Monday, May 10, 2010

Mother's Day Weekend '10

Much of the weekend's activities were related to the day set apart to honor Mothers.   My prayer for my mom, is that God would bless her with good health and to fill her with hope and joy.

While Sunday's message was actually in line with what God is teaching me about Leadership, it was actually delivered as a Mother's Day message, being about Deborah - the only woman judge of Israel.  Following were characteristics in her profile of leadership:  1) Godly, 2) Compassionate, 3) Initiative, 4) Courageous, and 5) Humble.  These are attributes worthy to pattern after.

Also during the sermon, there were some things that stood out, which I included in my notes:
  • Tolerance is actually being given the choice to accept or reject a viewpoint, particularly when presented with the truth.
  • When everyone "does what is right in their own eyes", it leads to chaos and destruction because of the darkness in the heart of man
  • We lose everything when we've lost a grateful heart
  • "Don't watch TV, talk back to it" => think critically and Biblically
  • Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin disgraces a culture
  • There is a tendency, when we get to a place where we can't manage anymore, we cry "God help me"
  • God remains faithful in times of distress and disobedience -> the message of the Book of Judges is one of God's MERCY
I just also wanted to note that a friend of  mine at Church graciously gave me a copy of "More Than a Theory - Revealing a Testable Model for Creation" by Hugh Ross that she received at the last RTB lecture.  I am grateful, and I'm looking forward to reading it.

As for Mother's Day dinner with my family, my menu this year was:
  • Beef Stew - This has become one of my "staples" - I have a tried-and-true recipe, and it is good and hearty.  Once it is all prepared and it the slow cooker, it doesn't take much more work.  I used London Broil, which is a good meat to use.
  • Chicken Stew - This was a variation of my usual cilantro chicken dish.  I actually marinated the chicken overnight with some of the ingredients (e.g. cilantro, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper).  Then , I seared the chicken (making sure the pan was really hot), cooked the onions with paprika, and then added all the other stew ingredients.   It actually turned out well, and if I were to add corn to it, it could've been considered a tex-mex chicken dish.
  • Cream of Mushroom Chicken - This didn't turn out so well.  The sauce was too watery, and aesthetically, the dish wasn't so pleasing; though, it tasted okay.   I put in chicken, mushrooms, potatoes, and green beans with the cream of mushroom soup.  If I do ever decide to make this again, I'll need to remember not to add water, since that's only for the soup, not when using it in recipes.
  • Broccoli and Carrots - Nothing too amazing about this dish, though it didn't cook so evenly, since there was so much broccoli.
  • Fish Cutlets over Salad - Presentation-wise, it looked nice; but, it really didn't turn out well.  Since the package cooking instructions were in Korean, I didn't really know the right way to prepare it.   I pan-fried them, but when I used too much oil, it was too soft and soaked into the batter, and when I used too little, it wouldn't brown.
  • Spinach and Mushroom soup - This was a good soup - I just have to remember to season it next time ;-)
  • Pasta - I used the tri-color rotelle (spinach, tomato, and regular)
  • Bread Sticks - the garlic cheese breadsticks are good when they are hot; but, once cooled off, they become a little hard
  • Bread - I used a wheat french bread.  It was great when fresh; but, when heated, it was the same as the bread sticks - good when hot, but a little hard when cooled off
  • Egg Rolls - These were the Trader Joe's Egg Rolls that you can bake.   For some reason, these weren't so good.  I didn't try them right out of the oven; but, the skin was a little soggy and would tear when picked up or turned.
  • Dessert - Everyone seemed to enjoy the dessert most.   It was an apple-raspberry turn-over.  When baked, it nicely expanded and browned; and was good straight from the oven.   We also had mango and mocha-almond-fudge ice cream, with watermelon and strawberries

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