Beekeeper For A Day

Visiting Dad and Amanda is always an adventure. This morning, I got to tag along with them as they made their weekly rounds to their beehives. I was charged with being the photographer, something I heartily enjoyed. So I suited up, made sure my veil was snugly in place, and shot to my heart's content. I felt like the paparazzi, capturing any juicy or slightly interesting moments. I even got to see the queen (of one hive, anyway). Dad and Amanda explained to me what they were doing - checking the brood pattern of the queens; making sure there were no super cells; sugar dusting to inhibit mites; and generally inspecting the health of the hives. They have several hives on three different fields; two fields grow raspberries and the third has some beautiful blueberry bushes. I was able to touch a bee and not get stung, and I had the opportunity to sample honey straight from the comb! Here is a selection of some of the pictures I took.

You stop posting pictures of your kids, and I'll stop posting pictures of my dog.

I am inundated with posts of marriage, weddings, anniversaries, engagements, baby births, baby birthdays, baby dedications, baby steps, baby poops.... not actually joking.
I want to be an obnoxious pet owner and post pics and updates of every little snort and scratch that my dog does. Oh wait... I do that already.
I'm sure people don't want to see pictures of my dog sleeping, for the 47th time. I don't want to see yet another picture of little Sally mashing her face into birthday cake. Unless you're a good friend or relative. Then bring it on.

My heart is beating for...

I am getting the powerful urge to write music. I've written one song, for school. But every time I listen to Bethel lately, I want to write music. Just sayin'.

Check out these lyrics that Brian Johnson from Bethel Live sings (Originally by Delirious?):

"Open my eyes to see
The wonderful mystery of love
Falling into you
I'm drawn to the gravity of love

We're standing still in a moment of eternity
Where worlds collide and I feel the breath of heaven over me

My soul sings [x3]
How I love you [oh I love you]

Open the page and see
The wonderful history of love
I start and end with you
I'm pulled to the gravity of love"


So good.

The spirit is willing but...

...sometimes, ya just gotta have chocolate. Or salt n vinegar chips. Or candy.

The End.

Discovery #2...and up

My foray into the world of kale chips, roasted chick peas, and quinoa has brought about some interesting discoveries. More than just how awesome kale chips are. I'll share:

1. The more veggies you eat, the more veggies you have to eat.
2. Asparagus makes you pee more. It also makes your pee smell weird. (I'm not the only one. Trust me.)
3. Eating more vegetables enhances your sense of smell. Or at least, it allows me to distinguish between smells better now that my olfactory senses are not clogged with fat and meat.
4. Sesame oil makes everything better. It also makes your clothes stink.
5. Bloating after eating does not mean you're full. It means you've been eating unhealthy food all your life.
6. More veggies, more tea, and no coffee makes my skin nice. Ahhh, nice skin.
7. I really can live without coffee.
8. Any vegetable can taste good, provided you use enough sauce.
9. Any vegetable can taste good, once you get rid of the sauce.
10. Sharing tasty veggies introduces others to the wonders of yummy veggies. Veggies = not scary.

Here's a yummy veggie recipe à la www.vegansociety.com. Check it out.

Discovery #1

I'm on a journey. One that includes kale chips and curry roasted chick peas. And sea salt edamame.

All of which you should try. Specifically the kale chips. Easy to make and ridiculously nutritious, these are surprisingly delicious, crispy-crunchy snacks that go down the tube far better than they have right to.

It's easy. Get a head of kale from your grocery store. Wash, stem, and dry them well. Rip them up into bite-sized pieces. Toss them in olive oil and only a little sea salt (as they are naturally salty) and lay them on a baking tray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until they move freely on the pan when you shake it. You may need to turn them over at the 5 min mark. Consume. Repeat process because you're shocked at how good this rabbit food actually is.

In the two times I've made it, I've eaten them right out of the pan because I am so amazed at how good they are. Yeah. They're that yummy.

You're welcome.

True Colours, a Mirror, and a 12-string

Remember those personality tests that you had to take in CAPP class in highschool? Y'know, the ones that classified you as ridiculous things like otters or lions or different colours? You're blue: very sensitive to other people's emotions. You love music and butterflies and cry at sappy movies.

Those things were such junk, in my opinion. At least, at that time. I was not self-aware enough to know whether I was the type of person to prefer working on their own or in a group, felt liberated by structure or felt hemmed in, loved the outdoors or was a homebody. They were junk (in my opinion) because they were totally subjective. Of course I am going to say "I prefer outdoors" and "structure cramps my style" - they were way cooler! I based my answers on what I thought should be; the ideal standard of perfection, not due to any real measure of self-awareness. Yes, all 16-year olds have SOME self-awareness, but I am in my *sniff* mid-twenties and I am still figuring out some basic keys to how God made me. I didn't really even start having more than a superficial level of self-awareness until my first or second year of college. Of course, I may be just speaking for myself here. I may have just been clueless. Perhaps due to the death-grip of insecurity on my life, I wasn't able or willing to see who I "really" was, because it didn't meet with my unrealistic standards I put on myself as positive, desirable qualities. Thankfully, God has healed me of a lot of that insecurity and I am beginning to see what an amazing, talented, beautiful person I am. And before you think that I am blowing my own horn, I'll share with you an insight I got last night at church.

Pastor George was sharing about being creatively made with our unique gifts and callings on our lives. As we took communion, we each went and stood in front of a large mirror set up on a paint easel, with these words written across the top and bottom: "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" and "His blood was shed and His body was broken FOR ME!!!" And as he was explaining what to do, telling us that we were uniquely made, I got this picture of a standard, I guess a measuring tape or line. And I realized that each person was made by God with a different standard than everyone else. He doesn't use the same measuring tape with you as He does with me. He broke the mould, you could say, with each different person. So yes, I am amazing and wonderful and beautiful. So are you. Measured by the standard that He made you by, you are amazing and beautiful and incredible.

Here's another way to put it. I acquired an acoustic 12-string guitar at a garage sale. I want to refinish it and restain it, bring out some of the original wood tones. To do this I needed to find out what this guitar was, where it was made, and how valuable it was. Being an amateur, I didn't want to ruin some hidden gem I might have stumbled across. So of course, I Googled it. These were some of the main themes running through the forums:

1. If it was massed-produced, it was less valuable.
2. Conversely, the more unique it was, the more valuable.
3. The higher the quality of resources used to make it (ie., higher quality wood, etc), the more valuable.
4. If it had been made by, owned by, signed by, came in contact with, wanted by, or heck, even was in the same room with a famous person, its value increased exponentially.

We are not massed produced. We are each uniquely made! Even twins, who have the same DNA, have different phenotypes that express their DNA differently. Those twins will live different lives, will have different personalities, likes and dislikes, will have different spiritual gifts. We are all uniquely made. God broke the mould with each one of us.

We were made with the highest quality materials possible! Jack London in Call of the Wild (I think) once described the villain, "Beauty" as looking as if he were made with the dregs of God's colour palette mixed together. I weep that people think of themselves that way! It's more like John Hammond in Michael Crighton's Jurassic Park kept saying: "I spared no expense." God spared no expense for you! The Bible says he thought of you before you were born, and his thoughts about you are more numerous than the sand on the seashore! Who thinks that much about junk?! Do people go around thinking all the time about each item at the dump? No! We are not junk! Genesis talks about man and woman being the pinnacle of God's creation. While he called the vast beauty of the sun, moon and stars, the oceans and mountains and all of creation "Good" - he looked at man and woman and called them "VERY Good!"

And lastly - we have been made by, paid for and owned by, signed and sealed by, wanted by, in contact with and in the presence of the most famous, incredible person there is - God! We have been made by the best Craftsman there is. I doubt even Les Paul could make stars, and with a mere word! Who can put the universe together with such precision? Who could hang the earth on its axis, create the smallest atoms to work together, create energy and matter and all things period! Not only that, but he has paid for us with the most precious currency of all: Jesus' blood. Jesus gave up a sinless, exalted position to be among His people, and also to die for us. We have a value that is literally beyond measure. God wants us! He desires to be in relationship with us - now, and in heaven. Thank God that he raised Jesus from the dead, allowing us to have life too!!

So you, reader, whether you have previously known Jesus or have had a first-time introduction through this blog - know that God loves you! That he made you special and unique and incredible. That he wants you for you, he wants to be in your life, and he gave up his son Jesus for you. If you don't know you're loved, ask God to show you! And ask God to show you the different, unique parts of yourself so that you can celebrate it. :)