Simply Norma – Page 91 – Living Simply

The Crooked Treasurer

What would you do?

A treasurer steals money and his direct supervisor continues to trust him with the money. Sound absurd? Who in their right mind would make a decision to give money to a known crook?

Not only did the supervisor give the treasurer the money to hold, he also gave him other responsibilities.

The treasurer’s name was Judas. The supervisor? Jesus.

We wouldn’t normally treat someone like this but that’s what makes us different than Jesus. He thinks “outside” the box in His relationship with people.

An author shares their perspective:

“Judas was blinded to his own weakness of character, and Christ placed him where he would have an opportunity to see and correct this. As treasurer for the disciples, he was called upon to provide for the needs of the little company, and to relieve the necessities of the poor.” EG White

Day in and day out, Judas saw Jesus healing the sick, casting out devils and raising the dead. He walked with a miracle worker but he did not allow the character of Jesus to rub off on him.

We have to be careful that we don’t follow in Judas steps. Jesus sometimes allows us to be in places so that we can see our weakness and have an opportunity to correct it.

The War in Iraq is Over

That’s what I keep hearing — the war in Iraq is over. Announcement after announcement — the troops are coming home. But is it really over?

It seems to me that it’s just starting for the soldiers coming home. The adjustments they will have to make won’t be easy as they transition back into family life. Do they have classes for that?

The effects of war continue in the families of the approximately 4500 who died, in the lives of the 32,000+ who came/are coming home injured and in the number of Iraqis who died which is estimated at 600,000.

The effects of this war has left both physical and emotional scars that will be around for the rest of peoples lives.

Combine this with the idea that a lot of people still don’t know why we entered this war since no weapons of mass destruction were found.

To further add insult to injury, yesterday the news reported that the Iraqi government is controlled by Shiites who are friendly with Iran. Other sources are quick to discount that relationship — because the thought makes us all cringe.

It reminds me of a song …

“War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again!”

Was this war really necessary?

Â (Image courtesy of Microsoft Images)Â

Winter in Minnesota

The rain in Spain is falling mainly in Minnesota ….

It’s not winter quite yet although by now Minnesota should have had a wee bit more snow.

Today it feels like I’ve been transported back to Seattle — cloudy, rainy and in the 30’s. Yesterday it felt like Seattle — cloudy, rainy and in the 30’s. Three days of clouds is making me bonkers.

I need sun! Minnesota always seems to have sun even after a good snowfall.Â I don’t remember the clouds in Seattle affecting me so much. I feel blah, bleh, blegh …

The weather woman was telling us about the weather forecast with an umbrella over her head. It’s quite different here. All the weather people seem to step “outside” to give us the weather report — even when it’s freezing cold.

Hopefully today will bring good news for the rest of the week. Come on sunshine!

Heat Problems

For a while now I’ve felt quite cold in our family room. I thought I was the only one with the problem because my husband was warm. I’d walk around with cold feet, cold hands, and a cold nose. My husband had warm feet, warm hands and a warm nose. Quite the opposite of me.

Our beautiful fireplace works well in our family room but it still was not keeping me very warm.

Last week, one of my son’s came home for Christmas and he mentioned how cold our family room was. I decided to check to see if there was heat coming from the heat registers and when I put my hand over them, hardly any heat was coming out.

My husband, who has a genius logical brain, decided to go to the basement and do some sleuthing. Guess what? He found that there is a lever that can turn the heat duct to the family room off, on or in between. And — it was barely on.

With the adjustment made, the family room is now toasty.

(Apologies to our family who came to visit for Thanksgiving and probably were freezing but didn’t tell us.)

We are slowly learning about all the nice features this house has to offer, ie being able to have different heat settings in different parts of the house. Unfortunately, they are not “nice” unless we know about them.

Well, we have many years to learn.

The Christmas Tree

Last year we had bought a small artificial Christmas tree because we were living in a small apartment. This year we live in a house with a family room that has a 12 foot ceiling so we decided to get a live Christmas tree. Â It did not take us long to find one.

We saw a sign at the Guardian Angel Church parking lot advertising the sale of trees. We were hoping to get a 5-6 foot tree. Getting out of the car, we walked around and looked at every tree. Most seemed pretty scraggly and since they were $50 I had decided to try elsewhere.

Before leaving I asked the man leading us around, “Do you happen to have any other trees?” I really didn’t think they did but didn’t want to disappoint him in not getting a sale. “Yes,” was his reply.

The salesperson led us to the “back” where they had 3 very large trees. My eyes immediately went to the one I thought was just about perfect. I had the salesman hold the tree up for me, looked at my husband for approval, and said “we’ll take it.” Another family was standing nearby and had we not taken it I believe they would have.

So — how does one get a 10 foot tree on a Toyota Camry with no luggage rack?

The workers were very efficient. They “netted” the tree so it was nice and slim. Hauling it onto the top of the car, they easily tied it down.

The only problem we had at this Christmas tree lot was that they only took cash. We had to drive to an ATM with the tree on top of the car and then return to make our payment. (Minnesota has very trusting people.)

After waiting a day for our tree to dry, we hung the lights and decorations on it.

Standing back and looking at the tree, I wonder how tall the tree was that Christ was crucified on. I was thankful that I remembered the reason for this season.

KitchenAid Mixer

Quite a few years ago, 20 maybe?, my husband and I received a Kitchen Aid mixer from his mother.

I use it all the time! It is easy to clean and the attachments can go in the dishwasher and clean nicely.

My only problem? The older I get the harder it is to lift. Soon it will have to become a permanent counter appliance.

[amazon_link id=”B0002Y5X92″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] KitchenAid KP26M1XLC Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer, Licorice [/amazon_link]

Christmas Gift Exchanges

I’ve been trying hard not to rant about Christmas gift exchanges. I’ve had several discussions with one of my sisters who is in charge of our family’s gift exchange this year.

Hard as I tried, I came across an article in the New York Times that talked about this very topic. It riled me up again.

I like the premise of exchanging names for Christmas in large families such as mine. This way, I can focus on one person and get them a really nice gift instead of trying to spread my money over 20 people.

This is the second year that we are participating in the gift exchange. The rules are easy. Pick a name of someone not in your immediate family, ie not a sister, brother, mother, etc. The dollar limit for a gift this year is $35.00. Easy enough.

My sister creates a spreadsheet that has 3 columns next to people’s names. The columns have peoples preferences of things they would like to get. One is not obligated to get a gift from this list but it makes life easier. This list is where it gets interesting.

A lot of things listed are gift certificates such as Target gift certificates, Kohl’s gift certificates, etc.

It feels like we’re just exchanging $35 with each other. I hand you a $35 gift certificate and you hand me a $35 gift certificate. I say we save our gas money and just call it a wash. Why don’t we just get together, listen to some good Christmas music and enjoy each other’s company? It would be less stressful.

Perhaps that’s not the Spirit of Christmas? Hmmm ….

The Rain Storm

The ominous black cloud covered the sky quickly
Looking around I found no place for refuge
Slowly the rain came down
One drop, two drops, three drops
Dressed in a blue t-shirt, patched jeans and sandals, I knew I would be drenched soon
Suddenly the sky opened up
Pellets of large raindrops soaked my bare skin
With my head down I watched as the rain hit the ground
Then, I listened
Plop, plop, plop-plop, plop-plop-plop, plop
As if on impulse, my feet followed the sound
Stomp, stomp, stomp-stomp, stomp-stomp-stomp, stomp
Energy coursed through my body
Up my knees, my torso, my arms
Then, with exhilaration the hands joined in unison
Clap, clap, clap-clap, clap-clap-clap, clap
With an irresistible pull, my body danced to the song of the rain
Laughter filled the air
As the storm passed, my body slowed
Peace filled my heart as I looked up to the sky and thanked God for a oneness with Him.

SimplyNormaÂ

Anxiety

A friend recently sent me an email that included the following article:

“The Harbour Bridge and nearby Opera House are iconic images of Sydney, Australia. But engineers have recently grown alarmed that the famous bridge is showing serious signs of corrosion. Last year city officials spent $12 million fighting an endless battle with rust.

Anxiety is like rust. It coats and corrodes the mind, weakening the entire structure. Worry dissolves our peace just as rust eats away the strength of a bridge — weakening the metal that was formerly strong.

Sydney’s Harbour Bridge will be fine. Workers have been stripping the structure back to bare metal and starting the rustproofing process all over again with special paints. But how do you rustproof the heart?

You simply add a “t” and turn rust to trust. The writer of Psalm 37 said: “Trust in the LORD â€¦ Delight yourself also in the LORDâ€¦ Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Himâ€¦ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fretâ€¦ trust in Him” (v. 3, 4, 5, 7, 40).

Don’t rust. Trust.”

When I get anxious, it usually stems from something that I don’t have any control over. I need to learn to stop and trust — perhaps then my rusted mind will turn to a trusted mind.

(The article above was found at www.davidjeremiah.org/site/magazine.aspx)

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I love cheesecake but I don’t have it very often because its usually pretty rich.

P1080423 — White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

When I lived in Seattle, I used to go to a place called Cash & Carry which was on Leary St NW in the Ballard neighborhood. They had wonderful boxed cheesecakes there and I would bring one home every now and again when I had company over.

Recently we went to the Olive Garden and were going to try their white chocolate raspberry cheesecake but decided it was too expensive. I told my son that I would make him one at home.

So — here’s my first homemade cheesecake.

Ingredients

(For the crust)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened

(For the filling)

3 packages (8 ouncesÂ each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cupÂ sugar
1/3 cupÂ sour cream
3 tablespoonsÂ all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 packageÂ (10 to 12 ounces) white baking chips
1/4 cupÂ seedless raspberry jam

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, the sugar and the butter. Press this mixture onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan then set this aside.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. To this mixture, add the sour cream, flour and vanilla and beat this together.
Add the eggs then beat everything together on low speed just until combined.
Fold in the chips.
Pour this mixture over the crust.
In a microwave, melt the raspberry jam then stir it until its smooth. Drop the jam by teaspoonfuls over the filling batter and cut through the batter with a knife to give it a swirly look.
Place the springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square) then securely wrap the foil around the pan. Place this in a large baking pan. Add 1 inch of hot water to the larger pan.
Bake at 325Â° for 80-85 minutes or until the center of the filling is just set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.