by Kimberly | Nov 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
Well, I don’t feel like November really happened – its already over. Gracious so much happened this month – but did anything? I feel like this month just kinda scooted by and here we are in the last month of 2010 and about to start 2011.
1. Loved wearing flannels during Thanksgiving dinner. Just my parents and I – so after running, the flannels came on. It was great. I did set the table real nice though.
2. It was good having my parents here, sad to see them leave, sort of a lonely feeling, don’t know quite how to explain it.
3. I do not relish the thought of going into another winter season single. Yes, I love being single, we all know that, but winter is somehow different: holiday parties, Christmas Eve and Day, New Years, birthday, valentines day. Just seems like it would be better with a significant other – but not worth settling.
4. More dreams coming true for people – love watching it. God is so gracious to us. He is the ultimate Dream fulfiller!
5. I ran an 8k. 64.21 – beating my previous time of an 8k by 3 minutes, but man, I gotta run more and get a run/walk split down that I can keep and practice and improve.
6. Doing some fun reading: Kitchen Confidential by Bourdain and Eat Pray Love by Gilbert. Good reads. And yes, I take notes even in fun reading.
7. Heard a line today in an Andrew Peterson song that went something like this: Your payment was more than all our lambs we sacrificed. We can never do enough to earn God’s love or salvation – it is all grace.
1. A friend of mine who is a pastor here in Raleigh wrote this about how to prepare for Sunday morning worship.
2. I need to make these since I now have a whole box of sweet potatoes to eat before they go bad, or I get sick of the box. Can’t wait to experiment. If you have any ideas – please pass them along!
3. I made these for Thanksgiving, very yummy. I have a few leftovers. Will be enjoying this week, too!
4. Do you have a love/hate relationship with your grocery store?
5. My friend, Dana, speaks on Christmas traditions in a Christian home. You will want to check back as this is a series…
6. My lovely and creative friend, Christine, made these to hang in their home. Art doesn’t have to be expensive.
7. Girls Gone Wise on single women using protection (read on to answer all your questions)…
by Kimberly | Nov 28, 2010 | food, Uncategorized
This will be one of my fave restaurants in Raleigh, with good food and better music, ambience, and a wonderful martini that Mom and I shared…it was a good foodie night.
What we had the day after Thanksgiving:
Roasted pear salad with pomegranite dressing
Beef Tips risotto
14 oz ribeye
collards
sweet potato chips
Strawberry martini and margaritas
The strawberry martini and sweet potato fries were my fave. I finished up the collards yesterday. The decor was set in Humphrey Bogart style which was my favorite part. Will be spending one dinner of my bday week here with some girl friends. It will be a fun night!
by Kimberly | Nov 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
Another big holiday has come and gone. This year was spent running an 8k, wearing flannel pjs, setting off the smoke detector, doing crafts with my mom, and watching movies with my Dad. We enjoyed good food in NC.
Here we go:
Parmesan-Crust Pork Center-Cut Pork Chops
Tri-color couscous (because I burnt the roasted sweet potatoes
Cranberry Walnut Rulls (my fave part of the whole day)
Balsamic Glazed Slow-Cooker Carrots
Red Cabbage and Apples
Pumpkin Dip and Graham Crackers
Cold White
by Kimberly | Nov 28, 2010 | food, Uncategorized
Tucked in between Blowing Rock, Boone, and Linville Falls, is a quaint little cafe (restaurant is further down the road) and dessertery that serves big sandwiches, and big everything else.
My friend, Tracy, recommended this place to me, she didn’t even know if it was still there.
Friendly employees, well-packed on the weekends, and fast service. Fresh baked bread, too.
by Kimberly | Nov 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
This has been, and will be, my breakfast. My friend, Tasya, gave me the recipe, so I made it while my parents were here, and am still enjoying it. I doubled the recipe because I have a 6 qt crockpot, but for all you 2-4 qt crockpot peeps, this recipe is as is.
1 1/2 cups steel-cut oats (Irish oats, McCann’s, etc)
4 3/4 cups water
3/4 cup maple syrup (not pancake syrup, this is much less flavorful and more watery than real maple syrup)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt
Stir together in crockpot, turn on low for 6-7 hours. Enjoy. I topped mine with cool whip and/or milk. Other additives would be walnuts, chopped dried apples, dried pears…
by Kimberly | Nov 24, 2010 | Uncategorized
This is me thinking aloud…
There are some focuses right now in Christianity/churches that focus on being living, breathing examples of the gospel. These focuses are biblical and needed, and true. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these emphasises. One is marriage and the other is adoption. Marriage, for some (and I don’t believe this view is right) allows you to better display the gospel than being single. I think it may give a you different way of displaying the gospel, but not better. I am, in my singleness, just as much a portrait of the gospel of Christ as if I were me, only married. Adoption, many times I here (and rightly so), is “living the gospel”. You are, yes, praise the Lord. But, again, like marriage – adoption isn’t the only way to “live the gospel.”
With so much emphasis on both marriage and adoption – which single people can’t do either of (obviously we aren’t married and not many adoption agencies will let a single person adopt a baby) – are we not living out the gospel. This post isn’t just for singles, it is for everyone.
Marriage is a great way to live out the gospel. I love the Ephesians 5 passage where clearly it says that marriage proclaims the mystery of Christ and His church. We are the Bride of Christ. I love the picture of Abraham and God in Genesis 15 about God walking through the sacrificial blood. His promise kept. I pray that your marriage is an amazing mirror of God, Christ, the Spirit – and the Church. I pray that husbands will sanctify their wives, and wives would respect, honor, and submit to their husbands. This is unique and special and privileged way to portray the gospel.
Adoption. This is probably the newest “fad” to hit the church. I don’t use fad in a bad way, but why has this emphasis not been in the church before the last 5 years? Have we been ignoring the commands of “true religion” in the Bible for over 2000 years. I hope it isn’t a fad. I hope the trend of seeing adoption come to life in American families, and families all over continues long after I’m gone. I wonder if you see Italian Christians adopting American children. I wonder if the trend of adoption is an American Western Christianity thing right now. To some people, if you haven’t adopted, then you just aren’t living in obedience. At least that is what it seems like. But, there are other ways to live out the command of true religion – to take care of the orphans – without actually adopting. You can give to mission trips that support orphanages, you can donate to families who are trying to raise support to adopt their own babies. It seems the trend now in my emails, blogs, facebook updates from across the world – hey, give to me, we’re adopting. Family of believers? Hopefully, mostly, being the body of Christ. There are girls out there who don’t want to have their own children because adoption is better. Motherhood is great, and if God allows you to have children, please do. If God calls you to adopt, please do. But, one is not better than the other. I hope this isn’t a passing trend in American Christianity, much like the WWJD bracelets and FAITH Evangelism strategy.
Now, what about for the rest of us. I hope I do get to live out the gospel in a marriage one day – but I’m not going to settle for an average marriage. I want the most God-glorifying marriage I can possibly have. one that will be hard, but joyful. I know marriage is hard – not perfect – just God-glorifying.
If God impresses on our hearts to adopt, then I will (hopefully, walking in obedience), but until then I can give to missions to orphanages and support those adopting. I can love on those adopted children.
But, I can live out the gospel every day too. I can give grace where grace is needed. I can live in the love that Christ offered me at the Cross. I can do my work diligently. I can submit to authority. I can…. the list goes on. I am Christ’s friend – obey my commands (John 15.14).
Marriage and adoption is not a better picture of the gospel. We can live out the gospel without doing these specific things (being married, adopting an international child). But, these two ways and living daily life in the grace of God are wonderful ways to live out the gospel.
“What about the practical stuff? Surely there comes a time when we move on from the gospel just a little, so we can focus on the everyday issues of our relationships with other people. This is tempting to believe, but it’s just not true. Regardless of your relationship to others, whether you’re single or married, a husband or a wife, a father, a mother, or a grandparent, your faithfulness and effectiveness in your relationship are directly tied to your understanding of the cross.” – CJ Mahaney
