Monday, February 22, 2016

Afghan # 45

I shipped out another baby afghan today. This goes to my cousin's baby boy born just last week.


This afghan is from the ruffle throw pattern on page 56 of the Easy Crocheted Accessories book given to my by a friend. I used Red Heart light blue, white, and delft blue yarn in this pattern. Red Heart yarn is not as soft as baby yarn since it is acrylic, but it is durable and washes and dries regularly, so I use it regularly.

Friday, February 19, 2016

God's Love is Great.

I decided to focus not just on an attribute of God this week, but on an adjective that describes an attribute of God.

God's Love is Great.
“Unusual or considerable in degree, power, intensity, etc.” (Dictionary.com, n.d.).

Psalm 25:6
Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Psalm 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 69:13
But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.

Psalm 89:1
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

Psalm 117:2
For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.

Lamentations 3:22
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

1 John 3:1
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Reference:
Great. (n.d.). Dictionary.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016 from Dictionary.com website http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/great.

Friday, February 12, 2016

God is the Lion of Judah


Here are my prayer verses for this week, reflecting God's name as Lion of Judah, one who is strong, mighty to save.

Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 106:8
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.

Hosea 11:10
They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.

Amos 3:8
The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken— who can but prophesy?

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Broiled Orange Oatmeal



Oranges are in season, but sometimes it is hard for me to want to eat them. Therefore, I decided to try something new: putting oranges in my oatmeal. I read on The Oatmeal Artist blog that it is hard to make orange flavor come through, so I went all out for this recipe: zesting orange, and using juice in the actual oatmeal, then topping the oatmeal with broiled orange slices. (I had never broiled oranges before.) I will admit that this recipe was pretty orange-y, but it was still a fun experiment in cooking.

Ingredients:


½ c quick cooking oatmeal
1 c water
1 T ground flax seed
¼ t ground cinnamon
1 orange
1 t brown sugar
Drizzle of honey for topping.

Directions:


1. Wash and dry the orange.
2. Zest the orange on a zester, or a fine grater. (Zesting means grating off the orange part of the skin until only the white pith remains.)
3. Cut the orange in half and juice it. (Use a juicer, or simply squeeze the orange juice into a cup.) Discard the peel.
4. Bring water and oats to a boil. Reduce heat to medium.
5. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the flax seed, cinnamon, orange zest, and orange juice.
6. Meanwhile, slice the remaining half of an orange. Spread each slice of orange with approximately 1/4 t of brown sugar. Broil until sugar is crystallized and the edges of the orange peel are slightly dark.
7. When oatmeal has absorbed orange juice, transfer it to a bowl and drizzle the bowl with honey (or sprinkle with more brown sugar-this oatmeal is very tart). Top with the broiled orange slices.

Enjoy.


Friday, February 5, 2016

Thanksgiving: An Expression of Thanks

We can pray all day, but at the end of the day, if we forget to remember how God has answered our prayers, we miss a crucial part of the process. Mom taught me to review my written prayer requests every so often so as to call to mind God's provisions and answers. I try to do this in one of my weekly prayer times to thanksgiving every month or two.


When I review my prayer requests, I focus on a different aspect of thanksgiving, as support by Scripture. Here is my focus for this week:


Thanksgiving as an expression of thanks.
To show, utter, or state thanks.


Leviticus 7:12
If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in.



2 Chronicles 20:21
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”


Psalm 50:23
Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.



2 Corinthians 9:12
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.


Revelation 7:12
Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!



Revelation 11:17
We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Silver Lining

Remember my post about struggling to rest? Well after a busy weekend and not enough sleep Saturday night, I got sick. I thought I had a cold, and I tried to power through it. I went to work on Monday, but I woke up feeling awful on Tuesday. I took my temperature and it was 103 degrees. Great! Now I not only had to stay home, but needed to schedule a doctor's appointment to find out what illness I really had. After negative flu and strep tests, the doctor told me I had an up-to-five-day virus. Her prescription: No work. No work-outs. Lots of fluids. Not my preferred modes of living. But as my coworker so kindly reminded me, there is a silver lining.




A year after it came out, I finally got to watch War Room. My roommate went out and got me cough drops to get me through the coughing spells and pizza and baby carrots, the only foods I wanted to eat. She paid for it all herself even though I sent her with my credit card. I am getting caught up on sleep, even if it is at times I would rather be working. I had a relaxing evening last night reading the Conde Nast Traveler magazine, listening to classical music, and working on a baby blanket. (Rest assured that I wash all baby blankets before sending them, sick or not sick when I made them.) It is the second truly relaxing evening I have had all year.

I am not sure when this virus will end and I will be able to return to work. I hope that the end was yesterday, but only God knows. For now, I am trying to take to heart the words of Sarah Young (2004) from this morning's reading in Jesus Calling:

I will get you safely through this day and all your days. But you can find Me only in the present. Each day is a precious gift from My Father. How ridiculous to grasp for future gifts when today's is set before you! Receive today's gift gratefully, unwrapping it tenderly and delving into its depths. As you savor this gift, you find Me.

Reference:

Young, Sarah. (2004). Jesus calling. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Monday, February 1, 2016

January: Progress Not Perfection

To keep myself accountable, I'm going to give a January update on THE LIST. Let's just say I'm progressing, but not getting nearly close to perfection.

1) GO! on a cruise.
I have a date in mind. My friend and I are still talking about this idea. I think we're going to wait until last minute to book our voyage. That might be a good plan, or a bad plan that will lead to not accomplishing this resolution....

2) Stop checking e-mail on my phone while at work.
This is going well, but I find that computer use is still sucking up my time. I'm trying a suggestion from the article "3 Easy Way to Unplug" to limit my computer use to two hours outside work (Asp, 2016). Two hours sounds like a lot until I realized from my Rescue Time reports that I usually average way longer than that each day. Maybe that is why I have no free time.

3) Use more glass storage containers and less plastic.
My mom gave me a new mason jar lid at Christmas time, and it's made using my old mason jars so much fun! I especially like packing my oatmeal breakfasts in them.

4) Find my rambunctious side again.
Umm...well, I'm not sure where it's gone. I'm not really finding it yet.

5) Memorize some new scripture, or at least review the old.
It's almost February, and I've barely gotten through the first chapter of Ephesians that I already memorized. My brain doesn't seem to absorb verses like it used to, but I must keep trying. God's Word is important!

6) Clean out the pantry (fridge, freezer, et. al) and go on a grocery spend fast until it is done.
Done! (For the most part.) I have some leftover frozen jalapenos in the freezer and some condiments in the fridge, but otherwise, I worked through all my leftovers. It was a good experience.

7) Purge excess. Soak up blessing.
I purged the kitchen, closet, and paper files. I have a big pile for our house yard sale and I shredded a lot. I'm still trying to figure out how to appreciate God's blessings without finding pleasure in them, instead of in Him.

8) Run a 5K.
I got on what I call "trots" twice a week. I don't like to run outside in the cold, but I don't like to run inside, or take to the treadmills, which means I don't really want to run (or rather, "trot,") much at all. My housemates are doing the Couch to 5K training, though, and we hope to run a house 5K together in March. Hopefully that keeps me motivated.

9) Embrace the quiet.
Sometimes I fill even the quiet with excessive, obsessive reading. This goes along with number 11). I'm still trying to learn to rest.

10) Pursue counseling licensure.
I mailed off my 14 (??) page application on Friday, complete with notary signature, birth certificate copy, driver's license copy, fingerprints, an official transcript, a self-inquiry into my criminal records, and a hefty sum. Now I wait....

11) Rest.
I had one evening where I really rested. Other times I just find myself in a frenzy, or find myself with no time. Learning to rest is no joke!

12) Trim down the processed. Bulk up the produce.
With the grocery store fast, I got out of the habit of eating lots of produce. And I'm still trying to figure out how to balance eating lots of produce with getting vital nutrients from other food groups (dairy, protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, etc.). More to learn...

13) Bullet journal plan—streamline my to-do list.
This is going well, except when my bullets surpass my planner space and end up back on a traditional messy list. (This especially happens on weekend days when I want to accomplish a lot.)

14) Finish the books I have and read more.
I'm reading, but not enough. A friend made a New Year's Resolution to read a book a month. I'd like to join her, but I don't think I'll make it this month. I just don't have as much time as I thought.

15) Spend time with and love the people around me.
My housemates and I have dinner together every Tuesday night. I have spent special time with other friends, but this is the greatest blessing that has come from resolution 15.

16) Blog. Instagram. Something. (Experiment.) 
Well here you go. I started this blog. It's takes more time than I expected to blog, so I'm debating trying Instagram or something with less of a time commitment, but we'll see.

Reference
Asp, K. (2016). 3 easy ways to unplug. Cooking Light, January/February, pp. 69-70.