Trust

Hey all, Meggie Here from Dreaming of Avonlea. I had already begun thinking of this post when Lady Weaver asked me to write for her. So of course I said yes! You'll have to forgive any choppiness, or errors, I haven't written in so long, it's a little hard to get back in the groove. So Until Next time!

God Bless!
Meggie


Trust

OH! it's an ominous word these days. It's word we hear daily, and with it always comes an incling of doubt.

"Trust me! This is the best product on the market!"

But what if it isn't?

"Put Your trust in 'Local Bank!' If you do you can't go wrong!"
But how do you know? The economy's pretty bad right now...

"Trust me, Babe, I would never hurt you! I Love you!"

But what if he's wrong?

You see? That word is used so liberally by the liars and schemers of the world that it has fair lost its meaning. Most of us, if we are smart, have come to the realization that we can't trust anybody anymore. Sometimes we can't even trust our pastors, our friends, and heaven forbid, even our parents.
As we go through the world we have learned to fend for ourselves. We are wary of everything and everyone, just to make sure we don't end up hurt or in trouble.

But where does that leave God? Stuck out in the rain?

We have become so self reliant that even trusting God is hard.

Do you remember the "Trust test" we used to do in school? Someone stood behind you and caught you as you fell. It was great so long as your best buddy was behind you. Not to mention it helped if your friend was the bodybuilder of the group.

Well God is our body builder. You remember that "Atlas" guy from Greek Mythology? You know, the one who held up the world? Well, God created the world, and holds it up, and the universe, and heaven, all on his pinky finger. Atlas Ain't got nothing on our God.

So why can't we trust him?

We've gone through our whole life being prepared for the day when we would be on our own. Our own Council, our own Law and Conscience, Our own MAN. But God Never meant for us to be alone. Stand up on our own for too long and we'll wear out. Someday we will get old, and tired, and we'll fall, and fall hard.

But Just as we begin to sink, God is there holding out His hands to catch us. And if he can hold all creation up with his pinky finger, how strong do you think His hands are? Not to mention His comforting arm when we do fall. Can you imagine how easy life would be if we just laid back and let God carry us in those strong ams? We'd never have to worry about finances again, Or health, or people, He'd just do everything.

Did you know that that's possible? The more we learn about Christ, the more we can be like Him. And when we act like him, and talk to him, and continue to learn, we begin to understand what he wants us to do. Whether it be in finances, Relationships, or health, we CAN let him lead the way. And no matter what hardships we face, we'll always know we'll end up in the right place by and by.

So why not let go for once? Just Fall.

And Trust.

Far Into The East: Intro

When my group returned from our short mission trip in China, we were asked if we wanted to submit a trip testimony for the missionary's blog (found here). The following is what I submitted:

“How was China?”

Since returning home, I’ve heard this question many times. Even though it is the simplest of questions, it has been one of the hardest for me to answer. How do you summarize a two week, life-changing trip? As I thought about China, I realized what had impacted me most.

It wasn’t the food.

It wasn’t the Great Wall, Tienamen Square, or the Dragon Tower.

It wasn’t even the surprisingly eventful fourteen hour layover in the Tianjin airport.

What impacted me the most were the Chinese people.

One morning, after we arrived in Harbin, I was reading in Mark 6, “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them…” I don’t know how many times I’ve skimmed this verse and never comprehended its meaning. Being in China shed new light on it.

One of the men from our group made the remark, “You know, in DC you can go from a crowded area to somewhere quiet, but here… you just move from one crowd to the next.” Everyday we spent the majority of our time with people – students from the university, children from the church’s apartment complex, and leaders from Omega. We passed out tracks and flyers, shared our testimonies one-on-one, and helped put on a VBS. The only alone time we had was in the shower.

Our visit to the Je Li Buddhist Temple also helped bring Mark 6:34 into perspective. That particular morning, our group had been singing hymns and passing out gospel tracts on the steps to the temple. As we entered, I was stunned. Going from worshiping the only true God to watching ritualistic obeisance to false idols was sobering. As we walked along, we grew quieter. At one point, we were stopped and motioned to the side as a long line of monks – men, women, and children wholly dedicated to Buddhism – passed us while chanting. In that moment, I understood.

“…and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”

I was watching a literal march to Hell.

There I stood, crying, weak, and insufficient. These people had dedicated their life to finding truth and enlightenment and I, a daughter of the Truth and the Light, could not tell them where to find it.

It has been two weeks since I “saw” China. God is still teaching me lessons from my trip. It was difficult to leave knowing that there is work to be done for God. But I am thankful. The trip gave me a greater appreciation for freedom to share Christ in the US. It helped me understand that this world is not my true home, heaven is. And most of all, it opened my eyes and gave me a compassion and desire to see, not just China, but the whole world reached with the Truth and the Light of the Gospel.

So the next time someone asks me, “How was China?”, I will answer with this: it was something that you need to see for yourself.

(Original Source)

If you want to read the rest of the groups' testimonies, you can find them under the "Testimony" tag. I'll be updating more often with the start of school, and will be starting a few series. This post will be the first of my series about my journey in China.

What about you all? I would love to hear about your experiences from your own mission trips.

Mr Milquetoast

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan told about a friend of his and his wife’s who was a very brilliant woman. She had a strong personality, was an outstanding person, and was not married. He asked her one day the pointed question, “Why have you never married?” Her answer was, “I have never found a man who could master me.” So she never married. May I say that until a woman finds that man, she would make a mistake to get married. If she marries a Mr. Milquetoast, she will be in trouble from that day on.

I thought that this quote was too good not to pass along - as it is the reason I have passed up potential suitors.

I also believe that it has provided a good word of the day: Milquetoast - a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated.

Chinaaaaaaaaaahhhh

It's been a while since I've updated! I need to be more faithful at posting.... I'm making some layout changes (along with a "China-fied" header) and will be putting up some new posts shortly.

the new header for my other blog Filia Pacem

In the meanwhile, please swing by The Empowered Traditionalist where blogger Christa Taylor is giving away a copy of Uncompromising - Hannah Farver's new book (Click here to read the first 22 pages!).

Here's the giveaway. It ends TODAY!: http://www.empoweredtraditionalist.com/2011/06/30/giveaway-uncompromising-hannah-farver/#comments

Also, for those who don't know - I am headed TO CHINA!!! In about three weeks I will be on my way to spend some time with missionaries in the northern city of Harbin. I can't wait to bring back pictures and stories to post for you :)

Wait For You

I'm not a huge fan of lyrical poetry but this girl put a whole lot of thought and a whole lot of Bible into a single truth.

*Snap Snap*



My favorite line:

I will no longer get weighted down by so called "friends and family talks" about the concern for my biological clock when I serve the Author of Time - who is not subject to time but I am subject to Him.

What do you ladies think?

Icing, like love, covers a multitude of sins.

It's been three months since my last post, oh my! I'm sorry my chickadees!

Recently my church celebrated their 5th year anniversary complete with a chili cook off and a baking battle! I, not owning a single chili recipe to my name, decided to enter into my forte - baking; and I won!

I (Coffee Buttercream Crumb Cake), Shurama (Peruvian Flan), and Kristen (Chocolate Torte)

I agonized over what to pick, but I finally found a winner (literally!). My entry?

Coffee Buttercream Crumb Cake with Chocolate Ganache

I forgot to take a picture of mine, but it looked nearly identical to this version. Picture from DessertGirl.

Chocolate Cake:

The secret to a super moist cake? Sour cream. I didn't have much so I substituted part of it with vanilla yogurt. I then decreased the amount of vanilla extract I put in the batter.

3/4 c. dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 c. sour cream
2 2/3 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c.) unsalted butter, softened & cubed
1/2 c.  shortening (I used more butter)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract 

Coffee Buttercream Icing

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. whole milk
1/3 c. heavy cream
3 sticks (1 1/2 c.) unsalted butter, softened at room temp, cubed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. coffee extract (I used extra strong 100% Colombian coffee. Decrease the water and use more grounds.)

Dark Chocolate Ganache

Since I had no corn syrup on hand, I substituted 1 tbsp. sugar and a 1/4 tbsp. water. 

8 oz. good quality 60-72% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened, cubed
1 tbsp. light corn syrup 

Directions:

1. Gather all of your ingredients in one place (not necessary, but it helps keep you from making a ginormous mess!)  

2. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease three 8 in round cake pans; line with parchment paper, butter the parchment and flour. Knock out any excess.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa powder and sour cream. Add 1/4 c. of hot water, blend well and let it cool.

4. In another bowl, sift your dry ingredients together (flour, powder, soda, salt, BUT NOT SUGAR). This is important. Your cake may not be the right consistency if you do not.

5. In a third, larger bowl, blend shortening and butter until smooth. Add in sugar and beat until fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs on medium. Set the mixer speed to low and add the vanilla.

6. Now it gets fun! Take all three bowls in one location. Begin alternately adding the liquid and dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture (in that order). Place the cake batter into the pans and level  them.

7. Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pans half way through the cook time. Place on wire racks. When they cool, turn the pans upside down, loosen the cake and remove the parchment.

I didn't use parchment because, surprise, I didn't have any! I buttered and floured the pans and crossed my fingers. I call this recipe crumb cake because I had to reassemble the tattered pieces into a cake shape on the serving tray. Thankfully, icing, like love, covers a multitude of sins! 

During the times the cake is baking, go ahead and make the icing. It'll save you tons of time. While the cakes are cooling, the icing can be in the refrigerator firming up to use. 

1. In a medium heavy pan whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the whole milk and cream and bring to a rolling boil. This will thicken the icing. Be sure to stir frequently or it WILL burn to the bottom of your pan (still edible, but your icing will have little brown bits.)

2. Transfer to a mixing bowl (I used glass), and beat on high speed until the mix it cool. It helps if you put it on top of frozen food. 

3. Reduce the mixer's speed to low and add in the butter. Gradually increase the speed back to high and whip until fluffy. Add in the coffee and vanilla and mix until incorporated. 

4. Set in fridge to firm.  

After the cake has cool and your icing is ready to go, layer your cakes. Place one down; even the top with a knife if you'd like; spread a even layer of icing and repeat until all the cakes are stacked. Once it is all assembled spread a thin layer of icing all around and place back in the fridge. This is called a crumb coat and will help your cake to look pretty. Wait about 15 minutes and spread the rest of the icing all over it. 

Now it's time for the ganache! I didn't have a double boiler (has anyone kept talley of how many things I haven't had for this cake?) so I used a glass bowl and a sauce pan. It worked mighty well!

1. Chop your chocolate into course pieces. I used two Lindt 70% Cocao bars and their breaks make it super easy!

2. Place all the ingredients into the already boiling double boiler. Stir until the whole thing is smooth. 

When you go to glaze the cake, do it in two layers. The first helps even the top out (and makes it wonderfully thick!). The second can be your side drizzle. To add a nice touch, garnish with the chocolate covered espresso beans and chill for 20 minutes!

It's not hard to make, just time consuming. And the result is well worth the effort! 

The No Fireside "Fireside Chat"

I've been thinking that you may all think that I've died... or forgotten about filiapacem. It's a no to both. (Though my computer died! Does that count?)

I've been meaning to do a vlog for a while, but I've never figured out how to do it - until now. Hopefully I'll have a real camera in the future with which to mess around; but for now, we'll have to settle on a web cam. I didn't have much time to prepare this so it may be really rough (please bear with me!).



It was so neat to be reminded that my God knows me so well that He can encourage me even when I don't tell Him I'm down.

"O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."

Psalm 139:1-6

Edit: I'm sorry it's so long! I'll try to keep the other ones I do right around 5 or less.

For His Name? Or Yours? by Christian Ministry Videos on Vimeo

Quick FYI

Just to let you know I haven't died! I'm still here... though my computer has. I'm back in my hometown visiting for the holidays.

I was planning on doing a video post for you but the gentleman who restored my computer took off my program that let me shoot it. :(((( (I'm really super frustrated with my computer right now. It's being a jerk.)

I will be back and I have a good challenge post for 2011.... By the way, chicadees! I'm still waiting to hear your comments. ;)