February Fun

Although February is the shortest month, it was not without its good experiences and new adventures. Because I live in Honduras, I don't have the benefit of the natural rhythms of the seasons. Honestly, I miss that. The seasons in the States gave signposts to the progression of my own life. Without that here, the months can all seem to blend together, but I am finding that purposefully reflecting and taking regularly written notes of the things I enjoy and events that happen gives the rhythm of life more distinction and keeps life from feeling boring or like it's flying by too fast.

Best Experiences:

1) Raúl's first bath. -- It sounds like a joke because Raúl is my husband and not my child. But, one of the interesting things about being married to someone from a different culture is that those milestone or sometimes just typical experiences I've had aren't always experiences he's had (and vice versa). It makes life more joyous to be able to share a simple pleasure with someone who's never experienced it before. This month, Raúl and I got away just for one night to celebrate Valentine's Day, and I made sure to find a place to stay that had a bathtub. Here, most people either shower or they bathe from a bucket of water. Conserving water is a necessity for a lot of households, and taking a bath is pretty unheard of here. For my hard-working husband with tired muscles, soaking in some warm water was like heaven. He didn't want to get out of the water, and as my mom used to say, his hands were "pruny" by the time he got out. I think I've easily convinced him that if we have our own house someday we want a bathtub even if our water conservation means we only use it once in a great while. 

2) Watching the Eagles win the Super Bowl with new friends. -- Raúl had no idea what the Super Bowl was, and this is the first year I've lived here that I've had the means to watch it. Some new missionary friends invited us over to eat some Louisiana gumbo and watch the game, and we gladly accepted. I come from a family that values the underdog in all senses, not just sports, so I was definitely hoping the Eagles would win. Thankfully, one of our friends had played football and took the time to explain the game to Raúl, and they really hit it off. We were very blessed by our friends' hospitality and willingness to invite us into an event that is often familial in nature. Overall, it was just a really enjoyable evening, and the icing on the cake was the Eagles' win. Reading the testimonies of the Christian men on the team and how they're being the light of Jesus within their sphere of influence made that win just that much sweeter.

Exciting Art from Others:


1) The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers. I don't read a lot of fiction. I'm not really sure why because I enjoy it when I do. (Goal for the future, perhaps?) I think I'm so driven by learning something new that I tend to seek out books with more of an overt message. Also, if fiction is good, I have a hard time putting it down, which makes my life less productive. I will, however, say that I love making time to read fiction by Francine Rivers. She is a Christian writer and her genre is Christian fiction, but what always brings me into her stories is her raw character development and honest depictions of humanity. She doesn't sugarcoat the realities of life and struggle just because she's a Christian writer. If anything, she she creates a dark, emotional, tangled mess then invites Jesus into the middle of it. The Masterpiece is her newest book, and I haven't downloaded or started it yet. But, the premise follows a troubled graffiti artist and how his life changes after crossing paths with his broken personal assistant. 
2) Blackout by Steffany Gretzinger. If you and I are friends, I have probably at some point sent you some video of Steffany Gretzinger leading worship or a spontaneous song. She is by-far one of my favorite worship leaders because she is so authentic and so abandoned in her worship. When you watch her, though she conveys genuine compassion for others, she's just in her own world with God, and I just feel special being invited into that world in order to find my own. This is her second personal CD, and it doesn't actually come out until the end of March. (But I am so looking forward to it!) She appears often on Bethel Collective CDs, contributing her own songs or singing songs written in collaboration with others. But, these are her own personal offerings, detailing the intimate turns and mountains in her own spiritual life.


Culinary Delights:

I like to cook. I don't love meal prepping near as much as meal planning just because my day of meal prepping (and the consequent dishes to wash) feels like the longest day of my week. But, I do enjoy finding new recipes and trying new dishes. I don't like to maintain a usual circuit, and I specifically look for ways to incorporate new ingredients. It takes the boredom out of cooking/eating/meal preparation for me.
1) Ceviche, Peruvian style. Raúl and I, generally once a month or so and as money allows, like to try new-to-us restaurants. We live on the outskirts of a city which means that there are lots of options available to us in all price ranges. Most Hondurans we know and work with stick with what they know food-wise. Even when they have the opportunity to treat themselves to eating in a restaurant, they still stick with Honduran food. That is bizarre to me, and when Raúl and I started dating, I made it a point to take him to new places to try different foods. It's a lot of fun to watch him try new things and get excited about telling his family and friends about what's he tried. It opens the world for him in small ways. Last month, we went to a Peruvian fast food restaurant called Nacho Morado (Purple Nacho), and I tried their ceviche. I'd never had ceviche before. I can't attest to whether the food there is very authentic or not, but it was good. I especially enjoyed the toasted corn kernels on top of the fish ceviche.
2) Pesto chicken salad. Where I went to college, one of the on-campus eating options served a great chicken salad sandwich. It was made with a toasted white sub roll and cubes of chicken breast in a green pesto sauce with sprinkled raisins, and green leaf lettuce. It was one of my favorites. So, as part of our Valentine's Day outing, I made some picnic food and tried to recreate some form of this sandwich. I roasted the chicken in the oven, made a very basic pesto recipe (but with cashews, not pine nuts because pine nuts are crazy expensive here), and added the pesto to the chicken with some raisins, a little honey, and a tiny amount of mayo. We loved it. It wasn't an exact replica of the college sandwich, but it definitely held its own.
3) Cream cheese chocolate chip cookies. In cooking, I almost never follow a set recipe. In baking, however, I almost always do. I may add a little more spice or citrus zest or something. But, baking has more chemistry behind it, and at least for me, it seems to provide less wiggle room. These cookies were amazing, and Raúl and I battled over finishing them off. I tried to ration us, but it was really no use.
4) Brazilian lemonade. What is a picnic without lemonade? This is technically a limeade. I first heard about Brazilian lemonade from the website Velvet Ashes. There is this great lady who always includes a recipe with her reflections on missions life. I was lazy and just put the juice of the limes in instead of the whole lime, because it saved me the step of straining. I also added some mint that we had on hand. So refreshing.
5) Some version of pumpkin/butternut squash and sausage soup. You can google this and get lots of different results. Raúl loves soup, and this one definitely warmed his heart and belly. I used pumpkin puree and roasted a butternut squash because I was making it for a crowd and only had one can of pumpkin puree. I used Honduran loose, spicy sausage. And, because Hondurans like their soups to have chunks of vegetables, I also included slices of carrots, sweet potatoes, a can of chick peas, and a bunch of kale. For liquid, I used chicken stock and some plain yogurt I needed to use up. And, spices included (but were not limited to) the usual salt and pepper, cumin, curry powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

What I'm Watching:

Thumbnail courtesy of imdb.com

Thumbnail courtesy of imdb.com

1) Designated Survivor. The rest of season 2 just got started on ABC last night. I was surprised that I liked this show, honestly, and it does have a little bit of a formulaic rhythm. But, as always, I was drawn in by the character development of a man who never intended or wanted to be President suddenly being handed the job. In the midst of politically torn environments like the US and Honduras, it's an escapist relief to feel close to a character with so much power and yet such an unassuming persona. While I recognize that it is a TV show, it also helps me to have a little bit more compassion for those in politics just because of seeing the complicating factors that affect the big decisions. It's impossible to please everyone. And, this show could also be a guilty pleasure in way--I hate politics and feel far removed from them but at the same time, I tend to keep up-to-date on what is going on politically at least in my two countries of life. I feel like a global citizen, and I'm always amazed by how we're all intertwined as countries.
2) Ugly Delicious on Netflix. I am a sucker for shows related to food. I am enthralled by the creativity, but I also love the way that food brings us together as humans and participates in history as a fluid, living thing. I love the tradition and comfort of the foods that make us feel at home, and I love the experience of dipping one's toes in someone else's culture just by eating their food. This show is really great about capturing these elements that I so appreciate. The professional chefs shown are making the argument that all food holds special meaning and not just those foods that are expensive or deemed luxurious or high-brow by the culinary spheres. This show examines why food is personal and meaningful as it related to family. It has a lot of language--you've been warned. But, it is so human and emotional and colorful. 

Books I Finished This Month:

Thumbnail courtesy of amazon.com

Thumbnail courtesy of amazon.com

1) Safe People by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. If you've never read a Cloud and Townsend book, you should read just one. It'll blow your mind as to how much more emotionally healthy your life could be or why you behave the way you do, and you'll want to read others. This is my third or fourth book by them, and as with all of their books, it's insightful. Safe People talks about our need to have safe, trustworthy, emotionally mature people in our lives and how we can also begin to be those kinds of people. This book also talks about why we may feel drawn to unsafe people--people who use us or ignore us or abandon us--and how we can emotionally mature to recognize and invite safe people into our inner circles of friendship and relationship. One of the concepts that most impacted me and that sounds incredibly obvious is that the quality of relationships that we have with others will affect our own relationship and walk with God. They suggest doing an exercise of making two timelines--a timeline of your life detailing the quality and quantity of safe relationships and another timeline of your relationship with God. Comparing the two, it was amazing for me to see how sometimes my loneliness or isolation from others affected my level of closeness with God. If I was mindful to run to Him, my life with Him got richer. But in seasons of crisis when I was mostly alone, oftentimes I interpreted that isolation from others as abandonment by God.

2) Present over Perfect by Shauna Niequist. I briefly saw an interview of Shauna Niequist with Oprah when I was on my honeymoon, and I liked hearing her talk about this radical change in her spiritual life that started with re-evaluating her identity and in slowing down. I liked what I saw, and I'd heard of her before from the same literary circles that included Addie Zierman and Emily P. Freeman, so I bought this book. I like very personal writing when it doesn't feel contrived or like it's trying to sell me something. And, for the most part, this book is personal and vulnerable without being a salesman. The chapters are short and are often centralized on a life event or illustration that was a nudge from God to speak to Shauna's heart. I especially found this book to be fascinating because the writer is an extrovert trying to slow down to give her life more purpose and meaning as well as authentic pleasure and rest. As an introvert, I often have to slow down out of necessity because I just don't have the energy levels to power through. And, living in a relatively slow culture, that seems a lot more feasible than it does in the States. Since I'm married to an extrovert who only has two speeds--on-the-go and asleep--, it was encouraging to read about another extrovert's journey and how God can teach the rhythms of grace to someone who is outwardly-focused. 

What were you reading, watching, or enjoying this month? I'm always up for some good recommendations.


Sarah