blowtorch

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

-Matthew 3:11

I just baptized my marshmallows with fire.  I love you, Fat Boy. 

in a broad place

Thou hast set my feet in a broad place.

-Psalm 31:8

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from far away.

You search out my path and my lying down,

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

O Lord, you know it completely,

You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me

it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Shē’ōl, you are there.

If I take the wings of the morning

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and he light around me become night,"

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; 

that I know very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes beheld my unformed substance,

In your book were written all the days that were formed for me,

when none of them as yet existed.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

I try to count them--they are more than the sand;

I come to the end--I am still with you.

These are the first eighteen verses of Psalm 139.  Isn't it beautiful?  It's also alarming.  God knows us so deeply, sees everything we do, is always there.  I used to run from these words, but I've begun to find life in them.  

In his book The Spirit of Life Moltmann reflects on the way in which God both guards our hearts and sets us free.  On Psalm 31:8 ("you have set my feet in a broad place") he says "The divine Spirit is experienced as the Lord who sets free, and as the free space in which 'there is no more cramping.'"  Yet in the beautiful paradox of life in the Spirit, "it can also be said that 'Thou encompasseth me from every side' (Ps. 139:5); and people who have this experience know that they are kept safe and set free in the broad place of the Spirit in which they can breathe deeply and unfurl their potentialities."

I wish I lived in that open living space all the time, but the sad truth is that I am so often cramped in my anxious, self-focused existence.  And yet I believe there will come a day when we are all set free to live in a broad place, hemmed in by the love of God.


Source: Jurgen Moltmann, The Spirit of Life, p. 277

spicy pumpkin soup

Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox and hatred in it.

Proverbs 15:17

This soup is delicious.  We eat it with grilled swiss cheese sandwiches.  Make it sometime!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

4 tbsp unsalted butter

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Pinch of ground cayenne pepper

3 cans pumpkin or 6 cups roasted pumpkin puree*

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream (you can substitute milk or half and half)

Melt butter in a big pot and cook the onions and garlic in it over medium-ish heat until soft (just a few minutes).  Stir in the spices and cook for about one more minute.  Add pumpkin and broth; mix well.  Boil and reduce heat, simmering for 15 minutes.

Little by little blend the soup in your blender (food processor works too) till it's good and smooth.  Then return it to the pot.  Over low heat add the brown sugar and slowly stir in the milk and then the cream.  If your broth isn't salty, add salt to taste.  

*I made pumpkin puree with leftover Halloween pumpkins after buying eight for youth group kids to carve (they never got carved).  They are still good over a month later!  You're supposed to use sugar pumpkins, but these taste just fine.  For instructions on making homemade pumpkin puree, go here: pumpkin puree recipe.  

Sources: Simply Recipes, for soup, adapted from Oprah magazine

               Annie's Eats, for pumpkin puree

Et tu, Brute?

Whenever life is affirmed over against death, there the Spirit is at work.

-Beverly Mitchell on Moltmann

Tonight in Systematic Theology we talked about how Jürgen Moltmann believes the Holy Spirit is at work whenever life is affirmed over and against death.  Dr. Mitchell said that “anyone who says yes to life says no to war."

Then I came home and said no to life and yes to war.  I killed a mouse.  Earlier he visited me and felt like a friend, but I didn’t want his poop on my floor or countertop.  Where is the Holy Spirit in that?  Does radical hospitality include little creatures that defecate all over your house?  So many questions, so little time!

butternut squash

The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it.  And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12

I love eating squash in the fall.  My mom bakes acorn squash halves with butter and brown sugar and nutmeg in the little hollow, and I love love love them.  Recently I discovered butternut squash.  So beautiful and delicious!  How did I survive for so long without eating this scrumptious vegetable? 

Below is a recipe for a butternut squash salad I made earlier this week.  Joe suggested tossing the squash in a little of the dressing before roasting it, and I just may try that next time.  I also think that crumbled feta would be tasty on top.  Or bacon.  Note that the dressing recipe makes more than you need for the salad.  It stores well and tastes good on salads or as a marinade for chicken and fish. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Squash:

1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded & cubed

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. lemon juice (or to taste)

1 tbsp. dried rosemary or thyme (I used thyme)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Emeril’s Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup olive oil

Salad:

1 bag spinach

Chopped walnuts (toasted would be good, but I just threw them on)

Feta cheese crumbles, if desired

Preheat oven to 450̊ F.  Peel the squash and cut it into one inch cubes.  In a large bowl, toss squash with olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary or thyme, and salt and pepper.  Spray roasting pan with cooking spray and arrange squash on pan in a single layer.  Roast for 30-40 minutes, tossing three or four times during roasting, until squash reaches desired tenderness and browns around edges.

While squash is roasting beat all the dressing ingredients together.  When the squash is done, toss it with the spinach, walnuts, and however much dressing you like.  Crumble feta on top.  Enjoy!

Makes 2-4 servings.

Sources: Squash recipe adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen

              Dressing recipe from Emeril Lagasse via Food Network 

we are building things

Lord, you have been our dwelling-place in all generations.

Psalm 90:1  

In May Joe and I bought a house.  When Joe first mentioned buying property, I was freaked out.  We got in a big argument.  Buying a house seemed too grown up for me.  Joe, on the other hand, longed for more space and projects to work on.  A couple weeks later we were out looking with a real estate agent.

When we walked in the front door of what is now our home I laughed.  You will see why below--it's called the Great Wall of Mirrors.  So much work to be done here!  In the car on the way home Joe asked me what I thought.  "I think we should make an offer.  Is that crazy?"  "Crazy awesome," Joe replied.

The house has been a blessing.  A week or so ago we went to Home Depot and bought bamboo flooring.  "Joe, we just bought a floor.  We're basically rich."  Joe agreed.  We have a roof above our heads, and we can get Chinese take-out on nights we don't feel like cooking.  Somehow we are more grateful now.

the great wall of mirrors on our first visit

dining room to living room on the first visit

the death bed (we sold it on craigslist)

carpet removal

uncovering old hardwood floors

before we discovered the sticky tar under four layers of flooring

sanding

backyard fence

alley protection on the way!

new dining room stuff

new old floors

milk and honey

The basic necessities of human life 

     are water and fire and iron and salt 

   and wheat flour and milk and honey, 

  the blood of the grape and oil and clothing.

Ecclesiastes 39:26

OK, so this post is not about questions or theology.  It's about my other love--food.  I could make some theological connection, but frankly I'm too lazy right now.  Let's just say that cookies are a precious gift from God.  These ones contain four of the necessities listed above and a few more.  Please forgive my photography skills.  They don't do these yummy cookies justice.


Honey Bee Cookies


1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark because it's what I had)
1/2 cup honey
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Chopped pecans or other nuts, if desired


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix butter, brown sugar and egg until well blended.  Add remaining ingredients.  Drop by teaspoonfuls or so onto a greased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle pecans on top, if desired. Bake for 7-10 minutes.


Source: Adapted from A Cozy Kitchen