What Happens in That Small Church Out in the Sticks?

"What happens when a small group of saints gathers in a clapboard community church somewhere out in the sticks? At their call to worship, they ascend to the City of God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. They walk into the midst of innumerable angels (Heb. 12:22). They come to general assembly of the universal Church and into the presence of God Himself (Heb. 12:23). Scripture says this understanding should rattle us--we should start working out our salvation together with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12-13). When we understand what is actually happening in a worship service, our contemporary flippancy evaporates."
~Doug Wilson, A Primer on Worship and Reformation

Chocolate Chip Scone Nibbles

Scones, scones, and more scones. Now I know the secret to the glaze that was on my favorite Starbucks scones.

Don't let the detailed instructions scare you away from this recipe. You don't have to do all of the extra cutting, although the the smaller shapes are part of this recipe's appeal. I just cut the first time, and then dipped the scones individually. It really didn't take that long.

photo by PoffClan

Scones

• 2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut in pats
• 1 cup to 2 cups mini chocolate chips, or finely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the flavoring of your choice
• 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup half and half or milk

Glaze

• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 7 tablespoons water, enough to make a thin glaze
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

 Whisk together your dry ingredients. Work in the butter just until mixture is crumbly (I just use my Kitchenaid paddle). Stir in the chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and half and half. Add additional liquid if the dough seems too dry. (I had to use the full amount of half and half.)

Scrape the dough onto a well-floured surface and pat into a square or circle and cut your shapes. You can cut those again to make a more "nibble" sized scone. Read the original recipe for more detailed instructions.

Transfer scones to parchment lined baking sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and bake scones for about 20 minutes.

Make the glaze, and then dip each scone or paint on with a pastry brush. Transfer to a cooling rack set over parchment paper to catch any drips. Allow glaze to set.

Enjoy!

With love,

Trisha

Jon Cardwell's Comic Book, Pearl Harbor: Date of Infamy! Date to Remember!

Jon Cardwell is at it again. He's now published his first comic book, Pearl Harbor: Date of Infamy! Date to Remember! , and our 10 year old, Luke, says it's a winner.

This is one of the first comic books I've read, and I loved it! Jon Cardwell's writing has a way of sticking in your mind. For instance, when I finished the book and went about my work, scenes and conversations from Pearl Harbor kept popping into my head. This comic book is packed full of historical content and is a great book for any "would-be-sailor." It is well-written and has great illustrations. If you're going to let your son (or sons) start reading comics, you should start them out with this one. There is no objectionable content, and boys of all ages will love it. I give it 5 stars.

Jon truly is a man of many talents. You can find a complete list of his books here, including Pearl Harbor, which is available in paperback or on the Kindle. Perfect summer reading!

Because Every Day is Built on This

Mother's Day 2013

Guess what? Sanctification does not cease on Mother's Day. The flesh doesn't take a vacation, and praise God, He's still pruning and making us more like Christ.

The morning started with my being a bit heavy-hearted. I then discovered someone had put the case of cream cheese in the freezer (oops)-the cream cheese I was going to use in a Mexican dip to take to our fellowship meal. After breakfast, motivation was running low, and I felt more like a drill sergeant with our children than a Proverbs 31 woman. And right before leaving for church, I spilled almost an entire bottle of salsa on the floor and on my skirt.

(Wait. That almost sounds like everyday living around here.)

We've had the privilege of gathering with the saints and hearing the Gospel preached. Of breaking bread together, discussing the sermon, and singing hymns. Our hearts have been sobered as we face directly or through the suffering of others the ugliness of death and cancer and sickness, all the while holding on to the hope we have in Christ Jesus.

I've read these words that brought tears, and I've clutched hand-picked wildflowers given to me by a Little. I've thanked God for my Mom and prayed for the many Moms I know who are aching in ways I can't imagine. I've enjoyed chocolate chip ice cream and taking funny group pictures.

But the day has been most beautiful because it's the Lord's Day. The first day of the week. The foundation day. And what rejoicing there is in knowing that because of what Jesus has done for us every day is built on a foundation of GRACE!

Happy Mother's Day!

With love,
Trisha

One Part of the Duty We Owe to Our Pastors

"Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, 

in all things willing to live honestly."

~Hebrews 13:18

"This is one part of the duty which people owe to their ministers. Ministers need the prayers of the people; and the more earnestly the people pray for their ministers the more benefit they may expect to reap from their ministry. They should pray that God would teach those who are to teach them, that He would make them vigilant, and wise, and zealous, and successful--that He would assist them in all their labours, support them under all their burdens, and strengthen them under all their temptations."

~Matthew Henry

Must I Be a Cheerful Christian?

"This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!"

~Psalm 118:24

I wonder how much personality and temperament profiling and the "keepin' it real" movement have quieted this truth--as Christians we're called to be joyful! There are those in my life whom I can always count on to lift my spirits when I'm around them. My pastor's wife is one of them. Week in. Week out. No matter what is going on, she has a smile to give. It's not that she doesn't have heartaches or worries, she just chooses to be joyful in spite of them.

I also have those in my life who live in the negative. It's draining to rarely see them smile, or to always hear something depressing. Misery does love company, and I find myself wanting to pull away because the constant stream of bleakness leaves me wondering what more there is to say. "But God..." often isn't enough for those who choose to live looking at the glass as always half empty.

I fall into the trap, too, especially at home. I'll find myself sighing. And then I hear the children sighing. I start to murmur. And then I hear several copycats in the next room. The great Puritan, Stephen Charnock, would call this practical atheism, and so would my pastor.

"Men's practices are the best indexes of their principles: the current of a man's life is the counterpart of the frame of his heart."
~Charnock

So, I remind myself, even as I remind our children, that we often have to choose to be joyful, even when we want to complain. Or sigh. Or walk around talking about how bad everything is. It's good to consider how our own attitudes affect those around us, and to remember that Christians are called to be a joyful people.

"A Christian should and must be a cheerful person. If he isn't, the devil is tempting him. I have sometimes been grievously tempted while bathing in my garden, and then I have sung the hymn 'Let us now praise Christ.' Otherwise I would have been lost then and there. Accordingly, when you notice that you have some such thoughts say, 'This isn't Christ.'...Christ knows that our hearts are troubled, and it is for this reason that he says and commands, 'Let not your heart be troubled.'"
~Martin Luther

With love,
Trisha

The Joys of Internet Friendships and the Physical Presence of Christians

First, there was Persis. I encountered her blog and immediately admired her hunger and love for the Word, her desire to glorify God in all things. To discover she lived less than an hour from my childhood home was wonderful.  When my Dad died, she and her lovely daughter graciously visited me, and we spent a brief time getting to know one another. I was comforted by knowing she was praying for me as I prepared to give my Dad's eulogy.

God also connected me with Tami. Who knew when I sent her a private e-mail that one day she'd move to my neck of the woods, hugs the necks of our children, and she and her whole family would find a most special place in our hearts?

And there's the blessing of women I've never even met who have showered me with surprise packages in the mail or letters, kindness spilled out on paper and wrapped in gifts. Ashleigh and Jill and Jojo and Jessica and Beth and Cindy and Bambi and Petra and Kim and Camille and Tricia. There are so many that I know I'm forgetting someone.

Last year Ink was blessed with the amazing privilege of spending time with my precious friend, Becky and her family in Mexico. And then we've had the joy of having her awesome Nikko stay with us for a couple of weeks.

Jon Cardwell has mentored our Ink from afar, taking an interest in his writing and encouraging him along the way. He's blessed us with books and kind words and prayers, and the thought that we might meet him and his family face to face has all of us rejoicing!

And we just finished spending an amazing 5 days with the Rues. Never having met us before, they bravely took the plunge and visited the Poff Funny Farm. We spent time drinking tea together and laughing and talking and eating and talking and eating. They joined us in family worship and witnessed a small part of our family life, and dear Stephanie made a skirt with my Emma. They loved on our children and showered us with kindness.

Deeper Roots

An important factor in online relationships growing deeper roots is that there's a desire to move beyond the web, a desire to meet one another in person and hear one another's voice, to feast together, to visit and talk of our love for the Lord and what He's doing in our lives. I think this is one goal that firmly cements the on-line connections we make and protects us from many of the dangers of only knowing one another across a screen.

The Ones Right Here With Us

"The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer."

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

And all of His goodness displayed in His bringing me together with other brothers and sisters in Christ on the internet reminds me to treasure and nurture the great gift He's given me in the brothers and sisters who are right here with me--who worship beside me each week  and love our children and pray for us and shower us with hospitality. It is in the physical presence of other Christians that we can wash one another's feet and practically bear one another's burdens.

Because on-line relationships should never be cultivated at the expense of knowing and loving the fellow Christians God has providentially and physically put before us. Thus, it's good to ask ourselves these questions:

Am I a member of a local church, or is my fellowship with other believers limited to cyberspace?

Do I minister to my fellow church members, praying for them, sending notes of encouragement, showing hospitality?

Am I as forgiving to those right here with me as I am with those I know on-line?

Do I as easily overlook an offense from an on-line friend while nursing a grudge against ones I worship with each week?

Am I allowing a romanticization of my on-line relationships to cause a dissatisfaction with members of my local church? Have I fallen into the trap of thinking church would be so much easier if made up of my on-line friends?

Do I have as much grace in my everyday relationships as I do with those I know on the internet?

Thanks be to God for the unexpected and creative ways He draws us together. Thanks be to God for the joy of encouraging and loving and getting to know those we've connected with on-line and for the privilege of living a "common Christian life" with those Christians in our midst.

With love,
Trisha

**"common Christian life" from Bonhoeffer's Life Together

Schizophrenic and Cynical Messages About Motherhood

Do you remember the first time you were about to deliver a child? You heard from women who were very encouraging, and then there were the OTHERS. The ones who told you how horrible delivery was and then went on to the "terrible twos." Motherhood suddenly didn't seem so exciting, and your rejoicing seemed a bit premature and presumptuous.

There will always be those who offer a caution in the spirit of wisdom, when they're really just being wet blankets. They're rejecting something simply on the basis that the experience wasn't good for them. And at the heart of the matter is the fleshly impulse to make sure it's not good for you, either. Cynicism seems to be even the Christian rule of the day, clamoring to make exceptions the rule and the norm the exceptions.

This happens especially around Mother's Day. And sadly, I believe Christians are the best at making mothers feel guilty simply for being mothers. Elyse Fitzpatrick  wrote an article called Happy Daughters Day, and while it has nuggets of wisdom, it also reminds me that we often have grace for every mother in the world except the one who rejoices in being a mother and who has children who honor her even on days like Mother's Day.

Honestly, one trip around the internet is proof enough that we toss about schizophrenic messages regarding motherhood at every turn:

Yes. Children are a blessing from the Lord.
BUT, don't delight too much in that motherhood stuff. In fact, if you are, you must be making an idol of it.

Mothers are so important, and the woman who rocks the cradle rules the world.
BUT, the mother who stays at home and who has worked in the corporate world or who has a Ph. D. is an even more important mother and rocks the cradle better.

God is faithful.
BUT, He's not faithful enough to REALLY be a God to your children. Expect that most of them will walk away from the faith, and if they don't, well, you were one of the lucky ones (after we've declared somewhere else that we don't really believe in luck).

Good grief! No wonder mothers don't know if they should be rejoicing or apologizing. Singing or crying. Thanking God for the work He's doing in their children's lives or sighing with great relief that one of their children squeaked through life without much damage.

Fitzpatrick, after telling us how depressing Mother's Day is for most women and how it piles on them a load of guilt, then tells us to enjoy the "paltry bobbles" given to us by our families, and be sure to remember that those "bobbles" are nothing compared to the blood of Christ.

As though most Moms look at the handprint covered piece of manila paper as their means of salvation?

I'm thinking she meant to say "baubles," as that is "a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket." "Bobbles" is defined as "a small ball of fabric" and even "an error." Whatever word she wanted to use, her message is that those gifts your children or your husband bring you on Mother's Day aren't worth much. But is this how the joyful mother sees the burnt toast or the wilted wildflower or the paper mache covered flower vase? Of course, everything on this earth is a paltry bauble compared to our salvation, but does that mean we do not enjoy God's good gifts to us? 

Truly, we have become cynical about motherhood. And this cynicism is leaving many of us tongue-tied. We're scared to say motherhood is a beautiful thing lest we offend the barren woman. We're scared to share how much we enjoy it and feel blessed by it lest we're assaulted by the horror stories of other women. We're hesitant to share how our children bless us lest we be accused of making other mothers envy.

We are to bear one another's burdens. We are to be clothed in compassion. Does doing these things mean we restrain from enjoying the good gifts God has given us? Does this mean I don't enjoy the sunshine because somewhere a prisoner is in a cold, dark cell? Does this mean I don't enjoy the food God has provided because others go hungry? Does this mean I don't enjoy children dancing at my feet because a woman chose to kill the fruit of her womb? 

Then how is this grace, for is it not grace that puts food on my table when others are without? Is it not grace that kept me from hating the fruit of my womb and instead rejoicing in it? Is it not grace that lets me breathe in the fresh air and walk in the sunshine instead of rotting in a prison cell? Is it not grace that lets me rejoice  even in a money-making day like Mother's Day in a culture that is so devoid of treasuring life that at least they're still recognizing, though in a stunted way, the value of motherhood? 

Yes. Grace is also for you mothers who love being mothers and who even like Mother's Day. Enjoy whatever way your family chooses to celebrate, and thank God for the blessings He's given you. Don't apologize for being a mother or feel guilty about it. Be thankful, and let that thankfulness spill over into the lives of those around you, including the women for whom Mother's Day will be difficult. 

With love,
Trisha

Pagosa Springs~Part 2

One of the blessings of having children who delight in the simple things is that even when on vacation they continue to delight in the simple things. All they wanted to do every day was swim, and their Daddy made sure that happened.

So, there was lots of swimming, lots of reading, lots of game playing, lots of laughing and feasting, and my Beloved and Jake even managed to get some mountain biking in.

This is Ink's way of watching Elijah. Don't worry. This is an exceptional moment. We diligently limit Sarge's screen time, keeping it to about zero minutes a day. :)

 How fascinating the ants are. They kept Jedediah busy for a long time.

This amazing kitchen was mine for a week.

 Elijah enjoyed his first swim and loved it! (He's thinking it over here.)

 The recreation center where they swam every day.

 There was even a bit of water sport.

 Ah, yes, the hot tub.

Right after a mountain bike ride, with lots of mud!