Archive for November, 2009
Giving Gifts
Last year I posted about wanting a goat for Christmas. My list hasn’t changed too much in the year since. Sure, there are things that I want. Like all insatiable Americans, I drool over handbags and jewelry and silly nothings in my consumeristic, obsessive discontent. But when I really think about my life, I know I have everything I could ever want. And so much more than I deserve.
Last year I praised WorldVision and Samaritan’s Purse for the gifts they offer “for those who have everything.” In honor of someone here, you can purchase a goat for a starving family in Africa or a fishing kit for a struggling family in Asia. When you purchase your gift, you also receive a beautiful card that tells your loved one about the gift and the difference it can make in the life of the recipient, even in the whole village. With OneVerse you pay to have passages of Scripture translated into another language, again in honor of a gift recipient here at home.
Sometimes, though, we want to give “real” gifts and not just a donation in someone’s name. Sometimes we just want something to wrap. I suggest we can be charitable with our tangible gifts.
Here are a number of sites that promote fair trade AND charitable causes. Some are Christian organizations that couple native sustainability with the spread of the Gospel. Others are non-profit, non-religious organizations that simply strive to meet the needs of those suffering from poverty, human trafficking and other social injustices. I’ve organized the list alphabetically. Next to the name is a list of items they offer. Below that is a description of the ministry and the people they help.
Bajalia: Jewelry, Baskets, Stationary and more
All items are crafted by local women seeking to rise above oppression. You can shop by product, cause (poverty, AIDS, trafficking, etc.) or region (Afghanistan, China, Uganda, India or Turkey). The organization aids in training and other forms of community development to empower low-income people as they work to improve their lives.
Blessing Basket: Baskets, Totes and Woven Handbags
This organization fights poverty by paying Prosperity Wages (higher than fair trade) to local artisans in Bangladesh, Uganda, Madagascar and Ghana. You can shop online or find local retailers within the United States.
Cards from Africa: Handcrafted cards
A Christian organization, CFA offers employment, business training and other income opportunities to poor living in Rwanda. The organization also seeks to meet their spiritual needs through biblical teaching and training.
Freeset: Eco-friendly bags and organic cotton tee-shirts
Purchases from Freeset empower women in India to escape sex trade by offering them employment and education: reading, writing, budgeting skills and basic health care. The organization also offers child-care for these women while they gain training and work to make the bag
Good Paper: Greeting cards, handbags (made from recycled papers), journals and stationary
A free trade organization offering highly creative paper products from communities that provide jobs to the most vulnerable of society, Good Paper alleviates poverty, helps orphans and socially oppressed peoples in Africa, India and the Philippines.
Hand and Cloth: Blankets
Through creative enterprise and the transforming love of Jesus Christ, this organization seeks to empower women to begin new lives outside the red-light districts. The blankets are made from recylced sari material (the traditional Indian dress for women). Participants in the ministry receive employment, training and regular Bible studies.
Punjammies: Pajamas
Created in an after-care facility for women who have been rescued, released or escaped from a life of forced prostitution.
Rahab Ministries: Jewelry
Your from this organization with help them share the love of Jesus through friendship evangelism and social concern. The ministry specifically targets women trying to escape prostitution in Thailand.
Saint’s Coffee: Coffee 
Buy one pound of coffee and feed an orphan for a month! This free-trade organization offers the high-quality organic coffee while using the proceeds to partner with humanitarian organizations such as 5 for Fifty and Children’s Hope Chest, both Christian organizations that share the Gospel while caring for orphans.
Ten Thousand Villages: Various items — jewelry, housewares, baskets, home decor, stationary, musical instruments and more
Working with over 130 artisan groups in 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, this is one of the world’s oldest and largest fair trade organization.
3 comments November 30, 2009
Recipe Swap Sunday: Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
Today I’m sharing a new recipe (as opposed to a family favorite). I tried it just this week, but it went over so well, I’ve already made it twice and have decided to add it to my collection of “keepers.” I adapted this from a Rachel Ray recipe I found online. While her recipes all claim to be 30-minutes, I’ve found that most usually take longer. This one, however, is a true less-than-half-hour job. Super easy, incredibly tasty. I would have a picture for you, but they simply went too fast!
Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
- 24-30 large stuffing mushrooms
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2-3 ribs celery, chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 c fresh baby spinach
- 12 Ritz crackers
- 1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 T butter
- salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400′ F.
Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Chop stems and place in a medium-sized bowl; set aside. Add 1 T oil to large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add mushroom caps; salt and pepper to taste. Cook until slightly browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Place mushrooms in a baking dish; set aside.
Using the same pan, brown the sausage until cooked through; drain. Crumble when cool.
To the bowl of chopped mushroom stems, add the celery, onion, garlic and crackers. Melt the butter in the saute pan, then add the stuffing mixture and crumbled sausage. When onions begin to turn translucent, add the spinach and cheese. Cook until heated through and the spinach begins to wilt.
Fill mushroom caps with stuffing and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. ENJOY!
Add comment November 29, 2009
Sabbath Rest and Then
The day AFTER Thanksgiving is always my favorite. I’m not a shopper, so it has nothing to do with doorbusters or camping on the Best Buy sidewalk. Rather, it’s a day of Sabbath Rest.
When I say “Sabbath” please understand I mean a holy rest. I’ll not debate the Saturday vs. Sunday people, because the argument completely missed the point. God calls us to rest, to worship, to focus on Him. Any time we do that, I consider it Sabbath.
So the day after Thanksgiving finds me and mine in our pjs much longer than typical. We play in a house filled with great food (thanks to feast leftovers), watch movies, read books and just do whatever we want to do. I love it. It’s like a “free” day of vacation. I get my Sabbath rest and then …
And then! Then all the craziness starts. School, church and family events pepper the calendar. Shopping still waits to be done, not to mention Christmas cards and charity events. Oh, and we’ve got birthdays and anniversaries and all our usual daily grind responsibilities. Just one day and THEN.
Tomorrow begins Advent. Today I want to share a couple resources with you. The goal? To intentionally step away from the insanity of THEN and focus our attention on HIM.
Before and After Christmas is a fabulous book filled with ideas and activities for quiet (or not so quiet) family times. Each “day” offers a Scripture reading (1-3 verses), a story (sometimes a legend about Christmas, sometimes details, symbols or historical facts) and an activity (craft, song, recipe, service project, etc.). You can pick and choose which ones you want to do — as little or as much as your family can. The book goes through Advent and Epiphany, so it can help your family redirect focus through January 6th, always with the intent of honoring God and remembering Him. Read my full review at CCBR.
Mosaic Holy Bible, a new format from Tyndale Publishing, features the New Living Translation (the back half of the book) coupled with devotionals (the front half of the book). There are several things I like about this compilation, but what I am most excited about is the liturgical readings based on the Christian calendar. The devotionals (usually about six pages long) are each assigned to one week of the Christian calendar, starting with Advent! These include suggested readings of Bible passages, reflections on Scripture, quotes from renowned theologians and teachers, reprints of great religious artworks, prayers, poems, and spaces for reflections and notes.
(As a sidenote, Tyndale also has a separate book of their Advent devotionals. Obviously, there’s no reason to get a new Bible, if you already have one! I, however, really like having the two attached. It’s only one book I need to grab if I plan to do my devotions at Starbucks after dropping the kids off at school. Also, the Mosaic Bible includes meditations for the whole year, not just advent. To get all that, you would need to collect their devotionals for Advent and Lent, and even then would still be missing the seasons of Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost. These are all included in with Mosaic Bible.)
Every year I say I’m going to take Advent seriously. Every year I make lofty plans, but … THEN.
This year I am super excited about these resources because they’re not overwhelming. Neither require daily time-outs to reap the benefits. Neither condemn with homework or extraneous preparation. They are both simple: take what you can and glean from God in a few moments a week. That’s it.
So, what are your plans? How do you keep focus during the season of hectic happiness?
2 comments November 28, 2009
Chasing God
“Sin wants the Father’s things but not the Father…”
I don’t know where this quote originates. I saw it on twitter, but we all know twitter can sometimes be a huge echo chamber. A friend says it sounds like “The Prodigal God”, but I’ve not yet read that book. All I know is that it is a true statement, a profound statement.
I’ve done a lot of thinking lately about expectations. More specifically about great expectations unmet.
I think of the lame man who I’m sure wanted to be healed by Jesus. What was he told? “Son, your sins are forgiven.” What did he think at those words? Jesus did, of course, heal him, but not until after He initiated a life-long debate of which is better and which requires more power. Is it easier to forgive sins or to heal the lame? Regardless of the answer, which do we seek? Do we want to be healed physically or healed spiritually?
This is just one small example. A greater example is Jesus Himself. He came as the illegitimate son of a young girl and her poor fiance. He was born in a barn or maybe a rugged cave, surrounded by animals and smelly shepherds. This was definitely not the entrance one would expect for the Savior of the world.
Then He goes on to disappoint by collecting a ragtag gang of followers, annoying the religious leaders and upsetting all of tradition with His revolutionary teaching. Finally, finally, the people get what they want when thirty-three years later He enters Jerusalem with a king’s promenade. Their Redeemer has come! That triumphal entry was supposed to lead to the overthrow of Rome and the healing of the nation of Israel. The people ached for physical, tangible relief. Hadn’t they waited long enough? And what did they get? A crucifixion.
They wanted the Father’s things … His peace, His healing, His salvation, His protection, His order.
But they didn’t want those things on God’s terms. They refused to see God as God, to recognize His plan as right. They wanted the end result of following God, but on their own terms and in their own timing.
So far I’ve looked back at people and events thousands of years past. But what about today? The Jews of the Bible are no different than us today. We still seek all the good of following God, but too often we seek His things and not Him. We dive into Scripture, not to know the Author, but to see how He can help us or what antidote He has for our current situation. We pray, begging for wisdom, but then only look in one direction because we already know the “right” answer.
I want to WANT the Father. I want to seek after Him and not just His things today. The awesome thing is that when we seek Him, He promises all those things will be added. He is a great and awesome god. We miss so much by grasping at the wrong things.
Tenth Avenue North has a song called “Beloved.” It’s an amazing song, but one line always catches in my throat: “You’ve been a mistress, my wife. You’re chasing lovers that won’t satisfy.”
What lovers are you chasing today?
I’m not a huge fan of music videos, but I love music and I want you to hear this song.
As a sidenote, if you don’t have the CD, you gotta get it. (CLICK HERE.) The whole album is tremendous. Beautiful, beautiful worship songs.
5 comments November 23, 2009
Book Purses
Hey, folks. I think maybe I talked too much while with my mom over the weekend. I’ve had very little to say all week, and that is NOT like me! So instead of having another silent blog day, I’m going to share some of my latest creations.
Aren’t they delicious?? I love ‘em and am having so much fun making them! See more at my etsy shop: Zatie’s.
1 comment November 19, 2009
Going Home
Before I get going, take a moment to pray for Amy. As stated in my last post, this family of God is a pretty cool thing. It lifts and heals and sometimes hurts more than expected, but it’s a really awesome thing. Even though I’ve never actually met her, we’ve shared our lives together through our blogs. Today I am mourning with her, praying for her, and aching to be near her. There is no god like OURS! Only He can connect people in such a way.
After saying all that, my weekend update is obviously trivial, but Jim (from The Office) recently learned that sometimes we need to keep working and sometimes we need to be distracted. Consider me the distraction.
I had a FABULOUS time with my mom this weekend!! I packed light and carried my super-cute travel book purse:
The trip started with a redirection. Thanks to the storm that hit the east coast, I spent five hours in Atlanta. You know, because Atlanta is directly between NYC and Indiana.
Believe it or not, I didn’t get a single picture of me and my mom together. I did, however, get pictures of us with a giant turtle. Mama chose to give him a hug.
I chose to pretend to be eaten by the Beast of Busco.
(Have I told you about Oscar? You can learn more about the legend of my hometown HERE. The retelling of this story won me a prize at college orientation and helped my husband take first note of me. I have some pretty kickin’ story-telling abilities when the occasion warrants..)
We also visited the farm where we lived before my parents divorced. My heart broke at how shamefully the property has been neglected. Here’s the house.
It all seemed a lot smaller than I remember.
My parents had 140 acres of soybeans, hay, corn and animals. Our personal garden was over an acre alone. Now much of the property has been subdivided for housing developments. Other pieces (like the one pictured below) used to be fields, but are now wasted land.
(I nearly tripped over a rather potent deer carcass getting this shot. Gross.)
I saw things I don’t get to see fifteen minutes outside of Manhattan. Like this giant … tractor thing. (Yes, Mom, I know I should remember what it’s called, but I can’t. Harvester? Wagon? All I know is those wheels were HUGE and Zach would have loved seeing it.)
Mom and I spent over three hours in a craft store! We bought nothing, but had a wonderful time.
We visited a tea house … (Here’s Mom there.)
… Amish shops (I didn’t take pictures for fear of stealing souls.) …
and one cousin whom I hadn’t seen in more than ten years. (I left my camera in the car. Doh!)
All around, it was a great weekend. And on the flight home I saw this:
Isn’t that gorgeous? Sunsets are so vast when witnessed from a plane! I love the clouds below and above.
The kids missed me. Rick missed me. And my mama comes out here in just a few weeks. Life is good.
3 comments November 18, 2009
The Upside of Down
In the fifth grade I played an exuberant gym teacher in our school musical. (I’ll spare you the pictures of my toe-head afro and too-skinny self.) The play spoke of peer pressure and encourage drug-free living. It was called “The Upside of Down.” I didn’t know what that meant then, and I don’t know exactly what that means now.
Don’t worry — I have not named this post after the play because I want to experiment with drugs. All is well and we still just say “No” in the Dennis home.
But I’m on the upside of down today.
Jesus came to give us life abundantly (John 10:10). This doesn’t mean our paths will be lined with roses or that chocolate will rain from the sky. Life is filled with ups and downs. Life abundant simply means more ups and downs, higher ups and lower downs. The joy promised (Psalm 16:11), though, comes from traveling the roller coaster securely, knowing that a loving Father is in control and has our best interests in mind.
I’m on the upside. Life is good. I feel blessed, overwhelmed with riches and happiness and all things delightful.
At the same time I have several friends who are on the downside. They’re struggling with so many things that simply break my heart. I weep over blog posts and pray through conversations. I email and visit and pray some more. It is a privilege and an honor to share these burdens, and share them I do.
Someday soon it will be my turn. I’ll be on the downside and somewhere a friend on the upside will lend me her strength. She’ll pray with me and weep with me and we’ll lean on God together.
This family of God, this community built through faith, is a pretty cool thing.
2 comments November 12, 2009
Candle in the Corner
For ten years I have lamented the fact that I’m not a missionary. I went to school for it; I studied and trained and then everything changed. I got married and life didn’t turn out the way I envisioned. I felt God had promised me something greater, something better than life in the suburbs.
Once, during one of my moments of weeping over lost purpose, my husband asked me what I would be doing there that I couldn’t do here.
He’s right.
What would I be doing in Bosnia or France or Turkey that I couldn’t do here? We have poor. We have refugees. We have people who need to know Jesus right here in our backyard. Being a missionary isn’t about location.
Throughout this past year God has shown me how I can be a candle right here. Instead of seeing this time as a holding pattern before my life begins, I’ve begun embracing where God has me and seizing the opportunities I’ve too often overlooked. I’ve partnered with a number of missionaries and shared my heart with them. While they may long to be in the States, safer and closer to family, I long to be where they are. But God in His infinite wisdom has each of us where He wants us to be! They’re working for me there, and I’m working for them here.
They’re eating osh and rice and learning new languages while I’m eating hamburgers and pasta and learning how to build community.
They’re battling false gods of stone and wood while I battle false gods of vanity and affluence.
We face different challenges, eat different foods and work in different cultures, but our purpose is the same: to know Christ and make Him known.
Today is the LAST DAY for Heidi’s Candle in the Corner giveaway. If you haven’t entered, get over there now and do it. She has some fabulous gifts available, but best of all your contribution enables the Word of God to be spread throughout the globe. Already this event has raised over $1200!! I’m thrilled about this, but would love to see the total go even higher. Your five dollars can make a huge difference in the lives of under-supported missionaries in 12 different countries including Spain, Indonesia, South Africa and even here in the United States. These are the people who share the Gospel of Jesus on our behalf. Here’s a link so you can be part of it: www.MomsMinistryandMore.blogspot.com.
4 comments November 10, 2009
Status Update
I feel like I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been here and there, but feel my heart hasn’t been shared. There are many reasons for that. Maybe I should make a list. (Or maybe I should just ramble since that comes most naturally.)
We are entering Week 3 of the kids’ being sick. Z-dog (Yes, I’m calling him that again. He barks at me all the time, but his preferred name of “Snowball” feels weird since that’s my brother’s dog’s name, and I digress.) withstood bacon’s revenge quite well, but then The Girl got it. We thought she was all better, sent her back to school even. Then yesterday she came down with another fever. She can currently be found snoozing on the couch with a 101.5 temperature. Meanwhile, Z-dog is at school and the principle is probably looking for my replacement as Recess Mom. You know, there is a reason I choose to work from home and this is it!
I started a new blog last month. Technically, I started it two years ago, but didn’t have a set schedule for it until last month. I’ve been posting over there regularly. If you want to check it out, click HERE.
You see, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about blogging and purpose and passion. I’m sure there are posts to be written there, but the thoughts have not yet settled. Once I reach stable ground with those lines of thinking, I’ll let you know where I land.
I know not all of you are writers. In fact, I don’t know that any of you are! And I suspect few of you really care about passive versus active voice or which book offers the best advice for writing query letters. I doubt you find my grammatical humor funny and, aside from the “His love endures forever!” panties, none of you care about marketing. So, I’m trying to divide my interests a bit. Instead of tracking all my various endeavors here, I plan to keep my professional writing life there.
You all get to keep my random mom-wife-spiritual life here. Aren’t you happy?
Eventually I’ll get back to my Bookshelf, which I hate to admit has been neglected for months, but … well, one thing at a time.
In other news, I’m shaving again. Since the shower incident a few weeks ago, I’ve been a bit squeamish. Thanks to predominantly hairless genes (don’t hate me!) and blonde hair, no one — not even my husband — noticed the lack of blade use.
My granny never shaved. She didn’t have to! The only stray hair she grew (and I mean singular — ONE hair) was from her chin. She never had hair on her legs or arms. I’m told her hair was white even as a child. She was so funny. Oh, I miss that woman.
Oh, and I should fill you in on my etsy embarkation! It’s going well. Today marks two weeks that I’ve been “in business.” In that time I’ve sold five purses and taken two special orders. I’m struggling to keep my shop filled! I’ve also made two purses that I don’t plan to sell. They’re just too cute to give away. I’ll post pictures later this week. If you want to see what’s currently available, check out my shop: www.zaties.etsy.com.
Several people have asked about the name. All the names I really wanted for my shop were already taken, so I played around with my kids names. Obviously the Z comes from our Z-dog. The -atie comes from our Ellie. She has several nicknames and Kate is one of them. Thus, Zatie’s was born. It sounds better than ZellieLake or LisaBuke, which are other random name scrambles I could have used.
If you missed yesterday’s post, or if you’re a mayo-hater and chose not to read it, you’ll be excited to learn that I’m going “home” this weekend! I’m so excited. I haven’t been “home” to Indiana in over three years. That sounds terrible. I have visited my mama in Kentucky and flown her out here, but I haven’t had a good excuse to return to my roots, the little mapdot where I was raised, in a very long time. I’m thrilled! My mom moved back there the beginning of summer and this is my first chance to see her new digs and my old stomping grounds. I wish I could take the kids, too, but it will be so nice to have this one-on-one time with Mama. We haven’t had that in a long time.
I think this is enough rambling for one morning. This house screams for my attention. Happy Monday, y’all!
1 comment November 9, 2009
Recipe Swap Sunday: Broccoli Salad
Kellie, if you’re reading this, STOP NOW and go find another blog to visit.
Anyone else who hates mayonnaise, you may want to follow her.
Typically, I’m in your camp. I can’t stand mayo! Or ketchup, for that matter. There are few other things, too, like Cream of Mushroom soup, but I’ll spare you the whole list. Today’s recipe offends the mayo-haters, but I must post it anyway, and I’ll tell you why.
Friday is my mama’s birthday, and I’m flying out to visit her for the weekend. This is her recipe and one that my family (kids included!) requests throughout the summer. It goes especially well with burgers on the grill. Without further ado …
Mama’s Broccoli Salad
- 2 broccoli crowns, chopped
(3-4 cups) - 6 pieces bacon
- ¼ red onion, diced
- 1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¾ c mayonnaise
- ¼ c sugar
Cook the bacon until crispy. Drain and cool, then crumble.
Toss chopped broccoli, onions, crumbled bacon and tomatoes in a bowl. Top with mayo. Add the sugar gradually until it reaches the tangy-ness level you prefer. Mix well.
Note: This salad does not keep well. You can make it ahead and refrigerate up to 6 hours. After that, discard any leftovers.
4 comments November 8, 2009
