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Oceans of Plastic

Sobering.

(Via 2-10, I think.)

June 26, 2007  |  Comments (7)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Google Goodies

New google tools make me giddy. I guess it is my inner tech-geek trying to manifest. Thanks to Gid, I've been playing around with a new google app that is still in beta: Google Recipes.

(Oddly enough, right before reading about it over at Gid's, I was googling a recipe for chili for Hubby, since I don't have all the ingredients on hand for his Mom's recipe.)

June 25, 2007  |  Comments (2)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

Reposting, so Hubby has the recipe easily at hand. I soaked the beans last night, and he'll be cooking them today.

Red Beans and Rice. It was comfort food, as well as a staple, as I grew up. My Mom tells me how they had it every Monday, as is traditional in New Orleans. Monday is wash day, perfect for having a pot of beans simmer slowly on the back of the stove all day. Even better, if there is a leftover ham bone from Sunday dinner.

I rinsed and started soaking my red beans last night. Here is a rough recipe for New Orleans Red Beans and Rice--it's one of those recipes that becomes better as you tweak it over time and adjust it to suit your family.

2 pounds dried red beans, sorted and rinsed
Water
1/2 pound lean salt pork, bacon, or ham, diced (veggie friends--you can leave this out--but honestly, a little bacon adds a lot of flavor!)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped (opt.)
1 green pepper, chopped (opt.)
1-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
TABASCO Sauce, to taste

Hot cooked rice
Hot french bread, butter

Wash and soak beans overnight. Drain beans, and cover with fresh water Add meat and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover. Add onions, celery, garlic, and seasonings, either directly to the pot, or saute first, then add to pot.

Cover, simmer 1 1/2 to 3 hours longer, until beans are tender enough to smush easily with a fork. Add water while cooking, as needed. If you like, take some of the beans out, smush them and add them back to the pot for a thicker consistency.

Serve over hot, white rice wtih french bread and plenty of butter.

June 25, 2007  |  Comments (2)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 13

Q. 13. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.

sinning against God
Genesis 3:6-8, 13; 2 Corinthians 11:3;

(via OPC/CRTA)

June 24, 2007  |  Comments (0)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Read and Reflect: Fall to Grace Series

Fall to Grace, Part 1
Fall to Grace, Part 2
Fall to Grace, Part 3
Fall to Grace, Part 4
Fall to Grace, Part 5
Fall to Grace, Part 6
Fall to Grace, Part 7
Fall to Grace, Part 8
Fall to Grace, Part 9
Fall to Grace, Part 10

Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 1
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 2
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 3
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 4
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 5
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 6
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 7
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 8
Fall to Grace: The Aftermath, Part 9

June 23, 2007  |  Comments (0)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Years, Sisters, Miles

My friend Rebecca started blogging awhile back, and now her two sisters have joined her. So, check out the smart domestic Rebecca, momma-with-the-mostest Amy, and the splendid Emily. I've known these three sisters since. . . well. . . has it been almost 20 years?! Uh, it can't be that long, can it?

These three sisters remind me of two other sisters from the same time in my life, same locale--April and Stacey. Only, Stacey isn't blogging. Yet. That I know of. Stacey and her sweetheart Dustin are now blogging!

Two more sisters, me and my sis.

Updated: Another sister pair from the same era and area are Little Carlotta and TweetyGirl.

Looking over where each of us, seven women in seven different states, each at a different stage in our lives, spiritual journeys, relationships. . . In the late '80s, in Chicago's northern suburbs, I don't think any of us quite pictured we would be where we are now.

June 23, 2007  |  Comments (7)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Boys and Men

"Is this what is meant by the chivalric ideal?" asked J10 today, as he, Hubby and brothers were working out--lifting weights while listening to Puccini.

June 22, 2007  |  Comments (2)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Women, Know Your Limits!

Women, Know Your Limits!. Thanks to the kittens are so soft crowd at True Womanhood.

June 20, 2007  |  Comments (7)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Assembling Of Ourselves Together

"I have come to believe that I need to search out true Biblical likemindedness — and that has all to do with Jesus and with gospel essentials. If I am separating over choir robes or three point sermons or music styles or what the pastor wears or whether one uses humor or not, then I have put these things before Jesus. I love my preferences more than I love His people.

"Is it hard to find a church home? I can tell you that it is a struggle that I absolutely despise. I am being forced to repent daily. The only thing that is keeping me going in this struggle, in this literal heartbreak, is my family. On my own, I am sorry to confess, I would simply tell God that His command not to forsake the assembling together, and all His instructions about how Christians are to minister to one another, and His commission to us to make disciples — well, I would tell Him that this is all simply too much for me to bear. It is beyond me. It is a burden I cannot carry.

"But if I love Him, I will obey Him. And I will love His Body. Whether or not they wear choir robes. Even if they sing songs I don’t like. Even if they conduct church services that aren’t my personal cup of tea. Even if they disagree with me over the Lord’s Supper. Even if they don’t share my pet doctrines or practices. In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity. I am beginning to see the wisdom in that. Finally. But it is such a hard, difficult lesson.

"I can call myself a perfectionist curmudgeonette, but that’s simply a humorous way of saying that I’m lacking in love.

--Rebecca, who muses

Because of the value we see God places on the local church body, at various times we have been part of a church planting team, we've driven 2 hours one way each Sunday, we've submitted to guidance from local elders--and we've struggled to even make it to church.

What I've quoted above cuts to my heart and exposes it, and I find it oddly comforting. So much struggle, more than I could imagine. "On my own, I am sorry to confess, I would simply tell God that His command not to forsake the assembling together. . . I would tell Him that this is all simply too much for me to bear."

Now it seems as if the Lord has provided for us a local church body with which to worship, a pastor who proclaims the Gospel in the preaching of the Word--and even share my preferences in a way that doesn't distract me from worship. Yet, I am still struggling.

June 17, 2007  |  Comments (8)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Hello From Chicago!

Me, J10, T9, and My Mom

The two older boys and I have been spending a fabulous weekend in Chicago visiting my parents. We've walked all over the city, ridden the ferris wheel at Navy Pier (where my Mom used to work--as Mrs. Claus!), watched the baby beluga nurse at Shedd Aquarium. . . My Dad and the boys slept with the dinos at the Field Musuem.

June 16, 2007  |  Comments (11)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done a Thankful Thursday list in awhile. If I remember correctly, it was BadgerMum who first inspired me and others to list some of our blessings on our blogs on Thursdays.

Today, I'm thankful for. . .

1. Wonderful parents--and a trip to see them this weekend!
2. My sister's new laptop.
3. That T9's foot injury is more minor than it first appeared.
4. For R8's sense of wonder and fairytales.
5. For lots of kids in our neighborhood.
6. Yummy coffee from Bisbee.
7. The most understanding husband in the world.

June 14, 2007  |  Comments (2)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Women's Words

Looking for stimulating conversation among women, about women and the Word? Check out several, ongoing discussions over at True Womanhood.

June 14, 2007  |  Comments (1)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Lemonade Stand

The boys have been planning to have a lemonade stand, and the parents have been procrastinating. Today was a perfectly hot, happy day for lemons and sugar and ice.

One of our neighbors has their house on the market,
and invited the kids to set up shop in front during their open house.
Gives a friendly, neighborhood feel to the potential buyers,
don't you think?

Business was not brisk, but the fun was.

June 09, 2007  |  Comments (6)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Wii Had A Blast!

We went to Tarpon Springs, renown for its sponge divers and Greek food. We met up with friends (and their boys) from BJU and talked and laughed for hours. After wandering around Tarpon Springs, we went to their place and played Wii. Oh, my! I haven't had that much fun in ages. I'm not big on the electronica in general, but a Wii is definitely on my wish list.

Camille, Baby and Me

Camille and Crew

Horsing Around

Wii Boys

Happy Wii Dance

Serious About Their Studies and Sports

June 08, 2007  |  Comments (11)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Razom Nas Bahato

I was surfing around some UkrBlogs and then YouTube, and when watching this version of Razom Nas Bahato, thought I saw Hubby. Look closely around seconds 23-25. See the grey hat guy with a goatee? The quality isn't that great, and Hubby didn't do much chanting. . .so I'm not certain. But Hubby wore that grey knit hat all winter, and in Ukraine, only Americans and Ukrainian pastors had goatees. . .

June 04, 2007  |  Comments (0)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink

 

 

Hurricane Season, Florida

June 1st marks the beginning of hurricane season, and with it comes a much-welcomed tropical storm. (Drought and wildfires, while a normal part of the Florida ecological system, still have us welcoming the rain.)

Florida has a Sales Tax Holiday on hurricane preparedness supplies from now through June 12th. This is the time to stock up! If you don't know where to start, I recommend Kathryn's Hurricane Checklist. We've already printed it out, and J10 is heading up our hurricane preparations this year.

The boys are swimming with Hubby in the pool, in the rain. Ahhhh, I love Florida!

June 01, 2007  |  Comments (2)  |  TrackBack (0)  |  Permalink