More Kitchening.

So I know two posts in one night is a little silly, but I thought I'd share my latest culinary achievements with you all. I'm feeling very domestic lately...it's a little freaky, but I'm sure the feeling will pass quickly. So here's some pictures of my spontaneous baking tonight. While baking, I watched Dick Van Dyke...it was lovely.


I decided to make those jelly filled sugar cookie things.




I even made a cool jelly squirting thing out of a baggie. I felt very accomplished.




Using the awesome tool I made ...Yes, I know, I rock.




The finished product. I had a little trouble getting the frosting to spread evenly, but it tastes pretty darn good.




Ok, I'm done. Come visit me and I'll share!

Love to all,
Lissa Hoarn

Song Lyrics and Love

I'm not going to lie...I'm a Miley Cyrus fan. You have exactly 10 seconds to mock me. Go.

Time's up. So, back to my original point. I have a weakness for her husky voice and when she actually writes the songs, they come out sounding far less...Disneyish.

But the point of this blog is not to defend my secret admiration for America's current pop princess. (Seriously, people. If I could be her, I would.) But what I want to talk about is her newest song. I don' believe she wrote it, but it's part of the soundtrack for her new movie coming out (Nicholas Sparks. Here's the preview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joCwQ2pjfjw). The lyrics make me want to cry, simply because they remind me so much of a certain man I recently married.

"When my world is falling apart
When there's no light to break through the dark
That's when I, I look at you
When the waves are flooding the shore
When I can't find my way home anymore
That's when I, I look at you."

Cheesy? Maybe a little, but I can't help it. I wish I could write songs, because I love music so much. I hate that I have to search for music written by other people to describe what I'm feeling. In the end, there is no better way for me to express myself than through a song. Anyone want to volunteer to write music to the thousands of lyrics I have stored away in my journal?

Anyway, I know this blog is a bit sappy and ridiculous, but from my perspective, there is no way I could possibly put into words what Nathan has done for me, or how I feel about him. This song shows an aspect of him that I have needed so badly the past week.

January 22nd, one year ago, was the last day I ever exchanged words of any kind with my dad. Trust me, they were not happy words. I miss him and love him and hate him all at once, and I know that if I were in a dorm room full of girls, I would not be in a good place right now. Nathan isn't just strong for me, he reminds me of my own strength when I just want to curl up and cry. Just his presence in my life reminds me of all the things I have to be thankful for, all the incredible blessings in my life. That is priceless.

Love to all,
Lissa Hoarn

Chocolate Cake...A Really Short Blog

So on Sunday I was bored, and I was craving chocolate. So I made a chocolate cake from scratch. It was lots of fun, and it turned out really well. I used the lovely mixer mom got me for Christmas. I felt like Becky, getting all excited about a kitchen appliance, but it's fun! It has it's own little box and everything.


It made things a lot easier...I am sicking of mixing everything by hand! I still want a Kitchen Aid, but this will do for now. :D




I felt like a cross between Patty and Jack Bauer.




This what the cake looks like now. Like I said...it was good!






Anyway, just wanted to share my culinary success with you all, as they are few and far between!





Love,
Lissa Hoarn

Blessings and the Thoughts that Followed

The last two weeks have been the most stressful time yet for Nathan and I. There was a mix up with how our married student rent was being handled. We had been told that it would go on our loans, like every other student's housing, but to make a long story short, it didn't, and they won't put it on there, and so we had to come up with 4 months rent before we could register for classes. We managed to make enough of a down payment that they unfroze out accounts, and we registered.

It's no fun to constantly have the thought of "What are we going to do?" hanging over our heads, and we spent a lot of time talking about what our option were. I'm blessed to have a man who's first priority is to make sure I'm taken care of, and who does not let stress make him angry. We knew when we got married that money would be an issue, and we never wanted that to come between us. These weeks were a test of that, and I feel luckier than ever with the husband God has given me.

So on Thursday, we were sitting in our living room, doing some homework, when his phone rings, and it's the (wonderful) lady who has been helping us out with our finances. She called to tell us that someone had donated a significant sum of money to our student account.

I'm tearing up thinking about it even now, but in the moment, it was overwhelming. We have no idea who would have done that, because we didn't really tell anyone what was going on, outside of a couple of family members. But God knew what we needed and He took care of us.

People have talked about traumatic life experiences that have brought them closer to God. This was not traumatic at all, and it wasn't even obvious. It was like God was gently tapping on my shoulder saying "I'm here. Why don't you remember that?" I'm so willing to come before Him and thank Him when He blesses me, but when things go wrong, I look for solace in other places - people, music, theatre, literature - I turn everywhere but the one place I should be turning. And then when I do finally turn to Him, I always surprised that He has just what I need. It's times like these when I am reminded of my utter humanity.

And it's not just material things I fail to depend on Him for...it's the emotional and spiritual things that I long for that He has the power to give. My need for a father, the love that I crave from those around me, the desire to be praised by others...These are things that can all be satisfied in Him. He can give more love to me than my earthly father is capable of giving, and He created me in His image with His love...that is better than the praise of man.

So why, when my head knows these things, do I 9 times out of 10 look in the wrong places for what I need? I think, more than anything, it is from a lack of understanding on my part of who God is, and I think it comes back to praise. That sounds like a strange connection, but the more I walk the daily walk, the more I realize that when my hear and mind are focused on praising Him, they are simultaneously being reminded of who He is and what He can do, and if I truly know that, why on earth would I ever consider looking other places for gratification?

Hope this all makes some semblance of sense.

God Bless,
Lissa Hoarn

Feminism, Conservatism, Ethics, and Other Ramblings.

I had my first Ethics class yesterday, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.

I swear, I'm not sexist. I do believe that men and women are created equal, but I also believe that they are different. They have different strengths and weaknesses, which of course, varies more specifically to each person. I also believe that most adamant feminists are slightly hypocritical. They demand that these differences be minimized, but would be deeply offended if men started treating them the same way they treat other men. I realize that saying this may not make me very popular, and I also realize that I'm generalizing, but since this is a rabbit trail anyway, I'm moving on, with no apologies.

My point is, I have never really like women teachers. Now, I have had several gifted women teachers. Anyone who has sat in a class under Barb Zemple cannot deny that she is a wonderful high school teacher. I don't think men are better teachers than women; however, they do tend to be far less emotional. I really don't think that is as much of a problem in a college classroom as it is in a room full of unruly high school students, but the years have formed my bias, and I was disappointed (as horrible and close minded as it is) when I discovered my ethics professor was a teacher. I still have not met a woman teacher I really got along with. (Well, Mrs. Young...but she's much more than a teacher...she's more like a gift to all students at CLBS.)

So, to make a long story short, my ethics prof is fantastic. Not only is she one of the most intelligent and well-spoken people I've ever met, she's also ridiculously enthusiastic. She's sarcastic, down to earth, funny, and a wonderful debater. The class is, for the most part, one giant discussion over the reading, and she likes to play the devil's advocate.

Not only that, but she also chose really intriguing text books. They were not written by a Christian, which was a source of some debate in our classroom as one student expressed "concern" for the ideas this textbook was planting in our heads. I, on the other hand, found it refreshing. She chose the textbook because the author is well versed on the subject of ethics. Period.

Growing up in a very sheltered environment, in a Christian school, every text book I ever had was from a Christian bias. While I think it's wonderful that I was given that foundation, I think there is something to be said about thinking for oneself. While we discussed the text, I was challenged to maintain my Biblical worldview and give valid, logical answers that included more than "because the Bible says so", but also had Scriptural basis.

That is one thing that bothers me about conservative circles. I think often we use that phrase as an "easy out" of a difficult situation. Yes, the Bible is the ultimate standard of truth for a Believer. But God gave us brains, and the gift of logic and knowledge, and I believe our responsibility is to do what we can with that knowledge, always coming back to His Word for our foundation. This is the first time I've had reading assignments for a class, and had to really think about the morality of what I'm reading. It's not just the information I'm discerning now, it's the ideas.

I loved CLBS. My junior year of high school was one of the hardest years of my life, and that school pulled me through. It was the support and love and shelter I needed at that time. In college now, I feel academically prepared, and miles ahead of many people theologically. But I wish we would have been a little less conceptually sheltered. There are so many ideas and worldviews that I would have trouble facing in person. These are things that were written off as "bad" or "ungodly", but never delved into. I realize this is a sensitive topic, because you can take this idea way to far. But not everyone goes from CLBS to NWC. Some of my class went to universities where they are facing things they've only heard about. You can have the best theological background in the world, but it's very hard to refute something you've never faced under pressure, even if you know what is right and what is wrong.

Not that I'm complaining; I'm hardly suffering as a result of my schooling. It's just a thought.

In closing, I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester. If one class can inspire this much rambling, I wonder what thoughts will invade my head in the future?

Until Then,
Lissa Hoarn

A New Semester

I'm afraid that in the flurry of Christmas break, I rather neglected my blog. But Christmas break is over, and I'm just getting back into the habit of the school week.

Quick breakdown of all my classes:

New Testament History and Literature: One of those required freshman courses. I took OT last semester, and this is basically the same thing. A book by book take on the Bible. Pretty basic, after going to school at CLBS, but it's a good class, and an easy A.

Biblical Worldview-Personal Responsibility: I had my first class today, and I loved it! I can already tell that I don't concur with my prof in all things, but that will make the class less boring.

Theatre Management: I'm really excited about this one. It is taught by the producer of Triple Espresso, who also works at the Guthrie. I haven't been to a class yet, but I've heard he's fantastic. I'll find out tomorrow morning at 8:35. Blech. I am so not a morning person...



This little dude looks way happier than I do when Nathan drags me out of bed and dumps coffee down my throat.



Foundations of Communication: Another general. Yippee. Skippy. Not really looking forward to this class, but maybe it will be more fun than I'm expecting it to be. From the class description, it just sounds plain time consuming.

Ethics: A discussion class, with surprisingly interesting texts. I'm excited to dig in to the more controversial topics.

So that's my line up for this semester. Lucky for me, my Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes are quads, so for the last two months of the school year, those days will be completely free! Hmmmm...four day weekends...whatever will I do?





I am also hoping to be in the spring musical, "Working".




It's a great show with lots of food for thought and fantastic music. Call backs were tonight, and I think I have a shot at a decent role. Of course, after almost six months without a show, I don't care what I get. I just need to get back on stage before I die of withdrawal. I'll keep you all updated.

Love to you all,
Lissa Hoarn