LASSEN
On Saturday afternoon we ventured to Lassen National Volcanic Park to see our dear friends, Luke and Helena who were camping with their kiddos. Once we arrived, we all wished that we came first thing in the morning! It's absolutely gorgeous there. We swam at their campsite and ate dinner together than we drove up the mountain to see the sights. We wanted to hike to the summit but it would take 5 hours and we had 20 minutes until the sun was setting. After snapping these pics we drove back to the Stones' campsite to have a good ol bonfire with smores. Nothing beats smores and a bonfire.
Ok how cute are those little ones! And do you like our cheesy couples photo? LOLZ... but seriously that view..and that lush meadow! Straight out of Psalm 23.
Can't believe we leave in 3 sleeps! To be honest, I'm a little (ok a lot) itching to get home...I miss my cat and my besties and my bed and my church and my non-musical friends....I guess you know you're in the right place when you miss it soooo much!
xoxo,
s.s.♥︎.
BANANA SCONES WITH BROWN BUTTER GLAZE
I'm all about bananas baby.
I also just sang that OUT LOUD to the tune of Puff Daddy's, "All about the Benjamins"...except I had to pronounce bananas ba-nana-nas to make it work. (OK, I've been spending a lot of time by myself on this vacation so please don't mind my crazy talk...)
Ok back to bananas...
Banana bread. Banana smoothie. Banana oatmeal. Banana slurpee....(FYI James and my first spark occurred over our shared love for banana slurpees..)
Yes, I'm all about bananas baby. I'm also all about brown butter. So when I came across this recipe for scones, I HAD to make them. And if you're all about bananas and brown butter then you can make them too.
Just please do not make them with frozen bananas like I did...because the extra liquid makes them very dense aka not a good flaky scone. Thank goodness brown butter glaze covers a multitude of errors but still..don't use frozen bananas!
BANANA SCONES WITH BROWN BUTTER GLAZE
Ingredients Needed:
scones-
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. salt
- Dash of nutmeg
- 8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into squares like above picture
- 1½ cups mashed ripe banana (about 3-4 large bananas..DO NOT USE FROZEN BANANAS!!)
- 1 cup sour cream
glaze-
- 8 tbsp. butter
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 3 tbsp. milk, plus more as needed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Give it a whisk then stir in the pieces of cold butter and cut into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
In another bowl, add the mashed banana and sour cream then stir to blend. Add the banana mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold together gently with a spatula until a dough begins to come together.
Lay out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a few times to ensure even mixing. Pat the dough out into a slab about ¾- to 1-inch thick. Cut out rounds of dough using biscuit cutters or a small glass (like I did in the above picture).
Place the dough rounds on the prepared baking sheets about two inches apart.
Bake the scones, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the tops are golden brown and the scones are just set, about 16-18 minutes total for large scones then let cool on a wire rack.
When the scones are cooling, make the glaze by heating the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. We're going to brown this butter baby!
Melt the butter and continue to cook, swirling occasionally with a whisk until the butter is a deep golden brown colour (you'll see the brown specks at the bottom of the pan). Set aside to cool slightly. Transfer the browned butter to a bowl and whisk in the icing sugar. Whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth.
Spoon or drizzle the glaze over the scones and let set before serving.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted by the mother of all baking..Annie's Eats.
And there you have it, banana scones with brown butter glaze for everyone!
Hope you have a marvellous Monday! I hear Victoria is getting a bit of a heat wave...Enjoy that 25 degree weather...I'll be melting away in 45 degree weather..HA.
xoxo,
s.s.♥︎.
HELLO FROM REDDING
Hello from hot and sunny Redding California!
I had plans to give you some sweet posts this week but time got away from me! As you know, James is attending the Worship School at Bethel Church with other members from our worship team. They're really enjoying it. I checked it out yesterday morning (you can audit sessions) and had an amazing time. There's something incredibly special about worshipping Jesus in a room full of worship leaders. No holding back happens and that is a beautiful thing.
Today I hung out at home (the house we're staying at) and studied. I'm currently doing a distance education class from summit on the Holy Spirit. I tried studying outside but only lasted 30 minutes...ha. The neighbourhood we're staying in is a little sketchy..(not dangerous though!!) and it's just soooooo hot.
Bethel church last Sunday was amazing. Kris Vallotton spoke on empowering women in ministry...the last time I was at Bethel (which was my first time at Bethel) Sherry Silk spoke on women preaching...ha! I leaned over to James Sunday and said.. "God really loves me." ... I bought Kris' book, 'Fashioned to Reign' and I am so excited to tell you all about it!
Ok enough rambling from me...here are some pictures of the trip so far!
ONE WORD 2014 // JONATHAN
Hello from Redding, California!! We're here for a two week worship school at Bethel Church. Okay, I'm only "with the band". James, and our friends (Roman, Tiffany, Thomas & Chenoah) will be doing the school. I'll be doing my school (Pneumatology distance course), blogging, running (we have to go at 6am because it's so hot!!) and resting...and tanning, ha. I have SO much to share with you already (yesterday's church service was AMAZING) but you're going to have to come back tomorrow to learn more because today I have a special guest for you...Jonathan Bryden!
Jonathan is one of my dear friends. We have worked together for a number of years and he's been friends with James longer than I have. The three of us work very well on creative projects. If you know Jon, you know he has a heart of gold for people. He loves people like Jesus loves people. Like, really, really, loves them. Take it away Jon....!
My name is Jonathan, I’m 28 years old and I’m following Jesus. I’m currently working at Glad Tidings Church in Victoria producing videos and pointing people to Jesus.
People know me in my community as the video guy and the sock guy.
Why the sock guy you ask? It’s a name I picked up during my years on the streets of Victoria. On Thursday nights, some friends and I would go out with a bag of sports socks from Walmart and hand them out to the city’s homeless community. We did this as an excuse to love people, build relationships, share stories and point people to Jesus. I’ve led the ministry for seven years, but today I’m putting the socks down.
My word for this season is ‘complete’.
I recently had an experience where I felt the Lord lead me to spend a whole night out on the street. No sleep, no plan and no one to go with. It was not something I jumped at. I wasn’t eager to go, but His pressing kept on and I decided to follow through. Take the plunge right? Step out of the boat...
A Friday in early June arrived and the timing seemed right. I went expecting to see something deep and meaningful. I went expecting to see God in a really cool way. I went ready to receive a download from Heaven about the next level of the sock ministry I was leading. I went to hear from Jesus.
The experience I had that night was challenging, but not in the way I expected. I met many people, most of whom I knew or had at least already met, but my experience with them was like facing a hall of locked doors. I felt like I had no way in and when I talked about Jesus, I was mostly met with indifference.
It was unspectacular, frustrating and telling on how weary my heart had become towards the spiritual apathy so prevalent in our city. In the midst of all this, I heard God speak…
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
And so that’s what I did. I paused on the side of the street, silent and still. And I realized that all of this wasn’t about me. It wasn’t about my efforts, my love, my sacrifice or even my prayers. It was all about His efforts, His love, His sacrifice and His prayers. I realized the only difference that would ever be made in the lives of the homeless of our city, would be from the work of God’s Holy Spirit and this alone.
And then I began to remember all those who God led us to love over these last seven years. All those who trust in Him, yet don’t look like they are following Jesus. All His people who believe Jesus is their Savior, but have characters and appearances that would never lead you to believe that they are our brothers and our sisters. I remembered the verse…
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36
I realized this has been the success of this ministry. We got to love Jesus. We got to love His people. Though there are countless who are indifferent, there are still some who are His kids.
And so, with the frustration of indifference, the peace in knowing His sovereignty and the gratitude in getting to love His people, a question came to my mind… “Maybe my time on the streets is done.” And as I asked this question, a sense of release hit me and what I can only describe as a wave of peace overwhelmed my mind. That night, I went out on the street to hear from God and as far as my faith takes me, I did.
My word for this season of life is ‘complete’, because that’s how I feel about my part in leading a ministry to the homeless community of Victoria BC. God’s work isn’t done. He will continue it according to His great plan. This is all about Him and He will get all the credit for those He rescues from the homeless community downtown.
I want to publicly thank all those who supported me over the years either through prayers, finances, service or donations. Without your contributions, I wouldn’t have been able to go until my time was done. Thank you and God bless you as you continue to follow His Son.
I look forward to the future and where the Lord will lead me to serve. It may be in the lives of the homeless again or it may be to a different community. Wherever it may be, He is the Lord of the harvest and I am simply thankful to be a part of what He is doing. Thank you and God bless.
Thank you so much for sharing Jon. Your socks journey has inspired so many and I know God will bless your obedience to Him! Who knows what He has in store for you!!
Ok friends, I'll be back tomorrow sharing about my Redding adventure. For the mean time, you can follow along on instagram!
xo,
s.s.♥︎.
JULY 4TH THREADS
Happy July 4th American friends! As I stated last week, it's no secret that I'm a MASSIVE fan of the USA. Just by looking through my wardrobe you can see my great love for your stars and stripes. (I own an american flag bikini, shorts, tank and sweatshirt..lols)
How cute are those shorts? I have pastel ones. Ok, I just had to add that Ban.do scarf again because I love it that much.
1. Topshop Lace Crop Top | 2. Mac Lipstick | 3. Topshop Shorts
4. Ban.do Twist Scarf | 5. Forever 21 Pimsolls
Hope you have a fabulous weekend! We're heading down to CALI tomorrow morning all bright and early! James and some others are attending Bethel Worship School and I will be doing my distance ed course, tanning, running and blogging of course :) I love my job but two weeks off sounds pretty awesome to me!!! Ohhh heeey vaycaaaay!
I'll be blogging from the road but be sure to follow me on instagram as I'm obvs going to be gramming every american treasure that I find!
xo,
s.s.♥︎.