. Then I use a fork and shred them while they are still warm. When I have a pan full of shredded chicken, I measure the chicken out in one cup increments and put each cup in its own Ziploc sandwich bag. I throw all the Ziploc bags in a larger Ziploc bag and put the whole thing in the freezer. When I need shredded chicken, I just pull out the right number of cups/baggies.

You can use the shredded chicken in quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, tortilla soup, etc. – basically anywhere you would want a spicy shredded chicken.

Enjoy!

Leaving a Legacy

2005-04-27T21:42:00.000-04:00

I’ve been thinking about legacies off and on the past couple of weeks. I heard a pastor speak about legacies and that kind of got me thinking about it. Then I read a blog entry written by R.C. Sproul, Jr. about Dr. Edmund Clowney and that got me thinking some more.

The pastor was speaking of the different kinds of legacies that people leave behind. Most often when people hear the word legacy they think of something related to money. Sometimes they think of donations or large gifts to organizations such as a university or ministry.

But the greatest legacy, he argued, was the one that we leave through other people. For those with children, by far the greatest legacy would be to leave behind godly children who are fervently committed to Christ. For those without children, legacies can be left through people we disciple, other family members, friends, and fellow church members.

After reading the entry about Dr. Clowney, I pulled The Church out of my bookcase and spent some time reading parts of it again. It is a wonderful book he wrote that I have turned to on numerous occasions when thinking through different issues related to Christ’s church. I had the opportunity to sit under Dr. Clowney’s teaching when he came to an InterVarsity regional staff retreat. He was a wonderful teacher and, as R.C. wrote, a man of great humility.

His book on my shelf is a very small part of his legacy. His time spent teaching that week is also a very small part of his legacy. But in my life they are meaningful parts that have had a hand in shaping me in different ways. Multiplied by the tens of thousands of people who have read his books and sat under his teaching…well, you have quite a legacy.

I know most people won’t be called to write books and teach at seminaries. But all of us have opportunities each day to add a little bit to our legacy. Whether it is loving a neighbor, caring for a sick child, helping an elderly family member, or sending an encouraging note to a friend, we all should be looking each day for opportunities to serve the Lord and leave a legacy that will remain long after we have gone home to be with Christ.

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Hubby

2005-04-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today is David's birthday. I am so thankful I have the opportunity to share life with him. I know I've already written lots about him, but I couldn't let this day go by without mentioning how very glad I am that God created him, chose him and granted me the privilege of being his wife.

I love you, David! Happy Birthday!
Sallie

Like I said in the banner box... I'm Midwestern

2005-04-26T20:44:00.000-04:00

I took another one of those online quizzes. I guess this clearly demonstrates the mixture of my teaching degree's Language Arts minor and my Midwestern upbringing.

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Midwestern

0% Dixie

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

NASA Earth Observatory website

2005-04-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

The NASA Earth Observatory website is a great site with lots of fascinating pictures.

Enjoy!

Over the Fence - Sharing Recipes!

2005-04-25T20:27:00.000-04:00

I thought I would share a few recipes I've been using recently. I previously shared my recipe for Baked Potato Soup. Here are several more...

Banana Grape-Nuts Bread

2005-04-25T20:25:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite banana bread recipe. The Grape-Nuts add a nice nutty flavor and texture.

1 & 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup Grape-Nuts cereal
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten
2 Tbsp shortening, melted
1 cup mashed banana

Mix flour with sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in cereal. Blend milk with bananas, egg, and shortening. Add flour mixture, stirring just until all flour is moistened. Pour into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and finish cooling on rack.

Simple Granola

2005-04-25T20:23:00.000-04:00

We love granola! I like this recipe I found in a magazine because it is a quick granola to throw together. We found it a little too sweet the first time I made it so I cut back on the brown sugar the next time. The recipe below is the original. You can adjust it to your own taste.

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 & ½ cups sliced almonds
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup cooking oil
¼ cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 & ½ cups dried cranberries (or raisins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. In a saucepan warm the oil and honey. Whisk or stir in vanilla. Carefully pour liquid over oat mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon; finish mixing by hand.

Spread granola in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake 40 minutes, stirring carefully every 10 minutes. Transfer granola-filled pan to a rack; cool completely. Stir in dried cranberries. Seal granola in an airtight container or self-sealing plastic bags. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in freezer for 3 months.

Makes 9 cups (24 servings).

Deviled Eggs

2005-04-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

This is not the typical deviled eggs recipe! It has a tangy yolk filling. These are my favorites because I love green olives.

7 hardboiled eggs, with shell removed
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp green olives, finely chopped
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp prepared mustard
salt and pepper
paprika

Halve hard-cooked eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and place yolks in bowl. Set egg whites aside.

Mash yolks with fork. Add mayo, olives, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly.

Refill egg whites with yolk filling. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

Chill.

Meatballs

2005-04-25T20:19:00.000-04:00

This is my basic meatball recipe. I mix up a couple of batches at a time and then freeze them. Then I just pull out however many I want to use. I use them with spaghetti sauce and pasta, in meatball subs, or just to eat them plain! This is one of the ways I keep us from eating out! I love to have things in the freezer that I can use quickly and in a variety of ways.

1 lb of ground beef
½ cup dry bread crumbs (I use Italian bread crumbs for more flavor!)
¼ cup milk
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg

Mix all ingredients and shape into balls. Bake on ungreased jelly roll pan for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Stayaway Saints – When Christians Quit Church

2005-04-24T20:26:00.000-04:00

I debated for a few days whether or not I should write about this article. Then I decided it was just too interesting and important to pass up. I think this is a significant trend that Christians should be aware of, whether they agree with everything in the article or not. Chances are, a number of my readers fit this article as well.

So before I say anything else, read this article: When Christians Quit Church.

Then read the following comments about the article I found on another blog (daveblackonline.com):

Buddy Walker responds to this essay.

Interesting article. However, like your reader who sent in the link, I fear the writer is missing the whole point. They say Rick Warren is something people are running "to." I think he's one of the things people are running "from." It's almost impossible to find a church that isn't using his materials and ideas anymore. I certainly couldn't find one in this area so I gave up looking. One of my criticisms of most churches is their music. I love the old hymns AND the new hymns. The key word being "hymns." I personally DESPISE repetition and just can not abide the little choruses (I refer to them as jingles) where one sings the first couple of lines twice or more, then another couple of lines and then the first couple over a couple of more times. That is so inane and meaningless to me. We have hundreds of theologically sound hymns available to uplift, encourage, and inspire us. The "Sesame Street" type jingles do absolutely nothing for me.

And I understand Warren also puts out "canned sermons" or sermon outlines to follow his 40 days program. In my former church, I could tell within the first 5 minutes or so of the pastor's sermon when he was following someone else's outline. I could get more from reading one of Spurgeon's sermons at home. I've tried preaching someone else's sermons and could never make it fly. Maybe others can, but not me.

But I think this is one of the things, (or a couple) from which the "stayaway saints" are fleeing. They, and I, are seeking true, meaningful, heartfelt worship to, and service for our Living Saviour. Not happy clappy, feel good, what's in it for me, services. Perhaps I'm wrong. But that is what I've seen and heard in my personal experience.

I've read on some websites that people see a huge revival happening in this country. I must ask, "Where?" I certainly don't see it. Not real, true Biblical revival such as we see in Acts. Although I would truly love to see that since I see no hope for this country or this world unless it comes. I pray for it. I hope all Christians are praying likewise. And for the soon coming of our Lord Jesus.

In Christ,
Buddy

I found this article and the response so interesting because David and I have observed this phenomena all around us and have even struggled with it ourselves. When I read this article, I could easily think of about a dozen couples/families we know who have given up going to church, who are only very nominally involved, or who go to a church they don’t like but feel compelled to go because they have children and they have to go somewhere. These people are like those mentioned in the article - very committed Christians who take their faith seriously. They love Christ and want to follow Christ. But they are so fed up and frustrated with the church. In almost every case, it is for the very reasons that Buddy mentioned in his response to the article. For the most part, I would say that David and I have the same struggles Buddy mentioned.

We are highly committed to being in a church, being a part of a community, worshipping in spirit and in truth, using our gifts, etc. However, we have found it incredibly challenging to find a place. We live in a city with literally hundreds of churches and have really struggled to find a place to belong.

Before we married, we both had good experiences in our churches. David was at his church for ten years and I was at my church for nine years. They were not perfect churches but we were fed meaty sermons, participated in meaningful worship, used our gifts and had opportunities for community. We have both experienced what it is like to be in a good church where you are actively involved in meaningful, Biblical ways. Once you experience that, it is really hard to settle for anything else.

In our eight years of marriage we have been members of two churches, have been actively involved attenders at a couple of more and visited another couple of dozen more. We have tried very hard to find a place to belong, but in each case there were things that we could not look past.

I have to be honest. I see why people give up. We’ve visited churches where no one spoke to us. We’ve visited a church where we could not find a place to sit because people had their Bibles all spread out and turned us away from their pew because they were saving seats so we ended up sitting behind a support beam where we could not see. (I’m not kidding.) If people like us, who really want to find a church home, are discouraged and turned off by what we experience, why in the world would someone less committed keep trying?

We have gone through periods where we worshipped at home. It isn’t what God teaches in His Word, but sometimes we just needed a break and couldn’t deal with the visiting thing any longer. But we get back out there and keep trying.

I don’t have all the answers. As I write this, we still have not found a church home. We have been visiting someplace, but don’t feel convinced this is where we will end up.

There are people out there trying to make a difference such as Doug Phillips of Vision Forum and the National Center for Family Integrated Churches. David and I think a lot of Doug Phillips and the work he is doing on behalf of families and the church. So I do have hope that things will improve, maybe even in my lifetime. I would tend to agree with the view in the article that perhaps the stayaway saints trend is an indication that good things could be ahead. People are fed up with the seeker-sensitive movement and the havoc it has brought upon the church. People are fed up with the watered down sermons and lack of community in the megachurches. Maybe there is hope.

I have said to David several times over the past year that I believe in the future when people look back on these recent decades, these years will be seen as a very dark time in the life of the church. So often when we are living in history we don’t clearly understand what is going on. I truly believe that we are (unfortunately) living through a very low time in church history. Can God break in and change things? Of course He can and we should be praying that He will. But unfortunately we are the victims (for lack of a better word) of decades of poor and unbiblical choices by church leadership here in the Western church.

I feel like I’ve written just enough to be dangerous and that I haven’t done justice to a lot of the topics I’ve touched on here. Perhaps I will return to some of them in the future. But there’s probably plenty of food for thought here for now.

The Road to Simplicity (Does it have a destination?)

2005-04-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

I have gradually realized that the simplicity we are finding here is less linked to our setting than to our direction – our spiritual commitment to live more simply, our determination to make simplifying choices, and our willingness to clarify and stand by certain goals and priorities.
Claire Cloninger
A Place Called Simplicty

The longer I have walked down the road of simplicity, the more convinced I have become that there is no “destination”. I think by nature people who are seeking to simplify are people who will always be seeking to simplify. I don’t think we ever “arrive”. Life is always changing and so we have to always be open to rethinking our journey towards simplicity. David and I have achieved a higher level of simplicity compared to most people we know, but if we moved, had a baby or our work situation changed, we would have to reevaluate a lot of aspects of our simplicity in light of our new life situation.

So I don’t think we will ever arrive. But I do think it is important to remember and celebrate the choices we have made that have brought us to where we are right now.

Here’s a list of ways we have simplified over the past several years…

Getting out of debt
This is by far the most important thing we did. We have no debt other than our mortgage. Being out of debt has given us freedom in so many ways.

Increasing our savings
It’s a funny thing. Once you get out of debt it is a lot easier to save money. Go figure. Maybe increasing our savings doesn’t sound like a typical “simplicity” idea. But anything that increases your peace of mind qualifies in my book as simplicity.

Buying less house than we could “afford”
We have chosen to live beneath our means. The bank would have given us a loan for about two and a half times what we borrowed. And we probably could have made those payments. But we didn’t want to.

Not having a public cell phone
We purchased a cell phone in 1997 when I was teaching and was going to be commuting long distances each day. We only carry it around for emergencies and it is never turned on unless one of us goes somewhere without the other. No one has the number and we don’t use it for work. We do not want to be that accessible.

Decluttering our home
I am a neat person and I’m also very good at neatly storing things (read: not letting go of stuff). I read Clutter’s Last Stand by Don Aslett and it freed me from the “hanging on to stuff that is still good just in case” syndrome. It also freed me from the “I can’t give this away – it was a gift from my students/friend/parents/etc.” syndrome. We have gotten rid of so much stuff.

Putting our TV on a cart and keeping it in a closet
We do not have our TV out in the living room. We keep it on a rolling cart we bought at Target and it is stored in the closet. When we want to watch something we have to get it out of the closet, hook up the cable and then turn it on. We have purposely made it difficult to watch TV.

Developing a well-stocked pantry
We purchased a large upright freezer when we moved into our house and set up a bunch of pantry shelves in the basement. We could go quite a while without shopping and we could go even longer if we just shopped for the basics (milk, eggs, etc.). In fact, the past couple of months while I have been recuperating we have found out just how great it is to have a well-stocked pantry.

Not automatically upgrading and making things last
We don’t rush out for the latest stuff. We like to see how long we can keep something before we have to replace it. We take care of our “stuff” so it will last as long as possible. We never upgraded our cell phone until this year. (Yep, that’s EIGHT years on the same phone.) We didn’t buy a new TV until the one we had (a hand me down) died. Same thing for the answering machine, cordless phone, etc. We don’t upgrade our computer software for the business until we have to. We drive older cars (11 and 8 years respectively) and for eight months a few years ago only had one car. (It worked out fine.) Choices like these will save us tens of thousands of dollars over the years.

Working at home
It is amazing how working at home in our own business has simplified our lives. I know this might not be true for everyone, but it has been amazing how much it has done for us.

Those are just a few of the things we have done. Most of them aren’t really all that monumental on their own, but the cumulative affect of them year after year becomes quite profound.

I mentioned in a previous entry about the list of questions I developed when teaching about these topics. Here are a few more relevant questions from that list:

Am I drowning in clutter in my home?

How many clothing items in my closet have I not worn in over a year?

Does my calendar really reflect the things that I say are most important to me?

What kind of clutter is piled under my bed? In the garage? In the basement? On my desk? In my filing cabinet?

What financial decision could I make that would bring more peace to my life?

Are there 25 things in my home I could take to Goodwill? 50? 100? 200? 500?

Will I ever truly get down to that weight again? And if I did, would I still want to wear those clothes I can’t get rid of?

Are my children too focused on the things of this world?

Thoughts on Waiting

2005-04-23T22:01:00.000-04:00

The deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done.
Elisabeth Elliot
Passion and Purity

God’s timing is not ours. He will reveal himself – though not necessarily when and where we may expect.
Charles H. Spurgeon

Waiting is not wasted time. Realize that God is preparing his resources and strengthening you as well. C.H.P.
Streams in the Desert

When ours are interrupted, his are not. His plans are proceeding exactly as scheduled, moving us always (including those minutes or hours or years which seem most useless or wasted or unendurable) "toward the goal of true maturity" (Rom 12:2 JBP).
Elisabeth Elliot

God often gives in one brief moment that which he has for a long time denied.
Thomas à Kempis

We would actually accomplish more if we attempted less, and spent more time in quiet waiting on God.
Streams in the Desert

He who waits on God never waits too long.
Chuck Wagner

A Mother's Day Dilemma

2005-04-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my husband and I picked out Mother’s Day cards for our moms. We are both blessed to have our parents still married to each other and have good relationships with our moms. Celebrating our moms and being thankful for them is the easy part of Mother’s Day.

The hard part of Mother’s Day is dealing with the fact that well into our ninth year of marriage we remain childless. For whatever reason, God has not chosen to bless us with any children.

Well, that’s not exactly accurate which is what makes this Mother’s Day even more of a challenge for me.

Like most women who want children and don’t have them, Mother’s Day can present a real dilemma. Of course we want to honor our own mothers. At the same time, we would prefer to just skip the day all together since it can be a hard reminder of something painful in our lives.

The first few years we were married, Mother’s Day didn’t bother me too much. We hadn’t been “trying” very hard and we were open to letting God decide the size and timing of our family. However, each year it became a little harder, especially going to church where everything revolved around honoring mothers that day. So, like many couples, the past few years we have simply chosen to worship at home on Mother's Day rather than deal with all the “stuff”. It is a choice we have been content with.

This year presents a new challenge because in October we had a miscarriage around the sixth week. I actually got out my calendar yesterday and counted. If I had not lost that baby, I would be around thirty weeks right now. I would have gone into Mother’s Day just about ready to deliver. And David would have had a beautiful new baby to carry into church on Father’s Day in June.

Which I guess gets me to the main point of this entry. How does a childless mother celebrate Mother’s Day?

After my miscarriage I posted some questions on a Christian women’s discussion board since I was trying to sort through the whole thing. For me, the hardest part has been the theological aspect. When something like a miscarriage happens, you think about all kinds of things that never crossed your mind before. Am I a mom? What do I do on Mother’s Day? If I’m in church and they ask all the mothers to stand, do I stand up? To stand up seems awkward since I have no living children. And yet to not stand up seems to minimize the life of the child who was only here so briefly and is now with Christ. I still haven’t found an answer that completely satisfies me.

So this year my heart goes out not only to the childless women as it has each year before, but to the women like me who are childless mothers. I pray that God’s grace will be poured out on each of us during this season.

Bits and Pieces – April 19, 2005

2005-04-19T20:29:00.000-04:00

I found the most wonderful peppermint shower gel up north. It is made by the Vermont Soap Company and is organic. I love the smell of peppermint! Every time I use it, it immediately lifts my spirits.

I have a relative who passes on issues of Midwest Living to me. (Thanks, Barb!) In a recent issue, they had a small article on the Victorian Trading Company. I checked out their website and they have some beautiful things.

Michigan is a state where if you don’t like the weather you only have to wait a day (or an hour) and it will change. We have just had four weeks of the most incredible April weather anyone remembers. We have had sunny days almost non-stop for four weeks. I think the flowers and flowering trees are at least 10-14 days ahead of schedule. We are finally due for some much needed rain tonight, but this June-like weather in April has been an incredible blessing.

No Sitting Allowed

2005-04-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

I've been experiencing something interesting the past four days. When I went to physical therapy on Thursday, my therapist told me that I should not sit unless it was absolutely necessary. Have you ever tried to spend 16 hours a day only standing, walking or lying around? It is harder than it sounds, especially if you’ve already been lying around the previous six weeks and you are totally sick of being on the couch. I really want my back to improve so I've tried to follow directions and have only really sat down to eat meals and a few other times for very short periods of time. (And the only place I can comfortably sit to eat is perched on the edge of the couch. I don’t know why that works and nothing else does but it’s true.) Right now I'm actually typing this entry standing up in front of my laptop which is on top of a crate so I can reach it comfortably.

So that gets me to why my recent posts have been short and, this weekend, non-existent. (And anyone who has been looking for a return email from me now knows why it has been so slow to come.) Most of my computer energy (which isn’t a lot since I have to stand in one place to do it and the standing in one place is the most tiring) has to be devoted to working on projects for our business.

On the bright side, we’ve eaten pretty well this weekend since working in the kitchen is one of the things I can actually do. I thought about posting some of the recipes I used this weekend, but that will have to be another day. My legs are tired of standing here and it’s time to head to bed. But, Lord willing, I'll be back tomorrow to write about legacies.

A Journal of Thanksgiving

2005-04-15T10:41:00.000-04:00

In June 2003 I started a daily discipline that has been a very powerful experience in my life. Each night before I go to bed I write in my Journal of Thanksgiving. I jot down a brief list of five things I am thankful for from that day. They can be about anything – spiritual, emotional, physical, relational.

I would not have thought doing this would be such a valuable experience, but it has been. It forces me each night to focus on the positive and best things that happened during the day and therefore allows me to end my day on a positive note. To be sure, some days it is harder than others to find positive things. I can think of at least one time where three of the five entries were “It’s time to go to bed.” But I was thankful that the day was over and I could go to bed and look forward to a new day when I woke up!

I’m on my second journal now. I chose this journal because I appreciated the poem on the inside cover. I thought it fit so well with the discipline of keeping a Journal of Thanksgiving.

The best things in life
are nearest:
Breath in your nostrils,
light in your eyes,
flowers at your feet,
duties at your hand,
the path of right just before you.

Then do not grasp at the stars,
but do life’s plain, common work
as it comes, certain that daily duties
and daily bread
are the sweetest things in life.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Thoughts on Living Life

2005-04-13T12:31:00.000-04:00

The feeling that “if nothing is happening, nothing is happening” is the prejudice of a superficial, dependent and hollow spirit, one that has succumbed to the age and can prove its own excellence only by the quality of pseudo-events it is constantly organizing, like a bee, to that end.
Vaclav Habel

Probably the greatest malaise in our country today is our neurotic compulsion to work.
William McNamara

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is a nobler art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.
Lin Yutang

What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I had realized it sooner.
Colette

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill

Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free. No one can hinder him.
A. W. Tozer

God doesn’t always smooth the path, but sometimes he puts springs in the wagon.
Marshall Lucas

What you do every day should contribute to giving your life meaning. If it doesn’t, why are you doing it?
Don Hutcheson

The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
Theodore Rubin

If you have so much business to attend to that you have no time to pray, depend upon it, you have more business on hand than God ever intended you should have.
D. L. Moody

What do you call Sunday?

2005-04-12T17:15:00.000-04:00

Words have meaning. Now that might seem like an obvious statement, but I believe words have an impact on how we view what we are talking about. Have you ever thought about the difference between a trip and a vacation? What about a young adult versus an adolescent? Kids or children? I think these words carry different meanings although a lot of people use them interchangeably.

So here’s a question. What do you call Sunday?

Some people group it with Saturday and call it “the weekend”. There really isn’t any difference in their mind between the two days. It is just a time period when you don’t have to go to work and you do other things around the house like sleeping in and yard work.

Other people call Sunday “The Lord’s Day”. For a long time, this was primarily how I thought about Sunday. People who use this term usually see it as a day to be devoted to things related to the Lord. This means Sunday School, morning service, choir practice, evening service, and socializing with people from church after the evening service.

Other people use the terms “The Sabbath” or “Day of Rest”. The past several years this has been more my thinking. (I’ve written briefly about this before and Kat wrote a thoughtful comment after my post.) I’ve thought a lot about how God created for six days and then rested, giving us a pattern for rest.

As my husband and I have made the change from thinking of Sunday as “The Lord’s Day” to “The Sabbath”, we’ve found it challenging at times. Both of us were used to Sunday being full of church activities and it seemed “right” to us. To only attend the morning service and spend the rest of the day in “restful” activities was a challenge at first. But the longer we practiced having a weekly Sabbath, the more we realized we were much more prepared to start the rest of the week than we were when Sunday was full of just as much activity (or more) as the rest of the week.

So what do you call Sunday? My intention here is to raise the question, not necessarily convince people that one term is correct and the others are wrong. If you visit my blog often enough you’ll find that I am good at raising questions, but don’t necessarily want to provide "the answer" to every question I raise! But hopefully this is some good food for thought and maybe a discussion at the dinner table.

Things I Love About Spring

2005-04-11T07:28:00.000-04:00

Opening the windows and smelling the fresh air

Hearing the cardinals and robins singing in the morning

Putting out the pansy pots on the front steps

Seeing Mr. Cardinal feeding Mrs. Cardinal as they court

The days are warmer but the nights stay cool for great sleeping weather

The goldfinches turning bright yellow

Getting out the lighter clothes and shoes

Grilling

Hyacinths and tulips blooming in our front yard

Listening to the goldfinches tweet and twitter all day long

Watching the robins in the birdbath

Staying home - a little bit of heaven on earth

2005-04-10T15:21:00.000-04:00

Last month, I referenced another blogger’s entry called “Simple Living: stay home”. I have had a lot of time to think about this topic over the past several weeks since I’ve been at home about 99% of the time. It has really confirmed a lot of my previous convictions regarding the wisdom of just staying home.

In the past two weeks, I have gone away from the house only for doctor’s appointments and walks down our street. My husband has gone away a bit more for work-related meetings, going to the small nearby grocery store, trips to the pharmacy, a couple trips to Quiznos, etc. But for the most part we have been home. To be more specific, we have been at home primarily in the living room.

Now some people might think that this sounds like a curse. As part of a society that is addicted to being on the go (and, yes, I mean addicted), it sounds like something out of a horror movie to think of being AT HOME for TWO WEEKS with (almost) no one other than your spouse. We have actually found it to be wonderful.

In fact, I find myself resenting the fact that I am going to have to go to Meijer this week! I keep a very well stocked pantry, but after a couple of months of hit and miss shopping it is time to replenish my stock. But there are so many other interesting things around the house I would rather be doing! And it is so much more peaceful at home.

In fact, being “forced” to stay home has been a huge blessing. I haven’t had a Starbuck’s mocha in eight weeks. We have only been out to eat at a sit down restaurant I think three times in the past month and once it was after a doctor’s appointment and once was for my birthday. And you know what? I haven’t missed it at all!

I’m not advocating that everyone shut themselves off from everyone else. Obviously Christ would not have us be hermits. But being at home during this time has reaffirmed for me that there is actually very little we NEED to do and very few places we NEED to go when you get right down to it. Most of the rest of it is our own doing, oftentimes to our own detriment.

A Tale of Two Families

2005-04-10T14:23:00.000-04:00

My study of the simplicity movement started in 1998 when I was teaching full-time and wanted to be home. Out of my study has evolved a lot of other interests regarding simplicity – margin, overload, consumerism, LBYM (aka Living Beneath Your Means), clutter, calling, downshifting, home businesses, homeschooling, saving money, homesteading, The Great Depression, etc. I really find these topics fascinating. Out of this extensive reading came some significant changes in our own lives.

That being said, my husband knew I would be very interested in this article when he saw it in the paper today. In our paper, it was called “Overextended Families” with the subhead: “The Modern American Household: Strained, In Motion, Child-Dominated, Losing Touch.” The copy I found online on MSNBC is called “Strained Life of the Non-Stop American Family”.

All I can say is – read it and weep (literally). My heart breaks for these children and the hundreds of thousands like them throughout America.

Then for a study in contrast, I recommend this article: “Tasha Tudor’s World”.

Bits and Pieces – April 10, 2005

2005-04-10T12:27:00.000-04:00

Bits and Pieces are random thoughts that don’t necessitate their own entry, but nevertheless I want to record them somewhere. Consider them Sallie’s smorgasbord.

David’s new favorite ice cream is Breyer’s Heath. (Sallie likes it too but her favorite remains unchanged: Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.)

My orthopedic specialist told me that Curves (the women’s workout place) has been great for his business. He said some of the machines are very hard on the back, especially for women who aren’t in shape when they start going. (BTW…isn’t that the point of going?)

As part of my recovery the past few weeks, I watched a lot of episodes of The Cosby Show. (I do believe the studies that say that laughter speeds recovery!) It reminded me of why it was so wildly popular when it was on prime time. It was so popular, I remember that Campus Crusade for Christ at MSU changed their meeting night from Thursday to another night for a few years because it hindered outreach so much. Think what you want about that decision, but that’s a lot of drawing power for a family show.

I love to read stories about the neat ways that God provides for people. Here is a great one.

I don’t drink milk so taking prescriptions with milk isn’t an option for me. However, I found that taking them with yogurt worked great! Even some heavy pain pills ground up and mixed in the yogurt never bothered me while I needed them.

I buy plain yogurt and mix in my own fruit spread. I love American Spoon’s Spoon Fruit. Once you go to plain yogurt and mix in real fruit without the high fructose corn syrup, you will never be able to go back to the presweetened and preflavored yogurts. I had one several months ago after making the change and I thought I was going to be sick. The Spoon Fruits are more expensive, but so much healthier. In addition to eating yogurt made that way, yogurt smoothies are part of our morning routine now!

MSU is in the Final Four – Who’d have thunk it?

2005-04-01T19:27:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned previously, Michigan State is my team and college basketball is my sport to follow. I’m not a sports analyst (nor do I play one on TV), but here are a few thoughts from a fan.

The MSU victory over Duke last Friday was very sweet. I think that sped up my recovery by at least a day.

The double OT win over Kentucky was extremely thrilling, but I think it actually set my recovery back two days from the stress. Just a few days earlier I had felt sorry for the West Virginia and Louisville fans who had to sit through their double overtime game. Talk about stressful! I commented to my husband during their game that that is a rough way to live and die with your team. Imagine my joy(?) a few days later when I got to experience the same thing! Thankfully they came out on the winning end.

So tomorrow is North Carolina. I know 99% of the people reading this blog are not Spartans, but for the few who are… Can you imagine if MSU went through the tournament and beat not only Duke and Kentucky but also North Carolina and eventually Illinois (who beat them out for the Big Ten title)? Truly this would be Hoosiers II.

Here’s a great video of highlights from the last couple of years. If this doesn’t get you pumped for the game, NOTHING will.

GO GREEN!! GO WHITE!!

So where have I been? (aka Sallie did not drop off the face of the earth)

2005-04-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that it has been almost two weeks since I last wrote. However, they have been two long weeks for me. I’ve been severely under the weather health-wise, kicking off the whole thing on my birthday (of all days). I’m still working with my doctor to try to get myself back to normal. In the meantime, I’ve been REALLY grateful we didn’t cancel our basic cable last month. I’ve had lots of time to catch up with Cosby, Home Improvement, The Brady Bunch, Magnum PI and various other shows of my youth.

Well, enough of that. I’m back. Slowly but surely I hope to get up to speed and start posting regularly. I’ve missed it and judging from the hits counter (and one phone call!), at least a few other people have been looking for my return.

So let the blogging (re)begin!

And now, a word from our sponsor… (Guest columnist, Sallie's husband)

2005-03-21T21:12:00.000-05:00

I’m offering my first stint as Sallie’s guest columnist! I’m David, the guy mentioned in Sallie’s profile. (As if you’re wondering what I look like, you can go here.)

Today is Sallie’s birthday, as she alluded to in her posting from yesterday. And for her birthday, I pay tribute to her in the:

Ten Things You Need To Know About Sallie

1. Sallie believes that potatoes are one of the basic food groups, whether it’s potato soup (and she makes a good one) or mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes, or fries.

2. Pansies are her favorite flower. Yep, those flower pots are itching to get filled by me in a couple Saturdays.

3. She owns a baseball bat that was used as a prop in one her favorite episodes of the Christy TV series. (We verified the authenticity by watching that episode.)

4. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT get into a battle of wits with Sallie. You will lose. She has a quick wit that rarely gets beaten. (Or, is it that I’m an easy target….)

5. Proper care and feeding of Sallie requires an occasional road trip to Loafer’s Glory, a little restaurant/country gift store in the dinky little burg of Blanchard, Michigan.

6. She really likes it when the vacuuming gets done by others (Read: me).

7. Squirrels tremble at the sight of her. Really. I’m not making this up. One leaped up on our window bird shelf and Sallie stared him down for several seconds. The little weasel started shaking violently and dove off!

8. Quite often during TV college basketball games, Sallie will comment about some aspect of the game. Moments later, the color commentator will say the same thing. Amazing. I still haven’t found the microphone in our living room with a feed to CBS Sports.

9. One of her favorite pick-me-ups is to play the “cold hands game”. I subject my warm tummy to her cold hands. It makes her laugh so much. Once again, I must be an easy target…

10. She was created especially for me, and it’s a special privilege to know that there’s no doubt about who I was to marry. And I’m so glad that she gets to share her thoughts with you who read her blog. I hope that you all get a glimpse of the wonderful woman that I get to share my life with.

Happy Birthday, Kitten!

- Your David

On to the Sweet Sixteen! (aka My husband can't believe he has a wife who loves to watch college basketball)

2005-03-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

The best medicine I've had the past two weeks was watching my beloved Michigan State University Spartans beat Old Dominion on Friday and Vermont today in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Next up is Duke.

I've mentioned the NCAA tournament a couple times recently and I'm sure the vast majority of the women who visit my blog just cannot believe that I waste precious blogging space talking about this. But I’ve been a college basketball fan since the year Earvin Johnson led the MSU Spartans to the national title over Larry Bird and the Indiana State…. What is the Indiana State mascot?

Anyhoo, I’ve been a fan ever since.

A couple of years ago my husband went to a men’s breakfast at church on a Saturday morning. It was during the tournament and David mentioned that we were looking forward to watching the games later that day. The men were stunned. The words were, “Wow. Where did you find a wife like that?”

Funny thing is that he found me online and I never mentioned I liked to follow college sports. It was just a bonus that he discovered later.

Go green! Go white!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2005-03-20T20:21:00.000-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday. Due to health situations, we weren't able to celebrate in person today. (We live about 90 miles apart.) Hopefully later this week we'll be able to be together to celebrate both of our birthdays.

My mom spent her birthday when she was xx years old (sorry, can't give away confidential info) in labor for me. I didn't make my appearance until the next day when everyone involved decided that I was apparently a stubborn little child and they pulled me out. (Hey, I have the gift of discernment. Even then I knew what the real world was going to be like, so why rush?)

Here's a favorite picture of mom when she was a little girl.

Thanks, Mom, for giving me life and being a bright part of my life.

Thinking of Joanna

2005-03-20T19:05:00.000-05:00

When I was in my early to mid 20’s, I had the blessing of becoming involved socially with several younger couples from church. This may not sound like a big deal, but for a single gal who wanted to be married, it was a real blessing to have the fellowship of Christian couples and not feeling like a fifth wheel (most of the time). Actually, more often than not I was the fifth person for intense games of call partner Rook so being single definitely worked to my advantage then!

One of the couples I got to know was Jim and Joanna. They were several years older than me, but we hit it off and I spent MANY Sunday evenings in their home over the period of a few years. We laughed – A LOT. Whenever I was in their home, especially if we were playing Rook with another couple or two, it was a hilarious (and intense) atmosphere.

Joanna was a very simple person. She was kind and had a servant’s heart. She always made sure I had chocolate chips to munch on while we were playing Rook. She had a funny little giggle that I still can hear. She prayed often for me and my future husband, believing that God had someone special for me. We had lunch dates a few times and those are special memories for me.

The weekend before my 27^th birthday, Jim and Joanna invited a bunch of folks from church to their house to celebrate my birthday. We had a good time. This was an especially loving thing to do because Joanna had had knee surgery about a week to ten days before and she was still on crutches. But we had fun, laughed a lot (like always) and I appreciated their friendship.

A few days later I was at church on Wednesday evening when I heard that Joanna had collapsed. The last time I saw her was when she was being wheeled out to the ambulance. She was gone within the next hour or so. She died from blood clots due to her knee surgery which had taken place almost two weeks before.

As I said, Joanna was a simple person who loved people. She loved children and was serving them at Awana the night she went home to Jesus. That was one of the hardest funerals I’ve ever been to. The place was packed. Not because Joanna was a prominent person in the worldly sense of the word, but because she was a prominent person who loved and served so many people. I think she would have been amazed to see how many people were there and the level of emotion that was in the room for one of our sisters in Christ who – from the earthly perspective – had been taken much too soon.

I always think of Joanna at this time of year. It is impossible to not think of her since everything happened around my birthday and her funeral was the day of my mom and dad’s anniversary.

The one thing that I always come back to whenever I think of Joanna is the incredible power of one life serving others. It is a yearly reminder and challenge to me to be a servant and love others with the love of Christ, just as Joanna did.

Baked Potato Soup

2005-03-20T18:59:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite potato soup recipe! It is the ultimate comfort food. We enjoy it topped with shredded sharp cheddar and bacon.

2 cups water (can use chicken stock)
2 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 cups potato, diced
1 tsp salt (reduce to 1/2 tsp if you use chicken stock)

Heat water and milk in large saucepan over medium-high heat to almost boiling. Remove from heat and set aside.

In large soup pot, melt butter. Add flour, stirring constantly 3 minutes to cook flour and make a roux. Gradually add the milk mixture to roux, pouring in a slow steady stream while stirring vigorously to blend and eliminate lumps (use a wisk if necessary). Add bay leaves, white pepper, salt, and potatoes.

Cover and continue to simmer over low heat 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender and soup thickens. Lightly mash potatoes in soup and stir to blend well.

Makes 4 cups.

Thoughts on Prayer

2005-03-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.
William Cowper

If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.
Robert Murray M'Cheyne

God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.
Oswald Chambers

A prayerless soul is a Christless soul.
C. H. Spurgeon

God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us -- as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray.
John Calvin

The childish idea that prayer is a handle by which we can take hold of God and obtain whatever we desire, leads to easy disillusionment with both what we had thought to be God and what we had thought to be prayer.
Robert L. Short

The primary object of prayer is to know God better; we and our needs should come second.
Florence Allshorn

God usually answers our prayers so much more according to the measure of His own magnificence, than of our asking, that we do not recognize His benefits to be those for which we sought Him.
Coventry Patmore

Where there is much prayer, there will be much of the Spirit; where there is much of the Spirit, there will be ever-increasing prayer.
Andrew Murray

Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.
Oswald Chambers

Children who have it all - where do we go from here?

2005-03-17T10:38:00.000-05:00

I’ve been itching to get back here and follow up on my last post! Then when I actually started writing, I realized that this is such a huge topic. So look for several related posts to follow…

Let me start by chiming in with what Amy wrote regarding over-the-top birthday party blowout bashes for five year olds. She made the observation “…where do we go from here? The kid is only five years old. I don’t want to be the one to tell her, It’s all downhill from here, baby.”

One of the concerns I have for children today (among the many) is that they have no concept that the life they are living as children and young adults is not “real life”. By that I mean, that the life they live at their parents’ expense from birth to 18 (or 22/23 if they go to college, or 24+ if they go to grad school) will bear little resemblance to what they will be able to do once they are off the gravy train (aka mom and dad’s checkbook and/or home equity line of credit). Real life is not an all-expense paid excursion.

When a girl is sixteen and she has been to Hawaii, Europe, Mexico, all the major ski resorts, multiple cruises, and Florida is just normal part of the yearly spring break routine (if you live in the Midwest you will understand), what is her future bridegroom going to do for a special honeymoon? Sign them up for Fear Factor or The Amazing Race?

I created a handout called “Questions to ponder…”. There are 33 questions for parents to think about, discuss and pray over. One of them is:

Do my children realize when they are on their own they will probably not be able to afford what they enjoy and take for granted now? How can I prepare them?

This is a challenging question for the average middle class/upper middle class couple. In a desire to make sure that their children have “every advantage” and the opportunities “I never had”, are parents actually doing their children a disservice in the long run? When children are jaded by ten and have done it all by eighteen, where else is there to go?

When I had this discussion with a group of about twenty-five primarily upper middle class Christian couples, I was actually quite surprised by their frankness regarding struggling in this area. Several told me that they were just so relieved to have the opportunity to discuss these ideas. Most of these parents knew that what we were discussing was true and had been sensing it in their own lives already. But they didn’t know what to do. They could see their families were not what they could/should be, but they didn’t know where to begin.

It is hard to swim against the tide, especially if you perceive from the beginning you will be dong it alone. It is easier to follow the lead of the other families in the youth group or school district. Sadly, the church at large has become so much like the world, that it can’t even begin to offer any solid direction to parents who are numb and know things are out of whack. So, with an uneasy feeling in the pit of their stomach, most of them cross their fingers, say a few prayers, try to remain hopeful their kids will stay away from sex and drugs, and plod on with “doing it all” and giving them “everything they need to be successful”, hoping in the end it will all work out and their children will come through with their faith intact and relatively few battle scars.

Sadly, if you look around you, it isn’t working out quite that way.

Simple Living - staying home and doing less

2005-03-15T12:21:00.000-05:00

Today is one of those days that I would describe as absolutely cozy. My husband and I have hunkered down in the living room with our work (we work at home) and there are large, fluffy lazy snowflakes floating down. We took a brief walk earlier this morning (during which time I had fireplace-envy because I could smell a fire coming from someone’s house and we don’t have a fireplace). After several challenging weeks, I’m feeling quite a bit better and I am just so thankful to be home. In fact I have been home since Saturday afternoon when I ventured out for a prescription. And to tell you the truth, I haven't missed not going anywhere. Life is good. Only one problem…

I have to go to the grocery store today. I told my husband over lunch I would gladly pay someone to go get my groceries for me if it meant I could just stay home and be cozy. But that isn’t going to be the case so at some point we’ll venture out.

In the meantime, as I took a link to a link to a link, I came across a blog entry somewhere else that I would like to share with you. It is called Simple Living: stay home. How timely. I have never met the person who writes this blog (Rick Saenz), but I have heard him speak many times on the Basement Tapes, which I mentioned in a previous entry. What he has to say in this entry is so simple, but it is so radical for most couples and/or families today.

I have really wanted to write about this topic since also reading Amy’s Humble Musing from the other day (see her March 12 entry - Chasing the wind) that is in a roundabout way related to what Rick wrote. When I have done classes/seminars on “Calling vs. Clutter: The Joy of a Deliberate Life”, these themes have been a big part of our discussion. We had some incredibly honest and thoughtful discussion when I taught this class twice at a church that is in one of the most affluent areas here in town.

So, I’ll let you read what Rick and Amy have to say about a couple of topics and then I’ll be back sometime soon to add my two cents…

Enjoy!

God speaks through old postcards

2005-03-13T13:42:00.000-05:00

I wrote previously about how after we have walked with Christ for awhile, we begin to see patterns in the way He deals with us as individuals. At that time I wrote of how God speaks to me through His creation. Until yesterday, I had forgotten one of the other ways.

I was looking for a recipe and pulled a cookbook off my shelf that didn’t look familiar. (That was because it was one that my husband had from his bachelor days.) When I opened it up, a postcard fell out. His mom had sent him a recipe on it March 10, 1989 and the front of the card had the following poem.

I Needed the Quiet
Alice Hansche Mortenson

I needed the quiet so He drew me aside,
Into the shadows where we could confide.
Away from the bustle where all the day long
I hurried and worried when active and strong.

I needed the quiet tho at first I rebelled
But gently, so gently, my cross He upheld
And whispered so sweetly of spiritual things
Tho weakened in body, my spirit took wings
To heights never dreamed of when active and gay.
He loves me so greatly He drew me away.

I needed the quiet. No prison my bed,
But a beautiful valley of blessings instead –
A place to grow richer in Jesus to hide.
I needed the quiet so He drew me aside.

Until I read that, I had failed to remember that there have been several significant periods in my life when God has put me flat on my back (read: allowed me to be very sick) in order to get my attention. I’ve even talked with people in the past about how God will sometimes lay me out flat so He can get my attention when He has something really important He wants to show me.

So I was not only encouraged by the poem, I was encouraged by the reminder of God’s faithfulness to work, not in spite of the hard times but because He allows them on purpose. Not to hurt me, but because He loves me so much. We don’t think of pain and love as going hand in hand, but in God’s economy they certainly do. All I can think of is getting better, getting off these medicines that make me feel crummy, and getting back to “living life”. But in God’s plan to make me more Christlike, I am “living life” and probably living it more fully right now as I am forced to cling to Him than I would be if I were just going about daily life as it falls into place.

A verse that God has given to me on a few significant occasions is Joel 2:25. God is speaking and says, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten – the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm – my great army that I sent among you.” The words that are circled in my Bible are in bold here. God controlled the locust and sent the locust for a purpose. It was an event that probably seemed destructive at the time, but was under God’s control and according to His purposes.

May we all rest in God’s purposes each day, even when He draws us aside because we need the quiet.

Quick visit (aka health update)

2005-03-10T22:48:00.000-05:00

I wanted to stop by and say hello since I haven't written since Monday. I've been really wiped out and so much has been going on.

This blog isn't intended to be Sallie's daily health update and hopefully I can get back to other topics very soon. However, I did want to follow up since a number of you had indicated you were praying.

My visit to the orthopedic specialist went well, and my husband and I were in agreement regarding the course of action to take. Tomorrow morning (Friday) I will have a cortisone shot via fluoroscopy in my back. There is an 85% chance that this will do the trick and allow my body to speed up the healing process. If that doesn't work, then I will do another shot in two weeks. If that doesn't take care of it, then I am looking at a low-grade back surgery. So we are praying that I will have a good result from this procedure tomorrow.

Thank you for praying and thank you for your kind notes. Hopefully I will be able to respond to some of your emails this weekend. The shot may make me feel worse for a few days or I may begin to notice improvement immediately. It generally take about 10-14 days to know if the shot has been completely effective since it is a gradual improvement, not a quick fix. Each person's body responds in a different way. In the meantime, there will be plenty of good college basketball to watch this weekend. (smile)

Staying sane during difficult days (aka college basketball, a gift from my mother-in-law and God’s grace)

2005-03-07T22:37:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned previously, my MRI showed a problem with one of my discs. I will be seeing an orthopedic specialist tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) to hear what he thinks. However, I was in such extreme pain and so at the end of my rope Friday morning that I went to a chiropractor (twice) and then went back twice today.

Now there seem to be two general camps regarding chiropractors. The first is run for the hills, they are nothing but quacks. The second is they gave me back my life and if I was stranded on a desert island and had to choose between my dog and my chiropractor it would be see ya later Fido! I can’t say I’ve really been in the first camp, but considering I’ve been suffering with this situation off and on for say, oh, seven years and have never seen a chiropractor, you might get an inkling of my general fear of them.

Anyway, the chiro I went to has done an amazing job on me so far. It is actually a husband and wife team and the wife is working on getting me stabilized. After the first two visits on Friday I was in less pain over the weekend and able to basically stop taking the strong pain medications I had been on since my trip to the ER about a week earlier. After two visits today, I am able to sit at my computer and type to all of my new and old friends in the cyberworld with only very minimal discomfort. This morning I could get out of bed, walk around upright and not collapse in a heap on my bed. Yippee!!! You truly have no idea how much the small things mean until you experience them afresh.

Well, I’ve been keeping myself sane on my road to recovery a couple of different ways. First of all, yesterday was one of the best days of college basketball I have ever watched. I normally don’t advocate spending Sunday watching sports, but I was thankful for the diversion from my discomfort. The Illinois-Ohio State game was a classic, and I also really enjoyed the Duke-North Carolina game. (For those not in the know, I am a Michigan State grad and huge Big Ten person!) So I was thankful for college basketball yesterday and the opportunity to just rest on the couch with my ice pack.

Yesterday, I was also blessed by a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law from two years ago. It is a little paperback called “Promises, Praises and Prayers for Women”. I keep it in my nightstand and pulled it out to read a little bit before bed. Last night I turned to the section for “Difficult Days”. There were some Scriptures there and two quotes. I would like to share the quotes because they ministered to me so much.

God does not dispense strength and encouragement like a druggist fills your prescriptions. The Lord doesn’t promise to give us something to take so that we can handle our weary moments. He promises us Himself. That is all. And that is enough.
Chuck Swindoll

We should not be upset when unexpected and upsetting things happen. God in his wisdom means to make something of us which we have not yet attained, and He is dealing with us accordingly.
J. I. Packer

Although this verse was not listed on the pages of the book, the phrase that kept coming to me time and time again as I was laying there in bed so tired and discouraged was “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). It kept ringing over and over again in my head “My grace is sufficient for you.” Not your husband’s grace, not your friends’ grace, not your family’s grace, not your church’s grace – MY grace. GOD’S grace.

So that’s where I am. Trying to lean moment by moment on God’s grace. Trusting that His power will be made perfect in my weakness (and there has been plenty of that lately).

So this is the hymn that has been in my mind this evening…

He Giveth More Grace
By Annie J. Flint

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

His love has no limits, His grace had no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men:
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men:
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

Increase our faith, Lord

2005-03-05T22:58:00.000-05:00

God delights to increase the faith of his children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God's hands as a means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.
George Müller

The last several days have been very trying. My faith has been stretched in so many ways. The irony of starting a blog to encourage others and then having so many challenging things happen in my own life is not lost on me. And I don't think it is ironic. It is God. He apparently has decided to serve up a feast for me.

My MRI came back on Friday with a result of "very large disc protrusion". Well, that explains why I've been in so much pain for so long. Anyway, that has led to challenging decisions regarding what kind of treatment to pursue, etc.

In the midst of all of this, I have sought to be cheerful. To be sure there have been some very low moments due to the discouragement of ongoing physical pain which in turn becomes emotionally and mentally draining, but I have tried to remain positive and trust that God has something going on in the midst of all this. There are just too many different things going on and coming together over the past few months for any of this to be anything other than God at work in increasing my faith.

Well, that’s it for now. Perhaps I will share more in the future about all that has been going on, but not tonight. I need to get some rest. I hope you will be looking for ways that God is increasing your faith and also look for opportunities to be an instrument of grace to others who are being stretched in their faith.

Northern Lights - The heavens display the glory of God

2005-03-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

One evening last November, I was visiting a favorite online discussion board when someone posted that the Northern Lights were out and were putting on a spectacular display all over the eastern part of the country. I had only seen them once before in my life, about twelve years ago. David had never seen them so we immediately bundled up and headed outside. Even living in the city, we could see the white images in the sky over us. We hopped in the car and headed further north out of town.

We found a side road and pulled over where we could have a full view of the sky. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was one of the best U.S. displays in a long time, reaching far into the south. Spaceweather.c om has an incredible gallery of spectacular pictures from all over the United States and world. This image shows the incredible reach of the event.

Don't be put off by the fact that there are ten pages of photos - some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring photos are on some of the later pages. You can also click on any of the photos to see a larger version. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

I know this isn't high season for auroras, but I wanted to share this great site with people so you can bookmark it and begin watching for them in the spring. When the conditions are right for aurora displays, they will put information on their homepage regarding when to expect them and the areas with the greatest potentional.

I hope you enjoy these photos. What an incredibly creative and awesome God we serve!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins

2005-03-03T22:13:00.000-05:00

When I first came online, I found a wonderful site called Stephanie's Country Kitchen Goodness. It very sadly no longer exists. This is one of my favorite recipes from her site.

I love chocolate and I love the flavor of sour cream. These are so moist you really have to eat them with a fork! I especially appreciate them because they freeze wonderfully and thaw/warm up great in the microwave on high for about 20 seconds.

5 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 and 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Combine butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, sour cream and egg; mix well.
Stir in baking soda and baking powder.
Add flour and stir until well combined; stir in chocolate chips.

Fill paper-lined or greased muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 18 minutes or until done. Cool.
Makes 1 dozen.

When high tech comes to your neighborhood

2005-03-02T22:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had an MRI since I've been having problems with my right leg for over a month. Being claustrophobic I was not interested in being stuck in the regular tiny MRI tube. I was thankful to discover after doing a little online research that there is a new kind of machine called an open MRI. Until recently there were only two places in Michigan that had them (Flint and Detroit). I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the first one in West Michigan opened in October 2004 and is only about six miles from my house!

This is a pretty amazing machine (and should be with a price tag of about $2.5 million dollars). The link shows the same kind of machine that was used on me.

I wrote the other day about how thankful I was for drugs and the medical profession. I just wanted to say today that I am also thankful for the incredible technology that we are blessed with in this day and age.

But that's about all for tonight. I wish I had something more profound to share, but until I can get this nagging ache in my leg healed, it is hard for me to sit for very long or be very profound. See you tomorrow!

Wisdom from Miss Stacey

2005-03-01T22:23:00.000-05:00

What we must bear in mind is that all these trials and tribulations that pop up in our lives....serve a very useful purpose. They build character, as long as we can hold onto the lessons we've learned from our mistakes.
Miss Stacey to Anne in the television version of Anne of Green Gables

Calling vs. Clutter: Part 2

2005-02-28T19:20:00.000-05:00

I’ve written previously about Two Talent Living and how the name of this blog came to be. I also wrote about calling and clutter. I’d like to share a few stories that might help others think about these issues in their own lives.

A few years ago I attended a Christian writers’ conference and had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with an editor from the Saturday Evening Post. She looked through my clippings and asked me what my plans were for my writing. I told her I didn’t know – that was partly why I was at the conference. I was doing lots of writing for a corporate client, but I was sensing that perhaps God had other things for me to do. I also explained the various responsibilities I had for my part-time employer that weren’t related to writing. The editor said to me, “Sallie, you certainly have the gift and abilities. You need to write and let other people do the other stuff.” In short, I needed to take care of the talents God had entrusted to me and let other people handle the other things.

It is easy for me to minimize the gifts I have been given. Because writing comes fairly easily to me or I enjoy teaching, I forget that this isn’t the case for everyone else! In fact, more people fear public speaking than death! That's one thing I just don't understand, but that's because God has created me to enjoy speaking and teaching. I have to pay attention to the special ways God has uniquely made me and make the most of them. I think it is easy for Christians to minimize the unique spiritual gifts that God has given to them because they often seem so natural we assume everyone can do what we do. But that isn’t the case. God puts the body of Christ together in such a way that each part is necessary and special in its own way. When one of us doesn’t do what we are created to do, the whole body misses out.

This was also clear to me one time when I went out to lunch with a missionary friend who was home from Africa. Ruth is a nurse and works in some remote areas where she must learn new languages and deal with all kinds of physical hardships. At the time, I was doing campus ministry at Michigan State University. I said to Ruth that I didn't know how she could do what she did. She looked at me and said that she couldn't imagine working with college students! To her, it was easier to go to Africa than work with American college students! I still can't completely wrap my mind around that one even all these years later. But God had a unique calling for Ruth and a calling for me. We both enjoyed using our gifts as we served the Lord in the ways He had made us.

A few weeks after I taught this concept in a class, a woman came up to me at our weekly ladies’ Bible study. She was sharing with a few of us that someone in the church had asked her to take on a certain responsibility that she did not believe she was gifted to do. She declined and said, “Sallie said I didn’t have to.” We laughed about it at the time, but I was pleased to see that this woman was thinking seriously about her unique calling and gifts and was saying no to the other things so she could freely and completely say yes to the things God had truly called her to do.

Can you imagine the impact the church could have on our culture if people stopped doing all the extra stuff and just focused on the unique things God has for them?

Never let mistakes or wrong directions, of which every man falls into many, discourage you. There is precious instruction to be got by finding where we were wrong.
Thomas Carlyle

One of My Mini-Vacation Books

2005-02-27T21:29:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a few days ago that Country is my favorite mini-vacation magazine. Lightposts for Living: The Art of Choosing a Joyful Life by Thomas Kinkade is one of my favorite mini-vacation books.

In the flyleaf Mr. Kinkade states:

“In my paintings I try to create worlds of tranquility, joy, and beauty. My prayer is that the principles in this book will help each of us lead lives that radiate these same qualities…”

The chapters include ideas such as “Living in the Light of Simplicity”, “Living Close to the Warm Light of Home”, “Living in the Light of Creativity” and “Living in the Light of the Lovely”. Each chapter can stand alone as a refreshing break during the day.

I so appreciate the positive, encouraging stories and anecdotes that Mr. Kinkade shares throughout the book, allowing glimpses into his family life, his marriage and his artistic endeavors. Over and over again he gently reminds the reader that a joyful life is one that must be chosen and that we are blessed with practically unlimited opportunities to make that choice everyday.

Lastly, it is just a lovely book in the physical sense. While it does have samples of his artwork throughout, it is primarily a book to be read, not viewed. Even the font and layout of the book are relaxing and a joy to behold. I have given this book as a gift several times and I highly recommend it to anyone who would welcome a joyful and peaceful respite during their day.

If you were a movie...

2005-02-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here's a little test I took for fun. Now I don't necessarily endorse the rest of the tests they have on their website, but when I took the "Which classic movie are you?" and my answer came up, my husband and I agreed that it was pretty accurate. I am...

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

So where have you been?

2005-02-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun little bit of trivia!

I found this at Amy's Humble Musings (which by the way is a very interesting blog- Amy also has excellent taste in blog templates as you will see!).

Bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Books, books, books… (aka Sallie is a sheepish capitalist)

2005-02-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

I love books. I have always been an avid reader. One of my elementary teachers wrote on my report card, “Sallie takes a lot of books out of the library, but does she read them?” I can testify that to the best of my memory I read most of them. I remember my summer vacations as a child revolving pretty much around reading (and writing to pen pals from all over the country and world). I would check out piles of books from the library, go home, and lay on the couch and read until I was literally sick to my stomach. I would get up, wander around the house for little while until the sick feeling passed, and lay back down to read. I think I really drove my parents crazy. They were always telling me to go outside and play. Play? What better play is there than reading?

Well, some things never change and I still love to devour books. I also love to recommend books. In fact, I am surprised I made it three weeks in writing this blog without recommending any books. There is just no way on earth I can write about the things that are important to me and try to encourage and challenge others and not recommend books. Whenever I speak or teach, I always have a pile of books to recommend or a handout of books relevant to the topic for people to consider reading.

However, I did debate about whether or not to link these recommendations to an online bookseller. I didn’t want to give the appearance that I am primarily writing this blog to make money. That is not my objective. However, after discussing it with my sweet hubby I decided that providing a link was a service to anyone who was interested. If you purchase a book (or books) linked from my blog, then I can add a few cents to our “move to the country and get out of the city" fund. And anyone who isn’t interested in buying books can just continue to enjoy the blog (which is always free of charge!).

So, happy reading!

Intellect or obedience?

2005-02-26T23:54:00.000-05:00

The golden rule for understanding in spiritual matters is not intellect, but obedience.
Oswald Chambers

Calling vs. Clutter

2005-02-25T19:44:00.000-05:00

Shortly before I met my husband, the Lord impressed the following verses on me:

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)

I believe at that point God was pointing me in a new direction – “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life” – one that I would be called to continue in for an undetermined amount of time, possibly the rest of my life. It was a significant moment and began to totally reshape my thinking.

In the ensuing years God has led me through a time of studying and living out simplicity and all that is connected with it. As a result of those life experiences, I have had the opportunity to speak and counsel with others.

One of my favorite classes/seminars to teach is Calling vs. Clutter: The Joy of a Purposeful Life. Unfortunately, about the same time I started teaching this series a book about living purposefully came out. It seems to me that the whole “purpose thing” has been way overdone so I’ve been contemplating a new title for my series. I decided “deliberate” would be a better word so from now on it’s Calling vs. Clutter: The Joy of a Deliberate Life and I’m hoping that no big name folks in the publishing world decide to create a monopoly on the word deliberate!

But even if the name has changed slightly, my commitment to helping others live out their calling hasn’t. My simple definition is:

Calling: The life purposes for which God has uniquely created and gifted me.

Each of God’s covenant people has a calling. It varies from person to person, but God has created each of His children with special giftings and purposes in mind. To confidently live out that calling is truly a joy.

When most people hear the word clutter, they automatically think of boxes in the basement, knickknacks all over the living room, and the junk drawer in the kitchen. But I think clutter is actually a lot more pervasive than that. My definition is:

Clutter: Anything that keeps me from living out my calling and being effectively used by God.

Clutter can be material, financial, spiritual, emotional/mental or time/commitments. Anything – even good things – that keep us from living out our calling is clutter.

I’m constantly on the lookout for clutter creeping into my life. This month I finally took care of one item of clutter that had been on the “to do list” for several weeks – I cancelled our AOL membership.

Being a member of AOL isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. As I shared previously, I met my husband on AOL so obviously it holds some value in my life! But it became clear to me over several months that being on AOL with its multitude of tempting links to this, that and the other thing tempted me to waste a lot of time surfing online, reading stuff that wasn’t necessarily wrong or sinful, but just a general waste of time. So after finally admitting to myself it was clutter, it was time to get rid of it. I find that I do spend a lot less time online now and it does free me up to focus on other things more in keeping with my calling. In this case, I had to agree with this wise sage:

To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.
St. Augustine

My Monthly Mini-Vacation

2005-02-24T13:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of the month – the day my mini-vacation arrives in the mail. Yes, it was time for Country, my hands-down favorite magazine. When I read that magazine I truly feel like I have taken a short, refreshing vacation.

I love Country for several reasons.

First, they have the most gorgeous photos each and every month. There are breathtaking photos from around the U.S. (and sometimes Canada). There are also cute and funny photos of children and animals. I mean, how can you go wrong there? The photos minister to my spirit in so many ways.

Second, it has no ads. That is really an amazing feat in this day and age, but to include ads would totally ruin the magazine.

Third, they aren’t afraid to acknowledge the Creator, the blessings we receive from Him and His role in giving us such a beautiful world to live in. One of my favorite features is about a different rural church each month.

Lastly, there is rarely a story or article I don’t find interesting, encouraging or funny. It is so nice to read such a wholesome magazine.

Country is published every other month. On the opposite months they publish Country EXTRA. Country EXTRA came into being because people requested that the magazine be monthly. I’m sure it goes without saying that I subscribe to both.

The tagline for Country is “For those who live in or long for the country”. That would definitely be me. We live in the city right now, but both my husband (who grew up in the country) and I really long and hope to be moving out of the city in the not too too distant future.

So there is my plug for my favorite magazine. If you’re interested in learning more, you can go to their website. And no, I’m not affiliated with them in any way – just hoping to introduce a few new people to something that means a lot to me. I hope it can minister to you as well.

Thoughts on the Bible

2005-02-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.
Theodore Roosevelt

It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me; it is the parts that I do understand.
Mark Twain

If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.
Daniel Webster

In 25 years the Bible will be a forgotten book.
Robert Ingersoll (who died in 1899)

When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty.
Woodrow Wilson

The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts.
George Müller

Some read the Bible to learn and some read the Bible to hear from heaven.
Andrew Murray

The “Isms” of Government (for fun!)

2005-02-22T18:51:00.000-05:00

I don't know where I found this, but I thought it explained things pretty well, in an elementary government class kind of way...

Socialism: If you have two cows, you give one to your neighbor.

Communism: If you have two cows, you give them to the government and the government then gives you some milk.

Fascism: If you have two cows, you keep the cows and give the milk to the government. The government then gives you some milk.

New Dealism: If you have two cows, you shoot one and milk the other; then you pour the milk down the drain.

Nazism: If you have two cows, the government shoots you and keeps the cows.

Capitalism: If you have two cows, you sell one and buy a bull.

In praise of drugs and medical professionals

2005-02-22T18:34:00.000-05:00

This might seem an odd title for an entry, but today I am profoundly thankful for drugs and the medical profession. Yep, even those big bad pharmaceutical companies. I went to the doctor yesterday and they believe the reason I’ve had such debilitating pain in my right leg the past three weeks is disc related. So while I’m waiting my turn for the orthopedic specialist, they gave me some muscle relaxants. Now I hate to take that kind of stuff, but I also hate being in pain all day and all night. So I am very thankful.

I truly can’t imagine what it was like to live in the previous centuries with very few medical options available to you. Women dying regularly in childbirth, children not making it to their first birthday, people dying of diseases we don’t even think about any longer, people having surgery in unsanitary locations and with minimal medication (if at all)… For all its faults, there are profound reasons to be thankful to be living in the twenty-first century.

Well, that’s about all the brain cells I have for now. I’m just way too relaxed to write much more. But I do thank God for giving man the ability to discover these things and the ways that we are able to benefit in our quality of life.

Inquiring minds want to know! (aka Sallie answers Carmon's questions)

2005-02-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

Tell us more about how you met your husband.
Well, there is the short version and then there is the long version! Since this is a story I would eventually want to tell on my blog, I’m going to tell the long version.

I was 29 years old and teaching first grade in a Christian school. I really wanted a computer, but couldn’t afford one. My parents had set aside some money to pay for my wedding “someday”. They offered to give me that money to buy a computer with the understanding that I would have to pay for my own wedding. Since there weren’t any prospects on the horizon, I decided to take them up on the offer. So in March of 1996 I purchased a computer and signed up for AOL.

At that time, the only stories you heard about people meeting online were bad ones – people leaving their spouses for people they met online. My parents admonished me to not meet anyone online. I had no intention of doing any such thing so I figured they didn’t have anything to worry about.

One evening in May I felt compelled to visit the area that Focus on the Family had on AOL. (At that time FOTF did not have a website, but rather they were a keyword on AOL.) I remembered seeing their information somewhere, but could not remember what the address was. I looked and looked through my room trying to find that address! I now think there was an angel in that room with me, prodding me on!

I found the address and went to their site. I started poking around and found a section about single living. Being single was a big issue for me, so I looked to see what they had to read. Lo and behold, there were several folders with titles such as “Singles in Michigan”. Now for being fairly bright woman and with the gift of discernment to boot, I can be pretty clueless at times – the obvious can TOTALLY escape me. It never crossed my mind those would be “personals” but that is what they were. There was a post in there entitled “Waiting on God in West Michigan’. That intrigued me because first, waiting on God had been a huge theme in my life for several months and second, I was interviewing for a teaching job at a classical Christian school in West Michigan!

I opened the post, read it and KNEW I had found a kindred spirit. I don’t know how else to describe it. Something in my spirit was so moved at that time and I now know it was God revealing my husband to me.

I wrote a response to David, he wrote back to me and then we chatted live the next day. I asked him all kinds of hard questions to make sure he was truly a Christian and not just “Christian” for lack of a better description. We started writing long letters every day. We did not exchange pictures, but did describe to each other what we looked like. We both quickly developed strong feelings for the other, although we did not share that information with each other at that time. After writing for about a week, we decided to meet in person. I drove to Grand Rapids (from Haslett, near East Lansing) and we met at a restaurant after work.

We had a nice time, but it was awkward. David describes it as “There was email Sallie and now I had to get used to real life Sallie.” The first few times we got together it was awkward, but we continued to write daily and get together in person when we were able.

Because we were older (David was 33), we both knew what we wanted and what we didn’t want. Neither one of us was interested in “dating”. This was either heading toward marriage or we were done. By July 4 we knew we were committed to heading toward marriage. I got the job at the school in June, moved to Grand Rapids in August, we were engaged October 4 and we were married January 25.

So we had to pay for our own wedding, but since God used the computer to bring my husband to me we figure it was worth it!

How do you balance your work in your home business with your homekeeping responsibilities?
Not very well some days!

I guess the key is realizing that I cannot do everything with excellence every day. Some days I focus more on the homekeeping and other days I focus more on the work of the home business.

The biggest challenge is fighting against the last remnants of feminist thinking that working on the business (read that “working for money”) is more important than dusting and making a good meal. But I’ve come a long way. I do love being a homemaker, but it is hard to get out of the “earning money and proving your value by what you make” mentality.

Do you have any pet peeves?
Oh my yes! Because I struggle with being such a black and white, firstborn type, I could have lots of pet peeves if I let myself! But by far the biggest one would be rude people. This would especially include people using their cell phones in public places where it really isn’t necessary (such as nice restaurants) and inconsiderate drivers.

What advice do you have for single ladies, waiting to get married?
Trust and wait. Don’t settle for an Ishmael. I’ve attended weddings of friends who married to get married or married a very immature man and they were sad occasions. It is hard to be excited for a friend when you know she is making a mistake. I’ve also attended and been in weddings where the bride waited for God’s choice and there is such a remarkable difference in every way. It is such a joyous occasion to see God bring two people together in His time and His way. I never would have dreamed I would meet my husband the way I did, but it was so God! He can do the same for you and give you more than you can possibly dream!

The other advice would be to do everything you can to grow spiritually in the meantime. The more mature you are as a disciple of Christ, the easier the transition to marriage will be. I have witnessed this in my own marriage and in the marriages of others around me. Pray for your future husband that he will be growing in maturity too.

What is your favorite possession (no fair going Gnostic on this one!)?
My NIV Bible that I used while I was going through a period of intense spiritual growth in my 20's. It is filled with notes regarding Scriptures God had given to me. When I look through that Bible now, I am amazed at how far God brought me during that time. It was a precious season.

Now for some of you to participate!
If you would like me to interview you, please leave a comment and indicate your interest. I will interview the first three people who respond!

1. Leave a comment saying "interview me".
2. I will respond by leaving you five questions.
3. You will update your blog/site by answering the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else.
5. When others comment, asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

P.S. I live in the eastern time zone so if you respond after I've gone to bed, I'll post your questions in the morning!

Carmon's party - I'm being interviewed!

2005-02-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

One of the first blogs I started visiting on a regular basis is Carmon's Buried Treasure Books. She is having a party today in order to raise funds for Azanou.

Since I am new to the blogosphere and in order to meet more people, I decided to participate in an interview as a part of Carmon's party and in turn hope to interview other folks here today! Check back later this afternoon for more...

Beautiful snow crystals

2005-02-20T14:06:00.000-05:00

While we were driving home today from church and lunch, I noticed the unusual snowflakes that were hitting the windshield. I wondered why they were so long and straight so I decided to look online and see what I could find out.

Well, I was not disappointed!

Click here for a site with some amazing photographs of God's handiwork in the form of snow crystals.

Since we are expecting up to a foot of snow by tomorrow evening, I am guessing I'll have lots of opportunities for some first-hand exploring!

Sticking to my guns

2005-02-20T12:59:00.000-05:00

As I wrote in my post entitled Philippians 4:8ish, my goal is to make this a “wholesome, encouraging, uplifting” spot on the web. I also indicated that I had made the decision that this would not be a place of debating and responding to people who want to get a rise out of me.

Well, I’m sticking to my guns on this. As a well-known radio commentator says about his radio program, this is a benevolent dictatorship. I’m the one who comes here each day to write about the things that interest me and that I believe God is putting on my heart. I have been around long enough to know that everyone who comes here is not going to agree with everything I write. That is fine. I hope people can still come here and be encouraged in their walk with Christ even if they don’t agree with every jot and tittle that I write. On the non-essentials of the faith we can agree to disagree and still love and worship Christ together.

My goal is to make this an enjoyable, peaceful place and that is what it is going to remain. Any comments that I deem to be negative and/or contrary to these stated purposes, especially by anonymous people, will be promptly deleted. There are lots of places on the web where people can debate the finer points of the Christian life. This is not going to be one of them. My sincere hope is that when people leave comments they will add positive thoughts that expand on what I write and so add even more to the experience of those who come here. Those kinds of thoughts are always welcomed and encouraged. It is my deep desire to bless people with a peaceful respite from a challenging culture and I hope that you will find it to be so.

Small Tasks and the Sabbath

2005-02-19T20:28:00.000-05:00

Today was a day described well by this quote:

I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
Helen Keller

My day was filled with small tasks – laundry, meals, cleaning out the refrigerator, more laundry, cleaning the bathroom, ironing the sheets (!), etc. But they are important tasks nonetheless because they allow me to demonstrate my love to my husband in giving him a clean and orderly home. They also demonstrate my commitment to be a good steward of the materials blessings that God has given to us.

Last Sunday the pastor spoke on the Sabbath rest. He talked about how God reflected on His creation work and how we too should use the Sabbath to reflect on the good work we have done during the previous week. I love to climb into bed Saturday evening and know my house is cleaned up, my laundry is caught up, our business is organized and ready for Monday, and I have made preparations for the next day. There is something about waking up on Sunday and knowing I get to REST and not feel guilty about it that is so wonderful! I am so glad God in His great wisdom and compassion gave us a day to rest and to reflect on the good works He has allowed us to accomplish.

Thank you!

2005-02-19T19:56:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all of you who have written such sweet notes to me this week or even spoken to me in person. I am encouraged by them and feel so blessed and humbled that my thoughts have touched and ministered to people I have never had the privilege of meeting! I feel as though I have discovered some kindred spirits this week! I will do my best to reply to the emails I receive as soon as I am able. It is also such a blessing to meet friends of friends who received the forwarded link to this place. Welcome and I look forward to hopefully "meeting" you through comments in the future!

Just like riding a bike (Psalm 121)

2005-02-18T19:37:00.000-05:00

This evening I finally got my guitar out of the basement. (I say finally because it has been on my to do list for over a week.) I have hardly played it the past couple of years. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I had it out. When I was still doing campus ministry and when we were attending a different church, I had lots of opportunities to use it. But, for a variety of reasons, those opportunities haven’t been there lately. So it has been collecting dust in the basement.

Anyway, I wasn’t sure how quickly I would remember the chords, but it is just like riding a bike. Once you hop back on, you remember. The chords came back pretty quickly (except for c#m which I had to look up). In fact, it was amazing how quickly my hand naturally went to the various chords as I started playing familiar songs. It was all there, stored away in my brain. It is amazing how God has created us.

Two things were very clear to me once I got the guitar out and started playing and singing.

First, I really love to play and sing. I have missed it and I believe that God has missed it as well since He loves our worship.

Second, you can fudge it on the piano with longer nails, but there is no fudging it on the guitar. It will be clipper city tomorrow morning.

One of my favorites to play and sing is based on Psalm 121. I thought I would share the words since they are so encouraging. It truly is a prayer every time I sing it.

I lift my eyes up
To the mountains
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from You,
Maker of heaven,
Creator of the earth.

Oh, how I need You, Lord.
You are my only hope.
You’re my only prayer.
So I will wait for You
To come and rescue me.
Come and give me life.

May God bless you as you begin to prepare for worshipping our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, in a few days.

Winter Mornings

2005-02-17T22:09:00.000-05:00

There are winter mornings when the cold without only adds to the warm within, and the more it snows and the harder it blows, brighter the fires blaze.
Emily Dickinson

We had a beautiful snowfall this morning. Large, fluffly flakes swirling and dancing to the ground. I could have stood and watched it for hours.

Winter is the cozy time of year and I thoroughly enjoy the feeling of being snug in my home. This afternoon while the snow was still falling I spent some time on the couch under a soft warm blanket, reading an old book. Can life get much better than that?

Sometimes it is indeed the simple things that are the most enjoyable.

Practicality and the Death of Beauty

2005-02-16T20:48:00.000-05:00

We live in world driven by practicality. Everything must be efficient, easy to clean and inexpensive. People want quick meals, comfortable clothing and bargains. Sadly, one of the results of this compulsion to be practical and get to the bottom line is that beauty has been trampled to death.

The American Heritage Dictionary offers several definitions of practical including: Designed to serve a purpose without elaboration; Level-headed, efficient and unspeculative. Some synonyms for practical would be sensible, utilitarian, functional, and pragmatic.

Here are some of the definitions of beauty from the same dictionary: A pleasing quality associated with harmony of form or color, excellence or craftsmanship, truthfulness, originality, or other, often unspecified property; Appearance or sound that arouses a strong, contemplative delight; loveliness; A person or thing that arouses such delight; a specific excellence or grace. Some synonyms for beauty are artistry, grace, loveliness, fairness, style and winsomeness.

Now which one would you rather be?

Francis Schaeffer wrote a little booklet called Art and the Bible in which he discusses the idea that art matters to God and, more specifically, beauty matters to God. In the section called “The Temple”, Schaeffer outlines some of the instructions God gave for the building of the temple. There were a number of things that were not utilitarian and actually served no useful purpose other than to be beautiful! There were two large pillars topped with woven chains with a hundred pomegranates attached to the chains. The inside of the temple was overlaid with pure gold and the temple was decorated with precious stones (2 Chronicles 3:1-17). What purpose did these have? Their purpose was to be beautiful.

As a Christian woman, one of the greatest gifts I can give to my husband and others who come in our home is a beautiful, restful environment. I am always looking for small ways I can make our home more beautiful. Sometimes we do spend more than was “necessary” because we find something beautiful that ministers to our spirits in an artistic way. Other times I find beautiful things for very little money. The key is finding the balance.

There are so many ways we can make our environments beautiful and it doesn’t matter if your style is traditional, country, American primitive or hodge-podge! It doesn’t matter if your clothing style is classic, country, English or prairie. Each can have its unique charms and beauty. Here are a few things of beauty I have done around my home.

Bedroom: We have very nice high quality cotton sheets, edged with embroidery, that I always iron before putting on the bed. I would not have believed how luxurious ironed cotton sheets could feel! Ironing is one of my least favorite tasks around the house, but I wouldn’t dream of putting the sheets on the bed without ironing them. They feel too wonderful that way! We also invested in a down comforter and down pillows. We LOVE to climb in bed each night. It is better than any bed and breakfast we have ever visited.

Living Room: I try to keep a vase of fresh flowers in the living room as often as possible. Lately I have been buying a lot of tulips! They last about a week so we are able to enjoy them for a long time. Flowers, especially in the winter months, are such a thing of beauty and definitely refresh our spirits.

Dining Room: I have been making an effort to use a tablecloth and special dishes more often. I have china that we picked out when we were married and I also have my grandmother’s china. There is no point in letting them sit in the cupboard collecting dust so we use them!

Kitchen: When we were on vacation last summer I found two small glass dishes in an antique store. We thought they were lovely so I bought them. I use them several times a week to serve fruit. They aren’t practical because they don’t go in the dishwasher and I have to be careful because I don’t want to break them. But we enjoy them each time we use them.

Feeding the Birds: As I mentioned in previous entries, we do a lot of bird feeding. It is not a free hobby. But to see the beautiful birds throughout the day is worth the expense.

Clothing: One of my favorite things to wear is a high quality worsted wool long pleated skirt. I find them very comfortable and versatile, but they are not practical financially. They are much more expensive to buy and they are expensive to take to the dry cleaners, especially when I have to pay to have them pleated. But I still buy them and wear them. Why? Because I feel like such a lady in them! They flow and swirl. They are beautiful! I love them! Even if they are not practical, the joy I receive from wearing them makes up for the “cost” of owning them.

Well, those are just a few of the things I thought of off the top of my head. There are so many little things we can do to add beauty to our lives and the lives of our families.

It has been interesting to see how interest in Jane Austen and similar authors has been running very high in recent years. I think part of the interest in movies such as A&E’s Pride and Prejudice and theatrical releases such as Sense and Sensibility and Emma is because women are starved for beauty! We watch these movies and secretly wish that just a fraction of that beauty could be a part of our lives. I truly believe that as women we were created to admire and seek beauty. It is natural for women to want to surround themselves with beautiful items in their home and to enjoy dressing in beautiful clothes. Sadly, our culture slowly beats this natural inclination down in us as we buy into the practical and busy pace of life. The little girl who loved dressing up as a princess is transformed into a sloppy college student who wears jeans and oversized shirts and sweatshirts every day who becomes a harried mom in black running pants and an oversized denim shirt. Is that really how we want people to see us now and remember us when we are gone?

Is there a place for practicality? Of course there is! It is practical to make dinner in the crockpot on a busy day. It is practical to put a mat down on the floor if a messy baby is getting ready to eat. It is practical to put old clothes on when you are painting. But our life should be governed by more than just practicality. We should try each day, in some small ways, to reflect the beauty of God and the beauty of the world that He has given to us, written on our hearts.

The Enchanted Cottage

2005-02-15T19:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I shared a quote about love from one of my very favorite movies, The Enchanted Cottage. Released in 1945, it stars Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire. My favorite quote from the movie is:

A man and woman in love have a gift of sight not granted to other people.

Here are a few tidbits about the movie from the Turner Classic Movie website:

Robert Young told Leonard Maltin…that he considered The Enchanted Cottage to be "the best love story that's ever been written. [It] was one of those films I hated to see end. I wanted it to go on and on and on. It was such a joy to do."

Anyone who has ever been in love can relate to the sensation that one's partner becomes more beautiful as one's love deepens. The Enchanted Cottage illustrates this phenomenon to full and lovely effect.

Young loved this picture so much that…later he named the home he built in California "The Enchanted Cottage."

This is a hard movie to find! It is out of print and none of our local rental places carry it. Every time I want to see it I have to do an interlibrary request from a library over an hour away! One of these days I will buy one on eBay or Amazon, but they usually are very pricey since it is rare. I keep hoping it will come out in DVD, but it hasn't yet.

That’s all I want to tell you about the movie, because to share any of the plot would really ruin the movie for you. But if you can find it, rent it! It is well worth a watch! Keep the hankies handy and be prepared to be blessed with an encouraging message!

Philippians 4:8ish

2005-02-14T16:50:00.000-05:00

I received a nice note from a friend today after he visited here for the first time. Brian said, “What a great… wholesome, blog! I’m reminded of ‘Whatever is good, lovely, excellent…’”

Well, that was a great encouragement to me and an indication I am on the right track. I thought long and hard about the content of this blog before I got started. David and I had actually been working on a website for me for the past couple of years. We would do a lot of work on it, and then put it aside. I was never happy with the direction it was heading, but couldn’t put my finger on why. I felt that God was definitely restraining me from going live with it, but again I wasn’t sure why. Today it all came together for me.

I enjoy surfing and there is a lot of interesting and helpful information on the web. I am thankful for the folks who put out good stuff. But it seems like so many of the Christian sites and blogs are places where people have an ax to grind and want to go over every doctrine and trend with a fine toothed comb. Now they grind it in varying degrees, but as The Preacher said, “much study wearies the body” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). I would guess that a lot of these folks probably have the spiritual gifts of discernment, exhortation, prophecy (depending on how you define that gift), etc. So it is their natural bent to point out everything that is wrong with the church, everything that is wrong with the culture, etc. And I guess there is a need for that. Well, no guessing about it – there IS a need for that!

Even though I have some of those same gifts, I didn’t want this blog to be like that. I’m not interested in debating and arguing with whoever comes to my blog and wants to get a rise out of me. I truly feel that there are enough of those kinds of blogs and websites out there already. I’m sure from time to time I will reference them and give a link to topics that I find particularly interesting. I will probably also write about “hot” topics that are of interest to me and maybe hope to offer some perspective. But that will not be the focus of this blog.

So if you are looking for something wholesome, encouraging, uplifting and Philippians 4:8ish, please make a bookmark and come back often. I’ll do my best to bring a little light and joy into all our worlds each day.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

You become what you gaze on.
Erwin Lutzer

Thoughts on Love

2005-02-14T07:05:00.000-05:00

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved - loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
Victor Hugo

We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.
Brother Lawrence

A man and woman in love have a gift of sight not granted to other people.
"The Enchanted Cottage"

It is not that we keep His commandments first, and that then He loves; but that He loves us, and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace, which is revealed to the humble, but hidden from the proud.
St. Augustine

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.
Katherine Hepburn

The secret of Christian quietness is not indifference, but the knowledge that God is my Father, He loves me, I shall never think of anything He will forget, and worry becomes an impossibility.
Oswald Chambers

It is not after we were reconciled by the blood of his Son that God began to love us, but before the foundation of the world.
John Calvin

Give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.
John Ruskin

When I stand before the throne
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know
Not till then, how much I owe.
R. M. McCheyne

My Husband is a Gift

2005-02-13T19:50:00.000-05:00

On this Valentine's Day, I wish to honor my Valentine, David.

My David is a sacred gift
Bound to me by covenant and ring
Half of my whole
Fulfilling the role
Of lover, provider, and friend

My David is a joyous gift
Moving my spirit when he sings
Sharing his heart
Praising my part
Of this partnership ordained by God

My David is a marvelous gift
Enriching my life with his ways
Gentle and kind
But he keeps me in line!
Making me more than I could be alone

My David is a tangible gift
An example of God’s care for me
Sent from above
To show me God’s love
And walk with me on my journey

Chasing a butterfly

2005-02-13T15:35:00.000-05:00

While landscaping our backyard last year, we put in three butterfly bushes in hopes of attracting lots of butterflies. We didn’t get as many as we had hoped for, but I did spend about thirty minutes one afternoon following this butterfly around the yard with the digital camera as he went from bush to bush. He didn’t seem to mind me at all and allowed me to get quite close at times. This is one of my favorite photos from that afternoon.

There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.
John Calvin

2005: The Year of Finishing Projects So I Don’t Have to Look at Them in Their Unfinished State Anymore

2005-02-12T14:36:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, 2005 is The Year of Finishing Projects So I Don’t Have to Look at Them in Their Unfinished State Anymore. Now I have to believe that I am not the only one who has this problem. Anyone else want to ‘fess up and share their already-started-projects they hope to finish?

Among the things I hope to finish this year are:

A scrapbook about my teaching experiences. The layout is done; I just need to do all the journaling and I have to be in the “right” mood to do that.

A scrapbook of our “daily living”. I am probably only a couple of years behind which is actually not too bad considering most of our photos have gone into other books about vacations or renovating our home.

A scrapbook about buying and renovating our first home. I only have about six or seven pages to get this one caught up.

Two Bible studies that are approximately one third and half finished.

Approximately 40-50 books that I would TRULY like to read sometime soon. (This does not include all the other ones that aren’t on my “high interest” list.)

About 20 CDs from various places such as Vision Forum, Draught Horse Press, etc. that I am working through slowly.

Well, that is a good start. We’ll see how much I can accomplish over the next ten months!

It only took me thirteen years!

2005-02-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

I recently finished a large cross stitch project and took it to Michael’s to be framed. While that may not be anything amazing in and of itself, it IS amazing in that it took me thirteen years to finish it! It is a beautiful wedding sampler with our names, date, church name, etc. on it. It is composed of primarily rich roses, pinks and greens. It will be a beautiful testimony of our marriage covenant and love as it hangs in our living room.

I can imagine at this point that some careful blog reader is saying to himself or herself – but wait! Your blog says you’ve been married for eight years. How could it have taken you thirteen years to finish the sampler?

Back in my semi-foolish days, when I still believed dating was a good thing, I was seeing someone who summarily dumped me. Being the kind of woman who could hear her biological clock ticking at age 24, I was naturally very disappointed. But one day shortly after the dumping, I was in a local cross stitching store and saw this sampler hanging on the wall. I thought it was so beautiful I had to make it. Of course, I had no boyfriend, let alone a groom! But I decided I would start on it in faith and trust that someday, by God’s grace, I WOULD have a name to put on there with mine. (And I comforted myself with the thought if no groom ever appeared, it would make a really nice gift for a friend.)

So I worked on it fairly steadily for a while until life got in the way and it got set aside, only partially begun. A few years later, David came into my life and I did have a groom’s name to put on it! I wish I could say I whipped it out and finished it right away, but I didn’t. I worked on it from time to time, but could never really get moving on it again. Finally, I decided that 2005 was The Year of Finishing Projects So I Don’t Have to Look at Them in Their Unfinished State Anymore. The sampler is my first major accomplishment in this area and it feels SO GOOD to have it done!

How much is that birdie in the window?

2005-02-10T20:33:00.000-05:00

My husband and I love to watch birds. For being city dwellers, we actually get a great assortment of birds at our backyard feeders – cardinals, goldfinches, chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, white-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, blue jays… And then there are the sparrows and house finches, but we won’t go there right now…

I have a peanut feeder handing outside my second floor home office window. I watch the birds come and go all day. There is a definite pecking order. Low man on the totem pole is the cute little red-breasted nuthatch. (He is currently my favorite bird.) Next up is the white-breasted nuthatch. Then the downy woodpeckers who basically rule the roost – or at least the peanuts. I’ve learned a lot about the personality of each type of bird over the past several months since David installed the feeder. They constantly amuse me and offer me a diversion from whatever I am (supposed to be) working on at my desk.

We recently had to purchase more birdseed. We keep three goldfinch feeders and five other feeders so we go through a fair amount of seed every couple of months. As we were lugging (ok, as David was lugging) the huge bags and I was writing the huge check, I had this fleeting thought of “Is this worth it? How much is that birdie in the window costing us each day?”

But as soon as the thought came, it disappeared. The birdies in the window cost me very little compared to the joy they bring. The cost of the seed is nothing compared to the riches of being reminded moment by moment of the great Creator who designed these little charmers right down to their unique little cheeps and feather patterns. It is a great blessing to live in a culture where we can afford to not only feed ourselves, but bribe some of God’s creatures to hang out with us each day.

Are you brave?

2005-02-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.
Robert Anthony

Beyond anything we've ever seen...

2005-02-08T19:01:00.000-05:00

“Sometimes I am completely perplexed by God’s willingness to humor man…When He wanted to lead the Magi to the Christ Child, He did not lead them by a mark in the sand. He led them through a star because they were star-gazers – then He went beyond anything they had ever seen… (W)hen God wanted to lead the Ephesians to the Savior, He did not lead them through a cloudy pillar. He got their attention through supernatural phenomena, because that’s where they were looking. God wants to be found…He is so gracious to show up right where we are looking – so He can take us beyond anything we’ve ever seen.” Beth Moore, To Live is Christ

After you’ve walked with God for a while, you start to notice that God has unique ways of “speaking” to you as an individual. Obviously God speaks through His Word and no other way of “speaking” will contradict what is written there. But God makes each of us with unique personalities, interests, etc. and I do believe God works through those.

One of the ways that God consistently speaks to me is through creation. Now you have to realize I am not a nature person in the sense of hiking, camping, etc. Just ask my husband who is usually quickly dispatched to take care of the occasional icky bug that invades our home! But I do take a lot of time each day to notice things like the birds, the sky, the stars, the trees, flowers, clouds, etc. Sometimes the beauty of creation is like a gentle reminder that God is there. Other times it seems like God is shouting at me!

One morning I opened the mini-blinds in my husband’s office and found one of the most amazing displays of God's artistry that I have ever had the personal joy of discovering. The photos below show the frost patterns that were on the window. To give some perspective, the top half of the double-hung window was approximately 18” x 24”. The photos show the display as you zoom in for a better look.

Whenever my husband and I see something incredible like this in God’s creation, we say to each other, our voices dripping with sarcasm, “Yep, this just happened to evolve out of the ooze.” Then we praise God for speaking to us in such a personal way.

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” Psalm 14:1

If I don't write it, it won't get said

2005-02-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

“No one else could have written exactly what I wrote, and if I didn’t write it, it would never get said.”

I can’t remember where I found this quote. I think it was in a children’s book. I jotted it down and put it in my “To Write About Someday” file folder on my desk. Now you have to realize that writers have LOTS of these little slips of paper in LOTS of different file folders. A writer’s mind is always noticing things that could be written about and if you don’t jot it down immediately the idea is usually gone forever.

This whole idea of blogging is rather mind-boggling, especially for someone who has experienced the laborious and very long-term process of submitting queries and articles to magazines. If you send out an article idea today, you MIGHT hear back in 8-10 weeks. More often than not, your article is not getting published and you start the process all over again. Blogging changes that completely. If you have something to say, you can write it up and “publish” it instantly. Now of course there is the question of whether or not anyone is reading anything you’ve written on your blog. (Hint, hint: Feel free to leave comments!)

But back to the quote… It is truly amazing to consider the unique perspective each blogger brings to the cyberworld. God allows the twists and turns of our lives to be such that we can minister to others, encourage others, challenge others and cry with others. Nothing is wasted if we surrender to God. Our pains, our triumphs, our defeats, and even the little daily living things are all important and can all be used.

Perhaps because the written word has been so important to me my entire life, I am confident of God’s ability to use this little blog to bless others. There are books that have changed my life, but there have also been articles, greeting cards and websites that have had a tremendous impact on me. As my husband so often says, “Don’t despise the little things.”

So I am setting about the purpose of writing the things that no one else can write because if I don’t, they will never get said.

Is it spring yet?

2005-02-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love fall and winter, but I have to admit that I’m starting to long for some warmer weather. Considering the fact that I live in Michigan, I need to refocus my thinking. It won’t be warm here for weeks and we are still three (!) months away from the trees being fully leafed out. Usually the first week of April it gets warm enough to start working in the yard and we eagerly take advantage of the “balmy” 50 degree weather.

But the snow has started melting and it won’t be long before the crocus (crocuses? croci?) will start to appear in our front yard. The birds have already started their little mating songs and dances so we know that spring will be coming…

Two Talent Living

2005-02-03T09:33:00.000-05:00

Two Talent Living is the result of personal experience. God has taken me on a life-changing journey over the past nine years. More times than I can count people have encouraged me to share what I have learned. Out of this encouragement came speaking, teaching and writing opportunities. And now this blog.

Why the name Two Talent Living?

One day my husband and I were pondering our callings as individuals and a couple. David had been meditating for several weeks on the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). We were frustrated with how our lives felt out of sync. David said, “Maybe the problem is that we’re two talent people and we’re trying to live five talent lives.” I immediately responded, “And we’re trying to do it in a ten talent culture.”

It was a significant light bulb moment. We realized that God was calling us to be faithful stewards with what HE had called us to do – and ONLY what He had called us to do. He has given us certain giftings and responsibilities. We need to be faithful with those in such a way that we receive a good return. It is interesting to note that both the servant who received five talents and the servant who received two talents had 100% returns on their investments. Both received the same praise from the master. The servant who had two was not seen as less valuable than the one with five. His faithfulness was recognized and rewarded.

Sadly, there are a lot of people running around trying to be faithful with five talents when God is really only interested in them being faithful with two. So rather than giving 100% to the two talents God has entrusted to them, they are giving far less than 100% (as well as the other three things God really doesn’t want them to be doing in the first place).

We live in a culture that doesn’t think five talents are nearly enough and two are a laughable joke. We are pressured to maximize everything. Stretch ourselves to the limit. Give 150%. Well, no one can give 150% and I don’t believe this is a biblical attitude. A lot of the troubles in our churches and families can be directly attributed to allowing our culture to shape our priorities rather than God’s Word and His purposes. How many people (Christians included) are driven by self-imposed false guilt brought on by listening to the people around us who constantly tell us that we aren’t doing enough? The TTL life is not about being a mediocre person, but the complete person God created you to be. Two Talent Living is about encouraging people to live out their God-given calling, not the unrealistic and often ridiculous expectations of those around us.

So what is your blog going to be about?

In our fast-paced society it is easy to live in reaction mode and never really ponder why we do what we do. It takes a lot of effort and strength of character to go against the flow. It takes courage and perseverance to make choices that are not the prevailing view. People need encouragement to live confidently in the calling God has on their life. Our culture (and even the church) promotes busyness, drivenness, and trying to do things that God has not specifically called us as individuals to do. My hope is to be a supportive friend to others on the journey. Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost for His Highest,

“The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterance.”

As I have spoken to groups and taught classes on these ideas, I have had numerous people tell me how encouraging it was to have someone tell them these things – ideas they had been thinking about but didn’t know how to fully express or explain to other people. I hope this blog will do the same for you.