2024 Olympic contender

Yesterday Josiah taught himself to do headstands. Last night I could hear him squealing in his crib at bedtime and went in to check on him. Sure enough, he was doing headstands there, too!

What makes me smile the most when I see this picture: this pretty much represents what life has been like at our house since Josiah's birth (turned upside down). Oh how we needed him!!

at the throne

At the conference I attended last week, we had the pleasure of being led in worship by Keith and Kristyn Getty. They were not there to perform but to usher us into the presence of God through song. You may have heard or sang the songs written by these modern-day hymn writers from Ireland. Keith wrote Christ Alone with Stuart Townsend, along with There is a Higher Throne and Power of the Cross. The couple has also written songs for the African Children's Choir. For a sampling of their music, visit www.gettymusic.com. I promise you won't be disappointed! They have a great CD especially for kids.


One with the Father, Ancient of Days,
Through the Spirit who clothes faith with certainty,
Honor and blessing, glory and praise,
To the King crowned with power and authority!
And we are raised with Him,
Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered;
And we shall reign with Him,
For He lives, Christ is risen from the dead.

(My favorite lines from See, What a Morning, with emphasis mine. How as Christians can we not have joy when these truths are ours in Christ!?)

True Woman 08

"I'm not quite sure how I got signed up for this conference." That was my thought in the weeks leading up to True Woman 08, and I have to admit I had a reluctant heart that God in His mercy did melt over the final weeks before attending. I had little interest when our church announced a group would be going and at the time was feeling a bit overwhelmed by life...we had just moved and come off a difficult winter of health issues with our toddler. But Eric came home after hearing about it at church (as I recall I was home with a sick baby that day) and told me he wanted me to go. I thought about it and prayed for almost a month before signing up...reluctantly.

True Woman 08 began on Thursday night with John Piper as the first keynote speaker. Not a bad way to start a conference, and his assumption that wimpy theology produces wimpy women did grab me from the get-go. As the conference unfolded Friday morning I realized that it was no accident that I was there, but a privileged, divine appointment. The feminist movement which began in the late 1950's (though the seeds had been planted much earlier) produced a cultural revolution that has ravaged our society and families and churches. Over 6000 women met together in Schaumburg IL this weekend with the intention to return to what God has to say about womanhood. We got no cookie cutter molds nor rules of "Biblical femininity" but instead powerful, dynamic, Spirit-filled teaching on what it means to surrender to the authority to God's Word and learn what He says about womanhood.

After many meaty meals of Biblical teaching, the conference culminated this morning with women signing their name to the True Woman Manifesto. This is not a document for the faint of heart. To see a copy, you can look at www.truewoman08.com and even sign it electronically. It is our earnest hope to see God begin a counter-cultural revolution in His church that will impact our society for His eternal glory and the good of His people.

I have been to many good, equipping conferences in my life but never have I said when I have attended one, "God was there." I can say that after attending this one. I'm grateful God nudged me to show up as well for "such a time as this."

please pray!

For Annika. Her family got the call and she is having a liver transplant today. This is her third transplant but she was much younger with the other two. Please pray for a safe transplant, for God's peace to be evident to the family, and for the donor family who have just lost a loved one. To keep up with the news, check the sidebar Falling Down is Also a Gift.

soup's on!

I don't enjoy cold weather, but I celebrate anyway when I see fall approaching because it means it's time to start enjoying a nice warm bowl of soup. Eric and I have a new favorite to add to our collection! (And I like it because it is easy to modify to onion and garlic-free!)

Cheeseburger Soup
Makes 12 cups

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. shredded carrots (chopped work well, too)
3/4 c. chopped celery
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
6 c. chicken broth
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
3 T. butter or margarine
1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. reduced-fat Velveeta cheese
1 1/2 c. milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook ground beef in Dutch oven over medium high heat about 3 minutes, stirring until meat crumbles. Add onion and next 4 ingredients, and saute 4 minutes or until beef is no longer pink. Drain well. Return beef mixture to Dutch oven.

Stir in chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Melt 3 T. butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Gradually stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 min. or until lightly browned. Whisk flour mixture into simmering beef mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 6 min. or until thickened.

Whisk in cheese and next 3 ingredients just until cheese melts. Serve with sweet bread recipe that follows if desired.

Sweet "7-Up" Bread (more commonly referred to as Beer Bread)

3 c. self-rising flour
1/2 c. sugar
12 ounces 7-Up, Sprite, or Sierra Mist (cola and root beer work well, too)
1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted

Stir together first 3 ingredients; pour into a lightly greased bread pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Pour melted butter over top. Bake 10 more minutes.

For a twist, add 3/4 c. cheddar cheese if desired.

Flying Horse

If you visit www.pantagraph.com/flyinghorse before Sunday, you can find Micah's essay and picture online. His picture is the praying mantis.

dealing with a no

A trip to the allergist yesterday came with a definitive statement. "Completely eliminate garlic and onion from your diet." It seems that the allergy I have suspected for some time is worsening to the point the Dr. told me I may want to consider carrying an epipen. That's enough to scare me into obedience!

Not that I needed that scare tactic. The symptoms I have been experiencing over the past year are enough that I was already writing myself menus of what I could eat and researching new ways of creating things like cream-of-anything soup or bouillon cubes which contain enough garlic and onion to set off a reaction. I've been reading food labels on things like ham, bacon (the vegetarian brand has no garlic or onion added, hurray!), hot dogs, ketchup, and even french fries to see if I'm safe (today's brand had a "natural flavoring" that apparently had something in it since my nose and eyes were itching after I consumed it.)

It's easy to dwell on the things I cannot eat anymore. I love Mexican and Italian food, casseroles made with cream of anything soups, pepperoni pizza, and potato salad with fresh raw onion. There are all kinds of appetizers, crackers, and chip dip that are completely off limits now. Oh, how I am going to miss chips and salsa!!! And almost any meal you order at a restaurant. If you stop and pay attention you will be amazed at how much onion and garlic are in the typical American diet.

So my joy came yesterday as I wrote down a list of all the things I can still eat!! Almost every dessert is still on the menu, as well as fruits, vegetables, and meats that are prepared carefully. I can still eat cheese!! And there are all kinds of ways to make my own seasoning mixes to leave out the offending ingredients. Oh what a myriad of choices remains!!!

It's human nature to get caught up in what we can't have. It started a long time ago in the Garden of Eden. "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." God warned Adam and Eve of ONE tree in the garden from which they could not eat, and it was the tree they fixated on! Don't we do the same?

Today Micah came to me and asked to play outside. More specifically, he asked to ride his bike across the street, which he knows he cannot do unless there is an adult present to supervise. I told him "Yes, you can go outside but since I am working on some things in here, no you cannot go across the street." "But Mom, there's NOTHING ELSE to do outside!" I can immediately think of at least 10 other things he could have done. He chose to fix his attention and passion on the one thing that I said no to.

So there's my option when faced with one of the "do nots" God has given. How many other things has He freely opened to me? What will I do with all the possible yes's that I haven't even considered? It may make me dizzy if I really consider the options.

Now back to my menu planning...