reads for your weekend

In light of the goings on this week, here a few reads that made me think. Some of these are new reads; some I've read in the past months but find them appropriate for this week. As we remember and celebrate this Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, I pray that God stirs your heart and draws you to Him. He's a great God, even though His followers aren't good. But some of us are trying. Even then our sinful nature pokes through. We try to do good, but we don't. This is nothing new.

For those who are hurting or feel ashamed or don't know what to believe or have been called an unbeliever or just want to go to the basement until the storm passes:

• The Basement Manifesto | Jen Hatmaker

(A follow-up to In the Basement, a favorite read.) 

This isn't some Christian commune. This is a way of representing the Gospel. It is about our hearts and words, reaching across party lines and believing that love is the most excellent way, even in the hard stuff. It's about becoming slave to everyone to win anyone to Christ--quite the opposite of "defending our rights" all the time. In the basement, people matter. All of them. And we've discovered that kindness and dignity do wonders for forging healthy dialogue, especially the difficult ones.  

• On Gay Marriage and God | Allison Woodard 

But if we can turn our attention away from these provocative comments and come alongside those who are earnestly and humbly seeking to know how to view this issue through the lens of Scripture with the help of the Spirit, I think there can be more to the conversation.  

• An Open Letter to Members & Supporters of the LBGT Community | in parvo

I want to sit down with you today in order to offer confession and repentance on behalf of myself and my Christian brothers and sisters, because I believe reconciliation begins with confession and repentance. Please understand that many Christians will never stop believing homosexuality to be sinful, but the topic of whether or not it is a sin before God is not something I am interested in discussing today. If I were to try to begin with that discussion, I would be struggling to see around the plank in my eye in order to evaluate, weigh, and measure the speck in yours.

• The Gay Community and That One Time Jesus Called Me the N-word | Sammy Adebiyi

Wanna hear something crazy? I made a bigger difference in the gay community through that one sermon than I have in over 10 years of ministry. Why? 

Because it was the first time I really cared about gay people and they could tell.
That night I shook hands, hugged and became friends with several gay people (most of who disagreed with me theologically). I also got emails from others who admitted they’ve always felt hated by Jesus and the church until that night. 

But Sammy, (what some of you are thinking right now), how do you love someone whose actions or behaviors you find really unacceptable?  How can I love someone who I believe is living in sin? Great question. Do your thing Mr. C.S Lewis. 

“There is someone that I love even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is……me.”
(If you can’t say amen, say ouch).

• Sex | Jamie, the Very Worst Missionary

But. If you've already gone down that path, you knocked boots, you got 'er done, you did the nasty.... and now you're not sure, or maybe you feel dirty and you're rocking the walk-of-shame-face day in and day out, you need to hear this -- I mean it, you really need to hear this...

You've had sex outside of marriage? *gasp* So what! You are so much more than your sexuality. And the God of the Universe, the one who turns whores into heroes, and drunks into prophets, and liars and murderers into leaders and kings - that God? He made peace with you and me and our promiscuous, pathetic attempts at love a long, long time ago. He gave you a Redeemer. Shame is no longer your burden. 

laundry powder, take 2

Last March, I made laundry powder for the first time. Y'all, I saved a bunch of money. (Which I spent in other areas.) I just made my third batch, so I only spent $30 on laundry powder for the entire year. I realize that when we have children, it won't last as long, but I think it will be totally worth it, even then.

I made a few changes to make it stronger. I added more soap (increased from one bar to three) and tons more essential oil. It works so well! I add a little white distilled vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. I'm super happy with my laundry. Except the folding part. (And no worries, you won't smell like vinegar if you use it in the rinse.)

Homemade Laundry Powder
Ingredients
3 bars Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap
1 box (55 oz) Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1 box (76 oz) 20 Mule Team Borax
1 small container (32 oz) Clorox Oxi Magic (bleach-free)
4 lbs Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
10 "shakes" of essential oil, optional

Directions
Using a food processor, grate Fels-Naptha Bar Soap; also, have blade in place at bottom to make smaller crumbles of soap. In a large bowl or bucket, mix all powders, and then add grated soap. At this point, you can stop; add 4 good shakes of essential oil and stir really well. I choose to process mine a bit further to have a really fine laundry powder. I wanted to be sure it dissolved well. I ran small batches back through my food processor, and then added essential oil. I bought a large glass jar for the soap that sits on my dryer.

FAQs
*I use 1-3 tablespoons per load, depending on a small, medium or large load. (I saved the scoop that came in the Oxi Magic.)
*If you can't find or don't like the idea of Fels-Naptha, you can use Ivory, Zote or castile soap.
*I'm sure you can substitute other brands of ingredients. I found all of mine, except for baking soda, on the laundry aisle. Just look on the bottom shelves.
*There is a debate about the toxicity of borax. I did appropriate research and found that it LARGE amounts it can be toxic to rats. Since I only use 1-3 tablespoons per load, depending on the size of my load, I feel that the clothes are sufficiently rinsed of borax. Also, borax does not contain boric acid, which is toxic.
* This soap doesn't suds. Soap (laundry, hand soap, etc) has a foaming agent added. Although we don't have an HE washer, I've read that this soap works well with those machines.

tuesday things

1. I have two brackets for March Madness. I haven't watched a single basketball game all season. I know nothing about the teams. I won't watch any March Madness. Last year I chose based on which team colors and/or mascot I prefer. It didn't work well. This year, I decided to go mostly with those expected to win and chose a few upsets. Again, poor way to choose a bracket. Both of my brackets are busted. In one tournament, I'm ranked 63 out of 85; the other ranks me third from the last. Too bad my bracket name in the second one is "I'll Probably Win." Definitely not a self-fulfilling prophecy.

2. I am so excited that this is a four day week. In fact, my excitement got the best of me as I just realized that I'm not on my third day of the four day week. I only have two more mornings with an alarm until next Tuesday. I love working at a private school.

3. As reported last week, I had artichoke for the first time. And this week, I cooked them for the very first time. It was a success. Thirty minutes in boiling water plus five or so minutes on the grill (cut in half) makes for a great artichoke. For dipping, I mixed some sriracha with a bit of mayonnaise. Oh, yum.

4. I recently discovered Thrift Books. I love books and have an Amazon wish list a mile long, plus a stack at home that I haven't read. For some reason, books on my wish list are always more appealing than my actual books. But when I order from Amazon, I feel the need to order just enough to qualify for the free supersaver shipping. That means $25 minimum. (Though I can usually score three books for that cost.) But then I stumbled upon, thriftbooks.com. It's great, y'all. The books are less than $4 and it's free shipping. What?! I still can't figure out how they make money, but before they figure out they're losing money, I'm taking advantage of them. I will say that their quality for "good" or "great" doesn't match Amazon. They come a little more banged up, but for less than $4, I'll take it.

reads for your weekend

• And Then the Conference Uninvited Me to Speak by Jen Hatmaker

"I’m hungry for a church less known for sanctimony and more for their shocking intervention for hungry babies and human trafficking and racism and injustice. Christianity is too thrilling to reduce to middle/upper-middle class First World Problems, encapsulated in issues and gauged by a nebulous moral compass that lost its bearing decades ago.

• Failure to Thrive by Brandon Hatmaker 

"Every child deserves a family. If it can’t be through unification with biological parents, then it needs to be through a more rapid process for adoption. This stands in opposition to a long drawn out process taking an average of three or more years while the child remains institutionalized during their most significant developmental years."

• What I Want You to Know About Wanting a Baby by Rachel

"So, I want you to know that I’m not jealous. When I hold your baby, I don’t wish she was mine. When I hear that you’re expecting, I don’t envy you. When I see an ultrasound picture of your little life form, I don’t wish that image was nestled in my own uterus."

•  Confronting the Life: God won't give you more than you can handle by Nate Pyle

"It is easy to spout trite Christian platitudes designed to make people feel better with bumper-sticker theology. But insipid axioms do little in the face of the actual brokenness of the world."

"This particular statement, that 'God won’t give you more than you can handle,' isn't even in the Bible. There is a statement that sounds like it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” But notice that verse is about temptation. That’s it. You won’t be tempted beyond what you can stand up against. This text is not saying that you will not experience more than you can bear. That idea just isn't Biblical." 

• The Lord of the Rings vs. Foster Care & Adoption by Steve Rose

"...Treebeard answers, 'This is not our war.' Merry’s response is simple, and powerful – 'But you’re part of this world!'...We ARE part of this world, and as such are seen by God as part of the solution to things like foster care/adoption." 

• On Preparing for the Sabbath by Jennifer at Her Southern Charm

"I should have blocked off thirty minutes to an hour Saturday night and gotten those chores done. I should have done whatever I needed to do to pave the way for a morning of reconnecting with Him after a busy week and weekend."

• Ashamed by Rachel Held Evans 

"I am not ashamed of this great cloud of witnesses, kicking up dust ahead of me on the path. They are hermits and homemakers and sinners and saints and pilgrims and poets and mothers and activists and peacemakers and friends. They bind up wounds and stand up to bullies and offer rides and listen well and make meals and let things go and work hard and fail sometimes. But they keep telling the story--this story that sets both the oppressed and the oppressors free, this story that may even save me."

tuesday things

1. Last week was spring break, and it was such a great week. What started with not many things planned turned into a week of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, coffees, and a slumber party. It was time well-spent.

2. My intent over spring break was spring cleaning. That didn't happen. I bleached my shower and wiped the baseboards in our bathroom, and then decided I was done for the day. I never went back to it. We still have weeks of spring ahead of us, so it'll get done. And if it doesn't, I'll admire those clean baseboards in our bathroom often!

3. For St. Patrick's Day, we celebrated with cheddar and stout fondue (with bread, apples and asparagus to dip) and a chocolate stout bundt cake topped with chocolate ganache. It was delicious! And so much easier than a stew or hash.

4. At the beginning of the year, Jeremy and I set goals for us. One goal is to see 12 movies in the theater. I know. Priorities. We like movies, but saw maybe three last year. We're upping our game. This weekend, we saw Oz: The Great and Powerful. I loved it: the music, the costumes, the effects, the story. Only eleven more movies to go!

5. Last Tuesday, I returned our DVR box. It was difficult. I almost didn't do it, thinking I could convince Jeremy to keep it. But then our bill decreased by $60. I think I can do this. Plus, we have Roku that we'll use to stream our shows.

6. Our shows this season include: The New Girl, The Mindy Project, Castle, Modern Family, Top Chef Season 10, Duck Dynasty. We waited until Top Chef ended before making the break from cable--we have an obsession with that show. It's more like borderline addiction. We enable each other.

7. I am totally into memoirs right now. I love real stories. Some that I've read and loved: Crowded Skies: Letters to Manhattan by Tara-Leigh Cobble, Orange Jumpsuit: Letters to the God of Freedom by Tara-Leigh Cobble, and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. The pendulum will swing soon enough, and I'll love fiction again. But for now, I love these stories.

8. We ate dinner with my brother and sister-in-law this week. My brother is a great cook. (It obviously runs in the family.) For the first time ever, I had real artichokes--not just the hearts that come in a can. We dipped and scraped the leaves on our teeth and dug out the thistle-y part to get to the heart. Oh, man, it was good. I have it on the menu for dinner one night this week, but I can see how they could become a regular vegetable in our house!

a christmas gift for him

My sweet husband is difficult to buy for. If he wants something, he buys it. But he rarely wants anything.

(I, on the other hand, buy the things I want [that fit into our budget] and have a list a mile long of things I'd also love to have. Anthropologie or West Elm bowls, earrings, anything with a monogram, pens, slippers, mittens: the list really never ends. I love cute stuff, especially for my house.)

Back to Jeremy...for Christmas last year, I did a year of dates. He loved it, and it was lots of fun to put together. Twelve dates plus an extra since it was a leap year. Or since I couldn't narrow it down to one date in February. Whatever. Blue Man Group was in town on Leap Year Day. What better way to celebrate?

This Christmas, I felt a little overwhelmed at the thought of a gift nearly as creative. Since he was taking off the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, I decided to surprise him with a trip to Austin. When we first married, we took little trips pretty often. But busyness and life set in, and we chose to stay home during any free time. I knew that he'd love a few days away, though. So the planning began...

[Whenever we go on vacation, I scour Living Social and Groupon for the city we'll visit. The daily deals often include reduced rates for transportation, shows, restaurants, and lots more. I've gotten some really great deals, especially for our week in Chicago last summer. New things are posted every day, so a quick look at lunch every day can save lots of cash. We like to use our saved cash on nicer restaurants while away.]

To start our trip, we detoured just a bit so that we could drive through Shiner, Texas and visit the Spoetzel Brewery. (This was actually part of a birthday present that I gave Jeremy a couple of years ago, but we hadn't done!) It was so much fun! You receive four FREE tasting tokens to taste some of what they had on tap. The tour isn't very long, but you get to see the conveyor and the copper brew tanks.

reflection in the copper tanks

There isn't much to do in Shiner other than tour the brewery, so we made our way to Austin with one other planned stop in Gonzales, Texas. Gonzales is home of the Gonzales Memorial Museum which houses the "Come and Take It Cannon." The cannon is important in the beginning of the Texas Revolution. You can read more about it here or here. We toured the small museum and refreshed some bits of Texas history. (You know we take a full year of that in school, right?)

outside the Gonzales Memorial Museum

Then we headed to Austin! Our first night in Austin was a blast. We stayed downtown. (Thanks Dad for the hotel room!) We were able to walk to dinner. We found Parkside on 6th Street. Amazingly, we got in without a reservation. I had the yummiest oysters and sweet potato soup. Weird combo, but so good! The sweet potato soup had bits of toasted marshmallow on the bottom of the bowl. Just divine.

After dinner, we headed to a ghost tour. Before you get all worried about our salvation, you should try one. It's fun to hear even more history of a city with spooky stories thrown in. We love going on these tours when we visit major cities.

The next morning we had brunch at Magnolia Cafe (an Austin institution) before we drove out to do Jeremy's "big" Christmas gift. I found a one-hour trapeze session for him. He had so much fun and was so good at it! I loved watching him from the ground and videoing each turn he had to fly. They recommended he come back for the two-hour session.

 the 30 ft ladder to the trapeze platform

i wouldn't even think about climbing it

my super-talented + cute, amateur trapeze-artist husband

flying through the air, upside down

After trapeze lessons ended, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We are huge Top Chef fans. The winner of last season, Paul Qui, is from Austin. We were desperate to hit up his former restaurant, Uchiko. Y'all. It was phenomenal. I actually don't know if I will ever eat sushi that good ever again. Ever. Unless it's at Uchiko.

Before we left the next morning, we headed to Gourdough's for donuts  Although they have a brick-and-mortar store, we visited the Gourdough's food truck. They make the donuts to order and have the craziest, most decadent combos. Donuts are too sweet for me in the morning, so I opted for a breakfast taco at the truck next door. What a perfect set up!

We had a wonderful time in Austin, and it really was a perfect gift for Jeremy. There was a great mixture of activities and relaxing in the hotel room and eating great food. Next I'll share my gift from Jeremy...

1500 miles

Over the past two weeks, I've travelled over 1500 miles. Today, I'm exhausted. When I arrived home last night after 9 hours on a bus, I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to watch even 20 minutes of television. That's huge. I almost immediately went to bed.

Most of the travel was for work. Last week, we took freshmen to visit two universities. This week, we chaperoned juniors on a trip to visit five universities. I've discovered that the enjoyment of students increases exponentially by year in school. Even though I'm tired, the trip with juniors was so enjoyable. Plus, I laughed so, so much with the other chaperones--two of whom are my bosses. I literally made myself sick with laughter.

Last weekend, Husby and I saw An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert. It was lots of fun. We weren't sure what to expect. Although I feel like most people were there to see Anthony Bourdain, it was Eric Ripert that excited us. Just like when we met Chef Hubert Keller on our honeymoon, I feel like I would have been starstruck if we'd met him. Even looking while he walked on stage made my heart beat! I adore chefs.

This weekend begins my Thanksgiving break. I have plans to see several friends. This introvert is super excited to connect with these people in my life. Tomorrow, I'm heading to see my BFF of Granbury, Texas. I've been promised a visit of pajamas and coffee, games and laughing. I'm really, really excited for this time with her and her husband. Before I leave, I plan to make a stop by the store to buy ingredients for apple pie, sweet potato casserole, and Brussels sprouts with cranberries and pecans to make for Thanksgiving.

After being on the go so much, I'm thankful for a break. Thankful for family and friends. Thankful for cooking, coffee and laughter. Thankful for rest and tradition.