Roasted Spring Rainbow Salad

One of the hardest parts of deciding to move to the North Shore was leaving the farm that we had very quickly grown to love during the short time we lived in Acton. We loved Farmer Jamie so much that I considered driving back to Littleton once a week , but then we realized that was a teeny bit ridiculous - and quite a bit of gas money - so I went in search of a new farm closer to home. We got many suggestions from friends and neighbors, and went with Marini Farm, because Jamie knows them and also because we really wanted to support a family farm instead of a nonprofit farm. There’s a whole list of reasons for that, but ultimately it came down to simply wanting to help a family in their business and livelihood. We signed up back in February and today, we got to pick up our very first share. And we couldn’t be more pleased!

We came home with 6 parsnips, a bunch of 6 radishes, two bunches of spinach, two bunches of asparagus, four heads of lettuce, and some cider donuts (which are already gone!) To say we’ll be eating a lot of salad this week might be an understatement - but I am up for the challenge. Because everyone gets bored with the same ole salad meal after meal, and also because my husband and children are really hard to convince on the salad front, I have to be creative. This super easy roasted vegetable salad might be my new favorite.

We started with this:

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And ended up with this:

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I had half of a red cabbage in my fridge from our final Winter CSA pickup in April, and some carrots from the farm down the street so I made a rainbow of veggies and threw them in the oven for 30 minutes. When they came out, I put them on top of a bed of thinly sliced lettuce, topped it with homemade croutons (don’t ever throw your crusts away!) and dressed it with the best salad dressing ever. If you could fall in love with food, I’d be in deep. 

Roasted Spring Rainbow Salad  

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

One bunch radishes, quartered  

1 small carrot (or 6 baby carrots), chopped

1 small parsnip, peeled and chopped

1/4 small sweet onion, chopped small

6 spears asparagus, chopped in 2-inch pieces

1/6 Red Cabbage, sliced  

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

salt to taste

3 cups crusts and leftover bread, cut into cubes

garlic powder

1 head lettuce, thinly sliced

The Best Dressing (see below)

Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 400 while you’re washing and chopping your veggies. Line veggies on a cookie sheet - I like to do this in rainbow order simply because my kids thing it’s awesome. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Roast for 30 minutes or so, until you start to see them getting brown and caramalized.

Put your bread cubes on a different cookie sheet, drizzle with more olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Put them in the oven for 20 minutes or so, tossing occasionally to help with even toasting. You’ll never buy croutons again!

While your veggies are roasting and your bread cubes are toasting, wash and slice your lettuce and put it on plates. Mix ingredients for salad dressing in a bottle or mason jar and shake well.

Top lettuce with roasted veggies, croutons, and salad dressing. Be amazed at how delicious your meal is. And promise to make it again very soon. 

The Best Dressing 

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice (or a mixture of lemon and orange will work too) 

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp Grey Poupon mustard

1 Tbsp sweet and hot mustard

2 Tbsp maple syrup  

Dash of  salt

mix all ingredients in a jar and shake until

combined. Eat on everything. And I do mean everything. 

 

Creating a Homeschool Vision

If you asked me before I had children if I would one day stay home and homeschool them, I would have given you a very quick answer: “Absolutely not!” I have always been a huge supporter of public schools - after all, I grew up in a relatively poor, underperforming school, and I turned out just fine. I may not have been the smartest kid in the state, but I had an appreciation for people different than me - and I thought that was the most important thing about school. Of course I’ll send my kids to public school!

And yet when I had children, I couldn’t help but wonder what life might be like if we chose to homeschool. I’ve shared part of that story before - along with why we chose the Charlotte Mason philosophy to guide us in defining our curriculum over the years.

As we promised, we reassessed at the end of our first year, and made the decision to continue homeschool for the foreseeable future. This Charlotte Mason homeschooling life is so rich and full of beauty - and we just can’t imagine sending our children to learn in any other setting. That doesn’t mean there won’t come a time when we choose a year or more of public or private school - but for now, we are all in to this crazy homeschooling life.

There’s a lot of talk about “homeschool philosophies” - there’s even a quiz you can take to see what type of homeschooling model will fit you best. But there’s so much more to homeschooling than simply a philosophy. So, like any good visionary leader, I didn’t want to begin this all-in approach to homeschooling without a Vision and Mission Statement. Inspired by a sermon on “Family” this summer, I spent a good chunk of time trying to create a vision for homeschooling based around the following question:

“How does homeschooling allow us to enter into the mission of Christ in a unique way?”

I did a lot of brainstorming about why we wanted to homeschool, what our goals were for our homeschool days and years, and what our major influences were in creating curriculum and learning experiences. We want to homeschool because we long for a different pace of life than what we see in the world around us. We want family relationships to be more important than external ones. We want to engage in hard things together - to learn together - to love one another and the world around us.

We want our children to grow up to be confident but humble people. Independent but empathetic. Well-rounded Fine Arts lovers as well as mathmeticians and scientists. We want our children to see glimpses of God in the subjects that we study and the people that we meet.

After several days and lots of prayers, this is what we came up with for our homeschool vision.

“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~Philippians 4:8”

Vision of Rowe Academy:

We will offer a different lifestyle than the one society pushes on us. We will embrace time together as a family. We will encourage tough conversations, forgiveness, encouragement, lifting one another up, cherishing our bonds with each other. We want our lives to illustrate our calling to live in this world but not of this world.

We will equip our children to become independent thinkers, with the ability to critically evaluate information they are given as well as empathize with people who live a lifestyle that may look different than their own.

We will enter into the mission of Christ in a way that the typical public school schedule does not. (We are still trying to figure out what this looks like. My dream is for us to find ways to engage in regular volunteering during the week, connecting with people who don’t look like us, being active in a community in an intergenerational way, etc.)

We will gift our children with an age-appropriate, faith-based, liberal arts education that spreads a feast of information. We will strive to craft a curriculum that acknowledges the importance of good literature, creativity, and art as well as science, math, and technology.

We will foster an environment of lifelong learning. We believe it’s just as important for the adults among us to engage in formal learning exercises as it is for the youth among us. We will engage in family learning activities, where we as parents model learning by example.

We’re nearing the “end” of our first formal year of schooling, and I love that I have this vision statement that I can turn to when I’m evaluating how the year went, and what I want to do differently next year. It’s incredibly helpful for me to keep it posted near my computer, so that when I plan each term, our vision stays front and center. Because we spent the time to create this big picture of what we want homeschooling to be about in our family, I feel more confident saying “NO” when opportunities arise that might not fit in with the vision we have for our children’s education.

This was a fun exercise for me, and one that I encourage you to spend some time thinking about in your own homeschool planning sessions. I’m no expert in homeschooling - but I am the closest thing to an expert in my family. And that, my friends, is all you need to come up with your own homeschooling vision.

So tell me … what IS your homeschool vision?

Where Were the Children? [A Good Friday Reflection]

This post was originally published on Good Friday in 2016. We attended a similar Maundy Thursday service last night, at a new congregation, and I was again struck by their incredible ability to really understand what was happening. They both left worship with questions and reflections about how much Jesus loved his friends. I’m republishing this as it was originally written, because it’s been in the archives for far too long, and because sometimes the original says it better than anything new I could come up with.

But why are they taking the candles away Mama? she asks, with tears in her eyes. I like the candles. Will they bring them back?

This is the first Maundy Thursday service we’ve been to in several years. The last one I can remember going to, we left early – because A was just a year old and staying out past 7pm just wasn’t in our cards. But this year, I didn’t care how late we were out … I didn’t want to miss it. I wanted to experience the remembrance of those last days. The last meal. The foot washing. The prayers in the garden. That last night with his friends, his disciples, his family.

I wanted my children to experience it. As difficult as it is to watch … as difficult as it is to understand … the majesty of Easter just isn’t as glorious without experiencing the loss. I wanted them to experience that loss …. so that when we walk in to Easter service and we see the flowers, the candles, the white paraments … when we hear the loud bells and trumpets sounding, it truly is majestic and glorious.

But man did it tear me up inside when my 20-month old asked to go up to have her feet washed. And man did it break my heart to watch my 4-year-old begin to comprehend what was going on.

We’ve dealt with a lot of loss in our family over the last 6 months. The loss of favorite toys that were too big to make the move with us. The loss of a house that was home. The loss of a neighborhood that was so very good to us, and will never be replaceable. The loss of a community of friends that we could call on at any time – whenever we needed them. The loss of two sweet kitties who still have a forever home in our hearts. The loss of a yard where we spent hours of our time – playing, planting, praying. The loss of a church that was far from perfect, but was still home. The loss of family being close by. This watching of the alter being stripped – it was just one more loss for her. For all of us.

And it got me thinking … where were all the children that night that Jesus was arrested and taken away? It was late in the evening, so I imagine they were safe at home with their parents – maybe eating dinner, maybe getting ready for bed, maybe already sleeping. What was it like for them when they awoke the next day and were told that Jesus – the man that welcomed them with open arms when the rest of society pushed them to the side – the man that they loved so dearly – was gone? How did their parents explain it to them? What did they say when the questions started rolling in?

My response went something like this:

They are taking them away so we remember what it was like the night Jesus died. People were sad. They were scared. It was dark and quiet and lonely. But when we come back for Easter service on Sunday, it will all be back.

Because as hard as it is for me to answer the questions, at least I know the loss isn’t forever. At least my response can include the hope that those things we love about worship – the candles, the paraments, the music, the flowers – they will be back. I can’t imagine Maundy Thursday and Good Friday without knowing Easter was coming. And the last several years – those years that I have experienced Easter without experiencing the loss of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – Easter just didn’t have the same amount of majesty.

So today, on this Holy Good Friday, here’s a blessing for you – a blessing for all of us …

May you take the time to remember the loss, may you remember the quiet of those dark three days, and may you forever rest in the hope that Easter is coming.

how to make a local difference

This post was originally published at Bibledude.net in 2011. Although the Barna study and statitstics are old, I believe the information is incredibly relevant today. Now more than ever, we need our churches to be positive influences in their communities. I hope this post gives you an idea of how you can get started.

Last week, the Barna Group released a new report revealing that 75% of adults believe that churches have a positive effect on their local communities. This sounds like good news, right? So why is it that church membership is dwindling? It seems that people would want to take part in this positive influence of the community around them.

Here’s the thing … the next question asked was:

Many churches and faith leaders want to contribute positively to the common good of their community. What does your community need, if anything, that you feel churches could provide?

Many adults had no idea how churches could contribute – even though they had previously said the presence of a church was a positive addition to the community. Here were the other results:

  • Addressing poverty 29%

  • Teaching the Bible and giving spiritual direction 12%

  • Serving youth, families, & the elderly 13%

  • Cultivating biblical values 14%

  • Assist those in recovery 10%

  • Assist with financial or career education 7%

  • Be inclusive and accepting 3%

  • Be engaged politically 1%

What this report really reveals is that although people are not hostile toward churches, they really don’t see how the local church plays an active role in its community. This is particularly true when churches are located in an area with very little poverty.

But the gospel message is about transformation … that in Christ we are a new creation, full of hope and joy. We live full and abundant lives because of a greater purpose. So if the gospel message is about transforming lives, then shouldn’t our churches be transforming their local communities?

It seems there are a couple of things church leaders can learn from this report. Just what can we do to make sure our churches have a positive impact on their local communities?

Have a public face.
Show up at community events. All too often our church leaders do most of their work inside the church building with church members. They don’t see the need to attend the local parade, community fair, chamber of commerce, town meetings. Because the church has largely been absent from these community events, it’s difficult to understand how the church and community connect.

If the church is part of the community, then the church should be active in the community. Church leaders should be the human face of the church. When people think of the church, there should be people that come to mind.

Build relationships outside the church.
I think a lot of people in the community have misconceptions about the church. Although most people think the church is a positive thing, many don’t see the need to be personally committed to a church. There could be many reasons for this. Maybe they are too busy. Or maybe they aren’t sure the church has anything to offer them – after all, the church is there for the poor and the downtrodden, not the mainstream, right? Or maybe they’ve had a bad experience at a church – felt unwelcome, judged, kicked out.

Regardless of the reason, it’s unlikely that they have a real relationship with someone who is active in a church community. When we build relationships with people outside of the church, we begin to walk in their shoes – and they in ours. They begin to see how church has a positive effect on our lives – and maybe how it could have a positive effect in theirs.

Is your church active in the local community? How do the churches around you contribute positively?

Photo by Tom Skarbek-Wazynski on Unsplash.

Top Ten Adult Reads of 2018

I’m not sure how I did it, but I read 109 books last year. 5 of those were picture books that snuck into the list and 24 of them were chapter books that I read with my 6-year-old, which means that I read 80 books for me and me alone. When I look back on them, it feels like a year of self-indulgence and luxury. There’s nothing like a good stack of books to make you feel like you’re traveling the world, meeting some of the most amazing (and maybe also some of the worst) people you’ve ever met.

Out of my 80 “adult reads” last year, there were ten that rose to the top as my favorites - and one extra that I added list because - well - it’s Jane Austen and she can’t be left out. Here are my favorites from 2018 - in no particular order.

The Snow Child - This was the last book I read in 2018, and I’m SO glad I snuck it in in the last week. I had thought about waiting until there was snow on the ground, but it came so highly recommended that I just couldn’t wait to open it. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. This book pulled at my heart in so many directions, and it’s a book I will read over and over again. It’s a magical fairy tale that will break your heart and full you with so much joy all at the same time. If you need a good book this winter, this should be at the top of your list.

Where the Crawdads Sing - I highly recommend the Audio version of this one. It was simply incredible. It made me think a lot about my own family roots, it made me miss the south, and the ending left me stunned. It’s a fantastic story of survival and of beating the odds. I was crushed when it was over.

I’ll Be Your Blue Sky - This was one of my favorite summer reads in 2018. It’s light-hearted and beautifully written. I had not ever read Loved Walked in or Belong to Me, so the characters were unknown to me. I love the way the story lines of two different women are interwoven to tell an intricate and beautiful story of finding oneself. I loved it so much that I read the first book written (Loved Walked In) and was sorely disappointed. I’ll Be Your Blue Sky stands alone - and far above - the other two books with the same characters.

The Light We Lost - This book captivated me from the first page. I fell in love with the characters, got angry at the characters, and really felt every emotion they were going through. It's a beautiful portrayal of love, temptation, despair, and how life may not always be as black and white as we might think. Although I disagreed with the actions of the main character, Lucy, I always FELT why she did what she did. Relationships are so complicated - love is so complicated - and this book really lifts that up in a beautifully written way. 

The Broken Girls - I’m not usually a fan of thrillers, but this one was exceptional. It was creepy without being too over the top. This is another one that’s worth an Audible credit - I really enjoyed hearing the story told to me as opposed to reading the words on the page. It was suspenseful, entertaining, and a story well told.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - I bought this book on a whim back in June when I was heading to a wedding and thought I might have a few extra hours of quiet. I tried to start it that very same day, but found it boring and whiney. I’ve told you before how I’m not afraid to put down mediocre books - and how, if the reviews are really really good, I’m also not afraid to pick them up and try again. I’m so glad I picked this one back up in the Fall, because I found it to be brilliant. It’s a book of character development, so read it when you’re ready to really dig into the characters - not when you’re wanting something full of action. It made me feel all the emotions, which is the true sign of a great book. I feel like Eleanor is a good friend, and because of that I’m pretty sure I’ll read this one over and over again.

An American Marriage - And now we’ve come to the books that had me coming undone at the seams. This one was so hard for me on an emotional level. It brings up contemporary issues of race, which always makes me angry at the world we live in and also a tiny bit uncomfortable (as it should). It’s not simply about race though - it also brings up topics of love and fidelity - and is just gut-wrenching on so many levels. But you guys … it’s SO SO good. If you didn’t read it in 2018, make 2019 the year you do.

Brown Girl Dreaming - I’ve had this on my TBR pile since it came out in 2016, and finally got to it this year. It’s a memoir written as poetry and is quite possibly one of the best pieces of creative writing I’ve read in a long time. It’s a quick read, and it’s one I’ll add to our school repertoire in a few years.

Dreamland Burning - Another book that made me think a lot about race relations, my southern roots, and just how far away we are as a society from where we should be. This one has a historical component to it, which I really enjoyed.

All We Ever Wanted - This is Emily Giffin’s best novel, by far. I’ve always been a Giffin fan, but her books usually fall in my beach bag and get devoured in a matter of hours, without much real deep thought. This book is so different. It’s incredibly thought-provoking, and brings up so many issues that I wanted to dig into with a group of friends.

Bonus - Pride & Prejudice - I am so ashamed that in 38 years of living, I had never read any Jane Austen. At the start of last year, I promised myself I’d get through at least two classics and this was one I chose. It was a slower read for me, because of the old English that it’s written in, but I really enjoyed it. I found myself really identifying with the characters and dreaming of what life may have been like. When I finished it, I watched the 1995 BBC production of it (hello Colin Firth!) and it made me appreciate the book even more. I’ve decided 2019 will be the year I read the rest of her stuff - because - well, why not?!

So there you have it. My favorite “adult reads” of 2018. What were your favorite books last year? What’s currently on your nightstand?

the first meeting

We walked in and looked around. I don’t think they are here yet, he said.

I turned to the hostess. There will be four of us please.

As she brought us to a table for four, we sat nervously. Watching through the large windows as cars drove up, we silently wondered … would they show up?

He grabbed my hand. That’s him.

I gave it a squeeze. Here we go. It will be okay.

They walked in. We stood up. We shook hands, made introductions, and took our seats. Conversation began as though we were catching up with old friends. Much easier than we anticipated, we talked about our jobs, a recent family wedding, hobbies, and so much more.

An hour and a half later, we exchanged phone numbers and hugs and vowed to keep in touch.

As we got in the car he looked at me and said, That was way easier than I expected. Come to think of it, I can’t even remember what happened so many years ago.

Father and son. They had been estranged for five years or so. No phone calls, no emails, no birthday cards or Christmas gifts. No family celebrations or holidays. No invitation to our wedding day. Nothing but silence. A few ill feelings. Lots of wondering about why and what might have been.

But lately, things had been popping up all over the place. Gentle reminders that he was out there somewhere. Small stirring in our hearts to take one of the biggest risks of our lives – reaching out in an attempt to bring healing.

It wasn’t easy. And it didn’t happen over night. But over the course of time, God gave us the strength to make the first move.

Some four months later, healing is still taking place. What once was silence is now filled with frequent emails, phone calls, and family meals shared around the table.

What had been a huge hole in our hearts is now filled with an incredible amount of love and thankfulness. Love for a family we were once afraid of. Thankful for forgiveness and second chances. Grateful for the opportunity to leave the past behind and move forward into a new stage of our relationships. A better stage. A healthier stage.

Not long after that first meeting, he looked at me and said, I’m scared. What if something bad happens?

I replied, Something bad will happen. That’s life. But we’ll pull through it together. And the good will outweigh the bad.

So every day, we embrace the risk. We take the chance. We continue to reach out. Looking forward to family holidays, new births, shared experiences, we place our trust in the One that brings healing. We do our best to love the way He has loved us.

And every day, we feel a little more whole.

This post was originally published at Bibledude.net. Photo by Juri Gianfrancesco on Unsplash.

i walked away

I said my final goodbyes and began to walk out the door. As I walked through the double glass doors, tears rolled down my face. I wanted to collapse on the cement and never leave. But I pushed forward, vowing to never look back. To move on to the new life I was beginning and to put the past behind me.

As I started the engine and drove away, the tears came harder. It was much harder than I ever imagined it could be. It may have been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. You see, this place I was leaving … the place I was walking away away from … it had become my God place.

It was the place where my community lived. It was more than work. It was a way of life. It was a calling. And even though I was confident that in walking away I was answering a new call, I still felt a pain that was beyond imaginable. I guess freedom isn’t always easy.

That day was a dark one. A day full of anger and hurt. Tears and prayers. Unanswered questions.

What will my future look like? Will I be able to achieve my dreams? What if I just made a huge mistake?

But I did my best to trust and believe that Facebook status I had posted just months earlier:

Sometimes God calls us to the unknown … and doesn’t promise it will be easy, but does promise to be faithful.

I woke the next morning with tear-stained cheeks, vowing once again that I wouldn’t look back. The words to Matt Maher’s Hold Us Together were the first out of my mouth that morning when my sweet husband asked, “How are you?”

This is the first day of the rest of your life.
This is the first day of the rest of your life.
‘Cause even in the dark, you can still see the light.
It’s gonna be alright. It’s gonna be alright.

This became my theme song. The darkness got a little bit brighter. And I began to realize that I can’t leave the past behind me. The past is a part of me. It has made me who I am. I can’t walk away and never look back.

The old will never disappear. The relationships will still exist. They may look different, but they will be there. And it will be alright. God will remain faithful.

I will find a new God place. I will find a community of believers that I can thrive in. A community that will accept me for who I am and encourage me to celebrate God’s calling in my life.

But I will never forget that place or the people in that place. The place that made me who I am. The place that helped me believe in myself. The people that cheered me on and pushed me forward.

And I won’t forget how I felt the day I walked away.

This post was originally published at Bibledude.net. Photo by Mike Wilson on Unsplash.