Yellow Fever

I will admit it, I get in different modes of conduct when it comes to food. At one time I might only give our family foods with whole grain, natural sugars and even organic when possible. One of our regular splurges is to buy Grade B organic maple syrup. We get it thru an online warehouse by the 1/2 gallon! It is good. Then occasionally after all this healthy eating, I will run out and get 8 or 9 stuffed donuts from the grocery store for the family to smack down, or grab a 12 pack of corn dogs from Sonic. They are good too!

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Right now our "mode" is to eat foods with no artificial colors or flavors. We were already a step ahead of the game when we started this because we rarely (if ever) purchase anything with MSG (mono sodium glutamate), also hiddenly listed as "autolyzed yeast extract," as many times artificial colors and MSG are married in the same processed foods. Would you believe that regular Campbell's chicken noodle soup has MSG? How about a jar of peanuts? How about any chips that are flavored except for the plain kind? It is crazy. Thank you Lays plain chips - three ingredients; potatoes, canola oil and salt. I do like you.

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Anyway, what I have learned since we started this was how many other foods also contain artificial food coloring. To my dismay, my favorite jar of jalapenos contain Yellow No 5!

Yellow No 5, also known as Tartrazine, is made from coal tar and is illegal as a food additive in some countries. In a local United States grocery market you will find Yellow number 5 in many foods. This just naming a few: Mountain Dew, certain kid's cereals, pickles, premade pastries, candy of all sorts, ice cream, Kraft Mac N Cheese, mustard, boxed rice and pasta dishes, premade biscuits, many convenience type foods and others. In addition, and I know you can find anything on the internet, but there are many reports that artificials may enhance and even aggravate Attn Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children. One scientific report in Europe states that Yellow No 5 has a "noticeable effect on the behavior of young mice." Great;(

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I should mention that many companies have begun to offer "all natural" products to complement their line. One that shocked me was Oscar Meyer's premium hotdog flavored with celery juice and colored with cherry powder! Way to go, Oscar Meyer! You know what the name of our hot dogs are. Now I just have to perfect a homemade corndog recipe.

"My hot dog has a first name, it's ..........." The bottom line though is this. We should take time to prepare meals at home and eat them together.

Go natural! Here's to a day with foods flavored and colored by God's natural order.

Jesus, Straight from the Hip - Part III

You got it my friend, more of Luke Chapter 6.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." Luke 6:37-40

Wow, this is good stuff. I mean this is really good! It is words such as the above that cause many pagan philosophers to proclaim that our King was the wisest sage who ever lived. In particular, I love the authority with which Christ speaks in this passage. He is bold, but not over the top; full of illustration, but straight to the point. In a word, perfect.

This passage is not as difficult to understand as the previous in this series. Jesus does not mean we are not to judge at all, as life is full of ethical decisions and even simple judgement calls that one must make. It is the judging that is hypocritical that he is talking about, later on in the context of this passage he makes the humorous comment of us worrying about the speck in a brothers eye while we have a plank in our own. Also, as follows later in the verse, he is talking about the type of judging that is condemning of another person. This is not good. We are to speak the truth in love, not in condemnation.

Regarding the believers ability to be Christlike, Bonhoeffer writes this: "Christ's followers always have his image before their eyes, and in its light all other images are screened from their sight. It penetrates into the depths of their being, fills them, and makes them more and more like their Master. The image of Jesus Christ impresses itself in daily communion on the image of the disciple.....That image has the power to transform our lives, and if we surrender ourselves utterly to him, we cannot help bearing his image ourselves." (The Cost of Discipleship, 337)

Jesus, we all want a good measure given to us. If the mystery of our faith is you dwelling within us in the world, then make us mysterious.

"I live, and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20 KJV

The Rusty Pistol

A short story by Matt Kauffman

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There once was a boy who grew up on a farm with beautiful rolling hills. He didn't know how well he had it growing up on the farm where had freedom to roam to and fro, garden fresh produce to enjoy, and ponds and timber to play in. And of course he also learned to work hard. Hard work was never fun when it was happening but always seemed to set better after, when it could be appreciated, when it could be valued. Of course, there was always time for a lot of play too.

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One day, when the boy was about eight years old he went out and played under a large oak tree in the field. It was a beautiful summer afternoon in the low 80s and his father was mowing hay nearby. The boy played in the dirt under the shade and made forts with sticks by sticking them into the black Missouri soil side by side and then throwing rocks at them and blowing the forts up.

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As he was digging in the soil building a second fort, his stick came across something metal. It was small and rusty, and very secure in the ground. He surveyed the situation to figure out if it was worth the hard work of digging this thing out with a stick. After all, it was probably just a broken piece of a disc or harrow from several years ago. After a few moments of thought, the boy decided to change the nature of his play from fort making to an archaeological dig. And boy was he glad he did! After a little while he pulled the steel piece out of the ground and realized he had dug up an old revolver! It was small, perhaps what a business man would keep inside his suit, and it was in the cocked position!!!!!!!!! Wow, the boy wondered what events could have transpired under that oak tree in the past that would lead to a cocked revolver buried in the dirt. One can only wonder.

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One thing was for sure, the rusty pistol and the boy were not to part ways. In fact, years later even as a grown man, he kept that rusty pistol on a shelf in his study as a memento to adventure, freedom and the American spirit.

The End

More Jesus, Straight from the Hip

I have been contemplating the dichotomy that exists between Western Christianity's comfortable lifestyle and the teachings of Jesus. And questioning what would happen if we put our faith in Jesus; in more than just the area of personal salvation. Do we put faith in him for our security, our love, our daily bread? Should we? Are we hindering the work of the Kingdom of God because we put faith in Jesus for so little. Or is it crazy to suggest that many of us could live a life like John the Baptist? I don't offer an answer in one way or the other, just opening up thought for contemplation through a survey of Jesus' words.

Driving back from Kansas this past weekend I had it in my mind that I would title this blog series "The Christology of Jesus," but after googling that term I see that one of my former New Testament professors at Asbury Theological Seminary has already coined that term! What luck. So here we go with Jesus, Straight from the Hip - Part II. Today we continue with Luke chapter six. More tough teaching ahead:

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic." Luke 6:27-29 (emphasis mine)

Wow, we better stop there. As mentioned previously, these teachings are the type that can turn the world upside down. I can tell from my own personal experience and watching three little boys, it is not in our nature to turn a cheek when struck by another person. It violates our sense of justice! Doesn't God like justice? I guess he does say that "justice is mine." My "Expositor's Bible Commentary" has these words in comment to this passage: "Note..that Jesus is not advocating the suspension of normal civil judicial procedures........The teaching of this passage as a whole relates not so much to passivity in the face of evil as to concern for another person." This commentary certainly helps that teaching become more easy to hear, but there seems to be more in the commentary than what is in the text. I don't know. It is important to note in the context of this passage that Jesus does not put this reaction to his grace as necessary for inheriting eternal life, but as part of a reward of the Kingdom, "Then your reward will be great, and you will be the sons of the Most High." This type of life style for the believer will attain the greatest reward, which is "being" a son of God, a co-heir with Christ in his kingdom.

Loving the unlovable, blessing those who curse you and having no fear of evil. Jesus, you need to empower us by your Spirit, because the natural man can't do it alone. Come Lord Jesus, come.

Jesus, Straight from the Hip

I have been contemplating lately, the dichotomy that exists between Western Christianity's comfortable lifestyle and the teachings of Jesus. And questioning what would happen if we put our faith in Jesus; in more than just the area of personal salvation. Do we put faith in him for our security, our love, our daily bread? Should we? Are we hindering the work of the Kingdom of God because we put faith in Jesus for so little. Or is it crazy to suggest that many of us could live a life like John the Baptist? I don't offer an answer in one way or the other, just opening up thought for contemplation.

We begin in the gospel of Dr. Luke. All scripture will be NIV unless noted.

Jesus, Straight from the Hip.

-Luke 4 goes down pretty smooth for all of us who consider Jesus as Lord, God in the flesh.

He proclaims his divinity by reading from Isaiah in the temple and claims "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (4:21b). He performs miracles by healing and driving out demons.

-Luke 5 still pretty smooth. Jesus calls a few disciples and performs more supernatural events. He offers some teaching about fasting.

-In chapter 6 we run into some troubling verses in Luke's version of the beatitudes.

"Blessed are you who are poor....

Blessed are you who hunger now....blessed are you who weep now.........

Blessed are you when men hate you............because of the Son of Man.........

Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all mean speak well of you,................." (6:20-26)

I have shortened a few of these verses for bloggable purposes, but don't believe I took anything out of context. So here we have it; Jesus, straight from the hip. Blessings and woes. It doesn't take a Bible scholar to interpret these sentences. Do we explain them away?, turn the world upside down with them?

How do we live the Kingdom now? Help us Jesus, give us wisdom. Illuminate us, empower us.

Yummy Summer Eats

click image for enlargement
Well, the dog days of summer are upon us. Our raspberries are coming on strong for their second round, which gives us a reason to step out into the heat.
Last night I prepared the above meal and we thought it would be fun to put together a plate presentation for a pic.
Menu:
-Marinated and broiled KC Strip (I usually get a good deal on whole filets, but this week one of our grocery stores put whole KC strips on sale for $2.98/lb. We bought two whole strips!
-Fresh corn on the cob
-Tomato Caprese'. This is simply one of the highlights of summer! Tomato and fresh basil from our garden, soft mozzarella and topped off with e.v. olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.
-All Natural Red Velvet Cake. I was trying to look for a recipe to make the cake with no red food coloring. They suggested beet powder, but our grocery store didn't have any. So I blended up a pound of frozen cherries. A little dark red, but it did the trick! The cake was unbelievably moist and tasty. (no artificial flavors, colors and no hydrogenated oil)
-An ice cold Hebrew "Chosen Ale". That was for me, not Isaac!

Bon Appetit'!

Book Review - Hunting Eichmann

"Hunting Eichmann" is written by Neal Bascomb. It is non fiction released in 2010, recounting how Israeli agents took down one of the most notorious Nazi war criminals. This book is awesome. The story is great and the author does a great job telling it. His extensive research is easy to see as the story comes alive from so many different vantage points.

Plot: The story picks up with Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann in the last few months of WWII. Eichmann was essentially the architect of the final solution of the "Jewish question" in the Third Reich. At the fall of the German empire, Eichmann is amazed and disappointed at many of his colleagues surrender. Eichmann has in mind that the SS should reorganize and hold the last line of defense. With the knowledge of Hitler's death and direct commands to surrender he goes into hiding.

He eventually moves to Austria under a new identity and becomes a logger for about five years. After this time, with the help of some former Nazis as well as a Bishop in the Catholic church he gets a new identity and moves to Argentina. The Argentine government at this time was full of Nazi sympathizers. He even takes the risk to contact his wife and children and they move to Argentina with him, and for almost ten more years Mr. Eichmann evades discovery and even holds down a job at a Mercedes Benz plant outside Buenos Aires.

The story of how his identity is discovered, then the meticulous plan by Mossad Agents to capture him are the highlights of the book. It all starts when one of Eichmann's sons is visiting his girlfriend's parents house in Buenos Aires for dinner. Embarrassed perhaps by his father's factory job, he tells his girlfriend's father (who is a judge) of how is father was a high ranking officer in the Third Reich. Little did he know that the German ex-patriot he was talking to was half Jewish. This got the ball rolling for Eichmann's eventual capture. The Argentine government did not know of the events until Eichmann was already captured and flown to Israel. The success of the events of his capture is a testament to proper planning and flawless performance by the Israeli agents.

In the writing of this book, Bascomb unearthed several documents that were previously undiscovered, namely the fake passport that Eichmann used to gain entrance into Argentina in 1950. Again, I will say this book is awesome! The author really takes the reader into the adventure. The fairness with which the Israeli agents treat Eichmann after his capture is inspiring. I will be surprised if it is not made into a movie in the near future.