Reflections on Easter

You know the story. You know that Jesus came to earth, born of a virgin. You know how He lived among us to show the world the heart of a loving God. You know how He healed the sick, raised the dead, and turned water into wine. He carried the broken, welcomed the outcast, and spoke words of life to a dying world.

We didn’t know how to take this Person who was fully God, and yet fully man. Some loved Him. Some hated Him. The crowds of Jerusalem worshipped Him as their Savior on the day He entered their city, yet howled for His death less than a week later.

As we stand looking back through years of history, we catch a glimpse of the larger story. That when we were dead in our sins and trespasses, God sent His one and only Son to pay the price for our sins and to sacrifice His life for our own. We reflect on the Easter story, and our hearts grow heavy as we remember the last supper, the garden of Gethsemane, and the mockery of Jesus’ trial. We identify with the prophet Isaiah when he wrote,

“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Is. 53:3-5)
The crowd condemned Him; Barabbas was released, and the Son of God was brutally beaten and crucified as a criminal. Mary wept; the curtain was torn, and the disciples were raw with grief and confusion. Jesus, the promised Messiah, was dead. His death was the culmination of God's plan of rescue for His people.

The law, the prophets, and the promises all pointed to this time in history when He would pay the price to bring His children home.

Our prayer is that 2,000 years later, we would be struck again by the heart of God displayed for us in Jesus’ death on the cross. That we would know the love and cost that accompanied the cry of, “It is finished!”

We also pray that our hearts would overflow with joy and hope as we remember the rest of the story. That after three days, the earth shook, the stone rolled away, and Jesus Christ walked out of the tomb victorious over sin and death and Hell. The grave could not hold the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Amen and amen

(excerpt from a GenJ newsletter Daniel wrote.:)

"The Teachers says, 'My time is at hand.'"

Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’”So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. ²¹ Now as they were eating, He said,“Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?”
He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, “Rabbi, is it I?”He said to him, “You have said it.”

Matthew 26:17-25 

Tonight our church is having a Seder meal for the first time. I'm looking forward to the beauty and symbolism of it all. :) 

Cafe En Romania!!!

It was a blast.

It was exhausting.

It was a success.

It was a strain.

It was, in short, the thing God used to pull us through the last $700 dollars of fund-raising to victory in making money for Romania!! 

Josie came down to spend Thursday-Sunday with us and be an extra pair of eyes and hands...she was awesome and helpful and so darling.

The rest of you came and spent money and made over $200 at the coffee night!

Others came to the yard-sale the following morning and bought more coffee and spent more money and made another $600+ dollars.

In short, God provided enough and a bit past enough to finish sending Sarah and I and six others to Romania in under two weeks!!! I cannot believe it is coming up so soon. It seems unreal because I have dreamed of this time for the past two years. Two of our team members went early and just got back last Tuesday and came home with such stories as to make me more excited than ever!! 

We rearranged all the furniture, too down all preexisting decorations, and redecorated the house with coffee-shop flair. It look phenomenal when we were finished! 

There was also The Pioneer Woman's Coffee-Cake, which was heaven-come-down.

Thanks to everyone for coming and helping push us through this last hump! It was a really cool fun night even without the fact that we were raising money for Romania. :) Wish many of you who didn't come could have, because it was amazing! :D We will be writing another post about all of our decorations and the fact that they were accomplished without spending a red cent, but for now enjoy this update and again, thanks a million! <3

Dancing in the Minefields {a love song}

I was nineteen, you were twenty-one
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway

We bought our rings for forty each
From a pawn shop down the road
We made our vows and took the leap
Now fifteen years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard
Is a good place to begin

'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love's chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

'Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby, 
I can dance with you

Wearin of the Green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

This morning Mom was a dear and had set up a sweet St. Patricks Day treat for us, including Lucky Charms with green milk! :D We all wore at least a little bit of green on us, so that we could escape the pinches. And it was particularly nice lunch at church---enough corned beef to feed practically everyone! So, anyways, here are some of the pins that have inspired me this St. Patrick's Day: 

St. Patrick's Day cake! 

Key-lime icecream

Mint-Chocolate-Chip Milkshake

Thin Mint Smoothie

St. Patty's day rainbow gift I sent this number with Daniel so that even though he wasn't here, he could have a proper Irishish day. :)

Fun Irish-themed jar full of goodies

-Sarah

AWKsome.

It's Awkward Awesome Thursday, and I decided to acknowledge it this time. :)

3.14.13.

(or Pi day!)

awkward:

being absent from my GenJ club meeting for the umpteenth time--and I'm the secretary.

being informed that we'll need an extra $500 for Romania expenses......3 weeks before we leave.

opening up my iBooks and realizing I'd been caught up in the middle of "I Will Repay"...2 months ago.

witnessing a regular episode of Psych-like drama while pruning shrubs at a customers (I wasn't dropping no eaves, sir!)

making a cucumber facial mask and finding out after the fact, that I'd read the recipe wrong and was not supposed to only use the peel.

finding out that yet another of my favorite broadway actors is a "troubled soul". >.<

realizing that starting Saturday Daniel will be living in NoVa. *sniff*

standing in JC Penney's shopping for business casual for Daniel, and having this guy staring at us the entire time: 

being stuck with a bow tie around my neck when the men's department employee comes around....Rachel's bow-tying efforts were successful and I was left trying to act as cool as a cucumber, but feeling quite opposite.

habitually turning into the study several times a day to play the piano--that isn't there.  

scheduling a fundraising event only a week in advance and crossing our fingers that people will actually show up. 

the awesome:

creating cafe-style decor (pinterest worthy, at that) using only what we already have on hand.

learning how to tie a bow tie. ;)

figuring out the detective show schedule (thurs-white collar, fri.-monk, sat.-psych, sun.-monk)

getting some guest posters in line for april *excited squeal*

hearing that sherlock has scheduled a *4th* series!!!

jamie grace playing a veggie tales medley

corned beef and cabbage to be eaten on Sunday

being total moochers and making our rounds in the mall to get the free terriaki chicken, general tzo's sample, and beauty products.

being blessed with a *dark* wood table and practically new fridge (!!)

spending 45 whole minutes touring the street markets of Paris...via google maps. (seriously though--I was dropped straight into a shop, could look 360 around and walk out the door to continue down the street!)

~Sarah

Your Hand-Book of Everyday Quoteables

If you are anything like our family (and if Pinterest is a honest witness, you are), there are certain quotes from movies, books, and the like that have so inbred with the life of your family that you can hardly tell where they came from in the first place, and why they're still here. In an attempt to find the history of these phrases in our own family, I have compiled in this post a "Hand-book of Everyday Quoteables". These are catch-phrase we use everyday (or frequently), and I hope they make you laugh.

"Lively as a cricket."

"P.J....I like that, you know I do."
"Stop sniveling and hold still."
"Fortunes, forecasts, lucky charms!"
"Mama said you and Robin Hood are sweethearts."
"Hiss. You deliberately dodged."

"I'm the leader, I'll say when it's the end."

"Pennsylvania Dutch? Saxony German."
"But don't go by me...I broke a shoelace this morning."
"Albuquerque. See, I can do it too. Snorkel."
"Hold on one second, let me just take in this moment. This is cool. Is this how you feel all the time? Well, except now."

"I got that reference!"
"You and I remember Budapest very differently." 

"Who's got worts?"
"To which of my fair cousins do I compliment the cooking of these excellent boiled potatoes?"

"Oh, the usual. Chocolates, flowers, promises you don't intend to keep..."

"I ripped this right out of a library book!"
"I'm getting prunes and denture cream! Who ARE they??"
"My knee hurts. Which knee? My elbow hurts and I gotta go to da bathroom."
"It's like America, but SOUTH!"

"Mr. Holmes, it was the footprint of a gigantic HOUND!"
"I can't just turn it on and off like a tap."
"One mention on Twitter and they're off."

"One, meat, two, beer, three, vegetables....four---what's number four? Oh yeah. PUDDING!"
"I must have money. And since I can't beg, borrow, or steal it, I must marry it!"
"Ever since I came to live with the Boffins I've been constantly avariciously scheming."
"I was THAT scary."

"I'm a Heffalump!"

"We're not destitute--not yet."
"Let's see what they do..."

"Where are you Poppet! We know you're in there..."

"Crikey."
"You are sailing perilously close to the wind, O'Brian."

DIY Soothing Facial Mask

Today we have something a little different for you: a natural face mask tutorial! 

Recently I've been trying out various recipes for homemade and natural face products, and I thought I'd share one with you all. This is an Oatmeal based mask with lemon and honey. I kind of made my own blend from different mixtures I'd seen online. 

Step 1:

Take about 3 or 4 Tablespoons of rolled oats and pulverize them in a coffee grinder.

Step 2:

Add in about 2 Tbs. honey, 1 Tbs. lemon juice, and half an egg white. Mix well. 

This is what your mixture should resemble. It'll be a little gloopy, but should feel kind of like....Oatmeal. ;P 

Step 3:

Apppllly. Yesh. It's very messy, but it's worth it. Just smear it all over your face/neck and it's also good to rub in circles, so as to exfoliate. 

^ That's pretty much what it looks like when finished. (It's a tad lumpy, but if you extra grind yours, you should be able to get it more smooth)

Step 4:

Take a chill pill and relax for about 15 minutes so that your mask will have the time to be most effective. The egg white will dry pretty stiff, and you should try not to watch Glozell movies, or anything else that will make you laugh. Actually, you can't move your face at all....thus the odd expression. ↓

all stiffened up and unmovable. ;P

Step 5:

Now all you have to do is wash off the mask with warm water, rinse with cool to close the pores, and pat yourself dry. :)

And that's the gist of it! Your face will feel nice and tight, and I loved how soft my skin was afterwards! 

Before

And After.

And just a few informational facts about the ingredients:
Oatmeal is used to moisturize, balances out the oil in your skin, and is super soothing, also.
Honey is a naturally antibacterial, and promotes quick healing of sores, plus many other positive elements! 
The egg whites are well known for their skin tightening and nutrition for your skin cells,
and the lemon juice works on lightening any scars/discoloration, and giving your pores a deep cleaning.
So there you have it. :) A first time facial DIY on Two's Company. I'd love to get your feedback and let me know if you're interested in more DIYs.
Cheers,
Sarah

Retro Blues

The other day Rach and I grabbed the camera and went to this *teensy* park in our town to do a photoshoot. It was sunny and actually quite mild for the weather we've been having, and this was a nice, secluded-ish spot. :) This was the first time I'd picked up my camera and done some real work for a while, so I was pretty pleased with how these came out. (Considering the spontaneity of it all)  

This was the new eShakti dress Rachel got ^ 

and the coral wedges from Payless. ;) 

The Answers to the Asked.

1. favorite soda: Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Switch
2. favorite coffee flavor: Mocha or Hazlenut
3. favorite age: 18?
4. deepest, darkest secret: *whispers* We are practically the only ones we know who don't like The Princess Bride. Phew. It's over. :P
5. favorite/dream vacation place: Europe. Gotta be Europe. Though NYC seems awesome. And so does the mid-west. 
6. eye/hair color you want your husbands to have: Brown hair/blue eyes. 
7. worst books you've read: Middle March and Lucy Winchester
8. do you like poetry/what style: Ballad, nonsense, and no haikus. 
9. favorite actors: where to start? Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Maggie Smith, Judy Dench, (catching on yet?) Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christian Bale, Sean Astin, Liam Neeson, Richard Armitage, Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Amy Adams, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Tom Hiddleston.....the list GOES ON! >.<
10. favorite villain: Blandois, Captain Hook, Chauvelin, Moriarty. 
11. favorite candy: Skittles, anything chocolate, and caramels. 
12. are you musical? In short, YES. In long, we are a very musical family---it's in our blood. Mom and Dad both graduated from college with a degree in music, and were music teachers in our early years. (Dad plays bass, tuba, etc, and Mom played trombone) Suffice it to say, music is a MAJOR part of our lives and we couldn't live without it. We both sing constantly and Sarah likes to try her luck at the piano. ;)
13. favorite movie: LOTR, The Avengers, Narnia, and P&P, I guess.....
14. personality descriptions: Rachel speaks: "I am the girl who loves to laugh and will have a laugh, even at her own expense. I'm the one that is easiest in a new situation, only because I will chatter and fill in any blanks or die in the attempt. I'm a romantic through and through, and have been called an idealist. I'm also an optimist most of the time. Of the two of us, I am the one who has a more literary, creative bent. I'm also the one who is voted Most Likely To Be Content With Mainly Girls When She Grows Up. Though I really would like a boy or two in the mix to leaven the drama. I am probably more insecure than Sarah, truthfully, but I deal better with large crisis' while I struggle worse with the little things. And as for Me (Sarah)......I think it would be very interesting to see what sort of personality you all picked up on/think I have. :D Wanna try and peg me? ;)
15. favorite books: Scarlet Pimpernel, The Mitford Series, Jane Austen, James Herriot, LOTR, Epic, The Chronicles of Narnia, Jeeves and Wooster, and Dicken's works.