Wednesday Photographs: African Proverbs (a pictoral view)

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Virginia

Once again, it’s Wednesday Photographs on THURSDAY!  Started out with one fun pic from Tanzania to share… then read a wonderful book of African proverbs a dear colleague gave me in TZ (trying to find one for the pic..) Had so much fun, decided to share More Photos with some of the sage wisdom contained therein.

So today look & learn something new from these photos & wise sayings of Africa..

(Women carrying lots on their heads is a typical scene in Africa, but i took this pic in Morogoro because i loved this modern African woman on her way to the office the African way – in HEELS! : )

“Burdens become light when cheerfully borne.”  – Ovid

“God gave burdens, also shoulders.” – Ethiopia 

“Pray for a good harvest, but keep on hoeing.”  Tanzanian Proverb

“Those who accomplish great things pay attention to little ones.” – Malawi 

(this young man is cycling his heavy load of bananas over 25+ km along this hilly, windy Kagera road to market… I took this pic (with his permission – note the smile) & put it on my office wall in Dar es Salaam as a reminder of the challenges accessing markets from rural Tanzania to urban areas (especially in this north-western-most region of TZ!)

“No matter how long and winding the road might be, it will always lead you to your destination.”  – Malawi

“Life is like riding a bicycle, you don’t fall off unless you stop pedaling.”  Sierra Leone

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”  Ugandan Proverb

“There is always room for the people you love, even if the house is crowded.”  – Tanzania

“Happiness is not perfected until it is shared.”   – Sierra Leone

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”  – The Gambia

“If you think you are too small to be noticed, go and sleep in a room which is full of mosquitoes.”  Nigerian proverb

“The pillar of the world is hope.”  – Nigeria

grace, peace & African Wisdom

         Virginia : )

 

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…on baking cakes (& smoke-filled kitchens)

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Virginia

Ok, so last month my older brother had his birthday & Virginia The Baker got busy making a cake for his celebratory visit. His choice: a chocolate layer cake with our Mama’s Icing (a yummy it- takes-a-long-time-to-make white icing from the 1950s.)

Blog Spoiler Alert: Dean’s Decadently Delish Birthday Cake with Mama’s Icing (side view!)

Using the same scratch chocolate layer cake recipe for over 20 years (FOREVER!), slightly bored Virginia The Baker found a New Recipe to try out (in a reputable Cookbook that will Remain Nameless…)

During the compilation process, it seemed like the liquid measurements were a Tad Too Much (dutifully dug out reading glasses to Make Sure — yes:  1 1/2 cups liquidy mixture when it’s usually 3/4 cup for these types of cakes..) HOWEVER, Favorite Reputable Cookbook said it, so poured liquidy cake into layer pans & whisked them into the oven.

Less than 20 minutes later, smoke wafting from the oven filled the kitchen with a Heavy Haze.  Opened the oven to find Spilled Cake dripping all over.. (did I mention my brother & his fam were coming up soon-ish thereafter to Eat This Cake??)

Desperate times require Desperate Measures (& Desperate Faith that the ingredients would eventually Turn Into Something Cake-ish):  Whisked those dripping sticky pans out of the the (very) smoky oven & dumped the batter into a Very Large lasagne pan ….& put surviving batter back into oven for More Baking.

after-the-fact burned out cake oven overflow… (photo: next day)

(ahem. Note: no Cake Drama process pictures available as Virginia the Baker was too occupied running through the house fanning smoke away from the Smoke Alarms, out of the Living Room, Study, Hallway… heck, kitchen smoke even wafted heavily into the Back of the House...& then afterward engaged in Operation Smoke-Cover Up by spewing house fragrance throughout Before Birthday Guests Arrived!)

EVENTUALLY… the cakish-baked birthday treat firmed up enough to Turn The Oven Off (a good idea to Cut-Off source of Kitchen Smoke..)  Virginia the Baker tasted a Few Crumbs (ok, a corner) – wow, ’twas actually Really Yummy.  But the cake was HUGE (my largest lasagne pan is Gigantic:  going to All That Trouble to make Veggie Lasagne with homemade sauce from garden tomatoes & 7 kinds of cheese – it should Be Big!)  … & cake was a tad on the spongy side (but a delicious spongy) … so thought of serving in squares with powered sugar?

But, Mama’s icing makes Birthdays special around here (altho contemplating making enough to cover the gigantic cake…& considering time constraints… powdered sugar sounded great..)

EUREEKA! some of the smoke must have gone to my head, because then i made up Mama’s icing (regular amount) & cut square layers (like you do for Black Forest Cake) & PUT MAMA’S ICING ON THE CAKE.  oh la la…

‘Twas a Grand Hit with the Birthday celebrant (& all other co-celebratees) … (& not to Just Blame the Cookbook, but since i was out of baking cocoa, i did use Hazelnut dark- European drinking chocolate that Might Have contributed to the Cake-Oven-Overflows, but whatever, it was a Very Tasty Cake!!)

So, a Life Lesson??  Sometimes our plans (like the cake) don’t fit into God’s pans for our life at the moment… occasionally our life batter gets poured out & stretched into lasagne pans so God can bake us His Way.  Maybe our lives don’t look like what we thought  or planned (in nice 3-layer perfect cake pans), but if we have a little faith & keep on baking (even when Smoke Fills The Kitchen)… we’ll come out OK & taste So Much Better than the Same Old Recipe (that always worked before but is Stale & not-so-tasty..)

… & God’s Grace & Mercy-filled icing will cover our rough edges & turn us into Deliciously Decadent Joy…

Dean’s Birthday Cake with Mama’s Icing (next day: Not Much Left…)

– Just like my brother’s birthday cake! ’twas really deliciously joyful to eat … (& i ended up eating the whole row of icing-less cake left in the pan, ’twas so good!)

grace, peace & Cake Adventurers

Virginia (The Baker  : )

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Wednesday Photograph: … Mary, Mother of Jesus (Feast Day!!)

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Virginia

Today Eastern Orthodox & Catholic churches celebrate the Feast of the Dormition honoring the faithfulness of Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, whose ‘yes’ to Angel Gabriel brought Light into our world.  As she ran to Elizabeth to share her Good News (‘nothing is impossible with God‘…) & shared her famous Magnificat (“God, Who is Mighty has done Great Things for me..“) & stood at the foot of the Cross, may her example continue to strengthen our faith, turning our maybes into a Big Yes for God, that God may continue to do great things in & through us… (especially as Mercy, Grace, Joy & Love in this whacked out world!)

I took this photo while living in Bethlehem awhile ago. ‘Twas such blessing to regularly pray at the Church of the Nativity (only a mile from my apartment!) & to see Muslim women in their hijab praying with Christian women at this Church (the Islamic faith recognizes the Virgin Birth of Jesus.) 

I usually didn’t tote my camera to Church, but taking international visitors around to our Bethlehem-based projects I would sometimes make a quick stop at the Church for prayers (always a good thing!) & captured these clouds somehow without realizing it until the film came back (this, in the days before digital cameras.)

Kinda cool, don’t ya think??  A reminder of Mary’s Magnificat…

“Indeed, ‘God… has done great things in me…’  Our Mother’s whole heart is manifested in the words of the Magnificat.  They are her spiritual testament.  Each of us has to look at his and her own life with the eyes of Mary – what He did in her, He did for us, and therefore did it as in us.  Mary’s words give us a new outlook of life.  The outlook of an excellent & persevering faith.  A faith which is the light of daily life.  Of days sometimes tranquil but often stormy & difficult.  A faith, which, finally, lightens up the darkness in each one of us…”  Pope John Paul II

A blessed Feast Day to all….

grace, peace & Great Things

Virginia :  )

p.s. for my Evangelical/Protestant buddies (who get kinda freaked out by Catholic/ Orthodox veneration of Mary, who leads us Catholics into a deeper relationship with Jesus & helps get His attention for us…)

You know, Jesus is so busy fielding your prayers that He gets help from His Mother & friends for ours. Kinda like how we ask each other to pray for something big?  So we Catholics ask Jesus, of course, for help… but we also ask His Mother to ask Him for us … whatever, it’s all a faith thing, but the bottom line: Mary rocks with faith we all need!

Yes – to God.  Yes – to Jesus. Yes – through trials. Yes – through tribulations.

Yes – to the The Impossible.

Yes, Yes, Yes, YES TO GOD.  amen.

… p.s. 2 … if you’re looking for some cool music for this Feast Day, check out my earlier blog of Paul Shwartz State of Grace II, a modern version of Mary’s Magnificat

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Wednesday Photographs: Low Tide (on Pemba) + Quotes

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Virginia

Wednesday photographs ON WEDNESDAY (woah!)…  We’ve been watching the Olympics all week.  It’s amazing to see the races, matches, jumps – the struggles of athletes who have trained years for a few moments on the world’s stage.  Some win (most lose) .. but it’s such an accomplishment Just To Be There.  

Why are today’s pics about  the tides vs. sport?  well, those athletes will be a Bit Tired (for sure) after expending all that energy, so i started looking through restful beach pics but then found the following from Pemba (an island near Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania) featuring The Tides – Low & High – that are kinda like the ebb & flow of life…

“The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.”  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind.”   Alice Meynell

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems that you cannot hold on a minute longer… Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”  Harriet Beecher Stowe

“Life is uncharted territory.  It reveals its story one moment at a time.”  Leo F. Buscaglia

… the tide coming in on Pemba…

“Sometimes on the way to a dream, you get lost & find a better one.”  (Unknown)

grace, peace & The Tides

Virginia : )

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Wednesday Photographs (on Friday) – VENICE (viva Italia!!!)

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Virginia

This week thought it would be fun to share a few photos from special times in Italy 2 yrs ago…  & since it’s Friday (already) here are a few quotes from well-versed Italians for our minds to munch on this weekend…

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”   Leonardo da Vinci

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams.  Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfilled potential.  Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”    Pope John XXIII

“No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today.  Take heaven!  No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace! The good of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.”   Fr. Giovanni Giocondo

“Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering, cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard.  Remove the covering and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power.”            Fr. Giovanni Giocondo

(Fr. Giocondo, a Franciscan priest who lived from 1445- 1525, wrote 4 dissertations on the waters & waterways of Venice…)

grace, peace & viva Italia!!

Virginia  :  )

p.s.   for my tree-hugging blogging buddies out there in cyberspace, pls note the strategic presence of the tree if photo 3…  : )( :

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The Jesuits: … Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Virginia

So that’s Latin. Since I sure as heck didn’t study Latin, here’s what it means:

“To the Greater Glory of God…”

A noble motto from Saint Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits (literally followers of Jesus) whose feast day we celebrate 31 July (today!)

I am a groupie of Saint Ignatius (1491-1556) a Spanish noble who made major life changes after a mystical experience during convalescence from a battle wound. He totally devoted his life to Jesus and then enlisted buddies to join him in a new way of living, thinking and doing. Approved by the Pope at that time, the fledgling order founded universities, sent missionaries (ever wonder why so many schools are called “St. Xavier’s?”) and prayed while being the hands and feet of Jesus to those around them.

The Jesuits and the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius have lasted (not without a bit of turmoil along the way.) Today Jesuits still serve Jesus the world over in so many ways – running universities, assisting refugees (Jesuit Refugee Service), through churches (Holy Trinity in DC a favorite), facilitating spiritual growth (retreat centers, Spiritual Exercises workshops, books and more), sharing faith in Jesus, providing social commentary (America Magazine) and well, too much to list.

Father Timothy King was the first Jesuit I met while taking an evening class on Teilhard de Chardin at Georgetown University in D.C.  That was 23 years ago. I still remember his humble spirit as he unpacked his fellow Jesuit’s spiritual writings (that were not allowed to be published during the life of Teilhard de Chardin – a great scientist – although his writings had major impact on Vatican II!)  The thing is, Evangelical Me was so impressed how Father King loved Jesus. Big-time.

I also appreciated going to Holy Trinity weekday mornings (they had 7:00AM & 8:00AM masses as I recall? or maybe it was 6:45? Whatever, easy to zip in and out to work.)  All this to say, I have always liked the Jesuits: special place in heart and all that. Then, since returning from Africa I have been blessed with two week-long silent retreats at the Jesuit Spiritual Centre in Wernersville, PA.

The first time I picked the place from online options to seek discernment regarding Ph.D. programs. Many Jesuits are total braniacs, so go figure it would be wise to consult their input in a structured manner during a directed silent retreat using the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius.

God has a BIG sense of humor. Instead of getting a brainiac Jesuit, Sister Maria was assigned my spiritual director for the week. A few internal pouts later, her strategic direction turned out to be a gift from God – lots of restorative healing. Sister Maria gave me 2 Corinthians 4, the jars of clay verses, to contemplate. Humph! I memorized those verses as a child and put them on my office wall in the Middle East. But at the end – eight days of praying is lots of work – I realized yes, we may be cracked clay pots (Virginia to our Tanzanian staff, “isn’t it grand that as our cracks get wider there’s more room for the light of Christ to shine through?”) But guess what??

THERE’S TREASURE INSIDE OF US: RUBIES, EMERALDS & DIAMONDS OF THE HEAVENLY REALM….

…and diamonds are hard to crush.

YAAAY God, and thanks to Sister Maria for her persevering spiritual guidance. The next year I zoomed back for another week-long dose of silent prayer with a dear friend who was blessed with Sr. Maria’s direction. That week I had a blast praying with Sister Sarah.  Literally. Lots of Holy Hilarity and serious prayer. She confirmed my earnest prayers about becoming a nun. (‘Twas a ‘No.’) Sister Sarah affirmed that I am far too independent (which sense since I’ve had a hard time in that commit to one guy for life thing; to join an order you kinda commit to lots of folks in that community living thing.)

But there were other prayed-for truths:

“Receive My Love anew, to BE My love anew…”

“Study My Words.  Know My Words. Be My Words.”

That may not seem like much after eight days of prayer, but the last 3 years I have asked Jesus every day to pour out His love anew into this (valuable) clay pot, so that I may BE His love anew. I also ask every day that His words permeate my life. That involves studying His words to know them and then do them.

Eight days of prayer – silence, meditation, listening to God – the Spiritual Exercises. Faith is a process, a daily-take-up-your-cross and follow Jesus deal. I highly recommend silent retreats for spiritual growth. For my Evangelical/Protestant this is freaking me out buddies, both times I went on this adventure there were many traditions represented in the retreatants: Lutheran, Episcopal, Evangelical, and some folks I’ve never heard of.

There’s also the Trappist Option. I made my first week-long silent retreat 22 years ago at Gethsemane Abbey where Thomas Merton was a monk. But that will have to wait for another posting as dinner is now becoming a very hasty scallop stir-fry (minus the must-bake-an hour butternut squash.)

So, today as we celebrate the life of St. Ignatius and the continued Jesuit faith-builders around the world —

…Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam…

grace, peace & God’s Glory

Virginia : )

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Photos & Quotes: treasures of light in darkness

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Virginia

Once again, it’s Wednesday photographs on Thursday… so Virginia the Blogger is adding a few inspirational quotes for our minds to munch on. You may notice a theme (of sorts) – Light & Darkness & Treasure & Faith & Fulton Sheen & Dietrich Bonhoeffer (i am a groupie!) & .. well, read on…

“Treasures lie hidden in darkness. Only those who walk in the night can see the stars.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (the Venerable)

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”  Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Faith is not an insurance policy but a courageous adventure, not a tranquilizer but a challenge, not a bed of roses but a battlefront.”  Carlos G. Valles, S.J.

“This is the choice before us: either try to revolutionize the world and break under it, or revolutionize ourselves & remake the world.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“People say when they know, they will do; Christ says when we do, then we will know. The seeds of truth sprout in the soil of obedience.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“May Your waxen candles flaming spread their warmth,

As their glow flickers darkness into light.

May Your will be done to make us one again;

May Your love’s glimmering hope illuminate our night.

When now the silence spreads around us,

O let us hear the sounds You raise,

Of world unseen in growth abounding,

And the children chanting hymns of praise.

The forces of good surround us in wonder,

They firm up our courage for what comes our way,

God’s with us from dawn to slumber of evening,

The promise of love at break of each day.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (from A Testament to Freedom)

So, this week when darkness surrounds you, seek the Hidden Treasure around you, above you, within you … & walk by faith, not by sight.

grace, peace & Light (at Night)

    Virginia : )

“…You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a candle & put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand so that it may give light to everyone in the house...”  (Matthew 5:14-15)

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Wednesday Photographs: high mountains, vast oceans (& us!)

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Virginia

Once again, it’s Wednesday photographs (on Thursday)… plus a quote from St. Augustine to contemplate as you zoom about beach holidays & mountain get-a-ways (escaping the heat, which today, thankfully is a Bit Cooler than our 100+ temps of last week : )

“People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains…

…at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars…

…and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.” 

St. Augustine ( from his Confessions)

grace, peace & wandering wonderings

    Virginia : )

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Wednesday Photographs: CELEBRATE, CELEBRATE!

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Virginia

Wednesday photographs on Friday… what to say? Wednesday (july 4th) was busy, busy… as was yesterday (recovering from Wednesday : )  Here are a few photos of our celebratory fireworks in Williamsburg … & then for my Canadian buddies who also celebrated their national day this week, Happy Canada Day (+5)…

My brother& i were blessed to visit Prince Edward Island a few years back on Canada Day – ’twas a grand time, all together ! : )

Back to the 4th of july… & America’s Independence…

 

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

“While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to Him only in this case they are answerable. ” 

George Washington, 1775

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grace, peace & national celebrations

Virginia : )

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…blog birthdays &… the 4th of July …

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Virginia

This week my blog turned One – Happy Birthday to the Roses in the Rubble Blog & your sporadically diligent blogger, Virginia, with 126 posts to date!! Last year i started this blog mainly to highlight inspirational movies & books, but it morphed into a wee bit more.  (Keep checking the movie page above though, as updating continues along with movie round-ups et all.) Thanks so much to my family (especially Cindy : ) & friends for your encouragement (especially during that ‘why-am-i-doing-this’ stage) & for all you amazing bloggers out there in the cyberblogsphere who have made it Such Informatively Interesting (& often faith-building) Fun to interact…

As America celebrates our ‘birthday’ of independence on this 4th of July, here’s a re-post of one of my first blogs….  Happy 4th of July … (Va. the Cook has to Get Busy : )

THE PATRIOT & THE 4TH OF JULY…  (from july 4, 2011)

My brother and I saw this movie on the 4th of July,2000 while on holiday in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Since the Canadians ‘confederated’ their way out of British bondage (& they’re still on good Commonwealth terms with the UK), the theater-goers’ reactions were not so favorable given how the British are portrayed in this Revolutionary war epic (burning churches & killing children!) My brother & I, however, cheered on Mel Gibson as his character Benjamin Martin morphed from a neutral-sit-on-the-farmer’s-fence-father into THE PATRIOT.

Since then I’ve watched this movie on every 4th of july or close to the date (working overseas July 4th is not a holiday so I often celebrated by watching this & eating American Dorito chips when they could be found!) Viewing it again yesterday,  I’m still inspired by the whole ‘stay the course’ theme – through victory, defeat, death and sacrifice against what look like insurmountable odds, patriots like Benjamin Martin prevailed to lead the fledgling colonies into freedom and…the United States of America.

Heath Ledger (may he R.I.P.) gave an outstanding performance as Gabriel Martin, Benjamin Martin’s oldest son, who enlists early into the Continental army. The story weaves fiction with fact as General Cornwallis takes South Carolina and local militias are called up to fight. Tom Wilkinson plays a convincingly arrogant Cornwallis, while Peter Woodward is great as his always-complimentary sidekick, General O’Hara.  The “bad-guy-loudly-boo” award goes to Jason Isaacs who portrays British Col. Tavington, a ruthless Dragoons cavalry officer who employs extremely ‘ungentlemanly’ tactics.

Some of my favorite lines  are from Chris Cooper as Continental Col. Harry Burwell. (after a disasterous battle – “who’s in charge?” … “I am…I think.”) After Benjamin suffers incredible loss and wants to leave, Col. Harry challenges him: “You’re wrong Benjamin, you matter to your men, and to others as well. Your victories and… and your losses, are shared by more than you know. Stay with us. Stay the course!”

There’s a love story (2, actually), family values (Benjamin is a widower with SEVEN children), faith (Rene Auberjonois as Pastor Oliver, “sometimes a shepherd has to fight off the wolves”), a wedding, lots of historical settings…and a bit of violence (this is a Mel Gibson movie, after all) including the cannonball-off-with-his-head & gory ‘hack-a-soldier-to-bits-with-tomahawk scenes.  Rated R – not for children – but this is one of the few ‘R’ movies (in my opinion) that has an extremely high inspiration factor.

On this 4th of July, may you STAY THE COURSE wherever you might be & to my fellow & fellow-ette Americans, may we never forget the sacrifices of those who went before us (including the French who came to our rescue at Yorktown!)

grace, peace & birthdays

    Virginia : )

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