40 Days of Water

Today is the beginning of my favorite liturgical season. Lent is here! Lent, is the preparation time leading up to Easter. It's a call to remember our reliance on Christ, similar to Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. It's common during this time to give something up. I have had a habit of adding something to my schedule (reading my bible, praying, volunteering somewhere new). This will be the first year since high school that I actually give something up in the way of self-denial.

This year (last night actually) I finally decided to take the plunge. I had been thinking about it and fighting it all week. After realizing what a battle this was, I figured it was exactly what I was being called to do. I am giving up purchasing/partaking in any beverages other than water. What the WHAT? Yes! This mean coffee and soda and beer. I already have a headache today. It might be the caffeine withdraw already, but it might also be because my hair is in a tight bun on top of my head.

Tonight should be interesting. For the past 2 years, every Wednesday is Happy Hour night at the spot. Tonight will be the first time ever I don't order a drink. I'm seriously stressed out thinking about it. Why do I feel like I have to drink at happy hour? Why do I  care that my friends might judge me for not drinking?

On top of the giving up of beverages I felt like I needed something else to complete the circle this year. So I found an organization that will help in this. Blood:Water Mission does en event every year combining giving up anything but water for lent and donating money to a worth cause. So for the dollar value of every drink I give up I will donate the same amount to them. They are doing great things to get people all over the world clean drinking water. What a life-giving worthy cause!

Consider joining me. Do you practice Lent? What are you giving up?

Another Great Cupcake

So friends, let me first say baking at sea level is so nice! And, being in my mom's kitchen didn't hurt either. She had just about everything I needed, including a food processor (go Magic Bullet & Susie!)

I liked this cupcake. It was a little dry. I probs over baked them, but the recipe really didn't have much liquid either.

Skinning hazelnuts. Really?

Lesson learned. It wasn't too hard. Some of the skin wouldn't come off. I gave up on the s and used them anyways.

The Magic Bullet is a great food processor :)

I should've made a Marg after.

Thank you sea level for cupcakes that turn out great without altering the recipe.

So pretty.

Cast of characters for chocolate butter cream frosting.

The frosting may looking like poop but it is awesome. And super easy to make. 

Jenny warned me that it would make a TON of frosting. 

We had picked up some fresh plan city strawberries on the beach and the frosting was great with them. 

What a fun idea Jenny had with making all these cupcakes. Thanks Jenny for letting me help out. One of my goals for the next year is to make one baked good from scratch [or with my bare hands as my niece would say :)] a month. I am not a great baker but practice makes better, right? So if you get a baked good form me and it's not great.... don't tell me. Just smile!

It is the last day of 2011. Enjoy folks! 2012, bring it on! This is supposed to be my lucky year because I will turn 27 on the 27th of July. 

J

Cupcakes

My friend Jenny started a blog as she baked through (and blogged about) Martha Stewart's Cupcake cookbook. Check it out at Give Cupcakes. Earlier this fall she asked for helping getting through all the recipes. She has done a great job and I was a little nervous to offer help. Let's be honest y'all I am NOT a baker and the first recipe I did definitely proved that.

This recipe is Lavender-Iced Brownie Cupcakes.  And I learned my high-altitude lesson when my entire first batch fell. They still tasted great but looked pathetic!

My cast of characters. (Not complete).

Chocolate & Butter. Yum. I had never tasted baker's unsweetened chocolate before. I tried some after this was melted. GROSS! I will never make that mistake again.

That sad fallen cupcakes of round I.

Sunken middles :( The great part was it held the lavender icing in a nice little pool.

I called one of my baker friends for advice for the second round. 1 more egg, less sugar and less baking powder. 

Round II looked awesome!

The icing was really easy. 

You can't really tell but the frosting had a nice lavender color thanks to food color.

I brought them over to play Dominoes with some coworkers. 

Wine, Mexican train and fun friends. It was a lovely snowy night!

So, lesson learned on baking in the altitude. Which won't really help for my next recipe that I will be making this week. I am in FL for Christmas! My 8 year old niece and I will be attempting Almond Hazelnut Cupcakes. I will hopefully get a few more pictures since I will have a great little helper.

And, I have a new found love for cooking/baking with Lavender. It is such a great taste.

Well friends, off to enjoy the sunshine & the beach. I'll be back this week with another cupcake recipe.

J

Jesus, that's it.

Last night I talked at YoungLife club. I haven't given a "normal" talk in about 5 years. It was so refreshing to prepare for and so lovely to give! I have given a few talks the past 3 years... need, sin, cross, appropriation, and SEX. What a lovely breath of fresh air to tell people about Jesus, just Jesus. There is something great about getting high school friends to think about whether or not there is a God out there, and if he does exist does he actually care about them. Unfortunately (that may not be an accurate word), I am in this boat with them some days. But last night felt so good and so right. Thanks Jesus. I needed this sweet reminder.

I shared with my high school friends about the story of Jesus calming the sea. Jesus, fully man, in one moment of spoken words, commanded the storm to stillness. Whoa. Jesus/God has such power with words. He spoke creation into existence and he can calm storms. It seems to always "feel" like storms are crashing one after another in life. And in the midst (just like the disciples) I forget that God has done impossible things, and I think nothing can conquer the storm. And he quietly and a the perfect time steps in and in one moment stills the raging storm.

The same Jesus who is in the boat with his friends, is in the boat with us. Not just when I love him most, or I am doing well in life. But He is in the boat through the hurricanes and tsunamis.

So what did I take away from me own YL talk? Jesus cares. Jesus loves me, the unlovable. He wants a relationship with me. Do I believe it? If so, do I really trust that he will calm the storm at just the perfect moment.

In  other news, life is cruising along. Work is slightly chaotic. YL is good. My cousin is having a baby (hopefully today). And I am a child of God!

Do I matter?

I'm pretty sure I'm just not meant to be a consistent blogger or journaler. I am on my computer enough, I should just suck it up. Mostly I feel like there's nothing too exciting happening. Maybe, there isn't "exciting" stuff going on to the rest of the world, but to me and God it is. I need to be more open with the truth. God is writing my story, it is an incredible one. I know this, but do I live like that? Hardly!

My goal for this week (cause let's be honest that is the time frame I can honestly work in right now) is to live my life outwardly with the truth that God is writing my story and has an incredible plan for me. I get so caught up in living life through others that I rarely feel like I do much for me. (Which is so not true... I am totally selfish with my time!) I'm not sure exactly what this looks like. I'm going to need to be more intentional with how I spend my time, what and who I prioritize. My other goal is to actually follow-up with this post.

PS. See Julie, this took close to NO time.... Stop being lazy!

J

Update in Pics...

 My roomie Maria got married. So we all dressed up and wore mustaches out for her  bachelorette party. Good times in Breckenridge.

Family Dinner in May. I have great friends here!

Family dinner 2 weeks ago. We sure have grown. And there were a few missing from this pic.

My YL girl Taylor and I after my talk this monday. She is hilarious.

Headed "home"

Headed back to my third home (1-Bradenton, 2-Earlville). The place where my heart feels the most home: Crooked Creek Ranch! YoungLife is in the midst of snow camp season, meaning high school & middle school kids from the Front Range go to camp for the weekend. The Front Range YoungLife staff work these weekends. Monday morning I received an email from the region saying they needed to fill the empty spot of Head Leader because the couple who were suppose to do it had a family emergency. So of course, I responded right away saying I would love to do it! So this weekend I will be a head leader at camp. This will be a new side of camp for me to experience but I am very excited. And added plus is that 3 of my girls will be there as WyldLife leaders so i will get to see them interact and lead their middle schoolers. These girls are amazing. I hope they know that.

White stuff started falling from the sky yesterday. First time in Denver this season. And to make matters worse, the sunsets by 4:45 everyday. Seasonal depression here I come... but first, I'm off to my happy place.

JNJ