Coffee House Special of the Day

In a mid-to-large bowl whisk together:

Bread flour (I used about 3 1/2 cups)

Salt

Baking powder

Baking soda

Cinnamon (3 vigorous shakes: maybe a tablespoon)

Sugar (maybe 4 to 4 1/2 tablespoons)

Ginger (just a tad)

Then mix in uniformly:

Eggs (2 large)

Vanilla extract (1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons)

Instant coffee (2 heaping teaspoons)

Blackstrap molasses (1 or 2 tablespoons)

Condensed milk (1or 2 tablespoons)

Low fat milk (add till you have a thick batter)

Find, and grease two baking pans. I used 6" square pans, and olive oil. Preheat oven to 375.

Add to batter:

Frozen cranberries

Frozen blueberries

Some raisins

A handful of pecans, and pecan crumbs

Pour into two pans, bake for 19 minutes. Then turn temperature to 350, bake 6 more minutes, turn down to 325, and bake 6 more minutes. Brush melted butter over the product while it is still hot.

Cuts easily with a spatula, and does not crumble. A very warm and hearty snack, good with milk or fresh coffee, but doesn't sit heavily in your stomach. Consistently a very agreeable and exciting flavor.

On the Gap Theory

When working through the possible proofs or evidence for a position, it is incumbent on the one wishing to strengthen a certain position to bring evidence to the table that supports his position. Requiring the advocate of the understood and obvious standard to then prove the nonvalidity of the new and unproven position is a cop-out of logical integrity.

The text states:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

From the text, which is our primary and most significant clue, we can not reasonably determine whether there was, or was not a large amount of time between the first sentence and the subsequent ones. However, it would be a questionable and possibly dangerous prospect to set a precedent of perceiving holes in meaning and presuming ourselves as having the right to fill them with whatever our minds can think up that seems to fit to us.

This "filling in the holes" is something that happens often, largely without our own awareness. But it is dangerous, and although it can be harmless at the beginning, can lead to error with increasingly negative repercussions. In short, it is a good policy to believe what the scripture says, and just what the scripture says, even if that means leaving some apparent holes unexplained.

I don't believe that is even an issue with the gap theory, because, as far as I can tell, there is no hole to be explained.

Me lanc holy

Dreaming and not doing lends to more time to crank out writings. Tranquility is the breeding ground I'm talking about. But life doesn't exist in the tranquil, does it? Crises give impulse to action, growth, betterment. Casualties are lost, causing some to live. Stillness, given the second law of thermodynamics of the spiritual things (without Spirit) lets rot fester, cool ponds heat up and stagnate, bright lights and energy dim. It's easy to sleep in the light, but it's hard to write in the dark.

Seems an impossible situation. Can't have your cake, and eat it too. I didn't use to understand what that meant, when I only dreamt.

Hey...I'm in Love

my fingers keep on clickin to the beatin of my heart...

with...

...driving?

...seeing old friends?

...illegitimate yet dear and beautiful children?

Yes!

...and no.

...just "in love."

I've been pleasantly surprised and blessed by a road trip to Choctaw, Oklahoma to see Gloria for her birthday on the 9th. The idea lay from nowhere midway through the 7th, gestated quickly and hatched before the day was out. The youngling grew substantially on the 8th, whereupon I drove the 600+ miles in a rented Toyota Camry. Thechick remained robust and scratched the ground eagerly with the full vigor of it's instinctual genetic healthitude by the time we reached our destination at 12:30 a.m. on the 9th, and it's last lively feather shot up with a surprise "staff meeting" at 2:00 pm.

Ok, enough with the chickens.

On the way up, over a Frappe (con acento sobre la "e"), mom and I enjoyed the company of Marcela Noemy (!) in Denton, and I finally saw the famous joe's addiction seedy-in-a-good-way dive, albeit not in action at 12:15 a.m. We experienced the yumminess of spending time with Gloria and Will, bright eyes Rain, and tinkerer Blaze, and received some emotional and encouraging hellos and hugs from beloved people I have not seen in over 6 years.

I like it when some things don't change. When many things do change, and often, I've come to enjoy the things that are reliably same. Bebe still walks down to the road in the mornings to gather the mail, and still plays the kids games with the kids, like a kid, though she's in her fifties.

I was back on the rake and dumping the eternal accumulation of debris into the ever-burning fires again with Dr. Jim West. My times up there on Oak Hill began working the grounds under the command of General West, and it's appropriate to let it always be that way. Remind me to talk about Work some day.

Hitting the road south again in the afternoon on Saturday, I had this strange feeling. It took me a little while to identify it, but it wasn't completely unfamiliar. It was the feeling of being "in love." (I have on rare and far flung occasions felt such a thing.) I'm in love with the ways God surprises me. I like good surprises. I'm in love with the people who reflect the passions of God, and who have been directed in their lives by Christ likeness toward the Heart of God. I love how my fear at meeting these type of people is each and every time replaced by joy and a gladness that I did not avoid the meeting.

I wasn't going to go on this trip, but did because I didn't want mom to try to drive all that way by herself. But I did go, and though nothing dramatic happened to the awareness of others, I for one, was blessed because I went.

On the way back, I routed us a little west so as to hit Anson, Texas (this is true archetypcal postcard image Texas, Texas) wherewith we visited my mom's brother and his wife, daughter, and grandson, Mark. (and some chickens) We arrived close to midnight, slept, had fresh range chicken eggs and biscuits, and went to Fort Phantom Baptist Church at 9:45.

"Nine forty-five, nine forty-five;

Gotta be in Sunday school at nine forty-five..."

Love that church. Small, humble, quaint, old, but not fake, and not in the apathetic delusion of shirking ekklesia responsibility. First time I've had the opportunity to pray WITH other believers in years.

I was floored by little Mark. Sitting next to the three year old, in the back of my uncle Jimmy's red Toyota forerunner, I was mercifully given a tangible reminder of all the illegitimate, yet precious and God-sought little ones there are in here in this little world we are, as Kingdom heirs, responsible for. I like kids, and have considered that in the event of marriage, as many kids as allowable is a must, but here, as I watched this little red-headed clueless Mark, I think I felt a small piece of how much God cherishes the little guy. Is the desire to raise up children to Godliness and love, and to rescue orphans all by itself enough of a reason to seek marriage? I'd almost say so. Lo menos, as far as listing items in the "pros" column for marriage, I think fruitfulness in raising up God-fearing and loving children outweighs all other "pros."

Oh, and for lunch, we had squash from the garden, butter/mashed potatoes, and steak!

Biblical Accounts of Fasting

Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights, back-to-back, without food or water; the first, immediately before he received the tablets on the mountain with God. And the second, after coming down, seeing the Israelites practicing idolatry, and breaking the tablets in anger.

Deuteronomy 9:7-21

It is often assumed that Moses was under some super magic-from-God help mode when he went through this time in his life. Maybe so, but sometimes I wonder if it's possible to fast without water. Maybe back then the genetic strength of mankind hadn't declined so far as it has today. Maybe people were originally designed to gain fat, and then go into times of fasting for hinder-less communion with the God who walked in the garden with Adam. Maybe the fat was supposed to not only sustain the calorie needs while fasting, but also contained enough water to keep from dehydrating while fasting. I'd need to check this, but I think it is possible to go without water longer if you're not eating, compared to when you are eating.

Beats Canned

If you ask me what kind of foods I like, the answer is easier to handle if I just list the two things I consistently don't like. It used to be three: I didn't like rice growing up--so bland and chore-like to eat--but that's before I met real rice, prepared the way it's supposed to be prepared in Taiwan. (It's supposed to end up kind of sticky, and clumps together so you can grab it with your chopsticks.)

But today, I can only say that I don't care for 1.) hominy, and 2.) beets. And now, I have to amend that second one.


This is not grape juice:






Walking to Sun Harvest three or four days ago, we encountered and bought raw beets, with their greens, and have been experimenting with new additions to salads, etc. The greens are great! With a very good stout flavor, and a noticeable earthiness, they are a worthy backbone for a spinach, olive, Parmesan, oil and vinegar salad. The root part is decently edible too, unlike their canned or pickled counterpart.

Today I took the rest of one of the roots I had grated, and some "soup" I had boiled and chilled from beet and spinach stems and blended it up with some carrots, half of a tomato, spinach leaves, apple juice, and ice to create naturally sweet, earthy, but light-feeling drink. It really goes down well, and leaves no aftertaste. It contains quite a bit of insoluble matter which you may want to strain out, but I enjoy.

Watch Your Pronation

From a message I sent to a fellow over-thinker:


Do you have people tell you sometimes, “You think too much?” I get that all the time. They just don’t know what melancholies have to go through just to keep it together.

At the risk of saying something not spiritual enough, here’s something I have found that works for me: Take a stroll down each virtual mental pathway, and face each and every unknown.

The unknown is the food fear loves best, and though you can’t know every outcome in real terms, you can envision the probably outcomes in your mind. Do so, and trusting in the all-wisdom of Jesus, become “ok” with each and every possibility, checking yourself, of course, to make sure you are still in Him.

People may object, saying, “If you’re “ok” with anything that could happen, then you don’t really care what happens.” If training your mind to trust Jesus in every possibility is not caring, then I suppose they are correct.

Another way to picture this concept is in the natural world when engaging in physical training—running, for example—particularly when you’ve gotten out of condition. The prevailing philosophy seems to be “set a sight-goal,” and focus on that to get you through the challenge of keeping going. You know, pick a landmark ahead and center your attention on achieving that point, and then when you do, pick another goal up the road a ways and do it again.

For me, in the spiritual, and the physical, that philosophy is torture.

Instead, focus on the actual process of the exercise. Check to make sure your breathing is correct, you’re not over-pronating, or under-pronating, and try to enjoy the burn-barrier (when muscles/lungs start burning and you want to quit) and enjoy the challenge of smashing through that barrier. And, try to enjoy the scenery.

Translated into the spiritual, I don’t mean go into some kind of self-awareness meditation mode. There is no Zen path to Jesus, only the Cross can get you to Him. It’s not “leaning on your own understanding” I’m talking about, it’s “in every way acknowledging” Christ, and “whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord.” And enjoy the chase.

I don’t want to tempt your intelligence to be insulted; I’m sure your brain has encountered this concept before, but perhaps someone who reads this can be encouraged. And when they say, “You think too much, “ just ask them, “How do you know?”

Olive Trees

...to be continued

Roseate

Entrance through the gate and walking on the aureate streets will not your entranced wearing of the roseate glasses create.

Simple Profound

I rarely come away from "going to church" glad I went, and not discouraged. Today was one of those uncommon days.

Often I have remarked that there are no great mysteries in life, and follow that up by saying that all the vitally important things in life are childish in their simplicity. The reason I, and others, find ourselves confused, frustrated, and lacking understanding is not that the lesson is too great for us, but that we have moved out of the realm of the childlike. Faith like a child's? I don't think there is any other kind of faith.

So, in the service today the teacher reminded me, and the others, I hope, of the simple profound truth that dreams, visions, and great intentions do not get you to the magical land of the spiritually successful. It's the stuff you're doing now that is getting you to where you will end up. That's it. So simple.

I tend to live the daily life, and each sub-event in it as if they were special isolated incidents, and don't really matter in the long run. Wrong! The long run is a mirage; it's untouchable. All you can affect is the things you do right now. If I dream of losing 100 pounds, I have to live in the now in the sense of doing things that lose weight: lots of exercise, no comfort foods, and moderate amounts of healthful foods. Love Jesus today. He's the one who said, "Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Remind me to post today's message when it becomes available. (Wednesday, I think)

Bekah Boo

Here is an excerpt from the mind of my sister:

"On a peaceful planet, ya have to get past the atmosphere, more than just land on the surface or dive into the oceans, ya have to dig to the core to find the fire. Some hills have fire under them."

My sister is one of the few people who, when she speaks, I have to exert a conscious effort to understand.

Job Hunt

I still have to figure out what kind of job I should go for. I don't want food service. I don't want a truck driving job that takes me far from people for weeks or months at a time. (Actually I do want that, but it would destroy me more, and is not in line with goals or dreams.) I don't want a job that will end up being like a 24/7 job, where healthy eating, exercising and sleep become impossible. It has to be a job that closes at night. I want to keep some semblance of a sabbath day's rest, so I need something that closes down at least one day per week. The list of possibilities grows short.

Some kind of local driving job might work. Preferable it would be if it were not sedentary but required perpetual energy output, like delivering Coca Cola to two dozen stores, pushing a hand truck laden with hundreds of pounds worth of carbonated sugar beverage from trailer to store room.

Today I had the pleasure of doing some driver training again. Not in the big rig this time, but in the 15 year old Mazda protege with my brother Jonathan behind the wheel did I again feel the joy and challenge of communicating clearly how to do something to someone who has little prior frame of reference, and seeing him mostly get it right the first time. I wonder what the requirements and benefits are for being some kind of student driver trainer. Must inquire I.

Another wrinkle in the gravitational field of the job is my lack of transportation. I can not rely on the vehicles of other people, so a job within walking distance seems imperative. REALLY narrowing it down now, am I? If I could lose enough weight to ride a bicycle, that could widen my job market radius a smidgen. And I have this rash on my fore-arms that has continued to stick around and becomes inflamed when I spend time under the heat of the sun.

Speaking of that heat, I was curious today to see whether I could cook in the car. Yep. I've done it before in Florida. I would take my nalgene bottle, put in noodles, water, spices, veggies, etc and leave it on the dashboard or in the back under the direct rays of the sun. In less than an hour, it would be cooked (or at least very soft) and piping hot. Today I wondered if you could bake bread in the car.

Taking a cookie sheet, I placed an oven thermometer on it, and inverted a 13" baking pan over the thermometer, and left it to catch the direct sun rays on the dashboard, with the window rolled up, of course. I didn't have means to check the outside temperature, but I think the daily forecast predicted the high to be 90. An hour later, I checked it: just a hair under 200 degrees Fahrenheit! Now, that's plenty hot enough to cook steak. Stay tuned, and I'll tell you how homemade Mazda baked bread turns out.

Mucha energía por la mañana

I woke up this morning after about five hours of sleep going 90 mph. Whipped up a smash breakfast in about five minutes. I've been going walking in the mornings with mom at La Palmera, which we still call Padre Staples, and I suppose I didn't want to keep her waiting again today as I did yesterday.

My intention is to get up much much earlier every morning and start the day in the Word and prayer, and then go on a long walk before and during the sunrise to meditate on the Wordstudy and get my heart rate up for an hour or more. The essential part of that plan is getting to bed at a reasonable hour (I was busy playing with blog stuff till 3:20 this morning, so it's your fault).

Answering the Big "Why"

[This is a repost from my brother's book blog website. I recommend giving it a read through.]


Why Does God Let Earth Be Hell?
A Christian Answer to the Big Question.

Well, you might say that God is a procrastinator. Even the scriptures ask the question over and over, "how long, God, will you let the wicked go free?"

One of God's jobs is the impressive-sounding “Judge of the World,” but He’s been putting off most of His judging duties for some time. How many sins have passed by in the last month without any punishment at all? How many murders, rapes, and thefts? How many lies? How many bits of harmful gossip and slander? How many people cheating on their spouses?
How many times have you wondered why God doesn’t “smoke” that guy or gal you know, the one who makes everyone’s lives hell. You can bet that people who were sexually abused are wondering "where was God in all that?" Hard-workers who are bullied by their bosses would love to have God save the day for once. Genocide victims bleeding to death in a mass grave probably wonder why God seems to have abandoned his judge's bench.

The problem with wishing for a world that’s just and fair, though, is that we ourselves probably wouldn’t survive to see it. The last time God judged all the wicked people in the earth, only eight people and a bunch of animals survived. Would you survive the next judgment?

- Do you give God the respect and recognition He deserves? Do you set aside time for God?
- Do you honor the parents who took care of you when you were helpless?
- Do you take things that don’t belong to you?
- Do you deceive other people with your words, to your own advantage?
- Do you hate people and take joy in their troubles?
- Do you take sexual pleasure in someone (or something) other than your spouse?

You might say, “Well I certainly don’t lie, steal, chew, or run with the girls who do,” but God doesn’t just judge us on the laws we feel like keeping. He has to look at our hearts and cover every area of our conscience—including the commandments we know, but don’t keep.


God's Options for Saving the World

So, God certainly wants to judge the world—righting every wrong and rewarding everything good—but He wants to do it in a way that will leave some survivors. What are some options?

1. Put off judgment forever and let us muddle through as we’re doing now.
2. Decide not to punish sins at all, but rather give mercy to everyone.
3. Find some other way for the punishment to be done so that justice is satisfied.

Though it’s tempting to think that history will keep going on like it is now, with no endpoint or judgment as in #1, God has promised that He will clean and renovate the house. In fact, we have the destruction of the flood as a picture of what the second judgment will be like. People will be going about their daily lives, according to the scriptures, doing business as usual and making plans for the future—and God will pull the brake lever right in the middle of it all.

We also like to dream that #2 is a possibility, though it’s ironic that the people who dream of an infinitely merciful God get really irate when someone pulls in front of them in traffic or cheats them out of some money. However, though God pushes off judgment for as long as He possibly can, it’s part of His character and His job to be just. That is, if He didn’t punish sin eventually, God would be evil, not good. The scriptures tell us that no person in sin can even come into God’s presence—He’s that much of an enemy of sin (aka “holy”).

It’s in option #3 that God is able to be “just and the justifier,” bringing his judgment and his love together. He sent His Son down to earth to be a human being, limited and weak just like us, so that His Son could face all the temptations that we face, yet without sin. Yes, this is Jesus, the promised one. Jesus didn’t do any of the crimes, but He let himself do the time. He took the punishment of death and separation from the Father by His death on the cross, but he hadn’t done anything to deserve it.

In the economy of divine justice, then, Jesus has an enormous line of credit, which He extends to pay for the sins of anyone who comes asking.


How Can I Be Saved?

There are only two conditions for being cleansed of your sins and becoming, fully, a child of God (and no, it’s not “tithing” and practicing “the comb-over”).

The first condition is that you agree with God that He’s the boss of your life and you are not. This is normally called “repentance,” and it’s something God might test to see if you really mean it. It’s helpful sometimes to tell God (and tell yourself) that you give Him the rights to your life (which are rightfully His anyway).

The second condition is that you take God at His word when He offers you forgiveness, or anything else for that matter. That’s normally called faith, and it’s easier than you think. When my children even suspect that I have a treat for them (even if I don’t), they won’t rest until I have given it to them or convinced them, through many proofs, that the treat doesn’t exist. How much more should we pester God to give us the treats He clearly says that He has for us?

What should believe Him for and pester Him for?
- First, the forgiveness of all our past sins (even the “unforgivable” ones), which He gives us through Jesus.
- How about the promise of the Holy Spirit, who is the very Spirit of God Himself who comes to live in us, teach us, train us, and comfort us?
- Then the character qualities that the Spirit creates in us to take the place of sinful habits, things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
- And the spiritual gifts (low-key “superpowers”) that the Spirit gives us and helps us use as we help and strengthen other people.
- And the privilege of working with God to bring more people under the forgiveness of Christ, which means fewer people still under the looming judgment of God.
- And definitely we should believe for His return, the long awaited judgment, and the restored universe that is finally free of the pain that comes through sin.

The most of history that any one of us sees is still a narrow slice, maybe about 75 years, but God sees the beginning and the end and all the mess in the middle, all at one time. And He has spoken clearly about the important issues of sin and judgment and forgiveness, demonstrating the truth of His word through many proofs, including raising Jesus from the dead. God only hides these things from the proud, and He even gives them blasts from the divine intercom several times in their lives.

So the question is, are you going to submit to the Lordship of Christ, humble yourself, and receive the bailout that He bled to give you? Or would you rather remain king of your own life, with all the sin that goes with it? On the one side, you have your Creator reaching out His hands for you, offering the relationship that’s closer than any other. On the other side, you have a few years of vanity on earth, and then the leap, of your own accord, into that fiery pit that can finally, fully hide you from the face of God.

If you have some legitimate questions (no flames or smokescreens, please), please email them to me. If you like, you can include your phone number in the email (some people prefer talking to writing). Seek God now so that your life can be “righteous” in every sense of the word.

Here in my virgin blog entry, my debut into the highly hyped, but influence-lacking world of blogging, I suppose I should just start from where I am. Flashbacks and flashforwards may come later.

Here's a smattering of thoughts derived from current conditions:

Basically for the the last five years I have been swept along in the world wind of the urgent, ever intending and longing to get nearer to going back to the commision that I understand (the gospel to Salar people), but ever being driven, apparently, by the "cares of the world" [Mark 4:19] farther and farther away from that goal.

I've tried everything, cried, waited, hoped anew, pleaded to man and God for help. Anyway, God finally gave me that infection in my leg, which expedited me getting "home." (I was a company driver for the nation's fifth largest trucking company, and after almost two years of driving, taking very little time off, contracted a formidable cellulitis infection in my right leg.) Remind me to write about Severe Grace sometime. I'd grown utterly tired of being fat, and all the hinderances that is, and doing things "because I have to" instead of because "The Lord said..." My mind, body, and flesh has been to me imprisoned, while my spirit wants to be set free. That's the superficial conflict, at least. Joni Eareckson Tada talks about true healing and true breaking free, not only in spite of physical chains of inability, but through those chains, and because of the all-sufficiency of the Lord our Savior.

So, being back in Corpus with a generally stable, though undoubtably temporary, living environment, I made the executive decision to HOLD EVERYTHING. First, rest and heal up my leg. Done. Then, spend serious time in the proverbial closet with fasting. Well, partly done. I've done fasts before, but this time was much more difficult. Sparing you the gory details, I think my body told me to quit. I broke it Sunday the 13th of June.

It's disappointing to have to quit something I have put so much hope in, but at the same time, there is a real comfort in knowing that I've tried everything and am at a total loss without the powerful hand of the Holy Spirit to do it in me. "In me and my flesh, there is no good thing." And though I certainly already knew I could not succeed faithfully by the flesh, I now know that I can't affect ANY outcome even in the same general DIRECTION of right by the flesh.

I want to be free from ever putting any hope in the flesh from now on. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."

So the tough decision I had to make was to quit the fast--knowing the difference between the signs that tell you you must stop, and the signs that tell you you're being tested and must endure. The future is as unclear as ever--no magic carpet rides of understanding--but I at least with eating again I have a window of opportunity to change to a lifestyle of exercise. I think I'm enjoying some good promises from some studies in Job, Nehemiah, and a book by Joni.