Tank Top Hiking in March

The Greatest Love?

In watching the Today show segment this morning about the woman from Kentucky who protected her kids by laying on them as shelter while their house was being torn apart from a tornado, one of the hosts began the segment by saying, "There is no greater love than the love a mother has for her children." The comment instantly struck me and 1 John 3:16 came to mind:

"By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us."

I do not want to diminish the incredible story of this mother's selfless protection of her children and the sacrifice she made, but I think it is such a beautiful, though incomplete, picture of what Christ has done for us. The only way we can truly know what love is comes from Christ shielding Himself over us and being beaten and torn instead of us. Although this incredible woman covered her children with her body to protect them from the violent crumbling around them, Christ did that to save our souls from eternal death. A song inspired by the same verse puts it so wonderfully and fully:

By this we know love: that He laid down His life,
God's very own Son came from Heaven to die
Suspended He hung as He shed His own blood
What grace in His pardon- by THIS we know love

Our Roles Before the Holy One

What motivates you to pray? Why do you spend time in the Word? Do you desire to be a better friend? Do you feel weary? Do you want to be a better witness to those around you? Do you want to be able to encourage your spouse or children more effectively?

What roles compel you to spend time with the Almighty One?

We live in a culture obsessesed with labels. "What do you do?" is usually the first question you are asked when you meet someone, as if that is a tell-all for who you really are. Since June, I have struggled with the answer to that question. "Well, uh, I was a public school fourth, fifth, and sixth grade music teacher until this past summer when I resigned in order to be a better wife and to open a homeschool music program, but that hasn't quite started up yet, and in the mean time, I work part time as my church's co-director of Children's Ministries, and I am hoping to starting a cake business sometime down the road." I am fairly certain that the inquirer hadn't been fully prepared for all of.... That.

But what do your roles say about who you are? They describe what you DO- lawyer, teacher, mom, pharmacist, unemployed- but not who you truly are as a person. It's a convenient way to classify, but those roles change over time. It is so engrained in us- so defining- that it permeates everything we do. This includes how we approach the Holy One who is limitless in His person.

When we approach time with God in order to be a better _______________, we complicate the pure, simple, joy-filled relationship He desires to have with us. Remember Mary and Martha? Martha was so caught up in her role as hostess and friend that she missed the point that Jesus simply desired to spend time with her-- simply as Martha. No complex agenda or goal or outcome. Just because He loved her and wanted to express it. When you talk to the Father, is your primary motive to grow in certain areas or is it just to come, with simple, childlike faith and be in awe of who He is?

Never a Dull Moment

My husband was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy on Sunday night, and on the back of this experience, I would like to provide a couple of bits of constructive criticism for anyone involved with the medical profession:

1. When asking if the patient is experiencing any pain (prior to surgery) do not respond to the reply as, "Oh that's nothing compared to the amount of pain you WILL be in."
2. After being told by two nurses to proceed into the room, being rudely "shooed" back out (gesture included) by another does not make for a happy spouse...
3. ...Asking if aforementioned unhappy, begrudging spouse who has not eaten in 12 hours would like a drink and snack does earn back brownie points.
4. Maps are helpful.
5. Hospital time can be likened to football time.  1 minute during a football game = ten minutes of real time.  Similarly, "you should have the results in 30-35 minutes" actually means 90-95 minutes.
6. Room TVs are wonderful-- thank you for providing them.  Perhaps news reports about how your hospital is up for sale after a surgical error should be blocked from patients' rooms.

Most importantly, we are grateful to the staff who were very kind, helpful, and compassionate, as well as everyone who was praying during the ordeal and is still praying for a quick recovery.

The Lazy Blogger is Back

Okay, maybe not lazy, but neglectful.


So this month's cake decorating class encompassed the wonderful world of fondant!  (And indeed, it has been wonderful).  Using the techniques I have learned over the past two months, I made five cakes on Wednesday evening (not stopping until I finished.... at 3:00AM)-- four mini cakes for my husband's curling league and one for the final project for class. 

This class covered making flowers (specifically, daisies, mums, roses, calla lilies, and carnations) out of fondant, covering boards and cakes with the stuff, and just how to work with it in general.  As someone who has a mild obsession with playdough, this was the *PERFECT* outlet. 

For my final project, I decided on a monochromatic theme for my White Chocolate Raspberry-Filled cake: