Adventures of 2010 #2

The first week of my new adventure was a complete success!

Chicken Parmigiana by The Pioneer Woman was DELIGHTFUL!! I mean... wow:

If I would have cared more about the above photo, I would have not tried a bite before I snapped this... and would have taken a warm, wet rag around the plate for a profession, clean look... But I was starving and the smell of garlic and melted cheese was going straight to my stomach and teasing me. So I tasted, snapped, then ate. And ate. And ate! The Mr. loved it, too (which is my ultimate goal).

And for dessert (which we didn't even get to eat until today because we were so stuffed from dinner), Veronica's Strawberry Chocolate Chip cookies.

YUMMY! Since you cannot find this recipe on The Pioneer Woman, here it is for your baking and eating pleasure: (and it will fulfil your deepest longing for sweet, delicious, goodies)

1 box Strawberry Cake Mix

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup water

1 egg

6 oz chocolate chip cookies (I used milk chocolate, but I'm sure semi-sweet are great, too)

Mix the ingredients together, bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes (that's what the recipe says, but mine were done after 8 minutes). Unlike most cookies, you do not want these to turn golden brown, they need to be almost undercooked. I took mine out when I began to see golden brown on the bottom edges. They are nice and soft :D

Now, I'm going to enjoy a cookie if you don't mind...

Mrs. Scalf

Example of Needing more Jesus on I-240

Yesterday I wrote about needing more Jesus. When driving anywhere in Memphis, in need LOTS of Jesus. For example, today I was merging onto I-240 and the lane next to me was also merging. I was in the left lane which, at this particular entrance ramp, meant that the other lane had to merge into my lane and then we all merge onto the high way. However, this morning there was a man who can't read merge signs and clearly doesn't know the rules of the road. He started racing me to beat me and pretty much ran me off the road because he didn't want to merge into my lane behind me... he wanted to be in front of me. So of course I blasted my horn like there was no tomorrow. And I wanted him to learn his lesson!

If in this moment I had more of Jesus in me and battled my fleshly anger, I would have graciously let him in front of me, regardless of his desire to beat me and run me off the road. The horn wouldn't have gone off, my rage wouldn't have lasted until I walked into work, and I wouldn't have been tempted to throw him the finger. (I didn't throw him the finger because that's just rude, not classy, and he would for sure think I didn't love Jesus...but oh did I want to!!)

See, I need more Jesus.

Thanks to a friend (you know who you are but I didn't know if you wanted me to put your name on the internet) for reading my blog! I think you are great... really great! And thank you for assuring me that black and brown can be worn together and look snazzy!

Chickin Parm for din din tonight so you know what that means... Adventures of 2010 #2 coming soon :D

Mrs. Scalf

Adventures of 2010 #1

I've got a great plan!

Since I have to wait until I go home so that my mother can teach me how to knit mittins and socks... I'll make cooking/baking my 2010 hobby.

I would like to try 1 new main course recipe and 1 other (side dish or dessert) recipe each week. This week I am making the Pioneer Woman's version of Chicken Parmigiana (my first time ever to cook with red wine!) and Veronica's Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies (YUMMMM) ! I'm also going to do my best to take photos of my adventures, however my camera doesn't do so hot when photographing food/anything indoors. Outside lighting is the best, though!

I love my new hobby!!

Mrs. Scalf

More Jesus

This is what it boils down to - EVERYONE NEEDS MORE JESUS.

My soul was hungry for some time with our Lord this weekend, and I ignored it, and ignored it, until I couldn't do one more thing until I read, thought, and prayed. I will be the first to admit that my time with the Lord is MINIMAL. But when I listened to the Holy Spirit telling me to get away with Him... i felt relaxed and so peaceful. It was EXACTLY what I needed. I'm trying to read through my Bible cover to cover and memorize James. I finished off 1st Samuel and am now moved into 2nd Samuel - the life of King David. I argued with God saying, "I'm in the Samuels.... what am I going to read in there that so great, anyway? I'm bored with it." But that wasn't the point because LIFE ISN'T ABOUT ME AND WHAT I WANT! Just reading God's Word was all I needed and He knew that...

And I need more of Him. Everyone does.... People will say things and I can't help but think, "you need more Jesus..." I will think things or reflect on my selfish week and think, "I need more JESUS!" We all need more Jesus.

I'm going through the Financial Peace videos by Dave Ramsey and at one point he talks about the necessity of discipline in order to gain wealth (or in my case be financially wise). He said no one enjoys discipline... if you do, you're kind of weird. But everyone enjoys what discipline produces. Which is TRUE. When I am disciplined in my diet and exercise I feel great and stay thin. Do I like training for half marathons? NO . Do I like going to the gym to lift after a long day at work? NO. But the product of a disciplined workout is worth it. In the same way, I do not necessarily enjoy sitting down and reading Samuel, but I LOVE what God does with it - the product of quality time with Him!

Discipline has been my biggest battle in my walk with the Lord.

Also... I made sticky buns again today and they were delicious. Although I spilled half of the buttery brown sugar mixture all over me while trying to carry them to my car... Other than that, they were a DELIGHT for sure. Here is the recipe in case you are itching for some:

1 frozen loaf of white bread (I think I used Pillsbury or Kroger brand, in the frozen bread section. It came in a package of 5 loaves.)

1 package non-instant vanilla pudding

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Thaw bread according to package directions. Place on a lightly floured surface and roll into roughly a 12x8 rectangle. Melt the butter and spread some across the rolled out dough. In a small bowl, combine pudding, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the butter. Roll up the dough (from long edge to long edge) and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place pieces into a greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Pour the remaining butter over the rolls. Cover and let rise. (I let rise over night in the refrigerater and they are ready to bake in the morning). Preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered for 18-20 minutes or until the top of the rolls are golden brown. Finally, flip the rolls upside down onto a plate and ENJOY!


Next I will have Veronica's strawberry chocolate chip cookies... oh so approriate for Valentine's Day!

Mrs. Scalf

My Brain Hurts

I feel like my brain was to explode with all the stuff that is on my mind right now!! Last night Schramm and I went to the gym for some hot-tub-sitting and lap-swimming. It was really fun and relaxing. Lindsay told me to pray for a different person each lap that I swim. Time really flew once I started chatting to God. There are lots of people to be praying for...





In the hottub, we talked about how great her DL class was and about biblical submission between husband and wife. There are very mixed feelings from women about "submission." It's a scary word - and not natural, especially since the woman's rights movement and with high divorce rates, children are used to the mother running the home. And let's be honest, there are few men in this world who "are worthy of submission." KV and Brian Loritz put it pretty well, however, "If your man is under the submission of God, no woman is going to have a problem submitting with that man." Which is so true! I like to use the umbrella example:

Ok, I'm the small person on the far right. PJ is next to me holding a holey umbrella. God is the big guy on the left holding the giant, hole-free umbrella. Ephesians tells wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to Christ. I submit to PJ, who is holding an umbrella that has holes in it because he is a sinner saved by grace - not perfect. If PJ is submitting to Christ, who is perfect, holy, and set-apart, we ain't getting wet when the storms fall... It's actually a pretty perfect system - very orderly. But for women who are not married to men who submit to Christ... submission is difficult and scary, however still a command.... Life isn't easy or fair and no one said it would be.

Also, Shantell and I are memorizing James, which is so much fun. We worked on Philippians last year, and it is such a blessing! God speaks really beautifully through the Word and memorizing it really does something unexplainably wonderful to my soul. It's the best way for me to be in the Word. I'm a very task-oriented and like having measurable goals. Sitting down and reading is very difficult for me because I feel like I'm not "doing anything." Which is totally a lie from the pit of hell, but I've found something that really encourages me to dig deep and meet with God. I've got the first 16 verses pretty good and can't wait to keep going!!

Lastly, my heart was fulfilled a bit yesterday when teaching one of my students math. It came to my mind that I may pursue my teaching degree and teach math to children - it's so fun. Being praying for me about that one...

Mrs. Scalf

Haiti

The earthquake is really sad. But I can't help but think a few things about it....

How powerful is our God? It's his earth and he can do what he wants, and he sent a ginormous earthquake to hit an Island. I mean, an earthquake.... that's so cool.

How fragile is life? In the matter of seconds, 200,000 people were wiped out. Completely out of control of any human being. I was made aware of a family that STREETS is familiar with who experienced the fragile-ness of life. The father was driving and fell asleep at the wheel; they hit an 18-wheeler. The mother died instantly, the father is in intensive care on life support, the son broke both of his hips, and the 2 daughters are okay. Can you imagine how different their lives all become now? Life is fragile.

How sweet would it be if this Haiti earthquake is a birthpain? Look at Matthew 24:4-8 -

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."

I love life, and it is good. But because I know that "my citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ," I'm ready to go home and be with my Lord. So the idea of birthpains kind of excites me.

The idea of birthpains kind of scares me. I know that I am going to be held accountable of what I have been entrusted with (the gospel) and that God expects that interest has been made (i.e. I've made disciples. See Luke 19:11-26). I'm pretty confident that I'm the servant who laid it away in a cloth so that it would be safe... I'm the wicked servant. So these birthpains should make me do something... Let me explain the parable of the ten minas (one of my all time favorite parables)

"A man of noble birth" - Christ

"Servants" - followers of Christ, disciples.

"Subjects" - nonbelievers, people of the world

(I LOVE verse 15. Jesus states that the people didn't want him to be king, but the following verse basically says... I'm king anyways, sorry. hahah I LOVE IT!)

"Money" - the good news

Look at verse 15... "Then he sent for the servants (believers) to whom he had given the money (gospel), in order TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY HAD GAINED WITH IT."

Keep reading....

The first servant took what he was given, and earned 10 more. Then he was rewarded with ten cities. The next servant took what he was given, and earned 5 more. He was rewarded with 5 cities. The last servant didn't earn anything and his mina was given to the servants who had earned interest... and he is called wicked. Then he kills all the subjects in front of him....

I don't know about you, but I really want to be the good and faithful servant who took what I was given, and "earned 10 more." I've got some serious disciples to make...

It's interesting to notice that from this parable, Jesus talks as if what we do on earth is directly proportional to our rewards in heaven. So much work to do.. "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few..."

I love our children!!!

-Mrs. Scalf

Apt #1

It's been nearly one entire month since I've last blogged. Shame on me.



Christmas was wonderful. The mister and I began our celebration by a little thing I like to call Sticky Buns... Check these bad boys out:




We heated up the first batch, ate a few, and then ripped open our Wii, Punch Out, Mario Kart, and other sorts of gifts from our families (thank you!). Next we grabbed the laptop and headed to the Starbucks parking lot to Skype. This was quite the humorous experience... my family all sounded like chip munks.

Next we made a breakfast with Craig, Claire, Bear, the Jones Family, and the Detamores. More sticky buns, eggs, sausage, OJ, coffee, hot chocolate, ect. YUMMY!!!

Settlers of Catan was next. Wow...PJ won and it took 2 hours (at least!)

Dinner was FABULOUS! Lamb, Cider Ham, Garlic mashed potatos, Fresh Salad, Green Beans, Rolls, Pumpkin Pie, Christmas Punch.... DELICIOUS! Thanks to the Jones help :D

Good sleep, good times, wake up on Saturday and MOVE!! The week was followed by sorting junk, HOURS AT MLGW (kill me now), and cleaning. There is a spare bedroom so please come for a visit! Our new place has a fireplace, which PJ is loving. We've only set off the fire alarm once! Look at this blaze we've got going on!!



Until next time...

Mrs. Scalf