Bees in My Bonnet

Raita is a yogurt condiment to top off your curry (I can post how I make curry another time - we had it for supper tonight). It also works nicely as a different salad dressing if you're up for something exotic. It's very easy to make. We never have any left over. 1 cup plain yoghurt (full cream is good) 1/2 a cucumber - grated (or a whole mini cucumber) 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. cumin 1/4 t. coriander a sprinkle of garlic powder (the one time I don't use fresh!) 1-2 t. lemon juice Mix it all together - add more of what you like or less of what you don't! I can eat it by the spoonful.

And there was evening and there was morning - the first day of being friends. Don't take that as sacrilegious. It was the creation of something new - and I believe God declared that it was good... I remember going to Church the following morning and seeing Sam through new eyes. Before he had been a stranger. Now I was beginning to know him. He got up to speak during the Breaking of Bread service. I noticed how when he talked about God he spoke candidly without pretense. He didn't dress up his language or use high theological terms. And in fact, he didn't even have a prayer voice. You may not know what I mean, so I'll explain. Some people talk to you normally in whatever manner is their style, but when it comes time to pray, they adopt a whole other vocabulary and tone. Their speech slows down in reverence. Their words become carefully chosen. I believe this is all out of a sense of respect towards God and I won't knock it - perhaps even I do thi

It was the first weekend after the burglary that we had had the awful talk. He had arrived on Saturday and my Mom had driven with me to pick him up from the train. I had decided to go to visit the youth group I had attended when I was a teen. So he came with me. Afterwards we had been invited to a barbeque at my Filipina sister's house (Elizabeth). They hosted a BBQ every weekend for all their friends on the roof of their building (where they worked and lived). Actually, Elizabeth wanted me to meet a 'friend' who she was hoping to set me up with! I was very thankful to arrive WITH Sam, and to have an excuse to not visit too much with strangers. I met the guy Elizabeth wanted me to meet, and said, 'Very nice to meet you,' and that was it. I have knack for being curt on first introductions. We went home afterwards having enjoyed our visit with friends and Sam meeting the Filipino crowd who so hospitably welcomed us. That evening we talked a lot a

Trying to avoid carbs in the morning, so this is one of my favourite things to eat: 1 piece of bacon 1/2 shallot 1-3 mushrooms (depends on size and if you like mushrooms) 1-2 eggs (if Andrew is going to 'share' with me I do 2) Grated Cheddar cheese 1 T crumbled feta cheese Sprinkling of Cavender's Greek Seasoning Put the bacon in the pan 'til it's done how you like it. Take out the bacon and put the sliced shallot and mushrooms in to saute in the bacon grease. Beat up your egg or two. Sprinkle in Cavender's (or any seasoned salt to substitute). Once the shallot and mushrooms are done enough, pour the egg in. Sprinkle the feta and cheddar on. Crumble your bacon piece over it. Once solid enough but still runny, turn over half to make a half moon shape. Slice up 1/2 Avocado. Lay completed omelette over top of the avocado. Crumble more feta on top. Goes nice with a cup of Ruby Red Grapefruit juice. And a cup of coffee or tea. Yummy Breakfast!

I read on a wide variety of subjects. Not on everything however. I tend not to read much on technology, computers, chemistry, math (my brain gets dizzy any time numbers are present - thus you won't see lists of statistics supporting what I write!), fluffy fiction (as opposed to purposeful!), and very rarely biographies. Sorry to disappoint the biography crowd out there. I just find often they are either too inspirational and my cynicism makes reading difficult, or they are too condemning and fail to highlight both the good and the bad in a person. I did read the required biography of D.L.Moody and found it was worthwhile, and once in a while I will stumble on something and read it by accident. Enough of the biography discussion. Here's an example of what I have recently read (only completed books listed here): 1. Hana's Suitcase 2. In My Hands 3. The Amish Way 4. Mao's Great Famine (1948-1952) 5. And Thereby Hangs a Tale 6. The Emperor of All Maladies 7. The 10 Du

I made this for supper tonight - with baked new potatoes and Mom's great coleslaw. Roast Beef: Sirloin Tip Roast Marinate in: 2 minced cloves garlic (sorry I can't stomach the jar stuff - go with fresh!) 1 T minced fresh ginger 1t. soy sauce 2 T any viniagrette/Italian salad dressing you like 1/2 c. red wine (I used the Cabernet from Aldi) 1 T. olive oil fresh ground pepper Rotate so it gets all the marinade all over it. Marinade as long as you like - a couple hours is good. Roast in oven however long you usually like it - I like it a bit on the rare side. Slice and serve with Sauce below: Slice 2 shallots Slice an 8 oz (or more) box of fresh mushrooms (canned doesn't cut it) - I had some crimini (baby bella's) and some regular button mushrooms Saute in 1 T butter (I try not to use too much because I like the flavour of the shallots and mushrooms to shine, not the butter). I had a little left over bacon grease and added a bit which gave a great flavour. After they'

Today in our Sunday school we were talking about the importance of acceptance - how God accepts us, and how we, in turn can be such a blessing to others (specifically our spouses, if married) by our acceptance of them. I shared with the class how I had seen this demonstrated yesterday between Caleb and Priscilla. They were having an argument about a book Priscilla wanted from Caleb which he was withholding from her. In her anger, Priscilla burst out with, "Caleb, you're SO selfish and greedy." This deeply hurt him. They battled back and forth for a while, and finally Caleb said, "Fine, just have it then - if that's what you think of me!" He then teared up and expressed his dismay by saying, "I can't believe you with think to say of me that I'm selfish and greedy - that you would say that of your own brother!" We talked with Priscilla and got to the root of the issue - her jealousy and desire to have what was his. Then we asked her w

A Word about the Preacher Before continuing, let me add the side-note that it is not merely the text of Scripture that matters in preaching, but the one delivering the message as well. In order to integrate the mind’s understanding of the Word and the heart’s response, the one delivering the message ought to have first encountered similar delight in preparation to deliver the message. In her book, Storytelling Laura Emerson says, “ Be wholehearted and enthusiastic. Don’t tell things without making them real.” Emerson taught that “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Impression precedes expression…When you are intimate with the characters and the sequence of events and catch the spirit of the narrative, storytelling will become the spontaneous outpouring of this experience.” Obviously there is more to Biblical preaching than storytelling. But these thoughts could be true of preaching – the impact of preaching will be far greater if the one delivering

After the episode where Sam was talking about his longings I knew I was in a bit too deep for comfort. At that point we hardly knew each other and he was not even considering me as an option! I still believed that I would always be single and trusted God to help me engage in this friendship wisely. Until this point I had avoided friendships with single guys because it seemed always to lead to trouble. But when you are thrown into circumstances such as we faced, there was so much to talk about and process and I trusted that God was in control of the friendship that was now growing. As we talked and our friendship grew, we began to discuss our ideals for marriage. So I met Sam, liked him, and initially he didn’t like me in that sort of way. He said so plainly. Do I have to tell you how? No, I'll keep that shameful discussion to the recesses of my memory, hoping to forget it. All I'll say, is that Sam tried to be clear without insulting me, but succeeded only in the

Preaching in the Local Church “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Timothy 3:16-4:2 The New Testament here commands that the Word be preached in the environment of the community of faith, namely, the Local Church. The ‘ Ekklesia’ or ‘gathering’ of believers is to be a community that revolves around the teachings, person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church gathers out of obedience to the Lord, primarily to remember Him in worship. As worship is the purpose for the Church gathering, preaching can be seen as a part of corpora

I have a genuine heart for worship. I know, people say that all the time. But what does that mean? It means different things to different people. For me, it means that I desire God to be honoured, glorified, in all I do. When it comes to music and how it is used in a Christian gathering I also desire that God be honoured. I want Him to be centre – not me, not anyone else, not any thing else (the music, the performance, the polish, the externals) – but Him. That said, I don’t need to be the one at the piano – I don’t need anyone to know/hear me play. I play for God. If others get in on it, so be it. My desire only is that what is played meets certain criteria. Namely: 1) that it be purposeful – why is music being played? Who is it serving? If it is serving to glorify me, I don’t want it. 2) That it be appropriate – is the music being thoughtfully selected? 3) Is God the centre – the One we are seeking to honour via the channel of music? Or are we focuss