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| What Makes You Tick?Saturday morning. Get up before everyone else at my house as usual. Start the water for the coffee. Measure out the grounds. Froth and heat the milk. Go get the paper from the front yard. Pour water over grounds. MMMM. Smells good. Read paper, eat some yogurt with granola. Look around the back yard to see how things are progressing.
Before I know it, my leisurely morning turns into one chore after another in the backyard. I water a few plants that the sprinkler has missed and prune a few things the gardeners missed. I have to run to Home Depot to get a new spray nozzle for the hose.
I realize how much I love this stuff while I am in the car. Why do I love these mundane things? Who likes working on the yard and doing these chores? And it occurs to me that I enjoy making things look good. I enjoy the satisfaction that comes from others enjoying my handiwork. I enjoy myself enjoying the house and yard. I feel like I created it.
And that is when I heard God say something to me. It was actually very distinct. I am acting like He does. I enjoy creating as He enjoys creating. I revel in my creation as He revels in His creation. It moved me to know that I could see a reflection of myself in God's own heart.
In the midst of everyday things, busy life, family and work, I know God is with me. He is moving in me and through me. I am becoming more like who He wants me to be. | | |
| homey friendsLast night we had a little dinner party for some friends that we haven't been able to get together with in about a year. One couple was in the process of moving to Dallas because of work (but have now moved back). The other couple is trying to save their business and moved from their big house to a condo and then to some property they own in Bellville. The past year has been difficult and sad for many reasons for both couples. So we invited our mutual friends - we have kind of had a dinner club going - over to get back into the groove of good times unity.
The best part about having friends like that is that they can make themselves at home. Everyone felt comfortable enough to walk around and talk and pour themselves some more wine. Shels asked everyone to bring an appetizer because she was too tired to cook an entire meal alone. So we had a table full of bite sized foods that could have served as meals in themselves. Everything was delicious. Here is what we had:
home grown figs stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped with prosciutto - baked
mini pannini - crusty bread with fresh mozzarella melted into the bread, basil and roasted tomato
mushroom caps with creamed garlic spinach
bruschetta with steak and chimichurri sauce
asparagus
artichoke dip
baked goat cheese with toasted almonds and craisins
sausage and peppers
bruschetta with olive tapenade
chicken sate' with peanut sauce
deviled eggs
banana pudding from scratch
blueberry coconut cheese cake squares
The wine list:
Started with a little bubbly - Gloria Ferrar Brut and then got into the cab Innisfree by Joseph Phelps.
We also tried an amazing bottle of 1997 Clos de L'oratroire Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Unity Napa Valley - a really nice cab
Chateau Fonreaud Listrac - Medoc
A few people tried the Velt. 1 Gruner Veltliner from Austria
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| Doin' The Stuff 2008 has come and gone. All the hard work payed off. Ben and Audrey outdid themselves this year. The varied service projects were all well organized ran smoothly. I think the entire week was electric. There were mixed emotions about moving the conference to HBU campus but it turned out to be the best possible place to be. There was plenty of room for everyone and the auditorium was amazing. There were a lot of volunteers and people who contributed but the real credit goes to Ben and Audrey. They don't get enough credit for all they do. It was impressive.
Shels and I hosted the guest worship leaders Matt and Zak from the Cincinnati Vineyard. Since Maddy and Simon were staying at the campus dorms, we spent a lot of time at our house with the guys who quickly became our good friends. These two have really good hearts with fun personalities. Matt is the full time senior high worship leader and Zac is on staff part time as the junior high worship leader. They had a pleasant innocence mixed with a strong God love that made them endearing. They would often break out into High School Musical harmonies or start singing Christmas carols. Sounds cheesy, I know, but somehow it worked for them. They were so exhausted the last night of the conference. Who wouldn't be? They played about five hours a night for four nights. On the last night before their 5AM car pick up, they chose to stay up with Shels and me and the kids to talk and sing and have family time. About 2am, Shels and I had to say our good byes and go to bed. They stayed up with Mad and Si through the night until the car came to pick them up. I am going to miss our new friends but am glad for Facebook so I can keep up with them. All God's best for them.
ZAC: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=21404228&ref=ts
MATT: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=21400764&ref=ts
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| Next Reality TV Watching StarYeah, so Shels and I watch a lot of TV. We all know that. No new revelation. We just finished Alaska Experiment on Discovery. It was about four volunteer groups of people (two to four) that spend 3 months in the Alaskan wilderness during the winter months with only the bear (bare, get it) minimum of supplies. There was no prize, no winner, just the adventure and satisfaction of doing it, bears and all. It was really good. There is one couple that quit their jobs and have decided to move to Alaska permanently.
Big Brother hasn't started yet. I have started The Mole. It is ok. And Design Star has not completely captured me yet. I like watching Gordon Ramsey's shows.
The next show that I am excited about, however, is Bravo's Flipping Out. We watch a lot of those HGTV shows like House Hunters and Design to Sell, etc. But Flipping Out is my favorite and it is about to premier. We have the DVR set now for the new CRAZY man season. This guy flips multi-million dollar homes in Los Angeles and is a complete nut case. It makes me feel better about myself to know that I am not as crazy as other people in the world. I just need to find a way to get my own show. | | |
| Ok. That was totally Simon that highjacked my site. I must not have signed out last time I was here. No, Auntie, actually, I have been pretty much swamped with work. Although I am not traveling anymore, my new job has me on a serious learning curve and the pressure is very high. So, I have been home more but perhaps just a tich more grouchy than usual. Just ask the wife.
On a different note... We have been discussing the (apparently heretical) book, The Shack at our two home groups. It has been a lively discussion each week. Some people have not liked the reading as much as we made it out to be but in the end got more into it. One thing I like about it is the way that it made me see things - not only God - in a different way. | | |
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