sorrow

for this city. for the people who are angry and frustrated and upset. for the people who have lost friends and family and neighbors. for lack of justice and obfuscation and hiding truth and preemptive violent reactance. for the people whose lives and livelihood have been damaged in the riots. for the sin nature that urges folks to vent without care for others.

for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. 2 tim 1:7

all lives matter. praying tonight for supernatural reconciliation and peace.

---- update 8:47pm

Good Lord. Part of the city is burning. We need you here God. My heart is so heavy right now.

---- update 7:15am

a quiet start to the day. praising God still for the beauty of the earth (esp in springtime) and for people who are loving their neighbors in very practical ways and chiping in to help clean today. new mercies every morning.

ebenezer

let it be remembered this day that God is gracious and provides in glorious abundance, in wholly unexpected and wonderful ways

(hehe i.e. i harvested like 6 cups worth of delicious cheese (gouda! pepperjack! cheddar! muenster!) from a cheese and fruit platter from a very cool malaria-in-pregnancy symposium and WOW is it exciting!! God is so funny! I was just thinking about how to introduce more protein into my diet, and tada!)
(also, i figured out how to do my stata hw! ugh coding. why did i think it was a good idea to take a non-req class that focuses on writing code? ah well, almost done, building skillz. ptl huzzah yayyyyy)
(redemption for all things! like overbaked cookies --> dunk in milk tea = soft, chewy, pliable again)
(and praise for being able to sit with a girlfriend and talk and cry and pray... ever, always, reliance on him)

Oh my

- I'd forgotten HOW AMAZINGLY GOOD taiwanese sausage is. ahhhhh delicious
- To-do list now includes learning Swahili... merpmerp
- Wahh airfare so expensive >.<
- Undeserved graciousness of friend-acquaintances
- God is so good

T-6wks: Recipe roster

(Note to self: things to use up before I move to Austin for the summer! >.< did too good a job saving "food for later")
(share with SBI seminar/Formative class; small group; church staff/worship/volunteers; roommates/neighbors; busdriver Ms. T-; perpetually hungry friends aka L- and M-)

Real food:
napa cabbage and taiwanese sausage
soup (bonito, asian spinach, freeze-thawed silken tofu)
chili? (canned beans, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, corn, jalapenos, green bell pepper)
spaghetti and meatballs (crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, red onion, and assorted spices)
cornbread (creamed corn, cornmeal, milk, eggs)
miranda's sausage and cheese balls? (breakfast sausage, cheese cube collection - crumble)
tilapia with pesto?

Let inspiration strike (strategically defrost one/a couple frozen thing(s) at a time):
[frozen proteins] sausage, dried bean curd, whitefish, cheese slices/cubes
[frozen veg] broccoli, edamame, kale stalks, yu choy, carrots, celery
[pantry] couscous, lentils, pancake mix, grits
[dairy] ricotta, sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt

Dessert
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-lemonblueberry-yogurt-cake-with-lemon-cream-recipes-from-the-kitchn-186846 (lemons, yogurt, frozen raspberries)
apple cranberry crisp (fuji collection, canned cranberry, oatmeal, nuts)
http://www.crunchygooey.com/2013/12/soft-spice-cookies-with-cranberry-sugar.html
coconut-taro-tapioca soup round II
cheesecake brownies
something with pie crust?
http://food52.com/recipes/25341-yogurt-bread-with-molasses
thumbprint cookies OR some sort of swirled cake to use up my jam/preserve/lemoncurd collection??

Spring

1. For the beauty of the earth, 
for the glory of the skies, 
for the love which from our birth 
over and around us lies; 
Lord of all, to thee we raise 
this our hymn of grateful praise.

2. For the beauty of each hour 
of the day and of the night, 
hill and vale, and tree and flower, 
sun and moon, and stars of light; 
Lord of all, to thee we raise 
this our hymn of grateful praise.

3. For the joy of ear and eye, 
for the heart and mind's delight, 
for the mystic harmony, 
linking sense to sound and sight; 
Lord of all, to thee we raise 
this our hymn of grateful praise.

4. For the joy of human love, 
brother, sister, parent, child, 
friends on earth and friends above, 
for all gentle thoughts and mild; 
Lord of all, to thee we raise 
this our hymn of grateful praise.

5. For thy church, that evermore 
lifteth holy hands above, 
offering up on every shore 
her pure sacrifice of love; 
Lord of all, to thee we raise 
this our hymn of grateful praise.

6. For thyself, best Gift Divine, 
to the world so freely given, 
for that great, great love of thine, 
peace on earth, and joy in heaven:  
Lord of all, to thee we raise 
this our hymn of grateful praise.

Comparisons

Two posts from very different authors for very different target audiences, running along the same lines.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/04/ways-to-use-facebook-without-feeling-depressed/389916/
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2015/04/when-you-feel-you-are-not-enough/

My heart aches for Kenya today.