It is difficult to define Hiraeth, but to me it means the consciousness of man being out of his home area and that which is dear to him. That is why it can be felt even among a host of peoples amidst nature's beauty. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
. . like a Christian yearning for Heaven. . .
Monday, March 31, 2008 at 01:52PM March came in like a lion and it's going out like, well, like a duck. Or maybe a fish. It has been raining for hours and everything is sopping wet. Huge puddles, water over the streets in some places, muddy doggy paws. . .March is making a wet, sloppy exit.
Good riddance, March! See you next year!
Monday, March 31, 2008 at 06:52AM 
This week's weight loss--1 pound.
Total weight loss--8.0 pounds.
Fitness Averages per day:
miles per day: 1.5
calories burned per workout: 185 (tallied only during the treadmill portion plus whatever is burned during the exercise portion)
carbs burned per workout: 22 (same as above)
speed/incline: varies throughout workout. Highest level 3.5 speed/4.0 incline
Exercise has now become an easy routine for me. I find myself looking for ways to be active and I've added a few, short additional routines that have boosted my stats just a little bit. I've learned that it's important to increase repetitions and sets as they become really easy; walk a little farther, walk a little faster.
I wasn't very good with my portions again last week. Not horrible, but not as careful as I should be. (I had seconds yesterday--I felt guilty but is there anything more tempting than Sunday beef roast, mashed potatoes and gravy?) I think, maybe, it's easier to get soft on portions when I consider how much exercise I am getting. That could be a real black hole if I let that thinking get established, so I'm resolved to do better.
Should be fairly easy this week. I'll be having my EP study this Friday and will likely be in the hospital until Monday morning, so the second half of the week means hospital food. Ahem. Exercising will be hampered, though, so it could be a wash for next week. Don't have any idea how soon I can get back to my regular exercise routine when I get home, so I may be depending upon just the portion control for awhile so now's the time to get serious again!
If you're playing along, how did you do this week?
Check out Ellen's progress! She's just jumped to a whole new level! Great job, Ellen! You encourage me to keep going!
Mighty Mom has joined the Brown Plate Special and is making great progress!
Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 06:42PM 
I'm sitting here blogging, perched oh-so-carefully atop my exercise ball. I learned that if you trade your chair for an exercise ball, you can burn up to 350 calories per day (if you work an 8 hour day) with the added benefit of strengthening your core, achieving balance, improving posture and circulation, and just generally getting fitter.*
Know what? I feel a little silly but once you get used to it, it's very comfortable. I don't think I'll be sitting on the ball at the drawing board or anything, but I do think I'll keep using it at the computer for awhile.
If you have an exercise ball, give it a go and let me know what you think.
*If you have or develop back pain, give up the exercise ball chair. It can exacerbate some skeletal problems.
Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 06:50AM O! Thou Who art!
Ecclesiastes names Thee the Almighty; Maccabees names Thee Creator; the Epistle to the Ephesians names The Liberty; Baruch names Thee Immensity; the Psalms names Thee Wisdom and Truth; John names Thee Light; The book of Kings names Thee Lord; Exodus calls Thee Providence; Leviticus, Holiness; Esdras, Justice; Creation calls Thee God; man names Thee Father; but Solomon names Thee Compassion, and that is the most beautiful of all Thy names.
Monseigneur Bienvenu
Victor Hugo, Les Miserables
Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 06:00AM The God of Abraham Praise
The God of Abraham praise,
Who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days,
And God of love:
Jehovah! great I AM!
By earth and heav'n confessed;
I bow and bless the sacred name,
For ever blest.
The God of Abraham praise,
At whose supreme command
From earth I rise, and seek the joys
At his right hand:
I all on earth forsake,
Its wisdom, fame, and power;
And him my only portion make,
My Shield and Tower.
He by himself hath sworn,
I on his oath depend;
I shall, on eagle's wings upborne,
To heav'n ascend:
I shall behold his face,
I shall his power adore,
And sing the wonders of his grace
For evermore.
The goodly land I see,
With peace and plenty blest,
A land of sacred liberty
And endless rest;
There milk and honey flow,
And oil and wine abound,
And trees of life for ever grow,
With mercy crowned.
There dwells the Lord our King,
The Lord our righteousness;
Triumphant over the world and sin,
The Prince of Peace
On Zion's sacred height
His kingdom still maintains,
And glorious with his saints in light
For ever reigns.
The whole triumphant host
Give thanks to God on high;
Hail Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
They ever cry:
Hail Abraham's God and mine!
I join the heavenly lays
All might and majesty are thine,
And endless praise.
Friday, March 28, 2008 at 07:22PM My good friend, Elle, tagged me today for a very special meme. Here's how it goes:
1. Post a picture or make/take/create your own that captures that about which YOU are most passionate for students to learn. (Mine is below.
2. Give your picture a short title.
3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt.”
4. Link back to this blog entry.
5. Include links to 5 (or more) educators.
Evangelism
Saint Philip Baptizing the Eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia, 1854 (?)
Théodore Chassériau (French, 1819–1856)
Oil, gouache, black chalk on paper glued to canvas; 32 1/8 x 14 3/4 in. (81.6 x 37.5 cm)
Private Collection
This painting depicts a passage from Acts 8:
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
As a Bible study leader, I greatly desire that each one of us know the Gospel and the implications of the Gospel so well that, like Philip, we can begin with any passage in the Old or New Testament and use it as a jumping off point for proclaiming the Gospel. Presently, I lead a Bible Study in the Book of Hebrews and each week, after we have finished our lesson, we talk about how, beginning with the verses we studied,we would do as Philip did and begin to share the Gospel with someone.
Elle's blog (along with the other "tagees" Rosemary, Lisa) have inspired and encouraged me so many, many times. I'm grateful to have an opportunity to participate in this meme. Thanks, Elle!
I'd like to tag Dorothy (who is my dear friend and one of my "real life" Bible study partners), Kim, Rebecca, Leslie, and Ann. As always, no pressure! I'd love to read your answers, but don't feel obligated if you're busy!
Kim from Hiraeth
Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 05:55PM 
Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 07:09AM Look what I found at Rosemary's this morning: a new toy!
This chart was generated at the website, Calorie-Count.com.
To give it a try, I chose a very simple recipe--basic crepes. Partly because it is a simple and straightforward recipe and partly because I've been making crepes a lot lately (one fits very nicely on my little brown plate).
106 calories isn't much, is it? Now, let's compare that to one FILLED Creamy Spicy Sausage Crepe:
Add them both together and one filled crepe--well, you do the math. (Recipe gets an A+, but the filling gets a Nutrition Grade of D+. Must've been the veggies that saved it from total failure!)
Thanks, Rosemary!
Kim from Hiraeth
I've been playing around with this a little more and discovered that you can get the nutrition facts for individual ingredients by clicking on it's name below the chart. This could help you make adjustments with the recipe. If half and half is the big culprit, see what substituting milk might do to lower the fat and calorie count for the recipe.
Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 06:47AM 
You can read more 15 minutes or less poems by visiting our hostess, Laura Salas.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 11:19AM Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 09:48AM Yes, I'm chatty today.
I've already recommended some reading, now I'm going to recommend a "must watch" video, this time from Ligonier's blog, RC Sproul, and Ben Stein.
Kim from Hiraeth
Oh, I guess I should plug Ben Stein's movie: Expelled:No Intelligence Allowed, opening nationwide on April 18th.
Are you going to see it?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 08:32AM The connection between Corned Beef Hash and Hiraeth--the saga continues.
Search engine queries for corned beef hash are legendary here at Hiraeth. I don't think a day goes by that I don't have several hits due to corned beef hash. All year long and from all corners of the globe. It's apparently very popular in the Middle East; Iraq, Iran, Turkey--places I wouldn't expect it to be known, let alone (apparently) craved.
During the run up to Saint Patrick's Day it was nuts. A few days before St. Patrick's day a full 58 percent of all hits on my blog came from searches for corned beef hash recipes.
I expected it to drop way back once St. Patrick's Day was over but the volume of corned beef hash hits has not abated--until today.
I am happy to report that, apparently, the whole world realizes that if one is going to use one's leftover corned beef to make hash, one needs to do it within a week of preparing the corned beef in the first place.
I guess more people listen to their moms' "one week" rule than I thought!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 07:44AM repine \rih-PINE\, intransitive verb:
1. To feel or express discontent.
2. To long for something.
I was surprised to see the primary meaning of this word. I've always thought the second definition was the primary, indeed only, definition.
At first glance, the definitions seem disparate, but on second glance it makes sense. In order for one to long for something, one must assuredly feel at least some discontent. If one were totally content, there would be no longing, or would there be?
Which brought this quote to mind:
Contentment is a divine thing: It becomes ours, not by acquisition, but infusion; it is a slip taken off from the tree of life, and planted by the spirit of God in the soul; it is a fruit that grows not in the garden of philosophy, but is of a heavenly birth: it is therefore very observable that contentment is joined with godliness, and is profitable: "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim.6:6).
Contentment is an intrinsical thing: Contentment hath both fountain and stream in the soul…Thieves may plunder us of our money and plate, but not of this pearl of contentment, unless we are willing to part with it, for it is locked up in the cabinet of the heart; the soul which is possessed of this rich treasure of contentment, is like Noah in the ark, that can sing in the midst of a deluge"
Contentment is a habitual thing: It shines with a fixed light in the firmament of the soul. Contentment does not appear only now and then, as some stars which are seen but seldom; it is a settled attitude of the heart. (p.12)
Thomas Watson, the Art of Divine Contentment (1855)
There exists a for the Christian a contentment that is complete and yet allows for the soul to long for--to repine. It is both a "settled attitude of the heart" as well as a discontent with this world and this present life.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it this way:
It is difficult to define hiraeth, but to me it means the consciousness of man being out of his home area and that which is dear to him. That is why it can be felt even among a host of peoples amidst nature's beauty. . . like a Christian yearning for Heaven. . .
C.S. Lewis, this way:
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.
Paul puts it this way:
Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
John says this:
1 John 3:3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Monday, March 24, 2008 at 07:07PM Has anyone else noticed a significant decrease in spam over the last few days? Every morning I'd have to go in an sort through well over 100 spam messages in my Yahoo account. For the past three or four days, I've had next to 'no' spam.
Was there a big sting operation and multiple arrests of spammers last week? Or has Yahoo just improved it from their end? (or maybe the replica watch people read my last spam post)
Whichever it is, I'm a happy camper.
Monday, March 24, 2008 at 08:42AM Basic Crepe Recipe (or make your own favorite basic crepes)
1 c. all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1/4 salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
(makes about 8 crepes; Nutrition Facts are for crepes only)
The filling is my own concoction:
Prepare crepes ahead of time. Keep warm.
Saute' 1/4 c. (each) finely diced sweet onion and red pepper in 1 t. butter and 1 t. olive oil. until tender. Cook 4 spicy sausage patties in microwave and dice. Add to onions and peppers. Add about 2 oz. cream cheese, cubed, and a handful of shredded mild cheddar to the pan and then add enough half and half to make a cheese sauce. (Let the cheese melt and only add enough of the half and half to bring it all together--you know what it should look like)
Fill crepes and serve immediately topped with room temperature sour creme, thinned with a little milk.
(As always, all measurements are approximate--I don't measure when I cook)
Monday, March 24, 2008 at 08:32AM My friend ukrainiac, who blogs at The Heart of the Matter, tagged me for a meme while I was on my bloggy break. Well, I'm back now and ready to go!
Here are the rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. (I'm only going to tag one this time around, but anyone is invited to play!)
And here’s the meme:
What I was doing 10 years ago:
Ten years ago, it was spring in South Central Kentucky and we were preparing to move to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was homeschooling two boys; Jake was in 7th grade and Sam was in first.
Five things are on my To Do List today:
1. Mail my grand-niece's birth announcements
2. Work on a bloggy button for Lex Venit's Reading Group
3. Clean up dog poo (on my 'never-ending-every-day' list)
4. 25 minutes on the treadmill
5. Clean out the fridge
Snacks I enjoy permit myself:
almonds
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
I have no idea. I don't think I have the wisdom to handle that much money. I'm sure I don't have a good enough imagination to come up with anything more specific than that I would desire to promote the Gospel, help people, and invest it in such a way that it would fund God honoring ministries.
Three of my bad habits:
Forgetting and/or misplacing my glasses.
Forgetting to release the shower pull when I'm finished showering (the next person gets doused from above when they turn on the spigot.)
Forgetting to charge my cell phone. (Not sure why I even have one; I never use it. It sits on top of my husband's dresser and I charge it when it starts beeping at us in the middle of the night. . .)
Five places I have lived:
Starting from here and working backwards…
1. Chicagoland, Illinois
2. Brunswick, Ohio
3. Lancaster, PA
4. Glasgow, KY
5. Ashland, Ohio
Five jobs I’ve had:
1. Waitress
2. Dental Chairside Assistant
3. Cross stitch pattern designer
4. Preschool teacher
5. Calligrapher
I'm going to tag my good friend, Dorothy, who just started her own blog, Field Stone Cottage.
Monday, March 24, 2008 at 07:09AM It's Monday morning again; time to weigh in and post results.
I didn't post my results last week because I was taking a break from blogging, so I'm combining the last two weeks in today's post.
Two week's weight loss--1 pound.
Total weight loss--7.0 pounds.
Fitness Averages per day:
miles per day: 1.11
calories burned per workout: 140 (tallied only during the treadmill portion plus whatever is burned during the exercise portion)
carbs burned per workout: 17.5 (same as above)
speed/incline: varies throughout workout. Highest level 3.5 speed/4.0 incline
I've worked up to doing one of the preset total body workouts now. It's a 25 minute program that automatically changes the speed and incline and stops 4 times so you can get off the treadmill and do regular exercises with the exercise ball and hand weights. Along with the hand weight exercises, I have added abdominal crunches, lunges, ball squats, and a couple of other ones that escape me at the moment. The whole thing takes about a half hour to complete, but I'm only on the treadmill once a day instead of several, shorter periods. It'll take some time before I'm able to move to the next preset program--it's 45 minutes long with higher incline and faster speeds, so my fitness numbers will be fairly static for a while.
I can tell a real difference in stamina and endurance and even though my weight loss is slow, I am beginning to exchange fat for muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, right?
I confess, though, that my portion size has been sneaking up a little so I'm going to be more careful this week and see if that makes a difference in next week's numbers.
If you want to join me, click on the image in the side bar. That'll take you to the first post with all the information. This is do-able!
Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 08:32AM Ah, holy Jesus
