Fun in (Jess') kitchen...

So we were in Texas recently... (we seem to make those trips pretty frequently these days, primarily because my daughter Jess and her wonderful husband Joe have produced the world's most adorable baby -- Evangeline!) 

...anyway, Jess (and her friend Hannah) are fearless crafters and innovators. Jess spotted a recipe on a blog for flavor-infused syrups for coffee, which seemed like a simple enough project for us to tackle in between snuggling the baby, changing diapers, feeding, cooking, etc. The recipe is from A Beautiful Mess, one of Jess' favorite DIY blogs, but a new one to me. 

The ingredients needed were fairly simple, with the exception of lavender buds for the lavender-brown sugar syrup (yum, right?) We made the trek to Central Market in Fort Worth where we did in fact find lavender buds in the bulk tea section. 

I'm not sure where they could be obtained in the greater Northeast Louisiana area -- Vieux Carre in Monroe maybe? A quick google search revealed that you can order them from Amazon (who knew?). The other ingredients were fairly simple to assemble -- sugar, brown sugar, honey, vanilla and water! We also scooted over to World Market for some simple dispensers -- we found small olive oil dispensers with tops that would close (freshness!) We also picked up a sheet of chalkboard adhesive tags to use as labels. (And I had a 15% off coupon!)

So, here's the cast of characters:

For the Lavender-Brown Sugar Syrup, the recipe calls for equal parts water and brown sugar with 1-2 Tablespoons of lavender buds, depending on your taste for the floral/aromatic quality (we went big!)
Simmer for 20 minutes, then strain the lavender buds as you pour the syrup into the dispenser.

The Honey Syrup was super-simple. Equal parts honey and water, again, simmered for 20 minutes. (It gives a honey flavor in a consistency that's easier to mix with coffee. It's extremely subtle -- I liked it best in hot tea.)

And the Vanilla Syrup was 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water with 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. (They recommended the clear kind -- we just had the dark. Turned out fine, although after tasting, I think it needs more vanilla. I'd double it. I may try to add some to the already prepared syrup, but I'm not sure how that will turn out. *update* -- added more extract, mixed well and it definitely enhanced the vanilla flavor! Loved it!) Again, simmer for 20 minutes then pour into your dispenser.

We (and by "we" I mean Jess) brewed coffee for the three of us (Hannah joined the festivities by this point) and frothed some milk in the microwave for a little lavender-flavored latte. The scent was heavenly and the taste was subtle, but nice. I found that I wanted lavender syrup then a touch of just regular sugar to get the right amount of sweetness without being overpowered by the lavender. It really was delicious. 

Now that we know how easy (and yummy) it is, we think they would make cute gifts -- don't you?

Thanks to the girls of A Beautiful Mess for the inspiration, and to Jess for orchestrating the project, and taking the pictures (while I snuggled the baby). 

Now, maybe I should invite someone over for coffee...
"Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay." 1 Peter 4:9 (or a cup of coffee?)

The grace of hospitality...

Time for another Scripture...I'm continuing with the short passage in 1 Peter 4 that I started at the beginning of the month. The first verse I've learned (I think -- I'm about to type it from memory) is:

"Above all, love each other deeply, 

because love covers over a multitude of sins."     

-- 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

(nailed it. of course, it is kind of short!)

The next verse is:

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." 

That's in the NIV, but I think I prefer the more positive New Living Translation for this verse:

"Cheerfully share your home 

with those who need a meal or a place to stay."      

-- 1 Peter 4:9

Isn't that beautiful? 

And this is one of those verses which the Amplified translation really, really amplifies! Check this out:

"Practice hospitality to one another 

(those of the household of faith). 

[Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, 

with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, 

the foreigners, the poor, and all others 

who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] 

And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly 

(cordially and graciously, without complaining 

but as representing Him)."

Wow. Confession: I'm not the most naturally hospitable person. When we built our home 20 1/2 years ago, I had a four-year-old and a two-year-old and it felt for years like the house was always in a state of chaotic mess. For some reason, I thought it had to be "perfect" to invite people over and I think I let anxiety or pride or whatever keep me from being as hospitable as I should have been. Fast forward to today and my empty nest (while not immaculately clean always) is generally in a state of order because it's just the two of us. 

So now what's my excuse?

I want to take the challenge of this verse and be more intentional in showing hospitality ("generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests; kindness in welcoming guests or strangers.") It will take intentionality (as in, actually inviting people over to eat) and maybe a smidge of preparation -- food, clean sheets! -- so I'm ready to be welcoming. I want to let go of any preconceived notions of perfection and focus on my guests, not my house or my cooking or myself. I have a little napkin framed in my kitchen that says this:

I love my home...it is a blessing far beyond anything I deserve...and I want to use it to bless others. 

So, what are your hospitality tips? Or what verse are you learning this time? I'd love to know!

My very first-ever crafty post!

I love crafty stuff. I pin crafty stuff. I purchase crafty stuff...or get my daughter to craft things for me.
But I decided today to just go for it. Attempt to craft something. The challenge: I planned to use only things I had in the house (which included some 8x10 prints of the family photos Justin Bufkin did for our Christmas cards). So here's how it happened...
(prepare yourself for the longest first-ever crafty post ever!)

First, I've been to three different "painting parties" - a "Corks and Canvas" fundraiser, one at our church and one at a friend's house. All three were very fun experiences with skillful artists and good friends, wonderful snacks and, well, painting. But each time I came home with a 16 x 20 canvas of a painting that I would really never consider hanging anywhere in my home...

Lovely, right?

So, anyways, these canvases were laying around in a closet and then I saw this:

over at the handmade home (my absolute new favorite home decor blog!) and this:

over at The Lettered Cottage (a longtime favorite) and an idea was born! I think both of these bloggers created the striped...what would you call it? It's not a frame, not a mat...a background? Anyway, I think they painted MDF to make theirs, but I had canvases, so I thought I might adapt the idea.

So, over Christmas, I got some Gesso, which is used like a primer for canvases. And Jess helped with the Gesso part...

It took a couple of coats and it was, uh, textured, due to the heavy, globby art beneath, but I embrace imperfection when it comes to craftiness...and home decor...and, well, pretty much everything. The Gesso'ed canvases just laid around for a few weeks as we wrapped up Christmas activities. Then, in the midst of the recent cold, freezy, rainy spell, I pulled them out, grabbed some brushes, some leftover wall paint, a few things of acrylic paint in the art bin (I think left over from when the kids had art in high school) and some painter's tape. I gave the canvases a base coat of the wall color in our living room (it's called polished silver, I think). Then I decided to measure four-inch stripes and do two horizontal and one vertical. (I actually dummied this out on a piece of paper to help me decide what to paint/tape where). Then, I poured some of the wall paint into a bowl and squirted a little blue and black acrylic paint in and swirled it around until I liked the contrast with the base color, and I painted the stripes. Once it dried and I peeled off the tape,  I decided I wanted the whole thing to look a little muddier, so I squirted just a little brown paint into a bowl with a good bit of water and brushed it on and wiped it off with a paper towel.

Then it got a little tricky. I had some black paper -- just paper, not cardstock or anything. I trimmed a 1/2-inch off the bottom so it would be 8 1/2 by 10 1/2 to make a mat for the photos. I decided to Mod Podge the black mat onto the canvas, then just use double-sided tape for the pictures, thinking I could change/update the pictures over time. I'm not a big Mod Podge user, and my first attempt was a pretty big mess:

I almost ripped it off and then decided to embrace the imperfection -- and only the outer 1/4 inch was going to show once I put the picture on! I googled some tips on how to use Mod Podge (duh!) and the next two looked much better:

After they dried, I placed the pictures on using double-sided tape around the edges (Jesse doesn't think it will stick -- I'll have to update later!) and then hung them up! 

I LOVE them! This was practically free 

(I only purchased the Gesso and Mod Podge) and really easy! 

And being surrounded by my family makes me very happy.

(And if you made it all the way to the end of this post, 

you are a nice person! 

Thanks for indulging a wannabe crafter!)

Grace in this new year...

*tap, tap...anyone here?*

I've neglected this little corner of the blogosphere over the past year...and as my fingers hover indecisively over the keyboard this morning, I remember why. I'm not sure I have much to contribute to the "conversation," but the personal discipline of regularly chronicling things -- Scripture memory, books I'm reading, goals, life in general -- gives me a measure of motivation...accountability, that I need.

So, here goes. 2013 -- what will it hold? I'm kicking off the year in Scripture memory by keeping it simple. I want to focus on "grace" -- receiving it and extending it to others -- so I'm drawn to passages that reflect this. I'm going to work on three verses in 1 Peter 4, but I'm going to do it one. verse. at. a. time. First up:

"Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins."

1 Peter 4:8, NIV

I also love it in the Amplified translation:

"Above all things, have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins (forgives and disregards the offenses of others)."
talk about grace!

And I can't resist including The Message version:

"Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything."

In addition to a year of drawing closer to God by spending time in His Word, I want to cultivate more prayerfulness this year and to serve others at every opportunity. (Thanks for the inspiration, Brian, recapped by Hannah!)

And I plan to spend as much time as possible with this sweet face...

...and to celebrate my entire family at every opportunity. What a gift!

I hope to continue the discipline of counting gifts...never discounting the small.

And, of course, I have the uber-predictable goal of eating healthier, exercising regularly and getting more fit. But seriously, I'm pretty motivated when I look at the sweet faces above. I want to be able to keep up with my kids and grandkids for a lot of years!

So...it's a new year. Grace. May it abound.

Celebrating my jubilee year...

So, I'm turning 50 this month...November 21st to be exact.

I'm embracing it.

No, really! I am totally embracing this, my 50th year on this planet.

To celebrate, I plan on doing 50 random, yet intentional, things for others between now and my birthday. (I originally wanted to do 50 things on my 50th birthday, but logistics and travel plans got the best of me!) So, for the next three weeks, I'm keeping track, being intentional in acts of kindness.

I've been inspired by the concept of "jubilee." In the Old Testament, every 50th year was consecrated as a "jubilee year." The 50th year was one of liberty, remission, respite - of returning things (in those days, land) to the original owners. (Leviticus 25)

I want to celebrate my liberty and abundant blessings by returning them to my Rightful Owner -- by passing on the gift and blessing others. I want to claim the promise God made to Abraham - "I will bless you...and you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:2)

So, I'm launching into this jubilee with some ideas for little ways I can be a gift - to those I love and those I just happen upon...

Here are a few already in the works:

-- I ordered a pair of super-cute Toms for my daughter and daughter-in-law...I figure this counts as four things, because the two girls are getting gifts and two little children in need of shoes are also getting some! (Full disclosure: I actually ordered a pair for me, too. Hey, it is my birthday month!)

-- Sending a gift to another young friend who just returned from Afghanistan. No, really, thank YOU!

-- Ordering flowers for my mom to be delivered on my birthday. (This is already a tradition of ours - inspired by Wayne Watson.) This year, for my 50th, I figure I'll send my dad something too. Probably something along the lines of a Sonic gift card, because that's how HE rolls!

-- Donating a book to our church library. (A copy of 1000 Gifts - which we're currently studying!) This book also has inspired me to count gifts...and to become a gift:

"Spend the whole of your one wild and beautiful life investing in many lives and God will simply not be outdone. God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but the one we yearn for: Joy in Him." -- Ann Voskamp

-- I have plans to write a few heartfelt notes to some random wonderful folks who have impacted my life in ways small and large...

-- We'll be taking a college student to supper this week (Hi, Norm!)

-- And supporting a couple of young missionaries planning international trips.

There are more plans in the works - plans involving cookies, homemade bread, flowers, meals, smiles and children and goodness!

You're invited to this jubilee - a month-long celebration of love, joy, faithfulness, blessing and hope for the future...(you don't have to wait until you're 50 to join!)

Over-driving...

So, the alleged blogging has been pretty sporadic lately. What can I say? Life is good...busy, but good. I've gotten a little lazy in my studying discipline, which has led to laziness in the writing/processing discipline, but I think I'm about to turn over a new leaf (somehow the first day of any month fills me with a sense of purpose!)

I also had one of those mornings on the farm filled with revelation in the simplest things. For example, I rarely drive a tractor. I can only barely drive a car and I am really uncomfortable behind the wheel of a huge, deadly, costly piece of equipment by John Deere. But, on occasion (the occasion being when the driving requires speeds of less than two miles per hour) I am pressed into service. This is usually when we're rolling out irrigation pipe and someone has to keep the tractor driving along a line, very slowly, through the field while the guys unroll pipe from the tractor like a giant roll of toilet paper, making sure it's lying properly in its trench.

Jesse had a short "trunk" run to roll out this morning - a replacement section, really. Seems the first pipe wasn't quite tough enough for a little uphill push of water that was required. It burst a time or two, the guys repaired it, but Jesse ultimately decided to replace that short section with a thicker, more durable pipe.

Lessons there, right? Maybe about being too "thin-skinned" and quick to burst anytime life gives you a little "push." Or maybe the need to toughen up for the rough spots in life - or better - the fact that we can't do anything about our pitiful torn places. It's up to The Farmer to repair - and when necessary, completely replace the broken places. Hmmm.

But working today, what really struck me was a tendency to "over-drive." My instructions were super simple - I was supposed to keep the huge front left tire directly on top of the existing pipe we were replacing. The path was very clearly laid out in front of me, about four feet into a tall, beautiful cornfield. But as you drive across rows, the tractor does a slight bob, a little dance, and I quickly over-correct on the wheel. Jesse usually tries to gently coach me (not today, but often), "Just drive straight, baby." But I weave, not trusting the tractor to stay on the path. How often does this apply to other parts of my life, I wondered, mournfully plowing over the outer edge of the cornfield. (That's a whole 'nother lesson - sacrificing the few stalks along the edge of the field to bring life-giving water to acres and acres of thirsty corn. But I digress.)

I definitely tend to "over-write," in case you haven't observed that by now. And I'm quite sure I've "over-parented" through the years - smothering, attempting to wrangle and control when all I really needed to do was drive straight. In teaching, even in my own spiritual development, there has been the tendency to "over-drive" - wresting control, not trusting the equipment, so panicked over doing something wrong that I over-compensate and veer off anyway.

Well, the pipe was successfully rolled out, reconnected to the line and water will be flowing through it this very evening, bringing life to the crops. And the experience has left me pondering a few questions. So much to learn on the farm.

------

I realized when I opened this up that I never posted my Scripture memory for the last half of May. So here are those verses:

"But you are a chosen people,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
God's special possession,
that you may declare the praises of Him
who called you out of the darkness
and into His wonderful light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are the people of God;
Once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy."
1 Peter 2:9-10

(I tried to type this from memory and fell way short. Need to work on it some more.)

For the first half of June, I'm working on a passage that is familiar, but not committed to memory -

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9

I've always loved these verses, but my appreciation was renewed when I watched this video by Francis Chan recently. What a gracious, wise person he is! So thankful for good teachers!

Turn north...

I had a hard time "landing" on the right scripture to memorize for the first two weeks in May...I've been blessed, encouraged and challenged by a lot of words while searching for the right "Word" for right now...then I read something by Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries and author of Made to Crave. She was writing about giving advice to her son...and taking her own advice. She shared several verses, but one Scripture in particular pierced me with strange, specific practicality:

"You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north."

Deuteronomy 2:3

I'm a chewer, a worrier, a replay-a-conversation-over-and-over, think-and-re-think kind of girl. I'm also a girl prone to wearing a path deep...same steps, missteps, same mistakes, excuses.

"You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north."

I think I'll try climbing out of a rut or two and point my feet north. How about you? Tired of circling a mountain? I'm so thankful for God's Word...

Also thankful for...
255. Woods, lovely, dark, deep
256. The intensity of the green of spring
257. Dappled sunlight through thick trees
258. Honeysuckle - thick with blooms and luscious scent
259. A convenient bathroom
260. A cold drink
261. A "crisis" averted
262. Comfy jeans
263. An air-conditioned truck
264. Holy days
265. Pretty green streak of new cotton
266. Lightning
267. My kids (Yes, thank you, Lord!)
268. "Riding and looking"
269. Unexpected encouragement from a teen (wow)
270. Miss Christine's hamburgers
271. The grace of an overcast day
272. The garden's first carrot
273. Sunrise service, breezy, joyful
274. Pancakes made by church guys
275. Sweet peas, raw, crunchy, fresh off the vine
276. Baby feet
277. The ability to irrigate thirsty crops
278. Jesse's amazing shovel skills
279. Jesse's astounding math skills
280. Wind in trees
281. Wind rippling across water
282. Cypress trees rising from the bayou
283. Diet A&W and Cheez-its
284. Old (ancient, even) equipment that still works; is still useful
285. Spiritual lessons in irrigation chores...