It's a Wonderful Life

And it was a wonderful Christmas holiday!

We celebrated our first real family reunion, welcoming Oldest Daughter home after her first semester of college, as we celebrated TOGETHER the Advent of our Savior, Jesus.

Our traditional Christmas Eve supper of turkey and rice soup, cheeses, crackers, and all sorts of fun snack-y foods.

We also celebrated Tayta's 12th birthday with our traditional Christmas Eve morning brunch.















We slept...

Jet Lag

We played weird games with good friends





















Active Son and Artist Son submitting to the commands of Quelf.


We participated in a community service project with the youth...















Organizing donations for distribution to the poor

Post-project fellowship over good hummus, falafel, and mint tea at Hashem's

We enjoyed doing things we don't usually have time for...

Artist Son got started on his anticipated Christmas-break art project right after studies ended, and finished it the day before break ended.

Tiger, in colored pencil and acrylic

My fun-project wasn't quite so awe inspiring, at least not to most: I started coneflower, foxglove, and poppy seedlings.

On one beautiful sunny day we headed south to the ancient Nebatean city of Petra...

...and on another we had the joy of celebrating the baptism of three dear friends at the Jordan River, "Bethany on the other side of the Jordan".

(in case you're wondering, the water was really cold, but at least it was a sunny day.)


We enjoyed reading new books, individually:












And, together:



And the kids finally, finally got me to sit still and watch all of the Lord of the Rings trilogy--the extended version. All I can say is don't watch these on cold, dark nights--which is what we did--or the nights will seem colder and darker.



And now, the late nights and the late mornings must end as we return to 'real life' in the morning. I think I'll make some scones for breakfast, just to make the transition a little easier.

~Emmanuel
God with us~

The Gingerbread House, 2008

I guess we can say that Christmastime gingerbread houses are now a tradition at our house as this is the third year in a row that that we've made one, the perpetuation of the tradition being completely attributed to the two youngest members of the family, Artist Son and Tayta.

This year these two constructed the entire gingerbread house by themselves, perusing the internet for design ideas, baking and cutting the gingerbread, making multiple trips to the corner store for eggs and and powdered sugar, and convincing Dear Husband to spring for expensive imported candy canes at our You-Can-Buy-Your-Favorite-American- Foods-Here- If-You-Are-Willing-To-Pay-The-Price-Store. ("I'm supporting the arts," he justified.)

This year's house features a marshmallow/chewing gum chimney, "snow" covered Golden Graham shingles, chocolate stone facing on the bottom part of the house, an Oreo cookie path, a chocolate covered pretzel stick fence, a gingerbread tree covered with gobs of icing and miniature M&Ms, and a marshmallow snowman. And just so you can appreciate their perseverance, know that the wreath took four attempts to get the icing to just the right consistency. Oh, and a new tip they gleaned from watching a Martha Stewart internet video on making gingerbread houses: Use straight pins to hold the walls together so that you don't have to sit and hold them for half an hour while the icing dries. "Martha Stewart is so smart!" an awe-filled Tayta exclaimed. Yes, she is.

And so is Tayta. I noticed a folded piece of paper inside the house. Thinking that the kids accidentally left it there I called their attention to it. No, it was there purposefully; Tayta had written a reminder to the future eaters of the house: "Remember to take out pins. There are 4 in all."

Running in Jordan

This weekend our family traveled four hours south to the Red Sea port city of Aqaba where we participated in the now annual Red Sea-Aqaba Marathon--no,no, I didn't run a marathon: Dear Husband, Artist Son, and I ran the 10K a Active Son ran his first 21K (half marathon). Though I've never participated in such a run in the States, I'm sure that our race experience had a distinctly Jordanian twist to it; and as I reflected on the experience I've concluded that it represented a microcosm of Jordanian culture.

Fun Runs and marathon competitions are fairly recent events in Jordan but are growing in popularity. When we reached the start line of the 10K we found an interesting juxtaposition of cultures and world citizens ready to participate. I met a British man, working in Amman temporarily, and a 60 year old German woman who trains in the Syrian forest along the Mediterranean coast. Active Son, wearing his Boise State Broncos hat, met a Boisean, a college student studying in Jordan. The race organizers must have entered a lot of local youth for free as there were many Aqaba teens with shirts and race numbers. And, I was humbled to run with some Jordanian women wearing full sweat suits and head coverings; though I wore 3/4 length running pants it was t-shirt and shorts weather in Aqaba.

As we gathered behind the start ribbon a bunch of the local youth burst out under it and the start official had to herd them all back with his megaphone. Everyone was warned against cheating with the threat that, if caught, they would be disqualified. Let's just say it really.didn't.matter. As we headed into our first intersection at which we would turn left, the local youth took one look at the open field shortcut on their left and made a dash for it. The foreigners and a few locals dutifully ran to the end of the concrete median before turning left. It struck me that for the westerners (and yes, I am going to make some generalizations) the process of getting from the start to the finish was what was important. That process was primarily individual and included rules and disciplines to be submitted to. For the locals, the social aspect was more important than the rules to be followed. One runner took a short-cut and all his friends followed suit. And while finishing was important it didn't seem too important how one arrived at the finish line, even it if meant traveling part of the distance in someone's car.

I ended up running alongside some of the local youth. As I am a foreign novelty they tried to start conversations with me. They were acting silly but if I answered in Arabic and told them that my name was Um Active Son, (Mother of Active Son) they behaved repectfully toward me. They sprinted ahead of me and when I, slow and steady, caught up with them, they'd run with me awhile and sprint another 100 meters. It was one way to finish the race.

Kilometer markers were another problem. Within about 1 kilometer of the finish the posted sign read:4 km. Yikes! I was feeling pretty fatigued so slowed down considerably, believing I had miscalculated and still had 4 km to run. I should have been begining my kick as I soon rounded a bend and was faced with the finish line. I poured it on for the remaining 50 meters. Oh well.

Active Son had his own complaint: the race route was poorly marked and he strayed off course for a few minutes before realizing his error. His error was minor; apparently some of the top contenders, mostly Jordanians, in the marathon and 21K race strayed way off course, causing them to miss their opportunity to place in the race. Active Son reported they were very upset when they arrived at the finish line.

Though we're all a bit sore, we're already planning our events for the Dead Sea Marathon in April. Artist Son thinks he may train to run the 21K with Active Son. I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking with the 10K. Oh, and this was my first time to run with an ipod. Very cool. My soundtrack for the race included a few violin concertos which Oldest Daughter has played. Most inspirational: the 3rd movement of Bruch.

A Pie Crust Epiphany

I'm not an animist but I used to feel that a pie- crust-in-process could sense my trepidation and uncertainty, deliberately cracking around the edges or ripping when I transfered it to the pan, its rebellious behavior being directly proportional to my fear. Thankfully, I made my peace with pie crusts many years ago to the extent that I was able to teach Oldest Daughter to make beautiful pie crusts a couple Thanksgivings ago. This year, Tayta was eager to learn how to mix and roll a pie-crust; helpful soul that she is, she knew that I'd need her baking help this Thanksgiving as Older Daughter would not be home.

I'd used the same flour/shortening/water recipe for years, but this year in an effort to strike all hydrogenated fats from our diet, I decided to try a canola oil based recipe. I didn't think it would be nearly as good as a crust made from shortening, but for the health benefits I was willing to sacrifice a little flakiness. The canola oil crust turned out to be successful beyond my expectations. Not only is it a healthier crust (though I would not go so far as to call anything made from oil and flour healthy) it was delicious, and so easy to make--with the added bonus that rolling it out between waxed paper left no flour mess on my counter. None! I experimented with the first crust, then gave Tayta a short tutorial. With minimal input from me, she produced five more beautiful crusts. Together we fit them to the pie plates then wrapped and froze them. How nice it was, on Thanksgiving Eve to pull the finished crusts out of the freezer all ready for filling!

Canola Oil Pie Crust
(makes two crusts)

3 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. milk

Mix all ingredients together and form the dough into a ball. Divide dough into two pieces. Place dough between two pieces of waxed paper and flatten, evenly. Roll out dough. (You may have extra dough or you may trim an amount of dough from your crust, depending on how thin you roll your crust. I like to have plenty of dough and hate to skimp when forming the decorative edge of the crust so I begin with a generous recipe.) Peel off one piece of waxed paper and transfer the crust to a pie plate, removing the second piece of waxed paper. Fill and bake.

Thanksgiving in Jordan

We take our Thanksgiving feasting seriously here in Amman, with some of our international friends celebrating with more than one feast! I can only manage one celebration but it is The Feast of the year, celebrated through the years with many of the same people and always the same food. Lots of tradition.

We've always managed to find a turkey, though we've sometimes had to pay dearly for it; our best ever was a 36 pound local turkey, brined before roasting. We still talk about that one. I've adapted my pumpkin pie by substituting sweet potatoes and I still bring some pecans and dried cranberries from the States for the beloved pecan pies and cranberry relish. Below is our traditional menu-- it doesn't vary much any more--and a few favorite recipes.

This year I will miss the presence of Older Daughter, not to mention her baking assistance--she baked all seven pies last year-- and her artistic table decorations. Tayta informs me she is ready to learn how to bake pies and decorate the tables so this will be a training year.

Our Traditional Thanksgiving Menu
Amman, Jordan

Roasted Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Southern Sweet Potato Casserole (recipe below)
Cranberry Relish (receipe below)
White Flour (only on Thanksgiving!) Yeast Rolls
Homemade preserves (apricot and fig this year)
Homemade applesauce
Sauted Vegetables (carrots, green beens, mushrooms)
Relish Plate (usually overkill as everyone is full from everything else, but it looks so nice)

Apple Pies
Sweet Potato Pies (recipe below)
Pecan Pies

Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
I've been making this annually since my mother-in-law made this casserole one Christmas and then, kindly gave me the recipe. Assessing the ingredients, this dish could probably be classified as dessert, but, hey, it's Thanksgiving! I make this once a year, only.

6 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
3/4 stick butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix ingredients together and put in a greased baking dish. Bake covered at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes--is is assuming that you begin with hot mashed potatoes.

*Topping (and this, is what makes the dish)
3/4 cup crushed corn flakes
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts of pecans)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 stick butter, melted

Combine the topping ingredients, sprinkle over the top of the baked casserole and bake an additional 10 minutes, uncovered, at 400 degrees F.

My solution to kids trying to taking more topping than potatoes is to make this in a larger, shallower baking dish and increasing the topping recipe by 50 percent so that I can distribute it over a larger surface.

Cranberry Relish
I love cranberry and orange together so I was very thankful to receive this recipe from a fellow overseas American. Maybe not quite as good as fresh cranberries, but much better than canned!

2 cups dried cranberries
1 unpeeled orange (no seeds)
1 apple, cored (I use a Granny Smith)
4 slices pineapple (canned works fine)
1/2-1 cup sugar (start with 1/2)

Chop (I use the pulse setting on my food processor) cranberries, orange and pineapple and combine. Chop apple finely by hand and add the apple and the sugar to the other mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Optional: add 1/4 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Easy Sweet Potato Pie
You can easily substitute mashed sweet potatoes for pumpkin pack/mashed pumpkin in all pumpkin recipes.

1 9 inch unbaked pastry shell/crust
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

In a larger mixing bowl combine all ingredients except pastry shell, mix well. Pour into pastry shell and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Flowering Jordan

Though I'm never prolific, I haven't posted here lately as I've been working on another project. Those who know me or have read this blog, particularly in the spring, know that I am a enthusiastic wildflower aficionado and that I enjoy photographing many of my flora friends. I've been giving notecards made with my flower pictures to friends for some time, and now with their encouragement I'm launching Flowering Jordan in an attempt to market (read: sell) my cards.

I'm beginning modestly with distribution plans only for Jordan but I may try to get some cards to the U.S. if there is enough interest. Maybe in the new year. Card sets and pricing is currently only for the Jordanian market but price per card in US dollars will be about $1.50; a little more or a little less depending on the quantity purchased. Please check out Flowering Jordan, if only to see the pretty flower pictures. I'd love to hear what you think.

Feeding Teenagers-or-Easy Peasy Apple Coffee Cake

I just put coffee in the title of the cake because making it an official coffee cake gives me a good excuse to have a cup of coffee when eating it. And we are feeding lots of teenagers these days--two Bible Study groups on Thursday night and the worship band last night--so I was trying to think of a fast, easy, somewhat healthy snack cake that I could make. I made three of these cakes on Thursday and wanted to try something new on Friday so adapted this apple muffin recipe to a cake. 15 minutes from inspiration to oven and the apples go into the blender, peel and all. Couldn't be easier!

Blender Apple Coffee Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
2 cups brown sugar
5 small-medium red apples (though I've used yellow and green)
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

1. Mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
2. Blend in blender: apples (cored and cut into eighths), milk, oil, eggs, sugar, and nuts. These ingredients just about max out my Bosch blender so if you have a small bender you might want to blend in two batches. A food processor may work as well, though I haven't tried it.
3. Pour into a large (10''X13''), greased, baking dish/pan.
Optional but desirable~ sprinkle with crumb topping (recipe below)
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (medium oven) for about 30 minutes.

Nice served with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar (we like dark)
1 cup flour
1/4 pound butter, chilled
chopped pecans or walnuts

In a bowl, mix sugar and flour until blended. Cut the chilled butter into smaller pieces and rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add finely chopped pecans or walnuts to taste. If you have leftover crumb topping, it stores well in the freezer and makes a nice topping for muffins.

Fall Colors?

There isn't much fall color--as in orange, yellow, or red--to be seen in our neighborhood but the bougainvillea is still lovely.

Pray for the Children of Sudan

A few weeks ago my dear Palestinian sister let me know of a need she heard of via her Sudanese sister, for clothes for the children of war-torn Sudan. Lacking adequate food, nutrition, and education, many of these dear children are now orphans, having lost their parents and other family members to the war.












I passed this plea on to our youth group and three young high school women stepped up to organize a clothes drive for these needy children. With the help of others, they gathered about ten large bags of clothes and the money needed for shipping them to Sudan.

Last night we had the joy of presenting the clothes and money to our Sudanese brother. We enjoyed warm fellowship, with Dear Husband's translation help, as our Sudanese brother thanked the youth, exhorted and encouraged them, and prayed for God's blessing on them as they continue to serve Him.

Our brother encouraged us to pray for the children of Sudan, trying to imagine ourselves in their places as we pray for them--a humbling challenge for all of us.

Humble Fare

Dear husband and I had some minor cross-cultural adjustments to make when we married. We are both Americans but I'm a West Coast girl and he hails from the Midwest and the East. Where I grew up a salad could be considered an entree, even if there were no meat in it. Same for soups. Dear husband, on the other hand, had never even tasted an avocado before he met me (aren't avocados better than meat??). Additionally, my wonderful mother-in-law, also a wonderful cook, was a Sunday-pot-roast-with-all-the-trimmings kind of woman. (I still can't compete, but I certainly have learned a lot from her!)

Through the years I've learned to cook enough dishes which don't prompt my husband to look at me with a longing "where's the beef" look in his eyes and he's learned to be satisfied with a few meatless dinners. Just a few. Below is a the recipe for a favorite soup which besides being quick to fix, tasty, and healthy, is very easy on an increasingly burdened grocery budget in these days of rising food prices.

Tomato, Lentil, and Cilantro Soup

1/4 cup canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. garam masala (Indian spice mixture)
red pepper flakes to taste
2 14 oz cans of chopped tomatoes, puree one can in the blender
8 cups vegetable stock
1 cup red (orange) lentils
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup-or more-chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a large pan, add onions, garlic, garam masala, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until onions are soft. Add tomatoes, stock, lentils, sugar, and cilantro, simmer, stirring, uncovered about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Serve with sour cream and chopped cilantro leaves. Of course, Dear Husband would prefer it served with a steak, but he'll settle for a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it."
Proverbs 15:17

Costumes on the Fly

Just 36 hours prior to the Fall Festival costume party, my dear children decided they would like to attend. You can probably guess the question which followed this decision: "Mom, what can I go as?" I'd given away some of the items in our costume bag and what was left was mostly too small to be of use to any of them. With no possibility of a quick trip to JoAnn's for supplies and not a lot of creative-costume-planning-energy flowing through my brain I simply shrugged my shoulders. Last minute costume panic is not my idea of a good time.

Thankfully, the kids came through, each one coming up with a costume which, I thought, fit their personalities/dispositions and which was easy to put together. This actually turned out to be no-stress fun for all of us. Imagine!

Artist Son, who is presently re-reading Lord of the Rings, decided to go as a Hobbit. The white shirt came from the costume bag, the vest and pants from Mom's closet, and the hooded cape was improvised from a brown fleece blanket I was able to find at the store. Notice the authentic furry Hobbit feet--cut from an old faux fur cap.

Tayta was Jane Austen, or your favorite Jane Austen character. She couldn't decide. We only had to buy some bobby pins and ribbon. Her dress was improvised from Mom's skirt and a thankfully-she-had-one-white blouse. Fresh cut from the garden lavender filled in her basket. She reported that only one of the kids her age had heard of Jane Austen but they had heard of Pride and Prejudice. She filled them in.

I'm sure you can guess who Active Son is impersonating. Only thing I had to by for this costume was a blue swim cap--$4. What a deal.

The Problem of Evil

It is the problem of problems, isn't it? Even approaching it in a blog post is probably, for me, complete folly. Huge subject. Infinite God. Pooh-brained me. However, circumstances in the lives of friends and conversations with several others who are struggling to make sense of this deep mystery has caused me to think anew. An author who always helps me think, Peter Kreeft, entered our home again last week, this time in the form of his book Three Philosophies of Life.



The entire chapter, Job: Life as Suffering, is wonderful but here is a short passage which ever so concisely, eloquently, reasonably, and triumphantly helps to clear my fog:

"When Saint Thomas Aquinas stated in the Summa the problem of evil as one of the two objections to the existence of God, he remembered what many philosophers forget: that the solution, God's solution, is concrete, not abstract; dramatic, not schematic; an event in time, not a timeless truth. Saint Thomas stated the problem as follows:

"'God' means infinite goodness. But if one of two contraries is infinite, the other is totally destroyed. Yet evil exists [and is not destroyed]. Therefore God [infinite goodness] does not exist."

And he answered it as follows:

"As Augustine says, Since God is the highest good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil."

(my insert) "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.: Romans 8:28 ESV

In other words, life, like Job, is like a fairy tale. To get to live happily ever after, you have to go through the dung heap. Evil is only temporary; good is eternal. Once again, in a word, "wait".

But wait in faith. Jesus told Martha, before he raised her brother Lazarus from the dead, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God." Seeing is not believing. but believing is seeing, eventually. Job does not wait patiently, but he waits. Job's faith is not sunny and serene, but it is faith. It is not without doubts. (Indeed , his doubts came from his faith. When faith is full, it is open and can include doubts; when it is weak it cannot tolerate doubts.) But Job remains a hero of faith. He waits in faith, and he sees the glory of God. He is blessed in the very waiting, in the dung, in the agony, and he is doubly blessed in the finding, in the end." (pp. 75, 76)

Black Apple Dolls

I've been a Martha Stewart devotee every since I , as a newly engaged young women, discovered a book jacket-less copy of her classic debut, Entertaining on the sale table of my campus bookstore. Price: One dollar. These were pre-internet days when you could find such books only at high retail in physical rather than virtual bookstores. I was at once overwhelmed and inspired by the possibilities of my future domesticity. Though I didn't know how to cook when I married--unless you count bean burritos and Rice-A-Roni with chicken--Martha tutored me through a successful, albeit exhausting, first Thanksgiving feast complete with homemade pies decorated with pastry cut-outs and a to-die-for dried fruit and nut stuffing soaked in brandy.

Despite Martha's high publicized personal problems and the discovery that her life was not as idyllic as Entertaining lead me to first believe, I've continued to be inspired by Martha's creations. The lady has style in spades. And now that she is Martha Stewart, The Conglomerate, she knows how to find others with a great sense of design style.

While sitting in the Cleveland airport last August I noticed that the TV monitor was broadcasting the Martha Stewart Show. I'd never watched it before (don't watch TV, except in airports) but I settled in, hoping to learn something new. I was not disappointed. Her guest was Emily Martin , currently the best selling artist on the craft site, Etsy. (Six figures was mentioned.) Emily demonstrated how to make her selling-faster-than-she-can-make-them dolls and with the extra bonus of a link to the Martha Stewart website which provided video tutorials and download-able templates for the patterns. Perfect for Tayta (youngest daughter)! thought I.

Here are Tayta's first two dolls--one is now resting on a bookshelf in Oldest Daughter's dorm room in Ohio. She loved making them and did nearly all the stitching by hand. I helped only with the final machine seam. Tayta has plans for many more dolls which include ideas of how to embellish them with scarfs, little purses, and hats. Thanks, Emily for sharing your great idea!

(Not sure why most of my hyperlinks remain in black; all bold, italicized words and phrases should be active links.)

Happy Birthday to a Master Gardener

In my later teen years and into my early twenties, I think my mom may have worried that she hadn't successfully imparted some important domestic skills to me~I couldn't really cook anything and I didn't show any interest in puttering in the garden. If she did worry, she needn't have: the love of a good man kindled interest in all things domestic and the latent lessons of creating a beautiful home and garden which I passively learned growing up as my mother's daughter sprung to life.

This summer the entire family enjoyed the fruit (and flower) of my mom's love of gardening, enjoying barbecues in the back yard, sitting on the front deck in the evening, and eating yummy salads made from the bounty of her tidy kitchen garden.

This oh-so-neat vegetable garden brought the neighborhood association out for a visit as the sub-division covenant specified that no vegetable gardens could be grown in the front yard. Well, this garden was kind of, sort of in the side yard and it had nasturtiums, zinnias, marigolds...

...and some exquisitely beautiful squash blossoms growing in it, so in the end, the neighborhood association let it remain.

Mom has somehow convinced her hydrangeas that they are really growing in Portland, Oregon and not Boise, Idaho.

Living is not enough...one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower

~Hans Christen Andersen

Happy Birthday Mom! Hope the weather is nice enough for you to enjoy tottering in your garden at least a little bit.

Liberal Learning

One of the things I love most about home educating my children are the many opportunities it affords me to learn, learn, learn. Yesterday I half joked with Artist Son that when I graduate my last child that I am going to throw a 'graduation' party for...myself! For, truly, I have learned so much through the process of educating my children and have received the gift of a liberal education~an education which somehow eluded me through my school and college years. And it has been more than once that the thought of formally returning to higher education has flitted across my mind. How, what, and where would I want to study? Wouldn't it be wonderful to study in a formal Great Books program? Daydreams, all, for the the time being and maybe forever, but fun daydreams all the same.

So when I saw the book below, Racing Odysseus, in an Oberlin bookstore, the subtitle caught my eye:

"A college president becomes a freshman again."

Hey, this guy really did it! He went back to college! And not just any college--he entered St. John's, the iconic Great Books college in Annapolis, Maryland. And, he was clever enough to write a book about his experience.



Racing Odysseus

I am thankful that he did. This was my 'fun' read on in the car and on the plane back to Jordan last month.

I've heard a couple people suggest that Baby Boomers (of which I am at the tail-end) want to live vicariously through their own children's college experiences, remembering their own college years as the best times of their lives. Perhaps. I do remember my college days with great fondness, yea even as some of the best years of my life, but mostly for the experiences I enjoyed, the relationships I made, the personal growing I did. Unfortunately, and likely due in part to my own immaturity and lack of foresight, I do not remember my academic experiences to be very stimulating or life-forming. Pragmatic and perfunctory are adjectives which come to mind. Academics, though only a part of the college experience, is the part I think I would like a second chance at.

When Roger Martin, the author of Racing Odysseus, entered St. John's College, he was a 61 year old who had recently survived a cancer death sentence. On sabbatical from his position of college president at Randolph-Macon college, Martin attends St. Johns for one semester so that he can write a book from a student's perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed his affable and humble "confessions of a freshman" through which he thoughtfully and entertainingly wove stories of how, through a taste of a Great Books/liberal arts education, he came to to a better understanding of what it means to be human. His book makes an compelling argument for a liberal arts education, and not without touching upon some of the areas in which it has been criticized, i.e. not preparing a student for a specialized occupation. I would recommend this book to anyone who believes it is never too late to continue learning and who in fact would embrace the chance to continue their education later in life.

Lessons Learned

In addition to all the mind-expanding lessons Oldest Daughter is learning in her first semester of college, she is learning some very practical life lessons. Here are a few she has learned this week:

1. If you don't wash your coffee mug you may end up growing a biology lab-worthy culture in it.

2. There's no such thing as free merchandise as offered on the internet (a modern day version of the 'no such thing as a free lunch' lesson).

3. Don't be so overeager to wear your new fashionista rain-boots that you depend on the internet weather forecast of thundershowers...and then end up wearing your oh-so noticeable boots all over campus on a precipitation-free day.

Thanks for the chuckles, Oldest Daughter : )

A not so interesting post: Recipe for Apricot -Ginger Scones

Not terribly exciting, but I thought a few people might find a recipe for Apricot-Ginger Scones interesting. Apparently not 16 year old males. Tonight, Active Son suggested I post something 'interesting' on my blog, something not-about-food. Suggestions? Oh, maybe something like Active Son's surge of motivation to run a 21K (half marathon) in December and the ensuing flurry of running activity which Active Son has been enjoying. Maybe. But first a recipe for Apricot Ginger Scones. It is just that time of year that I am enjoying a surge of baking energy and this is a recipe I'd been wanting to try for awhile now. In fact it was clipped from a Sunset magazine (date?) years ago and stored in a Recipes I Really Want To Try Someday file. Great recipe, delicious scones. The five of us (not six) polished them off in about half an hour--except for the one I spirited away to the back of the kitchen cabinet so that I could enjoy it later.

Apricot-Ginger Scones

3 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon each baking soda and salt
3/4 cup of butter cut into small pieces
3/4 cup diced dried apricots
1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger (or a lesser amount of fresh grated ginger mixed with a little sugar?)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 tsp. white vinegar for those in a land of no buttermilk)

In a large bowl or mixer mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add butter and mix or rub with fingers (or fork) until coarse crumbs form. Stir in apricots, ginger, and lemon peel. Add buttermilk and mix just until evenly moistened. Scrape dough onto a floured board and knead about 6 turns or until dough holds together. On a lightly greased baking sheet, pat dough into an oval about 7X12 inches (or a little larger--I think mine was). With a floured knife, cut diagonal lines through dough, forming 8 or 9 (or more) triangles. Bake in a 400 degree F oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

I added a no-measurements glaze:

powdered sugar
a little butter
milk, adding a little at a time until the glaze reaches the 'right' consistency.

I am already imagining variations to try: cranberry-orange, chocolate with peanut butter glaze, apple-pecan with maple glaze...

30 Seconds of Rain

Yesterday Amman received its first rainfall since March. And it lasted approximately 3o seconds. Not really enough to wash away the months of accumulated dust but it was enough to bring expectant children running outside and to give the air a fresh, autumn scent. Thirty seconds of rain in September in Amman is something to be thankful for as any precipitation this early in the fall is unusual.

Today we had a real rainfall, this time lasting about 30 minutes. The olive harvest traditionally commences after the first rain of the season but Dear Husband wonders if it will this year as it is still early and the olives don't appear ready.

As usual, the welcome cool weather of fall, even if only temporary before the heat returns for one last appearance, brings on a fit of culinary activity: Yesterday it was apricot-ginger scones (polished off in half an hour), four loaves of bread, and gallons of salsa. Today it was potato soup and tomorrow it will be fig preserves and an apple cobbler. My husband and the teen-age boys are happy for the cool-weather inspiration I have received!

A Long Awaited Musical Moment

Artist Son had the beat before he had words. As a toddler he kept time with his hands whenever he heard music and as he grew he began working out rhythms with his hands or anything else he could use as instruments. And though he seemed a born percussionist, we took the whole drum-set thing very slowly and cautiously, beginning Artist Son's musical studies on the piano, Arab tabli (hand-drum) and a little orchestra percussion. And though he has been longing to play a trap set for many years, Artist Son has persevered, with excellence, through the other musical challenges put before him.

He patiently asked again last year if "this could be the year" in which he could take lessons on a trap set. Again we asked him to wait--one more year, while we worked to launch Oldest Daughter into her musical orbit of conservatory studies.

So now, the happy (and loud) time has arrived for Artist Son. Upon returning to Jordan this fall we took assessment of our means to purchase a trap set: no used market to speak of and new prices are considerably higher than US prices. However, we were able to sell a no-longer-played clarinet and Artist Son's beginning snare drum to raise half the price. Artist son contributed a big part of his summer earnings and there was just a bit more to add to reach the price of a new trap-set.

In his parental pragmatism, Dear husband had decided that an electronic drum set would be the best way to go. No sound for us or the neighbors during practice and solo jam sessions. I longed for him to be correct, however I had a idea in the back of my admittedly non-musical mind that Artist Son should begin on an acoustic set as they have a feel all their own and he would be learning technique for the first time. Artist Son's new drum teacher confirmed my suspicions: Artist son should begin on an acoustic set.

So far a close-the-door policy is the best we've done on muting the sound for the rest of the household while Artist Son happily bangs away, albeit with very good rhythm. Dear Husband tells me that for a mere $150 we can purchase muting pads for the drum heads and I think we're agreed that this will be a good investment.

As for the jam sessions, they have begun in earnest, and it looks like they won't all be solo: Dear husband took his guitar in today and I could barely hear it and Dear husband's voice above the beat.

"Update on the life of your college student"

This was the title of the most recent email from Oldest Daughter, now in her second week of classes at Oberlin College/Conservatory. It was one of those emails which just blesses the heart of a parent, one which you read more than a couple of times, and then since you just have to share it with someone, you forward it to the grandparents!

I am very thankful that Dear Husband and I were able to travel to Oberlin for the parent orientation a few weeks ago and help Oldest Daughter settle into her new surroundings before returning to Jordan last week, and so now, when she tells us of her life at Oberlin, her classes, her teachers, her friends, and happenings around the Con, we are able to understand a little better what she is talking about, having visited the campus and having met some faculty and friends.

So here is Oldest Daughter's essential update, annotated by Mom:

Private Teacher: Oldest daughter has had two private lessons with her new teacher (as well as daily group lessons during orientation week) and feels that she will work well with her teacher. She describes him as "very intelligent, thought out, and intentional in his teaching, as well as hard to please--all good qualities." He is very happy with Oldest Daughter's left hand (as in how it plays the violin) and sends his compliments to her former teacher.

Hanging out in the conservatory (Con) lounge

Classes: Lots of work, lots of quizzes, but Oldest Daughter is learning lots. So far she is pacing herself well and keeping up with homework.

Happy Roommates--a great match

Roomate: Oldest Daughter couldn't have been blessed with a better one! They've already talked about rooming together next year. Her roommate is a fellow Con student (voice) an international student (Canadian), and they have lots in common, most importantly their faith in God.

Music Nerds

Friends: When I attended college, I never went anywhere near a music class and I didn't have musician friends but I did notice that many of the music majors hung out together and they seemed to be having lots of fun together. Even as an outsider (like, way outside) I could see that their music somehow bound them together. And so Oldest Daughter is enjoying being a music nerd (her own words) and spending time with lots of other music nerds. And nerd is definitely not meant pejoratively here--I thoroughly enjoyed meeting some of her friends on campus and found them to be very 'cool', articulate, and interesting people.

Spiritual Life: Oldest Daughter and her roommate are attending Oberlin Christian Fellowship (OCF), a weekly Bible study in their dorm (studying the book of Acts), and are attending church together on Sunday mornings. They also joined an online prayer group so that they can pray for each other.

Rest: This is the only area of Oldest Daughter's collegiate life which doesn't receive an A grade, but it seems she is doing the best she can for the time being. Dear Husband added up Oldest Daughter's class, rehearsal, and personal practice hours: 51 hours a week--not counting homework. It doesn't help that she receives only one credit for chamber orchestra, which meets three times a week, two hours a time. Such is the life of music major. She pretty much works from morning till night five days a week, finishes up homework and practicing on Saturday, and rests on Sunday--mostly.

Though many miles now separate us and we miss her very much, we rejoice in all that God has provided for Oldest Daughter and for the wonderful opportunities she is experiencing to learn, to grow, and to mature. We are also thankful for Vonage, Skype, email, and Facebook--so many great, easy ways to stay in touch.

Blogging to Stay Awake

Just one more hour and I will allow myself to go to sleep: we returned home from the US this morning and are making ourselves stay up in an attempt to deal with the inevitable jet lag. We flew out of Salt Lake City about 26 hours ago and enjoyed one of our best ever international flights, a non-stop on Delta from NYC to Amman. The only blight on the flight was unruly children. Two in particular, seated across the aisle from us, were little terrors who would not stay in their seat and their mother 'couldn't' make them. Or so she told the incredulous flight attendant.

In the last week we traveled to Ohio to take Oldest daughter to college, back to Boise to do last-minute shopping, pack eleven suitcases to as close to 50 pounds as we could get them plus 10 substantial carry-ons, said good-byes to dear family and friends, drove to Salt Lake City to catch our flight to NYC, and returned to home-sweet-home, Jordan. We all agree that it is good to be home.

Because He First Loved Me

Somewhere back in my college days, when I was at a point of wanting to know God more deeply, I remember an older Christian sister asking me"Why do you love God?" Her question was asked so pointedly and intently that I was momentarily taken off guard and remained silent, thinking, thinking. The answer soon flooded over my soul: "I love God because He first loved me!" (1 John 4:19)

Last week I finished reading the recently published Because He loves Me, How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life by Elyse Fitzpatrick and the memory of that epiphan-ous moment of 20+ years ago came back to me. What I didn't really realize so many years ago, but have been learning the past couple of years or so, is that the gospel, or, the good news of Jesus Christ, is daily, yea, even hourly, the foundation of a transformed life.



Because He Loves Me

Fitzpatrick divides her book into two parts:

I. How God's Love Transforms Our Identity
II. How God's Love Transforms Our Life

The first part of the book is largely a reiteration and exploration of the gospel, and though an older Christian may be tempted to skim through chapters with titles such as Remembering His Love, Identity Gift, Your Inheritance, this temptation should be resisted. For the truths of the gospel to do their transforming work in our lives, we must live by them, and thus, as a forgetful people we must marinate ourselves in them.

This becomes even more clear as Fitzpatrick moves into part II of her book, laying out just how the gospel transforms in chapters such as Be Who You Are, I will Cleanse You, Walk in Love, and Take Courage, Your Sins Are Forgiven. I particularly benefited from the discussion of the indicative and imperative components of the gospel, or the 'gospel declaration' and the 'gospel obligation' from Chapter 10, Be Who You Are. Both components of the gospel must be present or in balance lest we become moralists, over emphasizing the obligation, or libertarians, over emphasizing declaration. I tend to the moralist camp, myself!

Examples of this perfect declaration/obligation synergy are found throughout Scripture:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (indicative). Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (imperative). For you have died and your live is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (indicative). Put to death therefore what is earthly in you (imperative)...

~Colossians 3:1-5a

and another quick example from Philippians 2:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (imperative) for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (indicative).

~Philippians 2:12,13

Fitzpatrick writes, "please remember that your growth in holiness is firmly bound to your appreciation of the gospel and God's love, for it is only an appreciation of his love that can motivate genuine obedience."

Also good is chapter 10, Take Courage; Your Sins are Forgiven, in which Fitzpatrick takes a couple of real-life sin situations and explains how Christ's incarnation, sinless life, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension each can have a transforming impact. Good stuff.

I have a sexist confession to make: I usually don't read or like theological books by women authors. I haven't thought too deeply about why this is but I just don't. Maybe it is the cute illustrations or the overuse of exclamation marks? Anyway, while this book has a few of the illustrations I shy away from, the content of the book is excellent and theologically meaty, yet easily understandable and practical--not in the pragmatic sense, but in the the life-changing-if you apply-it sense. I've already given my copy of this book to a dear friend who was passing through and I plan to re-order for myself and for a few friends. And, as an added bonus, this book could easily replace a number of 'life issues' books--the ones which tell you how to overcome this or that-- you may have sitting on your shelves.

Edit: my links are dead but I'm leaving town early in the morning and don't have the time to fix them now. Sorry.

A Northwest Summer, so far

As we've traveled 'home' this summer, I've been reminded anew just what a beautiful and wonderful place the Northwest is. The weather is near perfect: cool mornings, warm days--okay, hot, but everyone has air!--cool evenings, occasional rain or blustery thunderstorms, the scenery, stunning, and there are abundant opportunities for recreation, if only hiking through breathtakingly beautiful meadows, foothills, etc. We count ourselves blessed to enjoy the refreshment of God's awesome creation this summer and if you've never been to the northwest United States, you must visit sometime!

Dear friends, Tim and Jan, always get us out on the water. Both sons have learned to ski behind their boats and we've all enjoyed lots of water fun during our Idaho summers because of their generous hospitality. Dear husband still has the moves though he agreed to no hotdogging this summer after it yielded broken or at least very bruised ribs two summers ago.

Most of us learned to surf this summer. I enjoyed this; a gentler way to enjoy the water than skiing. Less impact on falls, as well!

My favorite water sport: a wild and crazy tube ride!

Visiting friends in the Olympic peninisula, we enjoyed an afternoon of gorgeous scenery at Hurricane Ridge, Olympia State Park, Washington. They must have had a great winter as there was still a fair amount of snow and the wildflowers were profuse and beautiful, especially the lupine.




The wildlife was not very wild so we enjoyed some close-up viewing and Artist son was able to add some sketches to his newly begun nature journal.


And back to Idaho:

Last weekend Dear Husband and Artist Son enjoyed their first backpacking adventure together, hiking 11 miles up to Baron Lake near Stanley, Idaho. Elevation 8,200 feet.

The backpackers at their campsite in the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains.

Let all creation declare the majesty of its Creator!