Be Still and Know . . .

"Life is teaching you some painful lessons.
But it is from adversity that strength is born.
You may have lost the inning, but I know you'll win the game."
~from PS. I Love You.

I was feeling rather down the other night. Yes . . . even I have moments of despair and times when I feel like just sitting down and having a good cry. I don't think anyone on this earth is immune to those types of feelings. It's just human nature. As I worked away at what I was doing, I was listening to my i-pod. I have quite a few songs on there, probably a good 150 or so and I always keep it on shuffle so I never know which song is going to come up to next. Music is the greatest companion, no matter what you are doing. As I went on with the business at hand, I took a deep swallow and said a silent prayer to my Heavenly Father. I asked him for strength and for comfort. It's amazing what happened next.



The song that was playing on my i-pod finished and the very next song that came up was "Be Still" by Steven Curtis Chapman. If anyone of you are not familiar with this singer you should acquaint yourself with him. He has a beautiful voice and his songs are mainly inspiring and uplifting. He is no stranger to tragedy himself. Just this past week, one of his older sons hit one of his youngest daughters with the family car by accident and killed her. Pretty devastating to that poor family, to say the least. Anyways, the words and music started to wash over me . . .

"Be still and know that He is God.
Be still and know that He is holy
Be still, O restless soul of mine
Bow before the Prince of peace
Let the noise and clamor cease
Be still

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is faithful
Consider all that he has done
Stand in awe and be amazed
And know that He will never change
Be still

Be still and know that he is God
Be still and know he is our Father
Come rest your head upon his breast
Listen to the rhythm of his unfailing heart of love
Beating for His little ones
Calling each of us to come
Be still"

It was as if God himself had reached out to me and offered me some words of comfort and my heart immediately was at rest and the worries that had been bothering me seemed to fall away in the knowledge of how much He cares for me. Once the song finished the very next thought that came into my mind was the following scripture . . .

"For I know the plans I have for you saith the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. " ~Jeremiah 29:11-13



God was listening. I was amazed, and then again, I don't know why I should have been. He always listens and He always cares. No problem is too small, no worry too un-important. He is there for the weak, and for the strong. He is just there, and waiting for us to call upon Him in our time of need, no matter what it is . . . He loves us all, no matter what, no matter who, no matter where, no matter when . . . we only need to reach out to find Him.

We had a busy day yesterday what with work and then Jess had a trip to the Vet for her jab and I had an appointment to the Chiropodist. I love going to the Chiropodist. My feet always feel like a million bucks afterwards! It's worth every penny. It was getting rather late by the time we got home and Todd had to go out to meetings last night so I rustled us up something quick with some bits I found in the fridge. It was really rather tasty, if I don't say so myself! (I love asparagus season!)



*Asparagus Spears with Poached Egg and Hollandaise*
Serves 2

400g fresh asparagus spears
1 TBS white vinegar
2 large eggs (I like to use free range organic, but it's up to you)
1 TBS unsalted butter
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 quantity of warm Hollandaise sauce (either store purchased, (Mary Berry's is very good), or see recipe below)

Wash your asparagus well and trim off any woody ends. I just take each spear and then snap them off about an inch or two from the ends. Take a vegetable peeler and peel it from just below the tip to the end of the stalk, trying hard not to peel too deeply. I have a special peeler that is used for soft fruits like tomatoes and it does a perfect job. In fact, I use it for everything now. The alternative is to take a sharp knife and remove all of the buds down the length of the spears. They can be quite bitter and so it's always better to remove them.

Place the asparagus in a steamer basket and steam them over boiling water for exactly 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. (alternately cook in boiling salted water for exactly 4 minutes and drain well. I prefer to steam them.)

Half fill a saucepan with lightly salted water and add the TBS of vinegar. Bring the water to the boil and then lower it to a simmer. Crack each of your eggs into a small bowl. Now I take the pan off the heat to add the eggs and I just hold the lip of the bowl at the edge of the water and let it slip in. Repeat with the other egg. Return them to the heat. The water should barely be simmering. Cook for 3 minutes exactly. Remove with a slotted spoon to some paper kitchen toweling to drain.

Return the pot you cooked the asparagus in to the heat and drop in the butter. Place over the heat and once it melts and starts to foam, drop in the asparagus. Reheat it through and season to taste with some sea salt and cracked black pepper.

Divide the asparagus between two heated plates. Place a poached egg on top of each pile and then spoon some hollandaise sauce over each. Serve immediately.



*Blender Hollandaise Sauce*
Makes about 6 servings

Quick and easy and always perfect. This never fails. You can use this on eggs, fresh asparagus, or both!

3 egg yolks
1 ml Dijon mustard
15 ml lemon juice
1 dash hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
115 g butter

Combine the egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce in a blender. Cover, and blend for about 5 seconds.

Place the butter in a glass measuring cup. Heat butter in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until completely melted and hot. Set the blender on high speed, and pour the butter into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream through the hole in the top. It should thicken almost immediately.

Keep the sauce warm until serving by placing the blender container in a pan of hot tap water.