Mixed Grain Whole Wheat with Bran Bread from the Breadmachine

Created by Julie Herrmann

• 1-1/3 cups Water (room temperature) 
• 3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil 
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Honey 
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
• 1 tsp pink Salt
• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill All purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour
• 1-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill High Fiber Oat Bran cereal
• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions

Add all ingredients in the order of appearance in the recipe. Set bread machine for the basic bread cycle according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Enjoy the aroma while baking.
Frequently update your facebook status with the progress of the bread.

Let loaf cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

A Year in the Life

My new Vineyard church in Simi Valley is interested in doing missions to Costa Rica. So I made a little missions video. Enjoy!!

Yummerouski Vegan Bran Muffins

Experimental recipe win of the week: Yummerouski Vegan Bran Muffins. I've had this Bob's Red Mill High Fiber Oat Bran cereal in my fridge for a bit now and have wanted to make something yummy. Tonight was the night. They came out AWESOME!! Enjoy!!

1 & 1/4 Cups Bob's Red Mill High Fiber Oat Bran Cereal
1 & 1/3 cups flax milk (I used flax milk. You could use almond or soy)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup unsweetened applesause (or you can substitute oil)
1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds + 2 Tbsp milk (flaxseed, soy, or almond if you want it vegan) (or if you don't mind and don't care if it's vegan, you can add 1 egg)
1 & 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Heat over to 400 degrees. Grease the bottoms of muffin tins or use paper baking cups.
2. Mix cereal, milk, raisins, and vanilla in a bowl. Let stand 5 minutes for cereal to soak in milk.
3. Beat in applesauce and flaxseed/milk mixture with a fork. Mix remaining ingredients; stir into cereal mixture just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. This batch made 18 muffins for me.

The devil likes to throw snake skins

Fear is a snake that tries to slither it's way into all of our lives. It is as old and crafty as Eden and still uses the same tactics. There are several kinds of fear, just as there are several kinds of snakes. There is the innate fear that keeps us from randomly jumping off buildings or crashing our cars into guard rails at will. That is the garter snake that is harmless and can eat the other mice and bugs that would actually be a problem in our lives. That kind of fear is a natural fear and can be helpful for species preservation. There is the imitative fear that keeps us from trying things because we are tricked into thinking it is dangerous when it reality it is not. This type of fear is the snake that looks like a coral snake, but the color of its stripes are wrong, thus it is an imitation of the real thing that causes confusion and makes us think we should be afraid of it, even though it is in fact harmless. This type of fear is the fear associated with public speaking or trying a new food. I have yet to hear of any one who has clinically died from public speaking, and yet it can paralyze people. Then there is the legitimate, heart-pounding, sweat-inducing fear. The fear of death. The fear of drowning. The fear of losing a loved one. The fear of the dark. Even the fear of missing out. This type of fear is the boa constrictor, the python, the rattle snake of all fear. It bites. It poisons. It incapacitates and murders. 

Here's the good news: in Luke 10:19 Jesus says, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.". I believe Jesus is referencing fear and the demonic. He has given us authority over fear and the demonic that act like snakes in our lives. That kill, steal, and destroy from the fullness of our lives. We can take that kind of stand in our lives and through the power of Jesus' blood trample fear out of our lives!! We don't have to be afraid of anything any more! Not even death!! Mark 16:17-18 literally says, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 
  
When we ask Jesus to kill fear in our lives, He does! When we stand in our authority over what makes us afraid in our lives, we also kill fear in our lives. It is dead. It holds no power. But Satan is deceptive. Satan doesn't like it when we are not held captive to fear. He likes to keep us bound to it, trapped, cornered by snakes and scorpions, paralyzed when one crosses our path. He will do anything he can to throw snake skins and snake-look-a-likes in our paths. He likes to try to make us think that fear is not dead, even though the thing he is using against us is, in fact, dead. Have you ever been startled by a rubber snake in a toy store? Rodney has one hidden in by the base of the big tree in the back patio by where we eat dinner with teams. It is a thin, green, rubber snake. It would startle some one on just about every team that would come down. Can that rubber snake harm some one? Only by an associative heart-attack! The enemy loves to use this tactic next because it drives doubt into our hearts about our authority and the promises God has for us. When we linger too long in doubt, it allows either true fear open access to come back into our lives, or leaves us discouraged and feeling like God has some how lied to us. It's a sneaky, low-blow to our confidence in Christ.

Are there major areas of fear in your life? Are you afraid of death? Trying new things? The dark? Losing some one close to you? Have you asked Jesus to trample the fear out of your life? Did you know you have the authority over that in your own life through Jesus Christ? Did you think you had taken care of fear in your life already? But does it occasionally sneak up on you? Is it actually a snake skin pretending to have power and authority over you when it is  really a fake?

The art of self control

If there was any topic I learned the most about in Costa Rica, the thing I learned the most about was the fruit of the Spirit labelled "Self Control". From this fruit  I think lies the key to the seeds for all the other other fruits. It's like what I used to tell the parents of the kids at my feeding program in Michigan: up until a certain age you can make a child do pretty much anything. You can make them get up in the morning, put on a certain shirt, get in the bath tub, buckle up in a car. Granted, there are occasional struggles with these tasks, but in general you can pick a child up and move them where they need to go. But there are two things you can never make a child do: poop and eat. Because even from a young age children learn they have self control over their own bodies. No matter how hard you try, you can never force a child to swallow a bite of food. 

I think even from a young age we can learn to control ourselves. As we grow and come into our own selves, with individual personalities, wants, and desires, no one can control us. We can surely be influenced by other people; influenced for good or influenced for bad. We can allow other people to give us guidance or wisdom. We can allow other people to give us ideas of what we should or shouldn't do. But ultimately, we are the ones who have the choice, the decision for whether or not we will comply with their suggestions or not. We can never really, truly say, "My boss made me do it," or "my brother started it", or "the woman you put in the garden with me is to blame". Eve didn't force feed Adam. We are in control of our own actions. whether we chose to be truth speakers or embellish the facts to make ourselves look better, that too is our choice. We can allow others to influence us for the positive or the negative, but at the end of the day we are still the ones with our actions in our hands. We are the ones to blame for the consequences of our actions, whether good or bad.

Self control is not only a means for controlling our own personal actions in any given circumstance, but also the ability to react to the behaviors of others.  Did so one blow up at you for no apparent reason? What was your reaction? Did you lash back in hot-blooded retaliation? Or realize that maybe their anger toward you was just a symptom of some deeper level issue that they didn't know how to deal with? Our very reactions to the world around us show us just where we are in the growth process of self control.

God also doesn't want to control you, either. He allows self control to grow in us through the power of His Spirit because the freedom of choice is the only place where true love can legitimately exist. As soon as you place force on a relationship, love is taken out of the equation and it becomes a one-sided dictatorship. Did you ever wonder why God put the tree of good and evil in the middle of the garden and not hidden in a corner some where? Did you ever wonder why the fruit was appealing and good for eating? I believe God wanted Adam and Eve to have the freedom to chose their own actions in coordination with self-control because that is where the veracity of God's love for them was demonstrated.

So where are we in our fruit growing process? Has the seed to self control been planted? Am I seeing fruit in my life based on how I act in the world in every day situations? Am I working at my job with integrity or am I manipulating the situation to make myself look better? How am I treating the people around me? Am I over- or under-reacting to the actions of others and then blaming them for my bad behavior? Am I really believing that God has given me the freedom to make choices in my life and to grow self-control? Do I really believe that God doesn't want to control me through rules and regulations but through understanding the positive or negative consequences of my own actions and reactions?

Foot note: this is not to say that there are not victims of others seeking total control. It is true there are people unwillingly sold into slavery every day to this day in the modern world. There are innocent children who are daily exploited all around the globe.There are people who have a significant lack of self control and force their will on others. I am speaking to people who are growing deeper in a relationship with Jesus and want to introspectively go deeper. 

Recipe Win of the Day!

It is no secret. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake. And if I can wear an apron while doing it, kudos to me. Trying out new recipes is always fun, but inventing recipes is glorious! I made this one up today and it´s a keeper! Try it out if you would like your taste buds to rejoice;

Coconut Almond Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 beaten egg
1 & 3/4 cups coconut milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
3/4 cup almond pulp left over from a batch of almond milk

1. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, powder, salt, and soda.
3. In a small mixing bowl combine the egg, milk, oil, and flaxseed.
4. Add the egg mixture at once to the dry mixture, add the almond pulp at this point, and stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy).
5. Once it is completely mixed, dip a small spoon into the batter and try it. Does it taste good? Excellent, so will your bread. Put spoon in the sink. No double dipping.
6. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 & 1/4 hours or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
7. cool on a wire rack.
8. Cut and enjoy!! Take a loaf over to meet your neighbor. Or bring it to work. Or enjoy it over coffee with a good friend.

Go light your world.

You are the light of the world. Jesus said that about us. I'm sure most of us have heard that phrase before, but have you ever stopped to think about exactly what kind of light YOU are? I mean, there are all kinds of lights. Flashlights. Candles. Bonfires. Sparks. Lightning bolts. Romantic dinner-for-two mood lighting. Lava lamps. Glow sticks. Each light has it's own function for a specific event. Think about it: I love blowing out my birthday candles as much as the next person, but if I'm trying to study, I'm certainly not going to try to do it by that kind of light. You may not be the brightest bulb in the lamp, but if you're trying to find the bathroom in the middle of the night a 1,000 watt torch just won't do. 

What kind of a light are you? Are you a lighthouse bringing wayfaring storm victims to safety? Or are you the refrigerator light that always comes on when needed? Are you the faithful light of a spark that ignites the car engine and keeps the vehicle moving? Maybe you're the headlight that spots danger in the distance. Perchance the spotlight on the stage, encouraging others in their performance. Of course there are also the decorative but totally not useful Christmas tree lights. Yup. You guessed it. Their light only comes on around the holidays. 

What is your light good for? Who needs to see by your light? Are you brightening the room so others can see clearly? Are you lighting along the path to keep feet from straying at night? Are you decorative? Have you burnt out?

There is another thing about lights that I find interesting...the darker the place, the less light there is needed to actually see the light, but the more important it is to have good illumination to see clearly. Explanation: If you light a candle outside on a sunny day so you can see better, I would get your eyes checked. It's always in the darkest places that the littlest light shines the brightest. So if you can't notice how bright you are (in the spiritual sense, here, go with me. We're not talking about intelligence....), it's probably because you're always hanging out with other, bright, shiny people.  Maybe it's time to go shine your little light in a dark place. A place where the 10 watt night-light bulb you carry now is exactly what some one needs to see to find their way for the first time out of the darkness. Or perhaps it's just time to figure out what kind of light you are and illuminate accordingly.

 

What am I supposed to do now?

Place Your Life Before God

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

  


Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

 

To Be a Responsible Citizen

Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear. Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.

That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don’t sleep with another person’s spouse, don’t take someone’s life, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t always be wanting what you don’t have, and any other “don’t” you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.

But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

Romans 12 & 13: The Message.

Seasons of change

We are no longer seasonal people. No: baseball, basketball, football, and hockey don't count as changing seasons. Sure we're aware of when to pull out the winter boots versus the sandals, but even those seasons have blended with the convenience of heating and air conditioning. But we are not seasonally aware people. We get up at the same time each day and go to bed in the middle of the night regardless of when the sun is coming up and setting. We go through the same cycle day after day and do the same things week after month and year again. Get up. Get ready. Go to work. Get groceries. Come home. Eat. Work out. Watch tv. Go to bed. Repeat. 


We do not eat as seasonal people. We eat "fresh" strawberries in the heart of winter and indulge in pumpkin pie in the spring. We even steal off of other lands' seasons, out of turn, with the year-round availability of mangoes, pineapples, pomegranates, and papaya, bananas, etc. (non of which taste very good as compared to when you actually eat them IN season in their country of origin. It ruins the fruit for ever in the northern hemisphere.) Hunting and gathering now involve who is the best at extreme couponing and stocking our pantries with 50 bottles of shampoo and 186 cans of well preserved Chef Boyardee in case of an impending zombie apocalypse. 

We do not gauge our emotions in seasons, either. We have lost the sense of the flow of how we feel. A time to laugh. A time to cry. A time to sing. A time to dance. A time to scream. A time to mourn. A time to eat chocolate and have another glass of wine. Instead it's "happy face on".

We have completely lost the spiritual seasons. Seasons of feeling far from God, lost, out of touch, not sensing or feeling his presence. Seasons of being on a spiritual high, rekindled love, renewed dedication, deep spiritual encounters. Seasons of learning, growing, deepening faith. Seasons of feeling dry and brittle. Seasons of good friendships and community. Seasons of feeling alone and isolated. Seasons of fervently sharing faith with others and harvesting them for the Kingdom. 

I myself have just come out of an extremely long winter in my life. Both spiritually and naturally. My entire 2-year time in Costa Rica was like an extended fall. The kind of fall where the temperature is perfect to wear whatever you want and be comfortable. The kind of fall where the harvest is coming in and you get fresh apple cider with the donuts you can only get straight from the orchard. The kind of fall where the days where it's light early in the morning, but the sun is starting to set at the perfect time for bon fires with friends. My favorite season. Coming home, regardless of what the calendar said, I was in the dead middle of winter. Isolated in the country feeling couped up and penned in with far too few stores to actually make it through. But like during any good blizzard, at least I was snowed in with my best friend, Jesus. I knew he was right there with me. Through my tears and sorrow. Through my grief of leaving the community that I love. Through the doubt of finding a job and the shock of my passport culture. He stood by me, whispering sweet nothings of a hope and a future. Winter is not the end. It is only a dormancy. A time of patience and waiting. A time of death so new life can sprout on a clean slate. 

I am now officially in a season of spring. Naturally, spiritually, emotionally and in every other way. Not just because it's 80 degrees and sunny (sorry to rub it in, midwesterners and east coasters). It's as if something has shifted. I no longer feel the dormancy of the cave I've been living in for the last 6 months. Six months of winter. Oye. There's a newness of life. A refreshment in my soul. Of birds and butterflies and love in the air. I can feel it. That doesn't mean there won't be unexpected thunderstorms and random cold snaps at the beginning, but it means new growth and hope nonetheless.

What season are you in? Can you put a finger on it? A stretch of dry, rainless summer that feels oppressive to the bones? A time to dig in and get dirty in the field of your soul, preparing for another season yet to come? An interim between epochs? A turning of the tides in the attitude of your spirit? A respite from a long, harsh drought? This is what I am learning in my transition: when you are in a season, regardless of what it is or feels like, there will come a time when this, too, shall pass. No season lasts forever. Enjoy it while it lasts. Take advantage of it for what it is. You may never have a season like that again. 
 

Through a Series of Strange God-like Events

Through a series of God events, I actually moved to California almost a month earlier than I was planning!! Most of you know this, but I thought I would put the whole story to paper...well screen). It's mostly for 1. to give glory to God who arranges our lives in spite of our best laid plans (Proverbs 19:21), 2. to make my hasty flight from Michigan a little clearer for those who followed it on facebook and are curious, and C. for me to remember the story in years to come.

Back in January I was still looking for work. I had applied to over 90 jobs, had gone through approximately two dozen phone interviews and had multiple in-person interviews and I had either no peace about the job or they were not what I was looking for or I never heard back from the application. I had even applied and interviewed for a job at David's Bridal. That was an all-time low in my time in the cave when I couldn't even land a job at a freaking Bridal store. One cold, snowy January night my best friend, Sarah, who lives in Los Angeles, posted on facebook that she had an upcoming opening in her apartment for a roommate; who needed housing in LA. Half joking, half serious I posted immediately saying: "Pick me!! Pick me!! I'll look for work there IMMEDIATELY". I opened my job query that same hour (I had only been looking in the midwest or in areas of the country where I know people, like Denver, CO and Manchester, NH, and Columbus, OH). Up popped a job I hadn't seen before at the Child Development Center at Simi Valley Hospital. I was thrilled, but it was marked as only a part time position. I applied for the job anyway, as well as two other jobs: a neonatal position in Madison, Wisconsin and a speech pathology professorship at a local university in Grand Rapids. The neonatal position was my absolute dream job. I had always wanted to work exclusively in a NICU, but it was only a part time position as well. The very next afternoon, at 1:30 to be exact, the director from Simi Valley called for a phone interview. 

 

Long story short, I decided to fly to LA for a week and interview in person . I mean job interviews these days are like internet dating. You scroll through countless job descriptions looking for just the right one. You start by sending that first, nervous e-mailing and then if you're lucky you get a phone call. But until you meet in person and have that sparkle, that connection, that overflowing peace and butterfly-in-the-stomach moment, you can really be sold any rotten piece of work over the internet. 

It is always curious to me how God likes to be seen and involved in ALL of our plans. No matter how small or insignificant that seem. He likes even better to be a part of the really big things. So He decided to mess with my plans and put his ginormous foot prints all over them. So while I was planning my trip to LA, my college RA also posted on facebook that she was also flying to LA around the same time. I would like it duly noted in the record that A. my college RA lives in downtown Chicago, B. on the L that goes right into O'Hare, and 3. it is always cheaper to fly out of Chicago from O'Hare. I messaged her right away telling her I was also planning a trip to LA, what were the details. For the sake of the story, I'll spare the little details, but in the end I drove to Chicago, was able to have coffee with two lovely teens I met on a missions trip in Costa Rica who were now at college in Chicago, was able to stay with my RA for the night, park my car at her apartment, take the L into the airport with her, and WAS ON THE SAME FLIGHT to LA as she!! Incredible detailing, Jesus!!

The job was everything they said it would be and so much more. The area was gorgeous (and the weather warm, thanks, Michigan, for being so ridiculously cold and snowy). In 17 years the manager had never offered the job on-the-spot until my interview, and now candidate had ever accepted the job on-the-spot until me. It had God all over it.

It's all in the details, really. When I accepted the job, we all knew I couldn't start until April. California is a licensed speech pathology state. I needed to apply for a license...no tests, just lots of paperwork and the one thing all government agencies use to prove you have the right to a license: lots of money. That pushed my start date until the middle of April. Woohoo, I thought, I get a few more weeks in Michigan!! Who wants a coffee date??!!

But that, friends, is where God again steps in and says, "not so fast, I have a different plan." About a week and a half ago Sarah called to tell me that the roommate who was moving out was now undecided about moving out. Her father has terminal cancer and had taken a turn for the worse. I can't blame her at all. Her mother died of cancer a few years ago and now she's taking care of her dad. I would want to have a stable living situation, too. (Please keep her situation in your prayers when the Lord brings it to mind!!) But that left me without housing. So at the very, very last minute, I decided I had to get out here before March so I could hopefully find an apartment before April (I already had a contract with a group of movers for the end of March/beginning of April). A week ago Sunday my mom and I hopped in the car and drove across country together (5 days,  9 states, 30 hours, 2300 miles, one blizzard after-math followed by 1 desert, 5 audiobooks, 1 Enrique Iglesias CD, and more crazy pictures than should be mentioned. Oye). We got here on the last day of February. 
 
The evening we got in my mom and I spent browsing apartment ads on craisglist and circling potential areas to scout out. Like in 2 Kings 19 I wrote a very, very specific 9 point list of what I wanted for an apartment and spread it before the Lord. I reminded the Lord that HE is my provider and of all the things He had done and had promised to do. I thanked Him for already preparing just the perfect place for me. I reminded Him that I KNEW He was calling me to this area and again thanked Him for providing a good job and the next step in my life journey. Friday, March 1 dawned bright and clear. We headed out in the morning on the hunt. We went first to Simi Valley. I wanted to show mom the hospital and area where I'd be working and we decided to drive about half way back to Sarah's and then start the apartment search. Most of the areas that had cheaper housing were cheap for a reason (I'll spare you those depressing details). I called on several and found the following: most apartments have a common laundry room, I was expecting that, but most apartments in LA come WITHOUT a refrigerator. Quite a few even come without a KITCHEN!!  For a local, this is common. For a midwesterner, this was outlandish. Where the heck was I? A foreign country? You actually have to RENT the fridge!! Most places were not the charming little abode I had seen on the internet (see previous comment about online dating). Half the day was done, finding some pretty sketchy areas and even sketchier housing, we decided to drive back to Simi Valley and look at places there. The first apartment complex we pulled into was very expensive and the high-pressure sales man at the office wanted me to sign on a tiny one bedroom sight-unseen. No thanks. Our blood sugar was dipping. On to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. Across the street was a realty office. My mom had the idea to stop and see if they had any information on rentals. We picked up a local brochure and continued on the search. Eight hours later I had one of the few melt downs in my life. With a body still on Michigan time and one-too-many hours past my afternoon coffee, mom and I headed back to Sarah's. Nothing. Most place I called never even called back. And I never even stepped into a single apartment.

That night we opened the brochure from Simi Valley and started circling potentials. And there it was. The cutest little place I had seen to date. I called right away. I knew it was where I wanted to be. A little one bedroom in Simi Valley, on the east side of the city. It met all 9 of my bullet point requests. Jesus, I prayed, could this be it?? It was late on a Friday night, so I called and left a message. I called on several other properties, but secretly liked only the one.

Saturday morning mom and I decided to drive back to Simi Valley. We had an appointment to see a place at noon, but wanted to get there early to scope out the place. One mile from the beginning of the Simi Valley exits, the realtor called on the really, really cute place I had seen. Could we be there in half an hour?? YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!! Again, I've gone on long enough, the place was everything I could have imagined. I thanked Jesus for providing for me and for remembering me in that place. 

 

Through the entire process, God keeps reminding me of being specific in prayer. The four gospels remind us over and over that anything we ask, when asked in faith and out of the right motive, the Lord will give to us. Hear me on this, this does not make God a huge vending machine, where we insert our prayers and out pops whatever we want. But it does remind me that when we are specific in our requests, are seeking the Lord for His will, and remember to ask and thank Him for these things, we actually give more glory and honor back to Him. Anyone can ask Jesus for a one bedroom apartment and find one. But to ask for very specific things in a place where those specific things are very uncommon and almost impossible to have all of them at one place, the only reason those things can all come together is Jesus. It's ALWAYS Jesus!! It gives us stories to share, which is basically what the Bible is, for showing how great and awesome and caring and provisional God really is. I'll prove it. Here was my list:

1. One or two bedroom (it's a large one bedroom)
2. Close to a major freeway (it's four blocks off)  
3. In a specified price range (which I'm choosing not to share, but it is definitely in the range)
4. Plenty of storage with either closets or units (this one has tons of closets and pantries inside PLUS a garage with storage!!)
5. In-unit laundry (there's a stacked washer and drier included!!)
6. Kitchen with a fridge (stainless steel!!!)
7. Off street parking (there is its own parking space plus a garage)
8. High ceilings with either a balcony or a patio (it has a cute little enclosed patio with a storage shed)
9. A pool or fitness room (there is a pool and TWO jacuzzis!!)      

This is not just for me. This is a concept for everyone. What are you praying about? How are you being specific in what you are presenting to the Lord? How can you be as specific as possible so when you see your prayer answered you can give the glory back to Jesus? Are you thanking Jesus for what He has given you and sharing the story with others? It's not being prideful, it's being proud of a Lord and Savior who cares about every little detail of your life and giving the thanks and praise back to Him for it.

Next prayer list: my specifics for my prince ;)

I've been meaning to tell you...

I think it's time I told you all the truth behind one of my biggest secrets. I've tried to keep it quiet for a while, but since I'm moving, I think it's finally time to tell you. I have recently been diagnosed with an incurable disease. It's a fairly newly diagnosed disease that, oddly enough, strikes evenly across all demographics, although more commonly in young women. The symptoms were subtle, but several people commented on them during my time in Costa Rica.Unfortunately, there is no cure. There are things I can do to mask the symptoms, but they may never completely go away. I have to admit, I have FOMO, commonly known as the Fear Of Missing Out. 

 

Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), according to the reliable resource, Wikipedia, was first classified in the mid 80's and is a label for the sadness one feels when knowing he/she is missing a good time with loved ones, the worry one feels that memories are being made that he/she will not have, or the anxiety one feels when deciding between multiple equally fun-sounding events. For more information, click this link.

The symptoms were fairly mild in Costa Rica. They mostly were characterized by wanting to do EVERYTHING with teams and be in three places at once. Apparently that is not currently physically possible, although Lord knows I tried. During my transition time in the states, it has become slightly more definitive. My heart wanted to be in Costa Rica, not wanting to miss anything going on there, while I still wanted to be fully involved in Michigan. As the job hunt continued, I was torn as to which direction to go in. If I stayed in Michigan, I would miss out on all the projects, classes and adventures going on in Costa Rica. If I moved back to Costa Rica, I may miss an awesome job opportunity to get back into the medical field. If I moved to Australia to pursue my aspirations to become a kangaroo trainer I could very well miss an opportunity to become a midwife in Honduras!! You can see how much stress that could induce!!

Now my disorder is at an all time high. I am moving across the country. Which means I will be missing SO many things in all the places I love. Weddings in Michigan. Stateside Tico visits. Close friend birthday parties. Random girls nights in downtown Grand Rapids. Etc., Etc., Etc.

But there are a few things that bring me comfort. I know this is where God is calling me next and I know He is going with me. I know I will still be able to keep track of people and what they're up to via facebook. Oh, facebook, what would the post-modern world be without you? (Don't answer that). There is always skype, e-mail, the US Postal Service, airplanes, and the pony express. The biggest comfort is knowing that we are on the short end of the time stick. Meaning while we may live 80 or even 100 years here, that is nothing in comparison to all eternity. I can't wait to get to heaven and see Jesus...and spend FOREVER with all my friends and family all in one place. Selfish? I think not. Maybe then my FOMO will finally be cured ;)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling One-Size-Does-Not-Fit-All Tupperware

The journey has not ended, it has only just begun. I thought it was about time for an update, seeing as my life in Tupperware continues for just a bit longer :) So here's the update:

January in Michigan marked the onslaught of sub-zero temperatures and snows measured in feet. The job search continued with an accumulated total of almost 95 applications, 16 phone interviews, and 6 face-to-face interviews. I knew I was getting desperate when I applied for a job at the local David's Bridal that a friend had recommended (she also works there) and desperation turned to depression when I couldn't even land that job. Always a bridesmaid, never a bridal consultant. 

Then it happened. My friend, Sarah, who lives in LA, posted on facebook that there was an opening in her apartment for a roommate. "Hold it for me!!!! PICK ME PICK ME!!!" I posted, half serious, half kidding. Less than a minute later I opened up the job query. I have never had a strong desire to move to California. It just never appealed to me. I always considered it a fun place to visit, but never a place where one could actually live. Isn't it completely populated by gorgeous models and glamorous starlets? Do normal, jeans-clad, one-piece-bathing-suit-wearing people actually making their own coffee in the morning and send their children off to school on a yellow school bus? Aren't their school buses covered in Swarovski crystals? But heck, you only live once, so I opened up my favorite job board (on my favorites toolbar in the browser, of course) and typed in Pediatric Speech Therapy in Los Angeles, Cal-i-forn-i-a. Up popped a job at Simi Valley Hospital at a child development center. The job description looked inline with what I was looking for, so I applied for it. Within 12 hours I got a phone call. It was the hospital and they were interested in my resume. 


 
And then the fun begins. I had two separate hour-long phone interviews with the hospital. I had decided that if I was really serious about the job I would need to go visit. I mean, finding a job online is like internet dating. You can sell anything over the internet or phone, but until you meet in person and have that chemistry, no sale.  Once again on facebook a post caught my eye: my RA from college, who lives in downtown Chicago, posted that she was flying to LA at the end of January for a work conference, who was going to be out there? I e-mailed right away that I was also tentatively planning a trip to LA, what were the details? Long story short, I ended up driving to Chicago, staying with my friend, and we were on THE SAME FLIGHT to LA. She lives 6 blocks off the L in Chicago that goes right into O'Hare. Crazy. 

The long and the short of it is, I flew out to LA for a week and spent two full days at the hospital and clinic. I really liked it. They offered me the job at the end of the second day and I accepted it. 

The Tupperware will be making a cross-country journey at the end of March and I start the job in the middle of April (I had to apply for a California Speech Pathology license and it takes 10 weeks to process). Keep your eyes peeled for updates on the trip out. My mom and I will be making the drive out together in March in my Civic and the movers will be heading out a bit later with the Tupperware. Woot woot!!

Thank you all for your prayers and support as I was making the transition. Thank you for all the prayers while I was in the "cave" resting and waiting on the Lord. I'm very excited about this next phase and to see where Jesus will take me next!!! 

Jill looks up to me...

My friend Jill made this cartoon for me today. 

It made me laugh so hard I had to repost it...

She titled it: Jill looks up to Julie.

Enjoy!!

Misquote

Does anyone else see what I see as very disturbing in this quote? No? Maybe you should read it again. Or maybe it's not the quote with which I have a problem, maybe it's who it's accredited to. I heard this quote today in a very different venue, which I'm sure you can guess, and wanted to find a picture of it as I was reflecting on it (I'm an artsy type person, so roll with me). And I stumbled upon this "Version" of it. What was even more disturbing is that there were several variations of this quote, artistically done with hearts and glorious fonts. 

Then there was this one:

Just in case you haven't caught it yet, these two quotes are being poorly attributed. I would like it duly noted for the record that neither Albus Dumbledore nor Abraham Lincoln were the originators of these quotes.  

The actual author:

JESUS

But don't take my word for it.

From the blog "Stuff Christians Like #1364"

9 Prayer Tips:
1. Know that if you have an “unspoken prayer request,” people are going to assume porn.
Sorry, those are the rules. No one assumes you’re unspoken prayer request is about how much volunteer work you’re doing in the homeless community. We assume the worst.
2. Don’t disguise gossip as prayer.
If you pray for your neighbor, “Who recently cheated on her husband with that yoga instructor from Argentina,” you have not prayed. You have gossiped. Quit it.
3. Don’t be the prayer request whisperer.
Know why your prayers continue to go unanswered? Because you speak so softly that even God can’t hear them. (Not sure that’s theologically true, but it feels right.) Speak up when you make a prayer request.
4. Pray with a British accent.
Want that prayer heard? Use a British accent, even God prefers those.
5. Aim for as many “prayer grunts of affirmation” as you can get.
How else will you know the prayer has been effective? If you’ve got a better prayer score method, I am all ears. Especially if you are British.
6. Don’t say “let’s pray” when you mean “let’s make out.”
Maybe this is just for those college students out there, but stop doing this. You know this happens at Baptist colleges. I mean I never did that, but some sinners did. Stop.
7. Don’t make up a prayer request just because everyone else has one.
They’re not lollipops. It’s OK for you not to have one. I promise.
8. Always have background music.
You might have to carry a portable Bluetooth stereo or your iPhone for smaller prayer moments, but trust me, this is key. When people start praying, gently Tomlin that scene.
9. Know which meals to pray before.
Don’t lose your cool in a restaurant. Know if you should pray before or after queso. These things matter.