Curly in the City: Taylor.CurlyInTheCity@gmail.com

Curly in the City: Taylor.CurlyInTheCity@gmail.com: Taylor.CurlyInTheCity@gmail.com

Curly in the City: Taylor.CurlyInTheCity@gmail.com

Curly in the City: Taylor.CurlyInTheCity@gmail.com: Taylor.CurlyInTheCity@gmail.com

roasted vegetable mega mix | Jamie Oliver | Food | Recipes (UK)

roasted vegetable mega mix | Jamie Oliver | Food | Recipes (UK)

Simply Busy: Good Friday

Simply Busy: Good Friday: I loved watching this video this morning...... to help me remember.......   Tonight, Steve, Elizabeth and I will gath... Never forget what he died for US for!

Yoga shows psychological benefits for high-school students

Yoga shows psychological benefits for high-school students

Black chickpea, crab and fennel verrine recipe with apple and avocado

Black chickpea, crab and fennel verrine recipe with apple and avocado: IT HAS BEEN FOR EVER SINCE I HAVE PUT AN ARTICLE ON

MY BLOG , THE WHOLE HOLIDAY SEASON HAS BEEN VERY BUSY FOR ME, BUT I SAW THIS BLOG AND THOUGHT OTHER BLOGGERS MIGHT ENJOY AND LITTLE SUNSHINE THIS TIME OF YEAR DEPENDING ON OF COURSE WERE YOU LIVE. AND AS A

BONUS A LITTLE PICNIC ON THE BEACH,WHAT COULD BE BETTER.

A picnic at the beach –

Crane Beach, Ma; January 1st, 2012

I wanted to start the new year with delicious salads. Made with légumes secs (legumes), vegetables, and fruit. Offering zest and crunch. With mixed flavors of the earth and sea.

This verrine recipe has it all. It showcases black chickpeas, which I had never used before. I simply fell in love with its unusual color…

Yesterday, on the 1st of January, we had a picnic at the beach. I cannot begin to tell you how excited Lulu was at the idea! And how both P. and I were looking forward to it too!

“On va faire un pique-nique à la plage,” Lulu kept repeating to my mum on Skype while helping me to pack a picnic basket.

The truth is that we could not have dreamed of a more glorious day.

Oh the weather my dear readers! “What happened to winter?” we’ve been wondering….

It felt mild and calm outside. So sunny. So soft. Similar to a day in late summer or early fall.

After the holidays, Sunday was the first day when P., Lulu, and I were alone again. All family had returned home. The house felt too big. Too empty. I wanted that day at the beach. I knew it’d feel soothing to be outdoors.

To clear our heads…

We packed simple foods: A thermos filled with African Roobois tea; slices of chocolate cake; clementines and sheep yogurt; and our black chickpea, crab and fennel salad. Next time, I might even add finely shaved jicama or red grapes in it.

Black chickpeas

It might sound like it was the perfect day.

It really was.

Quiet.

Calm.

Reflective and full of lightness.

We were lucky.

Hopefully, it is setting the tone for the year to come?

Happy New Year to you all! May this new one bring happiness and love and fulfillment in whatever area that is dear to you.

May you be inspired to cook! In one of my next posts, I will share more pictures reflective of the past year….

Black chickpea, crab and fennel verrine recipe,

with apple and avocado

(For 4 people)

You need:

• 200 g (1 heaped cup) cooked black chickpeas


• 200 g fresh crab meat, diced


• 1 large avocado, pitted and finely diced


• 1 medium fennel bulb, finely sliced


• 1 medium red apple, cored and finely diced


• Black sesame seeds, to taste


• 6 pink radishes, finely sliced

Dressing:

• Sea salt


• 2 limes


• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or fresh)


• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced


• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander


• 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil


• 4 tablespoons olive oil


• Red peppercorn, ground, to taste

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the lime juice with the sea salt, garlic, and ginger.


• Add the oils and whisk to emulsify.


• Season with ground red peppercorn to taste, and stir in the coriander. Set aside.


• In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, crab meat, avocado and apple. Toss gently with the fennel and radishes.


• Add the dressing and toss gently. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds, and serve.

Share and Enjoy:

Singing the Gospel

Singing the Gospel:

Today’s Truth

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ – the Lord (Luke 2:10-11, NIV).

Friend to Friend

I love hearing children sing Christmas carols! One little girl was heard singing that the shepherds were “washing their socks by night!” When my son was four-years-old, I overheard him singing “O Holy Night” in his best vibrato voice. I chuckled as I heard him boom, “Long lay the world in sin and ever whining!” Sin and error pining wasn’t in his vocabulary, but he definitely understood the concept of ever whining.

When I became a Christian, the words to familiar Christmas carols began jumping off the pages of the hymnal. It seems the gospel was right there in the words to the carols, and I had missed it before. I began to see what God had done in my life in the words of Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

For example, let’s look at the words to Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

First, look at all those exclamation marks in the song! These angels must have been very excited, and no wonder! They were proclaiming the birth of Jesus, the “newborn King.”

The second line says “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” Some people are not too crazy about the word “sinner.” But originally it was an archery term that meant the distance between the bull’s eye and where the arrow landed on the target. Therefore, “sin” meant “to miss the perfect mark.” And it still means that today. Sin means to miss the mark of God’s perfection. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And because of that sin, we have been separated from God. The first verse of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing tells us WHY Jesus came – to reconcile or join us back together with God. It also tells us TO WHOM Jesus came – “to all nations.” No wonder the angels were so excited!

Verse one tells us why Jesus came. Verse two tells us WHO He was. He is adored in heaven. He is the everlasting Lord. He is the offspring of a Virgin’s womb. He is God with flesh and bones. He is Deity. He is Emmanuel – God with us.

Verse three tells us HOW the Christ child made eternal life available to all mankind. He laid aside His glorious heavenly position, came to Earth as a man, and gave His life so that we could experience second birth (be born again) and live eternally in heaven.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing tells us WHY Jesus came, WHO He was, and HOW He would accomplish His purposes to reconcile a lost world to God. That’s the gospel in a nutshell, and it’s all packed into one Christmas Carol.

This holiday season, as you sing the familiar Christmas Carols, look for the gospel among the verses and let the melody of God’s great Gift fill your heart.

Let’s Pray

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the men and women who have gone before us to pen the words to the carols we sing today. I pray that as I sing the familiar words, You will stir me to praise You afresh. And I also pray for those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. I pray that as they sing the words to carols or even hear them on the radio, they will recognize the gospel and understand that Jesus came as the babe in the manger to die on the cross…because of His great love for them. I pray that they will hear the gospel and embrace the truth.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

Pretend that you did not have a Bible handy, but only a hymnal or book of Christmas carols. Could you explain the gospel through the words in the songs? Why not give it a try.

If you have children, consider using a hymnal for a family devotion, explaining the meaning to various Christmas songs.

More from the Girlfriends:

It is hard not to get caught up in the pre-Christmas swirl of activity and lose focus on what’s important. If you would like ways to keep Jesus the focus of your holiday season, you’ll love Celebrating a Christ Centered Christmas by Sharon Jaynes. It’s packed with helpful ideas and inspiration.

It’s finally here! Sharon, Gwen and Mary’s new 12-week devotion book, Trusting God, is now available. This is the perfect book for individual study or for gathering a group of friends in what we call GiG Groups. With impactful devotions, study questions, journal pages, free on-line video intros, and an index of trust-building Scriptures…this book is a resource you’ll refer to time-and-time again.