autumn

the signs of winter...

...I do so love.

leaves falling

empty fields

cold and coats

soup

brown grass

getting dark early

crackle of a hot fire

warm milk and springerle

locking the door to the garden

asian beetles

acorns galore

Anything that points to winter, I'm lovin'.  

Snow - bring it on!  :)

almond coconut delights

Have you ever eaten those almond joy m&ms?  They're quite tasty.  The other day, I thought it might be fun to create a cookie that shouted "almond JOY!"

After two tries and several helpful critiques from the BEST bakers around, here is the published recipe:

1 c. butter

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk (1/2 can)

3/4 c. unsweetened coconut milk (1/2 can)

1 egg

1 T. almond extract (or more)

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

6 c. flour

4 c. coconut

1 c. almonds

whole almonds

semisweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar.  Add milks, egg, and extracts beating together well.  FYI:  The coconut milk needs to be stirred in can before added to the mixing bowl.  Add remaining ingredients, beating well.  Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet, and smash a salty almond on the top.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 375.  Drizzle melted chocolate chips in a crisscross pattern over cooled cookies.

By the way, I realize that this recipe is annoying because it only uses half of the milk cans.  You could double the recipe and fix this problem, but then you'd have 11 dozen cookies on your hands.  

12 years

August 7, 1999

so thankful for this wonderful man God has given me

SO thankful

kids problem solving

The kids' problem:

The wild kitten Blackie went under the front porch.

He won't come out.

Their solution: a trap with bait

Like the boots will stop it...

God is great

The kids sometimes get into pretty deep conversations about God.... who He is and what exactly He can do. Carly was going into a long explanation about what all God could do if He really wanted to. Isaac, of course, was her audience, taking it all in.

Normally, when an explanation is understood, the listener repeats what was just explained. This case was no different.

Isaac answered Carly with all seriousness: "Yeah. If God wanted a weed to grow out of the top of my head, He could do that. And then He could cut it off if He wanted to."

Carly continues her talk.

Isaac answers, "Yep, and He could even make my head be made out of dirt."

Deep.

Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him. He measures the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span. He weighed the mountains in scales. Do you now know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40).

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created" (Revelation 4:11).

His eye is on the sparrow

one of my favorites lately

summer fun

our T-ball players

creation of the day: a laptop

Welcome back to Sabetha, Brian and Tara, Corbin and Kirsten!

Isaac turned 5.

Grandpa and Grandma Aberle gave him a toolbox with REAL tools.

Isaac squealed, "Are these grown-up tools for ME?!?"

He was ecstatic.

He started building right away. And without any of us knowing, he pried the lid off the paint can and started painting. Thankfully, he uses newspapers now.

Have you ever seen Snap Circuits? For kids who love building, these are pretty neat.

100 different circuit directions. Cool.

Carly's photo of Isaac

Isaac's photo of Carly

Carly's newest achievement

intensely dense

Dorie Greenspan has a recipe for "Chocolate Chunkers." I was planning to follow the mouth-watering recipe, but a couple things in it made me concerned. Specifically, the recipe yielded only 24 cookies, and that was after using 19 ounces of expensive baking chocolate. I make cookies in massive amounts, and Dorie's recipe wasn't going to work for that. This is what Isaac and I came up with:

Intense Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 1/3 c. sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking powder

8 oz. semisweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

12 oz. semisweet chocolate chunks

1 1/2 c. pecans, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 c. Craisins

Beat butter and sugar well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Beat in cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Beat in flour, mixing well. Stir in remaining ingredients by hand. Drop by tablespoonfuls, flattening and shaping to your liking. (These cookies don't move or rise much.) Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. Yields 4 dozen chunkers.

fire it up

This is a hot topic that has been brewing in my mind for a year now. Feedback would be good, because I need help with a solution.

Ever wonder why they play pump-it-up songs before sporting events? Music is often used to kick people in gear. A year ago, I decided to start running again. The sad truth is that I DO NOT LIKE TO EXERCISE. Running is the fastest way to finish this daunting task. To pump me up and get me started exercising again, I decided that music was a must-have.

Here's a confession. I love music. All kinds. But as far as pump-me-up music, the Def Leppard and Metallica and KISS tapes I used to have just aren't the kind of music that would glorify God in the midst of this running business. (Oh, I forgot. Mom confiscated my KISS tape 20 years ago.)

Another option: Thousand Foot Krutch. Here are a couple songs I put on the MP3 player (turn up your sound way up):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy0rWVx9zDc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONlUe2xXtL4&feature=related

Some people may wonder what the big fuss is. And others may think She listens to THAT? The distance and time do go a lot more quickly, but is this music beneficial? Is it good and right? Probably what makes the run go faster is the (3x/wk) battle in my mind of that question. Every mile, I contemplate that very thing: is it good for me to blast this into my ears? Maybe another way to think of this is...does the music I listen to define who I am? or the books I read? or the movies I watch?

"'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up....whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:23,31).

Thoughts?

children getting saved

Since Carly and Isaac were conceived, we have prayed for their salvation. Since they were born, we have worked for their salvation. We have exposed them to gospel truth. And even though we've failed (and continue to fail) many times, we have strived to live our lives as such examples that would bring honor to Christ. As parents, we have no greater desire for our kids than that - to be saved.

I have wrestled with this question: How can I lead our kids to Christ? And then...How do I know if my child is saved? In all raw honesty, I have used bedtimes to manipulate our kids to come to Christ. We've read through the children's Bibles; we've talked through all aspects of the Gospel. They know the right answers. And with each child, I have prayed a little prayer with them for Jesus to come into his/her heart, whether or not this is good or bad for a parent to do. But are they saved?

Do I know what that question really means? What I'm really asking is...Is God working in the life of my child unto salvation? You see, what I'm beginning to understand is that salvation is a divine work of God, not a work of Mom or Dad. John MacArthur believes that a prayer, such as the one mentioned above, "is basically a human act and not necessarily consistent with the working of God."

MacArthur says, "You can't look at any event, at any specific prayer, at any specific formula, at any particular confession that they might make that in fact they have asked Jesus into their life or they've made a decision for Christ. That is not an indicator of salvation. You cannot look at any such event to know your child is saved. And I think that it is important to say because so many parents having heard their child pray such a prayer or make such a decision in early childhood then wonder how it is that the child reaching junior high, or high school, or college years completely turns their back on the Lord or treats God with indifference or is disinterested in the church and roams off into the world... And they wonder how in fact that could happen if they were saved at some point in time past. But you cannot look at an event as an indicator of salvation. The only thing you can look at is evidences of the working of God in the life."

So what he's saying is that the only thing we can look at are the evidences of God's work in our children's lives, and even then only God knows the true state of the heart. I found these evidences to be helpful [very summarized, of course]:

1. Honest, personal conviction of sin. Not because of their fear of our parental punishment or disappointment. This conviction should lead them to repentance. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. Understanding and belief of the Gospel. This is the fact that each one of us is sinful, in need of forgiveness - a Savior. Jesus Christ bore the punishment of God - the punishment that we deserved. To grasp that truth also requires the work of the Holy Spirit.
3. Sanctification. A pursuing of obedience - not because they want to please us, but because they want to honor God. Only by the help of the Holy Spirit is this even feasible.
4. God produces fellowship within believers. A desire to be around other believers. That desire comes from the work of the Holy Spirit as well.

Side Notes

I'm not saying that #1-4 SAVE.

God saves.

#1-4 are evidences of salvation already occurring.

A recurring phrase that is the whole point of this............"work of the Holy Spirit" or "God working." I get it. I can't save my own kid. (I say "my own kid." They're not even from me - they're God's children.) The prayer I prayed isn't a magic formula that will give them the ticket to Heaven. So what's our job? As parents, we will continue to provide the truth of God's Word, in which the Spirit of God can work in their hearts to bring about a miracle of salvation.

coffee toffee cookies

I just had a little too much fun in the kitchen this afternoon, combining 3 different recipe ideas into one new creation. My ingredient cravings were coffee and toffee and a dab of chocolate. Here's what became of it.

Coffee Toffee Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

½ c. white sugar

2 eggs

¼ c. Irish crème liquor (This always makes cookies taste good.) :)

2 T. instant coffee granules

1 t. vanilla

3 ½ c. flour

1 (8-oz) bag toffee chips

¾ c. mini chocolate chips

½ c. semisweet chocolate (chips are fine), optional

Cream butter and sugars well. Add eggs, beating one at a time. Heat the Irish crème in microwave until slightly warm. Dissolve coffee in liquor. Add Irish crème mixture and vanilla to batter. Add flour, mixing well. Stir in toffee chips and ¾ c. mini chocolate chips. Shape into cookies, flattening slightly. Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on how big the cookies are. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and remove immediately. Drizzle with melted ½ c. semisweet chocolate if desired. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

miscellaneous

What we've been up to...

Grandma Sally gave these bank calculators to the kids. They were delighted. Apparently they look similar to Daddy's Blackberry, so that's how they played with them first.

On a foggy Friday, my favorite ewe (Mo) gave birth to a ram lamb right before our very eyes. The miracle of birth - amazing! Knowing what laboring meant for me, I just breathed fast and watched in wonder. She licked and licked until he moved. Seconds later, he shook his head. Five minutes later, he stood up and went searching for a place to nurse. We named him Newt.

Jared took the kids fishing yesterday. Add the catfish to the 40 others caught the day before, and you've got yourself a fish fry. YUM!

Carly's catch. There's the hook. Yep, he snapped the line.

Isaac couldn't stop raving. "This is DEEEEELICIOUS!"

"I LOVE this FISH!"

"Do you know what I'm gonna have for dessert? FISH!"

"This is SO GOOD!"

assumptions

Consider, for a moment, the idea of assuming the best about someone else. We are so quick to judge others based on what they look like, what they do, and what they say. (Or this is my problem anyway.) Sure, actions and words may tell a bit about a person, but do we really know the heart of every one? Do we really know the whole story?

Hypothetical Situation #1: A husband promises to have supper started when the wife gets home from her stressful 12-hour day. When the wife gets home, it is obvious that supper has not been started. There is little food in the fridge, the restaurants are closed, and everyone in the house is hungry. Immediately, the wife gets frustrated, and by the time she finds her husband, she's boiling inside.

Hypothetical Situation #2: You're driving behind a very slow pick-up on US-75 between Sabetha and Holton. You want to pass this slowpoke, but a driver behind you beats you to it and passes both you and the pick-up. A natural reaction might be fury.

In both situations, do we ever stop to think that the "guilty" person might have a reasonable explanation? James warned us..."let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger..." (James 1:19). Paul taught us in Romans 12:3 "not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think" but "in humility count others more significant than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).

Maybe the husband in HS1 stopped to help an old woman on the side of the road whose car had broken down, so he didn't have time to start supper. Perhaps the crazy driver who passed you had a wife in labor and needed to rush her to the hospital. Why do we always assume the worst--that the husband in HP1 is an inconsiderate, selfish bum and that the crazy driver in HS2 is a dirty, rotten scoundrel with a bad case of road rage? Maybe we're wrong!! Instead of harboring anger and counting the maybes as rock-solid truths, why don't we assume the better? Is it wrong to make up a "maybe" excuse for someone else?

I'd venture to say that assuming the best of someone else can turn a selfish, self-righteous, judgmental attitude into a humble one, a gentle one, a patient one, a forbearing one. And this is choosing to love.

psalm 139

¹ O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
³ You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

¹³ For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹ Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
²⁰ They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
²² I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
²⁴ And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

random ranting

An American Girl doll. Do the sweet girls in your life have one? Yesterday, we got an American Girl magazine. Don't ask me HOW they found us, because I don't know. This magazine was filled with 55 pages of AG supplies, from $40 doll outfits to $8 glasses and $14 head gear. Seriously. Head gear. But they called it a Healthy Smile Set. See for yourself:

l kept the magazine open to this page so I could rant to Jared. Instead of starting off with a rant though, I asked, "Do you think Carly needs one of these $100 dolls?" His answer was the one I wanted: "NO!" I told him, "Let's hope she never wants one." Later that evening, Carly found the magazine and began thumbing through it with awe. I told her those dolls were too expensive...as much as TEN Thomas-the-Trains. (That's how we measure money around here. If Isaac looks like he's going to break something, we tell him what it's worth in numbers of trains. He seems to understand well.)

hawaii:

10 things to keep in mind when traveling there

1. When flying on a KC-135, earplugs sure help, even though they may not be attractive.

2. The GPS doesn't work there if it's made for the lower 48 states.

3. Maps are poorly made. The streets are poorly marked. Expect to turn around from going the wrong direction, especially when you realize #2.

4. It's okay to make up your own names for towns and streets, especially when they all sound the same. Examples: Kailua, Kalaheo, Kalanianaole Highway, Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kamehameha, etc. When navigating, it is extremely difficult to quickly tell the driver to turn right on Kalanianaole.

5. It's okay to get sandy and dirty.

6. When lost in Honolulu with no address for your motel, just keep driving around. Eventually you'll see the motel. Hint: There are no motel signs towering above you. You just have to drive until you find it. When you DO finally find it, screech to a stop and turn. Knocking on the window and yelling helps too.

7. When staying in a cabin without indoor plumbing, buckets are convenient. Note: Buckets should be emptied far from cabin.

8. Cockroaches are big and fast. Think Madagascar-cockroach-size, but crawling really fast. We saw only one. It was in the shower at the campsite and Isaac freaked out. I stomped on it. It looked dead, but it came back to life a minute later. Isaac freaked out again.

9. Little lizards are more common pests. One was found in our rental car. Jared stabbed the poor thing with his pocket knife.

10. The north shore of Oahu has better and bigger waves and prettier shells.

images from oahu