Home baked bread...yum!

    Yesterday I baked bread and was very pleased with the outcome. I think I'll be doing that a lot more often, it's so much better than store-bought bread, not to mention a load healthier and cheaper! Why didn't I think of this sooner. It seemed like a daunting task before I started but it's really not that hard to do, and gives your arms a work out after kneading for 15 minutes too! :) Of course it'd be a lot nicer if I had my own kitchen to bake in, but that will just have to wait. I'll post some pictures next time I bake bread, since we already cut the loaf and started eating it last night. For now here's just a random picture of some bread.

Doesn't this picture make you hungry?! :-)

I'd like to find some more bread recipes and try different ones just to see how they turn out. Any good suggestions?

thoughts on a new year

It's a new year, and I am still trying to soak in all that has happened in 2009. There has been a lot of changes in my life. God has blessed me so much!
I turned 24 this week, yikes! But, it was a fabulous day! Fun to spend time with my amazing husband in the evening and also with some new friends, who made delicious fondue for us! The snow is still lingering outside. I won't complain, because the white landscape is a refreshing change from the drab rainy English winter. Though it is warming up here and pretty soon the rain will melt what's left of the snow. 
I'm itching to travel. There is so much to see even here in England, not to mention all the nearby countries. I guess that's a bit more motivation to kick the job search up a notch, to get the money to travel. But as seems to often be the case, once you've got work, you no longer have time for travel, but without the work you have no money to travel. What to do... :)
So many things I would like to accomplish this year and two of them I just mentioned; get a job, and travel. I've thought a lot about work lately as I've looked into the different options here. Even to find work as a cleaner it's tough with the economy like it is. I realized why it's frustrating for me to be out looking for just ANY job right now. One of the reasons I went into nursing was because I found the thought of having a typical 8-5 job very dull and meaningless. I loved the feeling of coming home after a day of work and knowing that I had used the skills that I'd worked so hard to learn in school to make someone better. And knowing that I've made a difference for my patients by treating them with respect and giving them quality care.  I miss that feeling and I hope that whatever job I do get for the next few months I can make a difference even if it is cleaning.

Take in God's wonders

This week we've had snow here in England. I love how it brings happiness: kids running out to play hardly able to contain their excitement, even adults can't help but smile more as they see the white sparkling blanket covering everything. Reminds me of what an awesome God I serve. I love how God reminds Job of just how little we know when  he says "asks him: "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or seen the storehouses of the hail?" Job 38:22 All God has to do is speak and our earth is covered in sparkling snow, and each little snowflake is unique.
Psalms 37 is a great reminder of just how amazing God is!

^1-13 "Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I'm stunned, I can't catch my breath.
Listen to it! Listen to his thunder,
   the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.
He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon,
   lighting up the earth from pole to pole.
In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice,
   powerful and majestic.
He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back.
   No one can mistake that voice—
His word thundering so wondrously,
   his mighty acts staggering our understanding.
He orders the snow, 'Blanket the earth!'
   and the rain, 'Soak the whole countryside!'
No one can escape the weather—it's there.
   And no one can escape from God.
Wild animals take shelter,
   crawling into their dens,
When blizzards roar out of the north
   and freezing rain crusts the land.
It's God's breath that forms the ice,
   it's God's breath that turns lakes and rivers solid.
And yes, it's God who fills clouds with rainwater
   and hurls lightning from them every which way.
He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that—
   commands them to do what he says all over the world.
Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love,
   he makes sure they make their mark.

^14-17,24 "Job, are you listening? Have you noticed all this?
   Stop in your tracks! Take in God's miracle-wonders!
Do you have any idea how God does it all,
   how he makes bright lightning from dark storms,
How he piles up the cumulus clouds—
   all these miracle-wonders of a perfect Mind?...
So bow to him in deep reverence, one and all!
   If you're wise, you'll most certainly worship him." 

An evening in London

I finally went into London this week. I was invited to go along with the fine arts class here at Newbold to see the performance of the Messiah at the London Coliseum by the European National Opera. It was a modern dramatized rendition- a change from simply watching the choir stand and sing for over two hours. I must say it was an intriguing and thought provoking performance. The choir, orchestra and soloists all were amazing and it was a great evening out. :)




Before the concert I had an hour or so to walk around while the fine arts class was in the Tate Modern Art Museum. I went over the Thames on the walking bridge to see Saint Paul's Cathedral. It's a massive cathedral and breathtaking to walk inside.

It was evensong and they were singing/chanting psalms 27, interesting to see the diverse group of people there for the service. Some probably very religious and others simply needing that peaceful quiet to help them unwind from the rush of city life. It strikes me each time I go into a cathedral or monastery how peaceful and respectful the atmosphere is.
After venturing back out into the cold I had a cup of hot goodness from Starbucks across the street from the cathedral, perfect for a cold December evening. Yum!