a.w. tozer

"Lord, how great is our dilemma! In Thy Presence silence best becomes us, but love inflames our hearts and we are constrained to speak."

pray for me today!
this afternoon i shall commence piano/worship lessons with a girl named meridith.
pray for wisdom, because i've never taught lessons before!

colossians 1:9-12

www.isconsin

..is absolutely amazing! the loveliest week of my autumn was spent in wisconsin with dear friends.
i was introduced to milwaukee, jess' family, and spring rolls..
i was re-introduced to jess' sweet sister kadie, illy espresso, and sushi- ganz wunderschön!
and i was delightfully blessed with time spent with my dear friend, jessica reid.
plus we saw tahmi, walked to lake michigan -twice!- and drank a whole lot of coffee.

i am terrible about photographing events.. but here are the few i took!


Latte the Ragdoll Cat: we became fast friends.


Lake Michigan with Jess and Tahmi! [post-coffee at common grounds]


the Kenosha Castle Ruins, avec JessicaReid.


the Moon-Rise o'er Lake Michigan!


sweet home minnesota clouds.

lovely!

lassen uns beten!

in the past week i've visited with or heard from many different people, ministering all over the state, country, and world. pastors wives from the midwest, bible college students in several continents, pastors' kids and interns in europe, christians being light in their hometowns and to the uttermost parts of the earth. on my 8-hour drive to and from wisconsin, i spent several hours listening to recordings from past missions conferences. i was so blessed to hear the testimonies of people who have surrendered their lives to the Lord and have been used by Him so immensely. may He see fit to use me as such a vessel.

it is so amazing to see the work that God is doing all over the world. what a privilege we have to be able to intercede for our brothers and sisters spread abroad. i'm reminded of one of our memory verses from wolfgang's missions class:

I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!'
Bring My sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth-
Everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.
-Isaiah 43:6-7

remember to pray for the outreach teams from the ccbc campuses in peru and germany- they're ministering all around the world this week!

jubilation!

i hung out with 'calvary' girls all weekend at the ladies retreat- therein is found a spiritual depth which few can match.

the leaves were in glorious array, AND the sun showed its long-lost face to the northland once again.

my german mom sent pictures today of their beautiful new baby girl, manon caja.

bright and early i'm off on a gallivant to see lovely jessica reid, oh joy! and tuesday we shall see tahmi!


thank You Lord.

bouquets of sharpened pencils.

the menfolk of the house have gone a-hunting, so it leaves mum and i to fend for ourselves.
we ate hot fudge sundaes along with our dinner, worked on various projects including hemming, and watched You've Got Mail.
'twas quite nice, truly.

hoorah!

i'm going to wisconsin! next week!

emerging church.

this link is for a message my dad taught at church 2 weeks ago, on 1 john 3:19-4:6. i had not heard much explanation for the term "emerging/emergent church" but this really gave a good explanation, and also a timely warning to us as believers- there are many false prophets out there! we must hold fast to the Truth of God's Word.
the message is probably 40-45 minutes long, but if you have time to listen, it's really good. just click the little question mark.
God bless!

wunderschön!

two of the most beautiful things:

#1- reconcilation/restoration!

#2- homemade applesauce! [with lovely honeycrisp apples]


[obviously they aren't particularly related, but both have struck me today with their inherent loveliness! but i suppose if a connection must be made, both are a little unpleasing on first observance, but so beautiful when made your own.]

flax.

i learned a new trick from my mum this weekend.
i was making a cake for the church potluck, but alas! we had no eggs. however, we had plenty of flaxseed in the cupboard. so we made a flaxseed egg substitute, put it in the cake, and my, was that cake delicious! it was super moist too. so, just in case you ever run out of eggs, or want to try something new, here's how to do flax. [plus, flax is really good for you!]

1/2 cup flax seed- blend on high in the blender [or food processor] for 1 minute.
add 2 cups water- blend on high for 2 minutes. it will become thick and frothy.
that's it! 1/4 cup of the mixture equals 1 egg. i use the 1/4c. measuring cup to scoop it right out.
any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a few days.

i know this works wonderfully in cakes, and i'd like experiment with it in cookies, french toast, as "scrambled eggs," etc.
i'll let you know what works.

enjoy!

break the silence.

well today i accomplished a daring feat!
i broke out the family's old cassette tapes, circa 1987.
a few were pretty hokey, but i must say.. margaret becker is The Woman. her music is absolutely amazing, both in creative quality and in lyrical sincerity. and also in mullet-intensity. i especially suggest her albums "the reckoning" and "never for nothing." [my dad's holding hostage "immigrant's daughter"- my childhood favorite.]
it's actually quite an improvement upon today's "christian" music. it's so discouraging to turn on the station and hear christianese cliches sung by carnal christians seeking fame and fortune. enough said- it's simply refreshing to know that it is possible to put out really genuine music that is pleasing to the Lord! [i think we often forget about seeking His interests above all] may He raise up a new generation of similarly anointed musicians and songwriters.

it was 90 degrees here today. only in southern minnesota do we get 40 degrees in august, and 90 in october.
today is october 6th, and several years we've seen snow on this very day. bizarre.

doc appt yesterday was excellent. no more drugs, hooray! praise the Lord- He provides in His perfect timing.

we have a 40-pound pumpkin on our back porch.

request.

tomorrow directly after work, mum and i head down to sioux falls, south dakota, to see a physicians assistant/naturopath.
please pray for wisdom on our part [accurately telling symptoms, asking questions, etc] and on the doctor's part, as she seeks to find a solution. [and, prayerfully- an alternative to medicinal treatments!]
i've been feeling pretty well lately [much better than this summer], but in the past several weeks i've become pretty sick after consuming any form of milk product, and possibly other foods as well.
this doctor has been able to piece together seemingly random symptoms and find the underlying cause for several other women i know; so, Lord willing, she'll have some answers for us too.
thanks for praying!

the main street promenade.

this evening our sleepy little town gathered down on main street for the Grand ReOpening of the street itself!
it's been closed for many months, due to slowly progressing road/building demolition and construction.
there were farmers with home-grown produce, artisans with their handcrafted wares, and a stand-still antique car parade. they even had tiki torches out to light our way through the growing dusk!
saw lots of family acquaintances, and found the most amazing pair of boots at the little boutique! [i pick them up tomorrow]

it was a bit of a return to old-time america.

the mighty [clean] midwest.

directly below these signs sat two clawfoot tubs.
the windchill was below thirty that day.

cookery.

this evening i attended the Taste of Home cooking school in my very own hometown. i was accompanied by my lovely somewhat-sister-in-law [just not by law], mary buckwheat. CAN you imagine a better last name than that? i think not.
we suffocated along through the mobs of hungry and talkative olderish women, had a few bites of goodies from display tables, and paid an arm and a leg to quench our thirst [which, by this time, had grown to be quite fearsome], with bottled water from source Less-Than-Mediocre.
then we settled into our excellent fifth-row seats and watched the cookery begin. everything was made with severely processed and highly convenient foods, and served up and raffled off in very stylish cookware. on the whole, it was quite educational.
upon leaving, i spied another girl from church, and we decided that we'd probably end up bringing the exact same dish to the potluck on sunday! [since we, obviously, have been culinary De-Challenged having taken in such an event.]
and so i blast off for dreamland with visions of cool-whip-filled and maxwell house-soaked-nilla wafer Tiramisu, and your awestruck face upon tasting the delightful fruits of my newfound kitchen aptitude, dexterity, and adroitness.
[as well as my skillful thesaurus usage capabilities. on that note, you really ought to look up "fruit" in the online thesaurus- you'll find it quite helpful when looking for new ingredients for your jello salads! pass the buffaloberries.]