“You’re going to get a new baby brother or sister today!” Dad and Mom told us as we tromped into the car.  We celebrated and bounced up and down and were a little bit scared, all at the same time.

They dropped us off at the residence of the P__ family, then continued on to their destination.

Our young minds quickly left the topic of new baby and refocused on playing with the other kids.  We found the playmobils and guided them through an adventure.  We went outside and played on their swing set.  We played checkers on a big cracker-barrel style mat thing.  We went on a walk around the block with them and their mom.

And then that evening, while coloring pictures with the family’s only girl and Lizzy, using markers from a butterfly shaped art case, I was handed the phone.

“Hi Hannah!” come Dad’s voice “you have a new baby sister!  Her name is Esther Ruth.”

I’ve found that the illustrious Pizza varies from state to state.

In New York, extra large with a thin crust, scanty amount of sauce, and thin layer of cheese.

In Chicago, thick with a lot of toppings.

In the Mid-West, eaten with almost any topping imaginable – salsa, ranch dressing, spinach, lettuce, tomato chunks, you-name-it.

At our house, homemade.  Two Supreme.  Two plain cheese.  Two something-elses.  All prepared and eaten {almost} every Friday night.

A lot of people don’t seem to understand why we choose to make pizza when it would be so much simpler to buy takeout or frozen.  The reason is not one of convenience, but of flavor.  (Besides the fact that homemade pizza is so much better for you!)

(Warning: picture-heavy post.  Click through at your own- and your browsers – risk!)

Thus the hour 1700 on a Friday night will find us in the kitchen, pulling out our pizza ingredients and mixing them together.

 First appears the Brown Sugar or Sucanat.  Two tablespoons of one or the other is put into our biggest bowl.  Two tablespoons of Salt follow, along with 6 Tablespoons of Instant Yeast.

 6 cups of Water are put onto the stove to warm up…  (Here I got the water too hot, hence the bubbles.  It ought get up to around 110 degrees Fahrenheit.)

…and then poured into the yeast mixture…

…and then mixed with the yeast.

3/4 cup of Olive Oil is added.

As are several cloves of Garlic (to taste).

Abbie jumps up onto the counter, grabs a spoon, and helps me stir.

I gradually pour in about 15 cups of Flour, sort of stirring it in between cups.

Abbie tries to help stir, but the mass is too thick for her.

So I attempt to stir it in, but finally dispair of doing so with a wooden spoon.

 Given’ up on the wooden spoon, remove rings and/or bracelets, shove in hands, knead.

Spread flour on counter, dump grapefruit size lump on flour…

…get out the rolling pin, begin rolling out dough, give up on taking photos for a little while.

Then I carefully pick up the dough and quickly transfer it onto a heavily cornmeal-dusted pizza stone or cookie sheet…

…roll up the edges, repeat six times.  Then it’s on to the sauce…

Nothing too fancy here.  Just your average tomato sauce, enhanced with Pizza Seasoning.

Then we add the cheese, mozzarella with a dusting of Parmesan (Entirely optional.  You can also add cheddar or other cheeses, if you so desire.)

Someone cuts up veggies for supreme.  When we have it, we also try to add pepperoni, beef, or chicken so as to add some protein for our ever-hungry guys.

The Beef Pizza, uncooked.

The supreme, ready to consume.

As well as the Cheese!

Our Pizza recipe makes more than 6 pizzas, but I’ve halfed this amount below.

Homemade Pizza

makes about 4-5 large pizzas

3 Cups Warm Water (about 110 degrees)

3 Tablespoons Instant Dry Yeast

1 Tablespoon Sucanat/Sugar

1 Tablespoon Salt

1/3 Cup {Olive} Oil

7-8 Cups Whole Wheat Flour (or all purpose, if you don’t have WW)

Combine first four ingredients, stir.  Add the oil, then mix in the flour, kneading by hand once it gets thick.  Roll out on a heavily floured surface, place on Pizza Stone or cookie sheet.  Add desired toppings.  Bake at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Bon Appetit!

{Topping Suggestions}

Pepperoni

Beef

Sausage

Chicken

Mushrooms

Peppers

Onion

Garlic

Sun-dried tomatoes

Broccoli

Olives

Pinterest, for example, was already crazy popular when I found it, and I read at least a half dozen different posts all written by different people endorsing and recommending it.  While I enjoyed reading each of those posts, I didn’t have any inclination to post about it myself when that many were already giving their opinions.

When I find a blog I enjoy reading I simply “follow” it, and if I really like it it gets added to the “blogroll” page on here.  The only exception is when I have to give some sort of shout-out to enter a giveaway.

But now I’m going to break my self-imposed rule and give MemVerse.com a shout-out.

I first found MemVerse through the signature of someone on the Rebelution forums.   I clicked the link given, explored the site for a little while, signed up for an account, and promptly forgot about the entire site.      #shorttermmemory

I finally remembered about two months ago, and since I was already committed to memorizing several passeges,  I didn’t forget about it this time.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I really liked this site.  All my current Bible memory work was now in one place, at my fingertips.  Typing each verse out helped me remember the verse better.  Each verse was systematically presented at optimum intervals,  and I was also able to give feedback for how I was doing with each verse.  And not only were the verses sticking, but my typing was also improving in speed.

The idea of MemVerse is simple.  Type out the verse, wait for the little “correct” button to pop up, rate your memory by clicking a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, and then proceed to the next verse.   Each time you rate your memory on that verse as high, the time interval increases, and every time you rate yourself low, it decreases.  When the time interval on a verse exceeds 30 days, the verse is re-categorized from learning to memorized.

I was surprised when I saw how few users there are.  It’s funny how sites like Pinterest, which helps you organize your ideas and inspirations, or Picnik, which is a tool you can use to edit photos with, are widely popular while a site which helps you memorize the Bible is not.  hm.  Obviously, I had to write a blog post about it.

So what are you waiting for?  Head on over and start memorizing.  :D

{1} Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

{2} Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent pray’rs;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims, are one,
Our comforts and our cares.

{3} We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

{4} When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

~John Fawcett

The words to this song, specifically the third line of the first verse, really struck me recently.  2011 was a hard year for me & my family in several ways, one of which was a lack of Christian fellowship and community.  I miss the cozy, stimulating feel of a good discussion among like-minded friends, the fun of laughing and crying and debating and praying with and for friends.  The old saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is true in many ways, and I pray that when God brings to us a season where we will be able to experience this again we will not take it for granted.

When God does open up the door for us to taste that sweet delight of fellowship again, I pray that I will have the courage to, as the third stanza speaks of, share and  to sympathize, to hear and to help, to give and to receive.  I don’t want to be superficial, to just chatter.

The aching void that this current lack has created has also forced me to draw nearer to my family, to the occasional friend who I have been able to see, and also to the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother”*.

Not only that, but with the technological world we live in now, I am able to do so much more than I would otherwise be able to.  I can keep up with friends and acquaintances with so much more ease than I otherwise would be able to.  The mere click of a button allows me to share and see thoughts, pictures, videos, and other such things with you and from you.

I do not know why God has not let us experience more of the joys written of in this hymn.  I cannot explain or understand it, but I do know that all thing work for to accomplish His plan.  While I often feel that we have been stranded, I know that somehow, someday, God will work it out for our good, for our benefit, and most of all for His glory.

*Proverbs 18:24b

Life in a Shoe

Generation Cedar

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Raising Olives

Smockity Frocks

The Modest Mom

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”  -Psalm 95:2

“And whatever you do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” -Colossians 3:17

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” -Philippians 4:6

“Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.” -Psalm 97:12

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!” -1 Chronicles 16:8

“Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name.”  -Psalm 18:49

“Can I help you? ” Are you able to use my skills, imperfect though they be?

Little eyes and tongues beg me to say yes.  I cannot resist.

Clambering onto the counter, they thank me as I hastily make room for them by moving out of reach anything with potential messiness or fragile-ness.  They sit there, grinning away.

“May I stir it?”  Please let me do more than observe.  I want to be doing something for you.  I want to be useful.

I hand them the wooden spoon, knowing full well that afterward I will have to scrub them, the counter, and very likely myself, not to mention finishing stirring what they could not.

The joy on their faces reminds me of the reason I handed the wooden spoon to them on the first place.  It is not about my wants or desires.  Not about the cookies or a clean kitchen either.  It’s about teaching and encouraging little ones to be capable, hard working adults who glorify God in their daily lives.  It is about showing them by example what journey down the path of sanctification looks like.

Stirring, pouring, laughing and scooping, they give me a dim reflection of how I look, striving to do good works.

Just as they are unable to truly assist me, I am unable to truly do anything good.  The little bits that I do do are only there because of God’s work in my life.

And yet just as I thank them for their willingness,  God promises all rewards in heaven for all believers.

“The giving of a whole day’s wages to those that had not done the tenth part of a day’s work, is designed to show that God distributes his rewards by grace  and sovereignty, not of debt...because we are under grace, and not under the law, even such defective services, done in sincerity, shall not only be accepted, but by free grace richly rewarded.”  – Matthew Henry: A Commentary on the Whole Bible  (Volume 5, pg.284 on Matthew 20)

Despite the fact that I am by nature rotten to the core, utterly dead in sin, and a hater of God, He has chosen to redeem me and justify me.

Despite my disgustingly petty efforts, He promises not only to continue to santify me, but to reward me for these efforts!

Hallelujah for God’s wonderful grace!

First, you ought to know that NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  Basically, the idea is to write a 50,000 word novel draft in the month of November.  That’s right, we NaNo’ers are all crazy.

Now to those of you who do know what NaNo is (that would include everyone who just read the above) – are you participating?   (If you are, please comment!)

And the insanity begins….