Brrrrr-illiant

There's a full moon today. I get to see it before you do...wait, nevermind light pollution keeps me from seeing it. ...I get to experience it first. So bring on the changed tides, dreams, and whatever else full moons have to offer. (Lauren said wolves...)

I made chocolate chunk cookies from scratch today. I did not have chocolate chips, so I spent like a half hour cutting up the pieces (our knife is a tad bit mediocre).  I also only had half the butter, so I replaced it with some water and a tablespoon of oil. I also added a package of hot cocoa mix just for fun. It's all improv around here. I figured they would set up differently because of my lack of butter, and they did. There's something about chocolate and sugar though that makes it hard to go wrong--people melt even if the cookies do too. Haha. The results were rewarding. I took them to work for Lauren's birthday eve eve celebration (I even sang to her). Ray had 5 cookies in one 'sandwich'...perhaps it's more appropriate to call it a 'deathwish'? I also took part of the batch to Bible Study, which I led tonight. I was conscious about the fact that some were gooey and flat while others were hard and the right shape. Sheesh, toaster ovens. Buutttt, lots of people came up complimenting specific details--'I LOVE gooey cookies,' or 'That one was just a little bit burnt, and I love them like that.' I'm glad the right people grabbed the right cookies out of the bowl. :)
Lauren brought back some brownie mix from Hong Kong for me to make her...we'll be making that soon I suppose.

Bible Study was good. We covered Ephesians 2:11-22 which talks about unity in the body of Christ through Him abolishing the laws that separated the Jews and the Gentiles. One of the questions the book posed was about things we see in humanity where people are separated. I brought up the unfortunate presence of the KKK where I am from. Once again, and as a current minority, I say--racism is ignorance. Your skin color can not devalue you, it was something you did not choose that has no influence on your ability to think, do, or be. Our discussions as a whole were very good. We started the session with an ice breaker of 'tell the time when you were the most cold.' Twyla used to work in the Arctic area of Canada...she wins. Can you imagine putting goggles on every time you go outside because it's THAT cold? Haha, I suppose I'll be warm in Macau tonight. Although she did say Macau was the coldest place she'd ever been indoors because of no heating. Just saying, I'm not making stuff up about the chillies here.

Apparently, we are entering the wet season during February and March. It rained today. You're likely to hear more of these similar stories to come. But sub-tropical weather is not too far away! :)

Ray and Lauren informed me that yesterday was Chinese Valentines Day. How in the world did I miss it? ;) Ray even said McDonalds gave you something free if you held a kiss for a minute. He apparently got some girl he didn't know to hold hands with him in line at Starbucks to get a buy one get one free deal. Clever.

I stumbled on this quote today while looking through Google images,

"One of the key characteristics of revival is that the participants are surprised to be a part of it.

Throughout church history the ones who have fueled revival haven’t been the strategists and theologians. It’s been the ones who just couldn’t get over the fact that God loved them, that He actually wanted them and called them by name, that He didn’t care that they couldn’t hold life together…stunned by His grace.

Can you remember the day you realized that in spite of yourself, you were loved by Someone perfectly reliable and strong? Can you capture that feeling and hold it in your heart? If so, you just may be ready for revival."

 

And yesterday, now that I'm thinking about Google images, I was looking up picture of Taco Bell's unique sauce packets for a class, and I came across a picture of a girl dressed up as a sauce packet for Halloween. Perhaps my father's side of the family know her as the daughter of Don and Barbara, last name resembling a type of golf club? She has a blog for all her crafty designs, and sure enough I found it through Google images on the other side of the world. What are the odds?

 

Have a great day--that's all I ask. (That wasn't really a question though, was it?)