Outrageous food //



I've been talking with some of you about this book, a read that I strongly recommend for those who have a curious palate.  Food has been on my mind a lot lately as I'm considering different lifestyle choices & how to be prepared for marriage.  After all, we do eat three times every single day, and yet how many people care to know what they are actually eating (food is a lot more complicated these days).  If nothing else, it has spurred me on to dream of what impact I can have on the future of our food.  Knowledge is so powerful that it causes people to do one of two things : run or change.  Mr. Pollan states that many people today seem perfectly content eating at the end of an industrial food chain, without a thought in the world.  One of my favorite lines...."But in the end this is a book about the pleasures of eating, the kind of pleasures that are only deepened by knowing."

Here's a quick drive-by....these quotes are stuck in my head as I try to put my new knowledge into action.

**   "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

**   "So that's us: processed corn, walking."

**   "Were the walls of our meat industry to become transparent, literally or even figuratively, we would not long continue to raise, kill, and eat animals the way we do."

**   "While the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest. "

** "The sheer novelty and glamor of the Western diet, with its seventeen thousand new food products every year and the marketing power - thirty-two billion dollars a year - used to sell us those products, has overwhelmed the force of tradition and left us where we now find ourselves: relying on science and journalism and government and marketing to help us decide what to eat."

Outrageous confetti //

The Confetti System....now that's one way to throw a party!

Outrageous deals (craft away!) //  SAVE-ON-CRAFTS

Outrageous truth // For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world---our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world EXCEPT the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?   ** 1 John 5.3-5

Ladies and Gentleman, we are at 95 days & counting....always counting.

12 hours on the golf course, 2 hours eating at restaurants, 10 hours in the Ole' German Lodge...this was my trip to the Quad Cities last week. Not that I minded because I was there to support Thane, and the Quad Cities left something to be desired out of the word "city".  Mom & I braved the Illinois north wind that chills your blood with the art of layering and an extra-hot latte.  Unfortunately, at the end of our long days, we returned to this place...

[caption id="attachment_911" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="the Lodge of Doom"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_903" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="Thane's residence...complete with a picture of some queen"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_901" align="aligncenter" width="771" caption="We received the royal treatment : a full canopy bed"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_910" align="aligncenter" width="771" caption="Stained Glass + thunderstorms + indoor cobble road"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="A chilly cruise in the cart"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_908" align="aligncenter" width="764" caption="I kept getting distracted from the golf game..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_906" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Mustang Pride"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_912" align="aligncenter" width="915" caption="green green * brown river"][/caption]

It's the start of the post-college era, typically characterized by a sigh of relief, subsequent lack of direction, and the unavoidable question "What are you going to do?"  I'm thankful that for now, I can simply smile and answer "get married".  But beneath that two-word answer is a world of emotion & preparation.

Jon & I started reading What Did You Expect? (by Paul David Tripp) when we got engaged.  This book has helped  "clue me in" about the realities of marriage that I would have otherwise been surprised to find out.  Some of the examples of marriages in this book terrify me because they reveal to me the subtlety of sin and how self-deceived I can be.  This book is helping to unravel so many of the unrealistic expectations that I have going into marriage (engaged people, buy this book!) If you are happily married, the six commitments that this book is founded on are so piercing.

 COMMITMENT 1 : We will give ourselves to a regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness.

COMMITMENT 2 : We will make growth and change our daily agenda

COMMITMENT 3: We will work together to build a sturdy bond of trust

COMMITMENT 4: We will commit to building a relationship of love.

COMMITMENT 5 : We will deal with our differences with appreciation and grace.

COMMITMENT 6 : We will work to protect our marriage.

Yep, worth the read.

I now call KANSAS the eternal snowstorm.  Whether its breath-taking crystals or floating pods of cotton, bottom line is that they both stick.  I choose to embrace them both as uniquely Kansas, especially because it's my last chance to experience this humid, bipolar climate for a length of time. Now that I am a visitor instead of a resident, I am intrigued by things I once considered common. It's all part of the continual comparison that happens inside my brain.

Hey! Hutch has food trucks too! If only I could interpret the menu...

Vintage store downtown // That's one way to preach it!

Such a dashing bride // Should have waited to buy my dress!

A few vintage treasures // 7 items for $20? Slightly different from most West Coast "thrifting"

Swollen skies // Determined rides

Sky ---> Skyline // I could get use to these ratios

I've been walking in the same way as I did
And missing out the cracks in the pavement
And tutting my heel and strutting my feet
"Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I could call?
No, and thank you, please madam, I ain't lost, just wandering"

Round my hometown, memories are fresh
Round my hometown, ooh, the people I've met
Are the wonders of my world, are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of this world, are the wonders and now

....Adele // Hometown Glory

&&& tomorrow it's off to Illinois for Thane's National Golf tournament. Also, our first chance to experience part of the Quad cities [ & of course, I'll share with you ]

As I'm sure some of you know, sitting in a hospital room can take it flat out of you.  And I consider myself to be a fortunate one: I haven't been the victim of long, sleepless nights & God has blessed us with a favorable, known outcome.  I'm thankful for the inexhaustible energy of love ... & our family has felt its full force vertically & horizontally this past week.

Update on Mom ::: the surgery went very well & was a bit longer than expected because it turns out Mom had transitional cell carcinoma (instead of renal cell).  This is not a worse situation, but they also had to remove her ureter and it took more time.  We are waiting for the final results, but the cancer should be GONE FOR GOOD.  Flowers, emails, cards, visitors...have helped make her white-walled room a bearable place!  { thank you all } She should be going home tomorrow if her pain levels remain stable.  Our family is holding up well, finding strength in His proven goodness and plan for our circumstances.

Something that I've realized this past year (as part of growing up) is that cancer is everywhere.

Once it hits close to home, you realize that everyone has been affected by cancer somehow. "Father-in-law, brother, wife"...the statistics become real as the stories emerge from friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike.  And I have deduced that CANCER IS NOT THE END OF LIFE. For those who are children of God, it can be a tool for sanctification, bringing the fruits of gentleness, meekness, gratitude, and patience. It is like a giant pinch or an unwelcome wake-up call..."Yes, you are fragile. You have been steadily approaching death since the day you were born, and nothing can alter that ultimatum. You were lovingly created that way."  Not everyone catches the cancer early and their expected life on earth may be shortened. { But nothing alters the length of eternity. }  My friend Lizzie has been such an example to me the past couple of months, changing how I view cancer and illness....check out her story here.

I think that's all my mind has for now, time for a nap before morning comes and I'm back on a plane!

At the time, I couldn't tell you why I wanted to memorize Romans 8.  Half a year later, I can tell you that this chapter has been exactly what I've needed in so many situations.  This week is a perfect example...

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Stage 1. Laparoscopic nephrectomy. 94% survival rate. Three statements that define this trial & yet show the Lord's goodness.  It is crazy how I feel the Lord's blessing upon my family in a clearer, more distinguishable way.  I have hope that her body is going to be redeemed, glorified, & perfected one day.  Until then, we accept the bumps, bruises, and aging that God gives us [to each his own].

&&&
I LOVE being home. Simply put, there's no feeling like being able to hug Mom, eat a meal with my parents, pray with them, etc.  Thank you, Allegiant Air, my teammates, my coach, & my professors for freeing me this week.

Here was my view from Mt. Helix [San Diego] earlier this week, as God put on a watercolor display [ unnoticed by many, predicted in His Word ]

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him … But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:11,17)

December 25th came in a flurry and disappeared, dragging with it the lights, carols, & "holiday cheer".  But this year Christmas was different for me.  In Israel we celebrated Hanukkah. Walking the streets of Jerusalem during that week, I witnessed a Jewish family lighting a tiny Menorah outside their home and was invited to help a baker make sufganiyot (jelly-filled donuts, a Hanukkah staple).  I felt several months and worlds away from the external (& sometimes sacrilegious) festivities that surround December 25th in America.

[caption id="attachment_636" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="i lived on a hill far away"][/caption]

It was surprising how much I miss Israel and our humble campus on the moshav (on left hill in picture above).  When we landed back in America after four months, the airport was overflowing with lights, trees, carols.  It was a rush of familiarity, but it paled in significance to my new knowledge of Christ.  Every year I am convicted about how seldom I meditate on Christ during the buzz of the Christmas season.  I am so thankful for an entire semester in which I was isolated in Christ's homeland with the Jews.  I watched them scurry around, running to the bus stop and to the bakery in their black clothes [which they wear to mourn the destruction of the Temple].  Why do they live in such a frantic state? Because they are still waiting for the birth & reign of the Messiah, the One who they believe will save them from their endless suffering. I believe that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah that God promised Israel, and how heartbreaking it was to watch the Jews live in denial of God's gift, His only Son.  With that said, it was so humbling to watch them celebrate their religious holidays with such fervor and love for the Old Testament.  For them, holidays are only about God. For example, during the festival of Sukkot, teens will stay up all night to study the Torah. It is their deepest joy. And yet, I struggle to read/study what the Bible says about Christ's birth for the month before I celebrate Christmas. I am different from the Jews because I have the confidence that the Messiah has come and conquered sin & death. But where is the focus of my love during Christmas?  Being home, seeing beloved friends, unwinding from school :: distractions.  I found myself turning again and again to this simple prayer ::

Herein is wonder of wonders:

he came below to raise me above, was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love:

when I cannot rise to him he draws me near on wings of grace, to raise me to himself.

Herein is power:

when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart he united them in indissoluble unity, the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom:

when I was undone, with no will to return to him, and no intellect to devise recovery he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost, as man to die my death, to shed satisfying blood on my behalf, to work out a perfect righteousness for me. [Valley of Vision, "The Gift of Gifts"]

THAT, will be my creed and heartbeat for days, weeks, and months to come.  May the wonder of His coming to earth be such a treasure that I make it the theme of 2011.

& & & I want to thank all of you who follow my blog by giving you an exclusive preview of the most exciting day of my life...December 30, 2010 is one for the books.  [ more to follow tomorrow ]

[caption id="attachment_620" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Watson"][/caption]

Meet Sir Watson.  He now resides on Inverness Drive and is a welcome addition to our family. But he's not alone.

[caption id="attachment_625" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Jax"][/caption]

This is the insatiable Jax. Whether it be napping, fighting, or dashing about, Jax never has enough.

As I walked into my house last Saturday & saw two little heads peek over the couch at me, I understood how these two stole my parents' hearts so easily.

(( My parents have traded their two obedient children for wild bandits with far greater potential for misbehavior & tendency for naps.  Like Watson and his newfound love for Christmas trees. ))

He's really got "a leg up" on that Christmas tree.

snuggled away in a pokey bed

I'll admit that being "replaced" isn't always a bad thing.  These two have managed to steal my heart as well.  On a different note, can you believe that Christmas is a mere 3 days away?  This year, my "Christmas Blend" of Scripture has included many chapters in Isaiah in addition to reading the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).

I'll leave you with some verses from Chapter 52 / /

Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people;

he has redeemed Jerusalem.

The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.