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