March Wisdom from Proverbs

March 1, 2018:  Proverbs 1
My verse in Proverbs 1 that I prayed over was “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬
Thanks to my friend Sasha for the biblegateway resource on Proverbs 1.  There was a time in my life when I wondered from my father's instruction & my mother's teaching - this includes my earthly parents and the church & God! I am prayerfully thankful that my God got me back.  I also prayed for wisdom for my husband and I as we instruct our children & other children they/we come in contact with.  For our youth ministry leaders that they are open in every way to serve God's calling.  Amen.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+1&version=TPT

2018

Another year… blessed to be alive! Alas, without a few friends and family who did not make it but I am hopeful that they are at peace in a better place.

I hope to document my path this year through notes and pictures again.

Making a habit takes 21 days … says some research somewhere.  Hoping to test it out with the most difficult habits I have been trying to form.

1) 25 crunches per day 2) 64 oz of water per day 3) lemon juice, hot water & honey/apple cider vinegar every am

Starting 1/21/2018 – Day 1!
Went for Rutha’s YOCJ concert at TCNJ.  She played the piccolo - a new challenge overcomed!
She also had a good interview with a Brown Alumni - who is also from PHS & a doctor in her pediatrics group (PNP). 

Hygge

Reading a little about Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah).  Below are the ideas from the "The Book of Hygge" by Louisa Thomson Brits and some of my thoughts.
It's defined as a quality of presence and an experience of belonging and togetherness.
I admit to having the experience of hygge in some phases of my life and not in some.
Hygge is a sense of abundance and contentment, about being, not having.

Hygge (coziness), tryghed (security), and trivial (well-being) are the three graces of Danish culture and socialization.

Like mindfulness, a recent popular theme in our overburdened, overextended, drowning-in- information-with-little-time-to-process-lives, hygge entails commitment to the present moment and a readiness to set aside distractions.

Hygge is fragile because the process in a sense, is the goal.  It comes through a collaborative effort and can easily appear but also easily disappear. - Carsten Levisen

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard
This is so true...
The most common form of despair is not being who you are. - Soren Kierkegaard
Material goods can rarely alter our happiness, unlike emotional experience.  Having can never replace being. - IIse Crawford

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. - Simone Weil
To paying more attention to the people I love, including myself!

Just Wing It!

Every summer we designate a theme for the season! This typically reflects our plans or desires with a lot of motivational overtones.  This year we had way too many changing factors that sometimes left us feeling overwhelmed, unprepared & with many a plan B, C, D all with the same kind of open ends to them.
So my daughter said how about, "Just Wing It!" to which I unthinkingly responded sure & realized it did not have a motivational undertone so suggested "Just Wing It (but with a plan)!"
Thankfully we did submit to trusting God's plan for us. As I look back over the last 7-8 weeks I do find evidence of God's plan - the one that is always good for those who trust in Him!!

As a family we had quality time together, traveling to drop Rutha off at an NSLC camp at Boston. On our way there we did a quick 2-hour visit to Yale, a preview of college visits that will begin this year. Yale was great - steeped in history & very impressive.  When we picked her up we took a mini-vacation wandering the streets of Boston, took a highly informative tour of Harvard with Rutha as the informed guide! She was quick to point the similarities between Yale & Harvard & extrapolate these to other Ivy's & also the differences.  Rohun had stated that when he went to college he would have to get his bike as he could not see himself "walk" between buildings.  So a sign at Harvard had us disqualify it on these exact grounds!

And then headed on to Newport, RI, reliving memories on many visits when Pramod lived in Providence with family and friends.  It took us 15 years to return back there. It was Rohun's first & he enjoyed it a lot! Did the usual Cliff Walk & a visit to the Newport Creamery to have the famous "Awful Awful" shakes.

Rohun did some fun recreational camps in our town, a basket ball camp at Peddie School & then a Speech & Debate Camp.  He did enjoy debate so hoping he grows into that sport as he is such a good reasoning thinker - continues to keep us entertained with his arguments for years now!
He is off to the NASA camp in Huntsville, AL & we hope he enjoys that too.
Rutha also finished a camp at the Waksman Institute of Molecular Biology at Rutgers University. She enjoyed the 2-week experience and learnt a lot.  Last year through the school run Waksman program she had a clone published in ncbi - a national repository & in the last 2 weeks has 3 more submitted,  Proud of her! I made a concerted effort to listen to several of the 36 kids in the program describe their project that reflected their hard work & talent but have to admit was crushed by how little I know of molecular biology & the DNA of a duckweed!! She took the train & shuttle everyday. This is one thing I worried about at the beginning of the summer - how would I manage multiple drop-offs & pickups - but God placed another friend to help who diligently dropped her off at the train station as she went on to her work place & many times gave her a ride back too!

The weeks so far were also marked by visits from friends & family - starting with a surprise visit from my sister on my birthday weekend!! Loved how they pulled that one on me. All the visits were marked with great conversations, laughter, long walks, biking, 6-flags, movie & game nights for kids with their friends & just catching up! The Guptas, Safir, Bhimpures, Kinneys, Vishwakarmas, Pramod's friends from IIT and many others...

I did an awesome parenting seminar in my church for 3 hours. A great line that I read recently was “The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” It is one more nugget in the parenting toolkit & resonated with me like another one did which is if you don't tell your kids who they are, somebody else will! It is deep...

I went to Chicago for the Joint Statistical Meetings - the highlight of this one was seeing my roommate from Penn State after 20 years! This led to connecting with our 3rd roomie! Also met other friends from Penn State.

Its been a hectic summer and basically we've been winging it so far!

Summer Solstice

Looking forward to the summer of 2016.  Kids are done with school today.  Its Papa's birthday today.  Called and wished him & wished I was in Poona this weekend.  Friday was my birthday.
In humble awe of all that my God has done in my life! Looking forward to the exciting times He has planned for me.
This is also the Year of the Jubilee, and more on it later.  I am praying for a release from my past burdens, from any fear and inabilities that have a captive of sorts.  All things are possible through Christ who gives me strength.
My verse as I stand on the threshold of this next decade is Psalm 90:12.  Teach me to number my days Lord so that I may gain a heart of wisdom,

White Bean Dip

Back to blogging

My search for a central place to document my life continues... Social media options are just way too many! I have a FB account, multiple emails, twitter, and 4 different blogs!!

Hoping to continue with this one!

Feeling "light" today - reduced my yahoo inbox to 80 emails from about 7000+!

Keep to your vision & goals.  The way to achieve ones goals is to hold them tightly & your strategies loosely.

This article is a really good one.
http://www.onbeing.org/blog/the-disease-of-being-busy/7023

Lots of walking 9555 steps!

Exhausting and overwhelming day. Message of the day Romans 7:18-25.
In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Day 2 - August

Week 1 Day 2
Repeated the same sequence for 20 mins - 1 min jog 4 min walk cycles.
Man it takes some drive to get moving! I could find 10 reasons why I should push it out to later in the day but glad I did not.
Bad day carb wise - too much of the good sheerkurma! Although it was not sweet it was loaded with carbs - nuts, vermicelli & 2% milk.

Read a good parable from the Bible at church today - Luke 12:13-31.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 
Which leads one to ask what is the Kingdom of God - Romans 14:17 says it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit).
My prayer today is for revelation for more on this.
Also praying for intellectual acumen and speed to get through a mountain load of things to review & stay on top of.  Wisdom to make the right choices every day, every hour, every minute that counts!
Praying in faith for the same for all who read this blog!

Back in action! Aug 2, 2014

After a long break ..... hoping to keep a humble documentation of what I hope will be my testimonial on overcoming the day to day things I battle with God's help (fine unwritten text - I tried doing it myself - it did not work!).

Goal 1: To be able to run a mile!
Found this article on http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1004


Time Involved: Two or three 20-minute sessions a week, for 4 weeks
Fitness Benefit: Cardiovascular endurance
 

Week	Jog Intervals (minutes)	Walk Intervals (minutes)	Number of Jog/Walk Repetitions	Total Time (minutes)
1	1	4	4	20
2	2	3	4	20
3	3	2	4	20
4	4	1	4	20

Once you complete these training sessions, you should be ready to run one mile straight!
 

Progress:  Week 1, Day 1 - 20 min walk/jog
Was not so bad... 

Rutha's article on Mukti Mission

Rutha wrote this for her school newsletter. 

Girl Power: My Trip to the Mukti Mission

By: Rutha Chivate

               Mukti means freedom, a prospect still unthinkable for countless women and girls across the world. As a global community, we have advanced so far, but the restraint on our women is still a pressing problem. The Mukti Mission, headquartered in Kedgaon, India, is the result of the hard work and dedication of one marvelous woman.

               Pandita Ramabai, born in 1858, was an extremely intelligent woman, a trait noticeable from a young age. At age 12, she had memorized eighteen thousand Hindi shlokas (poems). A vertically challenged woman just barely five feet tall, she liked her furniture to be low to the ground and easily accessible. She came from a higher caste Brahmin family, but married into a lower caste family, showing that these labels of society had no influence on her. Pandita Ramabai (the prefix Pandit/Pandita is given to a highly educated person) began the Mukti Mission in 1889. In 1899 she was the architect and engineer of the project of building a church on the grounds with wood imported from Burma that is still operational today. Pandita Ramabai also translated the Bible from its original Hebrew to Marathi, the language of Maharashtra-the first woman in the world to do so. Other doings she was accredited to include being the first woman in India to receive the Kaiser-e-Hind award, a huge honor, the first woman to encourage the education of women doctors in India, and the first woman to invent Marathi/Braille typeset. Today, Mukti Mission has planted seventeen projects in seven states and has offices all over the world, including New Jersey. A couple more recent projects were a girl’s junior college (11^th and 12^th grade) and two new daycares. Many of their projects focus on educating kids that are still victims of child labor, so that they can grow up with knowledge and get better jobs to support their families. They have rescued thousands of children from the horrors of child labor and put them in preparatory schools, which can then bridge them to enroll in regular schools. The Mukti Mission has many volunteers from around the world, a couple of which we were able to meet. Calvin and Darren, from Canada, had come to India for a month to help teach the children in the schools. When asked what their inspiration for coming was, Calvin said, “I’ve just wanted to go on a mission trip to a poor country for two years, and when my church told us about this, I knew I had to come.” Darren, who found out through his school, replied by saying, “I’ve wanted to come to India for eight years to help stop the sex-slave industry, and when I heard about this, I figured helping these young girls would be a good place to start.”

               The Kedgaon Mukti Mission has seven schools: kindergarten, primary school, high school, junior college, an English medium school, blind school, and a special needs school-all the schools are only for girls. We were able to visit a few of these schools and hand out plenty of cookies to bring smiles to lots of faces. Before we visited the blind school, however, we were able to watch the blind women. Every afternoon they sit and weave baskets to sell. They sang a lovely song all together like a choir, their voices in perfect unison. These women are taught to weave baskets, sew, and even cook (fires and all), without the use of their vision. At the blind school, right next door, we saw the blind girls being taught by blind teachers. There were only one or two girls per grade, and they each sat across from their teacher on the floor, in their respective classrooms. All their books were in Braille; we saw one girl writing in Braille with the use of an interesting tool with slots, and a poker to create the raised dots. We also saw young blind children, about three to five years old, having nap time under their beds (so they wouldn’t fall off), we didn’t get to meet them, but we left them lots of cookies!

               Afterwards, we visited the hospital, a fair-sized, fully functional medical facility servicing many women. My aunt, the manager of the hospital, gave my cousins and me a thorough tour of the place. I got to see the bench where many years ago my great-grandfather would sit and hand out spectacles, right next to the dentist’s office. Further inside, there was a pharmacy, an operation theater, a delivery room, an x-ray/E.C.G. room, an injection room, and several wards for patients. In the back there was a home for older women whose families couldn’t take care of them anymore. In one of the wards, we got to see the most adorable baby with the saddest story. Baby Joseph was born with a cleft lip and cleft palette; his mother, thinking this to be bad luck and not wanting to be ridiculed by neighbors and family, brought him to Mukti Mission when he was just two days old. He was also found to have several neurological issues that would require numerous surgeries until he is twelve years old. His caretaker was feeding him formula milk, and we could see that he was in very good hands. When we moved on, we saw a woman who couldn’t speak; she performed an ‘action song’ for us and a very entertaining patient who sang two songs for us. It was truly a fantastic place!

               In conclusion, I’d just like to say that amazing things are happening at this mission for freedom, and anyone can take an initiative to make a difference, just as Pandita Ramabai did. These girls are learning so much and will grow up and be able to help support their family. Best of all, they can pass on the candle of education to the next generation, for it is only through this light that our world is run.

 

Rewind into the last few months!

Today I had the most amazing & satisfying time with my kids & doing something I love - planting!  Its the 1st day of fall, my favorite season of the year! I fell in love with this season from the very first year I arrived in this country - in beautiful State College, PA in 1991.  Coming back to the present, just had the most delicious apple cider bread with pumpkin spice coffee.  Planted beautiful mums, purple asters, dianthus & icicle pansies.
Last week was a hectic week, school pictures, back to school night, LOTS of work in the office, getting used to new schedules with the kids. September from that view point is a busy month! First day of school was Sep 9th.
We came back from a vacation in Poona, India on Sep 6th where are last week was filled with things we never planned for! Rohun was sick with high fevers, dehydration & tonselitis & ended up being admitted to a hospital for 2 days.  There was a lot of support from family & friends. Since mine was a part work part vacation time in Poona, my original plan was to take the last week off & just shop & pack & finish tying up some lose ends on things for my parents.  All that went right out the window. Rohun's doctor the best pediatrician in Pune (Dr. Anand Pandit) & his team provided excellent care but had reservations on our long flight to the US the day after he was released.  Rohun was an excellent sport through it all - had the IV going for 2 days, had to have it transferred from one hand to the other, loved the attention he got & wondered if he could use a wheelchair to go a great south indian restaurant right across this hospital. This place called Shalini was owned by a neighbor & I have fond memories of that family as we were growing up.  He also had great suggestions on how the hospital staff could go about their work more efficiently as he was quietly observing them go about their work :-)
The previous Saturday we had a family get together with some members of my parent's prayer group.  We had a great time meeting & fellowshiping with everybody followed by delicious biriyani & cake! That day Rohun also participated in a local chess tournament & fared well - but it was a long day for him & that night he became sick.
Our entire time in Pune this time is filled with beautiful memories, meeting some folks we don't normally get to - eating GREAT food - so fresh & tasty its really awesome! Kids had the best time with my parents, my Dad who was still weak from his bout of sickness the previous month was at the beck & call of his oh-so-precious grandkids, taking them for art classes, getting them fresh mithai & treats every single day!
I took the kids to visit Mukti mission - had blogged about this place when I visited it last December.  I did not influence them too much on my feelings for this institution because I wanted them to make their own opinions.  These kids went beyond my expectations in their compassion & impressions of this wonderful place! When we landed in Poona we prayed that on this visit Lord show us things we need to see through your eyes, ways in which we can make a difference. Even in large cities & little suburbs there is so much that I wanted my kids to experience - how many of the less fortunate live, how the fabric of society is so varied, what values do people have, how they relate to each other & contrast it to their own with the ultimate desire to enrich their life with experiences in different parts of God's World!  I will post the article that Rutha whipped out in 2 hours after our short trip separately.
We also went on a short trek to Purander Fort - a short drive from Pune - a place we learnt in our history books but never visited! The place reminded you of Ireland - green, mossy, wet & muddy.

The trip was thanks to a family friend who took us there with his family - they work for Campus Crusade in Poona with teens & young adults - taking them on treks to this place too.  The fort area also had a church which is now just a bare building covered in rich vines & moss.

There were lots of fresh vegetables & fruits being sold on the way to this place.  One such vendor selling fresh peas which were harvested from the fields behind them & sold immediately on the roadside.

 

We had a great time at Nisarg - a seafood restaurant in Poona with my brother Vijay & his family. Although I worked from there I enjoyed every minute of the weekend with family & friends - enjoying their fantastic hospitality & good food!

This summer before our India trip was a very busy one.  Lots of fun activities with for the kids, great times with my mother who was here for 7 weeks, a trip to Toronto to visit my sister & cousins. Rutha went to 3 week John's Hopkins Center for Talented Youth camp on Introduction to Biomedical Science at Carlisle, PA.  It was a awesome time for her - she learnt so much & it triggered some exciting interests in higher gear for her - she researches diseases, symptoms, cures with passion now.  She made good friends & it was overall an excellent experience for her! Another great week was the time she spent at a LIFE conference in Bethel, PA.  Last November Rutha submitted a story titled "Above the Clouds" and this summer she received 5 printed copies of it! The story is about a racy kid adventure funny & pretty cool - believe it or not I only got to read the published copy this summer so was pleasantly impressed.  She wrote this book in about a week - 25000 words - and finished it literally 20 minutes before the competition deadline. The one thing that I am so blessed to see in her is the way she totally makes the most of her opportunities! She gets 100% out of it every time! Knowing how I am now its quite a feat & I hope it lasts for her lifetime :-)! 

On the knitting front, my other great love, I am currently working on a baby blanket for a dear friend & his wife who are expecting their first child anytime now!  Rutha has been whipping out these lovely scarves! I finished the Milk Run Shawl for Varsha, whom I had a great time with when she visited in July.  July also saw the culmination of a long Indian dance journey by friend's adorable daughter. Its years of training that ends with a 3 hour performance - just like the finish of a marathon! She was superb in her performance clearly showing complete mastery of the art!!

Finally, feel a bit caught up with documenting my life over the past few months every moment of which I am deeply grateful for - the good times & the bad times that have taught me lot!

 

Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Black Bean Salad

This is a delicious & very colorful salad!!  The recipe is taken from 500 Quinoa Recipes by Camilla V. Saulsbury which has a whole wide range of recipes! It’s a very well written book – waiting to try out more recipes!  The recipe makes 4 main-dish servings. 

Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Black Bean  Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into ½ in cubes

3T extra virgin olive oil

1T chili powder

1.5 c cooked quinoa (1/2 c quinoa cooked in 1 c water = 1.5 c cooked quinoa)

1 large red bell pepper chopped

½ c thinly slices green onions

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1T ground cumin

3T freshly squeezed lime juice

1T liquid honey or agave nectar

Sea Salt (or regular) & freshly ground pepper

·        Preheat oven to 400F.  In a large rimmed baking sheet, lined with foil & sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Gently toss together the sweet potatoes, 1T olive oil, chili powder & sea salt & fresh ground pepper.  Spread in a single layer on the baking sheet & roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown & tender.  Cool completely.

·        In a large bowl combine the sweet potatoes, quinoa, red pepper, green onions & beans.

·        In a large bowl, whisk together the cumin, lime juice, honey and 2T of olive oil. Add to the salad mix & toss gently to coat.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

The Exotic Kulfi Simplified!

Kulfi (pronounced Kool-fee) is a delicious dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent.  It is traditionally made by boiling whole milk, stirring it continuously to reduce it to a thick consistency & then adding crushed pistachios, powdered cardamom seeds, sugar & saffron & freezing them in little earthen pots or aluminum molds to make a heavenly frozen dessert!

I like this recipe because it is supremely flexible! No need to slave over a stove, this recipe is quick and simple. You can use different kinds of nuts or no nuts, use a little fruit like mango to creatively add flavor, go fat free & if a company comes up with sweetener-based condensed milk, this could be a good option for diabetics.  So here you go…

Ingredients:

1)       2 cans of fat free evaporated milk

2)     1 can of sweetened condensed milk

3)     2 slices of white bread, edges removed

4)   1 tsp cardamom seed powder or coarsely crushed (optional)

5)    A couple pinches of saffron (optional)

6)   2 tbsps crushed pistachios (or almonds or cashews)

Method:

Tear up the bread as finely as possible.  Add all the ingredients to a mixer and run the mixer on medium speed for 2-3 mins.  Pour into popsicle molds or a glass pan & freeze & enjoy!!

The molds & the final product!