Beautiful Things

Beautiful Things

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

The singer-songwriter, Michael Gungor, said "My wife Lisa and I wrote the song together based on experiences at our local church. We were seeing our friends going through suffering and pain. This song is an expression of hope that God will make beautiful things out of the dust in our lives, and God will somehow use us, use our obedience and love, our feeble human effort, and build Himself a kingdom. I see that God is using suffering to bring us closer to Him."

The band Gungor not only makes beautiful music but I learned they are incredibly involved in missions in their home town of Denver, and internationally. Michael Gungor and his wife moved to Denver and eventually founded a community of believers called Bloom. There they are regularly involved with the homeless and needy.

I end my post with this beautiful quote from Michael, “If leading worship is just about bringing a group of people into a room so we can get goose bumps and sing songs together, there’s not much value in that. But if leading worship is a means to an end, that we leave this place as a different kind of people, as part of a new humanity that God wants to create--the people that are caring for the widows and orphans, that aren’t bound by the systems of this world but becoming free, becoming fully engaged in our world--then that matters.” (Source: New Release Tuesday)

If you are moved to become involved in missions to the widows and orphans, I can highly recommend Kenya Missions of Hope. Please click here to read more about the missions, to pray and to perhaps lend your financial support.

Brother Thomas Rop contacted me the day before yesterday about school needs. This week you would be helping a young girl who is short for school supplies and uniform ($80. US, 52 GBP, 61 Euros, 75 AUS) and her two sisters who still need school shoes $36 and $43 US respectively,  (23/28 GBP, 28/33 Euros, 34/ 41 AUS). The two sisters will also need toiletries in a few weeks. Please know that none of the orphans we help are living in an orphanage. They are living with caretakers in private homes or living in orphan headed households as in the case of the 3 girls who have immediate school needs. Your gifts and prayers are so much appreciated for them all.

God bless you.

A Thing of Beauty

I love handmade things. I've always loved crafts of all kinds. Anything made by the hand, that takes time to render, is special and holds deep attraction for me.

When I travel, my eye is always drawn to different textiles, pottery, jewellery and other hand crafted items.  Kenya is a wonderful place for seeing and buying hand crafts. I wrote about some of it here.

Kenyan beadwork is connected to the cultures of the various tribes doing the beadwork and is a somewhat new addition to their culture.  Much like it was to the Native American Indians who traded in beads with the foreign settlers, Kenyan beadwork dates back to the late 19th century when beads from what is known today as the Czech Republic, became available to them. 

Beadwork has a special attraction for me because when I was a teenager, I made things out of seed beads.  Mostly I made earrings and necklaces for the women in my community.  They loved to adorn themselves with one of a kind pieces. I haven't done any of that kind of work since then.

In Kenya, bead work is often used, along with hairstyle and other types of adornment, as a way of identifying someone's status and identity.  I'm not sure if this is still the case today, but certainly it probably is where the tribal traditions are thriving.  Westerners tend to know more about Maasai beadwork.  For example, a mother may place a string of beads around a baby's wrist, ankle and waist and thereby be able to track the baby's growth. In addition, a girl or boy's eligibility for marriage can be observed by the shape, pattern and colour of their beadwork.

A beaded bowl caught my eye the last time I was in Nakuru.  The beautiful colours caught my eye and also the fact that I'd never seen a beaded bowl before.  I brought one home.  It now sits in my bathroom holding small items like my hair clips. I would love to have several more of them in different colours; at least one gold, and one in different shades of blue.  I'm sorry I didn't buy more but I have learned not to overdo it with the tourist purchases. Whenever I get back to Kenya, I can buy a few more bowls.

I added the last photo jut because I like the wavy lines of colour that occurred when I moved my camera too quickly.

In writing my post I was fortunate to come across a book devoted to the culture and customs of Kenya, called Culture and Customs of Kenya by N. W. Sobania.  It looks like a wonderful book for your library if you're at all interested in the culture of Kenya; a fascinating country with many different cultural traditions.

Enjoy your weekend!

Dragons Fly Overhead

It's the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. I wrote about it here if you would like to read more.

Imagine my surprise, when earlier this week, I looked up at the sky and saw a cloud in the form of a dragon!   

 

I quickly snapped these photos before the dragon flew away!

I'd love to hear what kind of interesting cloud formations you've seen lately.

Enjoy more sky watching by clicking on the badge below.

Beans, Beans, Beans

Today on my walk I managed to find a brand of lentils and beans that I haven't tried before. The price also seems a little cheaper than the usual offering at the other stores I frequent.  So I picked up a few bags of several types of beans and green lentils.

Right now I'm soaking garbanzo beans and pinto beans and thinking of what to make with them.

These new to me garbanzo recipes look like something I would like to try.   

Garbanzo Bean Medley

1 tsp. olive oil
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, chopped (optional)
1 can garbanzo beans (I'll use "from scratch" beans as they have no preservatives)
1/8 tsp. fresh pepper
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a skillet  and saute green pepper for 2 minutes, add onions and garlic; saute until soft. Add beans, pepper and salt; saute until well blended and heated through. Serves 4.

Notes:  I will use red peppers instead of green ones because I prefer the taste and colour.

Garbanzo Bean Soup

 

1 lb. garbanzo beans (the recipe calls for dried but I'm using "made from scratch" beans)
8 c. water
1/2 c. olive oil
1 lg. onion, diced
1/2 clove garlic, diced
4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 bay leaves
1/2 (6 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 (6 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
4 med. size potatoes, peeled

Saute onions in olive oil and when tender add all other ingredients with the exception of stewed tomatoes and pepper. Saute for 2 more minutes. Bring garbanzo to a boil and add all ingredients. Lower heat to low and boil until tender. More water or salt may be added to taste. Cook until potatoes are done. If you would like a thicker consistency.mash some of the beans and potatoes.

I'll probably use the pinto beans for some make ahead chili, as in this recipe but I'll use pinto beans instead of kidney beans. 

The health benefits of beans are many:  they lower cholesterol and promote digestive health, promote  heart health, stabilizes blood sugar levels. The beans also have antioxidants in them and can help manage your weight by giving a feeling of fullness (satiety).  Garbanzo beans contain molybdenum, manganese, folate, fiber, tryptophan, protein, calcium, phosphorous and iron. 

I was surprised to learn that garbanzo beans may be one of the world's oldest, cultivated bean.  I was also surprised to read that India supplies the vast majority of the world's garbanzo beans; something like 80-90%! Other producers of garbanzo beans are Pakistan, Turkey, Ethiopia and Mexico.

This chart is a bit old but I don't think that the bean production levels haven't changed too dramatically.

Recently I learned two tips for cutting down on the gas in cooked beans. The first tip is not to cook the beans in the same water in which you soak them. The second tip, is to change the water part way through the bean cooking process. I tried the latter tip last time I made beans and it really worked.

What about you dear reader?

Do you have tips you use to cut down on gas from cooked beans?

Moon Beaming Bright

(These photos are better viewed by clicking on them.) 

Thank you for visiting.