Hubs has a new blog

Check out Matt's new blog:

http://beale49.wordpress.com/

If you're in need of a new, Christian perspective.

xo, Camella

Honestly...

I am seriously frustrated right now. I don't do controversial well and it doesn't sit well with my heart when I am. I've been feeling so much like God is challenging my preconceived notions of my faith and 1) it's scary and 2) it's uncomfortable.

Matt and I have been beyond frustrated with the state of the Church. I don't hate church, just think that we, as the bride of Christ, are not living up to the example that we are meant to. First of all, there are so many individuals who are so focused on their comfortable, middle-class lifestyle. They think that by passively giving money to this cause or bringing in food for that drive, they are showing charity to the poor and orphans. No. No. NO. Yes, those are all great things, but I'm feeling more like TIME is a greater investment that canned goods. Getting out there are realizing that there are things besides Ikea shopping and middle school youth group movie nights.

The other thing that drives me mad is the idea that in the United States, being a "successful church" means building on and expanding. In my town, I can't even tell you how many churches I drive past on a typical Sunday. Maybe if a church is failing it's because God wants the congregation to join up with another, thus uniting the bride. There are so many things out there that are causing divisions in the church that I feel like the enemy may be getting a hold of us and misdirecting us to focusing on the divisions rather than being united.

Why are we as believers wanting to drive a wedge between us and the world? Are we not meant to go into the world to make disciples of all the nations? How can we be exemplifying Jesus Christ by condemning sinners when we ourselves were once lost but now have been found? How is that ok? How am I alone in seeing the gravity of this?

I'm angry, frustrated, and broken. God is literally breaking my heart with this right now. So, what do we do? I want to challenge you to pray on this. To really think about this and to examine your heart and see what God is saying about all of this. I know that because I feel so alone that I've been distancing myself from the Bible and prayer but that isn't the answer, either. I want to encourage you that if you feel like I do, you aren't alone.

I sense change coming to the church. Let's get out of ourselves for a second and fix it. Let's be the bride that we were always meant to be. In Jesus' name, amen.

-camella

Photo contest entry

Now, I don't pride myself on my photography skills BUT I thought this was too cute not to share!

Just look at those vicious vampire fangs! 

This is Mogi and he's a stinker.

Julie's Delicious Mac and Cheese

Hello all!

It has been a sinfully long while since I posted last but I wanted to share this delightful recipe with you! During our study sesh for the NCTRC exam, my friend Julie made this tasty dinner. Here is how you make it:

Ingredients:

1 box of noodles 

(I like whole wheat rotnini but you can use whatever you prefer)

1 can cream of potato soup

Grated cheese 

(I loooove Pepper Jack for this recipe but you can mix and match to suit your tastes)

A smidge of milk to moisten everything up

What you do:

1. Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain. Preheat your oven to 350*

2. Transfer noodles back into pot and add the can of cream of potato and milk. You don't want to add a lot of milk, just enough to make sure the noodles are all covered. 

3. Spray your pan with non-stick spray and transfer half of the noodles into a baking pan. 

4. Cover the noodles with the grated cheese. You can use as much as you like, depending upon how cheese-y you want it to be. Transfer the remaining half of the noodles to the baking dish and cover that with cheese. 

5. Bake mac and cheese for about 20 - 25 minutes until the cheese is melty and wonderful. You can also add french fried onions before baking if you like. I spritz them with the baking spray to make sure they're crispy after they come out of the oven.

Viola! Mac n Cheese ala Julie. Enjoy!

DIY Decorative Photo Board

I know, I know. It's been too long since my last post! I do apologize but I have an excuse (the same excuse every college student uses this time of year)... I was busy with school. 

I've un-officially graduated now AND passed my certification exam. All that stands between me and my diploma is my 15 week internship. Bring it. 

I wanted to share a really fun project that Matt and I just finished this week. I call it a photo board.

Behold!

This is a really simple, yet really pretty project to tackle... if you plan it out first!

Supplies

• Molding - you can use as fancy or as plain as you please
• Decorative corner pieces
• Paint in your choice of color 
• We used the no-drip kind of paint and got the teeniest can ever
• Cork board 
• For the cork board, we used a roll of it from Lowes' made our measurements according to that pre-measured size (I think ours was like 2ft by 1 ft - not sure though)
• Large sheets of scrap-booking paper
• Glue/nails/caulk/adhesive of some kind
• Double stick tape (probably two rolls)
• Photo!
• Tacks

What you do

1. Measure and cut your wood pieces, sand, then paint them. We made the mistake of not painting them until they were on the wall. It worked BUT you'll need to use painter's tape to tape it off much better than we did! Our finished product looks fine but is not quite perfect enough for my OCD sensibilities.

2. Attach the cork to the wall using nails, glue, or any other kind of adhesive. Make sure it's level... if your particular like me, it will bother you if it's not.

3. Attach your wood pieces to the wall, framing the cork in the center. 

4. Get your decorative paper and cover the cork. I used double stick tape to secure it but you could glue it if you want it really stuck. I like the option of the double stick tape because you could change it out when you get sick of it and it will provide a whole new look.

5. Now tack up your pictures. Most of the pictures you see on our board were taken by my beautiful friend, Kim. She's selling some gorgeous prints from her trip to Africa. To buy your own, click here! They arrive in perfect condition and the selection is just... breathtaking!

I hope you enjoy this little DIY post! If you have any questions on construction, comment and I'll have my contractor (err... husband, Matt) get back to you!

Have a blessed weekend!

xoxo Camella

Spring Break '12 - Pita Pizza Recipe

Greetings blogeristas!

I am finishing my Thursday of the last spring break of my life (ah!) ... and it's getting away from me right quick. Thankfully, I've been quite productive and finished three papers, so all in all, I'm satisfied. Allow me to share with you my delicious dinner from this evening: 

a veggie pita pizza

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pita pocket

Pasta sauce

Mozzarella cheese

cheddar cheese

chopped tomato

squash

Italian seasoning

Oregano 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*

Cover pita pocket in sauce (use as much or as little as you like)

Add mozzarella cheese

Pile on chopped tomato and squash

Add a little more sauce and a sprinkle of cheddar

You can also add a dash of Italian seasoning or oregano.

Heat for 10 - 15 minutes until sauce bubbles and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

About last night...

 Hurley in Tom's

 Mogi in Toms.

 Mushroom butt

Us.

Ok, so the last picture isn't from last night, but I thought it was a cute one of us so I wanted to add it. Last night, our kittehs decided to try on Matt's Toms. I swear to you that Hurley put his feet inside himself! Maybe I'll submit it to Stuff on My Cat?

Then things got really crazy when I was finishing up dinner. We were supposed to have mushroom soup next week but Matt got into the mushrooms (as I knew he would) and ate all but two of them. One was because it looked like a butt (see above) and the other because it needed a companion, I guess. So much for dinner plans! I ended up using them in our pasta sauce that was heating in the Crock Pot - love mushrooms!

I hope that you enjoyed this mini-post! Have a wonderful Friday!