Rise Up & Come Away

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O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul,"Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name. Amen.

A prayer from The Pursuit of God.

Steps To Creativity

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The majority of my time over the past few weeks has been swallowed up by a class I'm in, Life-Span Development. Though the content is extremely interesting to me, I've been getting frustrated with the lack of time to be creative (or really, to do anything). Today I'm in an especially creative mood and it has been taking all of my energy to focus on the work at hand.  

But, in my reading today, I came across a list of ways to be more creative and I thought it might interest some of you. People have their own avenues they like to explore in creativity, but some people don't realize how creative they really are! So, I hope you read this list and find some way to add creativity to this beautiful day (seriously, can the weather get any better?!).

The first step toward a more creative life is cultivating your curiosity and interest. How, do you say?

• Try to be surprised by something every day. Maybe it is something you see, hear, or read about. Become absorbed in a lecture or a book. Be open to what the world is telling you. Life is a stream of experiences. Swim widely and deeply in it, and your life will be richer.
• Try to surprise at least one person every day. In a lot of things you do, you have to be predictable and patterned. Do something different for a change. Ask a question you normally would not ask. Invite someone to go to a show or a museum you never have visited.
• Write down each day what surprised you and how you surprised others. Most creative people keep a diary, notes, or lab records to ensure that their experience is not fleeting or forgotten. Start with a specific task. Each evening record the most surprising event that occurred that day and your most surprising actions. After a few days, reread your notes and reflect on your past experiences. After a few weeks, you might see a pattern of interest emerging in your notes, one that might suggest an area you can explore in greater depth.
• When something sparks your interest, follow it. Usually when something captures your attention, it is short-lived--an idea, a song, a flower. Too often we are too busy to explore the idea, song, or flower further. Or we think these areas are none of our business because we are not experts about them. Yet the world is our business. We can't know which part of it is best suited to our interests until we make a serious effort to learn as much about as many aspects of it as possible.
• Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to. Creative people wake up eager to start the day. Why? Not necessarily because they are cheerful, enthusiastic types but because they know that there is something meaningful to accomplish each day, and they can't wait to get started.
• Spend time in settings that stimulate your creativity. In Csikszentmihalyi's research, he gave people an electronic pager and beeped them randomly at different times of the day. When he asked them how they felt, they reported the highest levels of creativity when walking, driving, or swimming.These activities are semiautomatic in that they take a certain amount of attention while leaving some time free to make connections among ideas. Another setting in which highly creative people report coming up with novel ideas is the sort of half-asleep, half-awake state we are in when we are deeply relaxed or barely awake.

[This was taken from the book, Essentials of Life-Span Development.]

p.s. Do you know what also fosters creativity?Pinterest! I was on it for way too long today, but you know what? When something sparks your interest, follow it! (I think this bullet point is the one I need to work on the most)

I Am My Beloved's

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I never wanted to get married.

It was more than that; I despised getting married, having kids, and living your life with someone else in mind. That was not the life I had in mind for myself, not in the least. So you can imagine, after being with Jakub for only one month, and knowing that I had to marry this man (not as a duty, but as a I-can't-let-him-get-away kind of "had to"), I didn't know where I stood on anything. All I knew was that my life would somehow be better with him in it.

Thankfully, God had other plans for my life than I initially did. With each phase of life, he has revealed more of himself to me. His nature and his love sometimes can be most visible through interactions with others.
In the Bible, the relationship between God and man has been described through many contexts in which we can relate: Father and child, the Shepherd and the sheep, and among others, Bridegroom and bride.

As I've grown older and seen just how intimate and steadfast my parents' love has been for me and my siblings, I have glimpsed what kind of Father my God is. And now, most notably this past week, I have understood what it means to have God as my Bridegroom.

I'm not sure why, but this past week, I was not very lovable. In the course of our marriage, Jakub and I have been very good at resolving any issues and not letting disputes get in between us. For some reason, this wasn't happening. I was...well, simply put, not lovable ha. When we finally got out of that unsightly mess on the other side, I was fully aware of how undeserving I was of Jakub's love.

We were sitting in church and I was just in awe of how another human being could put up with me, call me his wife, and still want to be around me after all the attitude I was giving him. That's when I realized, God treats me as his wife. He is willing to walk beside me in life through all of the muck and grime that I bring his way. Even more so, he created the union of marriage to help us to see what his love looks like in real terms. God is love, and anything good or lovely that comes out of us is from God. He created us to compliment each other while still making our full satisfaction come from him alone.

If I had followed my plan and never gotten married, I would not understand the depth of love and commitment that comes with being husband and wife. I would not know that selflessness, respect, and submission should be an active part of my vocabulary, and that those actually aren't bad things. Marriage is not just some cliche reflection of God; through my trials and triumphs with Jakub, I have directly seen God.
If I could behave one way with a man, and he still give his all for me, how much more does God when I act the same way?! Marriage is a special thing. In this season, where I'm getting a full view of what I am on my own, it is ever more clear that God designed us not only to fit the other's needs, but to demonstrate the depth of his love and creativity.

Knowing that each step in life gives me a clearer picture of God, I anticipate all that God has in store for me. I certainly don't want to live by my plans!

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon

I think it's time I let you know how much I love gospel music, old hymns, and a good voice! To me, there's nothing like the truth that is in those songs. You can feel the passion, soul and desperation in those songs that I think are lacking in a lot of today's music. They speak of our very limited ability and the abundant grace that comes only from God. Every time I hear gospel music or old hymns, it sets me straight and pulls at my heart.

Today I stumbled upon a guy that is able to sing those hymns with just as much passion as I think they deserve. He also covers gospel songs and writes his own music. And he has a beautiful voice! I thought I'd share a few of my favorite videos with you!



This is probably my favorite hymn. It has so much meaning and history in my own life:



This song was sang at our wedding by my insanely talented and beautiful friend, Catherine. I love this version and it takes me back to those moments in the church:



I couldn't embed the video of the song he wrote, but click on the link to watch it, it's truly something special.

This is an old Aretha Franklin song and his rendition is just beautiful:



This song... man, this song gives me goosebumps:



I've realized I can't really narrow down what I like, so you're getting to see them all : )



And lastly, a sweet hymn:



He's quite the talented guy, don't you think?! I'm so glad God created people who have such a talent, it definitely makes the world a more enjoyable place. Just imagine if there weren't people with this gift! God is one creative guy.

We Make A Good Team

Jakub, Me, Craig--don't mind my crazy eyes please : ) and that last picture of me altogether

For those of you that don't know, this is like the three musketeers of dinners. The dream team, if you will. We have been doing private dinners and events together for about three years now and they have always been some of my favorite memories.

Not because of the food, but because of these two guys. (Who am I kidding, it's also because of the food!)

They have been with me through thick and thin, the good and the bad, and most certainly, my ugly moments. No matter how life changes (and there have definitely been a lot of changes lately), when we come together for these events, it's just like old times. I'm guaranteed a good 6+ hours of  quality time with some of my favorite guys, without any distractions--besides making food. But really, it's less of a distraction and more of a bridge.

See, we make a pretty good team. We've gotten in sync with each other from doing this over the years and it's not something we need to really think about; we all just do our part.We can go a while without doing a dinner and then come together and it run smoothly. That's something I don't take for granted!

Tonight we did an event for March of Dimes with three or four other chefs. Everyone made hors d'oeuvres for about 300 people and everything ran smoothly. It was held at the Metro Appliances building and each chef had his own kitchen to work in. The one designated for Jakub was finished just a few hours before we showed up and I wish I would've gotten a picture of it, because it's my dream kitchen!

This is what was on our menu:
48 hour sous vide short ribs with celery root puree.
Scallop ceviche with vanilla bean, tarragon, granny smith apples, and yuzu juice.
White truffle custard topped with creamed porcini mushrooms.
And toasted brioche with St. Andre's triple cream cheese and black currant gel.

If there's one thing my husband can do right, it's make beautiful food that's so good it makes your heart hurt haha. It's true though, I'm amazed at how talented he is!

We didn't get any good pictures, but here's two from tonight. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of the short ribs... That was the big hit of the night.

 

See what I mean? Craig and I have made a good team since 2006. That's pretty official.

Even though we can go a while between dinners and still get in sync, tonight reminded me that I've got to start being more purposeful with my friendships. I need to work harder to let the friends I love know that I love them. Life happens and circumstances change, but I need to let my friends know that I'm not going anywhere! We all have things that pull at us but no matter what, the friends that I hold dear, we're going to be together through thick and thin.

The Pursuit

I just wanted to share a quick excerpt from The Pursuit of God which I think is just beautiful. This book has been such a blessing to me and I really encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself! There's not much more I could add to his words, so I'll let A. W. Tozer take it away:

"Let us say it again: The universal Presence is a fact. God is here. The whole universe is alive with His life. And He is no strange or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose love has for these thousands of years enfolded the sinful race of men. And always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures. (And this we call pursuing God!) We will know Him in increasing degree as our receptivity becomes more perfect by faith and love and practice."

See what I mean?! He has a way with words!

On another note, it feels good to spend an evening with my brother and I'm so looking forward to the time when he moves here! My mom always points out the moments where I act just like him, and I have to say, it's nice seeing where I get some of my tendencies. All in all, I am so lucky to be a part of this family! I'm getting to see that more and more these days.

In The Studio

 

I had a rather relaxing but productive day spent in the studio. Somehow I was able to get my sewing machine working again and I finally hemmed some curtains we got a while back, as well as my thrift store skirt that I got last week [here's what it looks like. I'd say it's an improvement!]  

It was so nice to get back into the groove. Even though I did some pretty simple projects, it still eased my feelings of restlessness. And it got me antsy to finish my swimsuit that I had to quit several weeks ago. Hopefully I'll have it finished this week and hopefully it will look like I'm imagining! I guess you'll either see a post about how much I love it, or what I should've done differently. What a surprise it'll be! 

Also, I feel I should mention that in the picture above, I am not practicing the bellissimo kiss, nor am I asking for money. I was actually just holding a leaf, but you can't tell because there are a bunch of leaves in that particular area : ) I didn't want you guys to get the wrong impression and start sending me money or anything. I mean, I guess that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but I thought I'd do you a favor and explain. 

I hope your day has been as comforting as mine has been for me! If not, get to it because the weather outside is wonderful!

Love Always

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"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I wasn't going to post anything about the recent news because I didn't want to say anything that could be misinterpreted and then offensive. That is, until I noticed something about how it was affecting me. [And let me just start off by saying, if something I say offends you, it is certainly not my intention.]

We had some friends over last night so we didn't hear of the news until we were getting ready for bed, when Jakub checked his iPhone and saw all the posts on facebook. He read some of them to me, things like "God bless America!" and "Praise Jesus!" I stood, shocked, and wondering if those people really meant what they were saying. Are they asking God to bless America for killing someone?! Do they think Jesus wants that praise?! 

I got sick to my stomach. How could these people get so excited about someone being murdered and then praise their God for it? How could they do that and still think that the extremists are crazy for thinking their God would be pleased at the death of others? How could someone who preaches love to the world be so hateful?

I had so many questions coming out of my mouth and with each one, I grew more and more intolerant of the people I shared a faith, community and country with. This was not the America I believe in and it certainly wasn't the religion I hold dear. I was getting angry. Osama bin Laden was a human being, and though he ruined thousands of lives around the world, God loved him. The judgement seat does not have my name on it, and as the hands and feet of Christ, it is only my place to show love and mercy. 

I understand all the reasons why people would be relieved at the news, that the efforts of the past 10 years have not been put to waste, that the families will feel some sort of justice, and maybe this might bring some feelings of security to people around the world. I just couldn't understand how anyone would be celebrating the death of a man created in the image of God. How could Christians be so merciless?

That's when I realized something: I was just like them. I was pointing my finger and looking down on them. I climbed up into the judgement seat and tried to give a verdict of my own. I didn't respond to their actions with love and understanding, and definitely not mercy. I was full of anger. (I think "rage" is a more fitting term.) I wanted them to act in a way that I wasn't acting toward them!

I thought of one of my previous questions: How could someone who preaches love to the world be so hateful? Hmmm... isn't that interesting/humbling/irritating? I realized I have but only two things to offer as answers:

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of who I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:15-16

"I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ..." Ephesians 3:7-8

I hope that this can speak to each one of you, no matter what you're feeling about the recent events. May we look to everyone with more love and mercy, and look to ourselves with more humility in the coming days. 

And by the way, I'm glad God didn't let me sit in his seat for too long before he knocked me off, it's not that comfortable. I guess that show's it wasn't made for me!