Monthly Archives: April 2009

Uncommonly Beautiful Girlfriends Weekend

28 Tuesday Apr 2009

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My weekend began  in a torrential downpour while driving north on I-35.  It was thunderbolt alley all the way to Dallas.  Every fiber of my being wanted to stay home and not endure the stress of a rain-soaked ride.  Todd prayed for me, and encouraged me to take my time, stopping often.  What was the hurry anyway?  Contemplative exercising began on my way to the retreat, I meditated and slowed my pace.  My pace was sooo slow, I arrived 6 hours after departing, usually a 3 hour tour so I’m told. 

One of my dearest and oldest friends Amy(we’ve known each other 32 years) stayed on speaker phone supporting me along the journey as the water flooded the roads and buckets full of water blasted my windshield.  She has been with me in all sorts of dicey situations and this was no exception.  She was voted nicest in my high school.  A woman of gentle strength.  A true leader.  Her persuasive speech led me to a retreat 30 years ago where I met my Lord for the first time.   

Once I arrived, however road weary and rain soaked, it was another wonderful, life changing, and life challenging retreat.  This was the retreat of the women of Stonebriar, a congregation northeast of Dallas.  For many of us, we were renewed in all ways eternal, detoxing the synthetic ideas away as we  sat under the teaching of accomplished author and speaker Cynthia Heald (Author of the Best Selling Series Becoming a Woman of…. ) 

CARE (Christ’s Arms Reaching Everyone), a women’s ministry I was involved for four years until moving away in January, nourished me in this way.  Now it was a weekend of care for the soul – CARE was evident in the lives of the ladies over the whole weekend. Leaving CARE in Tucson, directed by the godly lady Barbara Tompkins was a raw and painful loss from my life in Arizona.  After 4 months away from the beloved women of CARE  God was lavishing me with John 15:15 as he did 30 years ago this month.

God’s friend:

A friend is a term of endearment that literally means one who walks beside, one who is near, one who is beloved, or those who belong to one another. As God made man, Jesus had every right to expect those He died for to serve Him as slaves, yet He chose to consider us His friends: “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends”

 (John 15:15)   Live Fearlessly by Lenya Heitzig & Penny Rose pg.197,

  Uncommon Beauty, 7 Qualities of a Beautiful Woman , Cynthia Heald’s latest book,  was our spiritual formation class for the weekend.

Although the women we will discuss were ordinary, they became beautiful by choosing to live extraordinarily. They were comfortable with who they were, they rose above their circumstances, and they persevered. Their lives have encouraged me to take risks, to seek wisdom, and to live selflessly. It is so easy for me to get caught up in my own world and seek comfort for myself alone. It is easy for me to focus more on my outward appearance than to develop gracious character. I have learned that lasting beauty is bestowed on those who posess “a certain something,” qualities that are the “soul’s own doing,” which can only be described as uncommonly beautiful. ”                 

 Cynthia Heald Uncommon Beauty , pg.8

Side note…I would like to place a copy of this book in every young woman’s hands I know in  middle school and above.  

  April 21st Chambers stated “We look for God to exhibit Himself to his children, but God only exhibits Himself in his children.” 

 He exhibited Himself in ladies I met through passion, wisdom, integrity, selflessness, graciousness, contentment and courage, the titles of all the chapters.  Cynthia also refered to her book Maybe God is Right After All,  because it was clear Cynthia has kept her hand in His encouraging us to do the same, for God’s Word Is All the Truth You’ll Ever Need, a chapter in the book… 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-

 His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Romans 12:2 

The radiance of Christ was clearly evident at a Marriot just north of Dallas.  The beaming smiles of godly women greeted me as I pulled into the underground garage, bathing away the grime of stress from this harrowing drive, and my new-found gracious friend Mary Shave (entertainment and emcee for the entire weekend) guided me to my room.  Joy and sorrow is part of every woman’s life, and this weekend was no exception.  When the speaker shared that  her Mom was struggling at the end of her 96th year of life, a group of women quietly left the room to pray for her non-stop while she spoke.  Servant’s hearts  were everywhere.  I received welcoming hugs from women I’d never met at most every turn.  More than Texas hospitality, this was the love of Christ in action.  The women in white were our spiritual leaders for the weekend.  Karen Hawkins and her worship team were obedient and humble as they spoke and sang us continually into His Presence in a ballroom.

My keepsake for the time with these eternal beauties was led by a woman of excellence, Dana Cooper,  in a deeper walk with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and revived friendship with Christ and new friendships with women.

Reporting from Dallas…

Resting in Him, Trish

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Traveling Pants…Make Do and Dye in Blue.

27 Monday Apr 2009

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Lydia, the maker of fine purple cloth in the book of Acts,  closely resembles my life after college where I was privileged to sell exquisite, high-end women’s clothing, the purple cloth of our day.  Loving it so much, even after moving to a fancy desk job at the corporate office, I worked any weekend shift available at the retail store Mandels.  Their clothes were the staple of my business wardrobe.    God is molding me to be more like hospitable Lydia as I interface with my husband. Lydia was known as God-fearing, something I hope and pray comes to mind as you know me…something I aspire toward in my daily walk  

Meet Lydia:

“On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting.  We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them.  One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman.  As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the master gave her a trusting heart and she believed!”

 After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.  “We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” (Acts 16:13-15, The Message)

 I wrote a study for women leaders on Acts, mostly to share all the incredible insights wise men and women had poured into me while in Chicago, and to freshen and cement the teachings into my brain. Fun note… I would sneak into D.A. Carson’s class whenever I could, and sit with all the scholars.   Sticking out like a sore thumb with my faux black fur vest and matching hat…complete with leather gloves trimmed in black fur, who was I kidding?  I’d sit in the back row and glean.  I could only glean from the words spoken in English…the class required both mastery of written and spoken Greek…ouch, that’s why I had to sneak. 

I love dyed cloth like Lydia.  Every 6 months I dye my jeans with Rit dye and they are a crisp, cool, blue indigo much like the water at Lake Travis.  The jeans have traveled east and west as much as my weight.  Just like the girls in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, each girl had a different figure, but the pants miraculously fit each one as the girls shipped the pants around to all the exotic locales the girls visit.  

Make do with blue, and dye your jeans to keep them fresh looking. On a note of interest, Thyatira, our new friend Lydia’s hometown,   was famous for its purple dye. A handful of kosher salt in the hottest water your machine will give you and dye away. Throw in a worn out white top and girlfriends, you’ve got a new look for the weekend…extra slimming when you where the same shade top and bottom. 

We learn so much from the prayerful women sitting riverside on the seventh day…2000 years later.

Rest in Him, Trish

Food on Fridays..Make Do Tabbouleh

17 Friday Apr 2009

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Saturday was my Birthday, I turned 45.  Traditionally on my special day I lolly-gag around the house and talk to my brothers and sisters, spend a relaxing day in my “jams,” and Todd cooks up a magnificent dinner,and this year, my sweet daughter whipped up an exquisite dessert.  Though I usually go for Baklava, this year it was Italian Sponge Cake by request.  “Little Chef” did a fabulous job with a challenging recipe.  

Saturday was also the day before Easter, and preparing dishes for church and our family was both unavoidable and my delight.  Entering a market or store of any kind was not on my plan.  Tabbouleh is always a standard side dish to our roast lamb every year and this year was no exception. 

Prep time 15 minutes

1/3 c bulgur rinsed and drained

3/4 c boiling water

1tb evoo

1 tb fresh lemon juice

1/2 ts. grated lemon peel

1 tb. chopped fresh cilantro or mint

1/2 ts. salt

1 c of English cucumber …diced

1/4 c diced green pepper

1/4 c finey shredded and diced onion

Pour boiling water over bulgur…let stand…whip together the rest and combine and chill till serving.

Atkins For Life, pg. 309  Robert C. Atkins, M.D.

Chopping up all my ingredients, cilantro, green pepper and onions I reached into my crisper and pulled out a zucchini.  Zucchini is not in my recipe, cucumber is.  Reluctantly I diced the unwanted veggie and tossed it in my bowl.  Sauntering over to grab the bulgur wheat out of my pantry, I noticed we were out, but hey, I had sesame seeds.  We recently moved and replenishing cooking staples seems to be a never ending battle for me.  We frequently eat pancakes from the Better Homes and Gardens cook book (p. 88) and “kicked it up a notch” with the bulgur wheat (as well as flax seed, chopped nuts, berries, whatever adds interest and nutritional value).  Substituting the sesame seed for bulgur wheat, and the zucchini for cucumber, I proceeded with my preparations.  It was an experiment in making do, and my family knew it…hey, I knew it.  Just because something looks like something else doesn’t mean it has the same nature and characteristics.  My tabbouleh was sub-standard.  Edible yes, tasty…sort of. 

Do you have any make do spiritual practices?  A book you’ve grabbed a hold of and become so excited over you reference it more than the Bible, or give it greater authority that the word of God.  Maybe it becomes you daily devotion instead of sitting with God’s word.  Spurgeons’ The Soul Winner has been that for me.  The book is boxed up and sitting in the never-never land garage attic right now.

Spurgeon speaks directly into the crevices of my life unhindered in ways that other books never can, but its not the eternal breath of God, no matter how close.  If God’s word is the real thing, don’t make do with the faux-tabbouleh’s of the literary world.  The Word of God stands alone in its authority, and must be directly piercing into you, just like the Sword that it is.  Great authors like Spurgeon are excellent mentors and teachers along your journey, but never substitutions for the real deal. 

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” 

John 10:27 KJV

Rest in Him, Trish

Passover and The Angel of Death on Golfview Lane

10 Friday Apr 2009

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Yesterday was Passover and Maundy Thursday.  Passover  marks the start of the Jewish Feast of Unleavened Bread that recognizes God’s salvation of the Jewish people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt some 4,000 years or so ago.   On the eve of Passover, on the night that Jesus was betrayed, he celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples and essentially telling them it was fulfilled in him, that the bread and wine of the Passover meal were symbolic of his own broken body and blood that would be shed on the cross just the very next day!  Spending time creatively hearing God’s word as I prepare my home for the festivities of each week not just Holy Week is vital to my soul care.

 Last Sunday Todd’s message was “What’s So Triumphant About the Triumphal Entry?  (After all Jesus was crucified by the end of the week).  He encouraged us to read through the parallel passages each day this week to review the events leading up to His betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion.

 Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11 and Luke 19:29-38 were my companions, while preparing dishes for the weekend and viewing scripture filled videos as I folded laundry and ironed for Easter.  The Matthew DVD by the International Bible Society is a new Southard must this year.  Helping set all my senses to the events of the week,  I sipped chicken broth and drank grape juice,  “Wild Purple Smash,” by Wylers.  

We enjoyed a not so traditional Seder evening meal and Todd read through the story of the Last Supper, discussing the significance of Christ in the Passover.  A restful simple evening which set our hearts to the things of God.  Wikipedia (hardly an authoritative source on the Passover, but adequate for my purposes) coached me on the significance of bitter herbs( we used cilantro). Several other additions and solemn insights came from a memorable evening with my friend Susan who allowed us to celebrate the Jewish Passover with her family last year.   They do not see Christ in the Passover.

One of the most searing memories I have of Holy Thursday was reading the story of the Passover to my daughter one morning in 2000 and later watching  two four year old girlfriends, one from a Christian home, one Hindu, swipe paint brushes above doorways and giggle up and down the hallways of our apartment building.  Seeds of simple faith at work in the heart of child.

“What are you girls doing?”

“Oh Mom we are putting blood above every door way so the angel of death will pass over all these families.”

I sat the girls down and told them in very basic language the rest of the story.  I was afraid they wouldn’t realize our Lord had paid the price of the guilt of sin by his life on the cross.  My daughter laughed again….”Oh Mom I told her already and they ran off.” 

“Jesus must appear to you and to your friend individually; no one can see Jesus with your eyes.  And division takes place when one has seen Him and the other has not.  You cannot bring your friend to the point of seeing; God must do it.  Have you seen Jesus?  If so, you will want others to see Him too.  “And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either” (Mark 16:13).  When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don’t believe.”

  Chambers, April 9

It is a Good Friday!

Rest in Him, Trish

Juicy Couture Turkey

03 Friday Apr 2009

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Food on Fridays with Ann Kroeker or “Foodie Friday”  has me attempting to boil down time for everyone and serve turkey in signature “Trish’s Dishes” .

“Juicy Couture” is the brand of the lovely warm up suits all the nieces receive in bright, bold colors every Christmas from Aunt Kristi and Uncle Bri.  

Couture is the business of designing, making and selling highly fashionable clothing.  This turkey will be your business for the week, chic chef.  All custom made recipes sewn together with Christ’s love for you from me. My goal is to buy back time for you to be still with God’s gift to you, Himself the resurrected Messiah.

A 14 pounder was available @ the local HEB market.

Day 1   Cook turkey all day after rubbing with canola oil, sprinkling with salt, pepper and garlic powder  and gift wrapping with foil.  The meat is juicy and the drippings will season our dishes resplendently the rest of the week. Blanche collard greens as our side and serve with gravy bowl full of drippings.  (open the foil after the family arrives home and re-pop the bird in the oven for a few minutes to crisp crust the lovely skin… yum).

Day 2  Cook kale in a couple tablespoons of the drippings and drop in handfuls of turkey.  Add 2 cups of sour cream(fat free yogurt is a worthy substitute), 1 cup of  alfredo sauce ( Bertolli is very nice) stir all and place in bowls.  The aroma is very pleasant once the creams are added.  Force yourself past the pungent kale cooking to delight in a very simple, quick and eco-fashionable waste nothing, decadent turkey dish.

Day 3 Turkey BBQ.  Update the birds look by shredding several handfuls to serve on buns as barbecue.  My favorite sauce is made by shaking a 1/2 or 3/4 used Heinz ketchup, vinegar, a little salt, pepper, all spice and shake.  We enjoy kettle chips and coleslaw from the deli on the side.

Day 4 Todd’s Turkey Soup.  Leftover turkey, frozen peas, carrots, and whatever else you have in the freezer.  Cover with tomato sauce and water, plug in the crock pot and go.  He seasons with “Old Bay”, cuts the spiced with a bit of sugar, and others spices to taste, and uses salt and pepper and little garlic powder.  You may have your own preferred recipe.

Day 5 Turkey Pot Pie.  Strain out excess liquid from the soup and keep leftover in fridge.  Place turkey and veggie treasure inside  a pre-made “Pillsbury”crust, cover with a jar of store bought turkeygravy and bake till golden brown on top.  No food critic lives here, but seriously, this is scrumptious.

Day 6 Take the broth leftover from yesterday and spoon hot over cheese filled tortellinis. Whiff the scent of Italy, and finish with chopped tomatoes and a sprinkling of parmesan for a dreamy filling dinner.

Day 7 Fast…drink water and spend time with Jesus.  Easter is next week and your heart and soul will be where it can best be used for His purposes. Delight in His company, He is waiting for you. Your family can eat a frozen pizza.

Start Day 1 tomorrow and you’ll be fasting with millions around the world on Good Friday.  Explain the significance of fasting to them and perhaps the foundation of the discussion will spur your children on to fast one day. 

John Piper calls it “An occasion for God’s guidance”

 Scrambling to find solace from a frenzy or two that passes their way, they may remember Mom’s modeling and not because it was in the glossies.

Rest in Him, Trish