For many years, I vowed that I hated changes in life. I liked to know exactly what my future held and held on to life as it was...but I'm beginning to see that change is very good. Change causes us to step out of our comfort zones and broadens our horizons.
My life is richer and fuller because of the different experiences that I have had over the past few years...new friendships, traveling, studying. The most exciting thing to me is that God orchestrates every phase of my life. He knew every detail of my life before He created me...I don't need to stress about the future because God has it planned. I am excited to see what the future holds. At the beginning of this year, I had no idea that I would be living in Charlottesville in a beautiful neighborhood with wonderful neighbors. If I had refused to move here, I would have missed out on so much...my new church, my new friends...the opportunity to see who I really am on my own. It has been such a great experience, and I look forward to what the future holds.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Thankful
We received good news about my grandmother today...her cancer hadn't yet spread to her lymph nodes! Praise God!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Photography
If you are interested in learning more about photography, visit my friend's new blog: Photography 101. He will be adding new topics in the future.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Christmas tree
I am finally enjoying my first "real" Christmas tree. A couple of times, my dear brother provided a fence-row cedar tree for me. And the past two years, I had a scraggly, fake, hand-me-down tree from a co-worker. But yesterday, my housemate, her parents, and I picked out a tree in Keezletown, and I brought it across the mountain. Today, Kristen's dad set it up for us. We strung lights around it and hung a few of the ornaments that we have. My 5-year old cousin picked out a tea-cup ornament for me this year, pictured above.My favorite part about a Christmas tree is the soft glow of lights shining among the branches. This evening, as I was mixing cookies in the kitchen and looking through the doorway into the living room to enjoy the beauty of the tree, this thought came to me...we are supposed to be like Christmas trees in this dark world. Our light should shine from within so that others may see the joy that our relationship with Christ brings.
This afternoon, while watching The Chronicles of Narnia movie yet again, my heart was moved by the awesomeness of my relationship with Christ...my Heavenly Father called me to be a part of something bigger. As Aslan lay on the stone tables and broke them, my heart was saddened and glad at the same time. The analogy of what Christ did for each of us is so powerful. His love for me is so great...
This Christmas season, instead of dwelling on the disappointments in life, I want to rejoice in the precious gift of salvation and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who became a tiny babe in a manger and grew up to give His life so that I might live.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Bountiful Harvest
...but I didn't have to do the work.
As you may know, my dad and brothers are excellent agronomists. This spring, once again, Dad planted sweet corn to sell at the local farmers' market. This fall, Dad and Evan planted broccoli to sell. The other day, I ate some, and it was as tasty as a dessert. Mom had cooked it just until it turned bright green so that it was still crunchy. YUM!!! Anyway, that is just a segway into my real story...
...Dad found a buyer for his broccoli AND the best part is that it is available right here in Charlottesville. Brett Wilson began a business of buying local, seasonal produce from the Mennonite farmers in the Shenandoah Valley and delivering it to Charlottesville, Crozet, and Lynchburg. See www.horseandbuggyproduce.com
Last night, I picked up my first delivery of the winter subscription. I received 3 pounds of potatoes, 3 pounds of sweet potatoes, 3 pounds of apples, 1 pound kale, 2 pounds broccoli, grown by Dad, 1 head beautiful Romaine lettuce, 2 heads of bibb lettuce, one gallon of apple cider, and 18 eggs! See picture!
I got home and started cooking, making two kinds of soup--my favorite Hungarian Sweet Potato and Potato Soup from Passionate Vegetarian and my very own recipe of yet-to-be-named kale soup:
Saute until tender:
1/2 onion, chopped
olive oil
Add and stir well:
1 quart canned chopped tomatoes, undrained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. Italian seasoning (or to taste)
32 oz. organic chicken broth
1/4 cup raw sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Once the above mixture has gotten hot, add:
2 cans Great Northern beans
1 lb. well-washed kale, torn into bit-size pieces
Heat until kale is tender. Enjoy!
Last night, I also made roasted vegetables, using some of the sweet potatoes and potatoes. I also cut up an eggplant and peppers and onions that I had on hand. I cut everything into cubes, poured olive oil, coarse salt, lots of pepper, and dried rosemary over the vegetables and stirred until everything was well coated. Then spread it out on a baking sheet and baked it at 450 degrees until the veggies were tender. At the last, I broiled them to until slightly browned.
I'm planning to make broccoli souffle with some of the broccoli and eggs. Maybe I'll try to bake a gluten-free dessert with the apples.
I really wish I had more people with whom to share food! I love to cook.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Ireland
A dream has been fulfilled...I visited Ireland. My only regret is that I had to come home. Usually when I travel, I get homesick very quickly. I've noticed, though, that since I've moved away from my family and the place where I grew up, I no longer get homesick when I'm away from my current address.
On Friday, my co-worker Carrie and I left the office around 12:30, and I drove to DC to catch our flight. My friend, Beth, had made arrangements for me to leave my car at her parents' home near the Washington/Dulles airport. When we arrived, Mrs. Zirkle made us feel very welcome in her beautiful home, and even provided my favorite refreshment of tea and gluten-free scones before she drove us to the airport.
The flight over was great, leaving around 7:30 p.m. By the time I got acquainted with the elderly Irish gentleman sitting next to me and dinner was served, it was almost 10:00 p.m. I fell asleep and woke up right before we landed in Dublin. Getting through customs and claiming our baggage went very smoothly. We walked out of the terminal and caught a bus to Merrion Centre. After we had boarded the bus, I realized that I hadn't called my friend to let her know what time to meet us at the bus stop; however, knowing that her home is only a five-minute walk from the bus stop, I knew that we could find a phone once we got off the bus.
We found the right stop and got off the bus. As we were looking for a phone, we saw Jyoti waving from across the street. She had timed it perfectly.
The first day we walked through three beautiful parks, one of which is right beside Jyoti and Sandeep's apartment. We also went to St. Patrick's cathedral and a national museum. The parks were absolutely lovely. And the weather was perfect--chilly enough to feel like fall but not raining or miserably cold. Walking along the streets felt surreal. Large trees with falling leaves lined both sides of the streets and most of the dwellings and offices were of charming brick, some hidden beneath creeping ivyor displaying vibrant window boxes. The entrances were marked with varying brilliant-colored doors. Why can't we enjoy that same kind of architechture and beauty in our towns and cities in the U.S.?
On Sunday, we took a train to Howth, a village by the Dublin Sea. Walking along the cliffs, seeing the meadows where heather blooms and gorse bushes abound was my favorite part of the trip. While we were walking along the shore, a seal greeted us and posed for pictures. That day was so lovely; I would have been happy to have spent my entire holiday in that village.
Monday, while Jyoti and Carrie (the co-worker who went with me) took a day trip to kiss the Blarney Stone, I traveled by train to Maynooth to visit some missionaries whom my church supports. They gave a presentation at church one Sunday soon after I moved into the area, and I decided that I would look them up if I had the opportunity while visiting in Ireland. It worked out perfectly since I was too tired to travel several hours by bus to see the Blarney Castle. Vicki Gilliam met me at the train station in Maynooth and took me to see the church office where she and her husband serve and then took me to a Bible study, where I met a few of the women from the local church. For lunch, Vicki and I enjoyed bowls of soup and a pot of tea at one of the local pubs. She then took me to see St. Patrick's Seminary, which is the only remaining Catholic seminary in Ireland. The chapel there was absolutely stunning, even more beautiful, in my opinion than St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. The buildings of the seminary now are mostly used by the local college. It's such a beautiful campus! Vicki also pointed out the remains of a castle built by the Fitzpatricks. Before taking me back to the train station, Vicki stopped by her house to give me a book written by her sister-in-law, Connally Gilliam. In my opinion, it was worth the trip to Ireland just to learn about the book. :) It is entitled Revelations of a Single Woman: loving the life i didn't expect. Wow, it is a must read for single women or anyone trying to understand the struggles of the unintentionally single woman.
On Tuesday, Jyoti, Carrie, and I went to Dublin City Centre to go shopping and see some of the sites there. The first stop was at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, an ancient manuscript of the four Gospels scribed by monks in the ninth century. Even more fascinating was the library which holds an old collection of 200,000 books. We also walked into the General Post Office, which is historically significant. In front of the GPO is the Dublin Spire which was erected about 5 years ago.
Wednesday was the day of our return flight...the four days passed much too quickly...Jyoti was a wonderful hostess and tour guide. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime, one which I will always treasure.
On Friday, my co-worker Carrie and I left the office around 12:30, and I drove to DC to catch our flight. My friend, Beth, had made arrangements for me to leave my car at her parents' home near the Washington/Dulles airport. When we arrived, Mrs. Zirkle made us feel very welcome in her beautiful home, and even provided my favorite refreshment of tea and gluten-free scones before she drove us to the airport.
The flight over was great, leaving around 7:30 p.m. By the time I got acquainted with the elderly Irish gentleman sitting next to me and dinner was served, it was almost 10:00 p.m. I fell asleep and woke up right before we landed in Dublin. Getting through customs and claiming our baggage went very smoothly. We walked out of the terminal and caught a bus to Merrion Centre. After we had boarded the bus, I realized that I hadn't called my friend to let her know what time to meet us at the bus stop; however, knowing that her home is only a five-minute walk from the bus stop, I knew that we could find a phone once we got off the bus.
We found the right stop and got off the bus. As we were looking for a phone, we saw Jyoti waving from across the street. She had timed it perfectly.
The first day we walked through three beautiful parks, one of which is right beside Jyoti and Sandeep's apartment. We also went to St. Patrick's cathedral and a national museum. The parks were absolutely lovely. And the weather was perfect--chilly enough to feel like fall but not raining or miserably cold. Walking along the streets felt surreal. Large trees with falling leaves lined both sides of the streets and most of the dwellings and offices were of charming brick, some hidden beneath creeping ivyor displaying vibrant window boxes. The entrances were marked with varying brilliant-colored doors. Why can't we enjoy that same kind of architechture and beauty in our towns and cities in the U.S.?
On Sunday, we took a train to Howth, a village by the Dublin Sea. Walking along the cliffs, seeing the meadows where heather blooms and gorse bushes abound was my favorite part of the trip. While we were walking along the shore, a seal greeted us and posed for pictures. That day was so lovely; I would have been happy to have spent my entire holiday in that village.
Monday, while Jyoti and Carrie (the co-worker who went with me) took a day trip to kiss the Blarney Stone, I traveled by train to Maynooth to visit some missionaries whom my church supports. They gave a presentation at church one Sunday soon after I moved into the area, and I decided that I would look them up if I had the opportunity while visiting in Ireland. It worked out perfectly since I was too tired to travel several hours by bus to see the Blarney Castle. Vicki Gilliam met me at the train station in Maynooth and took me to see the church office where she and her husband serve and then took me to a Bible study, where I met a few of the women from the local church. For lunch, Vicki and I enjoyed bowls of soup and a pot of tea at one of the local pubs. She then took me to see St. Patrick's Seminary, which is the only remaining Catholic seminary in Ireland. The chapel there was absolutely stunning, even more beautiful, in my opinion than St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. The buildings of the seminary now are mostly used by the local college. It's such a beautiful campus! Vicki also pointed out the remains of a castle built by the Fitzpatricks. Before taking me back to the train station, Vicki stopped by her house to give me a book written by her sister-in-law, Connally Gilliam. In my opinion, it was worth the trip to Ireland just to learn about the book. :) It is entitled Revelations of a Single Woman: loving the life i didn't expect. Wow, it is a must read for single women or anyone trying to understand the struggles of the unintentionally single woman.
On Tuesday, Jyoti, Carrie, and I went to Dublin City Centre to go shopping and see some of the sites there. The first stop was at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, an ancient manuscript of the four Gospels scribed by monks in the ninth century. Even more fascinating was the library which holds an old collection of 200,000 books. We also walked into the General Post Office, which is historically significant. In front of the GPO is the Dublin Spire which was erected about 5 years ago.
Wednesday was the day of our return flight...the four days passed much too quickly...Jyoti was a wonderful hostess and tour guide. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime, one which I will always treasure.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Gluten-free
Three weeks ago, I decided to cut gluten out of my diet for health reasons. All of my life, I've had digestive problems, but they have become increasingly worse over the past year. My doctor attributed the symptoms to stress, but once I got through school and the CPA exam, I realized that my life was about as stress-free as it will ever be...and my symptoms didn't go away. So, after a friend encouraged me to consider reading information about and trying a gluten-free diet, I did.
Within a week, I was feeling better. This last week, it has been hard to be gluten-free since I've been traveling for work, and my symptoms are back.
This new change is going to be hard, but I think it will be worth it. I'm just going to have to learn to deal with explaining the issue to people who are involved with serving and preparing food.
Within a week, I was feeling better. This last week, it has been hard to be gluten-free since I've been traveling for work, and my symptoms are back.
This new change is going to be hard, but I think it will be worth it. I'm just going to have to learn to deal with explaining the issue to people who are involved with serving and preparing food.
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