Supporting our Troops

One of our sister blogs, Rosy Posy, is currently doing a project called Hats for Bobby to support a deployed soldier through crochet. Check it out!

Karissa

Today Karissa was able to leave the hospital to go to church. She is also expected to be discharged soon. Praise God for her recovery!

~Miri

Stop! Don't Spend Money on That!

If you are like me, and love delicious food, wait a moment before running over to your favorite chicken sandwich restaurant or the local supercenter. Budget101 has an entire list of recipes that are said to be copycats/clones of the originals, for mere pennies in cost. One of the things you learn as a grown-up, sometimes rather painfully as the rent/water/electric bill comes due - if you don't have to spend money on it, don't. And here is just one of the many ways you can "don't." Go ahead and try them - it's far less expensive than buying them, without sacrificing the yumminess. :)


http://www.budget101.com/frugal/copycat-clone-recipes-163/

~Elena~

I am Not Marrying Prince William

I found out today that I am most definitely not marrying Prince William. And was I ever relieved!

     Now, let me explain. You see, when I was about 12 years old, I heard a story about a Princess named Diana, who died suddenly and tragically. Being 12 years old, I was at the height of my daydreaming years, when princes and queens, make believe worlds, and Victorian dresses filled my mind. Cinderella was my favorite of all princesses, particularly because she was once poor yet still won the heart of the prince and went on to live happily ever after. Ah, to marry a prince.

     I soon discovered that Princess Diana had two sons, who were princes (of course). Real, live princes! And not much older than I! I immediately determined that here was my chance,  my Cinderella dream come true! I too could marry a prince! My imagination went wild. Of course, it would have to be Prince William, since he was next in line for the crown. I wanted to be queen someday, so Prince Harry would never do. And once I saw a picture of Prince William, I knew my fate was sealed. Not only was he a prince, but good-looking too! In my silly youthfulness, I decided he was not only good-looking, but the handsomest man I had ever seen! I dreamed on,  scheming up story after story of how I would meet this Crown Prince-to-be, how he would be instantly smitten, and we would then marry to live happily ever after, ruling Great Britain with grace and wisdom.

   There was just one small problem - I was neither gracious nor wise at this point in my life. But I couldn't see it. I only knew I wanted a prince, and he would be the one.

     Every girl wants a prince. It's hardwired into us, so much so that has become cliche. Countless books, movies, and fairy tales are based upon the girl-meets-prince-becomes-princess-and-all-her-trials-are-over-plot. Eleven years later, I have come to realize that just because a boy may be a prince, it does not guarantee he is worth waiting for. At all. Nor does marriage, to a prince or a pauper, guarantee and end to the trials of life. Ever.

     Recently I realized that Prince William had a serious girlfriend, who then became his fiance. I read up on them a little, wondering if he turned out to be the wonderful Prince Charming. As it turns out, I would have been miserable if I had dated (or rather, courted,) him. He met and "fell" for a girl wearing a see-through dress at a college fashion show. He partied with her, slept with her, did everything that I would not want my boyfriend to do with me.

     And so, I find myself relieved that I will not be the bride walking down the aisle on April 29th, 2011, to marry the Prince William of Great Britain. There lingers a twinge of remorse that I, like many girls, will never actually get to be royalty - just think of the beautiful dresses and hats!

     And yet - why can't I act with the grace and inner beauty expected of royalty? After all, my Father is the King of Kings. Why shouldn't I dress with care, and go out of my way to be friendly to all I come across during my day? Why shouldn't I be quick to share a smile, and to cheerfully serve those around me? And as the King's daughter, do I think that He will provide any less than a kingly prince for me to marry one day? Oh, he won't be a crown prince of some European country, nor will he necessarily be so good-looking I am instantly smitten - but those things don't matter. What is in his heart, his character when no one else is around - those are most important. You see, a prince worthy of your heart must possess in his own heart the character of Christ. Then, and only then, is he even worthy of your consideration.

Don't settle. Don't rush to secure your future to someone simply because he seems so perfect for you. Don't fear that if you don't get this one certain prince, no one else will ever do. Wait on the Lord.

~Elena~

Count to Three

This year, my soccer coaches decided to put me in a new position-goalie. I've never played this position before and if you had told me years ago when I started playing soccer that I would end up there, I would've quit then and there or told you that you were crazy. Playing goalie isn't for the timid-it requires aggressiveness, strength, stamina, and flexibility. The most important lesson I've learned from playing goalie is something Coach M. taught me-to count to three.

He was trying to teach me to punt, a skill needed by every goalie. After saving (catching) the ball, the goalie has six seconds to get rid of it again. However, they can't go past the eighteen yard line. Thus, in order to get it up to the midfield or offense, the goalie needs to kick it far up the field. Putting it on the ground for a kick, however, will only get it picked up by the other team's offense (plus the ref will tweet at you if you do). So the goalie has to drop the ball and kick it before it hits the ground. This is what is called a punt. One thing Coach M. realized when he was watching me was that I tended to try and rush my punt. And so he told me this-slow down and count to three before every kick. And it hasn't failed me yet.

Aside from the crash course in a basic goalie skill, I've found that this can also be applied to life (and luckily it wasn't a lesson that I had to learn the hard way). If you're like me, you tend to rush things to try and hurry up and get them done. And when you do, you miss certain steps, usually the boring, mundane ones that provide the framework for the whole entire thing. We get into such a rush to get things done that we don't realize that we're building our house without the foundation and we get disappointed when the whole things falls flat over with a little bit of hard wind and rain.

In America, we live in a culture that centered around "fast"-fast food, e-mail, microwaves, ect. We get frustrated when things take longer than we think they should. We get frustrated when we have to wait more than a few minutes for our Big Mac. So the point I'm driving at here is, maybe we need to take Coach M.'s advice and take a few seconds and count to three. In a literal sense, that could mean in the middle of a heated argument, taking a deep breath, counting to three to get our heads back, and then solving things the right way. In a broader sense, such as taking on a big project, that could mean laying out three (or more) things that we need to build the basic framework. Those things could be partners (alway recommended), financial support, and materials.

And I guarantee that if you take Coach M.'s advice, things will turn out a lot better for you. It hasn't failed me yet and my punts (when I apply the advice) always make it more than twenty yards.

So take a minute. 1...2...3...

~Miri

Do Something!

Johanna, a Honduran orphan

"You can't do everything, but you can refuse to do nothing."

~Author Unknown~

In This is Love

He knew.

Before any of us ever were, He knew. Knew that Eve would listen to the serpent. Knew that she would believe him and eat the forbidden fruit. Knew that Adam would stand alongside her and say nothing as he watched her take that first bite. He knew that Cain would kill Abel. He knew that the world would grow worse and worse, until He purged it with a flood.

But that would not defeat it. Sin had too tight a hold.  He knew it would once again grow worse and worse. He knew that all of the sacrifices, offered over thousands of years, would not be enough. He knew the nations would come that sacrificed children, alive. He knew the wars would come, destroying nations, families, and dreams. He knew that evil rulers would come, “purging” the imperfect and inferior races from their lands. He knew the evil men would come, selling other men for labor, and the women for pleasure. He knew, and He wept.

He knew what would be required to set things right. He knew just how difficult it would be, the sinless One bearing all the blame, all the punishment for the sin of every man and woman that would ever live. Death. He knew just how great the cost would be. He knew that even after the price was paid, only a few would accept the gift. That in the end the whole creation would be destroyed. He knew.

So He took a deep breath, a tear dropping silently into the shapeless waters beneath Him. His voice spoke softly into the darkness. “Let there be light.”

~An original essay by Sarai~

Winter Pizza Recipe

An Avandela original, inspired by real Italian pizzas.

Winter Pizza
serves 5

Pizza dough for one pizza
2 c. mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
2 tomatoes, chopped into large chunks
10-20 black olives, halved
2 c. spinach, fresh
Basil
Garlic powder
Pepper
Sea salt
Olive oil, extra virgin

Greased cookie sheet (10X15)
Preheated oven (400 degrees)

Blanch the fresh spinach by placing it in a pot of boiling water for two minutes, then removing to a bowl of ice cold water. Remove from the ice water onto paper towels, press out the water.  Ta da! Blanched spinach!

Spread pizza dough out on cookie sheet until completely covered. Cover dough liberally in mozzarella. You don't want the cheese to be too thick, but you don't want to see the crust anymore, either. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella. Add the chopped tomato, halved olives, and blanched spinach. Sprinkle to taste with basil, garlic powder, pepper, and sea salt. I would go very light with the garlic and the salt. You want these two spices to bring out the flavors of the vegetables, not be noticeable themselves. Drizzle olive oil over all. I poured it into a spoon, then drizzled back and forth. It took three spoonfuls to do the whole pizza.

Place pizza in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Deliciousness!

We're Done!

Avandela is officially re-designed, uncluttered, prettied up, and ready to go. You can now start looking for posts to appear on our new pages "The Grown Up Things" and "Recipes from Cricket Hollow."

"The Grown Up Things" has tips, links, and hard-earned life experience for you to borrow and apply to your own situations. I warn you - some posts will not be for the faint of heart! For some things, there is no "easy way" (like getting rich quick slow). And some of our life experiences might be downright embarrassing (names will be changed to protect the innocent, usually) and you may end up laughing 'til your sides hurt - or not. Either way, anytime you visit you will learn something new.

"Recipes from Cricket Hollow" only includes Avandela originals, cooked up right at home sweet home cryptically code-named "Cricket Hollow." Ok, so maybe not only Avandela originals. But when we do post other recipes, credit will be given were credit is due and copyrights will not be knowingly/intentionally infringed. If we're worried about the legality of posting web-based recipes, you'll find a link and a description instead. If the link ends up broken/bad/otherwise doesn't work, send us an email or leave a comment. We will fix it up right away.

We know the site is still a bit bare and content-lacking, but time permitting it will change soon! Please keep coming back and checking for something new - you just might be surprised!

~Avonlea and Elena~

Pardon the Mess

We are experimenting with new designs for Avandela, so please bear with us as the background may continue to change and links/tabs/etc. continue to move about. We are striving for a look that is less cluttered, but still pretty and memorable. Keep checking back!

More Karissa

Karissa is doing much better. The latest report on her is that this past weekend she was playing Uno and picked the right card 90% of the time! Please continue to pray for her recovery!

Final Notes on The Warm Hugs Project

The Warm Hugs Project has a failure status for this year due to lack of interest, not enough pre-planning, and not enough advertising. Not a single blanket was collected. And while I hate to have to report on a failure, especially a failure of this magnitude, I still want to praise God for putting me through this experience. It showed me a lot of weaknesses that I have in some areas that I need to improve and I can definately grow from this. But, please keep watch and plan for The Warm Hugs Project 2012, beginning in January and going till March!

~Miri

St. Valentine: The Man Behind the Chocolates

February 14 has become a day of love around the world. We hand out little cards, chocolates, various candies, and hope to receive some roses from that oh-so-special someone. But St. Valentine's Day started with a courageous act by a Christian martyer. (Didn't see that one coming, did ya?)

In the third century, A.D., there was a priest named Valentine who served in Rome. At this time, Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than married men and so outlawed marriage for all young men. Valentine, instead of following the unjust decree, married young lovers in secret. When he was discovered, he was thrown into jail. It is said that then was when the first "Valentine" was sent by Valentine himself. Lengend has it that he fell in love with a young woman (possibly the jailer's daughter) who visited him during his imprisonment. Just before his death, he wrote her a letter which he signed, "From your Valentine."

Although these stories may or may not be true, St. Valentine paints a picture of a heroic, courageous, sympathetic and (a collective sigh from the ladies) romantic man. And he, this martyer of the faith, is the reason you'll get those chocolates.

Happy Valentines Day!

~Miri

Voices of the Innocent

The day for this coming up soon. I'm going to do it and you should too! Voices of the Innocent is a pro-life project started by two teenage girls. The basic thing of it is that on February 14, 2011, people write out letters to their local newspaper and stick them in the mail. Their hope is that if enough people all send these letters at the same time, it will make an impact for life around the country. You can read more about it at http://www.voicesoftheinnocent.blogspot.com/.

~Miri

Update on Karissa

Karissa is now awake! I don't know how long she's been awake, but I do know she is now able to sit up and move around a bit. Read more about it on the new blog post at http://www.purpleforkarissa.com/. And please keep praying for her!

~Miri

Facebook and Web Security

Wait, I promise the post isn't as boring as the title! Keep reading!

You see, Facebook has enabled an account preference the lets you log in over HTTPS, which is far more secure than plain old HTTP, especially if you are logging in on an unprotected Wi-Fi network. Besides that, it makes the whole thing more secure in general. I don't know about you, but I am constantly updating my security preferences because, quite simply, I don't want friends of friends of friends reading my page. If I did, you'd be my friend anyway. Facebook is a nice utility for keeping in touch with my family when I'm away traveling. However, I don't want Joe Schmoe also keeping up with my wall updates and conversations. That negates the whole point of being able to selectively "add friends."

There is an article over at Wired.com that tells you more about this option in depth. Down at the bottom of the article, there is also a tiny paragraph that tells you how to browse even more websites over HTTPS for more general security.

~Sarai~

Raise Your Hand for Chocolate Milk

Sooo... I don't usually blog about other public awareness campaigns, but I felt sad for this one since it only had 16,000 signatures on the petition. That's like, maybe the population of the town of Camden-Wyoming. Pretty lame.

    Some activists and politicians are trying to get chocolate milk out of schools, on the rational that it isn't a healthy choice for kids. Well, the experts tend to disagree, which is what the folks over at Raise Your Hand for Chocolate Milk are trying to tell everyone. They simply want chocolate milk to remain a choice in school, since it is a simple, healthy way for children to to get important nutrients. Right now I believe the proposed chocolate milk removal only applies to public schools. If it applies to private schools (which I doubt, but who knows anymore), then I really want to stop it. That starts infringing on private business and personal rights way more than I am comfortable with. I mean, some homeschool groups are legally considered private schools. There is no way you are telling my mom she can't offer chocolate milk at lunch anymore (like she would listen anyway, since she only drinks chocolate milk).

     But here are my feelings on it. First, I love chocolate milk, and I'm an adult. Second, I know kids really, really love chocolate milk. There is no way I'm going to be responsible for sad kids who can't get their chocolate milk. Third - have you tasted plain milk? Unless you get some phenomenal organic or fresh-from-the-farm milk, it doesn't taste too great. It has a weird aftertaste. Bleck! And fourth - since when do they get to tell my kids what to drink? I don't have any yet, but I'm sure that some of you do. Maybe if they take the milk out of schools we could stage protests and sell glasses of chocolate milk for 5 cents outside the cafeterias. I think our point would be made, hands down. :) And lastly, if they get to take away the milk, it opens doors for legislation to take away whatever they want from cafeterias. School lunches are already horrible. Let them wash it down with something that tastes good, please.

     So go on, raise your hand for chocolate milk. Then have a nice cold glass with your favorite cookie. Aaah, delish!

~Sarai~

Changes to Warm Hugs

Since Warm Hugs was created almost a month ago, some changes have been made. First off it is now called "The Warm Hugs Project" instead of just "Warm Hugs."

Second is a change to the donations received. Blankets now can just be new or gently used blankets, gotten from any place you like. Whether you go out to the store and find one or just donate a gently used blanket that just's sitting around your house taking up space, all will be accepted. The change comes from the fact that not too many people seemed interested in making a blanket, and I don't blame them. It's a lot of hard work. Blankets are a big thing that take a lot materials and a lot of time.

Donations are being accepted from now until February 19. So if you are interested in donating a blanket, please email me at avonlea.elena@gmail.com.

~Miri 

Purple for Karissa

On November 7, 2010, 18-year-old Karissa Yoder was in a serious two car accident along with her friend and her roommate in Rosedale, Ohio. She was taken by helicopter to OSU Medical Center. From the accident, Karissa had a severe skull fracture and an area on her left temple that was idented and pressing on her brain. They had to do an emergency surgery. Her family, located in Delaware, then took the long road trip out to Ohio to be with their sister and daughter. Despite the fact that Karissa has yet to wake up from her coma, God has used this accident to strengthen the faith of her family. As of January 26, 2011, Karissa has been successfully moved to Bryn Mawer Rehab hospital. To follow Karissa's progress or buy a bracelet in support of Karissa and her family, click here.

Please pray for Karissa and her family!
~Miri

National Tea Month ~ and Contest!

     Well ladies, for all of you who didn't know, it is National Tea Month. Since I absolutely love tea, I really wish I had known sooner (I mean there's what, six days left?) My favorites are herbal and fruit teas, no sugar or cream or honey added Mmmm...I can taste those warm golden sips right now.  A nice chamomile or other light tea is perfect right before bed, and a zesty fruity one starts off the day wonderfully at breakfast. Lemon and Mint also serve as great energy boosters when I'm tired. On that note...Bigelow Tea is offering a tea giveaway this month.

Bigelow Tea website page - not the Facebook page!

     That's right, if you go to their Facebook page, and click on the "like" button, you are automatically entered to win free tea for....wait for it....drumroll....the entire year! Each month you get a free case of tea. How awesome would that be? But-here's the catch-you must enter by the 31st of January. So hurry on over and get to "like"-ing them on Facebook!

~Sarai~

A Trip to the Sea Port

     Last summer, my family took a trip to a little port. It was a rather warm day and the waves were splashing up over the rocks. We got out of the van and walked along the shore, sometimes getting hit with the cold salt water. As we had been driving down, I had spotted something on the rocks and wanted to see what it was. So we all walked down to see if we could find it. It was some kind of dead sea animal with orange letters spray painted on it. The only letter I could make out was the letter e. But even stranger was the animal itself. It had the body of a manatee but the head of a water dinosaur. We all started arguing over what we thought it was.
     “It’s some kind of dinosaur,” was my argument.
     “It’s an aquatic sea mammal!” announced one of my sisters.
     “It looks like a manatee to me,” was another argument.
     The youngest was just afraid, she admitted later, that it was going to jump up and attack me despite the fact that it was deteriorating and had one of its shoulder blades sticking out of its back. We gave it up and started walking back.
     Then, just as we got back, a happy fisherman and his son came walking off the pier, carrying a small wriggling shark. The fisherman proceeded to take a picture of it with his phone and then they walked back onto the pier, apparently to set it free. We got in the van. Then another man came back carrying the same shark and put it in a bucket. Dinner?

~Miri~

The Christian Purpose

     When I was little I used to stop, right in mid-step, and ask myself, why am I here? What’s the purpose in this if I’m just going to do the same things over and over? Is this even real? You may find yourself asking yourself the same questions and even, What’s the purpose of the Christian life? For a while, I didn’t even know how to answer the question myself even though I grew up in church and had probably heard the exact answer to that question ten hundred times. But it wasn’t until, after I had walked out to a large field for a work out session, and was walking up and down the tree-lined lane, that I found the answer. I had been arguing with I like to call the Celebrity Me.
     We all have one inside our head, telling us, well you could be this or you could be that. It’s always telling us what we could be to elevate ourselves to new heights. Celebrity Me has another name-Satan. And that particular day, he was trying to trick me into being somebody that would glorify myself and he was promising I would get there. But that’s not the purpose of the Christian life and I made sure that I told him so and in quite a lengthy and successful (on my part; he left me alone) argument.

The Purpose

     In the entirety of the New Testament, the word go appears 283 times. In the four Gospels, it appears 196 times and in Acts alone it appears 57 times. Go is a pretty common word. But Jesus used this word for His great commission. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says to his disciples, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”
     Through this commandment, Jesus basically lays out the purpose of the entire Christian life before his disciples (and not just the Twelve-a disciple is anyone who follows Jesus, including you) clearly for them to see. To illustrate, I’m going to use a very common example.

Shine

     Imagine for a minute that you’re sitting in a darkened room, holding an unlit candle, and you can’t see anything, right? Darkness is the absence of light. Then someone lights a candle. Now, the lighter that lit the candle represents Jesus touching somebody’s life. That person, then, with their newfound, childlike faith, reaches out to, let’s say a man named Dan. Now Dan’s candle is lit.  You can see the light of the first person and Dan shining through the darkness. But you still can’t see anything else. Then Dan reaches over and lights Mike’s candle. Three lights now shine through the darkness. Mike reaches out and lights Carrie’s candle. All the while, the first person is still reaching out and lighting other people’s candles. So is Dan. And Mike. And now Carrie. Carrie lights Ally’s candle. Ally’s lights Andrew’s candle. Andrew lights his little sister Ella’s candle. The first person is still reaching out. Dan is still lighting other’s candles. So is Mike. So is Carrie. So are Ally, and Andrew and now Ella. Soon someone lights your candle.
     You can see again, right? The whole room is now bathed in light. There’s still darkness where shadows can’t be chased away, but you’re not caught in darkness anymore. Jesus lights out internal candle when someone reaches out and introduces us to Him and we get saved. But we don’t just hold onto that light for ourselves. Like the old child’s song:

This little light of mine

I’m gonna let shine…

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

     Instead we take it out and shine it into the dark places, lighting up the dark places of the world. We reach out and light other people’s candles. Because, if you shine bright enough, they’re eventually going to ask questions.
     My favorite verse comes from Philippians 2:14-15. “Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights (or stars) in the world.” Stars shine pretty bright. They are millions of light years away from earth but yet they faithfully come out every night and shine down to give a bit of light to the darkened world.
     We aren’t millions of light years away from our fellow human being. They live right beside us. They shop at the same supermarket, the same mall. They go to the same gym. They play on the same team. They go to the same game, concert, and production and watch and cheer right beside you. Yet most of us don’t give them a second glance.
     I’m not saying that you have to turn to the person next to you and immediately start presenting the Gospel. It doesn’t always work that way. You have to wait, pray and see how the Spirit leads you. Sometimes, He’ll tell you to immediately tell the person. If they don’t come to repentance, don’t worry. You’ve planted the seed and the seed will grow. Other times, you just make friends, and, slowly, through your influence, your words, and your attitudes, they’ll come to see something different in you, something more. And they’ll want to know what that is.
     So “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

~Miri~

~Warm Hugs, Intro~

I promised more on Miri's "Warm Hugs" project - here's the initial post!

So Miri, inspired by Alex and Brett Harris' books "Do Hard Things" and "Start Here" decided to sponsor a blanket drive for local homeless shelters in our area. After doing some research, she found that we have 14 alone in our tiny county. One of them is even a children's shelter. Her project calls for 50 handmade blankets- all knitted, crocheted, knotted, sewn, etc. by volunteers on the Harris' Rebelution forum. Once she gets them all in (deadline being Feb. 6), she plans to pass them out amongst the various shelters. We'll be uploading photos and other such updates as the project progresses. I think it's a pretty awesome and practical idea myself. 

 What selfless project could you embark on in 2011? Check out those books and the Rebelution link for some inspiration. Be sure and leave us a comment about your project.

Want to help? Email us at avonlea.elena@gmail.com! We'd be glad to have you!

~ Sarai

It's 2011!!

Welcome to our corner of the world. We're actually in the process of transferring Avandela from another blog server, so it might look a little a funny around here the next few days. We've got funny stories, pictures, essays, and information on Miri's project "Warm Hugs" coming up real soon. So please keep checking back!

In the meantime, Happy New Year and God Bless from both of us!