In the Spirit...

This morning, Ryan and I got our bodies out of bed (him before me) and headed west to Missouri.  Yesterday he had started using the turbo disk to till the fields his dad farms over there.  When those fields are done, that will wrap up the tillage work they plan to do this fall.  Here is my beloved in front of "Big Blue" and the turbo disk this morning.  

As it would happen, I had been doing some tilling of my own.  Albeit, on a far smaller scale. Here's the "red devil" I used to till up the garden yesterday afternoon.  

I'd like to be able to say that I showed her who's boss...you know...Mad Dog style...really tore her into the ground...
but, then, that might not be completely honest.

So anyway, Ryan and I had an interesting conversation on the way over to Missouri about why we till the ground.  Having a degree in Agricultural Science, he talked about microbes and chemical processes...the importance of nitrogen, etc., etc.  But the gist of it is that tilling breaks up and turns over the old "residue" (whatever's left of the old crops - stalks, leaves, etc) in order for it to be broken down into organic matter that will provide nutrient-rich soil for next year's crop.  God's handiwork at it's best...the waste naturally turns into the food...pretty cool.  

Fast forward to this afternoon.  Things were just not going my way.  I will spare you the details, but it was just one of those times when you feel like everything...seriously...e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. is not going according to plan (*Holla out to all my homies with Type-A tendencies...Here! Here! to To-Do lists, schedules, and plans!).   

Put plainly, I was struggling to keep a good attitude.  While driving home (after I had finally gotten all I needed from the grocery store..the 2nd time), I was at a juncture..."two roads diverged in a wood"-type stuff...
My thought process went about like this...

Grrrr....
Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!....
*deep breathing* 
Ok, if I let [my frustration] go, it's going to ruin the rest of my day.  

I really didn't want to lose the day to my frustration.  By God's grace, I remembered the Bible study our small group did last spring - Lord, Change My Attitude (highly recommended!).  In it, James MacDonald proposes replacing certain attitudes with others.  Namely (and most applicable to me in this moment of acute emotional distress), replacing a complaining attitude with a thankful one.  

Ok, I thought. How can I cultivate a thankful heart?  

I began thinking of things I'm thankful for...especially related to the things that had "gone wrong" in my afternoon.  

And then my spastic brain made a connection...in the farming world, cultivating is essentially tilling.  That got me to thinking...what does tilling up our hearts look like??  

From my time in the garden yesterday, I knew how vicious the red devil was in taking down old stumps and turning over the soil, making it ready for new growth. I imagined the part of my heart that is prone to complaining...to be easily frustrated...I imagined it being ripped out and violently buried in the soil...being broken down by God's Spirit...and prepared for new growth.

So, in the Spirit of ...

Fall Tillage

Thanksgiving

and most importantly, Christ Jesus

This Thanksgiving I am tilling up the soil of my heart and asking God to produce from it a harvest of gratitude.  

Thank you, Lord, for saving my day and for saving me. 
S.D.G.

Checked Off

Within the last week, two things have been checked off our To-Do list.  

First, last Wednesday, Ryan and his dad finished harvest.  

This always precedes a big sigh of satisfaction and relief.  While farmers do love harvest, they also like having it finished with the crops in the bin or sold.  
For farm wives, the end of harvest heralds the return of your beloved from the field....the end of the super long hours...more dinners and evenings together...happiness.  

So long, Harvest, we'll see ya next fall.  

Second, we completed our Amazing Race application video.  We had a blast...seriously - A BLAST - making the video with Ryan's sister and brother-in-law, Laura and Brandon.  We got to visit them this past weekend in northern Illinois.  We laughed, joked, pondered, laughed some more....and that was just breakfast.  They were exceedingly gracious hosts and producers of our video.  

Here are a couple still photos captured from our video...

If we do make it on the Amazing Race...you'll be the first...well, maybe 12th, to know. 
:)

The Things Girls Do

What's a girl to do on a rainy, windy fall day?  Curl up next to the fireplace.
But if she's got no fireplace?  Well, the next obvious choice is to bake.  Throw together some tasty treat and curl up next to that warm oven.  

Let's be honest...It's really not the same.  Fireplaces, preferably wood-burning, are in a league of their own in terms of providing warmth (both in temperature and in ambiance) to a home.  But I truly enjoy baking and Ryan enjoys the fruits of my baking.  And as far as it being a thing girls do...many men enjoy baking, and I hope they enjoy the luscious morsel I'm going to share with you today.  

Say "hello" to Pumpkin Cream Cheese Crumble Muffins.  

This combination came to me over the course of the last week.  Our dear friend from church, Janet, made this recipe from Country Living - Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins - for our small group.  I ate two at small group and took two more home for breakfast the next day.   Seriously...they were delicious.  

Then yesterday my co-worker told me about a pumpkin streusel muffin that she got from a local bakery.  With topping like an apple pie, but on a pumpkin muffin.  That got my wheels a-turnin'.  

Could the rich creaminess of the cream cheese muffin be paired with the crumbly sugary 
streusel goodness?? This could go down in history along with a long line of famous duos - 

Lavern and Shirley
Lucy and Desi
Jack and Jill (haven't you heard?? They went up the hill)
Kermit and Miss Piggy
Scrambled eggs and cheese
Case and IH
Peanut Butter and M&Ms (now what we call Peanut Butter M&Ms)
  
Oh yes.  This could be monumental.  This could be providential.  This could be epic.  
It is MTB - Meant to Be.  

A disclaimer - This is a multi-bowl recipe.  I know. I know.  My heart sank, too, when I thought about the clean up of multiple bowls.  But it's worth it.  That's all I'm sayin'.  

Below is the recipe I used.  It is tweaked from the Country Living recipe.  (I should mention that the CL recipe does include a small crumb topping, but not enough in my opinion.)  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Crumble Muffins (AKA Sweet Nectar of Heaven)
(Makes 24 muffins)

Ingredients:


Muffin-
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
3 eggs
2 cups + 3 Tbsp. white sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups solid-packed pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Crumb Topping -
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup. whole oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 Tbsp. butter
Pecan pieces to taste (optional)

Here we go...
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease muffin tins (I substituted an angel food cake pan for one of the muffin tins to make a coffee cake) with oil.  
       
In a small bowl beat the cream cheese, one egg, and 3 Tbsp. sugar until smooth. Set aside.  In a large bowl combine the white sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and 2 tsp. cinnamon.  In a separate bowl (this is the multi-bowl part I was talking about) beat 2 eggs with the pumpkin, oil, and vanilla.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a fork until moistened.  

Fill each muffin cup using half of the pumpkin batter.  Then spoon a dollop (that's exact) of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin cup.  Use a knife or toothpick to swirl the pumpkin and cream cheese briefly...no mixin' here.  We just want to swwwiiiirrrllll... 

Top with the remaining pumpkin mixture.  

Next combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon for the crumb topping.  Using a pastry blender (or fork or potato masher or your chewed-off finger nails...basically, whatever you've got) cut in the butter.  Add pecans if desired.  

Add crumb topping to the muffins...

Throw 'em in the prepared oven for about 15 minutes.  The original recipe said 20-25.  I took mine out at 17 minutes and they were a bit more done than I'd like.  I would check them at least at 13 minutes just to ensure these precious gems don't get too done.  

And Wha-La! 

Pour yourself some cider and savor a taste of autumn...all baked right into the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Crumble Muffins.