Gleanings of Wheat

I really don't know why I haven't planned out my meals in advance before, it seems like it would make things a lot simpler than scowering the internet and my cabinets trying to throw something together for dinner. So, as soon as finals are over with I'll begin doing meal plans. Hopefully this will cut down on some stress and I'll have plenty of variety going in the kitchen. Here's my plan: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays I'll be cooking. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays we'll eat the leftovers I'm sure we'll have or else I'll take the leftovers and use them in a new dish - I haven't decided. Sundays I don't count as cooking b/c it has been a long standing tradition in my family that spaghetti and meat balls are served. We almost never deviate from it. Further, I'm going to try and limit the chicken to once a week in a recipe. That means I'll have to expand my horizons and dig of more recipes for other types of meat. Not pork th...

Finals are this week and next week. Kristina is stressed. Kristina is speaking in the third person. Kristina will regain her sanity after next Thursday - hopefully.

Well, I stumbled upon an interesting little post today. Here's the bulk of it: Researchers used pureed cooked cannelli beans to replace 25%, 50%, and 75% of the shortening in a brownie recipe. They also baked brownies without any beans. The resulting goodies were rated for looks, color, tenderness, texture, flavor, and overall acceptability by 120 untrained student, faculty, and staff volunteers. The 25% and 50% bean brownies were rated about the same overall as the 0% bean brownies (75% bean brownies were not as well received).

I mentioned to a friend that he might be interested in listening to the Together for the Gospel downloads and he mentioned that he likes MacArthur but thinks it is ridiculous that MacArthur thinks Jesus was omniscient. I asked why and here's what he gave me: Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." Mark 5:30 "Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?" Either Jesus wasn't omniscient, or Scripture was playing us for fools! I honestly don't remember ever really thinking about this so I'm in the middle of a study, but I'd love some input from anyone that reads this. Resources you can point me to, verses, etc. Thanks. **edit** I have no doubt He was before & after His incarnation, I'm just curious as to the incarnation itself. **edit 2** I think MacArthur's explana...

There are things I struggle with a lot in my life, things I want to be free from in some respects yet I find myself drawn/ seeking these things out in other was. Truly my mind and heart are at war with the flesh, and my heart is the turn coat. Some days it is with my mind, desiring to do what I know God would have me do, still other days it plays the traitor and rushes to the defense of my flesh, and still other days it lays lifelessly at the side. Apathetic, disengaged...useless. That's been my heart the past week or so in regards to a certain temptation. When it wasn't apathetic it was trying to deceive me into thinking this temptation wasn't that bad, understandable even. But you know what? It isn't, I've no business entertaining this thing - even though on some level the only person it effects is me. My mind, of course knows this, but getting the rest of me to fall in line hasn't been so easy this week. In my mind I want to do the right thing, yet I continua...

I love Passover, I've never been Jewish but I have an insane fixation with the Old Testament festivals, and Passover is my favorite. I love the tradition of recounting God's faithfulness in His delivering the Israelites from Egypt, I love that Jews are called to see that deliverance as their own, to embrace it, to identify themselves with a helpless people who needed to be rescued by the Lord all those years ago. But most of all I love how it points not just backward to Egypt, but forward to the Cross of Calvary. The Passover is full of rich imagery; the spotless lamb sacrificed, the blood that covers the Israelites as Christ's blood covers our own sins. Even the second of three pieces of matzoh, unleavened bread that is pierced to keep it from rising just as Christ was pierced to ensure He was dead, the second piece is broken, wrapped in a cloth, and then hidden to be brought out later. Just in case you're wondering what some traditional recipes from a Sedar might loo...

And I'm not the least bit surprised. I know it sounds awful that this doesn't shock me, but really it doesn't. I'm disgusted that she would do this , but really not all that surprised. Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process. I know some will say that this is vastly different from a woman aborting an unplanned pregnancy, and I'll even admit to a point that this is true. But the end result is the same, a defenseless child has been slaughtered. Just in this case it has been slaughtered in the name of art. Both instances are selfish, but in this case the girl is willing to stand before the world and boldly disp...

I was listening to MBI today and Dawn Hall was on This is the day with Nancy Turner as well as Mid-day Connection talking about her cookbooks so I googled her and was pleasantly surprised to find TONS of free recipes on her website . What is nice is that she gives you the grocery list already broken into sections. This is the first recipe I'm going to try: Hawaiian Chicken Salad Sandwich with Melon Medley Kabobs Hawaiian Chicken Salad Sandwich 2 (13-ounce) cans chicken breast, in water, drained 1 (8-ounce) can sliced pineapple in pineapple juice, drained 2/3 c Teriyaki Baste & Glaze (Kikkoman) in barbeque aisle 1 (16-ounce) round loaf King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread 2 thin slices red onion 6 leaves of red leaf lettuce Melon Medley Kabobs 4c honeydew melon (about 1/2 of large melon) 4c cantaloupe (about 3/4 of a medium melon) 12 kebob skewers 30 minutes before dinner, prepare instant tea by stirring 1 packet sugar-free instant tea (to make 2-quarts) with 8 cups cold water i...

Forever ago I downloaded (for free!) this audio book , I'm just now getting around to listening to it. It has been interesting, encouraging, and challenging. Sadly, it isn't free anymore but if you get around to it I'd suggest reading/ listening to this book. And now some quotes of David Brainerd's from before his salvation: But the truth was I could see no safety in owning myself in the hands of a sovereign God and could lay no claim to anything better than damnation...For all I could do would amount to nothing... The more I did in prayer or any other duty the more I saw that I was indebted to God for allowing me to ask for mercy . (quotes fall between 33 & 36 minutes)

I got the header image from here . David has a great selection of stock photos to choose from, so if you're looking for stock photography you may want to wander on over.

I got this from Love and Olive Oil who got it from Under the High Chair and it sounded so delicious that I ran out to the grocery store and picked up the needed spice. I ended up using four boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken. I think it worked out pretty well. Oh, and if you have an ALDI near you, you can get a bag of chicken breasts for around $5. Not a bad deal - and the bags usually last me 3-5 meals depending on if I have people over or not. 4 garlic cloves, chopped 3 Tablespoons Berbéré, ground 1 teaspoon salt 3 Tablespoons butter, melted 3 Tablespoons lemon juice 1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs, or two plump Cornish hens 4 onions Preheat the oven to 375F. Mix together the berbéré, garlic, butter, lemon juice, and salt. Cut the chicken into its various parts and brush with spice mixture. Peel onions and slice into thick slices. Place the onions on the bottom of a roasted pan and arrange chicken pieces on top. Roast for about 1 hour. Baste occasionally with c...

Don't ask me how or why, but apparently the only thing my computer needed was a swift kick. My brother came to visit on Sunday and wanted to check his email since he doesn't have the internet at home right now. Imagine my surprise when I came in the house to find him happily online. I asked him what he did - apparently he kicked it and it jolted to life. It figures it would be the one thing I didn't do. So strange. Anyway, I'm pretty bogged down at school right now so blogging will still be light but at least I'm able to blog at all. Thanks Russell!

I'm in school full time in addition to working and raising to adorable children. I blog because I enjoy it, but for the time being I won't be blogging. I'm pretty sure my mother board is dead so the only access to a computer I have right now is at school and I tend to have work to do so blogging is going out the window. I know you're sad. It'll be ok. Hopefully I'll be up and running this summer.