Size Large

When I am freezing or when I get a cold, I pull out my size large, dark grey sweatshirt from my first official job, Sunshine Day Care.  I worked at Sunshine for two semesters during my freshman year of college.  My boss, a Christian guy, was weird.  He didn't let his Sunshine workers pick out size small work shirts at the corporate office.  Presumably this was to stop his employees from choosing too-small shirts when they really needed a larger size.  Thus I ended up with several too big, size medium t-shirts, which looked ridiculous on me, not to mention the fact that a few were emblazoned with huge, yellow suns wearing shades.  My boss' rule really didn't make sense when I saw my coworkers, who should have worn size large, wearing their tight size mediums, the same size as mine; what was the point of the rule again?  :P

Any way, our boss also got us site sweatshirts when the spring semester rolled around.  I guess he just upped the t-shirt sizes from each of us when he ordered the sweatshirts.  Thus I have a size large sweatshirt to go with my size extra-small self.  I can't say that I appreciated it seven years ago, but I sure appreciate it now in the cold, even though I look ridiculous.  I wonder if I could stuff Amos in here, too?! :)

Young, Hugo, Lewis, and Adams

I like this song by Adam Young, aka Owl City, for the Disney movie Wreck It Ralph.  The music video is kind of weird/cheesy, but I like the song.

I love books.  I'm about 200 pages into Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, and I have 1,060ish pages to go!  I'm reading it for a few reasons.
1. A new theatrical version is coming out in a few weeks.
2. Several of my friends have seen a play version of the story and/or love the music.
3. The discipline of reading a long loooooooooooooong book is good for me as a reader and as a person.
4. I want to be able to say that I've read the unabridged version. ;)

I'm almost done with Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis.  I like it a lot.  Here is one quote that really stuck out to me.

"What I like about experience is that it is such an honest thing.  You may take any number of wrong turnings; but keep your eyes open and you will not be allowed to go very far before the warning signs appear.  You may have deceived yourself, but experience is not trying to deceive you.  The universe rings true wherever you fairly test it."

This reminds me of a quote from one of my teacher ed professors.  Dr. Adams never married, even though she wanted to.  She is now set to retire this spring, and Master's will have a hard time replacing her.  She taught a few seminar and credential classes as well as the intense-but-fun class known as Children's Lit.  She has a hundreds of children's books in her office. *sigh*

One year Dr. Adams spoke in a women's chapel about...something?  I think it was about trusting God with your life; I'm not sure.  Though I can't remember the exact topic, I do remember one exact sentence.

"God isn't going to let you unknowingly ruin your life."

This is very encouraging, and I think it goes along with C.S. Lewis' quote.  God will not let me unknowingly ruin my life.  He is a loving God, so He will use circumstances, people, His Word, and my conscience to show me the right way to go.  Even when I am confused, God is on my side.  He won't let me accidentally ruin my future.

Hell in the sanctified imagination

*Disclaimer: I know that people don't like to think or talk about hell, and I'm not sure that I do, either.  However, I am a Christian and thus believe in a literal hell.  I don't believe in hell because I want revenge on anyone, and I certainly don't believe that I have any responsibility for who goes to hell (referring to the common question, "if I don't believe in Jesus, do you believe I will go to hell?"  Well, yes, but it's not MY condemnation, it's your own for not accepting Christ, and it's what the Bible says.  "Don't shoot the messenger.")

At one of our Thursday Bible study meetings, our Bible study leader asked us, "What do you think hell is like?"  A few people gave some answers, then Jeff asked Amos what he thought.  Here's a paraphrase of Amos' response.  It is not meant to be taken as biblical fact but rather as Amos' own view of what hell could be like.

"I don't think hell is like a nightmare, like many people think [dark, scary, monster-filled, etc.].  I think it is more like finally understanding that God is God, and being eaten up by that knowledge for eternity.  You finally understand and believe what God has done for you  on the cross, and you are eaten up by the fact that God loves you and doesn't want you in hell, but that His perfect justice will not allow Him to take you out of hell.  You live in eternity with the knowledge of both the truth and your rejection."

How sad!  How horrifying.

A Polling Story

My parents love to vote, and they effectively instilled that love in their first four children and are currently working on the next four.

I love to vote, too.  I get so excited when I get to sign my name, take my ballot, mark little dots with a special pen, and submit my vote.  I almost tear up, just because I am so happy to participate in this great process known as democracy (I know, I need help).

When I was younger, my parents took my brothers and me to the polling places.  In the weeks leading up to the elections, Mom and Dad discussed the politicians, propositions, and measures, marking their choices carefully in their voting guides.  Or at least so I thought.  One year Dad didn't mark up his guide, so he came out of his little, corrugated plastic booth to ask Mom, who was voting in her own booth, which person or proposition he was supposed to choose.  Mom started to show him her choices when a poll worker popped out of nowhere and said firmly, "Sir, you can't do that.  Go back to your booth!"

Dad was caught off guard by her sudden appearance, so he blinked quickly, got out an apology, and hopped back in.  I don't know if he ever did pick the right candidate.

The Christian and the Homosexual

The Bible says that homosexuality is wrong (see Romans 1).  As Christians, we need to know how to respond to a culture that is increasingly accepting of homosexuality, even when there aren't that many actual homosexual individuals in the United States (this statistic was brought to my attention by Al Mohler in one of his Briefings).

One resource that I found very helpful was an interview conducted by Tim Challies and David Murray.  The interviewee was Rosaria Butterfield, an ex-lesbian who is now a conservative, Christian, homeschool-mom to four children adopted from the foster care system (yea!); talk about a one-eighty.  You would think that Rosaria would give the same pat answers and suggestions that you always hear, but I was surprised and challenged as I listened to her testimony and her words of advice.  She also is very eloquent, which I appreciate. :)  You can listen to the interview here.

Here's a quote from the interview that doesn't apply just to the problem of homosexuality; I found it very thought-provoking.

"True believers can be beaten down by sin faster and more furiously than sanctification can buoy them up."

What a call to be both on our toes and on our knees!

Self-Crusting Quiche

I don't remember what I was searching for when I found this recipe idea, but I'm sure glad I found it!  I guess self-crusting quiche is a New Zealand thing (or so the recipes I found seemed to indicate.  It's basically an egg-bake-type-thing with lots of good stuff in it and no time-consuming crust. ;)  Amos and I make this about once a week.  We cook it in a glass pie dish, cut it into sixths, and wahh-laaah! we have breakfast for three days. :)  It stores well in the fridge and heats up nicely in the microwave.

Self-Crusting Quiche 

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese
Various spices, salt, and pepper
1/2 cup Bisquik or other generic baking mix
1/2-1 1/2 cups vegetables and other add-ins
Additional cheese for the top, if you like a lot of cheese 

Mix everything together well in any order in a medium-large mixing bowl.
Pour into greased pie pan or 8x8 baking dish.
Cook 30-35 minutes at 385 degrees or until set.

I've changed this recipe every time I've made it!  Some of my ideas are listed below, with an asterisk next to our favorites.

Adaptations
*3/4 cup mixture of plain yogurt and milk in any proportions
*Addition of 1/8 cup wheat germ (you don't taste it, it's just good for you)
Addition of 1/8 cup protein powder (whey protein)
Pan-fried potatoes added to the pan before pouring in the egg mixture

Add-ins that we've liked
Munster cheese
*Pepper jack cheese
Cilantro
Basil
*Raw onions
*Raw bell peppers
*Salami
Turkey lunch meat
*Fresh corn from boiled corn on the cob
Cooked asparagus
Cooked spinach

Spices
*Garlic powder
Sage
*Cayenne pepper
Cumin

Plethora

My poor little blog seems to be forgotten quite regularly.  Oh dear.

Here's an interesting article by Al Mohler about the changing religious demographics of the United States.

Recent cooking adventures?  Oatmeal spice cake with honey-cream cheese frosting, pulled pork in the crock pot, and soon, hopefully, chicken spaghetti from Pioneer Woman (minus the overly-processed cream of whatever soups)!

I finished Atheism Remix by Al Mohler on Sunday, and am still in the middle of Mark Twain's European adventure, A Tramp Abroad.  I'm also reading The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller.  This book is very interesting, but I don't agree with a lot of what she says.  However, Miller does exhibit some good insight:

"The sort of experience that makes for a good story is seldom a comfy one. 
'Adventure,' then, is what might otherwise be called a hardship if it were attempted in a different spirit.  Turning a difficult task or a perilous journey into an adventure is largely a matter of telling yourself the right story about it...This is surely the oldest form of the many tasks that stories are called upon to perform." pg. 57

"[Lewis] firmly believe that sometimes war was necessary.  Religion explains the why -- sometimes we must be willing to sacrifice ourselves for a greater good -- but stories show us how.  Stories are what make heroes.  You can only become a hero by participating in a story, and stories bestow meaning on what might otherwise look like raw suffereing and waste." pg. 59

I've had two interviews in the last two days for three different positions, but I didn't get the first and if offered the second or third, I will decline them.  There are some things that specific students need that I am just not willing to help with.  I worked two days last week and am working five days this week, and with all the busyness of work and home and church and projects and cleaning and running errands and needing to fix the car, I can't help thinking that maybe I shouldn't try for a full-time job. :P  We shall see...

Quick trip

It's Wednesday!  It doesn't seem like Wednesday, but maybe that's because my Monday and Tuesday were taken up by flights and family visits.  I flew to NorCal on Monday morning (way too early) and flew back on Tuesday afternoon.  My mom had a coupon for a facial treatment that wouldn't work for her, so she gave it to me.  Even though I'm twenty-six, I still have acne that I'm trying to get rid of. :P

Here are some stories from the weekend...

Me: "Garret, do you want a cookie?  Amos made them.  They're peanut butter oatmeal with white and regular chocolate chips."
Garret: "No, I'm on a diet."
--I walk over with the open cookie bag--
Me: "Are you sure?  They're really good."
--Garret eyes the cookies--
Garret, wistfully: "Are they soft?"
Me: "Yep."
Garret: "Okay."


Me: "I wonder if Ethan and Andrew will be color blind." [Ross is color blind.]
Ross: "Audra is worried about losing her sense of smell."
--Ross tells us a story about Audra's dad and his nearly-nonexistent sense of smell--
*A minute later*
Ross: "Audra is worried about losing her sense of smell."
Me: "Are you worried about losing your sense of remembrance?!  You just told us that!"


Luke: "Gio might have a Matchbox car that's worth three dollars!"
Ross: "Bring me the car; let me see the price book."
--Takes the car, looks in the book--
Ross: "Yeah, this is the right one.  I think the car has some syrup on it, though.  You take it to the Antiques Roadshow, and they taste it, 'Mmmmmm, maple!'"


Scott told me about his police pursuit and how he couldn't get this seatbelt on because the road was so bumpy that the belt kept locking in his hand!  He ate three of Amos' cookies.


Mom: "Alistair Begg isn't really old, unless you think I'm really old!"
Brenda: "Mo-ther!!  You are not old!  You have at least fifty years left to go!
Mom, teasing: "I just want to live old enough to be a burden to my children."
Alexis: "What's a burgen?"


All in all, it was a very nice two days being able to see everyone. :)

Around the web 3

Here are some more links to enjoy!

via Tim Challies "Just Disconnect" by Carl Trueman
I really liked this article and then felt guilty that I had just posted on Facebook that I was drinking tea and browsing Pinterest.

The purpose of mist. by Heather Surls
My friend Heather went for a walk early one morning, and here are her thoughts.

via my friend Elizabeth Confessions of a Young Widow: The Little Things I Miss About Being Married by Sabrina Beasley
This was written by a friend of my friend Elizabeth.  I thought it was funny that after I read this article, Amos came home and was doing something "juvenile," so I got to tease him about it.  He's pretty great! :)

Chicken Parmigiana from The Pioneer Woman
I always thought that breaded chicken had to be baked, but it doesn't!  I made my own sauce but used this method for cooking the chicken. So good.
As a side note, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, is hilarious.  I love reading her recipes because she is a nut!

A favorite picture from Bangalore

Informed

I don't know about yours, but my Facebook page is getting overwhelmed with news.  My brother Ross posts and likes pictures having to do with the presidential election.  Red-highlighted maps show American embassies under siege in the Middle East.  Teachers are striking in Chicago.  The new iPhone 5 came out today? yesterday? who cares who knows?  Iran and Israel are still "discussing" a nuclear attack.  Companies, universities, and other institutions are protesting the federal mandate to provide insurance to cover abortion costs.  New York is outlawing the sale of sugary beverages in containers larger than sixteen ounces.

Besides voting in November and choosing not to get an iPhone, I don't think I can do much to fix these world problems.  It would be easier simply to ignore all of the noise and pay attention to inane tv shows instead, but Amos and I don't have a tv. ;) haha!  No, I don't want to watch tv to escape from the world, and I'm glad we don't have a tv.  But how can I still get some news without being over whelmed with pages and pages of Google News articles?

I'm glad you asked.  Though I've read Al Mohler's articles for a while, I listened to his daily newscast for the first time yesterday.  Al Mohler talks about the current news and what it all means from a Christian worldview.  Each podcast is about ten-fifteen minutes long and seems to highlight only the headline news from the day.  If you want to join me, you can listen to The Briefing here.

Have a good time staying informed!

"Real or not real?"

On August 31st I checked out The Hunger Games, the first book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  On September 7th I finished Mockingjay, the third book.  Three books in one week.  Talk about exciting!

My friend Heather wanted me to write what I thought about the trilogy, so here are a few disjointed observations.  These are my observations based on my worldview.  As I read, I evaluate the words on the page and the attitudes behind them, something that my mom initiated when I was young.  ("Is this a good book?  Stop reading it if it isn't good.")  Amos and I don't often read the same books, but we both read The Hunger Games trilogy and thus were able to have informed discussions late at night, when we were supposed to be sleeping, and early in the morning, when he came home at 6:30; I love being married!  We were able to discuss this book based on our worldview, and here are some of our, though mostly my, thoughts.

Positive
1. The books are very interesting.  The story is about a dystopian society in which the main character, Katniss - the girl on fire - and a handful of friends stand against the Capitol, the oppressive government of the country of Panem (formerly North America).  The books were riveting and engaging.  Collins includes constant twists, turns, deceptions, and climaxes.

2. There aren't really any unanswered questions at the end of the book.  You know why all the bad guys did what they did, you know about all the switchbacks, and you know what happens as the last book ends and the story goes on.

3. Again, the books are fast-paced and very interesting.


Negative
1. The books' format started to get predictable.  Every chapter ended with a huge cliffhanger, as did the first two books, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.  Cliffhangers are good but they shouldn't be overused.

2. Katniss as a heroine is not very admirable, but she does have somewhat of an excuse.
-Katniss is an emotionally-damaged person.  Her father died when she was young and her mother shut down, leaving Katniss to care for her sister, her mother, and herself.  Throughout the books many, many people die, some of them as a result of Katniss' actions, both good and bad.  Because of this scar tissue, Katniss does not respond well to pressure or sacrificial love or rules or praise or responsibility or affection or disapproval or weakness or criticism or much of anything.
I can see this in the lives of people I know who are scarred; they feel threatened by many people and many situations and therefore don't respond well to life in general.  This is in sharp contrast to Christians I know who are scarred and yet are allowing Jesus heal their wounds and scars.  I know dealing with pain is not easy; I know that you can't just say, "Buck up!  Get over it!"  I just think these friends/acquaintances/family members are showcases of the power that Jesus, our Hope, can have in a damaged life if the person is willing.
So I don't fault Katniss, the fictional character, for being scarred by situations that are beyond her control.  I don't know what I think about her exactly.  I guess I think that Katniss the character finally makes sense when I see her as a emotionally-damaged person who is without Hope.

-Because she is emotionally-scarred and because she is a teenager, she can't make up her mind about which boy she likes and thus holds on to both of them, even though she doesn't want to get married or bear children.  Too common today and not a good example.

-There are innumerable variations on a common sentence that go something like this: "I know I should [fill in the blank], but I am too [fill in the blank] to do that."

-Katniss never forgives and is reluctant to trust those who have burned her.  So sad.

-Katniss always feels like she has to repay those who do something for her.  The character Peeta protects her numerous times throughout the trilogy, and she always feels like she must pay him back.  This again is in sharp contrast to the Christian, who has been saved by Christ and knows he can never pay Christ back.  To attempt to repay the debt would be viewed as legalism and a prideful attempt to buy Jesus' love, which is impossible.

3. The books read like teen novels, which they are.  I don't fault Collins on this point because she was writing for a teenage audience, but I found it annoying after a while.

4. I almost stopped reading the book because of the romance, which wasn't even that prevalent.  Call me hyper-sensitive, but I don't think that romance books, even the more innocent ones written by Nicholas Sparks, are good for people to read; they give you unrealistic expectations and can make you dissatisfied with what you have if you aren't careful.  In my case, it was making me sad that I had never had a teenage boyfriend...which is a very good thing, because I was rather immature as a teenager.  I almost stopped reading, but then I decided that when I came to the mushy parts, that I would just skip over them.  It worked pretty well.


Overall
The Hunger Games trilogy was very interesting (I use "interesting" much too often); I liked it.
Read the story through a Christian worldview; don't read brainlessly.
Understand that Katniss is a character that is not always admirable.
Try not to be annoyed by the constant cliffhangers.

And, for the cheese factor,

May the odds be ever in your favor.

This one's for the curls...

It seems that the most memorable/distinctive thing about me is my hair.  In June, Amos and I attended Mary and Jared's wedding.  One of the bridesmaids was Kat, Mary's sister and my old roommate.  Kat didn't know that we would be coming to the wedding, but when she walked down the aisle with one of the groomsmen and caught sight of the back of my head, she thought, "Oh, Jennica's here!"  (I later recognized her by the shoes she was wearing; I need to wear my glasses, haha!)

My little brothers and sisters, Brenda, Luke, Alexis, and Gio, have paid attention to my hair and sometimes use it to describe other things.  "This weed we found in the yard looks like Jennica's hair."  Now that weed is referred to as Jennica Hair, and everyone knows what they are talking about.  Oh dear.  When Brenda was little, she said I had "hill hair."  Haha!

My hair comes from my dad's side of the family.  It is thick and blondish red-brown and falls in a series of curly waves.  If you look at the back of my head, you can see the horizontal waves; they aren't noticeable from the front.  Now my hair is turning grey, silver, and white, also a present from my dad's side.  Oh dear.

Daddy and I, about to walk down the aisle...

I really like my hair now.  I didn't always.  My hair got curlier as I got older, and neither my mom nor I knew what to do with it.  I'm pretty sure I walked around looking like a lion with a triangular mane most of the time.  When I was in high school, my mom took me to see our former neighbor, Cindy, who was also her hair dresser.  She told me to stop brushing it when it was dry, not to handle my hair after it was styled for the day, and to wash my hair every other day so that it wouldn't be so dry and brittle.  In college I learned to use hair gel and a hair dryer with a diffuser attachment.  I got my first-and-only professional haircut to take away the pyramid shape.  My mom's been able to duplicate the cut every time since then, which is nice because it's saved me a few hundred dollars in the last several years. :)

My roommate for two and half years was Katharyn, with a head of beautiful, straight, dark hair interspersed with several grey and silver strands.  She expressed the sentiment that I think many people feel, that while she liked my hair, she wouldn't want it herself because of all the work it takes.  Another girl on my wing once told me that she actually had curly hair like mine but she always straightened it.  When I asked why she put hours of time into her hair to make it straight, she replied unthinkingly that "curly hair isn't popular."  Ummmm, thanks for that.  About a year ago, I introduced myself to a girl named Sarah at church while we were waiting for our Missions Leadership Team meeting.  Sarah's hair and my hair look the same, except that hers is more red (lucky!) and a little thinner.

This is a very good hair day

Anyway, that was a lot just about my hair.  Here are a few things you probably didn't realize about curly-haired people, unless you are one yourself.

-Curly hair takes a lot of work.  Frizz is constantly waging war on our heads.  A friend in college roughed up my hair one time because he thought it was funny; I did not.  He eventually married one of our straight-haired friends, which is probably good.

-I've said this before, but in most movies, a heroine who starts out with curly hair doesn't get a break until she straightens her hair.

-Curly-haired girls can usually tell if a straight-haired girl actually has naturally-curly hair.  It's very hard to achieve perfectly-straightened hair all of the time.  Also, there is a big difference between curled hair and curly hair, and especially between scrunched hair and curly hair.

-No curly-haired person likes to walk past those hair-straightening booths in the mall or Sam's Club.  I already don't like drawing attention from the poor people trying to sell their remote control helicopters or Dead Sea mud masks or customized license plate holders, but I really don't like talking to the hair straightening people.  I should carry little cards that say, "I like my hair.  I don't want to walk around the mall with one thin strand of straightened hair just so that you can prove that your little gadget works well.  I'm also an introvert, so no, I don't want to talk to you about this."  I'd just give them a card and run away. Typically I just try to look absorbed in something else so that no one will call out to me.

-Few curly-haired girls look good with really short haircuts.  Of course, you could always go for a fro, but unless you are black, that probably won't look good...at all.

-Humidity does wonders to curly hair.  When I stepped out of the airport in Delhi two years ago, I literally felt my hair start to expand in the damp heat.  Not fun.  However, I am much more forgiving of my hair when I'm overseas; there is no way that I would stay home just so that my curly hair would look normal.

Curly hair has a mind of its own!

-Curly-haired people understand each other.  I have friends that I met way back when I was about twelve years old, and we occasionally mention each other in a curly-haired status on Facebook, either to invoke sympathy or to call for rejoicing.  I suppose our mascot would be Frieda from the Peanuts cartoon strip, who is always talking about her own naturally curly hair.

-Though curly-haired people usually like their hair, there are days when they long to have straight hair.  It would be so much easier, and straight is very pretty, too.

I'm not really sure why I started this rather long post about curly hair in general and my hair in particular, but I will end with...

Curly Hairs Unite!  

Don't be discouraged because our culture says that straight hair is better!  

We don't want superiority, we just want equality.

;)