Archive | Christmas Break RSS feed for this section

Tastes like hot apple cider, Christmas cookies, Momma’s cooking, and …. PW Cinnamon Rolls!

24 Dec
Here’s the next post in our Christmas Break Series (Smells, Sights, Tastes…..)I love cooking. Need I say more? After a long day of class back at school, I always look forward to coming home to my apartment, changing into comfy clothes and unwind my mind by cooking dinner for my apartment mates. It’s a joy to cook delicious savory foods and even more of a joy to be able to serve my dear sisters in a very practical and necessary way.
Coming home, there’s no longer any “cooking rotation” but still plenty of opportunities to serve my family by cooking. I’ve been having an itching to make cinnamon rolls from stratch for a long time and I finally got around to doing it yesterday. I chose a recipe from one of my favorite “Western” food bloggers– Pioneer Woman (PW)! NOTE: These rolls are neither low fat nor low calorie, but they’re delicious… just saying: Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Some personal notes on the recipe:
Because I couldn’t quite bring myself to use so much butter and sugar, I cut back on it a little bit. But here’s the rule: put what you think is enough for you- then add a little more…. no kidding! Also for the frosting, I didn’t use nearly as much as she did. Try not to use fat free or 1% milk– the recipe asks for whole milk. And most importantly– baking these requires patience. You have to make the dough and allow it to rise appropriately. I actually let them rise (twice) for longer than the time asked for. Baking them prematurely will cost you the fluffiness and overall texture of the rolls. 
As with anything, I’ve learned that baking and cooking not only takes a desire to, but a joy and patience throughout the process as well.If you have time, these rolls are actually a great gift to give to those you know. Take a look at her related posts about giving them as gifts.
Here are some pictures. Can’t you see the deliciousness of them??
After the dough rises (it nearly doubles in size):
After they’re baked and glazed:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Looks like Christmas lights, snowflakes, mistletoe…and holiday hair?

20 Dec

Having two older sisters has instilled in me a not-so-secret love to play with hair, makeup, and play dress up just for fun.  This includes hours of french braiding Barbie doll’s hair and experimenting with makeup palates from the dollar store as a child.  One hair style that I’ve fallen in love with after seeing it online and then looking up some “How To” videos on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkUo6JQud_o) is the waterfall french braid.

It’s super simple, I haven’t practiced on myself yet but basically you do a regular french braid along the crown of the head and drop the bottom strand each time and take up a new one as you go along.  To finish it off I twist all the strands together and bobby pin it, if she has bangs then they hide it nicely but either way it’s usually not very noticeable.  This hair style works best on people with thick and heavy hair and when the braid is hair sprayed when finished.  In the video the woman likes the hair straight, but for nicer occasions or if you just like it, you’ll see below I curled the strands that fall from the braid and then curled the under layer.

It’s a fast and nice looking hairstyle for Christmas or New Year’s parties and a little different than just a regular braid.  Thanks Emily for letting me experiment on you!

Smells like gingerbread, cinnamon, Christmas…and convictions?

11 Dec

Hello and sorry for the long delay in posting, we didn’t want to distract from studying for finals ;)   Hopefully everyone on the quarter system is enjoying the first days of rest, where ever that may be.  This year we are extremely blessed with not three, but FOUR weeks of Christmas vacation, which leads me to write to this post.

It’s easy to have the mentality that a break from school also means a break from being a Christian, or at least the kind you were at school.  You might not say it out loud, but it’s clear in your actions and in those subconscious thoughts you suppress.  To throw some out there…

Are you the girl who dressed one way for small group and would never dare wear your new holiday dress back to school?

Are you the small group leader who prays diligently before class, but now forgets altogether?

Do you say nice, encouraging things to your friends and now have only a reproachful attitude or nothing to say at all to your parents?

Are you the one who gushes about Jesus to everyone in small group and yet is suddenly a mute in front of her high school friends?

Before you feel judged, that was and is me.  At some point or another during the past four years that describes my shift in behavior while not being held directly accountable by 250 other believers and a roommate who kept me in check! My goal is not to make you feel guilty if you found truth in those statements, it’s to cause you to ask: what are my Biblical convictions on issues like modesty, evangelism, parents, church, prayer, discipline, etc and WHY/HOW did I come to that conclusion?

A conviction is a fixed or firm belief that you strive to follow and uphold in your life.  My behavior changed because I hadn’t formed true convictions, only people-pleasing modifications to build up my reputation.  I want to challenge you at the beginning of break to take your four weeks and think through the issues that are most relevant to YOU and find out- what does the Bible say about them?  Is it black, white, or gray? And if it’s gray, what kind of Biblical wisdom can be applied to guide me to a conviction that is the most pleasing to God?  Why am I choosing to believe and act in this way? And finally, do I see myself before Him first and foremost, as my audience of One despite who else is watching?

I shared from Hebrews 5:12-14 with my small group, a couple of verses that end with:

“But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice
have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” (v.14)

The previous verses are a rebuke for having forgotten even the elementary things and for being babes who can only handle milk.  My prayer is that at the end of this month, you will not regress and you will not remain stagnant, but rather: endure, be faithful, keep Christ in mind, and allow your heart to be like His in your sensitivity to what is good and evil, all to the praise of His glory- and live it out!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.