What if…

“Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of these eager followers of Jesus in the first century. What if I were the potential disciple being told to drop my nets? What if you were the man whom Jesus told to not even say good-bye to his family? What if we were told to hate our families and give up everything we had in order to follow Jesus?

“This is where we come fact to face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor.”

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt

 

I am Resolved

My wife is so good. She usually has her new year’s resolutions ready to go come the end of December. But this year, I beat her! Usually, I have a vague list floating around in my noggin, which I promptly forget by January 15. So, this year, they’re written down; before we ring in the new year, each one will have its own action plan. In the spirit of accountability, here is my list.

• Learn French, regain Greek, and maintain Spanish
• Learn guitar
• Eat French-ly again
• Blog at least once a week
• Read through Gospels, paying close attention to examples of Christ being a friend to sinners
• Read (at least) one book a month:

JANUARY: Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (David Platt)

FEBRUARY: Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis)

MARCH: Grace-Based Parenting (Tim Kimmel)

APRIL: Faithful Feelings: Rethinking Emotion in the New Testament (Matthew Elliott)

MAY: Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in The Christian Life (R.C. Sproul)

JUNE: God is the Gospel (John Piper)

JULY: Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting (William Farley)

AUGUST: Genesis Unbound (John Sailhamer)

SEPTEMBER: Preaching Christ in All of Scripture (Edward Clowney)

OCTOBER: Imitation of Christ (Thomas à Kempis)

NOVEMBER: Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission (Darrin Patrick)

DECEMBER: It is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement (Mark Dever)

 

Do you set resolutions? If so, what are they?

 

 

Aarti Paarti in my mouth

So, we really feel like winners. From episode one the Next Food Network Star, we’ve been rooting for Aarti Sequeira. And for good reason – have you seen her cook? Have you seen how mouthwateringly wonderful her food looks?

But I digress.

So she won (congrats, if you ever read this)! In honor of the win, we made her quinoa. Except we didn’t have any and we were tight on time and pennies, so we used the brown rice we already had. And alas, no bran flakes.

But here’s the original recipe for you to try: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/quinoa-all-brantrade-pilaf-with-raisins-and-simple-green-salad-recipe/index.html

Um, two words – yum and wow!

 

RECIPE: Shrimp Spaghetti with Thymed and Curried White Beans

I just stumbled upon this recipe that I wrote while we lived in Panama. I remember it being good enough to write down, but I don’t remember exactly what it was like, so I’m going to be testing it again soon. But, I thought maybe you’d like to test it along with me. I’ll put a picture of it up when I make it.

Shrimp Spaghetti with Thymed and Curried White Beans

• 1 package (500 g) whole-grain spaghetti
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans white beans
• 2 tsp yellow curry powder
• 1 tsp crushed thyme
• 3 pinches crushed chili powder
• 2 cups celery leaves/tops, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup fully-steamed shrimp, deshelled
• 4 tbsp butter

Fill a large pot with water and add a couple of tablespoons of salt. Bring it to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, caramelize the onions and the garlic; that means, cook until a beautiful, golden-brown color. Add the beans (with the liquid from the can), curry, thyme, and chili powder. Stir until combined. Set aside until the pasta is done.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling water. Cook until al dente. Drain the water, leaving about 1/4 cup of water in the pot.

Dump the drained pasta back into the cooking pot. Add the bean mixture into the spaghetti, along with the celery leaves and tops, the shrimp, and butter. Stir over low heat until the butter melts and the celery leaves are just cooked but still a nice, vibrant green.

 

The Appendix First

I love knowing the ending. I google while watching movies to find the ending. I read the last paragraph of books. It drives my wife crazy.

What I wasn’t in the know about was the fact that I would have my appendix taken out a week ago tomorrow. Which put a cramp in my plan to start discussing Mere Christianity this past Sunday. I apologize to you – my one reader – for not being able to follow through with the plan. Today’s the first day that I’ve felt like sitting down at the computer to write this blurb. Because of that, we’ll be starting this Sunday someday after things get settled down with the baby. Sorry for the delay.

As long as no other organs need to be removed.