A Weekend to Remember...

Family Life puts on a conference focused on marriages in cities all over the country every year. We were pointed towards the Weekend to Remember conference by our campus directors because they said they are a great thing to go to in order to build a lasting foundation, understand each other better, work through potential things that would isolate you from each other, etc. They said they try to go every couple of years - just to make sure they are putting in lots of time together - and not just into their kids, work, life, whatever. So, I just wanted to share about this because I think it's going to be a really great weekend for us as a couple! We're going to the one in Roanoke March 20-22 and driving home one night and staying in the hotel one night so it's a little cheaper. Here is the website. I have also heard that this is a great great thing to do while you are engaged. If you are interested in going - let me know and I will give you a promotional code that will save you $80 as a couple!! That's about 30% of the conference cost! 

Hope

So, thus far, it seems as though the financial crisis that the majority of the country is experiencing right now hasn't really affected us that much (Praise the Lord). But it just seems to keep hitting closer and closer to home recently - and it's downright unsettling. Two of my friends now have either lost their jobs or have come really close to it, and dozens of my parents' friends are experiencing lost jobs or financial instability. It's times like this that it's really hard to see ahead, down the road, to what God's plan is for this period of heartache. 

Two weeks ago, Jordan and I got the opportunity to go to a conference in Orlando - basically we audited classes to get a good perspective of what raising money full time for the Lord would look like - and developing strong relationships with major partners in ministry. It was really eye-opening for me to hear all about, and frankly, sometimes things just went right over my head. But one thing said by someone who's given many years to Campus Crusade (hundreds of thousands of dollars) really stuck with me. He's currently going through the brunt of this recession as well, and has had some serious financial hardships. 

But he said, that although he was having such a difficult time in his business, he was so assured by the fact that his giving to ministries and participation in the Lord's work was an investment that could never be taken away or decrease, so unlike what he's experiencing with his earthly investments, which can surely be taken away in an instant. 

I just found this so true, because how we invest our lives and our money while here in this life, makes an eternal difference and reward that can never be shaken. Praise God that we have been blessed with this eternal security!

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

But each one should be careful how he builds. 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, or 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 or each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

I Am Second.

Find out why.

in search of some sushi expertise

Has anyone ever attempted to make their own sushi?? I am really wanting to try it out, but I'm a little nervous that I could mess it up! Any advice for me? Hopefully one of ya'll have made it before. Where should I buy the things I need to make it? I'm pretty hopeless right now - I need some help!

Coconut Shrimp!

I love making up my own recipes. Most of the time they are okay, or even pretty good - since I'm an amateur, but the one I made up last night turned out especially great - and I had all the ingredients on hand! Love that. Here it is (and by the way, unfortunately, that's not my picture):

Coconut ShrimpFor two people

About 20 large cooked shrimp - I bought a bag that was already cooked, peeled, and deveined to save time. It is 41-60 count shrimp per pound.

Lawry's Hawaiian marinade, enough to fully coat the shrimp and some for dipping.

A squirt of lemon and lime juice, if you have them.

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

About 1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp Tony's Creole Seasoning (or just some seasoning salt - whatever you have)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Vegetable or canola oil, to coat the bottom of the pan.


Defrost the shrimp and then coat them in the marinade and lemon and lime juices in a bowl. Combine all the other ingredients except the oil in another small bowl. Heat a frying pan on medium with the oil. Then just make sure each shrimp is well coated with the marinade and take one by one and dredge them in the dry ingredient mixture so that it is pretty well packed on. If you run out of the dry mixture (which I did once) then just make some more with 3 parts coconut to 1 part flour plus a few spices. Then put them into the pan to cook. Flip them after about a minute (since the shrimp are already cooked it goes quickly) and then cook the other side for a minute. This works well if your husband or friend wants to flip the shrimp for you while you dredge it!

Enjoy it - Jordan loves coconut shrimp so he said that he would order it again if he'd gotten it in a restaurant! I love that kind of feedback, of course. I made it with white rice in a rice cooker, but put 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple and juice in instead of 1/2 cup of the required water and added a little shredded coconut and then let it cook as usual.