So, we’re back from vacation.  Back to reality.  Sadly, my reality includes work, a messy house, and chilly weather.  But as they say in Jamaica, it’s “No problem, mon!”  And truly, after a heavenly seven days of relaxation and fun, I do feel like nothing could bring me down from my vacation high.  We have tons of pictures, and I will upload them as soon as I can, (Possibly as early as this evening!  I KNOW!) mercifully omitting the lovely shots of me in my bathing suit  (You’re welcome!)  This post will unfortunately have to remain sans photos for now, but I wanted to at least announce my return and give some of the highlights of our trip for all two of you who were eagerly awaiting my return to the blogosphere.

First, for those of you who don’t know, we left town ten days ago to go on a Western Caribbean cruise.  It was my first cruise, and you may remember that I anticipated the vacation with a little bit of subconscious anxiety and a lot of conscious excitement.  I could not have imagined the fun and fabulousness that we experienced!  

Our ship’s ports of call–Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico–were bookended with two days at sea.  And EVERYTHING about our seven-day experience was amazing!    We were blessed with perfect weather and mostly smooth waters.  Our ship was huge and luxurious.  The service was top-notch, and the food was plentiful and delicious–Royal Caribbean does it well.  We spent a lot of time swimming at the ship’s pool.  We lounged on the beach at whichever island-of-the-day.  We did a little shopping.  Experienced a little local flavor.  Made friends with a cool couple who shared our assigned dinner table.  We snorkeled in Grand Cayman.  Hiked to the Mayan temple ruins in Tulum, Mexico.  Gasped over the breathtaking ocean view in Tulum.  Tasted the best Mexican food in existence.  Got more tan than ever in my life–in spite of slathering on SPF 30 numerous times a day.    

I also had an epiphany.  Up until last week, I had never really understood people’s intense love for the ocean.   Admittedly, it is beautiful.  But to me, nothing could ever compare to the beauty of the mountains.  Nothing could be so breathtaking, so awe-striking as a mountain view.  But standing on the beach cliff at Tulum, the Mayan ruins at my back and the aqua ocean waves crashing in below me, I was struck.  I have gained a new appreciation for the awesome beauty of the ocean.  I never knew such colors existed in nature!  I have found there is room in my heart for both Mountains and Ocean.  Though I will always have a favorite, Ocean and I have found an understanding,  and I have fallen in love.         

Stay tuned for pictures.  No, seriously.  I mean it.

It has been many weeks since I posted a WOGM entry.  That certainly is not because God is not at work in my life.  On the contrary!  God is at work daily to achieve His sovereign purpose in the earth as well as in me personally.  He is so good to me!  Today I am reflecting gratefully on the fact that God has both a broad-strokes and a detail-oriented personality–and I mean that most reverently.  It is true that not only does God have a Master Plan that is bigger than me, bigger than all of humanity–it’s as big as eternity past to eternity future–but He also has a very personal, very intimate plan with me li’l ol’ me in mind.  It amazes me! 

I have many things to be thankful for.  I also have many lessons to be learned.  I’ve been a born-again Christian for almost twenty years.  I’ve been surrounded Bible-centered teaching and preaching literally all of my life.  I even graduated from a Bible college.  But some days it seems I am struggling to learn the basics of what it means to be a follower of Christ.  Basics like walking by faith and not by sight.  But what does that mean?  Because it’s the Sunday School answer, I glibly quote “whatsoever is not of faith is sin,”  à la those Bing search engine commercials, possibly jerking the phrase completely out of context (even while knowing what a big no-no that is.)  But how do we DO that?  How do we eat, drink, pay bills, brush our teeth, etc. in faith?  How do we NOT do it in faith?  What does a Christian walking in faith LOOK like?  I feel like I should know the answers to these questions by now.  And while I experience some frustration with myself at having to get back to basics in my walk with God, I am so thankful that He continues to patiently teach me, just like a Father who takes pity on the child who failed to do her homework again, and sits up with her all night to help her finish before school the next morning.   (Hey, it’s not a perfect illustration, but certainly one I can relate to.) 

So today, I thank God for patiently continuing to work.  And if you’ve got this walking by faith thing down, or even if you don’t, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.     Happy Monday!

For the past two falls the Polished Cornerstones (that’s our church ladies’ Bible study group) has had a soup tasting meeting.  Each lady brings a crock of soup and a muffin tin.  The soup is for sharing and the tin is for sampling.  The first time I heard the idea, I thought the muffin tin idea was a little strange, but it turns out the tin is the perfect solution for maximum soup sampling without over-stuffing.  Of course all the soups were delicious, but this year, my favorite was Mrs. M’s tortellini soup.  I had never had tortellini soup before, and I was surprised with how yummy and easy it was!

2 T butter or margarine

Fresh garlic minced or finely chopped (I used 2 cloves)

3 cans chicken broth

2 cans pasta-ready diced tomatoes (I liked the garlic and oregano seasoned variety)

1 bag ricotta cheese tortellini (I used frozen)

Fresh spinach

In a large sauce pan, melt butter and add garlic to the butter until aromatic.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add tortellini.  Once bubbling again, add diced tomato.  Cook pasta according to package directions (10-15 min) Add as much spinach as you like. (I added this at the very end and took the pot off the heat almost immediately because I like my spinach leafy and underdone.)

Note: if you like your soup extra broth-y, go ahead and add one more can of broth, but keep the rest of the ingredients the same.  If you prefer a thicker soup, just add 2 cans of broth and only 1 can of tomatoes. 

Pair the soup with a nice, crusty garlic bread, and it’s the perfect comfort meal for a chilly fall evening.  Buon appetito!

(I did a google search of tortellini soup, and it looks like there are a variety of recipes out there with a wide range of complexity.  This one is simple, but I think next time I’ll be brave and try a more complicated version.)

Oh my!  The time, she has flown!  I can’t believe it’s been over two weeks since I’ve written.  I’ll dispense with the usual apology for my negligence, and just get to it.  Best to just dive right in, no? 

Last Friday I was honored to be an attendant in my friend’s wedding.  It was a beautiful yet adventure-filled wedding, and Kim was a stunning bride.  I was impressed by how calm, prepared and determined to enjoy the celebration she was, no matter what unforseen obstacles arose.  Since I stayed over in the city with the bride the night before the wedding, it made for a very full, sleep deprived and eventful two days.  John and I were exhausted when we got home in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, and our weakened immune systems could not withstand some nasty kind of flu bug.  We’re feeling much better now, but it was touch-and-go there for a while. 

Touch-and-go.   I wonder where that expression came from?  It is a strange idiom, don’t you think?  According to this I don’t think I’m using it properly.

Ehem.  I digress. 

In other news–I have only news and no deep musings or entertaining tidbits to share–John and I are taking our first ever just-the-two-of-us vacation since our honeymoon 5 1/2 years ago.  We’re going on a Caribbean cruise!  I know!  Exciting, right?  Except that since we booked it, I haven’t been able to escape the nightmares revolving around hurricanes and life vests and ski-doos and claustrophobic cabins and such.  Honest-to-goodness. I’m excited.  Really.  I am!  But somewhere in my subconscious there must be some anxiety over this vacation that I don’t feel in my waking hours.  In any case, John is excited enough for the both of us, and he HAS been on a cruise before, so I’ll just trust his judgement.

And for the final piece of news,  we are officially spending Christmas with my parents in the land of the Great Salt Lake.  Woohoo!   Why we decided to spend all our vacation time (rather, John’s meagre vacation time) in the space of  3 months, I couldn’t tell you, but I’m not going to complain.  All I know is it’s going to be fun and it’s going to be busy, and it’s going to be touch and go for a few months.  (See what I did there? Heh.)     

Stay tuned for a really yummy recipe for quick and easy tortellini soup.  Delicious!

I can’t think of a suitable introduction for these fragmented bits.  Coherent thoughts evade me this week, so I’ll just get right to it:

• So, I know I’m a couple of days late, but I just wanted to acknowledge the advent of my favorite season.  Fall, I welcome you with open arms and much enthusiasm!  Please,  make yourself at home and stay a while! 
• I think that the questionnaires they make you fill out at a new doctor’s office really bring out the hypochondriac in all of us.  No?  Is that just me?
• Organic is better, right?  That’s what they are telling us.   And I get it.  I do.  Buying organic is a really good thing.  But then I bit into a sour organic carrot today.  THAT was a new experience.  They don’t warn you about that.  It kinda made me thankful for chemicals and preservatives.
• And don’t even get me started on who They are. 
• I’ve been doing really well this week with hitting the gym and making healthy eating choices.  Yay me!  I think I deserve a cookie.  Or three. 

That is all.

I’ve been enjoying reading a series on expository preaching over on my brother’s blog for the past week or so.  A portion of today’s post got those creaky wheels in my head aturnin’. 

However, the church has long ago left this concept behind and has moved along with the culture in seeking instant gratification in all areas, even the spiritual. “I’m sick, fix me!” is the cry of the anemic Christian, or rather “My job is in danger, my kids are struggling, my marriage is suffering, etc. . . Fix it. . . Now!” Perhaps the cry should be, “I may become ill, build me up in the most holy faith in a consistent, thorough fashion!” (Personal note* As a pastor, that would thrill my heart more than a million statements like, “good sermon pastor, it was just what I needed today.”) One view seeks a solution from Christ, the other seeks after a relationship with Christ. Crisis preaching (topical preaching patterned to focus on man’s current need) views God and the Word as means to an end. Expositional preaching (systematic explanation of Biblical texts) views a relationship with God through the Word as the end itself. One is man-centered, the other is God-focused. I will let you guess which is which.

While I am not a preacher, I want to emulate this mindset  both in my expectations of my pastors and Bible teachers as well as in my own personal Bible study.

I’ve been meaning to post this book recommendation for the latter part of this summer, but I kept getting distracted.  If you are currently an educator or a parent, if you hope to be one some day, if you’re a grandparent, or if you simply share a fondness for reading, I highly recommend this book.

The first part of the book is Ms. Hunt’s inspiring appeal to families to explore together the wonderful world of books.  She gives delightful insight into the pleasures and benefits of reading as well as some very helpful points for selecting quality books.   Part 2 of Hunt’s book is her own annotated recommended reading list, categorized by age (from 0-12) and in the latter chapters by areas of interest.  Reading Honey for a Child’s Heart brought me a bit of nostalgia for story time with my own mom and inspired me to re-read some of my old favorites as well as pick up for the first time some of the books I missed along the way.    

I heard about this book from my oldest sister, Alia, and I just can’t resist passing on such a treasure to you. 

What about you?  What are you reading these days?

Lovely, lovely weekend!  How I enjoyed thee! 

I’ll refrain from giving a full recap of my three-day weekend with the hubs.  While it was perfectly enjoyable for me, I’m sure the telling of it would have you snoring in no time at all.  But here are the basic highlights:

Friday night we celebrated a friend’s birthday in the city eating cheesesteaks and hanging out at Penn’s Landing.  Oh, the hilarity that ensued!     

Saturday, John and I went shopping and then out to dinner.  We decided on Japanese and tried sushi for the first time.  It was surprising and yummy.  I do so enjoy sharing new adventures with John.  He’s my best friend!  Have I mentioned that? 

Sunday, was full of the usual: church services, naps, and dinner at John’s parents.

Monday was special.  Tim and Sarah and the kids came up and we had a cookout and played games over at John’s parents.  Tim may be the current reigning champion at air hockey, but the girls crushed the boys at Cranium.  That’s all you need to know.  Also, I’m the queen of gnilleps.  That is all. 

HA-HA-Haaaaaaa-ha-haa!  This post from Boo Mama gave me quite the laugh yesterday morning.  I had to stifle my giggles so as not to disturb my cubicle neighbor. 

Still laughing this morning!

Did you know Tuesday was my birthday?  If you did, then you may also know that I get more than a little excited when my birthday comes to town.  I’ve officially entered the last year of my twenties!  I didn’t make much of the event here on my blog this year, but I can assure you that next year when I turn the big 3-0, you’ll be hearing about it.  I might even have my own little bloggy party.   

But I’m not here to talk about my birthday.  I’m here to tell you about my day at the beach!  Now, I’m a mountains and fresh water kind of girl.  Always have been. . . it’s how I was raised.  I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually swum in the ocean.  But I’ve had a hankerin’ to hit the beach all summer, and there was always something preventing me: bad weather (LOTS of that this year), no time, no one to go with, etc.  Yesterday the stars alligned, and my wish was granted.  We drove down to Ocean City, NJ Tuesday night, stayed at a cool motel, and spent all day at the beach.  It was a perfect day!  Sunny skies, warm temperatures, and just enough breeze to be comfortable in the shade.   We woke up early-ish, rented a surrey and rode up and down the boardwalk for part of the morning.  Then we spent rest of the morning and most of the afternoon alternating between swimming and resting on the beach.  Then we spent the evening walking the boardwalk and shopping the shops.   I must say Ocean City is a charming little beach town!  I was really excited to go, since it’s where John grew up vacationing with his family, and it did not disappoint.  What better way to celebrate a birthday than a day at the beach with my BFF!?  Here are some pictures (!) of our day.