Maybe you remember the challenges of trying to have online choirs and orchestras during Covid. Did you ever try to participate in one? It was very messy and hard!!
I read an account of one near-death experience where a man saw the throne room of heaven. Myriads of people were singing in a great cacophony—all different songs and different tongues—yet it sounded inexpressibly beautiful and somehow “perfect!” Ah, I can hardly wait to experience this!
Meanwhile, Jonathan’s being working really hard at trying to figure out how to make provisions for us to be able to sing together during our online worship and prayer services! This coming week, on Monday, May 6, 2024, he’s going to be sharing what he’s learned so far in a workshop from 11:00am-12:00pm (noon) New York City time.
Jon reminds us: “The Apostle Paul instructs the church to ‘address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart’ (Ephesians 5:19). In this workshop, we will explore ways to incorporate music and singing into online prayer services. We will review best practices in proctoring worship videos, spotlighting solo musicians, conducting group singing, and leading liturgical readings.”
“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.” (Psalm 100, NKJV).
This recipe is inspired by the wonderful pot of soup Susan brought to our high tea. Great flavor, and she said it’s “simple” to make. I added a couple of extra veggies to “own it” for myself, but you can also make it with just green onions.
Savory Thai Soup Serves 12
In a blender, add: 1 quart chicken broth 3/4 cup nutritional yeast 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil 1/4 cup red curry paste 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (or to taste) Purée for a few seconds (which helps emulsify the sesame oil).
Transfer to a large crock pot or Dutch oven and add: 1.5 more quarts chicken broth (or water plus chicken bullion) 12 oz. rice noodles 2 (12 oz) cans of chicken meat (or 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat) 1 cup chopped carrots 1 cup (8 oz) chopped fresh or frozen green beans 1 bunch green onions, chopped Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.
This can be kept hot and served hours later, or served immediately. I almost like it better reheated because the noodles pick up so much flavor, but (of course) the veggies lose their brightness after hours of simmering, so there’s a trade off! Both ways are excellent!
(Note cheery bowl of cilantro close to the Dutch oven filled with Thai Soup)
If you like cilantro, you can provide some fresh, diced cilantro in a bowl as a garnish.
“The whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen” (Luke 19:37— that’s us when we get together 🙂 ).
“Whatever you do, don’t miss Antelope Canyon!” Randy advised.
He and Julie had been out West a few years earlier, and they thought Antelope Canyon in Arizona was possibly the highlight of their entire trip.
I’d never even heard of Antelope Canyon, but after their advice, I looked into it.
Antelope Canyon is just a couple of hours from the Grand Canyon’s south rim.
Antelope Canyon belongs to the Navajo Nation.
You can only visit if you make an advance reservation.
And reservations are very expensive.
No one is allowed to roam free.
However, the guides are very knowledgable and personable, so they’re worth their hire!
They also keep you safe, which isn’t something you’d think you need, but you do!
On the surface above the canyon, everything looks dry as a bone.
You’d never guess there are wondrous caves underneath!
How does it happen?
Antelope Canyon is one of several very unique “slot” canyons.
There are holes or “slots” on the floor of the desert where light can filter down inside.
This allows the most astounding play of colors and shading.
This is all well and good, unless there’s a torrential downpour, which does occur on rare occasions.
Because the desert floor is mostly sandstone here, the water can’t penetrate.
So, it runs downhill looking for a crack or crevice and picking up sand and debris along the way.
(The passageway is at the bottom center of this photo.)
The result is a flash flood of water swirling through tiny passageways.
Over time, the raging waters carve out intricate passageways.
The grit and sand caught in the flood actually serve to smooth and polish the surfaces of the rocks until they look like exquisite pieces of pottery!
There are two tours available.
The Upper Canyon has a mostly level pathway with more beams of light shining directly into the canyon.
The Lower Canyon is a more difficult hike, requiring climbing up and down 5 flights of “stairs” (ladders).
In some places the passageways are very narrow with no level footing. (Note pathway here in middle.)
However, Lower Antelope Canyon is over twice as long and in some places 120″ deep, so there are many more opportunities for spectacular views!
(In the middle is the pathway with shoe prints. It’s hard to stay oriented!)
Also, if you just go by the names, the Navajo People call Upper Canyon Tsé bighánílíní, “the place where water runs through rocks.”
They call the Lower Canyon Hazdistazí, or “spiral rock arches.”
Alan and I chose the Lower Canyon, and we were overwhelmed by the subterranean beauty—unlike anything we’d ever seen above ground on Earth!
Beginning our descent into Lower Antelope Canyon
(All the photos on this blog are from our trip in 2022 to Lower Antelope Canyon.)
(Note the uneven surfaces!)
So, what’s with all the rainbow colors underground?
Land forms above the area of Antelope Canyon
I don’t have a definitive answer for that question.
In this unfiltered photo (which I took above ground), you can see most of the rainbow colors are present within the mineral composition of the rocks.
I think much of the effect is from brilliant sunlight casting light and shadows on the rocks.
This is basically the same photo, but in this one I used the “enhance” option (on my i-photo, free-with-computer program). This intensifies the colors, but it doesn’t actually change them.
In this image, I opened up the light setting (on my same, no-upgrade app), which allows us to see more texture with a slightly less intense color experience.
In this photo, I’ve enhanced both the amount of light and the color intensity. BUT, I didn’t change the colors. They were already there!
Here’s a photo taken from outside (note the grass that can grow here). The camera picked up the walls of the cave (which whited out the deep blue sky), so the colors aren’t so intense, but they’re still there.
I’m convinced that most of the variation in color comes directly from the intensity of the light shining on each surface.
With bright sunlight shining directly on the surface, most of this particular area is very similar in color.
From deep inside the cave looking up, the light makes some areas a brilliant yellow but lower folds in the rock are pink and even checkered with maroon and green at the bottom.
We may not often examine people the way we do rocks, but each person is like a sandstone sculpture!
The colors are all there, but they change in brilliance depending on the dance between Sonshine and shadows in our lives.
We are carved by countless flash floods coursing through the corridors of our hearts.
We are smoothed by the very grit that drives us crazy!
We’re tossed and turned until sometimes we can’t tell up from down!
My son Jonathan says God takes all our dreams and turns them upside down to make a tossed salad!
But, I’m okay with that!The Bible says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
I trust Jesus to use all the storms and pain to cleanse and smooth me so I’m “a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21, ESV).
Why do I trust Him? Because He has always been faithful and kind to me. What King David wrote in the Psalms is still true today: “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 145:9).
Finally, I want to discuss our need for shelter and safety.
About twenty-five years ago, an international tour group was caught by a flash flood.
Although there wasn’t much rain at Antelope Canyon, there had been a thunderstorm seven miles slightly uphill.
Eleven tourists were trapped and drowned in a raging flash flood.
Since that time, more security measures have been added.
The tour agency is extremely careful to cancel tours if there’s any possibility of a flash flood.
But, as with most of life’s adventures, there are always risks.
We can try to play it safe, but Jesus warned us, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35).
If you haven’t already, will you please give your life to Jesus and see what He does?
There’s a whole world of spiritual beauty you’ll never find if you try to “play it safe.”
Please, please take good advice, study the Bible, and explore the depths of God’s love!
I promise you’ll be okay, even if He turns your world upside down! I can promise with confidence, because Jesus promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5.)
Just as He has done for every person who repents from their sins and asks Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, He does just that!
He makes a way for us.
He is the Good Shepherd, who leads us all the way and protects us on our journey.
We can share Paul’s confidence “that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
And that—at the end of our pilgrimage—“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
And all the way, He hides our souls in the cleft of “the Rock”—which is Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4).
Psalm 61:1-4 (NKJV)—
Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.
When my daughter was little and we went to great pains to arrange tea parties for the family, we usually felt like her six brothers swooped in like hawks, downed everything without noticing, and flew off.
Very dissatisfying! However, I do know that men require more food than women, so when we had our last high tea, I definitely wanted to offer sandwiches with some substance to them.
So, I took some of Alan and my favorite ingredients and put them together in a slightly smaller form, but definitely still substantive. Very festive, and I think even Kathy’s brothers would have approved!
London Broil and Swiss Cheese Sandwiches (per sandwich)
2 slices whole grain bread (I used gluten-free, which came in a much smaller-sized loaf; if I had use larger slices, I would have trimmed off the edges and cut them in half for a high tea) Stone-ground mustard on both slices of bread 1 /2 slice Swiss cheese 2 oz. thin-sliced London Broil (which is a lot, but it’s the best part), lightly salted and peppered 1 crunchy baby dill pickle, split in half
Super simple to make, but very satisfying and full of flavor! Great for tea parties, or in larger versions with soups or salads.
“The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.” Psalm 145:15
“Blessed are you, Lord God, king of the universe: you raised your beloved son from the dead, and made him Lord of all. We turn to you in prayer and ask you to bless us and this food you have given us. Help us to be generous toward others, and to work with them so that they too may eat well. Loving Father, may we all celebrate together around your table in heaven. We praise you and give you glory through Christ our Lord.” – Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
Note from Dave on his poem: “Now and then I post poems. This is an old one, an early publication–in fact, I used to keep track of poems published and, on my old list, this was number eight. It was published in a journal called Hellas many years ago. And it ‘really happened.’ I came home from teaching one day, saw the cat as described in the poem, and wrote the poem in one sitting (a thing that doesn’t happen very often for me).”
Here’s the poem:
(This is indeed Dave’s kitty, but not on the day of her wispy concert!)
Cat and Mandolin
My cat (a tortoise-shell, white underneath)
Lies sleepily, stretched out upon a sheaf
Of music I laid by my mandolin
Upon a table. Sunlight pouring in
The window makes her drowsy as she rests,
Notes of an old composer by her breast.
Her tail disturbs the silence lazily,
Brushing the mandolin, and sending free
Desultory notes into the languid air
Of afternoon—a lyric to compare
With that one Coleridge heard the wind-harp troll,
But far superior: The Oversoul
That moves creative thought with touches warm
Is incarnated better in this form.
“As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all” (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit ” (John 3:8).
Grand Canyon National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site—a true treasure!
It encompasses an area of almost 2,000 square miles.
4.73 million visitors came last year (2023) to take in the majesty of this world wonder!
It’s ranked as the #2 most visited national park in America in recent years.
The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long.
At its widest point, it is 18 miles across from rim to rim.
The Colorado River runs through the bottom of the canyon,
and at its deepest point, the Grand Canyon is over a mile below the rim: 6,093 feet deep!
Alan and I visited on our recent Travels with Allie adventures, and we had a fabulous time hiking along the Southern Rim Trail.
We had a couple of gorgeous days with perfect weather, and all the photos (except those from the Colorado River taken on my son’s trip, which will be obvious to you) were from that visit.
But, just for the record, this visit was my fourth trip. I went as a child with my parents. I went after graduating from college. I went with Alan and our children when they were little. And this time, we went as a retired couple.
Every time we went, I wanted to hike down to the bottom, or ride on a donkey down, or go white-water rafting . . .
but on every trip, time, or money, or child care, or allergies and motion sickness for Alan, or aging issues, made it impossible to fulfill my dream of getting to the bottom of the canyon.
I think it would take a week or a month or a lifetime to really know this vast canyon well.
After 60+ years of wanting to experience more, I’ve made peace with the great privileges and pleasures I have been able to enjoy over the years!
My son Jonathan was able to go on a study trip while white-water rafting.
He shared awesome photos and wonderful stories of all he learned on that trip.
What a blessing to have my children get to experience some of the awesome things I always wished to do but didn’t!
For sure, one of main reasons I blog is wanting to share with others what I’ve been able to do that some others may not.
But, I can only share what I know.
Or, what I’ve studied and seen from afar!
In a thousand lives—maybe a million lifetimes—we could never learn all there is to learn or understand all there is to understand!
I have to make peace with the limitations of my life.
My spiritual mom taught me this verse to help me find contentment despite all the mysteries I cannot fathom:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Isn’t that comforting?
God illuminates many things for us—although at different times and seasons in our lives.
Over time, we learn a vast amount about life, and we can share those experiences with our children and other loved ones.
However, we never learn it all, and we never “get” it all.
Our lives end before we’ve solved all the mysteries.
Still, the Lord provides all the clarity we need to understand his laws,
and all the power (through faith in Christ’s redeeming work in us) to obey them.
Isn’t that enough?
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
Here is another online joke, although I don’t know the author to give a proper attribution. But, in America, today is “the day” to have in our tax returns. Oh, wouldn’t it be great if we could enjoy all the benefits of our governments without needing to support them? Despite disagreeing with many of America’s financial policies, I am grateful to live in a country where people can run for election without getting mysteriously murdered. I am deeply grieved for the moral failures enabled by our freedoms, but I’m thankful for the great freedoms of choice we have, and I believe these freedoms are God-given. Painful as it is, God created us with free wills, and most of the horrifying evils as well as the inspiring goods we see in the world around us are because we, the people, have been allowed freedom to choose. I also believe heaven will be a place where we still have freedom of choice, but we will be like Jesus and always make right choices.
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:1-3).
This coming Monday, April 15, 2024, from 8:00-9:00 am New York City time, my son Jonathan and a co-worker, Matthew Derek, will be sponsoring a one-hour workshop on the topic of prayer in a virtual reality setting. If you’re a high-tech, sci-fi-loving sort of person, you may find this fun and fascinating!
Jon explains, “Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that has long existed in the twilight between science fiction and science fact. First introduced to the consumer market in 2016, VR now offers a number of unique advantages to global prayer networks such as Aqueduct Project. This interactive workshop will offer an orientation to Prayer Room Neapolis (Our first VR Prayer Room) and discuss some of the particularities of facilitating prayer in an immersive environment. Participants are not required to have access to a VR headset.”
Interested? Here’s a link to register if you’d like to join in!
I think my prayer partners and I have been enjoying “high tea” with our spouses to break up the dreariness of winter for the past fifteen years, and 2024 was no exception!
There were so many delectable offerings this winter that over the next couple of months I’m going to be sharing recipes for many of the dishes, but today I want to tell you about a new way of making scones that we all liked. Rex said it almost reminded him of key lime pie, which (being one of my favorites) made me especially happy. I’m not a huge fan of scones, since sometimes they seem a little too dry and not quite sweet enough.
To me, the result of my experiments are reminiscent of shortbread, but by the time you add some lemon curd and clotted cream, it’s definitely UK classic.
Like many special recipes, lemon drop scones have a couple of secret ingredients. One is lemon curd. Mrs. Darlington’s is the bomb, but there are many delicious types available, so whatever you can find at your store will be just lovely. It’s also super easy to make fresh, so if you want to make your own, it will probably taste even better than Mrs. Darlington’s!
The other secret ingredient is fresh lemons, and there’s no substituting anything for fresh in this recipe. It takes all the juice and pulp and zest you can garner from three large lemons, and it makes ALL the difference, so don’t scrimp on this. In fact, I start by grating off as much of the peel as I can get from 3 large lemons, than cutting each one in half and grinding out every last bit of lemon juice. I even scrape off the last bits of juicy pulp from the edges of the lemons and the juicer. The more the bester!
Lemon Drop Scones (Can make 10-12 slices)
Preheat oven to 375°
Ingredients for the scones: 3 cups flour 1/2 cups sugar 1.5 teaspoons baking soda 1.5 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup cold butter (added in pat-sized slices) 1/2 cup light cream 3/8 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (with pulp) 2 tablespoons lemon zest
To make them, add the dry ingredients together in your blender bowl, but mix them by hand, then slice the cold butter into pats and add them, again stirring by hand so that they are all individually covered with flour.
Then, slowly start the mixer and blend just long enough for the butter to become pea-sized chunks (or smaller). One trick is to always mix as little as necessary. (Many people do this all by hand, but I’ve found you can use a mixer if you don’t over-mix at any step.)
Add the cream and blend lightly, then add the lemon juice and lemon zest, and mix lightly again.
On a heavily floured counter top, scrape out the pastry and form it into a soft, sticky ball. Add just enough of the flour to make it possible to roll out.
Roll it out into a circle that’s about 1″ thick. Notice you can see chunks of butter and flecks of lemon under the surface. That’s the way you want it to look! :)
With a sharp knife, divide the circle into 10-12 slices. I tend to intentionally make some smaller and some larger (unless you know everybody wants as much as possible!).
You can go one of two routes for the baking. I prefer placing them in a pizza pan, but they will end up softer this way. If you like the edges crusty, then separate them more and bake them on a large cookie sheet with about 1.5 inches between each slice so all the edges bake and become crisp.
Bake at 375° for about 22-25 minutes, or until the scones are golden on top but still soft. If you bake the scones in a pizza pan, the pieces will have baked together, so take the same sharp knife and cut them apart again.
While they bake, make the glaze:
Lemon-Butter Glaze
In a blender, combine: 2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup softened butter 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice from one lemon) 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon vanilla Blend until smooth; it will look almost like soft butter.
Spread the lemon butter evenly over the scones so that it rests on the top and seeps down into the cracks. Use it all!
Serve warm with clotted cream (heavy cream whipped until it starts to clot; or—which isn’t as traditionally British but I like—beat 1 cup heavy cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until medium peaks form) and lemon curd on top. It really does take scones to a new level!
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1).
Summer Setting 