January Reflections: Wisdom

This week, our January Reflections prompt from The Glorious Impossible was to write about someone currently involved in our lives who is wise. 

As I pondered over the people I respect and admire, who's advice I count on and look to, I found myself humming the tune to of an old favorite hymn. Unsure of the exact words, I pulled out our faithful Trinity Hymnal and re-read the beautiful hymn,

Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise by Walter C Smith

1.Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

2. Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;

thy justice like mountains high soaring above

thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

3. To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;

in all life thou livest, the true life of all;

we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,

and wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.

4. Thou reignest in glory; thou dwellest in light;

thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;

all laud we would render: O help us to see

'tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

Lord, all wisdom comes from you!

January Reflections: Reading

This past year I spent a lot of time reading. I rediscovered an old love and spent much of my spare time (little though I have) with a book in my hands. Reading was the perfect substitute for TV watching (which we gave up last year), as well as the perfect way for a perfectionist like me to multi-task while breastfeeding an infant.

Yes, that means that I felt like I was wasting time if I was only feeding/holding/sitting while also producing the best milk on the planet. Crazy, I know.


Looking back at all the books I read (46+ books made the list last year), I'm excited and encouraged to keep reading this year. My hope though, is to maybe read a little less fiction and a little more of everything else.

Can you tell I'm trying to make "everything else" it's own genre?

Anyway.


On my bedside table I'm working on a couple interesting reads


Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths That Are Destroying Your Prosperity by Garrett B Gunderson. I'm not sure what I can say about it yet, but the first few pages sure are interesting and challenge the reader to think outside the box.

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald. This book was given to me by a friend and it's the first Vision Forum book I've read. Or started to read.

Uprooting Anger by Robert D Jones. I'm about half way through this book and am finding it quite terrible. Terrible as in, so convicting, crying over my sins, wishing for heaven, terrible. What I really mean is it's quite fantastic. It is just what I needed. I'd recommend it.


In addition, some friends and I just started a book club. I'm very excited to read different literature together, and to be pushed outside my normal reading habits. More on this when we finish our first book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett

January Reflections: Fun

I grew up on the West Coast and saw the ocean almost every day. Whether it was driving to college in Seattle, or looking out my parent's kitchen window. The ocean was part of life.

Oh, how I loved it! So peaceful and serene...so uplifting and exhilarating.

After I got married, God directed our paths away from the shore, via the United States Army, and moved us inland to reside in various landlocked states. We lived quite happily; content and thankful for dry land too. Then, this summer, we were transferred back to the coast. The East Coast this time, but still the coast. And the ocean lover in me jumped for joy.




I say all this in order to share some of the best "fun" memories of the year (after being prompted by Corrin at The Glorious Impossible); memories of visiting the beach and feeling sand beneath my toes.

Though I spent 20 something years in the Pacific Northwest and that area will always hold a special place in my heart, let me tell you: rocky, stony covered beaches are SO OLD. We have sand out here! Sand, people!! Real sand! Real slip-between-my-toes, fit-into-every-crevice, give-me-a-natural-pedicure sand. Beautiful. Glorious. Sand. 

To save face, the beaches out here are really just different. Not more beautiful or peaceful, just different, each holding a loveliness all of it's own.

It's especially fun to think of those days at beach, when the weather is below freezing and there is still snow on the ground. I could go for a little sun and sand right now.

Instead I'll go enjoy an unmentionable cocktail with a beachy theme.

January Reflections: Homemade

Two thousand ten was a year of homemade goodness in our house. While I have almost always made things from scratch, from pizza crust to vegetable soup, this past year I really stepped it up a notch.
Why in 2010? Because in 2010 we had cable for the first time and I developed an addiction for the Food Network. Sad, but true.

Or maybe not so sad, when you consider that watching people cook while I did the household chores, paid bills, and nursed babies whet my appetite (haha) and helped me discover a hidden love for food and cooking.

Well... I've always loved food, but now I love it with new measure. Aged cheese, fresh herbs, well trimmed meats... and then cooked up in my own kitchen...oh boy, music to my ears. And stomach. I'd call myself a foodie, but then I'd run the risk of sounding like a food snob.

Which I'm not. Not completely anyway.

While I love dabbling with new ingredients and creating gourmet meals, practicality keeps me from going to Snooty-ville. As much as I'd prefer to proudly purchase high end ingredients, my pocketbook demands that I make the best foods possible for the lowest prices possible. Not as easy as it sounds, but I do my best. It's a challenge I enjoy... though I frequently dream outloud to my husband of the day I can buy blocks of aged pecorino romano and freshly butchered lamb chops.

For now, it's pork chops and cheddar.


Anyway...


One thing I started making fom scratch this year was a good basic roux. I have found this to be an amazingly delicious way to thicken soups, make cream sauces, and even rev up a regular old casserole. It is the perfect alternative when you're tempted to use the "cream of" canned soups, and so much more delectable and creamy when you've made it from scratch.

Another food that's been consistently homemade this year is granola. Trial and error, as well as tips from Dolly's and Emily's recipes, I've come up with our family's favorite granola. Even the boys ask for it every morning instead of cereal. I suppose I should write it down for you, but I'm not sure if I can remember it. Now that I'm a whiz in the kitchen (wink wink) and know my ingredients, it's often just a mix of what we have in the house.

But here goes:

Homemade Granola

• 4 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 2 cups Quick Oats (this is just to add different textures in the granola)
• 3/4 cup Coconut
• 1/2 cup Chopped walnuts (or sliced almonds)
• 1/4 cup Brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Mix together in a bowl. Then on the stove top melt together

• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbls Butter
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/4 cup Jam or Maple Syrup (which ever I have in the house, I've also substituted with orange marmalade or boysenberry syrup)

Once butter is melted, add

• 1Tbls Vanilla or Almond Extract

Combine dry and wet ingredients together till well mixed. Smooth out on two cookie sheets and bake at 300 for 20 minutes, stirring after half way though.

 
 
Linked with January Reflections at The Glorious Impossible