Are You Shunning Sin or Pursuing Holiness?

Aren't they the same thing?

Yes.

And no.

See, it's a perspective - an attitude difference. I saw this idea a few weeks ago in a comment on another blog. I cannot remember which blog. Nor who the commenter was. But the idea stuck with me, and that's the important part.

The commenter made the observation that as we look at our lives and try to follow after Christ, we often ask ourselves "is this sin?"

Of course, we don't want sin in our lives, so this is a natural and a good question. But it might not be the best question. Ever notice that grey area? When you get the I'm-not-really-sure feeling? It might not be inherently wrong but does that mean we should okay it for our lives and the lives of our families?

Instead of asking ourselves, "is this sin?", the commenter suggested asking ourselves, "is this holy?" That puts a different spin on things. I find that when I ask that question, instead of asking the other, there's a whole lot less grey.

No, something may not be morally wrong, and not therefore sin, but that doesn't mean that it's glorifying to God. And that is what our goal should be.

We shouldn't be looking at the world, wondering how close we can stay and still be safe. We should be looking Jesus and trying to see how close to him we can get instead.

Pursue holiness ... you'll be shunning sin as a natural result.

picture credit

Redemptive Animals?

"The most priceless possession of the human race is the wonder of the world."

So begins the Foreward to the 1966 edition of Wind in the Willows.

"Yet, latterly, the utmost endeavours of mankind have been directed towards the dissipation of that wonder. ... Science analyses everything to its component parts, and neglects to put them together again. ... Nobody, any longer, may hope to entertain an angel unawares, or to meet Sir Launcelot in shining armour on a moonlit road. But what is the use of living in a world devoid of wonderment?" 

This is something that has been impressed upon my mind for a number of years now. Ever since I first read Sophie's World, which has to be one of the more formidable books I have read in my life. Wonderment can lead to science, no doubt, but science should only increase the wonder in return. It should not leave you cold and mechanistic. Life goes by too quickly to allow our appreciation of wonder, awe, and beauty to fade away as we grow up.

"Granted that the average man may live for seventy years, it is a fallacy to assume that his life from sixty to seventy is more important than his life from five to fifteen. Children are not merely people; they are the only really living people that have been left to us in an over-weary world."

Without wonder, we are left with dreariness. We are left with nothing new - nothing to stir the imagination. We are bored.

"In my tales about children, I have tried to show that their simple acceptance of the mood of wonderment, their readiness to welcome a perfect miracle at any hour of the day or night, is a thing more precious than any of the laboured acquisitions of adult mankind."

Children have one foot in our world, and one foot in the fairy world. This is how we ought to live - not to forsake actual explanations of things, but to realize that we do not know or understand everything, and the explanation we are given - no matter how fantastic - may be the truth. Living with one foot in fairy land allows us to understand our world better. It allows us to see things from another perspective, which can only enrich our lives. It allows us to understand ourselves ... for in fairy land we are allowed to explore and think in ways our world cannot accommodate.

"As for animals, I wrote about the most familiar and domestic in The Wind and the Willows because I felt a duty to them as a friend. Every animal, by instinct, lives according to his nature. Thereby he lives wisely, and betters the tradition of mankind. No animal is ever tempted to belie his nature. No animal, in other words, knows how to tell a lie. Every animal is honest. Every animal is straightforward. Every animal is true -- and therefore, according to his nature, both beautiful and good."

Given this, when we anthropormorphize animals, we are able to communication great truths to others in ways we would be unable to do with humans because of our bent nature. Animals, too, do not behave as God intended, but that is because of man's wrong choice. Animals can only do as their nature dictates -- man can resist, for good or ill, while animals can only live according to their instincts. Grahame is right. They tell no lies, and thus, perhaps, they are closer to what God intended for his creation than man.

Perhaps, in stories, they also are redeemed, and can help lead a child, or the child at heart, to the good life.

This post does contain affiliate links; thank you for your support.

Breakfast Muffins

 

 This is the best muffin recipe I have found yet. And it's versatile. I found the recipe here, labeled "To Die For Blueberry Muffins." While I wouldn't go quite that far, they are quite yummy.

What You Need:
Muffin tin(s)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh fruit

n.b. on the fruit - the recipe originally said fresh blueberries. I have only used frozen fruit in these, and they have worked just fine. Here is what I've found out though

-- Huge blueberries (or pieces of fruit) don't work. It creates these caverns that fall in and get filled. It still tastes great, but looks less than great ... and isn't very functional as a muffin. So make sure you cut your pieces up into small pieces of fruit

.

--  Coat the fruit in flour. This prevents all of the fruit from sinking down to the bottom of the muffins. The flour coating helps ensure that the fruit doesn't sink, so it's evenly disbursed throughout the muffin.

-- Experiment. We did blueberries the first time. It was good. We did strawberries the second time (that's what I have pictured) Ah-may-zing. Truly. This is our favorite so far. We tried peaches the third time. Honestly, didn't give it much flavor. At all. Was disappointed, but the muffins still weren't bad. Next: we plan to try with mixed fruit!

-- Crumb topping: If you click through to the original recipe, absolutely do NOT use their recipe for crumb topping. 1. It makes wwwaaaayyyyyyyyyy more topping than you need - and this is coming from a girl who loves her crumb topping! 2. It melts (as you can see in the pictures). It doesn't keep a crumb-like consistency. ... Which also means that sometimes IT sinks into the muffin. Especially if it happens to be right over a really large piece of fruit. I haven't perfected a crumb topping yet in it's stead, but I think just sprinkling brown sugar and cinnamon on top would probably be sufficient. But I haven't tried that yet soo no promises.

.

 

 Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. 

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done. I start keeping an eye on mine between 10-15 minutes ... I can't stand a muffin that's over cooked. I like mine soft and springy.

This recipe makes 8 oversized, bakery style muffins, or 12 regular size muffins (which I what I always do). I think this would make 24 mini muffins.

Usually, when I make this recipe I double it. It doesn't take that much long on the prep side, and then I have delicious muffins for breakfast for longer ... which means more time I can spend doing something else, instead of standing in the kitchen. These muffins also freeze well, which is always a nice bonus. *grin*

Cleaning House

I downloaded a "Get Organized in 30 Days" plan to cleaning and decluttering your home from Home Made Simple. Honestly, I was disappointed by the list. Not that there aren't good suggestions on there (I'm still hanging on to it to remind myself of areas to target), but here's some examples of this "plan":

"Day 03: Coat closet. From coats to boots, wrangle your outdoor gear."

"Day 17: Desk. Clean and streamline your workspace."

"Day 25: Purse. Put an end to digging around for that tube of lip balm with a total purse clean out."

Now, there are (somewhat) more helpful tips on how to go about doing these things elsewhere on their website. But that's not exactly what I call a "plan" ... I think a plan would look more like Crystal's "4 Weeks to a More Organized Home" Challenge. Here's Day 1:

Day 1 Assignment

::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and make a list of 5-10 goals for this week.
::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and quickly pick up the main living areas of your home.
::Clean out your purse and/or diaper bag.
::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.

Note: If you work outside the home or have a really busy week with little time for extra projects, just do the bolded project above.

Now that's what I call a plan. And she does this for four weeks. Bite size goals that are attainable ... and a shortcut version for those who can't get to the full clean, even if they wanted to right now! I like that. It's real. It's flexible.



Now, I'm not saying the other list is totally useless. Actually, it made me feel a *little* better about the state of things in my house. Of the 30 day assignments, I have recently done 12 of them (or they didn't apply (e.g. our linen closet has always been neat and easy to maintain. So I don't need to "tackle" it).

That's the way I like to start a project ... with almost half of it checked off *grin* And there are a number of items that are decently kept up, but I haven't checked off the list because I'm sure when I get to them they will bear a little work (like making sure I've kept my jewelry organized and put away).

Sometimes, you know you have irrational and overblown hesitations. For example, I know if I start planning a week or two of meals at a time, I will be less stressed and we will save money. But I find the task of sitting down and planning that out daunting. I don't know why, but I do. I'm hoping that once I do it, though, I'll breathe a sigh of relief and go that was easy, and a load off of my mind ... why didn't I do it sooner?

 What are your organizational and cleaning tips and strategies?


original image source

Chewy Sugar Sprinkle Cookies

Sound amazing? Look incredible? They DEFINITELY live up to every expectation I had for them.

Actually, I think they surpassed my expectations.

I'm not going give you the recipe here, because, well, I did not come up with this wonderful creation. Averie did. And you should totally check them out on her site because she deserves all the credit for these. Leave her a comment and tell her what you think, but please come and leave me a comment too. Really. I want to know if you love them as much as I do.

What I will do is show you process through my pictures. But don't look unless you want to get the urge to make them RIGHT. NOW. Seriously, just posting these pictures makes me want to go make another batch.

All mixed and ready to go. Honestly, I was perfectly content with the idea of stopping here. I love cookie dough better than cookies. Alas, I was taking them over to a lunch. I couldn't just bring a bowl full of cookie dough, could I? So into the fridge it went overnight to be chilled.

Next morning I rolled them. Aren't they cute? I  was definitely having second thoughts about putting them in the oven.

Then, I slightly flattened them. DO NOT OVER-FLATTEN. I know Averie makes that point, but I thought I would echo it.

See? You roll them, and you flatten them. It's fun.

These are the finished product. Yes. Finished. Fresh out of the oven. But they look barely baked! I can hear you now.

Barely baked, perhaps. But there's a nice crunch on the outside, followed by chewy middle. That's the best. My mom, upon trying one at the lunch, said she liked them because they were almost like eating cooking dough.

That's absolutely right. But, there's enough of a shell outside to keep the texture varied, and to make my husband (who doesn't like cookie dough) reach back for another cookie as many times as everyone else.

They're fun. They're soft. They keep well (I only found this out with the greatest discipline) ... but even so, there's really no reason for them to keep. They're so good you're going to want them all. NOW. ... my husband and I may or may not have had a couple for breakfast with tea one morning.

Hey, our baby's still inside me. And as long as they don't see you do it, it's ok, right??

So what do you think? Are you going to give them a try?

Reading Aloud

I love reading (if you haven't figured that out). I've been reading for as long as I can remember.

Another long memory is of my father reading aloud to our entire family. He read many works, but the one I remember best was an old Grosset & Dunlap copy of the Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. My mom also read to us.

Book have such treasured memories for me, and the love of books and knowledge is something I have desired to pass on to my children. I also wanted them to have lovely memories of being read to.

What I didn't expect was that I would be reading out-loud before they born ... to their future father.

We were dating when he first asked me if I would read to him. I'm not sure what prompted him asking (maybe he does, I don't know) ... maybe it was because I was astounded that he had never read the Chronicles of Narnia, even though he professed that he wanted to.

He just never really read fiction, he said, didn't particularly get into it.

And he liked hearing me read.

Well, I liked reading outloud, and didn't get much of an opportunity. So we began reading together. I believe we read through the first 4 books of Narnia before we married and finished the 5th on our honeymoon.

Yes, I read to him on our honeymoon -- it was very relaxing, being able to read together curled up in front of the fire!

Concurrent with those we have been reading nonfiction to personally edify us and facilitate discussion.

We also started The Four Loves (Lewis) before we married, but haven't finished it yet. It's a very good book, but dense, which makes it hard to read aloud and the listener be able to process it.

We have since finished out Narnia and read The Hobbit. That book wasn't as easy to read aloud as Narnia ... I think because each chapter is lengthier.



As for my husband not getting into fiction ... almost every time I would finish a chapter, he would beg for "just one more!" Precious.




We just started reading the Space Trilogy. (Honestly, I'm just not looking forward to reading That Hideous Strength outloud, but can hardly wait to read the other two again!), and we'll probably read The Return of the Dragon (Zaring) after that.

Return of the Dragon will be different, because it'll be a fiction book I haven't read before that I'll be reading outloud to him ... so I won't be to suppress a smile when he conjectures about what happens next, because I won't know either! From what I could find, it is a children's book that has pretty consistent high reviews. I'm looking forward to reading it.

There are so many books I think he would enjoy - so many books I want to read ... But, I thought I'd ask: what books would YOU recommend I read? Are there any books you think I should read to him?


original image source

This post does contain affiliate links. That means that at no additional cost to you I may receive commission for referring business; thank you for your support!

Cheesy Chicken Pasta (aka Mac & Cheese for Adults)

I hadn't thought about blogging this recipe. I made it up as I went along, and wasn't expecting something that special. I don't know if it is special, but when my husband said "I would buy this at a restaurant" I quickly grabbed the camera to take pictures before I forgot and everything was gone!

I invented this recipe through a very scientific process.

I needed something to make for dinner.

I knew we had penne pasta, and I knew we had Velveeta (well, the Aldi equivalent, but we still like it), so Mac & Cheese it was. But that's not that healthy, I thought. I can at least add protein. So I got the chicken out the thaw.

Later in the day, I start the pasta, and am cutting up the chicken into very small pieces when I realize this meal is going not really have much color. Besides orange. Orange is a great color, but I really wanted to get some veggies in without having to cook something else.

So I decided to add peas to the dish.

Then, as I have the cheese, chicken, and peas in the pan, I realize I need something to help make it creamy. So I add a little sour cream, cottage cheese, and milk. Melt it, stir it, sprinkle it with cheddar, italian bread crumbs, and parmesan, and stick it in the oven for 25 minutes.

Ok, not rocket science, but this is a great dish to take to a pot luck. It's easy, fairly quick, and very economical. As well as very cheesy. What's not to love?

Ingredients
(1) 16 oz box of pasta - your choice. I used penne
(1) 16 oz Velveeta, cubed
(1 ) 1/2 lb chicken breast, cut up very tiny (makes about 1 cup)
(1) 1 cup peas. I threw mine in frozen and they turned out fine
(1) 1 scoop sour cream
(1) 1 scoop cottage cheese
(1) milk. I'm not sure how much I used ... probably just over 1/2 cup?
(1) 1/2 cheddar cheese, shredded
italian bread crumbs
parmesan cheese

What You Do
Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, cut up chicken very tiny and cook in skillet with some butter. Set aside.

Whenever you have time, cube the Velveeta. This is important so that it'll melt easier when the time comes.

Drain pasta and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350. Start adding Velveeta into the pasta. The heat will start melting the cheese, but it won't be enough to melt it as needed.

Add all of your cubed Velveeta, your chicken and peas, scoop out your cottage cheese and sour cream, and pour the milk over. Stir. Put in the oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, pull out the dish and stir very well. You want to try and get the cheese well mixed and spread. Top with cheddar cheese, sprinkle generously with the bread crumbs, and add a little parmesan, if desired.

Put back in the oven for 25 minutes. Mine was just beginning to brown and get a little dried out on the top, but underneath was nice and moist. It made for a good texture mix when eating.

So let me know what you think! Would you pay for this at a restaurant? What variations would you put in?

I think this would also be good with broccoli, mushrooms, and/or bacon! Of course, for any added ingredients, you'll need to increase the liquid/cheese some to make sure everything is coated properly.

Happy eating!