Follow the Rules, or Follow Jesus?

Charles and I were talking tonight about Churches, and some that cling too tightly to rules and formalities, that lean to the legalistic side of things.

Something to remember then....If Jesus, who was called Teacher and Rabbi by the Jewish religious order, actually followed Jewish religious law:

He never would have talked to the woman at the well- she was a Samaritan

He never would have touched a leper- they were unclean.

He never would have dined in the home of a tax collector- they were sinful.

He never would have healed on the Sabbath- that was considered "work" by the Pharisees.

He never would have dealt with the Centurion- the man was a Gentile.

He never would have been friends with women who's reputations were less than perfect.  It would be unlikely He would have had women as friends and followers at all.

He never would have questioned the practice of the money changers at the temple- such hypocrisy was rampant amongst Jewish religious leaders.

The list could go on for longer than I want to stay awake tonight.

The point is, Jesus didn't follow the distorted rules men had made out of God's rule- God wants us to love Him, and to love our fellow men (and women of course.)

 God wants us to reach out to those hurting, those alone, those feeling abandoned and unwanted.  If we cling too tightly to man made rules (which the Christian Church has been great about fashioning as well)...we lose sight of what Christ wants.

He wants us to love.

He wants us to go to where the hurting are.  He wants us to care.

He wants us to meet them in terms they understand, and share His love with them through us.

Don't get so caught up in how *you* think things should be, look instead at Christ's ministry, and follow that.

You'll be amazed at what love, compassion, understanding, mercy and being non judgmental can do to help spread the Word of God, and transform lives.

So how are you going to share God's love today?

Who's world are you going to make a better place?

They're out there waiting.

Storm watches, pain and why we suffer

I don't like storms.  And I'm not just talking about the evening of tornado warnings we just went through (though thank you Lord for keeping all such storms far away from us)...but any kind of storm that brings lots of dampness to the air.


You see, it's 1:42 right now, and I really really really want to be asleep.  I let myself get a little keyed up today about the approaching storm that "could produce super cells, dime to golf ball sized hail and winds in excess of 100 mph.  Stay away from all windows" etc etc...Now the high winds by themselves weren't this issue, I have after all lived in NE MT and ND, where a 60 mph gust is common, and we had a storm once that technically covered the bases for a land hurricane.  And we've had big hail before...last fall in ND there was some sort of record hail for the state down the county from us, it was nearly the size of a football.  But I don't yet understand tornadoes....and things I do not understand make me wary.  Things that I do not understand that can kill me make me ...keyed up.


Now Charles, el Padre, wasn't worried.  His answer to all the darn storm alerts..."Don't worry about it Beth, God has plans and we're not going to die."  He was, is, so certain of this...I just look at him...eyebrow raised, and then go look out the window...yet again.  


He was right...obviously, we didn't die...or else a zombie is typing, but I'm not into the zombie sub culture or voodoo, so I doubt that's the case.  He got home just about as the storm was headed our way....ominous grey wall of clouds, high winds...no hail.  We had dinner, which I couldn't focus on eating, but he happily devoured.  (It was rib eye steak, seared, sliced on the angle and arranged on a slice of French bread, topped with Bearnaise sauce, accompanied by skillet potatoes and broccoli florets.....I did eat all the broccoli, it was really comforting to me...for some reason though my very favorite steak was just not enough to hold my fretting at bay.) To distract me, he said, "Hey, let's run down to the store, you can happily pick out menu items (he knows my weakness for meandering produce and meat departments) and by the time you're done, the worst will be done."  That worked, we made sure all the pets were secure and went....and when we came out it was pouring...I mean pouring rain, but the wall had passed by.


Now, this region is under a flash flood warning till 2 tonight...and when I heard that announcement at 3 pm, I was amused..."they know NOW that there will be flooding? How?"  Well, in a half hour, coming out from the store to home, etc...we got close to 3"....We're on a hill...so flooding for us isn't too much of an issue, but I saw pics tonight that towns down hill from here were flooding, poor folks.  I just hadn't realized how much rain can come down here this fast.  A few hours after that we had a thunderstorm (with no tornado warnings) that gave us easily another inch and a half, or two.  Now, looking out, I can see the moon peeking out of the clouds...


So it wasn't really that bad of an evening, for us...no storm damage, no danger...though folks down state from us were hit hard, and in isolated other areas there is damage to buildings, trees down, etc.  Charles thought it was a pretty good evening, he got blackberry and strawberry shortcake (cause he was the calming influence in all this...)


It's odd, I wasn't worried at all about what would happen if a big storm hit, worst case would also be best case...if I died, I'm secure in Christ.  All the same, I am enjoying the journey God has set me on, and I don't want to have to leave it yet.


But that's not why I am still up when I am so very very very tired.  I am up because my foot is aching.  Years ago I had an infection in the foot that weakened/in some areas destroyed the cartilage, and caused severe arthritis to set in.  I remember one doctor, one of the two Dr. Skinners (I had two of them, not related, one worked at UCLA I believe, and the other Stanford) tell me at Shriners (I was there regularly as a kid) that I'd probably be in a wheelchair in my mid 20's from the pain.  I'm past that quite a bit in age (add a decade) and if I'm walking any distance need a cane, but get around the house without one...and if it's a really nice day and the pain is.. manageable, I can do without one for longer.  Anytime though there is a storm, the pain magnifies... significantly.


So I am up, and envying Charles his restful sleep.  I've been trying a new topical pain gel for about a week, week and a half now, and it's taken the pain from a screaming 10 to about a 4 and a half, 5.  Which, if you have chronic pain, you know is tremendous.  It's from a local company here in OK, all natural ingredients...if you want more info on it, let me know, I'll give you the specifics.  I am hoping that with a few more minutes of it setting in, I can go lay down.


It's funny...thinking about pain, illness.  There are a good many Christians who hold onto that if you are ill, or are in pain, that it's all sin related.  Your sin.  I walked into a Church I used to attend once, and one of the elders looked at me (I had my cane) and he asked why I had it.  I gave him the quick run down...and he said, with a baffled exclamation, "But you were too young to have done anything bad enough to deserve that."  I looked at him strangely and said..."I didn't do anything...I was a kid, walking in sandals, and cut my foot near an area where there was staph."  He was quite bothered by this, and couldn't wrap his mind around it.  Another woman I knew in the church was told, by another elder, that if she were a better Christian she wouldn't get migraines.  Now, she was the one who worked the food bank, did visitations, sat with the ill..and he was the one who liked to drive around town looking for Church members at bars, or at homes when he thought they shouldn't be there...you tell me who acted more like Christ wants us to.


Yes, some illness can be caused by your sin.  And some sin is given to us so that we may turn to God in our weakness.  I know in my ovarian cancer scare, God used that to witness to the doctor, and to show a miracle to Charles and I, to our family and friends.  He also used that to draw us near to Him, for we felt we had no where else to turn.  Sometimes too...illness happens because we live in a sin filled fallen world.  We get sick because it is the nature of the fallen world that we should get ill.   We get sick...just because.  People who believe in God can get cancer, and Stalin can die peacefully in his bed.  Sometimes that's just the way it goes.


I think sometimes God's people get ill and are not immediately healed (if ever) so that we learn compassion for the numerous others that suffer.  And sometimes we get ill so that our souls are tempered and tried and purified by ordeal, God shapes us through them so we end up how He wants us to be.


But just a suggestion...don't ever be like the folks from that Church and suggest someone is ill because of what they did.  Now, maybe they are, but you don't know...and you don't know how God is working in their lives, and to what purpose He will use that illness, or disability.  Go with compassion...compassion and mercy won't lead you wrong.


Well....I think the pain has subsided enough I can sleep through it (I will forever have this stuff with me now!) and the winds are blowing across the house as if to tell a story to sleep by.  So I wish you all well and pray that God ever holds you in His Hand, and knows you as one of His own.

What's that I hear? It's time to....BBQ?

It's that time of year again...time to grill and bbq!  I am concerned with the high winds that seem...err..constant in Oklahoma what that will do to my cooking temps, so I think I'll spend a couple of days researching before I commit the meats to flames :)


I don't get people who don't like to cook on the bbq.  It keeps the heat out of the kitchen, the food has that lovely smoky flavor, and there are so many treatments you can do with it.  I do urge folks to remember to not cook with high flames...no one likes to taste charcoal, you want smoke flavor, not burnt.  And always remember to apply bbq sauce at the end of a recipe, the last few minutes, otherwise it will burn.  Basting is different, if you have a sauce not based in sugars, honey, molasses, etc.  


Here are a few ways I love to cook on the grill:


Honey Spiced Whole Chicken-
This is great on a rotisserie, but can also be cooked on the grill.  IF you are cooking it on the grill, put all of your coals on one side, or turn only one set of burners on your bbq...and put the chicken on the OTHER side, so it, and the sauce, do not burn.  It is a lovely lovely dish though...

• 1 roasting chicken, about 5 pounds
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• dash ginger

Preparation:

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Arrange on rotisserie skewer and truss to keep legs and wings close to the body. Place chicken about 8 inches above coals. Place a drip pan under chicken to prevent flare-ups. Allow chicken to cook for about 1 hour. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil or heat on grill. Brush sauce over chicken. Continue rotating over hot coals, brushing with the sauce every 10 or 15 minutes. Cook for about 1 hour longer, or until chicken is tender and cooked through. 

Tuscan Grilled Trout

INGREDIENTS

1. 1/4 cup olive oil
2. 1 clove garlic, cut into thin slices
3. 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, thyme or basil
4. 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
5. 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
8. 8 trout fillets (about 2 pounds in all)

DIRECTIONS

1. Light the grill or heat the broiler. In a small stainless-steel saucepan, combine the oil, garlic, sage, and rosemary. Cook over moderately low heat until the garlic just starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper.
2. Put the trout fillets in a medium glass dish or stainless-steel pan. Sprinkle the fish with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of the oil-and-vinegar mixture and turn to coat. Grill or broil the fish skin-side down for 2 minutes. Turn and cook until just done, about 2 minutes longer for 1/4-inch-thick fillets. To serve,whisk the remaining oil-and-vinegar mixture and pour it over the hot fish.

Grilled Vegetable Platter Recipe

• 6 Servings
• Prep: 20 min. + marinating Grill: 10 min.

201030

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 3 small carrots, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 large sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 medium red onion, cut into four wedges
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Dash salt

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the oil, honey, 1 tablespoon vinegar, oregano and garlic powder. Pour 3 tablespoons marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the vegetables. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.
• Place vegetables on a grilling grid. Transfer to grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender.
• Transfer to a large serving platter. Combine reserved marinade and remaining vinegar; drizzle over vegetables. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Yield: 6 servings. 

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus Recipe

• 2-3 Servings
• Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

201030

Ingredients

• 10 fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 5 bacon strips, halved lengthwise

Directions

• Place asparagus on a sheet of waxed paper; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with pepper; turn to coat. Wrap a bacon piece around each spear; secure ends with toothpicks.
• Grill, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until bacon is crisp. Discard toothpicks. Yield: 2-3 servings.

Grilled Vegetable Medley Recipe

• 8 Servings
• Prep: 15 min. Grill: 20 min.

152035

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3 large ears fresh corn on the cob, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 medium sweet onion, sliced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) whole mushrooms, drained
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the oil, salt, parsley and basil. Add vegetables and toss to coat. Place on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 28 in. x 18 in.). Dot with butter. Fold foil around vegetables and seal tightly.
• Grill, covered, over medium heat for 10-13 minutes on each side or until corn is tender. Yield: 8 servings.

(Note, the above recipes were taken from recipes I have collected from magazines, etc.  I do make the trout one, and improvise it every time with different herbs, leave out this, put in that, etc.  And the chicken...oh so good.  And grilled veggies taste so much better than ones made inside, right?)

Now, I know you're going...Beth, where are the rest of the meat recipes...you and Charles LOVE steak and ribs, where are those recipes???

We do love steak and ribs and brisket, I admit it.  But there is a problem about sharing personal recipes there...I'm not a fanatical griller/bbq'er.  If fact, I'm still researching and testing bbq recipes, learning my techniques.  I make some pretty good stuff, and there are lingering thoughts of attending some competitions in a year or two.  So I cannot share my spice rub mix (no griller or bbq'er will, sorry) or my sauce recipe, which is still being perfected.  I tend to like sweet but not too sweet of sauces, brown sugar or molasses for the sweetener, with a fair amount of tang and heat.  There are lots of good bottled sauces out there...try em out, find out what you like.  

Brisket...when I cook it on the bbq, I put it off to the side, like I said to above with the chicken, so it's getting indirect heat...for hours.  8, 10 hours, till it's tender and just about fall apart good.  I put a spice rub on it, but even just a mixture of salt, pepper (lots of black pepper) and dried garlic powder rubbed in it will do wonders.  I don't put sauce on my brisket, sauce is served on the side, or if I chop up some of the brisket when it's done for brisket sandwiches, I'll add some sauce then.

Ribs: Pork, I don't even mess with beef on the grill.  Actually, the only beef ribs I like are short ribs, but that's another entry, and it's a fall/winter food anyway for me.  Pork ribs, I like most cuts, but they all need to be cooked low and slow again.  Here is one recipe from a family that knows it's ribs: Neeleys;

Trim a 3 to 4 pound spare rib (remove the upper brisket bone and any other excess; this will produce a St. Louis style rib)

Rinse and season rib with your choice of dry rub (you can buy dry rubs), then refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.

We recommend that ribs are cooked on an indirect barbecue pit to prevent burning. The ideal temperature is 250 degrees for the first three hours, and 300 degrees for the final three hours.

Load ribs curl side up, so the juices will maintain their moisture. After three hours, turn ribs and increase temperature. Baste ribs with Neely's barbecue sauce during the last 30 minutes of cooking so sauce will not burn.

Recipe courtesy of Patrick Neely of Neely's Bar-B-Que Restaurant in Memphis, Tenn. Copyright 2002

Now...steak.  Oh, I love steak.  It's my favorite food.  And bbq'd steak is my favorite way of eating it.

I like a rib eye.  I like the tenderness, and the fact the fat in it bastes the meat as it cooks.  

Seasonings: You can marinade it if you like.  I have a killer marinade recipe that I may share sometime if you ask really nicely :)  You can marinade overnight, but I like 4 hours for a rib eye, you don't want to bury the taste of the steak, and most of the time, I don't even marinade at all.  But once in a while it's a real treat.

Salt, pepper...that's all you really need.  Coffee on one side is a nice treatment for a thick cut steak, you just take the fresh coffee grounds, and dredge one side of the steak....but only do this for a thick steak, it's too overpowering for a thinner cut.  I usually use this spice mix for our steaks: salt, pepper, garlic powder, a touch of onion powder, a touch of cayenne.

Have your grill at medium high heat, and throw the steak down.  You can do the pretty cross marks if you like (you get that by moving the steak at a 45 degree angle every so often.)  I'm not going to tell you how long to cook your steak...as I don't know what kind you have, how thick it is, etc...you can look up suggested cooking times in cookbooks or online.  I prefer my steak medium rare, so it's usually for a 1" to 1 and 1/2" steak, 3 to 5 minutes on each side depending on how hot my grill is.  Serve with a salad, some bread you heated on the grill, and some of those grilled veggies and a cold beverage.  Perfection.

So get out there and bbq....spring and summer are calling!

Storms, Funerals, Weight Loss, and Summer Plans

First off...it's hot.  It's 7:30 and 83 degrees!  That's hot.  It was near 90 today.  Blech.  Love AC.  Next week though should be in the 70's, so that makes me happy, and my husband happier, as I'll actually turn the AC off and just have on fans.

It's been a long day.  We were up last night watching the big thunderstorm...not being native to these parts, I cannot yet sleep through something that might, or might not, produce a tornado.  The storm passed around 3, with lots of high winds, rain and hail, and we went to bed.  Supposed to be another big storm tomorrow night.  But not in the tornado type of ratings, according to local news people.

So after a late night, we arose to get ready for a funeral.  Those are not my favorite things...I really just don't like them.  It's helps when you go the funeral of a devout believer (like we did today) where the family (also devout believers) know they will be reunited with their loved ones in Heaven.  I hate going to funerals where either members of the family don't believe- for they show such despair, or worse, where you know the newly dead did not believe...for then you know they aren't in Heaven.  But even when it's a funeral under the best of circumstances, I don't like em'.  That said, my husband is a Priest now, and I better get used to them.

So we went, it was the Senior Rector's mother in law who had passed.  Charles co-officiated the service and did a very good job with the eulogy and readings.  The mood was sad but peaceful, it was a room of believers, and the woman, Alice, had lived a long life (94 years) and been in a lot of pain and suffering towards the end...so it was a merciful release.  I am glad then when I said to Suzi, David's wife and Alice's only child, that we have the hope and faith of the Resurrection, her eyes lit up with assurance and she said "yes we do!"  I think it makes the temporary parting of loved ones so much easier if we know they are just waiting for us in the beyond.

Charles of course wore all his clergy gear.  I don't wear a lot of black (mental note...buy more funeral clothes)...so I was looking in my closet and saw black slacks that even just a few months ago didn't fit. I thought...hmm..and tried them on and yea!  they fit!  With room to spare even!  That paired with a lovely black shirt with silver subdued stripes a friend gave me, and nice memorial outfit :)

I have friends who are having great success on diets that are fairly severe, and for a while I was tempted to look into them- the diets, not the friends.  But with my heart, severe diets aren't a good idea, they can be quite dangerous.  So I'll just stick to the slow and steady pace I'm going....I figure it'll be another two, two and a half years before I make the weight I want to, but that's okay, as long as I get there, that's what counts.  It bugs me though, when shopping, that the foods that are good for you are so much more expensive than the junk food.  Fruit...a ton more expensive than candy.  Fresh veggies...pricey unless on sale.  Good fish...watch the money float away.  Sigh.

Little things have helped with the weight loss, during the day, I drink water only, except in the winter, where I have my cup of tea in the morning.  When it gets really hot, I might drink some iced tea (but not this southern style tea...you folks down here put in enough sugar to give a hummingbird diabetes!)....I find I like truvia as a sweetener, it's made from a plant and is all natural.  I might even try growing my own stevia (the plant truvia is made from)...and see how that goes.  But I don't drink pop during the day at all, and not much at night unless I am making myself a nightcap.  I don't keep chocolate in the house....cause I know I will snack on it.  Now yesterday, shopping, I wanted candy, so I bought a candy bar, gave Charles half, and got enough to get my chocolate fix.  I don't eat fried chips, and the baked ones sparingly.  We do eat:: a lot of fruit, lots of veggies with dinner, fish or shellfish twice a week, and I like to grill my beef, chicken and pork whenever possible.  I try and do some walking as often as I can, for as much as I can before the knuckles start turning blue or it gets hard to breath.  If I'm really tired, I don't push it.  I'd love to get a pool, cause I think swimming would be so good for my heart, and help take the weight off easier.

I am blessed that I have a husband who loves me just as I am, and he doesn't put pressure about my weight.  I was chubby when we met, and still am.  But he is fully supportive of my wanting to take some weight off for health reasons and he's good about not wanting the food in the house that I find too tempting.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I love to snack, and so I do...but instead of grabbing candy, I grab an orange.  If I want salt, I have some sunflower seeds or tortilla chips.  And at dinner, I eat whatever I want :)  I'm in no huge hurry, and I know myself well enough to know that if I deprive myself of something I want, then I'll go overboard  when I finally snap and get it.  So better to have it in the first place in moderation.

What else is going on?  It looks like the visit with my parents has moved out further....Charles and I are going back there in September, and we'll bring the folks back out with us for a month, and then fly them home.  It will be somewhat cooler then, and going with Mom and Dad on Route 66 should be a blast.  Mom and I will have such fun making Dad and Charles take pics with us at all the roadside attractions, hee hee hee.  I am so grateful that they (Mom, Dad, and Charles) get along so well, it gives me such happiness and joy.  And I think we'll all have a good time.  So friends and family in CA...if you want to get together, let me know so we can all plan something.... I am also hoping we can bring my sister down for a week to visit while my parents are out, we'll all have such a good time together!

Charles is out doing home visits right now for the Church, and I am looking out onto a beautiful sunset.  I gotta say, NE Oklahoma is beautiful country.  Hope you all are having a good weekend- take care of yourselves!