Being Faithful

{picture credit}

At all times we should commit our all to Jesus' faithful hand;
then, though life may hang on a thread, and adversities may multiply as the sands of the sea, our soul shall dwell at ease, and delight itself in the quiet resting places.

"Into Thine hand I commit my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of Truth"
~Psalm 31:5

~Charles H. Spurgeon
Morning and Evening, page 481

Trampoline, Babies, and Fun

While the Hood family has been staying with us, some of the clan from Austin came down for a visit (Grandma, Emily, and Sophia). And the four girls played and played,and I occasionally helped them. :P

Naomi Hood in her bouncer!

The Grandma's!

"Emily, smile!"

I thought this was a cute picture of Mom and Nate!

The Cleaning Crew.

The four girls, or more like the four mommies with their babies.

What could be better in a summer in Houston, than to play on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath! :)

Lemon Kale Chips

So, I got this email from Elana’s Pantry, just raving about these lemon kale chips. My first reaction upon hearing the two words together, "Kale Chips" was not pleasant. I mean, come on, who had the brilliant idea to coat those leafy greens in lemon, salt, and olive oil and bake them? Well, as you've already suspected, I was wrong. And now I just can't get enough of these chips. So, here is the recipe. I hope you will try them :).

Lemon Kale Chips

1 bunch kale (prepared and washed; I like the curly kind best)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1) preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) chop kale into 1/2 inch size pieces, place in a large bowl

3) with hands, massage oil, lemon juice, and salt into kale.

4) place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake 10-15 minutes until kale is dark green and crispy. Cool and serve. Enjoy!

In Christ,

~Micaela

Thoughts on Wool and Hard TImes

A bit ago, I announced a new project on my art blog (please visit there if you haven't in order for the rest of this post to make more sense!)

Let me share that knitting for these patients has been especially sweet for me. For the past year I have been searching around for an organization that will accept knitted donations. Mostly I was looking for something that I could identify with and feel somewhat attached to.

So, I was very excited and happy when a sweet friend told me about this project. It fit very well with my search requirements and gave me plenty of time to be preparing.

This has also brought some thoughts and seemingly endless strands of questions.

Mostly about the future owner of the knitted hat, wondering who the person is and what they are feeling; are they saved? Are they alone or do they have family? Is this their first treatment with chemo or just one in a long line of treatments? What is their prognosis like? What's their favorite color? But not to worry, I don't over analyze or contemplate about these questions!

These are a few of the things I have been thinking about as I knit.

It really is different creating something for a complete stranger. For one thing, I don't really bother too much about sizing or the shape of the head--which gives me more rooms to think about the texture and feel of the hat. I'm sure you didn't know that all of this went into knitting, well, now you know.

I also have an opportunity to write a wee note of encouragment for the receiver of my humble creations; this was another thing that attracted me to this project. It's brought on a great deal of prayer on what to say and how to say it. I have a burden to encourage them and give them some sort of hope, knowing that ultimately the greatest thing for them is to find their peace and strength in Him. This made me to think of the experiences of the writer of Lamentations, which caused him to say:

"I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of his wrath;

he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light...

He has made my flesh and skin waste away;

He has broken my bones.

He has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation,

He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago..."

And through all of this, the writer continues to remark (which sums up what I would like to encourage them with):

"My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning,

great is Your faithfulness.

'The Lord is my portion', says my soul,

'therefore, I will hope in Him'."

Lamentations 3

In addition to the note of encouragment, I have a personal opportunity to pray for them.

This is something that, as a Believer, I am always able to do. I may not be able to physically comfort someone or say words of hope and peace, but I can always pray.

There have been many times where I wish that I could do something or be somewhere when it's just not possible, however, I do have the ability to keep the person and situation in prayer.

Because of that, I find a great comfort to know,

"For He delivers the needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

From oppression and violence He redeems their life,

and precious is their blood in His sight."

Psalm 72

I am reminded of how much more the Lord loves and cares for His people, and how much more abundant is His ability to provide and keep them.

The Taste and Hope of Joy

When I Don't Desire God,by John Piper, has been on my reading list for a while now. I must admit that I go through his books pretty slowly; it takes me a while to really digest what it is he is saying, and I always find it very rewarding and thought-provoking.

I just have to remind myself of the benefits as I snail through!

Here are a few gems that I have found as I read the chapter on, "Fighting for Joy Like a Justified Sinner". This is a wonderful read, and I hope you enjoy the following bits as I have.

Christ himself connected joy and the cross in his own soul.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us, "For the joy set before him [he] endured the cross."

So in his own heart the unshakable hope of joy with the Father sustained him through his final suffering. He prayed the night before he died,

"Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory

that I had with you before the world existed" (John 17:5)

~John Piper, When I Don't Desire God

I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse,

for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, "The same yesterday, today, and forever." Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons;

my temptations also fled away; so that from that time those dreadful scriptures of God [about the unforgivable sin] left off to trouble me;

now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God.

~John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

{July}

On account of this month being a wee bit too full for a regular post, here is a quick and condensed post of what we have been up to lately:

::Traveled quite a bit, mostly to the Austin/ Burnet area. Dad also returned from his (as far as we can tell) last trip to the UK::

::Proved we were still immune to the chicken pox. Poor Dom somehow contracted a case of it and Nicole and the girls stayed with us for a few days. Thankfully Dom kept his pox to himself.::

::Mica, Caro, and I had great fun hosting a craft open house! There were lessons learned all around and we had a wonderful time sharing our crafts with people.::

::I have been busy knitting a few main projects; please visit my craft blog to learn more!

::We've been able to see quite a bit of some dear friends who will be moving to New York! We're very thankful that this busy time has provided some sweet time together::

::Life in general, we each have projects and assignments to keep us busy throughout the week, although we still love posting our thoughts and pictures on this blog!

We've just been a bit busy lately :)

Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

Well, you finally hear from me. I hope you are having lovely time our motherland. We have been busy with our little things, now that we are back home. We left Grandma's at 7:35... pm. So our four hour trip wasn't what it was cracked up to be, being cramped, long, and hungry ( The ice cream place in Brenam, Scoops, was closed). Oh but I had a special surprise in the Virtuous Daughter Magazine that I get and I'll tell you when you get home! Also it was very nice to wake in my own bed! Pity it isn't like that for you :(. These past days I been able to get my schoolwork done, in spite of these sleepy rainy days. And I am 3 Modules away from finishing my science, and 2 chapters away from finishing my history! Yesterday we went to the Frye's for Charlotte's violin lesson with Mica. I felt quite like a birdwatcher; at Grandma's we found a bird's nest with baby birds! And yesterday I saw a robin, a house sparrow, and a cardinal, just hanging around the window boxes.

Oh, how could you resist!

Nate!

The birds nest at Grandma's.

Right before we left.

Love,

Caro :)

P.S I realize that you probably won't see this till you are here.

Oh, well!

To The Very Lovely and Most Beautiful Nicole

{Nicole and her Precious}

Dear Dad,

Nicole sent these photos that she took yesterday--isn't she stunning?

The majority of it is from the inside, which is constantly being refined and made more beautiful.

She really is a fine fellow and I am so grateful to have her as an older sister,

best friend, and sister in Christ

(And no, as sentimental as that sounds, there are no tears this time :)

{Sophie running for the plunge}

Also, here are some photo's of the Girlies while they are swimming (Note Mia's floaties).

{Mia the Sitting Duck}

{Sophie's fabulous standing-on-the-water ability}

I hope these brightened your day!

All photo's are courtesy of Nicole and her iphone.

Love,

Elena

p.s.

Mom REALLY misses you. very much.

p.s.s.

Have you tried any more odd food yet?