bekahcubed I dropped into my folk’s house and saw that my mom had leftover bread pudding sitting out waiting to be eaten.
I grabbed a bowl and spoon and, as I dished myself up, I saw the recipe–my recipe for French Toast Casserole.
Thanks, Mom, for reading my blog, for perusing my recipes, and for trying them out for yourself. (She tried a variation, adding apples and raisins. It was scrum-diddly-umptious!)
From Together for Adoption:
“Many people are afraid of emphasizing [adoption] because we might forget evangelism and the Cross. They speak of a slippery slope.
We can’t do that, and we won’t do that if we understand the grand storyline of the Bible.
All through the Old Testament it is God making a B-line to the cross. “This is what my love for you looks like.”
Christians who are afraid that talking about adoption misses the gospel have missed the gospel already. For this is essential to the gospel: that God in His mercy took His enemies and made them sons, adopting them into His family.
“What do we mean when we say ‘I can’t afford to adopt?’ What we are saying is that God is a deadbeat Dad. We can trust that God will take care of his children. He is a really good Daddy.”
About What’s Wrong with the Church:
“Christians are called to accept and love people unconditionally. That doesn’t apply to statistics. We should be cranky and judgmental.”
“Contrary to popular opinion, bad preaching isn’t when the preacher reads his sermon, mumbles or bores his audience. That is merely bad delivery. No, bad preaching is preaching that does not rightly proclaim God’s Word of Law and God’s Word of Gospel to sinners.”
Unfortunately, way too many of today’s sermons fall into these categories–and way too many Christians think in these categories. It’s time we all started preaching the GOSPEL to ourselves (and those around us) regularly.
News to take note of:
“Primary care increases life span and decreases disease burden in part because it helps to prevent small problems, such as strep throat, from becoming big ones, such as a life-threatening infection of the heart. Having a regular clinician of that kind makes you a better patient because you trust the advice you receive and so are more likely to follow it; it also gives you access to someone who attends to the whole person, not just one body part. In addition, having someone to coordinate your care can be critical if you have multiple providers—as, for example, when you leave the hospital. “
The problem? We don’t have enough health care providers in family medicine. So, please, please, please–when choosing your “specialty” as a doctor, a physician assistant, or a nurse practitioner, think seriously about choosing family medicine.
Laugh out loud funnies:
“One of the reasons that God made bread – really good bread, not bread that’s ninety percent air – German bread – is to give you a faint taste of heaven.”
“If you’re listening to ideas that aren’t this book you’re hearing the wrong stuff. Sects happen that way . . . That’s S. E. C. T. S.”
Books for the TBR list:
“Leave it to Beaver was unbiblical and godless.”
I’m not sure I agree. I mean, I certainly agree that sharing a bed with a spouse can be an important part of marital oneness–but is it necessary for marital oneness, such that those who do not share a bed are acting in a godless manner? (Please recognize that I am not talking about a husband and wife not having sex. It is clearly unbiblical for a husband and wife to not have sex for any extended length of time–see I Cor 7:4-5.) I am thinking particularly of certain sleep quality issues that may adversely impact health as being reasons for a couple not sleeping in the same bed–snoring, use of a CPAP or other medical devices overnight, severe back problems, etc. Anyway…just musing here.
“… not every pursuit must be professionalized.”
She’s absolutely right. You don’t need padded bicycle shorts, a jersey, or a cyclocomputer to take up cycling. As for myself, I proudly cycle in my skirts with leggings undeneath, or my slacks pegged to keep them from getting caught in the chain.
“… others will look better doing this….We need to remember that, even on the trail. Swank bikes, swanker outfits, and some hopelessly tight asses fly past me on the bike path, but I can’t — I won’t! — let the achievements and hard work of other cyclists dictate how I feel about my achievements and my hard work.”
A little note to my friend Joanna–it’s okay that we’re not flying down the road like that guy in his racing gear. The point is not what everyone else is doing on their bikes, but what we are doing on ours–particularly enjoying ourselves, getting good exercise, and glorifying God in conversation.
…and all the rest of the people who didn’t tag me in the Facebook meme :-)
How old will you be in 10 months?
26
Is the last person you kissed attractive?
Good question. Not sure. I’m guessing the last person I kissed was an infant or toddler–probably a cute one.
What do you look forward to most in the next 3 months?
Currently? Not sure. Lots of things happening, not sure how any of them will turn out. But Christmas is in 3 months!
Who was the last person you called?
According to my phone, Anna. But I didn’t really call her; Grace did. Anna’s phone and mine can talk for free. Grace’s and Anna’s? Not so much.
Who was the last person to call you?
Casandra
What’s your ringtone?
Ring 2
Do you have any pets?
No pets.
What were you doing at 2am last night?
Sleeping in my (own) bed
Are your parents married/..divorced/..separate?
Married 27 years and still going strong. They’re up for the transition to empty-nesters, though, so we can always pray–that’s tough for many marriages.
When is the last time you saw your sister/s?
I saw all three of my sisters last night at my brother’s birthday celebration.
What happened at 10:00 am today?
Nothing has happened at 10am today as it is not yet 10am. What happen? Don’t know.
How many states have you lived in?
One, unless you count my brief stays in Florida and Taumalipas, Mexico.
How many cities/towns have you lived in?
Ditto the above.
What’s the initial of the last person you kissed?
As I said, I’m not sure exactly who I last kissed, except that it was likely a baby.
Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet?
Shoes if I’ve got anywhere to go or anything to do. Socks if I’m done for the day and lounging around the house (or going to bed when it’s cold). Bare feet if it’s springtime and I’m planting a garden :-)
Are you a social person?
I think so. Although I do need alone time as well.
What was the last thing you ate?
Homemade cherry pie (for dinner last night)
What is your favorite ice cream?
Used to be butter brickle–and I still love it. But there’s this new Raspberry Cow Tracks stuff–raspberry ice cream with dark chocolate chunks. Um…amazing.
What is your favorite dessert?
Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwiches?
I prefer honey, actually. But if I’ve got to do jelly, I prefer homemade strawberry jam (just like my sis!)
Do you like coffee?
I’m a recreational user. I only drink when I’m with people. But I enjoy it when I do!
What do you drink in the morning?
A tall glass of water to rehydrate from a long night of not sleeping.
Have you ever kissed anyone whose named started with D L M R S U Z?
Don’t do a lot of kissing except of babies. But I’m sure I’ve kissed a few babies with one or the other of those initials.
Known someone who’s name starts with U?
Laughing out loud over my sister’s answer: “Yeah, my brother’s name is Ugly.” As for myself, I’m not sure.
Do you like Chinese food?
Yep.
How big is your bed?
Twin
Is your room clean?
Sort of. I just came back from a trip, so I have bags sitting on the floor, but otherwise, most surfaces are clean–except the futon, which is piled with clothes I want to alter sometime when I get some time.
Laptop or Desktop computer?
Desktop. They live, like, a bazillion years longer than laptops do.
Favorite comedians?
Dunno. I don’t listen to/watch a lot of comedians.
Do you smoke?
Nope.
Does anyone like you?
I hope so. (It’d be a sad thing to be unliked.)
Whats the sexiest thing about Condoleeza Rice?
She could have been a concert pianist–but instead she became a female provost and a Secretary of State.
Sleep with or without clothes on?
My lips are sealed.
Who sleeps with you every night?
I don’t sleep with anyone every night. Or any night.
Do long distance relationships work?
For short periods of time. With a lot of work.
How many times have you been pulled over by the police?
I can’t even count. No tickets, but I have had lights out, registration expired, etc. (Lights out was most common–I think I was pulled over for a missing light in at least every one of my parents vehicles when I was just starting to drive.)
Pancakes or French Toast?
Depends on my mood.
How do you like your eggs?
Depends on my mood. At a restaurant? Over hard.
Last person on your missed call list?
Anna? I don’t have a missed call list, that I know of–but I did miss a call from Anna yesterday.
McDonalds or Burger King?
McDonalds. BK used to be good–but now they’re cardboard like everywhere else. And McDonalds has those to-die-for Wild Berry Smoothies.
Number of pillows?
Two
Last thing you bought?
Gas.
What are you hearing right now?
I’m not.
Pick a lyric?
Say what?
Can you play pool?
I can attempt to.
Do you know how to swim?
Yes, but not spectacularly.
Do you like maps?
Absolutely!
Tell me a random fact:
7×6=42 (You didn’t say it had to be about me)
Ever do a keg stand?
What’s that? (Okay, so I’m naive–whatever it is, I haven’t done it.)
What is your favorite season?
Spring.
What is the first music video you ever saw?
No idea.
Favorite quote:
“If I find in myself a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was born for another world.” ~C.S. Lewis (quoted loosely–I’m sure I messed some words up in there.)
What is your favorite hangout?
Where the cool kids are = )
Best friend’s name?
Anna
How long have you known them?
25 1/2 years
Last time you laughed at something stupid?
Last night. Did you know that the “J” in “Timothy J Mentner” stands for “genius”?
What time did you wake up this morning?
First, at 6am (‘Cause that’s my normal waking time.) But I chose to go back to sleep and slept until nine. A gorgeous twelve hours of sleep!
Wake up next to anyone?
Nipes.
Best thing about winter?
Christmas!
Name a couple of favorite colors:
Pink and yellow and white :-) (Or at least that’s what I said when I was a little girl.)
I, unlike Amber and John and Grace, shall graciously invite any of my readers to play along, should they will
:-)
I remember the neighbor kids’ toys better than I remember my own, which makes this week’s flashback…different.
Prompt: What toys do you remember from your childhood? … Did you have to “get permission” to play at a friend’s house, or were you and your friends back and forth between houses all the time? … What were the “fad” or “must-have” toys of your generation? Did you parents buy them? Was there a toy you always wanted and never got to have?
Don’t get me wrong. My family had plenty of toys. We had duplos and legos and tinker toys and waffle blocks and lincoln logs and dolls. Mostly imaginative toys, building toys, things that we children played with together, inventing dozens of things.
But what I remember most is our friends’ toys. We had a neighbor who we played with on occasion. She and her siblings had a whole room that was positively stuffed with toys. She had all the toys we didn’t. My Little Pony. Barbies. Cabbage Patch Dolls. Her brother had GI Joes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Transformers. The little sister had all sorts of big name children’s stuff (that I didn’t pay much attention to.) The room was absolutely stuffed with toys. When all the toys were in use, the room was literally knee deep in toys–all the toys the kids of my generation were clamoring over.
And mostly, I pitied my friend.
She had a room stuffed with all the best toys the world had to offer–but she played with them all alone.
Her brother was older and he played with his toys. Her sister was younger, she played with her toys. Her parents worked in a factory and were either gone at work or sleeping whenever the kids were at home.
She had all the playTHINGS a child could want–but none of the playMATES I treasured.
I had toys, yes–but they aren’t what I remember. What I remember is taking bicycle rides with the whole family to the park across the railroad tracks. I remember us kids making dashed lines and solid lines along the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk–and enforcing the passing rules. I remember making a doll stroller out of Tinkertoys with my sister. I remember the “tent” mom made us kids out of scraps of fabric. We spent hours under that table draped with its tent, lowering and raising the window flaps, pretending to be explorers or pioneers or even just homemakers.
She had a roomful of toys to play with. I had a houseful of people to play with.
My lot was certainly the better one.
Visit Linda and follow the links to hear other people’s toy memories.
Today I’m thankful that God has provided all that I need–for my physical body and IN His spiritual body.
I’m thankful for His provision for my physical body…
…for free meals while I’m working (that mean I don’t have to try to pack a lunch that can keep through a long commute)
…for delicious food waiting in my crockpot after a long (LONG) day of work
…for another cavity-free dental appointment (I love NOT having to pay for dental work!)
…for a fancy new toothbrush that makes it easier to clean my wisdom teeth
…for functional clothing and fancy furbelows to cover me–and make me feel pretty :-)
And I’m thankful for the spiritual body that God uses to minister to me in so many ways:
…for my Dad, who functions as a true spiritual head for me, offering advice and acting on my behalf
…for my sister, who never fails to encourage me in conversation
…for my roommate, who cares and does little (and big) things to let me know that she does
…for book club, and the men (and occasional women) who are willing to exercise their minds together with me over a beer
…for Bible study, and the wonderful women who share their hearts and with whom I can share mine
How remarkably blessed I am to have everything that I need for my physical body–and to be placed into a spiritual body that provides for so many of my other needs.
For most of my life, I have resisted labeling.
I purchase most of my clothing from used stores, modifying articles as necessary for fit and fashion.
I choose unlabeled clothing–no conspicuous brand names can be found lurking in my closet. It doesn’t matter whether the brand is low-end or high-end. I don’t wear it.
Then I went to get a new lab coat.
My coat from my dietetics internship has gotten pretty ratty and I needed a new one to wear for my new clinical position.
Now, finding a lab coat for me can be tricky: I’m a tall but slender woman. I need a coat with sleeves long enough to cover my arms, and a fitted-ish waist in order to keep me from looking like I’m positively swimming.
The problem is, most men’s coats don’t have fitted waists (I wonder why?) and most women’s coats don’t have long enough sleeves. And even if they do have long enough sleeves, the waist often ends up somewhere around my chest. Which is totally not cool.
After trying on every coat in the store, I found one that I liked.
I purchased it despite one huge misgiving.
Yeah.
Oh well. There goes my good intention of living life unlabeled.
Last week, a woman from my church shared with me how something I’d written on my blog had impacted her life.
Something I’d written had encouraged her to step back and let her husband lead.
Something I’d written had been used by God to make her a better woman, a better wife.
After reading what I’d written, she released control of an issue. She supported her husband’s decision. She experienced immediate breakthrough in the situation she’d been hanging on to.
Wow.
I’m amazed. I’m humbled. I’m blessed.
That God could use me–a single woman who feels so very messed up–to minister truth to another woman.
That God could use me to bless a marriage, a family.
It’s an awesome privilege.
Thank you, dear Lord, for using me. And thank you, dear readers, for letting God speak to you through a cracked mirror like myself.
It’s easy to envy the wicked, to covet the peace and prosperity the godless seem to enjoy. I look at their houses, their husbands, their children, their jobs. Why cannot I have such things as they?
Because I have one thing far better.
I have God.
He’ll never leave.
Their houses and goods, friendships and family could all vanish–my God will always remain.
Their possessions are always subject to loss.
Mine, if Christ is my all, is eternally secure.
He will never leave me.
He will never forsake me.
What are a thousand earthly possessions compared to that?
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
~Hebrews 13:5
This last weekend was hard for me. Really hard.
I had a lot on my heart, a lot on my mind. The burden was too much for me to bear.
I went throughout my days. I did what needed to be done. But the burden weighed me down.
I couldn’t just shrug the melancholy away. Couldn’t pretend that I was happy. Couldn’t conjure a smile, even though I tried.
Monday morning, I wrote on my Facebook wall: “Rebekah Menter has misplaced her smile. If you’ve seen it, please let me know. I’d really like to reclaim it.” (Kinda a whiney post, wasn’t it? I’m sorry.)
It wasn’t the easiest day–but the end put a smile on my face and took a load off my back.
I was walking to my car from the class I teach when I received a text from a friend I hadn’t seen for (literally) years. She said she saw me walking and wanted to say hello–and that she missed me.
I had to wait for the tears to subside before I could drive home.
I’d asked my dad earlier if he had some time available that evening to talk–he didn’t, but he took off work early so we could chat. We holed ourselves away in his office and I shared my burden with him. He offered to take some of it–the hardest part–upon himself.
It still isn’t easy, but knowing that my dad is acting on my behalf makes it much easier.
Then I got home and went up to my room to drop my bags from the day–and found this waiting on my desk.
Au Gratin Potato Chips. Sardines in Mustard Sauce. Smiley Face Gummy Snacks. Some Stickers from Walmart. Three Yellow Flowers in a Vase. And a note from my roommate.
“Hope these small things help you relocate your smile!”
Yes, indeed, they have.
I am so blessed to once again have a smile on my face and a load off my back.
What I actually read this month was…
Fiction
Nonfiction
Juvenile
Currently in the middle of…
On this month’s nightstand:
Fiction
Nonfiction
Juvenile
Yeah. The chances that I’ll actually read these all are about nil, since I’m uber-busy now (take my previous schedule, add 26 hours of commitments and you’ve got my new schedule.) Maybe I’ll have time to read again come January when I go to having just one full-time job?
Drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading.
