"We Interrupt This Broadcast" Recipes

Good Afternoon,

It has been requested...strongly requested...that I share my recipes from this meal. So, I will interrupt the broadcast again to share some recipes. First up, the salsa (from my dear friend, Mrs. Larson)~

(this is not your regular cup of tea :)

1 small can green chiles (I did not use the mild ones but that's just me -- you could go either way)
2 cans Rotel diced tomatoes (I used 1 regular can and one cilantro/lime can)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1-2 dashes garlic powder
3/4 tablespoons cumin
handful green onions, coarsely chopped
lots of cilantro, coarsely chopped (I used LOTS of cilantro)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Blend all together in blender, but only until you get the consistency you want. If you do it too long it'll get overworked and be too liquidy and frothy.

Next recipe: guacamole. I'll do the appetizers today and everything else in later posts. This serves about 5.

1 avocados
1 small clove garlic
salt
pepper

Blend together with a pastry blender until well combined (there shouldn't be any big chunks of avocado). Enjoy!

Have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow.

At Last!

Hello Everyone!

I'm back! No, really...if I haven't been pouring tea lately, I have been sipping! Well, I think I should clue you in on the happenings around here. Yes, I have my cup of tea...it's a pretty white cup and saucer with small flowers decorating the top, wreath-like. This time, I'm pouring some general information regarding things I've done, am doing, and am enjoying lately!

Conferences!
I had the pleasure of attending both GPTS and Ligonier conferences this year! As Sarah has been sharing with you, we had a blast taking notes together, singing favourites, and getting to fellowship with the saints in Greenville for 3 days. Some old friends of mine, Daniel and Kristina Call (this friendship is as old as I am) came up as well, kicking off a whole month of visits back and forth! (We've been together 4 Sundays out of 5 almost consecutively) I have the GPTS conference MP3 now, which I'm am thoroughly enjoying. My favourite speakers at the conference were Dr. Pipa, Dr. Garcia, Dr. Joel Beeke, and Pastor Hamilton. (am I forgetting anyone, Sarah?) Both Sarah and I were feverish note-takers during the conference, though Sarah is quite the superior having developed her own short-hand!

Besides listening to rich lectures all day, it was such a pleasure to be in Greenville again. I lived there just short of 6 years and my mom's sister and mother live there. My grandma lives out in the country, so every morning it was such a pleasant drive to WRPC. Also, I was able to visit the Dodds...friends of my family (this is a friendship older than I am). It's always fun to spend time with them! Let's see, what else? Walking around Downtown Greeville by the Reedy River...singing Psalm 98a...sitting in the 4th row...asking Lexy for my pencil (I believe Sarah already mentioned that ; ) It was a great week!

Coming home from GPTS, our old friends the Calls and some van Eyks followed us and spent until Saturday hanging out at our house. Fun times! Then, I left for Florida on Wednesday for the Ligonier conference. A friend from church went with me this time, as well as my whole family (including both dogs...or should I say, one dog and one puppy) It was a crazy trip to my grandparents where Daddy, my friend and I left the rest of us and picked up some grandparents. The weather was gorgeous and was the only factor making it hard to stay inside and listen! My favourite speakers at this conference were Dr. Joel Beeke, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, Dr. Begg, Dr. Sproul, Dr. Robert Godrey, Derek Thomas, and D.A. Carson. Long list! And I didn't get to hear everyone! We have the MP3 for this conference too including the question and answer sessions which were just as good as the lectures in my opinion. After 3 days of that, we got in the car to head home.

Now comes the company. Two days after returning we had my dad's parents for a few days, and the Calls, up for NCFCA. My grandfather bought me a car! It's a little Chevy Aveo and as you can see...it's red. My little dream car is a gift for graduation. I am more thankful than words can express! We had a great week of fellowship with the Calls. Then, 3 days after the Calls left for their home in Florida, we followed them to West Palm Beach for a 10 day vacation for my 18th birthday. Here is the order of events:

Thurday: Drive down. Stay in Orlando with the Larsons
Friday: Finish trip. Arrive at the Higgins'
Saturday: Rest, Dinner and a movie at the Calls'
Sunday: Grace Presbyterian Church, Calls' house after evening worship

Monday: Brunch with Mrs. Higgins; Laser Tag and Bowling with the Calls, van Eyks, and others; spend the night at the Calls
Tuesday: Make cards with the Call ladies, Birthday luncheon/tea at Teapots and Treasures
Wednesday: Visit my great-grandmother Helen
Thursday: Rest and take-out Thai
Friday: Daddy arrives! Lunch with Uncle Rob, GracePresChurch for NCFCA speeches and dessert.
Saturday: Beach (finally!) Dinner with Uncle Rob, Aunt Sandra, and the Higgins
Easter Sunday: Grace Presbyterian Church; Calls' house after evening worship
Monday: Meet Calls for Laser Tag on the way back to Georgia.

Busy 10 days! But it was my kind of vacation! Great time with all our friends and fun stuff to do. Highlights for me were brunch with Mrs. Higgins, spending time with the Calls, and Sunday...all day! I thoroughly enjoyed Pastor van Eyk's sermons.

What I liked best about this whole vacation with the opportunity we had to take a break from all that we give in ministry here in Georgia, and be ministered to instead! I thought, and prepared myself to come back rather wilted, though, from all the activity. However, surprisingly, I came back with more energy and ready to be with the people God has us with in Georgia. It's amazing how when the spirit is refreshed, the body is as well!

So, we're back into the swing of this here, I guess. The Calls are up again for the NCFCA regionals. Yesterday (the Lord's Day) it was wonderful for fellowship with them again. We took a walk down to the Etowah River on one of our neighborhood trails. We've been enjoying all the beautiful things about spring here in Georgia. Cherry Trees, Dogwoods, Azaleas, and little seedlings. I'm a little late in starting the garden. But as we have long summers it will hardly matter. I've got a nice little veggie garden growing. Tomatoes, Zucchini, Cucumber, and Carrots. I've also got all the basic herbs: Basil, Parsley, Mint, Chives, Rosemary, and Thyme.

What else can I say? There is simply too much to tell! Perhaps I've poured too much tea already! I've given a good picture I daresay of what "I've done, and am doing." All that remains is for me to express what I've been enjoying lately. But I will post something different for that.

Meanwhile, enjoy all God's gifts for you wherever you are!
Blessings....
Lily

Where the Flowers Bloom

"How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me, all My compassions are kindled. I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath." ~ Hosea 11:8-9

Good Evening! How are you my dears? And exactly what are you doing staring at a computer screen on a glorious day like this? (So maybe it's raining at your house. Take a walk. You'll be surprised how fun it is. And the neighbors always enjoy watching it, too.) But not to abuse my readers. As you should be able to tell by now, this is a guest post. That is, not one by Miss Blair. I guess we might have to include Lily in the "non-guest" section, too, but I'm not sure. But it's not by her either. This is an entirely different sort of tea poured, with a whole lot of extras, by Sarah's sister, Leah.

And what do I have to say that's so daggum important that I interrupt the Conference Highlights series to say it? Well, children, attend and listen. I have come to the conclusion based on mature (no, really) and sober reflection that my life, your life, the life of the world in general, is a ridiculous proposition. If God had made me His advisor (something I wouldn't advise anyone to do) I would have done my best to put the kibosh on the whole concern. I mean, really, why would a perfect God, alone in an unmarred emptiness, desire anything but His own thoughts? He has always been self-sufficient to a degree that we can never understand. Why would He crowd that glorious space with things less than what He is? But He did. And what's more, He knew, even before He had created time (if you can think of something as chronologically associated to time, and yet beyond it) that it would fall to pieces. He knew there would be sin, and not just the fashionable, reformed sins. Sins of the darkest nature possible; sins so black that you and I barely understand their extent. And He did it anyway. He knew that the death of His Son, His only Son, whom He loved, would be required to right the wrong, and He did it anyway. How could He consider this world worth it? Half of it rejects Him, their Maker, altogether, and the other half can barely be persuaded to get up and worship one day a week. I'm telling you, if I had been the Lord when that apple (just for the sake of argument! keep your pants on) touched Eve's teeth I would have blasted the whole affair to smithereens. But you know, all He did was keep a promise. "You want this produce? You pay this price, which you knew about long before you got hungry."

But He didn't let it rest there. He could have let the world become Hell and poured out His wrath on all of us. Instead, He died. He became sin. he became death that we might have life.

I saw a picture once, in a magazine, of a morgue near the border of Mexico. It was full. Full of dead bodies wrapped in blood-soaked sheets. A single, bare bulb shed something like light on a scene I would have left in darkness. There was not a single beautiful thing in that room. And Jesus Christ said "Give Me that cup. Your will is Mine." Ridiculous, really.

But do you know what else I've seen? I've seen a bank of cracked red clay thrown up around a cheap, filthy construction sight. There had been a green forest there once; progress, however, doesn't like tress (I guess I better stop this subject before Sarah boycotts the entire post. We don't exactly see eye-to-eye here). Anyway, there was the dirt, and the waste, and the ugly building. And growing all over were morning glories, stretching their green tendrils and innocent blossoms where they had no business being. But that's what God's like. He glorifies Himself in a fallen world redeemed, in slaves made sons, in morning glories growing in a construction sight.

Post Script. There are no emoticons in this post. Give it a try.

Conference Highlights, pt. 5

I am sitting here with a cup of Jasmine tea on a very warm spring day in North Carolina, and thinking that perhaps a cup of hot tea was not what I really wanted. So, let me grab my water bottle of water with no ice and continue this Conference Highlights series.

I've pretty much given up on Lily. I don't think she's even a reader of the blog anymore...much less an author :) But who cares?! We (meaning "I") quote so many other people all the time that we (of course, meaning "I") never serve up the tea around here anyway.

The next section of Conference Highlights is everything except the lectures :) I'm saving the lectures for last because maybe by the time we get to them Lily will be on summer break and might actually...occasionaly...sign on to the blog. Totally rad, I know.

The conference–which, I know, was a 1 1/2 months ago. How do I know? Because I and the Girards are already counting down to the next one :)– started on Tuesday afternoon and went until Thursday at noon.

One of the things that I was most looking forward to about the conference (besides the actual conference, and seeing my best friend) was spending the whole week with my buddies, the Girards. You'll have to come visit Redeemer to understand why I love them so much. Anyway, so the Monday before the conference Lily and I packed at the same time while we were talking to each other on the phone. (we postponed our Saturday talk time until Monday) It was so much fun. We pre-planned when to talk on Monday so that we would both be packing while we were on the phone. I know.....ridiculous.

It was one of the goals of the week to fit everything for the conference in my backpack. Which I did. Now granted, Leah said I looked like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress with that great burden on his back, but I reminded her that I was riding with the Girards and I wanted to fit everything...yes, everything...into one bag so who cares if I look like [a] Christian? Sounds like a compliment to me, sis :)

On Tuesday morning (after 5 1/2 full hours of sleep...that's another post :) I got up at 6 o'clock (I was so excited!) and got all ready to go. I made sure my burden was fully loaded :) and ate a quick breakfast. I was way too excited to eat anything worthy of being called "breakfast." Actually, let me brag on Mama for a minute: she made lemon curd (which is one of my favorite things that Mama makes) and let me have it on toast for breakfast that morning. And I had "Cassie Tea" to go with it. My dear friend, Cassie, gave me Chocolate-Mint Tea for my birthday. It is my favorite tea, ever. Oh, and the smell.... I save it for the Lord's Day to make it super special. But the conference day was such a special occasion that I had Cassie-Tea with my toast and lemon curd. Anyway...enough of breakfast (that took less time for me to eat than I'm taking to type it)

At 8:30 the Girards were here to pick me up (actually, to my great delight they were supposed to be here at 8:30 and they got here at 8:15 - you can tell The Crew was in high gear on Tuesday morning. Great job guys!)

So, we loaded up the car (which took about 30 seconds because...of course...I only had one bag) and I got to sit in the back with all the little bugs. Since this is a blocked blog I could probably just use real names here, huh? So, those cute little buddies of mine were my backseat companions for the week: Gabrielle, Alexandria, Dwight, and Calvin.

On the way down (one of my favorite parts of the whole trip) I got to read Matthew 26 for family worship in the car. Sweet deal!

Oh, and we did play the Shotgun/Gunshot game. That is also another post. But I will get to it because I can't leave that out of the Highlights series....we played it all week!

Ok, there's the morning of day one. Aren't you glad we're (meaning "I") doing this in sections and not one post?

To close the post...this has nothing to do with the conference but I just read this quote a minute ago and so I had to share it:

"Faith is looking again towards God's holy temple, and love is stretching out for the first sight or sound of the Beloved's approach." ~Ruth Bryan

Getting At Him

This is a quote that has comforted me much this week. I thought perhaps it would be an encouraging talk time thing for some of you as well. This is from Charles Spurgeon recounting what an older minister said to a younger minister after the latter had preached a sermon.

"Mr. Spurgeon, pour our tea."

“‘If I must tell you, I did not like [the sermon] at all; there was no Christ in your sermon.’ ‘No,’ answered the young man, ‘because I did not see that Christ was in the text.’ ‘Oh!’ said the old minister, ‘but do you not know that from every little town and village and tiny hamlet in England there is a road leading to London? Whenever I get hold of a text, I say to myself, “There is a road from here to Jesus Christ, and I mean to keep on His track till I get to Him.”’ ‘Well,’ said the young man, ‘but suppose you are preaching from a text that says nothing about Christ?’ ‘Then I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get at Him.’”

It reminded me of something that Dr. Joel Beeke said: that if you can find no comfort and no assurance in your life...in the fruit you're bearing, the things you're doing for the kingdom, your quiet time in the morning, your prayer. If there is no assurance in any of these things for you, then you can find great comfort and great assurance in your coming back. True faith keeps coming back to Christ. It has no where else to go but back to Christ. Whether it's a text or a discouragement, or a perplexity, true faith will always "get at Him." Now that's a source of great joy. Zion's pilgrims are headed in the right direction. There's a talk time thing for ya.

For Lily~

Today is April 14th~ my dearest friend's eighteenth birthday!

Lily, I am so thankful to our gracious Father for the ways (the innumerable ways) that He has built, preserved, and is continuing to bless our friendship. As I woke this morning and was thinking about you and praying for you on your birthday my mind was racing over the past 10 years and all His faithfulness to us.

Do you remember when I first met you? We were at the Greenville Seminary picnic and you were wearing yellow overalls.

Over the past ten years I have treasured every "motherly" thing we've done together: from changing our babies' diapers to setting up ALL the chairs for church and printing our bulletin (which included our newborn's baptism). From taking our children out of worship to discipline them to playing doctor's office and hospital. From every Saturday phone call to our annual summer visit. From every letter in the mail to the Greenville conference in March. It makes me smile just thinking about you and all the memories we have together...all the embarassing stories (oh wait, I'm the only one who has embarassing stories :); all the cooking catastrophes (oh wait, those were all my catastrophes :); all the memories that become sweet because we share them together.

You never cease to encourage me: if you're just mailing me a card you made or spending an hour "talkin' about the issues." I always love our Saturday "talk time" because we get down to "the heart things." I love knowing that I can talk about all my struggles and frustrations with you and that you will pour out all yours to me, and we are set free to encourage each other and remind each other of the Lord's great faithfulness.

So to my sweet friend, who shares every facet of life with me~ I know this year will bring millions of new things and we will both do things that we've never done before. We don't know what the Lord has for us. But one thing I know, my buddy: the Lord is indeed fiathful and I am so glad to be walking this road heavenward with you. May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon as we step heavenward together.

I love you so much and so...

Happy Birthday, Lily!

"But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works."
~ Psalm 73: 28 ~

We Interrupt This Broadcast, pt. 2

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm procrastinating. Lily is out of town for the week (this is her birthday trip to Florida to visit good friends. Her birthday is on Tuesday!!) so I've been pushing off my Conference Highlights because I really want her to do them WITH me.

So, just one more post to "kick the can down the road" is the update on my cooking extravaganza on the fifth Sunday in March. You can read about the plan here. Now for the update...

Well, on Saturday I was up at 6:00 makin' salsa. I'm sure everybody appreciated our blender that sounds like an airplane taking off, at 6 in the morning. But, it had to be done so I'm sure it was good for them. Mrs. Larson, your salsa recipe is always a hit. Everyone loved it so much that by the time I got all the enchiladas in the oven the chips were gone....I didn't even get a taste. At least I checked it out on Saturday, when I made it.

So, salsa to start of Saturday morning. Then I made the enchilada sauce. I had to make 2 kinds because one of our deacon's children is allergic to wheat and dairy so I needed to make her a pan with wheat-free sauce and no cheese on top. It was fun to do that for her.

Then Mama said she needed to use the kitchen. Something about making breakfast or something. I didn't really think it was as important as my 72 enchiladas but hey....

After breakfast I rolled all the enchiladas and strategically stacked 8 pans on the bottom shelf of the fridge. IF we had a digital camera I would totally have taken pictures and posted them.

I also made the guacamole and started a pot of sweet tea. Then I had to get ready for a funeral. A dear saint in our congregation went home to her Father's house. She was a founding member of our church and of 2 other churches before that. Ok, Sarah, you're getting side-tracked....that's another post for another day.

After the funeral I came home with the boys and made chocolate chip cookies. Here's where the "almost catastrophe" comes in. I was gonna make 2 batches of cookies: one batch with dark chocolate chips and one batch with dark and white chocolate chips (my personal favorite). Well, Mama misunderstood what I said (I say so many things no wonder she was confused -- love you, Mama :) so we only had one bag of each kind of chips. SO! no big...Ethan and I ran to the store about 3.5 minutes up the road (listened to Judy Rodger's psalms cd all the way there and back and talked about the Lord being "our dwelling place in all generations") and got another bag of chocolate chips. Crisis averted. I made two batches of cookies and put them on separate plates.

The story of the plates: Daddy does not like white chocolate chips especially in cookies. He doesn't like white chocolate, period. So, he made a black flag with a skull and crossbones and glued it to a toothpick and put it in the cookies with the white chocolate "as a warning to the saints that those were not safe to eat." His hypothesis was, if they're warned, their sinful nature will go after that which they shouldn't have and in that case it will leave more of the "right" cookies for me. My hypothesis: you've warned them so now they'll all gravitate towards the dark chocolate chip cookies and that will leave more white chocolate chip cookies for me. Deal.

I also made another pot of sweet tea, mixed up my favorite salad dressing, got my cleaning done, and straightened the guest room.

On the Lord's Day... I was so excited! I mean, cuttin' avocados for my salad and spazin' out. When all my buddies started comin' in the door I had the chips and salsa and guacamole out. Mama was sitting in the rocking chair in our kitchen just chillin' out. It was so cool -- just what I was hoping the day would be for her.

I had all the enchiladas (with LOTS of cheese) in the oven. I made the salad. I so enjoyed listening to everyone enjoy themselves mackin' down on the chips. Leah, thank you so much for setting the table and cleaning up the kitchen for me. You have no idea how much that meant :)

During lunch we had some great conversations.

Dessert was awesome. Thank you Harris Teeter for having that great Buy 2 Get 3 Free sale on all natural ice cream. We had 2 kinds of Chocolate, Mint Chip, Coffee, and Cookies and Cream. I made coffee to go with the ice cream and cookies and some crazy people (my mama) started asking for chocolate ice cream in their coffee for a whole mocha effect. How cool is that?

Mr. Girard, thank you so much for helping me scoop ice cream for all 22 of those guys. I needed it and you could tell...thank you!

We had saints all over this house. It was awesome! The Lord poured out rich blessings on His day and on His people.

Quotables for the Day

Good morning!

I was listening to a sermon a couple days ago by Pastor Ben Miller (you can look him up on Sermon Audio -- listen to anything, it's all great!) and he quoted the hymn Behold the Man. I've never sung this hymn before but what he quoted was wonderful to think on so I wanted to quickly post it this morning. Here's a talk time thing worth thinkin' about all day long. Enjoy!

"Behold the man upon the cross, my guilt upon his shoulders.
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished,
His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished."

What a Savior! "It is finished!" "Oh for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise."

This stanza from the hymn When All Thy Mercies, O My God, is one that I've loved thinking about lately. Just let it sink in...

"Through all eternity to thee
A joyful song I'll raise;
For O, eternity's too short
To utter all thy praise."

Start praisin' Him now because forever isn't long enough to "utter all His praise." "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

More conference highlights coming soon... Have a great day!

Miss Blair

Conference Highlights, pt.4

There are so many songs that we sang at the conference that I love. Ya know, 119X, O God Beyond All Praising, etc. But, I wanted to give you one more highlight hymn/psalm-wise. This is my favorite song, ever. I love singing this psalm in worship, at home, at the piano, in the car...everywhere. If I ever want to get another song out of my head I sing this psalm. And my description of singing it at the conference will not even come close to doing it justice. I mean, just read the words and imagine 500 people who love being at the conference and singing God's word together, singing 98A:

(if you've never sung it before, the chorus is a round so all the men come in first and you just get this overwhelming feeling of "what great things the Lord has done." At least I do...)

O Sing A New Song to the Lord

O sing a new song to the Lord
For wonders He has done,
For wonders He has done;
His right hand and His holy arm
The victory have won,
The victory have won,
The victory have won.

The great salvation wrought by Him
Jehovah has made known.
Jehovah has made known.
His justice in the nations' sight
He openly has shown,
He openly has shown,
He openly has shown.

He mindful of His truth and grace
To Isr'el's house has been.
To Isr'el's house has been.
The great salvation of our God
All ends of earth have seen,
All ends of earth have seen,
All ends of earth have seen.

O all the earth, sing to the Lord
And make a joyful sound.
And make a joyful sound.
Lift up your voice aloud to Him;
Sing psalms! Let joy resound!
Sing psalms! Let joy resound!
Sing psalms! Let joy resound!

With harp make music to the Lord
With harp a psalm O sing!
With hard a psalm O sing!
With horn and trumpet raise a shout
Before the LORD, the King,
Before the LORD, the King,
Before the LORD, the King.

Let seas in all their vastness roar,
The world, it's living hoard.
The world it's living hoard.
Let rivers clap, let mountains sing
Their joy before the Lord!
Their joy before the Lord!
Their joy before the Lord!

Because He comes, He surely comes,
The judge of earth to be!
The judge of earth to be!
With justice He will judge the world,
All men with equity,
All men with equity,
All men with equity.

Oh, it makes me teary just reading the words. Maybe I'm just moody.

This psalm actually has a conference story attached to it. Lily and I and the Girards (who I went to the conference with) had all be looking so forward to 98A. I mean, I really built it up for them (good thing it disappoint ;). That's one of the main reasons for going to the conference...singin' that psalm. So on Tuesday night (first night of the conference, right?) Dr. Pipa was speaking on Calvin the Preacher. We hadn't sung 98A all day and of course they had to sing it at night (when there are more people) and right before Dr. Pipa. Well, our dinner was late gettin' on the table so we were late getting back to the conference so we missed the singing. They did sing it....and we totally missed it. I was so thankful that we didn't miss any of the lecture, though. They usually sing it at least twice per conference. But we didn't sing it all day Wednesday. So Wednesday night the guys all go out together and just hang. So Lily and I got Pastor Dodds and Mr. Freeman to talk to Dr. Pipa and ask him if we could please sing it on Thursday. He said we could. We're still not sure if he said "yes" because we asked, or if it had already been planned that way. But either way, we sang it on Thursday morning right before one of the best lectures of the conference (Pastor Ian Hamilton on Calvin the Sacramentalist). It was awesome!

Some thoughts as we were singing: I get to spend eternity with all of these guys singin' around the throne of our great King and this isn't even close to 1% of all the saints that will dwell with Him forever. And if we think this is rockin' what is it gonna be like in heaven? I mean, if there are tears streaming down faces now, in this fallen world, where we don't understand Him fully and our hearts are so clouded by sin, what will it be like when we are before His face singing, "O sing to the Lord a new song, For wonders He has done!"

May the Lord take you into His day rejoicing in the great wonders He has done.