I know I promised a sentimental post, but I'm not ready for it yet. Soonly.
I had the day off today. Took my sister and niece to the airport, slept in, had an amazing run (week 2 of 5k training!), visited the boy at work, and then caught up on a couple of my favorite shows via Hulu.
I wanted something to go with the massive veggie tray we still have from a birthday party, so I threw together this:
(Yes, that's New Girl. What show did you think I was talking about?)
Black Bean Dip 2/3-1 cup of cooked black beans 1 Tbsp ranch dressing 1 Tbsp cream cheese 2 Tbsp salsa 1 tsp Cholula hot sauce (or similar) 1 tsp lime juice
Put everything in the food processor and blend. That's it. Seriously. SO GOOD.
MY SISTER AND NIECE FINALLY ARRIVED! And this is what I wore to pick them up at the airport. (Yes, I am doing a "fashion" post. Be prepared for a more sentimental post about this week some time soon.)
Technically I haven't had "Christmas" yet. My family decided to postpone gift giving for about a month until my adorable sister and baby niece could get here. Luckily this means we got to hit all the after Christmas sales. I am totally ok with us doing this every year from now on.
So since we postponed, James & I spent Christmas day with his family. I made his mom & grandma some homemade vanilla extract.
These cost me about $7 a piece. For that much vanilla I'd say it's a pretty awesome deal.
What you'll need: Liquor (Vodka is most popular, but I prefer using spiced rum.) Vanilla beans (Best deal I could find. About 30 cents per bean. Grade B works just as well as grade A, and they're a better deal.) A glass bottle with a lid.
You only need 1 bean per 1/3 cup of liquor. I like to make my vanilla directly in the liquor bottle. All you have to do is cut your beans in half (lengthwise if you want it to be pretty, or cut in smaller pieces if you want it to be ready sooner) and drop them in. Make sure the lid is on tight. Keep it in you cabinet for about 3 months or until the liquory smell is gone and it's a dark brown color. It's best to shake it lightly about once a week.
Since I didn't have 3 months to wait for the vanilla, I made the labels for mine on picnik and wrote on the date that it would be ready! Then I covered the label on the neck of the bottle using a piece of ribbon.
This morning Brother Art asked us to share some truth that God showed us in 2011 and I was reminded of Psalm 51:10-12. God wants me to be obedient. It's a lesson I've been learning for some time now, and I feel it's a lesson I will be learning my entire life.
At the end of the service Art announced that we're making a trip to Africa in August.
I am going. I am excited. God wants me to go. I've known for some time now. I was in shock when Art made the announcement. God had actually reminded me this morning of the call He laid on my heart this year and I thought about it through the entire service. I am horrified. Africa is one of the scariest places on earth to me. (Mostly because of the king cobra and the black mamba.) I am scared to take a flight overseas. I am scared to get all the shots I have to take to go.
Then I remembered two things.
This photo:
And this quote from 8 year old Gabe,
"If you KNOW He's gonna protect you, then why are you scared to do it?"
God will never throw you out there and not protect you. Yes, I am still nervous, but being reminded of that by an 8 year old makes all my fears seem so silly.
James spoke at church this morning. I'm so proud of him. And proud to be his lady.
I've read this verse tons of times, but never really thought about this until James pointed it out this morning. There is absolutely no distingushing between "those who love Him" and "who have been called". We have ALL been called to advance the kingdom.
He also said (this is paraphrased), "God's kingdom will advance whether you take part in it or not..."
"...Part of loving God is taking part in growing the kingdom and advancing his renown."
James, Mike, and I watched The Book of Eli last night. If you haven't seen it just know that this entire movie is set in a horrible place and time. Something disastrous has happened to the sun and it has caused death, famine, and drought everywhere on the face of the earth. There is no good left in the world. Yet Eli keeps the faith some 30 years after the disaster occurs.
"Thank you Lord for a warm bed to sleep on, thank you for the food we are about to eat, thank you for a roof over our heads on cold nights such as this, thank you for companionship in hard times like these, Amen." -Eli
We need to remember to praise God and be grateful in the good times and bad. I am currently learning to be content with where God has me in life now, where He is taking me, and daily reminding myself that His way is perfect, and that none of this is about me.
We have our Thanksgiving dinner with a family of 11. I grew up with their 9 children and they are close to me like siblings (although we call each other "cousins".) Andy is the youngest of the bunch. He is 11 years younger than me. But on Thanksgiving day we have a special bond and hold at least one thing in common: we are the only people at the table who prefer cherry pie over any other.
I have one real Thanksgiving tradition. I sit next to Andy every year. We both love this tradition. I figured he would eventually grow out of it, or get too cool to sit by me, but he always saves me a seat. This year as soon as the cherry pie came out he jumped up and said, "I'll get us plates!!" He cut himself 1/4 of the pie. I had to defend him, telling the rest of the family, "It's equal to 2 slices. He'll probably have that much anyway!"
This year his sister Hannah made the pie. I don't have her recipe (it was yummy!), but here is my favorite!
