In my Lent reading for the day I read this lovely exerpt from Eileen Button called "Hollow Sacrifice." I couldn't say it better myself.
"The annual season of Lent is puzzling to many. Denying ourselves our favorite treats or habits - even for a short time - seems unnecessarily archaic in our I-want-it-now culture. Lent is a plodding, definitive crescendo that leads up to the cacophonous noise of Good Friday and the gorgeous aria of Easter Sunday. It's a season marked by deliberateness and intentionality.
But we often get in the way of our own best intentions. When fasting from food or technology (or whatever else captures our hearts and threatens to take the place that only God can fill) we might be tempted to feel a sense of pride or arrogance about our sacrifice. The very thing we relinquish sometimes clamors inside us as a "need" to be met. Instead of focusing on Jesus Christ, our attention can dangerously be drawn to the very thing we've voluntarily surrendered.
Even so, the practice of Lent can be a valuable discipline. It's difficult to comprehend what our continual sense of entitlement does to our bodies and souls. Our culture worships at the feet of pleasure, deeply bowing to all its delicious offerings. As we "shovel it in," we can become desensitized to our needs - the real hungers - in our lives. Observing Lent can help us wrestle with the reasons behind our perpetual consumption. When we decide to relinquish that thing that fails to truly satisfy, we come face-to-face with some tough questions. Can we believe Jesus when he says, "People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God"? How can we make room for the Savior in our buried and burdened lives? Can we grasp the reality of Good Friday and live within its irony?
Lent challenges us to consider the honest answers to these and other soul-searching questions. It invites us to voluntarily jump of the hampster wheel of consumption and experiene the pinch of abstaining from continual, thoughtless indulgence. It has the potential to give our frenetic material selves a much-needed break."
February 29, 2012
February 22, 2012
Ash Wednesday
The fast is meant to be a physical reminder of what Christ suffered, if only in a very small way. I'm fasting from dessert this season, and let me tell you, I love me some chocolate. And ice cream. So I will probably feel little pangs of withdrawal...or maybe big ones. Forty days of no dessert is a long time! But if each craving reminds me of my salvation then it is worth it. (Someone remind me of that next week when all I can think about is sweets!)
Along with the fast I will be reading a selection of scriptures every day that are relevant for Lent. My Bible app has a 46 day plan that I am following. I have also ordered a devotional book but it has not arrived yet. Here's the first scripture from today's reading.
“Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12-13
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12-13
February 17, 2012
Kolaches
We recently discovered that kolaches are nonexistent in Maryland. Our small group had never heard of them! Apparently the delicious pastry is a Texas food and doesn't seem to have made it out of the state. So I set out to make some and introduce everyone to this delightful bit of Texas cuisine.
I invited my friend Nicole over to help and we spent the afternoon mixing, kneading, and pureeing. Because we made the dough from scratch, there was a lot of down time inbetween while it rose, but the result was worth it! These are not quite as flaky as the ones we are used to, but still super yummy. They were a hit!
Here is the recipe from The Homesick Texan blog, enjoy!
Kolaches
Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling (recipe to follow) and sprinkle with posypka (recipe to follow).
Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.
Kolache filling
Ingredients:
1/2 pound of dried fruit such as apricots or prunes (I used cherry and peach, both were delicious!)
Sugar to taste
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Zest of one lemon
Soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours or overnight.
When fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste, cinnamon and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher or food processor until you have a puree.
I invited my friend Nicole over to help and we spent the afternoon mixing, kneading, and pureeing. Because we made the dough from scratch, there was a lot of down time inbetween while it rose, but the result was worth it! These are not quite as flaky as the ones we are used to, but still super yummy. They were a hit!
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| Peach |
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| Cherry and sausage with cheese |
Kolaches
Ingredients:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 teaspoon of salt
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 teaspoon of salt
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling (recipe to follow) and sprinkle with posypka (recipe to follow).
Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.
Kolache filling
Ingredients:
1/2 pound of dried fruit such as apricots or prunes (I used cherry and peach, both were delicious!)
Sugar to taste
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Zest of one lemon
Soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours or overnight.
When fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste, cinnamon and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher or food processor until you have a puree.
Note: I am not sure why they have you rehydrate dried fruit - you may be able to just use canned fruit and omit the sugar.
Posypka
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix all ingredients until crumbly.
This recipe makes about 18 kolaches, depending on how large you make them. And the variations are endless. For additional flavor you can soak the dried fruit in tea such as Earl Grey or you could sprinkle goat cheese on the apricot kolaches before baking. You can also make sausage and cheese kolaches by wrapping the three-inch flattened piece of dough around a two-inch piece of sausage and a small square of cheese. Add a few pickled jalapenos in if you like.
Posypka
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix all ingredients until crumbly.
This recipe makes about 18 kolaches, depending on how large you make them. And the variations are endless. For additional flavor you can soak the dried fruit in tea such as Earl Grey or you could sprinkle goat cheese on the apricot kolaches before baking. You can also make sausage and cheese kolaches by wrapping the three-inch flattened piece of dough around a two-inch piece of sausage and a small square of cheese. Add a few pickled jalapenos in if you like.
February 14, 2012
A Valentine's Day Quiz
1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
Officially we have been together since May of 2007, so almost 5 years.
 |
| Our first date, Ring Dance 2007 |
2. How did you meet? {What’s your “love” story?}
We met when James came to Houston to visit his college roommate Sam, who was one of my friends from church. Back then, AOL Instant Messaging was the big thing, so we exchanged screennames and began talking, just as friends. I had just graduated highschool and was starting a year of community college. We talked through AIM and e-mail the whole year and I also went to visit Texas A&M a couple of times so we got to hang out in groups. By the next year I was accepted into Texas A&M and we started being able to hang out on a regular basis. Two years later we started dating, and the rest is history.
3. If married, how long have you been married?
It will be 3 years in April. :-)
4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding?
We got married in The Woodlands, TX. We had about 150 people at the wedding so I guess that counts as big. We wrote our own vows, danced to "Unfailing Love" by Jimmy Needham, and had cupcakes instead of cake.
5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
We call each other Babe, he calls me Honey Bunches of Oats when he's being goofy.
6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
He has character and integrity. He loves God and he lives that way. I am so blessed to have a Godly husband!
He is goofy and funny and makes me laugh. I love his sense of humor, even if it makes me roll my eyes sometimes.
He is such a hard worker and I have always admired that trait in him. He is a good provider.
He is very considerate. He texts me every day when he's leaving work so that I can get dinner started. He talks to me before he makes decisions. He tells me he loves me every day and writes little love notes on our foggy bathroom mirror for me to find.
7. Tell us how he proposed?
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| Our first picture as an engaged couple. |
10. Tell us one thing you’d like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
We would both like to travel together. He wants to see the Grand Canyon and other national parks and I want to see Europe.
11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine’s Day.
I'm making a nice dinner and we may watch a romantic movie. Nothing too fancy, but we don't have to put up with the crowds.
12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine’s day?
No. We don't normally do gifts, but this year he got me some gloves that you can use a touch screen with, and I got him a case for his sunglasses. Very practical huh? And we discussed it with each other before we bought it! Ha! So romantic. ;-)
13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
I don't know that I am entitled to give advice after only 3 years, but our shared faith has been the best foundation for our relationship. That and being good friends and laughing together.
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| With God's help, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, till death do us part. |
February 13, 2012
Yes, I will probably blog about the snow every time. Because I am from Houston and it is exciting to me.
The roads still had some snow on them when I drove to church, although some had been salted.
Unfortunately this morning we just have the cold with no snow, so it's considerably less fun. I had planned to go use the elliptical today so as not to lose all the aerobic progress I have made so far, but I think I will wait until tomorrow when it's supposed to get into the 40s again. For today I think I will stay inside as much as possible (I still have to walk the dog, he loves the cold!) and thank God for central heat.
February 7, 2012
A Few Random Things
1. On Sunday we went to a Superbowl party with our small group. I spent most of the time eating and reading books to the kids. It was much more fun than actually watching the Superbowl. :-)
2. I've been told that this is the mildest winter this area has had in 10 years. It feels like spring! It's been sunny in the upper 40s and low 50s. I love it!
3. I actually applied to a job last week. It's not in my field, but it seemed like something I could do. I'm not sure I'd like it, and I'm not counting on even getting an interview but I figured it couldn't hurt.
4. Sadly, I have stopped running for the time being. In mid-January I started getting shin splints and they got bad enough that I could only run for about 10 minutes, so I decided to take a little time off to hopefully let them heal. I'm reading a book about running technique, and today I have an appointment with a chiropractor (for various things, I'm not sure if he can help with shin splints or not), so we'll see, maybe I can start back up again next week. I sure would like to finish my goal of running a 5K, but since I haven't found a way to go 3.1 miles in 10 minutes, I'm not sure if it will work out. But I haven't given up just yet.
5. James has been working long hours, often 11 or 12 hour days, and comes home really tired. Poor guy. That means long days at home for me, and it gets a little lonely around here. Casper tries to fill the gap but it's just not the same. ;-) It sure makes me grateful for those few hours a night that he's home! I'm so thankful for my hardworking hubby.
2. I've been told that this is the mildest winter this area has had in 10 years. It feels like spring! It's been sunny in the upper 40s and low 50s. I love it!
3. I actually applied to a job last week. It's not in my field, but it seemed like something I could do. I'm not sure I'd like it, and I'm not counting on even getting an interview but I figured it couldn't hurt.
4. Sadly, I have stopped running for the time being. In mid-January I started getting shin splints and they got bad enough that I could only run for about 10 minutes, so I decided to take a little time off to hopefully let them heal. I'm reading a book about running technique, and today I have an appointment with a chiropractor (for various things, I'm not sure if he can help with shin splints or not), so we'll see, maybe I can start back up again next week. I sure would like to finish my goal of running a 5K, but since I haven't found a way to go 3.1 miles in 10 minutes, I'm not sure if it will work out. But I haven't given up just yet.
5. James has been working long hours, often 11 or 12 hour days, and comes home really tired. Poor guy. That means long days at home for me, and it gets a little lonely around here. Casper tries to fill the gap but it's just not the same. ;-) It sure makes me grateful for those few hours a night that he's home! I'm so thankful for my hardworking hubby.
February 6, 2012
I Want a Heart like His
"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
James 1:22-27
These days, social justice has become a political term. But read through the Bible at all and you discover that it was a central part of God's heart and Jesus' teaching long before the republicans and democrats ever existed. In fact, it is so central, that James says true religion in the sight of God is to visit orphans and widows in their distress.
Isaiah 58 says that God despises religious rituals without a changed heart. Fasting while at the same time oppressing people is worthless. All throughout the old testament God instructs His people to care for the people groups who were most oppressed in that day; the aliens, orphans, and widows.
Luke 4:17-19 shows Jesus at the start of His ministry fulfilling the scripture that says "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Over and over again in the gospels, Jesus had compassion on people in distress and healed them, not only spiritually, but also physically.
Social justice is not just a political term, it is spiritual. It is a Biblical mandate to all believers, regardless of political persuasion. My greatest prayer is to have a heart that follows after Jesus and if that is to be true I simply cannot ignore His passion for the poor, the exploited, and the downtrodden. We need a revival of this teaching in our churches. True religion is not merely passive receiving or hearing, it is action. Let us be doers of the word and not just hearers who delude themselves. So find where your passion is and DO something! Take a step. Start small and ask God to open opportunities to you. Yes, it is overwhelming, there is so much hurt in this world. How can my small actions ever begin to do any good? I like this quote from Beth Moore: "What seems a drop in the bucket to you is a sip from the wellspring of life to someone about to thirst to death."
Let's be faithful and obedient and put those drops in the bucket, and God will take care of the rest.
James 1:22-27
These days, social justice has become a political term. But read through the Bible at all and you discover that it was a central part of God's heart and Jesus' teaching long before the republicans and democrats ever existed. In fact, it is so central, that James says true religion in the sight of God is to visit orphans and widows in their distress.
Isaiah 58 says that God despises religious rituals without a changed heart. Fasting while at the same time oppressing people is worthless. All throughout the old testament God instructs His people to care for the people groups who were most oppressed in that day; the aliens, orphans, and widows.
Luke 4:17-19 shows Jesus at the start of His ministry fulfilling the scripture that says "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Over and over again in the gospels, Jesus had compassion on people in distress and healed them, not only spiritually, but also physically.
Social justice is not just a political term, it is spiritual. It is a Biblical mandate to all believers, regardless of political persuasion. My greatest prayer is to have a heart that follows after Jesus and if that is to be true I simply cannot ignore His passion for the poor, the exploited, and the downtrodden. We need a revival of this teaching in our churches. True religion is not merely passive receiving or hearing, it is action. Let us be doers of the word and not just hearers who delude themselves. So find where your passion is and DO something! Take a step. Start small and ask God to open opportunities to you. Yes, it is overwhelming, there is so much hurt in this world. How can my small actions ever begin to do any good? I like this quote from Beth Moore: "What seems a drop in the bucket to you is a sip from the wellspring of life to someone about to thirst to death."
Let's be faithful and obedient and put those drops in the bucket, and God will take care of the rest.
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