Omnipresence and Truth

"God is not somewhere else. God is right here. It is God's world and God made it and God owns it and God is present everwhere in it."

"Truth is everwhere, and it is available to everyone."

"If it is true, if it is beautiful, if it is honorable, if it is right, then claim it. Because it is from God. And you belong to God."

"So as Christians, we are free to claim the good, the true, the holy, wherever and whenever I find it. We live with the understanding that truth is bigger than any religion and the world is God's and everything in it.... Why would we ever be surprised when truth turns up in strange places?"

*(Quoted from author Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis. Chapter 3)

Velvet Elvis

I just finished reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I had never heard of this author/pastor until just a few weeks ago. I was a little hesitant going into it but after reading the first chapter, I was really captured by the words in the book. It was a refreshing book for me in my journey as a believer in Christ. So over the next few days, I would like to share some of the things that really made an impression on me. I highly encourage you to read this book if you can.

It's okay to ask questions.

This is the first thing that encouraged and challenged me so much. Sometimes I feel like I have to have the answer to every question in my faith and life. I have even felt guilty sometimes when I had questions to things that I didn't understand. Questions bring freedom and they allow us to draw closer to God. After all, many people that are mentioned in scripture asked God questions. Mary, David, even Jesus, to name a few. It's okay. That's one way we can grow more intimate with someone, specifically Christ.

Beware...lots of pictures!

We had such a fun weekend as a family. Saturday we went out to camp to go sailing. This was Jubal's first sailing trip. He was so cute. He even decided he wanted to sit on the front of the boat. Stephen said he did that as a child too...how sweet ;).

Like father, like son

Sunday after church, we headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway to a little spot with some fresh cold, really cold, mountain waterfalls and swimming holes. Stephen and Jubal caught a salamander and watched some peep out of their homes while I tried to brave the cold water.

One of the waterfalls


Awww.....

Our cold feet

Mariposa!!!

Cool tree on the trail

We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area.

No Fear

Where Stephen works, there is a massive zip line that goes down into the water. I am not sure how high it is but it's pretty high. (It made me squeal when I did it last year.) Anyway, we have been talking to Jubal about doing it since last year and he just kept saying "I am too scared. I will do it when I am older." Hey, at least he is honest. No pressure from us.
So today we came to see Stephen at work and while we were walking to his office, Jubal says so matter of factly, "I want to do the zip line today. I am not scared anymore." Honestly, I didn't know what to say. So I said, "Sure if that's what you want to do...Are you sure?" "Yes mommy. I am not scared."
Jubal said the same thing to Stephen when he got off work. Alright...go for it!
Standing at the end (across the lake) I waited for him. I was wondering if he would really do it. My heart started beating hard...I don't know who was more nervous, me or him ;). Then I see Stephen jump off the platform but didn't see Jubal. I thought maybe Stephen was showing him how fun it is. Then all of a sudden, I see a little figure coming down the line...it's Jubal!!!! Holy cow!! He did it! Then I start wondering how he will react when he hits the water. He hasn't been too fond of getting splashed in the face until recently. Hmmm....
There he goes. He did it. He's in the water. How cute! How fantastic! I am soooo proud of him. He had a little smile on his face as he and daddy swam to shore. He didn't say much for a while. As we walk along the lake I asked Jubal if his heart beat fast when he jumped off the platform. He said, "I didn't really feel it but it's beating fast now."

Easy as 1-2-3

I have never had much success with homemade spaghetti sauce so I usually cheat and buy it in a jar. Until now.......
I got a cool little cookbook from our local library titled The Clueless Vegetarian. It has some really easy and practical recipes and I really like it. And to my pleasant surprise there is a really yummy and easy tomato sauce recipe too. So I tried it last night and it passed the family test and Jubal and I even had it for lunch today. Here is the recipe for those of you looking for a good tomato sauce recipe. It can be used for lasagna, pizza, or anything else you can come up with. You can also make a big batch of it and freeze it for later use. If you are a gardener and/or canner, fresh (or canned) tomatoes from the garden are perfect for this recipe.

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed (more if you like garlic)
1 carrot, finely chopped (optional)
1 stalk celery or small green pepper, finely chopped
8 C. chopped fresh tomatoes or 2 19 0z. cans of diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 C chopped fresh basil

In a large sauce pan heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is transparent. Add carrot, celery/green pepper and continue to cook 6-8 minutes. Dump in the tomatoes (if using canned tomatoes, don't drain), tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer. Stir occassionally and simmer for 35-45 minutes or until sauce is thick. Add extra seasoning to taste.

Some cuteness at the Janes house

I wanted to post a few pics of some cute things that have happened at my house over the past week.

Even though Jubal is growing out of the nap stage, he still needs one here and there. This is a picture of Jubal sleeping after he spent a few days with grandma. Texas missed him so much that he wanted to take a little nap with him (after Jubal fell asleep of course ;))

These next pictures are of a little girl that I got to see born a little over 2 years ago. Her mom is expecting baby #2 so I offered to watch big sis so mommy could get some rest. She and Jubal got along so well and were so funny eating homemade popsicles.

That's it for now. I am sure I will have more cuteness moments to blog in the near future.

Look for some cute and precious things in your life and I promise it will bring a smile to your day.

Beginning our summer harvest

Our little garden is growing pretty well and since we have had quite a bit of rain in the past couple of days, the plants have perked up and have little veggies growing. Our potatoes however are ready to dig up so I went ahead and got some out of the ground yesterday. I used a different kind this year (Red Pontiac) and they look really good.

We have also frequented our secret red rasperry patch near our house and have been able to pick enough for jam, freezing, and eating on our cereal.

I am exciting about the beginning of our summer harvest. It's really yummy so far!