Author: Sarah Joy Albrecht

Dear L&F,

I miss seeing you! I hope that you are having fun in this lovely snow. The snow is perfect packing snow – not too powdery and not too slushy. Have you attempted to make snowmen yet?

Sadly, I am sick with pneumonia. That means that there is mucous in my lungs. It’s sort of like drowning from within. So, I haven’t been able to go out with my children in the snow yet this year.

BUT — I did look out this morning from my bedroom window and saw the sun glistening over our snow covered yard. It reminded me of Isaiah 1:18:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they are like crimson, the will be like wool.

I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of retrieving the laundry from the wash, only to find that a red sock found its way into the white-wash and all of the laundry has turned pink as a result. There is nothing that can be done, either, to effectively get the red out. The clothes are permanently pink.

The Bible compares sin to this. Even in Bible times, red dye was especially staining and permanent. Just one “little” sin – just like one little red baby sock – eternally stains our soul. It is ruined like the stained laundry. But, God forgives us and cleanses us so that all traces of sin are washed away, white as snow.

As you look at the snow, take a moment to thank Jesus for shedding His blood for you so that our souls can be cleansed. What a beautiful reminder we have, right at Christmastime, as we think of Jesus’ birth, to also have snow on the ground to remind us that our sins are forgiven.

I love you both very much and I’m thankful to have you and your whole family as friends.

Much love,
Mrs. Albrecht

After having a bad chest-cold since Thanksgiving, I reluctantly made a doctor’s appointment last Friday. I figured I wasn’t getting any better, still had a fever, and I didn’t want it to get worse over the weekend.

An hour later, I tried to cancel the appointment thinking, maybe I’m not so sick, and I really don’t want to spend the money… but the receptionist, who sees me about once a month between the kids checkups and whatnot, convinced me that I didn’t sound like myself and that I should keep the appointment.

While I held Leah, Dr. Meyer listened to my chest. I tried to talk and had the worst coughing fit and turned bright red. It was rather embarrassing, as there wasn’t really anywhere to spit and I couldn’t communicate well. Thankfully, one of the nurses brought me a drink. Dr. Meyer said, “your lungs sound terrible. I’m sending you over to get an x-ray immediately!” “X-ray? Oh great….”

The children had already waited patiently for an hour at the doctor’s office, and I could tell that it would be too much for them to sit by themselves when I went back for an x-ray. From the doctor’s office I tried to reach Tom, but he was away from his desk. I called my mother in law, but she had an interview momentarily and was waiting to be called. She said my father-in-law was home. He was going to take Mark to get some clothes for his job interview, but he rescheduled with him and met me at the x-ray clinic.

It was a long wait, as they had to squeeze in my “stat” x-ray. In the waiting room, there was a large box of many pieces of some sort of connecting toy set. They were brightly colored and looked like dumbbells with tiny, interlocking grooves. I have never seen them before, and have no idea what they are called. The kids built this amazing roller coaster contraption for a large wheel, with several rungs of a complicated support system.

The technician looked at the x-rays and said, “Oh my! How long have you been sick?”
“Just a week.”

The receptionist at the x-ray clinic said that my children were so well behaved while I was being x-rayed and she just could not get over how kind it was for my father in law to meet me there – and how the children listened to him when I was gone. Very cool.

We waited for a while to hear the results – there is a doctor on staff who reads them when they’re marked “stat” – but they were swamped and we eventually went home. I picked up antibiotics and cough syrup with codeine on the way home.

When I got home, there was a message confirming pneumonia from the x-ray.

I had made dinner (which is silly, because Tom would have picked something up if I had asked him to – but I was trying to stay strong!) and as I was putting the kids in bed, I just started bawling. My fever was 102.5 and I couldn’t hardly breathe without coughing. I called Elly, my soon-to-be sister-in-law. Then she, my mother-in-law, and my brother-in-law came over and, with Tom, put the children in bed and washed up the dishes.

For the past week, I’ve rested as much as I have been able.

I am feeling much better – fever is gone – but I do have lingering congestion in my lungs.

Tom took an entire week off of work to take care of me! I wouldn’t have been able to rest without him here. The children have had a wonderful time playing with their dad and working with them on their math. He’s such a good teacher and has a way of explaining the ideas that opens the children’s minds beyond elementary level and makes them hungry for more. He’s also been working on triple-bunk beds for the boys room, and the children seem to be walking taller and with great importance as they carry pieces of wood and help their dad with sanding.

My neighbor, Jen, organized meals for us and they have been delicious. It’s been so nice to see friends each night as they bring dinner.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had pneumonia – but it’s the first time without my mom around to take care of me. Needless to say, running this household is like running a small business that stays open 24/7. I am very thankful for everyone’s prayers and the help we have received.

It’s frustrating to be sick, but I am so very very blessed to be surrounded by people who love me.

But, of course:

http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters/story/135818.html

We were out of commercially made Play Dough so we made our own:

* 1 cup flour
* 1 cup boiling water
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 1/2 teaspoon oil
* 1/4 cup salt
* assorted food colors

In a stand mixer with a sturdy paddle attachment, mix together the dry ingredients. Then, add boiling water and oil. (You can add a few drops of essential oil at this step, if you wanted to make it smell nice. I added vanilla oil). Mix until until smooth.

If you want to make the dough all one color, add the food coloring.

If you want to create multiple colors, remove dough from mixing bowl. Roll into a log and divide the dough into lumps according to the number of colors you want to make. To avoid getting your hands stained, put each lump into the mixing bowl along with the food coloring. Mix till color is thoroughly worked through the lump of dough.

Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled. Will last for a long time.

If you need to mix colors to achieve new colors, here’s a color mixing wheel to help. My children enjoyed watching this step and it was a memorable, tactile lesson on colors.

This is today’s Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional. Wow. So simple, so profound. If you want to read it from it’s original source, click here.

Fellowship Without Forgiveness: Impossible
by Jon Walker

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV)

Fellowship without forgiveness is impossible.

As believers, we’re called “to settle our relationships with each other.” (2 Corinthians 5:18 MSG) We need to consistently forgive others and receive forgiveness from others, or we’ll “give up in despair.” (2 Corinthians 2:7 CEV)

Whenever we’re hurt by someone, we have a choice to make: Will we focus on retaliation or resolution?

The Bible speaks candidly about settling the score: “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15 NIV)

In God’s economy, it’s not enough to say we won’t seek revenge; we’re to press into the very heart of forgiveness, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave us. (Ephesians 4:32 NIV)

The Bible is very clear that forgiveness is not optional for the Christ-follower. God sets this high standard because he knows how much is at stake in your life: Bitterness and unforgiveness are a cancer that eventually will destroy you from the inside out. Forgiveness is the scalpel that removes the tumor.

This doesn’t mean you’ll always be able to immediately forgive and be done with it. As you become more and more Christ-like, that will become possible, but for now you may have to work at forgiving someone who has hurt you in a particularly painful way. In other words, you may forgive this person but soon begin to feel a root of unforgiveness growing in your heart.

When this occurs, you can go to King Jesus and ask him to help you with this cycle. He will help you release the offender, and the Holy Spirit will guide you in your effort.

A major point here is that forgiveness is a choice you can make. The power of God, working within you, means you no longer have to remain a slave to unforgiveness or bitterness.

In Colossians, the Apostle Paul provides the basis and motivation for forgiveness: “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13 NLT). When we remember the price Jesus paid to forgive us, how can we not forgive? (Romans 5:8)

What now?

When you forgive, you’re not pretending it didn’t hurt – Forgiveness means you no longer hold the offense against the offender. It means you’ve pardoned the debt, and you’ve intentionally chosen to release the one who hurt you. We’re to love deeply, because “love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 NIV)

Stop right now and talk to God – Have an honest conversation with God about someone you need to forgive. Our heavenly Father knows that it’s not easy to let go of our hurts, but he will give you the grace to forgive.

Be honest with God – Cry out to God; tell him exactly how you feel. He won’t be surprised or upset by your anger, hurt, insecurity, or bitterness.

If you feel like you are despairing, my parting thought is this: “Is there someone I need to seek forgiveness from or someone I need to forgive?” I love the part in the devotional that reminds us that God “won’t be surprised or upset by your anger, hurt, insecurity, or bitterness.”

Many times we avoid pouring our heart out to God by praying little one-line prayers that redirect attention away from our own hearts or only scratch the surface. When we do this, we are only giving lip-service to God – we are not placing our full trust in Him. This is a symptom of pride in our hearts – thinking we can do a better job than God. It is only when we humbly place our trust in God’s power, acknowledging that we cannot forgive or seek forgiveness by our own strength, that we can unreservedly pour out our hearts (to God AND to those with whom we are in conflict!) and get to the root.

We don’t have to be afraid to tell God what we have done or how hurt we are – He already knows. He LOVES us and will give us the strength to seek forgiveness and forgive others. We can boldly seek forgiveness from others because our eternal debt has been paid through Christ’s sacrifice in our place – this takes the impossible weight off of the restoration process. We must forgive others and be restored to them because we have been forgiven an eternal debt and restored to God the Father through Christ’s sacrifice.

By the way, here’s a perspective-changing article on the difference between seeking mercy and seeking grace.

And, for further information on how to be at peace with others, check out the resources at Peacemaker Ministries.

Butternut Squash, a winter squash which is in abundance and often very inexpensive this time of year, is a staple for fall menus. It is an excellent source of fiber, vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, vitamin A and potassium.

The problem is that it’s often just served rather plainly as a pureed soup or mashed with pine nuts sprinkled over top. After awhile, one can only take so much of the same squashy flavor over and over again — which is why I set out to find something a little different!

These recipes went well together. They are adapted from ones found as allrecipes.com. I like the “ingredient search” for when I have random ingredients on hand and am curious what I can make from them.

Lentils, an ingredient in the recipe below, have many health benefits, too. The squash and lentils lend a delicately sweet, earthy flavor to this recipe while the curry, cayenne pepper and exotic coconut undertones made for a complex mouthwatering dish.

Butternut Squash & Lentil Coconut Curry

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup dry lentils
1 cup butternut squash – peeled, seeded, and cubed
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 cups water
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups Cooked Basmati rice

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the onion, ginger, garlic,until onion is tender.
2. Mix the lentils, squash into the pot. Stir in the water, coconut milk, and tomato paste. Season with curry powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until lentils and squash are tender. Stir in fresh cilantro just before serving. Serve over Basmati rice.

The fish was good by itself, but was delicious served with this salsa. The cilantro perfectly balanced the sweetness of the mangoes, the spice of the cayenne, the pungency of the red onions and the bitterness of the lime:

Curried Tilapia with Mango Salsa

1 mango – peeled and diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice (2 tablespoons for rub; 2 tablespoons for salsa)
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon garlic pepper seasoning
4 fresh tilapia fillets

DIRECTIONS

1. For the mango salsa, combine the mango, red onion, cayenne pepper, cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice and salt in a glass bowl. Set aside.
2. For the tilapia rub, mix together 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice, curry powder and garlic pepper in a small bowl. Rub this mixture onto both sides of the fish fillets.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes on each side or until it flakes easily with a fork.
4. Serve with the mango salsa.

I served the dinner with plain yogurt (to mix in with the curry to lessen the spice for the children) pre-packaged Naan. For dessert, Rasgulla(also pre-made – I just had to add the sweetened milk) sprinkled with chopped pistachios. Dessert would have been even tastier with Chai Tea – maybe next time!