"The Western Church is in Trouble..." and What I Have to Say About It.

I hear/see it often online, in person, in school, in presentations, in meetings -- "the Western church is in trouble." I have one thing to say to that: obvy. Does it worry me? Not really, but that's another blog. But, let me alarm you. The Barna Study says that 3,500-4,000 churches close their doors each year in America. They also note that the church in America loses 2,765,000 people each year to nominalism and secularism.
Now, we must consider why the Western church is in trouble.
When I took my own realities into consideration, I could come up with one sole reason. But, we'll back track a little first. Here we go.

I owe an incredible amount of honor to Bible Christian Church in Garden City, Kansas and so many of her congregants for discipling me throughout my middle and high school years. Those people pointed me towards Christ, along with many other youth my age. Often times in the current, thanks to social media, I see what many of my former peers from church and school are up to. Sadly, I've also observed how many of them have fallen away from their faith. Their faith. As in, a faith they once owned and cultivated. This isn't an uncommon phenomenon. Scholars say "the Western church is in trouble" because our 20-somethings are leaving and they aren't coming back. (At least until they have children. And then some of them come back because it seems like the "right" thing to do -- to have their children in church and all. Good logic. But, not really.)

Lately, Kyle and I have been attending various churches around where we live. We were settled in one particular church for about a year and decided that our souls just needed something different. Hear me out when I say that leaving this particular church was a difficult decision to make, but we made it and have been attending churches since. It's been almost two months (the end is in sight, thank goodness) and we've attended some great churches. We've also attended some not-so-great churches.

Throughout this journey, I've discovered two things that relate to the trouble of the western church. First, from what I've observed, some pastors aren't preaching the Bible. I'm not trying to be judgmental here. I'm just being honest. We went to one particular service where the pastor didn't even read scripture and he mentioned Jesus once, in passing. (What did he preach on, you ask? I'm still wondering myself...) Second, somehow, children and youth who were raised in the church have left Jesus behind for other things. And they need to repent and come back. They just do.

The western church is in trouble for one reason: too many of her followers have forgotten who Jesus even is.

Baking Sunday: Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

It all started about a month ago during a nonchalant conversation with a sweet friend, Jenny, at Asbury. We were chatting in-between our intramural volleyball games about baking. I knew that she enjoyed baking and I said that we should get together to bake sometime. She informed me that, during college, her and her roommates used to spend the majority of their Sundays cooking, baking and enjoying meals/desserts together. They entitled this day, "Baking Sunday." I became wrapped up in the idea of it all and a few weekends later, Baking Sunday commenced in Wilmore. It's as simple as that. So, I thought it would be fun to share some recipes from Baking Sunday. Maybe you can start this in your neck of the woods, too. It's such a fun activity to do with friends on a relaxing Sunday, if you enjoy cooking/baking, that is.

Last weekend, Jenny and I baked some pretty amazing Strawberry Pie Sour Cream Crumb Bars. I was slacking on Instagram last weekend, so I have no pictures. But, the recipe can be found here. Thanks, Pinterest. And, thanks, Jenny. Who also happens to be a Pinteresting Queen.

This weekend, Jenny was gone so I invited Anna Chua into this adventure and we made one of her family's favorite dessert recipes: Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake (we're into making desserts with long names, I guess). This is the recipe many of you have asked for. So, enjoy! P.S. Credit is all due to Anna -- thanks for the recipe AC!

Next Baking Sunday's plan is White Chocolate Bread Pudding, I think. I guess we'll see.

Blueberry Cream Cheese  Coffee Cake 
yields: 9 servings 

Coffee Cake:
- 1 package Pillsbury Blueberry quick bread and muffin mix
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1/3 cup of oil
- 2 eggs

Topping:
- 1 8oz package of cream cheese
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or grated lemon peel

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. In a medium bowl, combine quick bread mix, water, oil and eggs. Beat 50-75 strokes until well mixed.

2. Rinse and drain blueberries and fold into the batter. Pour batter into greased pan.

3. In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth (with hand-held beaters or a mixer). Dollop spoonfuls of the blended mixture across top of the batter. Swirl by running a knife across the cream cheese and batter.

4. Bake at 375 until topping is golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Bake an 8x8 inch pan for 35-45 min. Bake a 9x9 inch pan for 30-40 min. Cool 15 minutes and serve warm. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. 

A "Remembered" Pope

As many of know (or might not know) I grew up in the Catholic Church. For awhile, especially during my high school years, I was bitter towards the Catholic Church. I felt like they didn't teach me about Jesus like I thought that they should. It wasn't until college that I began to fully appreciate my Catholic upbringing. When I was a freshman, I took my first ever theology course with one of my (still) favorite professors, Dr. Matthew Thompson at Southwestern College. Then, I took Church History and eventually History of Methodism. Throughout those courses, I realized how well the Catholic Church prepared me for ministry, theologically speaking. I grew up reciting the Creeds and the different prayers and liturgies of the Church. When I was in college and learned about the history of them, they came alive to me. My academics brought healing in my life and led me to a place where I began to fully appreciate my own spiritual history as a member that was baptized into the Catholic Church.

When Pope John Paul II died, it was a big deal. Now, know, I have never had any big opinions about the Pope. You know, some people have heated ideas about what the Pope stands for, but I've always appreciated the idea of him. With Pope John Paul the II how could you not? He was literally the Pope the entire time that I was a part of the Catholic Church. He was really wonderful. Anyway, I remember sitting in Latin class when I was a senior in college and my teacher began talking with us about Pope Benedict XVI. He said the following, "You know, I just don't think that Pope Benedict will ever be a "remembered" Pope. Sure, he's doing great things, but there's nothing that sticks out about him that I think the Catholic Church, as a whole, will remember."

Then, Pope Francis was elected. How amazing! He was a "first" in many categories -- the first non-European Pope in over 1,200 years, the first Latin American pontiff, the first Jesuit.  People weren't sure what he was going to be like. But, as I think back to my Latin class and our conversation about Pope Benedict XVI so long ago (isn't funny the random things that you remember?), I think it's intriguing to now say that Pope Francis will be a "remembered" Pope. His spirit is gentle, his words, profound. His very nature proclaims Christ. If you haven't read/watched the latest story about the little boy that he allowed to join him on stage, then you should. It's sweet.

Loaded

Lately, in of my classes, we've been talking about person-hood and our own way of being. I've been intrigued by our conversations revolving, not just around person-hood, but the way that we choose to see others. We've been talking about how we often choose to see others in one of two ways: either as people or as as objects. The breakdown goes like this:

1. When we see others as people we acknowledge that they have hopes, fears, and a general longing to be liked and loved. These feelings are as real and as relevant as our own feelings.

2. When we see others as objects we tend to see them as obstacles in our way, vehicles that can be used to help us get what we want or irrelevancies that we'd rather not have to "deal with."

Fortunately, this information really touched me. Unfortunately, the reason it touched me is because I realized how often I see others as "objects." And honestly, that gun is loaded. It's loaded no matter who's holding it.

One of my very dear professors once told my class that we must realize that every person has the divine spark -- the image of God within them. Every.single.person. No matter how marred we think the image is within them, it's there because God created them in his own image.

I don't think this is just a "feel good message." I think it has important implications. At the core it affects how we see others. But, that core affects how we interact with others on a daily basis. It affects our political views. It affects our views about war. It affects our theology about providing for the marginalized and the poor. It affects how we treat our enemies.

And we can't be agents of good peace until we commit to seeing others as people and not as objects.

*The core of this information was gathered from my brain, duh. But, the technical parts were gathered from the book "Anatomy of Peace" by The Arbinger Institute. And now go listen to "Red Hands" by Walk Off the Earth...you know, "that gun is loaded, but it's not in my hands..."

Baked Beef Tostadas with Mexican Rice

I think I'm going to start adding a few of my recipes to my blog. It's fun for me and it might give you some ideas if you're ever in a dinner pinch. Plus, for my happiness project, I decided that I want to focus on promoting hospitality via cooking/hosting for others. So, here are all of those ideas wrapped in one. Today, I'm featuring traditional ground beef tostadas with mexican rice.

I'm from Kansas. I grew up eating beef. My family often raised cattle on our farm and had them butchered locally. However, when I moved to Kentucky, I soon figured out that beef tastes a whole lot less appetizing around here. I actually prefer chicken anyway (unless we're talking about brisket or flat iron steak and then you're speaking my love language). However, I don't mind using ground beef for some things and when it's terribly bland, it's a fun challenge to spice it up. Enjoy the recipe below.

Serves: Approx. 4 (rice will definitely feed at least four)

Ingredients for Tostadas:
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- taco seasoning (check out my taco seasoning from this blog here)
- 4 corn tortillas
- EVOO (for coating tortillas)
- 15 oz of pinto beans (drained if you're using them from a can)
- Feta Cheese
- Cilantro (for garnish)

Ingredients for Mexican Rice:
- 1 cup of jasmine rice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp EVOO
- 2 cups broth (chicken, beef or veggie will work just fine)
- 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
- 1 clove of garlic (minced)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- Leaves from 3-4 sprigs of cilantro
- Dash of ground red pepper (if you want some extra spice)

For the Tostadas:
Preheat oven to 410 F

Cook ground beef; rinse; drain. Return to the skillet. Add in pinto beans and taco seasoning along with a 1/4 cup of water or so. This will help create a nice sauce for the ground beef and bean mixture. Let mixture come to a boil, then simmer it on low for five minutes or so, stirring periodically.

Meanwhile, lay corn tortillas out on a baking sheet. Coat both sides lightly with EVOO. Make sure the surface area of the tortillas are covered or the shells will turn out chewy instead of crunchy. Bake the shells for 5 min. on each side. When finished, top each shell with the ground beef/bean mixture. Then, top with feta. Bake in the oven for 3-5 additional minutes. Garnish with cilantro or any other toppings.

*I like using feta cheese in this dish because it's saltier than cheddar or mozzarella. It really brings out the flavor in the ground beef. 

For the Mexican rice:

In a skillet, on medium heat, stir jasmine rice and EVOO until the rice is puffy and golden, about 5 minutes. After that, add in the broth slowly and carefully (the rice and oil will begin to pop when you do this). Also add in tomato sauce, garlic, cumin, red pepper (optional). Stir rice so the ingredients blend together well. Wait for the rice to return to a boil, then cover the skillet and reduce to low heat. Let the rice simmer for 10 minutes or so. Stir in cilantro and let rice cook for 3-5 additional minutes or until the rice begins sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add extra salt if need be (I normally don't add much).

Delicioso!

 Molly

::Nourished:: - Meanderings on Hospitality

hos·pi·tal·i·ty noun \ˌhäs-pə-ˈta-lə-tē\:
:generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests : hospitable treatment

:the activity of providing food, drinks, etc. for people who are the guests or customers of an organization.

Merriam-Webster defines hospitality as just that. The first time that I really even began to uncover and discover the meaning of hospitality was when I lived in my first apartment in college. Our apartment became a "hub," of sorts, a place for people to come and gather and eat, on many occasions. My roommates and I actually made it a priority to invite others over for dinner to our house. I'm going to say that this took place at least once a week, but much of the time, more often than that. I loved it. I loved hosting and cooking and being. I relished those moments.

However, as I began to discover the beauty of hospitality I also wondered if there might be more to it -- more than inviting people into a space and taking care of them, which is a lot in itself anyway. Last semester sometime, I was reading about hospitality for seminary and Henri Nouwen's insight about hospitality jumped off the page in his book, Reaching Out, he notes: "Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines.”

Wow. Nouwen said, in words, what my brain was trying to figure out. As a person that still loves to cook, host and be, I simply keep Nouwen's words in mind when I do those things. While hospitality encompasses more than just hosting, cooking and being, this is the more specific form in which I like to practice it. So, if I ever invite you over to my house for supper, tea, or something of the like, know that I keep Nouwen's words in mind. 

In my home, when I host you or cook for you or talk with you, my hope is that you wouldn't just experience food, chatter and laughter. My hope is that the part in you that needs to be nourished the most is indeed nourished. My hope is that you would experience a peace and freedom that only true hospitality, Christian hospitality, and hospitality empowered by the Holy Spirit can provide. 

Home Sweet Bargains

In May, right before we left for Dallas, we moved to Kalas Village, just down the street from our old house. We had planned to live in Kalas Village, the seminary community housing, all along; however as they built new houses, we were on the waiting list. Consequently, our old home never really felt like "home." We were in transition and kept a lot of things packed up in boxes. There was a lack of decor in our old house and that made me really antsy to move into our new house. Then, we moved right before we left for the summer to go to Dallas. When we returned, I finally got to begin decorating our home. I've spent the last month doing just that and it really does feel like home. I can't wait to share some pictures with you! I've been having fun finding bargains to fill in the gaps. I've had amazing luck! Here are some projects/bargain finds that have made our home a little more, well, homey. 

- Our great friend, Blake, actually built us a kitchen shelf out of pallet wood. This was the piece I was waiting for. I organized everything else around the fact that I wanted to display my dishes. They're just so beautiful and I love the rustic/industrial look it gives the kitchen when dishes/pots/pans are on display. I just said that I needed a shelf and Blake was on it. We painted it Valspar's "London Coach" and it was good to go. 

- I needed something to hold my magazines. I knew I wanted it to be something more exciting than just another old basket. I found a vintage fruit crate at a "Repurposed Soul" event and snagged it for the magazines. The best news is, all the profit that Repuroposed Soul makes off their merchandise goes to support "Waves a Mercy," a mission organization in Haiti. Check them out on Facebook if you get a chance. Their stuff is phenomenal and popular around where we live. 

- Jute Rug. I was looking for a good, durable, neutral rug to hang out in the kitchen. I looked all summer in Dallas and just couldn't find the right one. I finally found a jute jewel at Marshall's in Nicholasville. I knew it was *the one.*

- Napkin Rings. I've been looking for at least a year for good napkin rings. I didn't want normal silver or beaded rings, although there's definitely nothing wrong with those. I just wanted something unique -- something that would fit in nicely in my home. I found numbered napkin rings (1-12) and couldn't resist getting them. After all, they were only $5 (originally retailed at $20) from the Crate and Barrel Outlet in Dallas. 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote Duo. I've been waiting to do this project since March. I found it on Pinterest, all credit due to Chelsea at ohmydeerhandmades.com. I finally got around to doing it. Thanks to Hobby Lobby and their awesome discounts this project was around $8. 

- Dipped wooden vases. I've been looking for some inspiration for my downstairs bathroom. A bathroom is a bathroom is a bathroom, right? Wrong. This is our guest bathroom. It needs some TLC. These dipped wooden vases serve as inspiration pieces as I begin the bathroom as my next decor project. They were an amazing bargain. Originally retailed at $40 and $30, I got them both for $12 from Kohls with Kohl's cash from my mom. Perfect. 

-Gold dipped feathers. These beauties were a must. I've seen them around on Pinterest and knew my home needed them. They literally cost $2 to make and they're such a statement. I made gold feather garland out of them and hung them above my gallery shelf in the living room. They're fun and classy and they bring out the gold in our frame. What can I say, I love them. 

-Wine bottles. These weren't a new project but I must mention them. Old bottles make really awesome and unique taper holders. Really, the tapers fit right in. A great way to upcycle!

Whew! That's a lot. But, I've loved every second of it. I've also discovered that my taste is a lot more modern than I choose to believe. I often think of myself as a shabby chic type of girl, but this house is anything but shabby chic. Much more classic and modern. So, I've even learned a lot about myself and my design style along the way. Well, enough of my ramblings. Enjoy some pictures!