I love this.

We MUST write poetry

"We have to recover the older standards for writing poetry, and if we have the slightest inclination, we should encourage it as much as we can . . . The first stuff we write will probably not be very good, but we should laugh at it and keep going. We are laboring for the kingdom" ~Douglas Wilson (Beyond Stateliest Marble).

From my kitchen....

I've been trying out some new recipes this week. This was spurred on by two things; company, and my new Pioneer Woman cookbook.

On Friday night my husband had the guys over for a jam night. Since they didn't even get here until 9:00 it turned into a not getting to bed until 3am kind of thing. And since all but one of them lives close, we had our spare room available for him. I figured I should probably do a little more than offer cold cereal in the morning (or afternoon), so here's what I decided to do:

                                                                
                                                                 Maple Pecan Scones

These were fantastic! And the maple glaze brought these babies to a whole new level. For some reason PW doesn't have the recipe on her website, but you can get it here.

Last night we had some friends over for dessert and some Austen City Limits action, and here's what I decided to make:

                                                                       Crème Brûlée

Mmm.....there's not much else to say really. Other than I made a little blueberry chutney to go on top, and that I'm so very glad I made a few extra for later (yes, I see you exercise bike...). Here's the recipe.

I thought it would be good to also have something with a little texture, something a little more kid friendly just in case, and something that I could use the leftover maple frosting from the scones on. So I made these:

Angel Sugar Cookies

These were perfectly light, flaky, oodles of yumminess. And seriously, add the maple frosting. It made the whole thing. Try them.

So, I'm 3 for 3 in the new recipe department. If you haven't checked out the Pioneer Woman's website or cookbook, you must, you won't be sorry.

Are you a Trophy wife?

"Rightly understood every wife should be considered a trophy wife. But not one of those plastic ones you got in third grade for winning the three-legged race at the all-school picnic. Rather, a wife rightly honored reflects the gospel in ways that nothing else can (Eph. 5:25-27), and in her triumph she portrays the eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17) -- as terrible as an army with banners (Song 6:10). A trophy wife, all right, but a trophy well worth having. In order to bear a crown with that kind of weight, a husband has to have (by grace) a strong neck, which means that it cannot be a stiff neck." ~Douglas Wilson

For the whole article click here.

Some perspective....

"Valentine was a third century pastor who was imprisoned for his faith. According to tradition, he wrote small pastoral notes to members of his congregation on leaves he was able to pluck from a maple tree just outside his cell. These little “Valentine’s cards” expressed his love for the flock, and his desire that they demonstrate like love toward one another. Gradually the tradition grew up for Christians to exchange notes of love and encouragement to one another on this, his birthday. Alas, the modern commercialization of the tradition has all but obscured this beautiful token of gracious fellowship."

                                                                                             ~George Grant




                                                             

For once the Grammy Awards got it right......

Album of the year! Take that Lady Gaga.....

"Do not resent your place in the story. Do not imagine yourself elsewhere. Do not close your eyes and picture a world without thorns, without shadows, without hawks. Change this world. Use your body like a tool meant to be used up, discarded, and replaced. Better every life you touch. We will reach the final chapter. When we have eyes that can stare into the sun, eyes that only squint for the Shenikah, then we will see laughing children pulling cobras by their tails, and hawks and rabbits playing tag."                                                                                                                      — N.D. Wilson

A new discovery

Find more artists like Abigail Washburn at Myspace Music

Samuel Rutherford on affliction.....

"Dry wells send us to the fountain.
Christ chargeth me to believe His daylight at midnight.
Look for crosses, and while it is fair weather mend the sails of the ship."
                                                    

I fail at the "decafalon".....

 *The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once
    again invited readers to take any word from
    the dictionary, alter it by adding,
    subtracting, or changing one letter, and
    supply a new definition.*

    *Here are the winners:*

    1.*Cashtration* (n.): The act of buying a
    house, which renders the subject financially
    impotent for an indefinite period of time.

    2.*Intaxicaton* : Euphoria at getting a tax
    refund, which lasts until you realize it was
    your money to start with.

    3.*Reintarnation* : Coming back to life as a
    hillbilly.

    4.*Bozone* ( n..): The substance surrounding
    stupid people that stops bright ideas from
    penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately,
    shows little sign of breaking down in the near
    future.

    5.*Giraffiti* : Vandalism spray-painted very,
    very high

    6.***_Sarchasm_*: The gulf between the author
    of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't
    get it.

    7.*Inoculatte* : To take coffee intravenously
    when you are running late.

    8.*Osteopornosis* : A degenerate disease.
    (This one got extra credit.)

    9.*Karmageddon* : It's like, when everybody is
    sending off all these really bad vibes, right?
    And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's
    like, a serious bummer.

    10.*Decafalon* (n.): The grueling event of
    getting through the day consuming only things
    that are good for you.

    11.*Dopeler Effect*: The tendency of stupid
    ideas to seem smarter when they come at you
    rapidly.

    12.*Arachnoleptic Fit* (n.): The frantic dance
    performed just after you've accidentally
    walked through a spider web.

    13.*Beelzebug* (n.): Satan in the form of a
    mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three
    in the morning and cannot be cast out.

    14.*Caterpallor* ( n.): The color you turn
    after finding half a worm in the fruit you're
    eating.

    *The Washington Post has also published the
    winning submissions to its yearly contest, in
    which readers are asked to supply alternate
    meanings for common words.**

    And the winners are:*
    1.*Coffee*, n.. The person upon whom one coughs.

    2.*Flabbergasted*, adj. Appalled by
    discovering how much weight one has gained.

    3..*Abdicate*, v. To give up all hope of ever
    having a flat stomach.

    4*esplanade*, v. To attempt an explanation
    while drunk.

    5..*Negligent*, adj. Absentmindedly answering
    the door when wearing only a nightgown.

    6.*Lymph*, v.. To walk with a lisp.

    7.*Gargoyle*, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

    8.*Flatulence*, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up
    someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

    9.*Balderdash*, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

    10.*Rectitude*, n. The formal, dignified
    bearing adopted by proctologists.

    11.*Pokemon*, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

    12.*Oyster*, n. A person who sprinkles his
    conversation with Yiddishisms.

    13.*Frisbeetarianism*, n. The belief that,
    after death, the soul flies up onto the roof
    and gets stuck there.

"He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." ...

I FINALLY saw How To Train Your Dragon, and LOVED it! For a good review read this.

"You cannot conceive, nor can I, the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God."

                            —Graham Greene