Interview

I have a little interview over at Tania Ortiz's site today. If you'd like to read it, click here. In the meantime, Happy Almost New Year!

Some Holiday pics

Yearly friend Christmas brunch. Wonderful fellowship, great stories.

We welcomed our dear friends The Mills back from Sweden. Welcome home!

Sophie's chocolate murder mystery party. So much fun!

One of Patrick's gifts in action....

Hubby made a terrific Christmas dinner, with several courses. This is the soup course: lobster corn bisque. Yum!

A New Year's Gift for you: Last Year's Recipes

I thought you all might enjoy a compilation of some of the recipes I've made this last year. Enjoy! And feel free to share these with your friends and family.

With joy,
Chef Mary

Spaghetti a la Homer

3/4 stick butter
2 garlic cloves smashed
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh, chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated myzithra cheese (found in the specialty cheese case; it’s Greek)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and place on four plates. Melt butter in saucepan. Add pressed garlic and salt and pepper. Stir butter constantly until brown. (It can burn, so make sure it only browns). Sprinkle cheese and parsley over noodles. Drizzle browned butter over the top. Makes four servings.

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Pork Chops

In bottom of crockpot, add:
1/2 chopped onion
4 stalks celery, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 Tbs. ketchup
1/4 4 cup sugar
1 Tbs. sesame oil
Stir together
Add 4-8 pork chops and toss to coat. Cook all day. Serve with stir fried veggies and rice.


Crockpot Moroccan Chicken

2 Tbs olive oil
1 whole chicken, cut up (or more if you have a bigger family), skin off
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbs. ras el hanout spice mix (or you can use really good curry powder)
a few saffron threads
1 cup chicken stock
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 cups dried halved apricots
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup orange juice
salt and pepper
Saute onions and chicken in skillet in olive oil until browned. Add to crockpot. Add everything else, stir and cook on low for the day. Serve with rice or cous cous.

Chicken Artichoke Heart Casserole

4 whole chicken breasts
1 ten-ounce frozen package of artichoke hearts
1/3 cup butter (I will use less)
1/3 cup flour (I will use less, more like 1/4 cup)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbs green onions
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs

Saute chicken breasts in a little olive oil until done. Cut into large chunks. Cook artichoke hearts according to package directions then drain and pat dry. Layer chicken and artichoke in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter in medium sauce pan, add flour to create a roux. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened and combined. Add wine and cheddar and onions over low heat. Stir until melted. Pour sauce over casserole. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan and sprinkle over casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with rice or pasta.

Yogurt Smoothie:

1 1/2 cups nonfat plain yogurt (buy the big tubs of this for cheaper)
1 Tbs. or less, honey
1 handfull of frozen mixed berries (I buy mine at Costco to save $)
1/2 banana

Throw in a blender and blend. It's filling and yummy!

Ten Grain Hot Cereal

(You can find this in the hot cereal section or the organic sectionof your local grocery store. It looks like ground up grains andoffers ten different grains)

1 1/2 cups boiling water
pinch salt
1/2 cup 10 grain cereal
handful of craisins (I buy mine at Costco)
1-2 tsp. brown sugar
handful of chopped almonds

Boil water in lidded saucepan. Add cereal and stir. Turn to low,cover, and simmer for ten minutes. Once done, add craisins, sugar and almonds.


Mary's Orange-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

1 1/4 cup very warm water
1 packet yeast
1 Tbs. sugar

3 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg

In clear container, combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir. Let sit five minutes until the top foams and is bubbly.

In large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add yeast mixture. If you don't have a Kitchenaide, combine with a spoon and then knead five minutes. If you do, hooray!, just attach the dough hook and let it combine and knead the dough for five minutes. Spray bowl with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand one hour until double. Roll out dough into a long rectangle (probably 12 inches by 20 inches).

Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over the surface and spread evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar (you determine the amount) over that. Beginning from the long end, roll up the dough. To cut, use sewing thread. Move the thread under the dough, about an inch in, and then pull each end of the thread together. Place on greased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and keep cool (in the fridge) over night.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Glaze:

1 package cream cheese
1/4 cup orange juice
zest from one orange
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Combine ingredients until smooth. Pour glaze over cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Basil Soup

This soup is especially lovely with homemade garlic-olive oil croutons (See page . . .) and a dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream.

½ red onion, chopped finely
6 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbs. Olive oil
4 cups fresh Roma tomatoes, chopped (Or you can use two cans of canned, chopped plum
tomatoes . . . just be sure they are uncooked, not stewed.)
1 ½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion and garlic over medium heat in soup pot until onions are starting to brown, about five minutes. Add tomatoes, broth and basil. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes are cooked through, fifteen minutes. Add cream. Cool soup to room temperature. In batches, puree soup in blender. (To eliminate the cooling step, puree the hot soup with a hand held blender.) Return soup to pan and add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low until ready to serve. Serves four.



Chicken Corn Chowder

This is one of those cold-weather soups that children love as well as adults. Serve with cornbread sticks and a three-bean salad.

1 cup diced ham
2 Tbs. Butter
1 red onion, chopped finely
2 Tbs. All-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into one-inch dice
1 medium tomato, chopped finely
1 cup heavy cream
3 cups frozen corn kernels (Or cut kernels off three fresh cobs)
1 cup cooked chicken breast, torn
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

Place ham and butter in large soup pot and lightly sauté over medium heat, three minutes. Add onion and cook until onions are just starting to brown. Add flour and stir one minute over low heat, being careful not to burn the mixture. Pour in the stock and potatoes. Cook over medium heat for fifteen minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Stir in tomato, cream, corn and chicken breast. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium low heat for fifteen minutes. Add parsley, stir through, and serve. Makes 6 servings.



Tortilla Soup

My daughter Julia asks for this soup nearly every day. Patrick and I first tasted tortilla soup in Puerto Vallarta on our honeymoon. For several years, I looked for a recipe, gave up, and finally developed one of my own. If you don’t have time to make the tortilla strips, you can substitute store-bought chips.

1 Tbs. Butter
1 yellow onion, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 small can green chilies
1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained (You may also use red kidney beans)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup shredded chicken
1 Tbs. Taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
12 yellow corn tortillas
¼ cup peanut oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups shredded jack cheese
Sour cream, for serving

Sauté onions and garlic in butter in a large soup pot over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add chilies, tomatoes, beans, corn, chicken stock, chicken and taco seasoning. Stir through on high heat until soup boils. Reduce to low. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer one hour.

With a sharp knife, cut tortillas into ¼ inch strips, stacking them four at a time to save time. Place all tortilla strips on a cookie sheet. Top with oil and salt. Toss the tortillas gently with your hands until they are all coated and the salt is evenly distributed. Spread in an even layer. Place in a 350 degree oven for thirty minutes until slightly brown and crisped. Remove and let cool.

To serve: Ladle soup into bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream, a handful of jack cheese. Place a haystack of tortillas on top. Makes eight servings.

Apple Pumpkin Soup

1 medium-sized pumpkin, seeds removed and cut into 8ths
2 apples, cored and peeled and sliced
1 shallot, minced
1 tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup heavy cream

Cook pumpkin in 400 degree oven one hour until tender. Saute apples, shallots and garlic in olive oil until shallots and apples begin to brown. Add baked pumpkin (scrape into soup, careful to not let any skin in), chicken stock and wine. Add salt and pepper. Cook 1 hour. Let cool. In batches, puree soup in blender. Return to pan. Add cream and stir until smooth. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche, caramelized onions and roasted hazelnuts on top.

Pears a la Mary

5 pears, halved, cored and peeled
3 Tbs. butter
5 Tbs. raspberry jam
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3 Tbs. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream

slivered almonds for garnish

Saute pears in butter in non-stick pan until they are browned. In the meantime, spread a dollop of raspberry jam in a 5 inch circle on a dessert plate. Place chocolate, powdered sugar, vanilla, butter and cream in microwavable container. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave 30 more seconds. Stir. Repeat until melted through. Place two pear halves on top of jammed plates. Drizzle chocolate over. Top with nuts.


Whole wheat corn bread

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup corn meal
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 Tbs. baking powder

Mix eggs, milk, sugar, oil, and salt in medium bowl. Combine flour, corn meal and baking powder in large mixing cup. Pour into wet mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour in 9x11 greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean.

Serve with honey butter:

1/4 cup butter, softened
7 Tbs. honey

Whisk together.

Java Mint Brownies

¾ cup cocoa powder
½ cup espresso in liquid form (or use strong coffee from the morning’s brew)
¾ cup butter

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

3 extra large packages Junior Mints

Preheat oven to 350. Microwave the first three ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl for thirty seconds, or until butter is melted. Stir until combined. Add next five ingredients, and stir with wooden spoon until just combined. Spread into a greased 9x13 glass pan and bake for 35 minutes.

Let cool.

Microwave Junior Mints in glass bowl for thirty seconds. Stir. Microwave again for thirty seconds. Stir. Repeat until mint mixture is fully melted and is easily pourable. Pour onto cooled brownies. Spread evenly. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream. Makes 12.

SIDE NOTE: I "discovered" this icing by accident. My friends John and Donna brought us several boxes of Junior mints, but they melted in the car into a Junior Mint blob. So, I thought I'd see what kind of icing they would make melted. The result? AMAZING!!! It just goes to show you can take something ruined and make it remarkable with a little creativity!

How did she get so mature? 16 years ago today, I was in labor.

The irony's not lost on me--Mary in labor on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, there was room at the Inn (cleverly disguised as a hospital). A few more hours and Sophie would've been my baby Jesus, but she fought her way to Christmas Eve, as if she knew gift giving would be difficult enough! She came to us after one long nap in a big red stocking, a little Santa hat on her peach-fuzzed head.

And now she wears a helmet. (Just kidding, this was taken when we went climbing last summer at family camp). She's adorable, beautiful, thoughtful, Jesusy, intelligent, conscientious, sweet, and a joy to be around. I can't imagine my life without her. We're moving from mother-daughter to friend-friend, although we both fasten on the other when it's necessary.

I feel the rumblings of change, though. A little over two years and this girl will be heading off to college, forging her way. I think my heart will break in two.

But today I'm rejoicing that she's so amazing. I love my daughter's tender heart. Love how she loves children. Love that she's got a heart for the world. Love that she's dedicated and goofy all at the same time. I watch her and see Jesus. And I want to capture more of her child-like wonder to myself.

Happy Birthday, Sophie!

We Lived in a Barn for Christmas

And this was our view in 2006. To read about the beautiful, winsome Christmas of 2006, click here.

A terrible beginning: Santa Claus Meets Left Behind and Stephen King

Over at The Writer's View we're having fun writing terrible beginnings to novels. Here's my entry:

The irony wasn’t lost on Santa, how, if rearranged, his name became Satan—the loveliest of all creatures under a slippery heaven, a heaven that was once his to grasp; but Satan, donning Santa’s finest, had a plan this time—to thwart the cackling Most High’s plans, stealing the kindness of children with each trip down the chimney, making each wide-eyed wondering child a zombie of indifference, a self-absorbed adult, a pawn in his utterly diabolical plan to end the world with an army of children.

Over at Hearts at Home Today

I have a little article titled God Shows Up at the Hearts at Home blog today. Stop by and leave a comment if you wish.

Something Fun for Bloggers to Participate in

Howdy, y’all! A very merry Christmas to ya, and a big ol’ tip o’ the hat!

Hey, it’s time for the Great Middle Zone Christmas present! (sound of crowd cheering enthusiastically)

OK; for those of you who’ve been visiting the Zone for a while (at least a year - and a BIG hat tip to y’all!), you may remember last January’s BLOGAPALOOZA.

It was just a little something I cooked up as to show my appreciation for your continued patronage; my way of giving back to you guys (or, if you’re a big fan of old gangster movies, that’s “youse guys”) for making the Middle Zone a fun and exciting place. (Not to mention somewhat whacko unpredictable. But let’s not go there.)

BLOGAPALOOZA is a variation of our regular monthly What I Learned From… groupwrite projects (collectively known as “WILF”) - but with an exciting (and hopefully not too confusing) twist.

The topic, of course, will be What I Learned From 2008.

How BLOGAPALOOZA Works

Now, looking back at your archives, you’ll choose one post from every month you’ve been blogging in the year 2008.

So how do you choose? Well, the question you have to ask yourself is, what was the most amazing, moving, profound, surprising, insane, whacky, or whatever thing you learned in the month of March? How about July? Anything in October?

Use any criteria you like - your most commented, your most profound, your cat’s favorite - hey, whatever, y’all; it’s up to you!

So How Do You Participate?

It’s really pretty simple. Here’s what you do:

1. Search your archives and pick one post from each month you’ve been blogging in 2008
2. Create a list of the links to those posts*, including a brief description of each one. VERY IMPORTANT: Please use MS Word (preferred) or Rich Text formats ONLY!
3. E-mail the list to me (rhruzek@sbcglobal.net) as soon as possible! If you like, also include a blurb about yourself and/or your blog, and a flattering photo of yourself (in .jpg format, please).
4. REQUEST (NOT REQUIRED): Please publicize this project as much as possible - blogs, Twitter, Facebook or whatever social media you use. The more that participate, the bigger and better it’ll be!

(*NOTE: Please be sure to validate your links, y’all!)

Now, here’s the great part: once I receive your list, I will post it as a guest post! Yup, you read it right, friends! Your link lists will appear right here at the Zone! Wow, how great is that?

They will start appearing every day, starting January 5 and continuing through Sunday, January 25!

So Why Should You Participate?

So why would you want to participate, you ask? Hey, glad you asked!

Well, when I post your entry here, then Voila (which is a French word that translates roughly as holy SEO, Batman!), you’ll receive as many as 12 (and maybe even more) incoming links to your archives (trust me; that’s a good thing!) - and that’s my Christmas present to you!

Hey, we had quite a party last year with a total of 30 entries. I’m tellin’ ya, my poor overworked fingers were flyin’! Yessir; there were over 300 outgoing links to posts all over the blogosphere, right here from the Zone! Now ya gotta admit; that’s a whole lotta link love!

I don’t mind tellin’ ya; I’d like to knock the socks off last year’s project. Call me crazy (you’d be right), call me irresponsible (who me?) or call me insane (also true), but this time I’m goin’ for 100 posts! But to do that, I’m goin’ to need your help!

Sound like something you want to try? Great; then assuming you’ve been payin’ attention, then you know what to do!

But first…

BLOGAPALOOZA RULES

Hey, ya gotta have rules, right? Otherwise… chaos!

Now as always, groupwrite projects are open to anyone. But please remember these simple rules:

• Be nice. (Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?)
• Please only link to posts that are G-Rated. (Fair warning: I reserve the right to link to your posts - or not. If I receive a complaint, I may delete your link.)

All right, ladies and gentlemen; you know what to do! Grab the writing instrument of your choice and get to it!

[Further note from the Proprietor - I realize it may take time to write your entry, but the sooner you get it in, the sooner it appears! I surely thank you, and as a token of my appreciation - have yourself a cookie!]

I can't get them out of my mind

When I step into my warm, warm shower
When I eat until I'm full
When Christmas looms in abundance in the land of plenty
When my son gets that wistful longing to return to Ghana
When I remember their faces, particular faces
When I see my home, its comfort, my life's ease
When I run past manicured lawns, see the clean lake looming
When the sun rises and falls on a cool day
When I read Jesus' words about the poor being Him in disguise

I see their faces, their souls, their joy, their needs

and I can't get them out of my mind.

Hilarious Koine Greek Video

First seen on Aspire2 blog. For those of you enjoying (enduring) seminary and Greek class, and even if you're not but you need a funny break from the Christmas broohaha, watch this:

Thank You, Blog Readers!

Just a wee little post to tell you all (y'all) thank you for frequenting this blog and being so fun and writing cool comments and making me laugh and sending bits of encouragement. You make writing my little musings a pleasure. Thank you.

Over at Hearts at Home Today

I have a little article titled Simplify Christmas at the Hearts at Home blog today. Stop by and leave a comment if you wish.

Great Blogging Resources for all your bloggy selves

I got a grade on my blogs and websites recently. I got a B a C and two Fs. Being a type A to the A-th degree, this was disconcerting news indeed. I need to optimize. I need to make sure my domains don't expire. I need to connect things (still don't understand all that) and I need to add pictures, or delete them, or something. (My thanks to Tekeme Studios for helping me with the things I don't understand, particularly how to add descriptions and metatags.)

If you're interested in getting your grade, hop on over to Website Grader and type in your blog and/or website. You can do it here.

And while we're on the subject of optimization, here's a really good article about improving your bloggy ways. It's called Five Ways to Imitate the 10 Most Popular Blogs. You can read it here. And if you're curious about Technorati's top 100 blogs, check out the list here. How does your blog compare? Or does it?

By the way, if your blog is not trendy looking and you're using a standard bloggish template, direct your significant other to Tekeme Studios. They do great blogskins. Can you think of a better Christmas gift? A better way to start off the new year, but with a fresh, cool look? Prices range from 45 buckaroos to 140 for a turbo-powered blogskin. Besides, you really don't need another frying pan or drill or pair of slippers, right?

And here's one more great product that will turn your blog space upside down and right side up and everything in between. Jim Rubart and Laura Christiansen wrote a book called ‘Blogophobia Conquered’: Overcome Your Fears & Create an Amazing Blog. You can find out more about this important e-book here.

They also have a great post called, "Building Community Through Blogging." You can read it here.

I hope all these resources prove to be helpful to you as you work through optimizing your blogs. Here's hoping I can get an A soon! And while we're at it, let me ask you this: what's one way I can improve this blog?

I am my own enemy?

Julia came in from outside as she waited for the bus to come. "Mommy," she said. "Come look."

Strewn everywhere was trash, confetti, a big fat mess. I wondered who our enemy was who did such a thing!

And then I laughed. It was no enemy. It was me. Today is garbage day, so last night I put out our garbage and our recyclables. In one of the recyclable boxes, there was packing materials used to pack some dishes we'd opened. It had opened up in the night's wind and littered our yard.

It made me laugh that my first thought was that we had enemies! I'm so conspiratorial! Only to find out the enemy stared back at me in the mirror this morning.

Find Great Mommy Resources

It's called the Mommy Ultimate Blog Roll, and yours truly is listed at the top. If you're interested in mom sites and mom businesses, check out this really great resource. You can read it here.

Gethsemane

I don't know why the dentist chair lends itself to hearing God's voice, but again, I experienced His guidance and insight while gazing at a white ceiling, my feet in the air. I lamented the fact that when we moved to France, I didn't feel ready. I didn't know if I wanted to go, really. But in that wavering, I prayed a lot, sought advice, and continued forward.

I used to beat myself up over not being gung-ho when we flew to a new missionary life.

But sitting in the dentist chair, God reminded me of Gethsemane. Jesus didn't want to have to go through the cross--the agony, the pain, the betrayal. He had those same feelings I had of "I don't really want to go through this." Of course, I'm simplifying things, and Jesus' obedience is on a far higher plane than mine. But it comforted me that He was reticent. And yet, at the end of his wrestling, He declared, "Not My will, but Yours be done."

So maybe, just maybe, my not feeling ready for France was not a defeat or an indictment of me. Maybe it was a test of my obedience. After all, it would be easy to step out into a new venture for Jesus if I was ecstatic about it. Realizing this salves my heart and silences the self-condemnation I often listen to. I had a hard time going to France, but I went anyway. Glory be to God.

How about you? What is your Gethsemane? What is it that you're facing that you flat out don't want to do? Go forward in obedience, smiling at the thought that you are following in some pretty big steps.

When I Knew Afresh that God Was Real

I walked the shoreline of the Pacific with a dear friend. "I want this place to be redeemed," I told her. I'd spilled out a very long story about some difficult relationships that had a connection with this place.

"I want to see it redeemed, too," she said. Her shoulders willingly bore the weight of painful stories. She heard me. Nodded. Pressed forward, barefooted, toward the cold surf.

"I never quite understood those passages about wolves in sheep's clothing," I told her. "But now I do. Having met one, experiencing the havoc an impostor instigated, I understand."

We continued to walk.

"I was naive," I told her. "I thought everyone wearing the mantle of minister would be a Christ-follower. I was wrong. So terribly wrong. That explains all the warnings in Scripture about those wolves," I said.

I looked down at the sand not long after I spilled my story. There, at my feet, was a plastic cat, maybe two inches long--a McDonald's Happy Meal-sized toy. It looked just like our cat Madeline. "Look," I told her. "It's my cat!"

But when I picked the plastic cat from the sand and turned it over in my palm, a wolf stared back at me. A white wolf.

We both laughed at the irony. And I marveled at the realness of God who caused someone to drop a plastic wolf on the beach at the perfect place.

We walked to the water's edge. I don't fancy myself an athlete, but I hurled that wolf into the Pacific. He twirled nose over tail and kerplunked into the blue. Gone, gone, gone.

God redeems places. And memories. And pain. And sometimes he uses McDonald toys.

My Funny Marketing Gig

Why I love this:

1. It didn't cost much.
2. I advertise wherever I go.
3. I embarrass my kids! Tee hee....

Moving too fast, too serious

My mom used to tell me, "Lighten up," when I was a kid. I was such a serious little girl, seeing life as full of burdens and things to be accomplished. Her advice rings true today. Today I prayed as I walked through my house, picked up messes, did dishes. I prayed I wouldn't miss out on my kids' beauty.

I hollered at Julia last night for spilling something on the carpet. As if that really mattered. And this morning I moaned at Aidan when he informed me I needed to drive him to school for an early morning rehearsal.

I'm just too bothered. Too serious. Too focused.

I don't want to be that way.

I do see, though, that I've grown in this area. I laugh more. I work hard at engaging. I don't always do my best at this, but I am quick to recognize when I'm being a me-monster. I apologize when I do this. And I ask Jesus frequently for help.

Still, it's not easy, is it?

I love this quote my friend Stacey sent me: "Life is too important to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde. Wise words from the man who penned The Importance of Being Earnest, one of my favorite plays.

What I sense from God in this: He is calling me to slow down, rest, re-evaluate, and recreate. When I get snippy and weird like this, it's because I'm overburdened and overworked. It's time to walk away, feel the breeze on my face, and fall in love with the beauty of my children. Jesus, let it be so.

Over at Hearts at Home Today

I have a little article titled Growing Into Myself at the Hearts at Home blog today. Stop by and leave a comment if you wish.

Older, but closer?

I am a needy pilgrim on this journey
Flaw-filled
Rendered incapacitated by life's blows
I don't know how I sing
Or whether the tune is cathartic
Or superficial
Or everything and nothing all at once
I am aging
I see the lines
Watch how the contours of my form
Shapeshift into an older woman
The kind of person a clerk says "ma'am" to

But others have seen Jesus
Living inside my aging heart
They've seen His brilliance
His cacophonous light
I lift my own tired hands to the ceiling
Hoping the heavens take note
And praise the One who does it all

It's a mystery why others see Him
Housed in this Mary home
But I love Him for it
For shining through my cracked parts
For healing such broken, torn, slashed hopes

He is the splendor
The benevolent, powerful healer
And it's my sincere prayer
That as I near heaven's gate
There will be more of Him
and little remnants of a surrendered me left

Shine all the more, Jesus
Be the majesty and beauty of my life.

The 12 Days of Writer Angst

I've composed a new holiday-y song for writers, writers everywhere. To the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas. You can read (sing) the song here. So Bah Humbug, and get out there and write!

Win a Free Blog Design

Check out Tekeme Studios blog. Scroll down three posts. Buy Authentic Parenting, and have a chance to win. They do terrific, amazing, creative, prompt work.

Christ, be the Center of our lives

Another great worship song to sing along to. Make it your prayer today.

Be revived

Do yourself a favor and watch Inside Out by Hillsongs. Then sing along. Be revived, friends. Be revived. His glory goes beyond ALL fame. Amen.

Home Depot Tree Man

Saturday I had a Christmassy time selecting a huge, gigantic, behemoth Christmas tree. It was a surprise for my kids. We’ve had the artificial tree many years now, but I’ve been pining (pun intended) for the smell of my hometown (Seattle) in my house. So I surprised our family with a 10-foot fraier fir. I got to talking with the sweet man who helped me tie down the tree. He’d been a marriage and family therapist for many years and was now retired. I told him what I did. “Really?” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a writer. But I don’t have talent. You need talent, don’t you?”

“Yes, but it’s also just a lot of work.”

“What do you write?”

“I write parenting books and novels.”

“Romances?” He asked. “Because I love romances.”

“No,” I told him. “Southern novels. I like to tell folks they’re like Oprah books, but with hope.”

“I’d like to read one,” he said.

So I handed him my card. He secured my tree. We waved goodbye. I drove off to my home, smiling because of the surprise on the top of my van, and the smile of the retired man who seemed genuinely interested in my trade.

The Slippery Slope of Selfishness: Am I more selfish than I was last year at this time?

I'm a little freaked about narcissism. I don't want to become more and more narcissistic the older I get. So, imagine my chagrin when I sensed God ask me this question last weekend:

"Are you more selfish today than you were a year ago?"

I ached when I heard the words. It seems I slip so easily into thinking only about myself, my needs, my wants, my my my my. The older we get, we entrench ourselves in patterns of thinking and behavior that soon becomes cemented, then petrified. The less we think of others, the more our heart shrivels.

But true life comes from self-denial. From letting someone else go first. Jesus said the first will be last and the last will be first. And somehow, as I get older, I sure do prefer first. I love comfort. As I type this, I have a portable heater at my feet, keeping me warm. And yet, as I took a shower this morning, relishing the warm water, I remembered my friends in Ghana who had little water. I remember my friend Paul who told me, "For ten years, I never knew when my next meal was coming."

Thankfully, I have Paul's voice in my head, reminding me to think beyond the four walls of my comfortable suburban life. And as much as I'd love to stay here forever, I also know God could call us elsewhere, maybe across the globe. The question is: Will I be selfless enough to go where He leads? Will I give up comfort?

It is my ardent prayer that as age adds lines to my face, that my heart grows larger and my selfishness diminishes. Dear, dear Jesus, make it so. Have Your way. Help me today to be less selfish than yesterday. Kill my narcissism; replace it with Your ever-giving Spirit. Amen.