some thoughts...

yesterday at church i was struck by a theme. the pastor was talking about how the Kingdom of God is near, the time is now and we as a body of Christ need to live for God now and move by him and for him in our lives. the passage was from Mark 4:21-32 if i remember right. the metaphor he used for this was dancing. when you dance in order to do a good job you have to stop, listen and really feel the music, and move to the music. i encourage you this week to really stop and listen and be aware of what God is doing in your life, meet him in the midst of that and dance to His tune! blessings to you this week!

Flex Events

TONIGHT at 6pm in my apartment is Espresso and Cookie Decorating! come to relax, drink a latte and have a couple cookies!

Thursday is our all Flex Halloween Office Party
we are going to show "The Office" on a big screen outside at the top parking lot of Flex. come DRESSED UP as a character from the show or an office supply for our costume contest! drinks and snacks will be provided! 8:30-10pm of course...

Life on Campus this week and next!

Have you made your advising appointment yet?? can you believe it is time to plan for next semester....REALLY??? already! if not do it! :)

Wednesday night is Happy Hour!
the wellness center and peer eds are putting together a Q&A and info night on alcohol and substance abuse. this is the perfect environment for discussion about some of those avoided topics! :) come to cunningham from 5:30-6:30pm. thanks for your hard work Michelle and Gabby!

Wednesday night is also Voter info night in the Caf
thanks to Tina and the rest of Pi Sigma Alpha a non biased explanation of the candidates and propositions will be presented to us. this will take place in the Caf during the dinner hours.

Variety Show auditions
we all love the homecoming variety show right...well we need people to show us what they got!! Oct 28th Dan Nelson is taking signups for this fabulous event! i know you all have talent, i've seen some of it, so show the world how amazing you are! :)

Heart to Heart Donations
the nursing department is putting together crisis care kits for Heart2Heart international. they are accepting donations of new hand towels, wash cloths, combs, small bottles of shampoo, individually wrapped toothbrushes, travel-size toothpastes, Band-Aids, individually wrapped bars of soap, and plastic travel-size soap dishes. i'll be collecting these if you want to bring them to my apartment. they are assembling the kits on Sat Nov 8th so lets try to get ours in by Friday!

ROCK FOR REYNOLDS
November 14th at 7pm in the rec room
$5 for an amazing concert and fund raiser for Reynolds Memorial Hosptial. all the proceeds go to a scholarship fund for the nursing students in Washim. this event will be no doubt one of the greatest things that hit our campus!

Remember to get your flu shot at the wellness center-- $15.

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

DIRECTIONS
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and crystallized ginger in a bowl; set aside.
Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

FLEX 46 and 49 BONFIRE

this Friday at 8pm in Shelter Island is our big bonfire with the guys! come to make some s'mores, have fun, bring friends, and make new ones! there are a few too many guys who are excited about this...lol (i made that part up, but it must be true), I'm just ready for an amazing time at Shelter together!! let me know if you are thinking about coming!

Birthdays!!!

Friday is Meghan Murray's special day!

Saturday is Marissa Glonchak's Birthday!

if you see these ladies make sure you tell them how special they are!! :)

this week

this week is pretty mellow i think. there isn't too much happening on campus or at least in my life. how was everyone's friday and three day weekend?? mine was great! i didn't get much done, but that's ok, it was just so good to be home with my family, it was needed! what happened to the beautiful weather??? i was loving the sun, i suppose fall is really here!

keep in mind that Samdi Gras is this Saturday the 25th!

Call and Response tickets are on sale this week outside the caf. this looks so amazing. i have a friend who saw it too and totally recommends going, so i think it will be worth it!

upcoming: Thurs Oct 30th- FLEX OFFICE PARTY!! be thinking of what or who you are going to dress up as!!

Spinach and Mushroon Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS
1 (10 ounce) package chopped spinach
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Prepare spinach according to package directions. Drain and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on one side of each tortilla. Place tortillas cheese side up on baking sheets, and bake 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and mushrooms, and cook about 5 minutes. Mix in spinach, and continue cooking 5 minutes. Place an equal amount of the mixture on the cheese side of each tortilla. Fold tortillas in half over the filling.
Heat oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Place quesadillas in the skillet one at a time, and cook 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges to serve.

Quote from Henri Nouwen

i have recently been reading Nouwen's book titled, Spiritual Direction. this is a fabulous book that really touches my heart with every chapter. i was reading this weekend about what it means to be called God's beloved. you are more than what you do, you are more than what you have, you are the Beloved, God's Beloved child! Nouwen says, "Listening to [God's] voice with great inner attentiveness, i hear at my center words that say: "i have called you by name, for the very beginning. you are mine and i am yours. you are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. i have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother's womb. i have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. i look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. i have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. wherever you go, i go with you, and wherever you rest, i will keep watch. i will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. i will not hide my face from you. you know me as you own as i know you as my own. you belong to me. i am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, and your spouse. Yes, even you child. Wherever you are i will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one." read Psalm 139 for God's words to you!

i encourage you guys this week that as you have time alone with God you remember Gods words to you, that you are His beloved and he is yours. I'll be praying that God will speak to you this week and that you would feel his love on you as you seek intimacy with him. Go in the peace and grace of God!

Krisitn Easton

she had a super duper day yesterday as she celebrated her birthday, if you see her be sure to love on her!

This weeks events and reminders

tonight: 70's Skate night!! get dressed up and have fun tonight; rest in the peace of the 70's!
Friday- Fall Break- NO CLASSES- do something fun for yourself and get off campus!
Sat- Fall Festival

Remember:
Flu Shots! flu season is nearly here, if not already, be sure to go to the wellness center today to get your flu shot or i'll do it for you! :) it is $15 in the wellness center.

Seniors- if you want to graduate be sure to go to records for your grad check, but don't be too excited to leave this place.

Today is Columbus Day

Columbus celebrations commemorate the Genoese explorer's first expedition across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. Columbus, on commission by the Spanish monarchy, was hoping to find a new naval route to India and the other nations of the East, but instead found the American continent which was virtually unknown to Europeans at the time. Columbus's sailor Rodrigo de Triana was the first on the voyage to spot land in the New World; he found the island the natives called Guanahani at approximately 2:00 AM on October 12, 1492. The exact location of this island is unknown, though it was somewhere in the Bahamas. Columbus's expedition launched the first large-scale European colonization of the Americas.
The first Columbus Day celebration was held in 1792, when New York City celebrated the 300th anniversary of his landing in the New World. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of the event.
Some Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage, the first occasion being in New York City on October 12, 1866. Columbus Day was popularized as a holiday in the United States by a lawyer, a son of Genoese immigrants who came to California. During the 1850s, Genoese immigrants settled and built ranches along the Sierra Nevada foothills (this is where i live!). As the gold ran out, these skilled "Cal-Italians", from the Apennines, were able to prosper as self-sufficient farmers in the Mediterranean climate of Northern California. San Francisco has the second oldest Columbus Day celebration, with Italians having commemorated it there since 1869.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 cup white hominy
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS
In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

ENJOY!

some personal happenings

i was convicted yesterday at church about what it means to have an intimate relationship with Christ and how fundamental that is to my relationship with Him. after some questions and conversation i came to the conclusion that i don't give my Savior the attention he deserves, so i decided to change that. i was reading from a book called Spiritual Direction, by Henri Nouwen and it completely validated everything i was thinking about. i wanted to include a quote from the second chapter.

he starts his chapter by talking about prayerful listening and that to truly be obedient you must listen, "It seems that the noisy, busy world conspires against our hearing [God's] voice and tries to make us absolutely deaf. it therefore is not surprising that we often wonder, in the midst of our very occupied and preoccupied lives, if anything is truly happening." this was powerful for me; until i really quiet my heart and listen and become attentive to God's presence, i will never be completely obedient to what he is saying.

Ladies, as we enter into the busiest part of the semester i challenge each one of us to hold another accountable to their relationship with Christ. to help distinguish God's work in the lives of our neighbors and to prayerfully support one another as we struggle to define and discern God's activity. May each of you be blessed by Gods divine love for you and may you draw close to him this week!

Love works

guys it is just about time to start deciding if you want to go on a loveworks trip!! there are two info meetings coming up next week:
Mon Oct13th at 7pm in Colt
Tues Oct14th at 7pm in Cunningham

i would highly recommend at least thinking about it and checking it out. my trip to India was one of the best things i could do!!

Birthdays

Melanie turned 21 yesterday!!

Sunday October 12th Kristin having her special day as well!

if you see either of these women make sure you give them some birthday love!!

weeks happenings

Tuesday at 4pm, Mane Event Women's Soccer!!! this weekend they beat Biola; lets help carry that spirit by supporting our women and especially our very own Kari.

anybody voting??

so the election is only one month away!! i don't know about you but i'm feeling very uneducated on these two candidates. i wanted to remind you that if you haven't registered, do it!! this election is so important and the young college students can carry the vote, our age group is known for not participating in elections, lets change that!! also, in Goodwin Tues Oct 7th they are hosting the next debate with a forum following. i believe the debate begins at 6pm. email me if you want to go with me and we can all go together!

Key Lime Cheesecakes with Raspberry swirls

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups crushed shortbread
cookies
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon grated lime zest

3 (8 ounce) packages cream
cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
3 teaspoons grated key lime
zest
1/3 cup key lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup seedless black
raspberry preserves
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 mini muffin pans and line with fancy paper liners.
2.
Combine the cookies, butter, and lime zest in a bowl until evenly moistened; press into the bottom of the prepared pans. I find a shot glass works wonderfully for this.
3.
Bake in the preheated oven 5 minutes; allow to cool.
4.
In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese and sugar. Gradually stir in the eggs, key lime zest, key lime juice, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into the prepared cups, filling almost to the top. Spoon a drop of preserves on top of each one. Swirl preserves into the cream cheese mixture with a toothpick.
5.
Bake in preheated oven 13 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from pans, 6 to 8 hours.
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Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/6/2008