Psalm 63

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.  

Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you. 

 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.  

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.  

Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.  

I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me. 

Christ is more wonderful than any other person or relationship.

Recipe of the Week: Scones and Jam

What's Afternoon Tea without scones, clotted cream, and jam?

I can't wait to bring this tradition to the States. :) Today, we had afternoon tea with tea, scones, and Victoria Sponge Cake with my lovely friend Lizzy and the YWAM bunch.

Here's a perfect recipe for an English treat:

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 55g/2oz butter
• 25g/1oz caster sugar
• 150ml/5fl oz milk
• 1 free-range egg, beaten
  (Feel free to add raisins too!)

Preparation method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/425F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
   
2. Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter.
   
3. Stir in the sugar and then the milk to get a soft dough.
   
4. Turn on to a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out to a round 2cm/¾in thick. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on a baking sheet. Lightly knead together the rest of the dough and stamp out more scones to use it all up.
   
5. Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg. Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden. Glaze with milk.
6. Cool on a wire rack and serve with strawberry jam and clotted cream.
   

Thankfulness

Thank you God for...

sun and warm weather.
conversations at Belgique with G4G.
letters from friends from far away places.
home-cooked meals.
a loving homestay.
music.
journaling.
your Word that speaks to me.
loving me unconditionally.
laughter.
kayaking on a summers night.
Olympic excitement.
traveling and seeing your creation.
skype chats with family.
good books.
chai lattes.
sleeping in after a long week.
friendships growing.

"Rejoice always,  pray continually, give THANKS in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16 

London 2012

The Olympics are finally here...feels like we've been waiting forever. London has been quite exciting with the tubes full of foreigners, athletes winning medals, and sunny weather at last! Last weekend we had our Fun Day on the Green with free activities for the whole family (inflatables, rock climbing, art zone, faith zone, live music, and food). Jacqui and I have been planning this event since September and so thankful for a great day. All the hard work paid off! Thank you Lord for providing perfect weather and building relationships with people in Woodford.

Another answer to prayer: my friend invited me to see Gymnastics...what an amazing opportunity to cheer on Team USA and GB live! We also saw China, Germany, Russia, and Canada compete...such talented athletes! I'm looking forward to seeing the Paralympics as well in September at the Olympic park.

On Tuesday, we were able to share the gospel with International Sports Chaplains from Atlanta and Alabama outside the Olympic park. We gave out Olympic pins representing the 5 colors (Black-we have sin and need a Savior, Red-Jesus died on the cross for our sins, White-He makes us white as snow when we accept Him in our hearts, Green-a daily walk with God and keep growing in our relationship with Him, and Gold-we can accept the free gift of salvation and spend eternity with Him in Heaven) Sometimes we make the gospel seem complicated and hard to share with our friends/family, but it's quite simple and Jesus calls us to preach the good news!  
"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"- Isaiah 52:7
So thankful I was able to pray with soldiers from Afghanistan...they were so open to receive prayer and re-dedicate their lives to the Lord. Even though our interactions with people were brief, we planted seeds and God will grow them in time.  
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." -Galatians 6:9

Thank you Jesus for your continual blessings...pray God would continue to use me for the next month whether it be helping at church, blessing people, or sharing the Word with a friend.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:17

Cooking

I've learned that cooking for friends is a great way to bless people. I'm finally learning how to cook! :) Recently, I made Vegetable Pizza with eggplant and zuchinni...

Here's the recipe:

1 eggplant (peeled and cubed) 14 tsp salt 2 zucchini (sliced) 1 sweet potato (peeled and cut into 12 inch cubes) 1 onion (peeled and cut into eighths) 1 red bell pepper (cut into 1 inch pieces) 14 cup olive oil

1 tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped) 14 tsp pepper 8 ozs prebaked pizza crusts (wheat) 1 tsp olive oil 13 cup asiago cheese (shaved)

	1. Sprinkle eggplant with salt, and let stand 30 minutes. Pat dry.
	2. Preheat oven to 400°. Toss together eggplant, zucchini, and next 6 ingredients, and arrange in a single layer in 2 aluminum foil-lined 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pans.
	3. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender and golden brown. Season with salt to taste.
	4. Place crust on a baking sheet. Brush crust with 1 tsp. olive oil. Top with 2 cups roasted vegetables; reserve remaining vegetables for another use. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is melted.

 Last night, I decided to have church friends over for a Hawaiian meal...spam, eggs, and rice! It's the best with seaweed and you can make spam musubis...

We played MASH for hours, Mafia, and laughed the night away...I love having people over. There's something wonderful about food and fellowship. Thank you Lord!

Learning

A friend shared this with me from Prayer group :) 

Prayer group and afternoon tea!

 

Just another day at YWAM Summer Mission School

Saturday morning brunch with YWAM...banana pancakes (Hawaiian style)

God has been teaching me so much in these past couple weeks...thought I'd share what I've been learning on this London Journey...

So thankful for YWAM Summer Mission School...4 YWAM Maui students decided to outreach in London for the Olympics and so blessed by their servant hearts, fellowship, and openness to share the gospel. I love having fellow Americans around ASWW...definitely makes me think if I should volunteer at YWAM Maui when I get back to the US. "If it's God's will, it's God's bill", right? If only God would take away my college loans...:)

Recap of the weeks...
1) Pray that we would put on the "eyes" of the Holy Spirit walking in Woodford and open to share the gospel/testimonies
2) Sharing the gospel is simple and starts with building relationships with people you already know
3) Pray we would practice hospitality and share with a servant's heart...

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  -Romans 12:13


Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. -Colossians 3

'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’- Matthew 25

Life with the Brits

I thought I would slowly pick up the British accent as I've been living here...I'm sorry, I still haven't. My American accent will always remain! However, I keep picking up British 'slang' in the past 10 months and would love to share these catchy phrases:

-pardon? (what?)
-nappy (diaper for babies)
-rubbish (trash)
-cuppa (tea)
-English roast (best thing ever on a Sunday afternoon...meat, veggies, potatoes, and apple crumble with custard for dessert usually)
-biscuits (cookies)
-fag (cigarette)
-cheers (thanks)
-keep calm and carry on! (what everyone says when things go wrong)
-Only Way is Essex (where I live and a bad TV show like "The Hills")
-pants (underwear...still hard to remember sometimes)
-trousers (pants)
-boot (car trunk)
-brolly (umbrella)
-black pudding (disgusting)
-spotted dick (a pudding...weird name)