The Song that's blasting in my office currently

Look at me, 2 posts in a row! I've discovered that I can type in pretty colors. This makes me happy. Right before Christmas I posted about waiting. In the season of Advent we wait upon the Lord. But waiting isn't just during advent. Although it would be nice if it was just one season of waiting. But the truth is that waiting comes in different seasons in all different ways. My friend Maritza recently sent me a fb message about a song that I needed to check out. It was too good not to share. Here are the lyrics...

While I'm Waiting

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

-While I'm Waiting by John Waller

And of course the slightly cheesy Youtube Video to go along :)

A New Perspective

One again I've been an absentee blogger. I made a goal of blogging once a week...uh yeah, that obviously hasn't happened. I was all ready to sit down and vent out my thoughts to the world wide web last week about a situation that I was, at first, not so happy about. But in the end, I'm glad that I didn't. You see, since then I've had a change in perspective. I realized that I was holding on to a lot of anger. Now, I don't usually consider myself to be an angry person. Normally I'm not, but I can be, and lately I was. I was mad. I was angry. I was sitting in total self entitlement. Yuck. Anyway, thank God for his grace and for friends who pray. There is something about knowing that there are people who are willing, in a loving way, to really take a chance and speak truth. I'm just glad I was open enough to hear it.
And hear it I did. I mean, I'm still processing a bunch of it, but I heard it, took it to Jesus, and decided that it was time to get a new perspective.
You know those Claritin commercials where the foggy lens is lifted and suddenly life is "Claritin Clear". I feel a little like that. Like the fogginess is finally lifting and I can see clearly now. Hmmm, that kinda makes me want to sing along to the Calypso music that is suddenly running through my head..."I can see clearly now the rain is gone...." I'll spare you the rest, haha!
Any way, I am seeing how God has been at work, how he's been with me, how he knows what he's doing. I still don't get it all, I'm not sure if or when I will, but I'm glad to see things differently because I was tired of standing still shaking my fist towards the heavens. It's really not becoming of me.
My friend Shiloh posted this on my fb wall. It's long, but I LOVED it. If you need some new perspective, you'll love it too...

Charlie and Lola - Shiny Red Shoes

Blessed Be Your Name

The words of a well know worship song goes like this...

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your nameOn the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, LordStill I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

It's been a while since I last blogged. 

Everyday I've thought about it, but then something would come up and I would get 

distracted or something.  I guess if I'm really honest it's because I've been in a bit of a funk. 

It's been a tough season for me. I've had a lot of disappointments, a lot of heart break, 

lost a loved one, and have been angry at God quite a bit. Despite it all I am learning to 

still say,Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be your glorious name. 

It's funny. Part of me wants to totally minimize my hurt because I realize that it's not as

bad as other people. At least I wasn't engaged or married, at least I didn't get my hand 

cut off, at least I didn't  lose my mom or dad, at least my brother is just moving to Cincinnati. 

But I realize that if I minimize  how I am feeling then I can't receive the maximum comfort 

that the Lord has for me. It's a delicate balance though. I don't want to wallow. 

I want to press in, go deep and move on. There are that I feel paralyzed to make a 

decision and then moments where I just want to do what seems easy, fun, or

exciting.  But mostly there are just moments where I don't want to make any decisions at all and 

just have someone else make them for me. Not really an option. So, I will choose to wait on the 

Lord, who is close to the broken hearted and who knows the plans he has for me. I will choose to

sing Blessed be your name in the good time and the shitty times. I will stay connected with Jesus,

committed to community and challenged for the greater cause of the Kingdom. 

For the next 20 days I am praying and fasting. Join me if you like. 

It's a new season, it's a new day. 

Waiting

Longing, waiting, anticipating the coming of a king. 

A king who would bring what we always needed but didn't know we wanted but longed for.

Longing, waiting, anticipating the coming of Emmanuel, God made flesh who was and is and is to come that some have recognized and many have not. 

The coming of him who came to seek and be sought

After we recognize that the longing, waiting and anticipating is something outside of ourselves that can't be bought with money. 

God in the flesh who came to dwell among us as we rush around in a busy haze of remembrance of what we truly need. 

Coming to dwell among a people who play the games of the world while the one who comes longs to grab our attention. 

Are we longing, waiting, anticipating the one born a stranger in a manger who was recognized not by the mighty but the weak and lowly 

Slowly we recognize our need for a savior - the one born in the stench of manure that he might maneuver into our hearts and take his rightful place as king. 

Wait. 

Long.

Anticipate

The Great I AM, Wonderful Counselor, Ever Lasting Father, Prince of Peace

Who came as the Least of these that we might be set free.

But you see the priorities of you and me got confused and we look for presents under the Christmas tree forgetting all about a baby born in a nativity that became a man who died on a tree to raise on day three with only one thing on his mind

You and Me

to set us free from the fantasy that everything is about us.

Stop.

Wait.

Long.

Anticipate His Coming.

The one who was, is and is to come is coming. 

The world is in a frenzy while creation awaits and whispers of his presence. 

Listen.

Can you hear him?

The source of all things whispers

He's coming

And when we stop, wait and anticipate the hoping, praying, longing our hearts were created for causes us to pause long enough to whisper back, 

"Come Lord Jesus, Come." 

Suddenly our eyes fixed and our voices raised we sing the welcoming of

Christ the King

Rejoicing. 

Glad that we choose to wait.

Here I sit.

Longing 

Waiting 

Anticipating

Recognizing that what I need,

only He can offer

Oh Give Thanks!

I love the fall. I love the richness of the colors, the rich tastes of the food, the crispness of the air. Even though I've never experienced the changing of leaves anywhere that I have ever lived, I have seen the beauty of trees changing from green to golden yellows, oranges and reds that make them appear as though on fire. I love the way that even in the good ol' no season changing south, fall brings amazing vegetables, cooler weather and wonderful family gatherings.
This year for Thanksgiving I drove 4 hours south to Corpus Christi where my friends Tim and Susan live with there three very adorable children. It's the first Thanksgiving I've spent with a family with young kids in a long time, and I loved it. And what's not to love when you get to play Pirate, read stories, watch Diego and decorate the Christmas tree! Besides playing with the kids - Paul (4), James (3) and Berea (1) Susan and I were lean, mean baking and cooking machines. I think I might have gained some serious weight. The amazing thing was most of the desserts (minus the apple pie) and was all made out of one pumpkin!  

 First we roasted pumpkin seeds

 Next came 2 Dozen Pumpkin Eaters

 Then I baked the most delicious Apple Pie any of us had ever eaten (maybe because there was 2 1/2 sticks of butter in the crust!

  Then came the Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies (which turned out with more of a fruit cake type texture than cookie because Susan substituted peanut oil for the olive oil that we thought we ran out of only to find it later!) They're yummy despite the interesting texture : )

and yes, there are a lot of these cookies..140 0f them to be exact. That one pumpkin went a loooonnnggg way!

 And don't forget about the 3 loaves of Pumpkin Walnut Bread

 James (3) helping decorate the Christmas tree

Paul (4) and James (3) decided to be silly and put the plastic tubes that held the ornaments on their heads...hilariously cute! 

 So, by the end of the tree decorating you could totally tell that two little boys were helping. As you can see some interesting creatures ended up in the tree as well!

 Paul and James are just too adorable!

 I loved getting to decorate the tree with them.

 Introducing Berea Anna...her shirt said "I'm a Princess" and she certainly is : )

 It was so funny to watch all the ornaments get clumped together at the bottom of the tree...

 Our Thanksgiving Dinner was DELICIOUS...notice the pumpkin soup (and p.s. not sure why the pic ended up in the middle of the christmas decorating photos but I can't figure out how to move it!)

 see, I told you random creatures were getting put on the tree!

The finished product. The piece of paper reads "HAPPY BIRTHD JESUS"!

Soup de Jour

Lloyd: "What's the Soup de Jour?"

Waitress: "It's the Soup of the Day"

Lloyd: "Mmmm...that  sounds good. I'll have that."

Dumb and Dumber - one of my classic favorites

There is something so comforting about soup. When the weather outside turns cooler there is nothing like a hot bowl of soup (and maybe a grilled cheese sandwich) to make you feel all warm inside. 

I got to have a lot of soup in Vancouver, all of it was amazing. Not only did a friend of mine make it at home, but the church I was going to would sometimes have soup after service.

I joked around up there about starting a "Soup de Jour" airstream trailer (which are a huge hit in Austin). I think it could work. Everyday there would be a massive amount of the same soup. When we ran out, we ran out, the next day, a different soup.

Monday: Curried Butternut Squash Bisque, Tuesday: Tomato Basil soup, Wednesday: Chicken Noodle (or Monica's chicken and rice soup...I need to get that recipe!), Thursday: Sweet Potato soup, Friday: Minestrone soup, Saturday: Baked Potato, Sunday: Split Pea soup...oh the possibilities are endless...

I know that your mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Anyway, it's just a dream that will probably never materialize for real so instead I am just making soup for myself to enjoy (and yes, probably my roommates). 

Today I finished making Curried Butternut Squash. I first had this amazingly delicious soup at my friend's Drew and Sarah's place for a posh little dinner party that they threw. Ever since then I've been waiting for the day for Butternut squash to come back in season AND for it to be cool enough to enjoy hot soup while not sweating. There are only a few times a year in Texas where that is remotely possible so I jumped at the opportunity. 

I can't wait till dinner to have a big pipping hot bowl...

I will share the recipe with you, it's too good to keep to myself. 

Ingredients:

• 2 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled apple
• 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste*
• 2 14-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 6 tablespoons sour cream, stirred to loosen
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush cut side of squash with oil; place squash, cut side down, on large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Scoop squash out into large bowl. Measure 3 cups squash (reserve any remaining squash for another use).

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and apple; sauté 5 minutes. Add curry paste; stir 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, and 3 cups squash. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to same pot. Stir in cream and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Rewarm over medium-high heat.

Divide soup among bowls. Drizzle with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro.

In the Everyday

In the everyday there are moments of contentment, moments of hope. There are moments of panic, moments of tears, moments of laughter, moments of spontaneous singing and dancing in the kitchen. 

There are moments you hope to always celebrate and moments you hope to forget. 

In the everyday there is a desire to live in the moment, the desire to live life each day at a time. There are moments where that seems easy, but most times it's easier said then done.

In the everyday there is joy interwoven with pain, beauty interwoven with disgust, hope interwoven with disappointment.

In the everyday there is clarity mingled with cloudiness, comfort mingled with dis-ease. In the everyday there is God's voice whispering competing with the enemies voice taunting. There is spirit battling flesh, good battling evil, justice battling injustice. 

In the everyday there are moments that are for you and moments that are seemingly against you. There are moments that last forever and moments that pass you by.

In the everyday there are choices - what to eat, wear, go, do,say,not say,obey, not obey, speak up, remain silent, play, rest.

 

In the everyday there is a chance to slow down, stop and enjoy what's around you, breath deeply, daydream briefly, love fully.

In the everyday we can care, rest, meet, work, play, go, stay.

In the everyday I want to live in a way that is 0-60mph suddenly with out knowing what got me there, but to be aware of the moment by moment. 

I've lost too much living in the someday or yesterday when what I need to embrace is today. I just want to drink deep in the moment of the everyday.