Round-Up

So even though we had winter break on Monday and Tuesday of this week, things have been busy.  I blame it on the sermon I have been writing for Sunday and the fact that I am (still) dealing with mono, now complicated by prednisone.  So, this day, instead of lots of original thoughts and musings from me, I thought I would share some of the treasures I have found around my world lately (in no particular order), along with some commentary of my own.  Enjoy!

First treasure of this post: 

In honor of Lent, one of my friends posted this.It is her reflections on Lent and her experiences with Lent and fasting. Even though it is her thoughts and reflections, in many ways it mirrors many of my thoughts and feelings.  Read it and let me (or her) know what you think.  Also, she is getting married real soon.  If you feel like blessing her and her husband with prayers, please do.

Second Treasure:

A dear friend of mine sent me this video earlier this week.  I've watched it/listened to it multiple times a day since then.  Unfortunately it is not captioned.  It is a poem about waiting for the man that G-d has picked out for you.  I highly commend it to my single female friends, though I've had a single male friend listen to it and he says it is useful from his perspective too.  Even if you aren't single, listen to it.  What she does is beautiful.  Her plays on words and concepts is incredible.  Listen to it more than once even. 

Third Treasure:

At some point in the last week or so, my wonderful roommate LDK sent me this post about making gluten free communion in church work.  I've written before about gluten free communion in church, but I feel this post sums it up neatly.  Additionally, it is written by a pastor with Celiac Disease.  She discusses things that I had never thought of, such how to navigate not being able take communion yourself but still needing to serve it to your congregation.

Fourth Treasure:

Over the weekend, while working on my sermon listening project, I decided to try out a new recipe from one of my favorite allergy-friendly cookbook authors, Cybele Pascal.  She had posted a recipe for Allergy-Free Thin Mints (Chocolate Mint cookies, Girl Guide style for you Canadians) and I was eager to try it out.  So I did.  They were delicious.  After I was done making them, I remembered a campfire treat that my Scout troop used to make.  It was a modification on S'mores, but instead of using graham crackers and chocolate with the marshmallows, it  used Thin Mint Cookies with the marshmallows.  I'd never gotten to try it (Thin Mint cookies are not traditionally allergy friendly).  So, after rearranging a coat hanger, we made use of our gas stove and roasted some marshmallows.  Then we made S'mores using my homemade allergy friendly thin mints.

Olga enjoying a S'more (Photo by Olga)

Fifth Treasure:

I've been working on writing my first full length sermon.  I will be preaching in church for the first time this Sunday.  I'm doing the evening sermon (6pm Michigan time, Sunday the 13th).  Prayers would be much appreciated.