Korv Stage 2
Korv Stage 2 – The meat has gone through the grinder twice. First, it went through a coarse plate. Then, it went through a fine plate. Now, it will go in the freezer while we get the potatoes and onions ready.
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Korv Stage 1
Korv Stage 1 – the pork, beef, and fat back are cubed and ready for the freezer.
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Ice Breaker – Christmas Cookies
Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.
Our family spent several hours last Saturday together making Christmas cookies to enjoy and to send to some neighbors, friends, and relatives. This is always a dangerous time in our house as the flour, sugar, and butter start taking over the place. This week’s Stretched Ice Breaker is inspired by the Stolpe Family Cookie Bake-Off.
Question: What is your favorite Christmas cookie?
My Answer: My favorite Christmas cookie is the Swedish Spritz cookie. It’s just the right mix of sugar, flour, butter, and anise flavoring. I remember making these cookies with my mom every year. She’d help us make the dough, and she let my brother and I use the cookie press to make the cookies. The best part was always eating some of the raw cookie batter that oozed out of the cookie press. The next best part was always testing the first few cookies when the cookies came out of the oven.
If you’re looking for a way to win over the Stretched Blogger, you can’t go wrong with plate of Swedish Spritz cookies (you could also try shortbread cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, and bourbon balls).
Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep STRETCHING!
Also don’t forget to sign up for the weekly Stretched newsletter. Check out this post to find out how to sign up.
90 Day Thank You Note Challenge
Take the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge today with @jonstolpe – http://wp.me/p27Qjv-19k #ThankYouRevolution <Tweet This>
I’m part of a revolution.
It’s not what you think. I’m not revolting against the government (although this sometimes seems like an idea worth pursuing). I’m not revolting against Dallas Cowboy fans (despite the Cowboys are an Eagles’ fan’s worst enemy). And I’m part of an American Revolutionary War Reenactment Group (my brother and sister-in-law were though).
I’m part of the Thank You Revolution.
My friend, Matt McWilliams, started this revolution over a year ago when he challenged readers of his popular leadership blog to develop of discipline of hand-writing a thank you note to at least one person every Thursday. Call it Thank You Thursday.
I took Matt up on his challenge, and I haven’t looked back. Almost every week since joining the Thank You Revolution (TYR), I have written at least one thank you note to someone in my office. At first it was a little scary…What will people think of receiving a hand-written thank you note from me? Will it seem weird? Or will they really feel appreciated? Then it became exciting as people responded with enthusiasm, surprise, and gratitude when I took the time to jot them a simple note.
I wrote about one of my experiences with the Thank You Revolution in a post I wrote for Matt titled The Power Of Gratitude. Now, it is routine. I look forward to writing these notes to people in my office. And I’ve even begun to expand my notes beyond the walls of my office.
The results continue to me amazing. Fellow employees have approached me over and over again in appreciation for my simple note to them. And I’m starting to see the ripple effect of my efforts at my own office. People are talking about it in management circles, and fellow employees and managers are starting to write hand-written notes of their own. For an east coast construction firm, this is incredible.
Here’s the deal – I think you can change the world around you by developing the same discipline.
With this in mind, I’d like to challenge to test run the Thank You Revolution. I am so convinced that this revolution will have a positive impact in your world that I’d like to lay down a challenge with some teeth. Here’s how it will work:
90 Day Thank You Note Challenge
Sign up now through December 31, 2013. To sign up, leave a comment here AND sign up for Matt McWilliams’ Thank You Revolution by clicking here.
Starting January 2, 2014, write at least one hand-written thank you note to a co-worker, a colleague, or another deserving recipient. For the next 90 days (13 weeks), write at least one thank you note to someone new. Be sure to keep a record of your thank you notes. Record the date, the recipient, and the reason for the thank you note. If you need help learning how to write a thank you note, check out Matt’s great instructions here.
At the end of 90 days (March 27, 2014), if you have not have note seen the impact of testing out the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge, I will send you a box of thank you notes for free. In order to qualify for the free thank you notes, you must sign up for the challenge as directed above, you must write at least one thank you note every week for 13 weeks, you must send me your recorded list of thank you note efforts, and you must tell me why you don’t think the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge had an impact in your circle of influence.
At the end of 90 days, I hope you’ll stay with the Thank You Revolution, and I invite you to share your 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge success stories.
So, what do you think? Are you with me? Sign up today in the comments!
ADVENTure Day 11
Today’s ADVENTure post comes from Bill Grandi. Bill is a pastor in the great state of Indiana. He blogs regularly at CycleGuy’s Spin, and he has become a friend over the past couple of years thanks to the wonders of the blogosphere. Today, he offers a post to get you thinking about your ADVENTure from a different angle.
(If you’re interesting in guest posting as part of the ADVENTure series or in general, please leave me a comment. I’d love to connect with you. Thanks!)
It is said everyone has a story. Here is part of my Christmas one.
I grew up in what was commonly known as the projects in West Mifflin, PA. They were nothing more than glorified low income housing units built for the steel workers during the war. My father grew up in Fort Wayne, IN, was the product of an abusive home, and joined the Navy. After his discharge he attended Findlay College for a year or two for journalism, but dropped out in order to marry my mother. My mother was raised by godly parents and her desire was to be a missionary. We always joked because her mission field wound up being 4 sons (all of whom are serving the Lord today). They moved back to her hometown and found housing in the projects. We moved to the one I remember most because it was while living there that my father lost his job as a yard clerk on the railroad. Times were lean…no make that very lean. Mom went to work in a mom & pop grocery store. Dad was jobless for several years, until my aunt eventually paid for him to go to computer school to learn the growing field of computers. That was the time computers were as big as a house and took huge rooms kept almost frigid to house them.
Through it all my mom’s faith upheld her. My dad was nominal at best, but my mother’s faith was real and deep. She made sure Christmas was special in more ways than one. While they were both conscious of the “material” aspect of Christmas, mom made sure we knew the deeper story of Christmas. Yes, we had Santa Claus. Yes, we had lights and a tree and trains (those was my father’s responsibilities). But I had a mother (and grandparents) who made sure we knew what Christmas was all about. I learned early on that it did not depend on what you did/did not receive, or what others got that you didn’t. I learned how important it was to be grateful for whatever it was I received, whether I asked for it or not. Even after my father found a computer job, that focus never changed.
I have a lot of good memories from Christmas morning-of games being played; of breakfast being eaten before we could even open a gift; of staring in amazement at the sight that greeted my eyes (when we went to bed there was N-O-T-H-I-N-G); but most importantly of loving parents who sacrificed so their children could have a “nice” Christmas.
ADVENTURE Question: What do you remember from your early years which shaped your impression of Christmas, and is still affecting you today?
ADVENTure Activity: Do you know a family you can reach out to who may have run into some tough times lately? Do they have children whom you can help them with? Can you help them anonymously? Do something.
ADVENTure Day 10
When I was in college, I visited many of the area churches on Sunday mornings. I went to the local Baptist church, the local Presbyterian church, the local Methodist church, and many other churches. One church I visited fairly often was the local Christian Missionary Alliance (C.M.A.) church. Many college students attended this church. The services were somewhat contemporary, and they did a great job including students from our college in the worship from time to time.
The C.M.A. church had a tradition called I think they called a Love Feast. I was there when they did it once or twice. During the service, they brought out baskets of bread. I don’t remember if they passed out the bread or if you came to the front to pick up a couple of pieces of bread. As I remember the Love Feast, everyone stood up and walked around the sanctuary or auditorium. They approached someone in the congregation they knew and selected to receive a piece of bread. As they gave them a piece of bread, they would share something they loved about the other person. The recipient would then eat the piece of bread. It was simple and powerful.
I remember seeing people crying throughout this “sacrament” of love. I’m sure there were people who were going through reconciliation. Others were simply being encouraged. It was a time of healing. I time of hope. And I time of love.
Christ came to provide healing, hope, and love to a broken world. He set the example for reconciliation and forgiveness. This Love Feast was an opportunity to experience and share this love with others.
As we celebrate Advent, it should be a time of healing, hope, and love.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:16-20
ADVENTure Activity: With whom do you need to pursue reconciliation? Take a step this week towards reconciliation.
ADVENTure Question: How have you experienced reconciliation with someone? How did it feel? Were you pursued or did someone else pursue you?
ADVENTure Day 9
A Love That Doesn’t Sense
It’s easy to love others when they treat you well, when they do what you want, and when they love you back. But what about when people treat you like garbage, when they don’t do what you want, and when they hate you? Obviously, this doesn’t make sense.
Christmas is all about a love that doesn’t make sense.
Why in the world would God send His Son to save people who sin, who hate, and who continue to do everything contrary to His Law?
But this is just what He did.
It doesn’t make sense to me. Does it make sense to you?
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
ADVENTure Activity: Do something that doesn’t make sense today. Report back with the details in the comments.
ADVENTure Question: Where have you seen a love that doesn’t make sense?
Don’t forget to sign up for the weekly Stretched newsletter. Check out this post to find out how to sign up.
ADVENTure Day 8
On the second Sunday of Advent, many churches will be focusing on love.
Last week, we focused our ADVENTure series on hope, and this week we’ll move more towards love.
Love is an interesting thing. There are different kinds of love.
There’s brotherly love – where we get the word Philadelphia. This is a love for your fellow-man – not in a homosexual way, but in a friendly way. I would equate this kind of love to the love that David had with Jonathan (King Saul’s son).
There’s erotic love which carries a more physical and sexual based focus.
There’s storge love. This is the love between family members. I love my kids. I love my brothers. I love my parents.
There’s agape love. This is an unconditional, sacrificial love. This is the love that Christ showed us when He died on the cross for our sins. This is the best love – the love we are called to pursue.
As we head into this second week of ADVENTure, it’s important to remember Christmas is all about this agape love God has for you and me.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13
ADVENTure Activity: Talk with someone about love. Make a list of the things and people you love. What kind of love do you have for this thing/person?
ADVENTure Question: What do you love about Christmas?
Don’t forget to sign up for the weekly Stretched newsletter. Check out this post to find out how to sign up.
ADVENTure Day 7
What is your nickname?
Have you always had the same nickname? Or has it changed throughout your life?
People call me Stretch and Stolpe now. But I’ve also been called The Reverend, Stain, and Pope.
Nicknames are an interesting thing. They are part of our identity. Sometimes the names are good, and sometimes the nicknames carry a negative meaning.
Advent is all about the coming of our Savior – Jesus Christ. If you read through the Bible, He is marked with several names. I’m not sure they would be called nicknames, but they are definitely markers of His identity.
The prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse into some of His names.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Knowing Jesus’ names helps us to better understand who He is.
ADVENTure Activity: Make a list of the names and attributes of Jesus Christ. Share your list in the comments.
ADVENTure Question: What is your nickname(s)? How did you get the nickname?