Listen! The Angels are Singing

Carols are a wonderful part of Christmas time, but do we ever stop to think about what we are singing?  The songs which many were penned years and years ago, hold wonderful truths and beautiful meanings behind the well-known lyrics.  Hark the Herald Angels Sing is one such carol.  It was written by Charles Wesley, in 1739.   I have re-written the lyrics to Hark below - Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas!  :)

Listen!  The angels are singing

"Glory to Jesus, the newborn King!"

There is peace and mercy on earth now

Because Jesus brings God and sinners together

All the countries of the world stand and be joyful

Join all of creation in singing His praises

Join the angels and sing loudly,

"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Listen!  The angels are singing

"Praise be to Jesus, the newborn King!"

Christ is adored in the highest heavens

Christ is the everlasting Lord

We have waited years, now see Him here

He was born of a virgin, He is her child

He is God, and yet has become human

Welcome Him as the Holy God

He loves us enough to come among us and to live with us

Jesus, our Savior, God with us.

Listen!  The angels are singing

"Give glory to the newborn King!"

Welcome the Prince of Peace, who came from heaven

Welcome the Son of truth and righteousness

He will bring light and life to everyone

And he will rise from the grave with healing and power

As a baby, He lies quietly, setting aside His glory

He was born that we no longer had to die for our sins

He was born to raise us up from our lives of sin and despair

He was born to give us a second life, and a new birth 

Listen!  the angels are singing:

"Let's praise and give all honor and glory to Jesus, our new born king!"

Gingerbread house night!

Last night was our Church's annual gingerbread house building night! After weeks of planning, days of ordering, shopping, and budgeting, hours of packing lollies, and many last minute jobs to complete - the night came together. Our car and house smelt like a lolly shop and bakery while our study became so packed with lollies and tablecloths you could barely move. This year was a lot bigger than last year: In 2014 we had 83 people attend, this year it was over 130! To give you an idea of what that is in reality, here are a few numbers:
I bought:
💮  19kg of bullets
💮 19kg of freckles
💮 50m of licorice
💮 1260 musk sticks
And the list goes on! We also packed over 700 individual bags of lollies and tied more twisty ties than I care to count! Anyway, here are a few photos from the night.  By the end of the night, we had raised about $800 for Missons. 

What 102 gingerbread houses flat packs look like

All set up, ready to go

Extra lollies and gingerbread men for sale

We had 16 tables, ranging from 6 to 13 people at each table

Decorating the houses!

Just starting to decorate...

 

We finished them off by dusting them in icing sugar and wrapped them in cellophane, tied with a ribbon

One of the 96 completed houses

A Letter

To the Body of Christ ~ His Church,

I know you are reeling from the sudden turns of events in Paris and in the world, and I know that everything seems confused in at the moment.   But let me say, don't loose sight of what is happening here.  We shouldn't be surprised, we shouldn't be taken aback.  These times were long ago predicted in the Bible.  Our response shouldn't be one of fear or confusions, like those who have no light, for we have the Light.

I sorrow for those who have lost loved ones, for those whose lives have been torn apart by these tragic events, for those wives who no longer have a husband, for the children who no longer have a mother or a father, or both, for the grandparents who have lost their grandchildren, for the close friends and extended circles.  So many lives lost, so many more hearts broken, so many people now waking up, and wishing they didn't have to face the morning.  We cry with them, and we hold their hand through pain that we cannot even begin to imagine. 

But my heart is broken for the Muslims, those who have lost their way, these precious people whom God loved, whom God sent His only Son to save, and who longs to hold them as close to His heart and He holds me, and holds you.  These people are not the enemy, rather, they are the victims.  They are the victims to a lifelong time of fear, of evil and of hate.  Their actions are not right, and they are not to be excused, but the gift of salvation still extends to them.   The same God who reached out to me and to you, reaches out to them, and waits only for a whispered prayer to receive them into paradise. 

We need to stand up for these people - the ones who are so lost their eyes are blind, their ears are defeaned.  We need to interceed for those who cannot see the way by themselves. Without our example, how they are going to know the love of Christ?

The world might be closing the borders on the Muslims, they might be shutting their doors, retaliating with soldiers and with violence, but we, the Children of God, we must never close our hearts.

I not only stand for Paris, I also stand for Iraq, I stand for Kenya, I stand for Egypt, I stand for Bali, I stand for the USA, I stand for Australia, I stand for every country that has been touched by the terrorist attacks, and every country which needs God even more today than they did yesterday.  And I pray that you will stand with me and in Him, for without His hope, the world has no reason to live.  And without His love, we have nothing to give.

 I want to finish with this song from Planetshakers 'We cry out'.  Please listen and make it your heart's cry, for only when we turn to God will we see change in this world.

Church Camp and Carols

Well, it has been awhile!  It is coming into Summer, into the Christmas season, towards the end of the year,  the times of cooler summer nights, while the days reach a delightful 40 or so degrees (no sarcasm - I love the heat  :)  )

Our annual church family camp was only a few weeks ago, and was heaps of fun.  It was held at Tahlee, so it was different for me to be actually participating in a camp, rather than cooking for it - although I did that too.  :) Our Church camp is rather relaxed and chilled, without much planned, so there is plenty of time to just hang out with each other fellowship.  I had been at Tahlee cooking all week leading up to the camp, so it was great fun to greet each new arrival as they trickled in over the course of Friday afternoon / evening.  The first thing that was planned on Saturday was indoor games in the morning, so we all met in the main auditorium where we played games such as  Ninja, Ship Shore Deck, Lifeboat and Capture the Flag.  the games were good fun, although I was in the yellow team, and we so totally lost.  ;) 

Afterwards, our Church has this unique tradition at camp where we do gumboot throwing competitions, I know, strange isn't it?!?  But anyways, it is actually more fun than what one would think.  We played in categories, preschoolers, primary aged girls, primary aged boys, high school girls, high school boys, then adults, both men and ladies.  It hadn't occurred to me that, seeing I finished school last year and had had a birthday since, I was actually in the open aged ladies competition, until we were lining up.  But, there I was.  So when it was my turn and picked up the boot and chucked it as far I could.  Some of the others had techniques and would spin the boot around and around before throwing up, gaining momentum, I guess.  Others would do a bit of a run up.  I just stood there and threw it, but it must have been the power of a left-hander, because, to my great surprise and shock, I won the ladies category with a throw of over 11 meters!  I won a bag of Freddo Frogs  :D

On Saturday night, Mum and I ran a Family Feud Trivia Night.  We had deliberated long and hard over this night, because a standard family feud game only includes 8 people (we had about a 100) and a trivia night would probably go over the younger kid's heads.  So, after quite a few brainstorming sessions, and a few late night calls on the week leading up to the camp while I was at Tahlee, we came up with a mixture.  During the afternoon, we set up tables in the auditorium, with 8-10 people at each table.  When everyone entered, they made teams at the tables.  Each table got to choose 4 people to come up to the front and play a Family Feud round (if you don't know what I mean by Family Feud, it is a game show on channel 10 - look it up!  :P)  Between each Family Feud round, there was bonus rounds, and each round accumulated points for an overall winning table of the night.  The bonus rounds varied from general trivia night quizzes, to quizzes on movie quotes, a don't forget the lyrics round (where we would play a segment of a song cutting it off part way and they had to write down the next lyrics)  and a few rounds especially for kids - including a spelling bee.  It was a really fun night and although Mum and I were both absolutely exhausted by the end of it, it was well worth the work and effort we had put in. 

Sunday morning we held Church by the lake, which was lovely, as usual.  the best thing was that this year - a first in the 5 years we have had Church camp - it didn't rain!  After the church service, we had water baptism in the lake and then a shared BBQ lunch.  It was a lovely time, and afterwards, it was time to go home.  I think at least 4 of us kids came home lobsters from the sun! :P

One last thing before I go, or you go, one or the other!  ;)

  It is coming, rather rapidly, up to our Church's annual Christmas Production.  The carols include a variety of singalong carols, song items, and drama.  If any of you are in the vicinity, and would like to come along - it is on the 6th of December, 2015, at Generate Church, corner of New England Highway and Kelso Street Singleton, NSW.  We have free entertainment - such as jumping castles, rock climbing, etc.  - from 3:30pm and dinner is available (I think it is something like hot dogs for $1.50 - but don't quote me on that!  :P)  - and  our cafe will be open, from where you can buy anything from a milkshake to a coffee.  The carols start 7:00pm, and finish at 8:30, so it doesn't go too late.  If you have any further questions or queries, please comment and I will do my best to answer them.  :)  We would love for you to be there if you can make it!!!
 

Farewell Rainbow Cake

A friend from our Church is going to England as an exchange student for six months - leaving today, actually!  So I was asked to bake a farewell cake for her at our youth group.  It was the first time I had done a farewell cake, so I hit google to try and find out which design to do.  In the end, this was what I ended up with....

Making the cakes:  I decided to make a rainbow cake.  Well, actually, everyone else decided that I should make a rainbow cake.  I was feeling tired and not too well, so I didn't feel like putting in the effort for a rainbow, so I went searching online for an easier way to make them.  I had made two different types of rainbow cakes before:  the first method is to place all your coloured batter in separate Ziploc bags, snip off the end, and put a drizzle in the bottom of the pan.  Then get the next colour, and repeat.  Continue until all the batter is used up.  This makes the cake come out in little stripes, like in the middle of this cake:

 The other method is to bake the cakes all separately and join them with together with icing later.  Although both methods work well, they are time consuming and I didn't have a lot of that.  So instead, I coloured each cake and poured them into the pan on top of each other, hoping that it wouldn't come out a nasty brown. 

These were my colours:  (I have seemed to lost one of the photos, there were 5 colours...  )

I poured the mixture in on top of each other.  And then tapped the pan several times on the bench to get rid of any air bubbles.  It took a loooong time to cook, and I probably had too much mixture in the pan, but anyways! 

 This is the mixture poured in - and then I swirled it just a little with a knife before cooking it (Right)





And this is after it is cooked: (I cut it open to fill it with icing and also to see how it worked out.)  I was happy - and relieved! - with the results.

 For the icing, I decided to try something new, as you do when you are cooking a cake for a event! :P I read that adding copha to the icing would make it set harder crust better to get a nicer finish.  I had to leave the copha out in the sun for about 9 hours before it was soft enough to be beaten up.  Here is the recipe:

It makes quite a lot of icing, well and truly enough to this cake, and I put a lot on!

Ingredients: 
500g butter
250g copha
1kg icing mixture
Splash of milk

Method:
Beat butter and copha together until fluffy and white.  Add icing mixture and beat well, scraping down the sides regularly.  Add milk if it needs to be a little thinner.  

Then I iced the cake blue, cut out fondant countries, and made a little plane.  I didn't get photos of the process, but here is the finished product: (the lighting isn't great, but by the end I really couldn't care less if the photos came out well :P)

Dots on a Page

I have been thinking lately about one awesome aspect of our God:  He has our best interests at heart.

I know that is a highly spoken of topic, and so probably comes as no great surprise to any of you.  But, stop and think about it this way....there are over 7.3 billion people in this world, to get a picture of exactly how many 7.3 billion people are, please take a quick look at this link:

http://www.datapointed.net/visualizations/population/world/seven-billion-plus/

Isn't that an amazing website!?! And now visualize each one of those dots as a person, someone with dreams, someone with hopes, someone with love, and someone with the need for God.  And imagine one of those dots as you. 

We are getting a picture here of how insignificant we really are.  When we were reduced to just a dot on a page, we become small, not noteworthy, and just another number. 

But thank God, we are not just another number.  We know how complicated we are, what our hopes and dreams are, and how the part we have to play in this life is not unworthy...but God knows us more than we even know ourselves.  And He has our best interests at heart. 

Now choose another dot on the page.  That person - wherever they be, whomever they are - is loved by God and their best interests are on God's heart. 

Another dot; another person, another valuable being, another who God has the best planned for.

Move down ten lines and twenty across. That dot too, represents a person who God loves, whose best interests are closest to His heart.

And the it goes on and on and on!  How awesome is our God!  Not only does He love each and every one of us, but He has the blueprint to the perfect life for us, ready for us to reach out and accept His guiding and promises.  And He does it all without compromising anybody else.  

Often, with our human limitations, we prioritized something at the expense of another.  We cannot attend to everything all at once, do everything to the best of our ability, and achieve the highest.  We simply can't.  So we choose, we decide that in order for this to thrive, this idea, dream, or project, will have to either be put on the back burner or left all together.  And that is not a bad thing.  We have to prioritse God's will in our lives and foucs on only what He has for us.

But God doesn't have to make that choice.  He doesn't have to sacrifice the person down the street's best because it is more important that you get the opportunity.  He doesn't prevent us from achieving the best, because the person sitting next to us in church deserves it more.  No, rather He has everybody's best interests at heart so that what is best for you is for you, and what is best for our friend is best for them.

To sum it up: God hasn't forgotten you.  He holds you close to His heart, and he wants the best for you.  But He hasn't forgotten the other 7,000,000,299 people in this world either.  He holds them close and wants the best for them as well.  So we have to trust in Him.  Trust that He knows what He is doing.  Trust that He knows best for you, for your neighbor, and for your friends and family. 

~ 

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything - so I am just letting you know that I am still alive.  :)  I hope to update soon with things I have been doing, trips to Tahlee, Church, TESOL, etc. etc.  However, this was on my heart, so got typed up first.  Hoped it blessed you today.  <3

What Type of Learner Are You?

I recently - as of Tuesday! - started a new course, one which I am very excited about.  I am doing a Professional Diploma of TESOL, which stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.  It is a 600 hour course, and once I have completed the foundation course and the nine electives, I will be qualified to teach English as a second language in any international country.  It feels so good to be studying again after being at a bit of a loose end for the past 6 months or so!  

I was learning today about the different learning types.  There are four main categories, and numerous smaller ones.  "The four main learning styles are visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile.  A visual learner learns best by seeing the information set out clearly and recalls information by remembering where it was located on a page.  An auditory student learns best by hearing the lesson, discussing and talking about it and then by using rhythm and sound to recall the information.  A kinaesthetic learner uses movement as a memory aid.  They prefer to learn while doing and often find it hard to sit still through a lecture.  A tactile student learns by touching and so therefore prefers writing and drawing as ways to not only convey information but also to remember it.  They also learn well in hands on activities and through presentations and demonstrations." (taken from my answer to the 16th assessment question).

There was a test included in my 450 page text book, to determine what learning type you are. I thought it would be fun to put it in here so you all can find out for yourselves...if you feel so inclined. :)

Directions:

Rank each statement below as 0, 1 or 2. Write 0 next to the statement if it is not true. Write 2 next to the statement if you strongly agree with the statement. Write 1 if this is sometimes true.

The intelligences which you score the highest in are the ones in which you are

strongest. In the Left Brain and Right Brain Learning section simply mark a yes or a no relating to the question. The section where you mark a ‘yes’ the most times is the learning styles you identify with the most.

Linguistic Intelligence

I like to write stories and poems. ………
I read something everyday for enjoyment ………
I enjoy doing crossword puzzles. ………
I am a good letter writer. ………

Total Score ………

Musical Intelligence
I often sing in the shower. ………
I know the tunes to many songs. ………
I have no trouble identifying or following a beat. ………
I have a very expressive voice, varying in intensity, pitch,
and emphasis. ………

Total Score ………

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
I can calculate numbers easily in my head. ………
I liked maths classes at school. ………
I am interested in new developments in science. ………
I believe that most things have a logical and rational
explanation. ………

Total Score ………

Spatial Intelligence I like to draw. ……… It is easy for me to find my way around unfamiliar places. ……… I pay attention to the colours I wear. ……… I like photography ………
Total Score ………
Bodily/ Kinaesthetic Intelligence I like to dance. ……… I engage in at least one sport. ……… I find it hard to sit for long periods of time. ……… Most of my hobbies involve physical activity or sports. ………
Total Score ………
Intrapersonal Intelligence
I consider myself independent. ……… I have hobbies or interests that I enjoy doing on my own. ……… I keep a journal and record my thoughts. ……… I like to work on my own instead of working in groups. ………
Total Score ………
Interpersonal Intelligence I have more than one close friend. ……… I consider myself a leader and often assume leadership roles. ……… I like to entertain friends and have parties. ……… People often come to me with their problems. ………
Total Score ………
Left Brain Learning
I am more aware of the beat than the melody in music Yes/No I learn by listening and taking notes Yes/No I understand something new by piecing it together Yes/No I prefer to write directions rather than use a map Yes/No
Right Brain Learning
I remember people by their faces rather than their names Yes/No I am more co-operative than competitive Yes/No I like to be spontaneous instead of planning ahead Yes/No I prefer my workplace to be comfortable and messy Yes/No

Results (remember that these results are taken from a learning English and a teacher's point of view) :
Linguistic learners are interested in words and their origins and word puzzles such as crosswords.
Musical learners enjoy working with the rhythm of the language. Speaking activities focusing on expression and pronunciation and any activities involving music or poems will appeal to this group. Logical and Mathematical learners enjoy solving problems and may enjoy a task based approach. Students with a high spatial intelligence will enjoy tasks that incorporate creative activities such as art and crafts. Students with a bodily/kinaesthetic learning style will respond well to tasks that involve movement such as role plays and running games. Students with strong interpersonal intelligence will work well on group tasks and on collaborative projects. Students with strong intrapersonal intelligence will work well on individual projects. They are able to reflect on their own learning and may respond well to keeping a journal.

What were your results? If you'd like to, please share them in the comments, I'd love to hear about them. :) I was a Intrapersonal Learner, with a left brain dominance, and am a visual learner, if you were going to categorize from just those 4 options.  It was interesting that I was a left brain dominance, because I am also left handed, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it...?? I scored a 7 in the Intrapersonal category, and the bodily/ kinaesthetic learner category earned the lowest score with a sad 1.

Anyway, I hope you are all having a great week and have fun with the quiz!

The Secret of Contentment

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through Him who gives me strength."

~ Philippians 4:11-13

Do you ever feel like you are in a stagnant stage of your life?  You know, when you finish school, or studying, or some other milestone in you life.  Milestones are a major point, but it is only until we are passed them that they becomes a marker in our life's journey, not a boulder which we can't seem to get through.

"Just wait on God, you are in a time of waiting at the moment."

"It is easier to steer a moving car; drive in the light you have."

Have these ever been spoken to you?  I have heard both, and what makes life confusing is that they seem to contradict each other.  One is saying to wait for God to show you His plan, while other is saying go forward, and He will direct you has you go.  So do you wait for His guidance, or do you move forward, believing that He will guide your steps?  I believe both are a word in season, and  both are equally true.  But I think it depends on one crucial point: Being content where you are at the moment.  God never ever wastes time, and so if you are following and seeking Him with all your heart, mind and strength, then He will direct your paths.  That's a promise:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

~Proverbs 3:5-6

You have to trust that God will lead you, when the time is right.  And while it might seem that you are chafing at the bit, and not doing anything for yourself, for Him or for anyone else, the lessons and character which are being built and developed are well worth the wait.  God never wastes time, and so everything you experience, is for a reason and for a benefit.  True, not all circumstances are God's plan, because we live in a broken, fallen world, but

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to His purpose.

~ Romans 8:28

We have all been called.  Some of us are called to the international mission field, others to the mission field in our town, and still others are called to the mission of our house, home and families.  But nonetheless, we are all called and none is more important than the other.  But sometimes it seems that the calling will never come true, and although you are saying yes to God and to whatever His plans are for your life, nothing is happening. 

It is then that we have to learn to Trust.  Simply sit back and learn to trust God.  God won't move us on in life until we have learned the lessons from the situations we are in.  And when there seems not to be any lessons to learn, well, that is a lesson too.  

So it all boils down to this simple point: The Secret of Contentment is to trust in our Lord and our Saviour.  And lastly, look at the last verse of the Philippians passage, verse 13:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

~Philippians 4:13

All things.  That means everything, the things which are both hard and easy.  It takes just as much strength to sit back and wait for God's plan, seemingly to be doing nothing, than it does to be on the front line everyday and every hour.  There are seasons for both the busy and the quiet.  There are reasons for both.  And there is strength available for us in every season - the seasons of action, and the season of waiting.  

The secret to contentment is to Trust in our Lord, knowing that He is there for us every minute of every day be it full of achievements, battles and breakthroughs, or be it full of the quiet waiting on His promises, His strength, His love, and His peace is there, ours for the t

70th Birthday Cake Days 4-5 & Elise's Birthday

So here is the last two days of the cake, a little late, but nonetheless, here it is...  :)

Day 4 - Covering and Spraying

Part-way through putting cocoa through the fondant - it took a long
time and boy did my wrists know it by the end!  :P

I had thought long and hard about how to make black icing.  You can buy pre-c
oloured fondant, but it is so much more expensive, and also it is a different brand, which can make a lot of difference if you are not used to working with it.  So, I was looking for some different options.   Although you can buy black food dye, it doesn't work because the icing is pure white, and so  you can only get a grey.  (The same happens with red, by the way.)  After doing lots of research, I finally came up with the following method, and hoped it would work...  When kneading the icing to make it pliable, I mixed in a lot of cocoa powder as well.  This gave the fondant a chocolate colour as well as flavour, which I thought was really nice.  To cover the cake, I used 1.5 kg of fondant.  I could have really used some more, as I found out later, but you can never truly tell until it is too late with these things!

After the Fondant is on.  If you look in the top of the left sleeve,
you can see the patchy icing job.  

Then I rolled out the fondant big enough to cover the cake.  I didn't take many photos of this phase, because I get in the zone of cake decorating, and don't think about much else while I am concentrating.  :)  To work out how big you need to roll the fondant, measure the widest part of your cake, plus the sides, and add a couple more centimeters all together and then roll out the fondant that large.  I  have a PVC pipe which I use to help roll out large pieces of icing.  When it is big enough, I rolled up the icing around the pipe, and then unrolled it over the cake.  Fondant is quite heavy and so you need to cut off the excess quite quickly otherwise it will tear over the corners.  Smoothing down the edges and pressing into the corners, I cut of the excess and used my fondant smoother to make sure it was lying as flat as possible.  Unfortunately. because of the extra cocoa powder, the fondant dried out a lot quicker than usual, and I had trouble getting it off the table and onto the cake.  This led to a rather dodgy icing corner on the cake, which we smoothed over as best as we could, but it still wasn't perfect.  The rest of the icing went on quite well.

Spray painting!!  :D

Then for the black!  I bought some Wilton Black colour mist, and literally spray painted my entire cake.  I used the whole can, and had to go back to the shops to get another one to cover some patchy areas.  But it worked quite well.  The spray takes a long time to dry, so I left it overnight.  The colour seemed to be a bit too brown at one stage in the drying process which had me quite concerned, but it darkened as it dried, to a nice black, which I was happy with.

This is just after I sprayed the cake.  It is a little patchy, which
I did fix up later, and you can see how the colour darkens later
on.

Day 5 - Decorating

The finished product!

The next day, I used both the paper map of the cake and the original picture to help me get the decorating right.  I coloured some fondant orange (using a mixture of red, black and yellow food dye) and let it to rest about half an hour.  Normally I colour the icing the day before, because it gives the fondant time to set again with the extra liquid in it, and also the colour can deepen with time.  But we had been too busy the day before, and I hadn't had time.

I cut out the white and orange pieces, and layed them onto the cake, arranging them until I was happy with the look.  Then I flipped the pieces of fondant over, and rubbed a little water on the back to make it stick, and then I was done!  (there are no photos of this process, because, once again, I was in the zone, and it is too hard to take photos while decorating.  :P)

 ~

The cake - it is not a particularly good photo,
because of the sun, but you get the idea.  

Saturday was also Elise's 13th Birthday.  She had a lovely day.  We opened presents in the morning, and she was most delighted with her Kindle Reader from Mum and Dad, and an assortment of other things from us kids.

Grace and I made her birthday cake.  It is Cinderella from the new movie which was only released a few days before her birthday, and consequently was also one of her birthday presents....

(A side funny story  :D...... When Grace and I were making the cake, we were having trouble getting the shape of the cake right (aka the skirt).  The doll we had bought was quite tall, and we had to build the cake up to make it proportionally accurate.  Then, after we had shaped it up, we had to cut a hole down the middle for the doll to sit.  However, that too proved to be difficult.  I cut down about half way, and then we had the bright idea of chopping the doll at the knees.  So, with no anesthetic, and a bread knife, our poor Cinderella became an amputee! :P)

Rosie waiting for the show to start, all dressed
up like a pirate.  :)

In the afternoon, we all went to see the stage show of Pirates of Penzance that Mum and Dad were playing in.  We had all been to see it at least twice before, but this time we had front row seats, and it never gets old.  I did take some photos, but was later told that photos weren't allowed, so unfortunately I won't post them....

That evening, Mum and Dad had another show, so we rushed home, had dinner, and then they left again.  Elise got to rediscover all her presents and answer the numerous phone calls!

Being the last show, Mum and Dad had to pack up the instruments and everything and then attend the presentations afterwards, which meant they didn't get home until about 1 am.  Dad and I had an early start at Church the next morning (we had to be there by 8:00 am) so we were all exhausted by the days end, but it was good.

70th Birthday Cake, Days 1-3

I intended to post this series day by day as I completed each step, but due to being extremely busy and my computer not wanting to log in, I am going to post the first three days all in one go.

I am in the middle of making a 70th birthday cake for a surprise birthday party after church this Sunday.  I make special birthday cakes using the Planet Cake method, which is generally a three day process.  However, because of a 'unique' feature of this cake, as you will see later on, I have stretched it to a five day process.

Uncle Paul (for whom the cake is for) is a sports fan, and particularly likes the West Tigers from the NRL, so I thought that I would make a Tigers football jersey cake.

Day 1 - Planning and Shopping

Although I have put this down as the first day, I actually do the planning for cakes some weeks ahead, just because I like to be well organised and totally know what I am doing.  So, the first thing I do is find my inspiration picture.  I am not very good at designing and visualising a cake in my head, so I always like to search the web and find a picture I can base my design off.  Sometimes I use the basic ideas and change the colour scheme or design a little, but this time, because there is really only one design of jersey, I just chose a picture and will (hopefully) replicate it fairly directly.

This is the inspiration picture.  The things I will do differently is I won't have the NRL shield-trophy-thing or the Tigers logo on the stripes nor will I put the grass around the edge.  That's the plan anyway, I might change my mind, but I don't think I will.

'The chosen ones'

The first thing I did was choose my baking pans and trace them onto paper, making a life size map of the the cake, and then I coloured it in to make a paper replicate for reference later on.  I don't normally do this but because it is a shaped cake, and I have only done one other shaped cake, I wanted to see how the cake pans would 'shape up' (so to speak.  :P)

 The paper cut outs..

 After I had sketched on the design...

 And the coloured in version.  I got tired of colouring black part way through, and had to enlist the help of some willing younger siblings.   :P

After I did that, I worked out how many cakes I would need to make, how much ganache, how much icing and then wrote my shopping list.  And went shopping!  BTW, you can expect some funny comments from the checkout people when you buy 7 blocks of chocolate!  This time, the lady asked if I was doing some cooking, or was just buying some chocolate to nibble on.  Umm.... I am cooking.  Mum laughed and said she hoped it wasn't just to nibble on, and the checkout lady's comment was 'You'd be surprised.'  Which makes you wonder what other people buy...perhaps 7 blocks of chocolate isn't so bizarre after all!

Day 2 - Baking the cake and making the Ganache

I didn't take any photos of the making the cakes.  But here's one of once they are cooked and cooled:  They are dark chocolate mud cakes, and I doubled the recipe for the big one...

 Ganache is a icing like mixture which is made by grating chocolate and pouring nearly boiling cream over the top and whisking until smooth.  You let it set overnight (or at least several hours) and then spread it onto the cakes to make a smooth, yummy surface to place your fondant on.  I one and a halved the recipe for the ganache - so it was 1.8kg of grated chocolate and 900ml of pure cream.  

 This is what 1.8kg of chocolate looks like as a block and then grated.  Thank heavens for electric graters!

When it is all mixed together....

 This is what happens when you pour boiling cream into grated chocolate - steam from the cream fogged up the lens of the camera for the first few moments, so it is hard to see, but it does clear shortly...

Day 3 - Ganaching the Cake

To get the angle of the sleeves of the shirt right, I cut the sleeves off from the paper cake I made, and then used the paper cut out to slice the cake.  Then I assembled it...

I cut all the pieces of cake in half longwise and filled it with a layer of ganache, and then covered the cake with the ganache.  The purpose of ganache is to make it taste nice, and also to create a level, smooth surface to lay the fondant on.  Whatever imperfections or rough edges are left in the ganache, show up in the fondant, so the aim is to make it as smooth as possible.  I didn't take any photos of the process because I was doing it last night from 8:30 to about 10:30 pm, and I was tired and over it... so that's that.  :P

But here is a photo of the cake in the morning, after the ganache has set hard.  I went over the cake again this morning with a hot knife and some more ganache, trying to fill out any crevices or marks which I might have missed.  The sleeves are not quite even, and the top of the shirt curves slightly, but other than that, I am pretty happy with the shape.  The ganache also is fairly smooth and there aren't any glaring rough sections that I have noticed as yet.  I could have covered it with fondant today, but I chose not to because it is not needed until Sunday and once the fondant is on, you can't keep it in the fridge because the fondant will sweat and go soggy.  And I didn't want the colour to fade.  Hence, I will cover it with fondant tomorrow, and do the final decorations on Saturday.  And I will be using an interesting technique to make my fondant black.  I am partly excited and partly apprehensive about using said method.... so stay tuned as to what happens tomorrow...!

Making Gravy

I was making dinner last night, and whilst making the gravy, I thought that I could share a few tips and ideas as to making nice gravy that have helped me.  I used to make really bad gravy most of the time and lumpy and thin at the best of times.  But, since being at Tahlee, I have picked up a few good gravy ideas, so here goes... :)

The first tip is NOT to guess that you know how much gravy powder and water you need, but actually measure them out according to the directions on the packet.

1) Measure water in the saucepan  I generally use 3 cups of water because there are a lot of us who really like gravy... but it generally makes a little too much.  Based on the packet, you need 1 and 1/2 tablespoons for every cup.  (except this time I was using a different brand which claimed you needed 3 tablespoons.  Whatever.  :P)





2) Measure out the gravy mix into a separate bowl.  Heat the water on the stove until just simmering.  You don't want it to be simmering or boiling, otherwise the gravy will go lumpy.  It is ready when bubbles begin to appear on the bottom of the pot.  And if you are unsure when to go, earlier is better than later.

3) Whisk in the gravy mix, shaking it into the water.  Keep whisking furiously.  If it doesn't go lumpy in the first few moments of having added the powder, then you are pretty well safe.  If it is going to be ruined, then this will be the time.  It will go lumpy also if your water is too hot.

,
4) Continue to slowly whisk until the gravy is thick.  It is best not to let it boil.

And there you have it.  It took me quite a few times to get the temperature of the water right... and for the record, when you are making gravy for 50 people, there are a lot of lumps to pull out before you serve it!  That happened at Tahlee, so I went home and practised.  Now I am quite proud of my gravy making skills.  :P

* Disclaimer - the gravy I made last night didn't work as well as other times, I think that it due to the brand.  We normally just use the home-brand gravy mix, but for some reason we had this other one in the cupboard.  It was also gluten free, which I think didn't help the consistency.  That being said, it was a lot nicer today when I heated it up to put on our chicken sandwiches, maybe it just needed a bit of time!

Of Ships and Shoes....

Annie finally asleep.
 She is the one on the left...

At the moment, I am sitting next to Annie's cot, where she has finally dropped off to sleep.  She has been in bed for probably close to two hours, but only now have the 'shores of sleep' arrived.  So now I can type in peace... :P

~

I have been on a Swahili learning spree the past few days.  I have been trying to learn the language for quite some years now, and have recently been using the Before You Know It program, known, creatively, as Byki.  Byki has a large number of languages, and two programs: express and deluxe.  Express is free and contains quite a few word lists while the Deluxe version costs about $60 or so, and contains hundreds of lists, activites, test etc.  Although I have been doing a list every now and again, I have been really hitting it hard the past few days, hoping to surge ahead with it.  I now know over 160 words and phases in Swahili, ranging from '-a rangi ya urujuani' (purple) to 'Nimetuma maagizo ya kushika chumba' (I have a room reserved.)  The best part of the deluxe version is an activity where you can record yourself saying the word, and they will rate it from beginner to advanced.  I try to aim for halfway there.  Some words, such as 'Kwa heri' (goodbye) and 'Jina langu ni...' (my name is...) I can do quite well, almost advanced, but others such as 'restorenti' (restaurant) and 'Kuro' (deer) I am no where even close.  I cannot roll my 'r's, nor make a really hard 'k' sound.  The other one I have trouble with is 'Unasema Kiingereza' which is a worry, because that means 'Do you speak English?'

~

This Sunday is our Mission Sunday, and the missionaries we support are coming to speak.  They are only in Australia every two years, so it is a special service when they come and talk.  The GenKids (the kid's church for primary ages) are baking biscuits, cupcakes and slice to sell afterwards to raise money for the missionaries work.  Lately, James (10) has recently discovered that cooking is fun, and makes Anzac biscuits nearly every Tuesday afternoon, while some of us are at violin lessons.  Now he gets to put his skills to good use, as we will bring in a batch or two of Anzacs to sell.  We are also going to make some raisin slice, which is one of our Church's favourites.  Apparently, a lot of other people are bringing in chocolate based goods, so we tried to think up something different to do to create a variety.  It is surprising how hard it is to choose a recipe for slice or biscuits without chocolate!  

~

Dad and I went for a drive on the long weekend Monday, to the little town of Wollombi.  Wollombi is a historical town, and although people live there, is mainly a tourist attraction.  The main street, which comprises most of the town, is lined with small wooden shops, from little cafes to the 'general store' to restaurants and the museum on the corner.  The road from Wollombi to Sydney was built by the convicts and so much of the town's history stems from them.  Parts of the road which was built are still in use today.  On the Monday of every long weekend, Wollombi hosts a country fair.  However, by the time Dad and I got there, everyone was packing up, and so there wasn't much to see at all.  We went there to get some driving hours up.  It took an hour to get there, and a hour and a half to get home because we went a different way. 

~

This is a crankshaft pulley for those who
don't know and aren't interested

We have a car! Our Transit (which has 12 seats) has been broken down for the past week, and we have been restricted to the Corolla, (a measly five seater).  We have been having trouble getting the Transit to start for some while now, but the past few times it had been near impossible.  We had to roll start it down the hill of our driveway.  Anyway, last week when Mum went to start it, it wouldn't for ages.  And then finally it started up, but made a clunking noise.  Then the steering and the brakes seized up and then, horror of horrors, a piece from the engine just dropped out onto the ground!  Well, we weren't going anywhere until Dad got home from work with the little car.  Dad said that the piece which fell out was the crankshaft pulley (for those who are interested or who know what it is).  Being unable to buy the correct part in town, he bought the piece on Ebay and we had to wait for it to show up.  Thankfully, Dad was able to car pool with some work buddies all week, so we at least at a car which half of us could go somewhere in.  The part showed up yesterday, and Dad spent the evening on his back under the car fixing and replacing it.  So now we have a functioning car again!  

~

That has been some our week, and it is hard to believe that it is Ijumaa (Friday) again already!  I don't know where the week has gone.  It reminds me of the passage out of the Grandma's Attic books where Mabel asks her mother how to make time go more quickly.  Her mother replies, "Plan to do more things than what you have time for.  I know, I have been doing it for years."  It is true though, for the more you try and fit into your day, the quicker the time goes, and sometimes, the less you get done.  Are the days really meant to go that quickly, I wonder?  Something to think about anyway... 

~

By the way, if you are wondering where the title of the post comes from...it comes from the 'Walrus and the Carpenter' by Lewis Caroll, part of which is:

Ships and shoes and sealing wax.

Cabbages and Kings

There is a lot more to it than that, but that is the part I know.  Basically, it means this post is about anything and everything that I could think of, and there is no real rhyme or reason to it at all.  :)

Book Review: Rescue the Captors

I found this book, 'Rescue the Captors' by Russell Stendal on Kindle... for free!  As I am into missionary biographies, I was eager to give it a go.  It was excellent.

Basically, the story line is Russell is a missionary in Columbia, gets captured by Marxists guerrillas who want a ransom for him to help pay their rebellion.  Russell decides to love his captors rather than grow bitter and angry at the mistreatment and torture he receives from them, and not only is he allowed to leave the camp after 142 days in captivity, he goes back and visits his captors, leading many of them to Christ in the years to come.  Most of the book is written while he is in captivity, and throughout the book you also learn about his early life as a child and then his growing up years and his married years.  Russell's parents were well to do standard American people, when Russell decided to pray that his parents would become missionaries so that he wouldn't have to wait until he was grown up to tell others about Jesus.  His parents had no intention of going anywhere when Russell prayed as a four year old.  Four years later, the family found themselves in Columbia working with the Indians, their language and translating the Bible.  Russell grew up among the Indians, did college via distant education so he could remain with his parents, and thoroughly enjoyed his life.  His parents moved back to the States when Russell was grown up, but he remained, married a half native girl, and continued his work.  As a young missionary, Russell made many mistakes, trying to fit God into his big, illustrious plans for the work instead of allowing God to make the plans.  Russell got into massive debts, for God's Kingdom, and came very near to entering the drug trade just to make ends meet. However, God taught him important lessons about keeping to His morals, and money management.

But that really isn't the main point of the book, although it is interesting and a good read in itself.  The main point of the book revolves around marriage, family and the church, and Matthew 5-7.  Russell realized that the church in Columbia wasn't growing and thriving because there was no solid families in the Church.  People would become Christians, and then their families would break apart, their marriages would split, and all because the new found Christians would become Bible bashers in the hope to be witnesses to the rest of their families, and then the families would point out all the areas where they still failed, call them hypocrites, and the fighting and separation would begin.  Russell's friend, Ricardo, was also very concerned about this problem and prayed that God would give him a sermon, like the one which Jesus preached in Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount). which would solve all of Columbia's marriage and family problems.  God told him, 'Matthew 5-7'.  Basically, all that was needed, he already had.  Ricardo started to study the Sermon on the Mount, and Russell joined him.  They unlocked many of the truths and the healing powers within the sermon, and consequently have run marriage workshops, where thousands of marriages have been restored over the years.  Not only have they been restored, but the couple comes to God, and their entire lives are turned around.  Even non-Christian couples signed up for the course, because they could see the difference which it was making.  The book outlines many of the different truths found in Matthew 5-7, which relate to marriage and family life, but also to forgiveness, prayer, love and relationships in general.

Rescue the Captors is an amazing, though provoking book and I highly recommend it.  It is not the easiest read, simply because of the thoughts which it raises, however it is well worth the effort.  At the end, there a several appendixes, where he further outlines and covers different sections of the Sermon, from the Beatitudes to the Lord's Prayer.  Russell also includes five beautiful poems written by a lady named Doris McLaughlin, whose troubled marraige and family life were restored after she decided to start putting Jesus' teachings into full effect.  And He gave her these poems.  They are so beauitful and well written, but I will only put one down here, you will have to read the book to find the others.

  Line Upon Line

Line upon line,

Precept upon precept,

Higher than high

Live unto me.

Fellowship sweet,

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

Lift up your hands,

and lift up your voice.

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

Life up your voice 

and life up your hands.

Line upon line

Precept upon precept,

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

I am your Lord.

I am your Savior

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

Lift up your hands,

and lift up your voice.

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

I am your Lord.

I am your Savior.

Line upon line

Precept upon precept,

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

Higher than high,

Live unto me.

~ Doris McLaughlin