Cranberry-Chocolate Scones

     I have successfully completed my first attempt at making scones. I have been wanting to try my hand at this for awhile for a few reasons. 1. Scones are simply scrumptious and the thought of a scone and a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning sounds perfect. 2. At some point in my life I would enjoy to have a coffee & pastry shop where I made all the pastries myself. So this was a start towards fulfilling both of my reasons. I was pleasantly surprised that scones were not difficult to make and that, perhaps by beginners luck, they turned out perfectly!

If you desire to also try your hand at scones or enjoy a new treat here is the link to the recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/scones/.

This is not the exact recipe that I got out of the magazine but the only changes are as follows:

Add 1/4 cup of chocolate pieces & 1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel into egg mixture.

If you want to top the scones with a drizzle after they have cooled you can make an orange drizzle: 

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tbs orange juice

1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix together and stir in additional orange juice (1 tsp at a time) to achieve drizzle consistency

"Christ"-mas Time Is Here!

Merry Christmas!
We love this time of year, most likely due to the amazing memories of Christmas with our families for the past 25 or so years. We have learned and acquired the traditions from our families and since being married we've tried our hands at starting new traditions. For Tim, his most memorable family tradition is the Christmas Eve See's Candy eating fest. Essentially, the entire family sits around the living room coffee table and enjoys their favorite sampling of candy! For me, I vividly remember my family heading up to the mountains to tromp through the snow and cut down our Christmas tree. It was a wintery adventure complete with poof-y jackets and snow pants, hot chocolate, and baked goodies to enjoy.

At the base of all those traditions stands the thing we enjoy the most ~ family. We have been blessed with loving families that we simply can't wait to spend the holidays with. But it isn't  the "family" that makes it special. For if you look below the base you will see the roots, which uphold our families, and that is the foundation of Jesus Christ. THAT is what makes this season so special. Our families have the blessing of  having the common thread of Jesus tying us together. So we are thrilled to spend time with our families, but we feel honored and blessed to celebrate the birth of Jesus our Saviour, who makes true family a reality.

Unfinished Work

     I had the joy of raking leaves today. It is something that I actually enjoy doing. I find it invigorating to be outside in the fall air and always feel accomplished when all the leaves have been raked into a big pile. This was also a way I earned Christmas money when I was little so it always brings back good memories.....although I don't get paid for raking the leaves anymore! 
    Once I had finished the back yard, I stopped to enjoy the refreshing breeze that had floated my way and was listening to the rustle of the leaves, when I decided to look at the tree whose leaves I had just finished picking up off the ground. I watched as leaf after leaf began to fall with the breeze, dancing there way to the ground. This work is never done!
With that thought, I was hit with the reminder that God's work is never done while we remain on this earth. He is constantly moving, working around us and hopefully through us. In a few days there will be more leaves that will need to be raked into existence and picked up. Like those leaves, God is continually working to touch the lives of people with His love.  Just when I think I have accomplished something in His name or a nugget of truth has been revealed to me; He has new truth to speak into my life and more work that needs to be done for His kingdom. My service for the Lord is not complete until He takes me home.

Fall Anyone?

     We love the season of Fall. It is the time when leaves on the trees turn the most brilliant shades of reds and oranges. We love that it is time to put on a sweatshirt and some jeans as the cool breezes start to roll in. We were talking about the things that make fall, fall to us individually.

   I (Tim) always associate Fall weather with soup. When things started getting chilly, I would greatly look forward to seeing the big, silver soup pot come out on the stove; knowing that within a few hours a simmering concoction of yummy veggies, grains, and tender meat would be piping hot and ready for my bowl. There is something so comforting about having the smell of soup wafting through my home that makes me feel at peace. 

   Fall also makes me think of all the hours I spent as a child in my neighbors backyard, picking up walnuts that I could sell to pay for Christmas presents. It reminds me of how tiresome hard work can be, but also of the joys of the payoff; when I would see the smiles on my families faces as they unwrapped presents on Dec 25th, knowing that I had earned every cent that went into getting them that gift. In this light, one can't help but think about how God works in our lives. Often it seems that the times of hard work never end, that He is continually allowing us to struggle to accomplish something through Him. Yet when the payoff comes, when we finally see what work He is doing in and through us, when we have that "ah-hah" moment or see how we've been able to bless someone else through the work of knowing God more intimately it all becomes so very worth it.

   For myself, Stacy, Fall usually means a change in scenery in the living room as my mom would rearrange all the furniture and it would look like a completely different room. I am reminded of Fall when candles have been lit in the early morning or evening, creating the most relaxing and peaceful environment and providing a new yummy smell like pumpkin spice. Another piece of the season for me is listening to George Winston's Piano solos. They are fluid notes at its finest and combined with candles I feel at home. Lastly, when I think of the Fall season I think of homemade applesauce with lots of cinnamon smelling up the house and becoming the special treat for the next few days. Those are things that make up my Fall season and they are traditions that I now carry on into my own home.

     With the Fall season there is a lot of change that we can see and observe and paralleling that with our own lives we find ourselves in a season of change. We have a change in our home-town, change in our surroundings, change in jobs, change in developing new friendships, and change in finding a new church home. Change is usually accompanied with a level of uncomfortableness or sometimes even pain. The trees are beautiful as their leaves change colors, but as they fall the trees look bare and cold. Without that beautiful and cold transition, they cannot be ready for the new changes up ahead. The new life that comes out of the old being shed, new green leaves that emerge when the time is right and a fresh, alive tree is re-born. That is where I find myself, in the midst of change that sometimes feels beautiful and sometimes feels very cold. But I know that seasons come and go and as they do new life will be felt again.

Foodies

         We consider ourselves to be "Foodies." The definition of a foodie is as following, "a person keenly interested in food, especially in eating or cooking." (taken from dictionary.com) Now according to this definition I think most of us would classify as a foodie as I'm not sure what else you would enjoy doing with food besides cooking it and eating it. I will elaborate on this definition and say that Tim and I have acquired the joyful hobby of cooking together. It is something that we look forward to despite having to work on our over-eagerness and control issues while in a tiny kitchen together! Sometimes the financial budget does not always allow for the most extravagant creations, but food is fun. One of our new found favorites that we just recently made for our parents is stuffed bell peppers. It can be made as the main event in your meal or as a tasty side.

This beautiful green bell pepper happened to be a side dish to barbecued tri-tip! We stuffed the bell peppers with a mixture of  couscous (cooked before hand), mozzarella cheese, chopped bell-peppers and onions and covered the top with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Pop it in the oven at 375-400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the top is beautifully browned. Enjoy!

This next dish was our first attempt at stuffed bell peppers and they were our main entree. We used yellow and orange bell peppers, halved them and set aside. In this mixture we combined shredded chicken (cooked), couscous, chopped bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and shredded cheeses. I believe we used a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella cheese, but you can use whatever kind suits your taste buds! Again pop them in the oven to bake until they are heated through and the cheese is golden brown.
I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Being Crucified

        I recently had the pleasure of visiting my sister down in Palm Springs. The only unpleasant thing about traveling there would be the lovely, small plane that it takes to get there and back! That combined with the storms hitting California and I was no longer in my comfort zone. For some odd reason, with age, flying has become less of an adventure and more of a risky maneuver for me.....ah, and there it is unveiled....yet another trust issue God gets to work on. I probably should fly more often as I don't think I have ever prayed so consistently and diligently about anything and everything for 2 straight hours!
The day approached for me to fly home and of course it was quite the blustery day. So once again I got to pass another test of trusting in God when my nature seems to shout "run away or die!" The flight was rather bumpy for the entire two hours and several times my stomach was jumping all over the place. I had a handful of moments where I performed what I am going to call the 'mom reflex' - something is alerting (in this case, a tiny plane bouncing around in thunderhead clouds) and instantly your hands fly out to the side of wherever you are and holds on or braces for dear life! But God is SO good and He decided to bless me while I was on this 2 hour journey. Beside me, He sat a fellow believer and Jesus-lover with which I talked to from before take-off and after landing. Not only was this a welcomed distraction from the turbulence but we opened up and shared our lives with each other, encouraged one another, and stated that we would lift each other's needs up to the Lord. She said something to me that I think was beautiful and worth sharing with you. As she was talking to me about her four children, her husband, and her faith that encompassed them all, she made the following comment: "I didn't realize how human I was until I started having kids." Through all the challenges she faced of raising her kids she saw areas of her flesh coming out that she didn't know existed. She now counts it as a blessing as she said her kids are constantly crucifying her flesh and bringing her to her knees.  I can relate to what she is saying.  I myself have thought about how after I got married I saw different ways my flesh could roar its ugly head.  Sometimes I was shocked with just how selfish I was or the thoughts and words that would fly through me and sometimes out of me! These are things that I have identified as things that needing to be put to death! Isn't the purpose of trials and tribulations in our life just that?? To be refined, to be purified so that we can be more Christ-like? Our flesh/sin must be crucified on that cross so that we can be sanctified for His glory.
             I hope this serves as encouragement to you. For you moms out there who are exhausted  and feel you are at the end of your rope or who lost your control today: Allow your flesh to be crucified and HE will supply you with all you need while molding you to be more like Him. Being crucified will be painful, but to be further refined for Him is worth it.

Verse of the Moment

"Because of your partnership in the gospel
from the first day until now, being confident of this,
that He who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:5-6

The Shelton Adventure

Jesus Saviour, Pilot Me

Pilot: Jesus

Passengers: Tim & Stacy

      Tim  and I have decided to join in on one of the many ways our society uses technology to stay in touch and peer into one another's lives. For someone who has taken such a stand against social networking you may wonder why Tim and I have taken such a huge step. I have several reasons to credit our bold step into the blogging world.  First, I find myself inspired by my eldest sister and her blog: http://lilsweetcheeks.blogspot.com/. She has such a way with words and she continues to share her life lessons, which only serve to teach and encourage me in my own life. Second, we feel we have embarked on a new journey and adventure in our life and know that the Lord WILL teach us many lessons and we look forward to sharing those with others. And thirdly, it sounds like fun and I now have the time to dote on such an activity.

     Tim and I first came up with the title of this blog while we were on vacation this last summer. We had decided to decorate our second bedroom & office in a nautical theme complete with maps and old ships. This is credited to Tim's fondness of Reepicheep (from the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) and his eagerness to sail into the golden shores of Aslan. We also love the song that Phil Wickham wrote about Reepicheep, "Sailing on a Ship." While antiquing, we found several model ships, one of which had a placard saying, "Jesus Saviour, Pilot Me."  We knew this was the 'theme' that we wanted to claim for this adventure and for our life because we believe that whatever we face, we must face together and depend on the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit.

September 1st, 2011- Moving Day to Davis, Ca.

         We made it to Davis safely and had excitement brewing as we walked to the front door of our new home. That excitement quickly faded over the next few hours....and the next few days....as we were met with an extremely dirty house, no power for 24 hours, a dryer vent that was a major fire hazard, spiders and cobwebs everywhere, a sparking lamp (bad wiring), and cockroaches. By night #1 we felt broken and alone and I was asking, "Why are we here?" Since then, we have slowly made this house feel like a home (still killing cockroaches but I am getting quicker than those lil buggers! ) and we are starting to settle in. Tim has started classes and he is already teaching undergraduates as well as learning what his class load will be like for the next quarter. He is loving every minute of it and becomes a giddy little boy when he gets to ride his bike to class every morning! I have been looking for a job for almost a month and have not found anything as of yet.
Which leads me to the lesson God is currently teaching me:
God has continued to allow me to learn the never-ending lesson of patience and trust in Him.  Currently there are a lot of unknowns and a lot of things out of my control which leads me to a cross-roads of either worry or trust. Since the first option leads to nothing except stomach acid I have been doing my best to choose to trust in the Lord daily and have patience in waiting on His timing. Secondly, He is beckoning me to just BE with Him. I have more time on my hands than I ever remember having and I don't quite know what to do with. While I am uncomfortable with this and sometimes have the urge to feel lonely and self-pity, He is quite pleased to have my undivided attention and continues to beckon me to spend as much time in His presence as I am willing. Newsflash: God simply wants to be with you because He loves you passionately!!!

Verse of the moment:

"The Lord your God is with you,

the Might Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in His love He will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

P.S. Moving is extremely exhausting.....Chauncey agrees and is still recovering from the traumatic experience.