September is upon us. Soon the leaves will start changing and it will be difficult to get away from pumpkin flavored everything. Sweater weather is almost here.
Since music is such an important way for me to document things in my life, example: when I hear Taylor Swift's album Red I think of my Freshman year of University when I walked over to Walmart to buy the album with a freshman named Amy who would then become my best friend.
I thought I'd start this new series for the beginning of each month with songs that fit into my life at that given moment. Here is what I'll be bopping around campus to this month:
This week on Recipe Monday I will be sharing with you my Cold Brew coffee recipe.
Cold brew coffee is when coffee grounds are steeped in room temperature, filtered water for an extended period of time. It is then strained and stored for up to two weeks. This method of making coffee has multiple benefits as it lasts a long period of time and the coffee has a sweeter taste due to its lower acidity.
What You'll Need - Ingredients
How To Make It - Directions
The steps to make cold brew coffee are really easy. For every cup of ground coffee you will need one litre of filtered water. If you want your coffee to have any flavour, such as vanilla or hazelnut just add a few tablespoon of your choice flavour extract. This step is completely optional but it adds a different dimension of flavour to your morning cup.
And that's it! Stick that jar on the counter with a cloth or light lid on it and wait 18+ hours. I wait about 24 hours so the cold brew coffee is a little stronger.
After the coffee has steeped for the amount of time you want it to it's time to strain it. I strain it twice - once to get rid of the big stuff and a second time through a paper towel to get the little stuff out. It may seem silly to strain it twice but trust me once you see the paper towel covered in coffee grounds you'll appreciate the second strain.
After you strain your cold brew coffee pour it into a sealable container, such as a mason jar, and store your new coffee in the fridge.
This recipe will make one and a half mason jars of cold brew coffee. You only need about 4-5 tablespoons for a cup of coffee in the morning and fill the rest of your mug with hot water. This will be the first time your coffee will come in contact with hot water and because of that you won't have the acidic taste. You may find that you don't need any cream or sugar with this since the coffee's natural sweetness will be shining through.
Now pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy your amazing, homemade cold brew coffee!
(And if you are looking for something to eat while drinking your morning cup of coffee, why not try some homemade donuts!)
On this Easter weekend I am reminded of many things. The sacrifice my Savior made so that I may be wiped clean from all my guilt and shame. The excruciating pain that my Creator placed upon His Son that was mine to endure. The fact that I may now freely approach the throne of an Almighty God and be embraced by Him and to be called His daughter.
A lot of things have been going through my mind this Easter Weekend.
It might seem odd, but I get it now. I get Easter. It took me almost 22 years of being in the church to actually understand it. Easter is not an excuse for me to eat those delicious peanut butter and chocolate Reese eggs or Cadbury Mini Eggs. Easter is about something much, much bigger.
A few days ago I was looking through an old journal from my time in the Middle East three years ago and found the words of 1 Corinthians 5:54-55 messily written across the page
Those verses have always been quite powerful to me. Christ's work on the cross has removed all the power that death had over us. Because of His death we no longer die. Yes we die to sin, and yes are to die to our old habits and sinful ways but we no longer have to fear death. Because of His death and because of His resurrection three days later and because He is alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father we are no longer dead but alive and we can face tomorrow with that assurance.
Because of Christ's work on the cross our sins are no longer remembered by the Father. They are blotted out from God's mind. Our slate is wiped clean. We are no longer seen as worthless, filthy rags but as beautiful garments worthy of the King.
We are clean!
Take a minute and rest on that truth. We are clean.
Think of all the horrible things you've done in your life. I know for myself I don't have to think that hard. We all have those horrible things that we regret. Those things that if we had the power we would not hesitate to undo. But we no longer need to be ashamed of what we've done and how we've failed. The Father no longer sees us like that. We are as clean as Christ when He walked this earth two thousand years ago.
We know how the story ends. Christ has won! We know that He is not in the tomb as the angel told the women who went there, "He is not here, for he has risen!"
He has risen indeed! He is alive!
Death has no sting. Death has no victory.
We are no longer bound our sin. We are clean.
*Written January 16th 2015. Posted January 28th 2015*
This is my final Spring semester at Liberty University. That's really weird to think about. I feel super old yet that I'll be done so soon and entering the real world outside the Liberty bubble. But I also feel really young. Didn't I just have my ballet birthday party a few years ago?
Last semester stretched me in ways that in all honesty I didn’t want to be stretched. I failed greatly at things I didn’t think I would ever fail at. I lost people I didn’t think I would lose for a long time. I relied on my own strength to deal with things that I could not deal with alone. In short, it was not the greatest year.
Don’t get me wrong - a lot of wonderful things happened last year but when you look at it on a scale of the good and the bad, the bad kinda out weighed the good.
However today, January 16 2015, at Convocation we sang the song Let It Be Jesus by Christy Nockels & Passion Band which is one of my new favourite worship songs. The last time we sang this song as a school was during Jon Gregoire’s memorial service.
Let it be Jesus
The first name that I call
Let it be Jesus
My song inside the storm
I'll never need another
For me, to live is Christ
For me, to live is Christ
God I breathe Your name above everything
Let it be, Let it be Jesus
Should I ever be abandoned
Should I ever be acclaimed
Should I ever be surrounded by the fire and the flame
There's a name I will remember
There's a name I will proclaim
Let it be, Let it be Jesus
This song reminded me of what I am striving to be. A women who calls, not on her mother, sister, roommate or friend when I'm going through struggles (though those people are important and I should be in communication with them when I'm struggling) but calls on Jesus.
As much as my parents, siblings, or friends might want to save me from things in my life - they really can't. Only Christ can completely save me. Only Christ can save me from my stupidity, from my sin, from my hateful actions. Only Christ can save me from me. Which is something I will never be able to fathom cause I do a lot of stupid things. A. Lot.
But as the song says:
“Should I ever be abandoned or acclaimed.
Surrounded by the fire and the flame.There’s a name I will remember, there's a name I will proclaim.
Let it be Jesus."
Even when I don’t deserve it - which lets face it, is all the time - Christ looks at this messed up person and says “I want her." Even when I don't want Him - which is crazy because I should only want Him - He still wants me.
And the love Christ has for me is not dependent of anything I do (thank goodness!). So when I choose not to call on Christ and rely on my own strength, he will still love and embrace me.
It reminds me of a J. D. Greear quote someone posted on Facebook recently which I will end with.
"God, I thank You that I'm not saved by the warmth of my love for You." - J. D. Greear
Authors Note: I understand that this post is very discombobulated however I have left it as I found it in my draft folder.
This past weekend a Liberty student passed away in a tragic accident. And while I did not have the pleasure of knowing Jon Gregoire personally, I have learned a few things from this young man of God.
I have been reminded that our lives are so short. We don't know what tomorrow will hold. We don't know what 10 years down the road will look like, let alone 10 days from now, or 10 hours from now. We have no clue when our days on this earth will be over.
We just know that we have this moment - this exact moment which God has given us - to do something to further His kingdom.
With Jon Gregoire's passing I feel compelled to make every day, every moment count. I can't help but think of a song I used to hear on my way to school as a child by Nichole Nordeman called Legacy. The lyrics of the chorus go:
"I want to leave a legacy, how will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to you enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering..."
I was not blessed to know Jon personally, but I have been touched by his unapologetic love of his Savior. He has touched so many lives and he is continuing to touch lives and point them to Christ.
You will be missed Jon. Thank you for continually pointing us to Christ. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. - Philippians 1:21
