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Moroccan Tomato & Eggplant “Salad”

Vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh eggplant (that haven’t hiked all the way here from Mexico) are two of my favorite things about late summer. Here’s an unusual recipe that uses both. Don’t be put off by the eggplant. My husband, an avowed eggplant-avoider, loves it this way. (Be sure to read down for tips on picking out an eggplant.)

The traditional way to eat this stuff is with your fingers. Please do this. Somehow, it just doesn’t taste the same with a fork or spoon. Provide warm water and towels to guests for cleaning up afterward.
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Company’s Comin’!

Guests are coming! Does that inspire you with thoughts of time spent with friends or family? Or does that phrase strike terror into your domestic heart?

I grew up in a house where guests were a Big Deal. We only had dinner guests a few times a year, and I can’t remember ever having anyone spend the night with us, even though we had plenty of space.

When guests were coming for dinner, my mom would pull out her tried-and-true menu of baked ham, a convenience food version of au gratin potatoes (I called them o’rotten potatoes!) and frozen peas. There’s nothing wrong with having a “signature” meal… but every time? While her cooking was perfectly fine, my mother lacked confidence, and this was a sure bet.

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Fourth Friday Fun: That’s Nifty

I came across this blog quite by accident, and thought it was interesting, funny, cute, amazing, you name it. While some of their stuff is also gross, disgusting, and not recommended, there were enough postings that I really enjoyed that I couldn’t resist directing you to their site. My favorites were the ones listed as “cool.” I particularly loved the pictures of the overloaded vehicles. Reminds me of fitting seven people into a rather small taxi in India.

(Please note that I have absolutely no idea what they will have posted on their front page when you click on the link above.)

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Book Review: Secondhand Jesus

packiam-book-coverYou’ve got to read this book!

Over and over, I started writing a review of Secondhand Jesus, by Glenn Packiam. And every time I deleted what I’d written and started over. Nothing I can say comes even close to doing justice with all that he’s got packed into this one volume.

Then, happily, Glenn gave the sermon at our church on July 5. Naturally, his talk was based on his book, just released last month by David C. Cook Publishers. (I reviewed his first book, Butterfly in Brazil, in June.) Now I don’t have to write a review. You can listen to Glenn yourself.

A video of the sermon is at the New Life Church website.

When you’re done listening, do yourself a huge favor, get your own copy, and read the entire book. You’ll see that that’s just the beginning.

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Computer House Cleaning

Today’s terrific advice comes from Pete (click on any photo for a bigger version):

When mom said “clean your room,” I often thought “why bother — it’s just going to get messy again anyway!”

But what about computers? Do home computer boxes need tidying up?

pc-dustThey sure do! That horrible mess of thick dust in the picture isn’t just a hidden eyesore: it can be the cause of some very expensive repairs. Built-up dust will cause your computer to use more power, to overheat, and ultimately the dusty grime will slow overload the fan motor(s) and burn them out. A burnt-out fan, if you are lucky, “only” needs replacing. But if the computer overheated due to the lack of fresh air, you might end up replacing far more expensive and valuable parts: your hard disk, the main board, or the power supply. That’s no fun at all. Note: this applies to both PC’s and Mac’s. No gloating, folks.

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For God’s Sake

Everyone knows the 23rd Psalm:  “The Lord is my shepherd….”[1] It’s probably the most beloved chapter in the entire Bible. We love the first two verses that continue, “… I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.” Green pastures and quiet waters sound lovely. I’d like that! That’s all about me enjoying life.

But how many people notice the second half of verse three? “… He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.” That’s all about God. Not us. His name. Not ours.

We had some good friends over to dinner last night. They do a lot of ministry in China and other southeast Asian countries. We were kept on the edges of our seats as they related stories about how God is working in that part of the world. The sick are being healed, the Word is being taught, people are coming to the Lord in droves. The kingdom of God is advancing.

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Your Credit Report Card

“What do you mean, they said ‘No’?” We had been turned down for a new business credit card, even though our credit rating is exceptionally good. We were dumbfounded. What in the world could possibly be wrong? As it turned out, lots of things.

Our credit report was full of mistakes. The first and most obvious error? Apparently, some tired typist had combined Pete’s and my social security numbers into a new one that most likely belongs to someone else. I wonder what their report is like.

Then, the reporting company dinged us for having no major credit cards, even though our personal master card was listed on the report, and we were applying for a business card with the same financial institution! This was so inconceivable, the website provided no way to fix the problem.

And finally, information about our previous business card (and our perfect payment record) was entirely missing, even though we’d had it for years before the company that issued it went belly-up.

(There were additional errors that we were told weren’t significant, such as the zillion different ways people spelled “Holzmann.” Right.)

Unfortunately, it’s hard to run a business, even a non-profit one, without a credit card.

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Threshing Fact from Fiction: An Ignorant Christian’s Views on “Religulous” Part 2

[Don’t miss Part I of Jeremy’s article on Religulous.]

Why is faith a good thing?

To many people, the above question is an odd one. Of course faith is a good thing. Why question that? However, in “Religulous” it is one of Maher’s chief objections to religion (particularly Christianity).

The question is first raised by Maher after he asks the pastor of a small truck stop chapel how any rational person can believe in a talking snake in a garden 5000 years ago. The pastor responded by saying that, “It’s a faith thing,” to which Maher replies, “Yeah, but why is faith good?”

Maher’s argument is that a person who’s life is in danger or who is going through hard times would be justified to believe God, but for anyone else faith is pointless. His objection is that of many other skeptics: faith is unfounded and breeds comfort, but isn’t useful. I disagree.

Maher’s beliefs are incorrect for two reasons: first, he assumes that all faith is blind faith, and second, he thinks faith is not relevant. Although these two aspects of faith are inter-connected, I’ll begin by explaining the difference between faith and blind faith.

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Fresh Tomato-Basil Soup

Harvest is beginning. In spite of our recent hail, my garden is actually producing some edibles, and the farmers’ markets are overflowing. How to take advantage of all this fresh produce? Tomato-basil soup is a delicious way to use lots of tomatoes and fresh basil.

If you’re familiar with canned tomato soup—this is nothing like that. No modified food starch, only a minuscule amount of sugar… this is the real thing. Don’t worry, you can still serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches. Just make them with a hearty whole wheat bread and a more interesting cheese than American!

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Talking a Walk

I’ve been doing a lot of walking lately… walks with a friend, solitary strolls, birding walks, wildflower hikes, the-sky-is-blue-and-the-sun-is-shining walks. Sometimes I have a destination, but usually I’m just glad to be out enjoying nature.

God describes our life with Him as a walk. Over and over He tells us to walk in His ways. We are to walk in the light, not the darkness. We walk in the truth, not in falsehood. We walk humbly, not with pride. We are walk faithfully, obeying His commands. We walk in love.

As I was looking up “walk” to see just what God says about it, the verse that really caught my attention was  Leviticus 26:12: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” [italics mine]

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