Not My Story

She's sleeping peacefully while I ponder the implications of kidnapping.

I read a story this morning that was really interesting. The commander of an army had an incurable disease but he was a great commander and had just won a major battle. During that battle the army kidnapped a young girl to be the commander's wife's servant. Instead of sabotaging the commander or sneaking away in the night, the girl served and even gave the commander's wife a tip on who would be able to cure the commander's disease! So the commander of course goes to see this man and he does in fact get cured. The man refuses any payment but while the commander is leaving one of the man's helpers runs out to him and lies to him, saying they do need some money. The commander of course pays him but when questioned the helper lies to the man saying he didn't go anywhere. The man then curses him and his descendants with the incurable disease that the commander had! Pretty crazy right - and that's just my quick overview!

The thing that sticks out to me the most is the young girl. The commander took her away from everything she knew and she helped improve his life! I really don't know that I would do that. I mean, come on, he kidnapped her! Of course, when I thought about it more I realized that my desire to sneak away in the night, or poison him or something dramatic stems from my belief that I have a good plan for my life and it doesn't involve being kidnapped. That and my life is all about me.

I'm grateful, however, that God knows the plan and he's way better at planning than I am. He created everything and holds it all together (Hebrews 1:3). Also, if I profess that my life isn't about me anymore then I should be honored that God would use me to bring glory to His name even if it involved circumstances that I wouldn't have picked out myself. Seriously, when I think about it now, I would be honored to be kidnapped to play a part in God's story. To be able to show the general and his wife a love that they don't know and be a part of their transformation would be so exciting! Of course it would also be heart-wrenching to have to leave my family and not know what to expect or what would happen to me but as Paul tells Timothy, "... everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted..." (2 Tim. 3:12)

And Jesus also said "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:43-45
I love that last part but let's not get into that now...

To read the full story and learn about how it's God's story check out 2 Kings chapter 5.

Tortillas

Tortillas. They're so versatile! We could eat them for every meal of the day. (and sometimes do)
Not too long ago I was spending so much money on tortillas and hated that there was so much stuff in them. I began making my own bread when I got fed up that it contained so much sugar and preservatives making it one of the worst things Ruby was eating - and she loves bread. My sweet little carb lover, taking after me, I suppose.
One day I checked a book out from the library about legumes, beans and grains. Oddly enough, there was a tortilla recipe in it; and it was SO easy! We've made them just about constantly for the past three weeks.
So you may join in the joy of homemade tortillas, here's the recipe!

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. lard (or veggie shortening)
2/3 cup warm water

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Rub in the lard with a spoon.
Stir in the water and knead lightly to form a soft dough. You'll need to knead it to get it all mixed up. Resist the temptation to add just a little more water while still stirring it. More on that later.
Divide into about 8 balls and roll out into 6-7 inch rounds. The recipe originally called for 12 but I could never get them big enough so I usually get 8 fajita sized tortillas. If you'd like them bigger you'll just get a few less!
Heat a pan on high heat and "cook" the tortillas. It's like pancakes - whenever the top bubbles, flip it over, give it about 20 seconds more and its done!

Chuck and I have both made the mistake of adding "just a bit more water" and it hasn't gone well. The dough goes through a short phase when you're stirring it when it looks too dry but that's just when you need to get in there with your hands and knead it some. Yup, you just need to knead it a little.

I've got finals next week so I've been feeling a little crazy lately trying to focus on the last bit of school but already dreaming about all the things I'm going to get done when it's over.

Ruby's got five teeth and two are on the way. She's also currently in a growth spurt so I'm a little short on sleep and energy. In fact, I'm going to make some coffee and have a snack before she gets up from her nap so I've gotta run.

For your enjoyment, here's an odd little series of photos. Ruby's trying to play and I'm trying to make her laugh by draping a blanket around her neck as well as play with the flash and manual features on my camera. She's such a hoot.

 

Mom, Hi, I'm going to play by you.

  

Oh, you think this is funny? Ok, yeah, I am pretty cute and hilarious.

Mom, what is this thing? I'm trying to play.

Have a great week!

Turning some leaves

This pretty much sums up my day. Big pleading eyes on both of them. That and they both try to eat things off of the floor.

I've been spending my fun internet time doing other things lately, thus the complete lack of blogging. I do, however, want to pop in to say that I plan to continue my blogging (so don't give up on me just yet!) but I'm going to change the format slightly (don't be worried, it's nothing drastic).

I'd like this space to be more than a randomly informative space. I'm going to continue updating on life in general and Ruby but would like to focus on what I'm learning as a wive, mother, person and follower of Christ. I've been doing a lot of learning lately and feel that I should share some it.

I want this space to be encouraging. I'd like it to be helpful. And I'm going to try to make it enjoyable to look at also. Meaning, I'll include a photo of something other than Ruby in each post, although there will a lot of photos of her also.

I've been up to a lot lately. I find that I get a lot done when I'm not surfing the web. I've also finished a few projects, which is easier to do when I'm not adding a half a dozen more to my list from blogs and websites each day.

I discovered that making homemade tortillas is cheap AND easy so I'm making them as well as bread every few days. The best part is that Ruby can eat them and not get any extra sugar or corn syrup!
I've also begun straining my yogurt. I won't discuss this at length, just say that it's delicious and you should look into it. I'll spare you a photo of mine as it's not the most elegant dish but it's a taste sensation!

My sewing machine is once again on the fritz but with the end of school just a few weeks away I don't have time to sew anyway.

The garden! We have a pepper plant already in bloom! - ok, we bought it that way...

Suzanne and I got our garden planted yesterday and are so excited about it! We decided to combine efforts this year and do one garden together hoping that with increase the odds that we take good care of it. We've got lots of stuff in there including but not limited to basil (of several varieties), peppers, pumpkins, sweet corn, peas, lettuce, a few kinds of beans, tomatoes and squash. We also got lots of fun herbs like lemon balm, chocolate mint, pineapple sage and creeping rosemary. We bought our plants at Dennis' Farm Stand (on Bell Place near TWU) and not only is the service great, Dennis is a hoot, and the plants are less expensive than Wal-Mart and Lowe's! We got a garden's worth of stuff for plus herbs and a few flowers for only $50! (since we split it that made it less than a new pair of jeans!)

Rosemary by my mailbox

I'll be back soon. Have a great weekend! If you're in the area you should check out the Denton Art and Jazz Fest! Maybe we'll see you there?!