Cajun Cookin'

As you may, or may not know, tomorrow is Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday. If you don't know much about Mardi Gras, just do a google search. It's pretty interesting to read about the history of Mardi Gras. Back where I'm from in Mississippi Mardi Gras is pretty big deal since I live just a few hours from New Orleans where Mardi Gras is huge. For me, Mardi Gras makes me crave the Cajun food I grew up on, so one of my roommates, Sharon, and I decided to bring a little Mardi Gras to our apt by cooking some Cajun food to satisfy my craving. I provided recipes that met my Cajun food standards and Sharon did the cooking.

We made Gumbo based off Emeril's recipe found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicken-and-smoked-sausage-gumbo-with-white-rice-recipe/index.html

Instead of thighs, we used chicken breasts, and used Tony's original seasoning for the Cajun season. After making the roux, browning the meat, and cooking the vegetables like the recipe called for, everything was dumped in the crockpot and left to simmer through the day. Also, file powder cannot be found around here. Sharon went to multiple stores in search for it, and even called J.Gumbo's to see if they sold it, but no luck. It was still tasty without it though.

Simmering Gumbo:

Final Delicious Product:

We also needed a traditional Mardi Gras dessert of King Cake, but instead of the traditional cake we made mini king cake knots to save time and because we just liked the way they looked. Recipe found here: http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/03/easy-king-cake-knots.html (When it called for the refrigerated french bread dough, Sharon used a bread recipe from Julia Child's cookbook.)

The traditional Mardi Gras colors are green, purple, and gold, but we only had sprinkles in one of those colors, green, so we used what we had. (Anyone who knows our apt shouldn't be surprised that we only had green.)

With the extra dough, we decided homemade bread was necessary to go with the gumbo.

Anytime my dad makes Cajun food he always has the Subdues playing, so I decided that we needed to honor this tradition. 

The food turned out delicious, and it made me happy to bring a little bit of home to Louisville. Thanks Sharon for cooking! I look forward to eating leftover gumbo for the next few days. :)

Joy

25. A quarter of a century. That's how old I'll be in just a couple of hours (at least as I start this...by the time I finish I could be 25). Birthdays always cause me to be a bit reflective. I think this is a good thing. It's good to pause, look back at my life, and see where God has brought me. I'm incredibly grateful that God has me where I am right now, and for all he has taught me and continues to teach me.

Recently (well, back in October but it stuck with me), I saw a post on Katie's blog (met her this summer in Haiti) about things that make life fantastic. We complain fairly frequently, but how often do we count our blessings? What makes you smile just thinking about it? It can be little things. What makes your life fantastic?

Katie challenged us to list 10 things, big or small that bring joy to our lives and I want to issues the same challenge. So please comment, either on here or on facebook and share 10 things that make your life fantastic.

10 Things That Make My Life Fantastic (In no particular order):
1. Looking back at my life and seeing God at work. It's really cool to see how God has used events in my life in ways I never would have expected.
2. A good book. I admit, I love fiction and can get lost in a good book. Fiction is my escape when I need a break. I'm a re-reader.
3. Close relationships with my family. My mom is one of my best friends.
4. Friendships where time and distance don't matter.
5. Laughing so hard it hurts. Often at myself. (I'm clumsy and it's just funny sometimes. One time I tried to exit a revolving glass door too soon. I was laughing really hard at myself.)
6. Stars. A clear night, in the middle of nowhere/at camp (basically wherever it's really dark), where the stars seem to go on forever. I absolutely love stars. Meteor showers are amazing. I find astronomy fascinating and think constellations are pretty cool. I love camping out under the stars. It's great.
7. Local coffee shops. (I frequent Quills, Vint, and Heine Brother's here in Louisville. Back in MS I like Cups and Fusion.)
8. Spending time outdoors on a warm, sunny day. I love taking walks through Cherokee Park, especially in the Fall. I also love Spring in Mississippi. I practically live outside when it's warm.
9. Sojourn Community Church. I've only been a member for about 6 months or so and it has been a huge blessing to me. I'm getting to use my gifts in the church and it makes me incredibly happy. I love being a part of the servant photography team (alrush87 is me) and working with the kids. I also love the community of the church...my community group is great. :)
10. Sunsets/Sunrises. I've been privileged to see some amazing sunsets and sunrises in my life. I can't help but think, "Wow, God!" when I see an awesome sunset or sunrise. The best one was at camp during counselor reunion in January of '09.

Now it's your turn. What are 10 things that make your life fantastic? You don't have to be as detailed as I was, but please comment! I would love to share in your joy.
P.S. I had a hard time just listing 10 things. I need to remind myself more often of my blessings.

Nepal Mission Trip Support Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

           

I hope this letter finds you doing well. I’ll be honest, it’s hard for me to write a letter that asks for money…I hope you don’t immediately stop reading when I say that. As many of you may know, I am currently in seminary studying missions. When I graduate I hope to either work for a church or overseas using my media skills to help make Christ known.

This fall I joined a local church here in Louisville that I have fallen in love with, Sojourn Community Church (east.sojournchurch.com), and I have a wonderful opportunity to go on a short-term mission trip to Nepal in June through Sojourn, but I cannot do this without your support.

I have told a few of you already about this opportunity and you have asked how you can help. First, please be praying for my team and me. Anytime God is at work there will be opposition. Fundraising is tough, travel can be a challenge, and conditions will not always be ideal, but I believe God is sovereign and will be with each of us on this trip. Not only would I love for you to pray for my team, but also for the long-term missionaries we will be working with and the people we will meet in Nepal.

It would also be a huge blessing if you could partner with me in this trip and make a financial donation. Unfortunately travel is not cheap, and this trip costs $2,900. Any donation, whether large or small will help. This can be broken up in a number of ways…100 people could give just $30 each (ok so 100 people may be a bit overly ideal)…but a more realistic breakdown could look as follows:

1 partner gives $800

2 partners give $300

5 partners give $100

10 partners give $50

10 partners give $30

20 partners give $15

I realize that $50+ can seem like a lot to ask for, but putting it into perspective, a grocery bill in a week can be that much. I’m not trying to play the guilt trip card; I’m just a visual person so putting it in perspective helps me.

           

If you would like to partner with me in this trip by making a tax-deductible donation my church has made it super easy. Just copy and paste the following link into your web browser (or type it in if you are reading a hard copy of this letter), choose 750 Nepal from the drop down menu (scroll almost to the bottom), and fill out the form. https://sojournforms.wufoo.com/forms/short-term-missions-giving/

           

If you prefer to mail a check, it should be made out to Sojourn Community Church and my giving number must be put in the memo line so the church knows whose trip the donation goes toward. My giving number is 750 Nepal. Checks can be mailed to the following address:

Sojourn Community Church

PO Box 406738

Louisville, KY 40204

Gifts to the church, with an expression of a preference for my trip expenses, are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. If you are able to make a gift to the church, helping to fund my portion of the trip expenses, please give online or make your check payable to Sojourn Community Church. If I am unable to participate in the trip, your gifts will be used to support the short-term mission program of Sojourn.

For those interested in the trip description here is what we have been told: Nepal is a land known for the Himalayas and for conflict. It has long been cut off from the world and isolated from Gospel witness. All that is changing and you can be a part of seeing the gospel take root. We will travel to Kathmandu where we will connect with our partners and break up into teams that will do different ministries which included: theological education in local Bible colleges, sharing the gospel through stories in the mountains and area villages, and we will also be doing ministry among an unreached and resistant people group who live in Kathmandu. This will not be an easy trip but one that we hope will have eternal results.            

Thank you for your help. I realize that many of you may not be able to go on a mission trip yourself, but missions consists of three types of people, those who can go, those who can send through giving, and those who pray. All three are vitally important, and this trip would not be possible without each type of person. If you would like to know more about my trip, or just want to catch up, please contact me! I promise I will respond asap!

In Christ,

Allison

Reflections: A Different Kind of Christmas

Seventeen hours in the middle seat of the smallest row on a plane may sound like torture, but I would do it again if it meant I was on my way to East Asia. That is exactly where I was headed this time last year. Well, I might have been in L.A. for training, but I was on my way across the world for about three weeks. I remember being both excited and nervous, and I was dreading that plane ride...but mostly I was excited.


Last year is the only time I haven't been with my family for Christmas. I missed them a lot but I would hop on a plane right now if someone handed me tickets to go back to East Asia. Last Christmas was a different kind of Christmas, but it was one of the best of my life. 


I have been on many mission trips, but none quite compare to last Christmas. Most of my past trips were more structured than this trip (even Mexico!), and I'm extremely grateful for the freedom we had. This sort of freedom required complete trust in God. 


Every day we prayed for God to guide us and give us direction. We simply began walking the streets, praying as we went, and allowed God to work. We didn't have a translator...just one phrasebook per small team, a jman who had two months of language school, and a professor who knew a language that was understood by many but not as well as the native language. We also had one working media player with a recording of the "Creation to Christ" story through the Bible. One of our main prayers each day was to find people who could speak English to translate for us.


I saw God work in so many ways through this trip. There is nothing quite like landing in a foreign country where you can't even begin to understand the language, having no set plan of action, and no translator to make you totally depend on God. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this trip. We did have some basic training and instruction, but we were entrusted with the task of being the eyes and ears for the long term missionaries, so they knew where to follow up, and there was no set plan of action in how to go about this.


God moved on this trip. People approached us on the streets because they had never seen Americans before. We got to talk to many people, and were able to share in depth with multiple people who expressed true interest in what we were sharing. 


One of the most awesome God moments of the trip for me was when my small team got to go into a secondary school (middle school/high school) and met a couple of English teachers who allowed us to share the true story of Christmas with their classrooms while they translated for us. This was an awesome act of God by itself, but what made it even more meaningful to me was that just the day before I had prayed for the opportunity to speak to middle school age kids. I work well with kids, so I prayed this with the thought that maybe I would get to speak to a couple of kids on the street...I had no idea how God would far exceed my small request. We were able to speak to multiple classrooms of 50+ kids two days in a row. The kids in that village will forever hold a special place in my heart.


There were many highs and lows on this trip. While I saw God at work, I also felt the presence of evil in a way I have never felt before. There were so many things I saw that broke my heart. Idols in every shop, confusion in the few who showed promise of being believers, so few who had ever heard the name of Jesus. I believe that spiritual warfare is a very real thing.


I could honestly go on and on about this trip. There are so many memories...crazy videos on the buses, dance-offs in the square, drunk man in the hotel room, the coffee shop, night spent with the squatty potty, stinky tofu, language butchering, lazy susans, Christmas service complete with fog and crazy lights...Last Christmas was a Christmas I will never forget.

 Favorite method of transportation...unless it's raining.

Lazy susans are the best way to eat!

Gotta love the all-in-one bathroom complete with a squatty potty.

One of many gorgeous views.

Stinky Tofu...enough said.

Gorgeous.

Traveling in style.

Ready for adventure!

Speaking of mission trips, this summer I will have the opportunity to go on a short term trip to Nepal through my church. Please pray for me and my team as we prepare for this trip, and raise support. If you would like to partner with me through giving (tax-deductible), you can make a donation here (be sure to choose 750-Nepal from the drop down menu): https://sojournforms.wufoo.com/forms/short-term-missions-giving/

Christmas Break To Do List

• Build a shelf/drawer system for my craft supplies

• Read books not required for school (especially while sitting by the outside fireplace with my dad)

• Cook for my family (Gotta prove that I take after my dad and not my mom in this area)

• Have a craft day with my mom and sisters

• Get my mom to help me re-learn how to knit

• Send out support letters for my mission trip to Nepal (you can donate here and choose 750-Nepal from the drop down menu https://sojournforms.wufoo.com/forms/short-term-missions-giving/ )(More to come on this soon.)

• Get back into blogging/fix things that are bugging me with the current template I'm using (I realize I haven't been on here since August)

• Find interesting things to photograph for fun.

• Create a photography website? Maybe at least a fb fan-page thing to show my work.

• Hang out with old friends I haven't seen in a while. (This includes college friends at Andrew's wedding and high school friends I haven't seen in forever like Mallory and Claire.)

• Go to counselor reunion in TX. 

It's going to be a fun little break. I'm looking forward to the time to spend with friends and family. 

A Lesson in Humility

This summer I had the privilege of being able to work at Camp Balcones Springs again, however, I chose not to work the whole summer, just term three, which meant I would be stepping down from my leadership position as photographer and would become a counselor again. After reading the title of this post, you may think that is where the lesson came in, and yes that did require some humility, but this particular lesson came somewhat unexpected to me.


The majority of people who work as counselors are often only able to come for a summer or two for various reasons such as jobs, internships, school, etc. I've been blessed with the opportunity to work at camp for four summers now...I thought I was done after summer number two but that's a story for another time. Each year there is a pretty large staff turnover due to the nature of this job. My first summer I made a great core group of friends with some fellow counselors. Most of them were able to return our second summer, but last summer the majority of them were not back, however, I became pretty close with my fellow leadership team.


This summer was a different summer. Most of the people I was on leadership with last summer had gotten "real world" jobs, and since I was only going to be at camp for one term, I would be a counselor again, and I wouldn't be coming until halfway through the summer so many groups of friends would have already formed. I was also the oldest female counselor. I wound up making some great friends with both new and old counselors, and loved being back in a cabin.


What I realized though is that camp still goes on without my old friends being there, who were such a vital part of camp for me. This may seem like a "duh" statement, however, this was a humbling moment for me because I realized that just a couple of years after I'm gone the counselors and many new campers won't know who I am. I've put a lot of love, sweat, and tears into camp, and to realize that I may not be remembered in a few years hit me pretty hard. I hope that I've made a lasting impact on many campers, especially that girls I've had in my cabins during my six terms as a counselor. I also hope that I made an impact from behind the scenes during my six terms as a part of leadership. More importantly, I hope that I've pointed campers toward God. Even if I'm forgotten, I hope I've shown campers how much God loves them, and have helped them trust Him more.


It's easy to get caught up in the little things at camp. "Have I turned everything in on time?" "Am I making pow-wow interesting enough?" "Does the rest of the staff like me?" "Is my cabin clean?" "Are we going to make it to flag pole on time?" "What are we going to eat today?" "Are my girls listening to me?" "Where am I scheduled today?"


Notice how many times I said "I" or "me" in there. It's easy to get caught up in the little things, and it's easy to get caught up in ourselves. Sometimes at camp, and in life, I have to pause and remind myself of my purpose, which is to glorify God. I love that our off days are called "selahs." The word "selah" is used often in the Psalms and is a way of saying "pause/rest and listen." As counselors we often get pretty excited about our selahs because it's a time for some rest and time to hang out with other counselors. I wish we would get as excited about resting and listening to God. I'm often guilty of getting caught up in busyness whether it's camp, church, or seminary stuff. The stuff that keeps me busy is generally not bad stuff, and often it's stuff that has to do with God, but it can be easy to get caught up in what we're doing instead of why we're doing it and who it's for. We need to pause more often and remember the big picture, the reason we're doing what we're doing, which is to give glory to God.


When this humbling lesson hit me it reminded me of a sermon I heard in chapel last year called, "You Are Not Your Gift: Finding the Freedom to Fail in Ministry." Here is the original sermon if you would like to listen to it:

In this sermon Dr. Moore talks about thinking too highly of ourselves in our ministry positions. We often can find ourselves thinking that certain jobs cannot be done without us. This not only applies to ministry positions but to camp as well. It's weird to think that camp can go on without us. That in a few years we could be forgotten. But it will go on, and this can be a freeing thought. God is sovereign. He's not surprised by our mistakes. We can plan, and plan, and plan but rarely will things go exactly as planned. Some of the best moments at camp and in life can happen when things seem to be failing. These are moments when you just have to say, "ok God this is yours." It's ok to fail.


Sorry this post is so long. I've had a lot of these thoughts swirling around in my head for a few weeks now and needed to write them out. I truly am grateful for all the lessons working at camp has taught me. I hope I can make it back for at least one more term next year, but if this year was my last or if next year is, I'm ok with that. It's neat to look back through my summers at camp and see how it has changed me. I've learned a lot about being myself through camp. Some people who know me best know that I've struggled with being myself. I got to lead a pow-wow at camp this year where we each wrote our name at the top of a piece of paper and passed it around the circle. Each person had to write two nice things about that person until your sheet made it back to you. Many girls' cabins have done similar pow-wows. I was surprised by the comments on my sheet:


"You're really fun to be around. You're funny."
"Wonderful person. Good talking about God."
"You have a great personality! You accept who you are!"
"You don't care what people think about you. Compassionate and loving-engages everyone."
"You're dedicated and you always invest yourself in everything you do."
"You are the most supportive person eva! In the morning you always have a smile on your face."
"Very supportive and kind, your smile is glued to your face, brightening the world."
"You always make me happy and you are a really great counselor and person."


I'm not sharing these comments to brag about myself. I'm just sharing these to show how at a time when I wasn't sure if I was getting through to my girls, God used my cabin to show me how he has been working in my life at camp. My cabin didn't know that being myself is something I've struggled with, but God is awesome, and encouraged me through them.


Once again, sorry for the lengthiness of this post. If you made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through my rambles. I hope you got something out of this. -Allison-

Photography

I'm really craving a day to wonder around Louisville with my camera. After I survive next week (yes, I will survive it even if my grades don't) I plan on taking a day to do some exploring with my camera. I need a photography de-stressing (is that even a word?) day. If any of my friends would like to wander around Louisville with me (feel free to bring your own camera), I would love to have you join me...advance warning: you might wind up as the subject of some pictures if you come with me. I could use some portrait practice. I feel my camera calling my name. I need to get some creativity flowing. Now back to this 12 page paper.