The Unlikely Shmo

The Unlikely Shmo is someone like you and me.
Someone who is average. Someone like...

Gideon
David
Mary
Peter
Esther
Rahab
Noah
Abraham
Moses
Paul
Joseph
...

But all these people have something in common...
BOLD FAITH.

God called each one of them to TRUST HIS STRENGTH rather than their own and 'go for it.'

Gideon tore down his dad's altar to Baal and fought a huge army with only 300 men.
Esther went before Xerxes with the possibility of dying to save her people.
Moses went to his brother and requested for the Israelites to be set free.
Peter was unschooled but had the courage to preach God's word to all.

In every situation these people were blessed and rewarded for stepping out in BOLD FAITH.

Why?

God's Miraculous Power

so...

The Unlikely Shmo + Bold Faith =
God's Power

That is what we are called to do as Christ followers.


So what if we don't...What's the opposite???

"I'm the man" ideology + Self-Reliance =
God's opposition


I think I choose the first!!!

(from Mark Arant's sermon on 8/28/11)

Room Remodel #1

So I have been working on getting our space all put together in our new place. Nothing too major just painting the walls and putting stuff up. Here are before and after pictures of our bedroom. I've been working on the bathroom slowly as well but still have to paint and do a few other things.

BEFORE PICTURES

View #1- Before

View #2- Before

View #3- Before/During :)


AFTER PICTURES

View #1- After

View #2- After

View #3- After

And the closet...

More to come...

White Coat Ceremony

Matt was OFFICIALLY inducted into Pharmacy School on Saturday with his White Coat Ceremony. There was a wonderful program and fun little desserts afterwards. After the program, Matt's family and my family went back to our house and had lunch/hung out. It was great! What a wonderful day.

Matt... I am so proud of you. You have worked so hard and I know you are going to do great these next four years! Way to go!!!

Matt getting his coat. (Sorry it's such bad quality)

Me and my future pharmacist!

Brian attempting to pick Matt up... didn't quite work... but thanks Rachel and Brian for coming!

Matt's parents; Tom and Yvonne

The two girls Matt studied with all through undergrad. They had all the same classes. They are now attending DMU and have their white coat ceremony next weekend. They are a great support group for Matt.

Life update...

Here's a quick update of my current life... all about to change.

-Married and LIVING WITH Matt.
(we are going to start living in 2 places on Monday)

-Living in the basement of Mike and Lianne's house.
(moving into the basement of Angela and Josh Evans on Monday)

-Been re-doing our room and bathroom.
(Painting, hanging pictures, etc... pictures coming when it's all done)

-Working at Chick-fil-A full time.
(I will only work Fridays and Saturdays starting next week)

-Enjoying the freedom of summer.
(School starts Monday)

-Went to Wisconsin with Matt, Nicole and Chris to see our cousins a few weekends ago.

-Had 3 weddings this summer and a few more to go this fall.

-Matt has been working full time for the Iowa Athletic Department.
(Starting today he is IN PHARMACY SCHOOL and only working a few hours a week)

-Transitioning nicely to the Iowa City area.
(Still working on getting acquainted with everything... only to now move back to Cedar Falls)

-Finished Summer School... I took 10 credits this summer.
(And school starts again after a 3 week break)

-Have almost gotten used to writing my name as 'Amy Farley'
(I can't change my name at UNI due to some complications so I may have to go back to writing it the old way.)

So that's a quick update... nothing too exciting but life is great and I love it!

Barefoot Cupcakes

Tonight I had a craving to make some cupcakes... although I had lots of other things to do I followed my craving and I am very glad I did. Here's the product...

Coconut Cupcakes
From the Kitchen of Ina Garten
(Barefoot Contessa, 1999)

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 T white vinegar mixed with 1 cup (minus 1 T) milk)
  
• 14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the frosting: (I made half of this and had leftovers)

• 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

OH SOOO GOOD!!! You gotta love you some Barefoot Contessa.

Basement Dwellers

We are currently in the middle of moving out of our apartment. We have lived here for 2 months and have enjoyed it a lot, however in order to save money we are joining Nicole, Chris, Rachel and Brian Farley in the...

Basement Dwellers Club!

We are moving in with Mike and Lianne Farley.

I think we should make shirts for all the Farleys. Ours can say Basement Dwellers Club Members and Mike and Lianne can be the presidents or something. :)

Mike and Lianne just bought a BEAUTIFUL house in North Liberty and we are very excited to join them.

Here's a few reasons:

1. Get to know them better.
2. Play with Ben... their ADORABLE 1 year old.
3. Get to welcome he/she baby 2 in January with them.
4. Have LOTS of Foosball tournaments.
5. Have very close community with them.
6. Be encouraged daily by their strong faiths.
7. Make wonderful desserts with Lianne... because she rocks at them!
8. Learn from their marriage.
9. Have a walk-in closet and reading nook in our room.
10. Save money from entering into our debt-load.

Thanks for letting us move in Mike and Lianne... you guys are the BEST!

(a few pictures from our current apartment... new pictures to come.)

Joshua 9

We went to church on Sunday at Veritas here in Coralville and I loved the sermon. We went last week as well and really enjoyed the sermon. You can read about it here on my sister-in-laws blog. But this week it was on Joshua 9. The series they are doing right now is called Narratives and is all about

MODERN TRUTH IN ANCIENT STORIES.

The story is about the Gibeons and how they came to Joshua and tricked him into making an alliance with them, which God warned against in Deuteronomy 20. There were 3 observations made and I loved them

OBSERVATION #1:
You can come close to God without ever really coming to Him.

-Faith is the receiving of what another has done for you. Many "receive" Christ without any change in their lives... "receiving" Him as their forgiver (so they are guilt free), protector (for their own benefit), etc... rather than as a benefit to Him.

OBSERVATION #2:
Receiving God is receiving Him as supremely valuable.

-v.14- The Israelites didn't do this as opposed to Rahab (another OT story) who saw God as more valuable than ANYTHING else. We must do the same and put Him above all else, even ourselves and our desires.

OBSERVATION #3:
You don't ever get strong enough to move on from Christ.

-v. 14- The Israelites didn't seek God's counsel and therefore made a covenant with the Gibeons which eventually hurt them drastically and turned them away from Christ. Christ is all-sufficient, but we quickly get distracted. These distractions can even be our Christian "badges" (going to church, underlining in our Bibles, having thick journals, etc.).

REALITY: WE ARE CONSTANTLY SINNING!

Do you see God as supremely valuable and central to your life?