Sunday 9 August 2009

Sunday Blessings - Gifts


The Gift Of Friends
by Karin Schaefer
There are days when bubbling from us comes the innocent child within,who giggles at the little thing and wears a silly grin.There are days when melancholy comes to visit for a while;the mind feels tired, the body weak;we have no strength to smile.There are days when joy abundant grabs a hold of you and me;wraps us up in all it's splendor,lifts us up and sets us free.There are days when sorrow wraps us in its cloak of grief and fear,'till our hearts ache to the breaking,'till our eyes can't shed a tear.There are days when love bestows us with its wonderment and light;with its beauty and its mystery,its power and its might.And there are days when life rewards us and seems to make amends by granting us a marvelous gift,the precious gift of Friends.

My Pastor 's wife brought me this
beautifully hand crafted bead and sequin purse
from her hometown , Bhopal,
situated in Central India


Its highly embellished but
too ostentatious for the simple places
I go to. Besides the rickshaw drivers will
mistake me for a woman of substance
if I carry a reticule like this and demand double the fare.
Now I am hoping to be invited
to a wedding or party or
some fancy occasion befitting my accessory
I am aware that in the West these sort
of purses would cost a lot. But fortunately
in India they are moderately priced.
This is such a special gift.


This morning, before church the lady
in whose home we had last Friday 's
Fellowship Meeting brought
these farm fresh eggs for us.
She has a clutch of farm chicken
(desi murgis)

These desi andas (farm eggs) are very expensive
in the market.
I can make egg curry with them.
Just boil the eggs shell them,and deep fry them in oil and set
aside. Prepare a curry gravy of your choice.
The gravy should be nice and thick.
You can add pureed tomatoes
and boiled potatoes in it.
Pop in the eggs and cook for a few minutes.
Garnish it with fresh cilantro.
And its ready to eat with steamed rice.
Noodles, pasta chapatis, nan or bread.


Here is a video of this Friday 's Fellowship Meeting.
It took place in the home of 3 retired sisters.
We were singing Amazing Grace.
While shooting the video I did not sing.




In the book of James in the New Testament ,it is written "Every good and perfect gift is from above,coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,who does not change like shifting shadows" James 1;15 (NIV)

I have received such precious gifts from beloved people from near and far.
Today I thank God for the gift of friendship.

23 Fertilize my soul:

Sita said...

Couldn't have said it better, my friend. In TT we have curried eggs and potatoes as well. If you come to Canada, I'll make sure we have an occasion to use that purse (-;

I remember wearing a very ornate red and gold embroidered salwar-kameez (spelling is probably wrong!) to a wedding with many Canadians. They kept on remarking about how intricate the detail was etc.. I was naughty--told them I stayed up all night doing it (-;

Anyway, your friendship is a simple yet classic treasure--clothed in His righteousness and I thank Him that every good and perfect gift is from above--for Amrita.
Love, Sita

Grayquill said...

Gifts are always nice. Although I have never been given a purse - thankfully - I guess my wife might like it though. Yours is quite pretty I will say that.
Your rceipt sounds good - I be right over - well maybe not. But I would like to if that counts.

Marie said...

What a beautiful hand crafted bead and sequin purse. Very nice gift :)

Friendship is a treaure :)

Love Marie

Sherri Murphy said...

The purse is beautiful. What a sweet gift.

I love the song too.

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Amrita, you always make me laugh. You are so slyly droll...I love your wit and your wording.

What a gorgeous picture of those eggs!

The purse is beautiful. I would think a rich lady might carry that to some elegant and exclusive soiree. If I am lucky I could get hired to help pass the food out, and perhaps get to bring some home after it's all over, too. In college I often worked at dinner theatres, and I remember all of us poor students gathering up the rolls and sharing them out!

Moon Lie said...

I would call the purse 'a gift of love', so wonderful to receive such a gift from a friend.
I thank God for the gift of friendship, too, my friend.

Marie said...

I'm sitting here in Norway, far away from your country reading your blog.

I live so far from you, my life is so different from yours, but still I feel there is a band between us. You are a Christian, I'm a Christian and we are both the siblings of Christ. That's make us "sisters" (kind of), don't you think?

Love from Marie

Bluebirdy said...

AMRITA, I CAN'T TELL IF THIS IS TRYING TO POST MY COMMENT TWICE, OR IF I CAN SEE IT HERE TWICE BECAUSE THIS IS THE REVIEW PART, SO IF THIS POST COMES THROUGH A SECOND TIME, PLEASE DELETE IT OR JUST DON'T APPROVE THE SECOND ONE. THANK YOU SIS.

What a fabulous gift! Now please don't hide it away where you can never enjoy it! Hang it as an ornament in your room where it can bring you joy whenever you look at it!
Thanks for the great simple recipe! I am looking for such simple recipes now that I will have a husband to cook for who eats Indian food.
I think you have noticed by now that you need to go to "Dashboard" and "edit post" and change the title to spell Sunday correctly. That's my career, proofreding, so I notice those things quicker than most people and I am more comfortable telling people about the mistake, because I would want someone to point out my mistake if I made one on my blog. It's like telling your best friend she has green food in her teeth. Embarrassing to tell her, but more embarrassing for her to go around all day with green teeth if you don't tell her. lol. wow it's almost 3 a.m. and I wish this had spellchecker because my brain is too tired to remember how to spell "embarrassing" correctly. How Embarrassing. lol.
Those eggs, do you cut them in any way before deep frying them? I have never heard of deep frying a boiled egg. This should be good.
I found that our grocer carries Naan bread, so that is going to save TONS of work for me. I bought 2 indian cookbooks. They are quite complicated and hard to find ingredients, so I am looking online for easier recipes. Mostly vegetarian.
Have you ever had a burger made with a big portobello mushroom? It tastes almost just like a real hamburger if you use the right spices/sauces!
I am SO HAPPY that you decided to take some pictures from the Rickshaw! What a perfect solution, instead of walking around, feeling self conscious while taking your pictures. You have done a great job to show us your world! Keep going!!
Sorry, I chat too much when it's the middle of the night and I'm tired. I'll stop now.
Another of your Canadian friends,
Sheila

Amrita said...

Hi Sjeila, Thank you pointing out my mistake. On the keyboard I bacome dyslexsic, I don 't do touch tying so I fumble on the keyboard.The keys are black, so I mix up the letters.

Yes try the simple egg curry. You can just halve the eggs before frying. Maybe your husband has had them.We get the small mushroom , the larger ones ones are available in the metros.But it sounds good.On the internet there are some western style Indian cooking sites. Maybe I should find some and send you the link.

Dear Maries, welcome to my blog. Yes of course we a Christian siblings. The Spirit og God is our binding. I love the Norwegian sheep on your blog. I want to keep a sheep as a pet...wishful thinking.

Hello eha, that 's right these are precious gifts.

Hi Penni, what would life be without humour and you make me smile a lot too.I know here sometimes you are judged by the clothes you are wearing.And if you go to the bazaar smartly dressed some shopkeepers might try to fleece you. You have to bargain and haggle.Sometimes I feel like going out dressed like Raggedy Ann.
Hi Sherri, thank you. My blog friend found it very funny that I clarified I was not singing .
She is a musician. The elders of our church used to sing very well when they were younger

Dear Greyquill, welcome to my blog. Oh I wish I could send you some curry . You are very welcome, if only it were possible.

Hi Sita, wouldn 't it be great if we could meet. Maybe the grant me that desire one day.
Your salwar kameez sounds very nice.Ha...ha your friends must have been very impressed.

madison said...

What a beautiful purse. If you can't carry it, maybe you can display it somewhere in your home, enjoy it's beauty that way?

Crown of Beauty said...

Dear Amrita,
I thank you for your gift of friendship with me.

THe purse is pretty!

ANd I loved the prose by Karin Schaefer.

Farm fresh eggs are delicious. The egg curry is interesting I never tried it before.

Love
Lidj

xashee's corner said...

i LOVE that purse! what a WONDERFUL gift!! friends are AWESOME! :)
what a generous gift of eggs too!!
LOVE the video!! i also scrolled down and really LOVE your rickshaw journey!! Thank you so very much for sharing ALL that you do! yours is a country that i can only dream of visiting!! :) Have a MARVELOUS day!!

Sita said...

Hey Amrita,
As they say in N. America, people were 'blown away' at my creative talents, at least until I confessed, "Just kidding.."...
I am the least 'crafty' person around with things like sewing etc...but I do love sketching...
Love, Sita

Felisol said...

Dear Anrita,
Your YouTube video moved me to tears.
Thank you for bringing us directly into your life this way.
You for certain are a great sharer of gifts.
This video indeed meant so much.
From Felisol

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

That lady's bag is a precious gift from your friend. It shows how highly regarded you are to her. I would love to taste your egg curry. It could taste heavenly. Thanks for the post. God bless you always.

Simply Shelley said...

Hello Amrita,your gift is beautiful. I am blessed with the gift of coming to know you as a dear blogging friend and fellow Sister in Christ...the video blessed my heart....thanks..

Saija said...

beautiful bead work on that purse! what a lovely gift ... :o)

i was also checking out your rickshaw ride pictures ... i love the way you share your culture ... it has certainly educated me!

blessings on you!

Gerry said...

I just adore that purse. I hope you will find the perfect place to take it. I have been eyeing the colorful krafted purses at Farmer's Market, but nothing so striking as this. I always like to hear how you cook. Curry gravy. Hm. I have curry but have never made curry gravy. Although brown gravy was a staple of farm cooking, browning the flour in venison or beef leavings and making it with milk and serving it with mashed potatoes (with real butter) It was so fattening I have not cooked gravy or mashed potatoes in years! Gerry

Pia said...

the purse is pretty. we have those here too and it's fairly priced unlike in the west.

demand double the fare??? really? that's unfair.

don't wait for an occasion to use that pretty bag. make one yourself. that's what i learned from my friend. i had a lot of new things at home that i said i'd wait on a special occasion before i'd wear them or use them. it never happened. i ended up giving them all away because they have been in my cabinet for more than two years already. sigh...

Glennis said...

I like the sound of the curried farm eggs, sounds tasty.
The bag the Pastors wife gave you is very pretty and colourful.

Kate said...

LOL! You're right! A purse like that in the US would be a once-in-a-lifetime handbag!

Jan said...

That purse is so pretty! I really like the poem you put about friendship. I wonder why those eggs are more expensive? It is because they come from a special type of chicken? I hope you are having a good day, my dear sister!

Robin said...

God bless your Friday Fellowship meetings! thank you for posting that video Amrita, You are a blessing to us in the things you share.