Jul 29, 2009 | Scotland, Top Ten Lists
Four years ago today, my brother and I took the train up from London and I arrived in Bonnie Scotland for what has become a great extended stay. What an awesome time it’s been…I have been blessed beyond belief. Today, movers are in our flat packing up our worldly goods. If you haven’t heard the news already…here it is: We’re leaving Scotland for South Africa next week (with a month in North Carolina in between).
In honour of the adventure behind me, and the adventure to come, here’s the Top Ten Scottish (and a few British) delicacies I am seriously going to miss when this place is in my rear view mirror.
10. Haggis has to be mentioned. It’s last on the list because I’m not going to miss it severely. It’s an enjoyable, occasional option to have with neeps and tatties every once in a while. Sorry haggis, but you’re in last place.
9. Digestive Biscuits. Although I dearly enjoy these, chocolatey, biscuity (cookie) goodness with a cuppa, it is probably very good for me to say bye bye to them.
8. Fruit Muesli from Tesco. They must put crack in this stuff. It is seriously addictive and I eat it every morning!
7. “Hello, Loon Wah, may-a help?” So, apologies, thanks to globalization this Scottish delicacy is actually Chinese, but the Singapore Style Chow Mein at Loon Wah on London Road (across from Meadowbank) is off the chain. I really hope it’s on the menu in heaven. I’m really going to miss it.
6. Shortbread! Especially Millionaire/Caramel Shortbread. Praise the Lord for the sense of taste.
5. Brown Sauce, also know as HP Sauce. This stuff is awesome. Enough said.
4. Banoffee Pudding or Banoffee Pie, especially Banoffee a la Mr. Paul Broon!
3. Cream Tea. (Tea with scones, jam and clotted cream). This should be served to pregnant women on a platter once a week.
2. Steak and Guiness Pie at the Golf Tavern by Leith Links or Steak and Ale pie at the Clachaig in Glencoe. Why do things that are so bad for you taste so good?
1. The Bacon Roll with Brown Sauce. I had two of these while I was in labour with Asher. They are the most delightful things ever. To my friends outside the UK: think Bacon on a Bun with sauce a little more vinegary than BBQ Sauce. I really hope these bad boys are on the menu in SA.
Dear Scotland,
You have been sweet to me these past four years. Thank you very sincerely from the bottom of my tummy.
Love,
Caroline
Jul 15, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
You may have noticed my brief absence from the blogging and Facebook scene. Did you miss me? I missed you! Â We took my MacBook in to the Apple Store in Glasgow to get it fixed, because there were only a few days left on the warranty and it had several little glitches. We thought a few replacements might help it last a bit longer. Among other things, the screen did a funky thing a couple of times and it seemed like the battery was about to die. Anyway, I, as a result, had to experience Mac-drawals, and 11 days of occasionally stealing a moment on Mark’s laptop, until his was also in the shop and I eventually thought to myself — this is probably good and I should just let it go!
The amazing story, you may have also seen in a Facebook status update, is that while I was away from my MacBook (and decidedly getting other things done and enjoying the break) the Mac people were busy trying to sort out the graphics issue, replacing the logic board or whatever that is, and trying to sort out the display. I’d been concerned about the laptop dying soon because it was starting to make funny noises, but quietly decided in my heart, “God will take care of this, too.” So, on the last day as they were going through their final diagnostics, my MacBook decided to give up the ghost and died! Â It must’ve been a sad moment! Â But Praise the Lord — He knew all this would happen, and it happened in such perfect timing that they decided to just give me a BRAND NEW, updated MacBook with a year’s warranty, FOR FREE!
The lesson I’ve learned from all this, which we’ve been discussing around our flat recently, is to trust God for what you need every day, and don’t worry about tomorrow. When the Israelites were in the wilderness with nothing to eat, God provided enough manna for them to eat each day. Â And on Fridays, he doubled it so they’d not have to gather on the Sabbath. He knows what we need, before we even know it, and He is able to provide in ways we didn’t even consider.
Philippians 4 explains this really well when it basically says “Don’t worry about anything. Pray about everything.” (NLT) And Matthew reminded us not to worry about tomorrow, because each day has enough problems of its own. (See Matthew 6: 25-31) If we wake up each morning with an attitude of “Lord, give me what I need for today” we can set aside our worries about tomorrow, next week, or next month. We can focus on staying in step with the Holy Spirit of God — since God already knows what is going to happen, and is able to make a smooth path for us to navigate it.
The Sermon in a Nutshell: This simple truth is incredibly hard to live by. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Trust God for what you need TODAY. We bring the concern to Him. He brings the peace to us. It’s that simple.
xCC
Jul 1, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
Have I ever told you about the time I worked as a pawnbroker? God did so much in my life through my experience of working at a Pawn Shop  just inside the beltline in Raleigh, NC for a year before I left for Scotland. If you’re not familiar with what a Pawn Shop is, google it, or perhaps we’ll have a lesson about that another day.
In the meantime…you may have heard this expression before: “Keep Your Eye on the Cross.” On one especially fated day back at the pawn shop, God made this lesson incredibly real for me…seriously. Seriously.
See, someone pawned this ridiculously expensive white gold … or maybe platinum cross. It must’ve been 4 or 5 inches long and 3 or 4 inches wide — like, too big for me to close my hand around it. And it was COVERED, its entire length and width, with diamonds. Big, quality diamonds, and there was one really big diamond in the centre. Iced out, frosted bling bling. I could hardly believe the thing was real. But it was! And someone pawned it and didn’t come back to pick it up, so it was in the jewelry case for sale for ages. This was the kind of bling a baller would be so proud to sport he’d put his life in danger for it. Pricetag: $5,000. I’m not even kidding. Well, it was $10,000 but everything was always 50% off.
So, this one day, this guy comes in and wants to see the gold bracelets in the case where the cross is. I open up the case, and start showing him one after another. He’s trying them on, way different sizes, way different looks, way different prices, and I begin to think, “Hmm, champ…you’re either somehow female, or you just have no clue, or else you’re not really after a bracelet.” And in my mind, I heard the Lord say, “Keep your eye on the cross.” My first thought was, “Okay, Jesus, I know. Thank you for the cross” and then I realised the Lord was literally saying, “Keep your eye on that cross.” “Okay, Lord, okay.”
A moment later, I knocked over one of the watches in the case, and it fell out of the case onto the floor. I very carefully slid the case closed, leaned down to pick up the watch while keeping an eye on the case, and then continued helping this guy. When I put the watch back I double checked — yes, the bling bling cross is still there. Sweet. So two minutes later, this guy is still saying “Okay let me see this one…okay that one.” And I’m beginning to think he’s wasting my time. All of sudden I realise, “Holy cow, where is the cross!!!!!?????!!!!”
To this day, I have no idea how the guy got hold of it. I mean I was really paying attention carefully. I looked up at him, and then looked, and I could see he was holding it in his hand down by his side, but it was too big to be completely concealed. I looked at it, looked up at him, and seriously you guys, a boldness came over me like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and I said, “Give it back.” He looked at me, kind of uncomfortably, and then tried to play it off, and handed the cross over the counter to me. My heart was absolutely racing. I put the cross back into the case and locked it. He said he wanted to keep looking at bracelets, and I said, “No.” He left the store and my manager was rather perturbed he didn’t have the opportunity to call him in for attempted theft. I was thankful the Lord had prompted me to be mindful of that stinkin cross or I probably would’ve lost my job and owed my boss 5K!
Not just in a literal way, but also in a spiritual way, being mindful of the cross can give us a clearer perspective on what’s happening around us. When we think about Jesus’ sacrifice — coming down from heaven where He was equal with God to save us — we realise that, in comparison, no matter what we give up, we aren’t really sacrificing very much to follow Him. When the enemy tries to condemn us, or make us feel like because of our sin we are unworthy of a relationship with a holy God, we can point to the cross and remind him that our relationship with God is paid for.
And thanks to the Bling Bling Pawn Shop Cross that almost got stolen, I will have the message — Keep your eyes on the cross — etched in my heart for the rest of my days.
xCC
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