More Yummies... That No One Got to Eat :o(
This weekend was something else! I was assigned to make sweet goodies for an Alabama football night at friends. We were playing Georgia, which was to make for an exciting evening. So check out what I made. Obviously, I'm in a celebratory mood now that fall's officially upon us. With a great sigh of satisfaction (and a very, very messy kitchen) I had everything ready to go. Nathan and Kathryn were racing in and through the kitchen and bedrooms in a crazy game of chase. Nathan skidded around the kitchen corner and as the X-ray tech said, "snapped the bone in his toe like a toothpick." So, of course he's lying in the floor, trying to keep Kathryn from jumping on him, while he's gasping for help. Alex chose that chaotic moment to get a boo-boo, hence the shrieking from the kitchen. And let's see... oh yes. A cauterization from a minor office procedure on myself chose to give way at that moment, and I began losing much, much, much blood. So!!! Nathan was in ER Room #10 and I was in room #20 at the same time. He did drive to the hospital with his broken toe. We made quite the pair. Unfortunately, I lost an inordinate amount of blood, and had to be admitted for stabilization. Two IV lines, oxygen, and some suturing later, I spent the night in the Women and Children's Center. They pumped in the fluids to get my blood pressure up, thereby diluting what little blood is left in my body. Ah! Oh, yes. Every four hours, they came to draw more blood (can't you just get it off the floor? my word!) only to tell me that I had even less than before~ so curious! Wonder why?! Thank God, we're both home now. He can't walk, and I'm anemically weak. Dear friends have taken the children for the night, cleaned the mess off the carpets, and even cleaned up my kitchen. Oh, yes. The game. I know you're wondering. We kicked their little booties all around the field. How do I know? There was a TV above my ER bed. Count it all joy...

A Yummy Success!

I tried out a new recipe last night on our church family. Several have asked for the recipe, so here it is.

For those of you who requested my specific substitutions/variations:
1. instead of butter-flavored shortening ~ equal amount of softened Blue Bonnet margarine
2. instead of all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt ~ equal amount of self-rising flour
3. instead of spices, I used pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to taste
4. in the frosting, I used margarine instead of butter
5. oh, yes... I also halved the recipe
Note: It says 11 dozen! The halved recipe made about 3 1/2 dozen. I guess mine were a bit larger than theirs ;o)

Go for it, gals. These were delicious and so very fall-ish!!!

Jesus in the Nitty-Gritty

Yep, I'm still alive and kicking~ myself, that is, for allowing a three-year-old to "help" me paint. More about that later. I've been thinking a good bit lately about this wonderful calling MOTHERHOOD and its companion ORDINARY, EVERYDAY LIFE. My mom told me once that surrendering to do the great things for God is easier than submitting to do the ordinary and common for him. That has really stuck with me. Oh, at a tender age (thank God), I hit the altar every missions service pledging my life to be a willing Joan of Arc or Mother Teresa. No one asked me to surrender to the daily sacrifices that a mother makes.

Recently in Sunday School, the teacher read aloud the account of Stephen. You know, that amazing first martyr of the Church. Go back and read it again. I did, and then once more. Can it be that Stephen was the appointed head distributor of the local food pantry? That when the apostles needed solid laypeople to do the mundane, thereby freeing them up to study the Word and pray, Stephen was at the top of the list? What qualifications were to be filled by the seven people chosen to deal with "serving the table?" "Brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task" (Acts 6:3). I did a little research in the many commentaries of Nathan ;o) (what a blessing to have a man who values filling our home with good books for Bible study). These men obviously were dealing with more than just, "one biscuit or two?" This was a sensitive issue, involving the unity of the Baby Church. Obviously, Stephen did more than this, as he performed signs and wonders, and eventually brought down the wrath of his soon-to-be murderers through his astounding teaching. Don't you think the church should have sent this powerhouse out to start new churches? I mean, why wasn't he a pastor, for Pete's sake? But nope, it seems he was 'just' a layperson.

I found my personal study very challenging. I think it safe to say that all laypeople (of which I am one) need to be striving to meet Stephen's qualifications: holding a good reputation, full of / directed by the Holy Spirit, and full of wisdom/seeing life from God's perspective (as the song says, "let me live in Your Word, 'til Your Word is living in me).

So, this week I found myself asking as I headed to the dreaded dentist appointment where I knew some nasty pain was awaiting my arrival, and as I introduced myself (YET AGAIN) to the nursing home residents we visit, and as I waited a very long time for a non-appearing paint technician at Wal-Mart, and as a I gazed upon the yellow showing through the "guaranteed one-coat coverage" paint I paid a pretty penny for, and as I continued the never-ending kitchen cleaning....

WHERE IS MY WALK WITH JESUS IN THE NITTY-GRITTY LAY LIFE I LIVE? Are my reactions to frustration directed by the Spirit? Is His wisdom flowing out of me toward my children, in my decisions? Am I careful to glorify Him at home, at Wal-Mart, at the DENTIST when they are re-doing the Novacaine injection- youch! Am I like Stephen? Like Jesus? Would I qualify for distributor of the food pantry? Would I accept such a position with a thankful heart and a gracious attitude? To be honest with you, dear reader, I found myself lacking in this examination, and I intend, by His grace, to live more carefully.

"Towels and dishes and sandals, all the ordinary sordid things of our lives, reveal more quickly than anything what we are made of. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the meanest duty as it ought to be done." ~Oswald Sanders

A Few More Things I Just HAVE to Share...


~Alex turned one on July 26th. We waited until we got up to Nathan's parents to have a little party. Mom and Dad Brown were there, along with my mom and Chelsea, and Philip and Marianne and kids. Marianne outdid herself once again, producing a lovely and delicious! cake for the occasion. Because we often call Alex our "chunky monkey" he got a bananas cake with monkey cupcakes. Here's a pic! If you are like me and just LOVE those monkeys, you can find the recipe here.


~I also found a jewel!, a treasure!, a mind-saving device! for this trip that I'd like to pass along to other moms and dads. I picked up this from our local Christian bookstore for about $10. 6 hours! of playing time. Did I mention 6 hours?! It goes through the entire Bible. Zephaniah and Haggai included. It goes through the Roman Road in Romans, and Steve Green does the voice of Jesus. Other well-known Christian voices (Joni Tada, etc) do other characters. The music isn't annoying. It's tastefully done, not a rock concert, and not a Gregorian chant. For those of my readers who like CCM, it's not boring. And for those who like a more traditional approach, I don't think it's offensive. (Of course, this is my personal opinion and does not reflect the opinion of anyone else who shares my last name~ Nathan hasn't heard it and so has nothing to say ;o) And the SCRIPTURE! Dramatized, yes, but it stays very close to the text. I was amazed! I didn't know how much Kathryn had picked up until we were wandering through the thrift store the other day and she was saying (in a loud voice ;o) "Is there ANYTHING too hard for the Lord?!" over and over. Maybe someone needed to hear that...