until the number is complete...

"for the Lord loves justice,
he will not forsake his saints"
psalm 37:28

"i saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. they cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been."
revelation 6:9-11





i really love these verses.  and if it wasn't for them, i would be completely hopeless after watching this:


Persecution in India: Unedited Footage from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.


Persecution in India: Francis' Response from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

please stop and pray for these people, if you consider them your brothers and sisters.

in absentia

i have been absent from the blogosphere for about three or four weeks now... not writing any blogs, and barely reading any.

i've missed the blogosphere, but plenty of important things have kept me busy, like hanging out with my mom when she came to visit, taking on extra hours at work, getting certified for adoption and getting our place prepared to be taken over by little ones.  though we are getting closer each day to adoption, at the same time various things have come up to put us farther away. 

while not really knowing when this will happen (i would guess early april... could be sooner, could be later), we are slowly gathering/collecting stuff together that we will need in order to take care of the children God is going to bring our way (i have coined the term "baby paraphernalia" to describe the exorbitant amount of stuff you need).

i place a huge priority on living simply/minimally, so i am trying to be discerning in what we get, because i really don't want to buy something we will use only twice.  making things more complicated is the fact that we have no idea what to prepare for... we have requested a sibling set of two between the ages of 0 and 4.  now if you know anything about this age range, you know that there are HUGE discrepancies between children in this age range.  even 6 months in the life of a child this age can mean different clothes, different toys, different car seat, and even a different bed.  we could be placed with twin infants, a 14 month old and a 3 1/2 year old, an infant and a 18 month old or twin two year olds or any other broad range of possibilities.


we are trying to be broadly prepared, while only purchasing minimally.  what would be most helpful in this effort is to get lots of hand-me-downs from other parents.  unfortunately, we basically know zero parents of young children here.  about a month ago, God reminded me of a friend from our old church who told me that every time she needs something, she prays that God would give it to her for free, and He has often answered.  so i decided to start praying for free "baby paraphernalia", remembering how God brought water from rocks for the israelites (exodus 17, numbers 20).

in usual God-like fashion, he has answered.  so far, we have been given two cribs (one converts into a toddler bed...perfect for our situation), two crib mattresses, several receiving blankets, almost 20 pieces of clothing of various sizes, a crib mobile, and a baby sling, as well as various books and toys.

when my mom was here, she also helped me to sew some bibs, which i was pretty excited about (i really enjoy sewing, but i need lots of help/guidance).  i'm also on craig's list a lot, trying to find good deals.  [in case you cant tell, i am all about preparing and planning ahead :) ]


please take a moment to stop reading and pray for us and the adoption.  specifically, please pray:

*for the health and safety of our future children.  they are almost certainly being abused right now in some way, which is why they will be put into the foster care system.

*for God to prepare Alex and I for the challenge and sacrifice of parenting; and that we would parent by the power of the gospel.

*that God would continue to bring water from the rocks.  specifically, at this point we really need another infant car seat, two booster seats, a dresser, bottles and more clothes (more books and toys would be great as well).

male and female He created them

so God created man in his own image,
   in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

 - genesis 1:27

this verse keeps running through my mind of recent.  it is so exciting and humbling to think about the fact that God himself hand crafted men and women in his own way for his own purpose.

but the thing that strikes me is that it says "male and female he created them".  if God created the two different sexes, should we not let him define what that distinction should be, and what the purpose for that distinction is?  in other words, should not the bible be our sole text for understanding this, rather than pop psychology, oprah and dr phil?

the bible has plenty of verses on what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman, yet they are often avoided or go untouched by christian leaders who want to blend in with pop psychology.  but i will let them speak for themselves.

"To the woman he said,

   'I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
 Your desire shall be for your husband,
   and he shall rule over you.'"

-genesis 3:16

 "And to Adam he said,

  ...'cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
   and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
   you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground."

-genesis 3:17-19

"An excellent wife who can find?
   She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
   and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
   all the days of her life...

She rises while it is yet night
   and provides food for her household
   and portions for her maidens"

-proverbs 31:10-12, 15

"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 

-1 timothy 5:8 [the use of "he" implying to husbands/males]

"Strength and dignity are her clothing,
   and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
   and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness."

-proverbs 31:25-27

"[wives] let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious" 

-1 peter 3:4

"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."

-1 peter 3:7


all of these passages are addressed to wives or husbands.  

i'd like to hear your thoughts... what are the implications for single people? 

simply tasty: hummus among us

mmm... hummus.

quite possibly my most favorite snack.  delicious with pita chips, baby carrots, celery sticks, tortilla chips or spread on a sandwich. not only is it delicious, but also healthy: full of protein, fiber and healthy fats.


the problem with hummus is that they waaaaaaaaaaay over charge for it at the store.  like, 4 bucks for a tiny little 6 oz tub... i can easily finish one of those in a single sitting!  there is nothing expensive in hummus- its mostly made of beans which are one of the cheapest foods on the planet.


that is why i discovered how to make it homemade.  and i have continued to made it because it literally takes about 3 minutes to make- throw it all in the food processor and push "on"! since i started making it at home i have never bought it prepared. 


one thing that scares people away from making homemade hummus is the one strange sounding ingredient- "tahini". tahini is ground sesame seeds... basically like peanut butter, but sesame seeds.  these days, most regular grocery stores carry tahini (check either next to the peanut butter or in the middle eastern food section), but you will most likely get the best price at a specialty mediterranean or middle eastern food store.  buying a jar of it is a good investment because you will make 15 or more batches of hummus from each jar, and it will be fine sitting on your shelf for years.


hummus

1 can garbanzo beans (or 2 cups home cooked garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp Tahini
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 peeled garlic clove (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp ground sea salt
cumin, pepper and/or red pepper flakes to taste

put everything into a food processor and mix until smooth.  optional: for smoother, creamier hummus add water a tablespoon at a time until hummus reaches desired consistency.



sprinkle the top with paprika when serving to make it look delish!

watch it.

this video made me cry.

it also made me look forward to a blessing like eliot in our lives.


99 Balloons from Igniter Media on Vimeo.

simply tasty: cinnamon sugar pita chips

a few years ago i was introduced to stacy's pita chips.  if you have tried them, i am sure that you will agree they are extremely deliciously tasty.

the problem is, at about $5 per bag, they aren't something i felt like i could indulge in very often.  furthermore, they are made with white flour, which i try to avoid in favor of whole grain flour.

recently, i discovered how to make pita chips at home and ever since i make them all the time.  this is aided by the fact that i was fortunate enough to find an international market by us where i can get 6 large whole grain pocket pitas for 99 cents (amazing!!!).

the method of making pita chips is very similar to the tortilla chip recipe i shared a few days ago.  it only takes 5-10 minutes to prep, and i bet you wont be able to resist them the minute they come out of the oven!  cinnamon sugar pita chips are one of my favorite sweet treats, and they never last very long whether i make them just for our house or for a hang out time with other people.


cinnamon sugar pita chips

whole grain pocket pitas (very important to make sure they are pocket pitas... ie they are hollow in the middle when you split them open)
canola oil or other vegetable oil
cinnamon sugar (the amount that you need will vary depending on how many pitas you use, but a good ratio is 1/2 T cinnamon to 1/2 cup sugar. i prefer raw sugar but regular white sugar will work just fine.)

take a knife and cut the edge of each pita and separate the two thin sides from one another.

with a pastry brush, liberally spread oil on one side of the pita half.  cut each pita into bite-sized pieces and put onto a cookie sheet.  sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

bake in the oven at 325 for 20-30 minutes, or until chips are stiff and beginning to brown.

enjoy!


variation:  if you want a savory snack similar to stacy's simply naked, use olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  these are delicious dipped in hummus!

simply tasty: homemade salsa

now that you have made tortilla chips, what can you dip them into?  salsa of course!

i like this recipe because it is so easy to make… you just throw everything in, process it, and voila, a tasty salsa comes out!  furthermore, homemade salsa has much more flavor than store-bought, and has more vitamins and fiber, since it hasn't been cooked.

no guilt about eating this tasty snack.  as a friend pointed out to me once, salsa is just chopped veggies, so its practically like a salad!

as for the cost effectiveness of this recipe, it really depends on how much you pay for the ingredients, since fresh produce varies greatly in price through the year.  i would say that this whole recipe will cost you on average $2-3 to make, and yields as much as about 2 jars of store-bought salsa.

Homemade salsa

Ingredients:

5-8 roma tomatoes

1/2 white onion (or 1/4 yellow onion)

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper w/ seeds, stem removed 

1-2 Tbsp of white vinegar

1-2 Tbsp of olive (or other) oil

1-2 Tbsp of lime juice

several dashes of salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and liquid smoke

roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and jalapenos (the pieces can be pretty large, the food processor will do most of the work).  add these to the food processor, along with all of the other ingredients.

process until smooth.

note that only the first 4 ingredients are very necessary, the spices and other additives just enhance the flavor, and could be left out if you don't have them on hand.

serve with homemade tortilla chips.

if you tell people you made both the chips and salsa from scratch, they will be amazed and think you slaved in the kitchen all day. in reality, it took you under 30 minutes to make both! :)