Mixed Feelings

Today I found out that Jennifer Knapp has returned to the music scene. As one of her most faithful supporters in the late 90s and early 2000s, I always dreamed this day would come... but there is a hangup. There always is, isn't there? She has come back to the music scene, but is now a self-proclaimed lesbian. I struggled all afternoon (since reading a few articles online confirming both her return and her sexual status) to figure out how we should respond as Christians. I am a sinner in need of grace and I believe that grace should overflow onto others as well-- and I believe it does. The problem is that in reading Scripture I can't ignore that homosexuality is called sin. I get that we all deal with sin and that none of us is completely free of it this side of heaven. But I want to be free of it. I call it sin and I struggle against it and all that I do not want to do, as Paul wrote. I pray for God's abundant grace to cover it. So the issue is quite clearly that I disagree with Jennifer (and others) about whether or not homosexuality is actually sin. That's the heart of the issue.

So now I have to figure out how to reconcile my respect for Jennifer Knapp as an artist, a musician, and as one who was more than instrumental in my life-- both musically and in faith-- with disagreeing with her over some important parts of Scripture. Anyone have any wisdom to share?

btw, I read this blog post today and felt this guy had such a good perspective and balance between grace and truth. If you haven't been following this story, I'd recommend reading his blog and also checking out the Larry King interview on youtube.

-JLR

M's Bday Cakes #2 and #3

These pictures have been such a long time in coming! I finally downloaded the pics to my computer, so a blog post seemed appropriate. Pics from Micaiah's first cake this year can be found here.

Her second cake was for Micaiah's actual birthday. Tim's parents were visiting at the time and his mom has some dietary restrictions. This cake worked perfectly! The batter was simply 2 boxes cake mix, 2 cans of sprite zero and food coloring. The icing was cool whip (the fat-free, non-dairy kind) plus 2 packages of pudding mix. Super easy! Well, at least until the part where you divide it up and put it all together!

The process...
The birthday girl...

The inside rainbow swirl effect...
And for being a diet cake, it was really quite yummy!

Micaiah's third cake of this birthday season (gah!) was the fanciest. The cakes themselves were simple white and simple chocolate, but the decorating was what made it a beast of a cake. In keeping with the princess party theme, I had great ambitions for a castle cake. It wouldn't have been possible without the Wilton Castle Cake set, which included plastic towers, windows, doors, and directions for how to do this. I was also able to do some ahead of time, which helped a ton. Here's what we ended up with:

Adding the towers I had decorated the night before. (I hadn't thought to get the camera out before this!)
The final product and details...



Micaiah blowing out the candles at her party...
The cake tasted great and was so pretty. The only problem is that I wish I'd have had a way to anchor the turrets better. Throughout the party I kept hearing small crashes only to find that one or more of the turrets had fallen and needed some rigging.

After last year I was excited to 'raise the bar' since I knew I'd have more access to cake decorating resources (pans, consistent electricity, ingredients, etc.). After surviving this year I've made a commitment to 'lower the bar' for next year for my own sanity. :)

-JLR

FAIL

Why am I still amazed that I get so distracted from my blog? Even with the greatest ambitions and a bit of free time, I have still not managed to post more often than a few times in the past few months. It's not that I intend to become a daily blogger-- that seems a bit unrealistic for me. But I have a way of talking myself out of posting even when I have something to say. Lame excuses like: "I can't post on the blog today because the pictures are still on my camera." or "I'd rather watch a movie."

When I start to feel like I've failed at something, my new favorite thing to do is to visit this website and have a few laughs first. It sure encourages me to make a few improvements!

-JLR

Hotel Roth... Again!

We have really enjoyed hosting three rounds of house guests this month. We are on our third round now (Tim's parents). Hosting guests has it's fair share of ups and downs, especially when it's family/in-laws! Even with that in mind, I have become more and more convinced that this is something I would love to do more regularly in the future. I've thought about running a B&B or a guesthouse or something... who knows. I guess I'll just have to wait to see what sorts of opportunities arise.

-JLR

M's Bday Cake #1

Birthday cakes have become one of my favorite things! I love making cakes and even more than that, I love the excitement and appreciation from Micaiah, my special birthday girl! This year we plan to have lots of guests in March to help us celebrate her 5th birthday... Nana and Aunt Jaime came this past week, Grandma and Grandpa Roth are coming next week, and the week after we'll do a friends party. I got this great idea for a multi-layer rainbow cake from a seminar at church on party planning. The facilitator forwarded lots of info, and I also found another blog online with some additional info.

Anyway, here are some pics from my first cake adventure of the birthday season!

(minus the purple batter, which was already in the oven!)
I told Micaiah that I lost the colors... she was bummed. :) This cake was so massive that the cake cover wouldn't fit!
The happy birthday girl with the first slice.
The insides of the cake.
Oh, and with only one cake pan (which I would never again attempt!), I could not have accomplished this task without Jaime to keep me company. Thanks!

-JLR