Pilgrims and Indians

The following conversation took place during lunch yesterday:

Me: So, Tabitha, at school did you learn about pilgrims?

Tabitha: Yes.

Me: And who else?

Tabitha: Indians! 

Me: Ahh. And are these Indians from India?

Tabitha: Yes.

This was followed by a half an hour dissertation from mommy that included, but is not limited to: how the peach people killed a lot of the native Americans and made them move; why Mexicans are tan, but Cubans are not; and why the land sections, called reserves, don't have to follow all the laws of America. The kids kept asking, "then what happened?!" I'm glad they love to learn, but I know most of this goes right over their heads.

"You are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

Picture post

Not a very good picture, I realize, but it was our first snow. It snowed for about a half an hour and about 30 minutes later it melted.

My big eyed Patricia.

Tabitha with her "sea turtles" science fair project. 

Seth trying to do an angry face. No, he never really could make one. Patricia loves to give us her angry face. She'll say, "Seth, Seth" (all smiles) until he looks, then she gives him the angry face. I couldn't get her on camera, because she insisted on saying, "cheese". But have no fear (or maybe you should), because the last picture, we have Tabitha demonstrating to Patricia how she should give an angry face.

What do you think? Are you running the other way? Seconds before and after she was laughing.

My thoughts

"The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Revelation 21:23

This verse speaks of heaven. Imagine how bright heaven will be and the only light will be from the Lamb, Jesus Christ Himself. I think of this passage sometimes on sunny days. I am convinced that the Lord gives us plenty of symbols in our day to day lives to try and understand heavenly concepts.

Daytime is like heaven. The sun is so bright you can't even look at it without damaging your eyes. So, if daytime is like heaven, then what is nighttime like? Well, when we see the moon, it's not actually light from the moon, rather it is reflecting the sun's light. I imagine nighttime to be earth, which is dark with sin. The moon is Christ's presence on earth. Sometimes it's more visible than others (full moon verses crescent moon). An amazing thing for me to ponder is the stars. Jesus Christ, speaking to His disciples, said, "you are the light of the world." Imagine how dark the night sky would be without stars? 

Well, I think the Bible gives us a glimpse of what it will be like. One day Christ Jesus will come back to the earth and bring all believers with Him back to heaven, more commonly referred to as the rapture. Many, many Christians look forward to that day. So, according to my thought process, it will be like nighttime without the moon or stars. Listen to these verses in Amos: " 'Behold, the days come,' says the Lord God, 'that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the Word of the Lord, but shall not find it.' " Chapter 8 verse 11, 12

Nasi Goreng

This week, for Happy to be at Home's Scrumptious Sunday Swap I wanted to do a main dish.

First let me give a little background on the Nasi Goreng that our family has grown to love. I was first introduced to this dish through my best friend, Hanneke. She is a Dutch immigrant to Canada. Apparently, at some point in history, the Dutch had colonized Indonesia. In the process they learned some of their foods. Hanneke's mom makes this dish with a spice packet. I was disappointed to find that they don't sell the spice packet in US grocery stores. It made my day to find the recipe in my "More with Less" cookbook. It is just as good as I remember. 

Ok, enough talking, here is the recipe:

Cook 2 cups of rice according to their package directions.

Saute 2 large onions until golden brown in 3 tbs vegetable oil.

Add and saute for one minute:

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp lemon grass (specialty spice)

1 1/4 tsp salt
Tabasco or crushed red pepper to taste

Meanwhile brown a pound of ground meat.

Add cooked rice and sauteed meat to spice mixture. Saute over low heat, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors (about 10 minutes).

Beat with a fork:

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

dash pepper

You can fry the egg in a separate pan in several thin layers, turning each layer once and rolling each as you take it from the skillet. Cut into strips and add to rice mix. However, I tend to not want to dirty another dish, so I add the eggs directly to the rice and mix well over low heat until it's cooked through.

Enjoy!

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:2

True citizenship

"I can't wait to meet Obama and McCain!" That's what the kids were saying as we walked to the voting location. I chuckled to myself as I tried explaining to them that we will probably NEVER meet them. Their innocence got me thinking about the truth of that. Even if by some slim chance, I get to meet the president one day, I will probably not be known very well by him.

YET, I am a part of a kingdom and the King not only knows my name, but He knows me more intimately than I know myself. The Bible says that if you are a Christian, your citizenship is in heaven. The Lord Jesus is referred to as the King of glory four times in Psalm 24. It has given me such joy over the past couple of days to realize how important I am to my King. 

While on earth, I will obey those who have the rule over me and realize that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. But I am looking forward to the day when I will not be "just a citizen" of a kingdom, but an integral part of it.

"Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." Psalm 24:8

Something all his own

Today, Seth had his first ice skating lesson. He's in an 8 week course. Seth reacted in an unexpected way, which I'll touch on later.

The kids were only on the ice for about 10 minutes. They came on the ice sitting down and had to try to stand up. Seth is here in his red coat. He stared at this girl, whose name happens to be Michelle, most of the time. She cried the whole time she was out there. I think Seth was confused, maybe wanted to help her, but didn't know exactly what he could do.
He fell a couple of times, but he didn't get discouraged by it.
At the end, when everyone was getting off of the ice Seth stood there and waited. As soon as they got him off the rink he kept saying to us, "but I didn't get to skate." Poor kid, I tried explaining to him that he has to learn how to stand first and the skating will eventually come.
Seth's unexpected response came on our way to the car. Tabitha kept saying how much she wanted to learn. Enoch even said he'd like to take a few lessons. Seth became quite adamant that no one else was going to learn ice skating. In the car, Tabitha kept going on with how she was going to learn. Seth even got angry and shouted "NO!" at her. Later I asked him if his baby brother will be allowed to learn when he's old enough. Seth smiled ever so slightly and shook his head yes. I realized that he just wanted to have his own little thing without his sister getting involved. 

Tabitha does have her own little thing. Sure, she may not practice as much as she should, but she'll eventually get there. She is in an Irish dance class. I insist that she stays with it throughout this year and then next year she can decide if she wants to do something different. Whenever she goes, she enjoys herself, but throughout the week she tends to lose interest.

"Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." Ephesians 6:24