Friday, May 30, 2008

Movie Reviews and Fish Frys


Well, the title is a bit confusing I know... but these two are related....

Have any of you ever seen the movie "The Green Pastures"? It was made in 1936 and has an all black cast. Basically it is a spiritual musical that depicts several Old Testament stories as they might be imagined by a black Sunday School child during the Depression era. It's an all black vision of Heaven as a perpetual "fish-fry" (more on that in a minute) full of black angels and cherubs eating catfish, smoking 10-cent "see-gars" and where "De Lawd" presides over the tales of creation. My favorite part of the movie is where the Lord comes into where all the people are rejoicing at the riverside, he has cigar in mouth and he starts asking them in a musical lilt "have you been baptized?, have you been redeemed?", etc... And they sing back, "certainly, Lawd". After that goes on for a bit, he stops and looks at them all and says "Let the fish fry begin!" It's awesome and it's a great movie and if you haven't seen it, you need to. I think it's on DVD.

Anyway, regarding fish-frys, we are having a fish-fry at church tonight before a leadership meeting. My husband is a big fisherman and loves to serve people the fish he catches. So, tonight he will be doing the honors.

Let the fish-fry begin!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Busy Day, Busy Day, Busy, Busy, Busy Day

Do you ever get so busy that you just pass your husband/wife in the hallway or see your children maybe once or twice a week for a real conversation? Or, don't have the time in your schedule to sit down together as a family and eat a meal? This is something our family has been really struggling with lately.

May I say, I HATE IT!!

I love having time with my family and my husband and when it doesn't happen I begin to scream inside for change and it affects me in the deepest parts of my emotional being. I can't even explain it sometimes or put it into words, but it's a very real feeling.

For us, right now we're in a transition. Let me give you a shortened version: We moved from a smaller town (about 30 miles away) that basically has a slower lifestyle and it was much more convenient for us just to come home after work and just be together and hang out, whatever... We moved to an area closer to a really big city (not big like Atlanta, but pretty big - compared to where we were) because, A. we wanted to be closer to our church because we're really involved, B. daughter works at church and it would aid in her being more conveniently located and, C. it just seemed like the right thing to do and we found a house that we really loved.

I remember telling my husband that my one "fear" or "caution" in moving closer in would be that we would become "too involved" and less connected as a family. Does anyone out there understand what I'm saying??

Well, this was the topic of conversation for my hubby and I yesterday and we had a good long talk and a very big cry (both of us) about this very thing. Don't get me wrong: We LOVE our church , it's incredible and our pastor is so humble and we get fed and we love serving and on and on. We love our friendships, we love being able to run to the mall and get what's needed, we love our new house, we love it all. BUT - the biggest question is, how has it affected us as a family?? We are a close knit family and we value time together and we value character building within our family and time together and all of the things that family togetherness nurtures. So, now, we've got to work harder to maintain and re-position some of our priorities.

Yesterday, (Memorial Day - oddly enough, it was as if the Lord was saying, remember your original intentions) was a huge wake up call for us. And I don't really know what it all means but I do know some things will change. Because, what we really want in life is not found in things or other people or in DOING; what we value in life is found in the satisfaction of knowing who we are in Christ and in walking that out before our family and before other people and in serving and in BEING. And if we can't BE those people with our family then how can we go out and BE those people to others?

It starts with all of us being disciples. Jesus chose a small group of men to connect with, to pour Himself in to. I believe that is what the family is about. Although our culture tries to pull us away from that purpose, we have to come back to that very valuable place. The intimacy and connection that comes with family and the growth and accountability that it provides.

You may not understand this post; I'm not really sure that I understand it all. You may think it strange; that's okay, I guess I am a bit strange. But that doesn't matter. Because we know that our focus has shifted a bit from the most important.

I love the story in the Bible where the Lord comes to visit Mary and Martha. And Martha is busy in the kitchen doing all the stuff and Mary is just there at Jesus' feet. And Martha gets all hot and bothered that Mary's not helping. And then Jesus says to Martha, "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42) That's what it's really all about - choosing the better thing, choosing that which has eternal value.

That's what I'm talking about.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Braves Sweep the Mets

YESSSSSSS!!


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Wordless Wednesday - What More Can You Say?


Monday, May 19, 2008

If Women Ruled the World

Here's a handy little contraption; isn't technology amazing?







Saturday, May 17, 2008

Loafing Around


So, today, I am finishing up the french loaves. I have been making them in batches of two, each recipe yielding two loaves. The first batch I decided I would test one of the loaves for taste. It tasted delicious. That batch also did not get the famed perforated top cuts (I forgot!!), so it worked out that I used it as a "test batch".


I really like the recipe I am using. This bread requires a minimal amount of kneading and turns out a really light inside with a crispy brown crust. This dough rose really fast, maybe because I added a extra bit of gluten to lighten up the loaf.


All in all, I am completely satisfied with this first attempt. I am not so sure that I like the shape of my loaves. I think I need to perfect a longer and thinner loaf, but it was difficult to do because my pans were not really big.


I have read that using baking stones in the oven, covering the whole oven bottom in unglazed quarry tiles, yields a nice result. I might try that, but didn't happen to have those on hand.




Friday, May 16, 2008

Flirting With The French

Today I'll be experimenting. After I do my usual Friday ritual of housecleaning, I will commence to the unknown world of french bread-making.

Breadmaking is not new to me. I make homemade bread all the time. I stick to one very easy and familiar recipe. It's called "slightly sweet but simple" and is made with 100% freshly ground whole wheat flour. It is just a typical whole wheat yeast dough made with water, oil and honey.

I use:

This



and this















to get this.

Not only is this bread delicious but it is also very good for you. And I have several friends that buy the bread from us. I love making it and we love eating it, but you might say I am a creature of habit and don't branch out from my routine. Some might call it boring, but I prefer to say "tried and true".

Okay, so anyway, I have a good friend's daughter that is getting married tomorrow. She asked me if I would bake some loaves of french bread for the reception. Of course, I wanted to accomodate her, so today I will be experimenting and hopefully be able to come up with something tasty and remotely resembling french bread with all of it's delectable qualities; shape, crisp crust, light texture.

Wish me luck!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

On The Road Again

Seems to be my theme song these days.

Last night my son and I drove to Atlanta for a quick trip. I picked him up from church around 9 p.m. and we drove to Atlanta for some outpatient eye surgery for him.

Kendall was born with congenital ptosis. It sounds pretty serious, but it's really not that big of a deal. Basically, when he was born, he looked half drunk because his left eye was almost completely shut when he came out. In layman's terms, his left eyelid "lifting" muscle is longer than in the right eyelid. So for 15 years, his left eyelid has drooped. A lot of people would ask me if he had "lazy eye" but that is where the eyeball actually does not function correctly. Kendall's condition was totally related to the eyelid and the muscle being too long and not the eyeball.

When Kendall was about 5 or 6, we took him to a pediatric ophthalmologist for an evaluation. This doctor did not recommend doing anything to his eye. He said he thought it would be a purely cosmetic procedure to try to raise the eyelid and also that there might be a chance that the eyelid would not close all the way if they cut into the muscle. So, we opted to leave the "droop" alone and just chalked it up as a unique characteristic for Kendall.

Last year, Kendall asked us if we could re-evaluate his eye and possibly consider corrective surgery. So, off to the ophthalmologist again. This doctor recommended a specialist at Emory in Atlanta. In January, we went to see the doctor and he did an in-depth series of tests on Kendall's eye and his field of vision, etc... He felt that Kendall would benefit from surgery to correct the eyelid. He said it was definitely affecting his field of vision and felt that it would not just be a cosmetic procedure but saw value and improvement in going this direction.

So, this morning, Kendall had the procedure done. We are back home and he is resting. He did really well and because he was older the doctor recommended that Kendall be put in "twilight" anesthesia instead of "all the way out". This way they could sit him up during the procedure and communicate with him and get the eyelid almost perfect. There is always a possibility that the eyelid won't shut all the way after this surgery, because the muscle can be lifted too high. Putting him in a communicative role during anesthesia would assure the best outcome of the lid. I was very impressed with the team of doctors, anesthesiologists and nurses. Top notch.

A big plus and blessing to me was that one of his anesthesiologists had a son that was also a Juvenile Diabetic. Her son was 18 mos. old when he was diagnosed with diabetes and is now 14. He also wears an insulin pump like Kendall. So this lady knew Kendall's exact needs and allowed him to wear his pump during the surgery. This is huge because many doctors are not familiar with insulin pumps and the technology, etc...

I am grateful that all went well and maybe Kendall will be able to see better out of this eye now. Right now, he looks like a boxer that just lost a fight, but I am sure in a few days he will be looking better.

One humorous and kind of cute side note: Kendall was telling some of his friends at church last night about his surgery today. One of his friends told him he was wondering why Kendall was getting it done. He said something to the effect that the way Kendall's eye was, was "just Kendall" and he liked him just the way he was. I thought that was sweet.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Reflections

Waiting for my Irish teabag to steep, watching the Braves play the second game of a double-header in Pittsburgh and thinking back on the last few days:

My trip to Virginia was mostly uneventful. I enjoyed the 10 hour drive. The scenery in Virginia, especially driving through the Shanandoah Valley, is breathtaking. It is one of the prettiest places in my travels and the road trip brought peaceful meditation time.

I wasn't sure how I would find my mom. I knew that she was in a nursing home and I knew that she probably wouldn't know who I was, but I don't think I was prepared for the reality of it all. Seeing her disheveled and babbling nonsensical words and barely opening her eyes to focus on anything, hearing the fear in her as she said "please don't hurt me, I'm scared", changing her diaper and feeding her with a spoon; it all seemed somewhat surreal to me. I remember thinking to myself how life can really take a total reversal on us. Here was the woman who had fed, bathed, and calmed me; and now I was doing the same for her. It didn't seem fair but I knew it was the right thing for me to do. In a way, it brought a sense of closure to the inevitable.

I don't mean to sound somber; there were some humorous moments as well. At times, she would say something so off the wall, you just had to laugh. It just didn't make any sense at all and laughing was just the normal response. And then she would look in your direction and say, "I don't think it's funny", in a somewhat gruff voice; which, for some reason, elicited more laughter. I don't know how long my mother will survive the effects of Alzheimer's but I know she is slowly becoming someone else.

For now, I am grateful for the facility she is in; she is receiving good care and is comfortable and can still eat. One day at a time is the only way to survive.

Seeing the other residents, some mentally worse than my mom; the lady next to her grabbing her baby doll and talking to it as if it were real. And then laying it beside her and patting it. Others crying out, others quiet, all slowly drifting away on their own timetable.

I remember a sermon my husband preached once on all of us having a date with eternity. We're all in the waiting room, some are getting called into the office before us, but we all have our appointments to keep.

The bright spot of my trip was getting to see one of my dear friends from college, Lorraine. Lorraine and I sang in a girl's quartet in Bible college. She sang first alto and I sang second alto. The name of our group was Annointed Fire and it came from a passage out of Hebrews. I must admit, we sounded pretty good, our harmony was tight and God was always faithful to minister through us. Our arranger and pianist was the music director at our college, Bro. Chip Reardon. He was amazing. His arrangements were incredible and he could take a well-known song and totally rework it just for us. Some of his songs are still the best I have ever heard. I guess the most amazing thing about Bro. Reardon is that he was totally blind. He could play a piano like nobody's business and his musical expertise was par excellence. He challenged us to do something beyond ourselves but always with the assurance that the Lord was the ultimate giver of song and creativity.

Lorraine and I were pretty close friends, even outside of the group. There were four of us that hung out together all the time; me, Lorraine, my roommate-Denise and another friend, Yvonne. Our senior year was the most enjoyable year and our friendships were knitted. I actually found Lorraine on Facebook recently, or really, she found me. The last time I knew about her, she was living in California, but now she and her family live in northern Virginia. We met for lunch and spent the afternoon reminiscing, sharing stories of our lives since and just reflecting on God's goodness. I am so very thankful for the reconnection and I know we will continue to be close.

Yesterday, on Mother's Day, I hugged my mom and told her I loved her. I didn't tell her goodbye because I didn't want to scare her or confuse her. As I walked away, to drive back home, I wondered if I would ever see her alive again. For a moment, as tears welled in my eyes, I was sad. But then I remembered that leaving this world would be a blessing for her and that one day we would be reunited in heaven. Another fact to be grateful for; my mom does know Jesus. That is probably the biggest blessing of all to me. I know that one day, I will see her again. And she will be whole and in her right mind.

I give thanks to the Lord for keeping me safe on my travels up and back and for giving me the grace to see my mom and minister to her. I thank the Lord for good friends and cherished memories and most of all I thank Him for His gift of eternal life; for without it, we would all be lost.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Heading North

Well, I'm packing my bags and heading to Virginia today. Just found out that my mom has been put in a nursing home and I feel as if I need to get up there to see her. She has Alzheimer's and is slowly going down hill. It's pretty sad, when I called her at Easter, she didn't know me.
I remember going through this with my husband's dad, but it is never a fun thing to face. It amazes me how this disease takes everything away from people. So, please pray for me as I travel today, about 10 hours, and then as I spend time with my mom. I pray that I can be a blessing to her in some way and that maybe, just maybe, she will have a slight memory that I can jog her ailing brain with. Thanks and I'll check back soon!!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Shame Off You!



We're doing a special series in our Sunday School class on destructive shame and its effects on us as individuals. The class started this past Sunday and we had a great turnout. I am really excited about helping my hubby teach this class. God really used this material in my own life about 10 years ago to bring a lot of understanding and healing to me. I pray we can impart some of that to the dear people that God directs to the class and that may need similar help and insight.
So, anyway, the cartoon is a funny commentary on just how many of us in this world are messed up!! Don't worry, I'm not talking about you....