Works-For-Me Wednesday: Eye-level recipe holder

Posted on February 13, 2008 by Barbara Harper

WFMW is being guest-hosted by Melanie at Don’t Try This At Home this week since Shannon is in Uganda.

I don’t have a lot of counter space in my kitchen. When I am making something with a recipe, it’s hard to find a place where I can put it and see it easily while stirring and mixing, etc. Plus I am needing to get things closer to my eyes to see them these days. 🙂

I saw this idea in a magazine (I don’t remember which one — I think it was Taste of Home or one of its spin-offs). I tried it tonight and it worked great.

You just take a pants or skirt hanger and clip the magazine into it, then hang it from the knob of an upper cabinet. This would also work if you have recipes in a notebook and can remove a page at a time.

It would probably also work for recipe cards except that if they are clipped from one side it would probably lean: perhaps another card could be clipped to the other side to balance it, or if you had a similar hanger that was child-sized, that would work for cards or smaller recipes. They used to make little hangers with a single clothespin-type clip for hanging nylons after washing: that would work great if I could find one. I used to have several of them when I wasn’t using them: I’ll have to check through junk drawers to see if I kept any.

But I was thrilled: I loved having the recipe at almost eye level.

Valentine’s contest and posts for the umarried

Posted on February 12, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I was looking all over the site where I thought I had seen this the day I posted about current bloggy happenings, but I couldn’t find it there. That’s because it was here! Crystal at Biblical Womanhood is hosting a contest for single women to share how they celebrate Valentine’s Day in a meaningful way by showing love and encouragement to others. Unfortunately this is the last day to submit an entry — there are still a few hours left if you’re so inclined. But the top entries chosen will be posted for readers to vote on over the next couple of days, and there will be a prize package for the winner. Even if you don’t have enough time to enter, I am sure there will be some great ideas posted.

Crystal will also be hosting “some guest posts from unmarried women or young women encouraging other unmarried women to glorify God in this season” over the next few days: the first one is here.

Spontaneity vs. scheduling

Posted on February 12, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I’ve always loved holidays and the opportunity to celebrate something special, to do something a little different from the ordinary. I look forward to them eagerly.

But over the last few years I’ve increasingly heard sentiments along the lines that, “I’d rather have spontaneous everyday expressions than a scheduled one dictated by greeting card companies with all the pressure and expectations.” I’ve probably heard it most in connection with Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, but there seems to be a growing anti-holiday mentality in general.

Well, we do have to be careful about unrealistic expectations and pressures. Traditions can be wonderful elements in one’s life, but if they add pressure and we feel enslaved to them (“It just wouldn’t be Christmas without….”), then they’ve gone too far. If our schedules are over-flowing and we feel we have to add 50 things to it to celebrate a holiday, then we need to reevaluate. A commemoration of a holiday can be very simple: most years our Valentine’s Days have just involved a card by everyone’s plate at dinner and heart-shaped cupcakes for dessert, though some times we’ve done more.

And it is true stores commercialize just about every holiday. But commercialization in itself isn’t a reason not to celebrate.

I look at it this way: we’re supposed to be thankful every day, but Thanksgiving is a special opportunity to take the time to sit down and take stock of all that we have to be thankful for and to actually spend time giving thanks to the One who has blessed us. It doesn’t mean any less because we gave thanks according to a date on the calendar rather than spontaneously.

In the same way, I love my family every day and I hope I show it at least often enough that they don’t doubt it. But lives get busy and distractions multiply, so it’s nice to have an occasional time to focus on the other people in our lives and let them know how much we love them. It doesn’t mean any less because it’s a “scheduled” time to show love. If my husband gives me a nice card on Valentine’s Day, as he usually does, I’m not going to toss it aside and think, “He just did that because he felt he was ‘supposed’ to.” I am going to enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is: an expression of his love. It’s the same with Mother’s Day: we should honor our parents every day, but there is nothing wrong with a special day set aside to sit down, take stock, remember how much we love them and appreciate them, and let them know that.

Holidays and celebrations can even be a reminder or add a bit of revival to the appreciation we should feel every day. I honestly don’t think about patriotism very much on an everyday basis, but patriotic holidays remind me that I am extremely glad to live in my country and I am extremely thankful for those who make it possible.

One quote in my files attributed to Samuel Johnson says, “The Church does not superstitiously observe days, merely as days, but as memorials of important facts. Christmas might be kept as well upon one day of the year as another; but there should be a stated day for commemorating the birth of our Saviour, because there is danger that what may be done on any day, will be neglected.”

“What may be done on any day” may be neglected because we don’t often think about it in the course of busy everyday responsibilities.

I’m not saying I think everyone should keep holidays. “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it” (Romans 14:6a).

I’m just saying that a scheduled time for honoring someone or showing appreciation doesn’t negate the everyday expressions and doesn’t mean any less. It’s nice to have both the spontaneous and the scheduled.

(Photo courtesy of the stock.xchng)

Book Review: Homeland Heroes Series

Posted on February 11, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I’ve just finished reading the four-book set of the Homeland Heroes series by Donna Fleisher which I won at Deena’s (thanks, Donna and Deena!)

Wow! Talk about intense!

The series traces the friendship of Chris, a medic, and Erin, a trauma nurse, from the time they met as members of the military in Desert Storm.

In Wounded Healer, Chris and Erin meet and become friends, but Chris seems to hold everyone at arm’s length to a certain degree. When Erin accidentally discovers a traumatic secret from Chris’s past, Chris draws further away. Then when a rescue mission turns tragic, Chris blames herself. When Desert Storm is over, Christ volunteers to stay, and Erin loses contact with her. Several years later, Erin hears that Chris in involved in another tragedy for which she blames herself, and Erin travels from Portland, Oregon to Colorado to find her. The back of the book says, “When Chris’s fear of God and Erin’s faith in Him collide, they are involved in a different kind of war that only one of them can win. As Chris wrestles with grief, fear, and ghosts from the past, Erin fights to pull her from the brink of self-destruction.”

In Warrior’s Heart, there is a different kind of battle, but it is more of an undercurrent: Erin’s husband, Scott, wants to try to minister to Chris, but he is fiercely protective of Erin and feels that Chris is a harmful influence. Chris senses Scott’s disapproval right away, which makes her uncomfortable around him. Plus she is adjusting to a new life in the city of Portland yet misses her cabin and the open air in Colorado. Added to this are her baby steps in her newfound faith. A heavy storm blows over the area, knocking out power for days, and the Christian community pitches in to seek out those in their area who might need help. Chris is paired with…Scott.

In Valiant Hope, Chris becomes aware that a child who frequents her community gym may be abused. Chris has no real evidence to take to the police, so she decides to take matters into her own hands and visit the child’s home — where she finds more than she bargained for. Dealing with this child’s situation brings to the forefront the battle in her own heart with an inability to forgive. She’s brought to a crisis point, knowing that God requires forgiveness of her and yet feeling she just can’t face it. From the back of the book: “One remarkable man may hold the answers to help Chris sort through the agonizing secrets of her past, to help her find a road to peace. But the route threatens to take her to a place she thought she’d never again have to go, a place she swore she would die before ever seeing again.”

In the final book, Standing Strong, several friends formerly from the same military unit have come together to work in an outreach center on Kimberley Street near their church. They’re dismayed to find that an old gang has reformed and a gang from another area of town is seeking to expand its territory right into their neighborhood. Threatening confrontations with the gangs have Chris and Erin and the others in fear, wondering the best way to handle them. Chris’s romance with Jason is a healing balm to her, yet she finds that Jason has turned his back on God due to a crisis of his own, and though she loves him, she doesn’t want anything to pull her away from the Lord she loves and so desperately needs.

As I said, the story is intense, especially reading the books right after each other, both because of the magnitude and depth of the struggles faced in each book. Donna shares a riveting story with realistic struggles and believable characters.

Some time back on a message board forum for writers, one man claimed that he had to use bad language in his writing so that the characters were realistic. I disagreed, and Donna is a brilliant example of how to show unsaved people leading normal unsaved lives — even lives deliberately antagonistic to the gospel — in a genuine way without getting unnecessarily explicit.

I enjoyed the friendship between Chris and Erin, the message of redemption, and Chris’s struggles to understand and live out her newfound faith as well as her pure joy in the Lord.

I don’t know if this was deliberate — I imagine it was — but I also like that the cover art for each book successively shows a bit more of Chris’s face. That seems to parallel more of her story coming to light.

Deena has an interview with Donna here.

Bloggy Happenings

Posted on February 11, 2008 by Barbara Harper

The ladies at 5 Minutes For Mom are always up to something! Currently they are sponsoring a giveaway for an Oreck XL Ultra vacuum. You can find more information and the rules of the giveaway here.

5 Minutes For Mom is also hosting another Ultimate Blog Party as a way for bloggers to introduce themselves to other bloggers. And there are prizes involved! The party invitations is for women bloggers and non-bloggers “regardless of parental status, religious affiliations, etc. This party is about having fun with friends and meeting new people.” You can find more information here or click on the banner below.

The former Family Friendly Blogroll had now been transformed into the Family-Friendly Network and launched a new site called Blogged In News and Networking to help promote “the better side, the safe-for-the-whole-family side of the ’sphere.”

Last but certainly not least, Julie at Joyful Days blessed me with this award that says “You encourage me to follow in His footsteps.” It was created by a new-to-me blogger named Karen at Karen’s Ramblings who says here, “What is on my heart this morning is Encouragement. A word of hope or affirmation is a real blessing to building one another up – with the view of leading us closer to God.
I have been really encouraged, inspired, challenged and stirred up by a lot of posts that I have read. They have drawn me closer to God, desiring to follow in His Footsteps more and more. So, with that in mind I have designed this Award called “You Encourage me to follow in his Footsteps”.

Julie wrote, “Barbara at Stray Thoughts–faithful and constant, a true lady, I love the sense of peacefulness and serenity at Barbara’s blog. It’s obvious where she places her trust.” Julie, I can’t tell you how that blessed me. I want to convey those qualities, and I want more than anything else for my blog to be a testimony to Christ and to show that He is more than worthy of our trust. When someone tells me they have seen a glimpse of Him here, my heart is overjoyed.

A few of the bloggers who encourage me to follow in His footsteps are:

Kim of Life in the 10/40 Window. Kim and her family are missionaries in Japan. Her desire to see Christ in all her circumstances and reflect Him in all her actions shines through. I’ve only known her for several months here on the blogsophere, but I count her a true friend.

Melli at Insanity Prevails. Melli’s honesty with the things she deals with is refreshing to me, because we all have struggles. Her merry heart pervades her posts, as does her steadfast trust in God.

Barb at A Chelsea Morning has a sweet graciousness about her and a way of caring for and interacting with others that puts me to shame.

Susan at By Grace is a pastor’s wife in Canada. Her meek and quiet spirit and steadfast, faithful character are examples to me.

Laurel at Laurel Wreath’s Reflections. Encouragement to follow in Christ’s footsteps seem to me to be the essence of Laurel’s blog. She keeps her eyes on Christ and keeps following Him through good times or not-so-good times.

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is another sweet, quiet, steady, faithful spirit who encourages me.

I am sure there are others I could name, and that’s always the danger of these things — I don’t want to leave anyone out. But these are the ones that first come to mind and who bless me often.

By Night When Others Soundly Slept

Posted on February 9, 2008 by Barbara Harper

By Night When Others Soundly Slept

By Anne Bradstreet

By night when others soundly slept
And hath at once both ease and Rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.

I sought him whom my Soul did Love,
With tears I sought him earnestly.
He bow’d his ear down from Above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.

My hungry Soul he fill’d with Good;
He in his Bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washt in his blood,
And banisht thence my Doubts and fears.

What to my Saviour shall I give
Who freely hath done this for me?
I’ll serve him here whilst I shall live
And Love him to Eternity.

Kielbasa Sausage Stew

Posted on February 9, 2008 by Barbara Harper

My Photo Hunt post is just below this one.

FiddleDeeDee at It Coulda’ Been Worse has started Saturday Stirrings where we can share favorite recipes.

This is one I clipped from One magazine put out by Penzey’s spices. A dear friend has given me a gift subscription to it for a couple of years, but I don’t use Penzey spices and have only found a few recipes in their magazine that I wanted to try, and this is a definite winner. The whole family loved it. It smells wonderful while it is simmering.

Kielbasa Sausage Stew

4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
1 large onion chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, cleaned and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 lb. kielbasa sausage cut into 4-inch lengths
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 cups chicken stock or 1 1/2 teaspoon chicken soups base dissolved in 2 cups warm water
Salt ans pepper to taste

In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry the bacon over medium heat until just crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the pan. Add the onion, parsley, and sage to the pan with the bacon and saute over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the kielbasa, potatoes, carrots, and stock. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Remove cover and simmer another 10 minutes to thicken the sauce slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 4-6.

I used minced onion and dried parsley rather than fresh, and I cut up the sausage and vegetables in smaller chunks. We use turkey link sausage: my favorite is Hillshire farms.

I’ve wondered if this would work well in a crock pot: I think it would.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Heavy

Posted on February 9, 2008 by Barbara Harper

PhotoHunt

Theme: Heavy | Become a Photo Hunter

I was at a loss coming up with something for today’s theme at first. Then I remembered that we had pictures of an elephant at a zoo — but then I thought of this picture and decided on it.

This is from a whale show at Seaworld in Florida in April of 2002. We had gone down during spring break Jeremy’s senior year to check out Clearwater Christian College (loved it, but they didn’t have the major he wanted). We took a day to visit here. We had been to a similar place in CA once when Jesse was just a baby, and I had always wanted to go back when he was old enough to remember it, so I am glad we got the chance.

Whales are certainly heavy, but they glide through the air with such ease! So graceful!

I didn’t notice this when I first scanned the picture, but the whale on the left has a man standing on his nose (or snout? whatever you call a whale’s nose). That gives you some idea of how big these creatures are.

Jeremy and Jesse were down in the “splash zone” and were disappointed when they didn’t get wet at all — til the whale made one last pass around the tank at the end and flipped water on their section with its tail!

I am more of a homebody than a goer and a doer, but this is something I would love to see again — this and the dolphins.

Know and Tell Friday

Posted on February 8, 2008 by Barbara Harper

(My Friday Show and Tell post is just below this one)

To Know Him hosts Know and Tell Friday and asks this week:

Question 1
(In honor of my best fwend today…. she has been so ill 😦 How often do you get real sick?

Not real often: maybe one or two good colds a year.

Question 2
Do you usually send serious or humorous greeting cards? Why?

It just depends — on the occasion, the person, the frame of mind I am in when shopping, and most importantly, what’s available. As I look through the variety of cards I choose whichever one seems to fit the best. However, I do send more humorous cards than I used to. Some of the serious, sentimental ones go way over the top. Plus I think maybe I’ve lightened up a bit over the years. 🙂

Question 3
Are you a person who has a whole lot of acquaintances, or just a few very close friends?

I have both, I think. If you have just a few close friends, everyone else will be an acquaintance. 😀 But all through life I have had just a few close friends rather than a “group.”

Question 4
If you could cure a disease, or heal a sickness, which one would you choose?

That would be hard. Cancer comes to mind first because it is so devastating and pervasive, but many of my relatives struggle with heart disease and my mother battled diabetes. I’m glad I don’t have to make those decisions.

Bonus Questions
Question 5
What does “being spiritual” mean to you?

A couple of verses come to mind: “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6) and “that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6b). To me a spiritual person is one who doesn’t just live by lists of dos and don’ts (though such lists are important) and who doesn’t just go through the motions, but he or she is one who has a loving relationship with the Savior and wants to please Him in everything. But I know in the world sometimes being spiritual is thought to be kind of a nebulous and inexact thing and applied to any “religious” act or feeling, though they would spurn the word “religious.” I look at it this way: if I act towards my husband in love, I am not just experiencing warm but foggy feelings towards him: rather, I seek out what he likes and try prepare the foods and buy the brands he likes, etc. I try to avoid things he doesn’t like, from rutabagas to loudness and chaos in the house. To me it is the same in our relationship with the Lord — we seek out what pleases Him and what doesn’t, we “mind the things of the Spirit,” we serve “in newness of spirit.” It’s not that special feelings aren’t there, but they’re not entirely reliable.

Question 6
Imagine you were talking to someone who did not believe in God and Jesus… How would you explain to them that Jesus is Real (from your experiences in your own life)?

I would be inclined to go more towards things like evidences in nature, fulfilled prophecy, etc., but if I were to speak from my own life, I would point to times of answered prayer, times God gave me something specific that I needed from His Word, or times I definitely saw the Lord intervene — some of those kinds of things I wrote about in a previous post about “God’s thumbprints.”

Show and Tell Friday

Posted on February 8, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.“

One of my favorite spaces in our home is just a thin strip of wall.

The two small pictures I got a few years ago with some Christmas money at Kirkland’s.

I found this for just a few dollars at a craft fair.

Nearly every time I pass by this spot and see these little pictures, they make me smile.

I also wanted to mention that I won a prize from Ellen in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival, and it arrived today! It was so neat to win something from a bloggy friend! It arrived very nicely packaged: