Joy in the Sunshine

It seems like I've been reading and learning a lot about suffering lately. I've read much of the trials and hardships in the life of Elizabeth Prentiss. I've read blogs written by Christians who are enduring sorrowful times yet demonstrating great joy and trust and delight in God. I've been hearing much of the great work that God has done and is doing in the lives of His saints, as they endure the storms of life. I rejoice in all of this, and am so amazed by God's grace and faithfulness to work in His people during these times. People seem to grow and delight much in God during these seasons of their lives.

I've been pondering these things much lately, as I'm not currently suffering, nor have I experienced vast amounts of suffering throughout my life. Sometimes, I worry that a storm is bound to strike soon. I think that since I haven't suffered as much as some others, that my turn must be coming....after all that is how so many people seem to grow in grace.

So do I sit back and wait? Is true joy and delight in God, only experienced fully when I suffer?

Throughout Scripture and the historical church, we do see that God does amazing things during periods of great hardship.

The apostle Paul endured intense adversity and testifies to the grace of God in the midst of it and even counted it all joy. So many of the great reformers and the heroes of our faith sustained much tribulation and we know some of the wonderful work that the Lord accomplished through this.

Without a doubt, God uses affliction for the good of his people, and suffering plays a vital role in the lives of Christians. It will come in some form to all people that live long enough!

I think as Christians we need to anticipate suffering and be prepared for it. However, I think we need to be careful not to glorify suffering. This is not the only means that God uses to accomplish his purposes. We can still delight in him and hope to grow in grace during the seasons of sunshine, not just the storms.

As many have probably experienced, it can be so easy and tempting to become complacent and self-reliant in times of ease. It seems that when we suffer we seek after Christ desperately, because so much of this world loses its appeal.

However, in his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes:

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Paul needed to learn to be content no matter what his circumstances, whether he was low, or whether he was abounding. Don't wait for times of suffering to draw close to your Saviour, but draw close always. Pursue Christ, seek after him relentlessly and earnestly, in all seasons, and you can do this, through him who gives you strength. May God grant grace to delight!

The Heart That Hides

Awhile back I mentioned that I wanted to do a series of posts on my favourite quotes from one of my favourite books, Stepping Heavenward. You can see the first post here. Well it's been some time, but here's another one. On the second page of the novel, young Katie is heading downstairs to enjoy her birthday breakfast with her family and she arrives a bit late. I'll include the whole scenario to give you the full effect!

"....I was quite startled to hear the bell ring for prayers. I jumped up in a great flurry and dressed as quickly as I could. Everything conspired together to plague me. I could not find a clean collar or a hankerchief. It is always just so. Mother is forever poking my things into out-of-the-way places! When at last I went down, they were all at breakfast.
"I hoped you would celebrate your birthday, dear, by coming down in good season," said Mother.
I do hate to be found fault with, so I fired up in an instant.
"If people hide my things so that I can't find them, of course I have to be late," I said. And I think I said it in a very cross way, for Mother sighed a little."

Well this scene is one that I can imagine quite vividly, for I have experienced and responded this way not a few times in my life! A frustrating situation, wounded pride, and an unbridled tongue are definitely things that I am well acquainted with. Now I must confess that this dramatic scenario usually gives me a good chuckle when I read it, but I wanted to think through the heart condition in such a phrase as "I do hate to be found fault with."

We all hate to have faults, let alone have them discovered. Lately, I've been pondering the reasons that we may hate having our faults made known to us. To clarify, I wanted to use this to discuss the presence and exposure of sin in our lives rather than ambiguous "faults," but I figured this quote was an adequate springboard.

So, in one sense, it may be because we are truly and righteously grieving over the sin that we see still remains in us. It may be because we do not want our sin to reflect poorly on the gospel, and thus be a bad Christian witness. It may be because the person that corrects or admonishes us, is not doing so in love, but rather mean-spiritedly.

Quite sadly, I know that in the majority of situations, my desire to not be found fault with does not stem from pure motives, but rather from a proud heart. Being found fault with does not exactly facilitate a desire to be esteemed. Faults reflect poorly on me.

How do you feel or react, Christian, when someone sees your sin and offers correction or instruction? Would you rather have it concealed, so that you will be thought of more highly? Do you get defensive? Do you look for sins in the "faultfinder," so that you can discredit what they have said? Or do you honestly examine your own heart, to determine if in fact there may be sin present?

Or do you long to know of your sins and have them exposed, that you might be able to put them to death?

I think that our response and reaction to being "found fault with," really exposes the way we view our sin. Do we hate it? Or do we hate how it makes us look?

If we truly hate our sin, if we remember that Christ suffered and endured the wrath of God for it, we will not care that others might think less of us, but our first and utmost concern will be that this sin that remains in us would be mortified! We will long for Christ's glory, and we will know that he is most glorified when we are killing sin and are becoming more like him.

I don't think we are necessarily accustomed to this type of thing in our relationships but I know that I want to be the type of Christian that welcomes the exhortation and admonishment from other sisters/brothers. I want fellow saints to feel that I would welcome their instruction or reproof, despite the immediate discomfort I will most likely experience. What about you? Would your closest friends be comfortable approaching you if they saw sin in your life? Do you want them to be?

Now, obviously this post can go on for awhile, and deal with many other issues surrounding this sort of thing... how we approach someone about sin, what if a person is wrong when they approach me about sin, etc. However, for this post, I just wanted to look at a heart that hates "to be found fault with," because I know that so often this is my heart. May God change my heart, for my good and his glory!

Proverbs 9:7-12 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

Goodbye Old El Paso!

Well, this month has been a lot busier than I anticipated and thus it has been awhile since I've been able to post! I'm not able to write much at this time either as it's been a long day and I'm about ready to get to bed. However, I did say that I'd be posting a recipe each week, so I thought I should at least get that up.

For those of you that enjoy tacos or chili, this recipe is for you. I was really excited when I came across this recipe and I thought some others out there might appreciate it as well. It is a taco seasoning mix, that actually tastes very similar, if not better than the packets you can purchase at the grocery store. I'm sure that it is much lower in sodium as well. I don't think I'll be buying the packets anymore.

I found this recipe in a book entitled Miserly Meals, by Jonni McCoy, that I bought at a Christian Bookstore.

Mexican Seasoning Mix

1/4 cup flour
2 T chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp salt
4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano

Put all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until less powdery (don't overblend). Use the "pulse" feature. Add more cayenne pepper if you prefer it hotter.

Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Three tablespoons of this mix equals one purchased packet of taco or chili seasoning mix.

This recipe is great for tacos, or to have on hand to add to a pot of chili.

Hope you enjoy!

The Cookbook

Growing up I can remember several staple foods that my mom served us regularly. These were passed down from her mom but the problem was that they generally came without recipes. Grandma would just tell mom what to do and over the years, mom would likely adjust and change some things. Well, then I got married and I wanted to cook some of the foods that I'd grown up with, but since there weren't any written recipes for many of these foods, mom and I would just chat over the phone and she'd give me the basics to accomplish the dish of choice.

This started me thinking that it would be a good idea to have these written down, so that I can pass these recipes down to my girls. Hence the reason that I've started to put a family cookbook together, an heirloom that I can pass on to my children and hopefully even further. Now, this is definitely a work-in-progress, so I wholeheartedly welcome any advice, tips, or even your favourite recipes!

I thought I'd just jot down some practical reasons for doing this, then I'll go through in more detail what this cookbook will include and purpose!

Practically speaking why make a cookbook?

1. It helps to keep me organized - I'm sure many women can identify with the number of recipes they have floating around the house in different formats such as, cue cards, ripped out pages from a magazine, paper printed from the computer from recipes found online, recipes scribbled down on scrap paper that you've received from a friend, etc. So I keep two folders - one that is labeled "TO TRY", and another that is labeled "TRIED, TESTED, TRUE". After a recipe has successfully made it from one folder to another, I then (when I find the time), type it up into a WORD template that I have for my recipes. I throw out all recipes that do not make into the second folder. Also, it's often good to go back to the "TO TRY" folder when it gets too big and purge, as often our tastes or circumstances may change and we realize we no longer want to try that particular recipe.


2. It's helpful for planning and saving time - During this season of my life it is necessary for me to plan my meals for the week, ahead of time. This way I only buy such groceries that I am going to use for the week and I don't have to scramble to come up with something for dinner on a particular night. So the cookbook is intended to be like a master meal selection... so unless I desire to be creative and try something new that week, I just have to look through one large cookbook with all of my favourite foods to come up with my meal plan.


3. It makes it easier to give recipes to other people - If an occasion happens to present itself where a friend or family member desires a recipe that you served them, it is quite easy to give them a copy of it, especially if you have it on the computer because then you can simply e-mail them the file.
   

What will this cookbook include?

At this point, my book is including all recipes handed over from family, friends and even acquaintances (my husband knows how much I like adding to the book, so if he eats somewhere without me and likes a recipe, he'll try and get it for me... or for him I guess!). It is also including any recipes that I have found in cookbooks or online that I have enjoyed. And, lastly, it also includes any of my own successful creations.

As a side note, for all you foodies out there, I've found it really useful (this tip is courtesy of Chef Michael Smith from the FoodNetwork) to keep a notebook in my kitchen that I leave open with a pen, and whenever I play around with a recipe or create something of my own, I jot it down, so that I won't forget it the next time I want to make it.

I'd also like this book to eventually include some written memorable moments and photos of cooking with my girls, as well notes of encouragement.

I'm also hoping to include photos of my recipes (this idea from my wonderful hubby), and Lord willing, they will be taken by my good friend Rebecca Wagler who takes lovely pictures. You can see some of her jewellery photos at her shop, The Ardent Sparrow.

So right now, this cookbook is on my computer and for now I print off the recipes (colour-coded by type of meal) and put them in protective covers in a binder, but I eventually hope to have a copy published on lulu.com. Check it out, it's really cheap and quite easy I think.

What is the purpose of this cookbook other than practicality and what is the purpose of this post?

For me, it has a couple of purposes and I'll just briefly list them as this post is way longer than I intended. Well, for one, I'm having fun doing it... it's a nice hobby for me, because it's helping in my homemaking duties, but I also really enjoy it. Another reason is preserving relationships, as I alluded to in my last post. It helps me to remember and pray for a lot of the people in my life. The recipes in it are from all of those people that I just love and I can think of them fondly whenever I am going through the book. Also, Lord willing, I hope to pass this cookbook on to my girls so that they can remember our family meals and the people that are or were important in their lives. Whenever I cook chicken paprikas, I think of my late Grandmother and my Mom. I've finally come up with a written recipe for this, so now I can keep this in the family as time continues.

Aside from the fact that I love talking about food related stuff, I thought someone else may like the idea. I got the initial idea from a friend and I've just adapted it to my preferences. As a mom, I love getting new ideas to do with my kids or for my kids or for my home, so I figured maybe someone else would enjoy this! Also, I thought that I would share a recipe from my book on this blog, once a week. And I would gladly welcome any of your favourite recipes!

Whatever You Do...

Quite surprisingly, this is my first actual post on food! This is surprising, because well, I love food. I love cooking it, reading recipes, watching shows on how to prepare it, experimenting with it and of course, I love eating it.

Now I am no gourmet, but I figured since cooking and food seem to take up such a large portion of each day, and since I love it so much, I should really seize it as an opportunity to glorify God. As a homemaker, food preparation is primarily my responsibility (well actually, in my home it is exclusively my responsibility… Julian is still struggling with the microwave), so I want to serve my family as best as I can in this area. So over the past while I've been thinking of various ways to use food/cooking as an opportunity to be a faithful saint.

So far, this area of my responsibility is one that I really enjoy so it has not been overly difficult for me to serve in this regard. For many others this may not be such an enjoyable task, some may just not like cooking, others may find it difficult. I definitely understand such things, as sewing or cleaning the bathroom are right up there on my not so favourite duties list!

Well I thought I'd write this post to encourage anyone that is struggling in their kitchen duties, or for those who love it and want to find even greater value and opportunities in it. Most of the ideas that I'll list here are probably not original, as I have either read them or learned them from women who have more experience and wisdom than me. So here we go... how can we best take advantage of the time we spend in the kitchen and the time we spend eating with our families?

1. Pray or meditate while you cook. Sometimes this is not an easy task, especially if you're not entirely apt in the kitchen or if the day is just a little chaotic and you're rushing around trying to get dinner on the table at a reasonable hour. Regardless, I still think that this is a worthy thing to strive for. Keep it simple, pray for the person that gave you the recipe (if you received it from someone), or pray for the people you’ll be eating the meal with.


2. Have people over for food. Inviting people over for dinner is a great way to serve friends and family. You’ll all be eating dinner, so why not share some meals together? If the people you are gathering with are Christians, you can create great opportunities to engage in true biblical fellowship. If they are not, your family meals can be a witness and serve as a means to potentially share the gospel.


3. Give food away. Make extra on some occasions when you’re cooking, and then give it away to people in your church that may find it a blessing, like young single men, elderly people, new moms, sick people etc. If you just add extra to your regular cooking, you don’t necessarily have to set up a separate cooking occasion in order to minister in this way to someone.


4. Use food and mealtimes to create special memories for your family. I’ve heard of so many great and fun ideas to do with your families over mealtimes. I know families that use mealtimes to memorize scripture, other families that discuss what God is teaching each individual, or what they’ve learned in the sermon that week. I’ve heard of neat meal ideas that children definitely enjoy, like personal mini-meatloaves, or animal shaped sandwiches and many more. I’ve read (mainly on the girltalk blog) of fun ways to eat your meals, such as eating dessert first or using the wrong utensils! There’s just so much you can do to make these times a highlight for your family and an occasion to grow closer together and create memories.


5. Preserve relationships. Well, I’m not going to go into a ton of detail here, because I’m going to do another post on this next. Initially this entire blog post was supposed to be on this but I got carried away while typing! So here we are… and you might be asking how food/cooking preserves relationships. It probably does so in various ways, but I’m just going to look at one practical way that you can do this and that is to create an heirloom. Make a cookbook! This might sound nonsensical right now, but hopefully by the next post will be a little more illuminating. For now, let’s leave it at that and conclude here.
   

All of this to say, I just wanted to write this post to possibly encourage someone who may be having struggles in this area, and for myself, because there are definitely days when putting together meals is not my activity of choice, and I know that given 10 more years a lot of my new cooking excitement will have waned. I hope that this post will remind me of the benefits and joys that can come with this part of family life! So there ya go... cooking and mealtimes don’t just have to be about filling your belly, but they could be filling your heart, soul and mind with good things from above!

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)

The God of Nahum

Since I was a little girl I have struggled with fear. I still do now but to a different degree, and it has only seemed to intensify with the birth of my daughters. I'm not afraid at all during the day, but as soon as I lay my head on my pillow at night, I am plagued by fears, worries and anxiety. It is most always about evils in the world, and vivid imaginings of anything happening to my girls. Sometimes it gets bad enough that I need to wake my husband. Sometimes prayer doesn't work because I am not trusting my God. I don't like this.

Well last night was no exception and I started to worry, but thankfully I was able to pray and sleep overwhelmed me quite quickly. Alas, I awoke this morning to read my Bible and I was completely blessed by my God, the God of Nahum.

In this book Nahum prophesied about God's imminent judgement on Nineveh as they refused to repent. Known for the cruelty with which they treated other nations, God would now punish them and Judah could rejoice for this notorious people was about to fall. In the final verse of this book, after God has destroyed them, Nahum writes to the Ninevites, "There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil."

Now, my thoughts were neither novel nor profound, but I met with my God this morning and he gave me much comfort, and much to cling to for hope.

As I read of God's intense anger and vengeance and wrath against Nineveh, I was so quickly and humbly reminded once again that God hates wickedness and evil more than I do. God destroyed this nation because of their evil, because he hated it! Nineveh was cruel and unrepentant and this fact did not go unnoticed by God. They seemed to prosper for a time, but God was still sovereign and God would not let them continue in their ways.

So often when I lay awake at night, my flesh tells me the lie that if God hated the evils in this world as much as me, he would not allow them at all. But when I read Scripture I see clearly that this is not the case, but is in fact quite the opposite. I may not know all the details and intricacies of God's sovereign will, nor understand why he works the way that he does, but I know that he is good, and he loves goodness and kindness, and hates sin and iniquity.

In the first chapter of Nahum, when God's wrath and anger are being depicted, his goodness and slowness to anger are also woven right into this picture. His anger at sin and his goodness are not separated, but are so uniquely intertwined:

"The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty." (Nahum 1:2-3)

God's ways are good and he is for those who take refuge in him (Nahum 1:7). By God's grace, when I lay down to sleep tonight, the words of the Psalmist will comfort me, "Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling" (Psalm 46: 2-3).

Moms and Memories

The other day Julian and I were reminiscing about some of our favourite family memories from growing up.

As we talked I thanked God for my mom, who did an amazing job at making me love my home and giving me many great memories and traditions that I hope to pass on to my children. Mom was on her own with my younger brother and I and she didn't become a Christian until I was around 12 years old, but God's grace and mercies were still evident in our lives before that as he always protected us, provided for us, and gave us a loving relationship which only grew when Mom and I were saved.

So Mom, tonight I'm thanking God for his hand in your life, for making you a mom that loved your children and sought to make a good home for us and make special memories with us. I am even more thankful that God saved you and me and that he's kept us and will keep us.

On that note, I thought I'd just journal some of my favourite family memories from my childhood:

• It was definitely my Mom that instilled the value of 'coziness' and 'comfy clothes' in me. From the earliest age I can remember getting cozy in our jammies, having lots of pillows and blankets and snuggling on the couch! I especially remember Friday evenings when we were a bit older and the TGIF tv programs were on.....we would get in our pajamas, pull out the couch (into a bed), get all the pillows in the house, have a yummy snack and stay up late watching Full House and Family Matters.
• Mom was always great at making our friends feel welcome in our home. I loved having sleepovers and having Mom make us french toast or pancakes the next morning for breakfast. Birthday parties were exceptionally exciting as I was allowed to have multiple friends sleep over all at once!
  
• Christmas was always a special time for us, and it became even more dear to me once we knew Jesus as our Lord. Every year we would get a great tree, most years a real one, (some years we'd even go and cut it down...very ambitious of you mother) and then we'd come home, put on Christmas music, have a snack tray and decorate our tree together. On Christmas Eve we would also have the music and snacking and mom would read from one of the gospels about Jesus' birth. I really loved these times.
  
• I have to admit that our family liked Nintendo and each year for several years, we'd get the new and latest game. The early Super Mario Bros. were our favourites and Mom was pretty good at these games. I'll never forget her trying to get the one hundred extra lives in the first Super Mario Bros. and Philip and I going to hide in another room to wait because we would be so nervous and excited that we just couldn't watch! We did have some really great times playing these video games together as a family during our Christmas vacation.
• Sunday mornings were definitely my favourite times when we first became Christians. Mom would always put some Christian music up really loud (Songs From the Loft, hehe, or Holy Holy Holy) in order to wake us up. We'd have a nice breakfast and then mom would read a devotional to us. I'll never forget those times and I'll never forget that newness of joy we had when we first came to Christ.
  

Well the list could go on, but I think I'll stop here. In addition to the memories that my mom created for us to cherish, she also created a relationship between us that was very open and honest. I never once felt that I wanted or needed to hide things from her and I could always talk to her and confess what was going on in my heart and life. I trusted her and her counsel and this is such a precious memory from growing up. I am praying that God would grant me this type of relationship with my daughters. Mom and I are still so close now for which I feel truly grateful and blessed.

I just wanted to say thanks Mom and tell you how much I love you. Thanks for giving me wonderful memories and so much love, but thank you mostly for pointing me to Jesus.

I definitely want my children to love their home and have some of the same great memories that I do. I thank God for his grace in your life, for making you into the hardworking, loving woman that you are, and I pray for his continued grace, that he would continue to refine you and make you a woman of steadfastness. I pray that all that you do would be for his glory. I am so thankful that my children have such an awesome "gramma", and I look forward to all the memories that you're starting to make with them and our little family.