The Gastronomes: Cauliflower

The Gastronomes: Cauliflower: ALERT:  COLOSSUS CAULIFLOWER ON THE LOOSE. FIVE-POUND, THIRTEEN-OUNCE MONSTROSITY MAY BE SEEN AT A FARM STAND NEAR YOU. ARMED WIT...

Shocking

Our state has been secretly taxing us.  On...

http://gastronomes.blogspot.com/2012/09/pa-taxes.html

How sinister!

defining Christianity

These days, I am hesitant to label myself as a "Christian."

A weighty reason that I am is the Republican party's use of the name of God to attract "moral voters."  Voting for wealthy, white men in business suits has nothing to do with emulating Jesus Christ.

Another reason is the damage the Church has caused over centuries of history.  Many people (at least in America) hate or disagree with Christians because they've been hurt by them.  All Christians are hypocrites.

Unfortunately, there are so many Christians who will not admit their own hypocrisy.  From small issues, like not forgiving quickly enough or vying to win theological arguments; to massive ones, like picketing hatefully in the name of God.  I don't think God could ever agree with those who hate.

Personal disclaimer:  I AM A HYPOCRITE.  I am messed-up; I am bitter; I am selfish.

These days, I prefer to call myself a Christ-follower.  A follower of Jesus.  That's the original denotation of the word Christian.

Chris·tian  [kris-chuhn] 

1.  (adj.) of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ  or His teachings: a Christian faith.

7.  (noun) a person who believes in Jesus Christ;  adherent of Christianity. 

(from dictionary.com)

 

It's hard to identify oneself with a word so often used for morality or church-going or slightly-less-evil-than-most-people.

A great essay on the misuse of the word Christian can be found here.

Definition:  CHRISTIANITY is following the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and embracing Him as Lord.  (Lord:  one's master/ruler/care-taker/provider)

True Christianity has nothing to do with following rules!  It is heartbreaking that this is such a common misconception.  It is commonly perceived as such because there are too many preachers or Sunday school teachers telling their children that if they behave, God will be happy.

Following Jesus means accepting His grace.  He already KNOWS that we will break rule after rule, every single day, and yet He still offers us love and life.  He enables us to quit living for ourselves and grasp for the truth and beauty and eternity He gives.

Look around you.  If you're inside, step out for a moment.  How massive is that maple tree?  How many birds are singing?  Can you count the blades of fragrant grass beneath your feet?  Do you have any idea how many different species of insects are living within your tiny acre of Earth?

How amazing is it that God created so much beauty?  He created it all to woo us to Him!  ...to show us that He does love us and wants us to enjoy life!  Remember the last time you coasted down a steep hill on a bike - how thrilling and breezy and breathtaking!  Swimming in the ocean is one of the best ways to feel miniscule and entirely overwhelmed by the Earth's size and the fact that there are other bathers dipping their toes in the SAME water in England, Morocco, South Africa, Brazil!

I cannot fathom a simple "big bang" throwing dust together to form this world.  It is simply too gorgeous and astounding.  It must have been done by the Creator's Hand.

Religion is defined in two places in the Bible:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)

"But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God." (I Timothy 5:4)

True religion means taking care of other people.  Take care of your family; take care of the needy.  Don't become jaded by the sin (selfish behavior of every person on Earth) you see around you.

Going to church is not in the Bible's definition.

God isn't even mentioned.

Christianity is not a religion.

It is a free life of enjoying God and His people and His world.

It is following Jesus' commands when He says,

"Let your light shine before others." (Matthew 5:16)

"Go and be reconciled to (your brother or sister)." (Matthew 5:24)

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27)

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  (John 10:10-11)

...and so many other life-giving things.

Real Christianity is a life of redemption, reconciliation, love, mercy and grace.

It is learning from and loving Jesus Christ.

For more on Jesus and life with Him, read Waking the Dead, Crazy Love, Because He Loves Me and the Holy Bible.  Listen to Derek Webb's album She Must and Shall Go Free.

biblegateway.com is a great online resource for reading God's love letters to us.

Emerging Adulthood.

When does one enter adulthood?

How does one know when the crossover has occurred?

What determines it - a biological or a social change?

One might say we become adult humans at the onset of puberty - which can be a slow process, for some.  Bodies slowly fill out in shapeliness; hair appears in new places; testicles and voices drop.  Some girls feel that womanhood happens when menstruation begins.  If that's true, I can say - this year - that I've been a woman for half of my life.  But I'm not sure that, even now, I feel like a true grown-up.

Something New

Something new; a project for Greg and I to share; creative writing; kitchen experimentation; work in the garden; tasting new libations; sharing with the world on-the-line...

...presenting:

The Gastronomes
http://gastronomes.blogspot.com

A new online journal of our adventures in gardening, cooking and eating.
Check it out - and bon apetit!

Tomatoes

It is tomato time in the Mid-Atlantic.  Yes, they're everywhere!  We have made and eaten so much salsa in the past week, it seems like an overdose.  Bruschetta salad is a great alternative (swap the lime & cilantro for balsamic vinegar & basil - plus LOTS of garlic), but I am running out of ideas to keep fresh tomato recipes ... fresh.  Is there anything new under the sun?

We have loved growing our own food this year.  I've pored over cookbooks looking for new things to do with vegetables, but I seem to keep returning to the same stuff.  Salsa.  Bruschetta salad.  Warmed tomatoes over pasta.  Grilled zucchini.  Sauteed zucchini.  Baked zucchini.

Eggplant parmesan
Eggplant parmesan
Eggplant parmesan!!

When in need of kitchen inspiration, I often turn to Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  However, all her veggie recipes are as follows:  "Steam.  Add butter."

Are there any new, fresh, obscure-ethnic-type recipes out there for standard North American vegetables?

Reading

I have always loved reading; but in recent months, my life has been nearly void of it.  It is so sad!  I used to read several chapters while laying in bed in the time before drifting off.  Now that I'm married, I share a bed with a husband with whom to converse at bed-time.  Some mornings before work, I attempt to cram a few blessed paragraphs into my mind, but it is difficult to do regularly when I have meals to prepare and socks to wash.

How do you fit a decent amount of reading time into your schedule?
Married women:  is it possible at all?

Funeral

Just attended a memorial service for a 21 year-old girl.  Funerals are always awful and heartbreaking, but when they're for young people, they just feel so much worse.  What a loss.  How many years of life she would have had.  It's absolutely sorrowful when you have to lay a parent or grandparent to rest, when they're full of years; but when a young life is cut short, it just feels ...wrong.

She is in God's House now, though.  In the spectrum of eternity, we'll all be with her There soon.

The Invisible Story Behind Invisible Children

If you've found yourself caught up in confusion about the recent "Kony 2012" video released by the Invisible Children group, you're not alone.  The video is a plea to the public of the United States, asking them to petition the U.S. government to team up with the Ugandan government to catch warlord Joseph Kony.  Upon online release of this video, many response videos were recorded and shared, claiming that Invisible Children's video is incorrect, that Americans have no place to "set things right" for Ugandans and that there may be secret motives for the U.S. government to back this video as propaganda.

As Americans, do we have a responsibility to catching all of the "bad guys" out there?  If we ignore it, are we allowing more children to be abducted, raped, beaten and trained to kill?

As a follower of Jesus, can one justify a military presence in Uganda?  Are army "advisers" there to help infiltrate peacefully and capture Kony, or are they joining the Ugandan army in using force to do so?

Like many folks who've been brought to attention by this media controversy, I, too, am looking for the truth in the matter.  What's the best way to discover what actually happens in a country half-way across the globe?

Eyewitnesses.

We can trust those who've been there and experienced the turmoil in Uganda to tell the truth and get down to the bottom of this matter, bringing possible peaceful solutions to the table.

A good friend of mine has been there.  Phil spent a semester abroad in Uganda, and fell in love with Suzan.  He had to return to Pennsylvania after the semester ended, but he returned for another three months to marry her and spend time with her family and community.  Suzan has recently joined him here, in the U.S., and they're working together to file for dual citizenship for the both of them.

In short, Phil wrote a great article from his and her perspective on the "Kony 2012" video, and I think you should read it.  It brought me some great clarification on the true situation, and it may do the same for you.

The Invisible Story Behind Invisible Children - Phil Wilmot

Blue Like Jazz

I read Blue Like Jazz years ago and loved it.  A few years ago, I heard news of the pre-production for a Blue Like Jazz film - which was difficult to imagine, since the book is such a lovely, meandering collection of essays on spirituality and conversations and experiences.  Now that I've seen the trailer, I'm so excited to watch the story come to life on the big screen.

March

It's Spring!  It's felt like Spring since mid-February.  The trees began budding a week before the Vernal Equinox, and now the smell of cherry blossoms is flooding the streets of Kutztown.  Glorious!!

Smokey

Smokey:  a great companion, friendly, playful, lazy and cuddly.

As soon as our plane hit the ground, the phone rang.

We had just landed - still donned in t-shirts, shorts, tanned skin - at the Philadelphia airport.  We were home from our Dominican honeymoon.

The call informed us that the family cat had died.  We waited for our luggage, hopped a tram to the hotel where our car was parked, held in tears until we merged onto I-95 to get back to West Chester.

When we arrived, little, black Midnight mewed, alarmed, at us.  She could not understand why Smokey wasn't moving.  His little body was still curled into his cat-bed.  He lay face-down.

Sitting on the sofa, we held Midnight for as long as she'd let us, feeling the need to console her.

The whole timber-framed house creaked and groaned constantly, all night long.  One might blame it on the arriving cold front and falling snow.... but, perhaps, the house was exhaling a breath, a soul that night.

The following morning, three brothers dug a hole beneath the snow.

Photo by Mark

On travel

Although my heart desires travelling into the unknown, I haven't been to very many different places.  Spring break trips with a college ministry group took me and friends to Florida, West Virginia and Texas.  Dallas, Texas, I would say, is the most "different" place (from homestate PA) I've seen.  Excursions to Maine have been a part of almost every summer in my teen to adult life.

This year, I'm looking forward to seeing the Dominican Republic, possibly San Antonio, and Maine, once again.  I'd love to add in more adventures, though; to see more of this country than I've considered.  I feel a call to the West:  California, Washington, Colorado, Oregon...  I'd love to make it to those places someday soon!  To see canyons, deserts, redwood forests and the Pacific ocean would add so much to my personal experience of the world.

A recent aquisition of mine:  a Passport.  Never had owned one before.  It's a ticket to anywhere in the world, so long as it's backed by funding for a plane ticket.  How does one travel internationally on a small budget?

Perhaps I can finally expand my travels to, finally, the Great White North.  :o)

Weddings comprised most of the excitement of 2011.  My own eleven-month engagement took prime focus for most of the year, in addition to serving as a bridesmaid (or rather, matron?) for dear friend Bridget in November and enjoying Adam & Kate's wedding on 12/30/2011.  2012 will bring high school friend Lauren's wedding in March, Monica's Hawaiian elopement in May and Jake's wedding in June (with Greg serving as Best Man), as well as plans for my sister Sarah's wedding to take place on 4/13/2013.

Is this the time of life during which a lot of folks wed, naturally?  Mid-twenties seems to be all the rage for matrimony, nowadays.  However, our parents' generation may have exchanged their vows from age 19 to 30.  Do young people nowadays just consider 24-27 to be the best time to settle down with someone? 



In the news

Truthfully, I can say that I'm "out of the loop."  Folks around me discuss the latest episode of this-or-that prime time program, the best new video games, news stories, the "Occupy" movement, final scores... and my continually repeating response is, "what's that?"

My husband and I do not own a television.  This is partly because of the decision we made upon hearing that it's beneficial to avoid mindless entertainment during the first year of marriage (when you can talk to each other instead), and partly because neither of us owned the television at our prior residences.  Cable is one bill for which we don't pay, and I like that it fits into the ideal of "cheap living."  We also don't subscribe to the internet at home... and we don't have those intellectual mobile phones everyone loves.

Additionally, we haven't subscribed to any newspapers... yet.  We may look into receiving the Sunday Inquirer, since there's no local news here worth reading.

We are living in ignorance... but is it bliss?  I don't toss and turn at night, reviewing national economic problems in my mind.  There is less to worry about, a freedom from concerns about others' situations... but are we missing out, not knowing what's happening in the world at large?  Are we avoiding hearing about conflicts to which we could possibly lend a hand?

Should we re-connect?