Spring 2010, Part II

My teammate Wendy and I found this graffitied wall in downtown Kansas City and mused over its irony as we posed for this photo - as followers of Jesus, our lives are anything but trampled by normalcy. Rather, we’ve jumped headfirst into the thrill of adventuring with Holy Spirit in the urban core. Just two weeks ago I was out for a run in my ghetto neighborhood when I felt Holy Spirit direct me down a particular street and give me a word for the 18-year-old single mother of two waiting at the bus stop on the corner. Her face lit up as she told me she’d just given her life to Jesus mere weeks before. She knew absolutely nothing of the ways of God and was in dire need of a spiritual family. It’s been such a delight to begin taking her through the God Story, along with a few other single moms and brand new believers the Father has placed in our paths.

These days I’ve been traveling to campuses around Kansas and Missouri, encouraging students to participate in the 2010 Year of Prayer. I’m also busy preparing for the summer - I’ll be co-leading another Student Church Planting Experience and the whole Campus America team is gearing up for an epic gathering of students at Northfield, the original site where the Student Volunteer Movement launched over 100 years ago. I’m most looking forward to my trek to Central Asia. For security purposes I'm not posting information about that trip online, but I hope you’ll email me if you'd like to know more about that trip.

Pray for me, friends! We have a real enemy, who is none too pleased when Hope is being proclaimed. I am in constant need of supernatural wisdom, protection, strength, and provision. I bank on your intercession for me, knowing full well that the Kingdom of Love can only take ground by prayer and obedience. much love, Lindsay

PS: My 8-year-old godson Preston prayed to give his life to Jesus during his stay at my house last weekend :) I’m a happy god-momma!

The Great Pumpkin Throwdown

What to do when your fridge is a little bare, you've got more pureed pumpkin in your freezer than you know what to do with, you're on a Daniel-approved diet, and Lord knows anything with flour is not an option because you ate entirely too much bread yesterday:

-1 small onion chopped

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-olive oil

-2 cups pureed pumpkin

- 1 cup quinoa, cooked in 2 cups of water

-1 cup-ish of frozen peas

-1/2 cup-ish finely chopped walnuts

-sea salt

-pepper

Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil. Add the pureed pumpkin to the skillet with a little water to thin it out and stir thoroughly. Stir in peas, salt and pepper. Let it simmer for a little while until the flavors meld and you can begin to smell the garlic wafting through the kitchen. Add cooked quinoa and chopped walnuts. Taste-test and add more sea salt if needed.

Delicious. Kind of like that perfectly good-for-you well-balanced meal that happens to be soft, warm, savory, and comforting all at the same time.

Not always does my scrounging of the cupboards and combining in a pot turn out so well. But I would totally make this again :)

One last word about pumpkin puree:

It's perfect in smoothies. Weird, I know. But I add a half a cup of pumpkin puree with a banana, a handful of frozen strawberries, and a little orange juice - mix it all up in a blender, and voila! You have a delicious smoothie with a serving of vegetable that no one could ever detect. Plus, the pureed pumpkin adds to the smoothness of the smooth-ie. Positively brilliant, I know ;)