In the meantime

While this word is often associated with romance, the dictionary defines passionate as an “intense desire for something” or “tending to have strong feelings.”  When it comes to how God feels about His glory and name among the nations, I believe passionate is a very accurate adjective. We see this idea come out in the first two commandments that God gave to the Israelites: Exodus 20:1 A nd God spake all these words, saying,  2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:   5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God… He is the One and the Only, and there is to be no other who takes His place in our...

Here’s a favorite goodie for snack-time at school.  I came across this recipe on the internet awhile back, but I just scribbled it on a piece of paper, so I have no idea what site it came from...otherwise I would link to it, you know...give credit where credit is due sort of thing.  Anyway, not only is it popular among the students, it is one of my favorites as well, particularly since it is super easy to mix up and makes a big batch! These are also yummy straight out of the freezer!  Here's the recipe: 1 Cup Brown Sugar 1 Cup Sugar 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cup Peanut Butter 3 eggs 1 Tablespoon Vanilla 1 1/2 cup quick oats (or 2 cups Old Fashioned, ground in a blender) 3 cups Old Fashioned oats 1-2 cups M&Ms 1 cup chocolate chips Mix all together and spread into a greased cookie sheet.   This is where the plastic wrap over the dough to help press it into the pan comes in super handy! Bake at 350 for 18-20 minu...

The three-year mark since our miscarriage has come and gone.  It kind of surprised me that I didn’t notice the date until after it was past.  I guess that must be an indication that the pain is easing and thoughts of the twins isn’t at the forefront of my mind every. single. day. like it used to be.  I know having Talitha around has helped with that...  And yet thoughts about it still often swirl around in my mind.  We recently read Revelation 4. Verse 11 stood out to me in a unique way:  “ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. ” As I thought about this verse again today, it brings a measure of encouragement to the miscarriage conversation:  Even when in pro-life circles, there is an {unintentional and subconscious}  tendency to send the message that an under-developed baby that is ...

On the days I cook at Cornerstone, one of my responsibilities has been to make a dessert of some sort.  These desserts usually end up being some kind of bars or cakes.  Occasionally, I’ll make cookies, but not very often. Anyway...after having this responsibility for several years now, I’m slowly learning a few tricks to help make the job easier.  Here are two that I have used recently: Trick #1: When pressing stiff cookie-dough type dough into a pan for bars, do two things: *First, scoop (or crumble) the dough into multiple piles instead of just one big pile in the middle.  Having multiple piles of dough on the pan will make it much easier to press the dough into the pan—the dough will only have to spread a couple inches to reach the edges instead of all the way from the middle out to the edges!  *Secondly, use plastic wrap to help press it into the pan. A piece of plastic wrap slightly bigger than the pan should do the job.  Just lay...

1.  With each stage, you think “This can’t get any better.”  And then you reach the next stage—and it is so much more fun than the previous stage. 2.   There are times when it’s okay to let the baby cry…and cry…and cry.  She’ll eventually fall asleep and wake up.  Chances are she’ll be much more civil towards you and the rest of the world. 3.  If you don’t like this stage…just wait it out.  It’ll change shortly. 4.  If you like this stage…enjoy it, because it’s going to change soon! 5.  A sick baby is no fun—the nights are the worst! 6.  Moms don’t have an “off” switch.  Dads do. 7.  Poopy diapers are all relative. 8.  Don’t be afraid to do that thing you thought you’d never do—it won’t be the end of the world.  The baby will be just fine and you’re no less of a mom because you did it. 9.  A lot of parenting is a...

We’ve all been around those people who are just naturals at having engaging conversations: they can talk about anything with anyone, they’re lots of fun to be around, and, most importantly, they make you feel genuinely important when you’re talking with them.  While talking may come easily for them, I don’t think they necessarily have a skill that the rest of us can’t also learn.   Let me explain: Recently, I was reading a book by Dobson on raising daughters.  He was talking about the importance of teaching our kids how to have a conversation (as compared to just talking.) Dobson gave a vivid illustration on how a conversation works.  This illustration has totally revolutionized how I think about what a conversation is.  I thought I would share it: Imagine conversation like a ball: the objective is not to play Keep Away with the ball, but to keep the ball bouncing from one person to the next....

Ok, time to try to finish up this series that I only began years ago.  To read up on it, you can start with the post on  Advocate  or the pull up the whole  A-N Describe Him Archive . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Describe Him, the Omni. Ok, I confess: Isaac has sold me on superhero action movies.  I love superhero movies: Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Spider Man, Ant Man.  They each have unique powers that overcome common human limitations and consequently, allow them to perform incredible feats and rescue the good guys from the bad guys… Or maybe get the bad guys and be the good guys. Whatever the case, they usually become the heroes. Sometimes, however, things turn sour.   (Like what happened in New York* or Sokovia*: Instead of rescuing according to plan, lives are lost and more destruction happens.)                          ...