Bold isn’t just a font option. April 13, 2011

How’s this look to you?  Good?  Yeah, not bad.  How about now?  Huh.  Bold. What’s the difference?  What’s the point? One stands out more. Not too tough of a concept, right?  If something is bold it is noticeable; it stands out; its got something to say; it wants to be known.

 

Why is this concept so hard to incorporate into our lives?  God calls us to be bold in our lives, but it is just something that I struggle with so much.  Dominick reminded me in Acts 4, Peter and John show a huge display of boldness.  Peter and John were thrown into jail and are on trial for preaching the Gospel to the people of Jerusalem.  Firstly, without going any further, it is crazy to think how bold and courageous these first disciples were in even talking to anyone about Jesus. It takes some guts to go into entire communities to introduce the idea that this that this guy named Jesus is the son of God, has been sacrificed in death and resurrected from the dead so that we may have life.  The men knew that there was a chance of being arrested, or mocked, or even killed because of what they were saying, yet they moved forward whole-heartedly. Can you say that you would do the same?  I know I wouldn’t be jumping for excitement saying “pick me, pick me!” if I were called into a risk like that. But then again I’m not bold. Instead of blending in and believing in and doing everything like everyone else, they stood out. So now Peter and John did in fact get arrested for preaching the Gospel.  Then a bunch of the important townspeople came to question them about what they did. It would be easy enough to back down, apologize and get out of jail… but that is not what Peter did.  With the Holy Spirit in him, he shared the Gospel again.  The rulers were taken aback by this courage and decided to let the men free, but commanded Peter and John to never teach the name of Jesus.  Seems like Peter and John now get a “get out of jail free” card to play.  Except they rip it up. Essentially they tell the judges that it would be silly for them to for them to follow their requests instead of God’s.  Bold. Peter and John wanted their story of Jesus to be known, and they wouldn’t stop at anything to ensure this was being done.

 

Now me? I’m a different story. I hate being the center of attention. I look normal, act normal, don’t do anything that draws attention to me.  In most situations I hate to stand out.  I was frustrated with myself this weekend as I went to a new church and barely introduced myself to anyone. Why not? Why am I scared? I am not even faced with the risk of being stoned, and I can’t even bring my self to say hello to someone. I don’t like putting myself out there. I don’t like to feel uncomfortable. There is obviously NOTHING wrong with me introducing myself to someone.  NOTHING bad can come of that, yet I can’t always bring myself to do it. This feeling doubles, triples, when I am pushed to talk about my faith or to share the Gospel. I don’t want to be uncomfortable. I say I don’t care what  others think of me, and I really do believe that to be true for the most part. But obviously there is a huge part of me that doesn’t want any judgement from others or to cause tension on a relationship or to be vulnerable (I am no good at that part at all). What the heck? Is this really what is stopping me? I can’t really figure it out. But really, what bad can come from sharing or starting a conversation? I definitely won’t be getting stoned anytime soon. It’s hard for me to understand why this situation even needs courage like that; it should just come naturally to us as believers. We should want to shout it out everywhere. And some do, but not me. Not shy, timid me. I’m working on it. There’s a point to my life and I want to make it known.

 

In other news…

Portland has those movie theaters with couches that serve you food and beer during your movie.  Pretty sweet. And. I am trying to like beer. Hey-oh Portland.  Also, I have my second interview on Thursday for the MA position that I already interviewed once for!  Pray, pray, pray! Bed time.

In love,

Heather

Taste This. April 8, 2011

Well hello again.

Day 2.  Two for two.  Not bad.

So this morning at 10:30 my phone rings.  I am at that strange point of time when I have to pick up my phone and say “This is Heather.” Yep. Job hunting season.  YUCK.  Good thing was, Cathy on the other end was hoping for a piece of my time.  Nyki, Marti and I trekked to Beaverton this afternoon in our neighbor’s Prius (so Portland) for my interview for a medical assistant position at Women’s Health Associates!  Wooohoo! It seemed to go great!  There is one more interview in the process, so we are praying for that second call and a j.o.b. ! Join me in prayers, yeah? Afterwards, we decided a trip for pizza was in need for a celebration! Ken’s Artisan Pizza is a Portland favorite that we decided to check out. Super delicious and you get to see all the makings right in front of you, including the huge chunk of fresh prosciutto! Tasty.

That was the exciting news.  Nothing too much happening today, as the interview chunked up the afternoon.  The other highlights included: Mount St. Helens was super visible from our front yard.  Planted some seedlings with Nyki.  Took a bath.  Ate ice cream. Got a paycheck.  It was sunny.  Not bad.

Well I wanted to share a recipe from dinner last night.  Very tasty.  Chickpea and Turnip Curry (we had turnips that we had to use up).

1 medium onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

8 slices of jalapeños

1 tbs cumin

2 tbs curry powder

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 crushed tomatoes with juice, with 1 tbs oregano and basil added (or 1 can of a sauce)

1 can of chickpeas

2-4 medium potatoes, cubed

1-2 turnips, peeled and cubed

handful fresh parsley, chopped

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil until onions become translucent.  Add peppers and spices.  Combine.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer 1 1/2 – 2 hours to allow flavors to meld, vegetables to soften and curry to thicken.  We ate with brown rice, cheese and  flour tortillas.  So good!  This has a great heat to it, but if you don’t like spicy foods as much, just omit the jalapeños or pepper flakes.

Nyki also made a turnip pudding.  Also pretty tasty!  The night before Nyki and I made a pad thai that was good, too.  Maybe I will share that recipe another day.  We are loving the kitchen!

Photo of the Day:

 

Painting in the Park

Beauty and art appreciation starts young.  School field trip to the park to paint using watercolors and the water they find in the park. Very cute. It was awesome to see the young, excited teachers that have such a passion for what they do! Also beautiful to walk around the beautiful Japanese Memorial Park under the hundreds of cherry blossoms. I spotted these blooms from my bus while crossing the bridge to downtown and knew I had to come find them! Successful. Beautiful. Perfect start to my downtown walk, exploration and photo shoot. More photos will be on facebook, soon.

Well I hit on a few of my goals of sharing photos and recipes, so I think I will call it a night.  It’s been fun.

In love.

Heather

New to the Neighborhood. April 7, 2011

The first week in a new place.  New house, new roommates, new city.  Change has never really bothered me much; I usually welcome it and invite it into my life, actually.  I get bored easily and love exploring, so a move to a new city is something exciting for me.  Last Friday I made the trek from Kalamazoo, Michigan across the country to Portland, Oregon.  A beautiful summer of time with my big sister.  Nyki.  She is stunning and loving and welcoming.  She is a teacher by nature, and I am excited to learn from her daily.   Obviously a move like this comes with its lows as well as its highs–as I am currently missing my amazing boyfriend, lovely best friends and the comfort of a job and paycheck… but I am still in the “everything is exciting and new” stage.  A successful day is getting a little lost wondering the city.  Trying a new food. Crafting with my older sister.

I have been encouraged by Dominick to keep this blog to take note of these days.  I surely will want to remember them, always.  Now the trouble comes with writing–I hate it.  I have never willingly written anything, really.  Barely an e-mail or letter here or there, and even that comes with some moaning.  Well, I’m going to try it.  I am trying a lot of new things right now, so why not throw in a journal, huh?  Don’t expect too much from me though, okay?  Deal.  As my prompts, I will be sharing my photos.  My recipes.  My crafts.  We’ll start there and see where that takes us.  Welcome to my life in Portland.

Home Sweet Home.

Just a walk in the neighborhood:

 

And Cake Talents goes cross-country with a Dark Chocolate and Red Wine Cake:

Well, that will get us started.  I will share more tomorrow!  Basically the first few days have consisted of me getting my bearings and finding a job–both of which need more work!  I have found that Portland is an amazing city, though.  Great neighborhoods for any mood you are in, amazing shops, delicious food, vibrant colors, nice people.  Beautiful combination.  Hope you enjoy it with me.

In love,

Heather.