What Would Jesus Eat? June 9, 2008

Husband and I received a cookbook by that name for a wedding shower.  I’ve cooked maybe one or two things out of it, but man, has it been fodder for jokes over the years.  I can’t believe that people would really think we should emulate what Jesus eats to a T.  Things that were available in that time and place just aren’t around here unless at a great expense.

That said, Husband’s relatives are coming over for dinner on Friday night, and I would love to make them a summery meal, either Mediterranean or Mexican in theme.  One of the relatives is a vegetarian, so the meal either needs to be vegetarian or easily adaptable.  I would love to hear your suggestions as to what to make.  Here’s what I’m looking to serve:

1-2 light appetizers

Salad (possibly optional, depending on Main Course)

Main Course

Dessert

And I think I’d like the dessert to be some sort of pie or tart, if that helps.  So, help me!  What recipes have you made that have been fantastic?

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On a completely unrelated note, Anja’s favorite thing to do these days is leaf through her board books under the coffee table.  That’s right, under it.  It’s very cute until she hits her head. 

Q & A, Part III April 27, 2008

Happy Sabbath, everyone! Some more questions answered below…

Lulu (who should get a blog, right everyone?) asked, “In the spirit of Earth Day, what are your favorite ways to be green in your everyday life?”

I actually didn’t celebrate Earth Day in any special way, but I’ve been an avid reducer/reuser/recycler since I was little.

“What are your tips for a fit and healthy pregnancy? Mr. Right and I have what we call a ‘five year plan’ for wedding, house buying, and first baby, but I say it’s never too early to start getting pointers!”

It’s never too early to start building for a healthy pregnancy. The healthier you are when you get pregnant, the healthier you’ll be when you are pregnant. As a general rule, I tried to eat at least 5-6 servings of fruits and veggies a day in addition to taking my Juice Plus+. I worked out at the gym 3 nights a week and walked or ran outside 20-30 minutes on the off days. Even in the winter, Husband and I would suit up and go out for a walk. I continued this patter when I was pregnant, and worked out (lifting weights and everything) up until the day before I went into labor. You might get detractors (“Don’t you think you’re hurting the baby?”), but as long as you keep your heart rate at a safe level and don’t exercise to the point of exhaustion, you’re probably doing your body a favor. Another helpful thing to me was joining an online forum. The one I used was called “Babyfit” and it was helpful to have other experienced and first-time mothers to answer my questions.

“What’s your typical Starbucks order?”

You know, I’m not much of a coffee drinker (water, now that’s my bag), but when I do order something, it’s usually whatever the current seasonal beverage is.

Jamie asked, “What is your favorite book?”

When I was a child, it was probably a toss-up between Matilda by Roald Dahl or The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Now? I’ve been reading nothing but non-fiction for so long…it’s hard to say. I read the Bible most regularly, so I’ll go with that.

“How did you and your husband meet?”

This is a rather odd and long story. To make it short, he was coming to the same college as me, and my aunt said, “There’s this boy from my church coming to your college. I want him to get in with ‘good people’ so you should invite him to Campus Crusade.” I did just that at the beginning of the year, and dusted off my hands, duty done. I didn’t speak to him again until Christmas break, when we were assigned to the same discussion group at CC’s Christmas Conference. Our group really hit it off and hung out a lot back at school, and we became good friends. Then during May (finals week) he asked me out.

“What do you like most/least about being a mom?”

Most: I can be having the worst day ever, and just a smile from my baby girl brightens it incredibly. She really is a delight.

Least: I don’t deal well with lack of sleep, and her schedule and mine…they don’t always run parallel tracks.

“How many pairs of shoes do you own?”

This is going to sound terrible, but keep in mind that I have shoes that date back to my high school years and probably 10 pair are $1.99 flip-flops from Wal-Mart…I have 40 pairs.

Jenni asked, “Bein’ as how you’re from Minnesota, do you have any Scandinavian blood coursing through your veins? You look blond and blue-eyed, but that could be German as well…”

You’re correct. I’m mostly Swedish, but I also have bits and pieces of these:

English
Irish
Scottish
Norwegian
French-Canadian-Indian
German
Ukrainian

How’s that for a mutt?

Thanks everyone, this was fun, and not as intimidating as I thought. Once again, if you asked a question, consider yourself “tagged” to do the same thing on your own blog, if you so choose.

Q & A - Part One April 23, 2008

Aw, you guys are so nice. I have so many questions I’m going to have to break this into sections…

Paula asked, “What do you want to do when the active mothering is done — when you’re kid(s) are launched and on their own?”

Wellp…that’s a good question. Haven’t thought that far ahead, actually. I have a lot of things that I’m mediocre at, but I’m still figuring out what I’m good at. When I figure it out, I’ll probably do that. J

Erica asked, “Your writing is really good. Was there ever a time that you considered writing for a living?”

Thank you for the compliment. Have I mentioned that I just love you guys? It’s one of those things that I still consider myself to be mediocre at. I wrote and illustrated children’s books when I was a child, but they are nothing I would consider publishing now that I’m beyond age eleven. Dear Husband encourages me in my writing frequently. A couple of years ago he bought me the most beautiful journal (with refills), some neat pens and a writing exercise book. He’s also the one who suggested I start a blog, though he probably didn’t anticipate the amount of time I would spend reading other people’s blogs…

Anyway, it’s something I’ll probably still keep in the back of my mind, should I ever be inspired.

“I love Anja’s name. What’s the origin of her name?”

It’s actually the Swedish version of the name Anna. Here’s a post about it from when I first started blogging.

“I liked your religion question on my blog, so what is your religion and why?”

My religion is Christian. I grew up in the Covenant Church (similar to Evangelical Free in its style and doctrines). When Husband and I moved to the Twin Cities, we tried quite a few different churches, but none could rival the Biblical teaching (this answers the “why” part of the question) at Bethlehem Baptist, which is part of the Baptist General Conference. I have friends that range from Catholic to Methodist to AG to Lutheran, and I’ve learned things about Christ from all of them.

“With Ron Paul pretty much out of the game, who will earn your vote in November?”

You know, I’m not yet sure. At this point, Ron still has my vote. Many people reason that the only way to “make your vote count” is to vote for the front-runner in one of the two major parties, but I disagree. If the Republican party keeps getting the message from voters that it can become more and more liberal and we’ll keep voting for whatever candidates they put before us, there will become less and less of a divide between the two parties. John McCain is a liberal in many areas, and to cast my vote for him would go against many things I believe in. I am not only accountable to my country, I am accountable before God. By casting my vote, I say, “This is the person I would trust to run our country. This is the person I believe will stick to the constitution our forefathers wrote.” Ron Paul is the only guy who I think will do that.

There are also people who say, “Just like Reagan needed a Carter, the next Republican in office needs a Hillary or an Obama to make a royal mess of things.” I see the value in that line of thinking, but another part of me thinks that a person in such a powerful position can do a WHOLE lot of damage in four years time that would then need undoing.

That’s enough for today—I’ll answer more tomorrow, Lord-willing. Oh, and if you wrote in a question, consider yourself tagged to do the same on your blog (if you want to).

A Very Good Post April 20, 2008

This post made me weep.  And it made me hug my baby while I wept.  I highly recommend reading it, even though it’s a little long.

A Soapbox, to be Sure April 2, 2008

Disclaimer: Do not read if you are easily riled up by convicting information.

I realize I am risking losing readership here, because oftentimes people will not return to a site if they disagree even once with the poster. You can feel free to disagree with me (comments welcome!), but please back up your statements.

 

Some of you still with me? Okay, here goes…

 

If I had a soapbox, it would be: Pro-life women using birth control.

 

Some do it in ignorance (who can blame them when some of them have been on it since they were teens for acne?); some CHOOSE to use it despite their knowledge, and therefore should not be able to call themselves pro-life. The reason for this? The secondary property of chemical birth control (read: The Pill, IUDs, Depo-Provera, Norplant, etc.) methods is abortifacient. Meaning it kills babies.

 

“I want to surrender my life to God, but not that part of it…”

 

What other options are there, you ask?

 

Natural family planning.

 

Husband and I were completely ignorant about this. I would have gone into marriage using The Pill, because hello? That’s what everyone did! However, we learned about NFP by listening to a couple interviewed on a Christian talk show the summer we got engaged. Their book is here. Our minds were enlightened, and we knew we could not go the planned route. We used NFP until we were ready to have a baby. The ignoramus of a doctor I went to for my pre-marriage physical had this to say about NFP (after I told him I wouldn’t be needing a birth control prescription): “You know what they call people who use NFP, don’t you? Parents!”

 

I wanted to punch him in the face, but I held it together. NFP is great for the woman who wants to get to know her body well. I got to the point where I could tell I was fertile just by my temperatures, but not everyone gets there. Some women don’t have as strong of a temp sign.

 

Now that you’re informed, you might still be one of those who chooses to continue using a contraceptive/abortifacient. But please, don’t call yourself pro-life.

 

Good sources for more reading:

 

http://www.aaplog.org/collition.htm

 

http://www.pregnantpause.org/abort/untold.htm

 

http://www.epm.org/articles/bcp5400.html

 

http://www.epm.org/links.html#natural

The God of Peace Brought from the Dead the Good Shepherd March 23, 2008

This morning Pastor Piper’s sermon title was “The God of Peace Brought from the Dead the Good Shepherd.”  His sermons have been pretty outstanding the past few months, as he’s focused on the new birth and what it looks like.  Here are some notes from today’s (text: Hebrews 13:20-21):

 

Humans were designed to be sheep.  We are to be shepherded.  Who is our shepherd?  Rev. 7 says “the Lamb slain in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd.”  Note that our Shepherd is also a Lamb.

 

Being an exegete, Pastor Piper asks questions of the texts he reads and seeks to point us back to scripture in exploring them.  Today he asked four questions:

 

1. Who is it that is my Great Shepherd?

• Per verse 20, our Lord Jesus
• Many people consider their pastor their shepherd and become disillusioned with the church as a result.  Pastor John said that we have ONE shepherd, and he is not him—it is Christ alone.  For those pastors who cause their flock to become disillusioned, God has these words, found in Jeremiah 23 and Ez. 34:

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture…I will attend to you for your evil deeds” and

“The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.  So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.”

• Isaiah 40:11 says, “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”  Christ as shepherd never abuses or manipulates his flock the way worldly leaders sometimes do.

 

2. How can it be that Christ is our Shepherd today?

• Two obstacles prevent us from believing it is possible:
  • He died!
  • I don’t deserve Him!
• Per verse 20, he was brought from the dead by God “by the blood of the eternal covenant.”  In the NIV and NASB, this phrase is rightly placed before “brought Jesus from the dead.”
• The “eternal covenant” references the new covenant.  By the purchase of his sheep by his own blood, Christ satisfied the wrath of God.  Because it was the perfect sacrifice, it achieved God’s acceptance and He raised both Christ and us, His bride.

 

3. What does it mean for me today to be shepherded by a great Shepherd?

• Per v.21, by this blood he will “equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ.”
• This doesn’t mean He will equip you to be rich, be healthy and be successful in business, but to DO HIS WILL.
• He did not buy a one-time prayer from me that will save me even though I’ve lived a filthy life without a second thought about Him after that prayer.  He bought my perseverance.  Jer. 32:40 says, “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them.  And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”
• He never asks you to do anything He doesn’t provide for.  He’s going to work in us, as the text says, to keep us.

 

4. Why did God set it up this way?

• We don’t want to be like sheep.  We want to be like God ourselves, having control and glory and the world revolving around us.
• But according to the text, God set it up this way so that HE would get the glory.  Verse 21: “through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen.”
• When we start getting haughty and thinking this should be the other way around, that by our serving Christ somehow we deserve glory, we need to remember that if we’re really His sheep, we’re happy being His sheep. We get the care, the protection, the provision, the joy of being loved in such a way, and God gets the glory for doing all of that for us.  There’s no way that we could do that job.  As Pastor John put it, “Here, please provide for the Creator of the Universe’s needs.  Would you provide Him some love?  Would you care for Him?  Would you protect Him?  It doesn’t work that way. You don’t want that job.  You want to be the sheep.”

Good Friday, Indeed March 21, 2008

A Very Springy Idea March 20, 2008

For a long time (before having kids) I postulated and theorized about how I would keep the spirit of the Christian holidays we celebrate at the forefront of our minds while living in the midst of the secular world.  Recently, and I apologize because I can’t remember where, I read a fantastic idea for Easter, and we’re putting it into practice starting this year.

Since the commercialization starts so early (like the day after Valentine’s Day), why not celebrate the first day of Spring (which happens to be today) with all the candies, egg hunts, bunnies and chicks?  That way, when Easter rolls around (and they are incredibly close together this year, which isn’t usually the case), our family will have all that “stuff” behind us and Christ’s death and resurrection before us.  And we can focus on what is important.

In practice, this will morph as the children (Lord-willing we’ll have more!) get older.  This year, I made some fun cookies for friends and family and have a couple little stuffed toys for Anja that we’ll put in a basket.  We can decorate eggs and have chocolate and what have you as she gets older.  And for Easter we can attend the Maundy Thursday and Easter church services, read about Passion Week in the Bible and act out scenes, and a kazillion other good ideas to help us understand the truth of Christ’s blood shed for our sins.

Speaking of which…I’d love to hear about Easter traditions your families have so I can have some cool ideas for both of these holidays!

A Very Bloggy Wedding March 19, 2008

A lovely and classy friend of mine is getting married this Friday to a man she met ON HER BLOG. Isn’t that sweet/rare/cool?

Another friend of mine and I hosted a bridal shower for her last night at my place. It was so fun to see her again (she moved to California last August to be nearer to said man) and hear about all that she’s been up to (besides planning a wedding in two months flat!).

The other friend did a devotional during the shower that was very insightful. I won’t do a recap since she blogged the essence of it all here.

I’m hoping to get up a few photos from the shower later on (pending time to edit them).

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Edited to add a few photos. Didn’t have time to upload the ones with actual people yet; they were taken on my point-and-shoot. Her wedding is a French toile theme, so I went with that and dug out almost every doily I own…

7 Things February 20, 2008

Approximately 7 topics were whirling around in my head today, attempting to become worthwhile blog posts.  None of them made it, so here’s the mish-mash I’ve got:

1. I was talking with my chiropractor today about a message he’d heard at his church last weekend.  Wish I’d been there.  The speaker did a one-man presentation on the great judgment of God’s people (at the end of time).  The gist of it seemed to be: When everyone is bowing before the Lord, casting their crowns at His feet, will I have anything to cast?  In other words, how am I spending the time He gives me on earth?  Am I doing things that are of eternal worth, or slogging about in the mundane and meaningless?

2. My blog has its name for a reason, and I think I’ve gotten much sidetracked in purpose.  I am from Minnesota, and I like my state.  I’m a mom.  I rarely post about either of those things.  I don’t intend to never, ever stray from those topics, but I would like to have at least a weekly post about mothering and a weekly post about something cool (or uncool, if I can find something) about Minnesota, such as a restaurant, a neat park, or the fantastic weather.

3. I am quickly approaching my 100th post, and want to do that bloggy tradition “100 things.”  I only have 48.  For any of you who have done it, please let me know what kind of stuff to include!

4. My husband sent me this great quote today:

If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, and give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; And the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they do now, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account; but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains around the necks of our fellow sufferers; And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on ’til the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering … And the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.          - Thomas Jefferson

5. I am sad that the government is going to phase out incandescent lighting.  I despise fluorescent lights, and they give my husband migraines.  And they’re dangerous in other ways…

6. I hope Ron Paul still runs on as a Libertarian.  I will vote for him.  McCain is a bit of a rhino.

7. I have been spending a lot of time taking photos and neglecting my blog.  I’m sorry.  I’ll try to do better.  But I still want your feedback on my daily photos, friends!