Beignets (been-yays)

I had to do a search to determine how to spell it, as it wasn't part of my childhood vocabulary. The closest that I can remember to the wonderful taste of beignets is my mother's and grandmother's donuts; they dropped the circular dough in the deep fryer, and they were so good when hot and dipped in a little (a lot) powdered suger.

The first time I learned about beignets was my trip to New Orleans in April 2006, and I enjoyed them again just a year ago with a group of 10 men from my church. This was a little taste of heaven in a city that had just experienced the worst of this world in the destruction from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It's good to see the hand of God touching the lives of people there who lost a lot. We continue to hear about the lives being changed from the work that goes on there. It's good to know that the work we did there has had a deep impact on those we helped.

1 Corinthians 3:11-13 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.

Great game Twisters!

The Twister won, 2 to 1 in a close game. Competition was tight, and they played hard! What a great time to play, the end of September, 9am Saturday morning, the grass was still wet, and the ball was throwing water as it sput from a good kick down the field. The team really played as a team, and everyone played their positions well.

Happy Birthday Mom

This flower is posted in memory of my mother on her birthday. She was born 75 years ago, the oldest in a family of 10 kids. She married and had 6 kids of her own. I enjoyed her company as mom for eleven years of my life. My favorite photo of her is one my sister found and sent to me a couple years ago. It shows my mom kneeling down to hug and kiss me when I was still a preschooler. I know now how blessed I was in that moment.

This flower was grown by my mother-in-law and it is a beautiful reminder of a mother's love for her children.

Proverbs 31: 26 Faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed.

Orange Pickin'

I looked back two years through my photos to see that oranges were coming in season at this time of year. But not in Virginia, I was in the middle of Sicily, at a place called the Valle dei Margi. They are on a 250 acre active orange grove and run an agri tourism bed, breakfast, dinner and conference center. I was hosted by a local Sicilian man who I'd been working with for the past 3 years and he brought us to this great spot located about 30 minutes south of Catania. Another coworker, an American and first time visiting Italy, thought I knew everything about Italy so asked if there were snakes in these parts. I'd never seen one in the 5 or so trips that I'd make to Sicily, and the only thought that came to mind of a snake in the Mediterranean, was from the story of the Apostle Paul when on his journey to Rome, was shipwrecked, wintered on the Island of Malta, and was bitten by a viper. I retold the story from Acts 28:3 as I remembered it, and when our Sicilian friend returned, we asked him the same question. It was an amazing confirmation to me of the truth of the Bible in his answer, in clear Sicilian english, "here in Sicily we have the deadly viper snake."

Acts 28:3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

Look to the heavens!

In my last note I talked about apple pickin’, and now I’m gonna do some cherry pickin’; going back through my old photos to find some of my favorites. I love this shot of these skywriters in the airspace above my home, spelling out my address on this side of heaven. I’ll refer often to the Biblegateway.com as they do a great work of making God’s Word easily available to all on the net. As this verse says, the Lord is looking down from heaven on us, and we need to look beyond the clouds, directly into His sights. To be seen by God is a great gift. Who doesn’t long to be seen by a famous person, and then go and tell everyone they know about it. It’s the same with God; He sees me, and I want to tell others how blessed I am.

Psalm 14:2: The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

Apple pickin'

Sunday afternoon was a great day for a family outting, and where better than an apple orchard on the edge of the Blue Ridge. The apples were ripe, tasty, and plentiful. I've pre-scheduled our next return for September 21st of 2008 to return to Carter Mountain near Charlottesville, as it was the fulfillment of a dream for my wife. As soon as we returned home, we pulled out the apple pealer, a great product from the Pampered Chef, and after a short time a fresh apple pie was baking in the oven. What can be more all-american than this?

One of my favorite Bible verses to go along with today, talks about a special time for today; God setting eternity in the heart of man; and His making everything appropriate in its time ... Ecclesiastes 3:11

Thank you for the great apple pie!