Led by a Pillar of Prayer: September 2020 Recap
Photo by Dima Goroziya
Earlier this month, I came across this verse from Jeremiah 31:9:
"They will come with weeping [in repentance and for joy], and by [their] prayer [for the future] I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble, for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim (Israel) is My firstborn." - Amplified Version
Then later in the month, I was struck my the many compasses the Lord gave to the Israelites as they left Egypt and traversed through the wilderness. They had a pillar of fire, the angel of the Lord, and a pillar of cloud.
This month, Raúl and I began the process of applying for his US citizenship. Anything having to do with immigration, bureaucracy, and navigating complex government systems makes me nervous, and it was a feat in and of itself just to gather all of the paperwork. I've also been feeling the grind of being in lockdown since March, though I have a light at the end in the tunnel in the form of our planned trip to the US in November. Overall, there have been large decisions, and this week was crunch week in terms of homework assignments for grad school. Yet, even as life has been overwhelming, I have felt the conviction that God is leading us into our future with our own prayers and the valued prayers of others. He is our ever-present compass, and He won't leave us until we reach His Promised Land.
What I Ate:
Photo by Anurag Arora
1) Sausage, Fennel, Potato Roast. This meal came about by my toying around with this Martha Stewart recipe: https://www.marthastewart.com/333812/clam-pan-roast-with-sausage-and-fennel
I used Honduran sausage. I left out the clams, tarragon, and leeks. And, I substituted anise seeds for anise liqueur. It was nice change of pace.
2) Modern Proper White Bean Chicken Soup. We're soup people around this joint, so I'm always looking for new soup inspirations. This recipe was a good one:
https://themodernproper.com/white-bean-chicken-soup
I left out Swiss chard, and while I love fresh dill, it's not always easy to come by.
3) Honey Mustard Chicken Broccoli Pasta. One night after a long day of homework, I just wanted to throw together something new. I cooked some corkscrew pasta, shredded some chicken, and cooked some broccoli. Then I just mixed it all together with a homemade honey mustard sauce. I mixed together some mayo, honey, mustard of varying varieties, ground mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and minced garlic.
4) Indian Food: aloo chaat, spinach saag, tandoori chicken, raita, tamarind chutney, green chutney. Saturday nights are a kind of standing dinner party with my friend, Lindsey. I like to get imaginative with the menu and try new things. While this menu was nice in theory, it was filled with regret--not because of the food but because of the many issues we encountered. First, my propane gas tank for my stove ran out. We made a trip to our local Mom and Pop business to get a new one and came home. We hooked it up, and it kept spewed gas. So, Raúl traded this one for a new one, thinking it was faulty. But, that one also spewed. Next, we determined that our tubing was the issue, so there was no more cooking that was going to happen till we got that fixed. So, we packed up all of our preparations in progress and headed to Lindsey's house. We went to crank up her oven, and the door promptly fell off in our hands. So, we resorted to the stove top, where we shuffled things around burners and got most things mostly cooked UNTIL her gas propane tank ran out. When we finally sat down to eat (after we microwaved the last few things lacking), the food was good, but we were exhausted. We had to make a ton of alterations, omissions, and substitutions, but here are some recipes for reference:
https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/aloo-chaat-recipe/
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/64066/indian-saag/
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tandoori_chicken/
https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/tandoori-chicken-recipe/
https://www.feastingathome.com/raita-recipe/
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/71750/sweet-tamarind-chutney/
https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/green-chutney-recipe/
5) Egg Roll in a Bowl. This recipe wasn't life-changing, but it was a nice change of pace. It's pretty much just a ground meat source, some cabbage, maybe some carrots, some green onions, and an egg with a nice sauce. Here is the recipe I used as a reference:
https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/keto-egg-roll-in-a-bowl/
6) Chicken Parmesan. While I enjoy eating breaded and fried foods, I don't often make them because it's so. much. work. (and mess!) But, on this rare occasion, I took the time to make some decent chicken parm and was pleasantly reminded of how delicious it is and that it's not terribly difficult. There are lots of recipes with slight variations. Here is one I used as a reference:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/223042/chicken-parmesan/
I just used less cheese as we didn't have provolone.
Photo by The-Lore.com
7) Teriyaki Meatballs. These were a big hit with the mister, so I figured they should be included in this list. I included them with some rice and stir-fried vegetables. Our meatballs had minced onion, panko, an egg, ground beef, minced garlic, and parsley. Here is a recipe for reference:
https://tasty.co/recipe/teriyaki-meatballs
What I Watched:
1) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Continuing in the world of Harry Potter, this movie was a nice way to re-enter a fun culture and hear mention of familiar characters. Unlike my experience with the Harry Potter series, I did not read the book first. I enjoyed the setting in the US and the creativity of all of the creatures and the eccentricity of Newt. The side characters make the movie very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing more movies in this series.
2) The Prince of Egypt. I used to love this movie as a kid, and I also loved the soundtrack. It had been years since I had watched it, and it was just as inspiring as it was when I was little. Plus, I did not realize who all voiced the characters!
3) Signs. This movie is an oldie but a goodie. While M. Night Shyamalan later betrayed me with the atrocity that is The Happening, and yes, I already know there are lots of plot holes everyone can argue about in Signs, I love a movie that can thread foreshadowing and purpose into the story. I appreciate the development of Mel Gibson's character, and I don't even notice the plot holes (mostly) because I care about the characters and the redemption at the heart of the story.
4) Enola Holmes. Raúl and I don't share a lot of preferences in movies or TV shows, but we do enjoy watching Stranger Things together. Raúl has an appreciation for the charisma of Millie Bobby Brown even if he only knows her as "Eleven," so when I suggested we watch this new film on Netflix, he was game until he promptly fell asleep. That shouldn't be an indicator of the quality of the movie since Raúl falls asleep for nearly any movie. This is very much a movie geared toward a Young Adult reader crowd, but it has some charm. I enjoyed Millie's fourth wall breaking as Enola, and Sam Caflin was also pretty entertaining. If you just want a lighthearted escapist watch that is family-friendly, this one is worth watching.
What I Read:
2) As Soon As I Fell: A Memoir by Kay Bruner. This book was gifted to me by a fellow missionary, and it was a good read. It was refreshing in part as its a memoir by a fellow missionary but also because the author's life as a missionary was so drastically different than my own as she lived in remote villages, lacking telephones and electricity. I could understand her process of examining her motives for becoming a missionary and how hard it is to unpack your emotional messes while still on the mission field. It's a good read for anyone who is a missionary or cares about missionaries or just wants to understand someone's process of getting to the root of their behaviors and coping mechanisms.
Photo from Amazon
3) Hygge: How to Live Cozily and Enjoy Life's Simple Pleasures by Olivia Telford. This e-book was a temporary lapse in judgment. I am normally the kind of person who meticulously reads reviews and is quite choosy in what I read or buy. But, since I have been reading more on an e-reader since the pandemic dwindled my physical book library, I had this bright idea to try reading something outside of the norm. I like decorating. I like coziness, and I knew about the concept of hygge years before it became mainstream in popularity because of some Danish friends. Thus, I took a chance on this book and regretted it. I finished it, I guess, out of principle, but it was pretty awful. It seemed like a diatribe about everything but hygge, and it seemed like a shameless cash-grab. So, in other words, feel free to skip it.
Playlist for the Month:
Here is the link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLERDDFsw5e_oX_2BsOVAsL9EICR_B10xR
1) "Found It All" by Wilder
2) "Legacy" by Nichole Nordeman
3) "Eres Mi Deleite" by Marcos Brunet
4) "Let It Happen" by United Pursuit feat. Andrea Marie
5) "All Is for Your Glory" by Steffany Gretzinger and Jeremy Riddle
6) "My Little One" by Jon Thurlow
7) "No Longer Slaves" by Zach Williams
8) "I Am Loved" by Mack Brock
9) "He's My Rock" by Bri Babineaux
10) "Take Heart" by Mission House
11) "Split the Sea" by Hannah Kerr
12) "Yo Navegaré" by Dahaira
13) "Sails" by Pat Barrett featuring Steffany Gretzinger and Amanda Lindsey Cook
14) "Rest on Us" by TRIBL featuring Harvest
15) "Still" by Amanda Lindsey Cook and Jason Ingram
16) "Lean Back" by Jesus Culture
I am thrilled for October. I just want cool air, coziness, and a change of pace. I am relishing the cooler evenings and mornings (before I get swamped with heat and humidity) as that coolness is as close to fall as Honduras gets. I am looking forward to soups and cider, butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. I want to listen to oldies and rewatch any movies or shows that show beautiful fall foliage. (Maybe we'll even catch the tail end of that in early November in the US?) In the mean time, I pray that you would feel led into fall with God as your compass. I pray that faith would arise that your prayers matter and are your co-creating with God. I pray you find a sense of warmth in the midst of your and the rest of the world's circumstances. I pray you find new ways to step into the greatness already within you and find moments of sweet stillness.
Comments
Post a Comment