Because Alan and I cook dinner for 8 to 18 people every week, we're always looking for dishes that are not only quick to prepare and relatively inexpensive, but ones that are also wholesome and delicious.

Enter pasta alfredo.  It barely resembles the original fettuccine alfredo recipe, but it's still pretty yummy.  This dish would be great for a potluck or other large get-together, but if you're just cooking for a family, I would definitely recommend cutting down this recipe (unless you want to eat pasta for a week).

• 4 boxes of pasta, uncooked (I used radiatore, rotini, fettuccine, and spaghetti, solely because I like to have different textures)
• 1 1/2 C. butter
• 1 T. minced garlic
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 3 C. skim milk
• 3 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 C. parmesan
• salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions (preferably not until you add the cream cheese, otherwise the pasta will cool).  Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the minced garlic.  Heat and stir until fragrant, then add the cream cheese (it's easier if you cut the cream cheese into eighths beforehand).  Stir until the cream cheese is blended, then add the milk.  Heat through and season with garlic powder, oregano, and basil.  Add the parmesan cheese and stir slowly until the cheese melts, then season to taste with salt and pepper.  Pour over the pasta and toss gently--serve immediately.

stove not included

A chaplain and I reconnoitered the barracks on Monday in order to decide how best to go about this outreach.

Which, by the way, is still nameless.  But at least we're down to four names: Batter Buddies, Batterground (they were tied for first), Baking Brigade, and Bake.Pray.Love.

I had a hard time sleeping that night, because I kept thinking of what I saw in the barracks (or maybe it was the fact that I wanted to give my friend the night off, and babysat her toddler for 24+ hours with little sleep).

Seriously, it's worse than the honors dorm I lived in for three years of undergrad.  I didn't know that was possible.

They don't even have a stove (in the particular building I visited).  I kept thinking of the guys at the gas station when I stopped on post Sunday night.  The one who really left an impression had a frozen pot pie and a sports drink.  At the time, I thought, "That's so sad.  But maybe he just doesn't feel like cooking tonight."

Or, you know, maybe he doesn't even have a stove.  That was clearly my second thought.

Granted, I used the stove once the entire time I was in a dorm, and that was to bake cookies (I used the stove frequently when I lived in an apartment).  But it's the principle of the matter.

We chatted with a soldier in the orderly room to find out the best time to stop by and gauge how well-received this outreach would be.

And while I was happy to hear that it would really boost morale, it saddened me to hear that many soldiers don't have a lot of contact with family and support systems, that a couple of cookies from some arbitrary people would really show them that their commands care about them.

I mean, think about it.  Maybe you're 18, and you're away from home for the first time, but unlike orientation week at college, no one's around to send you off to mandatory fun and keep you from feeling homesick and you never get mail from your parents or hang out with your coworkers.  Maybe you don't have a car.  Apparently, you don't have a stove, either.  And your housing is so old that it's condemned, and if Air Force personnel would have to live where you do, they'd receive a higher housing allowance because of it.  (I mean, I used to complain because my dorm didn't have an elevator and no one held the door open for me when I traipsed up four flights of stairs with a laundry basket.)  And some free cookies and a sincere "hey, how are you doing?" would totally make your day.

I am more excited and ... rushed? (I think I feel rushed, or anxious, or ready yesterday, or something like that) than ever to get this underway.  People have approached me in chapel to ask when this is going to finally start.  More people have asked for information.  The colonel in charge of the second barracks we'll be visiting (the barracks that I visited today) is all for this.  And I want to bake some fresh cookies on Sunday afternoon so they can be delivered, still warm.  Except, the stove at the chapel is broken, and there are higher priorities.

cruisin' + patrollin'

Alan missed Sunday Morning Life Group and worship, because Ophelia thought we were never coming home and decided to break the fence.  Naturally, Shooter decided to follow and terrorize the neighbors (Chipmunk was already in the truck, but only because I thought Alan wanted to take her and he thought I wanted to take her).

Fortunately, Shooter is chipped and Ophelia was patiently waiting at the front door, so Alan received a phone call and picked up the dogs.

And then he spent the afternoon fixing the fence.

bake. pray. love.

Ever since Sunday, this idea for a blog post has been rolling around in my head, but I couldn't think of words to adequately describe how totally blessed I felt and how overwhelmed I was with God's awesomeness.

And actually, I still can't think of the perfect words, but I still want to share this story.

A few months ago, one of the chaplains mentioned that two soldiers committed suicide in the same week.  I can't even begin to imagine the pain their families felt--and still feel, I'm sure--and it made me want to do something.  Why did they (and other soldiers who commit suicide) feel that suicide was their only option?  That thought stuck with me for weeks.  How could I help?  What could the church do?

In my grad school classes, I learned that sometimes people seek suicide because they feel they have no other option--no resources, no support, no help, no way out.  What if we could give them support?

I asked the chaplain (there are multiple chaplains at Chapel Next, but I'm referring to the same one in this post) if it would be possible to gather a group of people together to go dorm-storming in the barracks (housing would also be an option, but I felt that soldiers living in the barracks are more apt to be/feel alone).  We could say hi and connect with the soldiers there.  It could be a regular thing.  We could let them know that someone cares about each and every one of them, individually.  And we could take cookies or brownies.

Because, seriously, who won't open their doors for cookies?

The Sunday before Alan and I left for Pennsylvania, the chaplain met with me to discuss the plan.  I designed two fliers over the holidays, which were meant to gauge interest in the chapel.  I was beyond excited, but at the same time, fearful that no one would want to help.  Not that that was going to stop me--I put it in my mind that I would go by myself, door to door, if it came down to that.

But that's a lot of baking for one person.
                 
On Sunday, the chaplain approached me before I gave my little blurb about the Sunday Morning Life Group that I'll be teaching this quarter (it's on spiritual gifts).  He said that he'd like to make an announcement and ask people who were interested to meet us after the service.

Um, sure.  Because I'm already so thrilled to have to stand up in front of a crowd and talk about my class.  I would love more attention.  Especially after another chaplain points me out in the service because my husband and I lead Home Life Group.

If you ever want an example of an introvert, I'm a pretty good candidate.

However!  It was all for a good cause.  Over 20 people signed up for more information!  We have access to at least three barracks and some really good bakers/cooks, and people who want to go and chat with the soldiers!  One of my friends--my closest friend down here--went up with me for emotional support, and I was just so overwhelmed to see so many people willing to help.

I emailed a spreadsheet with the contact info we collected to the chaplain, and we're planning to start this outreach toward the end of the month.  I'd like to call it "Bake. Pray. Love.," but we'll see what everyone else thinks.  I think the name appeals more to the late-teen and early twenty-something group we're trying to reach, but maybe it's too feminine.

a year in books

Last year, my goal was to read 12 books that I had never read before.  Which is really sad, because it used to be nothing for me to read well over 100 books in a school year, which means that number doesn't even include whatever I read over summer vacation.  Sadly, I didn't even read 12 (not including textbooks), although the eight that I did read either stimulated, convicted, or encouraged me.

1. Bringing Up Boys (Dobson)
2. The Resolution for Women (Shirer)
3. On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society (Grossman)
4. Divergent (Roth)
5. The Buddha in the Attic (Otsuka)
6. Post-trauma Stress: Reduce Long-term Effects And Hidden Emotional Damage Caused By Violence And Disaster (Parkinson)
7. Games People Play (Berne)
8. Resilient Warriors (Dees)

In 2013, I have more of a definite list instead of a vague goal of reading 12 books.  I want to focus more on history, read some of the classics that have been setting on my bookshelves for years, and challenge myself spiritually.  I also threw in some popular fiction because, quite frankly, I am not about to plow through social injustice, a crusade, and the Holocaust without some fluff in between.

1. Les Miserables (Hugo)
2. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Chua)
3. Insurgent (Roth)
4. The Tiger's Wife (Obreht)
5. The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust
6. The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople (Phillips)
7. One Thousand Gifts (Voskamp) <--I started it over the summer and never finished it.
8. The Secret Holocaust Diaries (Bannister)
9. The Prince (Machiavelli)
10. The Soldier's Wife (Leroy)
11. Perpetua (Peterson)
12. The Help (Stockett)

As a couple, we also should finish (actually, we probably need to start reading from the beginning) Mullaney's "The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education."

extend + micah 6:8

As I consider how blessed I was in 2012, I think ahead to the year before me.  A whole year to strengthen my relationship with Christ and with others, to explore the world around me, to better learn my husband.

How am I reflecting Christ to others?  Where am I lacking?

If I want to be more like Christ, that means that I should ...

... delve more into the Word.

And not only delve into it, but understand it and apply it to my life.

This means that I should devote more time to reading and praying.

More time?  I could use some of that.  More time for me, more time for my husband, more time for classes, more time for friends. ...

So, I need to prioritize.  What is helping me become more like Christ?  What is helping me be a better wife, a better stepmom, a better student, daughter, sister, friend, babysitter?  What isn't?

If it falls under "isn't," then I need to be mindful get rid of it.

Last year, my word was bold.  For me, bold was including my stepsons in my wedding vows--promises to fulfill, not just for one, but for three.  Bold was leaving my family, my friends, and moving halfway across the country with my husband.  Bold was teaching Sunday Morning Life Group.  Bold was co-leading Home Life Group.  Bold was starting graduate school.

However, bold was not ... in the moments when my faith wavered and I wondered how God would provide.  Bold was not in the moments when I shied away from reaching out, when I did not live my 2012 verse, 2 Timothy 1:7 (and those moments seemed to happen all too frequently).  Bold was not when I kept my mouth shut for fear of making waves.

This year, I will do better at being bold.  I will not have a spirit of fear.  This year, I will extend.

extend -- to spread or stretch forth; to make available; to cause to reach; to increase the scope, meaning, or application of.

My verse?  Micah 6:8.  Because when I drift, when I'm not as "in the Word" as I should be, I can tell.  And, believe me, so can everyone else around me.  What mercy?  What kindness?  They are far from me.

No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God. (Good News Translation)