6 random things about me

i was tagged by my friend max, and as the only person he tagged, i feel special and a little bit honored as well as compelled to post this now, just after reading his post. so here goes:

1. hi, my name is mindi and i'm addicted to shoes. there are currently 21 pairs by my front door. we won't talk about how many are behind the couch, under the bed and in the closet.

2. i love seasonal dishes. i have themed serving plates and dishes for christmas, valentine's day, and easter.

3. for my 14th birthday, my parents gave me a canon ae-1 set: camera body, flash and a couple lenses. over the years, i added an auto-advance, more lenses, filters, etc. i was a photographer for the hs yearbook and newspaper and continued into the first couple years of college and then burnt out and sold it all. in the last year, i've really begun to miss having a great camera.

4. i really need to update the photos in my house. the pics of my neices and nephews that are up show the oldest at 8. he's now 16.

5. my favorite website is the bbc in pictures page. it's updated daily.

6. two of my closest friends were born within a week of me. one, i've known since birth; the other since sophomore year of college. i enjoy reminding both of them that i'm the youngest even if it is only by 6 or 5 days respectively.

and there you have it. 6 random things about me. as for tags, if you're reading this & haven't done this meme, consider yourself tagged.

'comfort' food

as a kid, i was a finicky eater. my mom was a terrible cook. there was some circular relationship between the two. i didn't eat much so mom didn't attempt much. and when she did the results weren't good which made me reluctant to try new things.

it all changed in 7th grade when i took my first home ec class. the first cooking project was actually making peanut butter cup candy. mine were great. the teacher said i must have a knack for cooking. after that, i decided i loved to cook. i learned what i could from other cooks in my family, home ec, recipe books. by my junior year, i was making all the holiday meals for our family--thanksgiving, christmas.

i still love to cook. i love to cook for friends and entertain. i love to cook as a stress reliever or when life gets overwhelming. there's something soothing and cathartic about it. and i love that there's a finished product in a reasonably short amount of time. and i also love that when i cook for friends they feel the love i put into it and find it nurturing and comforting as well.

tonite, i cooked for the women in my small group. we had spinach-artichoke dip with chips, paula deen's chicken georgia, roasted yukon gold & petite red potatoes with carrots, green beans, crescent rolls, and for dessert, pumpkin cheesecake pie. we shared our hearts and lives with each other over dinner.

and i think that is the real comfort of food, the way that it brings us together.

quote of the day

just came across this quote. i love it.

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."
Mother Theresa of Calcutta

church marketing

i've been thinking a lot lately about what attracts people to jesus particularly due to this election, a talk by francis chan, conversations with a new british friend about religion and life and politics in england, and knowing some 'churched' teens who are struggling with having a faith worth calling their own plus a long conversation with a youth ministry educator about the 'disney-ification'of the american church.

all of this has messed with my head and heart in really good ways--challenging my assumptions, thinking and complacency.

tonite, i received a targeted ad saying "Loud Music at Church? You bet! You'll get loud music, relevant messages, great kids' programs and a casual atmosphere."

really, we've got jesus and the best marketing hook we can come up with is loud music at church? i get that we need to have the gospel be understood and relevant, but is loud music going to be that draw?

i'm sure i'll post more about all of this in the coming weeks, but for the moment, i'm just shaking my head about how the church is positioning itself sometimes.

childhood memories

so, as a little kid, i grew up on sesame street and schoolhouse rock. tonite online, i stumbled across this gem from sesame street. i didn't remember this song having verses!