Granola and thoughts

Well, since April started us back on the blog, I am excited. We were actually talking about this last Sunday that the blog could be used to update each other instead of the email system that Joanna started. Part of the idea was to share practical things like recipes, prayer requests, ways to love/teach our children and husbands, etc.

So, here is a great granola recipe to start us off!

2 c rolled oats (can be gluten free)
1 c unsweetened coconut (or 1/2 c roasted soy beans and 1/2 cup mixed nuts)
1/2 cup dried fruit ( I like cranberries)
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 sesame seeds
1/2 c cashews (or walnuts)
1 1/2 c natural peanut butter
1 c honey
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all of the dry ingredients and set aside. Mix the wet ingredients in microwave-safe bowl and cook for 1 minute. Mix both bowls together and spread in a 9x13 pan. Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes. Cut into bars when cool.

Jason and Mabry love these and I have had to put myself on a daily ration b/c they are so good and call my name! Brooke, if you like nuts and fruit you will love this for a quick snack when you are feeding a newborn and your body is recouping. I needed food asap right after nursing and labor! :)

James 1:5

It's time to talk about wisdom. But before we do, let's "make parenthesis" (it's what Italians say when they want to change the subject for a minute or two or nine). Let's look at this one little word in verse 5. James has just told us to ask for wisdom if we lack it. Ummm... who doesn't lack it? Anyway, he goes on to say that God gives generously without finding fault. At least that's what the NIV says. In Greek, this term "finding fault" interests me. It is the word to upbraid. Hmmm? I have no idea what that means. Good thing we have a dictionary! OK - good thing we have Google.

It means to scold, to reprimand.

He's not going to scold you for asking. He's not going to say, "Hey stupid - you should be old enough to know the answer." He's not going to say that you should just do it by yourself. He's not going to tell you how weak and how silly you are. He's not going to roll His eyes at you sighing that you are not good enough or smart enough. He's not going to be exasperated with you.

Sometimes I need help from other people... but you know the feeling - you're worried that they are too busy and that this problem is too petty. Or you're worried that if you ask they'll hold it over your head (at least in the back of their minds). Or you're worried that they will say no and then you'll feel awkward the next time you see them... or that they will say yes and then they'll make you feel indebted for life...

But not with God. He will not upbraid you. He will not rebuke you for asking. He will not be grumpy with you. He will not be annoyed or frustrated with you. He wants you to ask. So, go ahead. Ask Him.

James 1:2-4

Here's a little exercise for you. I'm going to give you a word and I want you to list five words that come to mind. (If you're really brave, write them in the "comments" section.) Ready? Here it is:

JOY.

My 5 things:

ice-cream, my mom, yellow flowers, laughter, my nose

Hmmm... I totally did that impromptu - and am a little surprised at my answers! I have been craving ice-cream for a couple of days, so that was what first popped up. My mom is a woman of joy. Yellow flowers? I don't know - I always choose pink or white. Laughter - that makes sense. My nose? I think that has to do with how much good-smelling things delight me. Perfume, candles, laundry-soap, fresh cut grass...

Anyway, the Greeks' word association also surprised me. The Greek word James uses here is chara which means what you would think it to mean... gladness, cheerfulness, whoo-hooing, etc... but it also means this: calm delight.

A cup of tea on a cool morning. A long morning of snuggling. An extra five minutes in the shower. Oh! I love calm delights.

I'm actually having one of those moments right now. It's raining and it's cool. I have a cappuccino and I'm lounging on my bed writing. The house is clean and my work for today is done. I'm looking forward to eating chili tonight and talking to Dave and finishing an interesting book. Yes. This is joy! This is a calm delight afternoon.

But wait. James isn't talking about calm delight days. He's talking about trials. He's talking about the testing-of-my-faith!

He's talking about loneliness and fear. He's talking about me dying to myself. He's talking about having a calm delight when I'm too busy to sit down with a cup of tea. He's talking about having a calm delight when there's no one to snuggle with. He's talking about having a calm delight when I don't have a minute to myself even to take a shower - much less have five extra minutes in it!

I have to confess, today I had a breakdown. I was not having a calm-delight morning. My worries and fears and loneliness and hormones were strangling me. Dave called and I had a full-blown-pity-party. Poor guy. I had that pity-party because too often, I require my environment to provide the calm delight. I want the candles and the roses, the big bathtub and Bach. I want things to be easy, to go my way. I want to be right. I want to be strong. I want to be in-control. That's not the joy James is talking about.

When he made his list of "joy" words - he wrote some nasty words: temptation, adversity. That's a joy that has nothing to do with the circumstances of today. It's has to do with me wanting to grow in the Lord - and be His above all else. He also chose the words faith, patience, maturity, completion, and perseverance.

That sounds to me like the joy of an old couple rocking on the front porch with big glasses of iced tea... having earned their wrinkles and gray hair... yes, that sounds like joy to me.

Ciao... James1:1

So, this blog was one of those good-intention things that fell by the way-side... but it's about to come to life. Are you ready?

What if we started with a man. That's what we like to talk about, isn't it? Our men. Well, this one's name is James. And he's one of my favorites. Most people believe he was the brother of Jesus. He has a lot of good stuff to say - he's full of encouragement and life and hope... but he has a lot of hard things to say as well.

He describes himself as a "servant" of Christ. Now, let's buy into the idea that he was Jesus's brother. Wouldn't you announce yourself as that? Where would your heart have to be to call yourself a servant.

I like being a servant. Well, if I get the oooo-s and ahhh-s when I set my masterful cake on the table. I like being the servant when people I love need me to do something I enjoy doing for them. I like being the servant when it's easy. When it's fun. When it's dramatic. When it's rewarding.

I like to be the servant when it's my choice.

But... ummm... James didn't really use a word that means that kind of servant. He used the word slave. Oh. A slave who is a slave by force - or by choice. And that slave word comes from the Greek word deō which is a verb meaning "to bind, tie, or wind". It doesn't sound so pleasant. Goodness, I get panicky if my headphone cords get all tangled up around my neck.

Galatians 5: 13 says that we are called to be free... we aren't called to be slaves. Were we? Paul goes on to say that we are to use that freedom - not for our sinful nature - but to serve one another in love.

I've been thinking a lot about that verse that says "A cord of three strands cannot be easily broken." It's talking about relationship. It's talking about being so untied in love that we are tangled up in each other. It's about becoming servants of each other. It's about becoming slaves to each other. And it's about choosing to be slaves to one another.

Italians, as well as many Europeans greet each other with the word, "Ciao." It comes from the Venetian phrase of "I am your servant." What if that was really how we greeted our spouses, our children, our co-workers, our neighbors... what if when we said hello, we were really thinking, "I am your servant"?

And what if when we made that our first prayer of the day and the one we cried before going to sleep? Lord, I am Your servant.

And what if we lived lives so full of God and His love and grace that when people thought of us they thought, "There goes a woman who is a servant of God."