This past week has had me thinking a lot about my dad. As a music pastor, Easter was always a big day for him. There were musicals, plays, concerts, outreaches, baptisms, and multiple services. Amidst the ping of sadness of celebrating this first Easter without him, God (in his graciousness) has revealed the joy that I can find in this day.
"16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17and if Christ has not been raised your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished...20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." 1 Corinthians 15:16-18;20
"13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words." 1 Thess 4:13-18
"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake….[They]… will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." Daniel 12:2-3
"Resurrection means the restoration to us of the life we lost. New heavens and new earth means this body, this world! Our bodies, our homes, our loved ones—restored, returned, perfected and beautified! Given back to us!" -Tim Keller
Thank you Lord for dying for my sins and bearing the wrath of God on the Cross. Thank you for your resurrection and gift of eternal life. Thank you for my faith and the faith of my father, that I can look with eager expectation for your coming again, because we will be together again.
"55 O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
This is the sweetness of the resurrection.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A Week with Martha
Over the past year I have been subscribed to Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. I have loved it because it's small, fits in your bag, and is full of recipes. Last week I was determined to make dinner at home (something I haven't really done since Felicity was born). So I looked through all my issues and picked out the best weekly menu. This is the best part of the magazine. They pick 5 meals and create a shopping list that you can just rip out and take to the store. No thinking involved. And this is what I needed. I don't have the energy to sit down and come up with a menu for the week. So I chose the meal list from the November 2011 issue and here's how it went.
(Links to the recipes on Martha Stewart's site)
MONDAY
Steak Pizza with Peppers and Onions
This was soooo good. It was the most filling and hearty pizza I've ever made at home. An easy short cut I do when making pizza is just buying the pizza dough from the Publix Deli. I get no satisfaction in making dough, so I don't even waste my time with it. The recipe says that it serves 4 and it really does. My only critique is that I would serve this with some mixed greens.
TUESDAY
Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fall Vegetables
Yay for vegetables!! There aren't many vegetable recipes that I like, but this one was easy and tasty. I don't think I've had brussels sprouts since I was like twelve and my uncle wouldn't let me leave the dinner table until I finished eating all of them. Needless to say, that did not make me a fan. But now I am. I've also never had parsnips before, but they were pretty good. Dylan did not agree so next time I will just substitute carrots. I think what this dish was missing was somekind of grain. The meal went right through us and we were hungry an hour later. What I LOVED was how the recipe helped plan ahead for Friday's meal (you saved a portion of the tenderloin to be used later).
WEDNESDAY
Greek-style Chicken with Pickled Onions, Tomatoes, and Tzatziki
Flavor-fest in my mouth! I actually just made this meal tonight because we went out that night. It was delicious. This is one of the few meals where it actually took as long to make as the recipe said it would (normally I find that they take longer). Everything was easy. Instead of parsley, I used dill because I like dill in my tzatziki. Since Dylan hates white rice, I made pearl couscous. Will definitely be making this again.
THURSDAY
Mushroom and Lentil Soup
First off, this meal went wrong for us by not naming a meat protein in the title. And when you are making dinner for a man, I've learned, there needs to be meat. Lentils have a lot of protein in them but you either love 'em or hate 'em. I think Dylan hates them.
FRIDAY
Lo Mein with Pork
Again, I loved that the pork for this meal was already made early in the week. That saved so much time. I might have made too many noodles cause it was very "noodley". I feel like it could use more vegetables but I'm not sure what. Will make this again.
(Links to the recipes on Martha Stewart's site)
MONDAY
Steak Pizza with Peppers and Onions
This was soooo good. It was the most filling and hearty pizza I've ever made at home. An easy short cut I do when making pizza is just buying the pizza dough from the Publix Deli. I get no satisfaction in making dough, so I don't even waste my time with it. The recipe says that it serves 4 and it really does. My only critique is that I would serve this with some mixed greens.
TUESDAY
Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fall Vegetables
Yay for vegetables!! There aren't many vegetable recipes that I like, but this one was easy and tasty. I don't think I've had brussels sprouts since I was like twelve and my uncle wouldn't let me leave the dinner table until I finished eating all of them. Needless to say, that did not make me a fan. But now I am. I've also never had parsnips before, but they were pretty good. Dylan did not agree so next time I will just substitute carrots. I think what this dish was missing was somekind of grain. The meal went right through us and we were hungry an hour later. What I LOVED was how the recipe helped plan ahead for Friday's meal (you saved a portion of the tenderloin to be used later).
WEDNESDAY
Greek-style Chicken with Pickled Onions, Tomatoes, and Tzatziki
Flavor-fest in my mouth! I actually just made this meal tonight because we went out that night. It was delicious. This is one of the few meals where it actually took as long to make as the recipe said it would (normally I find that they take longer). Everything was easy. Instead of parsley, I used dill because I like dill in my tzatziki. Since Dylan hates white rice, I made pearl couscous. Will definitely be making this again.
THURSDAY
Mushroom and Lentil Soup
First off, this meal went wrong for us by not naming a meat protein in the title. And when you are making dinner for a man, I've learned, there needs to be meat. Lentils have a lot of protein in them but you either love 'em or hate 'em. I think Dylan hates them.
FRIDAY
Lo Mein with Pork
Again, I loved that the pork for this meal was already made early in the week. That saved so much time. I might have made too many noodles cause it was very "noodley". I feel like it could use more vegetables but I'm not sure what. Will make this again.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Dreaming of You
I am a pretty frequent dreamer. When I was younger, I used to write down all my dreams in a journal because I didn't want to forget them. They seemed so vivid and real. As I've gotten older they still are that way, just now a mix of good and bad dreams.
Since my father's passing, I have dreamt about him a lot. Each dream has been different. Sometimes it's a continuation of life, sometimes it's in the past, and sometimes it's this alternate reality where I know he already passed but somehow he's still here. Last night was one of the latter.
It was sometime within this first year of his passing and he came back. We all knew that he was gone and were really confused with his presence. He told us that once a year he would come back and be with us for a day but then he would be gone again. So we made the most of the day, filling him in on what had been happening since he left. When the day came to an end, I went and gathered my brothers and mother so they could say goodbye. His body started to fade like a ghost and I remember feeling so sad that he had to leave, begging him to stay. Then he was gone. The next day I sat down with my mom and her friend reminiscing about the day and they had no idea what I was talking about. They assured me that I had dreamt it all. I tried recounting the day with stories and pictures, but they kept saying "no". With every "no" I sobbed harder and harder as I continued to convince them that it happened. I couldn't have made all this up. He was really here. But apparently he wasn't.
Then I really woke up. This isn't the first inception dream I've had (a dream within a dream), but this definitely was the most emotional. While I was dreaming I felt both the joy and pain of realizing that it was real. I've had mixed emotions about dreaming of my dad. On one hand it is nice to have a place where we both exist together, but on the other hand it sucks to wake up and realize that it's not in this life. There's joy in seeing his face but pain knowing that it's not real.
Until we meet again...
Since my father's passing, I have dreamt about him a lot. Each dream has been different. Sometimes it's a continuation of life, sometimes it's in the past, and sometimes it's this alternate reality where I know he already passed but somehow he's still here. Last night was one of the latter.
It was sometime within this first year of his passing and he came back. We all knew that he was gone and were really confused with his presence. He told us that once a year he would come back and be with us for a day but then he would be gone again. So we made the most of the day, filling him in on what had been happening since he left. When the day came to an end, I went and gathered my brothers and mother so they could say goodbye. His body started to fade like a ghost and I remember feeling so sad that he had to leave, begging him to stay. Then he was gone. The next day I sat down with my mom and her friend reminiscing about the day and they had no idea what I was talking about. They assured me that I had dreamt it all. I tried recounting the day with stories and pictures, but they kept saying "no". With every "no" I sobbed harder and harder as I continued to convince them that it happened. I couldn't have made all this up. He was really here. But apparently he wasn't.
Then I really woke up. This isn't the first inception dream I've had (a dream within a dream), but this definitely was the most emotional. While I was dreaming I felt both the joy and pain of realizing that it was real. I've had mixed emotions about dreaming of my dad. On one hand it is nice to have a place where we both exist together, but on the other hand it sucks to wake up and realize that it's not in this life. There's joy in seeing his face but pain knowing that it's not real.
Until we meet again...
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Maple Oatmeal Dump Cookies
* Edited 1/30/12: I made these cookies again and modified it a bit. All the modifications are in RED. They came out more moist and crumbly then the first batch. So the choice is up to you. I totally just made up that name for these cookies and it doesn't sound too appealing. Well you know that cake, "Dump Cake", where you just toss whatever canned fruits you have in it? Well this is kind of the same idea. I was trying to come up with a healthy treat for Dylan and I and mashed up a couple of recipes to get this. I think they were pretty good for my first time making oatmeal cookies and I had to restrain myself from adding chocolate chips because I usually add chocolate chips into everything I bake. I'm sure I will make some adjustments over time to make them a little healthier like adding grated zucchini or flax seed or protein powder. This go around I just used whatever I had. Hope you try it.
Maple Oatmeal "Dump" Cookies
Yields: 24 cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (pumpkin pie spice)
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (1 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour)
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
*1-2 cups of treats
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup crushed pistachios
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add egg, vanilla, and syrup until well blended.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, salt cinnamon. Gradually add flour mixture until completely blended.
4. Stir in rolled oats and whatever treats you have. I had a bag of trail mix laying around that included dried cranberries, golden raisins, almonds and sunflower seeds.
5. Make cookies and bake for 8-10 minutes.
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