"God bless Mommy and Daddy, and God bless Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

“God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, and God bless Harry and Ron and Hermione. Oh, and I pray that Voldemort doesn’t get the Elder Wand.”

From Harry Potter--Spoiler Alert!

The typical bedtime prayer. . .with a few twists. It’s not Candid Camera, either.

It’s actually what I think about praying.

And it happened again just last Wednesday when I was at a prayer meeting at my church. I was thinking of different prayer requests—my co-workers brother has kidney failure, a friend was taken in for a bacterial infection—when I suddenly added: “and Peeta was captured by the Capital.”

Whoa. Where did that come from?

Well, I had read the first two books of The Hunger Games trilogy in the past three days (all the credit goes to my sister, Carolyn).



An obviously computer generated
shot from The Hunger Games



I was so intensely engrossed in the series, the characters had become real.

But, wait, don’t leave me yet. I love fiction, and I think this is a great thing.

It just made me think—Katniss and Peeta (and Johanna and Beetee and Gale. . .) came to my mind before other real people in my life. Why?

Because I am spending so much time with them. It’s just like what we’ve been taught all our lives—chose your friends carefully, because you will end up acting like them!

It reminds me of the Patch the Pirate song, “Travel with the dog and you will get lots of fleas; travel with the hog and you will eat what you please.”



From All This, Heaven Too



When I end up praying for my fictional friends (yes, I’m even guilty of praying for Jake not to be deceived—Avatar, and Henriette Deluzy-Desportes not to be arrested—All This, Heaven Too), I realize that my heart and my thoughts lie with those I spend the most time with.

If I spend three months of my life with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, yes of course I will feel withdrawal after I finish book 7. It’s like suddenly losing three good friends.

If I am engrossed in Panem, and in cheering on Katniss and Peeta (The Hunger Games), I could turn around and say, “hey, did you see how Katniss almost died yesterday?” and expect to talk back to me like it was the televised Monday night football game.

If I’m trying to help Jane (The Thing About Jane Spring) act more like a lady, I’m going to go through my day thinking about crossing my ankles when I sit, counting to three before I speak, ect. . .

All this makes me wonder.

Do you think if I spent time around my friends, how might that affect my thoughts and actions—and yes, prayers?

How would their likes/dislikes/interests affect my own?

How would their actions affect mine?

Would it make me a better person?

So yes, I believe it is true, that you will become like the people you hang out with. Choose your friends carefully!

Angelic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Guess what this month is?? Pastor Appreciation Month.

I like this holiday because 1. Hallmark probably didn't invent it; 2. it's good to be thankful, especially for our pastors.
Our church pulled off a surprise pastor-appreciation day today (October 9th), and I wanted to bake something to give to some of our pastoral families. At first, I was just going to go with pumpkin- or banana-nut bread, but then I thought, "Hey, these pastors have 3 or 4 kids in their family! I'd better make something good!"
Well, it took me a while, so I didn't get to make all the cookies I wanted. I'll be whipping out this recipe again soon for my other pastors!
So here's the chocolate chip recipe I used. It's originally from an Amish cookbook that my dad bought for me a few years ago when we vacationed in Iowa. It's called Chocoalte Chip Angel Cookies. Ironic, huh?
But even though that's the recipe, who really follows one? Recipes are more like guidelines/ideas/suggestions. Here's the changes I made:
1. I ALWAYS add baking powder to baking recipes. I like fluffy. Flat, crisp cookies? Okay, who sat on my cookies?? It doesn't have to be a lot of baking powder, just about a tsp.
2. I had no veggie shortening, so I substituted cream cheese.
3. When I'm mixing things together, if it seems too dry, add some cream.
4. My Italian grandmother always taught me to whip my eggs in a separate little dish before adding it to any recipe.

Chocolate Chip Angel Cookies

2 C sifted flour

1 tsp baking soda (& I added baking powder here)

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C butter, softened

1/2 C lightly packed brown sugar

6 oz semi sweet chocolate pieces (I just dumped in the whole bag of whatever kind of chocolate chips I had!)

1/2 C white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C veggie shortening (remember, I swapped in the cream cheese here!)

Combine flour, baking soda (& powder), cream of tartar, and salt.

Beat butter & shortening/cream cheese & sugars until well blended (here's where I usually add a touch of cream if it gets dry). Add egg, and beat well. Add vanilla

Add flour mixture, blend well (but not too much!). Stir in chocolate chips. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and roll in granulated sugar.

Place about 2 inches apart on a cookies sheet.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.

Make some for your pastor, and tell him to eat, drink, and be merry!

Excuse me?

Excuse me: verb (used with object) 1. A phrase I say when trying to simultaneously camouflage my feeling of great disgust, while keeping my life rated G

“I will carry duct tape in my purse.” That’s what I used to tell myself in college. Because unless you wore knee-length skirts with almost-knee-length socks and a pair of boots, saying what you thought was not popular.



Yes, this was the style at my college! Tacky? Yes.



But now, I have found a phrase to say while I 1.) bite my tongue, and 2.) frantically think up something witty and still honest.

So that’s what I said yesterday when a certain lady at my work asked me, “So where are you looking for work?”

First of all, this lady (the guilty will remain nameless) hasn’t said “boo” to me since last Halloween. Secondly, her daughter was never friendly to me, either.

So where does she think she has the right to ask such a pointed question? Maybe I had the right to snarl back a colorful retort.

Me: “Excuse me?”

“So where are you looking for work? I heard that you were looking for work somewhere else?”

“Well, I guess I’m open to other things. But I’m happy here.” Pause. “Who did you hear that from?”

“Oh, well, me and someone else were talking.” This, she glossed over like it was no big deal. Then, “We just figured that if you wanted to stay here, you’d have your own class.”

Ouch. Was that an intentional dig?

I should have said “excuse me” again. But instead, I said, “Oh, well, I’m happy with what I’m doing here, now.”

Then, she digressed into a series of mumbles and "you knows". . .

Ugh. I probably sounded like a skipping CD, “I’m happy here—I’m happy here.”

But I am. And I didn’t feel like stooping down, and allowing myself to be pushed into the Corner of Depression again—especially by someone who has no place in my life otherwise.

I’ve had enough of people pushing me around. I’ve had enough of being pushed around, then crying or lashing out with tears and emotional words. I’ve taken control through a phrase. It helps me calm down; it helps me think.

So what about you? What phrase have you adopted to color (and simply?) your life?

Weekend Review!

Tell us how you spent your weekend! What activities colored your world? What was your special treat? New recipe? Hobby? Cool movie? Inspiration? Pumpkin farm? Did you get out and enjoy the fall colors?

You've heard enough from ME.... now, it's YOUR turn!!