A Life in Pictures

Love from my Little corner of the World

Life is good.

"Being a stay-at-home Mom is easy when you don't have kids"

Yesterday, I woke up happy and not at all wanting to sit still at my desk and read about Southern church doctrine in the early 20th century. So I didn't. I went to the grocery store, to Goodwill (more to come about that) and went for a walk outside with a friend. C'mon, y'all, it was Friday.
I also cooked/baked. Sometimes that happens. I just feel creative and want to make something delicious.

First I made granola.

First you toast pecans and almonds

Mix together rice cereal (I used hemp flax cereal instead), rolled oats, and dried cranberries

Then, bring syrup (I used maple/agave), cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and cloves to a boil and heat until it thickens

Pour syrup over mixed oats and stir until coated. Then our mixture into a buttered glass dish and let cool.  There you go! Homemade granola!

 Next, I cut up some strawberries I got on sale. No recipe here. Just delicious fruit. I'll be eating berries in yogurt, salad, everything for the next few days!

 Next, I did like my sister Courtney and made some pico de gallo. Spicy!!

Here I am, cooking away--listening to Elton John probably:)

All you do is chop together tomatoes (seeded), garlic, cilantro, red onion, and fresh jalepeno,. Then season with fresh lime juice and salt and pepper. Healthy and delicious!

Then, I made some oatmeal cookies. These are so easy and I actually got the recipe from the oatmeal box itself but they are on constant request from friends. No pictures of these though.

That's it! Guess we'll be eating well this weekend in my house!

"Take Heart. Get up. He is calling you."

In our neighborhood group this Spring, we've been looking at the Gospel of Mark and I have been continuously surprised, delighted and perplexed by Jesus. That may sound odd, but as I've been reading I've been struck by His presence, His mysteriousness, His gentleness.  Jesus speaks clearly and cryptically, with great certainty and great compassion.

This past week we were looking at a moment when Jesus heals a blind man, Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus is described as completely without sight, "sitting by the roadside," bored and destitute. But, when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was passing by cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Bartimaeus is blind, but he can see what so many could not. He rightfully identifies Jesus as the Son of David, as the Messiah, and has faith that he can heal and forgive him. Though the people around him mocked him and even "rebuked him, telling him 'be silent,'" the Scriptures say Bartimaeus could not stop himself and "cried out all the more."

And Jesus then does something amazing. He hears him. He stops. He calls for him. Bartimaeus' friends/mockers are stunned as they tell him, "Get up. Take heart. He is calling for you." Oh to be called by Jesus!

The Lord calls for us. When we are dead in our sins, when we are blinded by our own ignorance or our culture, he calls to us first. He knows our names and deals with us gently. He heals our infirmities. We are those helpless, hapless, blind people sitting outside the gates, but Jesus knows us, hears our sighs and bids us come to Him.

And Bartimaeus does. "And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus."
Jesus heals Bartimaeus, he restores his sight, and Bartimaeus follows Jesus from that day on.

Oh Lord, may that be our response! Each day as Jesus persistently and gently calls my name, I pray that I would indeed leap up, throw off the things that hinder me and go to the One in whom all life, peace and joy reside, following Him wherever He should lead.

You might be a grad school fraud if...

...the morning of your first-ever conference is the same morning you realize how hard it is to take of gold glitter fingernail polish.

The McCowns

When I moved to Nashville, I got involved with a local church, City Church of East Nashville. After about a year there, I started to hear the leaders asking for Sunday school volunteers and begrudgingly obliged, committing to teach kindergarden. Of course, I love it. Kindergardeners are simply the best.

In my first class, there was an especially precocious and adorable kid. He was spunky and hilarious, inquisitive and kind. Mitchell McCown.

One day, after a particularly awesome time with him in class, I said, "Mitchell, who are your parents? I have got to meet the people who created and raised you." He took me by the hand and lead me to Katy and Paul, literally the coolest people. Outdoorsy and laid back, smart and caring--these are the kind of people you want in your life. They garden. They read the Bible. They watch Friday Night Lights. They play the mandolin and guitar. They get a babysitter and go to hear live music.

Mitchell has grown up and left my class, but now I have Evelyn as a kindergardener. She is opinionated and strong, beautiful and funny. She keeps up with her brother and has a mind of her own and a sweet voice like her mama.

But, on Thursday April 6, The McCowns added another to their incredible family. Daniel!

I am so blessed by Katy, Paul, Mitchell, Evelyn and now baby Daniel and so thankful to have them in my life. Love y'all!

Go with Christ

My Catholic friends enact the final week of Jesus' life in the form of Stations of the Cross, where the saints participate in prayer and recollection the passion of Jesus. What we have as Presbyterians is not quite as good probably, but we have the sweet words of a hymn that takes us through Jesus' final hours and calls us to live in light of Christ's life, death and resurrection.

Hear these amazing words:

 Go to dark Gethsemane,  ye that feel the tempter's power;   

Your Redeemer's conflict see,  watch with him one bitter hour.   

Turn not from his griefs away;  learn of Jesus Christ to pray.    

See him at the judgment hall,   beaten, bound, reviled arraigned
O the wormwood and the gall!   O the pangs his soul sustained!   
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;   learn of Christ to bear the cross. 

 Calvary's mournful mountain climb;  there, adoring at his feet,  

 Mark that miracle of time,  God's own sacrifice complete.   

"It is finished!" hear him cry;   learn of Jesus Christ to die.   

 Early hasten to the tomb  where they laid his breathless clay;  

 All is solitude and gloom,   Who has taken him away?   

Christ is risen! He meets our eyes;   Savior, teach us so to rise.  

Oh Lord, teach me to remember Jesus, teach me to pray, to bear the cross, to die, to rise.

Amen.

"Little One, in the Storm, God Cares For You"

My friends in Nashville make some great music.

This album is for kids, but ministers to saints of all ages. I love the song "Noah."

Car rides, with or without little ones, just got more enjoyable and theologically sound:)

My TV True Loves!

I still remember my first TV crush. You may still hear me refer to him as though he is real. As in, "I want to go to Philadelphia, Jess Mariano lives there." Or, "Oh, you work at Walmart, like Jess Mariano." It was true love. Jess was wonderful--smart, broody, rough around the edges but sweet deep down, and oh so handsome.

But, there's a 'New Guy' in town. My new TV love, Nick Miller.

Nick is a law school dropout. He is gruff but kind, smart but down-to-earth, very funny, and, let's face it, he wears that hoodie well. Give that man a baseball cap and he may make me forget all about Ben the Bachelor.

Basically, Nick Miller is a grown-up Jess Mariano. I guess I have a type.

Tuesday nights have always treated me right.

Keeping "that heart" in a Vogue world

This month, there has been a huge controversy over a Vogue Magazine article in which one editor puts her young daughter on a strict year-long diet. Some applaud her for tackling the childhood obesity epidemic and understanding the very real social and physical ramifications of being overweight from a young age. Others lambast her for projecting her own self-loathing onto her daughter and essentially forcing her into an eating disorder. It's definitely complicated, but I think as much as you would want to shield your children from the health difficulties of being overweight, shame is certainly not the right approach.

I shudder to think that this precious little girl now understands her mother's love and approval as conditional upon her appearance. But it dawned on me (if you're a parent this may make you laugh) how hard it is to raise kids. You want to give them the best, equip them for success, even push them to overcome laziness and mediocrity. You also want to provide a foundation of love comfort, healthy self-image, and spiritual security. This is a delicate balance.

Last weekend, on a lazy Sunday morning I came across the wonderful movie Spanglish, which also deals with the perils of parenting--especially cross culturally. There's a beautiful scene where Flor, the lovely Spanish-speaking nanny/housecleaner, and John, the bourgeois chef/father are sitting on the beach talking about their daughters going to a private school. John's daughter Bernice is a slightly overweight, awkward girl, with braces and crazy hair. She is also funny and kind and generous of heart. She'll surely get teased or ostracized at this prep school. This is agonizing decision-- to send one's child into an environment that will likely tease or even terrify but provide the best preparation for a life of success or seek to protect the innocence and character of the child at the risk of limiting their possible ambitions?

But, I love how the conversation goes, and the beautiful wisdom of Flor:

FLOR

You know about Cristina and your

great school?

JOHN

Oh, it's happened. Is it driving

you nuts?

FLOR

Yes, nuts. I have no idea what to

do. Such an important thing.

JOHN

Yeah.

FLOR

It's a good school?

JOHN

Tops. It's tops.

FLOR

So you like it?

JOHN

No. I hate the damn school. But

that's because they keep sending my

daughter home anxiety-ridden,

mostly over geometry..I mean you

"get" Bernice..In a decent world

her school should let her know how

great she is, right?

FLOR

Very right.

JOHN

So, don't ask me..I'm worried about

my own kid there.

FLOR

You don't have to worry about

Bernice. Nothing is going to change

that heart.

"Nothing is going to change that heart."

In a world where looks seem like everything and parents want to push their children to the peaks of material and social success, the heart really is what matters. Kindness and compassion. Wisdom and gentleness. These will always win the day.

In the meantime, though, I'll just be praying for boys.

(image unknown!)

I mean, how cute is he!?!