Another October Baby!

I'm an auntie again! Although he was 6 days past due, Judy's grandbaby was born this morning after a very short labor. Beckett is a big boy at 8 lbs., 15 oz. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures very soon.

Birthday Wishes

Today is not only Top Ten Tuesday at ohamanda's, but it also happens to be the birthday of somebody very special.  My precious friend Judy is celebrating today, and in honor of her big day I wanted to do something special for her.
Judy and I go way back to the early 90's when she started attending my church, but it wasn't until 2005 that we truly started to develop a real friendship.  Since then, I've had the amazing privilege of getting to know her.
                   

I love that Judy's name is derived from the Hebrew name Judah and means "praised or admired."  I admire her for so many reasons, mostly because she reflects Jesus.  Today I want to share ten of my favorite things about Judy, in keeping with Top Ten Tuesday.  

1. She loves the Lord with a passion, so much so that His name just rolls off her tongue.
2. She demonstrates godly submission in her marriage.
3. She loves on people like no one else I know.
4. She's taught me what being merciful looks like.  The woman just never gives up on people because she believes God is always at work in people's lives.
5. She is a student of the Word, and the woman knows how to teach.
6. She is not afraid to "burn the midnight oil" in ministry, working late into the night and rising early in the morning.  Dependent on God's grace, she just keeps going and serving and giving. 
7. She loves life.  I mean, she savors everything.  It is rare to hear her say that she doesn't like something.  It's always, "I love _______."  And you can fill in the blank with whatever she's eating or smelling or watching or playing at the moment.
8. She is the best homemade, pizzeria-style pizza maker I know.  She crazy loves pizza!
9. She drives a Jeep, which is just cool.
10. She challenges me to go beyond my limits.  Spiritually, she encourages me to surrender daily and to trust God because He's good, even when life is hard and messy.  Physically, she's helped me become a runner, learn how to golf, and how to hit a tennis ball.  (I can only claim "hitting" the ball.  Controlling the ball is an entirely different matter.)

I thank the Lord for the gift of my friend.  I know He has made her who she is, and anything He has done in her is because she's been a willing vessel, ready to be used by Him.  I am so thankful that God placed her in my life.
Happy Birthday, Judy!  Wishing you the most special day.  I love you.

For more Top Ten Tuesday, click over and visit ohamanda.

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A Cook Is Born

Have I ever mentioned that cooking is not my thing?  It's no wonder that among the many bridal shower gifts I received 13 years ago there was an assortment of cookbooks.  At that point my entire cooking repertoire consisted of heating up soup, making grilled cheese sandwiches, sloppy Joe's, and whipping up a mean Hamburger Helper meal.  As Rich had been a bachelor for a good number of years before I entered his life, he had to help me learn the basics, such as how to tell if meat was cooked to proper temperature.

Even though I've learned a lot since then, I still have to follow recipes to make everything, and I believe those all-inclusive frozen meal kits with the meat and veggies are my favorite way to tackle meal preparation.  Things are changing, though.

Last week I made vegetable soup all by myself. 

No recipe.  No kit.  From scratch.

That isn't to say I didn't have help.  You know my friend, Judy?  She is a cook.  A good one.  She makes a variety of specialties, including omelettes, chicken & dumplings, and her famous pizza.  When I observe her cooking, I get inspired to go home and cook something because she makes it all look so easy.  She is practically calm, cool, and collected whenever she cooks, and would you believe she even has FUN?  This is very foreign to me as I am more the type to stress about what to make, groan, kick the cat, and can't wait for the experience to be over. 

So I bet you're wondering where I got the idea to make vegetable soup.  It happened that we were talking about eating healthier and how eating more vegetables and soup is a good way to fill up on less calories.  It sounded like a pretty good idea to me, so I inquired how one might go about making a vegetable soup... you know... in case a certain girl who hates cooking might just be interested in trying something new.  And easy. 

So she took me into the kitchen right then and there and showed me how to do it.  I learned it was a piece of cake.  (Well, it was actually soup, but that's just the expression.)

Anyways... a cook was born.  I went home and made vegetable soup ALL BY MYSELF.  Would you like to see a picture? 

(Of course, I took a picture!)

 

Campbell's has got nothin' on me!

Randomness, Edition #517

Hello, and how are ya?  Just had a few random things I wanted to mention...

First I must give a shout out to Amanda, my bloggy friend.  She just had a baby boy last weekend.  Her pregnancy just flew for me... I don't know about her, though.  ;)  Congratulations, Amanda!!!!

Second, I just wanted to mention that if you'd like to declare your loyalty to me as a reader of my blog, you do can that ever-so-publicly by clicking on the "follow this blog" link over there in my sidebar.  It will put your cute little profile picture up there and everything.  That's not to say that I'm demanding that of my readers, but this is more of an FYI - just lettin' ya know it's there kind of thing.  And hey... you never know whom of all 5 readers of my blog might go visit your blog and become a big fan, should they happen to notice your cute little profile picture.  I'm just sayin...

Thirdly (is thirdly a word?)... I'm considering changing my blog design, yet again.  My widgets and what-all keep moving on me, and I wonder if any of you are noticing the goofiness, too.  I also am seriously craving a 3-column design.  Seriously!

And fourthly, my friend Shelly has started a blog called Cafe Bontrager.  I went to school with her, and I can't even remember how long I've known her.  Since the 4th or 5th grade?  (You'll have to help me out here, Shell.)  Here we are in Home Ec. in the 8th grade.  (Shelly is holding the fruit pizza, and I am the really ugly girl standing behind the girl in the polka-dot apron.)  She was the only person I knew who laughed louder than me.  And if this tells you anything, we were the two nominees for the biggest mouth in our senior year, and I don't think I want to say who won that distinguishing honor.  {ahem}  Moving on...

I hope she doesn't mind if I send you all over to see her blog.  It's pretty new.  Just make sure you cut her some slack because she is a total newbie at the blogging thing and still trying to figure out how things work.  She is a funny woman, so you should hang with her until she gets warmed up on this thing.

And here we reach the conclusion of Randomness, Edition #517 (or was the #518?).  Thank you for reading.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Our church is in a men's softball league, and I have often enjoyed going to the games during the summer.  Because I am soooo into softball and sports and things like that.  It's not about the socializing AT ALL.

So last night was the first game of the season, and I picked up my friend Sherry to take her over there to... ya know... cheer on the softball team.  She brought her camera and took a lot of pictures of the team and the fans.

See?  I'm totally into the game.

My Heart's Just Not In It

I have attempted to write something in the last couple of days, but nothing was coming.  It's been an unusual week here, and I've been very distracted from my little blog.  I couldn't think of a thing to say because my heart just wasn't in it, and I had no idea what to say.

On Monday my friend Judy got word her mother-in-law had taken a turn for the worse with her battle against cancer.  She had only really been diagnosed in February, but this was one of the most aggressive cases I have personally known of.  She went to be with the Lord on Thursday.  So I had been spending some time with my friend until she made the trip to be with family on Saturday.

Also last Tuesday Rich came down with a nasty stomach flu.  Once the initial 24 hours passed he felt better off and on, but not until the middle of last night did he finally feel completely well.  The only good thing about that was I got a break from cooking for a week.

Somewhere in the middle of all that I lost internet access for a day because someone had been digging over in the next town to steal copper wires, and they interfered with the internet lines.  Even if I had not missed blogging last Tuesday, losing internet service for a day would've messed up NaBloPoMo April for sure.

So that's my week in a very tiny nutshell.  Now you can see why my thoughts have been consumed with other things.  Hopefully, I'll be back at it this week when I get back in town after the funeral.

About the Socks

Dear Friend (you know who you are),

Thank you for always respecting my love for the Mouse. Not everyone sympathizes with my longing for the Happiest Place on Earth. It really is a magical place. You just have to believe. Some only mock. I shudder to think of it.

But you have always nurtured my desire for all things Disney, and I appreciate that so much. Like today when you gave me these...

Nothing says I love you like a pair of Mickey socks.

Thanks,

Liz

3/1/08 - Friends

3/1/08 - Friends
Originally uploaded by discoveringliz

We had dinner with our friends Mark and Kelli tonight. We rarely spend time with them outside of church functions, so we jumped at their invitation for an evening out.

Mark is my Sunday school teacher and was my first evangelism trainer. He showed me the ropes when it came to sharing the gospel. Kelli is my fellow Awana secretary, and you will sometimes catch us nibbling on Dove bars together when the stress of record keeping becomes too much to bear. We love these people. They're faithful in ministry, they demonstrate true love for each other, and they always encourage my heart.

2/24/08 - Goin' To Texas

2/24/08 - Goin' To Texas
Originally uploaded by discoveringliz

Mary is a friend from church. Doesn't she have a great smile? I love this picture I took yesterday. It reflects her personality.

She's a nanny, who has been between assignments for six months. Sunday we had a farewell lunch with her to send her off to her new assignment in Texas. She's going to be caring for 3 children, and it's going to be a challenge. She's loves kids, though, and we're looking forward to hearing about all their antics.

We've been razzing her about everything she can expect in Texas. Of course, we Hoosiers can only guess what things are like there. If anything, we know it's going to be warmer than it is in Indiana. I've told her that she really needs to enjoy the rodeo, and she better get a big hat and some cowgirl boots. I'm going to be expecting a picture in her new garb once she gets settled.

Bye, Mary. We love you!

2/21/08 - Surprise!

2/21/08 - Surprise
Originally uploaded by discoveringliz

Last week my friend Judy went to Pennsylvania for a week-long visit to see her daughter's family. Their little guy Blake is 5 1/2 mos. old, and his grandma adores him. I have been dying to meet him because I've been told he is the most precious baby EVER, so I've just sort of had to bide my time, looking at pictures and hearing grandma stories.

On Sunday morning Judy was home and came to church... with a surprise. She had brought her daughter and grandson back with her for a visit home. It was so exciting, and nobody was expecting it! Our church was buzzing with whispers of their arrival.

Blake has been making the rounds this week to try to meet everyone. He's been hitting all the good restaurants in town, too. Thursday night we went out for pizza, and I think he really enjoyed it.

It's been so fun to see them. That was the best surprise.

I'm Just Sayin' - Part 2

This is the top and side views of my head, in case you were wondering. (Apparently, I also have a bald spot.) This is in response to Kat's request for me to post pictures of my recent hair coloring. Go back to this post, if you have no idea what I'm talking about. You can clearly see the red. Can't you?

I'm Just Sayin'

For lack of anything better to talk about today, I'm going to launch a complaint. It's a complaint against my family and friends. I know, this is so wrong, isn't it? I just feel like my voice must be heard.

Why hasn't anyone noticed that my hair color has changed? I spent a lot of time at the store last week choosing just the right one. I know it's vain of me, but c'mon. When you spend money on something like that, you know deep in your heart that you want somebody to say something, even if it's only an --oh, you colored your hair. It's a noticeable change. I went from dark brown to dark auburn. I mean, there's RED IN MY HAIR, people! RED.

(big sigh)

Thank you. I feel much better now for having expressed myself. You may now go back to whatever you were doing.

You Just Can't Take Me Anywhere

Last night I went out to dinner with my sister and a couple friends for her birthday. We went to a Japanese steak house, where they cook the food right at your table. I've never been to one of these before, so it was an experience that I was somewhat hesitant about. I'm not sure that taking someone who has a fear of fire to one of these restaurants is the best idea, but friends assured me that it was safe...as long as I didn't douse my arms with oil.

I ordered the Samurai Dinner, which was chicken and shrimp. Oh boy, do I love shrimp. I had no idea how much food they would serve us. It was incredible. First he prepared a shrimp appetizer that he cooked up with some sort of egg yolk, pasty looking stuff. I was told that I should ask for extra of the egg yolk pasty stuff, but I wasn't loving it as much as the others. Then he threw some chicken breast on the cook surface and started cooking that up while he made some more shrimp for the entrees. At the same time he cooked some vegetables and then brought out the fried rice. He just kept piling this meat and rice and vegetables on my plate, and I was like... BRING.IT.ON. Oh yeah!

After I cleaned my plate and came to my senses, I realized that I'm supposed to be watching my calories and maybe I shouldn't have eaten EVERYTHING ON MY PLATE. I think I was just mesmerized by the flames and and the amazing food and lost all sense of reality. It never even occurred to me that I could get a "to go" box to carry home the leftovers. That must be the 2 lbs. I gained this morning when I weighed in at First Place. *sigh*

The unfortunate incident of the evening was when I finished my meal. Not unfortunate that I finished my meal but what occurred after finishing my meal. I got sick. Within 10 minutes I was sick. Ugh! I've had a week-long trial battling some stomach upset since Monday. Friday afternoon I felt like I was on the upswing of this thing and my gastrointestinal tract was coming back into balance. Apparently, that is not the case. *sigh*

I Should Not Be Up

It's 2-something in the A.M., and I'm awake. I hate it when that happens. I used to absolutely, flatout refuse to get out of bed if I was unable to sleep. I feel like I deserve sleep, and nothing was going to deprive me of my due bed time. As I'm entirely influenced by my friend Judy, I have taken up her sleeplessness ritual of getting up and going to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal.

I had Berry Krispies tonight.

I've already perused my blog subscriptions, and I doubt anyone else is going to be writing tonight. Although, I guess if someone lives in CA it's only 10:00 out there. It's a possibility. And of course, I'm here blogging in the middle of the night, so it's entirely possible there is someone else out there who's blogging in the middle of the night.

I went browsing on Facebook, and I happened to see one of my former classmates had made an album of our senior trip. Oh my, was that ever a trip down memory lane! Kind of scared me. We were just kids. I really do feel young at 35 and can't imagine that I'll feel any differently at 40 in just five short years. But seeing me and my friends at 18...whoa! It feels like eons ago. It just makes one ponder.

Sorry for the 2:00 A.M. ramblings.

A Special Morning

It's been an interesting day. First Place was a good study time, and it's always nice when the girls share what they're learning. We have a very small class, so it's intimate. I had another weight loss this week, too, which makes it a very good day. Yay!

Afterwards I transitioned to our outreach ministry called Sowers & Reapers. We are in the process of doing neighborhood canvassing just to get the people in our community to think about spiritual matters, but ultimately hoping for the opportunity to share the gospel with anyone who would be open to that. We have a questionairre of 7 questions we try to ask at each home, the last question being a means to cause the person to consider their eternal destiny... If you were to die today and stand before God, and He should ask you 'Why should I let you into My heaven?' what would you say? Often this stumps people. They have no idea how they would answer that.

Today I was teamed up with my dear sister in the Lord, who is an 80-something year old lady. You have to understand that it was freezing temps and snowing, but we were all bundled in gloves, hats, and ear warmers going door to door. We went to 20 houses. And I think she fared better than I did. I was frozen and just kept praying with each house we walked up to that God would give me the strength to continue on in very uncomfortable conditions.

I was so blessed to have her with me. She edified me all the way. She spoke the truth of the Word as we encountered many who did not want to talk and would not even accept our free gift. As we'd leave a house feeling dejected she'd say, The Lord knows all about it. This is not about results. This is about getting the gospel into their home, even if all we give them is our gift packet. I love her. As we continued walking we would talk about the Lord and different scriptures He's been giving us recently. It made me think about Malachi 3:16 where it says,

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.

I love that He writes these moments down in a Book of Remembrance. It means this is precious to Him, so much so that He is recording it for all eternity. Maybe the time we spent today was just for me, my friend, and the Lord and to rejoice in who He is and His faithfulness to us as we pressed on in the cold.

Now that I'm at the end of this post, I realize that it's not even what I had planned on writing about. I guess maybe this was the more special thing on my mind today.

Liz

I'm Singing Tonight

We're getting ready to go to our church's Christmas banquet tonight. It's at a dutch-themed restaurant/bakery/gift shop, and they serve fried chicken, noodles, mashed potatoes & gravy, and a different flavored slice of pie at each place setting. It's very enjoyable!

I will be singing with my bosom friend J as part of the program. I sing lead, and she sings harmony and plays the guitar. She's written a song especially for the occasion. We've been memorizing Romans 8 together, and many truths from that scripture passage are in the song. We agreed to make it the theme of the song when we were conferring on the songwriting process. It's about the glory of Christ that is being revealed in us now as we are being sanctified, but also the groaning that all creation has in waiting for the full glory that will one day be revealed when Christ redeems our bodies. That's possible because of the hope Jesus brought to us when He chose to humble Himself to become a baby born in Bethlehem, that He might one day die on the cross for our sin, so we could be reconciled to the Father.

I guess that's what will make it very special for us. Not only did J write the song, but it's written for us...it speaks our heart.

I'm looking forward to a fun evening. Maybe I'll have some pictures or something to share afterward.

Pottery Night

Here's just one picture of our girls' night out. Me and Lisa. She is so nuts! Somehow we always end up sitting next to each other.

I'll be making a photo album of all my pics on Facebook later. Tonight maybe?

See more pics that my sister took. Click here.

Back from a Girls' Night Out

We had a good time tonight, me and the "girls". We went to Chili's, and I ordered the Boneless Shanghai Wings. Mmmmm, are they good! My sister bought my dinner, too, so they were especially good. LOL!

We headed to Pottery Schmottery afterwards and met up with some more friends. As much fun as it is to work on your own project, I love looking at what everyone else is creating. People have the best creativity! I wonder how they come up with their ideas. Very cool! If I have time tomorrow, I will post pictures. (I know Mary is looking forward to that.)