surprised by hope

you know you’ve come across something good when you call your husband from the bookstore so you can chat about a book and read some to him over the phone.  i caved and bought n.t. wright’s new book (though there might be another by the time i post this – that man is prolific!) surprised by hope: rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church.  here is a quote, rather long-ish but very good. 

When the church is seen to move straight from worship of the God we see in Jesus to making a difference and effecting much-needed change in the real world; when it becomes clear that the people who feast at Jesus’s table are the ones in the forefront of work to eliminate hunger and famine; when people realize that those who pray for the Spirit to work in and through them are the people who seem to have extra resources of love and patience in caring for those whose lives are damaged, bruised, and shamed, then it is not only natural to speak of Jesus himself and to encourage others to worship him for themselves and find out what belonging to his family is all about but it is also natural for people, however irreligious they may think of themselves as being, to recognize that something is going on that they want to be part of.  In terms that the author of Acts might have used, when the church is living out the kingdom of God, the word of God will spread powerfully and do its own work.  p.267

i’ve been flipping around the book and this was from the end where he is describing the “reshaping of the church” in light of what he has discussed regarding heaven and the resurrection.  as i read this i desperately wanted to believe that people who walk in the doors of my church, and even in the doors of my home, see this about us/my family.  do they?  are we even attracting non-believers?  these questions have been lying heavily on me lately.  from what little i’ve read, though, wright’s book is an encouragement – an encouragement to continue telling the story of who jesus is and why he came.  

i’ll give you some more thoughts as i read through the book.  and because i won’t try to top the good quote describing the book on the dust jacket, here you go:

Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death.  For if God intends to renew the whole creation – and if this has already begun in Jesus’s resurrection – the church cannot stop at “saving souls” but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God’s kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life.

 

in the kitchen

it was one of those days where you have very little food in the house and no desire to go to the grocery store. creativity and pantry diving become a necessity. and for once the meal turns into something noteworthy.  

i’ve had the cookbook once upon a tart by frank mentesana and jerome audureau for years now and have only ventured into the savory sections once or twice.  yet again, frank and jerome didn’t let me down.  and it probably would have been even better if i had the olives, scallions, and cilantro that were supposed to go in too.  but those things weren’t in the pantry.  

my take on frank and jerome’s chickpea-and-carrot salad with cumin

2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated with a handheld grater or food processor

for the vinaigrette:
2 garlic cloves, minced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 TBS ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 TBS (or more) olive oil

place the grated carrots and chickpeas in a bowl.  to make the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients except the olive oil together in a small bowl.  add the olive oil in a slow stream, whisking to combine.  pour over the veggies and let stand for at least an hour.  serve cold or at room temperature.   

really, you should buy this book.  it’s fun to read (i think my friend laura has it memorized), the pictures are great, and the food is wonderful. just be forewarned that you will be investing in lots of butter.  3 sticks of butter for 12 scones?  why, of course.

chickpeas, some greens and an after-dinner stroll (stress on the stroll when elisha is on foot) made for a good evening.

 

 

to ernie

 

today honors men and women like ernie.  ernie blanco was a beloved friend who loved puerto rico, music, texas, and jesus.  omar prayed for his family this morning, and i remembered that i need to be sure to tell our boys about him when they get a bit bigger.  he’s been gone over four years now but i still remember so clearly his passion for life, his laugh, and his craziness. we love and miss you ernie.

exhausted*happy*sad

to be exhausted:

behind those two little grins there is scheming going on as to how they can completely wear their mama out.  mission accomplished.  but the cute pjs help ease the tiredness.  we are home from our whirlwind road trip.  the boys met friends and family and were cute and cordial (on the whole).  at one point there were four generations in one room.  the four of us in this immediate family piled into one room to sleep, and at 1:45am friday morning elisha thought it was time to wake us up with calls of “coffee!! outside!!” repeated ad nauseam. 

to be happy:

i discovered jamie at home at our friends’ house and am now scheming of ways to convince omar we need cable so i can watch it and make yummy things like rhubarb souffle.  a great show with a beautiful set and garden that makes me think omar and i need to consider whether we are being called to live in england. 

you know you’ve found a good, perhaps perfect, coffee mug when you wish you would have stashed one in your suitcase to use on your road trip.  they are so good that i bought four and i’ll probably show them to you if you come to visit.

to be sad:

our landlord called this morning and asked if a couple could come by and look at our apartment.  do i sabotage their visit and try as hard as i might to let this place stand empty from here on out?  or i guess i could make the place seem like it’s perfect for them but warn them that they better like babies because they have a habit of popping up around here.

it was a good egg

 

the little eggling was about to make its way to a friend’s house while we are away for a few days.  i was afraid it would dry up and it was both too cute and too pricey for that to happen.  then my hand slipped and this scene of carnage soon lay before my eyes.

omar wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or cry.  i was torn between crying and cursing.  

and we had just finished talking about how cute the egg was and how i was amazed it was actually growing so well.  it was indeed cute.  i then laughed to myself when i actually said, “it was a pretty good egg.”  that (though substitute “dog” for “egg”) is what was written on our old dog fritz’s headstone.  yes, our dog had a headstone.  the island we lived on in alaska was 1200 miles west of nowhere and life could get kind of slow. so we had a pet cemetery.  the k9 dogs had really pretty plots.

we’re off on a trip for the next few days.  elisha will hopefully return to a new eggling and i promise to be more careful.  needless to say, i will not be eating eggs in the morning.

thought strings

here is the blanket mentioned in the previous post.  seriously, asher is going to be old enough to help me with this at the rate i’m going.  

the piggy is knitted and awaiting stuffing.  but stuffing must be a natural fiber and not just because of “natural living” leanings – elisha eats it.

eating ice cream cones at home seems both child-like and extravagant.  especially when you have two in one day.

you must, must, must watch cranford, the new pbs masterpiece theatre adaptation of elizabeth gaskell’s novel.  laugh-out-loud lines and a great cast. you can watch it online if it’s not playing on your local station.  the other series based on her book wives and daughters is also wonderful.  

my parents got elisha a “horse on a stick” so he can run around the house and act like a cowboy.  he likes to sleep with it, and today when i went to get him out of bed, there was a very “godfather-esque” feeling to what i was looking down on – elisha sleeping next to a horse head.  i was tempted to reenact it but i thought i would freak him out. 

talking about church planting in miami is exciting.  who would’ve thought i’d be saying that six months ago?

a day both frustrating and delightful

we all wake up at a decent hour.  asher doesn’t try any of his 4am business on us.

elisha cuddles with me and “helps” me crochet asher’s never-going-to-end-i’m-tired-of-it blanket while we watch america’s test kitchen.

something as seemingly simple as a haircut for elisha turns into a maddening experience for all of us that almost brings me to tears.  it was one of those times where your own anger, frustration (let’s just call it what it is – sin) creeps up and smacks you in the face.  it is during those mundane activities that i seem to let my guard down and not realize that yes, even while giving haircuts i need a savior.    

omar quickly ushers me out the door to spend some time at borders.  

i’m nearby when a worker directs a mom and pre-teen daughter to a section of teen girl fiction books and the worker says, “i would not recommend these – they are full of sex and are inappropriate and bad.”  she then walks away and the mom and daughter shrug, pick up one of the books and proceed to checkout.

i relax as i walk the aisles of the grocery store without a baby in the sling or a kiddo asking for snacks. perhaps i even sang out loud to the music playing.  the “bag man” wants a detailed account of how my rotisserie chicken spilled all over my bag the other day.  like really detailed.  the cashier even got in on it.  i made it sound very dramatic.

too tired to make dinner we break out a baguette, goat cheese, olives, a pear, and nutella crepes.  

and i notice elisha has a really cute haircut.

thar she grows

i must admit i was a bit skeptical about this little eggling.  i even sprinkled the extra packet of seeds on top, even though i was told i didn’t need to.  so hopefully these little sprouts aren’t going to be like the “rocky ground” seeds in matthew 13 that spring right up and then wither away, and if they are let’s hope the seeds down below them are holier and hardier.

this afternoon i stepped back up the “chocolate food chain”.  the nutella was set aside for a little bar of green&black’s dark chocolate.  like the chocolate, not the packaging.  trust me, you’ll get more money out of me more often if you give me something interesting to look at.  this was quite good, though, even if my rotisserie chicken burst out of its bag (that could be some funny imagery) and spilled onto the chocolate bar…and strawberries, milk, and lettuce.  yuck.  i think i salvaged everything.  i’ll let you know if our company tonight thought there was anything unusual about the strawberry cake.   

the gate

i never intended for this blog to be named “kate ortiz” but i guess i just forgot about the naming task over the past few months.  

our new home has a gate.  not the prettiest gate but a gate.  and behind that gate is a little house that we will live in and work in and play in and cry in.  but perhaps most of all it will be a place that we welcome people in to – strangers, friends, neighbors and anyone with joys and sorrows to share.  what is written here is about bits of all of it.  

the little lady above is leaning over the only gate in our present home at the moment.  she is friendly, though. 

gourmet justice

i settled down on the couch last night and pulled out the new gourmet magazine. i turn the page to the “letters to the editor” and what do my eyes find?  a spunky little letter that got me laughing.  (for context, see my post here)

I read with interest Californian Marianne Wishner’s letter concerning the January 2008 issue of Gourmet.  In it, she expressed that she is “not enamored” of either the culture or the cuisine of the South.  I am tempted to say that i am not enamored of the consumerism, superficiality, and pollution found in Southern California, but instead I will just say, bless her heart.

Cate Murphy
San Antonio, Texas

from one kate to another, i thank you. 

mama’s day

chocolate fashion bakery goodies greeted me at the table yesterday morning along with two smiling faces. i curled up with my coffee and switched on the classical radio station.  evidently someone there thinks a soviet-era inspired opera would be just the thing for us mothers to listen to over breakfast.  or maybe the dj has some “mother issues” that need tending.

i love being the mama to my two boys.  and i love being the daughter to my own mom.  i hope your mother’s day was peaceful.  

to be two

elisha was two yesterday.  two.  the celebration will go through tonight.  thus far he has scored a broom, mop, brush and dust pan (pint-sized), some fun and funky animals, a basil eggling, and lots of pancakes and bacon.

elisha and birthday balloons

sneaky

morning feast

helper

a watered eggling

new friends

 

 

behold

the house.  barring destruction by a hurricane or other unfortunate event, this will be our home beginning in july.  a 1920s home with character and a cramped kitchen.  omar is a bit disappointed in the kitchen but we’ll make do, and the built in bookshelves have helped cushion the blow.  the “for rent” sign outside our apartment is making me a bit sad but picking out paint colors always helps – i’m not feeling the present aqua colored walls.

until then, we’re enjoying the last months in our apartment, planning a birthday celebration for elisha, and getting in lots of playtime.

asher is now on the move.

elisha is into catalogs and magazines. i was sure to explain to him that the espresso/latte maker in the upper left corner is a gimmick.  

and finally, today i heard elisha’s first protests against asher’s toy-stealing attempts. asher is quick i must admit.

caving

i passed by this in the grocery store and caved. today the graham crackers came out for a snack, followed by some ghiradelli chocolate which was then promptly abandoned when i remembered i had this. i am opposed to much of what is on the ingredient list, so i just keep the list facing away from me.  this stuff is on the other end of the spectrum from the vosges haute chocolat mentioned previously, but it tastes like europe, all mixed up in a chocolaty, oily spread (but i try not to think too much about that). 

the first quarter of the jar was wasted on my failed taste buds.  my sinus cold’s last stand was to attack the taste buds this weekend.  a dirty dirty move i say.  but they’re back in action now.  they better enjoy the rest because i limit myself to about 1 jar per year.

and fear not, the ghiradelli was not forgotten.

 

stoop

we get to take a little peek at a house for rent tomorrow.  my excitement is pretty evident to my husband. but the thought of moving makes my nostalgia for this place even greater.  though can it technically be nostalgia when we haven’t even left?  details.  

for a few passing moments i even think that maybe we shouldn’t move.  we could just be really cozy in this place and blow endless amounts of bubbles and throw numerous leaves from the stoop outside our back door.  and then my paranoid fear that elisha will reach out for that bubble just beyond his reach and tumble down the stairs takes over and i get all excited about the possibility of a new house.  it’s a vicious cycle.