Field Trip

Every Wednesday we have a staff meeting at church. This includes our 5 pastors, 1 woman counselor, 2 interns and myself. It's a time for building a sense of "team," catching up on what and how the others are doing and praying for each other. Every once in a while, Pastor Mark schedules a "field trip." A couple of months ago we took a trip to Camden to observe a ministry to the homeless, ex-cons, and prostitutes. It was a great encouragement to the work there for us to be interested in what they were doing and to show our support.

Yesterday was another field trip. This one was to McGuire Air Force Base.
We have a number of military families that attend our church. One of those is Lt. Col. Tim ____. He arranged the whole day for us. He had lunch for us, then we toured the air force base. We checked out the simulators and even had a chance to "fly" them. Andy loved that and did a good job of pushing the right buttons. Tim had the computers set up to be night time with a snow storm, and then helped Andy bring in the plane to a perfect landing. You couldn't even feel the bump as we landed!McGuire has a fleet of refueling aircraft. We actually went into one and were able to see how it was done. They are huge planes weighing about 580 tons when they are fully loaded with gas and cargo. They can pump 1,000 gallons of gas a minute when they are refueling. There were a lot of other statistics that we heard but I can't remember them all. It was pretty impressive, though.
One interesting note: There is a plane on the base that is no longer in use, but it has a claim to fame. It carried Elvis back from Germany when he was done with his time in the military. He landed at McGuire before continuing on to his home.

It was an interesting, informative and impressive day as we learned some of the things about the air force. We are very thankful for the sacrifices our military make to defend our country. Tim was telling us that his wife didn't sign up for the military, but she is expected to help out families when there is a need: like take meals when there is a new baby, collect clothes, etc. for other families who might have a need. Her role is like that of a pastor's wife. The men often work long hours and are sometimes gone for months at a time.

We were happy to show our support yesterday to these great men and women. Many of them not only serve our country, but they also get very involved at our church. We are very happy to have them because they love to serve. It is a way of life for them and it spills out into everything they do.

In other news:
Our friend came over last night with his rototiller and got our plot of land ready for gardening. Now Andy has to put up some fencing to keep the critters out, and I'll be ready to plant.

The pansies I planted in the fall are looking great,
even after that long cold winter.

The hyacinths are blooming and this one miniature daffodil.

It's still so cold, though.

5th picture in 5th folder

Thanks, Amy, for tagging me.
This picture brings back happy memories.

In January 2007, we took a trip to California. We flew into San Francisco, then drove south along the coast till we got to the Hearst Castle. From there we turned east and drove inland toward Yosemite National Park. Along the coast it had been very pleasant and mild, but inland, it was very cold. The night before we went into the park, the lady who checked us into our hotel suggested we get a tour guide for our tour of the park. We usually like to explore on our own, but decided to take her advice. We were the only ones on the tour, so the first thing our tour guide told us that morning was that he would do whatever we wanted and take us wherever we wanted to go. He was very knowledgeable and interesting and it was a wonderful day.

I am not tagging any others. Anyone reading this may take the initiative (the 5th picture in your 5th folder).

Spring - Really?

I was getting ready for work on Friday morning when out of the corner of my eye, I thought I noticed something on the skylight. I looked more closely, and to my surprise, it was snow. Now my curiosity was up, and I had to go look out the window. Sure enough, it was snowing and was even laying on the ground. It is only mid-March, but I thought it was ironic that we were getting snow on the first day of spring!

That reminded me of some pictures I took a number of years ago ~ April 9, 2000. The crab apple trees were in full bloom, the dogwoods were starting to flower, the grass was quite green and we had a snow storm. It made beautiful pictures with all that color.I think one of the reasons God has given us weather is to make our life more interesting. After all, don't we talk about it all the time? Isn't it funny that we think usual weather is so unusual? I mean, really now...March is known for its unpredictability. Yet when it snows, we're so shocked and surprised, and it's all we talk about. I have a little poem I like to quote:

As a rule, man's a fool:
When it's hot, he wants it cool.
When it's cold, he wants it hot,
Always wanting what it's not.

So this is my resolve: to enjoy each day no matter what the weather because it is a gift from God. This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

Andy worked a little more on laying the water pipe for our garden. I think our friend is coming over on Tuesday with the rototiller. I checked out some plants at Lowe's (I have a gift certificate someone gave me) and will probably get some lettuce, spinach and onions to put in as soon as the ground is tilled. Fresh salad coming soon!

It was a long, cold winter...

Summer and winter and SPRINGTIME and harvest...

Only a few short weeks ago, we were digging out from a snow storm...but today is a new day! The days are still chilly, but the sun is shining and the birds are singing. Time to start thinking about gardening. We were inspired by our daughter and decided to put in a garden of our own this year. Andy's dad had a little one in last summer, but with food prices getting higher, we decided to plant a bigger one this summer.

Last year's little garden

So on Tuesday, Andy started to work on it. We had to move one little tree. Then he measured out the boundaries and dug around the edges of where the garden would be.

New garden - 17' x 26'

He also started digging a trench and laying pipe
so we can have water out there.

We know someone who has a rototiller and he offered to help us out. So I'm hoping he can come over on Saturday morning to do that for us. Then I need to start thinking of what I want to plant. Hmmm...tomatoes for sure...maybe some zucchini, onions, carrots. And what about lettuce and spinach?

I can't help wondering, though. With all the effort we are putting in, is it really that much cheaper to grown your own food? Maybe there's more to it than just cheaper food. There's also a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from having FRESH produce from your own back yard. Mmmm...can't wait!

Spring Cleanup

This weekend I went with 90 other women to the Eden Resort in Lancaster, PA for our church's women's retreat. The theme was Spring CleanUp and dealt with Psalm 51 - David's cry of repentance.

The food was delicious, the service was wonderful, the fellowship with other women was fun, and we were wonderfully challenged by our speaker, Lidia. She is incredibly gifted in communicating God's truth. One tidbit she shared was the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow (over sin):

Godly Sorrow:

1. I take responsibility for my sin.

2. I feel deep pain and grief over my sin.

3. I purpose in God's strength and grace to not do the same thing again.

4. I am overwhelmed at the discovery of my inward sin (heart).

5. A deep feeling of wrong doing and sin against a holy God.

6. A heart and mind set on things above

Worldly sorrow:

1. I do not take responsibility for my sin.

2. I take my sin lightly.

3. I temporarily feel badly, but eventually just return to the same attitudes and behavior.

4. I only regret the personal consequences of my sin.

5. A feeling of sorrow because I've been found out or created a mess for myself

6. A heart and mind set on self

We were challenged that if we truly repent of our sin, we will not go back to it.

She also spent quite a bit of time talking about the holiness of God, because it will be hard to feel repentant of our sin if we don't understand that God is holy. Did you ever notice that in Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah describes God as holy, holy, holy? No other attribute of God's is ever mentioned 3 times in a row. God is not described as love, love, love or grace, grace, grace or mercy, mercy, mercy or faithful, faithful, faithful. But His holiness describes more than any other attribute who he is. His love is a holy love, His grace is a holy grace, His mercy is a holy mercy, etc. His holiness sets Him apart, no one else is holy. He is the only one, unique in holiness - which makes His sacrifice so much more meaningful because a holy God actually took our sin upon Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:21 ~ God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. What a God!

We had some free time on Saturday afternoon, but it turned out a couple of friends and I spent most of the afternoon driving around the countryside trying to find what we were looking for. At one point, we stopped along the side of the road, looking at our map, and a Mennonite man came over to give us directions. That was helpful because we certainly didn't know where we were or where we were going. One of the things I was looking for was the Petite Sophisticate outlet. When we finally found where it was supposed to be, there was a Lane Bryant (for big sizes) store there. So I went in to ask about P.S. and they said the store had closed 3 weeks ago. Well, we didn't really accomplish much on that excursion except to pile up some silly memories!

I didn't get much sleep over the weekend. I think I got to bed around midnight Friday and Saturday nights. And that's extremely late for me - I'm used to heading toward bed around 9:00-9:30 pm each night. Needless to say, I was pretty tired today.

We are welcoming Beth Fuller to our upstairs apartment this evening. She is a missionary to Papau New Guinea and will be here at our church until the end of May. She is a very lively and interesting young lady and it will be fun to have her here. As an example of her adventurous spirit, she wrote in one of her newsletters that she tasted a plate of grubs. She was really happy to do so, because she had been wanting to for a while. Ewwww - yuch! Well, we have plenty of grubs in our yard, so she can help herself to all that the moles and robins don't get! She had mentioned that she wants to cook us a meal while she is here, but I hope she does American food! (I'll be paying close attention!)

Never a Dull Moment

Tuesday was an exciting day, far from dull and boring!

First thing in the morning I made a carrot cake because we had another birthday to celebrate in staff meeting on Wednesday. It was a new recipe I tried, courtesy of my friend Jane who made the cake for my birthday party. Then I got the bright idea to decorate the cake. Years ago I bought a kit, but had never used it. But I was feeling adventuresome so checked out a few youtube videos, then gave it a whirl. The finished product - pretty amateurish, I know...but it is my first attempt!

Amy had planned to come down for a visit with her 2 little ones, but thought she would fit in some business, too. So she made an appointment with a friend to have 3 adult dogs groomed and for Andy to give the puppies their shots. That meant when she arrived she brought 2 children, 3 dogs and 2 puppies with her. Whew! She arrived somewhat frazzled! I happened to be looking out our kitchen window and saw a red truck drive by, but pull into the neighbor's driveway, back up and come back to our driveway. Then that same truck zoomed up the driveway and stopped quickly. Andy and I went out to see what was going on. It was Amy - Chase had had an accident and had been screaming for 20 minutes! She was happy to have arrived.

(Chase is such a happy child, pleasant and very cute. It's hard to believe that he might have been screaming for 20 minutes. Don't you agree?)

So he got cleaned up, then Joanna needed to be fed. I took pity on my poor M.O.T. (see Amy's blog), so when she asked if I would take the 3 dogs to the groomer's, I did. When I got back, we ate lunch, then the kids went down for naps. Or let me clarify: they lay down for a little while, but of course, being at Grammy's is too exciting to sleep, so they weren't down for long!

I had originally thought Amy would leave mid-afternoon to try to miss the rush hour traffic, but the dogs weren't finished with their grooming, so she stayed for dinner. After Andy gave the puppies their shots, we sent him to get the dogs so I could start on the dinner and visit with Amy.

In the meantime, Amy had arranged for a family to come buy a puppy. They are actually from this area so it was easier for them to come to our house to get the puppy. They came by around 5:15. It's always so fun to see the happiness people display when they see their little puppy. It was also fun to watch Amy in action as she interacted with the people who were buying the puppy from her. She did a good job.

Amy left as soon as dinner was over. What a busy day.

A final note to all who do not live in New Jersey: my crocuses are blooming! Spring! Are you jealous? Wouldn't you rather live in a more temperate state? Like south Jersey????? I know I'll get some comments on this one. ha,ha :)

God's Ways

I can't help but feel great sadness for Cindy Winters over the loss of her husband and the father of her 2 girls. My heart goes out to her and I've been praying for her all day. I wonder why God took her husband and not mine. Because you see, when Andy was pastoring in Richland, Washington in the early 1980's, a similar situation could have happened to him. But in our case, it turned out differently because God chose to intervene.

Here's the story.

A woman had attended our church a number of times, then met with Andy for counseling. She was living with Warren, a man who was abusive to her. Andy advised her to leave that dangerous situation. She must have gone home and told him because the next Sunday he came to church looking for Andy. He came in the front entrance of the church into the foyer.
I was there with one or two of my girls who were pretty little then so I witnessed the whole thing. Warren came in, looked around and asked where Pastor Andy's office was. Someone told him it was in the front of the church and he started up the aisle toward the office. Andy wasn't there, so he came back to the foyer. He was pretty agitated and grabbed a guy who was standing there. He pulled out a knife and held it to the guy's chest, yelling for everyone to stay where they were and not move. He poked the guy with his knife a couple of times, remarkably not injuring the guy at all. The knife blade finally hit a button on the guy's shirt and snapped off. At that point, a police officer who attended our church moved in and was able to grab Warren and subdue him.

So where was Andy if he wasn't in his office? Out of all the many years before or since that incident, it was the only Sunday he EVER stayed home. He was sick that day. But we firmly believe it was God's protecting hand upon us.

So why were we protected and not the Winters family? I can't pretend to know the answer, but ours is a walk of faith. I choose to believe God has a plan for each of us and that nothing that happens to us is ever wasted. He says in Isaiah 55:9-10: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

He also says in Psalm 116:15: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

Lots going on

I have not been sitting around much until this afternoon. Andy had a meeting here at the house on Friday night with his Sunday school teachers. At 7:00 pm - right when my bass guitar lesson was. He said I should still go. So I did. But before that, I planned the desserts and eats with the Sunday school super. I made cookies Thursday evening and she brought the rest of the treats. On Friday afternoon, I made sure the house was clean and picked up, made 2 pots of coffee, put on a tea pot and generally got ready for a house full of people.

Right before dinner, Dawn & Tommy stopped by to share their good news. Then we quickly ate and cleaned up from dinner.

My lesson was enjoyable this week and I am learning to play. That in itself is fun.

I returned home to a driveway and yard full of cars and a house full of people (15). The meeting went well and everyone had plenty to eat.

This morning, I got up early and made a loaf of applesauce bread and cinnamon chip muffins to take over to church for ladies that were meeting there to work on quilts to give away.
Speaking of food...
I have to tell you about Hurley's pasta. A couple of years ago, a friend from church died of breast cancer. But we had known her for a number of years, and she had invited us to her house several times for meals. She was an excellent cook. Some people just have the knack. She made a pasta dish for us, and I asked her for the recipe. She said she didn't really have a recipe, she just put a little of this and a little of that in the dish. (If I did that, no one would enjoy it!) But she obliged me by putting something together for me.

Here it is: Hurley's pasta:
Olive oil
5 garlic cloves
grape tomatoes, sliced
2 stalks broccoli
basil
kalamiti olives
curly pasta, 1 pound

Cover bottom of pan with olive oil. Slice garlic cloves very thin. Heat oil and garlic on low to flavor oil for 5-10 minutes. Turn heat to medium, add broccoli. Saute 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add tomatoes, basil and olives. Cover till ready. Cook and drain pasta. Return to pot, then add rest of ingredients. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
It's not only delicious, it's also beautiful with all those colors. Oh, and this time, I added some chicken.

Here's another meal that Andy & I really like: sweet potatoes, rice pilaf & zucchini souffle. Before you turn up your noses, just try it! The sweet potatoes are Christy's recipe and are so good that she is expected to bring them to every family gathering. The zucchini souffle is very good, too. The 3 dishes together make a very tasty combination. (sorry about the fuzzy picture...I need to improve on my photography.)
Sweet potatoes
8 cups peeled sweet potatoes (about 3 1/4 pounds)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup half & half
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs

STREUSEL:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Cook until tender in a pot with water. Drain potatoes, place in large bowl. Add all ingredients and beat with mixer until smooth. Spoon sweet potatoes into a 13 x 9 pan coated with cooking spray.

To prepare streusel, combine brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle streusel evenly over sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Rice Pilaf is easy. I use short grain brown rice and cook it like any rice - 2 cups water to 1 cup rice. When you have about 20 minutes before rice is finished cooking, add chopped onion, celery and carrot, along with your choice of spices (I usually use parsley, basil and oregano) and salt, pepper & butter.

For the zucchini souffle, cook 3 medium zucchini and 1 onion in water until tender. Drain well. Beat 2 eggs in blender. Add zucchini and onion. Mix with 1/2 cup bread crumbs, salt & pepper. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray, then add zucchini mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Andy is out all afternoon at choir/drama rehearsal, getting ready for our Easter program. The weather is so springlike today. Can you believe only 2 days ago it was literally freezing and we had all that snow. It was so warm today, I was able to do some sunbathing - to get my vitamin D. It felt so good and very relaxing to be lying in the sun.

Grace's Birthday

March 5 ~ Happy birthday, Grace!

To celebrate, Andy and I went up to C & C's on Tuesday, our day off. Andy helped Christian with more work on his addition, cutting tile to finish the flooring. I played with and read to the kiddos. Christy and I were able to do a little visiting, then I occupied the children, while she made Grace's birthday dinner. We had tomato soup and tuna melts (the recipe from LDH). Because of the special diet, C has her family on right now, we did not have cake for dessert. Christian put candles on a 1/2 gallon of ice cream for Grace. He only put 4 on there, but Grace had a hard time blowing them out. She huffed and puffed, and we all laughed at her good natured effort to blow out candles that wouldn't be blown out!

Snow!

What a delight to wake up this morning to all that snow. It was so beautiful, I couldn't resist bundling up and going out with my camera.

When I opened the garage door,
the snow had obviously blown against it.

Andy had fun, too. Last summer we bought a snow blower.
He got to use it today for the first time.

Through the garden gate

I cleared off the bird feeders and filled them up,
then had another glorious show
as they busied themselves around their breakfast.

I was able to get a photo of the cardinal today,
with his bright red against the white snow.Picnic, anyone?

I love the snow. It's so pure, clean and beautiful. And I couldn't help but be reminded of Isaiah 1:18 when God says: "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."

The birds of the air...

My current memorization project is the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5 - 7. So far, I've made it to the end of chapter 6 which has been especially meaningful and comforting to me in these economic "hard" times.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air;they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Everyone is talking about the economic downturn and how hard things are. Not to dismiss those who have lost their jobs or houses, etc., but really, we in America are still very rich. Andy and I have been to Bangladesh, and we have seen some of the poorest people on earth. They scrounge the gutters and dumps for clothes and scraps of food.Or what about our houses? Even the tiniest house in America is huge and "fancy" compared to houses in the rest of the world. If you need a new house in Bangladesh, you must build it in the dry season because it's constructed of mud bricks. If you wait too long and the monsoons come, your house will literally wash away and you'll be left with nothing but a pile of mud. Well, I admit it is hard not to worry. But God has promised to care for his children, and with His help, I resolve to trust Him. (I need His help, because I cannot trust Him in my own strength.)

All of You is more than enough for all of me,
For ev'ry thirst and ev'ry need,
You satisfy me with Your love.
And all I have in You is more than enough.
words by Chris Tomlin

We had a coating of snow on the ground this morning and the bird feeders are very busy. I had just filled them up yesterday afternoon so am enjoying watching the drama. (It's better than watching tv!)

The little birds were busy on the feeders and on the ground, then all of a sudden Mr. Jay would drop by and all the little ones would fly away. I almost got a picture of Mr. Cardinal, but just as he sat on the bird feeder, old Mr. Wily Squirrel jumped on to get a share. I named the squirrel Wiley, because Andy likes to pop him with his air gun when the squirrel is helping himself to the birds' food. (For all you animal lovers out there, it doesn't kill the "poor thing," just stings him and he runs off.) However, this morning the squirrel was no where around as long as Andy was still home. He must have waited for Andy's truck to leave the driveway, because then he came out of hiding and helped himself to the delicious bird food.

Juncos

tufted titmouse

downy woodpecker on the stand being camera-shy

Old Mr. Wily - caught in the act