Friday, September 17, 2010

Moving...

After giving it some thought, I have decided to move my blog to WordPress: https://thoughtsong.wordpress.com/.  Thank you for reading and commenting so far -- it means a lot to me! :)

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

Hall Pass

It seems as if summer had just started, yet here it is September and I find myself in Tennessee slated to teach 5 ESL classes at 3 different schools (every day). Since this is my first year teaching, I have to put together supplies for my classrooms.  My budget for supplies is pretty small and I've discovered that some things are cheaper to make than buy from the teacher supply store... if I'm willing to sacrifice a little on quality. :)  I don't mind at all, though, because I've been itching to make something.  I also needed to find new photography material as the hummingbirds in the backyard have decided not to cooperate for any more pictures.

My first project for my new classrooms? Hall passes for the girl's bathroom, boy's bathroom, and the office!  I originally planned for them to look like envelopes addressed from my classroom to the intended destination.  My first reason for this design was that I thought it would give reinforcement for how to address letters.  Second, I wanted the passes to say where the student was coming from in case another teacher stopped them in the hall.  Some of my students do not speak any English (even though they may understand a little) or they may be hard to understand.  At any rate, I didn't want there to be any confusion -- either in the mind of the student or another educator -- about where the student was going and where he/she should return.  I'm pretty excited with how the passes turned out! :)

Project: Elementary Hall Passes

Materials:
3 small tubes of paint -- $0.97 each
3 small wooden plaques -- $0.97 each
4 foam brushes -- $1.00 package
String -- free
Markers -- free
Ruler --free
Scissors -- free
Drill -- free
(by "free" I mean "laying around the house")



Step One: Paint both sides of the boards.



Step Two: Drill a hole through one end and tie a loop with the string.



 Step Three: Decorate with markers.

And they're finished!  Not only did they cost just a little over $2 a piece, I still have over half the paint left and I can re-use the paint brushes for another project!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Friday, August 27, 2010

Charles Spurgeon

I've recently started reading Spurgeon.  There is no planned schedule for my reading, but I try to read the Morning and Evening Spurgeon devotionals put out by HeartLight and sermons (occasionally).  Tuesday morning's devotional (which I just read today) focused on the mercy of God.  It was such a wonderful and encouraging reminder to me that I wanted to share it here:


 "The mercy of God." 
              -- Psalms 52:8

Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord. It is tender mercy. With
gentle, loving touch, he healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up
their wounds. He is as gracious in the manner of his mercy as in the
matter of it. It is great mercy. There is nothing little in God; his
mercy is like himself-it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy
is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great
lengths of time, and then gives great favours and great privileges, and
raises us up to great enjoyments in the great heaven of the great God.
It is undeserved mercy, as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved
mercy is only a misnomer for justice. There was no right on the
sinner's part to the kind consideration of the Most High; had the rebel
been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the
doom, and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a
cause, for there was none in the sinner himself. It is rich mercy. Some
things are great, but have little efficacy in them, but this mercy is a
cordial to your drooping spirits; a golden ointment to your bleeding
wounds; a heavenly bandage to your broken bones; a royal chariot for
your weary feet; a bosom of love for your trembling heart. It is
manifold mercy. As Bunyan says, "All the flowers in God's garden are
double." There is no single mercy. You may think you have but one
mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies. It is
abounding mercy. Millions have received it, yet far from its being
exhausted; it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever. It is
unfailing mercy. It will never leave thee. If mercy be thy friend,
mercy will be with thee in temptation to keep thee from yielding; with
thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking; with thee living to be
the light and life of thy countenance; and with thee dying to be the
joy of thy soul when earthly comfort is ebbing fast.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Bitter Melon

   A good farmer's market is a wonderful thing.  Fresh produce, friendly people, street musicians, and fresh morning air make for a fun Saturday morning.  Inevitably, I come across a food item at the market that I have never seen before, much less ever tried to cook.  When this happens, I like to talk to the farmer/vendor about what the food is and how to cook it.  If I have the time to experiment and a few extra dollars, I will go ahead and buy some to try cooking at home.  This past Saturday I came across a new food: bitter melon


After talking to the farmer about the food and how to cook it, I decided to give it a try.  I was advised to cook it with egg, pork, and tomato.  After I got home, I found a recipe online and e-mailed a good friend back in Indiana (who is a great cook) to help guide my cooking experiment.  Here is what happened:

1.) Peel and chop up four tomatoes.


2.) Slice 1/2 onion.


3.) Peel the melon, scrape out the seeds and cut into small pieces (I used three melons).


4.) Cut up the pork (I used about 2 pounds).  Stir fry in oil with two heaping teaspoons of minced garlic.


5.) When the meat is cooked, add tomatoes, onion, and about 1 cup of chicken broth. 


6.) After it has simmered for a while, add salt, pepper, and the bitter melon.


7.) Then add two eggs and let simmer about 5 minutes.  And it's done!


The melon is a little bitter, but with the pork and the tomatoes, it tastes great.  A happy ending to a farmer's market experiment. :)   

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Fearless Dependence - a lesson from lilies


"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!  And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.  For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.  Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.  Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:27-32

This teaching of Christ's is far from promoting laziness ("neither toil nor spin" applies to the lily, but I am still commanded to work responsibly) or teaching a prosperity gospel (Christ does not promise material luxury on earth).  Rather, considering the relationship between the lily and its Creator leads to a right consideration of my needs and my Creator's provision.  Is my heart striving or grasping or worrying after my needs? 'Your Father knows that you need them.'  Do I doubt my Father's goodness?  Do I doubt his ability to provide what I need?  Do I doubt the truth of my promised inheritance in his eternal kingdom?  'Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.'

Friday, June 11, 2010

"Uh-oh" Banana Oatmeal Cookies

      Banana Bread seems to be kind of an "uh-oh" dessert, at least in my kitchen.  I don't usually buy bananas with the intention of making banana bread.  I want to eat them for breakfast, but they tend to ripen faster than I expect.  The chain of events leading up to me making banana bread usually starts that morning.  I  fix my coffee, then reach for a banana and realize -- uh-oh -- they are too ripe to really eat by themselves.  Time to make bread.  Today's recipe is even more of an "uh-oh" recipe.  In addition to not wanting to waste the bananas, I wanted to make healthy bread -- no white flour, no white sugar.  Unfortunately, when I got the wheat flour out of the freezer, I realized that it had freezer burn.  Wheat flour, no go.  The only other flour-type options left in the pantry were buckwheat pancake mix and cooking oats.


So, I used the Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookie Recipe that I found online, but with a few alterations:

1/2 cup Crisco
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
-- Mix these together, then stir in --
1 1/4 cup oats
1 cup buckwheat pancake mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

(Note: you can adjust the amount of flour until you get the desired consistency).
Place by heaping spoonfuls on a cookie sheet.


Bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes (or until the cookies are no longer shiny on top).  Let them cool a bit and then serve warm.  Makes about 14 cookies.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Starting Out

I've been meaning to start a blog for a while now.  In fact, I think I started one 4 or 5 years ago, but I don't remember the username for it.  At any rate, since I have just graduated and don't have work for the summer, now seemed like the ideal time to pick up blogging.  I don't have a specific category for the content of this blog, hence the title "thoughts 'n' such".  I like to dabble in writing out thoughts on scripture, news articles, and books that I've been reading.  Photography and crafts/decorating/cooking projects are hobbies of mine, so I will be posting some pictures and projects... with the hope of getting some feedback on them. :)

The theme that I hope surfaces throughout these posts is that I'm a sinner saved by grace and who dearly loves the Savior who first loved her. So, if you come across this blog and are amused, cheered, challenged, or encouraged -- especially as a result of being pointed to Christ -- then this little blog's purpose will be fulfilled.