That Sounds Easy Enough

Some things look as though they would be easy, but they really aren't.  Kicking a little bitty soccer ball into a great big goal looks like it would be easy, but it's not.  Taking a gorgeous photo looks like it would be easy, but it's not.  Spinning on the ice looks like it would be easy, but it's not (unless maybe you're in your car and you didn't mean to).  All of these things look easy because the amazing people that have practiced it make it look so.  For the rest of us common folk, it's just not.

I learned this also applies to cake balls.  My fun-loving, red-headed friend, Anne, introduced me to delicious balls of cake at a New Year's Eve party.  They were incredibly oh-so-rich and yummy, not to mention cute as could be.  I forgot to ask her how to make them, but sometime later stumbled upon these beautiful darlings by Bakerella, the Queen of Cake Pops (and I mean that with admiration).

I looked at the directions for making them and thought,

"That sounds easy enough." 

Ahem. 

Bakerella's

Mine

Notice hers are cake pops.  Mine are balls. 

I couldn't find the little sucker sticks in my tiny town. 

They are just plain cuter sticking up in the air. 

Hers are pretty round balls. 

Mine are lumpy and lopsided.

Hers are smooth and lovely. 

Mine are . .  . lumpy and lopsided.

As I was making them and struggling with the sticky lumps of cake and frosting, I told my hubby, "I have no desire to make these again."  As the melted chocolate became messy with cake crumbs (because I melted too much at once and didn't listen to Bakerella, the Queen of Cake Pops), I told my hubby, "Did I mention I have no desire to make these again?"  As the semisweet chocolate refused to melt (and I've never had that happen), and I was really getting frustrated, I said, "I really never want to make these again!" 

But finally, they were finished and the chocolate had set, and even though they were a little lumpy and lopsided, they didn't look terrible.  Just not as perfect and pretty as Bakerella's.  But I didn't take pictures to the party to compare them.  I just put them on a pretty serving platter and set them on the dessert table at Easter dinner.  

Then the compliments started to roll in.  They were good.  Really good.  A little lopsided maybe, but tasty.  Isn't that what really counts after all?

  

So, I've started to think that maybe all that I need is a little more practice.  And some sticks. 

That Sounds Easy Enough

A Sacred Journey? (Book Review)

Maybe it's because I've lived on a farm most of my life and apparently wanting to live on the land makes me like Cain.  Maybe it's because I've talked to birds without suffering from dysentery on an exhausting journey after sleeping in mangy beds.  Maybe it's because it's a supposedly Christian book with so many references to the goodness/sameness of other religions.  Maybe it's because of the smugness in the assertion that pilgrimage is necessary to spiritual growth and others not inclined to do so right this minute are somehow less than seekers.  Maybe it's those things that made me have reservations about this book.

In The Sacred Journey, Charles Foster explores the history of pilgrimage and how it relates to Christianity (which is a name he dislikes.  He prefers Jesus Freaks.  A rose by any other name smells sweeter to him, I suppose.)  The book is well-written, interesting and sometimes picturesque.  It was quick reading for me because I was intrigued by it, but I can't recommend it. 

There are many points I did like in this book and agreed with.  First of all, I learned some things.  Learning is good.  I also appreciated Foster's emphasis on sincere seeking.  He stressed the importance of fellowship and real relationships, of stepping outside our comfort to an adventure in following Jesus, of avoiding Gnosticism (the belief that matter is bad, and only the spirit is good).  I agree with him that there is something special about Jerusalem.  God attaches importance to it, and perhaps it is a "thin place," as he refers to it. 

But it's the other assertions that cause me to exercise caution in recommending the book. 
     1.  His sweeping statements, such as "God hates cities."  Really?  (I'm a country girl, but didn't we just say that Jerusalem was a special, holy city?) 
     2.  His belief that God prefers nomads.  I believe God has a preference for people who will be dependent on Him and will sacrifice to follow Him.  But He led His people to the Promised Land.  To settle it, not to wander (they wandered in the desert . . . as punishment.  Moses missed out on the Promised Land . . . as punishment).  
     3.  He says that God is a nomad.  Well, yes, His Spirit is moving through this world.  But He has a dwelling place.  Heaven.  And someday it will be with men . . . in a city. 
     4.  I feel he misapplied Scripture.  He points to Jesus sending out the disciples as a "how-to" of pilgrimage.  But they weren't on a pilgrimage, they were on a mission.  Not to find self, but to tell others about the kingdom, and to heal and minister to others. 

By all means, seek God.  Seek Him wholeheartedly through prayer, through His Word, through giving, through fellowship, through meditation, through various other spiritual practices and if you like, through pilgrimage.  If visiting Jerusalem is on your heart, find a way to go someday.  But I personally wouldn't seek Him through The Sacred Journey. 




*I received a complementary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through http://www.booksneeze.com/.*

A Sacred Journey? (Book Review)

What Will You Celebrate? (Friendly Friday)

Easter dazzles the eye and delights the heart.  It's the old, old story about new life.  It's the Ancient of Days sacrificed to be born anew in your heart.

We keep the old tradition of dying eggs.  We skip the bunny but celebrate the colors and the artistry and the fun of creating. 

And we try a new-to-us tradition.  Resurrection Rolls.  Introduced by a friend at church, we loved the sweet symbolism of the empty tomb.

It's Friendly Friday.  I ask; you answer. 

What old or new tradition will you be celebrating this Easter?

May you be blessed by them!

What Will You Celebrate? (Friendly Friday)

Refuse to Be Scorched Earth

Scorched earth.  Blistered, bleak and barren.  Left ruined by an enemy with a burning desire to completely destroy everything beautiful and useful and good.

Image by snagglepat

Hear this.  The Enemy has been crushed, but he continues to devastate everything in his path because his humiliation and his hatred run as deep as his heart is black.  He is at the root of injustice, despair, greed, jealousy, deceit, pride and all other evils.   

Hear this.  The Hero is triumphant.  Christ heals and restores and gives life to all who walk His path because His love runs as deep as His heart is pure.  He is light, life, truth, hope, joy and the Only One who is good. 

Let Him be your refuge, your victor, your shield. 

Refuse to be scorched earth.

There is life after death.

Image by nota

That's what the Resurrection is all about.

Refuse to Be Scorched Earth

A Reversal of Destiny (WORD-Filled Wednesday)

Pointing us Godward today.  Celebrating our Reversal of Destiny!

Death has been swallowed up in victory. 

Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God! 

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Give a shout, Friend! 

And fill up with the Word.

** If you're not a regular blogger, you may not know that there is such a thing as Wordless Wednesdays.  I began WORD-Filled Wednesdays in response to that.  What I didn't know: There is an entire community of lovely ladies doing the same thing! So of course I wanted to join them!  Feel free to click the Word-Filled Wednesdays link on the side of my page to see more Godward-looking women. **

A Reversal of Destiny (WORD-Filled Wednesday)

Your Words, My Treasure

My Bible is lighter.  So is my spirit.  I just emptied the Word of treasures and reread them slowly.

These lovely jewels have been tucked away in my favorite book.  I am a card-keeper.  Oh, not all cards. But the ones that mean much to me. Some of these cards I had hidden in my Bible so that I could carry them closely. 

There is a birthday card from my grandma who passed away years ago.  It was the last one I received from her, and it wasn't even in her hand.  She asked my mom to write for her because her hands were too swollen.  She died a few days later.

It has resided alongside a much more recent card from my Pocahontas . . . a card written to let me know what I mean to her.  Priceless to me.

There are many more that I've sheltered between the pages of the Ultimate Letter . . . precious words tucked between Living Words.  But it's time to move them to a new home -- the larger treasure chest in my bedroom where I keep very special things.  It holds the stockings my mom made for us to hang at Christmas; the quilts from a great-grandmother that I'm not currently displaying; my boys' tiniest baby clothes.  Plus many other cards and letters too dear to me to let go of:  love letters from my husband, cards with encouraging words from friends and family over the years.  Words that have reminded me I am loved, have helped me to press on, to continue doing right, to persevere.  And every time I peer into the chest, it's an opening of gifts and memories and encouragement.  Treasures.

In this day of quick comments and Facebook updates that are easy and helpful in their own way (but not nearly so lasting), please let me give you a little nudge.  May I gently push you in the direction of that desk that holds your pretty paper and your favorite writing pen?  Your words just may be "apples of gold in settings of silver" to someone.    

Write riches to one you love or to one who could use some encouragement.  Write your heart for them to drink in with their eyes, hold in their hands, and tuck away to treasure again and again.

Your Words, My Treasure

Her Mother's Hope

Relationships are so complicated and complex.  Trying to discern our own motives are difficult, and when we try to peek into another's heart, it's even more confusing.  After all, "Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy"  (Proverbs 14:10).

And yet, we seek to understand.  "The purposes of a man's heart are deep water, but a man of understanding draws them out" (Proverbs 20:5). 

Francine Rivers is seeking to draw out deep water in Her Mother's Hope, the first of a two-book saga called Marta's Legacy.  Ms. Rivers is at the top of my favorite author's list, so I was eagerly anticipating this book.  I have said before that my only complaint about her is that she hasn't written enough books.  And my favorite genre is historical fiction.  This book did not disappoint. 

The heroine of the novel is a strong-willed independent woman.  I love that.  Marta is determined to flee an abusive father in Switzerland and pursue her dreams wherever they lead her in the years before the First World War.  I found myself rooting for her to succeed and sorrowing with her through her difficulties.  She eventually lands in Canada and starts a family of her own.  It is in her mothering that we really begin to see the relationships unfold -- the conflicts, the drama, the bitterness, the joy. 

And it is in her mothering of Hildie, her oldest daughter, that Marta frustrated me and infuriated me most. But she also captivated me.  She caused me to examine my mothering and to attempt to view it from where my children stand.  Do they see my prodding and expectations as severe?  Do they know, know, know that I love them and am proud of them?  And how often do I bungle the relationships of the very ones I love so dearly in the name of trying to do what's best for them?

Her Daughter's Dream, the conclusion of Marta's Legacy, will not be out until the fall of this year.  However, the thoughts and questions the book stirred within me will keep me company as I wait. 

Her Mother's Hope