Wednesday Words: Downtime

/ faithsweatandtears / 1 Comment

In addition to reading some background material for the spring term (more on that next week — it’s not totally dull, I promise!), I have enjoyed some non-scholastic reading time during the Christmas & New Year break. While the kids played video games, jumped on the trampoline, created “squirrel homes” out of the firewood pile (essentially turning the pile into a big mess in the driveway, but they didn’t hurt anything & it kept them occupied for a couple of hours) and bicycled miles of laps around the neighborhood, I curled up in my pjs & socks and read by the fire.

At our annual office book exchange in mid-December, I got the first novel in Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander Series, Beyond the Highland Mist. I previously read her Fever Series, and although I didn’t care for some of the explicit language (one character, in particular, used the F-word frequently), she is an excellent writer and creative storyteller, and I wanted to see how the other series compared.

Suffice it to say that I started book one the week before Christmas … and now, I’m almost finished with book five! The tales are a combination of romance and adventure that unfold within a fantastical – yet uncannily realistic – Scottish setting. Her descriptions of castles and terrain make me want to travel to Europe (Drustan & Daegus can come along, too)! 😉

My classes start back next week, though, so it’s nearly time to put away the novels and focus on the must-reads. I will plan to reward myself during Spring Break with some more lighthearted reading … perhaps books six & seven! 😉

Monday Musings: Sleepy haze

/ faithsweatandtears / Leave a comment

Woke up with a poem
milling around in my head –
but now, it is gone.

Good morning, everyone! I really did wake up the other morning with a perfect haiku on my mind, but before I could come out of the sleepy haze and write it down, it flitted away. So, you get this one, instead. 🙂

I’m trying my darndest (<<yes, that’s a word, for those of you not from the South) to have a positive attitude today. There are so many changes swirling around my life right now. I don’t dislike change; my curious imagination bores easily, so I enjoy newness. I think it’s mainly abrupt change – or change that is forced upon me, without my input – that throws me off-kilter. There’s a lot of those types of changes going on, and it’s very easy to lapse into an attitude of frustration instead of gratitude.

P.S. Speaking of sleepy haze, today totally feels like Monday, since I’m going back to work from the holidays, so pardon the belated post! :p

Heart checkup

/ faithsweatandtears / Leave a comment

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you make annual commitments to stop bad habits, begin better habits or otherwise improve your lifestyle? Come February, do you keep those commitments?

What if, in 2012, we all decided not to worry as much about how much we weigh or how often we exercise and made our spiritual health our first priority? What if we put as much energy into studying God’s word as we do into establishing a workout routine?

When the time came for the prophet Samuel to evaluate Jesse’s sons so that he could determine who would be the next king, the Lord cautioned him against making superficial judgments. (You may recall that it ended up being Jesse’s youngest son, David – the seemingly least qualified – who was anointed.) God spoke to Samuel during that process and reminded him, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7b, NIV).

What if we didn’t care what other people thought about our appearance, qualifications or other outwardly obvious traits and only concerned ourselves with our “heart” health in God’s eyes? Like physical exercise, spiritual fitness is a process – it takes effort and determination. Using a treadmill as a clothesline won’t help you get slim; neither will leaving your Bible on the bookshelf bring you closer to God.

Let’s make 2012 the year that we get spiritually fit. Let’s forget about what the world thinks of us and focus on strengthening our hearts for God’s service. When our spiritual health is in check, then the other pieces of our lives will fall into place much more smoothly. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2, NIV).

Foodie Friday: Hummus

/ faithsweatandtears / 1 Comment

I’ve taken most of the week off from blogging, but I couldn’t resist sharing my recent hummus experiment with you!

I love hummus & celery; it’s one of my favorite low-carb treats. (Before I went low-carb, I used to eat hummus & pita often … it’s still one of my favorite splurge snacks.) I could make a meal out of hummus (and have, as a matter of fact). It can be pretty pricey, though, so I have been wanting to find an easy recipe to make my own at home.

Most hummus recipes call for tahini, a sesame-based paste, which I didn’t have on hand. I did, however, have about 2 Tbsp of sesame seeds, so I used what I had. (I found the linked recipe for tahini afterward, so next time, I’ll get more sesame seeds and try to make my own paste.)

First, I sauteed 2 Tbsp minced garlic in about 1 Tbsp olive oil. I added the sesame seeds (beware oil splash from popping seeds!) and set the pan aside when the seeds began to brown and become aromatic.

I love red pepper hummus from the deli section at the grocery store, and I had some frozen red & orange bell pepper pieces leftover from our pepper-carving fest a while back, so I decided to put about half a pepper worth into the mini food processor and blended until the peppers were finely chopped.

I drained 2 cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and put them in the large food processor to chop. I added the peppers and garlic/sesame seed mixture, additional olive oil (3-4 Tbsp) for a smooth texture, about 1/4 c lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

I solicited taste-testers, and everyone gave it a thumbs-up! 🙂