Summer Ribbon Salad

On a lighter note...

I love summertime produce. Everything is so refreshing, delicious, and cheap. When you buy these things out of season it can get really expensive, but now is the time to buy zucchini, mango, avocado, and corn. I remember in the fall I went to buy corn on the cob and it was like $4 for 4 cobs. This week, I got 10 corn cobs for $3. So I stocked up. And most places you can get 10 mango or avocado for $10.

After reading a few recipes, I was inspired to make something light and yummy. This is pretty much a mashup of my favorite ones, so here goes my best attempt at creating a recipe out of something I did on a whim.



Summer Ribbon Salad
(serves 4ish)

Salad:
2 medium sized zucchini, cut with a potato peeler into ribbons
1 cucumber, ribboned
2 grilled corn cobs, with corn cut off
1 avocado, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 champagne mango (it was in season), used for garnish but you can put it in the salad

Dressing
(I really have no idea the measurements, I just made it up as I went along)
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of one lime
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Six Months Lost at Sea (Part 2)

Two days ago I described what life was like before my father passed, now I will fill you in on what it has been like since.

AFTER

We found ourselves completely lost at sea, struggling to stay above water. It seemed like every time we came up for air, there was another wave beating us down. We were physically worn out from Felicity's labor and the sleep deprivation that comes with caring for a newborn. There was no energy left for us to deal with what happened, but we had to. We needed to be with my mom, my brothers, make arrangements, and somehow care for our newborn girl. We were exhausted on all levels.

And this is how we lived for two months. We dropped our lives and just tried to hang on. We would spend a couple days at my moms and then a couple days back home. Back and forth, every week. I don't think we cooked a single meal, cleaned our apartment, or did any work. We were hanging on and  waiting for help to come. And it did come in small forms. Friends from church brought us food, watched our babies, Dylan's mom came to help out and we even had some friends give financial gifts so we could pay our bills. We were (and are) completely grateful for all those things, but the big rescue we were hoping for didn't come. We found ourselves still broke, sleep deprived, and feeling stuck. A few big opportunities for support fell through and left us in a really tough spot. After the new year our finances hit a critical low and we were faced with the decision if we were going to pay rent or our health insurance (never mind all the past medical bills from Felicity's birth). So rent it was.

Then God through us a life line. We found out that my dad had some insurance policy put in my name when Liam was born, but didn't tell anyone (just like him to do). This money covered the debt we had accumulated over the past couple of months and would help us to cover our future needs. It was very conflicting in our hearts to be excited to have money again when we knew what had to happen in order for us to get it. I remember weeping as I signed the check to deposit it to the bank thinking Why did this have to be the way you provide for us? Shortly after we decided that a good use of this money would be to take a trip to Salerno to 1. remind ourselves of the mission we are working towards and 2. spend time with dear friends who would be like aloe to our wounds (that sounds a little weirder that I hoped).

So last week we were in Salerno, without kids. We laughed, cried, stuffed our faces, slept (woohoo), and talked through life with some of our closest friends. It was exactly what we need. An escape from the craziness to focus on what was going on inside our hearts. And we realized is that we need help. We've been treading water for so long and what we need is a rescue chopper to come pull us out of the water so we can recover. We need God to do miracles in our hearts to believe him for good things again. My faith has been broken down to the basics and that's what I have been clinging to but I need God to give me the faith to believe in his character.

For the first time in a long time, I would say that I'm hopeful. Like Job, I am learning to say "Though he slay me, I will hope in him."

Six Months Lost at Sea (Part 1)

This is what life has felt like.

Six months ago, the unexpected happened. Our already shaky, unstable boat of life capsized with the unexpected passing of my father. And since then it has felt like we have been hanging on floating debris adrift at sea. (I'm sure this analogy is gonna break down somewhere, but just go with it).

BEFORE

What do I mean when I say our life was already shaky and unstable? Let me try to summarize what the last couple years of our lives have been.

Year 1 (of Marriage): Awesome. We were newlyweds, raising support to work in full-time ministry. We lived on Treasure Island, which was close to both of our families, and spent a lot of time together. Building our boat.

Year 2: We finally got to Miami and it was not at all what we expected. There was tension within our team, we felt overwhelmed with the workload, and we actually wanted to leave at the end of the year. But God told us to stay, so we did.
Set out to sea and tried to stay afloat.

Year 3: We got plugged into an amazing church and started to see little victories within our ministry. Meanwhile, our financial support started to drop, we were losing money and supporters left and right,  and we were receiving short paychecks. We had to take time off campus to focus on support. The year ended with us leading a short term missions trip with college students to Italy over the summer. When we came back from the trip we found out we were pregnant. 
Navigating through the rough waters.

Year 4: Things changed in our ministry and we found ourselves being the team leaders of a campus. It was a nice thought, but the reality was that we were ill-equipped for this role. Our support continued to sink even lower, sometimes not getting any paychecks at all. As we were awaiting our arrival of our son, we started reconsidering if this is where God wanted us. Dylan pursued other possible jobs, but in the end they all fell through and we found ourselves having to leave the ministry and our church in Miami. Our son was born (with colic) in the midst of all this uncertainty. Dylan and I were exhausted with our life.
Rocky waters started to steer us off course.

Year 5: We moved to Orlando with Cru to spend a year healing and considering other possibilities within the ministry. Really the main motivation was that our rent was free, so that was one expense we didn't have to come up with. Our time in Orlando was sweet. We were reunited with most of our friends from college and we felt truly cared for by the leaders in Cru. Half-way through the year we were thinking that we were going to leave full-time ministry, get normal jobs, and move back to Miami. After doing some self-assessment tests, we began to doubt whether that was the direction we wanted to go and began praying about other options. That lead us to joining our friends in planting Salerno City Church. Believe me, that wasn't the easy option. We knew that it was going to require so much from us: get our current supporters to catch the vision and make the switch with us, raise the support we had lost over the years, figure out where to live in the mean time, break the news to our families, and (as we found out in the process) get ready for the birth of our daughter that was due in November. After our time in Orlando with Cru ended, we moved into Dylan's parents house for the summer so we could cut out some expenses while we raised support there.
The (somewhat) calm before the storm. 

First Half of Year 6: I just started my third trimester. Our plan was to move back to Miami so I could give birth with the same doctors, Dylan could be mentored by our pastor, we could be close to my family, and so we could raise support. The move date kept being pushed back because we didn't have the money to commit, and my nesting instincts were really kicking in because I didn't have a home for my soon-to-be born baby girl. Five weeks from my due date, we scrounged enough money to make the move. Two days before we moved my father slipped and fell and tore his hamstring. This required surgery and he was pretty much confined to his recliner for the next couple of weeks. So, that meant that every Saturday we went up to spend time with them but once we were a week out from the due date we stayed close to home cause we didn't want to risk getting caught in Miami traffic. Our financial situation was in crisis and there was no way that we were going to meet all of our needs. 5 days away from giving birth I lost it. We were broke, about to have another baby, in the middle of a huge career transition and I saw no way out. Then a couple days later, after 40 hours of labor, Felicity decided to join us. We were not home from the hospital all but 16 hours when my father passed six months ago today.
Storm came. Boat capsized. 


...and that was only the "Before"

The Sweetness of the Resurrection

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.