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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Fabric Paint

Yesterday when I got some time, I stencilled this pattern onto this fabric. Sometimes, when I go to the fabric store it is hard to find fabrics that are simple. Sometimes everything seems too busy. Plus, I have something specific in my mind for the fabric I wanted, so I bought a stencil with this pattern on it, and Acrylic Paint and made this design. Once I finish making all of the flowers I could use the fabric for a table cloth, table runner, place mat etc. You have to mix the Acrylic Paint with Textile Medium to make it work as fabric paint.I got this idea for making my own prints on fabrics from the blog Pure Style Home. Stencils are not that expensive at all. I got mine for $2.99. There are so many patterns available. I have also seen people making a stencil because they like a pattern so much and they cannot find it in a store. I have not made my own stencil. Acrylic paint is also not that expensive and there are so many colors available. Textile Medium is available in all craft stores , I think.
Apart from using Acrylic Paint mixed with Textile Medium to make fabric paint you can also use Screen Printing Paint. However, there are not that many colors available in Screen Printing Paint, but the price is roughly the same. Blessings to you and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Crocheted Flowers Pillow

I made this pillow for our living room sofa. I sewed crocheted flowers on to solid cream colored fabric. I like the shabby chic look and I think this pillow has that look and also looks calming to me. Sometimes I just want peace and calm and this pillow spells peace and calm to me. Have a great day!

Monday, August 25, 2014

Perfect Cream of Mushroom Soup

I made cream of mushroom soup today. I used the recipe in the blog mariasmenu. I made this soup with mushrooms, milk, butter, thyme, bay leaf, chicken stock and flour. May God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Kitchen

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
This is how I decorated my kitchen. I want it to have a simply shabby chic feel, but also have a touch of glam. I did take lots of pictures but because the weather was not perfect I did not get any good pictures. When the weather is better I will take better pictures and post. May God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Flowers in a gold vase on woven tray

Today I arranged some flowers and greenery from our yard in a vase which I kept on a woven tray. I painted the vase with metallic craft paint. The tray is from Hobby Lobby. I kept it on the coffee table in our living room.
Have a blessed day!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Precious and Perfect (Updated)

Yesterday, I took this little one out for lunch. We went to a restaurant in downtown. This coming Monday, this little one will go to college.
While having lunch I talked with my son about his college, the classes he will be taking etc. My son is going to Pepperdine University in California. After lunch, we went to a cupcake store next door and bought these cupcakes for all of us. These are cookie monster cupcakes.
This picture is from his scrapbook album. This picture was taken eighteen years ago.
Two years into my marriage, we did not have a baby. I looked in the Bible to see if I could find some comfort and stumbled upon the story of Hannah. In that story Hannah is the wife of a man named Elkanah but did not have a baby. She cried out to God and God heard her prayer and gave her a baby. I was really inspired by the story of Hannah and so I prayed exactly the way Hannah prayed. Miraculously my husband and I became pregnant with this child right after that.
When he was born he was just like an angel. It was not at all difficult to raise him.
Here is a picture of my son with Father Abraham Adappor, a Jesuit priest, who is also a close friend of my Father.
Here is Father Abraham Adappoor holding my son at two or three days old.
Here is a picture of me holding my son.
Here is my son with my parents at two or three days old.
This is a picture of me holding my son.
Here is a picture of my husbnad Jerry Anthony's parents holding my son during Jeremiah's baptism.
Here is a picture of my husband Jerry Anthony's father holding my son at my brother's wedding.
Here is my son with my parent's cousin and her children and myself.
Here is a picture of my mother-in-law's younger sister with our son.
Here is a picture of my husband's cousin with my son.
Here is my mother's cousin holding my son.
Here is another cousin of my mother by my son.
Here he is with his grandmother (my mother). My mom got the baptism gown for my son custom made and designed it herself. It was really pretty. When I was very young, my mom and dad bought me lots of dolls with accessories for my dolls, such as rocking chair, mirrors, combs etc. My mom made pretty dresses for my dolls. I pretended I was a mom to my dolls. I combed their hair, tucked them in and told them stories also, I think. I don't know if I took my dolls for walks. When my son was born, my mom said God gave me my own real doll to take care of.
My grandfather's brother also attended Jeremiah's baptism ceremony. Here is Jeremiah, my grandfather's brother and my mom.
My mom's side of the family who came for Jeremiah's baptism.
My dad with my son on his first birthday. My parents took a picture of my son with all of our relatives.
Here is my son with my mom's oldest sister.
My son always liked to hold my hand when he was little. Here is my son with little cousin Emil. Jeremiah is truly a perfect kid. God truly blessed me with a perfect child like him. God was with me all through the time I raised him. Today when I look back on all of the events of my life raising my children, I feel certain that God was with me, helping me and guiding me. From age four both my kids would watch a Bible story on Sunday, until they finished watching all faith based videos in our library. I have read to him all the biographies of great Americans available in the library. I am so proud of him. The first two years of high school he read the bible completely twice. When the decision about which college to send him to was going on in my home, one day I found a Moms in touch tote bag. Moms in touch is a prayer group I participated in while praying for my children. On the tote bag were the words, "His faithfulness continues....". At that moment I knew that God's will would be done with regard to the college my child would go to. After my husband said yes, to the college the next day, a gift basket arrived in our home. It was from my father-in-law's friend. The color of the ribbon with which the gift basket was tied was the color of his college. All through his life many people have showed love to my son, and encouraged him. Apart from Jerry and myself, and our family and his teachers at school, many members of our church family have shown so much love and encouragement to my son. Many Sunday school teachers have impacted Jeremiah's life. I am very thankful to each and every person who has shown love, kindness and encouragement to my child. My children are so precious to me. God gave both my children to me. How can I not be thankful to anyone who has shown love to my child. If you are a follower of Christ can you pray for my son? Please can you pray for my son to be safe and happy in his college and for everything to be perfect for my child. May God bless you and I hope you will have a wonderful day!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Bookshelf Arrangement and Flowering Plant

This is how I arranged our bookshelf today.
Here is a picture of a plant in our patio. May God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Pretty glasses on shelves covered with patterned paper

Today I arranged the glassware in my home like this.
Our kitchen cabinets are made of wood. I covered it with patterned paper. I covered the paper on the base of the shelf with clear vinyl.
I bought this paper from Target. May God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Yogurt Cornbread

I made yogurt cornbread today. I made this with yogurt, cornmeal, wholewheat flour, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and baking soda. I thought it was good.
May God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, August 8, 2014

Family Room Wall Art and Mushroom and Spinach Pizza with Whole wheat Crust

This is how I arranged one wall of our family room. The tree pictures are actually cards I bought from the Target card section and framed using scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby as background.
I made the sky paintings earlier this year.
I also made Mushroom and Spinach Pizza with whole wheat crust yesterday. It was great. May God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Brownies

I made brownies this morning. I have made these brownies many times before. Usually, I just set it on the table and it gets over soon. This time, I put lots of confectioners sugar and some sprinkles too. I made these brownies from scratch with whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, salt, eggs, pure vanilla extract, cocoa powder, confectioners sugar and sprinkles. May God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The parable of Talents Part 2

I had something more to say about the parable of Talents. Sometimes when you read another book of the Bible the meaning of a verse from some other portion of the Bible will become clear to us. In the church we go to we are studying the book of James. When I read that book many aspects of the parable of Talents became clearer to me or rather my understanding of the parable of talents helped me understand a few verses in the book of James. Long time ago when I read the book of James, the verse that I liked best in this book was the verse about the wisdom from God. The Book of James says that "the wisdom from God is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, without partiality or hypocrisy, full of mercy and good works." James 3:17 But this time around as our church studied this book the verse that struck me was the verse about the definition of true religion. James 1: 27 says that the "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." The first part of this verse is self explanatory. But when I read the second part of this verse about "keeping oneself unstained from the world." I thought, I know how to do that. To do that we have to follow and obey the parable of Talents. The only way, I think we can be in this world and yet not allow ourselves to be defiled or tarnished by it is by working with diligence toward excelling, growing and developing the gifts God has placed within us. It could be singing or baking or decorating our home or designing computer programs. No matter what area our talent is in, if we, with pure inspiration, work, day in and day out, toward excelling in the field of our choice, regardless of how the world views us, regardless of if we are rewarded for our efforts, and regardless of if we are criticized for not participating in the world's activities, when we do that, then it means that we can protect ourselves from the mad clamor of this world. It requires single minded focus, and determination to ignore the world and focus on what God has placed within us. The other verse in James where I saw a connection to the parable of talents was in the verse about the wisdom from God. The wisdom from God, this verse says, is full of good works. So what are these good works? Good works are acts of kindness and compassion to others. Good works are also, the good work we do with a talent God has given us. If God has given us a gift of cooking, it is best to help another person by cooking a meal for them rather than trying to help them in an area you don't have a talent in. But, equally important "good work", I believe, is practicing our talents and growing them. So for example you know how to sew a pillow, then next step could be to learn how to sew something more complex and complicated. If you know how to bake a basic cake, then the next step is to learn how to bake a two layer cake, or an ice cream cake. We can be faithful to God with our talents by learning as much as we possibly can about the gift we have. The book of proverbs says "Do you see a man skillful in his work. He will stand before kings; Proverbs 22:29. I do like it when I see someone's excellent work ethic and purity in pursuing their talents take them places and I hate mediocrity. But the reward of such diligence is not just the reward of standing before kings but it is also the reward of a pure life which can be our legacy to our children and grandchildren upto a thousand generations. And is that not what we all want? To leave a legacy our children and grandchildren can be proud of, by busying oneself in the gifts God has placed within us, which helps us lead a pure life because our mind is filled with ideas and inspirations to grow and develop our talent. The final verse which I understood in the light of the parable of talents was the verse in James 3: 13. This verse says "Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom." This verse is more about the attitude we do need to have when we reach a point of excellence in our talent. Our heavenly father cannot use our talent for His kingdom or glory if we do not exhibit the right attitude. We have to have "meekness and humility" in our excellence and only then is the work complete and pure. So these are my thoughts about the parable of talents. What are your thoughts? Have a blessed day!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Books Updated with essay on Parable of Talents and leading a life pleasing to God

I arranged some books in a corner of our living room. I love books a lot. I grew up in a house almost overflowing with books because my dad adores books. My grandfather also loved books. My grandfather used to give books as gifts to people. I love reading a lot too. If I get a good book I can forget all my chores and get lost in the pages of a book. It is easy for me to loose track of time just because I am so immersed in the book.
My absolute favorite book is the Bible. I cannot live without my Bible nor can I go anywhere without it. I always keep my Bible with me in my hand bag. My second most absolute favorite book is the novels of Jane Austen. I have read Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion many many times. My personal favorites are Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park. I also like Northanger Abbey and Emma. I have also watched the BBC movies based off on those novels and also two Hollywood versions.
When my kids were in elementary school I used to take them to the library every Saturday and come back with a huge pile of books which they would read through the week. Also, we would buy for our kids lots of books when the Scholastic Book Fair took place in their school. Every time we took them to Barnes and Noble we told them they could pick a book of their choice, approved by us. And my kids participated and diligently completed all activities in the Iowa City Public Library's Summer reading program every single year when they were in elementary school. Today both of them love to read. According to my dad books are a benediction. What do you think? I think a well read person can have a good conversation with you. According to Jane Austen, "My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company." May God bless you! And I hope you have a wonderful day! The Parable of Talents and leading a life pleasing to God One of the stories in the Bible that I really like is the parable of Talents. Here is the story from the Gospel of Matthew. "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[a] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[b] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[c] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25: 14-30 Jesus said this parable to His disciples. Jesus likens our heavenly Father to the man going on a journey and compares us to the servants who are entrusted with talents. If we are servants of Jesus we each have a talent. It could be the talent to draw, bake, do computer programming, sing or play a sport. Maybe it is a concern for eating healthy and exercising well. Our talents are also our responsibilities. So if we have a job that we are good at, it is our talent and our responsibility. I think being a homemaker and taking care of a family is a talent and a responsibility because doing this job well requires many talents such as baking, cooking, sewing, budgeting, organizing and decorating. Without 100% focus and dedication we cannot do a good job with what has been entrusted to us. No matter what our talents are Our heavenly Father expects us to excel in it, by growing and developing it. We will be considered faithful only if we focus our talents and energies and time on trying to become excellent at our talent. It requires focus and determination and a willingness to walk away from things that do not help us develop our talent in the purest possible way. For example we can spend our time on watching a worthless TV show or practice a talent God has given us. We can spend time on the phone gossiping about another person instead of making a gourmet meal for our family. When I was a child, my dad strictly monitored the amount of TV I could watch, although my dad is very loving and kind toward myself and my brothers. My dad enforced the discipline of working hard at my academics and on whatever I expressed interest in. Once I won a running contest in my school in fourth grade. I was selected to participate in a district training program for running for girls by the government of Kerala. I had to participate in the training every morning by reaching the field at 6 or 6.30. My dad faithfully took me there every morning and watched me run. If I expressed an interest in painting my Dad would encourage me in that area. Every Friday my dad would take me to the club called Toastmasters club where I would be asked a question about what was happening in my country or in the world and asked to stand up and speak in front of people in that room for a few minutes. That meant that I had to read the newspaper and understand the issues facing my country and the world. When I was a kid, I truly disliked this because I did not enjoy reading the newspaper or standing in front of people and speaking. But today when I look back, on these incidents in my life, I feel that because my dad forced me not to follow frivolous things and helped me focus on pure things such as developing my talents during a period of time in my life when I felt the world was caving in on me, I could just focus on developing my talents in the purest possible way and grow and develop it. The Bible tells us that if we train our children in the way they should go, when they are grown they will not depart from it. When I was a kid I was raised to focus on being excellent at my talents. I did not depart from my dad's teaching of pure focus on my talents. My dad told me the importance of dedication and focus. We cannot be focused on becoming excellent unless we have good friends who are also focused on noble things. My dad closely monitored my friendships and made sure my friends had good character and good and pure goals in life. I could not just hang out with friends and watch movies or shop all day. This is also very biblical because the Bible does say that evil company corrupts good character. I love this parable of talents. I think there is much to learn from this parable both in parenting and in leading a life that pleases God.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Palak Paneer

Yesterday I made this curry called Palak Paneer, with pureed spinach, paneer, olive oil, garlic and salt. I served it with roti, an Indian flat bread and rice. Have a wonderful day!