What a joy it was to visit my daughter and her family last week in Phoenix, AZ. Yes, it was very hot. But the times of laughter and just being with them after 5 months of not seeing them was such a delight. As we drove around with the younger boys (ages 8 & 11) in the back seat, they ask their mom, Jodi (my daughter) if we could listen to a couple of comedians who we have always enjoyed listening to. One is Brian Regan. He is one of those who just makes me laugh by looking at him when he is delivering his comedy routine. The boys also love listening to him. So as we drove around trying to find a restaurant that didn’t have an hour and a half wait, we listened and laughed. In fact, we were laughing so hard, we were almost crying. Our stomachs hurt, not from hunger, but from laughing. At dinner on Tues night with the whole family, we began to reminisce about when Caleb was born. We were there celebrating Calebs’ 11th birthday that night and as we began to think back about how we thought the first baby the nurse brought out was Caleb and we were all oohing and crying at how precious he was, only to find out that wasn’t Caleb at all, but someone else’s baby, we began to laugh, thinking back about that day. In fact, when the waiter came over several times, he told us, “every time I come back to your table, ya’ll are laughing hysterically” And we were. It was just one of those special times when everyone was in a joyful mood and everything seemed funny. Laughter is truly good for the soul. My last night there, I told Jodi, if laughter keeps a person from getting sick, I probably won’t be sick for the rest of my life, I had laughed so much. But this story is not complete until I tell about the river trip we made on Friday. It just was a reminder of what God wants from us….our trust.
As we were driving to the river, I began to ask Jodi all sorts of questions. I had never been on this river; much less ever thought about paddle boarding. At 70 years old, my idea of adventure is, well, not standing on a paddle board in the middle of the river, trying to balance so as not to fall off and then not be able to get back on the board. But as we drove, the questions increased. What if I did fall? What if I couldn’t get back up on the board? Would I be able to go the 6 miles that we would be paddling? Were there rapids, and if so how would I go over them without falling? Were there snakes in the river? What if I didn’t paddle well and couldn’t go in the right direction? What if I couldn’t stand up or sit on this board for 2-3 hours? On and on the questions flowed. Jodi kept assuring me that, “mom, I promise you, once you are there you will see that there is no need for you to be concerned.” Well, I could trust her or I could continue to allow the thoughts that kept creeping up in my mind, keep me from enjoying the moment. As soon as we arrived, the lady who was going to bring an extra paddle board, ended up bringing a huge float for me instead of the paddle board. So that took care of so many worries. It would allow me to just float behind them and I didn’t even have to paddle at all. All I had to do was sit back and relax and enjoy the trip. My float was actually tied to Jodi’s paddle board and she would be the one who would navigate us through the river. All I had to do was trust her to get us to the point of where we would end this wonderful trip and trust that she knew when to take us up out of the river. There were several places that had exit signs, but she knew where the car was and where we needed to be.
This is what I thought about this morning as I read Isaiah 41:18-20 “I will open up rivers for them on high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. In the deserts they will find pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the dry, parched land. I will plant trees-cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, fir and pine-on barren land. Everyone will see this miracle and understand that it is the Lord, the Holy One of Isreal, who did it.”
This scripture brought back to my mind the beauty of what i saw last week, as I floated for 6 miles down the Salt River. Indeed, all I had to do was trust in the one that was caring for me that day. I didn’t have to worry about any of the concerns that I had had. But just like last Friday, isn’t that what the Lord wants for us every day of our lives? He welcomes our questions. He understands our concerns. BUT…..He wants us to trust Him to be our guide “down this river of life” that sometimes has fast currents, sometimes has “rapids” and rocks which are hard to walk over. No, he doesn’t promise us that we won’t go through these hard times in our lives, but He does promise us that He will be with us and guide us thorough. He is and always will be our Lord, our protector, our Shield. Isa 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
Yes, the unknown adventure can cause some worrisome thoughts. Just like the our futures are unknown. But isn’t it wonderful that just like being able to trust my daughter who has been on that Salt River more times that she can count, I can trust her to get me to where I needed to be; AND I can always trust in the God who created me and knows exactly how to guide me to get me to where I need to be…in his plan for His glory.
We got home from church and since Randy is needing to work overtime on the weekend, I decided that I would bake, while he worked. When I ask him what he was in the mood for, he said anything but chocolate since sometimes eating chocolate in the evenings keeps him from sleeping well. We had talked today about him needing a phone because the hand me down he got from me last year (for me to get a new phone with more memory) is acting up, so between me looking at recipes and new phones on the internet, I also was looking at puppies, since we do want to get another doggie when we end up moving to a new place. I was on a web site that had teacup yorkies when Randy walked in to ask what I had decided to bake. Before answering him, I showed him the cutest little yorkie with a pink bow in her hair and looked at him with puppy dog eyes that immediately told him I found an adorable yorkie. He looked at it and said, “how much does that cute little thing cost?” When I responded that she cost about $3000, he looked at me and said, “$3000? I wouldn’t even pay that for you.” I think this sheltering in place is beginning to show its ugly face. And please don’t write and tell me I’m awful for spending that much money on a dog when they have so many in shelters. We would NEVER pay that much for a dog or anything close to that. I just have fun looking at pictures of cute puppies. So now back to the cake. Going to the pantry to see what I had, I discovered I had the necessary ingredients to make a coconut cake. It ended up so moist and yummy and will have it to snack on for a couple of days. I use a small bundt pan that allows me to make two so I can put one in the freezer for another time. Picture is of the two small cake pans I used
Saw this on Facebook one night and remembered that to take a picture of the recipe. Well, last night I made it. Oh my,where has this been all my life? It was simply delicious and so easy to make. Before leaving for the grocery store yesterday, I actually remembered to look at the recipe to see what i would need to buy to make it. That is unusual for me. Usually I get to the store and think, “what was I needing to get to make such and such?” Then I get home and see the recipe and then think, “ok, next time I will look at the recipe BEFORE going to the store so I won’t have to jump back in the car (well, actually it has been years since I was able to “jump” in anything) and run back to the store, or in most cases, plan on making the new recipe after the next trip to the store. And the cycle goes on and on. But this time, I did actually remember to look and see what I needed BEFORE going. I like to think it is the new Vitamins I am using called Smarty Pants. But, since I got home with the newly bought ingredients to make this simple recipe that made us feel so sophisticated knowing we were eating a French dessert, it just immediately became a favorite. Seriously, it is so good. A cross between a pudding and a cake or a thicker Dutch Baby. Don’t get me started on how much we love Dutch Babies for breakfast. After you have one in Chicago, well, let’s just say that we remember Chicago more than just it’s hot dogs now. So go to the store, buy some raspberries, blueberries or blackberries and make it this weekend. You can thank me later.
This one worked like a charm. Was easy and was very yummy (if Leaanne Morgan can say yummy on her videos, I can use it on the food blog)
Today I was going to post the Spanish Rice I made for dinner night before last, but first I wanted to post this really easy and yummy pasta salad. Isn’t it hard to think of new lunch items to make after 4 months of trying to stay home and thus, the 21 meals a week are getting a little more creative of, “what foods left over in the fridge can we put together that will keep us from having to go out into the virus laden world?” Well, ladies and gentlemen, is a really good lunch treat that took me all of 10 minutes to put together (why am I in a hurry when I have no where to go right now) and tastes so good.
Chocolate Castles 