Oddly Proud

The fact that I inspired this at work today makes me oddly proud:

Oddly Encouraging

I'm guessing this is a pretty old commercial, but I found it encouraging today:

Lentil & Spinach Soup

Here's a great recipe that comes from the Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast series, from the "Soup" cookbook. Yay to my brother for getting me the boxed set of these for Christmas last year, and to my in-laws for giving me even more this year!

I've been wanting to try out a lentil soup for a while -- I mean, lentils are super good for you, they're cheap, and they're easier to cook with than dried beans because you don't have to do all the pre-soaking, then cooking them for hour after hour. This recipe seemed like as good a place as any to start... I mean, it has BACON! in it (yes, thereby reducing some of the health benefits, but whatever, you can't have it all). I totally think this recipe is a keeper (enough that we're having it for dinner two nights in a row, and I'm serving it to my parents as leftovers! They need something healthy to get all that rich Hawaiian food out of their systems, ha ha).

Anyway, without further todo:

Lentil & Spinach Soup

Chicken stock, 4 cups
Bacon, 3 slices, chopped
Carrot, 1/2, finely chopped (I used a whole carrot and it definitely wasn't too much)
Yellow onion, 1/2, finely chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves, minced
Fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon, minced (I used dried, about 1/2 tsp)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Dried lentils, 1 cup, picked over and rinsed
Tomato paste, 2 tablespoons
Baby spinach, 3 cups, chopped

1. Saute the bacon and vegetables. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the bacon until the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and onion and cook until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and 1 tsp salt and saute until the garlic is soft, about 1 minute. Stir in the lentils.

2. Simmer the lentils. Add the stock, tomato paste and 1 cup water, raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simer until the lentils are tender to the bite, 25-30 minutes. Add the spinach and simmer until wilted, about 2 minutes longer.

3. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve.

We had this with a hearty multi-grain artisan loaf of bread and one bowl was enough to fill us up.

-F degrees

According to my Yahoo homepage right now, it's -F degrees. It's pretty unclear, but that sounds cold!

In reality, weather.com says it's -1, and feels like -13. That IS cold. And I have an amazing husband who woke up this morning and snow-blew our driveway and my parents' driveway. For most of that time, I laid in bed and thanked God for how great he is :)

Stages of a Relationship

HH and I just finished watching Love and Other Disasters. We weren't too sure at first but ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Here is one of the scenes that makes the movie hilarious and worthwhile, a spot-on description of stages of a relationship.

Haikus for Friday

Here are a couple of haikus that I'm composing (on the fly -- so be merciful!) in honor of today.

Today is Friday
A long week comes to an end
Go home and drink wine

Dogs burst forth from crates
When we come home each eve'ning
All weekend they're free

Pork loin in crockpot
Potatoes ready to roast
We will feast tonight

Sleeping in till noon
Probably will not happen
But it would be nice

On such a cold day
A warm home and fireplace
Are so appealing

And, for some reason U2's "With or Without You" just popped into my mind, so here you go:

Song of the Day - Rock of Ages (Sandra McCracken version)

Rock of Ages, when the day seems long
From this labor and this heartache I have come
The skies will wear out, but You remain the same
Rock of Ages, I praise Your name.

Rock of Ages, You have brought me near
You have poured out Your life-blood, Your love, Your tears
To make this stone heart come alive again
Rock of Ages, forgive my sin

Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages
Bind your children til' your kingdom comes
Rock of Ages, Your will be done

Rock of Ages, when in want or rest
My desperate need for such a Savior I confess
Pull these idols out from my heart embrace
Rock of Ages, I need Your grace

Rock of Ages, broken, scorned for me
Who am I that You would die to make me free?
To give me glory, You took the death and pain
Rock of Ages, my offering

Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages
Bind your children til' your kingdom comes
Rock of Ages, Your will be done

Rock of Ages, "It is done," You cried
The curtain's torn and I see justice satisfied
Now write Your mercy here on my heart and hands
Rock of Ages, in faith I stand

Rock of Ages, my great hope secure
Your promise holds just like an anchor to my soul
Bind your children with cords of love and grace
Rock of Ages, we give You praise

Status Updates

I have so many status updates swirling around in my head, I figured I'd throw 'em up on my blog since I can communicate here with more than 160 characters at a time. So here's a couple of 160-word-or-less thoughts:

I'm...
1. Laughing at the several people who have lately described themselves as "facebook stalkers." I don't know if it's stalking if we're putting the info out there publicly, but I guess what they mean is that they never interact, but just lurk. I wonder how many blog/facebook stalkers I have!

2. Totally digging my rose petal tea right now. And on my 4th cup of tea for the day. Boo for a Tylenol PM hangover. Yay for a bathroom that's 50 steps from my office.

3. Can't wait to try making homemade marshmallows. I was thinking for the next "girls nite," maybe paired with chocolate-covered fruit and mixed nuts.

4. Thinking I need to write in my journal more so I can process things that aren't suitable for public consumption. Like.... oops, see, I almost slipped.

5. Finding it funny that my parents have met up with two couples from Billings during their time in Hawaii -- one on their honeymoon, the other celebrating their 50th anniversary!

6. Thankful that people still celebrate their 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries. What faithfulness, to each other, to the Lord, and from the Lord!

7. Looking forward to Green Chili Stew tonight.

8. Bringing dessert tonight, which is going to be vanilla ice cream, topped with any combo of golden grahams, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and (leftover) homemade caramel sauce.

9. Desperately needing to clean up dog poop in our backyard.

10. Wondering what kind of dog my neighbors have and, if it's a goldendoodle as I suspect, wondering if he'll get as big and hairy (like English sheepdog big and hairy) as a friend's goldendoodle.

11. Needing to stop writing updates before I say something that should go in my journal :)

Weekend Highlights

A few highlights from the weekend:

1. Making my very first caramel sauce! I once again ventured into the realm of that oh-so-unforgiving-ingredient, sugar, and managed to come out okay. I used this recipe to make sauteed apples and caramel sauce to put over ice cream for a Sunday evening treat. The sauce was okay (and tasty in my coffee this morning!), but I think I'll try something else next time because the process had to be modified because it wasn't turning out like the recipe said (like the sugar mixture didn't brown for over 30 min, instead of 7-15 like it said). Them apples, though, were delicious!

2. Taking a Sunday afternoon walk up at Zimmerman Park. HH and I took the dogs up there so they could stretch their legs after being in kennels all week. It was 60 degrees and a beautiful day! (and half of Billings apparently agreed with us). I LOVE watching Migo race around and explore the boulders, the paths, the plants and all the smells (LOTS of doggie smells) -- he just looks so beautiful and graceful and alive, like this sort of lifestyle is what God made him for.

3. Finding a fabulous new soundtrack, the music from the oddly-likeable movie Smart People.

gonna tell you all a story
about a girl who's just informed me
that all she needs to love me
is a quiet peaceful day

she don't need no shiny diamonds
or a fancy car to drive in
she just needs me there beside her
on a quiet peaceful day

4. Finally getting Christmas put away and feeling like my life is somewhat back in order (at least the life that happens in our living room -- never mind that it's connected to our dining room and kitchen and they're still pretty messy).

5. Making fajitas in the crockpot! I used a pretty simple recipe of chix breasts (2), chix broth, chili powder, cumin, salt, lime juice, onions and peppers and cooked it on high for about 3 hours. I can't find the exact recipe right now (and I'll prob. modify it in the future), but I loved the texture of the chicken (who likes to be trying to gnaw off a piece of chicken out of a folded-up tortilla?) and that amount of time was just about right for the veggies (I don't like super mushy peppers). Will definitely be a keeper method.

6. Ladies night with a couple of girls from church -- wine, chocolate, cheese, chatting and When Harry Met Sally. A lovely, low-key evening, and HH was still out with a friend so I met up with him afterwards for a drink.

Barbie Poem

I have a habit of listening to NPR on Saturday afternoons when I'm cleaning since I enjoy the assortment of folk music that they play. I just heard a poem that somebody read and thought it was so funny that I had to look it up and post it here.

It's by Nerissa Nields (who apparently has a band with her sister Katryna). From the album, "If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now," here's the "Barbie Poem:"

I think that I shall never see
A woman as lovely as Barbi
Barbi, with her ski jump nose
Standing tall on tiny toes
Impossible boobs that will not droop
To conquer Kenn, she need not stoop
If she were mortal, she would be
Six foot five and a hundred and three
She's so tall, I could not feel shorter;
Small wonder I have an eating disorder
She sleeps in her camper next to my bed
With visions of traveling filling her head
She wishes she could sing like me
But she can't.
Her mouth is painted on.
And her eyes won't shut
And she never bleeds
And she never cuts
And she cannot read or count or cry
And she'll never age
And she'll never die
And I think that I don't want to be
Staring straight ahead for all eternity.

So You Want to Fly?

A couple of guys at our staff devotions last Wednesday were talking about how they'd wanted to fly as little boys. I'm thinking that the desire really doesn't go away as we get bigger ... most of them get more realistic, some of them settle for things like rock climbing, bungee jumping, hang-gliding, parasailing, skiing, etc, and a few get even more insane. This video is cool, no matter what your insanity-quotient happens to be.


wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Be Strong and Take Heart and Wait for the Lord: Psalm 27

I memorized Psalm 27 almost exactly a year ago when I was struggling with fear and uncertainty. Today I am revisiting it; what an amazing passage of Scripture, concluding with the most simple yet profound exhortation to hope in verses 13-14.

The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

When the Summer's Gone

This is the song that was on "loop" in my office yesterday. It's from Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken's album "Ampersand." You can hear it for yourself at the website, www.ampersandep.com (it's the second song on the player at the home page), or at Sandra's MySpace.

"When the Summer's Gone"

when the summer's gone
when the harvest comes and the leaves are red
we'll remember then
making love in the sun and the sand
you are the one to whom my heart belongs
will our love be strong when the summer's gone?

when the summer's gone
as we fight our way through the winter snow
and we will mark the days
till our july friend returns again, where have you been?
you are the one to whom my heart belongs
will our love be strong when the summer's gone

(chorus)
we could drive down to the water
if we ever lose our way
summer sky, goes on forever
will our love be strong..
when the summer's gone...


when the summer's gone
and the poetry has all been read
will our midnight sun
burn though the year till the august fears have disappeared
you are the one to whom my heart belongs
will our love be strong when the summer's gone

(chorus)

you are the one, to whom my heart belongs
will our love be strong (when the summer's gone?)
will our love be strong (when the summer's gone?)
will our love be strong when the summer's gone?

Best Friends

This is really sweet, especially for an animal lover:

The article intro that never was

Hi all! I'm writing an article for an upcoming ministry newsletter and came up with a FANTASTIC introduction that a) totally doesn't work, b) might gross people out, and c) eats up way too many words for my 500 word limit (besides, it wouldn't allow me to use this great picture!).

But since I'm so proud of it (taking into account its rough form still), I wanted to share it here:

If I were to make a list of reasons not to form a ministry partnership in Peru, I would probably include one of the culinary delicacies of this culture, spit-roasted guinea pigs. Much as you would see hot dogs for sale from a street vendor in New York City, Peruvians can purchase guinea pigs ("cuy") from vendors as they wander the streets shopping or at a carnival (or in a nice restaurant). But the list of reasons to form ministry partnerships in Peru far outweighs 10,000 guinea pigs (or more, since they’re not very big). In fact, the ingredients make a perfect combination – even better than Peru’s famous and delectable ceviche.

btw, Peru and the Guinea Pig have a long and special relationship (supposedly gp's originated in the Andes mountains). For a nice and quick article about Peru and their gp's, here's one from CBS. Don't miss the part about how Spanish colonizers made Peruvian Indians copy European art, and the Indians added their own touches -- which is how churches in Lima and Cuzco ended up with paintings of the Last Supper where Jesus and the disciples are feasting on cuy!

Boy Do I Know How This Feels!

Happy Monday, y'all!

True Love - Phil Wickham

We got to see Phil Wickham live last night. It was a great show -- he has an INCREDIBLE voice, goose-bump-inducing melodies and powerful lyrics. I thought I'd heard one of his songs before (aside from the one album that HH and I have), and I made the connection just now! Easter Sunday at Salem Alliance Church in Salem, Oregon. They did a painting montage and then the worship band did the song "True Love" with it.

Sure enough, YouTube has the very same. Enjoy.

Three Things Puzzle Me, Yea, Four Perplex Me

1 – What to make of the whole Gaza Strip thing. I was COMPLETELY put off yesterday by some vehemently (and naïve) pro-Israel posts (yes, that’s plural) made on a respected ministry’s blog that otherwise tends to comment on relationships, etc. (in fact, I unsubscribed after them because I hadn’t been reading the other posts much because of waning time/interest). I’m baffled that somebody who’s otherwise pretty well-educated could forget that it’s Just. Not. That. Simple. (Though, yes, there are reasons to defend Israel.)

On the other hand, I’ve gotten a handful of emails from very pro-Palestine/Hamas (Christian) groups to sign such-and-such petition or that it’s all _____________’s fault. They're more nuanced, but I'm still uncomfortable with their position for some reason.

Honestly, I don’t know what to make of it -- there's no easy answer and there's no "right" position, but I think an email I got from the group Musalaha (their website’s under construction, but here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry about them) says it best:

To both Israelis and Palestinians, the current conflict in Gaza has brought nothing but pain and suffering. It has also caused friction among some believers as they choose to pledge sole allegiance to their own people group. Some are even expressing an unabashed hatred for the other side through articles, e-mails and graphic content on Facebook.

From the Israeli point of view they pulled out of the Gaza Strip in the name of peace and an Islamic regime took over. Israel’s justification for going to war was to protect its citizens against Hamas launching rockets on the communities in the Negev. Soldiers continue to mobilize along the Gaza border as they prepare to defend their people and country against terror. They claim that others would have acted more quickly and aggressively. Their reasoning is that it is necessary to attack now before Hamas has longer-range missiles.

The Palestinians claim that though Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2006, the army is still controlling the borders making it the biggest open-air prison in the world. In the last 18-months, 1.5 million Palestinians have been under siege and were prevented from receiving sufficient water, medical aid and food supply. For the Palestinians, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza was just an excuse to expand their control in the West Bank and build further settlements. The Palestinians also believe they have a right to self-defense. For them, the Israeli reaction is disproportionate. The number of Israelis killed cannot be compared to the hundreds of Palestinians killed.

Each player in the conflict places the full responsibility of the cycle of violence on the other side. There is a general unwillingness to enter into peace talks on ideological or political grounds. For example, Israel will say Hamas is an ideological religious organization that doesn’t recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinians, on the other hand, say the Palestinian Authority has entered into concessions and nothing substantial has evolved; all that increased were settlements and checkpoints.

So, what is our role as believers in this situation? How can we be a model of Messiah as we move forward in the reconciliation process? Are we too busy challenging the moral and ethical position of the other side that we are unwilling to take responsibility? Because our societies have chosen war and violence, there is a great need for reconciliation. We can accomplish this through taking on a priestly role of intercessor and prophetic role of speaking the truth...

2 – How people can be ridiculously mean (like junior high girl mean) on internet forums and blog comments and consider themselves self-respecting, Gospel-proclaiming pastors or other Christians. I read a very even-handed blog post today and there was just this nasty, immature commenter who made silly, childish, RUDE-ASS comments (with poor typing/spelling) to every person who was trying to ask a genuine question or make a real point. Amazingly enough, he used his real name and linked to his church’s website…. I expected at least to see someone who was fresh out of seminary (or pre-school), but he looked like a late-middle-aged guy (unless he's a victim of identity theft).

I wonder if a lot of people are going to have a lot less jewels in their crowns than they anticipate, just because of how they behave themselves (or not) online.

3 – The very nice-looking, middle-aged woman driving a teal minivan today whose sole bumper sticker reads:

Jane Fonda
American Traitor
BITCH

Seriously? I bet she wonders why she doesn't have any "My child is an honor student at __________ Middle School" stickers to post next to it.

4 – The “85 Year Old Vet” … an old man who has been sitting at the corner of 24th St. and King Ave in Billings for at least the past three years. His sign says that he’s trying to get back to Oklahoma. What I don’t get is that rumor has it that is a very lucrative corner to sit at and ask for money (and I assume that has to be at least a little bit true since he’s still there). But I NEVER see people giving him money … how is it that he makes all his money?

These things are apparently too great for me to understand.

In better news, we're having an In-Law-Birthday-Extravaganza tonight -- a b-day dinner for Pop-in-Law, Mom-in-Law and Sister-in-Law who all will be out of town for their birthdays this month! I'm particularly excited about sis-in-law's gift ... maybe I'll post a picture or two after it's "revealable," although it'll take quite a bit of explaining. Back to things my mind more or less understands.

10 Points of Randomness

I've been neglecting my blog lately, so I thought I'd just throw up 10 random things today. Who knows what's going to come out of my keyboard, but here goes...

1. I'm making split pea soup for dinner tonight. I'm excited about what a cheap, easy and wholesome meal you can make from a bag-o-peas, some veggies and some herbs.

2. I have a bunch of celery and carrots that are getting a little wilty. I'm thinking that since I usually like to keep celery and whole carrots around for soup, I'll chop them up into soup-sized chunks, figure out how much equals one rib or carrot, freeze them (separately) on a cookie sheet, and then just scoop out what I need when I need it. It will also make for less chopping when I'm making the actual soup!

3. My work computer has a persistent virus (in Firefox, no less!). Our tech guy thought he'd fixed it on Monday, but I kept getting pop-ups yesterday (and he wasn't in the office). I'm really wary of being online much or going to websites that require passwords, and when I got home I realized that I was kind of stressed out because of the *unknown* element -- not knowing what else it's doing on my computer and what sort of info it's stealing from me.

4. As I've been spending a lot of time watching my computer scan/attempt to debug itself, I've been contemplating what motivates the people who create viruses. I've come to the conclusion that maybe it's just a power trip -- being able to control someone else's computer, mess up their plans, strike fear in their hearts and stymie their attempts to fix it (this isn't taking into consideration the programs that steal info, just the ones that mess computers up). Any virus-creators out there who can confirm or deny? No, probably best not to tell me because if I keep getting frustrated with this, I might have to come find you and do something like make my dog pee on your computer. He may pee like a girl, but he does pee on command.

5. I have a fairly wide variety of chocolate bars in a drawer in my kitchen (bolstered by Christmas!), so we had a funny chocolate-tasting session with Mark & Carrie after birthdaybreakfastburritos for Carrie last week. It was fun.

6. We've been watching The Office on Netflix Instant -- we alternate between the British and American versions. They're both funny, but in entirely different ways.

7. I can't believe how much SNOW we've gotten this winter! And 2 more inches today. And it's been so cold that it hasn't melted off - very uncharacteristic for Billings, MT.

8. I'm creating a post for our work blog on an essay called "The Sinner's Place." I blogged about it years ago when I first heard of it. Check it out (here's a link to it on one of my old place-holder blogs; it will also be at www.route59.org soonish).

9. Apparently my computer is ready for me to have another "go" at it (I've been working this morning off of my personal computer).

10. My husband AND parents are going to Asia for three weeks in Feb. I'm anticipating being a little bit lonely, and I'm remembering the days when I was always alone in my house. Funny how quickly "normal" changes. If you want to hang out in Feb, though, let me know -- I'd love to put a pot of soup in the crockpot, put a chick flick in my queue and pop up a batch of Spicy Cinnamon-Sugar Popcorn for us to share.

Can you tell I've been on vacation?

I've hardly been on my computer for the last two weeks! It's kind of a nice change to not be on a computer all day, and, strangely enough, I get so accustomed to being away from it that I don't even really think about turning it on when I'm at home. Which is where HH and I have been for the last two weeks ... it's been awesome to be on vacation longer than any time since I graduated and haven't had those nice, long student breaks in both summer and winter.

When I have been on the computer lately, it's mostly been for recipes. I've made:

• spelt crackers
  
• gonzo garbanzos
• peppermint ice cream bon bons (though these didn't turn out so well and the peppermint ice cream ended up in yummy shakes)
• clam chowder (from a Williams & Sonoma cookbook)
• rosemary white bean dip (from my Joy of Cooking book)
• navy bean soup (from a slow cooker cookbook)
• carne adobada
• crepes (both sweet and savory)
• caramel corn (with half the butter)
  

That's all I can think of for now ... other people carried the bulk of the cooking burden, so most of my cooking was for fun. And when I have the spare time, that's what I do for fun (especially while HH is downstairs playing video games).

Here's another list, movies I've watched in the last two weeks:

• Christmas Vacation
• Death Race
• Mongol
• Nowhere in Africa
• The Rocketeer
• Revolver
• The Dark Knight
• Airplane
• Puerto Vallarta Squeeze
• Independence Day
• Saint Ralph
  

Last but not least, I did do a little blogging over at the PM blog; here's a quote from Tim Keller's book The Reason for God that I thought was apropos for the new year.

We're off to go skiing tomorrow, horray!