Sunday, September 26, 2010

Family.

I live with my mom and step-dad in Riverside, ca. Like every family we have our days of fighting and most days our schedules allow us to see each other in 5 minute segments. However, there are moments that make you remember what family is all about. Of course days like baby showers and weddings and funerals draw us together, but I value the unexpected moments above all.

Tonight after dinner we were all standing in the kitchen while my mom did the dishes. My step-dad, Bob, a lawyer, casually pulled out a handful of snap-peas from his pocket. In a weird western twang he said "Oh! I almost forgot my magic beans!" My mom and I almost peed our pants we were laughing so hard.
 "Make sure you put them in the refrigerator Jack, because last time you forgot magic beans in your pocket I found them in the wash. I used to find money and now I find magic beans," my mom said. Bob now happily spends most of his time tending a vegetable garden in our backyard instead of at the office. He is much more the farmer, builder type. We were all giggling again and somehow I started doing slavic dance moves, which prompted my mom to ask if I had eaten the magic shrooms instead of the magic beans.

Bob whispered to me not so slyly, "They aren't even really magic beaaans!"
"They only give you the gas? They make you do the slavic dances?" I asked in my slavic accent.
"That reminds me...I was going to let the dogs in," Bob said.
"I could see how our dogs would remind you of slavic dancing and gas," my mom said.

And the laughter rolled again.















This probably sounds completely ridiculous to everyone else on the planet. But the point to my posting this silly moment in my life is to ask you to look at your family. I don't mean just your parents and siblings, although if you have them you should. But look at your church family, your friends, the people you live life with. And with a new appreciation for them, remember to have fun, let loose every once in awhile, and enjoy those people you love.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Easy end of summer treat.

Angel Food Cupcakes!

As summer winds down, these are the perfect treats for the last weeks of hot weather and calendars that becoming fuller and fuller.

The title almost explains everything...buy an angel food cake mix, follow directions to make the batter, and fill cupcake tins 3/4 of the way full (should make about 36).

I used an icing tip that made my frosting look like small swirls of whipped cream and then added sliced strawberries and blueberries. They were a hit at the bonfire I brought them to!

Welcome Autumn with Chai Honey Cupcakes.

Say heeelllooooooo to fall with these wonderfully spicy cupcakes.... this is my favorite recipe on the planet! They are perfect breakfast treats and also work with coffee on a chilly evening with colorful leaves blowing off trees in the background...maybe with the fireplace going as well!


ingredients:

3 chai-spice tea bags
1/2 cup of boiling water
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
 1/4 cup of honey
4tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg








directions:


preheat at 350
steep the tea bags in the boiling water for 5 min, discard bags, let cool

whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt
in a large bowl combine the honey, melted butter, buttermilk and egg
add the dry ingredients using an electric beater
add the cooled tea and beat until just combined

bake in muffin tins (makes about a dozen)

add a drop of honey to homemade vanilla frosting and swirl into small circles


Enjoy....feel free to double or triple the recipe :-) 

the second law of thermodynamics and your life.





Here is a random thought I had in science class this summer:

ENTROPY: A MEASURE OF THE DISORDER IN A SYSTEM
LOW ENTROPY = HIGHLY ORDERED 
HIGH ENTROPY = VERY DISORDERED OR MESSY
SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS: 
IN ANY CLOSED SYSTEM (MEANING THAT NOTHING ENTERS OR LEAVES), NO PROCESS CAN OCCUR IN WHICH THE SYSTEM'S ENTROPY DECREASES.  IN OTHER WORDS, A CLOSED SYSTEM CAN'T BECOME MORE ORDERED (LESS MESSY) AS TIME GOES ON.
THEREFORE, THE AMOUNT OF DISORDER IN A CLOSED SYSTEM EITHER INCREASES WITH TIME OR IT DOESN’T CHANGE WITH TIME.  USUALLY, THE ENTROPY INCREASES WITH TIME, IN OTHER WORDS, A CLOSED SYSTEM GETS MESSIER AS TIME GOES ON.



In order to have growth and order in our lives we need to accept help from God and His body. When times get tough we cannot become closed systems that hide away from the world...if we do we will never grow and will become more disorderly by the day.




let us cast our cares on Him for he cares for us and His greatest desire is to see his children free from all the woes that he saved us from on the cross. Be transparent with our Abba and gain new strength from Him, be transparent with the church so that you can get advice, wisdom, and love when you need it and give life when others need it. My prayer is that the church would always be an open system...always gaining new energy from each other and God, casting all of our troubles on HIS shoulders, because He is infinitely able to handle it. That everyday we would grow in strength and order and grace.


Cast your cares on the LORD
       and he will sustain you;
       he will never let the righteous fall. psalm 55:22