SMALL TALK

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Honey! I added birds to our blog!

Today, I changed the background of our blog. It now has birds, and here's why. If you didn't already know this, my husband loves birds, and he now refers to himself as a birder. (I didn't see this one coming.) If you are unfamiliar with this term, let me enlighten you.

A birder is someone who REALLY enjoys watching birds. He could spend hours studying the bird that is sitting on top of a telephone pole, and he will. A birder will want to invest a bird feeder and he will insist on purchasing a bird bath. Should a robin land on the bird feeder in the backyard, he's likely to be late for work. A birder prefers not to talk when he is watching birds, so do not attempt to chat with him. Besides, you might startle the fowl. A truly committed birder will carry binoculars and a reference book filled with the birds of the region. When birding, he will diligently identify each bird that he see and place a check mark next to the birds his spotted in his reference book. Today I learned that the quickest way to offend a birder is to tell him that you see an eagle when it's really a hawk. Oops!

Ladies, should your husband decide to become a birder, be supportive. Birding is one of the cheapest hobbies around, and who knows, maybe his hobby will take you to exotic places. :)

I love you honey!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Acts 12

On Thursday I had the opportunity to spend some time with my grandmother. For those of you that do not know my grandmother, Marion, she is one of the most joyful and content people you could ever meet. I am constantly learning when I am in her presence.

On this particular morning, my grandmother mentioned the name of a girl in the Bible that I did not recognize. Her name is Rhoda. Rhoda was a servant in the house of Mary, the mother of John. As far as I know, her name is mentioned only one time in the Bible. However, I believe that we can learn a great deal from this seemingly insignificant character.

Take some time to read the following passage. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Acts 12:1-19 (New International Version)

¹It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ²He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. ³When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. ⁴After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

⁶The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.

⁸Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. ⁹Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

¹¹Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

¹²When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. ¹³Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"

¹⁵"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."

¹⁶But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.

¹⁸In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Isn’t this an amazing story!!! Let’s recap. King Herod threw Peter into prison. Peter was put into chains and guarded by 16 men. As Peter was sitting in prison, the church was earnestly praying for his release. God decided to send an angel to the prison. The angel woke up Peter. Peter’s chains fell off his wrists. He walked by the guards and right through the front gate of the prison, which was already open.

After he escaped from prison, Peter visited the house of Mary. He knocked on the door. Rhoda, my girl, went to answer the door. When she heard Peter’s voice, she immediately ran back to Mary and the others and declared that Peter was at the door. No one believed Rhoda. They told Rhoda that she was crazy! Peter continued knocking for quite some time before the people in the house decided to open the door.

In this story, Rhoda was the character with great faith. The passage says that Rhoda was overjoyed when she recognized Peter’s voice. She didn’t even open the door. She knew that Peter was at the door. She immediately believed that God had delivered Peter.

Unlike Rhoda, the others inside the house were skeptical. They thought Rhoda was out of her mind when she declared that Peter was at the door. Why? This passage tells us that the church was earnestly praying for Peter’s release. Why were they so surprised to hear that Peter was at the door? Our God hears our prayers, and he answers them. He is powerful and mighty. We can pray in faith, believing that miracles can happen.

I was very happy to learn about Rhoda, a young, servant girl with great faith.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Didn't expect this to happen....

At the end of May, Jon found out that he was scheduled to work summer school. Jon and I were not happy because summer school means traveling, which is something that we LOVE to do. Knowing that I would have some extra time on my hands, I decided to start a vegetable garden.

When I planted my veggies, I was unsure how successful my little garden would be for three reasons. One, I have never been the sole "care taker" of a garden. Two, I have been known to kill indoor plants. And three, Jon and I like keep a pretty tight schedule. So by now you're probably wondering how the garden is surviving and I am pleased to report that there is a very healthy vegetable garden growing at 814 West Maple Street in Palmyra, Pennsylvania.

Take a look at these veggies.

WATERMELON

We have about 9 of these pretty gals growing.

Zucchini

I hope this little guys is the first of many.

YELLOW BELL PEPPER

Any suggestions how I can use the yellow bell?

BASIL

We use this all of the time when we cook.

SWEET 100's

I got to pick a handful of these babies today.

SUPER CHILIES

The chilies are great for salsa and enchiladas.

GREEN PEPPERS

I dunno how we will use these guys. Maybe salsa?

EGGPLANT

This purple beauty will become eggplant parmesan for dinner guests.

BIG TOMATOES

Shoot! I forget the correct name for this tomato.

I'm pretty sure big tomato is not correct. :)

BANANA PEPPERS

Still don't know how to use this veggie. Any suggestions?

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY....

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Thanks Andrew!

So one of our very best friends, Andrew Eppes, posted the most hilarious video clip on Jon's facebook page last week. This is definitely a clip that will make you laugh out loud!

Check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F64Q4u-RvvU

We miss you Andrew!

Bethany Beach

Every year for the past three years, the Hoffsmith family has traveled to Bethany Beach for vacation. Jon and I have decided that this year was our best trip yet. For starters, Jon and I were a married couple this year. Whoot! Whoot! We got to occupy a cute little room in the corner of the beach house. The house was amazing! My parents rented a house for 16 people so we had a few extra visitors from time to time. We especially appreciated the visit of Mr. Matthew Small. Our days consisted of the following....breakfast, beach, beach, beach, pool, dinner, boardwalk, games, games, and then some more games. Staying up until midnight to play games with your entire family is hands down one of my most wonderful things in the world. Lots of memories were made. We can't wait to pack up for next year! Enjoy the pictures.