Living Lent

The Season of Lent began last night with a great Shrove Tuesday pancake supper followed by an Ash Wednesday prayer service. I love this time of year and could quite easily live through a Lenten type journey all year long. Perhaps I will. My personal challenge over the next six weeks is to remove TV from my life. I can listen to the radio or read the newspaper to keep up to date with news but I will not be finding myself sitting on the couch flipping channels to fill my time. Instead I plan on improving my life by reading books that have been sitting in my book pile for months and implementing more time for prayer. I really need to take this Lenten time to discern what my future will look like as there are so many exciting possibilities. Wish me luck!

Black Eyed Susans

I have a pile of gardening books stacking up on my coffee table just waiting for a block of time where I can draw out my garden plan for 2011. I need to start planting seedlings within the next week or so as I am already behind. The first seeds should have gone in about two weeks ago. This year I am blessed to have three gardening spaces; balcony, community plot and garden patch. My balcony will primarily be for berries, herbs and salad greens. Corn, beets, broccoli, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers will be in the community plot and carrots, peas and some more herbs will be planted in the garden patch. If all goes well I will be supplied all summer long with delicious fruit and veggies. This year I also hope to plant a bunch of flowers including my favourite Black Eyed Susans.

Children`s Retreat

I am getting excited! This weekend is the annual Children`s Retreat. A gathering of around 80 children and 30 leaders at a retreat centre close to Cultus Lake. The children will be between the ages of 8-12, many of whom have never been away from home before. Our theme for the event will be based on Jeremiah`s call. An opportunity to experience children empowering each other to use the gifts they have been given. In preparation we`ve asked some children to share their talents with the group. So far we have a cello player, a bagpiper, someone who volunteers in Guatemala every summer with her mom and a child who began a project to raise money for those who are homeless. It looks to be an amazing weekend and I look forward to learning from an incredible group of children.

Ta Da!

Graduation!

After six years of part time study and full time work I graduated this week from Douglas College. I received a Diploma in Child and Youth Counselling from the Faculty of Child, Youth & Community Studies. It was a very special day and I felt surrounded by friends and family from around the world. Here is a photo from my two wonderful friends. Harvinder is on the left and Cynthia is on the right. We`ve been friends for 21 years!! Mom took the photo and Dad (who wasn`t there) treated us all to a delicious steak dinner.

Cranberry Crackerjacks

A new cookie recipe to try. It is super tasty and I found it in the latest copy of ``Edible Vancouver``.

Cranberry Crackerjacks
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
3 quarter of a cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup fine coconut
1.5 cups puffed rice cereal
1 cup dried cranberries

Notes: I used organic dried cranberries because they are larger and fresh (in the bulk section) and organic rice cereal but you can also use rice krispies.

In a large bowl combine oil,eggs, sugars and vanilla. Beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl and gradually add to the oil mixture, stirring well. Add oats, coconut, cereal and cranberries. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Use hands to tightly pack the mixture into balls about 1.5 inches in diameter. Flatten a bit with fork dipped in water and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Between batches, continue to stir well, so you aren`t left with just bits of cranberries and pouffed rice at the end.

Book News!

Earlier last year I was invited to be one of three people involved with a national church book project. I was asked to be an editor of sorts to read through hundreds of blog entries and choose the best ones. I can`t remember how many exactly but I do remember it being a challenging task. I received a financial gift for the job and one amazing opportunity. Now that book has been published and I am mentioned in the introduction. It is called ``Faith in a Time of Change``. Yahoo!