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Blog ArchivesMy personal sushi chef
About three years ago, Matt came home from some far-and-away business travels all excited about eating sushi. I was definitely, um, hesitant to say the least about trying it, but after a taste, I realized that it was something for which I could probably develop a taste. Eventually, spider rolls (fried soft-shell crab…no real spider in it ;) ) became my favorite but I still turned up my nose at the actual raw fish rolls. But recently, I have turned over to the dark side…and now I really, really like the raw fish stuff. Matt and I now drool at the mention of a fancy rainbow roll. Good sushi is definitely not a budget food, so to tide us over between visits to our favorite local spot, Matt has become very adept at making homemade California rolls. They’re definitely not fancy, but we love them!
We have yet to find a really good source of sushi-grade fish (as in here in Ames…any hints, anyone?) so we just use what we fondly call “Krabb” (imitation crab). And yes, we like to spell it out when we talk about it. :) A little avocado, cucumber, seasoned rice and KRABB on nori (seaweed paper) and don’t forget the sesame seed! DeLISH!
One of my top picks: The Jesus Storybook Bible
In my previous post I mentioned The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago. I think that some of my friends might be tired of hearing me talk about it because I get so excited about it!
Originally, I read about it last summer and the high praise was echoed several other places when we decided to check this out. Matt and I were so impressed with how Sally Lloyd-Jones gets to the heart of both of the Old Testament and New Testament Bible stories. Her tagline to the title is “Every story whispers his name” which says it perfectly: she brings out so beautifully how the Old Testament accounts point to Jesus. Her words are simple enough for our three-year-old to understand, but woven together in such a way that Matt and I have both found tears in our eyes at different times while reading this aloud. You can check out the deluxe version to hear an audio sample of the account of creation to get a feel for her writing style.
I’ve given this Bible as a birthday gift and also as a baby shower gift. You might say, “Well, isn’t a Bible a bit down the road for a baby?” If you have given birth, you probably are familiar with the exhaustion haze that comes from being up at all hours with a newborn. This is the perfect way to provide a new mom with something encouraging (but not too brainy!) to read at this time.
Adults will find Jago’s illustrations intriguingly artsy and kids will be drawn to the emotion in the characters’ faces. Our daughter will ask, “Why does he look so sad?”
Although this is definitely the first recommendation out of my mouth when someone asks about a children’s Bible (or a gift in general!), I’m just excited about getting (almost) any Bible in the hands of kids and their parents. In case you’re looking for something slightly different, we also own this board book Bible, this children’s Bible (which has simple discussion questions), and this children’s Bible that goes into a bit more detail. However, in clearly communicating the gospel, I feel like this one is tops.
Why I didn’t “get” the gospel until I was sickened by the ugliness of my sin
After I saw this YouTube video today, I was thinking about my own experience of how seeing my sin more clearly has made me see the gospel in a completely different light. Dr. Piper says it so well:
I would say that I’ve been a Christian since about age 6, when I “asked Jesus to come into my heart.” Since then, I would have said I had a pretty good understanding of Jesus’ work on the cross, dying to pay for our sin. And for the most part, I was a fairly good kid: keeping my nose out of trouble, and generally doing what was expected of me. However, when I would hear songs like “The Wonderful Cross” and “Jesus Paid It All” and I would think, “Good grief…I haven’t done anything all THAT bad…” and part of me would just feel really uncomfortable.
A situation about two and a half years ago changed that. A set of circumstances made me see clearly, I think probably for the first time, how ugly my sin is to God. Without really realizing it, I had come to really, really like how people responded to me when I did the right/good/noble/expected things and ended up valuing that over God’s opinion. And in turn, I figured that God would probably be fairly impressed by that, too. Over and over the Bible talks about how God isn’t impressed by the things that people are, but that God sees past it and looks at the heart. I realized how awful my seemingly good works looked to God: things that I did to look good to people that were often motivated by jealousy, pride, or selfishness. Suddenly, I realized I wasn’t looking so hot in God’s eyes. Here’s this girl trying to be all religious when inside her heart is just ugly. In the Bible, Jesus uses religious people quite frequently to show how their hearts were in the wrong place and how they really liked the respect that their position got them. And that was me!
All of a sudden, I realized that need for that blood. I was really dirty. I am still so amazed that God hasn’t just zapped me out of existence…considering all of the junk that has been (and is) in my heart and mind. But, he loved me enough to not only not zap me out of existence, but to pay for all of the ugly things that I have (and still will) done.
There’s a children’s Bible that I love (The Jesus Storybook Bible) that puts it so simply: “All Naaman needed was nothing. It was the one thing Naaman didn’t have.” I was trying to please God and please people by doing, by having it all together. But all we need is the understanding that we don’t and can’t have it all together…that all our attempts at being good and perfect will fail. That’s why we need Jesus’ blood from the cross, the perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins.
How do I teach my kids an accurate view of God when I’m a sinner, too?
C.J. Mahaney wrote a great article in response to a parent’s letter asking this:
I am afraid they (my children) do have hard thoughts of God and that’s largely because of my own sinfulness (anger, impatience, anxiety), which I am eager to continue killing by the Spirit. But apart from that, the question I have is, how do we as parents insist that our children obey us in the Lord without cultivating hard thoughts of Him?
I love his response to this.
Merry Christmas 2009!
We hope this finds you well, enjoying the pre-Christmas fun and chaos. Elena has been very excited about the coming of Christmas this year…last week she was exclaiming how the decorations at the grocery store were “so beaUUUtiful!”
Some highlights for our family this summer included a week at a cabin with Nancy’s family in northern Minnesota fishing, playing, and relaxing, and also a trip to Chicago with Matt’s family. The kids loved Brookfield Zoo and the Field Museum and we also visited some of his family’s old stomping grounds from when they lived there years ago.
Matt took a new job managing the Web team for Desiring God, a Christian ministry based out of Minneapolis, though he still gets to work remotely from his home office here in Ames. He occasionally has an overnight trip to the Twin Cites for 2-day meetings with coworkers… and we get to tag along! Additionally, Matt manages Zeke’s, a non-profit music & arts venue in Ames, coordinates and leads music for our church, and occasionally teaches at the church’s college ministry.
Elena is almost 3-1/2 and likes to write her name, loves to be read to, and is always asking to do some sort of crafty project. She is definitely a “girly girl” who loves princesses, dancing and fancy dresses.
Kate is 14 months old now, still has a very sweet disposition, and has been walking like crazy for 2 months. She seems to be a little bit more accident-prone than Elena was; she has chipped both of her front teeth in the last two weeks! She greets Daddy with both arms extended and a giant grin when he comes upstairs at the end of the day.
(Matt is now stealing the keyboard to brag about his wife) Just prior to the arrival of Kate in 2008, Nancy pushed pause on her private music studio to concentrate her full attention and effort on caring for our home and family. I am constantly amazed at the skill and joy with which she performs this all-important task. She still finds time to mentor young women in our church, and helped to coordinate a playgroup for other young moms. Amidst all this she does a masterful job of keeping me sane, her most important and difficult task. I am so blessed and constantly thankful for this rare jewel that I have in her.
Wishing you true joy and peace this season through Jesus,
Matt, Nancy, Elena, and Kate
