faithful living

"This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness." -Elisabeth Elliot

I found this quote on someone's blog this morning. So good.

I've been pondering - what's my job? What does this look like for me?

Job - wife. Mother.

So the quote could read like this: "Being a wife and mom is the job that has been given to me to do. 

Therefore, it is a gift. 

Therefore, it is a privilege (sometimes this is more evident than others!). 

Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. 

Therefore, being John's wife and a mom to Emma and Ian is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. 

Here, in my days at home, I may learn God’s way. 

In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness."

pondering and applying this truth today.

you know you're a mother of two under the age of two when:

you find yourself figuring out how to nurse a 15 1/2 lb baby and help a little one on to the potty seat at the same time (quite the trick!).

you know you're a mother of two under the age of two when:

your kitchen sink looks like this 5+ days a week (or you perpetually have a bowl of Oxy Clean on your counter, soaking whatever was soiled recently).

flaming baked cappuccino alaska

One of the Jacobsen family traditional favorites is Baked Alaska. It's a very special dessert and would usually only be made for very special occasions - such as when Dad's little brother was in the States.
It's best when it's eaten all in one sitting, so having a table full of people was also a prerequisite!

John and I didn't have anything special happening, but a few days ago I had a hankering for some charred meringue atop of a slice of ice cream and cake. Plus, I felt that John needed to experience something that I had such fond memories of!

I knew the gist of the recipe by heart - slices of cake in the bottom of a pie dish topped with ice cream and meringue, brown the meringue, splash it all with some alcohol and strike a match - but I pulled out my copy of the Joy of Cooking just to be sure. :)

According to the Joy of Cooking, the first step is to line your baking dish with a half inch layer of cake - both sponge and angel cake are recommended. My family always used pound cake which tasted delicious and stood up to the weight of the ice cream quite well. I deviated from both and used a pan of brownies as the base.

Next, make up your meringue. Beat 6 egg whites until frothy. Beat in 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, a pinch of salt, 2/3 cup sugar (adding the sugar slowly) and 1 tsp vanilla and continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff.

Once the meringue is quite stiff and glossy, mound 1 - 1 1/2 quarts of slightly softened ice cream on top of the cake. I used coffee ice cream, but any flavor combinations are acceptable! Fruit flavored ice cream is especially good.
Joy of Cooking says to next lay strips of your cake over the mounded ice cream. I didn't, and my meringue didn't quite cook through, so I am guessing that this is an important step! At this point you may choose to freeze the Baked Alaska for 30 minutes or so to firm it up.

Spread the meringue over the ice cream and cake, taking care to cover right down to the edge of the baking dish.
Rinse off half of one of the egg shells and place it on the top (this will hold the alcohol).
Brown the whole thing under a 500 degree broiler for no more than 3 minutes. It browns quickly, so watch carefully!

Grab some plates and forks and matches and tell everyone to gather round! Pour about 2-3 tblsp of alcohol into the egg shell and shake the Baked Alaska so that some runs down the sides. Strike a match, turn off the lights ... and voila!

you know you're a mother of two under the age of two when:

you stop by the Starbucks by church (which doesn't have a drive-through but has a very convenient location) and are so preoccupied with guiding the little feet back out the door and balancing the coffee and infant carseat that you forget to put the cream in your coffee - after you asked them to leave extra room for it, too!

amazing and full of wonder

My sister-in-law posted some ultrasound photos of our new little nephew or niece on facebook the other day.
As I was looking at them this morning I found myself choking up - they amaze me.
This little one already has a soul, an eternal soul. God knows his/her name and has known it since before the beginning of time. Even before it was ever spoken of, He know of Baby Smillie's existence. Oh, these things are amazing and full of wonder.

I was thinking about the verses where God talks about knowing us before we were conceived, knitting our bones and muscles together, seeing us while we were hidden away in the safety and darkness of our mothers' wombs.
Amazing.


O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
   and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
   behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
   Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
   and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light about me be night,"
 even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
   you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
   my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,
   intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,
   the days that were formed for me,
   when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
   I awake, and I am still with you.
 -psalm 139:1-18

the recipe

I mentioned that the granola I made turned out really, really good .... but didn't get around to posting a recipe. So, now I am!

Tawny Granola (loosely adapted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl)
2 cups oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons apple juice 
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used a mix of raisins and dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350 and oil a large rimmed cookie sheet.
In a mixing bowl combine the oats, nuts, coconut and fruit. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients and the spices. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet.

Spread the mixture evenly on the cookie sheet, using a spatula to smooth it. Bake for around 40 minutes, keeping an eye on it so that it doesn't get over done. When it starts to brown, turn the mixture over with the spatula to make sure that it toasts evenly on both sides.

When it is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool. Store in an airtight container and serve with milk or yogurt. :)

gifts

...it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot.
Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.
-ecclesiastes 5:18-19

Happiness in our work is a gift from God, as are satisfaction and contentment.
Contentment has been near the front of my thoughts for the past several weeks ...

strawberry scones

If you've ever had your scones turn out heavy and rather unappetizing, you  might be thinking "hm, those look good but I can't make them". You can. I did. And they are sooooo light and creamy! I found the recipe over on Annie's Eats (I really love her recipes!) and have made it over and over.

The main difference between this recipe and the other ones I have tried (and I have tried many) is that is calls for yogurt instead of cream or half and half. Maybe that's what makes them so good?
These also freeze really well!

Strawberry Scones
Ingredients:
1 large egg
¼ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
½ cup milk
1 tsp. orange or lemon zest [I've been using orange and it tastes wonderful!]
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 heaping cup diced fresh strawberries [I use thawed frozen berries because they are cheaper - and because I usually have some on hand]

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk and citrus zest until blended; set aside.  In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Pulse briefly to blend.  Add the butter pieces to the bowl with the dry ingredients and pulse several times to cut the butter into the flour, until the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas.  (If you don’t have a food processor, you can just as easily mix up the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives or forks.)  Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Add the strawberries to the flour mixture and toss to coat.  Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently fold together with a fork or spatula until a sticky dough has formed.  Knead just a few times to ensure that all the dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough is cohesive.  (Only if absolutely necessary, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time to hydrate the remaining dry ingredients.)
Transfer the dough to a well floured work surface and pat into a disc about 7-8 inches in diameter.  Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.  Slice the disc into 8 wedges.

To bake the scones, preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.  Place the shaped scones on the prepared baking sheet and bake until lightly browned on top, about 15 minutes.  Let cool a few minutes before serving.

To freeze, transfer the baking sheet with the shaped scones to the freezer and let them chill until they are firm, 30-60 minutes.  Wrap the scones individually and store in a freezer-safe bag until ready to bake.  Bake as originally indicated, adding a few minutes to the baking time (usually about 18-20 minutes for me.)

poem and ponderings

God's Grandeur

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.               The heavens declare the glory of God;

  It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;                   the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

  It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil                                                              -Psalm 19:1

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?                   Creation itself also will be set free from its

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;                          slavery to corruption into the freedom of

  And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;         the glory of the children of God.

  And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil     For we know that the whole creation groans and

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.                             suffers the pangs of childbirth together until now. ...

                                                                                         but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us

And for all this, nature is never spent;                                 with groanings too deep for words;

 There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;                                                - Romans 8:21-22,26

And though the last lights off teh black West went

  Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs --

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

  World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

homemade granola

 before being put in the oven

I made granola the other day and it turned out better than I thought it would (aside from being slightly burnt)!
The recipe ended up being a combination of three that I had on hand, using the things that sounded good to me and leaving out the things that didn't (or that we didn't have in the cupboard).

All done! Yum.

"The will of God is ... bigger"

John and I have been married for 28 months, and it's been good. Not always easy, but very, very good.

"The will of God is never exactly what you expect it to be. It my seem much worse, but in the end it's going to be a lot better and a lot bigger."~Elisabeth Elliot


I found this post in my drafts file, originally written last June. It's still true (all I needed to change was the number of months). God's ways are not our ways.
His thoughts, plans and ways are ever so much bigger and better than ours.
If He had given me the chance to opt out of certain experiences over the past 2 1/2 years I certainly would have! But then I would have missed out on the blessings.

Isn't it good that even though we can't see the end, God can?

God-powered Mothering

 One of the blogs I follow - Femina, written by Nancy Wilson and her daughters/daughter in law - posted about loving our children. Not just loving them, though, but loving them with a I Corinthians 13 kind of love, a Christ-like love. I was thinking of paraphrasing what they wrote, but it's all good!
So here it is:

"1. Love is longsuffering. Moms will have plenty of provocations in this world, so they need to be able to suffer for a long time. Some of this longsuffering involves putting up with people who degrade motherhood and despise children. Moms need to think long term, give themselves a good job description, and adopt God’s view of the high calling of motherhood.
2. Love is kind. “She openeth her mouth with wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness” (Proverbs 31:26). Much kindness (and unkindness) comes via words. Pervasive kindness means listening, forgiving, anticipating, speaking, and doing. It includes physical comforts for your kids: giving them clean beds, warm food, soap and water. It is a LAW of kindness, which means it includes discipline and instruction that is given kindly.
3. It is not envious. Not of other mothers, not of other people’s children or their accomplishments or grades or personality. This means no comparisons with the other siblings, no complaining. Children feel their parents disapproval and it can crush them.
4. It does not vaunt (parade) itself. Moms should be careful not to provoke others to envy (or disgust or weariness) by putting their children on display in a bragging way, hijacking every conversation back to the report card or the clever cuteness. This does not mean that moms should not praise their children and rejoice in their accomplishments. But the Christmas letter should not be full of vaunting.
5. Love is not puffed up. This implies being full of oneself. And this is the kind of mom who cannot be taught by her own children because the kids are never right, and mom is never wrong. This kind of parent is full of her own authority and looks to lord it over the kids rather than love them. She demands attention.
6. Does not behave rudely (unseemly). This means improper or inappropriate behavior. We’ve all seen this at the grocery store: “You are driving me crazy! I am going to count to three and then I’m leaving you here!” Love does not threaten. Love takes responsibility. Love doesn’t over-share about her children’s needs, failures, weaknesses, or sins.
7. Seeks not its own. This kind of mom gives herself away. Home is for the family, and the schedule is for the kids, not the kids for the schedule. This means family night is not the night the kids dread.
8. Not easily provoked. This kind of supernatural love doesn’t react. It sees the big picture and doesn’t flip out over spilled milk or muddy shoes.
9. Thinks no evil. She hears both sides of the story first before making a judgment. She doesn’t believe everything she hears. She does not attribute motives.
10. Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. When someone else’s child fails or flunks or loses, she does not do a victory dance.
11. Bears all things. Sickness. Slowness. Messiness. Childishness. She can bear these things if she has supernatural love.
12. Believes all things. She loves the truth! She lives it out and she teaches her children to believe.
13. Hopes all things. This kind of supernatural love can believe that God is in control of all things, even this sickness or this frustration or this loss. This kind of mom hopes in God and knows He is writing her story and her children’s stories.
14. Endures all things. Who can do this without the supernatural love and power of God?

15. Love never fails. This love sees the kids to the finish line with faith and courage.
Okay, so who doesn’t need supernatural love to do this? Pray to God for it! He loves to give the supply."


He does love to give when we ask (especially when we ask for things that make us more like Him), and always will.

Asking God for love like His reminded me of the verses at the end of Ephesians 3:
^"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."

Amen and amen.


  

better things

"Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind." -c.s. lewis


"Better things ahead" - so true and so good to ponder.

triple ginger cookies

One of my favorite summertime flavor combinations is lemon and ginger (well, anytime combinations really). Lemon cheesecake with a ginger crust. Gingerbread cake and lemon curd. And lemonade with gingersnaps.
I had a hankering for the fresh and tangy combo again last week and made up some ginger cookies - not gingersnaps though. These are really, really zingy Triple Ginger Cookies. So zingy that instead of using a typical "rounded spoonful" of dough, these are only 1/2 a tablespoon worth each. Pretty much the size of a quarter.

2 cups spelt flour OR whole wheat pastry flour (I used whole wheat)
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon star anise, finely ground
4 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2/3 cup fine grain natural cane sugar, sifted (I used Xylitol)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 large egg, well beaten
1 cup crystallized ginger, then finely minced
2 lemons, zest only (I used orange zest)

Preheat the oven to 350F degree. Line a couple baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or a Silpat mat (I used a knock-off version of a Silpat from Crate and Barrel), place the extra sugar in a small bowl, and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, star anise, ground ginger, and salt.
Heat the butter in a skillet until it is just barely melted. Stir in the molasses, natural cane sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm, but not hot at this point, if it is hot to touch let it cool a bit. Whisk in the egg. Now pour this over the flour mixture, add the crystallized ginger (make sure it isn't too clumpy), and lemon zest. Stir until just combined.
I like these cookies tiny, barely bite-sized, so I scoop out the dough in exact, level tablespoons. I then tear those pieces of dough in two before rolling each 1/2 tablespoon of dough into a ball shape. From there, grab a small handful of the big sugar you set aside earlier and roll each ball between your palms to heavily coat the outside of each dough ball. Place dough a few inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies puff up, darken a bit, get fragrant and crack.
Makes about 4 dozen or so.