Granola - a retro recipe

I'm pretty sure I'm one of a very few who still make granola.  It probably went out of style with macrame plant hangers and nehru collars (you can google those if necessary).  I also still use a bread machine.  Remember? I still don't have a smart phone. 

This granola makes a wonderful breakfast, a great snack and we've also had it for dinner.  (Kind of makes you want to be invited to eat at my house, doesn't it?)

GRANOLAPrintable recipe here

10 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw sesame seeds
2-3 cups sliced or slivered raw almonds
1½ cups brown sugar
1½ cups water
1½ cups canola oil
½ cup honey
½ molasses
1½ tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla extract
*raisins (added after cooling)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°.  Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl (I use my giant T*pperware bowl).  Heat the remaining ingredients in a large saucepan until sugar is dissolved.  Do not boil!  Pour over dry ingredients and stir to combine well.  Spread on two rimmed baking sheets.  Bake for 30 minutes, stirring often.  Cool on wire racks.  Add *raisins and store in tightly sealed container. 

It's delicious with vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit!

Historical decor courtesy of

Cathy of California

Seen From Behind The Wheel

I've had two experiences while driving recently that were as unbelievable to me as these two photos, taken when I was in Ethiopia.  But these recent observations were in the state of Oregon.

The first one happened while driving on Interstate 5 in fairly light traffic (thank You Lord).  I looked up the highway and noticed that a car was coming toward me in my lane.  Just before I panicked and swerved to avoid her, the south-bound wrong-way driver somehow managed to dodge the other north-bound cars going 65 mph, crossed 3 lanes of traffic and screeched to a stop on the shoulder.  I was shaking for miles afterward.  So I spent the next hour wondering how in the world she got turned completely around on a divided highway.  Drunk?  Spun around trying to avoid an accident?  I won't ever know.

Then yesterday, I was stopped in a left turn lane behind a red compact car driven by a young dad with his toddler in a car seat in the back.  The dad was sipping on a Starbucks venti-iced-something and turning to talk to his child.  The next thing I knew, this doting father rolled down the passenger side window and hurled his almost-full plastic cup at the driver's window of the blue car in the next lane.  What??

Did they know each other?  Had the blue car man cut the red dad off a few blocks earlier?  

The left turn light changed to green and Mr. Red proceeded to turn, with me following.  Mr. Blue immediately cut in behind me to follow his attacker.  Wedged in between two rivals, I checked my rearview mirror to see how Mr. Blue was reacting.  He was craning his neck to keep Red in sight.  Red turned to go into the mall parking lot, I proceeded straight ahead - determined not to get in the middle of something even uglier - and Blue followed Red into the parking lot.

When I came home and told the story to my daughter, she was disappointed that I didn't follow Red and Blue to see what happened.  I thought about it (because I was morbidly curious) but I couldn't stop thinking about that little one in the back seat.  Just think what lessons were being taken in that day (and sadly, probably most other days) by that toddler.  I didn't trust myself that I might have to say something if I had stopped.

I wanted to end with a great moral here...

Little eyes and ears are always noticing.

Life lessons are caught not taught.

Try not to go the wrong way on the freeway if at all possible.

Retaliation always ends badly.

Liquid Dawn cuts through milk and coffee spills.

Full

In my slow read through the book of Acts, I've been thinking a lot about Stephen.  I wrote down the way he is described:

a man full of God's grace and power
full of the Holy Spirit
full of faith
full of wisdom
full of light
full of love and mercy

Full. 

I can't say those things about myself.

Sometimes I just feel empty.  Not wise enough.  Lacking grace needed to love certain people.  Without motivation and power to obey.

Oh how I want to be full.

So I'm reading a book - "The Saving Life of Christ" by Major W. Ian Thomas.  Written in 1961, which almost makes it a classic, it's a study in what it should mean to a believer to have Christ's indwelling.  The God of creation living in me.  In other words, FULLNESS.

Living totally dependent on the life of Christ in me.
Released from the pressure and even the influence of circumstances, personal inadequacies, self-sufficiency and the fear of man.  Sound impossible?  Only if it's up to me to make it happen.

Major Thomas' main theme, taken straight from God's word, is that our true identity is to be a human vehicle of divine life.   What would that look like in my life?

It means "relating everything, moment by moment as it arises, to the adequacy of what He is in me.  Exposing every situation, by faith, as it arises, to the all-sufficiency of the One who indwells me." 

So I should ask my Self:  Is this difficult thing too hard for God in me?  Is this the one thing He can't do?

How much can God do through me?  Everything.  He's limited only by how much I withhold from Him. 

Is there any situation, problem or responsibility for which Jesus Christ in me is not adequate? 

Not a single one!

I looked up "full" in the Greek and found it means:

a hollow vessel filled up
covered in every part

thoroughly permeated with

complete - lacking nothing

The tricky part is coming to God empty.  I can't come with my own plans or expectations, my list of what works for me - according to my schedule, my ability, my level of comfort.

I have to come hollow.

If only that were as easy as I often sing about and talk about.  Really, it means asking God to search my heart and show me everything I'm relying on other than Him.  And then honestly admitting those things are truly preventing me from experiencing fullness.

If I could somehow get the truth of how incredibly able He is in me...

"Now to Him Who, by the action of His power that is at work within us, is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams..."  Eph 3:20 Amplified


Don't you want to live like that?  If I will yield to Him, He will absolutely amaze me with His power and glory in and around my life. 


Lord, help me in this.  Make me full of You! 

Weekend Highlights

I had such a fun {long} weekend.  I'm feeling like some bullet points!

• I rode up to Tacoma in a pick-up truck with my husband and one of his good buddies.  I loved sitting in the back seat and listening to them talk.  It makes me so happy that Jeff has good friends because I've always felt so spoiled in that area!

• I spent the day on Thursday at my boss and partner in ministry's cozy house, working together to plan a fellowship day for our adoptive families, a Mom's Time Out evening for the local mommies who have adopted or are adopting from Ethiopia (it's very fun to be on the 'other side' of that and plan an evening that I know they'll appreciate), as well as nail down some details for our next International Adoption Training weekend in April.

• Friday was lunch out with my two dearest sisters and then off to the Beth Moore Living Proof Live event in the Tacoma Dome.

• Beth was so good - she taught from Jeremiah on three roadsigns in scripture:
  

STOP

YIELD

GO

For me, I heard

Stop to notice God's work in the everyday.
Yield to Him - to His timing, His wisdom, His best for me
Go in His strength, not mine

• We were done by 12:30 so it was out to lunch, a little shopping and then some groceries for an evening of snacking, talking, laughing and a movie.  Have you seen The Social Network?  Did you find it to be terribly depressing?  I guess there is lots of debate about how true it is but it was a very sad commentary to me about college culture and business success.  Ugh.

• Sunday morning the three of us went our separate ways and Jeff came up to go with me to the dedication of one of our babies home in her new family in Puyallup, WA.

This baby girl was abandoned by a birthmother who was incapable of caring for her.  Her name means "Blessed for the future."  Now she is in the loving arms of a mommy and daddy who are entrusting her to the same God who has blessed her for the future.

It doesn't get much better than that!

You need it? I've probably got it!

As much as I really like the idea, I just can't seem to make the switch to a small purse.

Photo source: Google Images

I know it would be much more comfortable to carry.
Better for my back.
Easier to find things.
Neater and sleeker.

But those teeny, flat little purses?
Really?  They're basically envelopes with a strap.
I could carry my driver's license, a small comb and one key.
Or a dollar bill, a photo of one of my daughters and a safety pin.

But what would I do if I needed, say, my hand cream? Or something to do while waiting for an appointment?

In my purse right now I carry:

• two cell phones (one for work, one personal)
• two bluetooth earpieces (if you call me and I'm yelling, it's because I've put the wrong device on my ear)
• two calendars (I know - but I'm typically a few years behind the technology and I don't have a 'smart phone')
• a half-million plastic cards (because every store has a membership card now)
• too many keys
• my scripture memory spiral
• my iPod
• two pairs of reading glasses (because if I leave one pair somewhere, which I may have done a time or sixty, I cannot be without an extra pair or I will be asking random people in a store how many ounces are in the detergent or what the price is on this pair of reading glasses - isn't that a scary mental picture?)
• gum
• Advil
• nail clippers
• hand lotion
• Kleenex
• lip gloss
• bandaids
• a Sudoku
• 3 pens
• a to-do list
• a grocery list
• a check register 
• anti-bacterial wipes

Reading over that list makes me want to get one of those rolling backpacks. My kids would be so proud!

My daughter gave me a beautiful leather purse for Christmas which I love.  Then I bought one of these:

It fits around the inside of your purse and provides an alternative to digging through a mound of stuff to find your lip gloss. 

This is helping... a little.  But my purse still weighs more than a small watermelon.

However, I believe that I'm somehow called to carry this burden.  Because if I meet you somewhere and you happen to cut your finger on the edge of your teeny flat little shoulder bag, I will treat your wound - and I might even have some ointment!   

.

Saturday Stuff

Have you seen these websites?

Mobissimo Travel
"We Search.  You Travel."  Great site for cheap airfares

Clark Howard
"Save More, Spend Less and Avoid Getting Ripped Off"

Knock Off Decor
"Because Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery"

Get Human
Talk to a person, not a machine

Men in Belted Sweaters
Just for fun!

Dumping my brain

Brain dump: An unorganized pile of written information quickly put together in an e-mail or newsgroup message. This is also known as "TOI" (transfer of information).

Be sure to let me know if this is TMI.

• I would really like to find a good, can't-put-it-down book to read when I finish 'Radical.'
• My bible verse memorization needs to be stepped up a notch - I'm falling behind.  It's my fault for choosing four verses a month but now I'm on a schedule so I have to keep up in order to complete Romans 8 by the end of the year.  I can do this!
• Going to see Beth Moore next weekend - I can't wait!
• I want to make a magnolia wreath for the front porch.  I'll show you what I come up with.
• I'm going to plant more peonies this weekend.  I think they're my favorite flower. 
• My Jonah bible study group is gathering things to help a single mom get on her feet, have clothes to wear to a job interview and provide shoes for her son.  It's been an amazing thing to see my little group get behind this effort and we're all praying that our help is received as a direct gift from God who is pursuing her.
• I want to be more consciously thankful for things like mobility, good eyes, ears that hear and hands that can work.
• I am so inspired by this idea that I read on someone's blog (which of course I can't find) - it is to take one area/room of your house per day between now and Easter and fill at least one bag with stuff to get rid of.  (I know that this isn't motivating to many but for me, it sounds like SO MUCH FUN!  I love the feeling I get when I've purged a room of clutter.)  Now to get someone else I know to buy into it!  Because you do not want to get rid of something that someone you love might want.  Or think he wants.  And I've learned the hard way that the minute I do, that item almost instantly becomes the very thing that would solve this problem/fill this need/work in this situation.  Always.
• We recently did this in the garage (at least part way) and I actually like going out to the garage now.  So does my dearly loved one.  Proof that my way is best, right?
• I am off sweets.  It's easier than I thought.
• I am also trying to drink more water.  Anyone else struggle with forcing lots of water down their throat?
• Isn't this a pretty bathroom?  I am often dreaming of changes around here. 
• I did find a new chandelier on Craigslist a few weeks ago.. a PB original! 
  Now I'm hunting for shades - these are not cheap!
  

• Wedding plans are in full gear.  What should I wear??