Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise)

Ok, so I have to let on a few secrets:- Confession number 1- I have always dreamed of going to Hillsong Conference. Like seriously ever since I first heard as a young teenager that there was such a thing - I wanted to go. This year I had registered, and then after a series of events have unfolded, I had to defer my registration to next year. I have this absolute near devastation that I'm not going, but at the same time I can accept why. There will be other Hillsong Conferences, but I wont have the opportunity to spend time with a particular loved one for all that much longer. I do believe it was a little bit God-orchestrated that my holidays from work were approved, and everything else fell into place so that I would have time off at the moment. I just didn't realise the actual reason it would end up being for! Confession number 2- I have always dreamed of being present at a Hillsong Live album recording! This came true a little bit at Colour Conference this year. You see, Brooke Ligertwood (better known as Brooke Fraser) and her husband Scott wrote one of the most amazing worship songs I have ever heard, and when the Hillsong worship team heard it - they decided that it HAD to be on the new record! Problem - the album had already been recorded in October! and this was in March! Solution - they recorded it at the very end of Colour Conference! Sydney Entertainment Centre PACKED FULL of women, faith abounding, and Annie Garrett leading, I was present for a song being recorded! Pretty cool!! So this week, as I think about all the awesome and amazing things happening in Sydney, and my heart is yearning to be in Sydney and a part of it, I will be singing this song at the top of my lungs!! It's a song of victory, a song of declaration, a salvation song. A reminder of who we are, because of who HE is! It's one of VERY FEW songs that is guaranteed to put a smile on my face every time I hear it. Here are the lyrics:- "Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise)" This is my revelation Christ Jesus crucified Salvation through repentance At the cross on which He died Now here my absolution Forgiveness for my sin And I sink beneath the waters That Christ was buried in I will rise (But now I rise) I will rise As Christ was raised to life Now in Him Now in Him I live I stand a new creation Baptised in blood and fire No fear of condemnation By faith I'm justified I rise as You are risen Declare Your rule and reign My life confess Your Lordship And glorify Your Name Your word it stands eternal Your kingdom knows no end Your praise goes on forever And on and on again No power can stand against You No curse assault Your throne No one can steal Your glory For it is Yours alone I stand to sing Your praises I stand to testify For I was dead in my sin

With Everything...

It's one of my favourite worship songs of all time...(ok, I know I have quite a few!! But this is right at the top of the shortlist!) "With Everything"... the name alone catches my attention! But I've heard it again just today, and I was thinking about what it is that makes me love the song so much... It's because it challenges me. With EVERYTHING. Everything. Do I praise God with *EVERYTHING* or am I guilty of holding some back? (The most common answer is yes!) This song doesn't make me feel comfortable! Far from it!! It pushes me to go past my comfortable, safe little boundaries and give God more than I ever have before..... This song reminds me that its all about Jesus. The One who gave EVERYTHING of Himself, for all of us. The One who gave EVERYTHING perfection on earth, for everything imperfect. Basically, this song challenges me. I like songs that challenge me. I'm not happy to be complacent or satisfied with "nice" Christianity. This song stretches my heart - With Everything...

My Soup Recipes!

So the other day I made soup! And I said that I was going to put the recipes on here - so here's what I can remember!

 

 

 

Lamb, Rosemary and Potato

2 Lamb shanks

Small packet of diced lamb (just a few hundred grams to add a bit more meat)
about 6-8 potatoes

an onion

probably about 2-3 tablespoons of rosemary (I used the Gourmet Garden tubed stuff)

about 2L of boiling water

So I fried the onion in a big boiler pot with the lamb (even the shanks) until the meat was just starting to brown, and then I added about 2 tablespoons of Rosemary (ok,....probably more than that! I'm pretty generous with the amount of herbs I add to things!) and once that had cooked a little bit more I added the hot water (just an electric jug-full - pretty simple!) and then I let that boil until the meat was falling off the bones. Once it got to that stage I fished out the bones (use tongs!) and cut all the meat off them and into smaller pieces, and returned it to the pot. Then I added the potatoes (peeled and chopped up smallish) and when they were cooked to the point of starting to fall apart, I added about another tablespoon of Rosemary (to freshen the flavour up!) and then took it off the stove. I let it cool a bit, and then I scooped out (with this big strainer spoon thingy that we've never found a good use for - until now!) about half of the chunky lamb and potato (cuz I wanted chunks in my soup) and then I got the hand stick blender whizzer thing and blitzed the liquid and remaining meat and potato, then added the chunks back in and voila! My Lamb, Rosemary and Potato soup! :)

Chicken and Veggie

A whole chicken (with the legs and wings removed, and washed to make sure no guts were still inside...)

A medium to large Leek

a bouquet garni sachet

2L Boiling water (or probably closer to 3 or 4 to get the chicken under water!!)

generous squeeze of thyme, oregano and chives

about 6 medium carrots

half a cauliflower

2 or 3 potatoes

about a head of broccoli

about 100ml of lactose free cream

So I fried the leek in a little bit of oil, then added the chicken and water, so that there was enough water to fully submerge the chicken (at this point, I would probably recommend taking the chicken apart at the ribs....if you try this recipe, you'll understand what I mean! ;) otherwise you need LOTS of water!) this is when I added the bouquet garni, and the fresh herbs and let it boil until the chicken was falling off the bones. Fish out the chicken, and pull all the meat off the bones and put the meat back in. Add the veggies (all chopped up fairly smallish). Cook that until the veggies are done, and then let it cool a bit. Then I used the weird spoon strainer thingy again, scooped out about half of the chunks, and then blitzed the liquid half with the cream (which made it not quite so brothy), and then added the chunks back in. And that is my Chicken and Veggie soup!

When I make my Bacon, Leek, Cauliflower, Broccoli and Carrot soup again I'll have to take a pic and upload the recipe for it too! It's YUMMY!!

Testing, testing, 1,2,3....

Ok... so here goes! My first blog....hopefully this shows up lol!