The book of Jude recited by Kalpana Christian Sharma

God's rescue mission and a better plan for my life.

November 4th, 2015

36 years ago today I was rescued! 

And was put on a KQ (Kenya Airways) flight from BOM to NBO, if I am not mistaken it was KQ 205. 

At that time I did not get it but for few years now I have learned to clearly see this as God's divinely orchestrated rescue mission for me; literally, physically and spiritually, from dangerous, unhealthy and ungodly circumstances! How grateful I am to God for this!

I was born in India and grew up part of my life there as well of which, few years were away from my parents, since they were working in Kenya, Africa. As much as I am thankful for the relatives and neighbors who did do good to us, sadly some of the folks back 'home' did not prove to be trustworthy and so we not only lacked proper upbringing but were also taken advantage of at a young age. 

From my later conversations with my parents in Nairobi, Kenya, I saw how much they had worried about me during those years; They told me that they thought of me every time they heard a song that talked about a young girl's protection, especially these lines from a song of an Indian movie of those time, "Mukh chamke jyun Himalay ki choti, ho na padosi ki neeyat khoti, O Gharwaaalon jara usko sambhaalo, yeh toh hey badi bholi" (Her face shines like Himalaya's peak, may the neighbors' motives not get corrupted to molest her, O folks back home, please take care of her she is very naive.) Sadly, the motives did get corrupted and yes, I was taken advantage of by some of those people. 

BUT God!!! Well, yes, thank God, that I also grew up going to church and learning about God. Spiritually speaking I was a baby in my faith walk; 'born again' 'in principle' on August 15th 1978, but I did not know what that really meant practically at a tender age of 14 in a real day to day living! Even though in some areas I had a clear sense of right and wrong, in some important things of life I did not have discernment and was introduced to twisted ideas at an early age, so continued still living in sin thinking it was love, care, fun and something you had to give back to get protection or help;

Aren't you ever so grateful along with me that God divinely steps in our lives to protect us from wicked people and also stops us from self-destructing ourselves, even when we are young and naive? In 1979 with the wisdom of my uncle John and of my caring cousin Rev. Ashok Parmar, and of course of my parents, GOD uprooted me from a sin sick environment I was involved in Nadiad, India, living among some wolves; and GOD brought me to Nairobi, Kenya, on 04 Nov 1979 on that KQ flight. From then on it has been an excellent faith journey. 

I thank God for His better plan for my life, for cleansing me, for bringing godly and truly caring people like Mrs. Madhu Sheth, my mentor during those years and Joyce Kabiru (Odongo) my prayer partner and fellow singing group member who worked with me and taught me the truth with grace; helped me learn to live in purity, grow in wisdom, in understanding, and in Biblical knowledge so as to stay on a narrow path. God blessed me with good friends, good jobs and yes even though there are wolves all around but God continued to protect me. I live to glorify God and my life is an amazing testimony of a changed life. Jesus transforms life even today!

Dear reader, no matter what your past is for has been, whether evil was done to you or you chose it, Lord Jesus can bring you out of it and change you into a whole new person and make your life worth living. God has given you conscious, His grace is available; take the help that He provides, do not think to allow abuse of any kind in your life to become normal. Let God rescue you. Let me conclude with this beautiful Psalm that I read today in my devotion:

Psalm 121: (NKJV)

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

To God be the glory! 

Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs.) 

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Parents, require obedience of your children, a good article by John Piper

Hi Dear friends,

This is a good article by John Piper about what God expects of us as parents! I hope you find this article useful to read and even to share with others who can benefit from it. Let us encourage parents to do their part.

Blessings,

Kalpna

here is the link: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/parents-require-obedience-of-your-children

Jeera-Mari Biscuits/Cookies (Cummin-Pepper bikis).

Jeera-Mari Biscuits/Cookies (Cummin-Pepper bikis). 

I found the recipe in my old recipe book.This is a salty snack. There is a sweeter version also but today its the salty one's turn;

Ingredients needed: 

1 cup All purpose/plain flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
salt as per your taste
3/4 tsp. Jeera (cummin seeds)
1/2 tsp coarsely crushed Mari (black pepper)
2 Tbsp corn flour
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1 Tbsp soji (Semolina)

1. Mix the flour, baking power and corn flour and sift thru seive (strainer) 2-3 times. Add Soji.
2. cream the butter and add jeera and mari and mix it well.
3. Add the flour mixture and mix well till it forms dough like texture. NO need to add water or milk. The butter alone is enough.
4. Divide into two balls and roll it with a pin to a good medium thickness (not to thin and not too thick). Cut into the desired shapes with cookie cutters.
5. Pre-heat the oven and bake the bikis at 200F. for 10 min and reduce to 150F until they have a light pink color. (use your own timing and judgement as weather and oven temp differ at times) Do not overcook. Enjoy with tea!

(This recipe had first come into an old Gujarati "Stri" magazine 35 years ago) I had tried it then and over the years as well and find it very delicious.

Zucchini leaves saag "Greens" - Indian style

Spiced up Zucchini leaves greens (Indian style)
Galka na paan ni Bhaji (Gujarati)
Zucchini leaves Saag (Hindi) _____________________________________


Looks like Spinach or Sarso da Saag but its really Zucchini leaves.

I like to eat healthy and so lots of vegetables so I am a game for trying out new things in this realm. Last summer July 2014 my daughter did a vegetable garden in our back yard and the Zucchini plants were flourishing well. While we ate the Zucchini in different ways, someone came up with an idea to try out Zucchini leaves. So here is the recipe came up with.


1. Couple of Zucchini leaves, washed and  chopped. (the more the leaves, the better the density)
2. 1 medium/large onion, chopped
3. Garlic ginger paste - to taste
4. 1 teaspoon of Cumin seeds  (Jeera)
5. Salt to taste
6. Jalapeno to taste.
7. 1-2 table spoon oil for heating, tempering and flavoring

Method:
1. Put the chopped zucchini leaves to boil in a pan with little water, when tender turn off the heat and let it cool.
2. Try to take minimum water and put it in a blender to grind to a not so fine paste.
(If you take cupful or two at a time you may need to do it in few batches) It should not be watery so do not add any extra water while grinding.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds (Jeera) for few seconds, then add chopped onion and garlic ginger paste, let it cook for a while. When onions are tender, add the ground/meshed zucchini leaves, salt and jalapeno peppers. Cook for few minutes and remove from the heat.

Eat warm with Roti (Chapati), Paratha, Naan or Pitta bread. It is tastier.

Enjoy heating healthy,

Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs.)
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Fathers' Day 2015 - Joe Eng, a great Piano teacher

Piano Teacher Joe Eng with our girls Narita and Stuti Sharma after their recent Piano recital

On this Fathers Day of 2015 Bharat and I want to take time to thank God for a kind, goodhearted and generous man of God, Mr. Joe Eng, whom we fondly call Teacher Joe. (Tr. Joe) He has been a committed piano teacher to our children since last 13 years.

He has been faithful to God and to what God has put on his heart for children, i.e. teaching music. He is a husband, father to nine kids, grandfather and to top it all, a strong believer in Christ, and a superb piano teacher especially to kids.

He knows how to patiently teach music to kids and connects well with parents. So not only to kids but Tr. Joe is a darling among the parents also. He is such a fun loving person, capturing kids' attention, praying for them and relating in such a sweet way that kids feel at home with him. He prays with kids before and after lessons, encourages them as a father or a grandfather would; social and friendly like Mr. Rogers' in the community.

We came to know him in Fall of 2002. Kids had a good piano teacher back home in Kenya so when we came here we were looking for a good piano teacher who would understand how kids learn. We were new in the country and home schooling, so on top of being a piano teacher, he was like "Mr. Rogers in the neighborhood" informative and helpful in connecting us with many kids' activities in the city. That has been a blessing. He also got to know us as parents and as good friends. And so he has stuck with us thru thick and thin for all these years and we are grateful to God for showing HIS steadfast, amazing and awesome faithfulness to our family thru Tr. Joe, regardless of where we have stayed near or far. He is more than a piano teacher to us, he is a grandpa figure to our kids and we appreciate him much. We continue to introduce him to other parents and kids and they too appreciate him. 

One of my best aha moments is: few years ago, when he used to come home on Saturday mornings,  I would be in the kitchen preparing "Indian snacks and brewing fresh Chai latte" that he enjoyed much; before beginning his lessons he would go on our piano and start playing an awesome classic hymn, "Great is thy faithfulness O God my Father!" oh, he would fill the house with this beautiful music and I would be so blessed, that I would have tears in my eyes because I know what that hymn means to so many of us especially during the difficult days. What an encouragement! Bharat and I have had fun times, and  praying moments as he would listen, give wise godly counsel and pray with us and for us. 

There is hope in the world we live in because there are godly men around like Tr. Joe who continue to share God's love and the grace of our Lord Jesus in practical and tangible ways, selflessly and with what they are able to give, yet giving SO much more and impacting the next generation with God's Grace, Hope and Music which are everlasting even beyond death. We know there is going to be music in heaven so what an eternal legacy God continues to build thru Tr. Joe's life!!!   

On this Father's day we honor Tr. Joe on my blog thanking God for him. We would not be able to repay him in tangible ways for his kindness and generosity to us ward but I pray God continue to shower HIS choicest blessings upon this soul, grant him good health all the days of his life on earth, provide for all his needs and carry on encouraging him to see HIS eternal rewards thru the eyes of faith.

Two verses that come to my mind are : 1 Thess 5:12 "Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other."

1 Cor. 15:28 " Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." (NIVUK)

Have a Happy Fathers' Day every one!

In gratitude to God for godly men like Tr. Joe! THANK YOU, Tr.. Joe!

Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs. )

together with Bharat Sharma

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Watermelon Smoothie - simple recipe for a cold drink

Watermelon Smoothie!

My simple recipe:

1 cup or two of Watermelon pieces

1 mug of milk (about 10 oz) that is like a cup and a half! 

One or tea spoons of rose water OR Rooh Afza available from Indian grocery stores.

(Vanila Ice cream scoop) optional

On a hot and humid day like yesterday I made this simple smoothie and my family loved it.

Mix the above ingredients in a blender and blend it for few min only. You can add or lesson the ingredients quantity as per your taste and like. Also you can add the ice cream later just before serving with a leaf or two of fresh mint! ah! Enjoy the coolness!  

Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs.) 

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