Christmas Letter 2013

Christmas Greetings!

With Thanksgiving running later this year and finals taking over my life, I didn't have a chance to write a Christmas letter and send it out prior to leaving Wilmore. So, I thought a Christmas letter on the blog was a great alternative :). Without further ado, here is the Just year in review!

As many of you remember, last Christmas around this time, Kyle was offered a job at the Providence School, an alternative school here in town, literally a mile or two from our house. That was such a blessing to us! It was a constant job for Kyle, which is exactly what we needed. In March or so, we started thinking about what to do during the summer. Kyle needed a summer time job and I planned to take summer courses. However, mid-March, we received a call from Project Transformation asking us if we'd be interested in applying to serve with them in a couple of different leadership roles for the summer of 2013. The opportunity came at just the right time and was way too good to pass up. I was hired on as a house pastor and Kyle was hired on as a leadership training intern, working mainly with high school students.

We also moved into new seminary housing in May. We had to be in Dallas for leadership training at the end of May for PT, so we finished out seminary/work and moved during finals week. Then, we packed up and went to Dallas for the summer. It was a crazy couple of weeks of studying for finals, packing,  unpacking, repacking and traveling, but we made it! We enjoyed our summer in Dallas very much and enjoyed working with Project Transformation again. We were so blessed to meet and minister to/with so many other students from across the United States and catch up with old friends. Kyle and also discovered that, over the years, we've spent almost one full year of our lives living in Dallas. I don't always love the city, but I could totally see myself living in Dallas someday. It's so trendy and we have so many connections there. However, Kyle doesn't think he can see himself there. So he's quick to veto my ideas, probably for good reasons! All that to say, we enjoyed our time in Dallas and count ourselves blessed to have worked with Project Transformation. It really is a huge part of our lives. We wouldn't be the same without PT and all of the awesome experiences we've had in Dallas over the years.

At the end of the summer, prior to returning to Kentucky, we dropped by Kansas for a wedding! Our great friends, Isaac and Anna, got married and Kyle was a groomsman. The wedding was such a fun end to our summer because all of our friends from college were there. And, we enjoyed celebrating Isaac and Anna, of course! Right when we returned to Kentucky, Kyle headed back to work and I spent most of my remaining time off organizing the mess from moving in May. At the end of August, our house was finally a home. It became a home just in time, too, to host tons of visitors. My mom, sister, Trista, David and Jessica have all been to see us since August. And my parents and aunt plan on visiting in May of 2014 for the Kentucky Derby, too! We feel well-loved and have enjoyed showing our friends and family all around Wilmore and Lexington.

Otherwise, we've enjoyed everything that Kentucky and Asbury Seminary have to offer. Most of all, we've enjoyed our community. We couldn't ask for better friends here. We love living down the street from our friends; we love being able to pop into friends' houses at the drop of a hat or running over to grab a cup of sugar or sprig of cilantro. We love sharing meals with them and holding their squishy and perfect newborns. Most of all, it's a total honor and privilege to grow in Christ with them and the community at ATS. I honestly think everyone should go to seminary, if only for this experience! There's no season like it.

There are so many more things that I could say about 2013, but the main thing to say is that God is constantly faithful and ever-present in our lives. Kyle and I have experienced his loving kindness and pray that you have, too. We pray blessings over you in the coming year. May you all experience great expectation this advent season as you await the celebration of Christ's birth.

Cheers!

Kyle and Molly Just

A good fall photo from a birthday party!

Some of our seminary crew in Wilmore.

Our dear college friends at the Chua Wedding!

Isaac and Anna Chua -- we enjoyed their wedding and we enjoy having them live in our village at seminary, too!

Baking Sunday: Pizza Dough {With Herbs} using the KitchenAid

'Tis the season for...Advent, food, parties and many other things. I love this time of year. I love advent;  I love celebrating; I love food; I love parties; I love people and family. The list could go on and on. I have been doing so much extra cooking lately, I hardly know where to begin or what to share with you! On Saturday night, I made some excellent stuffed mushrooms. I was really excited because I made the recipe up by going off of some awesome stuffed mushrooms I once had. It's great how your taste buds can lead you in the right direction sometimes, isn't it? Sunday, we followed suite with the rest of our village and stayed in due to icy roads, so I spent the morning listening to Church of the Resurrection Online and making Strawberry Napoleans for a "Sip and See." Then, last night, for Baking Sunday, Jenny and I made homemade pizza! Asbury was supposed to host an Advent Vespers Service, but cancelled it due to the ice. Last year, after the Advent Service, we ate with friends and it's one of my very favorite memories. This year, I decided the same tradition must be appropriate. So, Baking Sunday and the After-Advent-Service-Meal-Gathering collided. It was too good.

With that said, enjoy the pizza dough recipe below. This recipe is so versatile. I've made it so many times. Sometimes I make it plain; sometimes with garlic and herbs. My grandma has made it with wheat flour, by hand; I allow my Kitchenaid to do all the work. The thing I like most about it, though, is that you know exactly what's going into your dough. And, there's just something about bread that's intriguing to me. The world lives on bread, it's a simple food that we all have in common. I like to make my own because it makes me feel like I'm holding something in common with people around the globe. Is that weird? Maybe. I'm getting spiritual on you. Ok, really, enjoy the dough!

Recipe adapted from A Couple Cooks. 

Homemade Pizza Dough (Makes two medium pizzas)

What you'll need:

•  3 cups of flour
• 1 packet (or two teaspoons) of highly active, fast rising yeast
• 1/2 Tablespoon of oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/3 cups of warm water

To Add Garlic and Herbs to the dough (if you prefer, if not, skip this step):

• 1-2 cloves of garlic (depending upon preference and size of the clove)
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano

Directions:

1. In your KitchenAid bowl, combine flour, yeast, oil, salt, and about a cup of the warm water.

2. Using the dough hook on your Kitchenaid mixer, stir until a loose dough begins to form. Add in the remaining water as the dough begins to form. If the dough appears too dry after you add in the water, add a little bit more; if it appears too wet, sprinkle in a little bit of flour. The dough should start pulling away from the side of the bowl and begin forming into a ball after 30 seconds or so.

3. When the dough forms into a ball, gradually increase the speed of your KitchenAid to medium. The dough ball should remain intact on the dough hook. If it's not hooking, turn your mixer off and help it hook and gradually increase the speed again. This happens to me, every so often. Otherwise let the mixer knead the dough on medium speed for 8 minutes.

4. While the dough is kneading, prepare a floured surface for the dough to rise on. Then, prepare a damp towel to cover the dough. I normally use a spray bottle to dampen my kitchen towel.

5. When the dough is finished kneading, use floured-hands to remove the dough from the bowl. Divide the dough in half and form into two boules. Set them on the floured surface to rise. Rub a tiny bit of olive oil on top of each of the doughs so they don't dry out. Then, cover both boules with the damp cloth. Let the dough rise for 45 minutes - 1 hour. About 15 minutes into the rise time, preheat the oven to 500 F.

6. When the dough is finished rising, gently shape the dough into circles on pizza pans/stones. Do not overwork the dough.

7. Prepare the dough with your favorite toppings and cook for 6-8 minutes.

- I normally use an Airbake pizza pan (it has holes) and it cooks well on the top rack, and my normal pizza pan cooks better on the bottom rack, closer to the burner.