Dinner

Tonight, we had a yummy summery dinner.

Now I don't usually like Tilapia... it's pretty bland and I'm not a big fish lover.  But this recipe is awesome!! and easy!  We had herb roasted potatoes on the side and they're delicious.

Tilapia
Mix together the following ingredients in a shallow dish (i use a cake pan):
flour
salt
pepper
garlic powder
thyme

(i don't have amounts... discover your inner chef and just guess. i use enough flour to cover the bottom of the pan and then some.  everything else... less. you pretty much can't go wrong).

Heat up oil in a non-stick pan on the stove.

Then dip the tilapia filets in the mixture and cover BOTH SIDES of the filet.

Sautee the fish a few minutes on each side.  It'll get brown and crispy-ish.  It's finished when it easily flakes with a fork.  After it's cooked, mix equal parts melted butter and lemon juice and pour over the fish.  (don't go too crazy - a little lemon butter sauce goes a long way.)

If you'd like better directions, click here for a short video (the video includes 3 way to cook tilapia but it's super short and helpful!)

Herb Roasted Potatoes (from mi madre)
the best part about this is i usually have everything on hand and just have to pick up $2 worth of potatoes at the store. EASY!!

1/4 c. oil
1 1/2 TBSP fresh lemon juice (i use the stuff in a bottle)
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 lbs small red potatoes cut in wedges (i cut them into small bite-sized pieces)

Preheat oven to 400. combine all ingredients except potatoes in a LARGE bowl.  Stir to blend well.  Add potatoes to seasoning - toss/ stir to coat well.  Transfer potatoes to a large rimmed baking sheet, spreading into a single layer.  Bake until brown and tender, about 40 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.  (i usually spray my cookie sheet with non-stick just to make life easier.)


if i get my act together i'll throw up some pictures but for now, happy cooking... and more importantly, happy eating :)


xoxo,
renee

Waiting

Yesterday, I went to the fabric store!  eeek! it is so fun to get new fabric for a new project. 

I wander up and down the aisles starring at all the beautiful colors and patterns as i start to form a better picture of what the quilt will look like.  Picking some up and holding them next to each other.  Putting some back.  (and everyone around you is doing the same thing).

Then you wait in line to get it cut.  If you're getting 10 different ones like I was, you probably have a nice little chat with the lady who is cutting your fabric.  Then you wait in line to pay.  Then you rush home so excited to start your project.

but, then you have to wash it all, so you can't start your project. 
you just have to wait.
and you can't combine colors because they could bleed.
so, depending on your fabrics it could take 2 or 3 loads.
wash and dry.
wait .
wash and dry.
wait.
wash and dry.
wait.

and it seems to take forever!! (for me anyway, who has the patience of a child when it comes to waiting for fun stuff)

isn't that how life is sometimes often?
we want something.
God says "wait."

that message is all through scripture.
Noah waited for the flood.
Abraham waited for a child.
The Israelites waited for the Messiah.
Joseph waited for his dreams to come to pass (meanwhile, he was in prison).
David waited to become king (meanwhile running away from the psychopath who was trying to kill him).

so sometimes, we just have to wait.
for our fabric to be done in the wash so we can make pretty quilts
or for more important things in life.

wait on The Lord.
He will do as he promised every time.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!"  (Psalm 27:14)

waiting,
renee

size 27.

Don't you love when you're going along, reading scripture and God shows you something awesome?  Well, at least it seems awesome to you because God just made that verse look like a size 27 font on the page!?

So I'm reading along in the gospel of John, thinking about getting to the end of John by Sunday (to prepare for Easter) and i stumble across John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  Now, if you grew up in church, you've probably heard that verse a million times.  Maybe, (if you sometimes have pride slip in like i do) you saw John 14:6 and before you read the verse, you were thinking oh i know that one...  [no? am i the only one who gets mildly impressed with myself... only to realize seconds later my big memory verse accomplishment is nothing stacked up next to God!?]  i digress.

But what actually stuck out to me in size 27 was the previous verse (John 14:5) which reads "Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Thomas asks that in response to Jesus saying he was going to his Father's house to prepare a place for his disciples and that he would come back and take them with him so they could be together.

Now, since we're on this side of that moment and we know the ending to the story (if you don't, see the entire book of Revelation), the answer to Thomas' question seems rather obvious.  Duh Thomas... Jesus went to heaven and He'll come back for his followers and He is the way.

But Thomas' questions jumped out to me this morning. Isn't it the heart's cry of every generation in humanity's long existence:  WHERE IS GOD AND WHAT IS THE WAY?

Thomas wanted to know, and so has everybody (on some level) since Adam and Eve.

You know, when i'm driving to some place new, i often think "how did people get to new places before GPS?" (seriously, no joke.) like, did they use maps? okay maybe their friend at the destination told them. but what about before then? before phones? people just rode their horses and hoped they ended up in the right place? what about people that were directionally challenged... they were trying to get to nebraska from illinois and all of the sudden they're in canada because they thought north was west?

i'm just saying... maybe in our era of GPS and mapquest and free wifi on airplanes it's hard to imagine Thomas' question as legit... If we don't know where you're going, how can we know the way? (just google it, Thomas.)

have you asked that question? God, where did you go? what is the way to you?

I love Jesus' answer (although I wish I could have heard his tone- did he have a duh tone or a gracious tone? or a 2nd grade teacher tone? probably gracious.) 

I am the way!!!

That's what Jesus said.  Stick with me, Thomas.  I'm the way.  You'll get there. 

Jesus is saying it to you too.  "Stick with me, [fill in your name].  I'm the way.  You'll get there." 

That's Easter for ya. But before we get to the part where Jesus raises from the... well, I don't want to give away the ending. Let's just say, there's a lot of pain and tragedy to go through before we get to Sunday's celebration.


reflective & thankful,

renee  

where am i?

there are lots of clothes that are too tightthere are also lots of sweatpants (i think looking apathetic is in here)
there is lots of screaming & cackling
and running
and eyerolls
and drama.
there are people from over 15 countries.

so... where am i?