Hello There

Alright! So it's been months, literally. I am pretty sure of the possibility that no one will ever read this because I have been gone so long that even the few people who did read my blog probably don't anymore. Well, that's o.k. I am thinking that this  is more therapeutic for me, than interesting for others.


I am going through a time...well, I am not sure what to call it, but I do know that we all experience it...a time when you feel motivated to change things, improve your life. I know that that God has been whispering, and so I feel determined to work on the things that have been on my heart. Some of it has been easier than others.


Church
I recently began attending a new church. For so long, I had tried to make that decision, but just never could. I don't know why now, did I made the decision to go elsewhere and stick with it, and I am amazed how God is blessing that decision. He has open doors for worship, spiritual growth, and new relationships. He's not finished with me yet, and I am so excited to see where He'll lead. Thank you, Father.


Work
I remember having a parent teacher conference in the 8th grade. My dad and my teacher were talking to me about spending too much time on my school work. Some things never change! Look up workaholic in the dictionary...yep, that would be me. I do think it's part of being 30 and single. What else have I got to do? Well, I am really working on that right now. I may not have anyone else who needs my time, but at a certain point, I need my time! I left school today at 4:30...woohoo! I am tired of being exhausted, burnt out, and not having enough time to enjoy something else, anything else! So while 4:30 is nothing to brag about, it's an improvement. 


Relationships
Now this one is definitely the hardest one for me. I couldn't wish more that it was easier for me, but I am trying to shed my fears. Only by God's grace have I been blessed so richly with friends, because I certainly didn't get them with my totally outgoing personality. Now, I am making an effort to place myself in situations where I will meet someone new. 

Please, Lord, bless my life

Draw me nearer to you

I am yours, do your will

Schooooools Out For Summer

Yes...school...is...out! Which means I will be finding all kinds of ways to keep myself busy! I am the project queen over summer. As my grandmother says, I inherited the "crafty gene", which generally means I start a whole bunch of projects and get some of them finished. One particular project that I began, drum roll please, two summers ago, I am bound and determined to finish this summer. I decided to try my hand at some quilting and my grandmother has been very helpful in this whole adventure and she's told me that if I can just finish putting it together, she'll do the quilting for me. So here it is...you'll have to have a little imagination. I only have one row to finish and then I can put the top together.

I have also been playing with my mantel since my last post and I wanted to post some before and after shots. 

It still doesn't feel just right to me, but I definitely like it a lot better.

I recently had a friend visit who definitely went above and beyond! She helped me paint my bathroom! I hope that this summer I can replace the lighting fixture and make all the old gold light switches white. Take a look:

We'll see! I have a lot to do in a little time, but it's good to have goals, right? 

Cakes

A month ago I signed up for a cake decorating class at JoAnn's with my friend Jackie. I learned a few things along the way.

1. Cake decorating/making is hard work!
2. When you cut the tops off your cake, be sure to turn it over so that the bottom is the top.
3. A "crumb coat" is a good thing. 
4. Plan ahead...enough said.
5. Almond extract in your icing is divine!

The biggest problem I had was getting crumbs in the icing. It seems that everyone in our  beginners course had the same difficulty. I figured out that remembering to turn the cake upside down makes it all less crumby. My roommate, Katie, suggested a "crumb coat" too. I didn't get the chance to try that, but I am sure I will the next time.

The process of making and decorating the cakes was extremely time consuming. Going quickly: baking, cooling, making icing, assembling and icing in total took an hour and a half. I didn't decorate until I got to class. My advise to anyone else is to plan ahead and do things in pieces. Happy baking!

Are You A Wierdo?

I have been so inspired by the Bible study that the ladies in our church have been doing for a couple weeks now. We are studying "He Speaks to Me" by Priscilla Shirer. It is a study that is about being closer to God. More specifically, each week she addresses "barriers", if you will. It is these barriers that can keep us from getting a fresh word from the Lord. 

She is a very powerful speaker, so I would definitely recommend her studies or going to hear her speak if you have the opportunity.

This last week, she spoke about the need for single-minded worship. There was a lot to this week, and so much of it convicted me. On her video for the week, she spoke passionately about the need to be set apart or different. That's a hard one for a girl who has spend most of her life trying to be the exact opposite of that..."normal". 


Priscilla spoke to my heart when she asked, "For the sake of convenience, have we foregone holiness?" We often don't want to be different or stand out. But the truth is, the day we "confessed with our mouths and believed in our hearts,"(Romans 10:9) we became sanctified...set apart. This sanctification isn't just a passive position that we accept, but a daily decision that we make to separate yourself from everything that will distract us from Him. 

• You may be the only person at work who chooses to act honestly and ethically. 
• You may be the only one who doesn't read that book or watch that movie 
• You might give up a relationship that is leading you away from God

It may be lonely, but the reward...to know Him and to hear His voice.  He has promised a relationship with Him and I have not been disappointed, and I can say confidently that I believe you won't be either. Will it be comfortable all the time?  No, it won't. You might be the neighborhood wierdo, but you are also a daughter of God. (Galatians 4:5)

I Say Yes...You Say Gnocchi

I tried something new a few weeks ago that was fun to make and eat! I am usually skeptical new foods that I have never tried, but this when I saw this was sweet potato, I decided I couldn't go wrong. Then one of my homemaking heroes, Sheila, accepted an invitation to dinner, so I took a chance on a new recipe.

I found this recipe on a blog and unfortunately I can't find it again. I wanted to give the blog credit, because I enjoyed this so much.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi 

With Summer Vegetables

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) sweet potatoes
1 clove garlic, pressed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake sweet potatoes for 30 minutes, or until soft to the touch. Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool. Once the potatoes are cool enough to work with, remove the peels, and mash them, or press them through a ricer into a large bowl. Blend in the garlic, salt, nutmeg, and egg. Mix in the flour a little at a time until you have soft dough. Use more or less flour as needed.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While you wait for the water, make the gnocchi. On a floured surface, roll the dough out in several long snakes, and cut into 1-inch sections. Drop the pieces into the boiling water, and allow them to cook until they float to the surface. Remove the floating pieces with a slotted spoon, and keep warm in a serving dish. Serve with butter or cream sauce.

Gnocchi dough rolled into a long snake-I did this at least 2 times

I cut the gnocchi into short pieces, and then pressed fork marks into them.

I thought the ones without fork marks were prettier. 

I put the gnocchi into a large pot with boiling water and they float to the top when they are finished. This only takes a minute or two.

Finished Gnocchi

Vegetables and Sauce:

serves 4
prep time: 15 min


Total time: 15 min



1 tbsp olive oil

2 zucchini or summer squash, or one of each quartered and sliced (we used one of each!)


2 garlic cloves, minced


coarse salt and ground pepper

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 package (15 to 16oz)

gnocchi
1/4 cup

fresh basil, chopped


2tbsp grated romano cheese


1 tbsp butter


2 tsp fresh lemon juice



1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash in crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.



2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cheese, butter, and lemon juice


If you try it, tell me how you liked it. There are also a lot of recipes online for sweet potato gnocchi with a brown sugar sauce. I will have to try that too! Enjoy!

Praying for Thomas

Because I have loved the Lord for so long, I have had so many opportunities for him to mold me. I know, in his infinite wisdom that he has been with me in every phase of life. He has been holding me over the fire, shaping me .

There are certain parts of my life that it was even more apparent that was what God was doing. And when I worked as a minister to youth and children at Parkway Baptist Church, I know God's hand was in my work there

. 

What I remember most now is the relationships that I formed and the how those children taught me.  Thomas Waggoner was one of the children who taught me along the way. No one could accuse Thomas of sleeping through life.  He loves with no conditions and works as if he is working for the Lord. Even at a young age, he approached learning about God and ministering to others with singular focus.

Even today, I often remember the boy who encouraged me to approach the knowledge of God with passion, and the work of God with intention.  He is lying today in a hospital bed, recovering from a motorcycle accident. I am praying for his full recovery, and that he will feel my love in the prayers I am lifting up for him. 

Get better soon, Thomas. We are all praying for you.

http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=26613

"Offer"tunity

I have been thinking about this for at least a couple of days. My deep thoughts were prompted by an 8 year old in my 3rd grade class. This particular student is exceptionally bright and she has infinite stores of energy as do most of the little ones I spend each day with.

Now, I should probably preface all of this by saying that I have 16 girls and only 4 boys in my class. (If this was the situation a few years down the road, they might have been asking themselves how they could be so lucky, but right now they exist in a girl's world like visitors to the circus: they watch in awe, but are reluctant to join.) I also have learned that 8 year old girls together are not that much different than 18 or 28 year old girls together. They love to talk about their clothes and hair. They move in packs and the claws are bound to come out every now and then. And so teacher and referee enters the ring! I have had more than one conversation with this little girl about being kind and how much I expect of her because of the gifts she possesses.

Right before Christmas break, she came to me in the morning and said that she and some other students on her bus had seen me that morning near the buses. I thought that this might be the typical report of a teacher sighting, since most students are as excited to see you outside of the school building, as they might be to see a fish breathing out of water. Nevertheless, the story continued. These students had been discussing penguins when they had spotted me and decided that I was rather penguin like. As I am not black and white, it wasn't hard to figure out how they had reached this conclusion. I continued to listen to my student as she described how she jumped to my defense. In that moment I think that I politely listened to the story and thanked her for thinking of me, but in the rush of morning activities we moved on and I honestly did not give it anymore thought until a couple of days ago. When I finally did think about it, I thought about how proud I was of this little girl. She was offered an opportunity to show real maturity and rise above. She accepted the offer when it would have been so easy to skirt past that moment.

Then I went to see the movie "The Blind Side" last night with Lynda, and I watched a family be offered a chance to invest in a person. Against the odds and without the approval of others around them, they accepted a challenge to love and it made all the difference in a young person's life.

All of this got me thinking about how may times God offers me opportunities to love like Him, to invest in others, to listen to His voice. Am I paying attention? Do I hear his voice and will I accept the offer?