Advent part 1

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)


And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:12-13).


I want and yearn for Him more and more as the time goes by. I understand Him and yet don`t, for who could? He is beauty, He is love, and most of all, He is hope. Hope for someone as black with sin as me to be loved unconditionally, accepted without limits, and cared for beyong any mortal understanding. And if I can be saved, then who can`t? There is hope for me despite my mortal failings, there will always be hope for every soul on this earth, we are His children, and it takes my breath away, to know I will always be wanted no matter what I did. No matter who I am, He will always be waiting for me to open my heart to His magnificence and benevolence, His unfailing love. 

He will be born, to save us, to save me, from ourselves. Rejoice! Rejoice!

Poem - If

IF I had my child to raise all over again,

I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars,

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often,

I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.

I'd model less about the love of power,

And more about the power of love.

--Diane Loomans

Wordless Wednesday - Real Art

By the way, this wasn`t finger painting.

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Seasoning

If I had to pick one thing that I loved to cook with the most out of all my appliances, pans, pots, and skillets, it would undoubtedly be, without a second thought, my iron skillet. What a beauty. Oh skillet, how do I love thee? You can cook everything in there, from breads to meats to vegetables. This thing is indispensable for every kitchen, BUT you have to know how to take care of it, which is something that I had to learn.

The iron skillet has so many good things about it. It has an excellent heat retention and distribution, and if taken care of, this thing can last forever. But it is subject to rust and that isnt so tasty. That`s why new owners of iron anything have to understand that if they want to keep their skillet in great shape and rust-less (and also develop a perpetual non-stick surface, which is a double whammy), they need to season their skillets.

When I first used my skillet, I didnt season it, and just washed it like I would any other cooking thing, dump it in the hot sink full of water and soap if damage was minimum, or soaked it if it seemed like there would be stuck food. ERROR. After maybe two weeks of this treatment, I noticed that the skillet had this dry look and food kept sticking more and more. Thats when I started doing my research, and found out I was basically killing my skillet.

So what does that mean to season your skillet? Well whenever one cooks with an iron skillet, it is naturally seasoned by whatever you cook inside the skillet. Theoretically speaking, the oils and fats from the meats and other ingredients used within the skillet should seep into the skillet and remain there to season the top. There are so many different ways to season a pan effectively, but it also has to do with cleaning the pan so lets start there.

There are two or three main thoughts on how to clean this skillet. Some people say you shouldnt clean your skillet ever, just wipe it down after use in order to maximize the seasoning. Others use boiling water, a stiff brush, and others still use coarse salt and rub it down. Here is what I use: I change my methods depending on what I cooked in. For example, bread usually just leaves some crumbs and not much else. So then I use some salt and napkins and gently quickly scour the bottom and finished. When I cook meats, I boil some water, put about an inch in and then gently rub the excess gunk out without scouring the bottom.

And here is where the seasoning comes in. I called my grandmother up and asked her what she did to season her pan. And surprisingly, because I never thought my grandmother would use this ingredient, she told me that the secret lies in peanut oil. After every washing, I rub a tiny amount of peanut oil at the bottom of the pan, around the sides, and on the top edge. Not enough to make it glisten, just enough to give it that nice healthy well kept look. And ho and behold, the pan is now non-stick, looks great, and cooks great!

All in all, all this work is 100% worth the skillet and what it does. I love my skillet!

dinner buns, garlic for the hubbt and rosemary chive for me!

Anger

People go to work to be able to afford things. Their entire lives revolve around these things, they are consumed by the need to consume. Big cars, big tvs, big kitchens and big houses. People work so that they don`t have to make things for themselves, fend for themselves, and definetly not cook for themselves. When was the last time an average modern family had bread made by themselves, rather than store-bought with unpronouncable ingredients in a list that should be as simple as FLOUR, OIL, SUGAR, SALT, WATER, YEAST. People don`t make food anymore, they prefer to buy 5 minute MCD meals and eat them in their cars to save time for.. nothing because their children are zoned out in front of tvs by 6:00pm and parents are wiped out by the stress of keeping this lifestyle that drains them of their lives, their relationship with their spouses, and their relationship with their offspring. But are 'happy' because of their big cars, big tvs, and big houses.

Women are returning to work earlier and earlier after having babies, leaving 2 month olds in the care of complete strangers, drinking man-made powder rather than nutritious breastmilk because they have to go work for a million different reasons. Families are leaving the care of the greatest treasures they will ever have to afore-mentioned strangers for the majority of their day to ensure, amongst other things, that those children will have the newest and shiniest gadget available. The biggest travesty, the worst thing, is to see those kids coming into daycare at 7:00am, and leaving at 6:00pm. They are so hungry for parental love and affection, making sure they have a drawing for mommy, or a statue for daddy. Then their parents come to pick them up, tired and stressed from their day and traffic, and they have nothing left to give. All they can think of is getting home, putting some sort of food on the table, cleaning up, cleaning the kids, putting them to bed, and passing out. And the cycle is repeated for 5 days out of 7, sometimes more. Those kids are so starved for something their parents cant give them, and its heartbreaking to watch.

And this is how Im supposed to raise my kids? This is what society tells me is the normal and average thing to do, and that I am the one who is weird and abnormal for considering staying at home, raising and home-schooling my children rather then entrusting something that should naturally be my job to other people?  Well, society, in simple terms, you can shove that where the sun don`t shine.

Wordless Wednesday - This is how I feel sometimes