A deep and wildsome glory

"Into the peace of these wild things,

 Into the wild of this grace,

Into the grace of this blessing,

Speak in the peace of this place."

-Andrew Peterson "The Magic Hour"

There is some beauty too great for words.

Have you ever stood outside at the moment Day washes into Night, and felt the very air was filled with a thrum of praise?

Have you even been awakened by the scent of daffodils in the dark, or watched the laughter bubble over in a baby's smile, or seen the moon hanging low in the West and felt your heart might burst with the pain of Joy?

It is these moments I wish I could speak the language of the birds who flit over the sunset and pour a fountain of notes tumbling one over another down the fingers of the breeze.

But I am only human. My attempts to speak and write and pray are met with complete silence and a mind whisked clear of words.

I watch the sun gleam over the Spring's-blood green of the wheat field and the soul-ache deepens.

"Lord, Lord!" is all I can manage, and as I murmur the Name the pain cuts deeper and sweeter, sending shafts of holy light blinding my soul.

If I cannot tear myself away from the beauty and I cannot ease the joy-pain with words, I am awash and afloat in helpless, unbridled Joy.

It can terrify me, this soul-moment.

The pull of eternity is so near, so deep that my heart strains for it.

But human I am, mortal-life coaxes me back and the veil is half drawn again over the face of the wild peace.

"Lord..." I begin again, near to breaking under the weight of His glory.

"Satisfy your soul."

The gentle, tender commandment takes the desire of words from me.

Defenseless.

My words.

My weapons and tools.

The King has taken them away, gentle but firm and asked me for silence.

And my soul...

      My soul warms in the after-glow; expands, dances.....and is full.

Satisfied.

Nothing more I could ask.

Nothing less I could wish.

Eternity in the heart of Man.

What a deep and wildsome glory.

The Shrinkage Diaries: Breakfast in the Bahamas

Dear Figure,

      I bet it'd be really easy to be skinny in the Bahamas. It seems like a place where--since one is required to wear a bathing suit even at Christmas--one would be more conscious of eating pineapples and mangoes and other fruits. I have friends who were in the Bahamas last week. Yup. They're an amazing couple who work really hard and deserve a vacation like this. Still...for those of us winter-bound in Virginia, it can be a bit...ehhhhhhhh... to see the photos of these friends on pristine beaches, looking like an ad out of a travel magazine. Jill even got sunburned. In March!

So! What's a girl to do when the sun is just starting to warm up, and you, Figure, are requiring something schnazzy to keep inspired to trim down? I make a Bahama Breakfast, that's what! Pair this "clean" muffin recipe with a smoothie made out of frozen pineapple, mango, and peaches blent with coconut milk, and voila! You'll look like a beach-bum in no time. :)

Choco-Tropic Oat Muffins

I started with this recipe, but quickly expanded the add-ins to make these unbelievably delicious, exotic muffins! Perfect for a spring morning!

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 1/3 c. slivered almonds
• 1/3 c. dark chocolate chips, chopped

1. Pulverize oats in blender or food processor until you have a "flour". Add in other dry ingredients.
2. Mix wet ingredients together, then add to dry. Mix with a few quick strokes
3. Line muffin tin with papers, and bake muffins at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 1 dozen muffins

These muffins were way more delicious than I'd even hoped. I mean really--did you ever think you could make a muffin that had not flour or sugar?! I'd heard of replacing the sugar with honey, and even done it before, but most times the muffin ended up tough with a leathery "skin". These muffins are fluffy at the same time they're full of texture from the coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips. Definitely a keeper recipe: one to use over and over again!

In other news, I'm creating: Shrinkage Diaries: The Cookbook for my own use. Can't wait to stock it with many more of the recipes I've been experimenting on!

Guys, I'm going to Europe.

Hey Everyone! I emailed many of you with an update on my planned trip to Romania. It's actually happening, and you can read all the details of that over here. But I thought that for those of you whom I didn't have an email for, you might be interested in the contents of the email, so I'm re-posting it here.  Before that, however, I want to let you know that I am so crazy blessed by those of you who have supported us in prayer, and especially those who have supported us financially. You are what God is using to make this trip happen, so thank you.

Hello girls!

       Okay. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and tell a little God story and ask for a little help at the end. :) Just bear with me.

      Lots of you already know about my upcoming trip to Romania, whether by me personally telling you, or by some other means. If you haven't, then here's the gist:

   For some time God has placed a calling on my heart to go to Romania on a mission's trip, and this spring it's finally happening. On April 5th I will be leaving (along with a group of other young people from my church) for two weeks in Romania, ministering with a church we have connections to there. The plane tickets are bought, and the time is set for April 5th. No backsies.

We received word this morning in an email that the actual cost of us staying in Romania will be 15 dollars a day per person, plus donations for gas. I am still unsure whether they mean Romanian dollars or American dollars. Either way, the sum we each need to raise is between 100 and 300 dollars. (probably toward the 300 end) Frankly, this really scares me. We have under a month to raise 300 dollars each. I KNOW God can do this and will do it since He's let us get this far and purchase the tickets and everything.

So Basically I had kind of a crazy idea. First off, any of you with Etsy shops...would any of you be willing to donate an item for me to raffle off at any of the fundraisers we will be doing? We are thinking of hosting a coffee house night and/or a spaghetti dinner where people would give a donation at the entrance and then have a fun night. We could raise even more money by raffling items. :) 

And the rest of you, if you could pray really hard for God to make a way for this to happen, I would so much appreciate it. I have faith He will provide, but we need Godspeed, as the time is very short. :)

Thank you so much for reading this, and for your prayer and support. To those of you who have already given money toward this project, THANK YOU. It's such a massive encouragement. If you feel led to give any donations, there is a donation button on the sidebar of my personal blog, the blog I share with my younger sister, and the blog for this trip: www.suffolkchristianassembly.blogspot.com

        Much love,

                     Rachel Heffington

The Shrinkage Diaries: and some days you'd like to kill the cat

Dear Figure,

       Today I'd like to bite nails. Like...metal ones.
       Today I'd like to throw something.
       Today I'd like to go to a Krispy Kreme and eat every raspberry doughnut on the place.
       And yes. Today I'd almost like to kill my cat.

The reason? Eh. I don't know that I have one. To quote a friend, "It must be a Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays." And as for the cat, I came downstairs this morning and was greeted by Dad very sweetly saying: "Good-morning, but your cat apparently couldn't use her litter box last night and went in the laundry basket."

Oy vay.

Yeah. Not an auspicious start to my day. I think this strange humor began last night with a chocolate craving.  I almost caved and made brownies, but I am so glad Leah wouldn't let me. Instead I went to Pinterest, and from there to one of my new favorite recipe sites: The Gracious Pantry, and oh. my. stinkin'. goodness.

Figure: I totally owned you last night. How?

By whipping up a batch of her Clean Eating Double-Chocolate Oreos. I'm not even kidding. These things...they're...they're....they are "simply too too too diveen!" For real. As my FB feed would show...

"I will NOT eat all the clean-eating oreo dough before baking. I will NOT!"

And really. It was hard not to. Sarah was a skeptic and didn't want to admit that the smell rising out of the oven was akin to ambrosial breezes from the ever-after. But seriously, girls. Who cares about eating clean. At the moment these cookies were ready to come out of the oven, I would challenge the staunchest junk-fooder to say they tasted "too healthy." These are not only the best clean-eating cookie I've ever had...they are the best chocolate cookie I've ever had. Even counting everything bad-for-you I have tasted my whole life through. For reals, people. For reals. And to raise perfection an increment higher, yesterday was the 101st birthday of the Oreo cookie! :) Perhaps it was the Dutch-processed cocoa Mrs. Vandebrooke gave us that lent these cookies such elegance. So rich and divine you could only eat one stack. You only dared eat one, for fear of what might happen to you if you experienced such grandeur over again. ;)

Whatever it was, I am never going to taste anything quite that craving-quenching in my life. Now. The recipe.

Clean Eating Double-Chocolate Oreos

Cookie ingredients: 

8 oz. almonds ground into "flour"
1 c. unsweetened cocoa
1/3 c. honey or maple syrup (I used honey)
1/3 c. coconut oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling ingredients:
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbs. honey or maple syrup (I used honey)
1 tsp. vanilla

Step One: Blend almond flour and cocoa powder together in bowl. Add other ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Step Two: Form walnut-size balls and flatten with the palm of your hand till cookies are desired thickness. They will not rise or flatten in the oven, so what you see is what you get. Form accordingly. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

Step Three: Blend all filling ingredients together in blender or food processer, and keep in fridge till thickened. You might want to add a little more cocoa if your filling is too runny, but it will firm up and thicken as it sits a moment so wait to add anything till you're certain.

Step Four: Once cookies are cool, assemble with filling between two cookies.

Makes 10-12 sandwiches

So Figure? Never again am I going to lament that I can't entirely satisfy my chocolate craving while catering to your touchy whims. Because, honestly? Even if I threw my hunt for you to the wind, I'd never find a better-tasting recipe than this.

eShakti Dress Review: Dotted Retro Poplin!

The time has come! I was going to do my review for eShakti earlier, but my photographer severely sprained his ankle and life came up so now I'm here at last. Sarah was a dear and came with me, being patient while I fastened my ridiculous (and very chic) shoes before getting out of the car, then took them off when I started to drive again, then performed the whole ritual once or twice more.

The dress. I chose the Dotted Retro Poplin Shirtdress in cobalt blue, and custom-sized it.

As expected, eShakti came through with a dress that fits like it was made for me because, frankly, it was! I lengthened the sleeves and the skirt to reorganize into a style that would flatter my shape best, and I am so happy with the dress. 

(Notice the bold, coral-colored wedges? Got those at Payless for $10 last weekend. ^.^)

I adore the color of the dress, the fit, and the style as well as all the little details that make eShakti dresses so magnifique! The collar  is especially nice, and the little polka-dot buttons are too adorable. And pockets! eShakti dresses have pockets! Two of them. Perfect for stashing lipstick, cellphone, and whathaveyous without needing to carry a purse. Oh--and do excuse the wrinkled waist--I was driving and not overly careful of creasing. :P

Thank you, eShakti, for the gorgeous dress!

Oh. And before I forget, there was a glitch with the former coupon-code online. Because of that, eShakti has given me a new coupon code for you all, and extended the date till March 25, 2013!

New Code: LSSFLLTRDE85

Enjoy the extended date, and check out some of the company's absolutely amazing dresses. :) The quality is well worth what you'll pay for a dress you'll love.

The Shrinkage Diaries: It looks like a bird's nest...

Dear Figure-seekers!

If you would be so kind, take a look at the picture below....

This is a severely inauspicious plate of food.

Honestly. It looks like a cross between a haystack, a bird's nest, and what I used to pull out of the garbage disposal when it got clogged up. (That is, before we moved out to the country where we can't have a garbage disposal system.)

Look at it again.

It looks bland at best, I know. But this is pancit, and it is one of the stinkin' best Asian dishes there is to feed a large crowd. My first introduction to pancit was way back at the church where my Dad worked as assistant music pastor. There was a Philippino woman in the choir, and on occasion she would make pancit for us. Then a Philippino couple moved down the street from us, and she made us dinner and lo and behold, pancit popped up again. Then we moved churches and house, and I forgot all about this amazing dinner until we were at a friend's party, and there again was a huge bowl of the stuff. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was at a Narnian costume party to which I went dressed as The Lady of the Green Kirtle. I ate pancit again, and boom! Right back to memory lane. 

The best part about this meal is that it's waist-friendly, (more-so if you use chicken instead of beef) and qualifies as Shrinkage food because there's not a smidge flour or sugar, and it's packed with veggies. Also, it's gluten free, because those are rice-noodles up there, not wheat, which makes them much better. It would be awesome if you could buy brown-rice noodles, but for now these are great.

Pancit is one of those things that is great for feeding large families because it's kind of a catch-all dish. You can use any kind of meat in the dish. (We've used chicken, beef, shrimp, etc.) Really whatever you have on hand. Last night we had ground beef, and I'd never done that before. When I think of Asian cuisine, ground beef isn't exactly the first thing I think of. I knew I'd need to kick the recipe up a notch of I didn't want dinner to taste like a Teriyaki-Burger from a Japanese McDonald's.

Fast Fun Tip: While rummaging around for the best chili recipe for Dad, I had stumbled across a website that I can't find now. The guy writing the article mentioned that most of the time we don't "brown" ground beef, we "grey" it. In short, we put too much meat in the pan at once and it basically boils in the fat without ever gaining that awesome "browned" flavor. This time I took my pound of ground beef and did it in three separate chunks, smushing the ground beef into patties, sprinkling a bit of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, salt, and minced ginger over the top, then flipping the patties and breaking them apart. This is THE BOMB and allowed me to impart a vague Asian flare to the ground beef which was lacking beforehand.

Okay. So now that we've established how you have to cook your beef if you are using beef, we can get on with the real recipe. Again, it's a "per your own taste" thing, so the measurements for spices are going to be rather ambiguous. I change it every time depending on what we have on hand and what flavors I'm feeling. 

Pancit

• 1 head cabbage
• 1 red bell pepper
• 12 carrots
• 2 onions
• 3 tbs. minced ginger
• 4 ribs celery
• garlic
• 1 lb. ground beef (or other meat, chopped)
• 1/2 c. soy sauce (and a bit for serving)
• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. rice vinegar
• 1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• red-pepper flakes
• olive oil or sesame oil
• peanuts
• 2 packages rice noodles (we use Mai Fu)

1. Start by slicing up all vegetables sensibly. The idea is not chunky--it's long strips to match the noodles. I left my carrot round just because they'd go farther, but onions, cabbage, and peppers can be cut into strips. Toss all veggies in a bowl together.
2. Brown the ground beef per my instructions further up the post. Set aside.
3. This is going to get majorly messy, and this recipe feeds a lot of people. A whole lot. Like...twelve of us with leftovers. So you'll need three skillets on the stove. Pour a bit of olive oil into the bottoms of the pans, and sautee leftover ginger and a spoonful of garlic in each man till golden. Divide the veggies into the three pans, and sautee for ten minutes until the vegetables are tender. Dash all your soy/vinegar/worcestershire sauces over the vegetables and continue to cook. Sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes. When vegetables are done, cover and let steam while you work on the noodles.
4. Rice noodles are really cool because you don't boil them. Your first step will be to pull the noodles apart and put them in the bottom of some great big bowl. Then you will boil a kettle-full of water (a couple quarts) on the stove. When it is at a rolling boil, pour the water over the dry noodles, cover the bowl with a tray of some sort, and let steam until noodles are tender.
5. Drain your noodles, and mix the noodles, beef, and vegetables together. Add more soy sauce to taste, and mix well. This will kill your arms. You may have to chop up the noodles a bit in order to be able to stir.

Serve on plates and dig in! This is a wonderful meal for a party because it's pretty cheap and goes a really long way. Plus, it is delicious, and easy to throw together; you really can't go wrong with seasonings. At different times I have sprinkled in tons of different spices, drizzled a bit of molasses, dabbled in some clam juice...anything you have on hand. Take my word for it. 

Try this recipe next time you are having an Asian-themed party or just a great big family get-together. It's delicious, and everyone will want the recipe. Then it will be your turn to tell them you pretty much did it on the wing, because with pancit you can't go wrong. Plus, your figure will thank you for making life easy.

Daniel + Abigail = Fun

A series of photos, because life where Abigail and Daniel are concerned is so much fun. :)

We go contra-dancing (and nearly faint) and we write senseless greetings on our left-overs.

                 

We hang at creepy gas stations to fill up before making trips...

We draw pictures on the windows....

We draw pictures on feet....

We suit up in barncoats and hideous ponytails and pretend to be chicken-thieves when we have to help BJ move the roosting hens after dark.

We find that the Smithfield ice-cream parlor spells "Sherbet" the way everyone says it and not the way it's properly spelled at all.

We take pictures of the soda-jerk in a manner that makes him think we're actually taking self-portraits.

We giggle over nothing and everything.

We hang out at DMV while Daniel registers his car singing "The Song of the Lonely Mountain" time and time again while we wait for him in the frigid air. 

We found a chap from the shoppe across the street who looked like he belonged in Downton Abbey.

We sample everything in the store and pretend we are food critics...

We hold hands and sing random songs just because we like to think we live in a musical.

We make Shirley-Temples and discuss how many fun drinks you can make that have absolutely no alcohol in them.

We admire daffodils displayed in blue glass, and model ships displayed in antique stores.

Daniel and Abigail are my peeps. I love them both so very much. :)