The purpose of my web log is to be a connection to my children, extended family and friends. However, all are welcome! Verse of the year: Philippians 4:12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Special Warfare Combatant Crewman (SWCC)
Special forces training Jonathan will be going through after boot camp.
My best friend Lisa just informed me that she needs help painting her house next weekend. I can't think of very many things I enjoy more than painting. (I'm trying very hard not to use exclamation points.)
I don't know what it is about painting that I delight in so much. I love to feel the bristles of the brand new paintbrush, lay the preparation tape just in the perfect spot, see the first dramatic roll of paint go on the wall... It's all just so wonderful. And the finished product is always so inspiring. Clean, fresh, lively and new.
___________________________________________________ Lisa gave me a pretty mug for my birthday. On it there's a verse. Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart."
I thought on that quite a bit last week. What is "delight?" Delight... Before I looked it up, I defined it as being drawn to something you extremely enjoy out of adoration. Webster.com defines it as:
1 : a high degree of gratification : Joy; also : extreme satisfaction 2 : something that gives great pleasure
Do I delight myself in the Lord? There are some things I delight in that I can name right off. Painting is one, music is another. I'm drawn to both of those for all the happy feelings of pleasure I get from them. Thinking of what it must be like to be a grandmother brings me enormous delight. Do I think and act the same way toward the Lord?
I know for a fact that I delight in some things that are sin. Sometimes I get angry at someone and think it would just be nice if they received justice one day. I would delight in seeing that person get justice after wronging me. That is sin, but I am drawn in nonetheless. Other wanderings of my heart and mind into revengeful and other sinful playgrounds... Learning about this word 'delight' has helped me be able to fight that on a new front.
When I find myself delighting in something, good or bad, I try to pinpoint the motivation, the feelings, the attitude. What brought me here? What did I do to seek it out? What did I change in order to make it happen? Now, how can I learn from all those things and teach myself to delight in the Lord? I have asked the Holy Spirit for help to teach me these things.
Then I think of the promise of that verse. After I learn to delight myself in the Lord... what happens? "He shall give you the desires of your heart."
I considered how the principle works now, as I see it in my current situation. I delight in painting. One time Lisa saw me delight in painting, so she asked me to help her paint! WONDERFUL!!! Then I painted with her and had more fun than a person should be allowed to have! (ok... go easy on the exclamation points...) Anyway... What did I get when I delighted in painting? I got to paint even more. Painting, strangely enough, is not just something I delight in... but it's also one of the desires of my heart.
I wonder if, when I delight myself in relationship with the Lord... will one of the desires of my heart come to be to have a deeper relationship with the Lord? Then, when I delight myself in him, will he then reward me with that desire of my heart? I'm wondering if the desiresof my heart will change when the focus of my delight changes.
As much as I delight in those bad things, they just bring ugliness into my life. Does the principle hold true with bad things? Will the satisfaction of vengeance bring more need for vengeance?
But God? He wants only good things for me - all the time, every time. Christ, the delight and desire of my heart, and only blessings from him to follow; the benefits of that are so much more than good music and the joy of painting. Why are our spiritual sensors so dulled? I want to be compulsively, unabatedly drawn to him.
Now I'm not particularly known for my cullinary skills. But tonight I did a pretty dang good job, if I do say so myself.
My dad sent me this recipe - from Rachel Ray's show "30 min. meals" episode "Its dinner, Not a Workout." (wow... no KIDDING?)
Parmesean Crusted Chicken Breast with Tomato and Basil served with Potatoes, Peppers & Onions.
Here's the recipe in my own words:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs potatoes, cut into 4ths long ways 1 small red (I used orange) bell pepper, seeded, cut into thin strips 1 Italian mild green pepper (I didn't use this) 1 medium yellow skinned onion, thinly sliced 4 large cloves of garlic (I minced it) 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I just used a pepper mix) 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil Coarse salt & pepper
2 cups shredded Parmesan, shredded, not grated (what the heck's the difference?? I used the stuff you put on spaghetti) 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 4 plum Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I didn't seed them) Basil leaves (I used real basil leaves and I used real cilantro)
Preheat oven to 500. Grease cookie sheet, put potatoes and all the ingredients in the first set. I also added cilantro. That was really delicous! Roast for 20-22 min.
While potatoes cook, heat olive oil in large pan. Season with pepper (no salt) then roll in Parmesan. Cook 7 min on each side. While chicken cooks, combine chopped tomatoes with basil (this is where I added cilantro, and also some of the left over onion and garlic) Top chicken with the "raw sauce," as they call it.
It was delicious. The kids all made one exclamation or another when they saw it. (When they left the room I just giggled. They had no idea I had it in me!)
My only complaint is that it was all nearly the same color. Maybe I SHOULD have used the green pepper or maybe serve with green beans too. Oh well. Nobody complained!
Here's to shocking people once in awhile! Cheers! ... and BonApetit!
Familiy and Friends! Savers Digital Archiving is expanding services to include the digital conversion of film slides and 35mm negatives.
My standard rate is 75 cents per slide, but for any of you who mention that you saw it on my website, I will do your scanning for only 50 cents a slide. I will do this for anyone who has a family images to convert. (Businesses will pay normal rate.)
I will also give churches a break on the price for their church-related film.
(Offer good till March 31st.)
My equipment is specifically designed to convert slides and negatives into a digital format. This is not a document scanner with make-shift conversions.
Give me a call if you are interested! Kim Coreson 907-262-5223
This is a picture of Jacob's quilt that I made for him. It sure did brighten up his space. He just loves it. It does my heart so much good to see that on his bed. I know how much love I put into it; prayed for him the whole time.
One day while I was making it I wrote a poem about it. Here it is:
Wartime Gift
I’m creating a late Christmas gift For my boy who’s overseas. He wasn’t able to come home then Which made Christmas so hard for me.
I’m making a quilt for him, Of patches I’ve had for some time Other priorities got in the way, But now I’m making this mine.
Nothing is coming between My finishing of this quilt. Yah, I should have done it long ago. So, I’m hurrying – partly out of guilt.
But when I told him of it, That I was going to have this gift In time for his return back home, I heard his tired voice lift.
“Oh, mom!” He cried, “That’s awesome!! I would love to have that near!” “Son, do you think you could take it? Or shall I keep it here?”
“No way, it’s going with me, If I have carry it instead of lunch! I’m so glad you’re finishing it, mom. You have no idea how much.”
As I stitch, I pray for him. I pray for wisdom, safety, his friends. I pray that they would find success, Then that this war would finally end.
I wonder how he’ll use it. Will he just lay it on his cot? I’m not going to make it heavy, Because I know that he’s already hot.
I wonder if he’ll show it off, I wonder if he’ll smell our house. I wonder if he’ll fold it in his trunk, Now and then getting it out.
And I wonder if one great day, All dismantled but a flag unfurled. Will he pack this quilt, board a soldier’s plane As we finally find peace in our world?
Family Readiness Group - A military family support organization
This is a very happy picture of my friend Chaplain Donley (back left) and some of his family. What a sweet little granddaughter, huh? Chaplain Donley has been helping me understand the big-picture of starting a Family Readiness Group. He has been involved in some himself over his military career and has given me very valuable information. Because of this assistance, I finally feel confident about taking my next step to start a group in our area.
I have also discussed the idea at length with my sister-in-law, Julie Coreson. She started one in her area when Dennis was in Iraq. She gave me a lot of good ideas of what a meeting looked like in their area. They would all meet on a regular basis. Several different activities branched from that regular meeting from play-dates to fundraising, from car repairs to bowling nights - she said they just invented it as the needs came to light.
If anyone from our area is interested in learning more about joining a Family Readiness Group, the criteria is that you have a family member who is in the military. Email me with your name, phone number, mailing address, family member name, his/her branch and rank, and your relation to him/her.
The purpose of the group will be to
.
1) Provide support for family members of deployed military personnel
.
2) Provide encouragement to the soldiers through correspondence, care packages, etc.
If this doesn't apply to you, keep an eye out for someone to whom it does apply. The Birch Ridge Community Church has provided a meeting place at the Soldotna Senior Center on Sunday afternoons.
.
For all who contact me, I will be in touch about when and where our first meeting will be.
Dear God, I pray that you continue to bless our nation, protect our soldiers, comfort and provide for their families, and protect the precious innocent ones in Iraq.
I got a call from Jacob the other day. For any of you who don't know Jacob, he's a Sanguine personality. Very people-oriented. Often times he will pass the phone off to someone in the room for me to "meet." I end up talking to one of his buddies for awhile. I'm so bad with names anyway, and when you can only put a voice to a name instead of a face to a name, it's kinda hard to keep track.
The other day Jacob was where ever he has to go to use the phone. I had just asked Jacob, "So, when are you going out on your next mission?" And he said, "Mom, you know I can't tell you that." I was just chatting and I didn't mean to ask something I'm not supposed to.
Just then he handed the phone off. "Hello ma'am." This voice I had no problem distinguishing from the others. A woman, Regina Thomas from Mississippi. I thought she was the talking-on-the-phone police! I thought, "Great... I just got Jacob in trouble." But then I realized it was one of his introductions and I relaxed!
I have never met a female army friend of Jacob's. All these feelings of what it must be like as a woman in that situation came over me. In our next phone call I told Jacob to find out her favorite color. He said he already knew it! Blue.
I bought her a sun-catcher today and I'm going to mail it off. As a woman, I love having pretty things around me. I hope she does too and that this will brighten her day.
Think of this... The little suncatcher cost me $3.00 at JoAnns and it cost me $1.10 to send it in an $.80 bubble package. For under $5.00 you can send one of our soldiers something to brighten their day. Or, for $.39 you can send them a letter that will mean just as much.
I encourage you to put a little effort forth and encourage our troops who are tying to take the military strength away from those who have vowed to come bloody the soil in your own front yard. Not too high a price to pay, don't you think?
Jacob's address is: PFC Coreson, Jacob 72nd Engineer Co., 1EN BN FOB Warhorse APO AE 09336
This pattern is called "Sister's Choice." The first time I designed a quilt using Sister's Choice was for Cheryl. It's still sitting on paper!
I did this design by scanning the actual fabric on my scanner, then filling in squares and triangles with the actual fabric image. How cool, huh??!!
I have designed this quilt for a little girl in my church who is going to be a new sister. They think her mama is going to have a boy. She is convinced that the doctors are wrong and that she is really going to have a sister. I made him (ahem) a quilt and she liked it (but it was browns and blues)... so... since I don't get to do girlie things very often, I decided to throw one together for her.
Of course, I think "throw together"... I get all creative and then it turns into a project that never gets done. I'm going to try to get this one out the door in under a month. I'll let you know how it goes.
While I was designing this, Jonny came and sat down by me. "Mom, I want you to make me a quilt for when I go away. This is what I want it to look like:" and he drew me a picture of what he wanted his quilt to be like. How cool. I am going to get on that project very next thing.
I'll post a photo of this quilt finished. Keep on me about it! Don't let me just put it in a trunk and give up!!
Next, I'll post a more complete, detailed design of Jonny's quilt.
