Hallelujah, What a Savior!

I've been listening to this song a lot lately, especially this week. It's such a good hymn. Listening to songs like this one and other old hymns like it, it seems that Christian song-writing has just gone downhill since then. Not ALL contemporary  Christian songs, but a good majority of them are just...fluff. They have catchy riffs and melodies, but the lyrics are void of any deep theological truths or genuine heart-cries to God.

Thank you "Ascend the Hill" for this rendition of "Hallelujah, What a Savior!" (although it's a tad slow...I can deal) :-P

Man of Sorrows! what a name

For the Son of God, who came

Ruined sinners to reclaim

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,

In my place condemned He stood;

Sealed my pardon with His blood.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;

Spotless Lamb of God was He;

"Full atonement!" can it be?

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;

"It is finished!" was His cry;

Now in heaven exalted high.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King

All His ransomed home to bring

Then anew His song we'll sing:

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Come One, Come All!

 

It's about that time of year. Spring cleaning....gardening......demolition. Oh yes, demolition. Ivor and I sat down last night and wrote out a list of all that needs to get done at the house, and prioritized. We may or may not have spent a good hour and a half working on the list....................

Anyway! I'd love to say we don't need any help, but that would just be prideful and foolish. We need help. A lot of it we can get done by ourselves....but a lot of it we can't. There are many ways in which you could help: 1. Encouragement! Even if you're not very handy, but you're a good helper and can encourage us along the way, we need you. 2. Cleaning! Again...you may not be able to frame out a room or hang sheet rock, but if you can use a broom and put stuff in trash bags, we need you. 3. Food! This is usually my job- to provide food and beverage to those working hard on the house...but I wouldn't mind some assistance, especially for the big work days. 4. Construction skills! If you ARE a handy-man or woman, and can hang sheet rock, install windows, tile floors, etc...we need you. 

There will be one particular day (not sure of exact date yet), that we DEMO the 2nd floor. We'll need a lot of hands for that day. We'd like to have that done by Memorial Day (which was our big DEMO day last year!).

If you're interested in helping out and have any free Saturdays, please let me know!! I'll probably post more notes and send out emails once we set dates for specific projects.

Thanks :)

Mrs. Griffiths

This Italian Girl Loves Pasta

After a while I get sick of pasta and jarred tomato sauce, don't you? I hate the way the leftovers taste. And it's just...blah. My husband, being the awesome chef that he is, cooked a delicious pasta dish the other week w/o the jarred tomato sauce. The "sauce" was olive oil and garlic, and REAL tomato juice essentially. He used cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, chicken, and a touch of balsamic (for the tomatoes). And some spices of course. YUM.

Well....last night was my attempt to replicate his dish. Except we didn't have spinach. We had Kale. Still worked out beautifully (beautifully tasty!).

Here's how I did it (sorry there aren't any measurements or anything....I rarely measure anything while cooking...only in baking...sometimes it bites me in the butt...but most of the time it works out lol).

1. Start boiling your water for the pasta (don't forget to salt the water! cause who likes bland pasta? not me.)
2. While waiting for the water to boil, chop up some fresh garlic (I used 3 cloves, but you can add more or less depending on your taste)
3. If you don't have leftover chicken from the night before like I did, I'd start cooking off the chicken at this point (chicken is optional I suppose...but it's protein! and it's yummy)
4. Add olive oil and garlic to the pan, saute away! (just don't burn the garlic!)
5. Next, throw in the Kale- after you've cut off the stems (or baby spinach), and turn up the heat
6. Add salt and LOTS of coarsely ground black pepper
7. Throw in cherry tomatoes (with a few drops of balsamic vinegar)
8. Throw in your chicken
9. Turn on your broiler! (broil is an option on your oven-usually...). Basically it heats something from the top only, with very high heat......
10. Put the whole pan in the oven to broil for a few minutes (I don't have an exact time, just watch for the skin of the tomatoes to look a little wrinkly)
11. Take the pan out of the oven, and back on the stove top (turn it back on to about medium heat)
12. Now grab a utensil of some sort (I used a wooden spoon), and gently smash all the tomatoes! Watch and drool as the juices flow into the rest of the dish with its tomatoe-y goodness!
13. Add your pasta (assuming at some point you added it to the boiling water and cooked it to about al dente and then drained it)....I forgot to mention all that....but I'm sure you know to do that :)
14. TASTE IT! And determine if it needs more salt and pepper. In my case, it almost always does. I would also recommend adding a little crushed red pepper to it.
15. Cheese it. I had a block of Parmesan Reggiano, so I took my trusty cheese grater to it and went to town. I mixed it into the whole dish...and then grated more just on top of each individual serving once it was on the plate.

Then enjoy :)

I wish I would've taken a picture of it, but the lighting in my kitchen would've made it look gross....and it definitely wasn't gross. It was delicious. I never want jarred tomato sauce again.

Give it a try! And I apologize if it fails miserably due to my lack of measurements and cooking times. I'll take full responsibility

:)

Mrs. Griffiths

Perspective.

So I've been avoiding writing about our house renovations within the last few months or so. Mostly because it's been at a standstill throughout the winter,...and in some ways, seeming to even go backward! We've been overwhelmed, frustrated, weary, etc. We were without heat (except a few space heaters, and a ventless gas fireplace that we bought because we got a good deal on it). We had to dispute the kitchen cabinet company because we didn't get everything we ordered and paid for (not to mention a few damaged cabinets). We had birds flying inside our house because the laundry room has a spot in the floor where the concrete is tore up for plumbing so there's a little hole to the outside, which we assume the birds came from. Fortunately we have cats who took it upon themselves to end the lives of the 2 birds that managed to enter into their territory (thank you Milton and Mojo). And the list could go on and on...

People have mentioned to us that our house is like that 80's movie, "The Money Pit" (which I've never seen). I decided to look for a clip of it on YouTube this morning. I admit, this made me laugh. And made me feel better about my house:

 

By the grace of God, we have not been living in a constant state of despair over the house though. We have our moments, but like Tom Hanks...you just gotta laugh at it sometimes. However...a few mornings ago, I had a "moment". I walked downstairs and looked at all the chaos and construction and junk piled up, and dirt on the floor, and our unfinished kitchen...and I just felt so defeated. So overwhelmed. Where do we even begin? Will progress ever be made? Will this house ever be finished? Will we ever be able to start trying to have a baby (Lord knows we're not trying until we even have room for a baby, and certainly not while I'm breathing in dirt and dust!). I just wanted to sit there and cry and feel sorry for myself.

But then, on Friday March 11th, God put things into perspective for me. 

 

I have a house. I have a bed. I have a bathroom. I have food and water. THOUSANDS of people in Japan do not. My life is not in danger. Their lives are. And I thought I didn't know where to begin with MY house? And I thought I felt defeated and overwhelmed?  Can you even imagine what they're going through? My situation w/our little Philadelphia row home doesn't even compare. I have been so blessed.

God always has a way of putting things into perspective for you, doesn't He? I can quickly convince myself that I have every right to complain and grumble and be in despair. I mean just look at my house! HA. As quickly has the thought crosses my mind, God taps me on the shoulder. "Really, Krystal?"..."Step back for a moment outside of your own little selfish world, and look at the bigger picture. Look at what other people in the world are going through.....and more importantly, look at the cross and what I went through for YOU". 

Now what do you have to say?

Read Ephesians 1 to remind yourself of all the spiritual blessings you have in Christ. It'll make your earthly trials seems like a tiny speck.... in light of eternity. (*Not to diminish pain and suffering on earth...it definitely sucks. But looking to God and the blessings He's given  to us undeserving wretches, makes it a little easier to get through. We have hope.)

26 Years.

Yesterday marked the start of my 26th year on earth. I feel like reflecting...

So here I go.

In 26 years...

I've lived in Bensalem, Wellsboro, Norristown, Croydon, Langhorne and Philadelphia (all in good ol' PA)

I've been to Chile, Holland, Guatemala, Lousiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Delaware, Florida ....I think that's it?

I've played softball, basketball, ran cross-country and track-n-field

I've graduated high school and college

I've learned how to shoot guns and throw tomahawks

I've learned how to play guitar

I've been to concerts: Switchfoot, Coldplay, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Lifehouse, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Andy McKee, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Breaking Benjamin

I've become "Aunt Krystal"

I've met my 2 best friends: Becky and Jen

I've become a member of Fellowship Bible Church in Philly

I've been in a car accident

I've had my heart broken 5 times before finally meeting my husband in 2009.

I've gotten married :) (see above)

Those are all wonderful memories, but there's something even more important that happened in those 26 years that trumps all of it! I've been made alive and made new by Jesus Christ. All of those earthly things will pass away, but my eternal life is now secure in the Everlasting Arms of my Savior. Can I get an "Amen!"?? .....anyone?.....Beuller?...

Anyway....because of the above paragraph, I've learned some important lessons in 26 years:

It's not about me
I'm more selfish, sinful, prideful and lazy than I would've ever realized
But I'm a new creation, therefore I need to act like one! Therefore the line above is the "old man" I'm still dragging around with me, who, if I'm not careful, will creep in and show herself!
People are not inherently "good"
God is faithful. I am not.
God is God. I am not.


I'm looking forward to my next 26+ years, if the Lord wills. Here are some things I hope to "accomplish" (because it's not a bad thing to plan for the future, so long as you're aware that the Lord just might have other plans):

Babies. I want to have them.

I want to finish renovating my house and eventually move out of the city

I want to travel more...go to more states and countries that I haven't yet been to

I want to homeschool my children someday

I want to learn to play the piano (it's nice having a musician for a husband)

I want to become a better wife and love my husband better

I want to successfully plant my own garden of vegetables and herbs and flowers

I want to take more pictures

I want to start a food blog

I want to become a better cook

I want...I want...I want......

Like I said, the Lord might have other plans. But those are just some desires of my heart. I WISH I could sincerely say "I have no other ambition but to serve the Lord with my whole heart, soul and mind". But I'd be a hypocrite. I do want that...but because of the "old man" mentioned earlier, I don't want it with my WHOLE heart, soul and mind. However, because I am His...He promises to complete His work in me. And fortunately, that isn't dependent on me. Therefore I can say with confidence, God will be glorified by my life. Because it is not my own, it's His.

That is all.

Mrs. Griffiths

The Chocolate Dilemma: A Confession

The first step to overcoming any sort of addiction is confession, right? Well, here's mine. I am addicted to chocolate. I know I know, you're thinking "well duh...you're female..welcome to the club". Most of the time I don't think it's a concern but today I really felt the internal struggle within me. It all started because someone gave me a bag of Hershey's Kisses for Christmas...which I recently found.....and brought into work....and just about ate the entire bag by myself. Here's my justification: they're so tiny, they melt in your mouth, you can eat many of them without feeling full, I just started taking multi-vitamins so a little chocolate here and there won't hurt. But then there's this other little voice inside of me saying "Put the chocolate down Krystal, and eat some carrot sticks instead! Carrots are healthier, they're good w/dip, you'll feel better about yourself afterward.....just put the chocolate down."

I'm reminded of a verse at times like these...

"For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." - Romans 7

Paul knew the feeling. Is there any  hope for me? 

Compartmentalization

Is that a word? It is now.

Something to think about fellow brothers and sisters in Christ: do you compartmentalize your life? Separating church and ministry from the rest of your life? "This part of my day is work, this part is family time, Sunday is church, Tuesday night is ministry, and the rest of the time I do whatever the heck I feel like doing" etc....you get the idea. Whether we intend to or not, it's something we all do. May I exhort you (and myself) to change your perspective a little? In the Bible, man's relationship with God affected all aspects of one's life. God was never separate from or absent from even the most mundane of daily activities. Being a Christian is not PART of who you are. It's not one area of your life, it IS your life. You are a new creation! Forgiven and redeemed! Sanctified and made holy! This should greatly affect your work, family, free time, chores, fellowship, ministry, etc.It should change your attitude and your behavior in each of these areas of your life.

Speaking of ministry...do you realize that if you're married and/or have children, that your first and most important ministry is family? "Ministry", doesn't have to be an organized program w/in your local church, Though they are wonderful to be involved in, they should never cause you to neglect your marriage or your family. I mean think about the importance of family. First, marriage---the best earthly reflection of the intimate relationship between Christ and the Church. It's a gift created by God, for God, to reflect God and bring Him glory. And He creates it right at the very beginning of time! Kind of important, don't you think? Secondly, we were told to "be fruitful and multiply", training up the next generation to live for the Glory of God, and teach them to train THEIR children...and so the cycle continues. Make babies. And train them well. If you ask me, and Martin Luther (see Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, near the end of the book), the family is one of the most important ministries there is.

Let me be clear: I am NOT against organized church programs or ministries. I am FOR them. HOWEVER, you can be involved in every possible church ministry there is and think you're glorifying God, but if your spouse and/or children never get any of your time or attention, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say God is not pleased, nor glorified. Programs don't change people anyway...relationships do. And you don't necessarily need to be part of a program in order to have relationships and be involved in the lives of others. That's all I'm saying.

In conclusion, I love my husband. And we'd both love to have a family someday...with lots of babies. It is a desire of ours and we need to do what's necessary to prepare and give the appropriate amount of time & attention to each other, and preparing our home for the ministry God has laid on our hearts.

2011.

Welcome to 2011! I'm not surprised how quickly 2010 went by...nor am I surprised how quickly Christmas break went by. It happens every year. And here we are, back to work, back to the daily grind. But I'm not upset about that. The break was fabulous and refreshing, very productive. And by productive I mean about 1-2 days of cleaning, 5-6 days just relaxing and being lazy. It was wonderful.

Here are some highlights of the Christmas break:

-spending time w/family (mine and his), though we wish we could've spent more time w/his family since we don't see them very often, but our visit was cut short due to the snow that was on its way to Philly. We had to go home 2 days earlier :(

-cleaning my bathroom. It wasn't a "highlight" WHILE I was cleaning it. The result was the highlight. Clean floor, clean shower, clean tub, clean vanity. I like clean things. 

-receiving 3 of Alton Brown's cookbooks. Stay tuned for a "Julie & Julia" style food blog when I take on ALL the recipes in AB's baking cookbook. Pictures will be included.

-receiving a food dehydrator! What a wonderful invention. Last night we dehydrated some fruit: bananas, mango and pineapples. So delicious and healthy and glorious in every possible way. Now when we make beef jerky I don't know if I can give it that exact same description...just "delicious and glorious" :)

-catching up on all the episodes of Psych I've missed. I've now seen every episode for 4 seasons, thanks to Netflix. Season 5 needs to come out soon. I'm going through Psych-withdrawal.

-reading again. Like, REALLY reading... actual books...on a regular basis. The husband and I have been reading through a book called "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ" (Piper). I highly recommend it. Though if I were to re-title the book, I'd call it "The Supremacy of Christ and Sex". It's a very Christ-centered look at what sex is and what it was created for; how it was originally intended by its Creator...and of course, how the world has twisted and corrupted it. Very good read. In addition, we've also started to each read something else for fun. I'm starting to read "The Hobbit", and then the other 3 LOTR books are waiting for me when I finish that. I love reading. I've missed reading. I'm so thankful I'm reading again.

-and of course....sleeping in. That's always a highlight.

*For a completely random, but hopefully helpful and informative thought on cooking: here's a good tip my husband taught me (that I had to learn the hard way): never ever use salt grinders during the cooking process. Never, I say! It's too difficult to know just exactly how much you're using, mostly because you can't really see it all coming out of the grinder and it immediately dissolves once it touches the hot foods. Sprinkle salt into the palm of your hand, then add gradually (tasting a little bit as you go so you know when to stop). And when it comes to salt in general, less IS more. Use the grinder for off the stove-top, on your individual plate of food if you desire to add more. How did I learn the hard way, you ask?: by completely ruining a perfectly good batch of spinach! :( It was cooking in the pan w/garlic and olive oil, and lots of pepper (which you can NEVER have enough of in my opinion...I <3 pepper), and then I proceeded to grind in the salt...and then a little more salt cause it looked like I had SO much spinach to cover...until of course it cooked down to nothing...in like 3 seconds. Stupid spinach. I knew that would happen, but it took me by surprise how quickly it would happen. Anyway....long story short: it was way too salty. WAY too salty. I was sad. But I learned my lesson and you better believe I will never cook salty spinach again. Ever.

Love,
Mrs. Griffiths