Baked Potato Soup

Okay, so somewhere between time and space last week, I realized that I hadn't even thought to post recipes on this dang blog. A real lightbulb moment, eh? Cooking is something I love to do, and yet somehow that part of my life has not really been displayed here. A little insider information: most of my recipes are discovered from allrecipes.com or through other blogs I read. Rarely do I follow a recipe exactly.

Below is a wonderful potato soup recipe I found, that truly had a fantastic mouth-feel...perfectly creamy, not too thick and certainly not too watery. The latter have been found in other potato soup recipes I've tried, but have not liked. My tips will be in blue. And might I add that I cannot wait to make this again come Autumn! :)

Baked Potato Soup (4 servings)

Ingredients:
3 bacon strips, diced (Did an extra strip for the dog's treat ;)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth (I used 4 c. and it came out fine)
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed (Plan ahead and save time...I purposefully had a dinner of chili and baked potatoes the night before. All I had to do was throw 2 additional ones in the oven, done!)
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I omitted the hot sauce, but relished the non-chili spiciness of the black pepper instead)
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley

Directions:
In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. (I cheat time by using the microwave instead). Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. (Since getting drippings from a microwaved plate of bacon is messy, I put two pieces of uncooked bacon fat in the pot where the onion and garlic were sauted in. Also, no need to use multiple pans/pots. Keep it simple and utilize one big soup pot to saute the onion and garlic mixture. Then add the rest of the ingredients for your soup. One less thing to clean!) Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Weeping may endure for the night, but Joy comes in the morning

In the last post, I announced my husband's new job; Yahoojah again! It feels so good to have something to scream happily about :) The cause for celebration is great, but the prayers behind it have been greater still.

Having announced his resignation on March 24th and his new job beginning August 18th, it's been roughly 5 months living life on a single income. Fortunately, with my husband's foresight and having moved into our condo with a greatly reduced monthly mortgage, what could have been a crisis was only a temporary time of financial hardship. I really hate to think about what could've happened had we stayed in our old house and then having to live on a single income. But God is good, and He helped us greatly.

He provided through several of our friends with dinner invitations and laughter: the Riccis, Lanes, Castles, Carnes, and Beth. He gave us food and fresh vegetables through the Dunns, Davises, and Dr. Wofford and Charles. We also received medical care at no cost from Dr. Wofford. Our families provided meals and times of fellowship. In short, we were never without food.

Psalm 37:24-25, "Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread."

More than anything though, we relied on prayer and trusting God's faithfulness and goodness to us. It really did my heart good to hear from friends and family that they were praying for us. And there were times when I didn't have it in me to pray myself, but I knew that others were praying for us as well as the Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, "Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."

Even though our physical needs were being met, and we still had a roof over our heads, there were times when emotionally, I just felt exhausted and neglected. "God where are you?" I can vividly recall the day when I sat in my car in the Kohl's parking lot and bawled. It was the first time after already a couple of months where I finally "let it go." I wish I could say that it was one of those prayer experiences that was one of humility and gentleness, but it was not. Instead, the prayer resembled psalms when David was raw before the Lord Almighty (Psalm 42:9-11, Psalm 44:23-24). I shouted that day at God too, very loudly, I might add. Shouting and crying and being alone by yourself paint a scary picture, so if you happened to see me in the Kohl's parking lot that day, sorry. I remember yelling distinct words: "GOD, I'M ANGRY AND I'M TIRED OF THIS! WHERE ARE YOU? WHY CAN'T YOU GIVE HIM A JOB? I'M DONE WITH IT!!!!"

Psalm 86:15, "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."

The days grew into weeks, the weeks into months, and time marched on. I saw how difficult it was on him, but as a wife and a human, there's only so much you can do or say to help someone. And it's also challenging to remain positive and optimistic for someone when you also feel discouraged. All in all, I know that God gave us grace to remain kind to one another. I know for some couples, a lot of bad marital issues can arise when something like a job loss comes along. It was indeed a time of "stretching" for us financially, spiritually, and emotionally. But oddly enough, when trials come, a husband and wife can either distance themselves or cleave more strongly. Joyfully, our route was the latter and we came out refined.

Psalm 66:10, "For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver."

I am so grateful that this period lasted only a few months when unemployment can last years for some individuals. All praise to God for orchestrating everything, with the interviews, prayers, and provision. I think it's the uncertainty that wreaks the most havoc during times of testing. But if God had told me, "Hang on girl, you only have five months to endure....," I'm not sure it would've produced the fruit that I can already see from it: I grew closer to God in the process, my marriage grew stronger, I have a greater appreciation for my job/paycheck, and I tangibly saw our loved ones become the hands and feet of Christ. To put it simply, there is beauty in mystery. We need not be afraid of it, but only remember Who's already in control.

Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."

Where oh where have I been???

First off, an apology for having taken a break from blogger. I've been traveling out the wazoo the past month and I have pictures to prove it! :) I also have some great news to share! And the second apology is that this post will be all over the place today, so deal with it :)

A quick recap (depending on accurate memory, might be in chronological order):

-A reunion with my husband's old youth group at the lake. Having 20 people in one house and on one boat was great and I really got to bond with more of them.

-A fun bachelorette party that I hosted and consequently doing karaoke for the first time and absolutely LOVING it!

-Seeing my best friend get married last weekend and doing lots of girly matron-of-honor things in the process. And totally realizing how much I miss living in the mountains...

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And the great news is....??

My husband got a job!!! Wahooooo! Or as Beth Moore is prone to yell, "Yahoojah!" This is a major answer to prayer that began waaaay back in March. Brent has been out of work since early April, but God knew all of this and extended plenty of grace our way as well as provision through wonderful friends and family. We are looking forward to be able to pay those people back with blessings too :)

Brent begins his first day next Monday and he is thrilled and itching to go to work. It's funny how God works things out, because this job was unexpected and happened very quickly. The blessings of this job are beyond what we had hoped for as well; fully paid health insurance (we don't pay a dime), a generous retirement plan, quick commute (only 4 miles from our home), a cushy office, and a salary above what other interviewers and companies were not willing to pay. We are so blessed to have God's favor on us!

Because of the surge in income, the renovations (yes, they are still ongoing...pictures are in the works) can resume again...both bathrooms and new carpeting. God also added a little bonus and we were able to finally sell the leftover wood flooring.

It's strange how I feel like our life was on 'pause' and then all of a sudden, the gears started whirring and we're going full throttle again. Through it all, God was there and He sustained us. Yes there were times when I doubted that, but He gave me grace for my unbelief. I will share more about this time in our life in the next post.

So I promised you some pictures....

The dock and the surprisingly fast pontoon boat
Our really good friends, Rachel and Jeremy with Samaria (other friends' daughter)

Amanda and I waiting to sing karaoke
The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains

Amanda as the lovely bride
Me walking down the aisle

Office Niceties

I've never been resolved about the issue of "office politics." Never really understood that phrase really. But today I'm learning.

A coworker who has been here for a year leaves on Monday. No one until today did anything about even discussing a farewell party. Her own supervisor said, "I have no time for this." Hmm...okay....

So by virtue of being A) a female and B) the secretary, I am now the party planner. I quickly created a signup sheet for a dessert party, thinking it'd be an easier sell on coworkers, being this late notice and all.

Turns out I was wrong. Consensus among other staff tells of their dislike of her. Whatever happened to letting bygones be bygones? Or forgiveness towards the person who maybe didn't treat you so well?

No, in office politics, it seems as if you earn a celebration in your honor. The more well-liked you are, the bigger the bash.

Unfortunately, and horribly rude as it is, these same coworkers who made no bones about not desiring to participate will undoubtedly, come Monday, be partaking in free cake. For a coworker they decided not to intentionally bless.

All of us have been the recipients of unmerited gifts and blessings. The first one that comes to mind is Jesus' love for us. It is lavish, extravagant, costly, saturated, overwhelming, and intense. And no one deserved it. In fact, there is a major party being planned where guests who are undeserving are being invited to celebrate with the King of Kings. The party of all parties for eternity.

And thankfully, there are no politics concerning God's love for us. We don't earn it, we can't improve our rank; God's love just is.

(Long) VBS Update

Well, I've now worked 3 nights with VBS at the Intl. Salvation Army, and it's been eye-opening for the most part. I feel an inkling of what I think Jesus experienced while ministering to people: highs and lows, uplifting and disheartening. It's been an emotional roller coaster. But oddly enough, I don't want to get off, because I know that so much is at stake.

In my previous post, I mentioned the bit about doing "missions at home," i.e. the city where you live in. To most people, it sounds like a less exciting or less important missions trip than to Africa or India. Or maybe like me, it's a concept with warm fuzzies, but not all that impressive.

My beliefs about the "missions at home" concept have since completely been overhauled. Our city is not a large city, but even ours has a significantly diverse population mix. We have a fast growing segment of Hispanics in the area, and there's no turning a blind eye to it. Many restaurants, buildings, signs, etc. now have Spanish text displayed. And regardless of whether the parents of the children I've been interacting this week are legal immigrants or not, the children are natural-born American citizens like you or me. I've had the unique opportunity to witness how these children are assimilating into American culture, but yet are still trying to retain their Latin heritage and customs. On one hand, a child lives their public "Americano" life, and on the other hand they live their private "Mexicano" life where only Spanish is spoken. It's a tough world where we live; chastising immigrants for not fitting in, but not doing anything to help them either.

The issues these elementary-aged children are dealing with are fed with the same images seen in the video games that occupy their free time. Gangs, drugs, violence, and crime...these are the dirty seeds that have been planted in these childrens' lives. A week of VBS will not undo these problems, but it can help, even if provide a fun escape from reality for a few hours.

The first night of meeting the children, I loved their energy, humor, and openness. The second night, we doubled our attendance and all hell seemed to break loose with noise, action, and rambunctiousness. We had fun learning more names and faces, and I began to bond more with particular children. Last night however was more serious and disheartening. I arrived early before VBS and began to arrange chairs and tidy the room. I could hear all of the children yelling, laughing, and playing in the dining hall where dinner was being served just down the hall. I prayed throughout our classroom that God would provide no distractions tonight, that an overwhelming calm would pervade the air here. I knew in a half hour that the story of Jesus' sacrificial death for each one of them would be told. I only hoped the twenty or so students would sit still enough to catch wind of His love for them.

God knows when or if each of those children will come to love Him or reject Him. I prayed for Satan to be bound from that place. I knew that "random" distractions would try to infiltrate our sacred time together. Being the younger of the helpers in our classroom has allowed the children to be more transparent with me. I'm not some old stodgy woman who grew up watching the radio instead of television. But so much has already changed between my childhood and theirs.

Thankfully, these children are not hardened...yet. But conversations I've had with the boys mostly worry me. They flash gang signs, write names of gangs on dippy foam visors in craft time, and look forward to "dying first." How I wish like the Crane Game I could pick each one of them up in my metal claw and drop them safely in another place and time. I told them, "there's no future in that guys..." I asked them what they want to be when they grow older and an optimistic chorus rang out of "doctor," "fireman," and "soldier in U.S. Army." I sincerely hope that their dreams will come true. But the hostile environment that surrounds them with the lure of "power," "respect," and "brotherhood," will surely call to them like the Sirens' song in Homer's Odyssey.

Our group of leaders had planned a more intimate way of speaking with smaller groups of kids to talk with them about what it means to accept Christ and what that looks like. Our plans were slightly foiled when after praise and worship time, the Captain gave an open invitation for children to come to the altar if they wanted to accept Jesus. You'd think this to be an amazing high watching hoards of children walk forward; but I saw the segue. Of friends asking friends, "come with me!" "do you wanna go? I don't know, do you wanna?" And then the timid children who watched others, slowly stood up and confusedly walked forward. My heart was so heavy, I prayed over some of the girls from my class who walked forward at the altar, praying that "Lord, please let this be real and sincere. Do they have any idea of what's going on here?"

I'm fully aware that children at the very tender age of 5 even can grasp the Gospel wholeheartedly and sincerely. And I also know that there were children up there last night who were making a genuine profession of faith. But I also know that children aim to please, both adults and children. I stayed afterwards with kids who had made "decisions," to help them fill out information cards. Meanwhile, one of our other class leaders went back with those children who had not. She told us after VBS ended last night, that several children mentioned that they had gone forward 4 or 5 times before. Another had mentioned, "Yeah, I've already done that, but what do I do now?"

Folks, children are confused. And I don't think this is a culture problem or limited to a certain socioeconomic status. Honestly, it's not limited to children either. For whatever reason, it's not hitting home that accepting Christ is a one-time moment, let alone what you do after you've realized your need for Him. There are all sorts of methods and salvation prayers concocted to provide ease, but to me, it's almost doing more harm than good.

Evangelism has done a bang up job of playing the short game, but not the long game. Discipleship after accepting Christ has got to be a priority of the Church. It is crucial to having new believers forge friendship within the body, training, education, Bible literacy, and overall Christian development. Is it any wonder that from George Barna's 2007 survey concluded "More than half of those who attend a Christian church (56%) say that they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, and another 33% say that they are moderately committed." Pretty sad. We have plenty of pew-warmers, not enough "sold-out" Christians. For more telling statistics, check out http://www.barna.org/.

Tonight however, our class will resume its plan with small group time and discussing our own testimony and probing deeper with the children and their beliefs. I mentioned earlier that there's a lot at stake, and there really is. I have two nights left with these great children, and I don't want to miss a thing. It's exhausting work, but it's worth it.

Please pray for them if you have a chance.

Your City: God's Kingdom Come

Last year the church that I attend developed a Missions week for our city. A time to be "on mission" but right at home. With the price of gas being as high as it is, this couldn't come at a better time. July 14-18 is our official Missions week. Bienvenidos!

This year I'm helping out at the International Salvation Army in our downtown area. Our group will be doing VBS for Hispanic children with the Outrigger Island theme/materials. I along with three others will be teaching 3rd graders. I hope that these children will know Christ more at the end of this week.

I am already amazed at how God has worked out the behind-the-scene details to make this as easy as possible. To say it will be a busy week is an understatement. After working my 8-5 job, I will go directly to the Salvation Army, thankfully only 2 miles from where I work. I was stressed out about having to bring two meals a day with me (lunch & dinner), but praise the Lord, the Salvation Army decided to feed us crazy VBS workers along with the children before it begins at 6 o'clock. That is a major blessing to me and to our grocery bill for the week! My husband is working from 9-7 at other Salvation Army locations in our city to help with painting and serving dinner each evening. Needless to say, he'll be receiving free food as well.

Sunday night was our opening night and overall there was a pretty low turnout, but we are hopeful that the rest of the week will pick up due to word of mouth. My class had 3 boys and they are all boy. :) I pray that God will erase the cultural barriers between us. All of the children speak English, but I still have my copy of "The Idiot's Guide to Spanish" on standby, along with 2 years of faded Spanish class memories.

During Praise & Worship time, I really enjoyed listening to the Captain's message about being of one brotherhood with all different accents. How sweet it is to hear voices from other nationalities praise His Name!

Please pray for my kids Javier, Ervin, and Ivan this week. They need your prayers. I'll update more as the week goes on...

Oh, and be very glad you weren't able to watch me sing "Pharaoh, Pharaoh" with motions to our group! :)

Finding enjoyment

Going through my feed reader this morning, I came across this gem from Randy Alcorn. Please take the time to read his post on "Creator and Culture, and Anticipating a Redeemed Earth."

{If you haven't clicked on the link above, nothing below this point will make sense to you...so really, go read his post!}

I've been silent on my blog for a couple of weeks now, but I've been seriously grappling with the issue his entire post is on. Because of it, I've been slightly depressed. I haven't known what to say, much less how to say what I've been feeling. This post came at the right time, and I feel that a burden has been gently lifted. I'll repost some quotes from Alcorn's blog that really spoke to me:

"To say “This world is not your home” to a person who’s fully alive and alert to the wonders of the world is like throwing a bucket of water on kindling’s blaze. We should fan the flames of that blaze to help it spread, not seek to put it out.

Otherwise, we malign our God-given instinct to love the earthly home God made for us. And we reduce “spirituality” into a denial of art, culture, science, sports, education, and all else human. When we do this, we set ourselves up for hypocrisy—for we may pretend to disdain the world while sitting in church, but when we get in the car we turn on our favorite music and head home to barbecue with friends, watch a ball game, play golf, ride bikes, work in the garden, or curl up savoring a cup of coffee and a good book.

We do these things not because we are sinners but because we are people. We will still be people when we die and go to Heaven. This isn’t a disappointing reality—it’s God’s plan. He made us as we are—except the sin part, which has nothing to do with friends, eating, sports, gardening, or reading."

"Do you think God is pleased when we enjoy a good meal, a football game, laughter with friends, a cozy fire, or a good book? Your answer to that question not ­only demonstrates your view of God but also indicates the degree to which you are able to enjoy life. And it will determine how much you will look forward to the resurrection and what the Bible calls the New Earth."

"Failure to ­under­stand the goodness of God’s creation has blinded countless people from seeing Heaven as a place of great pleasure and enjoyment. Instead, they think that for Heaven to be “spiritual,” it must somehow be drab, unappealing, and bereft of “earthly” things, which they consider unspiritual."

For whatever reasons lately, I've had a very hard time with enjoying "earthly" things guilt-free. I'll use clothes for an example. I rarely buy new clothes for myself due to cost, but also because I feel guilty for even desiring something new. I get very frustrated with the battle that wages in my mind over things like this. It goes back and forth between issues of contentment, self-deprivation, and shame. Is it that wrong to like clothes? Does anyone else ever go through this too?

The part of Randy's post that gets me crying though is when he writes, "God is not up in Heaven frowning at us and saying, “Stop it—you should find joy ­only in me.” But honestly, this is exactly how I've been interpreting things. When I read that line the first time, it almost seemed blasphemous to me. But Randy continues, "This would be as foreign to our heavenly Father’s nature as it would be to mine as an earthly father if I gave my daughters a Christmas gift and then pouted because they enjoyed it too much. No, I gave the gift to bring joy to them and to me. I am delighted when they enjoy the gifts I’ve given them. If they ­didn’t, I’d be disappointed. Their pleasure in my gift to them draws them closer to me."

So the link here is being closer to God in appreciation and recognition for those good things which He has blessed our lives with. If we're not careful, those things can become idols in our lives.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

The past few weeks my spirit has struggled with an unnatural yoke and carried a burden it was not intended to bear. All are invited to place struggles, heartache, shame, guilt, and legalism at the foot of His cross. It's time that I make another trip back...