So, I have started so many blog posts but either never finished them, became frustrated with some aspect of the post, or had so much to write/research that I didn't know where to start. In order for me to try to get back into blogging again, I decided to do a bit of a "year in review" of sorts.
In January, I started a new job as an Imaging Systems Administrator (ISA) for the hospital that I have worked for 9 years now. I started with this hospital as the deep night (11pm-7am) CT tech. After 5 years of that, I moved to our off campus imaging center as the supervisor for 3 years. My job currently is considered an IT job handling the applications associated with the radiology department. It has been an incredibly challenging year but I work with an amazing team that has supported, encouraged, and helped me learn a complete new set of skills.
In March, we took a trip to Alaska. We visited Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Barrow with Kim and Jonathan. We had an amazing time and got to have a couple of those "once in a lifetime" type of experiences. I got to check off one of my "bucket list" experiences...seeing the Aurora Borealis. I loved Alaska so much. I cried much of the way home. I didn't want to leave and I didn't want to leave my sister. :)
Barrow, AK
On our way home from Alaska, Anthony and I celebrated our first anniversary. :) We had our cake topper once we got home. :)
First Anniversary Cake. It was actually really tasty.
The choir at our church that Anthony is a member of, recorded a CD and Anthony had a solo.
Apparently, my little 2nd cousins who my parents take care of as often as they are able, love this CD. The CD is very Southern Gospel and these 2-7 year old kids love this music...I love that. :)
We both went on the choir trip to Killeen, Texas. The choir performed the music from the CD at two churches, one a large church in Killeen and the other a very small church near Waco. The small church was my favorite. This church was smaller than Malta but reminded me a lot of it. There were probably 4 or 5 times as many people in the choir than the congregation who came that night but they were amazing. One little old lady was so moved by the whole experience that the choir director had her pull a chair up front. We sang a great song that half way through, the little old lady was bawling. By the end of the song, half of us were wiping tears away as well.
In October, Anthony and I finally took our "official" honeymoon to Walt Disney World. This was Anthony's first time and he keeps talking about "the next time we go..." LOL He has joined our dark side. Mwahahaha. ;) We had a lovely time. We visited his grandfather while we were in Florida as well.
Day 1, Magic Kingdom
Anthony has been given additional duties at work along with a couple of raises this year. I am so proud of him. He is a very hard worker and excels in his position. It isn't the easiest job and can be quite frustrating at times but he does a great job and his coworkers love him. [Note from Anthony: They mostly love me because I bring baked goods.]
I found out that I have hypothyroidism and that most physicians don't know much about the current research regarding hypothyroidism. I found a physician, thanks to a friend, who did finally diagnose me and would prescribe meds for me. Since being on the medicine, the severe swelling in my legs and feet, I have suffered with for about 3 years, has all but disappeared. Other physicians I have visited simply ignored or wrote the symptoms off as "just my hormonal cycle." I have had more energy and other symptoms have improved as well. I believe that I have been hypothyroid for most of my life but due to outdated "normal ranges" provided by labs, I have never been considered in the hypo range. As you can tell, I'm not exactly happy with the majority of physicians at this point.
In November, we attended the Board Game Geek Convention in Dallas with our friends Alejandro and Jordan. We had a great time, got lots of games, and have decided to make this a "once every two years" thing after next year. The only downside was that there was a Doctor Who convention going on in Dallas at the same time. Oh well. ;)
Playing Pointless at BGG Con
Kim and Jonathan came in for Thanksgiving the week we were at the BGG Con. We picked them up at the airport and took them to Chick-fil-A (usually their first stop once getting back into Texas). We brought them home and they wanted to show us a DVD of pics from their trip up the Ice Road and of the house they are buying in Anchorage. The video ended with a picture of an Ultrasound. SHE'S PREGNANT!!!! I bawled and bawled. I am soooooo excited!
We also attended the Tucker family Thanksgiving reunion this year. This is my mom's side of the family. Every two years, we all get together for a family reunion. This is usually filled with great fellowship, delicious food, games until the wee hour of the morning, and bocce tournaments. We were not able to be at the reunion until late Friday night due to the fact that I was on call on Thanksgiving Day. But Anthony and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, just the two of us.
Anthony baking his famous rolls.
The Monday after Thanksgiving, my Granny had a heart attack. Since then, she has had at least one more. She is in a lot of pain and it has taken up to this point to get things regulated for her. In fact, things still aren't great for her, so prayers for her comfort and spirits and prayers of wisdom for the physicians are most appreciated.
Shortly after Granny's heart attack, Shiloh ran out into the street and was hit by a car. It was a very traumatic night that ended in us having to put her down. We took the day off the next day because we were still so upset and a major ice storm hit that prevented us from leaving the house for several days. With the exception of a hike to the Walgreens for a few things we needed...thank goodness for our Alaska gear. :) We miss our little neurotic buddy, so much. I still tear up sometimes when I come home and she isn't jumping up and down so excited to see me.
We found out Kim is having a boy. His name is going to be Elijah. I love it!
I think Kim is training Elijah to be a Baylor Bear in utero. ;)
I have started learning to knit. I made a scarf & hat for my Grandma & a shawl for my Granny. I used a loom for those projects so now I am trying to learn to knit with needles. I've got a nephew on the way & 100's of projects I want to make for him. ;)
My first scarf.
It has been a year filled with challenges, tragedy, stress, excitement, joy, family, and friends. Not much unlike any other year. The best part of it all is that I get to share it with my best friend and love of my life, Anthony.
We totally get each other's silliness.
So what are our hopes for 2014?
Our church has started a Sunday night service that includes a discipleship time. We are table facilitators during the discipleship time. We are very excited about this new adventure in our church.
We are really working towards starting a baking business. Our first step is working on some awesome recipes. I've got an AMAZING chocolate chip cookie recipe and adjusted it the other night to make a White Chocolate Cherry cookie that was equally amazing. Anthony sold a fantastic Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake around Thanksgiving. Soooo good. So, if you or anyone you know is looking to purchase some cookies or cakes, we may have an offer. ;) We have a few things we need to work out like, a name for our business, a logo (I'm sure our friend Jordan will help us with that), etc... Also, if you have any requests or suggestions for items to try, please, let me know. :)
White Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Seeing my nephew sometime in May or June.
We hope to announce we will be adding to our family as well, but things seem to be going a bit slower than we had hoped. So, prayers on that front are appreciated as well.
I hope to start writing more and publish some articles (just need to find out how and where). I dream of writing women's Bible studies and speaking at women's seminars.
I hope to study theology more and understand God more accurately.
We hope to finish our reading through the Bible and find a good resource to go deeper in our daily Bible reading together. Maybe a systematic theology guide or A Baptist Catechism...something to help us understand what it is we claim to believe and "to be able to give a reason for the hope that is within us" (1 Peter 3:15)
There are other hopes and dreams we have....I guess we will just have to see what God will bring to us. :)
I actually really liked this video and thought they made an excellent point.
Atheists, like every other group of people, have a wide variety of personalities. Some are calm, logical, deep thinkers (like these) and some are irrational, angry, vehement (like the one here...warning, the video contains very bad language) and lots of personalities in between.
When witnessing to any person, atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Jew, Mormon, etc..., you must tailor your delivery without changing the message.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." Paul met the people in the place they were in order to help them understand. To the Jews who understood the Law, he preached the law to them in order to convict them and then revealed the Gospel to them. To the Greeks, he acknowledged the fact that they were a very spiritual/religious people. He pointed out that they had an altar to "an unknown god." Then he went on to tell them about that God, Yahweh (Acts 17:16-34).
Jesus did the same thing. To the arrogant Pharisees, He preached very harshly to them (Matthew 23). To those who needed hope, He preached the hope that is in Him (John 4).
There may be times when a Bible verse alone is enough to humble a person unto Christ. However, there are times and people who need different forms of apologetics Apologetics comes from the Greek wordἀπολογία ("apologia") that means "speaking in defense." Many Christians say they feel uncomfortable with that word because they think it sounds too much like apologizing. That is not what it means, but when I felt this way, I thought of it more like when I do apologize for something, I usually follow it up with a reason for why I did what I did. It isn't really the same thing but it helped me get over the similar sounds. :)
Presuppositional apologetics presupposes that there is a God and the Bible is true. “The battle is not over evidence by over philosophical starting points: presuppositions.” (David Wright, AIG, 2007) This is actually more in line in how the prophets and Apostles seemed to reason. It is difficult to find an instance where one of the prophets or Apostles made an argument for the existence of God. It is also easier for those who want to evangelize but don’t have an extensive education in evidential apologetics or a doctorate in a science, religion, debate, or philosophy. The best argument I have heard for presuppositional apologetics was by Sye Ten Bruggencate. He made this argument: when before a court, as a defense attorney, you bring evidence to defend the person on trial. God is not on trial. God is the judge, not the defendant. Presenting evidence in defense of God puts God on trial and puts the unregenerate in the place of judge and jury. That argument makes a lot of sense. There are many passages in Scripture that support this type of apologetics.
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” (Proverbs 26:4-5)
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.‘ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” (Psalms 14:1)
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16)
“As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (Psalms 18:30)
“Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,” Acts 17:2
Many people seem to say one is better than the other but, for me, I think it depends on the personality of person you are witnessing to. Personally, I can relate to both. The scientific side of me loves and really responds to evidential apologetics. I understand why the presuppositional apologist argues the way he does and agree with him, but I'm not sure I would respond to his arguments positively if I were not already a Christian. Not that his arguments are not accurate or effective. I'm just not sure it would be the right kind of apologetics to have used on me as a non-Christian or even if I had not been raised in a Christian home. Having said that, there are people who have responded to pre-suppositional apologetics.
In my Wednesday night Bible study this week, a man talked about two of his children. One is on fire for God and wants to become a pastor. The other child, has pretty much turned her back on God. The boy will call the girl and his dad and point out all their sins. The father said he has told his son that this isn't the right way to witness to his sister and he said that it gets old when he hears it as well. The problem with this son is that he preaches all law and morality without following it up with the Gospel. This is very common today. People focus on morals rather than the Gospel. This makes is no different than every other works based religion out there. Morals do not save.
Our Bible study teacher, mentioned a quote he had heard somewhere that said, "If your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." That was a good point. There is a time and place that a hammer is the perfect tool, but if you are performing an appendectomy, it probably isn't the best tool.
It's the same thing with street preaching. I have met people who heard the Gospel from a street preacher and were converted. I really admire street preachers, or at least the ones who do it properly. Then there are others who respond after years and years of a relationship and prayer. The delivery may be different, but the message is the same. In 1 Corinthians 3:6-9, Paul says, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building."
The couple above made a great point that we should be able to reasonably explain what and why we believe what we say we believe. The Bible even instructs us to do this in 1 Peter 3:15. In the second video, if you didn't choose to watch it, a very angry atheist goes on a several minute long screaming monologue after passing a man holding a sign with a Christian message. He finally leaves after the police ask him to leave the college campus he was jogging on. The entire time, the Christian kept his cool and offered to debate the man but he would not. A crowd gathered and some of them tried to calm the man down. Even one guy who agreed with some of his statements pointed out that his irrational behavior was actually making a statement about his claims. Because the Christian kept quite and calm, he appeared more rational and respectful than the atheist, giving strength to his case over the atheist’s.
Just my thoughts. So, I’ll leave you with this passage.
"But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil." (1 Peter 3:14-17, ESV)
Wow. I did not realize how long it has been since I updated this blog. Man! Where do I start? Well, like I said in my last post we got a dog. Her name is Shiloh & the vet is guessing she is about 5 yrs old. She must have had a pretty rough first part of her life because she has some scars to her back end & a broken rib that has healed but pokes out on her left side. She is a great dog & loves us so much. She came already trained at playing fetch & it is definitely her favorite past time...sneaking out of our back yard is apparently her second favorite...not one of our favorites. Yes, the police have already shown up at our house once with her. She loved every person & kid she has met (so far) & that, I couldn't be happier about. However, she is not a fan of other dogs. Today we took her to a dog park & she put a pretty aggressive pit bull & HUGE German shepherd in their places when she felt they had gotten too close. For the first few weeks we had her she had a terrible case of kennel cough that really worried us & we made a couple of trips to the vet & bought tons of pills that were a ton of fun to shove down her throat. Also, the day we got her we took her for a long walk & I fell in a small hole. I thought I was fine but started having pain in my foot a few days later. Two weeks later, Anthony convinced me to see a podiatrist. I ended up in a boot for 5 weeks for sever posterior tibial tendonitis & plantar faciatis. Now I'm awaiting he wants me to have orthotic inserts specially made. This $25 dog is starting to become very expensive.
On another note, Anthony & I finally found a church (Northview Baptist Church) & have joined it. We found a great Sunday school class and, on Wednesdays, I attend a systematic theology class while Anthony is in choir practice. The church is a little bigger than what I grew up in but still small enough that you won't get lost in the crowd. It think the one thing that really pulled me over was that they had the Institute for Creation Research come every Wednesday & a couple of Sundays in October to speak on creation & Genesis. This topic is a major interest to me & that they were open to speak on a controversial subject really impressed me. Also, the new members pastor teaches the theology class I attend & his belief, teaching, & adherence to solid Bible doctrine sealed the deal for me. I really think this is a place we can serve & be served. We went to Vegas a few weeks ago. Interesting place. Never was on my list of places I wanted to visit but we had the opportunity & we went. We also got to see Kim & Jonathan while we were there which was great too. I am no fan of Vegas. We did go see Cirque de Soliel's "Ka" & it was really cool, we went to the new Bacchanal Buffet at Ceasar's Palace that was really good, & we also visited Hoover Dam which was the highlight of the trip for us. We think we may go back one day if we find pretty cheap tickets just to see another Cirque show, maybe the Blue Man Group, & take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.
I have now owned our house for 3 years which means we are released from the First Time Home Buyers Credit. Yay! So now we can look for a new house. This house is amazing. We love it. However, it is a bit small for a family...one baby or toddler, maybe but more than that, no way. So, we want something bigger but for less. Sound crazy? Well, we really would like to find a house with 4+ rooms, 2+ baths, a room that could act as an office/school room, single story, yard big enough to have a garden & play in, very little updating (we could paint or add new carpet), decent neighborhood, reasonably close to Anthony's office & our church, & for $100,000 or less. Now do we sound crazy? hahaha Well, we don't have to move out anytime soon or anything so we can wait till we find the right place & there are always houses coming up for foreclosure. We'll just keep praying about it. :) For the last two weeks, I have planed out our menu for the week & we have made pretty much all our meals (including taking our lunch). We've eaten out I think 3 times & I've had fast food only once, Anthony maybe 2-3 times. This still may not sound great but it is monumental for us. We've been going to the grocery store on the weekends & only popping into one during the week to grab something that wouldn't have lasted long enough or the store didn't have when we went earlier. We are also starting to watch sales & find decent coupons. I must say, shopping has actually been kind of fun & we are trying so many new recipes. We are saving money, eating better, & having fun. What more could you want? I think I am slowly turning into a hippie. I am starting to become convinced of some of the dangers of some of the chemicals we use on an everyday basis &, since Obamacare doesn't seem to have any chance of being reversed, I am starting to get interested in more alternative/homeopathic medicine. I really believe that now that healthcare has been socialized, if we have any hope of any kind of healthcare, we will need to seek it other places than in the "accepted establishment." Anyway, I have been researching some "DIY cleaners" &, tonight, we bought the ingredients to make our own laundry detergent. According to this girl, it costs approximately $0.02 per load & costs her about $2 a month for her family of 6. That is a heck of a deal. So, I'll keep you posted. Well, Anthony has already headed to bed so I guess I'll say good night as well. :D
Sooooo...we're adopting a dog! She is getting fixed & microchipped today and tomorrow we get to go pick her up. (The photo to the left is the pic that the Denton Animal Shelter had on their website.) She is a 8 yr or so Jack Russell. They know very little about her except that they found her as a stray in Corinth.
Anthony went to see her yesterday (thus the picture on the right) & said that she was pretty skiddish & seemed scared but she came right up to him. They said she has been a bit snippy at the smaller, yappy dogs (who wouldn't be?).
We are also dog sitting for Anthony's parents for the next week+. Sydney is the sweetest pit bull ever & Sasha is a little, yappy pomeranian. So, we'll be spending most of the next few days getting her socialized to other dogs. She will need to learn to love these two since she'll probably be playing with them a lot in the future.
We aren't really sure what we are going to name her but we are leaning toward Shiloh, which is Hebrew & usually means "His (God's) gift."
We visited Heritage Grace Community Church today. First off, I can't tell you how welcoming & sincere everyone was, especially Trisha Ramos (the lady I mentioned in our last blog that we met at the conference in Tulsa...she's also the pastor's wife).
The second thing we noticed was the worship service. Their website states, "We desire for our worship to be God centered & not man centered. Our songs all undergo a Biblical litmus test so that we sing only that which we believe is truly reflected in Scripture." Many churches today reduce the praise & worship down to songs that are all feeling driven rather than focusing on what Christ has really done for us & who He is. That is the whole point of praise & worship is to focus on what Christ has done for us, for who he is, not how He makes us feel. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" And, Psalms 150:2 says, "Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!"
Another thing we thought was great, was also stated on their website and evident in the service: "Some child care will be provided during service especially for younger ages (3 and under/nursery). We believe the older children at HGCC should be in corporate worship and hear the preaching of God's Word. However our church is not family integrated, family focused, or family centered; HGCC is above all Christ centered." Anthony & I have discussed how many churches are "family centered" & how, as singles, we would hear that, & struggling with not having a family of our own, it made us feel less accepted & vital and that was not the reason we came to church. We wanted a church to preach Christ, not how to be a better spouse or parent (not that those aren't occasionally appropriate, as long as it is turned back to the Gospel; but, for the most part, those type sermons should be reserved for small group studies).
Finally, the sermon. Pastor Emilo Ramos gave an excellent sermon about proper church discipline. Essentially stating that the end purpose of church discipline is to win the sinner back into the congregation; the church to exercise love, compassion, & mercy; and to purify the church. He also stated several times that is is church discipline, not church abuse. Many people who are against church discipline are so due to churches who have abused their authority, their members, & misused/misinterpreted the Word of God.
We are desperate to find a home church but we want to make sure that it is a good, Bible-teaching church. We don't want to get into a church, make friends, make commitments & then discover something that isn't doctrinally sound & have to leave. We have visited SEVERAL churches & have only found, up to this point, 4 that we are interested in. No church is perfect, we know that, but choosing who is going to feed you spiritually is a very serious matter.
We really liked this church so it will go down on our VERY small list of the good churches that we are considering making our home church. Again, we know that no church is perfect & that is because man is not perfect but we want to find the church where we can be fed properly by the pastor, fellowship & be strengthened/encouraged with a warm family of brothers & sisters in Christ, be discipled & disciple others, and serve. This will take a lot of prayer. And just because we eventually choose one church over another, does not, in the slightest, say anything negative about the other churches. It will just be the church we believe God is leading us to.
Anthony & I traveled to Tulsa, OK last weekend in order to attend the A Call for Discernment conference organized by Grace Family Bible Church of Tulsa. The drive to Tulsa was very nice & we are now a little more willing to going up there for weekend trips more often.
A couple of months ago, I was reading a blog I follow & I saw a link on the side of his blog advertising the conference. I clicked on the link & saw that a guy (Justin Peters) I had heard on Brannon Howse's Worldview Weekend radio show & a guy (Frank Turk) I had just recently been reading his blogs & following him on Twitter would be there. I also noticed that one of the pastors from Voddie Baucham's church (Grace Family Baptist Church) would also be speaking. After realizing this would be a free conference, I decided to send the link to Anthony & see if he was interested. After mulling it over, we decided to go ahead & if it turned out to be a dud, we would just leave & go see what Tulsa had to offer.
I have been to many conferences. Emotional manipulating roller coasters of youth conferences; watered-down sales-pitches women's conferences; and one really good prophecy conference. I really didn't know what to expect. The first thing we were surprised about was the amount of people. 900 people had registered but we are guessing about 700-800 showed up. The place was packed. It is always nice to realize you aren't alone in what you believe & observe in the world. We were also surprised at how many Mennonites were present. I don't know why, but I have such a love for Mennonite people. I don't completely agree 100% with them on how they interpret the Scripture (obviously) but there is something about how seriously they take living for God that makes me want to run up & hug them. (At this point, my husband will look at me smiling & say, "You're so silly." hehehe)
Justin Peters was the main speaker & why the conference was called "A Call for Discernment." He has produced a DVD with the presentation of the same name (that we purchased). Mr. Peters was born with cerebal palsy that mainly just affects his walking. Growing up, he was taken to many "faith healers" for a "miraculous healing." Clearly, his body has not been healed. He was told it was because of his lack of faith. However, God used these horrible experiences to inspire him to form a ministry warning others of the unBiblical teachings these people try to sale. Some of the people he points out are: Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Paul & Jan Crouch, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, and several others. You can pretty much bet, if they are promoted by TBN or GOD TV, they would make the list of those to stay away from. Mr. Peters has a very well done presentation backed up by lots of Scripture &, when he names names, he uses actual video clip so the viewer can see these people as they speak the words & can see their facial expressions & hear their inflections.
Justin Peters admits that taking up discernment will win you few friends & many enemies. Mr. Peters' Facebook site has even been removed by Facebook & when I tried to post a link to his website on Facebook, I got an error stating it was a spammy or unsafe website. I wonder who didn't like what he said. O.o
Despite my high regard for Justin Peters & loving every minute of his presentation, the highlight of the day, for me, was hearing Paul Washer preach. I had never heard of Mr. Washer before Saturday. I will now list him as my favorite preacher. Sorry, John MacArthur, I still love your preaching.
Mr. Washer preached for almost 3 hrs. As much as I was dying to stand up & stretch & go have lunch, I didn't want him to stop. It was like listening to one of the old Puritan preachers. He is soft spoken but does not mince words. He is so sincere & so in love with our Savior. I have seen several preachers get choked up in a sermon or tear up a bit, but this man sobbed & it wasn't to make a point or garner sympathy. He is truly grieved by what is going on in the Church & that so few Christians truly understand what Christ has done for us. (On a side note, none of us will ever fully understand what Christ has done this side of Heaven, however, that shouldn't stop us from striving to understand & worship Him properly.) If you are interested in hearing some of Paul Washer's sermons, some of them are postedhere on Sermon Audio.
We left for lunch convicted & sore from him stepping on our emotional toes but with an intensified desire to learn more about Christ & more serious in our intent to worship him. On our way back, I was able to "snap" a pic of this awesome police vehicle. Love it.
Trisha Ramos of Fish With Trish was also manning her table. Some of you may know her from her occasionally teaming up with Todd Friel of Wretched Radio and Ray Comfort of Living Waters/Way of the Master. I knew she was from the DFW area but during the last portion of the night, they talked about her husband, Emilio Ramos, & her had just recently started a new church in the north Dallas area. Anthony thought it might be the same church some friends of his had moved to & wanted to ask her. We got to talking to her (it wasn't the same church) & she ended up inviting us to their church, Heritage Grace Community Church. They have only been going for about 8 weeks & only have about 50 people so far. They are currently meeting in another church so their services really don't get started till about 2pm (she assured us this was the only seeker-friendly aspect of their church...hahaha).
This quote from C.S. Lewis sums up nicely the conference & our feeling regarding finding the right church:
"Spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food & it will gobble poison." -- C.S. Lewis
In addition, here is a picture of the view from our hotel room. If they could guarantee that all their hotels were as nice & inexpensive as this particular Holiday Inn, we would join their membership club without hesitation. Over all, it was a GREAT weekend.
Two weekends ago we had our friends, Al & Jordan, over for dinner & game night. My sister, Kim, had given me some salt blocks for Christmas this past year & thought this would be the perfect time to try them out. So, we decided to have a tapas night. Anthony titled the menu "Five Course Summer Tapas"
We started out with a salad of fresh spring greens, napa cabbage, carrot, red bell pepper, & cucumber with a fresh Ginger Peanut Asian Dressing. I made the dressing based on a recipe I found at The Cafe Sucre Farine blog. Let me just say, this is now one of my staple dressings. It was AMAZING. I may use it as a marinade for a chicken stir-fry soon as well.
For the appetizer, Anthony made Polenta Pizziolis. He made the polenta himself & then added some marinara & fresh mozzarella. They were amazing. This was my first time having polenta, so, true to my picky palate, I was a little nervous but, oh my gosh, sooooo good. Also, Jordan brought roasted tomato crustini that were amazing as well. She had roasted some super sweet cherry tomatoes. As a person who never eats tomatoes unless they are in ketchup or sauce, these must have been amazing because I couldn't stop eating them.
Then we brought out the super hot salt block & Anthony proceeded to cook the shrimp on it. We had three sauces to dip them in: a basic cocktail sauce that was hardly touched, a honey sriracha sauce that Anthony made, & chipotle barbecue that was another Anthony concoction. The two Anthony sauces were super flavorful & delicious but also quite spicy. The salt block salted the shrimp perfectly & was a very cool process. Below is a video I tried to capture to give you an idea.
For the entree, we used some of our left over wedding beef brisket & made street tacos. They were good, as well, but by this time we were all starting to become rather stuffed. ;)
To let our food settle a bit, we decided to play a few games before the desert of an assortment of Blue Bell ice cream (Kroger had a sale). Also, at this point, I would like to say I am so sorry for those of you who do not live in Texas & cannot get your hands on Blue Bell ice cream. Nothing compares except maybe what Baptist church ladies make for Baptist ice cream socials.
We played board games the rest of the night, which has become our thing now, & into the the wee hours of the morning...which didn't make getting up for church the next morning the easiest task. ;) Al has begun collecting board/card games so we always get the opportunity to try out one or two new ones & play some of our favorites.
This night, one of the games we played was a German murder mystery game called Mord im Arosa. Very fun & clever game.
We also played a firefighting game called Flash Point. It is a cooperative game which means all the players work together, there is no one winner. Not being a super competitive person, I tend to like these games; however, I also don't like being told what to do, so sometimes they can be a bit irritating for me as well when a couple of strong personalities want to play for me. Then I just want to say what is the point of me being here. ;) Just another reminder of the human pride that infects me & that the Lord is continuing to sanctify in me through His grace & mercy.
Then the rest of the night we played Dominion that has become a bit of an addiction of our little group. Al has now completed the entire game with all the expansion packs. They have an online version of the game, that, if you ask me, stinks. I get ridiculously frustrated with it however, some people seem to really enjoy it. :/ There is an iPhone/iPad app that I enjoy & I also, interestingly, find I am much more vicious in since I'm only playing the computer & not a real person. I wish they would hurry up & come up with a computer game of it though.
Needless to say, it was a great night with great friends!
So, I have started so many blog posts but either never finished them, became frustrated with some aspect of the post, or had so much to write/research that I didn't know where to start. In order for me to try to get back into blogging again, I decided to do a bit of a "year in review" of sorts.
