I wonder if you'd give it a chance...

I recently heard a phrase I can't get out of my head...

"Just give the Bible a chance."

It's so interesting to me how so many people who have never opened one criticize it.
Of course, many people have had devastating run-ins with Christians, and make their assumptions about Christianity and/or Jesus and/ or the Christian God and/ or His Word based off those negative run-ins.
To those of you who, in one way or another may fall in that category... I am so sorry.
I'm sorry for your experience.
I'm sorry for your hurt.
I'm sorry for the pain someone might have caused you.

BUT... I still implore you.

Just give the Bible a chance.

Maybe you would see a God who loves more perfectly than any imperfect human... Christian or not.
Maybe you would see that people who truly understand their identity as Christians would not claim to be perfect, or even close, but rather just as broken as the next person... in need of help.
In need of Love.
And hopefully, people who are learning to receive, and give, grace more freely.

Maybe not. Maybe you wouldn't see any of that in the Bible.
But I just wonder... what would happen if you gave it a chance?

If you are a skeptic, then perhaps you would read it and find out that in fact, all your criticisms, whatever they may be, are solid and true.
If you have no opinion on the matter, maybe reading it would spark one in you.
If you've read it before, but it's been a while, maybe something fresh and exciting would appear.

But you'll never know, unless you give it a chance.

Oh, and might I recommend... start in the gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Get a feel for the Jesus that people talk about so much. Or you might read the entire New Testament. It's actually pretty short. Or maybe you're feeling crazy and you're going to read the whole thing. Cover to cover. They say it takes 77.5 hours... which actually was shorter than I expected.

[Side note - there are a lot of translations of the Bible. Many are similar, and we don't need to get into details now, but I find the New International Version (NIV) or the New Living Translation (NLT) the easiest for a first read-through. Also, I have fallen in love with the Jesus Storybook Bible. Plus, it has pictures :)]

Whatever your choice... give it a chance.
And then I'll of course be curious to know your reaction.

Last thing. If you don't have one, and don't feel like reading it online (I much prefer turning the pages of any book to reading on a screen), I'd be happy to get one for you. If you were to send me an email or private message on facebook, I'd mail you a new one :)

So... will you give it a chance?

On waiting.

I was having difficulty paying attention in church last week. My mind was distracted by waiting.
We're waiting on some things.
Have you ever been waiting on anything?
Well, the Bible has a lot to say about it as it turns out.
As my mind wandered during the service, this kept coming to mind:
Wait for the Lord. Wait for the Lord. 
I knew I had read that in the Bible somewhere, but I find it helpful to actually see it again, to reread it and set my mind on it, to mark it and write it down.
So, I just started in Psalm 1 and browsed for the word 'wait.'
As I browsed, other verses popped out to me too, so I thought I'd share several that spoke to me on Sunday.

Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Psalm 18:6 In my distress, I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
Psalm 20:4-5 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! ... May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
Psalm 27:13-14 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.
Psalm 33:20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord continually at all time; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
Psalm 38:15 But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 130: 5-6 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Meditating on those verses, seeing it over and over - the call to wait - it encouraged me.
It strengthened me.
And I wanted to share, in case you're waiting too...
be still.
wait patiently.
take courage.
wait on the Lord.
hope in the Lord.
Believe that you WILL SEE the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
It is coming.
Keep waiting.
Don't give up.
:)

So I dreamt all my teeth were falling out.

So yeah. 

That was weird. 

It was so vivid that I can still recall the way it felt in the dream - having my teeth fall out one by one. I feel like it actually happened. 

It's funny because my gums, in reality, are quite thin in some places. I've seen a periodontist, and he recommended eventually I get a graft to strengthen them. It's hereditary. My maternal grandmother apparently had dentures quite young. I think. I'm not even sure if that's true, but I have this memory of my mom telling me that when I was little.... mom?? is that real?  

Anyway, of course I needed to know what such a vivid dream to could mean. 

I went to the book of Daniel to see if he could interpret my dream but teeth falling out wasn't in his repertoire. Nor Joseph's. 

So, alas. I settled on google. 

One website offered all the following possibilities for the meaning of a teeth-falling-out dream. 

1. Anxiety about appearances, especially as it relates to being menopausal, getting older, and becoming less feminine. Good gracious, I hope that's not it. 

2. Fear of being embarrassed, making a fool of yourself, or feeling unprepared for an upcoming task.

3. Because teeth are used to bite, tear, chew, and gnaw, a dream where your teeth fall out could stem from a sense of powerlessness, difficulty expressing yourself, feelings of inferiority in a certain situation. 

4. Malnutrition or poor diet. 

5. Putting faith in people's opinions rather than the word of God. (scriptural) 

6. A family member or close friend is sick or near death. (hispanic & greek) 

7. Telling lies (chinese) 

Well, it looks like the jury's still out on this one. 

Plus at the end of the day, I could care less what google tells me about a dream meaning. It's just a dream.

Meanwhile, I'll be brushing and flossing a little more thoroughly :) 

Do you remember your dreams? Do you ever have recurring dreams? Share in the comment section! 

How old is she? uhhhh....

When Miss Adelyn and I are out on the town, people often ask how old she is. I've been stumbling over my answer lately... 10 months.

10 MONTHS!!!!

What? 

What even happened in those 10 months? [she was born, finish school year, pack, temporarily move to Omaha, 2 vacations, move to Boston, daddy starts grad school.] but that's all besides the point. 

10 months old. 

10 wonderful months. 

We're not even to one year old yet and I already feel so nostalgic for those first few weeks. I think it's because she's starting to learn so much more quickly now and to communicate - what she wants, playing games, etc... 

She has changed so much.

 1 month old

2 months

3 months

[missed 4 months. oops. if my memory serves me correctly, this was my first month back at work and we were working on surviving. no time for photos :)]

5 months

6 months

7 months- that face. 

8 months

They were both too cute. I couldn't choose.

9 months

10 months. 

My mind can almost not process how much she has changed and grown in a year.
And yet some things are the same.
Her eyebrows have been expressive from day 1 [see 1 month picture above if you doubt.]
She's always done funny things with her hands - long skinny fingers.
Those cheeks aren't shrinking, although she does seem to be growing into them.
And her smile is as precious as the first time she flashed it.

My goodness, how I love this girl.
Which picture is your favorite? I can't possibly decide. I'm torn between 1, 7, and the first 8 month pic.

Secret sewing projects & my next quilt

I've been working on a few secret sewing projects. I can't share them with you yet. But they have been fun!!

I posted this on instagram awhile ago, but I made this quilt top.

After much agonizing in the fabric store, I landed on this fabric for the backing.

So, I have the top, batting and backing & I'm sure I have something around here that will work for the binding, but I'm too scared to tackle quilting it all together. I'm considering bringing it home at Christmas and asking either my mom, her neighbor, and/or my mother-in-law for help. Or maybe I'll take a class at our local store - they have a 'finish it up' class. I've watched approximately 4 tutorials online for basting, quilting, and binding, but I just can't bring myself to give it a try. I love the top and I don't want to ruin it :) But, I want to learn how to do it myself

Dilemmas!

In the meantime, I'm dreaming of the next quilt I work on.
I'm thinking zig zags.

The fishes are cute but I probably wouldn't use fish themed.  I do like the aqua/navy/orange though :) 

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i LOVE this one!! 

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but i also love this one. 

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oh, and the other design on my list to try is a window block thing. that's the technical term. something like this:

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i think that last one is my favorite in that style.
so many choices! my pinterest 'sewing' board is out of control.

What do you think? What's your favorite!?

It's never too early for Christmas Cookies!

My mom has a standard repertoire of Christmas Cookies and I wouldn't have it any other way. She gave me a little book with them all (and some room for more that I may add to my repertoire).
One of my favorites is peanut butter chocolate bon-bons.
I don't know why this is a 'christmas' cookie. There's nothing christmasy about them. But she always made them at Christmas, so I make them around Christmas time too.
This year, I'm jump-starting because I had all the ingredients and needed dessert for a couple things.
Made them a few mornings ago... baking before 9 am makes me feel like a superhero.

I've posted the recipe around last Christmas (when I was exploding with a baby), so here they are!

Oh. And it's always nice if you can have a helper in the kitchen.

Enjoy :)

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is one of my favorites & now that the cold weather has officially settled in for a while, we'll be having a lot of it :) 

It's pretty forgiving. I use a combination of 2 recipes - one from a friend and one from my mom. 
You can do it in the crock pot or on the stove. Also, there are very few rules for me when it comes to soup. I often forget to measure. A little more liquid here, a few more veggies there... so, just use what you have on hand & it'll work out fine! 

Ingredients
*this makes a BIG pot of soup. I cut the broth in half and then just put in less veggies and flour-thickening mixture until it seemed the right consistency. It was plenty for the 2 of us to eat for a couple days. But I'll give the original measurements below & make some notes in pink.

8-10 Cups chicken broth and/ or stock. [I used half of each because it's what I had. My friend always uses bouillon cubes or powder. Forgiving, like I said.]
1 pkg Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice (use the 'original' longer cooking one). OR any other wild rice you have around is fine. 
3-4 Tbs butter
1 Lg sweet onion, chopped
Olive oil 
8 oz sliced mushrooms. [Could omit.]
ANY veggies you want [I generally prefer it with just mushrooms, but I've had it with celery and carrots too. I was going to put carrots in last time, but some kitchen elves stole our peeler. We have 4 drawers in our 30 sq ft kitchen and I literally have NO idea where it is.]
1/2 c. flour 
Milk or half-and-half
2-3 c. chopped chicken. [I never measure chicken. I usually use 2 good sized chicken breasts in soup. I'd probably use 3 if I was making it for a bunch of people.]

Directions
Add 8 c. chicken broth/stock/bouillon [I did 4 cups here] and uncooked wild rice to crockpot or large pot on stove. Set to high. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onion, mushrooms, (and any other veggies) celery and carrots about 10 mins. Season with black pepper and add veggies to crockpot/ pot. Stir in chicken soup base. [I just added 2 more cups of broth.] Cook on high 3-4hrs if in the crockpot. Cook on medium-high for at least 30 minutes on stove. [or more or less.... there are very few rules.]

You do this next part about 20 minutes before you're ready to serve it... either after the soup has been on the stove for 30 minutes or in the crockpot 3-4 hours.

In same skillet over medium heat, melt 1/2 stick butter, whisk in 1/2 c. flour slowly and cook 1-2 mins. Don't over cook. Gradually add 1/2 and 1/2 or milk whisking constantly. [I used a little half and half, and some milk.] Once smooth, add white sauce to crockpot and combine. [Do not rush this. Don't add it until the mixture is smooth. The first time I made this, I added it when it was slightly chunky and it was GROSS! It added what we affectionately called dumplings, that were actually little flour dough balls to our soup. We threw it out. Moral: be sure to stir the milk/flour/ butter mixture slowly and thoroughly and add once it's smooth.] 

Because I had cut the rest of the recipe in half, I only ended up using about half my flour mixture to thicken the soup. I like to pour it in slowly because I don't like it too thick and goopy. Don't feel like you have to use all of it.

Add chicken and cook for allow all ingredients to come to temp - 15 or 20 more minutes.

We love to eat this with a yummy bread to dip. French loaf, ciabatta, sour dough, beer bread - whatever!

Also, it reheats great... but you'll probably have to add some more water and/or chicken broth to thin it out.

Let me know if you try it!

And we're back. Plus an adventure.

Oh hi there. It's been a while.
October was... busy. Let's just leave it at that and pick up right where we left off.

So, I've been wanting to make Christmas stockings for our family. Pinterest led me to a couple good tutorials (1) (2), and after scouring fabric.com, I decided on this fabric:

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This etsy shop was selling those fabrics as a bundle - 1 fat quarter each. But I had recently seen this line at our local fabric store, so I decided to go there for it. It'd be slightly cheaper, and I'd be supporting the local store.

So, my side kick and I bundled up and got ready for an adventure.

Right as I was pulling into the fabric store, I hit a curb. (I was driving a zipcar.) By the time I pulled into the parking spot and got Addie out of her carseat, one tire was completely flat. Bummer. So, I called zipcar, and the nice man on the phone said they would send roadside assistance to repair it. Into the fabric store we went while we waited for roadside assistance to arrive.

Now we don't have Joann's here (very sad), so this is technically a quilting shop. I am always the youngest lady in a quilting shop... by decades. And Addie is usually quite a hit. So when the zipcar guy called back and needed me to go back out to the car, one of the three nice older ladies offered to watch Addie. Addie went right to her, no problem. She's very friendly. Well, I looked for the spare, which didn't exist and when I came back in, Addie was happily playing on the floor, surrounded by a host of sweet old ladies who were just loving having a baby around.

The fabric store did have the line of fabric, but not in the exact colors I wanted. Bummer #2.
BUT, they did have a sample stocking that was really big and made me decide to use half-yards for the stockings so they could hold a little more (you know, for when the little miss knows how to empty a christmas stocking).  Also, I was able to pick out a coordinating solid for the inside lining that matched perfectly! Hooray!

I got 2 of the 6 I wanted and decided to order the rest on fabric.com. [I didn't do this in the first place, because I originally thought I wanted fat quarters, which fabric.com doesn't do. But then when I decided half yards, I still wanted to get some from the fabric store because they were so helpful and nice - with deciding on fabric and with watching Addie while I shopped and looked for a spare tire.] haha

We ended up taking a cab home.
With only 1/3 of our fabric goal accomplished.
But, oh well. It was an adventure.

first cab ride

What did you do this week?

Glad to be back - thanks for reading! :)